How New England builded so massive army?Lol,they can back 13 colonies back to british empire
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Wow, impressive updates!
Well done on the North American revolt, it add a lot of tensions in the story!
Well done on the North American revolt, it add a lot of tensions in the story!
Great action-packed update here. I love how New England is almost single-handedly fighting with major concentrations of troops on nearly every major front in all of North America. My only worry for them is that they probably don't have much spare manpower left having mobilized so many divisions already, if the New English take too many casualties, they may end up with a huge number of divisions that are at only partial strength.
BTW, where is Quebec's army? I suspect Quebec put its forces under New England's military control?
Good update.
BTW, where is Quebec's army? I suspect Quebec put its forces under New England's military control?
Good update.
@Ericafaq
Well, New England has 80ish IC, about 100 effective IC, and they've had what, four or five years to build infantry units? Without focusing on any other branch of the military. So... yeah, 80-100 infantry units is about standard given those resources.
@Ticket_Cookie
Thanks!
@Kaiser_Mobius
Actually, I hadn't thought of that. I bet New England did take military control over Quebec, or at least absorbed most of their units as "expeditionary forces." That would explain a lot! (Well, it would explain the disappearance of most of Quebec's forces. Quebec only had about 20 divisions to New England's 90ish, so it's not a huge numbers boost.) China did a similar thing with Siam. I'm roleplaying it a bit different in the story, which is fine. I think a Quebec unwilling to commit to offensive action fits their uncomfortable role in my alliance.
Glad you liked the update. I'm going to be covering the fighting in some detail.
Well, New England has 80ish IC, about 100 effective IC, and they've had what, four or five years to build infantry units? Without focusing on any other branch of the military. So... yeah, 80-100 infantry units is about standard given those resources.
@Ticket_Cookie
Thanks!
@Kaiser_Mobius
Actually, I hadn't thought of that. I bet New England did take military control over Quebec, or at least absorbed most of their units as "expeditionary forces." That would explain a lot! (Well, it would explain the disappearance of most of Quebec's forces. Quebec only had about 20 divisions to New England's 90ish, so it's not a huge numbers boost.) China did a similar thing with Siam. I'm roleplaying it a bit different in the story, which is fine. I think a Quebec unwilling to commit to offensive action fits their uncomfortable role in my alliance.
Glad you liked the update. I'm going to be covering the fighting in some detail.
Following this since about the beginning. The attention that you've paid to international events outside the Japanese sphere was amazing. And now maybe we'll see the imperial adventure in the Americas falling apart? 
Keep up the great work!
Keep up the great work!
Another fratricidal war? I just don't see how American unity can survive a crushing great depression, an ideological and regional civil war, a McCartherite dictatorship, Japanese invasion and balkanization, a new war with regional and sectarian undertones, and an unholy alliance between 3 states that cannot possibly agree on what a future America looks like.
Chicago, Memphis, and Mexico City all must have pretty different ideas of how the world will look if they beat you, and it's not a good sign for future American unity that they're fighting this war as separate states and have made no effort to reform the USA despite what a huge PR coup that would be. But then again I'm not sure it'd be plausible for them to reform the USA - Mexico expects to own a large part of the former USA at the end of this war and so would probably refuse to ally under those conditions, and I have real doubts that Chicago and Memphis could easily agree on who gets to lead that new USA.
Plus, New England really does seem to be developing its own national identity: electing a regionalist party, siding with the Japanese to advance their own self-interest when Chicago and Memphis abandoned Japan, and committing thousands of lives to preserving their independence and the post-war status quo.
Chicago, Memphis, and Mexico City all must have pretty different ideas of how the world will look if they beat you, and it's not a good sign for future American unity that they're fighting this war as separate states and have made no effort to reform the USA despite what a huge PR coup that would be. But then again I'm not sure it'd be plausible for them to reform the USA - Mexico expects to own a large part of the former USA at the end of this war and so would probably refuse to ally under those conditions, and I have real doubts that Chicago and Memphis could easily agree on who gets to lead that new USA.
Plus, New England really does seem to be developing its own national identity: electing a regionalist party, siding with the Japanese to advance their own self-interest when Chicago and Memphis abandoned Japan, and committing thousands of lives to preserving their independence and the post-war status quo.
@Straczynski
Glad you've been enjoying the AAR!
@Kroisistan
Ah, yes, this beautiful collapse of American identity by creating competing interests was the whole point of the Japanese partition of America in the first place. In the next update we see that New England is not quite as ready fight to the death for Japan as Tokyo might like, however.
Glad you've been enjoying the AAR!
@Kroisistan
Ah, yes, this beautiful collapse of American identity by creating competing interests was the whole point of the Japanese partition of America in the first place. In the next update we see that New England is not quite as ready fight to the death for Japan as Tokyo might like, however.
Japan fought both South and North American syndicalism. Meanwhile, European syndicalism continued to prove virulent. Despite the fact the government of the Spanish Republic had been imposed by a blatantly aggressive invasion by the Commune of France, the people still had fond memories of the CNT-FAI and quickly adapted to syndicalist rule. No protests in Madrid or strikes marred the implementation of the new government's policies. The generally acknowledged competence of the Spanish syndicalist regime became another success for syndicalists to show the rest of the world.
In the Americas, Brazilian counterattacks continued to mar Japanese gains in Mato Grosso do Sul. Four cavalry divisions held the province, a force Brazil's reserve forces were more than willing to wear down.
The Brazilian counterattack was reinforced by waves of bombers striking Japanese positions, but Japanese fighters ensured Brazilian bomber squadrons always returned home with losses.
Along the Pacific coast, Japan's forces in the Chilean desert made their stand at Antofagasta. Superior syndicalist forces pressed Japanese defensive positions hard while Japanese troops waited for bomber support and a flanking attack by divisions stationed in Sucre to turn the tide of the battle. Hopefully either air support or the divisions in Sucre would become available soon.
In North America, heavy fighting continued in and around San Diego. Both Mexican and Japanese forces were beginning to develop multiple-redundant trench networks in the ruined suburb of Chula Vista, with a Mexican advantage in artillery being nullified by Yamamoto's battleship fleet. In the hills to the east, the Imperial Valley, and even farther back in the Mexican rear, superior Mexican numbers met a terrifying air campaign by aggressive Chinese air generals. The distinctive sound of Chinese close attack squadrons beginning a dive became synonymous with terror. Still, while the Mexicans suffered significant losses of men, a comparatively smaller number of losses could put a New English division out of the fight, unwilling to withstand further combat.
Not that the New England divisions ran at the first sign of battle. But once more Japanese divisions took positions in the city, New England forces saw no reason they should shoulder the brunt of the fighting.
New English lethargy was more of a problem farther north, where other Americans took town after town away from Japan in the American West. When a sizable army of Japanese occupation divisions attacked Rexburg in order to stop the Confederated Union advance into Ohio, five New England divisions utterly failed to coordinate an attack from Helena. The (lack of) action outraged Japanese generals. In San Diego New Englanders suffered real losses and provided tangible benefits to their allies. In Idaho and Montana they did nothing but eat and play at guard duty.
The five divisions in Helena did nothing as Confederation of Great Lakes forces took Missoula, effectively cutting them off from Japanese territory. Realizing an attempt to relieve the trapped divisions was pointless, the attack on Rexburg was called off and it was decided to attempt to garrison Twin Falls.
The Brazilian and Bolivian armies failed to dislodge Japanese divisions from Antofagasta before air power and reinforcements could be committed to the Chilean desert. Once bombers started striking enemy positions and forces from Sucre turned west to widen the front and hit the enemy forces in their eastern flank, the fighting intensified. And turned in Japan's favor. The desert continued to claim numerous dead.
Confederated Union forces reached Twin Falls and defended the town before Japanese divisions could arrive. As four more New England divisions retreated from half their number of Federated Union troops to the southeast, Japan quietly put contingency plans into operation. The army fighting in Idaho would disengage, march to Elko, and board trains for California. Once there they would either be assigned to defend San Francisco or deployed north to Vancouver.
The campaign in Colombia failed to end as quickly as it could due to determined resistance. Insufficient forces defending Bogotá allowed syndicalist partisans to reassert control of the city. Opening up mountain passes to Medellin, several thousand syndicalist troops thought trapped in Medellin retreated to Bogotá. They had no chance of escaping again to yet another redoubt, but the delay irritated Japanese planners.
Japanese forces experiencing difficulty that didn't look to end soon encouraged yet another syndicalist power to aggression. The Bhartiya Commune had resumed promoting subversive movements within the Princely Federation not long after the South American fighting began in earnest. This time, the Princely Federation government was far more prepared. With police and intelligence forces hot on their operatives' tails and no general revolt of anti-Federation elements of the populace, the Commune decided to take a more direct hand as Japan looked to be increasingly tied down in the Americas. Declaring war on the Princely Federation, the Bhartiya Commune restarted the war for Indian unification that so recently came to an unsatisfying and indecisive conclusion. The Federation's allies came to its defense again, though whether the same amount of force could be applied was questionable.
More worrisome, the Bhartiya Commune began pressing the Commune of France to honor its commitment to Asian syndicalism, a commitment made years ago, yes, but many observers were surprised the Internationale hadn't gone ahead and declared war on the Japanese Empire already despite the Internationale's relative inability to directly engage Japan.
