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Thurak said:
Although I never did any maths about this I would have said the same. Especially with an overall low combat effectiveness the ESE-bonus of an HQ is valuable. I mean: 120% or 125% doesn't matter, but 50% instead of 45% is a very helpful bonus.

I agree with this, one should look at the relative increases rather than absolute increases. With aforementioned 120% ESE, the extra 5% would mean a relative increase of ~4,2%, but if the ESE was just 45%, the relative increase to 50% would be ~11%. So although the absolute increase in both cases is the same 5%, the benefit of that is relatively larger when the starting value is lower. Then it could be estimated how the extra manpower affects your entire army's ability to wage war, compared that with the ESE bonus and draw some results. I'd say that the HQ's are, correctly used of course, more valuable than just their MP in this case. Then again, I didn't exactly calculate anything...
 
The HQ / MP issue is not a pure question of math.

If MP pool is very low, Remble will have to find a solution especially to reinforce navy or planes more subject to be totally destroyed during fights.

Choices are limited:
- HQ disbanding,
- some brigades disbanding,
- stop building convoy.

I would go for 2 and 3 before 1.
But thats my own point of view and Remble, until now, made good choices.
 
Since there's still no update, let's talk about HQs some more:

Generally, if you have a small army or manpower problems or both, you will go for quality no matter what. As far as I can tell, in HoI2 only the Soviet Union and to a much lesser extent the USA can exchange quality for quantity.

From this point of view, every HQ is worth much more than it's MP value, since they further raise the quality of your army.

However, once MP starts to become too much of an issue, one has to make trade offs. The most obvious choice is to disband units which are not necessary. In this case there are a few HQs which do absolutely nothing but guard beaches. Such HQs are worthless, since they do not contribute to the war effort in the only way that makes them feasible: by raising the overall quality of your army.

Therefore such HQs need to be either brought into action or disbanded.

Of course, this logic also applies to any unit which can not be used to it's full potential.
 
robou - Yup, everything is under control :)

intruder alert - It does seem to be able to make them magically appear on occasion.

kwiatek, Maj. von Mauser, ColossusCrusher, Mythos1978 - Thank you :)

Sokraates - Hirohito is deliberately a little temperamental. Thanks and yes you do get to keep your head :) Actually its 50 over three months as it started in April. The Allies are bombing north west India so its my standard IC buffer on production. The extra in upgrades is for the aircraft that take off and land and is the total number I need if they are all grounded.

stnylan - I will take a few at some point but not just yet as I want to see how the U.S. responds to Hawaii.

GasTurbine - Thank you and welcome to the boards and this AAR :) November 1944 update shows the map of Europe and it has not changed at all since then.

Fgorginator - It looks a little suspicious stuck in the middle like that but its not really neded to take it at this point.

I Killed Kenny - The damaged ships will be leaving Hawaii.

Nathan Madien, Ruodnane - Portugal are neutral.

Kanitatlan, Thurak, Velko - You are correct about the Navy. Doctrines I will research and I will make do with the older models for other things. Air and Land doctines are already about as good as I can get.

HQ's is a different matter. I understand their importance which is why there are four of them in Manchuria and two in China. That leaves me with four not doing anything on various islands. I could possibly put one in India but that is really all I need. If its a choice between repairs and small builds versus some not used HQ's then they will be disbanded. The first thing I will disband will be the 15 manpower Paratrooper sitting in Borneo.

AgamemnonNL - Thank you and welcome to the boards and this little AAR :)

alan_le_cowboy - Convoys definately will be stopped soon. Brigades is a maybe and not any artillery if I do. HQ's will have to be done at some point. Winter will not come soon enough and even then I will probably still lose more manpower than I can spare.

Sokraates - HQ's also use oil which is another reason why they are near the top of the hit list. Busy weekends happen sometimes especially when I have to play as well :)

Update to follow ...
 
The Bear
9





0000 July 1st 1946.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamashiro, Maui.

Ozawa had carried Yamamoto's recovery further forwards and his efforts had secured a large part of the Pacific for the Emperor. Along the way he had expanded the destruction dealt out to the opponents of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Royal Navy had not been seen for many months and what was left of the United States Navy had fled to the safety of the western seaboard. Ozawa would now have some time to patch up his damaged ships and re-order the defences of the Pacific.​

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His first orders went to Admiral Koga commanding BB Division 2. He was to take the damaged vessels back to Japan to conduct the major repairs needed to the irreplaceable capital ships. They could be repaired in Pearl Harbour but it was safer in Japan and required less supplies to be shipped the long distance to Hawaii. More orders went out to the three Transport fleets. 8. Kaigun would head to Makassar in Indonesia to embark most of the defensive troops in that region, 1. Kaigun was ordered to the Bonin Islands to pick up the two garrisons in that area and 3. Kaigun headed for Admiralty Island where it would become the Pacific strategic reserve.

