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mctguUV.jpg


Prologue - Maui, 1945

"Long live the Emperor" - the cacophonous sound filled the morning air as Imperial Marines charged off their landing craft onto the beaches of Maui. The town of Kihei had fallen in under an hour after the landings had started.

Daniel had been a sergeant in the Hawaiian Revolutionary Guard, his platoon had been tasked with keeping an eye out for the Japs in case they should try and land. Aside from some occasional bombing runs the island was at peace and had been since the fall of the Pacific States, in '40. That all changed after those fat cats at Honolulu sold the islands out. Though Daniel had never been particularly revolutionary he couldn't stand to see his home fall to a foreign master, so he joined the Guard. Now he lied there bleeding from the chest, propping himself up by the banyan tree with his sidearm in his hand and the dead Commissar lying at his feet with his brains running out. Daniel stared towards the azure sky and sighed, "Guess this is it..." he thought before blacking out.

The next thing he remembered was feeling the softness of a pillow under his head, the soft tones of the setting sun shining through the window and barely making out the surprised face of a woman in white looking down at him.

"My head..." he said trying to rise up.
"Easy there tiger," the woman replied pushing him back down "just because you survived getting shot doesn't mean you should put your luck to a test, your wounds are still healing."
He could make out the woman's face more clearly now - she was a native, her long ebony hair died into a neat bun lying under a nurse hat, her bronze eyes now looking less surprised and more
concerned at her patients restlessness.
"Where am I, what happened," he finally asked.
"You're at the Kula Sana.." she stopped herself and started over "I mean the Kula Shōwa Hospital, some marines found you under a tree and brought you here. Good thing that they did too, the
Doc said that if they had been another hour late then you would've been gonner. Still, you speak very good English for a Jap. What's your name?"
"Daniel," he replied.
"Well then Danny boy, I've got my rounds to finish, but after that I'll be back. Try and rest in the meanwhile, no getting out of bed you hear me." she said kindly and then was off.
Daniel turned his head out of the window and saw the topaz blue bay and in it ships unloading cargo onto the hastily built port facilities.


-------------------------------​
Happy New Year to you all and welcome to my Kaiserreich Cold War AAR, this piece was very much inspired by cookfl's "The Crown Atomic" and I hope that I can live up to the high bar that he set. This AAR will be part narrative, however still very largely consist of game events that I'll mod in so as to make the post-war period as well as the "Cold War era" more interesting for both me and you.

I hope you'll enjoy.
-------------------------------

Contents

1936-1946

Prologue - Maui, 1945
Chapter 1.0 - The World in Shōwa 21
Chapter 1.1 - The Fall of a Goliath
(Part 1), (Part 2), (Part 3)
Chapter 1.2 - Three Principles of the People
(1936-1945) Interlude - Enlightened Peace
(Part 1), (Part 2)
Chapter 1.3 - Jai Hind

1947-48
Chapter 2.1 Farewell to Nova Scotia
(Part 1), (Part 2)
Interlude - Citius, Altius, Fortius
Chapter 2.2 - Wappen!
(Part 1), (Part 2), (Part 3)
Chapter 2.3 - The Price of Victory
(Part 1), (Part 2)
Chapter 2.4 - Blood on the Neva

1949-50
Chapter 4.1 - Imperial Weapon No 4
Chapter 4.2 - The Heart of Darkness
(Part 1), (Part 2), (Part 3), (Part 4)
Chapter 4.3 - Southern Cross
(Part 1), (Part 2), (Part 3)

1951-53
Chapter 5.0 - The World in Shōwa 26
Chapter 5.1 - Avanti Popolo
Chapter 5.2 - How to Raise Flower Bulbs
Interlude - Kotinos
Chapter 5.3 - New Blood
(Part 1), (Part 2), (Part 3), (Part 4)
Interlude - De Watersnoodramp
Chapter 5.4 - The Schism
Chapter 5.5 - Ever Radiant
(Part 1), (Part 2), (Part 3)

1954-59
Chapter 6.1 - For All Mankind
Chapter 6.2 - The Powder Keg
Chapter 6.3 - The Martyr
Chapter 6.4 - The Fall
Chapter 6.5 - Humane Divinity
Chapter 6.6 - Anicca

1960-61
Chapter 7.1 - The Three Big Diseases
Chapter 7.2 - Three Moments of Summer
Chapter 7.3 - High North
Chapter 7.4 - Tiān gāo, huángdì yuǎn
Chapter 7.5 - The Night That Houston Died

1962-63
Chapter 8.1 - The Second Mexican-American War
(Part 1), (Part 2)
Chapter 8.2 - The Vanguard
Chapter 8.3 - Tatemae
Chapter 8.4 - Out of the Frying Pan...
Chapter 8.5 - Into the Fire

1964-65
Chapter 9.1 - The Manchurian Question
(Part 1), (Part 2)
Chapter 9.2 - Blood on the Pearl River
Chapter 9.3 - Olympus of the East
Chapter 9.4 - Black Veil
(Part 1), (Part 2)
Chapter 9.5 - The Turn

1966-67
Chapter 10.1 - The Long Road to the Great Southern Land
Chapter 10.2 - The Greatest Game
Chapter 10.3 - Alea Iacta Est
Chapter 10.4 - Misogi
Chapter 10.5 - The West is Red
Chapter 10.6 - The Quiet Before the Storm

1968-2001
Chapter 11.0 - The World in Shōwa 43
Chapter 11.1 - A.E.I.O.U.
(Part 1), (Part 2)
Chapter 11.2 - The Winds of Change
(Part 1), (Part 2)
Chapter 11.3 - Warszawianka 1968 roku
(Part 1), (Part 2), (Part 3), (Part 4), (Part 5)
Chapter 11.4 - Big Trouble at Big Nihon
(Part 1), (Part 2)
Chapter 11.5 - Long Summer
(Part 1), (Part 2), (Part 3), (Part 4)
Interlude - Flame Ever Lasting
Chapter 11.6 - Amid the Embers
(Part 1), (Part 2)
Chapter 11.7 - The Perfect Crime
Chapter 11.8 - With a Bang, Not a Whimper
(Part 1), (Part 2), (Part 3)
Conclusion - A Lesson, 2001
 
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Nice!
 
