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I believe the issue wasn't so much that the CSA is off-limits in terms of the engine as it was a story decision, the liberal democracy that this Japan has become not being comfortable with the South's persistent history of racial inequality.
The CSA was avoided in the game files because their already is one (Combined Syndicates) and because it's cliche.
After considerable internal debate, the newly elected "revolutionary" government of Colombia denounced Japan, the "War of Capitalist Overreach" and formally withdrew diplomatic ties with Japan.
While some in Tokyo muttered darkly of betrayal and treason, the cooler heads quietly reached out to officials in Rio de Janeiro. Colombia had no military to speak of, and its "revolution" occurred through the ballot box, not at the barrel of a gun. There was no danger of Colombia destabilizing Panama or other areas in South America. Brazil unofficially indicated to Japan it would be more "comfortable" if Japan waited to see if the new Colombian government respected the system by which it gained power.
After a confusing and tense week, Tokyo recognized the new Colombian government, declared that leaving the Japanese allaince was clearly a betrayal of the best interests of the Colombian people, and piously added that Japan would of course respect the sovreignty of a democratically-elected government.
Much closer to the Home Islands, Russian forces in Primorsky had been drawn down to meet the Mongolian threat and maintain supply routes despite the constant threat of Mongolian raids and the uncertain movement of enemy troop concentrations. Taking advantage of this weakness, Japanese generals ordered a late-summer assault on Khabarovsk and a landing of troops at Okhotsk. The goal was to make some rapid gains then use the winter to build up defenses against a Spring assault in the event of a Mongolian collapse.
Far to the west, a few victories by Japanese fighter wings over the mountains of Turkey had finally allowed reinforcements to stream into the area. A modest offensive geographically, but very important offensive strategically, looked to erase the new Russian presence on the southern shore of the Black Sea.
Farther to the south, Japanese troops quickly advanced across Mesopotamia while Chinese units and Jordanian militia held defensive positions in the Levant and closed a smaller Russian pocket farther south in Arabia.
The Russian port on the Black Sea was tremendously dangerous, but very poorly defended. Already supplies were trickling into the hands of exhausted and desperate Russian units. But foresight by the general staff in Tokyo ensured the flow of supplies amounted to no more than a trickle: most of the convoys sailing south from the Ukraine were spotted and bombed by Japanese aircraft operating out of Izmir and Karabuk.
In India, the Russian offensive there had almost reached the Bay of Bengal. But with the Mongolian attack against Russia, the general staff was confident neither Hyderabad nor Calcutta would fall any time soon.
Mumbai was another matter. Fighting continued along the northern edge of the city. Though Russian forces were hardly overwhelming, reinforcements might be needed to avoid another looting of the large city.
Politically, the Indian Federation was promising a new, modern India even as the war raged. Hyderabad believed strongly that implementing political reforms, especially at the local level, was key to maintaining support for the war amongst the Indian populace. Tokyo was less convinced, but Hyderabad had, so far, performed miracles with its continous strong support of allied forces.
Although unnoticed in many of the breathless news pieces detailing the war's progress, air battles occurred over Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean on a regular, almost daily basis. Japanese pilots had made great progress in securing the air space over the Eastern Mediterranean and reducing the operational capacity of the Internationale over western Turkey. A pilot shortage had looked to be a major issue, but new training programs begun in Korea and Formosa helped. Domestically, an increasingly important domestic air service linking Formosa, Korea, the Home Islands, and western America via Alaska was kept running in large part by pilots America, including areas now part of Japan and unemployed easterners willing to work in the Land of the Rising Sun.
In late September, Japanese forces in Mesopotamia finally engaged the main Russian army attempting to conquer Jordan on the outskirts of Damascus. Fighters from the militias defending the city said the Russians had been unwilling to engage in protracted fights for some time, but that rumors suggested new supplies had come in from the north. Japanese generals were confident of victory, though perhaps not a victory quite as easy as the occupation of Baghdad.
To open up a second, and much more significant, supply route, Russian forces were once again attempting to force open the road through Tabriz. Four divisions of elite Japanese airborne units had no intention of letting that happen.