BB Division 1 would remain in Maui and Carrier Groups C and D maintained their position in Pearl Harbour. These three fleets were to protect Hawaii should any invasion force arrive.​





0400 July 1st 1946.
The Skies Above Various Battlefields.

As was normal the Imperial Japanese Air Force was out in large numbers throughout the varied combat zones where conflict was occuring. The early hours of most mornings began with the drone of hundreds of bombers heading towards their targets. Today was no different.​

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In the west Air General Shima led eight Tactical bomber squadrons over the deserts of Persia. His target would be a militia division in Birjand province. The Allied forces attacking India were truly multi-national with contingents from the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Brazil and Persia. Shima cared little which Country's flag flew from the various divisions, he knew they were all enemies of his Country and they all had to die.​

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The province of Gulja in Sinkiang was receiving another visit from Japanese Dive bombers led by Lt. General Itou. There was no possible confusion over what Country controlled the troops moving amongst the mountains below his aircraft. They had already been dieing in large numbers as Itou led his wing during repeated attacks across Sinkiang. The scream of his aircraft as it hurtled towards the earth was invariably matched with the accompanying screams of the wounded as he pulled up after releasing his bombs. Nine divisions had marched into Gulja, two had already vanished to the deadly accuracy of Itou and his fellow pilots. He was nowhere near coming close to actually having to look for a target.​

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Air General Kondo led the only mixed bombing forces being used by the Imperial Japanese Air Force. Eight Tactical bomber and eight Interceptor squadrons were being used to terrorise the Soviet forces to the east of Harbin as those same troops tried to shift the stubborn defence of Field Marshall Terauchi. The eleven Soviet divisions in Jiamusi were currently receiving Kondo's undivided attention. The marsh made it very difficult for the enemy forces to hide from the prowling bombers.​

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In the southern Pacific Ichimaru and Genda had recovered from their rebasing to Fiji. Their first port of call would be Arorae island where they would target the two Transport fleets occupying the small harbour. They had both been badly damaged by CA Division 4 when they tried to pass its patrol zone. Neither would survive for long as the two wing commanders led their deadly aircraft over their target. The next morning would see them switch target to the Submarines known to be hiding in Somoa.

Lt. General Chalermarkas, commander of the two Interceptor wings of the Thai Air Force, had spent over a year on the island of Shikoku in Japan. His older model aircraft had been sent to this safe part of the World when the British had threatened to over run his Country in late 1944. His planes were slightly more modern now but could not perform most of the missions the Japanese Interceptors were capable of.

The long stay in Shikoku had given him and his men ample time to perfect a second language as there was little else to do on this island. His pilots had completed no combat missions for over two years,although they had practiced the art of aerial combat on the off chance that someone might give them something useful to do at some point.

"Sir?" a voice that he recognised as his adjutant questioned from behind him.

"How can I help you this fine day?" he replied as he turned his attention to the man now in front of him.

"We just received this message from headquarters in Tokyo. I do not recall seeing one quite like this before so I thought you may wish to see it."

Chalermarkas quickly scanned the message and was a little puzzled himself. "It seems that His Imperial Majesty requires us to use live ammunition today. We do have some close at hand I hope?"

"I think so yes Sir. We put it in one of those sheds over there when we arrived. We will probably have to remove some dust though."

"Why don't you go see to that and tell the men to meet in the flight room."

"Does it say what enemy we will be chasing in that message Sir I didn't read it too carefully."

"It would appear that the Finns have upset His Majesty somewhat." Chalermarkas replied.​

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His pilots had no real combat experience and he hoped the Finns were equally as green. He was not sure which force was most surprised by the encounter over the Tsushima Strait. No doubt the Finnish commander had not seen a Siamese aircraft before and he knew for certain that he had not seen one from Finland.

Charlermarkas had decided to use the easiest possible tactics during the coming encounter. He had split his formations up into groups of five and they had orders to operate together and attack a single target at once. He reasoned that with five to one odds at least one of his aircraft was bound to hit something sooner or later.

