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Can you sell supplies to one of the majors? Preferably the USA or the UK, maybe even the Soviets. That should help earning some money :)

I would if only they accepted :D

Regarding the navy, I have to admit I put quite some focus on land-units as well as improved medium bombers because my oil supply from the US is rather save at the moment.
Therefore, I built some convoys and the ships that were in the production queue at the beginning, but nothing more. I did research the sealane control doctrine in order to improve the efficiency of my convoys.
 
I've played a few Japan games in base HoI and SF and have had a lot of fun with them, and I've wondered about doing exactly what you're trying here. Keep up the good work, as this is proving to be a thoroughly enjoyable read.
 
Chapter 7

4th of January 1938

It was well known that the Republic of China was drifting towards the Reich as its favorite partner in matters of trade as well as expansion. And Hitler was willingly giving his support, because the Empire of Japan had refused to join the Axis about a year ago.

And now, Isoroku sat at his desk, wondering what would happen next.
He held a short letter in his hands that had been distributed to all members of the ministry. It was asking them for understanding for the large amount of overtime-working that was rolling towards them.
It appeared that, in Europe, the Reich had mobilized its forces and, due to Japan’s close relation with the English as well as China’s friendship with the Germans, this meant an outer threat to the Empire.



Therefore, the British ambassador was already in the secretary’s office for some hours now. Probably they were discussing Japanese support in an eventually erupting war against the Reich.

The world was holding its breath as to what might happen next and, in the end, the Reich decided to violently annex Austria, its small south-eastern neighbor.



Isoroku found it weird that the Allies were not acting on this, as this was obviously hurting the Treaty of Versailles. But he didn’t understand the British policy regarding Germany, anyways.

As soon as Hitler would rustle with his saber, they would jump up, running around like beheaded chickens and calling in what allies they had. And once the Reich acted, they would keep their heads low to avoid any damage that could be dealt to them.

Having such allies was no blessing, it seemed to be a curse at best.

----

15th of January 1938


Today, Haruji found himself once more disappointed by democracy.
Instead of reporting about the latest decisions that were made by people with clear minds in parliament, a scandal was uncovered.



The whole newspaper was filled with details about the scandal, stretching from who was involved over the progress and ended with the consequences for the members.

Actually, another important event was almost drowned by the news of the scandal.
In Europe, the Spanish Civil War had ended with a clear victory of the fascists led by General Franco.



One could already wait for the Japanese royalists and fascists to rise up once more to claim that democracy was destined to fail.
Haruji sighed. What this country needed weren’t more uprisings, but something that could unify them all into one. Be it a catastrophe, war or whatever. But an event that had the potential to forge the many pieces into which the Japanese population was split into one mighty katana to cut through all enemies, be it outer or inner hostilities.

-----

12th of February 1938

Takumi opened the envelope.
This time, there was more in it than just the usual letters from his family and the regular updates about the recent happenings in the army, such as technological advances.
Today, a new kind of tank had been developed, offering Japan the possibility to field tanks that could keep up with motorized infantry divisions. Thus, breakthroughs and gaps within enemy lines could be exploited with a lot more efficiency.



The next letter in the small package was obviously coming directly from Tokyo. It wore signs that said “urgent” and another one reading “top secret”.
Takumi felt a chill running down his spine. Something like this couldn’t mean any good.

Mr. Watanbe,

Due to recent events that are declared top secret until tomorrow, you and your men will be redeployed to northern Korea, directly to the Russian border.
For this reason, the division you and your men belong to will be re-assigned to the 3rd Hohei Gundan, 20th Homengun, Manchukuo Gun.

We are afraid we cannot provide you with any more intelligence about this, but once you have moved to the closest port, you will receive further information, if you haven’t done so until then.

The other papers in this package contain all other information about your trip.

The High Command


Takumi wondered about what kind of events the High Command might be referring to in this letter, and he felt uneasy about the fact that they kept the happenings locked away from him.

Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who just received such a letter.
In no time, the rather quiet border garrison became a buzzing hub of activity as the division made itself ready for the journey.

One day later, during the trip to Dalian, Takumi finally found the exact reason:



A war between the Soviets and Manchukuo meant that Japanese intervention would not need to be waited for very long.
Manchukuo would soon ask the Empire for help and if it didn’t, the huge amount of Japanese troops in Manchukuo would be enough to justify a Soviet declaration of war.