Japan took Trinidad in mid-April, severely curtailing Brazil's ability to support Bolivian resistance to Japanese offensives. The importance of the city was not known to the syndicalist alliance, who began an immediate counterattack aiming to isolate forward Japanese divisions. Japanese commanders had no worry about their heavily-supported infantry holding Trinidad long enough for Japan to match the syndicalists in numbers, however.
As Japan slowly reduced Brazil's allies, it had its own problems with allies in America. New English soldiers were increasingly unwilling to fight in the American west, although they still staunchly defended against Confederation attacks in Pennsylvania and near Buffalo. The questionable reliability of the New English divisions and the Bhartiya war forced Japan to make hard decisions about where to deploy its forces. The general staff in Tokyo decided to prioritize the defense of California, ordering the First Transport Fleet to carry heavy infantry reinforcements to Los Angeles.
The Princely Federation was to be reinforced by one of the two cavalry armies currently assigned to the European theatre. The Third Transport Fleet departed Istanbul for the east coast of India laden with divisions previously stationed in Istanbul. Japanese planners also held open the possibility of moving the second cavalry army in Europe to India, or alternatively transferring it from Djibouti to Port Said so it would be in position to take up the duties of the forces formerly stationed in Istanbul if needed.
Ferocious fighting continued in the Chilean desert. Less than a week after the divisions in Sucre attacked towards Iquique to blunt the syndicalist advance, both sides had taken horrendous casualties. But while Japan looked as if it would lose nearly as many men as the syndicalist forces in the fighting, the strategic victory went to Japan. A meaningful syndicalist breakthrough now seemed impossible.
With reinforcements arriving in Trinidad, Japan's generals expected the enemy counter attack to end as soon as the new troops entered the fray. The concentration of force should allow for a further advance towards the central Bolivian highlands.
Which was all well and good, but New England sentiment had turned sharply against the war. Meaningful battles against other Americans in the east left a bitter taste. And in the west, soldiers began flatly refusing to fight for Japanese domination of the American Pacific coast. Even Mexico benefited from the widespread sense among New English forces that they were dying for a meaningless cause. Propaganda from Mexico and the Federated Union berated the Japanese, promised amnesty to any New English soldier, and asked what benefits Americans would see from fighting for Japan five years down the road. The mass surrender of New English soldiers in Helena was followed by a widespread soldiers' strike and general retreat by New English soldiers on the Mexican border.
Tens of thousands of New England soldiers also gathered in Rock Springs and stayed there, negotiating a surrender with the Federated Union. Whatever the opinion of the government back home in Boston, Americans were done fighting Americans in the west. Even Hispanic Americans. Japan would have to hold back the armies of the Federated Union, Confederation of Great Lakes, and Mexico all on its own.
In the Americas, Brazilian counterattacks continued to mar Japanese gains in Mato Grosso do Sul. Four cavalry divisions held the province, a force Brazil's reserve forces were more than willing to wear down.
The Brazilian counterattack was reinforced by waves of bombers striking Japanese positions, but Japanese fighters ensured Brazilian bomber squadrons always returned home with losses.
Along the Pacific coast, Japan's forces in the Chilean desert made their stand at Antofagasta. Superior syndicalist forces pressed Japanese defensive positions hard while Japanese troops waited for bomber support and a flanking attack by divisions stationed in Sucre to turn the tide of the battle. Hopefully either air support or the divisions in Sucre would become available soon.
In North America, heavy fighting continued in and around San Diego. Both Mexican and Japanese forces were beginning to develop multiple-redundant trench networks in the ruined suburb of Chula Vista, with a Mexican advantage in artillery being nullified by Yamamoto's battleship fleet. In the hills to the east, the Imperial Valley, and even farther back in the Mexican rear, superior Mexican numbers met a terrifying air campaign by aggressive Chinese air generals. The distinctive sound of Chinese close attack squadrons beginning a dive became synonymous with terror. Still, while the Mexicans suffered significant losses of men, a comparatively smaller number of losses could put a New English division out of the fight, unwilling to withstand further combat.
Not that the New England divisions ran at the first sign of battle. But once more Japanese divisions took positions in the city, New England forces saw no reason they should shoulder the brunt of the fighting.
New English lethargy was more of a problem farther north, where other Americans took town after town away from Japan in the American West. When a sizable army of Japanese occupation divisions attacked Rexburg in order to stop the Confederated Union advance into Ohio, five New England divisions utterly failed to coordinate an attack from Helena. The (lack of) action outraged Japanese generals. In San Diego New Englanders suffered real losses and provided tangible benefits to their allies. In Idaho and Montana they did nothing but eat and play at guard duty.
The five divisions in Helena did nothing as Confederation of Great Lakes forces took Missoula, effectively cutting them off from Japanese territory. Realizing an attempt to relieve the trapped divisions was pointless, the attack on Rexburg was called off and it was decided to attempt to garrison Twin Falls.
The Brazilian and Bolivian armies failed to dislodge Japanese divisions from Antofagasta before air power and reinforcements could be committed to the Chilean desert. Once bombers started striking enemy positions and forces from Sucre turned west to widen the front and hit the enemy forces in their eastern flank, the fighting intensified. And turned in Japan's favor. The desert continued to claim numerous dead.
Confederated Union forces reached Twin Falls and defended the town before Japanese divisions could arrive. As four more New England divisions retreated from half their number of Federated Union troops to the southeast, Japan quietly put contingency plans into operation. The army fighting in Idaho would disengage, march to Elko, and board trains for California. Once there they would either be assigned to defend San Francisco or deployed north to Vancouver.
The campaign in Colombia failed to end as quickly as it could due to determined resistance. Insufficient forces defending Bogotá allowed syndicalist partisans to reassert control of the city. Opening up mountain passes to Medellin, several thousand syndicalist troops thought trapped in Medellin retreated to Bogotá. They had no chance of escaping again to yet another redoubt, but the delay irritated Japanese planners.
Japanese forces experiencing difficulty that didn't look to end soon encouraged yet another syndicalist power to aggression. The Bhartiya Commune had resumed promoting subversive movements within the Princely Federation not long after the South American fighting began in earnest. This time, the Princely Federation government was far more prepared. With police and intelligence forces hot on their operatives' tails and no general revolt of anti-Federation elements of the populace, the Commune decided to take a more direct hand as Japan looked to be increasingly tied down in the Americas. Declaring war on the Princely Federation, the Bhartiya Commune restarted the war for Indian unification that so recently came to an unsatisfying and indecisive conclusion. The Federation's allies came to its defense again, though whether the same amount of force could be applied was questionable.
More worrisome, the Bhartiya Commune began pressing the Commune of France to honor its commitment to Asian syndicalism, a commitment made years ago, yes, but many observers were surprised the Internationale hadn't gone ahead and declared war on the Japanese Empire already despite the Internationale's relative inability to directly engage Japan.
Japan took Trinidad in mid-April, severely curtailing Brazil's ability to support Bolivian resistance to Japanese offensives. The importance of the city was not known to the syndicalist alliance, who began an immediate counterattack aiming to isolate forward Japanese divisions. Japanese commanders had no worry about their heavily-supported infantry holding Trinidad long enough for Japan to match the syndicalists in numbers, however.
As Japan slowly reduced Brazil's allies, it had its own problems with allies in America. New English soldiers were increasingly unwilling to fight in the American west, although they still staunchly defended against Confederation attacks in Pennsylvania and near Buffalo. The questionable reliability of the New English divisions and the Bhartiya war forced Japan to make hard decisions about where to deploy its forces. The general staff in Tokyo decided to prioritize the defense of California, ordering the First Transport Fleet to carry heavy infantry reinforcements to Los Angeles.
The Princely Federation was to be reinforced by one of the two cavalry armies currently assigned to the European theatre. The Third Transport Fleet departed Istanbul for the east coast of India laden with divisions previously stationed in Istanbul. Japanese planners also held open the possibility of moving the second cavalry army in Europe to India, or alternatively transferring it from Djibouti to Port Said so it would be in position to take up the duties of the forces formerly stationed in Istanbul if needed.
Ferocious fighting continued in the Chilean desert. Less than a week after the divisions in Sucre attacked towards Iquique to blunt the syndicalist advance, both sides had taken horrendous casualties. But while Japan looked as if it would lose nearly as many men as the syndicalist forces in the fighting, the strategic victory went to Japan. A meaningful syndicalist breakthrough now seemed impossible.
With reinforcements arriving in Trinidad, Japan's generals expected the enemy counter attack to end as soon as the new troops entered the fray. The concentration of force should allow for a further advance towards the central Bolivian highlands.
Which was all well and good, but New England sentiment had turned sharply against the war. Meaningful battles against other Americans in the east left a bitter taste. And in the west, soldiers began flatly refusing to fight for Japanese domination of the American Pacific coast. Even Mexico benefited from the widespread sense among New English forces that they were dying for a meaningless cause. Propaganda from Mexico and the Federated Union berated the Japanese, promised amnesty to any New English soldier, and asked what benefits Americans would see from fighting for Japan five years down the road. The mass surrender of New English soldiers in Helena was followed by a widespread soldiers' strike and general retreat by New English soldiers on the Mexican border.