The encounter went rather well with the numerical superiority proving to be more of a deciding factor than anything else. Some of his pilots had indeed managed to hit an enemy aircraft for the first time and his force would be victorious as the Finns fled north in their more modern aircraft.​





1000 July 1st 1946.
Kwantung Army Headquarters. Harbin, Manchukuo.

The Soviet response to the morning air attacks arrived just before dusk. Terauchi had not been able to find out how many enemy divisions had recently arrived in Hailar province, his opposite number gave him the information when he used the force to attack Bayan Tumen.​

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Twenty two Red Army divisions, including nine from Hailar, launched an enveloping assault on Itagaki and his twenty one divisions. This had been the first time the Soviets had had enough forces in this area to directly attack Bayan Tumen as Terauchi had been forcing small forces to retreat constantly. It looked like Itagaki would now have to concentrate on defence and dispense with offensive operations. Had this attack started at dawn and not dusk the results could have been much different as the Japanese troops were only slightly entrenched.​

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Night decended after one hour of the battle starting. The superior night fighting skills of Itagaki's men began to tell immediately. After only seven hours of combat a large part of the attacking force was already in disarray and by 2000 hours they had begun to suffer large casualties. Some of the most experienced armoured forces in the Red Army were making no headway against their less experienced and less well equipped Japanese counterparts. The Soviet infantry was in a hopeless position. Dawn was only two hours away but the battle would be over before the sun would rise.

It would get worse for the Red Army at midnight.​

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Terauchi was not going to miss a golden opportunity. Itagaki could dig his forces in soon enough but for now he would be sending eighteen divisions of still fresh troops towards Hailar. Field Marshall Zhang Haipeng would lead the attack with his eleven Manchurian divisions in Ulan Hot. Six of Itagaki's divisions would arrive an hour after the battle began but would not be needed.

The Soviets had already been mauled during their failed attack on Bayan Tumen and had no chance to recover. The slaughter continued for two hours before the defenders broke and headed north in full retreat. Terauchi would give no orders to pursue them.​
 
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0200 July 2nd 1946.
North China Army Headquarters. Lanzhou, China.

Higashikuni was relishing the what was becoming a very one sided fight in Sinkiang. The Red Army forces had largely redeployed away from the area which left his own forces merely outnumbered instead of overwhelmed. His counterattacks were becoming increasingly easier as time went by even though the enemy now had a strong position in Altay province.​

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He launched a probing attack towards Khobdo to ascertain the enemy strength and reinforced the attack as soon as it was clear that his forces were far superior. The two enemy headquarters divisions had no chance of holding off the assault led by General Yamashita. Four hours later the attack ended in victory with no pursuit ordered. Another attack had begun against his forces elsewhere but he had no concerns at all about the outcome of that battle.​

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The Soviets were using the human wave approach to little success in Machuria and elsewhere but their efforts were a great deal more successful than the poor attempt at such tactics being employed by the Americans. Lt. General Canine was leading yet another invasion towards Colombo in Ceylon. Colombo was the hardest island in the World to try and assault from the sea. Only Gibraltar could boast similar defences and it was impervious to invasion.

Lt. General Uchiyama had stood and watched these same troops try in vain to establish a foothold on the island over the last week and had grown tired of the spectacle. He left his battalion commanders to administer the punishment as he had no wish to watch a pointless slaughter on this day. Mercifully for the Americans Admiral Ito stopped the invasion by sending the Transports fleeing before tens of thousands of American troops died in vain.​





1000 July 2nd 1946.
The Skies Above Ishikari Bay.

Chalarmarkas had expected his orders to be recinded after fighting the Finnish Interceptors the previous day. Maybe someone forgot that the Siamese Interceptors were ordered to patrol between Japan and Korea. Without orders to the contrary he ordered his aircraft on another patrol but did not expect to encounter any enemy aircraft.​

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Today his pilots would fight enemy bombers. A Soviet Close Air Support squadron was returning to base after bombing the dug in Japanese troops in Sapporo when they were unlucky enough to find Chalarmarkas's wing. The Siamese airforce would inflict its second defeat upon the enemy in as many days as they forced the bombers to turn north after being mauled. The patrols were stopped after this encounter as Japanese High Command had no wish to draw a larger enemy Fighter or Interceptor wing into the area where it could devastate the older Siamese aircraft.​

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A second interception had occured over Mukden as a much larger Soviet Dive bomber wing was caught trying to inflict damage upon the dug in headquarters in the province. Mj. General Tanaka had been ordered to hunt them down instead of accompanying the Tactical bombers on their bombing run. The four more modern and experienced Japanese Interceptor squadrons tore the Soviet bombers to pieces during their four hour dogfight. Tanaka would return to his more normal escort missions the next day as the enemy aircraft would be grounded for some time to repair the damage they had suffered.​





