Claiming back what is ours
September 1st, 1939 – October 15th, 1939
Chiang Kai-shek sat in his office, looking outside with his mind drifting off and thinking about the success he had with unifying China. His last hurdle, Manchukuo, would not be an easy one. While waiting for some news about transports and troops in Shanghai he was drinking his favorite drink, a cherry brandi, which was a very popular drink among the people. He turned his head towards the door when it opened and his orderly entered the room.
”Speak!”
“Sir, the troops are ready to board, sir.”
“Good, what is the weather forecast?”
“Rain, sir.”
“Send Field Marshal Chen Jitang to my office right away.”
“Sir!”
The orderly rushes out of the room while Chiang turns his chair towards the window again. Barely 15 minutes pass by when the door opens again. The orderly shows a man inside, dressed in an over the top uniform decorated with more than enough medals.
”Field Marshal Chen, no matter what the weather will be, I want the transports send out before the end of the week!”
“But Sir, chances of success will be far less if it rains.”
“SILENCE! I gave you an order, not asked for an opinion. We have to keep the element of surprise out our side. Tomorrow at 8am, send the northern armies across the border. A formal declaration of war will be issued an hour before that. Reports indicate they expect an assault from us, just not an assault on Taiwan. Getting the island back after almost 35 years would be a great achievement and a clear statement to Japan. I don’t have to remind you about the utmost secrecy of this plan.”
“No sir, I understand the importance.”
“I expect the Japanese fleet to escort their transports mostly and if they even take an invasion into account, I bet they think it will be on Japan itself. After the initial assault, send the transports after 3 days and before the end of the week. Clear?”
“Sir, yes sir.”
Battle plans for Manchukuo, Korea and Japan
On September 5th China declared war on Japan and as planned the nortern armies attacked the Japanese. A little surpised by the fast attack after the declaration of war, they tried to defend however, they simply lacked enough manpower. The joined Manchu and Japanese forces were forced to move back and everything seemed to go even better as planned. On September 8th , 17th Corps embarked in Shanghai and set sail for Taiwan. The island was reached at midnight and the first few divisions set foot on it shortly after. Within 3 hours China managed to create a decent beachhead and moved to the south to secure the port of Gaoxiong. A motorized division was stationed there to keep the island under control. It was very clear they did not expect an invasion on Taiwan.
Northern armies invading Manchukuo and the small strip controlled by Japan
17th Corps invading Taiwan
A few days after the Chinese invasion, Japan and Germany concluded their pact. Japan, although a bit surprised about the Chinese attack, assured Germany that they would set things right and no German forces were needed. With that said, China controlled the Taiwan straight only a few days after that and the island was fully taken on September 22nd.
The Taiwan straight under Chinese control
After the success of Taiwan, China overestimated their strenght and especially the capabilities of their fleet, which was still very small compared to Japan. Due to that, Chiang ordered his forces to take the island of Okinawa. If successfull, it would be a massive blow for Japan, if not, Chiang could always blame his naval forces. Initially the assault did go well and the Chinese forces invaded the beaches from the south east. Twice the Japanese navy tried to repel the attack and the second time they were succesfull. China lost too many transport and escort ships to make another effort. This failure made it clear to Chiang he should invest much more in his navy in both resources and technology.
The attempted invasion of Okinawa
As a response to the daring and failing attack on Okinawa, Emperor Hiroito ordered his navy and army high command to retake Taiwan. On September 29th Japan invaded Taiwan, ironically on the same beach as China did. Also in the south a marine division landed in Taiwan. Japan did manage to win a few battles and they were certainly not easily defeated, however, after two weeks the island was free again from Japanese troops.
2 Weeks of battles on Taiwan
Meanwhile in Europe
In Europe the war started in September 1939 with the invasion of Poland. German forces invaded their neighbours due to a so called provocation by the Polish forces along the border. Shortly after the invasion the Polish surrendered. Soon after Germany declared war on Denmark and the Danes were no match for the German forces. On October 9th the Danish government signed a peace treaty giving the land to Germany.
Poland and Denmark surrender