The Little Giant - A Kaiserreich Japan AAR

[500Artichoke]

Well, it was inevitable. At least Russia isn't throwing its weight at you.

What's next, a shot across the bow from the Qing? As long as everybody else is getting involved in the pointing and shooting, y'know, it's probably something for them to try.

 

[Gukpa]

WAHOOOOOOOOO!Now is getting more exciting!The American dream against Japanese Forces!


Can you post the save?

 

[blitzthedragon]

Forget the Third Weltkrieg, historians will call this the Great Clusterf*ck.

 

[Gukpa]

Oh,a Observation:

in 1940s haven't the state of Mato Grosso do Sul,they was only Mato Grosso and Huge and unified state

 

[Kaiser_Mobius]

So, at long last the final confrontation with the radical Syndicalists in Europe has finally come. I am really curious to see how that develops, especially regarding the Naval war. By this point, the UoB especially should have built a very potent battlefleet with lots of Carriers, at least that is what my own past experiences with KR have me assume they are using. Also, thank goodness that the Russian's are at last absorbing White Ruthenia into their big, somewhat Soviet empire, just merely for the sake that it will make for a much more nicer border between Russia and the rest of Europe.

Developments in North America are also really interesting as well. New England's political maneuverings basically leave you with only Quebec actually fighting at your side against the Confederation and the FUA, so I really wonder how this is all going to pan out. Your army seems to be stretched thin ATM, so are you even going to bother with trying to hold onto the rest of North America outside of New England and Quebec? I am wondering if this is all setting up to some kind of new order in the America's based on the "Co-Prosperity" principles you have hinted at.

Great update, I am eagerly awaiting what happens next!

 

[unmerged(228389)]

@500Artichoke
Actually, at the very start of war with Brazil, I set up a timeline for other powers to join the war, modified by some conditional triggers, the idea being to set that kind of thing up before I knew how the war was going to simulate a bit of random unexpectedness. I've also attempted to play Japan as if I didn't know what the other major powers are about to do. I decided to roleplay the Qing as rather cautious and conservative. They already have bad relations with Japan, and are close to the Home Islands, so circumstances will have to turn out in a particular way for Qing to take the risk of going to war. They're much less suicidal than, say, the Bhartiya, whose AI has taken virtually every radical event choice available to them this game, aside from marginalizing Gandhi...

@Gukpa
Yes, I could post the save. I've actually been thinking that taking over the Confederation of Great Lakes or the Federated Union of America after they're created could make for an interesting game. What point in the game would you like a save from? I should note there's a potentially major problem. Due to some issues with some weird failed 1.03 patch when I was first trying to upgrade, I re-patched over the failed 1.03 version of DH with 1.02. So the save may not work with 1.03 Darkest Hour, and there's even a slim chance it could have problems with a clean 1.02 Darkest Hour, lol.

@blitzthedragon
The more honest, less stuffy historians, yes. That sounds about right!

@Gukpa2
Huh, I had no idea. Wikipedia knowledge fails me again! I may or may not remember to include that correction in future updates.

@Kaiser_Mobius
I think the UoB has something like 12 BBs (most legacy) and 7 fleet carriers. As far as North America, Quebec is politically supporting me. But their army is still being held back in Montreal/possibly under the control of New England. So only Japanese forces are on the front lines now! That said, I'm not giving up the west coast without a major fight.

I also really haven't decided on what North America will look like after the war... if Japan wins in NA. If the Americas win, a new United America will merge the Confederation, Federated Union, and (shortly after that), New England. Quebec will probably hold a plebiscite on joining that I'll let forumers vote on. But don't get excited just yet, the AI doesn't generally win wars.

I'm glad you're all enjoying the AAR. Updates will probably slow somewhat in the near future, at least compared to the breakneck Labor Day weekend pace.

 

[nachopontmercy]

Oh god, there is not any corner of the World without war!

 

[Gukpa]

The save when the war Started,and I guess that is better finish this AAR,and create another one after this,called "The American Dream" with the Confederation of Great Lakes with the objective to defeat Japan and Recreate USA

 

[Nikolai]

The War To End All Wars has finally come. Good luck, the world is in the balance!

 

[Mkoll13]

Its going to take Japan a while to defeat most of the world but I am confident in your eventual success! I am kind of hoping the war will last long enough to see some nuclear powered battlecruisers and carriers

 

[unmerged(228389)]

@nachtopontmercy
Pfft, in this timeline Haiti is well defended, prosperous for its size, has little to no internal order, and is an exceptionally free representative democracy. Plenty of vacation opportunities!

@Gukpa
It appears I don't have attachment uploading permission on this forum. Well, send me a PM with your e-mail if you want a save I suppose. I've been relatively regular about that, so I should have one within a few months of any of the major events in the AAR. I've already picked out the one that loads right after war with Brazil & the best one for a Confederation/Federated Union early start. (Mexico should be playable in that one as well.)

@Nikolai
Many thanks!

@Mkoll13
Hmm. Mid-50s tech, plus a few years to build... it'll have to be a loong war, especially given how much faster-paced early Cold War combat is!

 

[Teivel]

And so it begins.

