The Setting Sun - Gotterdammerung, Japan 1944.

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Operation Obsolete​

3​

0300 January 19th 1946.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamashiro, Osaka.

Air patrols had picked up Reeves and his small fleet as it entered the Mariana Trench.​

Yamashita encountered it in the North Mariana Trench and it was heading south. The only things waiting for it should it continue on towards the Yap Tench were BB Division 2 or Japan's Tactical bomber forces. Either could easily defeat Reeves and his greatly reduced fleet.​

1900 January 20th 1946.
40 Hoheishidan Headquarters. Colombo, Ceylon.

Dawn was still several hours away when Lt. General Uchiyama was awoken by his adjutant. His division was protecting Colombo which was not considered under threat and had not been for some considerable time.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Sir, there appear to be some American Transport ships off the coast and they have launched landing craft towards our positions." was the reply.

"Is that so. Let us see if the British built defences are up to par then shall we."

Colombo's sea defences were amongst the most formidable in the World. The highly mountainous region lent itself to easy defence which the former occupants of Ceylon had used to create an interlocking defensive network that was almost impossible to breach by a direct assault.

Two American marine divisions decided to see if the Japanese were asleep atop their mountain. They were not.​

20, 000 marines began their amphibious assault without any support. Thousands would die at the base of the cliffs before the futility of their attack caused Lt. General Gavin to abandon his attack.​

0400 January 21st 1946.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamashiro, Osaka.

The defences of Ngulu were assaulted at 0400 hours on January 21st. General Imamura again led the amphibious forces whilst General Itakagi controlled the support forces on Yap.​

The attack would have to proceed quickly as Reeves had also been detected in the Palau Trench and he was heading for the Yap Trench. Victory would have to be achieved before his arrival or the support forces from Yap would be unable to continue to assist.

The attack looked to be going well with bombers already on the way to assist as well as BB Division 2's shore bombardment due to start shortly.​

It was not to be as Imamura and Banzai were left to continue the assault alone at 0900 hours. Clearly Reeves had arrived in the Yap Trench and would need to be forced to leave before any further attacks could be mounted on Ngulu. The marines would require several days to recover from this failed assault and would use Yap as a temporary base to do so.​

Koga's fleet found Reeves at 1000 hours and forced him to withdraw after four hours. BB Division 2 sustained only minor damage as IJN Fuso sank the Light Cruiser USS Memphis. Reeves made the mistake of heading towards Ngulu's small harbour rather than out to sea.​

The Americans were trying to move troops from Admiralty Island when their Transport fleet was intercepted by the Submarines watching the port. As was normal no enemy ships were sunk and several Submarines sustained damage from the escorting Destroyer Division.​

Twelve of the Tactical bombers stationed on Yap altered their target from the ground forces on Ngulu to its harbour. By 1000 hours on January 22nd Reeves had lost all but one of his surface ships to them and decided to head out to sea rather than have his fleet totally destroyed in port.​

BB Division 2 knew he was coming and had no trouble forcing Reeves to return to Ngulu. IJN Fuso would sink the 45th Destroyer Division to leave Reeves with only Submarines.​

 

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Ozawa was not happy that the attack on Ngulu had failed but the sinking of more of the United States Navy more than made up for what was only likely to be a temporary delay in Japan's march across the Pacific.

The latest spotting report from Yamashita told Ozawa a great deal about the United States Navy and its current abilities.​

Admiral Fletcher was commanding one beaten up Carrier and two similarly badly damaged Battleships as he entered the Mariana Trench. Japanese intelligence confirmed that these were the only two remaining American Battleships and that the USS Lexington was an older type of Aircraft Carrier. The fact that they were not moving away from Guam could mean an invasion was planned but was unlikely.