The situation was indeed becoming hot.
 
Author's Note: Is this even read by someone?

Yes, I should have commented earlier as I'm most definitely interested in what you are doing with this AAR! :)

You seem to be enduring quite a run of adverse events in your internal politics. I am wondering if this is due to your level of dissent, low national unity or both? I also noticed in an earlier post that you had some unpopular laws that were hurting your government.

Now I imagine you might get drawn into a war with the Soviets. If not, you could lose Manchukuo...
 
Manchukuo should call you to arms fairly quickly. If it doesn't, then I'd edit the save and add yourself to the war. That whole event has been iffy since we changed it, as sometimes Japan gets dragged in right away, and sometimes Manchukuo doesn't do a call to arms. It's all due to how the game engine handles puppets and limited wars, and the bug was introduced in the latest patch. If a puppet declares war on a country via event, then the puppet's master should join as well.
 
Actually, the problem is not with the start of the war but the end of it most of the time. The 'end_war' command is a strange one... Anyway, a new version with a supposed fix is on the way :D
 
Interludum I – Sosa Aisukyubu

So, the first contest for the military of the democratic Japan is the mighty Soviet Union.

To be honest this has hit me somewhat unprepared, as I was quite sure that China would declare war on my sooner or later, but at least before this incident. Thus, the bulk of my military at the beginning of the conflict was stationed at the Chinese border, which is why it did take me about a week until I was finally “in” the war.
Fortunately, I had almost 10 days to move my forces because Manchukuo would issue a call to arms only after 10 days.

The Red Army was by far larger than the Imperial Japanese Army, though I had the technological advantage. Also, the better part of the Red Army was stationed in Europe at the western border.
Regarding industry and resources, the Soviet Union had the better conditions, especially since my industry at this time was mostly based upon rare materials coming from the USSR.

My only two advantages were my navy, which I could, due to the high number of carriers, use very efficiently even in a conflict that would be decided on the ground, and my airforce, which was more numerous than the Soviet one at the time the conflict started.

Due to this and the fact that I wanted the air support to be where my army fought, conquering airfields became even more important.

Along the border between Russia and Manchukuo, there were mainly garrison-divisions. They are all but useless for offensive purposes and their position behind a major river gave them an improved defense. Therefore, I decided not to expand to the north.

Mongolia in the west offered an open border, which I decided to exploit immediately (or as soon as my men could get there), so I could kick them out of the war ASAP.

All in all, I hoped to achieve the decisive battle that would end the incident in the area around Vladivostok, because the concentration of Red Army Forces was at a peak there.

So, this led to the following plan for Sosa Aisukyubu (Operation Icecube):
  • Hold the line in the North
  • Sweep through Mongolia
  • Conquer Outer Manchuria

To offer a more visual thing, that’s the idea (large picture):

Considering this, I almost felt bad returning to the status quo afterwards, but, on the long run, I knew I couldn’t win a war against the USSR.

------
Author's Note:

Yes, I should have commented earlier as I'm most definitely interested in what you are doing with this AAR! :)

You seem to be enduring quite a run of adverse events in your internal politics. I am wondering if this is due to your level of dissent, low national unity or both? I also noticed in an earlier post that you had some unpopular laws that were hurting your government.

Now I imagine you might get drawn into a war with the Soviets. If not, you could lose Manchukuo...

Thanks!
The problem is that all those events have brought my dissent up to a high level in almost no time and, at first, I didn't want to give up industrial advantages for ruling party support. In the end, however, I decided to revise most of those, even risking a significant drop in my financial funds.

I h decided to accept this for a greater good and made an "iron fisted brute" to be one of my ministers to build up some party support.

The dissent generated by all those events was rather difficult to handle and would eventually lead to open insurgency. But that's for another chapter ;)

Manchukuo should call you to arms fairly quickly. If it doesn't, then I'd edit the save and add yourself to the war. That whole event has been iffy since we changed it, as sometimes Japan gets dragged in right away, and sometimes Manchukuo doesn't do a call to arms. It's all due to how the game engine handles puppets and limited wars, and the bug was introduced in the latest patch. If a puppet declares war on a country via event, then the puppet's master should join as well.