1300 July 2nd 1946.
Kwantung Army Headquarters. Harbin, Manchukuo.

Field Marshall Terauchi frequently visited the forces under his command for morale purposes. He did take note of their state of readiness during such visits. One formation that he had no worries about being ready was the one commanded by Lt. General Hoshinato that formed the center of the defences of Harbin.​

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The three heavily entrenched tank divisions were the elite of the Imperial Japanese Army. By far the most experienced troops Japan possessed, they had been responsible for holding their position in the face of assaults by overwhelming numbers on multiple occasions. Today they would be tested again by the largest force to attack the province to date. Terauchi would have no time to return to his command post and would temporarily make use of Hoshinato's.​

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Forty Soviet divisions including armour would again attack from three sides in an effort to unbalance Terauchi's defences. Unlike the attack on Bayan Tumen the enemy tanks had inexperienced commanders and they faced Japanese commanders who were experts at armoured warfare. For whatever reason the Soviets had decided to launch a night attack on his position which would quickly turn into nothing short of a disaster for them.

Not only was it night but it was also raining. Combined with a river crossing into a forest against dug in experienced opponents the odds went from one to one to thirty five to one in the defenders favour. At those odds the outcome was obvious but a lot of blood would be spilled before the attack would be halted.​

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After five hours the Soviet commander managed to use his superior numbers to achieve a small breakthrough in Terauchi's lines. It would avail him nothing as a lack of supplies added to the troubles his forces were facing. Only one side was suffering heavy casualties and it wasn't Terauchi.

By 2100 hours the first attacking division could do no more and withdrew from the battle. The arrival of dawn only increased the carnage as the Soviet troops became fully aware of the impossibility of their position. Nine more divisions withdrew from both casualties and exhaustion over the next two hours of brutal warfare. The attack was finally halted at midnight. Six hundred and fifty thousand men had fought eachother during the last ten hours and Terauchi's troops had suffered nothing more than minor losses as a result. The Imperial Japanese Air Force would have some very tired troops to hunt down during the early morning hours.​

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They were already doing just that over Mudanjiang province. There was a much larger enemy force in the province than had been expected but half of it had already been wasted during the failed assault of the previous night. The bombers had made little contribution to the battle as they had arrived as it ended but even the little time they had been assisting helped. Terauchi headed back to his own command post for some sleep and to await the next attack that was bound to come.​





2100 July 2nd 1946.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamashiro, Maui.

The Japanese Naval bombers arrived over Samoa at 2100 hours on July 2nd. There were still nine American Submarine Divisions in the small harbour. They were notoriously difficult to damage from the air but Ichimaru would do what he could to dent the numbers.​

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Some were already badly damaged but even these would take time to sink. One seventh of the entire American Fleets smaller ships were in this harbour and their loss would put a big dent in the enemy numbers. Ozawa was a lot more concerned with the latest intelligence report which had added another Aircraft Carrier to the enemies numbers. Just how many could they produce this fast and consistantly was something he would be keeping a close eye on.​
 
Bring those HQ´s into action, they have high defence values and are manpower-cheap to reinforce, I still think it´s better than disbanding them. But well, on the other hand I could not win on very hard as Japan in the ´44 scenario. However, it´s good to know that those paratroopers come first ;)

Finland vs. Siam fighting on the sea between Japan and Korea :eek: Go Siam, Go! :)

How far backwards are the Soviets with en/decryption? Japan gets 5% bonus over the Soviets but the USA gets 5% when fighting Japan... that means... the Soviets do not encrypt anything? It´s ´46, they should have learned something by now...

Japs still holding everything... Keep up the good work.
 
Is Manchukuo building some infrastructure in Harbin?
There is a green cross on your units in Harbin and if I recall well, it means something is under construction in the province...


Having a look, from time to time, to units experience is quite nice.


It would also be interesting to have your point of view on SOV problems: ESE, decryption and IC allocation between production, removing dissent, upgrading, replacement and supplies. It seems SOV army is bigger than what could be supported by the country.
Do you think you will keep these advantages a long time?
How is SOV standing / draft slider?
 
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Those Finns appear to be lost :)

Good to see some successful counter-offensives.
 
On the HQs again, the explanation about surplus numbers certainly makes disbanding a few a realistic proposition. The comments from other sare all focusing on the ESE improvement from HQs but as far as I can see combat event improvements make a slightly bigger contribution. HQs multiply the rate of combat events and the combination of the multiplier increasing and the basic rate of events increasing means that HQs can have a dramatic impact on combat towards the end oft he war. I have only recently given this serious thought and, as a result, started a major build of HQs in my AAR (Fatherland). I am using a rule of thumb that having an HQ contributes effects equivalent to a +10% combat modifier and therefore is manpower efficient if needed for a force of over 50 manpower. I would strongly suggest making sure that at least every active defensive location is covered by an HQ and consider having spares to give more flexibility.