A long war is not out of the question.

If you manage to break that first half of South America, i'm convinced you'll then be able to break Brazil. If you can eliminate all of South America as a threat, then you'll have the men to make a difference in the North American East. The Mexican offensive is also promising.

If you pacify the Americas, you'll have the troops to shatter the Indian front and then set yourself up for a long, hard slog in the Middle East (assuming the Internationale breaks AH). That's a rather long to-do list but it really depends on you succeeding in exactly what you seem to be trying to do... isolate the Internationale from the rest of the world by sea. If you can win some large naval engagements, that will make your job easier, but as long as their ability to move troops to fronts where they can actually tie you down (i imagine you are laughably outnumbered on land) you should be able to kick your enemies down one by one.

New England's withdrawal strips some divisions from your army, but it also shortens the front, you should be able to defend Quebec effectively.

If you're not already doing so, i imagine it's time the Japanese population were told this is essentially a final war between democracy and evil syndicalism.... is anyone working on nukes?

 

[unmerged(228389)]

The Internationale was in no mood to cede the eastern Mediterranean, certainly it had no intention of letting Japan establish firm control over any part of Europe's southern sea without vigorous resistance. The Commune of France's main battle fleet moved to engage Mikawa's Third Transport Fleet as marine transports began to approach the coast of Cyprus. Both surface groups became well aware of each other during the night of May 19. A few Union of Britain vessels also supported the French fleet, and the Union of Britain transport task force operating in the region also stayed nearby for safety.

Serious combat began when bombers launched from France's three large fleet carriers approached Mikawa's fleet as dawn broke on the 20th of May. Knowing the Japanese fleet had no weapons capable of striking from hundreds of kilometers away, the French decided to take a "what's mine is mine, what's yours is negotiable" approach to combat, letting the carrier air groups work while the surface combat ships only slowly approached the Japanese position.

The plan had serious deficiencies, not the least of which was a severe underestimate of the defensive strength of the combat air patrol craft launched from Japan's light carriers. Though France's three fleet carriers had a slim advantage over Mikawa's five light carriers in terms of the aircraft they could launch, France could not launch purely fighter aircraft. Many of the planes launched were bombers, which had difficulty penetrating Mikawa's proficient combat air patrol coverage.

Worse, the naval bombers transferred to Haifa had yet to sink any Internationale shipping. French intelligence was as yet unaware of Japanese land-based aircraft stationed in the region.

Admiral Mikawa wisely decided to cancel the invasion of Cyprus and withdraw from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea before the French decided to dedicate their surface ships to a major engagement. The greater top speed of the Japanese fleet meant that the French had little hope of catching Mikawa's fleet in a chase, but committing to the engagement of Cyprus would have left the Third Transport Fleet vulnerable to enemy attack.

{The announcement box assumed I retreated from one of the small supporting British task forces in the region...}

The French successfully defended British control of Cyprus, but they ended up paying a heavy price. With the general location of the enemy fleet known, Japan's naval bombers stationed at Haifa were diverted to perform attack runs against the French battle fleet. The French, whose planes were still battling fighters launched from Japan's light carriers, were caught entirely by surprise. Lack of preparation was compounded by luck, as Japan's bomber formations spotted two of the enemy fleet carriers almost immediately.

Long-range escort fighters tasked with escorting Japan's bombers swept aside light French resistance in the air and Japanese bombs struck key vessels in the French fleet. Though the French fleet carriers were well-designed for converted hulls, capable of launching an impressive number of aircraft in a short period of time, they weren't designed from the ground up as carriers. This meant that, while they were more than capable as offensive platforms, the French carriers didn't have such luxuries as armored flight decks or protected fuel reserves.

The Japanese bombers, given nearly free reign, mercilessly pounded the exposed fleet carriers. Flight decks crumbled, fires raged out of control, and critical damage to hull structures compounded problem upon problem. Two of France's three fleet carriers had to be abandoned before the waves of Japanese bombers turned around and headed back to the Levant take on replacement fuel and restock ammunition.

The Battle of Cyprus was a major victory for both Japan's small defensive carrier designs and land-based air power. The Internationale's tactical victory: the retreat of the Third Transport Fleet and the defense of Cyprus was marred by a significant strategic defeat: the loss of two irreplaceable fleet carriers so early in the war.

The Mediterranean naval battles kept Japanese forces out of ground combat in the region. In Brazil, some of the Japanese units that conquered Venezuela and Colombia began slowly advancing into the Amazon basin, struggling far more with terrain than enemy action. The Japanese forces moving from Colombia into the Brazilian Amazon were not entering a region unfamiliar with war. Fighting between Brazilian and Chinese forces in the jungles of the Amazon and the Guyanas had raged almost continuously since the Chinese first landed at Georgetown. The northern jungles may not have received much attention, but that didn't mean the dense foliage didn't hide the remains of thousands of Brazilian and Chinese soldiers.