Following for obvious reasons.
 
The World in Shōwa 21(1946)

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The Syndicalist War, or the Second Weltkrieg, still rages on in Europe as the remains of Internationale, made up of Norway, the Union of Britain and the Socialist Republics of Italy and Norway, continue to wage war with the Entente Powers.

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The recent return to the Continent by the Union of Britain, by conquering Brittany and the Loire Valley from the French Empire, has raised concerns in the German Empire about the resurgent threat from the Syndicalist powers and what this would mean for the exhausted Kaiserreich.

tCkjlsn.jpg

In Africa the successor states to Mittelafrika are soon to celebrate their third year of "independence". The policy of Kaiserbund put forward in 1943 by the 12th Chancellor Heinrich Brüning was passed with the support of the SPD on the condition that the Chancellor would also crack down on Göring's brutal colonial exploitation. Whilst the polity of Mittelafrika was abolished, the SPD has recently felt betrayed, when Mittelafrika was replaced with a loose confederation between three "native" states that replaced the old German colonial regime made up of the - Bantu Federation, Benikongo and Namibia, which in all but name continued the plans set forth by the Göring government.

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Politics on the Indian subcontinent have seen a massive shift in recent years. After the Delhi government crushed and absorbed its rivals, the future seemed set for the pro-British and pro-Entente powers. However as reincorporation proceeded, it became more and more clear that the fragile balance in the former Raj had been destroyed and in 1944 the leftist Home Rule Party, lead by Muhhamad Ali Jinnah, swept into power promising a social market economy - one that would protect the rights of the workers more than the privatizations ran by the Unionist Party government, as well as an end to the Indian participation in the Syndicalist War unless the British government in exile agreed to its proposals of true Home Rule.

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The Levant continues to burn as it remains plunged in war for the 8th consecutive year. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Arab Bloc declared war on the Persians aiming to drive them out of Mesopotamia. The war still rages as neither side has the strength to drive the other out, with the Arabs sitting at the ancient borders between Mesopotamia and Persia mostly unable to push past the mountains that make up much of Persia and the Persians incapable of pushing down from the mountains and into the plains of Mesopotamia.

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The American Civil War saw the complete collapse of the old United States as well as the Longist Union State and the formation of the nigh continent spanning Combined Syndicates of America, which continues to covertly fund the war effort of the Internationale whilst rebuilding from the destruction of the Civil War. After Chairman Reed passed away Earl Browder promptly took his mantle. The country has since then entered its 3rd 3 year plan, the topics of which includes the hotly debated collectivization of agriculture, something which the previous Reed government had opposed.

The Pacific States fell after a joint onslaught by the Syndicalist powers that now almost dominate the Continent and lead to Mexico annexing the West Coast. However Anglo resistance since then has made Mexican grasp on the region increasingly loose causing fears in Mexico City of militias from the Combined Syndicates pouring across the border to return the West into the grasp of the CSA and returning the country's stretch from sea to shining sea.


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After the victory of the ANL in the 1936 elections Brazil had been slowly preparing for a war with the La Platan junta, both as a measure to secure the revolution in South America as well as revenge for the bloody nose it got during the so called Great South American War. However the preparations proved inadequate as the Platine federal army swept forth in 1941 and crushed Brazil over the span of 4 months. Small conflicts since then have brought much of the continent together into an increasingly close alliance to fend off meddling from the Americans, who are increasingly turning their eyes out to secure their "backyard".

The fragile German dominated post-Weltkrieg balance has however not crashed anywhere else as spectacularly as in Asia. The Empire of Japan, just a decade ago a state in ever deepening crisis, has established itself as one of the dominant powers in the region, preaching a message of democracy as well as liberation from colonial oppression for all the peoples of Asia, lead of course by Japan.


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After the Qing Empire, in a precarious position already due to growing revolutionary sentiment as well as a seemingly unending war with Shangqing Tianguo, was left to fend for itself by the Germans after the beginning of the Second Weltkrieg, the Japanese Empire delivered it a list of Thirty One Demands. Many of the demands were largely same as those that Japan had delivered during the First Weltkrieg, but lacking foreign interference and with America in turmoil went much further. Faced with the possibility of Japanese invasion on one hand, a threat of revolution on the other and exhausted from years of war with the Heavenly Kingdom, Emperor Pu-Yi submitted himself and his state to Japan. In a show of benevolence Japan allowed Pu-Yi to maintain the title of Emperor. A show of gunboat diplomacy, conducted when Germany was most tied up with the fighting in Europe also saw the Dutch concede the East Indies to Japan on the condition that Dutch companies be allowed to continue their operations largely unimpeded.

qFqWtCp.jpg

Although the Kaiserbund policy as well as the Japanese actions with the Qing have somewhat weakened the claim to wanting to liberate the colonized peoples of Asia, tensions have recently flamed across the region, something which the Germans have openly attributed to Japan. Whilst the AOG became more Chinese after the reorganization of the German colonial Empire, many in the country feel more insulted by this change. Gathering behind the widow of the late Sun Yat-Sen and brandishing the Five-Coloured Flag, this movement that has already seen many defectors from the military of the former AOG, now renamed National China, aims to complete what their fathers failed to do just a few decades before and put an end to the Century of Humiliation.