Ozawa now knew that some of the United States Pacific fleet had not been repaired much if at all and he also knew that it was running out of available ships to use to try and halt the Japanese advance. Sending out damaged ships was nothing more than a desperate attempt to slow down the offensive actions of the Imperial Japanese Navy.​

Lt. General Onishi had been resting his two squadrons of bombers and was ordered to attack this new fleet and force it away from the area. Should it head towards Yap then BB Division 2 would deal with it. The remaining bombers continued to attack Reeves and his Submarine force so that further attempts could be made on Ngulu. Fletcher would leave the South Mariana Trench before he lost any ships although the USS Washington sustained further damage. He did not head towards Yap but further east instead.​

The Japanese advance across Australia continued as Iida occupied Hughenden and moved on towards Blackall. There was no sign of any defensive forces moving north so far but Ozawa was fairly certain that they would be coming.​

At 2000 hours on January 24th Reeves tried to leave Ngulu for a second time after losing one Submarine Division to bombers. BB Division 2 would prevent him leaving and would sink both remaining Divisions by 2100 hours on January 25th. The Light Carrier IJN Chitose would sink both the 15th and 20th Submarine Divisions with some assistance from the Tactical bombers overhead.

Reeves no longer had a fleet which was becoming a familiar situation for a lot of American Admirals.​

Fletcher had avoided Yap completely and had instead headed towards the East Carolines as he tried to make his way to a safe port. Onishi found him again but this time he was not alone. The USS Washington would sink before Fletcher could escape to relatively safer waters.​

A second attack on Ngulu began at 2000 hours on January 26th with the defenders in an ever weakening condition. The almost total destruction of the islands infrastructure made it increasingly difficult to form a cohesive defence as the bombers continually harassed the ground forces.

This attack would also fail as an enemy fleet entered the Yap Trench and forced Itakagi to stop his support attack. The marines would require more rest before a third attempt could be made.

It would take BB Division 2 almost two days to find the enemy fleet that had halted the amphibious assault.​

The advance along the east coast of Australia had now reached Townsville where a counter attack from Rockhampton was stopped after several hours of fighting. Half of the Close Air Support aircraft had moved to Townsville to assist the advance on this coast.​

Five Japanese divisions had been picked up from islands around Indonesia and had congregated in Hollandia. These five divisions boarded Transport fleets and headed towards their new defensive positions. Their arrival would allow the current island strike force to remain in tact and for it to be used elsewhere once Ngulu was captured.

Two divisions would move to Yap, two more to Truk and one to Satawan. Carrier Group D would provide some protection for the majority of their journey.​

Koga finally located the American fleet in the Yap Trench at 1500 hours on the 19th. Both Divisions would be sunk by IJN Fuso after a brief battle. Unfortunately this fleet had managed to do more than just halt an invasion.​

They had also managed to land another Armoured Division on Ngulu which would strengthen the defences considerably. Ozawa had two more divisions on the way to Yap which would help to offset this new arrival as the bombers continued to pound the American defenders.​

 

[unmerged(3435)]

Those <incoherent, rage-choked swearing> island stacks. We hates them. They do come in handy though, as the AI keeps sending all its newly built transports there to be sunk.

 

[stnylan]

Quite the little meatgrinder Ngulu is turning into.

 

[unmerged(87183)]

Why those little f*ckers!

Interupting your invasions, landing new divisions, attacking your fortified islands, sending out their worn-out ships, continuing to use their stupid loser Admirals, I could go on and on and on and on....

Anyways, you will overcome these supreme tests of your resources and mettle, I know it.

But, your next invasion will succeed, third time's the charm chap.

 

[germanpeon]

Geez, that is irritating. Are your sub sentries not picking up these enemy fleets?

 

[unmerged(89090)]

Well this worked last time...

Gee guys wouldn't it be something if the allies were to suddenly grow half a brain and start using some decent tactics?

 

[Sokraates]

"Is that so. Let us see if the British built defences are up to par then shall we."

It sounds as if the British have left behind more than just their fortifications. Jolly good show, I say.

Regarding the AI's behaviour, I second Jon Young.

 

[robou]

it will only be a matter of time before the island falls though! However, which one will go down first, Ngulu or Australia?

 

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it will only be a matter of time before the island falls though! However, which one will go down first, Ngulu or Australia?

Australia might take some time (3 weeks at least or so ). Even with amphib assaults as much as possible to speed things up it takes a few rebases to get all the vp's. There's this distant one in SW Australia too. Hope Remble's got some lvl 4 ships with 3000 range to escort his transports.

I'd definitely go for New Zealand too, even if that means not all your forces are back in time for other things. It can be done quite quick from new bases in Eastern Australia.

20, 000 marines began their amphibious assault without any support. Thousands would die at the base of the cliffs before the futility of their attack caused Lt. General Gavin to abandon his attack.