Along the Confederation-Quebec border, an entire Japanese division was wiped out by the Confederation offensive aimed at retaking Pembroke. But the heroic sacrifice of the garrison division allowed three heavy infantry divisions led by General Sakai time to race south, streaming into Pembroke even as two Confederation divisions began establishing control over the city. Brutal street battles broke out, with more than a few of the city's major buildings destroyed by Japanese heavy tanks and artillery support. Confederation troops scrambled to dig in, but Sakai had no intention of allowing Confederation forces to establish defensive lines.

Japanese generals pleaded with the Quebecois government to send reinforcements to support Japanese troops abandoned by New English 'allies'. The Godbout government refused. They coolly pointed out that the New England anti-war movement gained considerable momentum from the army itself, frustrated with losses suffered for Japan. Premier Godbout insisted that only the most reliable Quebecois forces could be committed outside of Quebec proper, lest political realities force the once-Canadian state to withdraw from the war altogether, much as New England had. Japanese generals and diplomats held their tongues - in public, at least - knowing they desperately needed an eastern front to relieve pressure on Vancouver and California.

The widespread destruction Ontario was suffering wasn't helped by the appearance of the small Confederation of Great Lakes air force. Strategic bombers crossed the Great Lakes and lay waste to the infrastructure and industrial facilities of occupied Ontario, the bombing campaign designed to reduce Quebec's ability to sustain the allied war effort by any means possible.

Faulty naval intelligence reported the retreat of the French battle fleet west after its losses at the hand of Japan's bombers. Mikawa was ordered to move north again, away from the Egyptian coast and back to the shores of Cyprus. Mikawa was in for a nasty surprise however. The French fleet, operating under radio silence, was stil hiding in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The Japanese task force became aware of the presence of the enemy when bombers launched from France's last fleet carrier surprised outlying vessels in the Japanese formation. With surface forces possibly closing in, Mikawa was forced to organize a second, more ungainly retreat.

Unfortunately, the enemy bombers and possibly some surface ships managed to sink several poorly protected transport ships. Luckily for Japan's grunts, the ships on the outside of the Japanese battle group carried only a few ground troops. The more heavily loaded transports were under the watchful protection of Japan's light carrier escorts.

In Africa, the taste of easy success was too sweet for the Mittelafrikan Empire to resist. After swallowing Angola, Mittelafrika began to move forces into position to occupy Mozambique as well. The success of another opportunistic expansion by Mittelafrika was far from certain, however. Portugal had more forces in Mozambique than it had in Angola and a strong and militarized syndicalist movement sill existed, despite the defeat of the rebel army outside Lorenzo Marques a few years earlier.

The losses suffered by Mikawa were light enough to be of little concern. Japan's admiralty, ready for potential naval losses, dispatched reinforcements to Djibouti to await integration into Mikawa's Third Transport Fleet.

A heavy Brazilian attack had shattered thin defensive lines in northern Mato Grosso in mid-May, but Brazilian forces failed to secure the city before fast-moving cavalry reinforcements invested Campo Grande itself. The Brazilian offensive did not halt, but fresh divisions resisted the Brazilian liberation of Campo Grande, extending the long series of battles taking place in the marshy Brazilian interior.

The desperate need to shore up defensive lines in Mato Grasso meant that a much smaller Japanese force advanced on La Paz than had been originally planned. It looked as though the reduction in the scale of the Japanese offensive into the Bolivian highlands wouldn't matter. Bolivia had spent much of its strength fighting fiercely in the Chilean desert and during earlier fighting in both Brazil and southeastern Bolivia. Six divisions moved on the Bolivian capital, using the second and third-largest Bolivian cities, Santa Cruz and Sucre, as their bases of operation. Though the Bolivian Presidential Guard swore to fight to the last man, the fall of historic La Paz was only a matter of time.

In North America, a trickle of Confederation reinforcements arriving in Sault Sainte Marie became a flood as the Confederation of Great Lakes struggled to hold the crucial transportation center. The heavy fighting also prevented Japan from moving more divisions south to hold Confederation offensives pushing north out of southern Ontario. But the effort was not without cost. Warmer weather and flat, open terrain heavily favored the self-propelled artillery and heavy tanks of Japanese forces. Confederation forces paid dearly in lives lost for every day they defending Sault Sainte Marie from the Japanese army operating in the Quebec-Ontario theater.

Naval bombers searching for enemy convoys in the Aegean reported a curious sight: Japan and France were not the only naval powers fighting in the Eastern Mediterranean. Pilots and crew members looked down in surprise at a surface action between British and Austrian cruisers and destroyers taking place north of Crete. It seemed an odd place for a battle, but British ships were desperately trying to defend shipping lanes to isolated outposts, much as Chinese and Turkish task forces were doing. For their part, the Austrian vessels were fleeing the Adriatic, seeking refuge in a region less subject to overwhelming Internationale air superiority.

The first naval engagements between Japan and the Internationale resulted from the aggressive posture of Japan's transport fleets, hoping (but failing) to secure island fortresses before the war on the high seas began in earnest. A major showdown between Japanese and Internationale battle fleets occurred roughly a week after the fighting in the Mediterranean. Japan's Second Battleship Fleet, under the command of Grand Admiral Taniguchi, detected and intercepted a British fleet under Admiral Cunningham that sought to protect Internationale shipping in the North Atlantic and to open the trade route to Mexico and its oil fields.