JbEXolE.jpg

However it is not just the resurgent Republicans that threaten, German hegemony in East Asia. Out of the jungles of Indochina, under the command of Ho Chi Minh, the Viet Minh has used the relative lull in security during Christmastide to seize control of much of the country. Bolstered by radicals that fled the subcontinent after the fall of the Bharatiya Commune the self-styled Indochinese Federation threatens to sever an important link in the increasingly more unstable German grasp on the region.
------------------------------------------------
Well, this looks like an intriguing start :) Following with interest.
Following for obvious reasons.

Thank you for the kind words, this will be the last set-up and then we can get rolling with the actual story. Some flashbacks may occur at some points, but I'll try to keep the story actually rolling.
 
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As the fires smoulder in Europe and the Middle East, Asia (particularly China) looks set to become the next great global tinderbox. It's going to be interesting to see how Japan's imperial ambitions play in a nation that's ostensibly a democracy.

Incidentally, how did Russia play out this time around? I see they've retaken Central Asia and Mongolia's Siberian holdings, but they appear to have been pretty quiet otherwise.
 
As the fires smoulder in Europe and the Middle East, Asia (particularly China) looks set to become the next great global tinderbox. It's going to be interesting to see how Japan's imperial ambitions play in a nation that's ostensibly a democracy.

Incidentally, how did Russia play out this time around? I see they've retaken Central Asia and Mongolia's Siberian holdings, but they appear to have been pretty quiet otherwise.

I do agree and that is what contributed a lot to inspire this AAR. Because whilst yes Japan is a democracy, it is still much like the Taishō period with all the things that come with it. I'll try and word how I think it could've developed later on, but for now in case some puzzlers would like to figure out what general idea I have in mind, I'll leave the numbers 55 and 226.

As to Russia, I'll elaborate more at some date when they'll likely try to weigh in on affairs however they are currently ruled by Vladimir III. Expansion wise they had a bit of a tough time - since Germany cut them off from the Caucasus and a certain Admiral was found to still be pulling his weight. They did however also take back Belarus when Germany wasn't looking.

The story will get under way soon, I'm making the last adjustments as well as gathering some picture material. The first real chapter will probably be posted tomorrow. In the meanwhile, have a picture of the still continuing Fourth Balkan War.

IhHbmZ0.jpg
 
...but for now in case some puzzlers would like to figure out what general idea I have in mind, I'll leave the numbers 55 and 226.

If these are references to what I think they are:

First, shouldn't the first one technically be "515"? ;)

And second: Hoo boy, Japan's in for a fun ride...
 
The Fall of a Goliath (Part 1)
"[...]
0230 - The night club across the river is still bustling. 4 visitors, looked to be German officers, left on rickshaws. A platoon of Chinese still looks to be in the club. Streets themselves
are quiet, only a few drunks wandering home can be seen.
0245 - Lights in the alleyway as the madame put out the cat. One of the drunks has passed out next to a lamppost.
0300 - Nothing visible, however noise of motor vehicles can be heard in the distance.
0304 - Sighted 2 German trucks, look to be Blitzes. 20 soldiers jumped out, looked to be Chinese. Probably visitors, quite heavily armed though.
0305 - Shots fired inside the night club.
0310 - Gunfight seems to have ended, 12 soldiers got into one truck, whilst 6 others helped 2 into one truck, 4 of them then went into the other truck. The two trucks went in the opposite
directions.
[...]"

Excerpt from the observation diary of petty officer second class Yamamoto - Battery A, 3rd regiment, 1st Kure SNLF division on New Year's Eve 1945 at the Shenzhen River.

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Việt Minh partisans being instructed by Võ Nguyên Giáp ca 1944

The toppling of the German Indochinese dependencies became to be described as textbook examples of destabilization. The Christmas Offensive, beginning on the 25th of December 1945, had taken German colonial forces, as well as their local auxiliaries by complete surprise. Apart from a unit of Polish-Lithuanian "dschungeljäger" training in Can Tho, near the southern tip of the peninsula, the rest of the troops found themselves waking up to bayonets. Those that were willing to surrender were, peacefully disarmed and offered a chance to join the Revolution, those that fought back were given no such mercy. Indochina might've been completely lost had it not been for the quick thinking and actions of the Commonwealth troops under the command of Lt. General Norwid-Neugebauer, a hero of the Weltkrieg, who quickly set about to restore order and headed north to Saigon.

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Commonwealth troops at a training exercise in Indochina, 12th of December 1944

In Saigon the "dschungeljäger" only met token resistance from the troops of the newly proclaimed Indochinese Federation and soon the city was under their control. The revolutionary militia had been in the process of destroying the local port facilities but the Polish-Lithuanian forces dispersed them with ease. Norwid-Neugebauer then made contact with the German garnison in the city of Singapore headed by General von Rabenau. Von Rabenau advised his Polish counterpart to stand fast in Saigon, promised what little airplanes the garrison had and promised to forward the request for reinforcements to Berlin. Norwid-Neugebauer promised to leave behind a battalion to secure the city as well as the airfield, but said that he would take the rest of his unit to try and pacify the countryside around Saigon and if possible push northwards.

