Tokyo Tipple - Japan from '36

[Sir Humphrey]

Tokyo Tipple

HoI3: SF with HPP Mod

Japanese soldier: [trying to squeeze a large radio into the sub] We've got to figure out how to make these things smaller! [from the film 1941]

So we start with the changes to the political establishment as seen below.

The beginnings of an armoured division are fostered. We have decided to test a variety of foreign designs within a single armoured division so that they can be compared and trialled against one another. As a result we have decided on a regiment of German Panzer I’s, two British Light Tank Mk. V from the Vickers company and one T-26 (1931 mod.) regiment from the Soviet Union. This will form an entire tank division for experimentation and doctrine development. We have also laid down the hull of a new aircraft carrier, the IJN Soryu] of the Shokaku class. A reorganisation of the entire army begins to establish clear command and control structures.

We signed the Second London Naval Treaty which improved our relations with France considerably. This was signed by the British Empire, France, the United States. We also started training a new infantry regiment. The IJN Hiryu keel was laid down in April. On the first of August the first tank formations were deployed as a cohesive unit. Due to extensive testing, no new orders are likely to be placed until the start of 1937. A program of refitting some of our older destroyers up to current standards was also begun.

In September the production rights for a production run of the A12 Infantry Tank from Messrs Vulcan of Britain was successfully obtained. These infantry tanks will be earmarked for distribution amongst the infantry divisions that are currently awaiting re-training as Marine Infantry. In December a contract with the Boeing Corporation was signed to produce a copy of the Boeing B-15 model bomber at the Mitsubishi works for the Air Force. That concludes 1936.​

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I'm not taking things to seriously with this one, the HPP mod is great and all, plus I think its funky having such a mismash force. Also, I wonder what a good Jap name for the Matilda would be..?

 

[Cybvep]

Nice start, although your post was rather brief HPP's popularity seems to be on the rise! Soon all users will come to the Dark Side

You seem to be buying licences extensively. Building up your armoured force may not be such a bad idea at all, as long as you will limit yourself to few divs per front. The Chinese won't have any serious mobile forces, so even with just 2-3 armoured divs you will be able to create some mayhem and encircle "packs" of Chinese troops. You could also supplement them with cavalry, because they don't require fuel and are still much faster than infantry. Don't overdo it, though. It's easy to get severe supply problems in that theatre.

Armour may be crucial in India, too. Infrastructure in that region is much better than in China and India is unlikely to have mobile forces, too.

If you are investing in the airforce, it may be a good idea to have some emergency airfields "in stock". There are not many of those in China.

What difficulty are you playing at, BTW?

 

[Baltasar]

Looking forward to this, not many Japanese AARs out there.

 

[TheBromgrev]

Have fun with the Chinese militia-horde By the way, which HPP version are you playing as?

 

[Sir Humphrey]

1937 was fairly unremarkable for the Empire of Japan. In February the British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin retired after successfully dealing with the abdication of Edward VIII. He was succeeded by youthful young lion Anthony Eden.* The retraining of a number of reserve infantry regiments to naval infantry began, although it is a slow process and won't be finished until well into next year. After evaluation by the army, it was decided that any future purchases of armoured vehicles from abroad would likely be from the United Kingdom or Soviet Union, dependant on the prevailing international political situation. Started a run of three T-26 and one Vickers Mk.V light tank regiments. However we are developing our own domestic designs that incorporate features borrowed and learnt from foreign imports. By the end of the year, most tank regiments however are being refitted with domestically produced Type 98 light tanks.

Despite an incident near the Marco Polo Bridge in China, which nearly resulted in war between Japan and China, the politicians in Tokyo were able to put a leash on the Japanese Army in China, restoring at least a semblance of civilian control over the armed forces. To maintain a strong economy, trade deals were struck with the British, Dutch, Soviets and the United States, the latter resulting in important deliveries of fuel oil.

1938 began with tensions rising in Europe. The resurgent Germany annexed Austria which nearly resulted in war with the British Empire and France. The British Prime Minister, Eden consults unproductively with France, the United States, Italy, the Soviet Union and Japan to try and establish a collective security agreement between the world powers against the rise of Germany. France remains divided by internal politics. The United States remains mired in depression and isolated from world affairs. The Soviets and Italian Fascists remained locked in a herculean proxy war on the Spanish Peninsular whilst Japan looks South and West, but with her resource needs met, all remains quite. In March, with the personal blessings of the Emperor who before ascending to the throne was the Japanese chief patron of Rugby Union, a Japanese rugby team toured the British Commonwealth, beginning with a tour of Australia and New Zealand, followed by a voyage to play against teams in Britain. The tour boosted the profile of rugby in Japan and improved Anglo-Japanese relations considerably.