A second point is that HQs suffer NO casualties during ground combat. They certainly absorb attacks but they only lose org. I mention this because someone indicted they require little manpower to reinforce. If you stop the Russians bombing them then they cost no manpower.

However, if you do have too many then disband them by all means. Too many HQs is pretty useless as a second one gives you no combat benefit at all.
 
Russian wave tactics are failing to an extreme! In the end they are only making beutiful target practice for you.
 
Well, if the Soviets ever learn to NOT start attacking at night they might be able to break you. Does anyone else find it weird that they always start their attacks at dusk?
 
Time for the Tanaka Memorial

The Tanaka Memorial was a plan to invade Russia via Vladivostok and not stop until...Germany. Perhaps hitting Chita and Kharbarovsk first would create a pocket of death for the Soviets to flounder in, especially if you could bring in some heavy naval guns from the Home Islands to help with any future assault?
 
Nice update.

I enjoyed seeing the Siamese in action. :D

It's always good to see things go well in China, almost too well. Maybe the notorious Soviet tactics are the result of another purge by Stalin? We haven't seen Zhokov and other such notables much have we?



About your ships, I still want to see you research new models, for the sake of storyline, even if it isn't most efficient gameplay wise.


I was having visions of Japanese Battlecrusiers sinking the last of the American carrier fleets. :p
 
Thurak - The Siamese did allow me to inject some humour :) If I remember right then you get a 5% decryption bonus if your three steps ahead and 10% if your four ahead. So this means I am three ahead of the Soviets and three behind the Allies. Researching one more myself would give me 10% against the Soviets and no deficit to the Allies. One more on my part would also make it impossible for anyone to gain an advantage over me.

alan_le_cowboy - Well spotted. My little puppet has been busy and its results will appear in the update. For noticing such a small detail you will get an operation named after something you say that fits.

Soviet problems, hmm. Decryption I already covered above. ESE is a big problem as they clearly have a bad TC with trying to supply their army. Some of the troops I am fighting have offensive supply, mostly infantry, which counters the TC as I am doing. The knock on effect is even more supplies needed which the AI struggles with. It is impacting my own supplies a little but I can handle the situation much better than the AI.

IC allocation is always an AI problem as its scripted to use no more than 10% over I think. So the dissent from DoW is still there and dropping very slowly, upgrades aren't as fast and neither are repairs. These are all common AI problems and is why you can bleed its army dry because it can't repair fast enough with those allocations. I have yet to see a Soviet AI that has burned its manpower pool.

Eventually the dissent and supply problems will reduce. Supply because I will reduce their army size to a number the AI can handle. ESE nearly always favours the defender as the attacker loses 50% of a provinces infrastructure when it takes it. Once I attack I will have that problem and not the Soviets.

stnylan - Thanks. The Finns were a little out of the way.

Kanitatlan - Correct all around of course. The HQ not suffering combat losses is easy to exploit and is a lot. I use it myself sometimes when I just march a HQ into a province to wreck its infrastructure knowing that it will be forced to retreat and suffer no damage. I won't do that in this AAR though as I am trying to fight as fairly as possible most of the time. I will highlight where my HQ's are in the next monthly meeting but suffice to say that no formation in Manchuria has no HQ in or next to it. Only the forces in Sinkiang and India have no HQ nearby and they don't seem to really need one right now.

robou - I still can't kill them fast enough though :)

genbrad - It is a little annoying but its fairly common. The AI is never good at timing attacks but it seems to do a slightly better job in the west than it is doing here. That my just be a misconception on my part though as the AI really is not good at this part of the game.

Riptide - Welcome back to the present :) No hurry if you wish to write something as this War is likely to last at least 2 years.

M79 - Welcome aboard. Nice things to try but the enemy has rather a large amount of troops in those areas as the updates during July will show. Siberia is likely to be a target for some invasions.

Maj. von Mauser - Thanks. The Siamese bombers have been busy all game patrolling around Japan. I thought it was time to unwrap the Interceptors. Zhukov is in Altay and Konev makes an appearance in the update. The rest are also around and begin to show up more often.

As it happens if I build the currently researched versions they are more modern than anything I have afloat. I will research the better ones eventually and I will build BC's regardless in the mean time. I like some flavour in my AAR's even if its not the most efficient way to go.

