The Setting Sun - Gotterdammerung, Japan 1944.

[unmerged(59906)]

"Military last today."

"Your Majesty, Gentlemen." began Tanigawa. "Two of our ongoing operations concluded in June. Operations Dilemma and Realisation both achieved their objectives with only Operation Trust still active and due to complete shortly. I will hand you over to Minister Satoru for a general briefing on our current situation."

"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. There have been some advances during June by our forces with no real response from our enemies that made any change to our plans." Satoru began.​

"The Pacific has seen one change with our capture of the island of Yap to try and halt at least some of the Air attacks on the Marianas. The capture of the island has seen such air raids drop in number fairly dramatically leading us to believe that we destroyed several squadrons during the invasion. A major American attack against Saipan was repulsed with little difficulty. We have no plans to try and force the Allies any further east for the time being as it would just leave our stretched defences to cover even more territory. We will try and defend Yap but not very vigorously and the invading troops are already back on Japanese soil."​

"Asia has changed quite a lot. Indochina is now firmly back under our control and that of our Siamese puppet. I will go into greater detail on other areas."​

"Almost all of our troops are now in Manchukuo that are destined to go there. The Armour will move into Harbin shortly to reinforce the weakest point in the defences. Six infantry will also be landed in Chongyin within two weeks to bolster the Korean defensive line. This will leave nine divisions in Japan as a reaction force. You will notice that our line is slightly further forward than originally planned and is a direct response to a lack of any Soviet build up."​

"Most of North China Army forces are also in the front line. We now know for certain that there has been no Soviet build up in Mongolia and our forces have a distinct advantage in this area."​

"North west China has also seen some changes with a large force arriving in Urumqi to bolster the defences of the area. We are also advancing on Aksu and will try and take the two remaining British provinces in this area from India once the troops arrive. The Soviet troops that had been on this border have left and there is no Soviet force visible in this area."​

"All ground opposition in India has been removed for the time being and our forces are currently advancing at their own pace without interference. We should have most of India under our control by the end of July barring some alteration in the current force sizes.

We are delaying our advance on Bombay to give our bombers some time to destroy as much of the British fleet in the harbour before it can flee. The fleet is too large for us to try and intercept it at sea as it contains a large number of Carriers and Battleships. Nothing more from me and I will hand you over to the Chief of the Navy." concluded Satoru.

"Thank you Minister Satoru. Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." Osami began. "Operation Trust should complete some time today and a seperate briefing will follow its conclusion."​

"June was a pretty successful month as far as shipping losses are concerned. We lost nothing and our enemies lost a considerable amount of vessels of which some were capital ships. The losses on the last day were against very badly damaged British ships in Bombay. Losses are as follows:

Australian Losses

1 x Destroyer Flotilla.

Brazilian Losses

1 x Transport Flotilla.

Canadian Losses

1 x Light Cruiser.
1 x Destroyer Flotilla.

French Losses

1 x Submarine Flotilla.

British Losses

1 x Aicraft Carrier.
1 x Battleship.
1 x Heavy Cruiser.
1 x Light Cruiser.
2 x Destroyer Flotillas.
1 x Transport Flotilla.

American Losses

1 x Battleship.
1 x Light Carrier.
10 x Destroyer Divisions.
6 x Transport Divisions.

Thirty ships or flotillas in all with over half being American. The lack of Transport Flotillas other than American is very noticable and it is likely that we have all but exhausted the British Merchant Marine. With some luck we can destroy a large part of the British fleet in Bombay which should reduce the Royal Navy to nothing more than a coastal patrol fleet.

There does appear to be a slow but steady increase in American Carriers. We can probably expect this to accelerate over time and we will be required to sink several of these on a regular basis to keep the numbers managable. BB Division 3 did sink the only American Battleship this last month which means that we can defeat smaller fleets but we will still avoid any large scale battles. Nothing more." Osami concluded.