For the space of about twenty-four hours, Japanese forces moving west out of Trebizond enjoyed the sight of friendly tactical bombers raining death and destruction down on their enemies for once.
One day was all they were going to get. French interceptors, exhibiting a new and more powerful jet engine, battled through a stiff screen of escort fighters and still managed to inflict significant damage on Japanese attack wings. Nethertheless, it looked like a day of air support might just be enough.
While the French found moderate success supporting the Russians from the air, the British had far less resources to devote at sea. The remnants of the once-proud British battleship fleet were dispatched to the Persian Gulf to support the Russians from occupied Persian ports, but they never reached their destination.
Japan's Indian Ocean Fleet intercepted the British before they could enter the gulf. Once again, Japanese torpedoes struck the enemy before their big guns could find the range, damaging the sole remaining modern British super-heavy.
But Admiral Cunningham had relentlessly trained the gunners on his old, poorly-equipped battleships, and they gave as good as they got.
Nevertheless, after several hits impacted the British battleships, Cunningham was forced to admit that, even if victorious, his task force would be little good to the Russians in its current condition.
The Indian Ocean Fleet withdrew as soon as the enemy turned back from the gulf. Unbeknownst to the British, two of the Indian Ocean Fleet's three heavy cruisers, the IJN Kako and Chikuma had sustained critical damage. The only confirmed enemy kills were a few ageing destroyers.
Repairs to Yamamoto's battleships at Djibouti were interrupted to allow those same facilities to be used by the Indian Ocean Fleet. Grand Admiral Yamamoto officially protested being forced to put to sea with vulnerable warships, but ultimately he recognized the need to ensure Japan's naval supremacy in the short term.
Meanwhile, the strange outbreak of peace in America meant even more Japanese soldiers crossing back over the Pacific. Unfortunately for them, it was to fight in another war rather than to return home.
While some in Tokyo muttered darkly of betrayal and treason, the cooler heads quietly reached out to officials in Rio de Janeiro. Colombia had no military to speak of, and its "revolution" occurred through the ballot box, not at the barrel of a gun. There was no danger of Colombia destabilizing Panama or other areas in South America. Brazil unofficially indicated to Japan it would be more "comfortable" if Japan waited to see if the new Colombian government respected the system by which it gained power.
After a confusing and tense week, Tokyo recognized the new Colombian government, declared that leaving the Japanese allaince was clearly a betrayal of the best interests of the Colombian people, and piously added that Japan would of course respect the sovreignty of a democratically-elected government.
Much closer to the Home Islands, Russian forces in Primorsky had been drawn down to meet the Mongolian threat and maintain supply routes despite the constant threat of Mongolian raids and the uncertain movement of enemy troop concentrations. Taking advantage of this weakness, Japanese generals ordered a late-summer assault on Khabarovsk and a landing of troops at Okhotsk. The goal was to make some rapid gains then use the winter to build up defenses against a Spring assault in the event of a Mongolian collapse.
Far to the west, a few victories by Japanese fighter wings over the mountains of Turkey had finally allowed reinforcements to stream into the area. A modest offensive geographically, but very important offensive strategically, looked to erase the new Russian presence on the southern shore of the Black Sea.
Farther to the south, Japanese troops quickly advanced across Mesopotamia while Chinese units and Jordanian militia held defensive positions in the Levant and closed a smaller Russian pocket farther south in Arabia.
The Russian port on the Black Sea was tremendously dangerous, but very poorly defended. Already supplies were trickling into the hands of exhausted and desperate Russian units. But foresight by the general staff in Tokyo ensured the flow of supplies amounted to no more than a trickle: most of the convoys sailing south from the Ukraine were spotted and bombed by Japanese aircraft operating out of Izmir and Karabuk.
In India, the Russian offensive there had almost reached the Bay of Bengal. But with the Mongolian attack against Russia, the general staff was confident neither Hyderabad nor Calcutta would fall any time soon.
Mumbai was another matter. Fighting continued along the northern edge of the city. Though Russian forces were hardly overwhelming, reinforcements might be needed to avoid another looting of the large city.
Politically, the Indian Federation was promising a new, modern India even as the war raged. Hyderabad believed strongly that implementing political reforms, especially at the local level, was key to maintaining support for the war amongst the Indian populace. Tokyo was less convinced, but Hyderabad had, so far, performed miracles with its continous strong support of allied forces.