Gavin always reminds me of an infamous guy ("Sparky" or something like that) who persistantly calls the M113 "the Gavin" and insists that a paradropped M113 is the answer to everything. Ever heard of him?

 

[unmerged(3435)]

I'd definitely go for New Zealand too, even if that means not all your forces are back in time for other things. It can be done quite quick from new bases in Eastern Australia.

Not to mention the humour potential in puppetting NZ and using their troops to garrison Australia. Not that Remble would do that.

 

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Jon Young - I don't really mind them too much. Not like they are single islands with over 50 divisions on them

stnylan - It is turning a little bloody unfortunately for my marines. Still they can be replaced for now and a lot quicker than destroyed American troops and ships can be.

Maj. von Mauser - Not very nice of them to use my island defensive tactics against me really. I will just have to make sure there are no enemy ships anywhere near Ngulu next time. I have no doubt the invasion will be a win as those troops are way too low on org now to fight for long.

germanpeon - My subs seem to be rather good at sinking and not much else. The prevailing weather condition of almost constant rain makes it harder to find ships which is helping the enemy.

thatguy - Some of the Allies are being hard headed, most notably the Americans. The British have already worked out that avoidance of Japan is the best policy and are following it fairly strictly. The Soviets are also doing a good job of fence sitting and allowing their most dangerous opponents to kill eachother, before they decide to step in and pick over a corpse.

Sokraates - It is strange why they attacked a level 9 coastal fort when the other province in Ceylon has no forts at all and has a beach. They would probably have won that one.

robou - Going by sea is quicker than marching so Ngulu would be favourite

GoforitPanzer - Range isn't a problem as I now have Australian ports to use. New Zealand would be nice and is planned for. My quick education on "Sparky" shows him to be an idiot apparently as the M113 would drop like a brick even with several parachutes tied to it Gavin I was already familiar with as is anyone who has watched "A Bridge Too Far" several times. Strange that he is not a General though in 1946.

Jon Young - I have a strange feeling that if I were to use troops from New Zealand to try and garrison Australia the partisan levels would increase not decrease

Monthly update to follow ...

 

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Update (February 1st 1946)​

0000 February 1st 1946.
Imperial Palace. Toyko, Japan.

"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." Hideki began the meeting. "The New Year has started fairly well and we shall begin with a military round up."

"Thank you Prime Minister. Your Majesty, Gentlemen, good morning. There is only one active Front at this time but it is a vast one. Our advance across the Pacific is increasing in pace and has spread to Australia where our forces are encountering sporadic light resistance. Our process of capturing islands and territory to deny bases to our enemies is also continuing with advances in the Carolines. I will hand you over to Minister Satoru to provide a more detailed account of the current situation and our future plans." Tanigawa stated.

"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." Satoru began. "I will begin with the current situation in India before going on to the Pacific."​

"The slow and steady build up of enemy forces adjacent to Karachi continues but has not reached the point where an attack is imminent. I expect several more weeks of quiet in this area before any such offensive could begin. We will use the same tactic as before when this happens and will trade space for time whilst our aircraft destroy the enemy."​

"The Carolines are almost secure with only the large defensive force on Ngulu remaining. We have already tried two assaults against these forces, both of which were broken up by the appearance of enemy ships. Our forces are currently regaining strength before trying for a third time. BB Division 2 and most of our Tactical bombers are still supporting this area.

Defensive troops have already arrived on Yap and are on their way to Truk and Satawan to secure those islands from possible counter attack. This will leave us with a strike force of six infantry and two marine divisions for the next phase of offensive operations in this general area."​

"Their targets will be in the Bismarck Archipelago and Solomon islands. The first two invasions will secure Rebaul with follow up amphibious assaults towards Baku Island and Bougainville. The defences of Admiralty Island, New Ireland and Guadalcanal will be checked after this and plans will develop from there. These troops may also need to secure more islands of importance after this depending on operations elsewhere."​

"Australia and the surrounding area on shown on ths map. The highlighted provinces and cities are estimated to be required before we can force Australia to surrender. The current plan is to march around both sides of the island to capture them using air support to crush any pockets of resistance. Our current aircraft in the area have limited range which is causing some problems.

