Teikoku no eiko (Imperial Glory) - A Japanese HOI3:SF (HPP) AAR

[HecNev]

Teikoku no eiko – Imperial Glory A Japanese HOI3: SF (HPP) AAR



Introduction

Historically, the Empire of Japan tried to escape the Great Depression by increasing its level of industrialization. As a result, the country needed an increasing amount of resources. In order to saturate its increasing hunger for those resources, it went to war with the Republic of China in 1937, thus unleashing the Second Sino-Japanese War. The war would take far longer than the Japanese military thought it would. What expected the Japanese forces was a long war of attrition, which they were unable to sustain over time, because the US considered their own interests in Asia threatened and issued an embargo on the Empire. Being unable to continue the war without continuous oil supplies, the Japanese turned their gaze to the European colonies in the South-Western corner of the Pacific. As those were also part of the American sphere of interest, the Imperial Japanese Navy started a huge aerial assault on the strategic port of Pearl Harbor, sinking the better part of the Pacific Fleet. Afterwards, American activities in the Pacific were heavily limited and the Japanese army was able to seize control of several American military outposts in the Pacific, such as Wake Island.
The expansion continued until the Battle of Midway in 1942, in which the IJN lost 4 aircraft-carriers. Now, the US and their allies were able to push back the Japanese sphere of influence.
After several bloody battles, the US Marines occupied the island of Iwo Jima, which provided the airfield for the two bombing-runs that would end the war as well as the Japanese autocracy in August 1945.

But what if the Empire of Japan had tried to align itself towards the Allies instead of signing the Anti-Comintern-Pact?
What if the 2-2-6 incident had been successful?
Would the Japanese be able to fight their war for resources to fuel their growing industry without entering a road to war with the US?

Settings:
Version: Semper Fi 2.04d
Mod: HPP 1.9.17
Difficulty: Normal. The intent of this AAR is not to prove what a bad-ass player I am but to see whther the idea has potential.
Start date: 1st of January 1936
Status: In progress
Aim: Try to conquer China while staying neutral towards the Western Allies for as long as possible, or even joining them.
Style: The idea of this AAR is to portray the happenings from the viewpoint of several characters.

(The settings part was shamelessly plagiated from Slan's "Hitler's Gamble" AAR. Give it a read, it's great!)

Table of Contents

Act I - The Road to Democracy
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7

Interludum I - Sosa Aisukyuku

Act II - Old Enemies and New Allies
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13


Act III - The Second Great War

Part I - The Second Sino-Japanese War
Chapter 14
Chapter 15

Interludum II - Aftermath of the Second Sino-Japanese War

Part II - The Evil spreads
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18

Interludum III - the year 1941 and Sosa Jupita

Part III - War on Fascism - The Invasion of Italy
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23

Part IV - War on Fascism - Liberation of the Balkans
Chapter 24
Chapter 25

Part V - The Last Days and the Purging Wars
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28


Act IV - The Clash of Titans

Part I - The First Months
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32

Part II - Pride and Fall
Chapter 33

 

[HecNev]

Chapter 1

25th of January 1936

“Souta! Dinner’s ready!” Haruji called and the little boy left the group of children he had been playing with and entered the house. Haruji followed after him and they sat down at a large table upon which a fresh meal was already waiting for them. Yuki, his wife, did also join them
The meal consisted of cooked vegetables and rice, as well as a small piece of meat for each of them. Haruji was particularly proud of this, because eating meat was proof of the small amount of wealth he gained after the Great Depression. A few years ago, the Emperor had ordered to build new and larger factories throughout the country in order to provide work-places for the population and to fight unemployment.
“Good appetite!” his wife announced and the boy and his father murmured something in response.

After this fine dinner Haruji and Yuki cleaned the table whilst Souta went back out on the road to play.
“It’s so nice to live in the suburbs.” Yuki started. “You are close enough to a huge town to enjoy the benefits, but still far off enough to avoid most of its negative consequences.”
“I do only wonder how long that will last. By now, the Emperor has ordered the companies to build even more factories. I’m quite sure the area will become just as busy as the town-center within a few years.”
“It’s so sad that those huge brick-buildings might soon destroy the nice landscape around here…”
“Just think of how many people will be able to work there. I mean, due to this initiative, the last remnants of the Great Depression might finally disappear.”
Yuki sighed.