Although unnoticed in many of the breathless news pieces detailing the war's progress, air battles occurred over Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean on a regular, almost daily basis. Japanese pilots had made great progress in securing the air space over the Eastern Mediterranean and reducing the operational capacity of the Internationale over western Turkey. A pilot shortage had looked to be a major issue, but new training programs begun in Korea and Formosa helped. Domestically, an increasingly important domestic air service linking Formosa, Korea, the Home Islands, and western America via Alaska was kept running in large part by pilots America, including areas now part of Japan and unemployed easterners willing to work in the Land of the Rising Sun.
In late September, Japanese forces in Mesopotamia finally engaged the main Russian army attempting to conquer Jordan on the outskirts of Damascus. Fighters from the militias defending the city said the Russians had been unwilling to engage in protracted fights for some time, but that rumors suggested new supplies had come in from the north. Japanese generals were confident of victory, though perhaps not a victory quite as easy as the occupation of Baghdad.
To open up a second, and much more significant, supply route, Russian forces were once again attempting to force open the road through Tabriz. Four divisions of elite Japanese airborne units had no intention of letting that happen.
For the space of about twenty-four hours, Japanese forces moving west out of Trebizond enjoyed the sight of friendly tactical bombers raining death and destruction down on their enemies for once.
One day was all they were going to get. French interceptors, exhibiting a new and more powerful jet engine, battled through a stiff screen of escort fighters and still managed to inflict significant damage on Japanese attack wings. Nethertheless, it looked like a day of air support might just be enough.
While the French found moderate success supporting the Russians from the air, the British had far less resources to devote at sea. The remnants of the once-proud British battleship fleet were dispatched to the Persian Gulf to support the Russians from occupied Persian ports, but they never reached their destination.
Japan's Indian Ocean Fleet intercepted the British before they could enter the gulf. Once again, Japanese torpedoes struck the enemy before their big guns could find the range, damaging the sole remaining modern British super-heavy.
But Admiral Cunningham had relentlessly trained the gunners on his old, poorly-equipped battleships, and they gave as good as they got.
Nevertheless, after several hits impacted the British battleships, Cunningham was forced to admit that, even if victorious, his task force would be little good to the Russians in its current condition.
The Indian Ocean Fleet withdrew as soon as the enemy turned back from the gulf. Unbeknownst to the British, two of the Indian Ocean Fleet's three heavy cruisers, the IJN Kako and Chikuma had sustained critical damage. The only confirmed enemy kills were a few ageing destroyers.
Repairs to Yamamoto's battleships at Djibouti were interrupted to allow those same facilities to be used by the Indian Ocean Fleet. Grand Admiral Yamamoto officially protested being forced to put to sea with vulnerable warships, but ultimately he recognized the need to ensure Japan's naval supremacy in the short term.
Meanwhile, the strange outbreak of peace in America meant even more Japanese soldiers crossing back over the Pacific. Unfortunately for them, it was to fight in another war rather than to return home.
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Oh baby.
Good to see you back! There are still many more continents for Japan to finish the fight on, after all.
Good to see you back! There are still many more continents for Japan to finish the fight on, after all.
Many things, none of which are worth posting here! Thank you all for the welcome back.
In North America, the sizable New England army spread out across that great land to stifle any dissent remaining in the many-times ravaged heartland. Many of the New Englanders looked around the distressing landscape with horror, not having truly understood the legacy of decades of war. More farm houses had been shelled, burnt, abandoned, or otherwise mangled than still stood. Some smaller cities contained only small numbers of citizens barely surviving on whatever food they could catch and kill. Or steal.
Perhaps worst of all, much of the destruction was not recent. Fighting between the Great Lakes Confederated and the Federated Union of America against Japan accounted for some of the damage. But most was what was left of the horror of civil wars that no one ever tried to erase or rebuild.
Sullen, angry glares did not help the mood. New Englanders were seen as cowards reaping the benefits of betraying whatever political cause or identity the person doing the glaring espoused.
