Umi Yukaba - A Japanese AAR w/ RPM2

[unmerged(186889)]

Prelude to War​

We left off last time at the start of 1937. With the chance to kick the Second Sino-Japanese War off just 7 months later, I had to quickly finish my preparations and redeploy my forces to China and Manchukuo. My intelligence campaign against the USSR was proving useful with their threat rising steadily and my neutrality dropping. This helped to reduce my consumer goods demand, enough to produce an extra two support regiments for my infantry divisions. My army is now equipped with eight support divisions but the remaining 15 divisions will have to wait on their support regiments due to production being shifted in favour of strengthening the IJA Air Service and creating a set of elite mountain infantry divisions.

The Navy saw two additions during this period. The first was the battleship Kongō, the third ship of her class to have been upgraded from a battlecruiser. This left the Hiei as being the only capital ship currently under construction. Once it is finished it will bring the total number of battleships fielded by the IJN to 10. While some of them are old and perhaps better used as scrap they can still serve a purpose as platforms for shore bombardment and as part of a reserve fleet.

The second ship was completed on on the 30th of June. This is the carrier Sōryū.

The Sōryū was designed to use up the remaining carrier tonnage (17,000 tons) permitted to Japan in the Washington Naval Treaty. Unlike the Kaga and Akagi, it was not converted from a capital ship hull and unlike the Ryūjō, it didn't have stability issues due to the design. The result was a high-speed, low profile carrier with capacity for 73 aircraft. The downside was the poor protection with the the belt being 1.5" and the deck ranging from 1" to 2.2" thick.

With the Sōryū being a priority project it was deployed without a complement of aircraft. It will therefore have to remain on the mainland until the CAGs are completed in late 1937. In late April 'Aircraft Carrier Frame 3' was completed opening up the next level of carriers to me.

The Hiryū will be started in late 1937 along with two Zuihō-class light carriers which together will form the backbone of the next carrier task force I aim to produce. This force may well be joined by a number of Tone-class heavy cruisers which became available in May.

The land doctrines which were started in 1936 were finally completed and while perhaps not needed against the Chinese will at least save me researching them from behind in the future. The two air doctrines, 'Interception Tactics' and 'Dogfighting' also were completed and these will help my interceptors to fight more effectively against any aircraft the Chinese use against me.

While on the subject of air doctrines, here is the tech page for them.

Most of it will be familiar to everyone except the advanced techs along the side. These will only be unlocked after you have fought a number of air battles and their initial benefits, much like the initial benefits of the standard techs, will be to increase the stats of your aircraft, for example the air defence of your interceptors. Thereafter it will increase the efficiency with which certain tasks are performed.

The techs for bombers and fighters are again, largely familiar. One big change though is the introduction of Naval Air Practical and placing all bombers under one practical. This change, much like with destroyers sharing practical with cruisers, makes it easier to produce a little bit of everything.

There are also a wider variety of aircraft which can be produced, some types of which are only available to certain nations. For example the UK can build three types of strategic bombers while Japan can only build one. It may seem unnecessary to have so many types of aircraft from a gameplay perspective but from a historical perspective it is a great addition.

With preparations completed I set about making plans for the first phase of Japan's offensive into China.

With the North Japan Army stationed around Harbin to keep the border between Manchukuo and the USSR secure, I detached a corps of cavalry to join the two armies on the border with China. This gave me a force of 16 infantry divisions, of which 8 had support regiments attached, 9 cavalry divisions and 3 independent mixed brigades stationed in Shanghai which Japan starts with. The initial plan is to send part of my cavalry along the coast to cut off any Chinese divisions in the Shandong Peninsula. My infantry will make a general push south taking Shanxi and Communist China.

I have a SNLF division in Japan and once all the mountain infantry divisions are completed they will be sent to assist the forces around Shanghai.

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The next update will hopefully come sometime over the weekend. Thanks for reading.

note: The coloured photo was taken from the livedoor.jp blog of irootoko_jr

 

[unmerged(83175)]

Very interesting read! Looking forward for more!

 

[unmerged(186889)]

Second Sino-Japanese War - First Phase​

On the 1st of July 1937 after a skirmish with Chinese forces at the Marco Polo bridge, the IJA were ordered to carry out a general offensive into China. As per the plans drawn up previously the infantry and cavalry divisions advanced into China and were immediately engaged by local Chinese forces. These forces however were understrength and could not stop the waves of Japanese troops heading towards them.