-----

“What’s so wrong about the idea of entering a battle with the help of motorized vehicles? That is a new way to fight a war, not those old tactics from like a million years ago!” said Kaito.
“Listen, I know you’ve studied in Europe and that the guys from over there told you about their fancy new ways of combat like driving around the area instead of simply marching. But the Emperor has spoken. Don’t forget he’s a god amongst men, and thus he will know what’s the right thing to do.” answered Takumi, being a little unnerved by his friend’s constant complaining.
Actually, he should be content, because they were both officers of the 16th Homengun, a division which included one of the few motorized divisions the Empire could field at all.



As much as he appreciated the open mindedness of his friend, sometimes it could just be unnerving. But that was possibly the handicap of being the son of a rich noble who could offer his offspring an exquisite education at the great Western universities.
Takumi’s father, on the other hand, had been a factory-owner from Nagasaki who lost his plant during the Great Depression as sales broke down. It was back then that he decided to join the army because, to him, it seemed to be that kind of work that would always be needed to be done, whatever the current economic situation. Because of the good education his father had paid for before the depression, he had arisen to the ranks of the officers very soon.

“Come on…” Kaito started again.
“If you don’t want to hear about such ‘bad’ news, then why don’t you just read on? I mean, a newspaper offers more than one page.” he was interrupted immediately.
Kaito grumbled as if to show Takumi how ignorant he was and turned the page.

It was dedicated to one, huge article about Mengkukuo.



Obviously, the Emperor had decided to release the minor strip of Mongolia that was controlled by Japanese forces for some years now to freedom.
Both men had to grin as the article stated that this has also triggered some uprisings in the northern part of the Republic of China, which had to cede some provinces to the newly established state at their border.
Such an event was good news indeed, for it weakened the Chinese, Japan’s almost ancestral enemy.
Both countries placed huge forces at their common borders, each waiting for the other’s attack. Luckily, it had not come this far.
Yet.

Takumi and Kaito were both members of the garrison of Tokyo, but should a war erupt, they would surely be sent into the fray because, well, they were indeed part of one of the few motorized brigades the Empire could field.

“Oh, the Americans have increased the amount of oil they’re sending us. Considering our industry as well as our fleet, that as desperately needed…” murmured Kaito.

-----

26th of February 1936

“We demand change! It is the people upon which you are feeding, and thus it should be the people’s right to decide the government!” yelled one of the demagogues and the crowd behind him echoed back with cheers.
There weren’t many people assembled behind the man, however. Most of the population had fled the city center once it became known that a coup was in progress.

“Not all our soldiers are as stupid as you are to block our way! Many other soldiers from the garrison have joined us and already captured several politicians! Surrender, and you will be spared from our wrath!”

Takumi could hear the shouts only from a distance. The 16th Homengun had surrounded the Emperor’s city-residence in order to keep him safe.
The Emperor had forbidden them to shoot at the crowd, but by now, it was only a matter of time when the first of them would try to cross the makeshift barricades of wooden wagons the soldiers had established and attack them. And then a shooting would be inevitable.
“First Sergeant, any news from our commander?” asked Kaito rather quiet. Maybe he was sure they could end this uprising with ease.
“Sir, the Emperor still doesn’t allow us to purge the area of the traitors. Instead he has announced to bargain with their leaders.”
“What?” Kaito exclaimed shocked.



None of them had expected this turn of events.
After all, the Emperor was a god amongst men, the only one who could lead the nation to glory. Even Kaito thought so, although his Western education might have led him to believe differently.
Most of the people thought so, but, on the other hand, it was maybe really time for the people to rule for themselves.
“If the Emperor was kept as a Head of State, he would still be a god amongst men and serve our country.” Takumi suddenly said.
“You mean like in the United Kingdom?”
“Yes, I mean, why not. The system seems to work over there. And, considering the size of that country, it seems to work pretty well.”
“I still don’t know whether that would be the right way of government…”
“That’s for the Emperor to decide.”