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VAWaVuQ.jpg

Generals Norwid-Neugebauer and von Rabenau, hailed as the twin heroes of the Indochina campaign

When the Singapore garrison contacted Berlin telling them of the rebellion, radio-operators in Berlin didn't at first take them seriously. However with the intervention of General von Rabenau, the report was taken and forwarded to the German Asian Command. The report however lagged, in moving between departments at first and then up the chain of command, due to the festive season, it wasn't until the night of the 27th when an aide to General von Epp received the report from the Singapore garrison and relayed it to the general. A rapid mobilization of the staff of the German Asian Command followed as well as the formation, at least on paper, of the Far East Expeditionary Corps. The force was to be outfitted with 1 corps of Stuka dive bombers and 3 divisions of infantry tasked with restoring stability in Indochina. As Cabinet, who had been called out of their Christmas vacation, set about to debate the intervention the next moves in the Far Eastern Crisis came to be.

DELFMLC.jpg

Radio stations built often in the style of those in Europe dotted Southern China in an effort to better govern the area

News of the German colonial garrisons impotence in Indochina reached the rest of East Asia before Berlin. Further enflaming the spirits of the Kuomintang, who seeing weakness decided to strike. Loyalists to the Republican cause, themselves often former or current soldiers of the National Army, struck quickly during New Year's Eve, in what would be known as the Yiyou Revolution. In a series of relatively bloodless skirmishes they managed to gain control of large amounts of Hunan and Guangdong. Taking control of the radio stations the revolutionaries broadcasted a message announcing the restoration of the Republic of China and called for all who still served the German puppet state to lay down their arms in service and to fight for the Republic.

k2u4UBJ.jpg

The National Army, trained and equipped similarly to that of the Kaiserreich

Whole divisions soon defected to the Republican cause, bringing with them their expertise as well as their equipment heralding the rebirth of the Republican Army as a fighting force. Few units stayed true to the National Army, those that did were largely gendarmerie, as well as militia, often made up of local minorities. Due to the collapse of communications and central organization, the remnants reached out to contact General Wünnenberg, commander of the German forces in China, based in Hainan. Giving the units the singular goal to reach either Hainan or the Legation Cities, Wünnenberg notified Berlin of the debacle also learning of the Indochinese revolution. A Japanese destroyer squadron operating in the Gulf of Tonkin, caught this transmission on the wireless.

pGRt5yI.jpg

"There has been an almighty cock-up. China has fallen. Request troops to intervene." - Wünnenberg

When rumours of the Yiyou Revolution reached Berlin, it became harder to suppress news of the collapse of German hegemony in East Asia among the public and in the press. Whilst censorship regarding the events in Asia had been established after preparations on the Indochinese expedition had begun, rumours that something was amiss had already spread. Newspapers in Germany proper however found themselves short on sources and as censorship began to be enforced, printing pieces about the Asian dependencies was clamped down on across the Kaiserreich. It was so that common people in Tokyo and Ottawa knew more of what was unfolding than those in Berlin. Intelligence agencies in the Empires of Japan and France quickly moved to try and spread news of the Far Eastern Crisis to the Mitteleuropa. Whilst news of it had already spread to Ireland, Entente attempts were largely unsuccessful in introducing the story in Flanders, Wallonia or the Kingdom of France, due to the reintroduction of censorship after the landings in Western France by the Union of Britain.

Japanese efforts however proved to be more effective. Operating out of the Embassy in Riga, Japanese agents under the cover of embassy staff managed to leak reports of the event to the reporters at the Rigasche Rundschau. The Duchy had proven fertile ground before for Japanese intelligence gathering activities, which had previously notified Tokyo a week in advance of a Russian ultimatum being prepared to demand the return of the Transamur territories as well as providing information about the Second Weltkrieg. Whilst operatives also worked in the respective capitals of both the Kaiserreich and the reconstituted Russian Empire, operations in those countries proven more difficult given the large amount of resources poured into counter-intelligence by the twin empires. In contrast the few resources the Duchy could muster as well as the dissatisfaction of the locals had made it a fertile font of info on both Germany and Russia.


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With the story spreading like wildfire and soldiers receiving deployment orders, the streets erupted in protests as the anti-colonial league came out in force. The protests forced a short statement by the Chancellor that something was wrong in Asia as well as slightly relaxation of the censorship laws, allowing for pre-approved pieces that largely consisted of stories extolling German policy in the region. The expeditionary corps was immediately approved and enlarged as a result of the news from China - 2 additional corps of Junkers 88s with Messerschimt 110s were dispatched and a panzer division as well 4 additional infantry divisions were added in order to stabilize China.

OHhnZIi.jpg

SMS Prinzregent Luitpold, prior to being dispatched to East Asia 1946

The German Asiatic Fleet, made up largely of the aging cruisers SMS Baden, Pillau, Madgeburg, Köln, Leipzig and Graudenz as well as their equally aging destroyer escorts, was bolstered by the Imperial Admirality with 2 battleships, the SMS Prinzregent Luitpold and Frederich der Grosse, as well as the cruisers Emden, Friedrich Carl, Heimdall, Graf Spee, Frithjof, Kolberg and their destroyer escorts. In addition General von Epp, head of the German Asian Command, was sacked and replaced with Field Marshall Busch, officially due to the failures surrounding the Far Eastern Crisis.

mFU8CH3.jpg
9YWVoAA.jpg

Whilst von Epp had become the synonymous to the public with the Far Eastern Crisis, his replacement with Busch had little to do
with appeasing public opinion and more with power struggles within the General Staff
------------------------------------------------
If these are references to what I think they are:

First, shouldn't the first one technically be "515"? ;)

And second: Hoo boy, Japan's in for a fun ride...