Manchukuo issued a call to arms after 10 days, in which they had conquered 3 or 4 Soviet provinces and i could use those 10 days to redeploy my forces.

Actually, the problem is not with the start of the war but the end of it most of the time. The 'end_war' command is a strange one... Anyway, a new version with a supposed fix is on the way :D

Well, the incident has ended as it should, with a battle with over 500 hundred losses for at least one of the two participants. However, it took me almost 2 months to "achiev" this, as the Red Army would often withdraw after short battles, probably because of their low level of organisation.
 
I am reading your AAR. I am currently playing the Japanese (SF 2.04d) and have avoided fighting the USSR. I hope you continue your AAR and look forward to seeing some naval action.

Question for you on your HQ's
How many theaters do you have?
Also, do you attach most of your Garrisons to your theater HQ's do to the distance of some of the islands?
 
The dissent generated by all those events was rather difficult to handle and would eventually lead to open insurgency. But that's for another chapter ;)

Sounds interesting! :)

Looking at that map you posted I am quite amazed how few Soviet forces there seem to be along the borders with Japan/Manchukuo. That must make it all the more upsetting to go back to the status quo!

As to the performance of the Soviets, yes, I expect they are currently heavily degraded by the purges.
 
The reason for the few Soviets forces on the border is probably the low amount of Japanese forces on those very same borders.
 
Very interesting approach to everything!

I look forward to seeing how all this measures out. Did you hint that you ended up with a "white peace" of sorts with the USSR, or are you continuing that war?

Rensslaer
 
Very interesting approach to everything!

I look forward to seeing how all this measures out. Did you hint that you ended up with a "white peace" of sorts with the USSR, or are you continuing that war?

Rensslaer

Yeah, I hinted a return to status quo (damn me, I'm spoilering my own AAR :rolleyes: )

I am reading your AAR. I am currently playing the Japanese (SF 2.04d) and have avoided fighting the USSR. I hope you continue your AAR and look forward to seeing some naval action.

Question for you on your HQ's
How many theaters do you have?
Also, do you attach most of your Garrisons to your theater HQ's do to the distance of some of the islands?

You'll have to wait for naval action. As I'm a democracy now, the US don't interfere in Asia because of this. Also, they don't limit my crude oil supplies. So, as of now, I don't plan anything like Pearl Harbor.

because of this knowledge, I did also put quite some effort into land units and was focussed my naval research on improved escorts as well as carrier airforces.

As for the HQ:
I have 2 theatres, one for the Asian mainland (with a northern and a southern army group) as well as one for the Japanese core-islands as well as all the other Pacific holdings.
However, I have to admit I didn't do much about the OOB there because those islands are all but under threat of immediate war.

Sounds interesting! :)

Looking at that map you posted I am quite amazed how few Soviet forces there seem to be along the borders with Japan/Manchukuo. That must make it all the more upsetting to go back to the status quo!

As to the performance of the Soviets, yes, I expect they are currently heavily degraded by the purges.

It was frustrating indeed, but, on the long run, I decided I was unable to win this conflict, so I went for peace as soon as it was possible.

The purges really did some great impact on the Soviets, which is why it took quite long, in comparison to the amount of troops, to reach the minimal losses of 500 men in a battle to end the conflict.

@all: thank you for the comments!
 
Chapter 8

13th of February 1938

Haruji opened the newspaper during the lunch-break.
There were articles about the recent developments regarding inner affairs, but Haruji and his colleagues were a lot more interested in what happened in Manchukuo.

The Manchurians had managed to make some minor advances into the Soviet Union, but those were merely bridge-heads which they could barely hold, let alone expand from.



They simply lacked the means to do so and yet they refused to ask help from the Empire.
And, as far as official sources could be trusted, the Empire was currently positioning its forces to strike.

But the Russians acted. They imposed a trade embargo on Japan, cutting it off from the trade with rare materials which was vital for the Japanese industry.



During the following week, a chain-reaction erupted throughout Asia, leading to several factions mobilizing their forces in fear of either the USSR or the Empire of Japan.



Furthermore, new technological advances were made that promised to improve the stance of the IJA in the conflict.





