The Bear
41
1800 March 1st 1947.
Naval Offices. Tokyo, Japan.
Osami dispatched a Destroyer fleet to investigate the coastline around Vladivostok as he looked for more opportunities to harass the Red Army and prevent it from mustering its full forces in Manchuria.
The large army that had moved to Vladivostok to reclaim the province was on the move. Chongyin looked to be receiving a large amount of reinforcements which could easily threaten the smaller Japanese defensive forces in North Korea. So far the snow covered mountains had prevented any further incursions into this area.
1900 March 1st 1947.
North China Army. Lanzhou, China.
General Shima, commander of the forces defending Yushu province in north western China, looked out on a clear evening as he inspected his troops and thier defensive positions.
"It is a pleasant evening General." one of his soldiers commented.
"Unfortunately." Shima replied as the sound of distant large calibre guns was heard. Shima knew what the change in weather would bring and he would be the first Japanese commander to witness the Red Army's intentions for the Spring.
The clearing of the snow in the province was greeted by a large attack led by Field Marshall Vassilevskij. Higashikuni would order Shima to withdraw to the mountains to the south east without waiting until morning. North China Army had had a relatively easy year in 1946 but it looked like 1947 was going to be much harder on them.
The Middle East was still moving along well for Operation Komodo as the Tactical bombers switched to attacking enemy troops along the Indian border. Nearly the entire Allied force was heading back towards Iraq as their supply lines came under threat, which removed any possibility of an assault into India for the time being.
0000 March 3rd 1947.
Kwantung Army Headquarters. Mukden, Manchukuo.
The added threat to the right flank of the Kwantung Army was a concern for Terauchi but unlike North China Army he had help from the Imperial Japanese Navy which was causing his opponent all sorts of problems. The Kwantung Army had spent much of the past year maintaining an unsteady equilibrium with a far larger enemy force and had given up very little ground in that time. Terauchi was confident of keeping the Red Army at bay for the foreseeable future but it would require constant vigilence and the standard Japanese policy of attacking weaker forces during the build up phase of possible attacks along the line.
The Dive bombers provided regular intelligence reports during their various missions and another report would arrive at Terauchi's Headquarters which would inform him of the current enemy strength in Xinjing province. Multiple counter attacks had managed to keep this force under control and had prevented any possible flanking attacks on other parts of the Japanese defences.
A report from the Tactical bombers operating further north revealed more Soviet troops moving south towards Manchuria which could destabalise the defences if enough were allowed to arrive. Minister Osami had a few plans to try and break up any such reinforcing of the Red Army in Manchuria.
0100 March 3rd 1947.
North China Army Headquarters. Lanzhou, China.
Spring was arriving far too quickly for Higashikuni's liking as his Army was defending further south than the Kwantung Army which meant the snow would melt along his line first. One attack had already forced a withdraw on his left flank and the report he was currently reading would mean a much much bigger problem would need to be solved. A message made its way to the Imperial Army Headquarters in Tokyo requesting a meeting between Army Commanders in Asia and the High Command as soon as possible.
Higashikuni was not one to panic under any circumstances but when a large hole appeared in his lines he was quick to request assiatance before things became untenable. Field Marshall Shaposhnikov had launched a major attack towards Datong where General Dohihara was the latest Japanese commander to lose the protection of the weather. The loss of Datong would directly threaten the capital of Mengkokuo which could result in the loss of an Ally as well as a general breakthrough in North China Army's defensive line.
Of the options available to Higashikuni he would choose the the only one he really could. Dohihara was ordered to withdraw towards Taiyuan province which would leave two undefended provinces to the east. Higashikuni knew that he had no forces to close a gap in his lines but Terauchi might be able to assist in securing his right flank. This is why he chose to defend Taiyuan as he hoped the Kwantung Army could reach the provinces closer to it.
Japanese Dive bombers would be ordered to try and reduce the twenty one Soviet divisions heading for the hole in North China Army's lines.
0200 March 4th 1947.
Kwantug Army Headquarters. Mukden, Manchukuo.
Terauchi was advised of the situation in northern China quickly and he had a few ideas that he would bring to the meeting of the General Staff. While he awaited the timing of such a meeting he had a few matters of his own to deal with.
The enemy build up in Xinjing needed to be neutralised before it got out of hand. One of the enemy divisons had been destroyed by the Dive bombers with the remaining seven being forced to retreat by twenty four Japanese divisions supported by the bombers. The Tactical bombers had switched targets to Spassk-Dalnij to the north of Vladivostok to prevent the enemy reinforcing the area.
The Red Army had left Vladivostok undefended again as it sought to build up its forces along the front line. Osami was not one to delay action when it was needed.
Three Cavalry divisions supporting Operation Tedious began to board landing craft as they headed back to Vladivostok to point out to the Soviet High Command that they were going to have to defend the province if they wished to keep it. The only other option the Soviets had was to build a Navy and that was not going to happen any time soon.