The Setting Sun - Gotterdammerung, Japan 1944.

[unmerged(59906)]

Maj. von Mauser, rampagingmouse - Thank you. The British have more Battleships than the Americans now

robou - The British aren't going anywhere. I have already destroyed too many of their troops for them to be any real threat.

Sokraates - Thanks. One thing has made this a lot easier than it could have been. No Soviet DoW. If they had DoW'd early then the USN would still be afloat and I would probably be going backwards in the Pacific without the full support of the airforce. As DvD-IT says it is probably possible to World Conquest but it will be very time consuming on this difficulty level and my TC will go through the roof without any garrisons.

Reado - An old lady and a handbag could stop the British in India

DvD-IT, intruder alert - Australia is an option but it also raises TC as a result of the partisan activity. I can actually see myself with something along the lines of 400% TC overload at some point. Imagine the load that the Soviet Union would place on TC without garrisons?

genbrad - My current infantry research is at 1943 model. This is the ideal one to use as the 1945 variant uses oil and I will not upgrade to that for some time if I do at all. The older infantry are mostly from my puppets with some even being 1918 model. The British don't have any aircraft that can bomb India very well which means they are destined to be blown apart as usual.

Ruodnane - Friendly fire is rare but can happen and does. I also had the same problems in my other AAR where one of my SHBB's nearly sank a Heavy Cruiser. A British Battleship got the kill but it did almost no damage.

thatguy is partially correct as to why it happens. Positioning is one factor but in my experience there is a second factor. I can't remember seeing friendly fire when I only have one fleet in operation in a battle. This means that multiple fleets seem to also be a huge factor in friendly fire incidents. This makes some sort of sense but the actual chances of ships shooting their own side are remote. Much more likely to happen to ground troops or aircraft but it never does in HoI.

Nathan Madien - Thanks. I hate walking across bad terrain and invasions are fairly quick.

Monthly update to follow ...

 

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Update (November 1st 1945)​

0000 November 1st 1945.
Imperial Palace. Tokyo, Japan.

"Your Majesty, Gentlemen, good morning." Hideki began the monthly meeting. "We will start with Intelligence today please."

"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. Intelligence estimates are as inaccurate as always but the numbers do show a few things of note." Kuniaki began.​

"Soviet production is unchanged but our relations with them are improving very quickly due to the large amount of trade agreements between us. They completed research in two projects, a better Radar and an Advanced Synthetic Oil Plant. They should finish two additional projects in November.

Their ground forces are steadily approaching six hundred divisions which would give them roughly a five to one advantage against our forces if they committed their entire army. No change to their Airforce or Navy."​

"United Kingdom production remains low due to resource shortages. They also completed two research projects one of which was an improved Static Anti-Aircraft defence. The second project we are unsure of.

Their Army has remained largely unchanged as has the Royal Air Force. There has also been no change to the Royal Navy. The impact on their production is apparently causing large problems and we estimate a fair percentage of the industrial capacity that they do have is being used for supplies and consumer goods."​

"No change to the industrial might of the United States. They completed research into a Turbojet Tactical Bomber. Their aircraft technology is a fair way ahead of ours at the moment.

The Army has shown a small loss and the Airforce a slight gain in Fighters. There has been some change to the United States Navy. We sank another three Battleships leaving them with two. We know one of these is the USS Washington which is badly damaged and almost certainly undergoing repairs somewhere. There has been a very large increase in Aircraft Carriers, almost doubling the amount we knew about a month ago. This is entirely possible as we knew they were mass producing this type of ship. Their small ships have also increased despite the fact that we sunk a fair amount in October."

"That amount of Carriers could be a problem for us, particularly if they can keep producing them at this rate. Minister Osami what is your assessment of the enemy Carrier force?" Hirohito asked.

"To be completely honest your Majesty if our Carriers went head to head with the more modern American Fleet Carriers we would almost certainly lose. Their Carriers are modern and they have overtaken our lead in doctrines for this type of fleet warfare. In a similar fashion our Battleship fleets would also probably lose against them during daylight hours. We can still match them at night when they are a lot less potent." Osami replied.

