The Sun rises in Japan - Empire of Japan HPP AAR

[SKOTy]

10. Fall of Singapore

With Allied declaration of war on Germany Empire of Japan decided to join the fray with intention to help Germany. Hopefully this will draw Allied attention and will distract Royal Navy from smashing the Kriegsmarine. Let's face the truth if Kriegsmarine would be alone against whole Royal navy and French Navy for the first year of the war it would be obliterated.
Attacks on Hong Kong and Zhanjiang so the China will be swiftly cleansed of Allied presence.

On the way towards Singapore fleet of one light carrier and its escorts has been met. Yamato's first real shots were fired in Mekong mouths. Supported by CAGs striking from carriers in adjacent sea zones RN fleet quickly retreated.

Allied fleet however could not outrun fleet of admiral Yamamoto Isoroku. Yamato with other battleships together with CAGs operating from Akagi, Kaga and other carriers totally obliterated Allied fleet.

Assault on weakly defended Singapore has begun. Singapore will be used as base for all future operations in Indochina and Indonesia due to its strategic location and high level port and airfield.

Another axis of attack on Allies has been opened. Japanese mountaineers are making their way to enter Burmese lands from the north.

One Allied transport fleet has run directly into Yamamoto Isoroku's fleet. One does not have to mention the outcome of this battle as everyone can imagine what 6 battleships can do with such small and unarmed (compared to Yamato) fleet.

In the straits of Malacca one small RN fleet has run into IJN carrier task force protecting transports on their way back to Japan after successful landing in Malaya. This battle was very long and although clear Japan superiority it has ended like this.

IJN fleet was taking a beating and the RN fleet wasn't losing any organization so I've decided it would be better to retreat and lick the wounds. Fortunately only empty transports were lost and 2 light cruisers.

The fleet which gave IJN beating entered straights of Singapore where it met Yamato and other battleships. Now the sides has changed and this IJN was giving the beating and eventually whole fleet was sunk.

What's more important Singapore has fallen and all damaged ships were stationed there for repairs.

Imperial Japanese Army is making progress in Malaya and CAGs (which aren't damaged at all) are operating from Singapore performing naval strikes on every hostile ship in the area.

Germany is making progress in Poland and Siegfried's line holds steady unlike in some games (I guess everyone of us have seen Frenchmen pouring from a leak in Siegfried's line).

Malaya is nearly defeated and another naval contact has been made. This time by battlecruiser fleet.

RN eventually retreated to straits of Singapore just to meet another IJN fleet.

Another 2 RN battleships sunk. From what I've counted RN already lost 6 battleships, 2 carriers and 1 light carrier while IJN lost only 4 screens (3 light and heavy cruisers) and some transports. So the naval campaign so far looks promising and Imperial Japanese Navy is on its way to eternal glory.

 

[Ikarases]

Cool! You're teaching them a lesson.

I'm a bit puzzled why Hungary doesn't guard any of their borders though :wacko:

 

[SSmith]

It will be interesting to see how this Pacific threat affects the way the British AI approaches the war and whether it commits its strength against you or against Germany. What went wrong in the Straits of Malacca where you lost all those ships? From the screenshot it looks like you should have just swept that British squadron aside.

 

[GreatUberGeek]

Too bad with the Malacca defeat but Singapore captured should be very helpful, with new bases and a foothold in SE Asia.

 

[SKOTy]

It will be interesting to see how this Pacific threat affects the way the British AI approaches the war and whether it commits its strength against you or against Germany. What went wrong in the Straits of Malacca where you lost all those ships? From the screenshot it looks like you should have just swept that British squadron aside.

My CAGs were being intercepted by British CAGs all the time so they could hardly inflict any damage to British ships, at least this is how it looks like to me. The battle lasted for days and all I could see was pop-up about my aircraft under attack and organization and strength of IJN was slowly fading and RN looked like it has some shield on it as CAGs weren't harming them at all. When they met Yamato it was totally different story and the fleet got obliterated.

Too bad with the Malacca defeat but Singapore captured should be very helpful, with new bases and a foothold in SE Asia.

Singapore is helpful, very helpful. I am about 2 or 3 months ahead with the game so I can tell it is really helpful (without spoiling any cliffhanger).

 

[Ikarases]

My CAGs were being intercepted by British CAGs all the time so they could hardly inflict any damage to British ships, at least this is how it looks like to me. The battle lasted for days and all I could see was pop-up about my aircraft under attack and organization and strength of IJN was slowly fading and RN looked like it has some shield on it as CAGs weren't harming them at all. When they met Yamato it was totally different story and the fleet got obliterated.

From what it seems, the only thing that engaged their fleet was your CLs and you can guess the outcome...