Tens of thousands of New England soldiers also gathered in Rock Springs and stayed there, negotiating a surrender with the Federated Union. Whatever the opinion of the government back home in Boston, Americans were done fighting Americans in the west. Even Hispanic Americans. Japan would have to hold back the armies of the Federated Union, Confederation of Great Lakes, and Mexico all on its own.
Always glad to see the Americans not taking Japanese aggression lightly. Of course every faction will want to be in charge, which Japan could easily support.
It looks like Western North America is all but lost at this point. You might be able to hold some of the large Californian coastal cities, but I am not sure if you have the troops needed to hold a larger amount of territory.
Also, great swerve to have the Bhartiya Commune jump into the fray. I am very interested in seeing how they will do.
Good update.
Also, great swerve to have the Bhartiya Commune jump into the fray. I am very interested in seeing how they will do.
Good update.
If you lose your North American holdings would you seek peace or will we see a Japanese general saying "I shall return"?
*rises from the dead*
*cleans out the dust all over the coffin*
Hi,
I'd like to congratulate you on being the AAR author who got me to finally post after years of disciplined lurking: this AAR is awesome! You've mixed quality content, believable world developments, and incredible update speed in a little-used corner of AARland, and did so with relatively little reader feedback (though, as you should note, we lurkers are out there, lurking :ninja. Moreover, rare among KR AAR authors/players, you've chosen a plausible and action-packed democratic path for a Japan that was once falling down the same racist and militarist traps as its real life counterpart did. Far, far too many Kaiserreich AARs default to choosing paths of oppression so we can have more War! Action! Conquest! (which I approve, mind), but you did so while playing "the good guys." Truly a rare achievement.
That said, I'm curious now what this "light side" Japan would do once the war in the former USA is won, given that the previous solution has failed spectacularly. Larger New England and Quebec? More Balkanization? Total withdrawal? Intensified political and cultural control of the Western coast and mountains and left the rest of North America to its fate? This Japan as you created is unlikely to have the stomach for total occupation, yet I fear it would have been implausible to conduct total withdrawal, as well.
*cleans out the dust all over the coffin*
Hi,
I'd like to congratulate you on being the AAR author who got me to finally post after years of disciplined lurking: this AAR is awesome! You've mixed quality content, believable world developments, and incredible update speed in a little-used corner of AARland, and did so with relatively little reader feedback (though, as you should note, we lurkers are out there, lurking :ninja
. Moreover, rare among KR AAR authors/players, you've chosen a plausible and action-packed democratic path for a Japan that was once falling down the same racist and militarist traps as its real life counterpart did. Far, far too many Kaiserreich AARs default to choosing paths of oppression so we can have more War! Action! Conquest! (which I approve, mind), but you did so while playing "the good guys." Truly a rare achievement.That said, I'm curious now what this "light side" Japan would do once the war in the former USA is won, given that the previous solution has failed spectacularly. Larger New England and Quebec? More Balkanization? Total withdrawal? Intensified political and cultural control of the Western coast and mountains and left the rest of North America to its fate? This Japan as you created is unlikely to have the stomach for total occupation, yet I fear it would have been implausible to conduct total withdrawal, as well.
What do you think about make a last defensive Line in America?Trying to hold the area of San Francisco?
@NikephorosSonar
American disunity is a problem for them. Currently both the Confederation of Great Lakes and the Federated Union of America are in a tense but largely bloodless stalemate with New England, and both are racing west. If the Confederation of Great Lakes gets the advantage in that race and cuts off access to California, it will limit the Federated Union of America's ability to strike directly against Japan. Regardless of how that turns out, I plan on role playing a military alliance between the Confederation of Great Lakes and the Federated Union of America relatively soon. It'll essentially combine their armies while putting off the political details.
@Kaiser_Mobius
Oh ye of little faith. More troops will probably become available for a serious campaign in the Americans. If I have to, I'll strip Europe of its garrisons and abandon India to the Bhartiya before giving up a tenable position in California. Speaking of the Bhartiya, I'm also interested to see how they do. I failed to fire their mass-revolt/dissent events again (something to do with them already happening, I think), so while I managed to add a little dissent to weaken the Princely Federation's army when I started the war, the Federation isn't quite the basket case it was during the first war with the Bhartiya.
@Mkoll13
In the unlikely event I get kicked out of California and Vancouver, I will seek a peace in the Americas. Probably one that lets New England go its own way (depending on election results, rejoining the other Americans or not), tacitly acknowledges Mexican gains, and forges a peace based upon continuing independence for Quebec (borders shrunken to Quebec proper), Alaska remaining with Japan (did the Americans really want to go to the trouble of reconquering that when they could have their peace?) and results in a new world power (the old U.S.A minus Alaska & Mexican gains but with the addition of Canada minus Quebec). I don't think there's a big risk of that happening. But it can take a few weeks for transport fleets to cross the Pacific or transit from South to North America, so if I miscalculate and lose, as I said, my footholds in CA & Vancouver, that's what I'll do.
@Antiochus III
I'm honored. As a long-time lurker myself, I'm well acquainted with the pleasures of lurkerdom. I'd like to take the opportunity to thank all my lurker-readers and say I'm glad you're showing up and enjoying the story. As for what happens if I win the war in America, there's basically two options. Increasing balkanization could be kicked around, but it is assumed that if national identity gets too weak, pan-American identity will prove dominant. So Tokyo doesn't really think increasing Balkanization could work. Though I suppose forced-migration in the south could create a majority black nation, Texas could be created , that sort of thing. But that kind of policy, especially the forced-migration, is pretty anathema to, as you put it, a "light-side" Japan.
Anyway, the two main options being considered are: force everything back into pre-war borders (Japan is still scared of a unified America) in an attempt to solidify and force the creation of distinct national identities for the new countries, which will eventually reduce the desire for reunification itself. Or: create a Co-Prosperity state consisting of all of North America east of the rockies. Essentially, ending the attempt at balkanization in favor of the new economic doctrine and hoping the beneficial post-war policy will create friends ala the USA & Germany after WWII in our timeline.
@Gukpa
Japan is FAR from abandoning California! The area is too rich, prosperous, and has too much of a natural Pacific orientation.
American disunity is a problem for them. Currently both the Confederation of Great Lakes and the Federated Union of America are in a tense but largely bloodless stalemate with New England, and both are racing west. If the Confederation of Great Lakes gets the advantage in that race and cuts off access to California, it will limit the Federated Union of America's ability to strike directly against Japan. Regardless of how that turns out, I plan on role playing a military alliance between the Confederation of Great Lakes and the Federated Union of America relatively soon. It'll essentially combine their armies while putting off the political details.
@Kaiser_Mobius
Oh ye of little faith. More troops will probably become available for a serious campaign in the Americans. If I have to, I'll strip Europe of its garrisons and abandon India to the Bhartiya before giving up a tenable position in California. Speaking of the Bhartiya, I'm also interested to see how they do. I failed to fire their mass-revolt/dissent events again (something to do with them already happening, I think), so while I managed to add a little dissent to weaken the Princely Federation's army when I started the war, the Federation isn't quite the basket case it was during the first war with the Bhartiya.
@Mkoll13
In the unlikely event I get kicked out of California and Vancouver, I will seek a peace in the Americas. Probably one that lets New England go its own way (depending on election results, rejoining the other Americans or not), tacitly acknowledges Mexican gains, and forges a peace based upon continuing independence for Quebec (borders shrunken to Quebec proper), Alaska remaining with Japan (did the Americans really want to go to the trouble of reconquering that when they could have their peace?) and results in a new world power (the old U.S.A minus Alaska & Mexican gains but with the addition of Canada minus Quebec). I don't think there's a big risk of that happening. But it can take a few weeks for transport fleets to cross the Pacific or transit from South to North America, so if I miscalculate and lose, as I said, my footholds in CA & Vancouver, that's what I'll do.
@Antiochus III
I'm honored. As a long-time lurker myself, I'm well acquainted with the pleasures of lurkerdom. I'd like to take the opportunity to thank all my lurker-readers and say I'm glad you're showing up and enjoying the story. As for what happens if I win the war in America, there's basically two options. Increasing balkanization could be kicked around, but it is assumed that if national identity gets too weak, pan-American identity will prove dominant. So Tokyo doesn't really think increasing Balkanization could work. Though I suppose forced-migration in the south could create a majority black nation, Texas could be created , that sort of thing. But that kind of policy, especially the forced-migration, is pretty anathema to, as you put it, a "light-side" Japan.
Anyway, the two main options being considered are: force everything back into pre-war borders (Japan is still scared of a unified America) in an attempt to solidify and force the creation of distinct national identities for the new countries, which will eventually reduce the desire for reunification itself. Or: create a Co-Prosperity state consisting of all of North America east of the rockies. Essentially, ending the attempt at balkanization in favor of the new economic doctrine and hoping the beneficial post-war policy will create friends ala the USA & Germany after WWII in our timeline.
@Gukpa
Japan is FAR from abandoning California! The area is too rich, prosperous, and has too much of a natural Pacific orientation.
I think keeping the Americans balkanized should be the way to go. A unified Eastern US will be an even greater threat should they break free and revolt again. If possible, I would further balkanize them, and make the West Coast a prefecture. As for Mexico, I'd make Texas an independent entity and annex Baja California and the Mexican spoils of war from the last go-around to add to the West Coast prefecture.