"As I thought, not very good. I take it you have a plan to deal with them?"

"Of course your Majesty. Our air cover is extensive and we have ample bomber squadrons in the Pacific to sink them if they try and get too close. We did have to move some bombers to India but we should still have enough for patrols and bombing runs. We will avoid large Naval battles as we have been if at all possible." replied Osami.

"Thank you Minister Osami. Please continue Minister Kuniaki."

"Thank you your Majesty."​

"We completed two research projects during October. Infiltration in Depth which will enhance our ground forces capabilities and Improved Rocket Interceptors which will eventually lead to much better aircraft of this type. Nothing further from me today." Kuniaki concluded.

"Industry next please."

"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." Ginkiro began. "There were no changes to our production during Otober and we have nothing due in November."​

"Our industrial output dropped a very small amount due to losses in India. I am assured that we will regain those factories fairly swiftly. The oil problem that has been plaguing Asia has been fixed and normal operations can resume in that area.

Our stockpiles remain in a fair condition but all of our resources could benefit from being increased when possible. Manpower is my top concern for now with our current annual recruitment approximately equal to sixteen infantry divisions. This does not take into account manpower lost to replace casualties, which have been very light during the last few months. Current repairs are for ships which increased slightly because of some more damage to the Imperial Japanese Navy.

One Carrier is fully repaired and a second should also be completed this month. We will also finish repairs to one Battleship and several smaller vessels.

We still have over one hundred and twenty combat units to upgrade of which some require several upgrades. Infantry and armour is the current priority with large parts of the Air Force not requiring any upgrades until further research is completed.

Transport capacity remains above our limit and some shortfalls in supplies will result form this. There is little that can be done to reduce this problem short of raising more garrison divisions for which we have little manpower to spare. Each garrison requires the same manpower as a full infantry division when you add in its police brigade. That is all from me today." concluded Ginjiro.

"Armed Forces please."

"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. We continue our advance in the Pacific and have caused yet more damage to the United States Pacific Fleet. As we have already discussed we do have some concerns for their increased Carrier numbers. We have lost some territory in India but we should have little trouble reclaiming it now that our aircraft can fly a more normal routine.

We have made several plans for the Pacific, all of which are viable, but each carries risks particularly if the American Carriers catch us at a bad time. Minister Satoru will brief us on the current position and outline our options." Tanigawa stated.

"Your Majesty, Gentlemen. Good morning." Satoru began. "I will conduct a small round-up of Asia before moving on to our plans for the Pacific."​

"There is still no front line build of Soviet forces against our troops manning the north western border. This leads us to believe that either the Soviets have no intention of declaring war or that they have placed their troops out of sight but close to the border. Our defences remain as they were across almost the entire area."​

"The only change is in western India. We have lost two provinces but have enough forces to deal with this problem without having to reinforce the area. There are five Tactical and five Dive bomber squadrons flying out of Ahmadabad and they should quickly reverse the situation. The Tactical bombers will concentrate on Persia as they have the range to do so, while the Close Air Support aircraft begin to reduce the invading troops in India."​

 

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"The only area of change in the Pacific is in the south. We are still fighting for the Celebes with the Americans still managing to reinforce their invasion periodically. New Guinea is being captured rapidly with no enemy forces present on the island. We should have the entire island under our control by the end of November and we can use it as a launching pad for future operations.

We have two operational Battleship fleets in the area protecting our landings as well as one reserve Battleship fleet in Saipan and a Carrier Group off Palau. If used at once we can support four landings with protection, but this would also require us to reduce our Transport fleets carrying capacity, in order to have a similar number of fleets. We can do this but it will mean less firepower for the Transport fleets.