-----

Haruji entered his small house with haste.
“Yuki! Souta!”
“What’s up, you’re looking concerned.” his wife asked, discomforted at the expression of her husband.
“There was a coup in the city center and the Emperor is apparently negotiating with its leaders. Rumor has it that our Prime Minister was already killed by them. Souta, you will not leave the house for the rest of the day. I’ll get that old gun I still have from my time as a conscript from my chest back in the bedroom. Better we remain in the house until all this is over.”

After a few days, the Emperor announced that the Empire was no longer an autocracy, but a constitutional monarchy in which the people ruled. But the country’s name stayed the same.
Emperor Hirohito told his people in a speech that he was pleased to cede rulership to them, because he had never liked the idea to decide the fates of so many humans.
Whether this was true or not remains to be discussed.



The first acts of the new government included trade agreements with France, the US and the United Kingdom, which gave also help during the switch to this new type of government. The investments in education were increased as well.
A treaty regarding the limitation of navies was signed as well, securing the ground for further negotiations with Western nations.



The only backdrop was that stricter limitations for the press were announced, too.
Officially because the new government wanted to limit royalist activities that might try to reestablish an autocracy.

 

[katzen-kratzen]

I'll follow!
weird that 2-2-6 incident doesn't have a description

 

[Baltasar]

Yay, a Japanese HPP AAR!

 

[TheBromgrev]

Good luck! I've never tried this option, so it'll be interesting to see what happens.

I'll follow!
weird that 2-2-6 incident doesn't have a description

Oops, forgot to add that one...

 

[impspy]

Glad to see someone likes my 2-2-6 events.

 

[HecNev]

Good luck! I've never tried this option, so it'll be interesting to see what happens.

Oops, forgot to add that one...

So I'm looking forward to downloading the next HPP-version

Glad to see someone likes my 2-2-6 events.

One's glad to be of service

But, seriously, I always wated to try this out and see what might happen afterwards, especially regarding the relations towards other nations.

I imagine a Constitutional Monarchy might have started a war against China, just like the actual Empire did in order to fuel its industry with resources, but the Democracy might have done so later, as the influence of the military would be very limited there.

And thank you all for the nice comments!

 

[Slan]

Difficulty: Normal. The intent of this AAR is not to prove what a bad-ass player I am but to see whther the idea has potential.

Now, where did I hear that one before?

Anyway, good luck with your plan! If I understand this correctly, you got a Social Conservative government now, is that right? If so, that should help.

 

[TZoli]

Hey I wanted to start a Japanese AAR! You preceeded me I will start with a later version, of this mod

 

[HecNev]

Now, where did I hear that one before?

Anyway, good luck with your plan! If I understand this correctly, you got a Social Conservative government now, is that right? If so, that should help.

Well, I have to say I shamelessly plagiated the settings-part from your AAR and just did some minor changes

And no, my government is not Social-Conservative. It is, safe for the two ministers killed during the coup, still the same as befor. So the Nationalists are still ruling (like to pretend it to be otherwise, because this would seem somewhat more logical to me).
I think this will change after the first elections on 1st of January 1941.

 

[Slan]

Well, unfortunately for you then, the USA checks for Ideology, not for Government Type, so your new Constitutional Monarchy led by a Paternal Autocrat party is pretty much the same for them. So, again, good luck! You will need it.

 

[impspy]

I don't understand; the event changes Japan's government to "election" as well as destroying the remaining support and organization of the Control Clique, which should result in the SC (the most popular) party taking power.

 

[Scorpi]

awsome, been waiting for a good japanese AAR.. Keep it up..

 

[HecNev]

I don't understand; the event changes Japan's government to "election" as well as destroying the remaining support and organization of the Control Clique, which should result in the SC (the most popular) party taking power.

Unfortunately, that is not the case.
I had hoped for the same, but the PA is still the ruling party, although it has only a very small organisation and popularity by now.

Taking a look at the savegame, it says "last_election 1.1.1936" (or so). Maybe that's the issue.
It's pretty bad acutally, because, even after ruining my politicval relations with the 3rd Reich, they continue to influence me and I can't stop them...
Is there a way to avoid this?