Update to follow ...
 
The Bear

10





0200 July 3rd 1946.
North China Army Headquarters. Lanzhou, China.

The situation remained under control in and around Sinkiang as Japanese bombers continued to slowly reduce the enemy troops in the area. Their current target was mountainous which reduced their efficiency somewhat but it was necessary.​

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One of the seven Soviet divisions in Gulja would not survive the latest bombing run from the Close Air Support aircraft operating from Urumqi. Higashikuni knew there was a sizable enemy force in Altay but other than that there did not appear to be any large concentration of Red Army troops close by. There were a lot of Soviet troops in Khobdo province but they were all retreating after being attacked piecemeal by the defending Japanese troops.​

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The militia division in Birjand had also been destroyed but continued bombing in the province would be less fruitfull as the Allied troops had halted their advance and began to dig in.​





0700 July 3rd 1946.
Naval Offices. Tokyo, Japan.

Osami had ordered a patrol to be carried out along the Siberian coast as well as the island of Sakhalin. He wished to know exactly what the Red Army was up to in these areas before an operation could be mounted.​

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Admiral Triye was the recipient of these orders and had made his way north with his Destroyer fleet to investigate. Osami was content with the Soviet position on Sakhalin as most of the forces had already left the island. The remaining divisions also appeared to be heading off the island which would be a huge mistake if it did happen. Japanese forces were very adept at seaborne assaults and an empty island was a certain target. Two airbases and port facilities were something that would be taken if at all possible. Osami would keep a close eye on the Soviet forces in this area but would not order any type of assault until it was a guaranteed success.

Triye would continue north to conduct a reconaissance of the Siberian peninsula before returning to monitor Sakhalin. The return of BB Division 2 to Tokyo for repairs could prove useful if shore bombardment was required. The fleet was still over a week away and needed a lot of repairs but in time it would become available.

Osami placed a quick call to Tanigawa who consulted a list which contained only one word. This would need to be corrected by the Chief of Staff but for now he passed on the word to Osami and scratched it off his list.

Operation Tedious began its early planning stages.​





0900 July 3rd 1946.
Kwantung Army Headquarters. Harbin, Manchukuo.

The Soviets were not going to allow the uncontested bombing of their ground forces in Manchuria. Terauchi knew they would have to respond sooner or later and the latest reports had shown this to be the case.​

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A Soviet Fighter wing and a Polish Interceptor wing had both been spotted heading towards Vladivostok. Hopefully they would need several weeks of reorganisation before they could interfere with Japanese bombers. Whilst Terauchi was a little concerned he was comforted by the fact that his bombers very rarely operated over Soviet territory in this region without at least one accompanying Interceptor wing.​





1000 July 3rd 1946.
Diplomatic Offices. Tokyo, Japan.

Mamoru looked up as he heard a knock on his door. His office had been fairly quiet for some time as Japan had lost its main trading partner once the Soviets had declared War.

"Good evening Minister Mamoru." Ginjiro said as he entered Mamoru's office.

"Same to you Minister Ginjiro. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Mamoru asked his opposite number in the Industry department.

"I have a small problem I need your assistance with if at all possible."

"Oh?" Mamoru replied as he immediately became curious. Ginjiro rarely needed much help as he was a most competent Minister.

"You are of course aware that we have a minor energy problem. Well that situation is actually deteriorating at an accelerated rate because of another shortfall in resources."

"Oil?"

"Correct. Our Industry converts energy to oil when we have sufficient surplus, this is causing our energy reserves to deplete a lot quicker than I would like. One way to help the problem is to research more modern conversion techniques which I will approach Minister Kuniaki about shortly. The other way is to increase our oil stockpile which is why I am here."

"I see. I think I may be able to help you out a little as we do have good relations with a major oil producing Country. The losses to the United States Navy have improved our trade efficiency with them as well so they should be cooperative."​

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Venezuela would indeed be very helpful. The cost was a large amount of supplies on a daily basis but oil reserves would receive a major boost from a large exchange of oil. This was the second such deal between the two Countries and would, over time, alleviate the energy conversion problem. It would take several months to see its full effect and energy stockpiles would drop a lot more during that time.​





2000 July 3rd 1946.
BB Division 1 Flagship. IJN Yamashiro, Maui.

Ozawa had been reading through his much smaller stack of reports. Enemy fleets were few and far between since the capture of the Hawaiian islands and he did not expect them to pick up too much as the enemy had been severely depleted over the last few months. He was also fairly confident that the rapid response to the Japanese invasion had caused the United States to over react and send too many of its precious Transport ships into the area. They had all been sunk of course.