Japanese infantry advancing through Beiping​

Forces under the command of Nationalist China had the Yongding River to fall back across, a minor obstacle yet enough to cause a momentary pause in the advance of Japanese forces. Troops in Shanxi were not so fortunate and were quickly pushed back towards Taiyuan with the river protecting the flank of the Japanese infantry.

Minor gains for Japan after one week of fighting​

With the advance not going as quickly as anticipated, 1. Kiheishidan was ordered to make an attack on the province of Zhoulu. The mountainous terrain proved treacherous for the cavalry division with the dug-in Chinese infantry inflicting minor casualties. More would have been lost if it were not for orders given to the commander Hashimoto to keep the Chinese occupied without charging in heedlessly.

Pinning attack on Zhoulu​

Further south around Shanghai Japanese forces were enjoying a number of easy victories against the unprepared Chinese garrisons. The support and engineer units fielded by the Independent Mixed Brigades provided sufficient firepower to overcome the Chinese even with their fortifications. The performance of these units is a sign that the current investment into artillery is necessary and will improve the performance of our infantry divisions.

1. Dokuritsu Konsei Ryodan proving too powerful for the Chinese garrison in Hangzhou​

While the Army Air Service proceeded to offer air support to the forces in the north, the Naval Air Service was busy fighting the few aircraft China could muster. The time and leadership spent on air doctrines in 1936 were proving useful for the navy pilots as they enjoyed a clear advantage thanks to their tactics despite the use of the aging Nakajima A4N1 fighter and the number of aircraft faced. The Chinese were blown out of the air rapidly and spent most of the month of July grounded while the Japanese bombers wrecked havoc on any undefended targets.

An easy victory for the Japanese despite the conditions​

The pilots of the Mitsubishi G3M1 bombers, not wanting to be outshone by their comrades attacked part of the Chinese navy stationed in Qingdao. They found their targets covered by a small anti-aircraft battery that, along with the ships, could only provide a token resistance against the bombers. The lack of training the pilots had undergone however did show through as multiple attacks were made with little success. Eventually the attacks had to be halted to repair the damaged bombers which were eventually worn down by constant use and enemy fire. The ships stationed in Qingdao were eventually sunk by naval air wings stationed on the carriers part of 1. Kōkū Kantai.

Despite the lack of anti-air cover, the bombers struggled to make an impact​

The IJN were finding very little action out at sea. A number of merchantman were intercepted east of Formosa and south of Vladivostok but the only battle against the Chinese navy was conducted early on by the ships of Nihon Hōmen Kantai. The fleet, despite the age of its ships, performed admirably quickly overpowering the light cruisers and destroyers fielded by the Chinese.

The Chinese succeeded only in killing the fish​

By the 20th of July the Army had succeeded in it's objective to conqueror Shanxi. To avoid having to use resources placing garrisons in much of this area, the government decided to create the puppet state of Mengkukuo. At the same time Japanese cavalry found themselves with an opportunity to capture more Chinese infantry in the city of Jinan, a bonus on top of the crucial airfield found outside the city which would provide a base for Japanese bombers to attack supply lines in Central China. A simple flanking maneuver was performed but the forces had to be alert to Chinese infantry advancing north in an attempt to reinforce the isolated city.

Troop movements for the Jinan Pocket​

After four days the city fell with the 3. Kiheishidan and 7. Kiheishidan now shifting focus on consolidating their position around Jinan in order to let the infantry catch up and to prevent their lines of supply from becoming stretched.

Dai-San Kihei Gundan continued its advance towards the Shandong Peninsula and Qingdong. With the heavy guns of Nihon Hōmen Kantai stationed off the coast, the city came under heavy bombardment while making sure to avoid damaged the port more than had already been done by the Japanese bombing raids. The bombardment probably did more to help the garrison creating cover but still the cavalry of 8. Kiheishidan made their attack and drove out the defenders with few losses.

8. Kiheishidan makes their attack on Qingdao with rare assistance from the IJN​

With the conquest of the Shandong Peninsula assured, the planners at Kantō Shiatagun began to draw up the plans for the second phase of the Japanese offensive. The first area of interest was the pocket in Hebei which local commanders estimated contained over 20,000 infantry and 200 artillery pieces. Earlier two Chinese infantry brigades, cut off from their supply lines, had surrendered to local militia in Mengkukuo. Despite some members of the general staff believing that the Chinese would be content to hide in the hills and could be dealt with later the possibility of them raiding the supply lines, which were already struggling through the poor terrain, could not be ignored.