On paper, New Britain was set to rise from the ashes and again become, purely by dint of population and natural resources, one of the world's major powers.
Reality looked somewhat different.
No one truly believed in the country. Even the name was clearly chosen by committee. Japan's geography-based Co-Prosperity ideology necessitated a large, unified country east of the Rocky Mountains, much to the consternation of nationalists in Tokyo. Everything from the Rio Grande watershed to the frozen north that sat where water flowed into the Hudson, Atlantic, and Caribbean was to be part of the new country.
Except, of course, that Quebec flatly refused to join an English-speaking domain. Japan threatened to cut off economic subsidies. Quebec did not budge, even to reconsider more rational borders. And so Quebec remained independent, though nominally a part of the Japanese alliance.
The Spanish-speaking towns south of the Rio Grande had no desire to become insanely violent gringos. The gringos themselves had no desire to share their country with former Mexicans. Canadians wanted their own country. So did Confederate sympathizers. Which did not ease insecurity felt by black Americans. Theoretically Japanese occupations and the puppet Federated Union of America government had ended racial segregation. Theoretically. What the future would hold remained fearful. A major duty of New Britain infantry (and all the New British forces were infantry, the construction of heavy weapons, ships, and aircraft was expressly forbidden by Japan) was to end a series of county-level conflicts between white and black militias in the south. Of course southern white militias didn't trust Yankees to be fair. Nor did black militias trust white mediators.
Sure, the government promoted national unity. And most people just wanted to manage three squares a day. But the new national propaganda sounded weak to just about everyone. New Britain was supposed to sound like New England but Britain was multi-ethnic rather than a nation-state like England. Someone in Tokyo came up with that one. A populace brought up American exceptionalism had trouble with the idea of the British concept of freedom being the root of their country. It was hard to accept colonists being the good guys in the Revolutionary War (advancing the idea of British freedom!) and the United States being the bad guys in the War of 1812 (Canada defends the ideas of British freedom against American expansionism) and to get everyone on the same page.
New Englanders themselves were simply happy to not be any-where-else-in-Americans. Except those subject to the rather harsh draft laws in New England. It was hoped that recruiting in the rest of what was now New Britain would mean a reduction in the draconian service lengths New Englanders had to serve. Then again, conscription officers organizing much of the rest of the country had a tendency to die of gunshot wounds.
One way or another, a country called New Britain existed, and it took up a lot of space on the maps.
What it would look like in another generation, on the maps or on the streets, was an open question.
Farther to the south, the new government of Centro America struggled to balance the industrial and population center of the Mexican highlands against, well, the rest of the country. The government was based in Guatemala, but the heart of the economy far to the north. Many observers gave the new country a better chance of forming a new, unified identity than in New Britain to the north. But that wasn't saying much.
On the open seas, Admiral Mikawa and the Third Transport Fleet refueled in Nagasaki en route to India from San Francisco, while Admiral Ozawa and the Second Transport Fleet arrived at the naval base on Trinidad.
Ozawa was to pick up many thousands of Japanese soldiers in Florida, the occupation of New Britain being left to the army of New Eng... New Britain.
The remaining Japanese forces in India, a strong contingent of marines, took advantage of an unguarded river crossing to attack a supply line at Arrah. Better equipped than the Russian forces guarding the city, Japanese forces inflicted significant casualties. Incidentally, fighting once again bypassed the ruins at the ancient capital of the Mauryan Empire, near Patna. They remained undamaged by the war.
Similar body counts were building up for the Russians assaulting Tabriz. Though here the Japanese defenders had lost a fair portion of their force killed in action as well. Morale nevertheless remained high, with the Japanese units in Tabriz well aware of the critical nature of the fighting they were engaged in.
Heroic efforts to throw back the enemy time and again at Tabriz won the battle of northern Syria for Japan. And Japanese cavalry knew how to press a victory.
Another of Japan's cavalry armies was ordered to the Indian theater from Florida, as Admiral Ozawa finally received his last-minute orders from the general staff in Tokyo.
In India, the Russian offensive finally cut the country in two, reaching the Bay of Bengal. But Indian forces firmly held on to the capital at Hyderabad, Japanese marines and Thai infantry ensured Russia could not take the Ganges or Calcutta, and even Mumbai looked as though it might hold. (Once Japan finally dedicated additional forces in the form of tactical bombers.)