We have one Transport fleet available at this time which will be used to try and speed up our advances wherever possible. Our other three Transport fleets are currently supporting operations in the Carolines and will also be needed for the attacks towards the Solomons.

Once Australia is secure most of the thirteen divisions will remain behind as a defensive and anti-partisan force whilst the remainder are used to invade New Zealand. Once that is completed they will also be used to invade Fiji to capture the only remaining airbase in that region on Vanua Levu.

Whichever force achieves its objectives first will be used to invade the New Hebreides to secure the bases on those islands. I am aware of the time limitations placed upon us and we will do all we can to complete all of the stated plans.

Should we manage to successfully conquer everything mentioned then the Allies will only have two airbases in the Pacific. Attu Island and Pearl Harbour. There are also some facilities on the Alaskan Islands but these are too far to be of much use. We will try another attack on Attu with our marines should we secure the rest. We have no plans to move towards Hawaii at this time.

The current losses to the United States Navy leave it at a disadvantage to the Imperial Japanese Navy in numbers and firepower which we will try and utilise to keep the Americans in check while we prosecute your wish to attack the Soviet Union your Majesty.

Most of our Interceptors and all of the Naval bombers will remain in the Pacific to monitor sealanes while the remainder of the Imperial Japanese Air Force heads to Asia.

We will have five operational Battlefleets available after these operations unless we have a major disaster. These fleets will be placed at strategic locations to try and foil any advances the Allies try to make in the Pacific. Once we can we would like to begin the process of modernising the Imperial Japanese Navy by building new Aircraft Carriers and support vessels as well as medium sized ships for sealane interdiction."

"Battleships?" asked Hirohito.

"Maybe your Majesty but we have several already although they are not modern. Should we have the capacity then we can always add some more of those as well."

"That seems reasonable as our manpower is severely limited." replied the Emperor. "Please continue Minister Satoru."

"That actually concludes my briefing your Majesty so I will hand you over to Minister Osami for a Naval briefing." concluded Satoru.

"Thank you Minister Satoru. Good morning your majesty, Gentlemen. The Imperial Japanese Navy has had another of its loss free months. The same cannot be said for our enemies." Osami began.​

"Once again the United States Navy has bore the brunt of our attacks with a fairly large number of vessels being sunk, mostly by our aircraft.

Australian Losses

1 x Light Cruiser.
2 x Transport Flotillas.

American Losses

3 x Aircraft Carriers.
1 x Battleships.
5 x Heavy Cruisers.
2 x Light Cruisers.
3 x Submarine Divisions.
9 x Destroyer Divisions.
6 x Transport Divisions.

Thirty two ships or flotillas in all nearly all of which were American. The loss of three modern Aircraft Carriers and one of their two remaining Battleships is worthy of note. There has been no noticable increase in enemy Transport fleet sightings which leads us to believe that they are not replacing these ships faster than we are sinking them. The United States Navy is still a threat and will remain so until we can conquer their production centers. Our operations over the last six months have provided us with enough breathing space to have possibly two years in Russia without the threat of being over run in the Pacific.

There is still no sign of any Soviet build up along our borders and no sign of the Royal Navy. They seem to have rather prudently left the Pacific to the Americans. Nothing further from the Armed Forces." concluded Osami.

"Your thoughts on the Soviets Minister Mamoru?" Hirohito asked his Foreign Secretary.

"They seem content to watch and build up their forces your Majesty. They do not really have any reason to become involved whilst their two main opponents fight eachother with neither side close to winning. Neither us or the Allies are weak enough for the Soviets to be able to simply overpower us so I expect them to do nothing." replied Mamoru.

"It has been very nice of them to stay out of our little War. We will still be inviting them to participate once the snows melt however." stated Hirohito.

"Industry next please."

"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." began Ginjiro. "Production has changed little but we do have more spare industrial capacity that has been switched to upgrades as a result of improved trade agreements. The reduction in repair needs has also been directed towards upgrades."​

"Transport Capacity has been hampered by two things. Increased need for supplies for offensive operations and conquest of rebellious areas in Australia. This is likely to increase as we advance further but should drop a little once our advances are concluded. The need for garrison divisions is increasing by the day.

Industrial capacity has increased by two factory complexes which were captured in Australia. This will increase further as we advance as will our raw material production.