 

[Slan]

I suspect that you recieved the 2-2-6 Incident in January, didn't you? You could have avoided this problem if you waited with clicking on the "New Government Established" event until you had your election caused by the Incident itself, which should either happen on Feburary 1st, or any day after that. (The "Establishing new government" government type set by the Incident event has elections every month, which means it will be held right away if the last one was held more than a month ago, but if the event fired in January, then it will only be held in February.)

 

[HecNev]

I suspect that you recieved the 2-2-6 Incident in January, didn't you? You could have avoided this problem if you waited with clicking on the "New Government Established" event until you had your election caused by the Incident itself, which should either happen on Feburary 1st, or any day after that. (The "Establishing new government" government type set by the Incident event has elections every month, which means it will be held right away if the last one was held more than a month ago, but if the event fired in January, then it will only be held in February.)

I received it in January, I just gave it thehistorical date in my AAR.
But still, shouldn't there be elections in February, then?
(I'm currently in August 1936, no elections so far...)

My parliament is consisting of politicians from the SC-Party only, they do have the largest organisation and popularity.
However, if this is the issue, I'll probably edit the save-game to change the ruling party because it would be bad if that were the only reason.

Edit:
Ok, considering I was not that far yet, I decided to restart the game.
I did exactly the same decisions as before (same prduction, tech, etc), but, regarding the the 2-2-6 incident, I had the new governemnt-event triggered later and now Japan is a Conservative Monarchy with a Social-Conservative Ideology, which is exactly what I had wanted before.
Of course, now I'll have to redo the 2nd chapter which I had actually wanted to post today

 

[Slan]

I'm sorry for your inconvinience! But some good still came out of it: I'll fix the event so it won't fire in January

 

[lightyears]

there is a 1.9.16 version? i got 1.8.1

 

[TheBromgrev]

1.9.16 is currently in bug-testing stage, for reasons like the 2-2-6 event not working quite right. 1.8.1 is much more stable and polished, which is why it's the latest version in the download sticky. If you're interested, 1.9.16 is available in the announcement at the top of the HPP forum.

 

[HecNev]

Chapter 2

1st of March 1936

Kaito and Takumi are standing at the guardrail of a large transport vessel. The 16th Homengun was redeployed to the Chinese border because the new government was afraid of the large amount of noble-born officers within the unit.
A recent restructuring of the Ministry of War which was proposed by Fukui, the leader of the division, might also have played its part in the redeployment, or merely the punishment.



The Democrats did not want to look like they would just continue the politics of the former government. Also, there was still some political uncertainty within the system.
Thus, the unit had to board the ships of the 18th Kantai and exchange the comfortable life of a soldier of Tokyo’s city garrison to the life of a soldier at the northern Chinese border.
Luckily, it was March already and spring was slowly announcing itself by rising temperatures and slowly melting snows. Otherwise, the life at one of the poor border-garrisons would have been even worse than it already promised to be.

The sea was quiet and the sun was shining brightly in a cloudless sky. The only sounds disturbing the silence were those of the engines of the ships in the fleet as well as the water which was split by the ship’s sharp bows.
Takumi looked at his friend and recognized he was as white as a wall. He looked sick. Takumi had to hide a grin. What an irony: A man living in a country that consisted mostly of islands but who became seasick even when there was no storm or such. It was the first time he recognized this and he immediately wondered how Kaito survived the long sea-trip to Europe for his studies.
Being a true friend, Takumi did not tease him about it.



It was Kaito who suddenly started to speak.
“Do you think there will be war with China?” he asked.
“I don’t think so. Our garrisons at the border are strong enough to withstand a Chinese assault, but not large enough for an offensive of our own. I mean, we might be able to make significant advances, but, on the long run, our units will be stretched out way too thin. The only way to avoid this would be to draw some units off the Manchurian border…”
“And that would open our backyard for the Soviets…” Kaito concluded.
“Yes, it would indeed. Unless there was something else to distract them. I guess our lives will be just as boring as they were back in Tokyo, just way less comfortable.” Takumi sighed and lifted his gaze from the waves below to the horizon, to the direction in which he supposed the Imperial capital to be.
“You mean less, well, let’s call it evening activities?” Kaito teased.
“Why don’t you just shut up again?”