Defenders in the city were still outnumbered by the attackers, but not by much. Japanese garrison forces, a Thai mountain division, and Indian conscripts were all organized by the standout Chinese General Liu Yuzhang who had no doubt the city would hold.
In Tabriz, heroic Japanese elite infantry threw back the attacking Russian army before reinforcements had time to walk to the city.
With all supply lines exhausted except a few straggling Internationale convoy ships suviving the Eastern Mediterranean gauntlet, the great Middle East pocket had all but collapsed.
Not, however, without some losses. Internationale air power had, surprisingly, been a formidable foe. Tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers lost their lives to terror from the sky, even during relatively simple mop-up operations like the reoccupation of the Turkish Mediterranean coast.
The Russian forces slowly pushing back the Indian, Thai, and Chinese armies in India turned north temporarily to attempt to push back Japanese gains. But the Russian forces, while sizeable, weren't big enough.
When Mikawa arrived in Bombay with more divisions, he found the city capably defended by Generaly Yuzhang. Pleased, the Japanese general staff authorized the reinforcing marines to land near Karachi, administrators from the "New India" in tow to govern the city. The military goal was to advance up the Indus and force a Russian retreat - if the weak Indian infrastructure allowed Russian forces to retreat fast enough.
Perhaps worst of all, much of the destruction was not recent. Fighting between the Great Lakes Confederated and the Federated Union of America against Japan accounted for some of the damage. But most was what was left of the horror of civil wars that no one ever tried to erase or rebuild.
Sullen, angry glares did not help the mood. New Englanders were seen as cowards reaping the benefits of betraying whatever political cause or identity the person doing the glaring espoused.
On paper, New Britain was set to rise from the ashes and again become, purely by dint of population and natural resources, one of the world's major powers.
Reality looked somewhat different.
No one truly believed in the country. Even the name was clearly chosen by committee. Japan's geography-based Co-Prosperity ideology necessitated a large, unified country east of the Rocky Mountains, much to the consternation of nationalists in Tokyo. Everything from the Rio Grande watershed to the frozen north that sat where water flowed into the Hudson, Atlantic, and Caribbean was to be part of the new country.
Except, of course, that Quebec flatly refused to join an English-speaking domain. Japan threatened to cut off economic subsidies. Quebec did not budge, even to reconsider more rational borders. And so Quebec remained independent, though nominally a part of the Japanese alliance.
The Spanish-speaking towns south of the Rio Grande had no desire to become insanely violent gringos. The gringos themselves had no desire to share their country with former Mexicans. Canadians wanted their own country. So did Confederate sympathizers. Which did not ease insecurity felt by black Americans. Theoretically Japanese occupations and the puppet Federated Union of America government had ended racial segregation. Theoretically. What the future would hold remained fearful. A major duty of New Britain infantry (and all the New British forces were infantry, the construction of heavy weapons, ships, and aircraft was expressly forbidden by Japan) was to end a series of county-level conflicts between white and black militias in the south. Of course southern white militias didn't trust Yankees to be fair. Nor did black militias trust white mediators.
Sure, the government promoted national unity. And most people just wanted to manage three squares a day. But the new national propaganda sounded weak to just about everyone. New Britain was supposed to sound like New England but Britain was multi-ethnic rather than a nation-state like England. Someone in Tokyo came up with that one. A populace brought up American exceptionalism had trouble with the idea of the British concept of freedom being the root of their country. It was hard to accept colonists being the good guys in the Revolutionary War (advancing the idea of British freedom!) and the United States being the bad guys in the War of 1812 (Canada defends the ideas of British freedom against American expansionism) and to get everyone on the same page.
New Englanders themselves were simply happy to not be any-where-else-in-Americans. Except those subject to the rather harsh draft laws in New England. It was hoped that recruiting in the rest of what was now New Britain would mean a reduction in the draconian service lengths New Englanders had to serve. Then again, conscription officers organizing much of the rest of the country had a tendency to die of gunshot wounds.
One way or another, a country called New Britain existed, and it took up a lot of space on the maps.