 

[guillec87]

you are apying a very little price for the glory of destroying the RN in the East, let's hope your wounds have been healed for the moment the USNavy appears

 

[TheBromgrev]

I'm a bit puzzled why Hungary doesn't guard any of their borders though :wacko:

Who knows. The Strategic AI is still pretty stupid even with all the work done on it for TFH.

 

[Matrim_Cauthon]

Comes down to pride, really. Legally, Tibet wasn't technically an independent nation after the Qing Empire broke up, because no foreign nation acknowledged its independence declaration. Mongolia on the other hand was recognized by the Soviet Union, and the USSR's protection led Mao Zedong to refute the PRC's claims to Mongolia (the RoC today still claims Mongolia) in exchange for military aid. Since Tibet had no protector, no one in the international community batted an eye when Mao took it over. Tibet retained de-facto independence despite not being recognized, because of the difficulty involved in retaking it. The RoC lost direct control over western Xikang (today's eastern Tibet) in a war that took place in the early 30's, because tensions with Japan were too high to send troops there to maintain control (China lost Manchuria shortly after the war with Tibet ended).

So basically, all international players at the time considered Tibet to be an autonomous region of China rather than its own nation, and from the Chinese point of view the annexation of Tibet was more like "restoring order". From an international law standpoint, China had a valid legal argument to take Tibet over, as much as the Tibetans would like to hope otherwise. It's the same kind of thinking that caused WW2 to start over control of a city and the Russian-Georgian War of 2008.

This reminds me more of Chechnya. Gets independent, nobody recognizes it. Then later gets reannexed in another war.

 

[sebas379]

Despite the loss of those transports (luckily without troops) the overall operation seems to go smooth.
I wonder, could the reason be that the transport fleet was a separate fleet from the carrier fleet? so they bumped into the Brits while the carriers were not there right away (in terms of positioning).
Still, if you can keep swapping ships with the Brits at this ratio, they'll run out long before you do!

 

[guillec87]

Despite the loss of those transports (luckily without troops) the overall operation seems to go smooth.
I wonder, could the reason be that the transport fleet was a separate fleet from the carrier fleet? so they bumped into the Brits while the carriers were not there right away (in terms of positioning).
Still, if you can keep swapping ships with the Brits at this ratio, they'll run out long before you do!

the problem is: will he have enough ships left to make a stand agains the Leviathan of the seas aka US Navy?

 

[FinnishFury]

Keep doing this AAR so I don't need to start my own because I can enjoy AAR made by you.
And small note: You said that you counted 2 carriers and 1 light carrier but I see that you sank only carrier and light carrier.:happy:

 

[SKOTy]

Despite the loss of those transports (luckily without troops) the overall operation seems to go smooth.
I wonder, could the reason be that the transport fleet was a separate fleet from the carrier fleet? so they bumped into the Brits while the carriers were not there right away (in terms of positioning).
Still, if you can keep swapping ships with the Brits at this ratio, they'll run out long before you do!

Empty transports are not a concern. Let's say there were used as a screens for the screens
I still haven't lost any capital so far so this can really happen, but I do not know whether the ships I've already managed to sunk were new ones or fossils from WW1 era.

the problem is: will he have enough ships left to make a stand agains the Leviathan of the seas aka US Navy?

No one will doubt the strength of Imperial Japanese Navy. But I really really hope so, whole another CTF is being in construction and at the moment I am able to finish a CV every 15 months (this could actually get better if heavy naval influence occurs - I was able to finish a CV every 300 days as Japan).

Keep doing this AAR so I don't need to start my own because I can enjoy AAR made by you.
And small note: You said that you counted 2 carriers and 1 light carrier but I see that you sank only carrier and light carrier.:happy:

I will hopefully do a small update at the evening. Don't worry about me abandoning this AAR, I love it so much so I wouln't abandon it.
And a smaller note: Still I've sunk a way more ships than RN did

 

[sebas379]

Empty transports are not a concern. Let's say there were used as a screens for the screens
I still haven't lost any capital so far so this can really happen, but I do not know whether the ships I've already managed to sunk were new ones or fossils from WW1 era.

IIRC Glorious is an old 1920's carrier and the battleship names I saw also seem the older ones.
Royal Sovereign and Rodney served in WW1, so that says enough. Barham was commissioned in the middle of WW1.

you should be more careful when you run into the King George V class, those BB are modern (1939). That concerns the KGV (duh), Prince of Wales, Duke of York. I have never seen the other ships online sources mention as part of this class. But I suppose those are a tad tougher than what you smashed so far.

Which leads to a surprising conclusion: The British AI is doing the same as the Brits did IRL: keep the best ships at home to defend the home isles and send the old WW1 junk to the far east.

 

[guillec87]

IIRC Glorious is an old 1920's carrier and the battleship names I saw also seem the older ones.
Royal Sovereign and Rodney served in WW1, so that says enough. Barham was commissioned in the middle of WW1.

you should be more careful when you run into the King George V class, those BB are modern (1939). That concerns the KGV (duh), Prince of Wales, Duke of York. I have never seen the other ships online sources mention as part of this class. But I suppose those are a tad tougher than what you smashed so far.