With the cavalry advancing from the north and the infantry from the south, the Chinese infantry would be funneled into the hills around Yangquan. With constant bombing and a lack of supplies it is hoped that they will chose to lay down arms rather than fight. The infantry of 6. Hoheishidan were already advancing north and were finding very little resistance.

Infantry of 23. Hoheirentai engaging Chinese troops in the hills south of Yangquan

Plans drawn up for the Hebei Pocket​

The second area of interest was the increasing number of Chinese surrounding the pocket of Japanese forces east of Shanghai. While these forces were the Independent Mixed Brigades armed with numerous artillery pieces and now stationed behind the fortifications abandoned by the Chinese, it was felt that they may fall under a concentrated attack by the Chinese. Thus it was important for the main Japanese force to quickly advance south and threaten the Chinese capital Nanjing diverting attention. Hokutō Shina Gun would overcome the communists and send troops towards Xibei San Ma. With reinforcements coming from Yunnan, Dai-Ni Kihei Gun would advance to meet these reinforcements and attempt to slow them down and protect the western flank of Dai-San Gundan.

The newly deployed elite mountain divisions would open a new front south of Shanghai, spearheaded by Yokosuka Tokubetsu Rikusentai. Despite the relatively small number of infantry this force would possess, the local terrain would be advantageous to a defending force, especially so in the case of this elite fighting force.

Plans drawn up for the second phase of the war

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And that concludes this update. I made bit of a novice move by not saving my game so I lost a few days but it won't change much. Next update might come over the weekend. Ta for reading.


note: Pictures taken from (in order) the Imperial Japanese History tumblr, IJNAF Photos and Imperial Japanese Army tumblr.

 

[unmerged(83175)]

Fantastic update! I really enjoyed reading it, thank you for posting an update.

 

[unmerged(186889)]

Second Sino-Japanese War – Second Phase​

With the closing of the Hebei Pocket, Hokutō Shina Gun under the command of Hajime Sugiyama was directed towards Communist China. The delay of only a few days dealing with the Nationalist forces around Yangquan had allowed the Communist forces to break out over the Yellow River. They quickly set about harassing the supply lines of the Japanese forces before retreating into well dug-in positions in the mountains.

Further to the west, elements of Dai-Ichi Gundan had made gains into Communist territory but were held by two elite mountain divisions just north of Yan’an. 9. and 20. Hoheishidan were moving round the western flank of 1. and 8. Hoheishidan to search for a different route into Yan’an.

It took three days for Dai-Ni Gundan to get organised and start pushing the Communist forces back towards the Yellow River. These forces quickly found themselves being surrounded, in particular a division of mountain infantry commanded by Tan Zheng. An entire corps of infantry supported by artillery was dedicated to remove his forces from the mountains. It proved to be an arduous and slow task but attacking from multiple directions and the poor weaponry used by the Communists helped to keep Japanese casualties to a minimum.

Tan Zheng proves to be a difficult opponent​

With a significant part of their forces now stuck on the wrong side of the Yellow River, Yan’an needed help from their temporary allies. Unfortunately for the Communists, Nationalist China and Yunnan had sent their reinforcements towards Nanjing. This surprised the military planners at Kantō Shiatagun who expected them to try and push the Japanese forces away from their industrial centres in Central China. The cost for this mistake was a heavy assault on 3. Dokuritsu Konsei Ryodan in Huzhou by Nationalist forces.

The Chinese assault on Huzhou begins​

Despite fielding a significant support force and having time to dig-in and build fortifications in the hills, the sheer number of Chinese thrown at them from multiple directions overwhelmed the screen of infantry and MG nests around the artillery. Fujie Keisuke after a day of fighting ordered the force to retreat south with support from 2. Dokuritsu Konsei Ryodan. The battle proved costly to the brigade with several hundred infantry killed and multiple heavy weapons destroyed to prevent their capture. This defeat was taken notice of by Nishio Toshizō the head of Imperial Japanese forces and he concluded that these independent brigades might need to be concentrated to be more effective as an offensive force.