55 is indeed only partial, but it isn't missing numbers in the middle. Another way to put that hint would be as 30.
 
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The Fall of a Goliath (Part 2)

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Although the Army and Navy still remained at each other's throats increased access to resources
had eased tensions between the two allowing for more cooperation

Whilst the Christmas Offensive had caught Tokyo unaware, the Yiyou Revolution was something that, as one observer noted, was riddled with the fingerprints of the General Staff Office's China Department. After Japan had gained de facto control over the Legation Cities after the Night of the Monkey's Head, the General Staff set to work trying to devise a scheme to take advantage of these newly acquired hives of crime and commerce. In an unexpected episode of cooperation between the Army and the Navy, the Special Naval Landing Forces, there under the auspices of restoring order, acted as cover to funnel - weapons, supplies and instructors out of the Legations. In order to train and equip the Kuomintang forces, that were the first to act in restoring the Republic of China. This was of course not done out of the goodness of their hearts, but as a step in the plan to expel Germany from East Asia and establish, if not a series of puppet states, then at least safe perimeter around the Home Islands. The General Staff also believed that by dragging the German Empire into a proxy war in Asia it could whittle down the already war-weary Kaiserreich's willingness to fight and lead to an eventual exit from Asia.

iMGyEI7.jpg

Triads had proven to be an invaluable link in between the Empire of Japan and the Chinese revolutionaries

The General Staff however failed to predict the total lack of legitimacy that the nominally Chinese National China had amongst its Chinese subjects. Apart from a few ethnic minorities like the Zhuang in Guangxi or the varied groups in Guizhou, who the Germans promoted in an attempt to divide and conquer, the majority of the population saw that despite the state being Chinese in form, it was overwhelmingly German in content. The ending of the Iron Rice Bowl policies during the recovery from Black Monday as well as lingering negative feelings from forced subservience that lead to widespread civilian unrest during the AOG period, continued after the transition and made revolution more and more appealing to many.

Part of the Far Eastern Expeditionary Corps made landfall in Saigon on the evening of the 21st of February. Whilst the air support had largely already arrived in January, the deployment of the land forces took more time. The three infantry divisions that arrived in Indochina had all seen fighting in the hills of Eastern France during the Second Weltkrieg and were accustomed for the rough terrain. However the bloody fights of the Weltkrieg had taken their toll and thus large parts of the units were rather green. After reinforcing Saigon with a regiment, the divisions headed north to support the forces of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth currently operating out of the town of Da Nang and Pakxe. Having cleared the surrounding countryside Commonwealth troops had dug in and awaited reinforcements, the familiar sound of Stuka bombers was taken with great joy. Although weathered and beaten by malaria as well as guerilla attacks, the "dschungeljäger" had survived and managed to hold the beachhead. News of their achievements was one of the few stories to filter through to the Kaiserreich as well as Mitteleuropa making them instant heroes.


cJlzTG3.jpg

Native troops from the United Baltic Duchy on exercises at the River Narva, 1944. Although the Weltkrieg had ended,
securing the borders of Mitteleuropa became harder given the large loss of life leaving little left for foreign expeditions

On the 24th of February, as the Expeditionary Corps in Indochina began to dig in, the last of the Expeditionary Corps in China landed in Hainan. After the Chinese had conquered the Guangzhouwan the landing had been rerouted to nearby Hainan where preparations for the invasion could be organized. General Wünnenberg briefed Field Marshall Busch on the situation. The Republican Army had since the start of the conflict annihilated what little remained of the National Army. Reports from refugees fleeing the conflict told of foreigners incapable of speaking Chinese as well as anybody suspected of being loyal to the Kaiser being massacred. Although no official orders have been found ordering such actions, it is suspected that vigilantism towards suspected traitors took the land by storm. Although the stories sparked outrage across Mitteleuropa, willingness to send more troops remained low, as draft riots had already sparked forcing the Brüning cabinet to promise to not send any conscripts to the region, fearing unrest from the war-weary population.


C0Ywbzu.jpg

The Shrove Offensive cut off Germany from Saigon effectively
putting the expeditionary forces into a pocket

Whilst the forces in China set about planning a naval invasion across the Hainan strait, disaster struck in Indochina. The passes of the Annamese mountains, that had been deemed practically impassable and a logistical nightmare by, General Hausser, commander of the Expeditionary Forces in Indochina provided an unexpected surprise. Indochinese forces under the command of Võ Nguyên Giáp had over the span of the last four months been infiltrating across the frontier, practically unenforced by the dug in Commonwealth troops reinforced by the troops that had been dispersed by the "dschungeljäger" the Southern Corps now numbered close to 3 divisions. On the 5th of March, after a probing assault on the city of Dong Hoi by the German forces, the Southern Corps struck at the rear with aided by the Northern Corps. The forces in Pakxe, largely the reunited Commonwealth troops, found them in between a hammer and anvil, cut off from the coast and reinforcements the unit evaporated with many men fleeing to the jungle to try reach either Japanese aligned Siam or the German forces in Da Nang. Many of them would die in the jungle due to disease and wildlife, as well as in revenge actions against the locals. Out of the 7000 soldiers in the Pakxe pocket only 100 would make it back to Europe.