Japanese commanders in South America pooled a considerable force in Trinidad, in part to punish syndicalist counterattacks on Japanese positions in the city but also to prepare for an offensive up the east slopes of the Andes and into the heart of Bolivia. With air power and heavy losses finally forcing an end to the enemy attacks on Antofagasta in the Chilean desert, the tired divisions in Sucre shifted direction once again and supported a major offensive against Santa Cruz. Bolivia's second largest city, Santa Cruz linked the central highlands to the Bolivian Amazon. Taking Santa Cruz would put all but the core of Bolivia in Japanese hands.
Thousands of miles to the north, another major Japanese offensive targeted Cochrane in northern Ontario. The town held little strategic significance, save it lay near the northern terminus of usable roads in the region. Taking Cochrane from the Confederation of Great Lakes would prevent Confederation attacks into the north of Quebec and a potentially disastrous extension of Quebec's defensive lines. Much of the army transported to Quebec from Japan took part in the offensive, supported by New English troops. The goal was to quickly solidify defensive positions in the north before sweeping south, hopefully trapping a few Confederation units along the shores of Lake Huron before descending on the more populated parts of Ontario.
In northern South America, the fall of Bogotá meant the end of conventional campaigns in Colombia, freeing up the strong line of Japanese units preventing the enemy from reinforcing trapped Venezuelan units. Many of the soldiers that fought in the battles in Medellin and Bogotá rotated north to hold Panama, while the marine divisions that secured Japan's base near the Panama Canal were loaded on the transports and shipped south to secure the Ecuadoran coast and participate in a general offensive south out of Colombia and into the Ecuadoran Andes. Japanese generals planned to surround Quito, a mountain city and the capital of the country, before compelling it to surrender.
The South American syndicalists were not so out matched that they could be overwhelmed everywhere. The focus in the west necessarily left the defensive lines weak in Mato Grosso do Sul and around Curitiba. The Brazilian army chose to focus its efforts on reclaiming Campo Grande and Mato Grosso do Sul, attacking in force despite Japan's advantages in heavy weaponry and defensive positions. If the syndicalists could collapse the Japanese position centered on Campo Grande, they could threaten a breakthrough in the center of the continent. A breakthrough would never actually happen, but the threat might force Japan to pull back from the planned assault on La Paz.
Japanese forces arrived in India at the beginning of May. Federation forces had made a good show of holding back the armies of the Bhartiya Commune immediately after the Bhartiya declared war, but after only a few weeks the Bhartiya Commune had once again proven itself far more capable than the Princely Federation in battle.
A stiff Federation defense still held the provinces around Delhi, but Bhartiya forces broke Federation positions holding the west bank of the Ganges at Gwalior and Rewa. The defeats potentially isolated the strong center of Federation lines. The threat came not just from the north, but also from a major Bhartiya offensive to the south. Bhartiya forces decisively crushed the Federation army defending Nagpur, leaving almost the entirety of the Deccan plateau open to invasion. Southeast of Nagpur, Japanese forces raced to blunt the Bhartiya offensive towards Hyderabad and move into position to contain the Bhartiya breakthrough.
New England held well-run elections despite the loss of Pittsburg to the Confederation and the fighting in Pennsylvania (becoming significantly less intense as both sides accepted no sudden gains were to be had). The election was free and fair, and the willingness of Japan's allies to hold elections even as war raged on domestic soil stood in marked contrast to the excuses used by the Commune of France to delay elections during the Second Weltkrieg. But while the conduct of the elections brought approval from Tokyo, the results did not.
The Federalist party won a resounding victory in New England, soundly defeating the other two major parties contesting the polls. Nelson Rockefeller was out of office, and a new administration would be taking place. The worst possible result for Japan. The Federalist Party, Curtisite in nature during the first New England elections, strongly supported a "federal" government. Not a federal system of government, but the resurrection of the United States of America. To make things worse, political observers noted that it was quite clear where the dramatic increase in support for the federalist party came from: the anti-war and American patriot movement in New England. New English Americans wanted to stop fighting other Americans. Sooner rather than later.
Already the collapse of New England's will to fight in the American west had allowed relatively small Mexican armies to take southwestern Colorado, large swathes of southern Utah and Nevada, and even make major inroads into the Mojave desert. The only bright spot in the western campaign was the success Japan's occupation divisions had holding San Diego (with the support of copious allied air power and naval guns) despite the withdrawal of New English divisions.
To the relief of Federation governors, the Bhartiya failed to fully exploit their breakthrough at Nagpur, instead turning the victorious armies south to add weight to the offensive targeting Hyderabad. Japanese soldiers, only just off their transports, were immediately thrown into the thick of the fighting near Warangal. The erosion of Federation defenses meant they made up the bulk of the troops trying to hold back the two-hundred-thousand strong Bhartiya offensive. The Japanese force sent to India was not small, however, and reliable Japanese armored cars and troublesome rivers looked to halt the Bhartiya advance.
Brazil's main army managed to make rapid progress advancing on Campo Grande. Fortunately for Japan, Japanese forces made equally rapid progress dismantling the Bolivian defenses around Santa Cruz. The divisions operating out of Sucre were pulled back from supporting the attack on Santa Cruz and ordered to support more fighting in the Chilean desert, this time an attempt to retake Iquique. Other divisions in Trinidad were detached from the offensive targeting Santa Cruz and ordered drive towards Mato Grasso do Sul in an attempt to reinforce Campo Grande before the city fell yet again.
Along the Ecuadoran coast, Japanese victories forced the Ecuadoran navy to scuttle its vessels to prevent their capture.
The successful defense of San Diego meant that when a twelve-division army arrived from Japan on the First Transport Fleet, it was free to take place in offensive action rather than a desperate defense. The need for an immediate offensive was also quite clear: Mexican inroads into the Mojave desert put enemy forces in a position to threaten San Diego from the north, attack Los Angeles, or even make a descent into the Central Valley. Japanese forces immediately moved out of Los Angeles, with a clear directive to crush the Mexican forces in the Mojave and secure the Sierras against any enemy movements.
Long faces and worried looks could be seen in the halls of the Ministry of the Navy in Tokyo on May 7th, as reports came in of a major Bhartiya air raid on Rangoon. To the total surprise of Japan's intelligence services, the Bhartiya had slowly been building a major bomber force. Flying across the Bay of Bengal from Calcutta, waves of Bhartiya bombers appeared over the Irawaddy Delta and began dropping their deadly cargo. Not expecting a threat from the air, the Irawaddy region was virtually devoid of Japanese or Chinese fighters.
To the relief of Japanese admirals, it appeared that Bhartiya intelligence about Japanese positions in Burma was as poor as Japanese estimates of Bhartia air capability. The Commune didn't expect Japan's 'Pacific' Fleet to be in port in Rangoon, it assumed the fleet would be at sea. Though various port facilities and a devastating number of bridges were destroyed in Rangoon, Japan's ships were not targetted by the bombing raid. The attack was apparently meant to reduce Japanese logistical capacity, preventing the reliable delivery of supplies shipped into Rangoon from Japan to Chinese and Thai forces fighting farther north.
Admiral Nomura's fleet was merely lucky that the enemy didn't target it. Nomura was immediately ordered to organize an alternate home port for the Pacific Fleet (with the Indian Ocean fleet based in Djibouti and tasked with securing the Red Sea, the Pacific Fleet was normally based not in the Home Islands but at Rangoon). Nomura moved his operations to Palembang, still within easy reach of most of the Indian Ocean and also the southwest Pacific. Though Palembang didn't have anywhere near the extensive support facilities of Rangoon or Singapore, it was well out of range of enemy bombers and wouldn't stress Siam's supply situation.
Well trained Japanese forces stopped the Bhartiya advance on Hyderabad cold at Warangal. The Bhartiya forces became temporarily disorganized, struggling to hand the sudden appearance of so many well-trained Japanese soldiers. Worse, the Federation's strong center had even initiated a minor offensive, taking Raipur. This isolated the Bhartiya breakthrough at Nagpur, allowing Japan to attack towards Bostar with the intention of stranding the sizable Bhartiya force at Nagpur.
Japanese motorized cavalry divisions planned to once again exploit their considerable mobility advantage over enemy forces, only to find themselves facing Bhartiya copies of the motorcycle cavalry concept. A good idea worth copying, the syndicalist motorcycle forces went some way to explaining the ability of the Bhartiya to exploit weaknesses in Princely Federation defenses. Unfortunately for the Bhartiya cavalry, Japan had the advantage in numbers and armored support.
The Brazilian attacks on Campo Grande continued despite the defeat of Brazilian bombers in the airspace over Mato Grasso do Sul and attacks from Japanese bombers targeting their rear positions. Brazilian commanders adroitly exploited their advantage in numbers. And for once the relative lack of heavy weaponry compared to the Japanese forces didn't hamper the Brazilians that much: it gave them something of a mobility advantage in the marshlands. There was a serious question as to whether Japanese forces would break before reinforcements arrived to secure Campo Grande against the Brazilian advance.