The defeat also prompted the invasion of Fuzhou by Yokosuka Tokubetsu Rikusentai. This invasion was planned to take advantage of the terrain surrounding the port and to take the pressure off the forces around Shanghai. Supported by bombardment from 4. Kantai with 1.- 3. Sangaku Hoheishidan in reserve, the elite marines stormed the beaches and quickly advanced inland pushing the garrisoned Chinese forces back.

Members of the Yokosuka Tokobetsu Rikusentai charge into battle

The invasion commences under bombardment from the heavy cruisers of 4. Kantai​

The poorly trained soldiers, little more than farmers handed a rifle, were no match for the best soldiers Japan could field, especially when faced with heavy shelling. The capture of the port allowed 1. - 3. Sangaku Hoheishidan to land in China unscathed and ready for battle. They immediately started their advance in-land in an attempt to harass any reinforcements heading towards Nanjing.

The Army Air Service was also doing its part in trying to hold the growing Chinese forces back. Tokugawa Yoshitoshi in command of a wing of Kawasaki Ki-3 light bombers was making constant attacks against any available targets causing heavy casualties and discouraging the Chinese from advancing further on Shanghai.

Kawasaki Ki-3 light bomber

Formations with no anti-air capability were targeted for bombing
​

The Kawasaki Ki-10 fighters commanded by Kinoshita Hayashi were also directed to a ground attack role despite only being armed with two small calibre machine guns. While largely ineffective except against large formations of exposed infantry, the attacks did serve to disorganise the enemy and provide experience in the ground-attack role for the pilots and this experience may help in the design of aircraft for future conflicts.

The strafing runs prove ineffective but do provide critical experience​

With Nationalist resistance growing, especially around Nanjing, the time to strike at Yan’an was now. The Communist forces previously north of Yan’an had retreated into the city. This was due to the flanking manoeuvre performed by 9. and 20. Hoheishidan which was threatening to cut them off. They entered a city now subjected to regular bombing raids from the Mitsubishi Ki-1 bombers commanded by Tōjō Hideki and under threat from Japanese infantry in the east across the Yellow River.

The attack on Yan’an started on the 13th of August from the north and east. The Communist forces, already tired from fighting in the north could not halt the steady advance of the Japanese forces. Being part of the few divisions in the IJA equipped with heavy artillery the infantry were well supported and took few casualties entering the city.

The retreating Communist forces are given no time to rest​

The Communist forces tried desperately to throw more men into the fray but as the battle went on, more and more Japanese infantry entered the city and by sheer weight of numbers slowly crushed the enemy resistance. After a week of fighting it was over. The city had fallen and Communist China was conquered.

Japanese forces celebrate their important victory

The Communists paid the ultimate price for their early advance​

While Hokutō Shina Gun enjoyed this victory it did not provide much comfort to other Japanese forces in China. An attempt by 9. Kiheishidan to link up with 2. Dokuritsu Konsei Ryodan was stopped at the last moment by a concentrated Chinese attack. This attack then turned into an assault on the mixed brigade’s position. Despite being able to take advantage of the Chinese built fortifications, the brigade capitulated rapidly. This all but confirmed to Nishio Toshizō that a new strategy was required for the mixed brigades.

A Japanese MG crew ready to try and throw back the advancing Chinese​

9. Kiheishidan consolidated its position 50 miles north with the rest of Dai-San Kihei Gundan while the cavalry of Dai-Ichi Kihei Gundan struggled to break through Chinese forces around the Hongze Lake. This struggle left the supply lines of Dai-San Kihei Gundan open but thankfully the Huai River and constant patrols prevented any Chinese infantry from crossing.

Aside from the small invasion force, the only other Japanese formation to meet its objective for Phase Two was Dai-Yon Gundan which had advanced to the Huai River in Central China. It was quickly relieved from this position by Dai-San Gundan and headed east to try and stabilise the rapidly deteriorating situation around Nanjing. The Chinese forces had an ever increasing amount of heavy artillery supporting their forces which was a major cause for concern. The capture of Yan’an and the successful landing at Fuzhou may have been victories but the Japanese advance was slowly being ground to a halt.