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General Paul Hausser, last seen in Da Nang on the 14th of March 1946

The German forces weren't going to be destroyed as easily as the "dschungeljäger". After 2 of the Indochinese divisions cut contact with Saigon as well estroyed a supply columns heading north, Hausser got suspicious and ordered his men on full alert. He then ordered a kampfgruppe, headed by Mj. General Remer, back towards Saigon to make contact with regiment left to guard the city and reestablish a secure supply line. Kampfgruppe Remer moved south and found little of note until it passed Tuy Hoa. As the town passed by the view of the last elements, the first elements found destroyed German trucks blocking the road. Before they could notify command of their findings, the rear echelons were opened upon by artillery as well as small arms fire at concentrated points. As the Germans turned clear the positions they thought the fire was coming from they often found them empty as well as being drawn deeper and deeper into the jungle. Over a period of a day Kampfgruppe Remer was worn down from a brigade sized force into a battalion. The forces however managed to dig in and kept fighting until they were run over by the regiment sized force that had contained them.

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Photos of destroyed German equipment lining the countryside
became the standard in many newspapers during the Far Eastern conflict

This manoeuver, dubbed vac in Indochina would become infamous during future German attempts at landing in Indochina. The enemy would be allowed to land on the coasts and even establish forward operating bases, if they started to advance inland the pincers would close behind them trapping them, slicing them into pieces and dealing with them at the leisure of the Indochinese forces. Though it was never to be as successful as it was when capturing the Indochinese part of the Far Eastern Expeditionary Force.

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The Junkers 88 had proven itself a reliable workhorse during the Second Weltkrieg, but in Indochina where it
was often operating at the very edge of its range it could rarely bring its worth to bare before having to return

The offensive reached the German forces stationed at Da Nang on the 7th, after Hausser lost contact with the Commonwealth troops as well as Kampfgruppe Remer he became more and more convinced that they had been lost. The troops were told to start forming defensive lines so as to protect access to the natural harbour. Hausser requested for aid from the transport squadron, but was told to hold steadfast. When the Indochinese People's Liberation Army, reached the Germans, they were faced with a force that had dug their heels in, supported by tactical bombers operating out of the airfields in Malaya.

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Artillery positions at Da Nang, the narrow area of operation often proved deadly for German artillery

Through the slow and methodical use of artillery and as well as a liberal use of infantry assaults the Indochinese forced the Germans closer and closer to the sea. The force was supplied by sea with munitions and food, but new men proved to be lacking. Finally on the 14th the evacuation order was given, about 2 brigades worth of men had been saved when the breakthrough happened on the northern side of the city. Of the 45 000 men involved in the ground fighting in Indochina, only 6000 were evacuated, commanders reports state that about around 10 000 men remained in Da Nang after it fell. The Shrove Offensive was the single greatest loss of German lives in the Far Eastern Crisis.
 
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The KR world is most certainly not pacific.
 
The Fall of a Goliath (part 3)
"[...]
It was not just German hubris, as often thought, that cost them the victory during the Far Eastern Crisis. Although High Command had underestimated the quality of their foes.

Firstly - much like the First Weltkrieg had robbed Germany of a generation of young men, the Second had robbed it of another. Much of the Rhineland still lay in ruins and the army of the Kaiserreich was more focuse on guarding its borders from an incursion in the East as well as the recently tumultuous West. Conscripting new men to fight proved difficult and not deploying conscripts, though smart politically, was disastrous given the lack of available professional soldiers.

Secondly - even though air power had proven itself a vital asset during the Second Weltkrieg, it wasn't a silver bullet to solve the previously mentioned manpower issues. It was hoped the large quantity of airplanes could sufficiently support smaller amounts of "elite" units on the ground and whilst airpower did help in the landings at Leizhou as well as in Da Nang, the concept of an airland battle proved lacking.

Faced with the chronic lack of infantry to hold territory, the Far Eastern Expeditionary Corps found itself winning some victories, but quickly overwhelmed by larger quantities of enemy troops bolstered by elite troops.

[...]"
From a paper by a Finnish National Defence University cadet ca 1960s

The start of the Shrove Offensive hastened the planning of the landings at Hainan. Amphibious landings at Guangzhou were originally planned however it was deemed too far to feasibly attack on such short notice. The idea to land closer was sealed when the Imperial Japanese Navy was spotted conducting operations in the Zhujiang River estuary. Thus the Leizhou Peninsula was decided upon, with the first aim being to take of Zhanjiang to act as supply inlet for the Expeditionary Corps.


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No.31-class patrol boat on deployment in China

Operations were however delayed by bad weather as well as the necessity to send ships to rescue the battered forces in Indochina. Additionally German garrisons in Qingdao as well as Tianjin reported unrest amongst the native population. Similar sentiments had seemingly already been dealt with on Hainan with a strict curfew as well as martial law. As the landing operations in Leizhou took priority, it was decided to deal with the potential revolts at a later date. Finally on the 18th of March, conditions were perfect to launch the short assault across the Qiongzhou Strait. Codenamed Operation Dugong - the landings were split into 3 groups. Group 1 consisted of the panzer division as well as 1 infantry division landing at Qishui. Group 2 was made up of 2 infantry divisions and they were to land at the southernmost tip of Leizhou. Group 3 consisted of the remaining infantry division and tasked with landing at Xianliaodao.