In the American northeast, the occupation of Cochrane was immediately followed by Japanese advances west along the Ontario road network. The target was Sault Sainte Marie, a major transportation hub connecting the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with Ontario. Sault Sainte Marie overlooked the straits connecting Lake Superior with Lake Huron and also lay along the Ontario railroads that connected western and eastern Canada. The Cochrane-to-Sault Sainte Marie line would give Japan a stranglehold on Canadian transportation networks from the Hudson Bay to Lake Huron, providing a strong defense against any attack from the west save that which the Confederation managed to mount across the lake itself. There was also some hope of trapping Confederation forces retreating from Sudbury before they managed to cross the Great Lakes either by boat or over the bridges at Sault Sainte Marie.
The Bhartiya cavalry in Bostar bravely held against Japanese assaults long enough for the Bhartiya army in Nagpur to retreat through the city, though they took considerable casualties for their trouble.
To the east, Chinese forces occupied much of the hill region west of the Irawaddy flood plain, the first step towards an attack on Bengal itself. The Chinese supply situation was somewhat complicated by Bhartiya bombing efforts, but Japan's allies clearly possessed the initiative in eastern India. The Chinese-led advance (Siamese units in the area were under Chinese command) looked more than capable of continuing to slowly push the Bhartiya forces west, though Bhartiya efforts to bomb infrastructure in Burma and slow the Chinese attacks continued with worrisome regularity.
Once decisive victories had been achieved over the Ecuadoran army, the marines swarming the Ecuadoran coast were ordered back onto the transports of Ozawa's fleet. Ozawa sailed north for the Pacific coast of Mexico, intending to open another front in North America and test the defenses left in the critical central highlands of Mexico. If Mexican commanders had moved too much of that country's army to the north, it would be forced to pull many thousands of troops out of California.
After the Federalist victory in New England's elections, Percival P. Baxter was lawfully sworn in as President of New England. Previously governor of Maine from 1921-1924, Baxter was fairly old at the age of 72. His age worked in his favor during the campaign, however. It contrasted with the youth of Norman Rockwell, a quality now seen as leading to 'recklessness' in New England. Baxter represented tradition and history because of his age, previous governorship, and strong "Federalist", meaning reunification, politics. He also had the almost unique advantage of standing for only the good aspects of history and tradition. New England voters had not forgotten the divisive American Civil War, seen as the collapse of American democracy. But Baxter's history as an active campaigner against the Ku Klux Klan of Maine made him a symbol of everything proud in American history fighting against everything divisive and hateful. His losing run for the U.S. Senate, not least because of his opposition to the Ku Klux Klan, added to his credibility as a man from the good old days before everything went to hell.
Only moderately anti-war, Baxter spoke often about the temporary nature of man's creations, including governments. He opposed the war as ultimately pointless. Intelligence reports filtering into Tokyo reported Baxter began quietly negotiating with other American nations regarding a potential peace agreement, but Japanese politicians felt constrained. New England had been clearly acknowledged as an independent nation by Japan years earlier. For the moment, New England forces stared at Confederation forces in Pennsylvania and at Federated Union armies across the Potomac. But fighting was nearly non-existent.
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I crack up every time I type "northern South America". There is no end to the joy this phrase brings me.
Thousands of miles to the north, another major Japanese offensive targeted Cochrane in northern Ontario. The town held little strategic significance, save it lay near the northern terminus of usable roads in the region. Taking Cochrane from the Confederation of Great Lakes would prevent Confederation attacks into the north of Quebec and a potentially disastrous extension of Quebec's defensive lines. Much of the army transported to Quebec from Japan took part in the offensive, supported by New English troops. The goal was to quickly solidify defensive positions in the north before sweeping south, hopefully trapping a few Confederation units along the shores of Lake Huron before descending on the more populated parts of Ontario.
In northern South America, the fall of Bogotá meant the end of conventional campaigns in Colombia, freeing up the strong line of Japanese units preventing the enemy from reinforcing trapped Venezuelan units. Many of the soldiers that fought in the battles in Medellin and Bogotá rotated north to hold Panama, while the marine divisions that secured Japan's base near the Panama Canal were loaded on the transports and shipped south to secure the Ecuadoran coast and participate in a general offensive south out of Colombia and into the Ecuadoran Andes. Japanese generals planned to surround Quito, a mountain city and the capital of the country, before compelling it to surrender.
The South American syndicalists were not so out matched that they could be overwhelmed everywhere. The focus in the west necessarily left the defensive lines weak in Mato Grosso do Sul and around Curitiba. The Brazilian army chose to focus its efforts on reclaiming Campo Grande and Mato Grosso do Sul, attacking in force despite Japan's advantages in heavy weaponry and defensive positions. If the syndicalists could collapse the Japanese position centered on Campo Grande, they could threaten a breakthrough in the center of the continent. A breakthrough would never actually happen, but the threat might force Japan to pull back from the planned assault on La Paz.
Japanese forces arrived in India at the beginning of May. Federation forces had made a good show of holding back the armies of the Bhartiya Commune immediately after the Bhartiya declared war, but after only a few weeks the Bhartiya Commune had once again proven itself far more capable than the Princely Federation in battle.
A stiff Federation defense still held the provinces around Delhi, but Bhartiya forces broke Federation positions holding the west bank of the Ganges at Gwalior and Rewa. The defeats potentially isolated the strong center of Federation lines. The threat came not just from the north, but also from a major Bhartiya offensive to the south. Bhartiya forces decisively crushed the Federation army defending Nagpur, leaving almost the entirety of the Deccan plateau open to invasion. Southeast of Nagpur, Japanese forces raced to blunt the Bhartiya offensive towards Hyderabad and move into position to contain the Bhartiya breakthrough.
New England held well-run elections despite the loss of Pittsburg to the Confederation and the fighting in Pennsylvania (becoming significantly less intense as both sides accepted no sudden gains were to be had). The election was free and fair, and the willingness of Japan's allies to hold elections even as war raged on domestic soil stood in marked contrast to the excuses used by the Commune of France to delay elections during the Second Weltkrieg. But while the conduct of the elections brought approval from Tokyo, the results did not.
The Federalist party won a resounding victory in New England, soundly defeating the other two major parties contesting the polls. Nelson Rockefeller was out of office, and a new administration would be taking place. The worst possible result for Japan. The Federalist Party, Curtisite in nature during the first New England elections, strongly supported a "federal" government. Not a federal system of government, but the resurrection of the United States of America. To make things worse, political observers noted that it was quite clear where the dramatic increase in support for the federalist party came from: the anti-war and American patriot movement in New England. New English Americans wanted to stop fighting other Americans. Sooner rather than later.
Already the collapse of New England's will to fight in the American west had allowed relatively small Mexican armies to take southwestern Colorado, large swathes of southern Utah and Nevada, and even make major inroads into the Mojave desert. The only bright spot in the western campaign was the success Japan's occupation divisions had holding San Diego (with the support of copious allied air power and naval guns) despite the withdrawal of New English divisions.
To the relief of Federation governors, the Bhartiya failed to fully exploit their breakthrough at Nagpur, instead turning the victorious armies south to add weight to the offensive targeting Hyderabad. Japanese soldiers, only just off their transports, were immediately thrown into the thick of the fighting near Warangal. The erosion of Federation defenses meant they made up the bulk of the troops trying to hold back the two-hundred-thousand strong Bhartiya offensive. The Japanese force sent to India was not small, however, and reliable Japanese armored cars and troublesome rivers looked to halt the Bhartiya advance.
Brazil's main army managed to make rapid progress advancing on Campo Grande. Fortunately for Japan, Japanese forces made equally rapid progress dismantling the Bolivian defenses around Santa Cruz. The divisions operating out of Sucre were pulled back from supporting the attack on Santa Cruz and ordered to support more fighting in the Chilean desert, this time an attempt to retake Iquique. Other divisions in Trinidad were detached from the offensive targeting Santa Cruz and ordered drive towards Mato Grasso do Sul in an attempt to reinforce Campo Grande before the city fell yet again.
Along the Ecuadoran coast, Japanese victories forced the Ecuadoran navy to scuttle its vessels to prevent their capture.
The successful defense of San Diego meant that when a twelve-division army arrived from Japan on the First Transport Fleet, it was free to take place in offensive action rather than a desperate defense. The need for an immediate offensive was also quite clear: Mexican inroads into the Mojave desert put enemy forces in a position to threaten San Diego from the north, attack Los Angeles, or even make a descent into the Central Valley. Japanese forces immediately moved out of Los Angeles, with a clear directive to crush the Mexican forces in the Mojave and secure the Sierras against any enemy movements.
Long faces and worried looks could be seen in the halls of the Ministry of the Navy in Tokyo on May 7th, as reports came in of a major Bhartiya air raid on Rangoon. To the total surprise of Japan's intelligence services, the Bhartiya had slowly been building a major bomber force. Flying across the Bay of Bengal from Calcutta, waves of Bhartiya bombers appeared over the Irawaddy Delta and began dropping their deadly cargo. Not expecting a threat from the air, the Irawaddy region was virtually devoid of Japanese or Chinese fighters.
To the relief of Japanese admirals, it appeared that Bhartiya intelligence about Japanese positions in Burma was as poor as Japanese estimates of Bhartia air capability. The Commune didn't expect Japan's 'Pacific' Fleet to be in port in Rangoon, it assumed the fleet would be at sea. Though various port facilities and a devastating number of bridges were destroyed in Rangoon, Japan's ships were not targetted by the bombing raid. The attack was apparently meant to reduce Japanese logistical capacity, preventing the reliable delivery of supplies shipped into Rangoon from Japan to Chinese and Thai forces fighting farther north.
