0900 April 19th 1946.
Kwantung Army Headquarters. Harbin, Manchukuo.
The Red Army was growing in strength in the area north of the Japanese attempted breakthrough. Terauchi knew that any further advances by the Imperial Japanese Army would have to wait for some time as there were now just too many enemy troops in this region.
General Asaka was also forced to withdraw back to Bayan Tumen from Borzya. The very large Japanese force in Bayan Tumen would be used to hold the Red Army as far north as possible for as long as it could.
1100 April 19th 1946.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamashiro, Central Marshalls.
More enemy Transport ships had arrived in the Solomon area and had been encountered by the southern CA Division. This fleet contained a Light Carrier already and was able to sink one of the Flotillas encountered.
The Heavy Cruiser IJN Ashigara would sink the Brigham Young Flotilla. The second Transport Flotilla would escape to the north east for the time being. No pursuit was ordered as the Cruiser fleets were ordered to defend the undefended lands in these island chains.
The conclusion of Operation Obsolete reduced the need for a BB Division in the south. Admiral Nomura was ordered to bring IJN Yamato north to join with the ever increasing Japanese Naval forces in the Marshalls. Most of BB Division 3 would stay in the south and form a Cruiser Division to patrol the area.
BB Division 1 had taken over the defence of the Central Marshalls to allow the two Carrier Groups time to upgrade their air compliments and conduct other operations. Ozawa would first use his fleet to provide shore bombardment for the Japanese marines that would attack Majuro and its single defending division. The Dive bombers operating from Kwajalein would also assist which would bring the invasion to a swift end as the American division was forced to surrender. The presence of a Japanese fleet in the area prevented any chance of a retreat across the narrow straits seperating most of the islands in this chain.
Ozawa would concentrate on removing the enemy from these islands as well as conducting early parts of other operations he had to carry out. He was sure the Americans were watching the build up of Japanese forces in the Marshall islands with great interest.
0700 Aprill 22nd 1946.
North China Army Headquarters. Lanzhou, China.
Higashikuni had thought that the majority of the Red Army forces that would be attacking his area had already arrived on the border. This was not the case.
Further bombing of Zhambyl by Close Air Support aircraft revealed a further twenty six divisions. These troops may have come from the front line or been deployed forwards, Higashikuni had no way of knowing as he did not have an accurate enemy divisions count.
Three Soviet divisions had advanced into Khobdo and were forced to retreat by the Japanese forces surrounding the province. With the War between the two Countries almost a month old nothing much had changed as far as territory was concerned, especially in the mountains defended by North China Army.
0800 April 22nd 1946.
Kwantung Army Headquarters. Harbin, Manchukuo.
Terauchi had not been completely aware of the size of the Red Army forces to his north but ever increasing air cover and the enemies advances were showing an increasingly large enemy force that was beginning to dwarf his own defences.
Any prospect of offensive action in this area was out of the question. The Kwantung Army would play a defensive game for now as the bombers tried to reduce the enemy numbers. The Soviets had advanced into Jiamusi and Heihe which threatened Terauchi's own position in Harbin. He had more troops heading his way from Indochina and he hoped they would arrive soon enough.
2200 April 23rd 1946.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamashiro, Central Marshalls.
The Allied fleets around New Ireland were determined to try and take the island. Japanese Cruiser Divisions were equally determined to prevent this from happening.
There were now four enemy Transport Flotillas in the St. George's Channel. As was usual in war the side with the guns would prevail and the defenceless Transports would be forced to leave, their job unfinished.
Ishimaru and Genda had rested for a long time on Eniwetok and were now turned loose on the areas closer to Hawaii. Ozawa hoped that he might find the enemy Carriers that were still alive using these long range bombers. Their first encounter would be with two modern Destroyer Divisions, one of which they would sink.