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Operation Dugong just after landings, German forces faced little to no resistance

Group 2 and 3 fulfilled their tasks admirably and met little but sporadic unorganized resistance in their move up north. It was as if there had been no Chinese forces in the region. The panzer division in Group 1 didn't however share their fate. Outside of Zhanjiang the division was hit with artillery fire form hills 814, 614 and 545. Rather than take their chance at the end of the peninsula and risk encirclement the Republican forces in the area had been ordered to hold Zhanjiang and prevent its capture by the enemy. The hills as well as the raised area surrounding them provided a difficult nut for the Germans to crack. When the infantry divisions finally caught up with the panzer division on the night of the 21st it was decided that the panzer division would try to sweep around the hills and try to overwhelm the defensive line on the lowlands supported by one infantry division and then strike at Zhanjiang from the north. The remaining 3 infantry divisions would support this by each capturing one of the hills.
The battle of Zhanjiang proved bloody, but ultimately successful. German troops outnumbered the defending troops 4 to 1, although the Chinese fortifications on the lowland proved resistant the German panzers supported by infantry quickly overwhelmed the few defenders and managed a successful strike into Zhenjiang capturing the port before the local forces could sabotage them. Capture of the hills surrounding the city proved more difficult and hills 814 and 614 were only dealt with a few days after the capture of the town. With the capture of the town as well as its port facilities, the road to Guangzhou was open, or so it seemed.

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Whilst mechanization had reached Chinese cavalry, it was still largely dependent on horses

Whilst the the young Republic's infantry tactically withdrew slowly through the hilly countryside towards Guangzhou, the elite units of the Republican Army, the mechanized cavalry, struck from the direction of Nanning dislodging the lone infantry division left to guard the approach to Leizhou and Hainan. This caused a halt from the German spearhead and forced the panzer division to double back towards the broken line. Whilst 2 cavalry divisions pursued the lone German division down the peninsula, the remaining 4 took up a defensive line along the Jianjiang River. The following battle, known in China as the Miracle on the Jianjiang left the Far Eastern Expeditionary Corps encircled for the second time, Chinese infantry divisions halted their retreat and went on the offensive. Forced with the threat of annihilation of the last of his forces, Field Marshall Busch, decided to surrender to the Chinese. When news of the surrender of German divisions spread to the German concessions uprisings followed, often armed with Japanese weapons the rebels overpowered the demoralized German defenders and Berlin was forced to sue for peace.

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Indochinese Federation citizens celebrate victory over the Germans, March 1947

The Treaty of Shanghai, mediated in the nominally independent Legation Cities, secured Chinese independence whilst yielding German concessions in China to the reconstituted Republic of China. The Treaty of Shanghai also saw a ceasefire brokered in Indochina, although successive conservative governments would attempt to reclaim lost Indochina, the Far Eastern Crisis had ended.

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Whilst Germany was a uniting enemy, border skirmishes between the
Indochinese Federation and the Republic of China soon erupted

The signing of the Treaty of Shanghai was met with violent protests - social democrats and syndicalists protested the failure to secure a peace treaty with Indochina, conservatives and monarchists - the surrender of German colonies. However both sides protested the large loss of young German men with no results. One thing was sure, to quell the protests Brüning would have to resign.

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On the 5th of May 1946 Heinrich Brüning - 12th Chancellor, the man who had seen Germany through
the Second Weltkrieg and overseen the reorganization of its colonial empire, resigned

------------------------------
The KR world is most certainly not pacific.

Pacific?

The next chapters will take some time as I have a couple of exams coming, but they will be here.
 
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The collapse of German hegemony in the Far East is going to leave a massive power vacuum in the region, with an excellent opportunity for Japan to extend its own influence -- though, of course, I highly doubt they'll be the only ones looking to get their hooks into China.
 
Germany may - may - end up being happy to get out of it.
 
Fascinating world you've got here, friend. Always good to see Cold War stuff in the KR universe. I liked the parallelism between Germany's experience in SE Asia and the First Indochina War especially.
 
The Three Principles of the People
"China is now suffering from poverty, not from unequal distribution of wealth. Where there are inequalities of wealth, the methods of the Syndicalists can, of course, be used; a class war can be advocated to destroy the inequalities. But in China, where industry is not yet developed, class war and dictatorship of the proletariat are impracticable"
- Sun Yat-sen Capital and the State (1924)
The Treaty of Shanghai further strengthened the hand of the left-wing Kuomintang. The joyous celebrations following the crushing of the hated imperialists as well as liberation of parts of China, gave the group time to consolidate power and set into motion the plan to bring to life the Three Principles of the People. Whilst China had yet to be unified, the Kuomintang set forth on a wide-ranging policy of economic reform that would be used to fulfil the policy of Mínshēng. One of the first acts saw the total nationalization of the German held enterprises and industrial concerns that dotted China. Whilst Berlin protested and cut of economic ties, it could do little else as the public was unwilling for another war, much less with a country it had just signed peace with. Pursuing Mínshēng didn't just stop there however. An ambitious policy of land reform - entailing a land value tax, redistribution as well as rent control was put into effect to try and combat the issues stemming from landlordism that had long plagued China. Though liberal and conservative politicians protested, they lacked ability to do little else due to the absolute control held by the Kuomintang and its left-wing allies.

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Soong Ching-ling, often known as Madame Sun Yat-sen. Under her leadership the once stumbling Kuomintang managed
to take back control of leadership in the Republican movement leading to the rebirth of the Republic of China

Economic reform wasn't however the only thing weighing on the minds of the young Republic. The drafting of a Chinese Constitution, something that had been deemed secondary during the war now lingered over the heads of the Provisional Government. Due to the overwhelming control the Kuomintang held within both the Provisional Government as well as the Constituent Assembly, the drafting of the Constitution saw the Three Principles of the People become the basis of the Constitution. The policy of Mínquán, democracy, in the Constitution clarified the Republic as a democratic state, where the power was held by the people which they then invested in elected representatives as well as giving the people the powers of - election, recall, initiative and referendum. The government itself was reorganized into 5 branches, called yuans. Concerning Mínshēng, public welfare, something which would become the byword for the KMT, the constitution went to great lengths to guarantee economic security as well as a freedom from want. On the third and final policy, that would set the Republic on a collision course with its neighbours, Mínzú, nationalism, the Constitution proclaimed the Republic of China as the only China and called for all the races of China to unite and stand against imperialist domination. It also secured various minority rights so as to assuage fear of Han domination.