Admiral Nomura's fleet was merely lucky that the enemy didn't target it. Nomura was immediately ordered to organize an alternate home port for the Pacific Fleet (with the Indian Ocean fleet based in Djibouti and tasked with securing the Red Sea, the Pacific Fleet was normally based not in the Home Islands but at Rangoon). Nomura moved his operations to Palembang, still within easy reach of most of the Indian Ocean and also the southwest Pacific. Though Palembang didn't have anywhere near the extensive support facilities of Rangoon or Singapore, it was well out of range of enemy bombers and wouldn't stress Siam's supply situation.
Well trained Japanese forces stopped the Bhartiya advance on Hyderabad cold at Warangal. The Bhartiya forces became temporarily disorganized, struggling to hand the sudden appearance of so many well-trained Japanese soldiers. Worse, the Federation's strong center had even initiated a minor offensive, taking Raipur. This isolated the Bhartiya breakthrough at Nagpur, allowing Japan to attack towards Bostar with the intention of stranding the sizable Bhartiya force at Nagpur.
Japanese motorized cavalry divisions planned to once again exploit their considerable mobility advantage over enemy forces, only to find themselves facing Bhartiya copies of the motorcycle cavalry concept. A good idea worth copying, the syndicalist motorcycle forces went some way to explaining the ability of the Bhartiya to exploit weaknesses in Princely Federation defenses. Unfortunately for the Bhartiya cavalry, Japan had the advantage in numbers and armored support.
The Brazilian attacks on Campo Grande continued despite the defeat of Brazilian bombers in the airspace over Mato Grasso do Sul and attacks from Japanese bombers targeting their rear positions. Brazilian commanders adroitly exploited their advantage in numbers. And for once the relative lack of heavy weaponry compared to the Japanese forces didn't hamper the Brazilians that much: it gave them something of a mobility advantage in the marshlands. There was a serious question as to whether Japanese forces would break before reinforcements arrived to secure Campo Grande against the Brazilian advance.
In the American northeast, the occupation of Cochrane was immediately followed by Japanese advances west along the Ontario road network. The target was Sault Sainte Marie, a major transportation hub connecting the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with Ontario. Sault Sainte Marie overlooked the straits connecting Lake Superior with Lake Huron and also lay along the Ontario railroads that connected western and eastern Canada. The Cochrane-to-Sault Sainte Marie line would give Japan a stranglehold on Canadian transportation networks from the Hudson Bay to Lake Huron, providing a strong defense against any attack from the west save that which the Confederation managed to mount across the lake itself. There was also some hope of trapping Confederation forces retreating from Sudbury before they managed to cross the Great Lakes either by boat or over the bridges at Sault Sainte Marie.
The Bhartiya cavalry in Bostar bravely held against Japanese assaults long enough for the Bhartiya army in Nagpur to retreat through the city, though they took considerable casualties for their trouble.
To the east, Chinese forces occupied much of the hill region west of the Irawaddy flood plain, the first step towards an attack on Bengal itself. The Chinese supply situation was somewhat complicated by Bhartiya bombing efforts, but Japan's allies clearly possessed the initiative in eastern India. The Chinese-led advance (Siamese units in the area were under Chinese command) looked more than capable of continuing to slowly push the Bhartiya forces west, though Bhartiya efforts to bomb infrastructure in Burma and slow the Chinese attacks continued with worrisome regularity.
Once decisive victories had been achieved over the Ecuadoran army, the marines swarming the Ecuadoran coast were ordered back onto the transports of Ozawa's fleet. Ozawa sailed north for the Pacific coast of Mexico, intending to open another front in North America and test the defenses left in the critical central highlands of Mexico. If Mexican commanders had moved too much of that country's army to the north, it would be forced to pull many thousands of troops out of California.
After the Federalist victory in New England's elections, Percival P. Baxter was lawfully sworn in as President of New England. Previously governor of Maine from 1921-1924, Baxter was fairly old at the age of 72. His age worked in his favor during the campaign, however. It contrasted with the youth of Norman Rockwell, a quality now seen as leading to 'recklessness' in New England. Baxter represented tradition and history because of his age, previous governorship, and strong "Federalist", meaning reunification, politics. He also had the almost unique advantage of standing for only the good aspects of history and tradition. New England voters had not forgotten the divisive American Civil War, seen as the collapse of American democracy. But Baxter's history as an active campaigner against the Ku Klux Klan of Maine made him a symbol of everything proud in American history fighting against everything divisive and hateful. His losing run for the U.S. Senate, not least because of his opposition to the Ku Klux Klan, added to his credibility as a man from the good old days before everything went to hell.
Only moderately anti-war, Baxter spoke often about the temporary nature of man's creations, including governments. He opposed the war as ultimately pointless. Intelligence reports filtering into Tokyo reported Baxter began quietly negotiating with other American nations regarding a potential peace agreement, but Japanese politicians felt constrained. New England had been clearly acknowledged as an independent nation by Japan years earlier. For the moment, New England forces stared at Confederation forces in Pennsylvania and at Federated Union armies across the Potomac. But fighting was nearly non-existent.
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I crack up every time I type "northern South America". There is no end to the joy this phrase brings me.
If anything it's clear that American nationalism is a potent force. Best to appease that I'd say.
@NikephorosSonar
Nationalism is almost as potent a delusion as race or religion, this is true.
@Gukpa
Thank you.
Nationalism is almost as potent a delusion as race or religion, this is true.
@Gukpa
Thank you.
Japan ignored the Internationale's warning not to interfere in South American matters when Brazil's syndicalist alliance decided to unify the continent under syndicalism. And the Internationale did nothing, as it also disapproved of Brazil's aggressiveness, as well as its dangerously free-market form of syndicalism. The Internationale looked on with disfavor as Japan committed to a major war. It ridiculed the notion of Japanese freedoms when Japan outlawed the Syndicalist Party of Japan. And the Internationale cheered the entry of Mexico into what was, for a short period of time, the Americas war. Yet that same support of Mexican resistance to Japanese hegemony was marred by the Internationale's own failure to act.
The Bhartiya entry into the war and overt request for assistance from the Internationale brought things to a head. The Commune of France and the Union of Britain understood better than every nation other than Japan how crucial naval strength was to world-spanning operations. And they knew that, while their fleets were powerful, they did not have the shipping or escort capacity of Japan and must fight at a disadvantage in a third Weltkreig. But principle was at stake. Once the Bhartiya Commune entered the war the only syndicalist powers of any significance not at war with Japan were Russia, the Internationale, and... Sweden.
Did the Internationale truly believe in world revolution. In its heart of hearts, no. It did not. The Internationale sought to dominate Europe. But it couldn't shake the prestige of Europe, the sense that leadership must come from the major powers of France and Britain. And while the syndicalist versions of those powers did not have the global logistics capacity of the older colonialist iterations of those same countries, they retained their pride.
The Internationale demanded Japan pull its forces out of India and let "the ordinary people of that oppressed continent decide their own destiny" and more quietly warned officials in Tokyo that Internationale naval intelligence was well aware of the Japanese task force heading for Mexico and the Internationale would not stand for a Japanese campaign in the core of that country.
Prime Minister Katayama's government ignored the Internationale protests, just as Katayama ignored the Internationale's warnings not to go to war against Brazil. Despite Britain's reluctance to risk the Republican Navy, despite the Commune of France's reluctance to commit forces outside of Europe, despite the Internationale's opposition to the more liberal syndicalism outside of Europe, pride demanded the Internationale act or acknowledge Japan as the preeminent global power.
On May 14, 1949, Mexico was officially enrolled as full participating member of the Syndicalist Internationale. The Internationale presented a token peace offer to Japan demanding withdrawal from all of the Americas, ceding California to Mexico, an offer Tokyo refused to even acknowledge. The French, British, and Italian ambassadors joined Vincente Lombardo Toledano in Mexico City, announced the 1950 conference of the Internationale would be held in Houston, and did not so much declare war as confirm that all of the Internationale continued to be in a state of war against Japan and its allies.
The Commune of France also reiterated its commitment to freeing the continent of Europe from colonial domination. Japanese intelligence reports had been right about France's other priorities. Notwithstanding the war against Japan, France did not abandon its grand plan for the 1949 campaign season in Europe: the Internationale also declared war against Austria and pledged to liberate the oppressed peoples of Eastern Europe.
Spain followed suit a day later by declaring war on Portugal, issuing a statement in which it refused to allow any Iberian brother to live under the yoke of dictatorship and oppression. Though any experienced observer knew the grand planning of the European bloc in the Internationale took place in London and Paris.
A week after Mexico joined the Internationale, the Bhartiya Commune became an official member of that international syndicalist organization. Two weeks after that, Centroamerica also joined the Internationale. Brazil did not, probably owing to both the significant differences between the economic system of Brazil and the rest of world syndicalism and the Internationale's reluctance to take responsibility for the significant likelihood of total Brazilian defeat.
Elsewhere in Europe it became clear that the Internationale was no longer foolishly acting without coordinating with Russia. Russia declared war on White Ruthenia, a move that was, internationally, the price paid for Russian silence regarding the Internationale's war with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Domestically the increasing radicalization of the White Ruthenian government as it allowed the Orthodox church to dominate civil affairs and enact pogroms targeting Jews, atheists, and homosexuals, provided copious justification for a Russian invasion. Even Japan acknowledged the horrors of Sigismund's government with its increasing reliance on radical Orthodox support and quietly supported the Russian invasion of that country.