Both Taniguchi and Cunningham were experienced admirals with mixed records in combat.

The battle in the Irminger Basin pitted a modern Japanese battleship fleet against a mixed British force of older surface ships supported by converted fleet carriers. Taniguchi's fleet had the early advantage, spotting the British ships on radar before British scout planes confirmed the location of the Japanese fleet.

Taniguchi eagerly sought an engagement, expecting his five modern battleships to match up favorably against four older British battleships supported by two battlecruisers and a heavy cruiser.

The early positioning of the enemy fleets looked to be heavily in favor of Taniguchi's heavily-armed battleships. But the battle took place near the end of the Japanese fleet's refueling cycle. Already Quebecois facilities had struggled to maintain oil stocks necessary to supply Taniguchi's fleet, and refueling ships had often offloaded significantly less fuel oil than Japan's ships used during their patrols in the Atlantic. With tankers due to arrive from Halifax only a few hours after the Japanese and British fleets clashed, the Japanese fleet had severely limited fuel reserves. Reserves that grounded many of the aircraft that should have launched from the decks of Japanese carriers.

Even as Japan's battleships gained a small advantage in the surface fighting, bombers from British fleet carriers gleefully took advantage of unexpectedly light (and fuel-conscious) combat air patrols protecting the Japanese fleet. Worse, as the battle developed three huge plumes of smoke just west of the main Japanese fleet announced the destruction of refueling tankers discovered by British scout planes.

Despite significant damage to a number of British surface ships, Grand Admiral Taniguchi was forced to order the Second Battleship Fleet into a general retreat. The fleet needed to make port at Reykjavik before fuel stocks fell so low as to threaten the complete loss of the fleet to Cunningham's forces.

Japan's battleships could only confirm one British cruiser sunk, while the bombers from Britain's two fleet carriers sank no less than three of the poorly-protected Japanese light carriers.

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By the way, the disappearance of Quebec's army is a continuing irritation. The army comparison tool I looked at before the outbreak of war gave Quebec twenty infantry divisions. You wouldn't know it. They seem to have disappeared en masse. My guess is those units are still under the control of New England, who has signed peace treaties, but remains an ally. The Quebecois refusal to fight makes sense from a role play perspective, a combination of mass desertion by forces unwilling to fight for Japan/against fellow Canadians, plus the government's decision to keep units of uncertain loyalty away from the front lines and in a garrison capacity.

But what the hell, Quebec? First you refuse to dedicate ground troops to support my armies, then you drop the ball when it comes to supplying one of my BATTLESHIP FLEETS in the middle of a battle with the Internationale? Not cool.

 

[Gukpa]

Go America!

 

[Teivel]

Hardly the start we wanted for the naval war. That said, you're holding your own and making gains in places. Best of luck!

You'll need to rotate that fleet out for org regain and bring in the first BB fleet to do the fighting if possible.

 

[Kaiser_Mobius]

Makes you kinda wonder if a united Canada, allied to Japan would have been able to provide more troops and logistical support, doesn't it? :laugh:

Anyway, good update. It seems that you are making better progress in South America now, and at sea you are definitely a match for the combined syndicalist navies, although of course, casualties like what you suffered in the Atlantic are inevitable in any major conflict.

 

[NikephorosSonar]

I would like to see a group of American patriots who are willing to work for Japan in hopes that Japan will be merciful and put Humpty-Dumpty back together again.

 

[unmerged(228389)]

@Teivel1
The Austrians, the Confederation of Great Lakes, and Russia all did some preliminary nuclear research. The Confederation has yet to actually start a reactor (to my knowledge) in the face of more pressing industrial concerns. The Austrians have or will soon have a level 2 reactor in Vienna. Outside of Japan, they actually have the most advanced nuclear weapons program. It was highly prioritized by the government after the unification of Italy and tensions with the Internationale over Venice. Too bad they weren't ready before the war. I'm not sure if Russia has started the early levels of a reactor yet.

Japan is far ahead of those three nations, having a level 5 reactor. (Creating a 50 energy resource bonus, woot!) However, a few key scientists leading the project are pacifists, or at least unwilling to shoulder the responsibility of unleashing nuclear war on the world, so the general population and most of the government are as yet unaware that nuclear power has huge military potential. Funding for the project has essentially ground to a halt. The program is still top secret, the reactor being in remote Akita, but Japan had been considering expanding a nuclear power program before the war began, creating other priorities.

Britain and the Commune of France are more aware of the weapons potential of nuclear reactors. They've both done considerable research, and have started their own reactors, though I think they're just reaching level 1 or 2. Their efforts may be spurred if France captures the Vienna reactor and German nuclear scientists...

@Gukpa
Boooo!!!

@Teivel2
Fleets can regain organization on the high seas, so making port isn't a huge concern... or it wouldn't normally be a huge concern. In this case Taniguchi is heading for Reykjavik in order to detach two heavily damaged light cruisers for repair and reorganize his logistics so that Quebecois supply problems don't adversely affect any more battles!