What it would look like in another generation, on the maps or on the streets, was an open question.
Farther to the south, the new government of Centro America struggled to balance the industrial and population center of the Mexican highlands against, well, the rest of the country. The government was based in Guatemala, but the heart of the economy far to the north. Many observers gave the new country a better chance of forming a new, unified identity than in New Britain to the north. But that wasn't saying much.
On the open seas, Admiral Mikawa and the Third Transport Fleet refueled in Nagasaki en route to India from San Francisco, while Admiral Ozawa and the Second Transport Fleet arrived at the naval base on Trinidad.
Ozawa was to pick up many thousands of Japanese soldiers in Florida, the occupation of New Britain being left to the army of New Eng... New Britain.
The remaining Japanese forces in India, a strong contingent of marines, took advantage of an unguarded river crossing to attack a supply line at Arrah. Better equipped than the Russian forces guarding the city, Japanese forces inflicted significant casualties. Incidentally, fighting once again bypassed the ruins at the ancient capital of the Mauryan Empire, near Patna. They remained undamaged by the war.
Similar body counts were building up for the Russians assaulting Tabriz. Though here the Japanese defenders had lost a fair portion of their force killed in action as well. Morale nevertheless remained high, with the Japanese units in Tabriz well aware of the critical nature of the fighting they were engaged in.
Heroic efforts to throw back the enemy time and again at Tabriz won the battle of northern Syria for Japan. And Japanese cavalry knew how to press a victory.
Another of Japan's cavalry armies was ordered to the Indian theater from Florida, as Admiral Ozawa finally received his last-minute orders from the general staff in Tokyo.
In India, the Russian offensive finally cut the country in two, reaching the Bay of Bengal. But Indian forces firmly held on to the capital at Hyderabad, Japanese marines and Thai infantry ensured Russia could not take the Ganges or Calcutta, and even Mumbai looked as though it might hold. (Once Japan finally dedicated additional forces in the form of tactical bombers.)
Defenders in the city were still outnumbered by the attackers, but not by much. Japanese garrison forces, a Thai mountain division, and Indian conscripts were all organized by the standout Chinese General Liu Yuzhang who had no doubt the city would hold.
In Tabriz, heroic Japanese elite infantry threw back the attacking Russian army before reinforcements had time to walk to the city.
With all supply lines exhausted except a few straggling Internationale convoy ships suviving the Eastern Mediterranean gauntlet, the great Middle East pocket had all but collapsed.
Not, however, without some losses. Internationale air power had, surprisingly, been a formidable foe. Tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers lost their lives to terror from the sky, even during relatively simple mop-up operations like the reoccupation of the Turkish Mediterranean coast.
The Russian forces slowly pushing back the Indian, Thai, and Chinese armies in India turned north temporarily to attempt to push back Japanese gains. But the Russian forces, while sizeable, weren't big enough.
When Mikawa arrived in Bombay with more divisions, he found the city capably defended by Generaly Yuzhang. Pleased, the Japanese general staff authorized the reinforcing marines to land near Karachi, administrators from the "New India" in tow to govern the city. The military goal was to advance up the Indus and force a Russian retreat - if the weak Indian infrastructure allowed Russian forces to retreat fast enough.
Those North American borders are nuts! In honor of the Americans losing 3 wars, one against themselves and two to Japan, and still coming out a continent-striding superpower owning Canada and parts of Mexico, I propose that the motto of New Britain be "There is a special Providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children and the United States of America." On the seal can just be this guy: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What's Japan's reason for giving them Nuevo Leon and Chihuahua? Is someone cynically trying to cripple them with even more ethnic tension?
What's Japan's reason for giving them Nuevo Leon and Chihuahua? Is someone cynically trying to cripple them with even more ethnic tension?
I felt myself somewhat constrained by my earlier "Co-Prosperity Sphere" ideology, in which Japan justified taking over pretty much everything in the Pacific by claiming it made economic sense to unify these areas. Looking purely at transportation infrastructure & watersheds, those parts of northern Mexico connected to New Mexico or the Rio Grande area don't have much reason to be part of another country. Obviously, other concerns are paramount, but this is an example of ideology trumping common sense. So, too, is allowing a big 'ole country to still exist...