Despite the terrible long-term significance of a state of war between Japan and the Internationale, neither superpower currently had the ability to threaten the core interests of the other. Japan looked to exert control over most of the world's waterways, but syndicalist Europe was far less dependent on global trade than colonial Europe had been. The immediate conflicts would take place on the high seas, in the Middle East between scant British garrison forces and Japan's weaker puppets, and in the eastern Mediterranean. Rodos could well be a focus of Internationale attacks, while Turkey and Japan would be eager to remove the Union of Britain's presence from Smyrna, Cyprus, and the Aegean. Soon after war began, Chinese and Turkish taskforces were already working to maintain open shipping lanes to the Suez canal, patrolling for Internationale submarines.
Japan's navy put fleets on light duty to work and began to make a serious effort to dominate the world's major waterways. The Indian Ocean Fleet left Djibouti for the Red Sea, with orders to prevent Internationale submarines from entering the Indian Ocean and to cut British supply lines to its base in the Hadramaut and its territories along the Persian Gulf. Admiral Yamamoto Chi (no relation) destroyed the first Internationale convoy of the war, sinking four sizable British transports and their escort ship in the Gulf of Aden.
In North America, Japanese marines were not dissuaded from their orders to descend upon the beaches of Sinaloa. Though they could have easily occupied Culiacan and entrenched in that city, their goal was not Sinaloa state, but the major metropolis of Guadalajara farther south. Guadalajara rivaled Veracruz as the second-most important city in Mexico proper.
Fortunately for the marines, they met only moderate resistance from roughly ten thousand Mexican soldiers tasked with defending the beaches. The planned naval support, Yamamoto's First Battleship Fleet moving south from its earlier support of the the beleaguered divisions in San Diego, now had orders to sail past the amphibious invasion for Trinidad. After taking on supplies at Trinidad, Yamamoto would take the First Battleship Fleet to the central Atlantic, to form one half of a loose cordon isolating Europe from the rest of the world.
The other half of that cordon, Taniguchi's Second Battleship Fleet, had already left Halifax to begin its patrol of the North Atlantic.
Filling the gaps in the stranglehold Japan planned to force on the high seas were the naval bomber squadrons held in reserve at Nagoya. Half of Japan's naval bombers would be tasked to Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone. From Freetown they could dominate the West African coast, destroying Internationale shipping that slipped past Yamamoto. The other half of Japan's naval bombers held station at the airfield outside Haifa in Jordan. It would face a greater challenge: shutting down Internationale convoys supporting British holdings in Syria and the island of Cyprus.
The first naval conflict between Japan and the Internationale was an accidental affair that took place earlier than expected. The Middle East command had two cavalry armies stationed in the region before war began with Brazil. Taking a conservative approach to stripping its peripheral territories of forces when the war with the South American syndicalists began, both armies were still available when the Bhartiya Commune invaded the Princely Federation. Mikawa's Third Transport Fleet delivered the cavalry army stationed in Istanbul to India, then moved to take on the second cavalry army stationed at Djibouti. When the Internationale declared war on Japan, Mikawa was on his way to India with the second cavalry army. He was recalled, and the third transport fleet was ordered to offload the cavalry army at Port Said. The cavalry divisions would garrison that important base instead of the marine units currently there.
The third transport fleet was to take on the marines and move into the Eastern Mediterranean. Using Rhodes as a base, Mikawa was to support an immediate attack on Nicosia. The admirals in Tokyo wanted to secure Cyprus before it could be properly fortified by the Union of Britain. Mikawa ran into a small French task force anchored by a modern battleship. Presumably the French flotilla was expected to engage Turkish and Chinese destroyers patrolling the eastern Mediterranean, the battleship alone providing more than enough fire power to take on small enemy patrol ships.
Instead the French ships ran into Mikawa near the Nile Delta. The three modern heavy cruisers of the Third Transport Fleet collectively possessed significantly more firepower than one French battleship. But the French admiral in charge of the tiny fleet was wise enough to withdraw from the action.
Also withdrawing from action was all of New England. Percival Baxter was indeed negotiating separately with the Confederation of Great Lakes and the Federated Union of America. He signed a separate peace with both nations. A white peace allowed New England to reoccupy Pittsburgh, secured New England's borders, and effectively ended New England's support of the Japanese war effort. Though President Baxter swore up and down that New England's army would throw any attempt by the Internationale to invade America back into the sea, he only meant the European bloc of the Internationale. Though New England technically remained at war with all of Japan's enemies save the Confederation of Great Lakes and the Federated Union of America, New England had no intention of resuming fighting against Mexican forces.
The peace treaty secured the release of numerous New English prisoners taken in the West, as well as free transit home for soldiers still abroad. Tokyo was furious, but could do little. It was feared punishing New England might induce that country to join with the Confederation and the Federated Union against Japan.
The New English withdrawal created immediate problems for Japan's forces in Ontario. Without New English support, only a single Japanese division defended Pembroke, and Confederation of Great Lakes forces attacked north in an attempt to break Japanese lines as soon as New English units withdrew from the area. Japanese generals feared an attack on Ottawa could well follow.
The spring of 1949 brought some of the biggest diplomatic news in decades, with many predicting that the Internationale's war against Japan (and Austria-Hungry) could well surpass the Second Weltkreig in ferocity. Minor nations across the globe looked for opportunities to take advantage of the chaos. When Spain declared war on Portugal, Mittelafrika saw an opportunity to replace its lost territory in Sudwest Afrika. Mittelafrikan forces seized Angola, swiftly moving to occupy the country before Portugal could decide whether or not to fortify Luanda and resist the occupation.
Though the news reels contained images of stern foreign ministers declaring war or major power plays, the real fighting continued in the Americas. The Confederation of Great Lakes achieved a major symbolic victory when it "liberated" Seattle and took a sizable port on the Pacific Coast. Japan won a much less prestigious but much more significant victory when it occupied Quito despite Ecuadoran resistance organized by top Brazilian officers.
A second naval skirmish occurred in the Eastern Mediterranean when Mikawa's transport fleet unexpectedly ran across a well-escorted Union of Britain transport fleet. The small ships escorting Britain's transports were supplemented by the same French battleship Mikawa's cruisers already chased away once.
This time neither fleet escaped unscathed. Mikawa's heavy cruisers sunk the Republican Navy Ship Bonaventure, a small cruiser. At the same time Japan lost a few destroyers to the big guns of the French battleship. Naval intelligence officers reluctantly admitted they couldn't be sure which battleship it was.
At around the same time Japan reaped the first rewards from the much-criticized decision to post naval bombers in remote Freetown. The bombers spotted a British convoy sailing into the south Atlantic, thought to be headed for Mozambique or the Hadramaut. Though the bombers only sank one escort ship, the convoy was proof that the Internationale intended to ship material around the Cape of Good Hope if Japan managed to close the Red Sea and harry shipping in the Eastern Mediterranean.
While minor victories were all well and good, a spring of bad news was ceremoniously capped by the defeat of Japanese divisions at the hands of the Brazilians. In Matto Grosso do Sul, relentless Brazilian attacks succeeded in decimating Japanese divisions defending Campo Grande. Brazilian soldiers forced Japanese troops into a disorganized retreat though the marshlands, Japanese soldiers fleeing pursuing forces and leaving a distressing amount of heavy equipment behind. Reinforcements were nearby, though not close enough to prevent the defending divisions from breaking, and it looked like Campo Grande would face yet another battle near to or inside the city itself.
The Bhartiya entry into the war and overt request for assistance from the Internationale brought things to a head. The Commune of France and the Union of Britain understood better than every nation other than Japan how crucial naval strength was to world-spanning operations. And they knew that, while their fleets were powerful, they did not have the shipping or escort capacity of Japan and must fight at a disadvantage in a third Weltkreig. But principle was at stake. Once the Bhartiya Commune entered the war the only syndicalist powers of any significance not at war with Japan were Russia, the Internationale, and... Sweden.
Did the Internationale truly believe in world revolution. In its heart of hearts, no. It did not. The Internationale sought to dominate Europe. But it couldn't shake the prestige of Europe, the sense that leadership must come from the major powers of France and Britain. And while the syndicalist versions of those powers did not have the global logistics capacity of the older colonialist iterations of those same countries, they retained their pride.
The Internationale demanded Japan pull its forces out of India and let "the ordinary people of that oppressed continent decide their own destiny" and more quietly warned officials in Tokyo that Internationale naval intelligence was well aware of the Japanese task force heading for Mexico and the Internationale would not stand for a Japanese campaign in the core of that country.
Prime Minister Katayama's government ignored the Internationale protests, just as Katayama ignored the Internationale's warnings not to go to war against Brazil. Despite Britain's reluctance to risk the Republican Navy, despite the Commune of France's reluctance to commit forces outside of Europe, despite the Internationale's opposition to the more liberal syndicalism outside of Europe, pride demanded the Internationale act or acknowledge Japan as the preeminent global power.