@Kaiser_Mobius
Maybe.... but on the other hand, consider Vancouver Island in my timeline. Not only do you have all that high English tea tradition, but now you have Japanese tea gardens as well. Victoria may well be the city with the most advanced tea culture in the world at this point. Add in a little more Indian and Chinese immigration and the potential is endless...

@NikephorosSonar
Sadly, I think they'd need a little more confidence Japan was going to put America together before they'd fight other Americans attempting to put Humpty-Dumpty back together...
Of course there are plenty of Americans from the west coast who joined the armed forces after becoming residents of the Japanese Empire. It's just the Americans who were citizens of other states that are refusing to fight.

 

[unmerged(228389)]

Modern research in Japan focused heavily on technology that would be directly useful for the war. But technical experts swore up and down that "Basic Semiconductors" could change the world. They would, apparently, be vital to the country for decades to come. In some, vaguely undefined way. Truth be told many of the bureaucrats approving the research simply got distracted and somewhat hungry when "Sandwich Transistors" were explained to them.

When it became clear that Japan's cavalry wasn't going to be able to trap the Bhartiya army in Nagpur and that same army began giving Japanese forces some trouble effecting crossings of the Godavari River, it was decided to occupy Nagpur to recreate a solid defensive line in southern India before resuming the attack on Bostar from the west. The arrival of Japan's cavalry and the recapture of Nagpur breathed life into the faltering Princely Federation efforts in the south.

As allied Indian forces rallied, they joined Japanese forces in directly attacking disorganized Bhartiya units. Casualties mounted for the syndicalists in the fields around Bostar, the Bhartiya forces bleeding men at a terrible rate. Bhartiya commanders were loathe to order a general retreat that would sacrifice Bostar, a Bhartiyan city.

Along the central Indian front, Federation forces held onto their gains around Raipur (another reason the Bhartiyan army didn't want to give up more territory) and even recaptured Dewa. The news was not all bad for the syndicalists. The offensive in the north, at first appearing stalled due to heavy Federation resistance, suddenly succeeded in breaking the will of the Federation units holding Bhartiya forces at bay. The breakthrough stretched defensive lines in central India and threatened to encircle Delhi.

The Eastern Mediterranean was quickly becoming a dangerous place to be for merchant vessels and military supply ships, regardless of political affiliation. Between the Turkish navy, Chinese navy, Internationale navies, Japanese naval bombers, and Italian naval bombers, a variety of forces hunted enemy shipping everywhere from the Aegean Sea to the Nile Delta.

Surprisingly, most convoys were still managing to get through, the competing convoy hunters often spending as much time searching for or hiding from each other as they did attacking shipping. Japan wasn't concerned with the steady but manageable loss of shipping in the Eastern Mediterranean. It was far more concerned with the loss of a single military convoy ship, the Yubae Maru.

At 13:00, May 26, the captain of the Yubae Maru radioed a distress call to any Japanese ship in the vicinity, begging for friendly ships to take on survivors from the cargo ship. The Yubae Maru had been hit by two torpedoes and was quickly taking on water. The Yubae Maru sank two hours later. Anywhere else in the world, and Japan would not have cared about the loss of the Yubae Maru. But the Yubae Maru sank in the Gulf of Suez, only twenty miles south of the entrance to the Suez Canal.

Japanese control of the Red Sea all but ruled out the approach of an enemy submarine from the Indian Ocean. No aircraft carrying torpedoes had been spotted by the crew of the Yubae Maru, intelligence officers in Egypt, or Jordanian or Japanese ground forces in the region. There was only one explanation for the loss of the Yubae Maru: an Internationale submarine had transited the Suez Canal in order to terrorize the Gulf of Suez and throw Japanese shipping into a panic.

And an Internationale submarine could not have transited the Suez without the knowledge and cooperation of Egypt.

Japan didn't have direct influence over the Suez Canal. Although Japan possessed a major military base at Port Said, Egyptian officials zealously defended their right to administrate the canal itself. In fact, Egypt had forbidden even Japanese observers from supervising canal operations soon after war broke out with the Internationale, citing the need to preserve 'neutrality'. Egyptian forces controlled the northern end of the Suez Canal from Port Fuad.

For months Egypt had refused to give Japan veto power over ships that passed through the Suez Canal. They had even refused to rule out the possibility of Internationale ships using the canal. But Japanese diplomats were convinced that Egypt's protests were simply a theoretical declaration of sovereignty. Surely they would never be so reckless as to actually permit an Internationale warship to transit through the canal?

Suddenly, it appeared Egypt might be willing to do just that. A few analysts in Japan's foreign ministry had been warning that Egypt favored an Internationale victory in the Mediterranean, both because this result might result in the reclamation of Port Said and because Egyptian leaders believed control over the Suez Canal rendered it immune from Internationale aggression.

Egypt was not immune from Japanese aggression. With tensions over the canal simmering, Japan had more than a few plans in place to ensure it possessed real control of the canal. Intelligence reports from Cairo all insisted Egypt was unwilling to sabotage the canal itself, a critical enonomic and political power center for the country, and believed its army was sufficient to resist Japanese forces stationed at Port Said.