Anyway, the borders are a bit messy, as I'm constrained by the province borders in the game engine.
Rio Grade watershed picture, btw: http://www.theriograndeaneaglesview.com/great_river_campaign.php
So that's pretty much the Chihuahua and Monterrey border justification.
Edit: I'm not terribly sure about a continent-striding superpower either. Perhaps a few decades into the future. It's certainly not very influential on the world stage. Internally, the divisions should be serious for the moment. To represent that in-game, I did NOT give New England any new cores, so the vast majority of that territory is NOT a national province.
Anyway, the borders are a bit messy, as I'm constrained by the province borders in the game engine.
Rio Grade watershed picture, btw: http://www.theriograndeaneaglesview.com/great_river_campaign.php
So that's pretty much the Chihuahua and Monterrey border justification.
Edit: I'm not terribly sure about a continent-striding superpower either. Perhaps a few decades into the future. It's certainly not very influential on the world stage. Internally, the divisions should be serious for the moment. To represent that in-game, I did NOT give New England any new cores, so the vast majority of that territory is NOT a national province.
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Continent-striding superpower? Vast swathes of that land is going to be nothing but dead weight for generations to come, and that's if every ethnic and racial tension is solved tomorrow.
I'm thinking New Britain is going to go the way of OTL Ottoman Empire the second Japan doesn't consider its existence ideologically necessary.
I love the look of North America. Good looking borders, if possibly tenous to hold.
Certainly possible. 'Superpower' was more of a humorous exaggeration, it's no TTL America that's for sure. But I do find the idea of the Americans losing and surrendering all the way to reunification and the annexation of nice chunks of Canada/Mexico pretty funny, even though it makes sense from the perspective of a frustrated, distracted Japanese government in love with the idea of super-sized countries.
And I think they've still got potential. They're being administered by the most moderate, temperate, and 'civil' faction in from the Civil War; they've still probably got a nice industrial core in Ohio/PA/New York and the Great Lakes since those areas keep falling to sweeping advances that came after organized resistance stopped; they're still crazy resource rich; and the rest of the industrialized world is on fire or in total war economy mode, which is probably an advantage to New British exports. I'll be real curious to see where they wind up in the 70s and 80s if SomeDude does an epilogue like that.
With Russian forces in Persia exhausted by the failed attempt to break the defenses at Tabriz, Japanese forces took advantage of the opportunity to expand their position in the country.
That's not to say successes could be found everywhere. Heavy casualties were suffered by Japanese forces before a surrender of two Russian divisions at Patna could be secured. A heavy price in lives was paid in the process.
Long ignored by the news, a sizable allied army continued to stare at an even larger Internationale army across the Bosporus.
In Primorsky, success retaking Khabarovsk and securing a crossing over the Amur river convinced the general staff to commit Japan's airborne reserves in Asia. While infantry landed at Okhotsk, four divisions of crack infantry were sprinkled along the north bank of the Amur and along the Pacific coast, especially at the mouth of the Amur.
The landings were a complete success. And with the airport at Khabarovsk secured, Japanese planes stopped patrolling the skies and began attacking Russian forces. Those same Russian divisions had gone from a boring but safe posting in the middle of nowhere to a state of heavy combat against an enemy superior in numbers and quality, with supply lines cut and daily air attacks against their positions. Despite the tactical disaster, the Russian soldiers fought heroically, consistently believing uplifting lies about reinforcements about to retake the north bank of the Amur and reopen supply lines.
Japanese generals intended to take as much territory as Russian forces allowed before winter halted actions in the theater.
With all essential repairs completed on the Zuikaku, Japan's First Air Fleet began its journey to Djibouti, where it could relieve Yamamoto and allow the Battleship Fleet to dock for its own repairs.
In northwestern India, a lack of a significant Russian rearguard convinced the general staff to pull three cavalry divisions off of the front lines (those divisions having only recently arrived in the theatre, at the same time as the marines that took Karachi). The cavalry would be tasked with holding the southern reaches of the Indus while the marines took the west bank of the Indus and cut the mountain routes into Afghanistan.
The Third Transport Fleet then left for Florida.