On May 14, 1949, Mexico was officially enrolled as full participating member of the Syndicalist Internationale. The Internationale presented a token peace offer to Japan demanding withdrawal from all of the Americas, ceding California to Mexico, an offer Tokyo refused to even acknowledge. The French, British, and Italian ambassadors joined Vincente Lombardo Toledano in Mexico City, announced the 1950 conference of the Internationale would be held in Houston, and did not so much declare war as confirm that all of the Internationale continued to be in a state of war against Japan and its allies.
The Commune of France also reiterated its commitment to freeing the continent of Europe from colonial domination. Japanese intelligence reports had been right about France's other priorities. Notwithstanding the war against Japan, France did not abandon its grand plan for the 1949 campaign season in Europe: the Internationale also declared war against Austria and pledged to liberate the oppressed peoples of Eastern Europe.
Spain followed suit a day later by declaring war on Portugal, issuing a statement in which it refused to allow any Iberian brother to live under the yoke of dictatorship and oppression. Though any experienced observer knew the grand planning of the European bloc in the Internationale took place in London and Paris.
A week after Mexico joined the Internationale, the Bhartiya Commune became an official member of that international syndicalist organization. Two weeks after that, Centroamerica also joined the Internationale. Brazil did not, probably owing to both the significant differences between the economic system of Brazil and the rest of world syndicalism and the Internationale's reluctance to take responsibility for the significant likelihood of total Brazilian defeat.
Elsewhere in Europe it became clear that the Internationale was no longer foolishly acting without coordinating with Russia. Russia declared war on White Ruthenia, a move that was, internationally, the price paid for Russian silence regarding the Internationale's war with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Domestically the increasing radicalization of the White Ruthenian government as it allowed the Orthodox church to dominate civil affairs and enact pogroms targeting Jews, atheists, and homosexuals, provided copious justification for a Russian invasion. Even Japan acknowledged the horrors of Sigismund's government with its increasing reliance on radical Orthodox support and quietly supported the Russian invasion of that country.
Despite the terrible long-term significance of a state of war between Japan and the Internationale, neither superpower currently had the ability to threaten the core interests of the other. Japan looked to exert control over most of the world's waterways, but syndicalist Europe was far less dependent on global trade than colonial Europe had been. The immediate conflicts would take place on the high seas, in the Middle East between scant British garrison forces and Japan's weaker puppets, and in the eastern Mediterranean. Rodos could well be a focus of Internationale attacks, while Turkey and Japan would be eager to remove the Union of Britain's presence from Smyrna, Cyprus, and the Aegean. Soon after war began, Chinese and Turkish taskforces were already working to maintain open shipping lanes to the Suez canal, patrolling for Internationale submarines.
Japan's navy put fleets on light duty to work and began to make a serious effort to dominate the world's major waterways. The Indian Ocean Fleet left Djibouti for the Red Sea, with orders to prevent Internationale submarines from entering the Indian Ocean and to cut British supply lines to its base in the Hadramaut and its territories along the Persian Gulf. Admiral Yamamoto Chi (no relation) destroyed the first Internationale convoy of the war, sinking four sizable British transports and their escort ship in the Gulf of Aden.
In North America, Japanese marines were not dissuaded from their orders to descend upon the beaches of Sinaloa. Though they could have easily occupied Culiacan and entrenched in that city, their goal was not Sinaloa state, but the major metropolis of Guadalajara farther south. Guadalajara rivaled Veracruz as the second-most important city in Mexico proper.
Fortunately for the marines, they met only moderate resistance from roughly ten thousand Mexican soldiers tasked with defending the beaches. The planned naval support, Yamamoto's First Battleship Fleet moving south from its earlier support of the the beleaguered divisions in San Diego, now had orders to sail past the amphibious invasion for Trinidad. After taking on supplies at Trinidad, Yamamoto would take the First Battleship Fleet to the central Atlantic, to form one half of a loose cordon isolating Europe from the rest of the world.
The other half of that cordon, Taniguchi's Second Battleship Fleet, had already left Halifax to begin its patrol of the North Atlantic.
Filling the gaps in the stranglehold Japan planned to force on the high seas were the naval bomber squadrons held in reserve at Nagoya. Half of Japan's naval bombers would be tasked to Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone. From Freetown they could dominate the West African coast, destroying Internationale shipping that slipped past Yamamoto. The other half of Japan's naval bombers held station at the airfield outside Haifa in Jordan. It would face a greater challenge: shutting down Internationale convoys supporting British holdings in Syria and the island of Cyprus.
The first naval conflict between Japan and the Internationale was an accidental affair that took place earlier than expected. The Middle East command had two cavalry armies stationed in the region before war began with Brazil. Taking a conservative approach to stripping its peripheral territories of forces when the war with the South American syndicalists began, both armies were still available when the Bhartiya Commune invaded the Princely Federation. Mikawa's Third Transport Fleet delivered the cavalry army stationed in Istanbul to India, then moved to take on the second cavalry army stationed at Djibouti. When the Internationale declared war on Japan, Mikawa was on his way to India with the second cavalry army. He was recalled, and the third transport fleet was ordered to offload the cavalry army at Port Said. The cavalry divisions would garrison that important base instead of the marine units currently there.
The third transport fleet was to take on the marines and move into the Eastern Mediterranean. Using Rhodes as a base, Mikawa was to support an immediate attack on Nicosia. The admirals in Tokyo wanted to secure Cyprus before it could be properly fortified by the Union of Britain. Mikawa ran into a small French task force anchored by a modern battleship. Presumably the French flotilla was expected to engage Turkish and Chinese destroyers patrolling the eastern Mediterranean, the battleship alone providing more than enough fire power to take on small enemy patrol ships.
Instead the French ships ran into Mikawa near the Nile Delta. The three modern heavy cruisers of the Third Transport Fleet collectively possessed significantly more firepower than one French battleship. But the French admiral in charge of the tiny fleet was wise enough to withdraw from the action.
Also withdrawing from action was all of New England. Percival Baxter was indeed negotiating separately with the Confederation of Great Lakes and the Federated Union of America. He signed a separate peace with both nations. A white peace allowed New England to reoccupy Pittsburgh, secured New England's borders, and effectively ended New England's support of the Japanese war effort. Though President Baxter swore up and down that New England's army would throw any attempt by the Internationale to invade America back into the sea, he only meant the European bloc of the Internationale. Though New England technically remained at war with all of Japan's enemies save the Confederation of Great Lakes and the Federated Union of America, New England had no intention of resuming fighting against Mexican forces.
The peace treaty secured the release of numerous New English prisoners taken in the West, as well as free transit home for soldiers still abroad. Tokyo was furious, but could do little. It was feared punishing New England might induce that country to join with the Confederation and the Federated Union against Japan.
The New English withdrawal created immediate problems for Japan's forces in Ontario. Without New English support, only a single Japanese division defended Pembroke, and Confederation of Great Lakes forces attacked north in an attempt to break Japanese lines as soon as New English units withdrew from the area. Japanese generals feared an attack on Ottawa could well follow.
The spring of 1949 brought some of the biggest diplomatic news in decades, with many predicting that the Internationale's war against Japan (and Austria-Hungry) could well surpass the Second Weltkreig in ferocity. Minor nations across the globe looked for opportunities to take advantage of the chaos. When Spain declared war on Portugal, Mittelafrika saw an opportunity to replace its lost territory in Sudwest Afrika. Mittelafrikan forces seized Angola, swiftly moving to occupy the country before Portugal could decide whether or not to fortify Luanda and resist the occupation.
Though the news reels contained images of stern foreign ministers declaring war or major power plays, the real fighting continued in the Americas. The Confederation of Great Lakes achieved a major symbolic victory when it "liberated" Seattle and took a sizable port on the Pacific Coast. Japan won a much less prestigious but much more significant victory when it occupied Quito despite Ecuadoran resistance organized by top Brazilian officers.
A second naval skirmish occurred in the Eastern Mediterranean when Mikawa's transport fleet unexpectedly ran across a well-escorted Union of Britain transport fleet. The small ships escorting Britain's transports were supplemented by the same French battleship Mikawa's cruisers already chased away once.
This time neither fleet escaped unscathed. Mikawa's heavy cruisers sunk the Republican Navy Ship Bonaventure, a small cruiser. At the same time Japan lost a few destroyers to the big guns of the French battleship. Naval intelligence officers reluctantly admitted they couldn't be sure which battleship it was.
At around the same time Japan reaped the first rewards from the much-criticized decision to post naval bombers in remote Freetown. The bombers spotted a British convoy sailing into the south Atlantic, thought to be headed for Mozambique or the Hadramaut. Though the bombers only sank one escort ship, the convoy was proof that the Internationale intended to ship material around the Cape of Good Hope if Japan managed to close the Red Sea and harry shipping in the Eastern Mediterranean.
While minor victories were all well and good, a spring of bad news was ceremoniously capped by the defeat of Japanese divisions at the hands of the Brazilians. In Matto Grosso do Sul, relentless Brazilian attacks succeeded in decimating Japanese divisions defending Campo Grande. Brazilian soldiers forced Japanese troops into a disorganized retreat though the marshlands, Japanese soldiers fleeing pursuing forces and leaving a distressing amount of heavy equipment behind. Reinforcements were nearby, though not close enough to prevent the defending divisions from breaking, and it looked like Campo Grande would face yet another battle near to or inside the city itself.