-----

22nd of February 1938

Takumi almost rejoiced as he heard the news.
Finally, the months of boring border-control were over, finally, he and his men could prove their abilities.

Manchukuo had issued a call to arms this morning, which the Empire gladly followed, now that most of its forces were in position.





Also, another carrier, the IJN Soryu, left the wharfs in Tokyo today. The carrier wouldn’t participate in the operation, it would be deployed to Taiwan to help guarding the Taiwan Strait and the Japanese trade there.

But Takumi’s concerns were of a different nature here.
His concern was to reach Vladivostock as fast as possible and to secure the airfield, while the planes from the IJN Kaga kept the Soviet airforce pinned to the ground and the 4th Kantai the Russian ships in the harbor.
He did “only” have to deal with the land forces and for this, he had sufficient air support. The operational goal of the division was occupying the Soviet port.
This was easier said than done.

-----

26th of February 1938


If it weren’t for the bad roads and the icy winter, they could have reached the outskirts of Vladivostock by now.
The ground was completely frozen, so the heavy anti-tank and artillery guns didn’t sink in, but their pace was still slow because of the tight roads that led through forests and mountainous terrain that did always offer perfect positions for ambushes by the defenders.
In fact, Takumi and his men had already cleared several ambushes before stepping into them, yet it worried him for how long they could keep this luck up.

IJA-forces were advancing where they were supposed to, as official reports told. Yet, the advance was slow and the only reason why the Soviets hadn’t thrown a strong counter attack at them was probably that they faced exactly the same problems.

Setting up camp for the night was just as difficult and the ever-present coldness didn’t help lifting their morale, either.

Dear Mother,

I’m sorry I’m writing you just now. After all, you’ve asked me to write you a letter every day once I might have to go to war.

I hope you’re not worrying too much about me. My men and me are fine.
So far, we have always known when the enemy would engage, which has helped us a lot and is one of the benefits of our constant air superiority.
By now, we’re close to our first operational goal, though our progress is slow. I may not tell you where we are heading, but I think you’ll read it in the newspapers soon enough if all goes as planned.

Tell the rest of the family that I’m fine.
Don’t worry about me too much.

Your loving son
Takumi


-----

1st of March 1938

Eastern outskirts of Vladivostock

They entered a wide road that went straight out of the city. Takumi could see the airfield only about a few hundred meters ahead of them.
Along the road, there were several half-collapsed buildings. This was probably caused by the continuous ground attacks of the airforce as well as the artillery strike that was launched this morning to soften up the defenses of the airfield.

He and his men were fighting in the city for about two days now. Around them were shattered ruins, as the 4th Kantai was shelling the city since the beginning of the conflict of the 22nd of February and had only stopped doing so as the division had reached the outskirts of the city.

Securing the airfield on the other side of the town was the last objective. The IJA hadn’t surrounded the town because it needed to be secured very fast, which enabled many Russians to retreat from their approach.
“Sir, army command is on the radio for you!” someone shouted at him, breaking the awkward silence which had engulfed them before.
“Damnit! How often do I need to tell you not to approach on officer so directly! If there was a sniper around, he’d know whom to kill immediately!” the first sergeant shouted back.
“It’s fine. Now get that radio up here will you? The others proceed as planned!” Takumi ordered.

It didn’t take long for the recruit to get the radio over to them.
He had joined the division about a month ago.

“Katana 1 answering Samurai 3.” Takumi said.
“Samurai 3 speaking. You must take the airfield as soon as possible. We need it to grant air support to 6th Homengun in the north! Also, the Soviets are about to start a counter attack on our supply lines. Proceed with speed and caution. We don’t know how many Russian soldiers left the town already. Do you copy?” said the voice of the Army HQ through the speaker.
“I copy. Katana 1 over.” Answered Takumi and handed the radio back to the recruit.

“Alright men, we need to hurry up!” Takumi exclaimed and, with these words, he jumped from his current cover and pursued the road.
He kept his eyes on the numerous windows of the large houses nearby.
The knowledge that, if there was a sniper, he would already have struck them eased his mind only slightly. There could still be some Russian waiting for them in one of the sideways.