Which leads to a surprising conclusion: The British AI is doing the same as the Brits did IRL: keep the best ships at home to defend the home isles and send the old WW1 junk to the far east.

considering that that old junk could have been able to stop the tiny Kriesgmarine and that the fall of India would have been a disaster, I don't see the logic in it... but, I'm speaking of things that already happened and hindsight is always an easy path

 

[SKOTy]

11. Fall of Burma

IJN is starting to meet Allied submarines. Looks like AI is trying to harm my supply lines. Many of their submarines are detected near Singapore and sunk before they could have done any harm and two destroyer stacks are patrolling near the Japanese homeland.

Another RN fleet has sailed to its death and another battleship has been sunks by Japanese carriers. However HMS Warspite is another relic from WW1 era, give me real ships to sink!

Malaya one of the British puppets in Asia has fallen.

When one carrier with some screens meets 5 battlecruisers and one battleship it usually ends in carrier being sinked. HMS Illustrious was brand new carrier of RN and a good catch.

Germany annexed Poland, few days later Soviets demanded their part of the Poland and agreed to historical modification of Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. The phoney war rages. Only causalities were when wind destroyed one of French latrines on the Maginot line with an officer inside.

Landing in northern New Guinea - a maneuver to lure Australian and New Zealand's fleets and destroy them as I don't want to be bothered by them. They are on my checklist but at the lower parts of them. Priorities for now are to destroy India and reach the Europe!

Another naval engagement. First outcome of this battle were some RN screens sunk, IJN Hosho sunk and one IJN light cruiser. First Japanese capital ship was sunk (if we can can consider light carrier a capital). British fleet leaves beaten IJN fleet behind is rushing to base at Borneo.

The British fleet is however intercepted by Yamamoto's fleet with Yamato pressing the attack on damaged RN fleet. Yamato and all other battleships are supported by CAGs from CTF damaged in previous fight. The CAGs themselves weren't so much damaged and pilots serving e.g. on Akagi and Kaga were also flying in China striking ground target so these were experienced ones. Whole RN fleet is eventually sunk, one old carrier (HMS Courageous), two old WW1 relics (Revenge and Resolution) and one old light carrier (HMS Hermes).

Italy was finally accepted into the Axis as their neutrality finally dropped.

IJA is coming for Burma. Mountaineers are already pushing from Jingwei controlled territory in the north.

I was surprised when this happened, one Burmese victory point was already controlled by the mountaineers in the north but I was expecting that I would have to seize all Burmese VPs. Their national unity was lower then I was thinking.

Soviets declare war on Finns. I am interested how good they will fare.

Gutten Tag, Fällschrimjägers! I honestly don't know what led Germany to sending one paratroopers division to Rangoon. But it's still better than sending paratroopers to Corsica in 1939 - I've seen this in every game when I wasn't playing Germany.

At the moment only one infantry corps and 3 mountaineer divisions are in former Burmese territory so Indian forces are delving into Burmese jungles. I wasn't expecting Burma to fall immediately after fall of Rangoon so I've not yet shipped another forces there.

French decided to land in Malaya and this first engagement between IJN and French Navy (apart from sinking French subs).

French fleet was beaten and retreated just to meet Yamato. Another WW1 relics and old carrier were sunk. With all fleets stationed in Singapore I am able to repair some while another is intercepting incoming Allied ships. Usually after first engagement both fleets runs out of organization and are lightly damaged. Then retreating allied fleet is intercepted by Yamato and other battleships and by this rotating of fleets I am able to give incoming Allied ships a beating while so far only IJN Hosho was sunk.

Reinforcements have arrived into Burma and Indian tide has been stopped and now IJA it's the who advances.


The AAR is now synced with the game

 

[sebas379]

considering that that old junk could have been able to stop the tiny Kriesgmarine and that the fall of India would have been a disaster, I don't see the logic in it... but, I'm speaking of things that already happened and hindsight is always an easy path

Well, the Japs can land their troops in China and walk/train to Burma if they really want, so a fleet won't stop them.
On the other side, are the British Isles. Is London.

edit: and suddenly, a wild update appeared!
Nice going, you'r hurting the allied navies, some well needed experience for the fleet in case of war with the USA.
I do love those random fallschirmjäger, hahaha

 

[Ikarases]

edit: and suddenly, a wild update appeared!

Seems like it broke free and evaded you

I find the naval AI increasingly incompetent, shame I don't get my hands on some decent navy most of the times...

 

[SSmith]

German paratroopers in Rangoon? Sounds like to me like Herr Goebbels had a hand in that one!

 

[guillec87]

die grünen Teufel want some jungle action I see... keep the beating of those French and English NAvies!!