Reinforcements arriving in Calcutta marched south, to reestablish control of the Bay of Bengal coastline. Along the Ganges, fighting continued on familiar ground.
And on familiar seas. A minor skirmish between task forces occurred once again off the Cape of Good Hope.
A few Spanish destroyers were sunk by Japan's submarines. But Sakonji's weakening submarine force took heavy losses as well, and was forced to retreat to Mozambique for extended repairs.
In Mesopotamia, the pocket was crushed. A few Russian units hid in small towns and mountain valleys, attempting to escape detection, but already Field Marshal Ando was seeking targets of opportunity in the north Caucasus.
With the all-demanding pocket now settled, Japanese generals also couldn't ignore the natural pocketing opportunity provided by Hyrcania and a strong commitment to airborne infantry. Tall, forested mountains isolated the southern coast of the Caspian, and with Baku held by Japanese forces, there would be chance for the Russian divisions south of the Caspian except trying to fight their way out of the trap.
And, as it turns out, fighting heroically oftentimes results in death.
Rapid gains followed the collapse of the Russian positions along the Amur River.
But of all the theaters Russia was fighting in, the biggest question was India. Japan's landing on the Indus would force a reaction. But what could weakened Russia do?
That's not to say successes could be found everywhere. Heavy casualties were suffered by Japanese forces before a surrender of two Russian divisions at Patna could be secured. A heavy price in lives was paid in the process.
Long ignored by the news, a sizable allied army continued to stare at an even larger Internationale army across the Bosporus.
In Primorsky, success retaking Khabarovsk and securing a crossing over the Amur river convinced the general staff to commit Japan's airborne reserves in Asia. While infantry landed at Okhotsk, four divisions of crack infantry were sprinkled along the north bank of the Amur and along the Pacific coast, especially at the mouth of the Amur.
The landings were a complete success. And with the airport at Khabarovsk secured, Japanese planes stopped patrolling the skies and began attacking Russian forces. Those same Russian divisions had gone from a boring but safe posting in the middle of nowhere to a state of heavy combat against an enemy superior in numbers and quality, with supply lines cut and daily air attacks against their positions. Despite the tactical disaster, the Russian soldiers fought heroically, consistently believing uplifting lies about reinforcements about to retake the north bank of the Amur and reopen supply lines.
Japanese generals intended to take as much territory as Russian forces allowed before winter halted actions in the theater.
With all essential repairs completed on the Zuikaku, Japan's First Air Fleet began its journey to Djibouti, where it could relieve Yamamoto and allow the Battleship Fleet to dock for its own repairs.
In northwestern India, a lack of a significant Russian rearguard convinced the general staff to pull three cavalry divisions off of the front lines (those divisions having only recently arrived in the theatre, at the same time as the marines that took Karachi). The cavalry would be tasked with holding the southern reaches of the Indus while the marines took the west bank of the Indus and cut the mountain routes into Afghanistan.
The Third Transport Fleet then left for Florida.
Reinforcements arriving in Calcutta marched south, to reestablish control of the Bay of Bengal coastline. Along the Ganges, fighting continued on familiar ground.
And on familiar seas. A minor skirmish between task forces occurred once again off the Cape of Good Hope.
A few Spanish destroyers were sunk by Japan's submarines. But Sakonji's weakening submarine force took heavy losses as well, and was forced to retreat to Mozambique for extended repairs.
In Mesopotamia, the pocket was crushed. A few Russian units hid in small towns and mountain valleys, attempting to escape detection, but already Field Marshal Ando was seeking targets of opportunity in the north Caucasus.
With the all-demanding pocket now settled, Japanese generals also couldn't ignore the natural pocketing opportunity provided by Hyrcania and a strong commitment to airborne infantry. Tall, forested mountains isolated the southern coast of the Caspian, and with Baku held by Japanese forces, there would be chance for the Russian divisions south of the Caspian except trying to fight their way out of the trap.
And, as it turns out, fighting heroically oftentimes results in death.
Rapid gains followed the collapse of the Russian positions along the Amur River.
But of all the theaters Russia was fighting in, the biggest question was India. Japan's landing on the Indus would force a reaction. But what could weakened Russia do?