I will now move on to our current thinking and possible operations. All of these plans are subject to change at short notice and all will be abandoned if we enter into a War with the Soviet Union."​

"Our entire emphasis is on denying the enemy a place from which to launch a supported attack. This means the capture of all port and airbase facilities throughout the Pacific. The hardest one to reach is Attu Island in the extreme north. The only way we can capture this island is by first taking back Wake Island to provide us with a base close enough to invade Attu. This invasion would be without air support as we have no aircraft capable of operating at that range. We have no idea if Attu is garrisoned but we would find out before we made a move in its direction."​

"The remainder of the Pacific is also not quite as well populated with bases as you might think. Should we capture Wake, Eniwetok, Kwajalein and Truk islands we would remove all bases in the central Pacific from the Americans. This would leave Pearl Harbour as their ownly northern port and airbase. This would not allow us to weaken our defences of the Marianas as they would still be in range of Admiralty Island, Australia and the Solomons.

The Carolines, including Truk, are probably our highest priority target but they are also fairly well garrisoned. We would need to reduce the defences of some islands prior to invasion or risk heavy casualties.

Admiralty island is thought to be too well defended with five divisions defending it but we could move south of it into the Solomons and also retake Rabaul. We would have to ascertain the defences of the Solomons but we know that Rabaul has no troops stationed on it for the time being. We might need to try and starve out the forces on Admiralty Island if the defences remain as they are.

Moving onto the southern areas of operation and possible assaults. Australia is clearly a major target both to remove its port and airbase facilities and to remove an enemy. There are also some raw materials on the island of use to us. We have no idea how well the island is defended but we can assume it is defended fairly well. Should we manage to conquer Australia then we can progress east towards New Zealand, the New Hebreides and Fiji.

Should we manage to capture every target on this map then the Allies would have one port and one airbase in the Pacific and that would be Pearl Harbour.

The ground forces for these operations will come from Fukuoka, where nine divisions are currently the operational reserve for Korea, and three more divisions coming from the Philippines which would need a smaller garrison as we advance. We already have four infantry divisions in New Guinea which is all we require to guard the airbases and ports of the island. The two marine divisions will spearhead any advances we try and make.

There are several complications. Firstly we would move out of our defensive air cover and into our enemies air cover. This could result in large losses if we conduct operations too slowly.

Moving out of our air cover will also allow the United States Navy to approach without being spotted beforehand. The naval battles we are trying to avoid could be a result.

A lack of troops available for a speedy conclusion to operations. We cannot simply over run Australia and we will need significant air support to advance. This could take several months to complete and would leave those forces vunerable during this time. The added problem with Australia is the need for a large garrison to suppress the population. Minister Ginjiro has already pointed out that these garrisons are unlikely to be available which would mean we have to leave a large infantry force on the island. The increased levels of partisan activity would also push up or Transport Capacity and have further impact on all of our forces."

"A lot of choices Minister Satoru. I would like you to concentrate on capturing undefended islands first, and you do not necessarily need to leave troops on them, although it would be nice to hold them. Any step forward we make would slow down any counter attack by the Allies should it come. We can always withdraw back to our current defensive lines if needed. If you can also invade Australia at the same time please do so." stated Hirohito.

"As you wish your Majesty. I think that concludes the planning so I will hand you over to Minster Osami for a Naval briefing." concluded Satoru.

"Your Majesty, Gentlemen, good morning. October saw further losses to the United States Navy as well as the Australian Navy. We lost no ships during this period but did suffer some damage." Osami began.​

"Losses were as follows:

Australian Losses

2 x Heavy Cruisers.
1 x Light Cruiser.
1 x Destroyer Flotilla.

New Zealand Losses

1 x Transport Flotilla.

American losses

3 x Battleships.
1 x Battlecuiser.
1 x Light Carrier.
2 x Heavy Cruisers.
2 x Light Cruisers.
7 x Destroyer Divisions.
1 x Transport Division.

Twenty two ships or flotillas in all mostly American. There have been very few Transport fleets spotted and we think we may have almost crippled their Merchant Marine. They are still managing to move troops around so they still posses some capacity, but nowhere near what they used to have.