But he would be proven wrong.
Suddenly, the sound of a single shot erupted from a nearby building and echoed back from the ruins of the other houses. As Takumi was still wondering from which window the shot might have come from, he heard another one which was followed by a loud gurgling behind him. Only then did he regain control over his legs and jumped to cover.

The second shot must have hit the throat of the man right behind him.

“Suppress that bastard and get me a medic!” he shouted and fire erupted from the weapons of the others who found cover amidst the wreckage.
He held the wounded man up. He was trying to tell him something, but there erupted only more gurgling and blood.
A medic hurried up to his position, but, as he arrived, the first sergeant was dead already. He had died in Takumi’s arms, his blood flowing all over his arms and soaking his uniform.

“There, I saw a muzzle flash! That half-collapsed building ahead of us, third level, 6th window counting in from the left!”
“Well spotted, private!”

It didn’t take more than this shout to know where they needed to target their fire.
A few of them pushed an anti-tank gun into firing position. It was the only one in Takumi’s force, but, fortunately, they hadn’t encountered any Russian tanks on this campaign so far.
Its shot was well targeted, so it hit the said window. The impact left a cloud of smoke and dust at the façade of the house, but there was no sign of life from the sniper. As a part of the upper levels collapsed down, they were sure he wasn’t alive anymore and proceeded on to the airfield.

To his surprise, there were no defenders guarding the airfield. There were only burnt-out wrecks of Soviet aircraft lying around on the ground around the starting lane, which seemed undamaged.
Takumi called up the recruit with the radio and it didn’t take long until the first Japanese airplanes showed up on the horizon. All of them would be redeployed to this airfield, supporting further assaults.

The city was finally secured the same day.



-----

19th of March 1938

He had seen many good men die on both sides during the fight for Vladivostock, and some did even die because of his bullets.
But it was something completely different to experience the cruel death of a comrade from a position as close as in one’s arms. Worst of all was that he had to wait several days until he received a new uniform, so he had carried the blood of the poor man on his clothes all the time, never being able to forget the image of him trying to speak a few last words.
Takumi decided that he would visit the family of this man as soon as he was given a holiday.

Since the fall of Vladivostock, resistance had increased, but a major battle never occurred. The IJA continued its march north to the new frontline as planned. The only Russian counterattack was experienced in Bikin near the Manchurian border. There some light Russian tanks crossed the river and attacked the garrison there, eventually forcing them to retreat. This didn’t last very long, though. The Japanese soon regained the territory.
Also, advances in Mongolia were made and Sakhalin was completely freed of any Soviet presence.
Japanese submarines were raiding Russian convoys all along the Siberian coast.

All in all, the situation didn’t look to bad for the Japanese, although the amount of Red Army forces in the area was increasing, thus it would be impossible to hold the speed of the progress. A decisive battle had to be sought. To end the conflict before the Red Army would overrun the IJA.



Being continuously on guard and only supplied with the most necessary things, he hadn’t written a letter home to his mother or his sister since about a week.
Hopefully, they weren’t worrying too much about him.

-----

22nd of March 1938

Yesterday was a day to remember.
They had fought in dark forests, almost losing touch with each other. Still, they had managed to defeat the Russians one more time.
It was the only victorious battle of the war in which the Japanese suffered higher losses than the Soviets.

Stalin, although having positioned a far larger force at the border that could overwhelm the Japanese in no time if needed was impressed by the fighting will of his enemy, offering peace and a return to the status quo.
This meant returning behind the old borders and losing all they fought and bled for during the recent days.

In face of the turned odds, the government agreed to the proposition, sowing discontent among the soldiers who had fought and bled for their country. And now it was all for nothing.
Of course, most soon accepted that this was the only reasonable decision, as the enemy was growing in strength.

But especially the nobles in the division considered this to be another act of treachery by the democracy.

Takumi himself needed some time to accept that they had fought to avoid an all out war that would have led to the end of the Empire sooner or later.
Eventually, he would settle with it.



Yuki opened the door after repeated knocking.
It was Naruto, the older brother of her husband.
His eyes were bloodshot and reddened and his hands held a piece of paper so tightly that she could see his knuckles turning white.
“Is Haruji at home?” he stammered.
“Yes, come in! Can I offer you a drink or food? You look like a man who just faced his worst nightmare.” she said.