"Congratulations on your successes in Indochina and India Gentlemen. Now all we have to do is keep what we have gained and try to avoid a War with the Soivets." Hirohito said as he left the room.​

 

[unmerged(59906)]

you made me look! well I mean your AAR made me try '44 Japan I learned a lot in the first week gametime, such as: headon colission with USN = Bad, at this point in time... going to try again tomorrow

Yeah the USN is not to be messed with at the start for sure. If at first you don't succeed try, try again. Better luck next time

 

[germanpeon]

I think you posted the USA intel screen twice, the second time being where you wanted Japanese intel/research to be.

 

[unmerged(87183)]

Nice monthly update Remble!

 

[sbr]

Love the monthly updates.

Good work in India.

 

[Juan_de_Marco]

AARRR! But I managed to sneak in some kills on the older USN BBs using my SHBB CAG. I must do a naval AAR one of these days...

 

[zdlugasz]

His manpower pool when last seen was 64 MP, with a .6 increase. The reinforcements were mostly for ships and aircraft so the needs there are low.

Stupid me. Did not look at the resource status screen.



Good work Remble. Since USA is increasing number of modern CV shouldn't you lay at least one or 2 new keels?

 

[Deus]

Good. Looks like the middle east will be yours soon aswell. The soviets are a threat to take into account. I thought that your relations with them were better.

 

[Sokraates]

Japan is shaping up very well. Congratulations.

When do you take the screenshots for the meeting? Sometime during or at the beginning/end of the old month? If I understand correctly, the screenshot showing the resources is from sometime at the beginning of June while you have already posted such screenshots from the end of June.

So we are actually better informed than the cabinet! WOOHOO!!! (safe for the emperor, who also gets to know about secret operations early on)

It's nice to know that we this important to you.

I'm looking forward to your update on operation Trust.

 

[UncleAlias]

Great work on the relationship with Soviet Union! Soon, Unka Joe will just not like you and, with any chance only despise you...

 

[unmerged(59906)]

germanpeon - Well spotted and fixed, thank you

Maj. von Mauser, sbr - Thank you

Juan_de_Marco - Naval combat is fun certainly.

zdlugasz - I will be taking some steps to build more ships but not the large types just yet.

Deus - They like to send the odd spy which messes up relations most of the time as I catch them.

Sokraates - I reload the save game for the first of the month to take the screenshots for monthly meetings. The production screenshot is always from the 2nd of the month as I have to run it a day to get the actual numbers and these can be wildly off sometimes. Everyone who reads or posts is important as an AAR without a readership is fairly pointless

UncleAlias - Having a friendly Soviet is going to make this a little difficult I think. Nearly all of my forces are positioned to fight the Red Army and I am ready for the War, or as ready as I can be. I might well have to DoW them if they decide diplomacy is better than War.

Update to follow including the latest operation ...

 

[unmerged(59906)]

Expanding Empire​

3​

0100 July 1st 1945.
Industry offices. Tokyo, Japan.

Minister Osami had accompanied Ginjiro back to his offices after the monthly meeting to discuss another building project for the Imperial Japanese Navy.​

The new vessels would not be modern but the Battlefleets would require them and there was no telling when a more modern Light Carrier variant would be researched. They were also relatively cheap but did require a significant amount of time to build.​

0000 July 1st 1945.
The Skies Above the Mariana Trench.

All four Naval bombers squadrons as well as four Interceptor squadrons decended upon Admiral Reeves' fleet in the North Mariana Trench.​

They would not manage to sink any ships but would cause enough damage to put it out of action for a time.​

An hour later two Interceptor wings were scrambled on Palau to engage an American Strategic bomber wing that was bombing the island. Odds of two to one would greatly favour the Interceptors and the bombers took significantly more damage.​

The harbour of Bombay would see ten Tactical bomber squadrons attack the British fleet anchored within its confines. The bombers were receiving damage from the Carriers in the fleet but they were inflicting considerably more damage upon the ships below them.​

1600 July 1st 1945.
Naval offices. Tokyo, Japan.

The Cabinet had assembled in Osami's office for a briefing on Operation Trust and its progress. The only person absent was Minister Tanigawa who was giving a private briefing to the Emperor.