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The Three Principles of the People first appeared in the newspaper Min Bao in 1905 under the name the Three Big Principles

China's neighbours took the policy of nationalism as a threat and the Japanese embassy in Beijing was quickly overwhelmed with Qing government representatives, worried about another Northern Expedition, wishing to know how they should proceed. Following the announcement and wishing to encourage its dependants in China, Tokyo adopted a policy of both observation as well as increased garrison on the Inner Chinese border. Whilst the fears of the Qing wouldn't play out instantly, the power vacuum left after the German expulsion quickly lead to another conflict. As the Chinese Republic chose to enforce its Western borders against the various bandit raids originating in the Yunnan Clique, in an attempt to stabilize the countryside, a Republican Army supply convoy was attacked and raided on the night of the 6th of May. With the worlds' eyes drawn towards Germany given the resignation of Chancellor Brüning, China once again spiralled into war.

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General Long Yun, head of the Yunnan Clique and de facto governor of Yunnan and Sichuan

Yunnan had been lead from 1927 by Long Yun, a former member of the Kuomintang, who had participated in the anti-Qing struggle from some of its earliest days. Having made peace with the Germans after their intervention, which saw the collapse of the First Republic of China he had continued to rule the province and offered shelter to members of the Kuomintang fleeing from repression. The various cliques, warlords and bandits in the area had however been a thorn in the side of his government for a long time, whilst they all seemed to have submitted to him it was an unstable balance threatened even by the slightest of change. With the collapse of German hegemony, as well as various groups fleeing into the countryside this balance had shattered. German loyalists as well as bandits of other stripes now set up shop in the lands of the Clique proceeded to terrorize the Western border areas of the newly proclaimed Republic of China.

The attack on the supply convoy proved the final drop in the chalice for the Republican government. A special envoy was sent to deliver an ultimatum to Kunming, which requested the peaceful reintegration of Yunnan as well as enacting swift justice on those responsible. Long Yun however understood that his submission would result in the collapse of his power and chose instead to trust in his army. Thus war returned once more. The Yunnan Clique found itself flat-footed whilst various forces inside the army continued squabbling amongst themselves. The Republic of China however quickly advanced into the highlands taking the city of Chongqing as well as the surrounding countryside. By July the Republic had also gained control of Kunming with Long Yun and his government fleeing to Baoshan to continue the fight.


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Situation in July

Faced with the rapid collapse of the Yunnan Clique officials in Beijing decided to go behind Tokyo's back and provide Yunnanese soldiers with supplies as well as arms to continue the fight against the Republican Army. The closing of this supply road soon became the focus point of the planners in the Republican Army. Faced with some of the best trained forces of the Yunnanese, the Republican Army concentrated large portions of its units to dislodging them, leaving the rest of the front open to counter-offensives. Whilst the Republican Army clawed its way closer to the Mongolian border Long Yun organized a counter-offensive aimed at retaking Kunming as well as encircling the Republican forces. Although the offensive succeeded in pushing back the Republican Army, it failed in encircling or otherwise destroying the Republican forces in the region. Relief forces from Guangzhou succeeded in repelling further Yunnanese offensives as well as encircling some divisions near Yibin. The Yunnanese forces withdrew to its mountain redoubt and would make no other offensives after that. From there on the war all but drew to a close in December, once the Republican Army severed the supply route from the Qing to Yunnan and winter snows set in.

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Situation in December

Although sporadic conflicts between the forces of Yunnan and the Republic continued, the conflict ground to a standstill. Wanting to avoid a drawn out fight the Republican government offered amnesty to all that fought for Long Yun as well as authorized the a bounty for the removal of Long Yun by all means in March. In the early hours of the 23rd a group of young republican-leaning officers participated in a coup d'etat against Long and removed him from power. Surrendering to the Republican Army at noon. Whilst the Kunming Incident had ended - banditry from troops that had refused to surrender continued to plague the region for years after.

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Southern China after the reincorporation of the Yunnan Clique

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The collapse of German hegemony in the Far East is going to leave a massive power vacuum in the region, with an excellent opportunity for Japan to extend its own influence -- though, of course, I highly doubt they'll be the only ones looking to get their hooks into China.

Indeed, however whilst Japan may have aided the revolutionaries it doesn't mean that they'll be interested in listening to it.

Germany may - may - end up being happy to get out of it.

Given everything they've gone through, they probably would be.

Fascinating world you've got here, friend. Always good to see Cold War stuff in the KR universe. I liked the parallelism between Germany's experience in SE Asia and the First Indochina War especially.

The chapters about down fall of German East Asia were great, so I'm following this thread.

Will Japan liberate the Pacific States of America, after taking over the Hawaii?

Glad to hear you enjoy it. As to Japan and the PSA, whilst it is of course a possibility it would be a large step out of Japan's comfort zone as well as a direct step into the CSAs backyard. At this point the answer is a no. However I do have something planned for the PSA so don't you worry.

Also, the chapter after this one will go into other topics besides China, largely about Japan, I'm just wrapping up some loose ends there.
 
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I think, that China will focus on economic development and wait for good opportunity before attacking Quing.

However, it might support some partisan/revolutionary groups inside of the Quing 'Empire'.
 
I really cannot make up my mind if this is a good or bad development