Two of our Battleships have returned to Japan for repairs and one will be able to leave shortly after repairs are complete. We will order the larger Transport fleet back to Japan where it will embark the forces in Fukuoka. The second Transport fleet will split in two and carry on with operations around New Guinea initially. Once we have secured New Guinea and the Celebes we will move our forces forward for the next phase. Done." Osami concluded.

"Well Gentlemen things are still moving in our favour and we should make the most of the situation. There is the ever present threat from the Soviets hanging over us but we will not let it alter our plans until it materialises." Hirohito concluded the meeting as he stood and left.​

 

[Kanil]

To Alaska!

 

[Inner Circle]

I´m smelling some invasions in the air...

btw: could you please send me the latest savegame? send it to digga16@web.de

 

[Sokraates]

Over there, over there,
Send the word, send the word over there -
That the Japs are coming,
The Japs are coming,
The drums rum-tumming
Ev'rywhere.
So prepare, say a pray'r,
Send the word, send the word to beware.
We'll be over, we're coming over,
And we won't come back till it's over
Over there.*​

*Slightly adapted version of "Over There" by George M. Cohan.

 

[unmerged(47302)]

I'm happy to see that, even if you had great success until now, the history remains very challenging with:
- resources issue,
- US AI spam,
- perfid UK backstab.

Keep going, I'm not bored!

 

[Phax]

your blob would look much better if you annexed tibet...

 

[Murmurandus]

Mmm, how kind of the Soviets to let you tackle the Pacific first...

 

[safferli]

Ah, the good ol' monthly Emperor briefings! Good to see that the USSR has decided to stay put... this will give you some time!

 

[Inner Circle]

Ah, the good ol' monthly Emperor briefings! Good to see that the USSR has decided to stay put... this will give you some time!

give them always vodka and they are quiet!

btw: thanks for the savegame!

 

[unmerged(96832)]

nice update

but i agree with phax it would be nice if you annexed tibet.

i am a big fan of just i colour maps

good work on the naval front keep it up

 

[gunboat]

DvD-IT, intruder alert - Australia is an option but it also raises TC as a result of the partisan activity. I can actually see myself with something along the lines of 400% TC overload at some point. Imagine the load that the Soviet Union would place on TC without garrisons?

If you ever annex/occupy the USA or USSR you have to allow yourself to release puppets. (I think releasing India would be okay as well - no way Japan would not have done so in real life (would have had to) - not that this is anywhere close to real life!)

 

[unmerged(62478)]

You would need someone as China to cover your back.

 

[Nathan Madien]

your blob would look much better if you annexed tibet...

Given that Tibet poses no harm to the mighty Japanese Empire, I say let her live. Better yet, take advantage of the fact that Tibet is isolated and turn the country into a tourist trap for mountain climbers.

 

[unmerged(61811)]

Plus attacking the people of Tibet may give the Russians more reason to attack.

 

[unmerged(59906)]

Kanil - Alaska is a long way away yet

Inner Circle - Invasions? me? Now why would I do that That save game is actually up to date or was when I sent it. Its obsolete now of course.

Sokraates - I am glad they don't know where I am going to or it could be a hot reception.

alan_le_cowboy - Japan certainly has some very bad problems to deal with which will continue throughout I would expect. Resources I can fix if I can conquer a major Nation but the manpower problem is permanent because I refuse to edit around it. Manpower is key and will certainly make me move a lot slower than I would like.

Phax - Tibet is safe for some time to come. I could easily take it but as has been mentioned it raises belligerance and gives the Soviets one more reason to attack. Tibet is also on the 'does not like being conquered' list which means its a high partisan Country and I don't need that right now. I also would suffer a 1.1% dissent hit for the DoW. Add it all up and I ain't marching into those mountains for a while

Murmurandus, safferli - The Soviets are watching avidly. They have two choices. Save the Allies or backstab them and start WWIII

rampagingmouse - Thank you

gunboat, Delex - Historically Japan would probably already have 4 or 5 puppets but I like to change history a little bit and my Hirohito hates puppets and will continue to do so.