However, as the tour was coming to an end, war erupted in Europe. Germany, flush with seizing Austria only months before, attempted to seize the borderlands of Czechoslovakia under the pretext of protecting the German minority there. However this naked German expansionism would not be tolerated by the Western powers, particularly Eden. Therefore as German forces marshalled along and then plunged into great swirling battles with Czechoslovak forces along the frontier, a bomb exploded in an empty room and an assassins bullet missed its mark. Adolf Hitler surviving through sheer unbridled luck two assassination attempts in as many days. With German forces refusing to withdraw and with an ultimatum issued, Eden announced before the nation that the British Empire was going to war. Many people did not even know where Czechoslovakia was, and British opinion was divided on the issue. France reluctantly sided with Britain, as did the Commonwealth, with only South Africa showing great reluctance. Japan watched with eagerness these developments. Italy remained neutral, still somewhat bitter with Germany over the Austrian affair and the Soviet Union and the United States remained focused on internal issues. Thus, on the 12th of April, the guns once again roared across Europe.

Europe is once again aflame

​

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TheBromgrev: I using 1.7.27 I think.

Baltasar: Its a great nation to play, its really fun so far.

Cybvep: Yeah, I've enjoyed HPP alot. Just playing under normal I think. I must admit I didn't check in a long time..

 

[TheBromgrev]

Since you ignored China, I'm curious as to what your long-term war goals are. Do you plan to join the Axis at all? Will you take on Europe's colonies by yourself? Eagerly awaiting your next update

 

[Slan]

I couldn't not notice that your Head of State and Head of Government are replaceable... What happened to Hirohito? Did I miss something? Anyway, I'm eager to see how this develops!

 

[Hallongren]

@Slan If I recall it correctly then the person you can put as Head Of State is the Prince so it all makes sense(ish)

 

[Sir Humphrey]

3

As general hostilities began, the world watched as vast battles erupted across Europe. Within ten days, the Wehrmacht had already penetrated the once vaunted Maginot Line, captured Strasbourg and advanced as far as Nancy throwing the French back in disarray. The Czech's were fairing little better and there was a great sense of gloom amongst the allied powers. As the Wehrmacht continued to push into France, with most of the Maginot defences smashed, the Czech's morale plummeted as the German forces broke through the defensive lines. By the second of May, Prague was within the range of German artillery, not that it had been spared by the Luftwaffe. With the collapse of morale of its continental allies, the British Prime Minister, Eden was dumped by his own party and blamed for the military failures. Lord Halifax, one of the most senior figures within the Conservative Party was chosen as his successor. Despite protests from his supporters including Churchill, Duff-Cooper, Amery and others, Eden had lost the support of the party as a whole. Eden, upon leaving Downing Street declared, "I shall return!"

The New British Prime Minister

On the fifteenth of May, the Czech's surrendered and that nation ceased to exist. After the defeat of Czechoslovakia, the Germans turned their full attention to France. Nothing seemed to be able to stop the German advance across Europe.

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I couldn't not notice that your Head of State and Head of Government are replaceable... What happened to Hirohito? Did I miss something? Anyway, I'm eager to see how this develops!

Yeah, its a simple change of the minister file to the HoS and HoG can be changed. No real reason why I changed to Chichibu.

Since you ignored China, I'm curious as to what your long-term war goals are. Do you plan to join the Axis at all? Will you take on Europe's colonies by yourself? Eagerly awaiting your next update

Maybe I will take the colonies, or even more!, or perhaps join in alliance with British and beat the Germans. Banzai charges vs. Blitzkreig...?

​

 

[Sir Humphrey]

4

As the military situation deteriorated across May and June, there seemed little that could be done to stop to the German juggernaut as it mauled its way across France, smashing the French army to pieces and threatening to rebuffing the British Expeditionary Forces counter attacks aside with ease. On the Second of July, Paris fell to German arms. What little morale the allied armies had was shattered as Italy entered into the axis, although remained uncommitted to the conflict. Iraq also switched sides, with a violent coup overthrowing their British masters and declaring war on the allies. However a British led force of Arab regulars from the Trans-Jordan mandate began to enter Iraq from the West whilst Indian troops arrived in the Persian Gulf to boost the defences of the Kuwait.