Haruji hugged his brother as he saw him in his current state.
“What happened?” he asked, his looks expressing compassion for his brother.
“You remember my eldest son, Yuuto, joining the army to become an officer, don’t you? Yesterday, I received a letter that he was shot by a sniper near the airfield of Vladivostock. I can’t believe he’ll be gone forever now. I can’t. And our government is simply retunring the conquered territories. My son died for nothing! Can you believe this? For nothing!” Naruto explained and started to cry. Haruji tried to offer him as much solace as he could, for he understood his brother’s situation. He didn’t know what he would do if Souta would one day simple be gone.

-----
Author’s Note:
In Japanese, the family name stands always before the first name.
 
Chapter 9

25th of April 1938

The time after the war was a time of quietness, but also of new accomplishments and problems.

After the successful conquest of Vladivostok, Takumi was promoted to a higher rank, giving him an increased amount of men and resources, but also of responsibility.

It had taken them almost a month to retreat from Outer Manchuria back to Korea.
This time, the march was even more challenging, as, with the beginning of spring, the roads became muddy because the frozen ground grew warm, but the water couldn’t flow away since the deeper layers of the ground were still frozen.
Thus, the trucks would often sink in and liberating them from the mud took huge amounts of force and will.
Long story short, the morale of Takumi and his men was at a very low level, which is why they were given a holiday of about 3 weeks at home.

Takumi left the ship in Nagasaki, where he had grown up. His mother and his sister were already waiting for him, waving and bursting into tears once they saw him.
His father wasn’t there, though. The fact didn’t bother him very much, as he had expected nothing else. Mother told him in one of her letters that he eventually started drinking and, while being drunk, would beat his wife as well as his daughter.
Once more he felt rage welling up inside him. And here he thought he might have escaped the events of the recent war. And now he found himself in another one.

He arrived at his mother and she hugged him tightly, telling him how glad she was to see him alive and in one piece. His sister hugged him, too.
“It’s good to see you again, Takumi! It has been so long since we have seen each other. I still can’t believe you managed to get out of this without as much as a single scratch.” his mother said.
“There are ones who weren’t that lucky. I’m sorry to tell you, but I’ll only stay with you for a week. Then I’ll leave for Tokyo. I need to visit the family of a man who died in my arms…” Takumi stammered, the image of the first sergeant dying in his arms appearing in front of his eyes again.
“But that shouldn’t bother you. I’m fine, that’s what matters.” He continued, shaking his head to make the image disappear.
His sister laid a hand on his shoulder, showing compassion by a sad look.
“Kyoko, don’t look at me like this. You have to show strength and take care of mother once I leave again. And besides, no man wants a beautiful woman that’s throwing sad look all the time.” He told his sister.
“Well, before you start trying to marry me, you should first find yourself a bride, old coot!” Kyoko answered, suddenly like he remembered her: a fighter.
“Me an old coot? I’m barely 26!” he exclaimed.
“Others at your age are already having children, so you better speed up, eh?” Kyoko continued teasing him.
“Enough of this. It’s incredible how adults like you can still behave like they were in kindergarten. Let’s go home, the dinner’s already in the oven.” their mother announced with a final tone and they left the harbor.

-----

Evening

“Phew, dinner’s ready. I’ve made all the things you like to eat, and I’m sure you’re going to enjoy the meal, after months of cruel-tasting food from the army. But you’ll have to wait a few minutes, we’re waiting for a guest.” his mother announced.
“Is dad coming for dinner?” Takumi asked, not knowing whether he should rejoice at this or not.
“No, your father would only ruin this day. Your sister and I decided to invite Misaki from down the road. Do you remember her?” she answered, grinning.
“So I see you’re still wanting to get me a wife as soon as possible.” he sighed.
“You’re 26 now, you really need to think about getting yourself a nice woman.”
Takumi sighed again, already knowing he wouldn’t get out of this as long as his mother had a word on this matter. His sister only chuckled as he looked at her, his eyes pleading for help.

It took only another minute for Misaki to arrive.
She was only about a year younger than Takumi and, considering her looks, it was quite a surprise she hadn’t found a suitable husband so far.

They welcomed the guest and sat down at the table afterwards, eager for the meal.
There were duck, noodles, vegetables, soup and many other things. The sheer amount of food could probably feed a whole division for a week at least.