Nathan Madien, Cpt Rossi - belligerance needs to remain as low as possible certainly and mountain climbing is always a viable option.

Update to follow (I spent last night playing 2 months to get ahead again) ...

 

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A Pacific War​

7​

0000 November 1st 1945.
Diplomatic Offices. Tokyo, Japan.

Mamoru had been given another task to complete on top of his current trade policy. He could make some adjustments to existing agreements in a few weeks.​

For now he handed over some research blueprints to the Japanese puppet of Manchukuo. This puppet was the most advanced and would also benefit most from the technology. Japan's other two puppets were still struggling with their current projects and would not need any further assistance for a time, which was just as well, because finances were tight.​

0200 November 1st 1945.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamashiro, Saipan.

The military planners in Japan had given Yamamoto a new set of priorities most of which he was happy with. They had largely left it up to him as to how he achieved the aims set out before him. First and foremost he had to alter his deployments to provide the required strike forces for operations.

Any such plans were always subject to change at short notice particularly when enemy fleets decided to try and intervene.​

The Canadians apparently had an Aircraft Carrier. HMCS Warrior was not modern by Allied standards but she was at least on a par with most Japanese Carriers. He ordered BB Division 1 to sea to intercept the Carrier. He timed his move so that it would be night when the two fleets met but that delay would allow the Carrier to escape before Yamamoto could catch it. Japanese patrol aircraft would keep an eye on its movements and he was sure another opportunity would materialise.​

Ongoing operations around New Guinea were still fairly hectic. Slowly but surely the island was becoming Japanese with Mj. General Banzai claiming the final airbase facility in Port Moresby. He would not be staying long as he had other provinces to capture.​

An American Transport fleet had managed to survive long enough to drop its cargo off on the island of Wolelai in the Carolines. Enemy force sizes on Ngulu in the west and Truk in the east were still too high to contemplate an invasion of either island.​

Fukui's Interceptor wing had been rebased to Lae in eastern New Guinea where it was split in two and commenced Naval patrols throughout the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands. They encountered numerous small Australian fleets on their first flights all consisting of Destroyer Flotillas.​

The overflights of the interceptors provided intelligence on Rabaul and Tactical bombers were dispatched to find out what was in its port. The mostly Submarine force became nothing but Submarines after the first bombing run sank the Destroyer Flotilla. The Submarines would be considerably harder to sink.

Yamamoto did not have to wait long for further reports on the Canadian Carrier Task Force. It had sailed south into the Palau Trench.​

The Canadian fleet had walked right into Carrier Group C which contained four Carriers to the Canadians one. Good weather and daylight gave the HMCS Warrior no chance of survival but she did inflict a large amount of damage to the Heavy Cruiser Myoko before she was sunk by aircraft from IJN Ryuho. IJN Hiyo's aircraft would account for Destroyer Flotilla 4. IJN Myoko would be ordered back to Osaka for repairs having done her job of taking damage for the Carriers she was there to protect.​

0400 November 2nd 1945.
North China Army Headquarters. Lanzhou, China.

The promised oil supplies had materialised and all ten bomber squadrons had taken off at midnight on November 2nd. Within four hours they were over their targets.​

The single enemy divisions had been targetted first but the bombers would have the freedom of picking their targets as they saw fit. There was no enemy airbase anywhere close enough to provide air cover for the Allies and their troops would have little choice but to be slowly destroyed over time.

The longer range Tactical bombers would harass reinforcements whilst the Dive bombers concentrated on the troops already on Indian soil.​

1100 November 2nd 1945.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamashiro, Saipan.

The Americans were not making things easy for Yamamoto but the current air superiority his forces enjoyed made most of their efforts fruitless.​

An armoured division had managed to be snuck into Babo in western New Guinea and it would hold off the two Japanese infantry divisions that tried to capture it. One of the infantry divisions had been due to capture the province in under twelve hours but would now be delayed for several days while the bombers reduced the armour.​