-----

25th of April 1936

Haruji and Yuki were browsing the local weekend-market for groceries. Their son spent the week with his grand-parents in a small village in the mountainous hinterlands of Honshu. They originated from there, but had moved to Tokyo shortly after their marriage because it promised work and a better life.
So far, they were not disappointed.

A few loudspeakers had just recently been installed at one edge of the marketplace and they were playing the most recent news in the morning of each day. Thus, the place was full with people who wanted to buy items for their daily needs as well as people who simply wanted to hear about the most recent happenings.

“Yesterday, the large wharfs of Tokyo have finished another addition to our great navy. Fujita Hisanori, the Chief of the Navy, attended the ship launching ceremony personally and announced that those destroyers were intended to be stationed in Korea along with other detachments of the fleet in order to provide the Empire with the means to repel any Chinese attempt at an amphibious invasion of the peninsula.



*The destroyer flotilla on its way to P’yongyang, as presented in the newspaper of the day*

The new parliament has, as was advised by the Emperor, decided to revise the strict press-regulations that were ensued in the time of change. Back then, press was restricted in order to prevent anti-democratic parties and organizations to spread their misanthropic ideas.
These laws were revised now and the press has received many new liberties.

On to more unpleasant news. As was uncovered just recently, there were major bribing made by an opposition party. It is not yet known to what those briberies went and how many people were involved.



Further, our Minister for Outer Affairs, has announced several new trade agreements with nations such as the French Republic and the United Kingdom, which will help supplying our growing industry with the necessary resources. Unfortunately, in order to sustain this growth, the people will have to pay more taxes for the greater good of all.
The great relations with the huge countries of this world will help Japan to obtain a steady growth just as much as they will guarantee peace in the Pacific.

That’s it for the recent news. Enjoy another, nice day!”

The somehow awkward silence that had suddenly erupted as the news started disappeared just as suddenly as it had come. Once again, the marketplace was filled with shouts of merchants, the chatters of shopping people and the sounds of some chickens an old man tried to sell.

They finished shopping and returned home, complaining about increased taxes as did everyone around them.

-----

7th of June 1936

“Now that’s what I was talking about!” Kaito said and handed the paper over to his friend Takumi.
“Ah, they did some research on tanks I see. Hopefully, you’re satisfied now and will finally stop complaining about our military doctrines.” Takumi answered distantly.
“And so many other things, too. It seems like we are about to make our production more efficient, which might make the construction of large amounts of tanks finally manageable for our industry.”
Takumi just nodded





His gaze was locked to the road ahead of them.
Both of them were assigned to a border checkpoint near Beijing with their men. Officially to guard the position and to report any incidents.
Inofficially, they were to wait for a Japanese spy to come to the border in order to deliver his most recent reports about the goings-on in the Republic of China. The Japanese government did not dare to let its spies report with letters or radio because they were afraid of the Chinese intercepting the messages and decoding them.
Summer in these lands was hardly better than winter because the dry cold was now replaced by a wet heat because there were days on which it would not stop raining, causing the ground to be muddy and, sometimes, the trucks of the division would even sink into the mud on their way between the barracks and the checkpoints.
Kaito and Takumi would keep up the contact with their families via letters, but they wrote only rarely because the focus of the supply network out here was obviously not the supply with ink and paper for the soldiers to write private letters on.
He hoped the spy would appear soon, because then they would be allowed to withdraw to the base and have someone replace them here. As it looks like raining again, the spy would better make haste.

It didn’t take long indeed and a man in on a bicycle appeared on the muddy road.
“That must be our man.” announced Kaito and got up from the small wooden bench at the checkpoint.
They waited for him reach the turn pike and, even before one of them could open their mouths, he already said the code-word.
“Alright, let’s see what you’ve got.” Takumi said.
“It’s not very much, but I still hope you are pleased with the news. In the west, the Communists and Nationalists are still at war with each other and it seems like the Nationalists have gotten the upper hand in the conflict, pushing the Communists out of one mountain-fort after the other.
What’s even better is that there has been an uprising in the populace because of a hunger-crisis near the Nationalist capital Nanjing.