Those forces were not inconsiderable. Seven marine divisions, nine cavalry divisions, two garrison divisions, and a headquarters division to organize the whole lot were stationed at Port Said, Japanese forces being a significant minority of Port Said's population! The heavy Japanese military build up was supposed to function as both Japan's reserve forces in the Middle East and a sufficient deterrent to force Egypt to co-operate on canal issues.

The loss of the Yubae Maru proved that Egypt was not cowed by Japanese military might. Which meant that the army's reserve function would also disappear. The divisions were now front-line troops in a war with Egypt. Japan launched a surprise attack on Egyptian defensive lines around Cairo only a day after the loss of the Yubae Maru, beginning shortly after nightfall. The Japanese ambassador officially issued a declaration of war only fifteen minutes before the attack was ordered to begin. Or an hour after the attack actually began, if you believed Egyptian officials.

Japanese commanders assumed that Egypt would be expecting an attack on the Suez itself. But it was considered too high of a risk to engage in major combat operations near the Suez's facilities. A successful strike at Cairo and other critical parts of the country might compel the enemy to surrender the canal intact lest the entire country was lost.

The surprise element of the attack failed tactically; alert Egyptian forces were well-prepared to take up combat positions at a moment's notice. It did succeed strategically, with Japan at least enjoying a numbers advantage in the early hours of the Battle of Cairo.

Everyone now referred to the war as the Third Weltkreig, as region after region saw combat and violence. Radical changes were occurring in previously sleepy corners of the world. New colonial masters showed up in Luanda at the same time Arab and Palestinian militias fought desperate British infantry over control of Baghdad, allied ships patrolled the coasts of South America, and Japanese and American soldiers fought a major battle across almost the entire length of Ontario.

The war also brought considerable changes to the home front. This war was not like the conquest of Indonesia or Philippines. Every citizen in the Japanese Empire felt the impact of the war in some way. In the wealthier districts of Tokyo and Osaka, this might simply be a mildly irritating reduction in available consumer goods. In cities like Jkarta or Perth, the demands of the military supply system saw busy ports and fortunes made as factories and farms all saw higher demand (and thus prices) for their goods. Factories on Formosa and in Korea and everywhere in the Home Islands found themselves facing government orders to produce certain materials for the war effort. Union workers everywhere were encouraged to put forth their all to support their brethren in the army. And everywhere in the Japanese Empire, people had some brethren in the army. It was a truly multi-ethnic affair. True, the command structure was still overwhelmingly Japanese, as was the Navy. But Indonesian, Australian, Papuan, Korean, Polynesian, Japanese, and other types of units were all represented in Japan's increasingly complex army. The benefits of ethnically segregated units were questionable at best, harmful at worst, but Japan maintained the policy of segregating soldiers by language, a necessary concession to unit cohesion!

Many of the economic changes on the home front were orchestrated by the increasingly powerful Industrial Ministry, efficiently run by Ouchi Hyoe. At first Ouchi had been frustrated by the demands of war, the demands of military production forcing Ouchi to delay or cancel some of his initiatives to modernize the economy of the Japanese Empire. But Minister Ouchi soon found that "wartime necessity" could be very beneficial in pushing through major projects that otherwise might have been resisted by various special interests.

The vastly complex military supply system demanded ever more of the Japanese Empire, with resources needed in seemingly every far-flung corner of the world. Ouchi Hyoe used this new reality to push a huge government investment in infrastructure, especially in Indonesia, the Philippines, and other territories outside of the Home Islands. He justified major expenditures in roads, dock facilities, canal construction, waterway management, and other hugely expensive projects as a wartime necessity. Such an investment in the Empire's future could never have been so easily promoted during peacetime. Privately Ouchi believed that he was cultivating the roots of decades of post-war prosperity once the war ended and these dual-use facilities began carrying ordinary commerce.

Ouchi Hyoe also successfully defended a huge expansion of the Imperial University system, successfully insisting that (free) higher education was necessary for the country's short and long-term success. The expansion of the university system had been the first major project Ouchi championed after Taishuto took control of the Japanese government, and while the war put the expansion plans in danger, Ouchi finally succeeded in seeing his plan fully implemented by implying that weapons research would be vital to Japan's success in the war. Construction of no less than eight new Imperial Universities began in recently acquired territories, a doubling of the prestigious Imperial University system. Several existing education institutions, especially in former Australasia, also began receiving government money in order to allow them to reduce or eliminate tuition.

Whangarei Imperial University was slated to become smallest of the new institutions, due to New Zealand's already excellent tertiary education system. Yojakarta Imperial University was the largest new University planned; construction had already begun on a massive complex of buildings on the outskirts of Java's second city. Perhaps the most ambitious project was Baliem Imperial University. Baliem Valley on Papua remained unknown to outsiders until after the start of the second Weltkrieg. Part of the Papuan highlands, the valley was considered "burden territory" according to Co-Prosperity Sphere doctrine. The rough terrain of Papua meant that economically feasible transportation links were out of the question.