One report he had just finished reading indicated that the American defenders of Pearl Harbour had not been too thorough when they had destroyed their confidential documents. He would send the captured documents back to Naval intelligence to see if they could decipher them. The process would probably take some time and nothing useful might come from the effort but it was worth looking in to.

He was disturbed by a new report from BB Division 2 commander Admiral Koga. He had set sail at the beginning of the month and should be in safe waters by now but this was not the case. His badly damaged fleet had encountered an enemy fleet containing a Battleship.​

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What the Brazilians were doing north of Midway Island was a mystery for certain. Fortunately Koga was as adept at utilising an Aircraft Carrier as he was with Battleships. The Brazilian fleet never got close enough to use its guns as Koga used the extra range of IJN Katsuragi and its aircraft to good effect. Only minor damage would be sustained by the enemy fleet and Koga would continue towards Japan unmolested.​





0100 July 4th 1946.
Kwantung Army Headquarters. Harbin, Manchukuo.

Terauchi ordered another spoiling attack during the morning hours of July 4th. The forces in Bayan Tumen had still not dug in and would conduct the latest assault.​

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Four Soviet divisions would be added to the retreating mass in the area after a brief fight. Terauchi would now alter to a purely defensive footing in this area as it was clear that the enemy was increasing its numbers in the area. The last thing he needed was a hurried withdrawal from a vital province.​

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In Ceylon Lt. General Canine would try one last assault towards Colombo. The Submarines would take their time intercepting the Transports this time which would allow more casualties to pile up on the beaches of the island. Needless to say the Americans got no further on this occasion than they had in the past.​





1400 July 4th 1946.
His Majestys' Private Chambers. Imperial Palace.

"Come in Prime Minister we have something to discuss." Hirohito told Hideki as he arrived on time. Some discussion was needed on how to alter the current Japanese philosophy in one area of Government.

"Thank you your Majesty. I have gone over our available options and I believe one of these is most useful at this time." Hideki responded as he sat down.

"Which option and why please?"

"Well your Majesty we could have done many things but I will cover my thinking before I highlight what I consider the appropriate action. We could allow you a more Authoritarian roll which would assist in keeping dissent to a minimum should you decide to attack a neutral Country."

"I don't think I am planning anything like that right now Minister Hideki." the Emperor replied.

"Which is why I discounted this option your Majesty. We could also move to a more open type of Society if we wish. This would have a positive effect in our overseas holdings by decreasing partisan activity. This is one option I considered more than some others as it has several positive effects."

"I take it you didn't wish to recommend this option either?"

"No your Majesty, not for the time being. Moving more towards a Centrally Planned economy would increase our production ability. There are a few down sides to this. Most important are the increased drain of stockpiles by doing so which I do not think Minister Ginjiro would approve of. A second consideration would be the increased time it would take to upgrade our current forces. With the current needs of the Imperial Japanese Air Force in this regard I would also discount this choice."

"That seems fairly reasonable. That only leaves us with one choice does it not?"

"Correct your Majesty."​

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"I recommend that we increase the effectiveness of our Armed Forces by using less conscripts in the ranks and adding to the training required for our forces. The main advantage of this move would be to decrease upgrade times and provide a small increase in our organisational abilities. A down side is the slight increase in production times for serial projects."

"It seems you have thought everything through Prime Minister. I agree with your reasoning and will let you make the necessary arrangements." Hirohito ended the short meeting.​
 
0700 July 5th 1946.
Airforce Offices. Tokyo, Japan.

Minister Jun had a lot on his plate right now with the massive input required to update his squadrons as well as the reconfiguring of some parts of the Air Force after major operations concluded in the Pacific. Some things remained more normal as he scanned the latest report from his Naval bombers operating from Fiji.​

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They had managed to sink one of the American Submarine Divisions in Samoa but would require a period of rest before continuing their mission. These targets were probably the hardest of any to destroy and it looked likely to take several months. Another option would be to invade the island and have several Destroyer Flotillas waiting for the Submarines when they were forced to leave. This risked allowing some to escape though so the slower option was being used.​

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Four Interceptor squadrons had made their way to Pearl Harbour as a defensive force for that area and another four, led by Mj. General Fukui, had returned to Tokyo. The Interceptors on Hawaii were useless for Naval patrols until they were upgraded following some research but could be useful if the Americans tried to strike Pearl Harbour's port facilities.