The Celebes was now very much under control with Lt. General Kuribayashi re-taking Menado. With only one Dive bomber wing now present the process of completely removing the Allied presence would take some time but Yamamoto was confident of success.​

 

[unmerged(59906)]

Ozawa and Genda had been moved to New Guinea to sink the Destroyers in the area which provided a direct threat to the Submarines on picket duty.​

The large Submarine fleet that had been undergoing repairs in Rabaul had been forced to leave by the Tactical bombers and it was sighted as it left by patrolling interceptors at 2000 hours on November 4th.​

Mj. General Banzai had made his way ashore and had captured Milne Bay. The hunt for the Australian Destroyers was continuing with multiple contacts in the area.​

Two of the Destroyers had tried to pass BB Division 3 which was providing invasion support for Japanese Transports. The Heavy Cruiser IJN Atago would sink the 9th Destroyer Flotilla and IJN Yamato would sink the 12th Destroyer Flotilla. With IJN Musashi now back in Japan for repairs this was now the smallest Japanese Battlefleet.​

At 2300 hours on November 4th Admiral Hara arrived in the Central Marshall Islands and reported his findings to Yamamoto. Eniwetok was undefended and only a single garrison division protected Kwajalein. Of particular note was the presence of an enemy fleet in the port of Eniwetok. Japan only had four squadrons that could reach the port and Yamamoto ordered Ozawa and Genda to rebase to Saipan to find out what was in Eniwetok. The Battleship USS Washington was known to be damaged and could well be here.​

Two more Australian Destroyer Flotillas tried to move passed the Japanese blockade of the Torres Strait. Both the 2nd and 6th Destroyer Flotillas would be sunk but only the 2nd would be claimed by a Japanese ship. Koga's new Flagship, IJN Fuso, would claim the kill.

Ozawa and Genda took off before dawn on November 5th and headed for Eniwetok island to find out what was hiding in the port.

"What are we hunting today?" Genda asked Ozawa.

"The USS Washington possibly but we do not know for sure." Ozawa replied.

"The reconaissance report is a little sketchy certainly."

"Yes it is but Submarine nets tend to prevent accurate ship locations. The anti-aircraft report does not make good reading."

"No it does not, this is likely to be a little painful if we have to make a few trips. There are also reports of aircraft on the islands airbase as well but no details." replied Genda.

"We have lost more than enough aircraft between us to know that this is the cost we pay for such difficult missions." Ozawa said.

By 2000 hours their target was in sight and both wing commanders gave the orders for a high altitude overflight before commencing their bombing runs.

"Well if there is a Battleship in amongst that lot its a small one." Genda said.

"It seems we hunt a different prey today then." replied Ozawa as he signalled to his formation to begin their run.​

Anti-aircraft guns opened up across the island as the two bomber wings began their attack but the flying metal did not deter the experienced pilots of Japan's only two naval bomber wings.

There was a fleet in the port which containd the remnants of Admiral Spruance's once mighty fleet. Sadly the USS Washington was not present but ships were ships and they all had to be sunk.

Ozawa would report the sinking of the Light Cruiser USS Nashville on his return to Saipan. He would also ask for replacement aircraft and pilots as it looked like he would be returning for several visits to Eniwetok and its anti-aircraft batteries.​

Banzai began another invasion, this time towards Buna, which would place all but one coastal province under Japanese control on New Guinea. It was looking likely that he could also capture Wewak in the north before Imamura's marine division could march through the jungle.​

8. Kaigun, commanded by Admiral Mikawa, had sailed north to Fukuoka where it embarked nine modern (by Japanese standards) infantry divisions. He set sail for his forward operating base, which would be Saipan in this instance.​

0900 November 6th 1945.
North China Army Headquarters. Lanzhou, China.

The bombers had been doing their job efficiently as ever and two Allied divisions had already ceased to exist in India and Persia.​

Three Japanese divisions headed towards Sukkur to reclaim the province in the name of the Emperor. General Abe remained in Hyderabad to defend the province.​

 

[genbrad]

the brits are really trying to push back into india.... the lack of rare materials must really be hurting them.