But to the surprise of everyone but its inhabitants, the Baliem Valley hosted an organized, agricultural society with respectable population base, despite next to no contacts with the outside world. A university, if successfully established, could serve a variety of purposes. First, it was relatively easy to move students and educational materials, unlike bulk goods. The Papuan highlands could thus contribute in some small way to Pacific Co-Prosperity even if they remained a burden region. Second, the university was a major political statement to the rest of the Pacific. The benefits of Pacific Co-Prosperity would indeed be felt by all who became inhabitants of the Japanese Empire; Co-Prosperity was not neo-colonialism (or at least, it tried not to be). Third, the unique location of the university might help reduce the weight of the Papuan highland "burden territory" by using local knowledge and imported techniques alike to develop local resources so far as was possible.

The actual establishment of Baliem Imperial University remained in some doubt, unlike the rest of the planned expansion of the Imperial University system. Outsiders who spoke any of the languages in use in the Baliem Valley remained vanishingly scarce, so arrangements for the acquisition of land along the Baliem River were tentative at best. Yet construction of a rudimentary airstrip had already begun. Even if it would be a decade before the university was built, and another decade or two before it became common for native residents of Baliem Valley to actually attend Baliem Imperial University, the very idea of the institution was a statement of the spirit and sheer ambition of Pacific Co-Prosperity.

Actual wartime necessity increasing government controls on production and the increasing ability of Ouchi Hyoe to implement his economic vision by using wartime necessity as an excuse began to create a Japanese economy that some claimed was dangerously dependent on government planning. With the zaibatsu focused on profitable business of producing weapons and war machines, there was little independent commercial initiative in Japan. Though in the outlying regions, Indonesia in particular, the rapid expansion of the economy was well beyond effective government control.

Admiral Cunningham, who succeeded in defeating Taniguchi's Second Battleship Fleet and sinking multiple Japanese light carriers, moved out of the North Atlantic and into the Mid-Atlantic. The Union of Britain had forced open sea lanes connecting Mexico to Europe. Now it wanted to do the same with Europe and eastern Brazil. Grand Admiral Yamamoto detected Cunningham's mixed fleet in the seas around Azores in late May.

Unlike Taniguchi, Yamamoto had an (almost) spotless war record. More importantly, the First Battleship Fleet was supplied by the unparalleled logistics officers running the facilities on Trinidad. And if supplies from Trinidad ran low, additional fuel oil could be delivered from Freetown.

Grand Admiral Yamamoto adroitly used his fleet's radar to initiate a night battle, preventing Cunningham from using his main advangate over the enemy fleet: two fleet carriers.

The result was a solid victory. Fast Japanese ships chased and caught the bulk of the British fleet, the big guns of Japanese and British battleships alike providing flashes of brilliant illumination. Both sides used radar to target their weapons, but the greater Japanese firepower meant the advantage went to Yamamoto.

The advantage was not, however, overwhelming. Britain had its own strong naval tradition, and Yamamoto lost several destroyers in the exchange. The cruisers Suzuya and Agano also took critical damage from enemy guns, though of Yamamoto's battleships only the Owari suffered any enemy hits. As dawn broke, the British launched bombers from the only British carrier that still possessed an undamaged flight deck, while Japanese combat air patrol took off from Yamamoto's own carriers. Rather than seeking high-value targets, the British bombers harassed the lead vessels of the Japanese fleet, forcing chasing Japanese vessels to engage in evasive maneuvers that sapped their speed. Grand Admiral Yamamoto was unwilling to unnecessarily risk damage from the British bombers or to abandon the Suzuya and Agano, allowing Cunningham's fleet to escape the superior Japanese force. The two fleets lost visual and radar contact late in the day on May 27.

The British fleet suffered more losses than the Second Battleship Fleet. They also lost numerous destroyers. More significantly, the battleship RNS Naseby was destroyed midway through the battle after suffering over fifty hits by concentrated Japanese torpedo salvos and naval gun fire. The modern heavy cruiser RNS Northumberland also suffered major damage to one of its engines during the fighting, illustrating the advantages that go to the victor: Yamamoto could choose to disengage and protect the damaged cruisers Suzuya and Agano. The British were forced to scuttle the Northumberland as they effected their retreat.

Admiral Yamamoto chose to detach the lightly damaged Owari and a light carrier to escort the Suzuya, Aganao, and the fleet's damaged destroyers back to the Caribbean (en route to Terminal Island and Long Beach for repairs), keeping most of his fleet active in the Atlantic. Keeping war material produced in Europe from reaching Brazil was a critical strategic objective for Japan. A variety of gunboats and small ships blockaded the Brazilian coast, but that blockade could easily be broken if the International could freely send naval task forces into the South Atlantic.

Losses suffered by the Third Transport Fleet and both battleship fleets prompted the expansion of Japan's current shipbuilding efforts, the result of a healthy respect for what was widely seen as the most important arm of the Japanese military: the navy. Even though it meant reducing the production of heavy tanks and other weaponry to equip more land divisions, Japan began construction of three light carriers, ten destroyer flotillas with both radar and anti-air kit, and additional replacement troop transports. The light carriers could be folded into the Fourth Transport Fleet once it was constructed, or they could be used to replace those lost in the First Battleship Fleet; war planners were undecided how many additional carriers would be needed. The transports in particular anticipated future losses. In addition to the troop transports operating in Japan's three transport fleets there were still a few spares ready for action anchored at the naval base at Kanazawa.