"Good morning Gentlemen. I have asked you all here to provide a detailed report on Operation Trust, which has now concluded." Osami began.​

"After the successful capture of Ahmadabad Admiral Kato sailed his Transport fleet to Moulmein in Indochina to embark our two marine divisions. He sailed for Ahmadabad on June 9th to rebase closer to his area of operations with escort being provided by BB Division 2, which would accompany him all the way and then provide coastal patrol along the west Indian coast."​

"On June 19th Kato sailed for the coast of Oman accompanied by BB Division 1 which would provide Naval Gunfire Support for his planned invasion of Mascate. Carrier Group C would provide protection to the west as it covered the entrance to the Red Sea."​

"The invasion began on June 21st and was successful. The single defending division was captured by the marines, led by General Imamura and Mj. General Banzai."​

"The marines landed without any enemy activity on June 25th at 0800 hours. They would wait for several hours before commencing with the operation which was only partially complete."​

"At 1200 hours on June 26th both fleets headed for the coast of Yemen where a second invasion would occur."​

 

[unmerged(59906)]

"This amphibious assault would also meet with only limited resistance and the defending division was captured during the attack."​

"Both marine divisions landed at 1500 hours today July 1st. There was no enemy fleet activity at all during either invasion and all forces involved will now leave the area and head for Ahmadabad to undergo repairs before new operations commence."​

"Minister Mamoru was advised of our progress and has since held talks with both Countries Ambassadors and they are currently vacating their diplomatic offices as they no longer have a Nation to carry out diplomacy for.

The entire operation took place without our enemies being able to react in time and with some luck all of our forces will be able to leave the area without incident. Operation Trust is therefore complete."

"We are just going to allow the Allies to retake the territory?" asked Hideki.

"Yes Prime Minister. The operation was designed to keep the Allies off guard and to give them other things to consider other than just reinforcing India. We gained little, other than the demise of two enemy Nations, and their small stockpiles of raw materials."

"We may as well all get back to work then." said Hideki as he stood and left.​

1300 July 2nd 1945.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamashiro, West Gulf of Aden.

Yamamoto was already giving the orders for all three fleets in the area to sail for Ahmadabad when he received the latest report from the bombers over Bombay.​

The Carrier HMS Victorius had been sunk and HMS Illustrious was also close to following her sister ship to the bottom of the harbour. The bombers were quickly turning what was once a major fleet into nothing more than rusting scrap metal.​

By 1900 hours Kato had picked up the marines from Yemen and all three fleets sailed for the safety of Ahmadabad where they could conduct repairs. Yamamoto's plans were no longer centered around India and in time the fleets would head east. The Royal Navy was a shattered force which left only one other major sea power that the Imperial Japanese Navy needed to subdue.​

0000 July 3rd 1945.
Industry Offices. Tokyo, Japan.

The first of many upgrades needed by Japan's Armed Forces had been completed in fairly short order.​

One of Air General Kondo's two Tactical bomber squadrons had been improved but still needed further upgrades.​

0000 July 4th 1945.
Diplomatic Offices. Tokyo, Japan.

Yakov Malik, Soviet Ambassador to Japan, was becoming a frequent visitor to Mamoru's offices in Tokyo. Relations between his Country and Japan were still nothing short of cold but were beginning to thaw slightly due to recent trade negotiations. Malik was a diplomat and he did not wish to see war between the two Countries. If Stalin ordered it to be so then he would be the one to bring the news to the Japanese Foreign Minister.

Todays visit was not by order of Stalin but by request.

"Good morning Amabassador." Mamoru greeted him.

"Minister Mamoru. How are you today." he replied.

"I am well thank you. Tea?"

"Tea would be nice." Malik responded. He did not really like tea, he preferred vodka, but allowing Mamoru to flaunt Japanese conquests seemed to put the little man more at ease so he humoured him. "I trust you have a diplomatic reason for asking me to pay you a visit Minister?"​

"My Country has increased its production of supplies of late and I thought we could exchange some resources as a result. Your vast armies do need to be fed after all and that must be a huge burden on your own industry." replied Mamoru.

"You wish to trade for more energy I take it?"