After the fall of Paris, peace feelers were put out by the British through the Danish ambassador to 'reach an understanding towards a European settlement'. The resulting meeting in Copenhagen between representatives of the British, French, German and Italian governments, along with international observers from the United States, Soviet Union and British commonwealth. The map of Europe was redrawn once again. The fate of Czechoslovakia was sealed. France once again lost Alsace-Lorraine, although apart from that retained its territorial integrity. There were however thousands of French men and women who would die opposing the new regime in Paris. The government of Marshall Petain was happy to concede any point almost as long as was for peace and secure France's position in post war Europe. The British Empire remained intact, but the Dominions became thoroughly disenchanted with British conduct over the course of the war. Britain thus became effectively excluded from continental affairs for the immediate future.


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The allies seek peace

For Japan this presented a dilemma. It had been shown that the British and their allies had performed poorly on the battlefield, however if an Anglo-Japanese war did break out, then Britain could focus her entire attention towards the Far East. The Royal Air Force had performed poorly against the Germans over France, with large numbers of aircraft lost. However the Royal Navy was a largely unknown factor as it been a relatively quite war, except for enforcing the blockade of Germany, chasing down German merchantmen caught at sea by hostilities and of course Submarines, which had sunk a number of ships. Japanese intelligence reported that most vessels had been recalled to Europe and that it would be some time until they returned, the same for the armies of the British commonwealth who were still being transported around the world.


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The World After the European War

Thus it was clear that the Hawks within the Japanese government, that to secure the future economic prosperity of Japan, and taking Malaya would guarantee that with its vast reserves of natural resources as well as the great naval base at Singapore. Debate raged as to whether or not to attack American targets or even Indochina. However those were relegated as to risky. Intelligence reported that America had entered into a mini recession again and viewed Japan as somewhat benign, after possible war in China had been avoided. Soon, invasion plans were drawn up.
Operations:
Lilly: The seizing of British Malaya and Borneo. Forces allotted will be 12x Regiments of Marines, 4x Regiments of Infantry Tanks attached to the Marines, and 4x Regiments of Light Tanks. Naval forces will consist of the two operational fleet carriers and supporting destroyers as light opposition is expected. Will hopefully draw Australian reinforcements away from Rose.
Rose: Suppression of Australia. 15x Infantry Regiments earmarked. Seizure of New Guinea, Rabaul and the Solomons immediate priorities. Further landings in northern Australia to be considered depending on review of situation. 2x light carries and escorts assigned, with support from 4x Battleships and escorts.
Carnation: The seizing of outstanding territories, islands, bases or suppression of reinforcements. Adhoc formation drawing from reserve of 12x Infantry Regiments.

Operations are planned to begin on the 1st of September 1938. ​

 

[TheBromgrev]

I've never seen AI Germany do so well, but the HPP's peace events still fired when they were supposed to. Too bad Hungary didn't join before everything started, because it won't join the Axis now. If it had, it would've gotten Ruthenia for free. Regardless, this was a surprising, but not unexpected, conclusion to WW2 started by the Czechs. The IJN is still the world's most advanced navy at this point, so your carriers should secure your dominance in the upcoming war.

One request: could you post a screenshot showing your military before your war starts?

Also, just something to think about when determining your end goals.

 

[Sir Humphrey]

5

On the 26th of July, Japan began mobilising its army for the coming war against the British. Planning for the operations in the Pacific were rushed and not helped by the issue of mobilisation orders. By the 2nd of September, most regiments were at full strength and had boarded their assigned transports. The Imperial Japanese Navy had steamed from its ports. The Air Force were preparing to fly South as soon as captured airfields were available.

The immediate targets are Hong Kong, Singapore and Rabaul.

Because these operations are targeted against significant strategic points for the British, it is expected that this will draw out the allied navies to our superior fleets and destroy them. The elimination of Hong Kong as a possible naval base for allied activity is important as assets such as Submarines from there could pose potential risks to our merchantmen. Singapore is of vital importance. The facilities there if captured intact could prove a useful Southern base for operations against Australia, and operations into the Indian Ocean.

On the morning of 2nd September 1938, Sir Robert Craigie, the British Ambassador in Tokyo received from the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs an official document, stating that a war existed between the two nations.

 

[Slan]

An official declaration before the actual event? How kind

 

[Baltasar]

Those lazy Japanese, thought they had updated by now

 

[TheBromgrev]

I'm curious as to why you attached infantry tanks to your marines. They will actually hurt your performance when attacking Hong Kong. If you're going to attach anything to marines, engineers are the best brigade, due to their high fort attack and the fact that marines will most likely be fighting against coastal forts.

Will you be moving against the Dutch after Malaya and Singapore are finished with?

 

[Cybvep]

Conquest of the Malaya and the New Guinea will give you a perfect position for an attack on the Dutch East Indies... BTW will you try to get whole Australia and New Zealand?