The four squadrons in Tokyo had a double purpose. Firstly they could be used to defend the Home islands from air attack should the Soviets try a Strategic bombing campaign. Secondly they were going to be used as a reserve for Korea and Manchuria.

There were two full wings already in this area but they were still pre-turbojet varieties which had a longer range. The wing in Tokyo would be allowed to upgrade and once that was completed it would rotate with one of the two wings in Manchuria until all three were completely modernised. This whole process would take some time as it took over a month to complete the most advanced upgrades.​





1500 July 6th 1946.
Kwantung Army Headquarters. Harbin, Manchukuo.

More Red Army troops had arrived north of Bayan Tumen and the Soviet commanders wasted little time in finding them employment. The province would receive another attack as the enemy tried to force an advance somewhere along the Front.​

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One of the more well known and capable Soviet officers took charge of this attack. Field Marshall Konev would match his wits against General Itagaki. Konev was clearly still used to fighting understrengthed and demoralised German forces in the west and had made the mistake of trying to bully the defensive forces at night.​

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Six hours was enough to point out to Konev that he was facing an enemy that relished night fighting and had no morale problems at all. The lesson was an expensive one for the Soviet commander but he was not unfamilair with heavy losses and would doubtless try again. Terauchi hoped that he would try again at night but sooner or later the enemy would switch tactics.​





0000 July 7th 1946.
Intelligence Offices. Tokyo, Japan.

Kuniaki and his research teams had not completed any projects for some time and it was with a certain amount relief that one was finally finished.​

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A new type of Close Air Support aircraft was now available after Mitsubishi had completed the research. They were further tasked with incorporating a Turbojet into the design. The need to upgrade sixteen squadrons would place a drain on industry as well as on command. The bombers would now have to receive new orders on a daily basis until their upgrades were completed.​

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Other aircraft were also having a problematical time. The Tactical bombers operating over Persia were ordered to rest as the enemy troops had dug in enough to be almost immune to the air attacks. They would wait for Allied forces to enter Karachi before continuing operations.​





1000 July 8th 1946.
Kwantung Army Headquarters. Harbin, Manchukuo.

Terauchi knew exactly what Japan's Manchurian puppet was manufacturing in Harbin of course as he was stationed there. He was still not totally convinced that the project was a good idea but he would make use of it while he could.​

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A new airstrip had been built in Harbin. Eight Dive bomber squadrons that had recently returned from the Pacific headed north to occupy their new base of operations. They had still not recovered from their flight to China and would be operating at the minimum of organisation as a result but they were more efficient than Tactical bombers at destroying enemy formations. An Interceptor wing also moved to Harbin to provide an escort to the Dive bombers.

The Tactical bombers would switch target area to the north west of Harbin as the Close Air Support aircraft could only cover the areas they had been bombing. Terauchi would use the Tactical bombers for reconaissance as well as longer ranged bombing for now. Operating to the north west of Harbin would not require an escorting Interceptor squadron which would allow one of the two wings to rest more often.​

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Bayan Tumen was attacked again on July 8th. Terauchi would be a lot less happy on this occasion as the Soviets began their attack an hour before dawn. This was likely to hurt a little.​

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By 0100 hours it was clear that the smaller Soviet force could very well win the battle. Terauchi was very close to ordering a withdrawal before casualties began to pile up when Itagaki informed him that he had outmanouvered his opponent and could probably hold until nightfall when the odds would reverse. The delaying action had indeed saved the defensive position allowing Japanese forces to increase their trench systems to try and hold furture attacks.

Bayan Tumen and its open terrain was clearly a bad position to try and hold but it prevented a third flank in Ulan Hot which could undermine the whole defensive line. Terauchi would withdraw if needed to save manpower. At least if the Soviets were holding Bayan Tumen they were easy targets for Japanese bombers.​
 
As you may have guessed by the empty Operational name folder referenced in the update, I need some more names for future operations.

Panzer6 has Operation Tedious.

alan_le_cowboy will have one named as well.

I want a few more though for some slightly smaller operations I am looking at. Rather than holding a competition type of thing I will do it a different way. I already know one name I want to use so whoever mentions the word for that operation gets its. No you won't guess it so just reply as you normally do :)

This will give me three operations and I want two more names. To get those two names I will read your comments as always and select two words that fit in with the naming scheme. I do have a scheme for naming these somewhere if I can find it. Whichever words I chose will be credited to the people who supply them of course.

Panzer6 and alan_le_cowboy are naturally barred from entry as they have an operation already.

Nearly forgot to thank you all for continued support and dedication. You will notice the little counter has reached the 200,000 point in views which is all down to you guys and gals who read this regularly :)