"That would be our preference yes."

"That seems reasonable." Malik replied. He knew, as did his superiors, that Japan was woefully short of energy resources and he had been told to accept trades of this sort. Having a Country dependant on your resources made it a lot easier to destabalise that Country when the time came. This lesson the Japanese should have learned from their little oil problem with the United States. "Unseasonably bad weather this week." Malik said as he allowed the discussion to switch to small talk.​

0600 July 4th 1945.
BB Division 1 Flagship. East Gulf of Aden.

A report from BB Division 1 indicated that a Brazilian armoured division had been landed in Karachi. Koga was attempting to locate the Transport fleet that had delivered the troops.​

He found a French Transport fleet in the Mouths of the Indus which was quickly dispatched by IJN Nagato.​

The latest update on the British fleet in Bombay indicated that both HMS Illustrious and HMS Indefatigable had been sunk leaving the fleet without Carriers. The Battleship HMS Valiant would now be the primary target for the bombers.

Yamamoto received some very unwelcome news at 0300 hours on July 5th. An American Carrier fleet had closed on the three Japanese fleets leaving the Red Sea and the two hour gap between BB Division 1 and Kato's Transport fleet proved to be a problem.​

The Transport fleet was left with just its Heavy Cruisers to ward off Admiral Cooley's fleet, led by the new Aircraft Carrier USS Antietam. There were also several Light Carriers present. Two hours earlier BB Division 1 would also have been involved and its Battleships could have made a big difference.

Fortunately it was only one Aircraft Carrier and no ships were sunk. Several of the Transport ships received fairly substantial damage and would require some time to repair but a disaster had been averted. Two marine divisions on those Transport ships were something Japan definately did not want to lose.

All three fleets would make it safely back to Ahmadabad after this small mishap.

The bad news didn't end there for Yamamoto as he received a report from Admiral Godo, commander of Carrier Group D. Godo had responded to a Submarine force detected off Amami but there were not only Submarines present.​

Carrier Group D found the enemy fleets in North Ryukyu. The Light Cruiser would prove to be a huge problem as it was allowed to close the range and exchange fire with IJN Zuikaku during the night. Several escort ships were also damaged as they tried to protect the Carrier but it suffered a large amount of damage as a result. The enemy fleet did not escape without damage of its own and all ships involved headed for friendly ports to conduct repairs. IJN Zuikaku would require at least five months in port to repair the damage she had sustained.​

 

[unmerged(61891)]

Ouch. Who knew a single CL could pummel a CTF?

I also note the irony of Japanese military might proving British ships' names wrong. HMS's Invincible, Indefatigable, and more have met their rather timely ends. Huzzah!

 

[Deus]

Summa summarum the news you provided is not that bad. If you remove the British fleet then you have to worry about only the Americans.

 

[Thurak]

Is there any possibility not to suffer a major energy crisis when the war against the SU starts? I don´t see one, but that does not mean there is none...
Do you trade with every south American country for their energy? Argentinia could have a little. Venezuela often has a surplus on everything because of its oil trading... every 2 energy more is one IC more running later

 

[I Killed Kenny]

Energy will be a problem, that is for sure but I'm sure Remble is making the math and he will know exactly how many days (of energy) he will have to conduct his maneuvers against the soviets...

 

[unmerged(87183)]

I might well have to DoW them if they decide diplomacy is better than War.

I wouldn't do that as it would wreck the realism of the story, because right now all the Japanese are wishing against the war.

If they go to far nobody would think it cheating the fire the event manually.

Besides I really think that they will DOW themselves.

Anyways, I had to laugh after you conquered Yemen and Oman. Too bad about the naval battles though, but at least you didn't lose anything.

 

[unmerged(56277)]

Yay i was right on the operation trust. What do i win?

 

[Sokraates]

This must have been the greatest distraction in the history of warfare. Annexing two countries with the sole purpose of keeping your enemies off balance is ... Remblesque!

What was the main cause for the incredible damage to the Zuikaku? Doctrines? Combat modifiers? Bad luck?

Bettter luck against the "threat from the east" and their carriers next time.