After some small-talk about the situation in Japan, the topic inevitably shifted to the war and Takumi had to tell the tale of the conquest of Vladivostock, though he spared the women the bloody details that still haunted him sometimes in his dreams.

The conversation went very well and long into the night, and Takumi promised Misaki to write her regularly once he had to return to the army and to go out with her before he would leave again.

-----

3rd of May 1938

About two weeks ago, the body of Haruji’s nephew had been returned to his brother.
The burial had been earlier this day and, besides the family, there was also a man in a parade uniform of the army attending the burial.
He had kept a distance from the family all the time and he looked somewhat odd amidst the morning family. But now, he was stepping towards him and his father.
“Mr. Moriwaki?” the man asked and Haruji’s brother immediately nodded.
“My name is Watanabe Takumi, I was with your son when he died. In fact, I held him after he was hit. He has always be a brave man and you can be proud of him. I’m sorry for your loss.” the man introduced himself and shook Naruto’s hand.
“Pleased to meet you, although I wish it were in less horrible circumstances. Can you tell me how he died? I need to know it from someone who was close, I don’t want to read it on some piece of paper that was simply written with standardized sentences by some office-clerk.” Naruto said.
The soldier shot him a stunned look but obeyed the wish.

He told the story of how a sniper shot him in the throat and how he held him while he tried to stammer some last words.
Takumi told the story without any objections regarding the bloodiness of the event and added afterwards how they eliminated the sniper.

After he finished, Naruto thanked him for knowing now how his son died and mentioned that he might now be able to settle with this.
The officer was invited to join them at the table while the family took a meal together. He proved to be an interesting partner to talk with and the time went by pretty fast, which is why the young man had to take a leave again soon, or else he would miss the train back home.

-----

20th of May 1938

The arrival on the Asian mainland was rather uneventful, although Takumi received lots of notes and letters from the command regarding new orders.
As of now, it was considered that the Soviets had gotten themselves a bloody nose in the recent conflict, and that Stalin would surely not allow the matter to be settled with this. He might eventually try to contest Manchukuo’s borders once more.

Thus, Takumi was redeployed to the Russian border. And he hated it. This meant even colder winters and a life that would be even more boring than guarding the Chinese border.

During the following months, several technological advancements were made, and all of them showed that the threat of war was still very large in the Empire.
New weapons and even new kinds of troops were introduced.

















But, most of the time, things stayed quiet and Takumi supposed that all that kept him from going mad out here was the fact that he was continuously writing letters to Misaki, who would always write back.

Before his leave, he had met her several times and, eventually, they fell in love with each other.
Unfortunately, this made the time at the Russian border even more difficult to endure.

In August, the government made some changes to the laws, removing the last few remnants of the autocracy from the state.





Upon hearing of the introduction of a drafted army, Misaki had expressed her hope to see him more often in the near future but because Takumi was an officer the change of law didn’t mean any change for him.
And so he had to utterly crush her hopes.

As winter approached, there were problems with energy resources, as there were more available than could be bunkered. Also, a trade agreement with the US was made, securing further influx of rare materials into the Empire.





There was also another holiday scheduled for October, thus Takumi was really looking forward to the cold time of the year.
 
Soviets seeking revenge? no Stalin is a forgiving man, just see he hasn't even mauled the Poles yet, who gave him personally a beating!!!
 
A very fascinating start to an AAR; it would seem HPP is the king of HOI 3 mods, but I'm too much of a rookie to use it, for now anyway :D I will follow!
 
Interesting! Chukufeng was somewhat of a waste, all in all. I can see why that mother is mad. But at least you did well and could stand against them for a time.

I'm curious why you were able to raid Soviet convoys along the coast of Siberia... I don't know where they would be going! :) You don't have an answer -- it's just odd. Are they sending supplies by sea from Arkhangelsk, or something? I suppose over long distances the sea route might be more efficient than the land route. This is true in real life, even, but I'm not used to the game understanding this.

Now what?

Rensslaer
 
I'm curious why you were able to raid Soviet convoys along the coast of Siberia... I don't know where they would be going! :)

Overseas trade perhaps?... Although they should use the sea-route to provide supplies as well. (Although it would probably be from the Black Sea, because it is closer.)