After detaching the most heavily damaged ships form his fleet, Yamamoto continued to aggressively seek out enemy vessels in the Atlantic. Naval intelligence reported the departure of refueling ships from Scapa Flow well before the battle near the Azores, and speed and weather calculations estimated a potential rendezvous site for the refueling ships and Cunningham's fleet - if the refueling ships were intended to support Cunningham at all.

Following up on the possibility, Yamamoto caught Cunningham's fleet on the open seas again near the suspected rendezvous coordinates above Terceira Rift. A daytime battle followed the night battle fought only two days earlier. Grand Admiral Yamamoto had a significant advantage. Though both took losses in the earlier battle, Yamamoto's fleet now possessed almost 150% of the tonnage boasted by Cunningham's fleet.

Though the IJN Iwami took some damage from British bombers as the First Battleship Fleet closed on the enemy, most of the fighting took place with the enemy fleets roughly thirty kilometers away from each other: well within the range of the big guns on both the Japanese and British battleships.

{This screenshot is from very late in the battle, not near the beginning of the fighting: Yamamoto started with 18 ships, against 12 British ships.}

The British sailors fought bravely and well, ensuring their guns continued firing at the enemy even as fires and explosions wracked the decks of their ships. The battleships Iwami and Shinano were both put out of action by heavy enemy fire, damage to both gun turrets and primary hulls forcing the Iwami and Shinano into desperate attempts to evade enemy fire and withdraw. Another of Japan's light cruisers also suffered damage. But this time the damage was fatal, not simply debilitating. The cruiser Kashiwara sank after taking multiple hits from British battlecruisers.

But the initial advantage in big guns for Japan could not be denied by sheer skill and bravery. Not when those same qualities could be found in equal measure among Japanese crews. The Shinano, which landed many of the most crucial hits on the battleship Naseby in the earlier battle, dueled the battleship Tolpuddle in the second battle. Radar-guided guns scored repeated hits on both vessels, the Tolpuddle doing considerable damage to the Shinano before an armor-piercing round from the Shinano caused a major explosion in one of the Tolpuddle's turrets and subsequent torpedo hits on the Tolpuddle's hull at the same location overwhelmed the battleship's defenses. The Tolpuddle rapidly developed an irreversible list and its captain was forced to order all hands to abandon ship.

But the Shinano, itself heavily damaged by the Tolpuddle, almost immediately suffered an attack from carrier-launched bombers during a momentary weakness in the Japanese combat air patrol. With few AA guns functioning, the Shinano was taken out of the battle. Similar problems afflicted the Iwami. But in the end Yamamoto again suffered severe damage to a number of major vessels but the British suffered the total loss of multiple capital ships.

The First Battleship Fleet sank the battlecruisers Thistlewood and Spa Fields, the battleships Tolpuddle and Digger, and the fleet carrier Liburne. The other British fleet carrier (name unknown) limped away with critical flight deck damage. The light cruiser Dauntless and a few destroyers rounded out Cunningham's losses.

After an initial moment of doubt following Taniguchi's defeat, Japan's modern battleships again proved their ability to command the high seas.

The IJN Yamato earned top honors during the engagement, scoring fatal hits on both the RNS Liburne and the RNS Digger.

Over the course of both battles the IJN Shinano more than proved its worth, destroying the Naseby and the Tolpuddle. Experience in the field seemed to confirm intelligence reports that British naval yards had decided to copy the successful Japanese battleship designs in many ways, retrofitting their better battleships with the same sort of radar-linked fire control, sea plane catapults, anti-air upgrades, and torpedo tubes used by Japan.

The IJN Kai, while performing no incredible feats of martial valor, nevertheless racked up an impressive number of confirmed kills over the two battles with Cunningham's fleet. Critically wounding and forcing the destruction of the heavy cruiser Northumberland in the first battle, it went on to scatter enemy destroyers and sink the cruiser Dauntless. In the second battle the IJN Kai was again the terror of British destroyer flotillas, and it also scored fatal hits on the battlecruiser Spa Fields.

The defeat of Cunningham's fleet in the mid-Atlantic was a major relief for the Admiralty in Tokyo. Japan retained dominance, for now, on the high seas. Cunningham's fleet was far from the main fighting force in the Republican Navy, and a second loss to Cunningham would have put the Japanese Navy in a dangerous position of weakness. As it was, Yamamoto was forced to withdraw the First Battleship Fleet from the Atlantic, following the earlier transit of ships to Southern California. With the Shinano and Iwami both in need of major repairs, it would be foolhardy to retain an aggressive posture. Hopefully British naval intelligence would be unaware of the withdrawal until Yamamoto's main fleet reached the Panama Canal.

 

[Teivel]

Now that's more like what we need to see in these naval battles if you're going to gain the supremacy you need. Any chance of building a new full strength fleet out of the remains of the first and second while the rest repair so you can keep a battle fleet on station?

As for Egypt, knock them out of the damn war and close Suez!