I have no major concerns regarding resources as none are deteriorating quickly with both energy and supplies increasing. Monetary matters are stable but we could use extra money for espionage.

Our convoys are not being over stretched so far and production of them continues. Repairs are reducing well as ships complete long term refits. This will increase significantly once the Imperial Japanese Air Force is allowed to rest to recover its damage.

We still have ninety six units needing upgrades and the pace of these improvements should increase now that we have more production available to use. Infantry are the current highest priority as they will be needed in Asia."

"What sort of equipment are the Soviets estimated to be using Minister Kuniaki?" Hirohito asked.

"Similar to ours your Majesty. They are still trying to catch up with their own modernisation program since the fall of Germany. I would not expect their troops to be as advanced as the smaller Allied armies." Kuniaki replied.

"My report is finished by the way." stated Ginjiro.

"On to Intelligence then please."

"Thank you Prime Minister. Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. No earth shattering things to report so I will continue with the standard inaccurate reports." Kunaiki began.​

"Soviet industry is the same and they have not completed any research projects in January.

Their Armed Forces show a slight increase in infantry but that is all. They do not seem to be building up rapidly in any areas."​

"The United Kingdom's industrial base is unchanged and still suffering rare materials shortage which changes day by day. They completed research into Plastics and one unknown other field.

They seem to have lost fifteen infantry divisions somewhere during the last month but I have no idea where so it is probably just a reporting error.

Nothing of note for the Royal Air Force or Royal Navy with only small changes."​

"Industry is unchanged in the United States and two research projects were completed. They have a new model of Close Air Support Aircraft and Naval Bomber available.

The numbers show a loss of five infantry and four armoured divisions. That is probably close to being accurate as they did lose troops on Truk and in Australia.

The United States Air Force shows a large drop in fighters which could be due to them being captured on their bases as we advance or it could just be that they are in transit somewhere.

One Battleship and three Carriers have been sunk and confirmed so these numbers seem to be correct. Twenty five smaller vessels also appear to have been sunk and this also tallies with our own numbers. This would mean that they produced no new ships in January."​

"I estimate there are seven enemy spies in our Country of which just over half are American and the rest Soviet. We completed no research projects but might finish one in February. Done." concluded Kuniaki.

"Thank you Gentlemen. Things seem to be going according to plan so keep up the good work." stated Hirohito as he stood and left the meeting.​

 

[robou]

January seems to be a good month, especially with all those sinkings... i hope that the red giant is not too much though.
Also, congratulations on your award!

 

[unmerged(3435)]

Yikes, I had no idea the Bismarcks and Solomons were so packed with bases in the '44 scenario! Are you planning on taking the 'Sinkiang Shortcut' into the USSR?

 

[stnylan]

Well, you look well set to clear out the Southern Pacific.

 

[unmerged(96832)]

i quick question what is the plan for the Bear as i dont think that even your highly experienced army will be able to take on 500 inf and 70 arm, and i know that your airforce is your greatest weapon but if you are leaving mostly of it in the Pacific then how are you going to defend from the 20 fighter divisions that the SOV's have - im sure you'll find a way but they are just a few concern's, i just tried the senario and lost in march 1945 so i trust you will be able to win.

 

[Kanitatlan]

Have you given any consideration to convoy warfare against the US rather than taking out all of their island garrisons. I release you need to eliminate airbases but has Ngulu actually go anything important? I'm not sure there is any sense in this idea but I just wondered about your thoughts on it. Cirppling the US convoy capacity is impractical but would provide an excellent long-term paralysis of their ability to fight overseas.

 

[unmerged(87183)]

Nice update.

I'm really looking forward to the day that you declare war on the Soviets, although still hoping that they will DOW you first.

Even though I know plans change, could you give us a breifing on what you think your Plan of Operations will be? I too think that the "Sinkiang Shortcut seems a good idea.

A Bridge Too Far is a good movie too. One of my favourite parts is when that Paratrooper runs all the way out into that field to bring back a supply canister. When they open it it is full of bloody red berets.

 

[Sokraates]

Sokraates - It is strange why they attacked a level 9 coastal fort when the other province in Ceylon has no forts at all and has a beach. They would probably have won that one.

Easy: that wouldn't have been sportsmanlike.

By the way: would you consider renaming the Admirality Islands to Yamamoto Islands?