The general staff at Kantō Shiatagun were torn between two potential solutions to the growing Chinese resistance. The first solution was to call on the infantry divisions stationed on the border between the USSR and Manchukuo. These could be used to reinforce the area around Nanjing and make a push into the Nationalist’s capital. It would however make the Japanese seem weak to its puppet and more importantly the Soviets. The second solution was an all or nothing assault across all fronts by Japanese forces. The Chinese had left their industrial centres around Chongqing and Chengdu undefended and these were open to capture by Dai-Ni Kihei Gundan. It was believed that if these locations were captured, the Nationalists would be forced to concede defeat. The general assault by all forces would be used to overwhelm the Chinese command structure preventing them from reacting to the real threat.

The second solution, despite the risk should it fail of a protracted conflict, was the preferable option and the plans for Phase Three of the Second Sino-Japanese War were drawn up.

This plan must succeed to avoid prolonging the conflict

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Bit of housekeeping was done before and during this update. I changed the Chihli Gulf modifier to fire without requiring me to be in a faction (I presume that was why it would not fire). I also removed the 'Seize Chinese Coast' wargoal at the price of a 10 threat gain on all majors as in the past it has put me at peace with Yunnan and Xibei San Ma, something I don't want to faff about with.

I've already played through to the conclusion of the conflict so I just need to write it all up.

note: Pictures taken from the Imperial Japanese History tumblr with the exception of the Ki-3 which came from the WWIIVehicles website.

 

[Surt]

Maybe those mixed brigades needs a Inf-Tank to support them

 

[unmerged(83175)]

Great update! I enjoyed it.

 

[unmerged(186889)]

Maybe those mixed brigades needs a Inf-Tank to support them

Yeah I've thought about that possibility, swapping out a support regiment for some armour but I'm still thinking about. Might just scrap the concept altogether as they would either serve as very expensive garrisons or be built in such large numbers that I might as well add another infantry regiment and class it as a 'B-type' infantry division.

Great update! I enjoyed it.

Thanks once again.


I've just had a quick look through my screenshot folder and it seems that I did not take screenshots of some things I thought I had. Bit of a shame as the next update will probably rush through quite a lot of stuff without any pictures to accompany it.

 

[Ikarases]

A Japanese MG crew ready to try and throw back the advancing Chinese​

I see a star on their helmets. Are you sure these are Japanese?

 

[Pelican Sam]

I've just had a quick look through my screenshot folder and it seems that I did not take screenshots of some things I thought I had. Bit of a shame as the next update will probably rush through quite a lot of stuff without any pictures to accompany it.

Isn't that just the worst feeling?

I like what you've done with this so far. As someone who's never played the RPM2 mod, it's been a good introduction to it for me. Also your strategy of not aligning towards the Axis has piqued my interest.

I'm excited to see where this goes for you.

 

[unmerged(186889)]

I see a star on their helmets. Are you sure these are Japanese?

I was unsure when I first posted it but after a little look round at other photos and reliable sour...wikipedia....I found that they are indeed Japanese soldiers. I thought at first that it may have been a helmet showing the rank of either corporal (Gochō) or second class private (Nitōhei) but it seems they were all meant to have a star soldered onto their helmets.

 

[unmerged(186889)]

Isn't that just the worst feeling?

I like what you've done with this so far. As someone who's never played the RPM2 mod, it's been a good introduction to it for me. Also your strategy of not aligning towards the Axis has piqued my interest.

I'm excited to see where this goes for you.

Thanks a lot and yes it is a terrible feeling, especially so when I realised what I wrote now won't be followed up with pictures. Guess that will teach me not to play when I'm half-asleep. By the way I really like the way you have formatted your AAR, probably the best looking one I have ever read on here if I am being honest.


I've now played to the start of 1940. Most of this will be pretty dull and uneventful for reasons you'll probably see. I'm going to hold off putting an update up until I reach a new page as I don't want to have too many updates on one page.

 

[VonMudra]

Yeah, all Japanese Army helmets had a star on the front of their helmets. Nothing special really to see it on there.

 

[unmerged(83175)]

7 days passed since the last update, so imo it's time for the next update.

 

[unmerged(186889)]

7 days passed since the last update, so imo it's time for the next update.

Not until page 4.

I do suppose I could write the next couple of updates anyway.

 

[Pelican Sam]

By the way I really like the way you have formatted your AAR, probably the best looking one I have ever read on here if I am being honest.

Aw, shucks. Thanks. o

(I'll do whatever it takes to get to page 4.)

 

[unmerged(186889)]

Sorry I mean page 3. I'm writing the next update at the moment so hopefully it will be up soon.