They are currently sending troops there to take care of the insurgency because it’s threatening their capital.” the spy reported.
“Well, let’s hope this uprising spreads. Thanks for the report, you are dismissed. First Sergeant, get me the radio, I’ll call for our replacements. Tell him to make haste. It seems like it’s going to rain pretty damn much soon again. And I want to be in the dry barracks when this happens!” Kaito ordered.

It did not take long for the replacements to arrive and they made their way back to the barracks.

-----

10th of July 1936

Someone knocked the door heavily. The sound was so loud Yuki wondered whether the door would withstand the knocking much longer.
“Souta, open the door! I’ll be on my way” she exclaimed and washed her hands in the water bowl. She was preparing dinner.
It knocked again.
“Souta!” she called again as she was on her way to the door, drying her hands on her pinafore. The boy didn’t show himself, however. He was probably in his room and either didn’t hear her shouts or ignored them.
“Open the door! This is the local garrison! I repeat, open the door or we will come in by force!” a male voice from the outside announced.
“I’m on my way!” Yuki called and opened the door just a second later.
In front of her, there were five men in army uniforms, each of them except for the one in directly in front of her carrying a gun in their hands. She couldn’t see past them, but, judging by the sounds, her house wasn’t the only one at which soldiers were knocking.
Yuki looked at the men.
“We are sorry to disturb you, ma’am, but we need to search your house for enemies of the state.” answered the soldier at her confused look.
“Enemies of the state? Why? What happened? Is my husband alright?” she asked shocked.
“Our Secret Service uncovered that several foreign agents are supporting anti-democratic parties by funding them as well as attacking government ministers. There was an assassination attempt only a few hours earlier. Luckily, the assassin missed his target, but he did also manage to escape. We think he and his accomplices are still in town, hiding somewhere. So we have to search every house. It won’t take long.” the soldier explained.
“But what about my husband? He’s working at a factory in the city. Is he well?” Yuki repeated her earlier question.
“He should be well because the attempt happened in the governmental quarter of the town, not the industrial one.”
“Phew. Ok, step in and search if you have to, but you won’t find anything.”



-----

16th of July 1936

“Well, thank you for the invitation, old friend!” Isoroku said.
“Nothing to thank for.” Haruji said.

Yuki had invited Isoroku and his wife for dinner this evening.
Haruji got to know Isoroku shortly after they had arrived in Tokyo several years ago. Back then, Isoroku had been a social worker, helping new people to find a job and a place to sleep. Eventually, the two men would become friends and their families would meet each other regularly.
While Haruji had chosen to earn his living in a factory, Isoroku had worked for the government and, since the introduction of democracy, he had been a office-worker to the government.

“Isoroku, I hate to ask, but I’m really curious for details regarding this huge search from last week. Did they find anyone?” Yuki asked.
“Well, I cannot reveal too much, not even to such close friends as you are. You know that I’m not allowed to talk about such stuff ‘in public’.”
“Could you give us a hint?” Yuki tried.
“Let’s say the government is supporting democratic parties while it tries to prevent any anti-democratic parties from gaining too much influence. These parties would reintroduce the autocracy we just abolished with the Emperor’s help. And such a huge step forward should not be reversed. I mean, our industry is prospering due to new trade agreements with the US, which have become a strong supporter of us now. Just think of what this means. We could have peace in the Pacific!”




“But then, there’s still the Soviet Union trying to get its hands on Manchukuo and the Chinese are not too fond of the existence of Mengukuo.” Haruji threw in.
“Then it’s even better to have the support of such strong nations, isn’t it?” Isoroku said his expressions suggested that he didn’t want o take the issue any further.

________________________________________________________________

I'm sorry for your inconvinience! But some good still came out of it: I'll fix the event so it won't fire in January

No problem, I wasn't that far into the campaign yet.
And, being a modder myself, I do know very well that betas may still suffer some bugs and glitches