Given the men in charge in Germany right about now, I'd say "desultory" is a major accomplishment for their ilk!
Considering that attention has been drawn to Communist espionage/agitation on multiple occasions one is forced to conclude that the Navy is in its typical "only sees what it wants to see" mode which of course makes it blind to foreign infiltrations (sadly, they know there is no point in infiltrating the Army).
I agree with your assessment of the competence of the Kempetai. A thorough housecleaning is needed there.
If you want to save fuel sail the unneeded part of the Navy to Tokyo where they would be last in the line to get supplies.
Fuel is only consumed when units actually move, or at least so the game mechanics are supposed to be. As long as those ships sit in port and don't move, fuel is not used.
Utsunimiya's War
(HoI3 TFH - Interactive Japan AAR)
Chapter Fifty-Eight: Fourteenth Week - 30.9.1937 To 6.10.1937
The Land War
(HoI3 TFH - Interactive Japan AAR)
Chapter Fifty-Eight: Fourteenth Week - 30.9.1937 To 6.10.1937
The Land War
At the start of the fourteenth week of the conflict the Imperial Japanese Army wasn't engaged in any battles on the two fronts. Mostly it was redeploying units, many worn down, behind the lines trying to cover gaps which had formed.
In the early morning of the 30th of September the news came over the wires that the Communist Chinese had taken the Province of Shilou.
By the 1st of October there was more bad news for the Army. The 36. Hohei Shidan in Jinan was not getting the supplies it needed. Neither were the aircraft stationed on the airbases (See Air War).
On the 2nd of October the Army launched an attack on the Communist controlled Province of Yulin. One infantry division against four Chinese units. One enemy infantry division, one mountain division, and two militia units. Over eight thousand Japanese soldiers against over thirty-six thousand enemy soldiers. Major General Kawabe was a skilled officer but even Utsunimiya felt the man had taken on more than he could handle.
Before lunch another infantry division joined in to help in the attack on Yulin. This did nothing to even the odds as the enemy still outnumbered the Japanese.
During the afternoon the Japanese Army launched an attack on Puyang with a lone infantry division against the enemy's cavalry. It wanted to plug the gap in the line. Over eleven thousand Japanese soldiers attacked just under six thousand enemy cavalry.
By the morning of the 3rd of October another infantry division had joined in the Battle of Puyang.
It was also noticed that a large part of the Nationalist forces was redeploying southwards. It looked like the Naval forces might be getting visitors in a few weeks.
On the 4th the Army announced the victory of the Battle of Puyang. They had lost 120 soldiers while the Nationalists had lost 219 soldiers.
Sadly, on the 5th of October, it was announced the Battle of Yulin was a defeat. 793 Japanese soldiers were killed while only 252 Communist Chinese were killed in the battle.
And once again it looked like the forces facing the Red Chinese were withdrawing.
At least on the morning of the 6th the Army were able to occupy the Province of Puyang. And the gap was closed.
By the end of the week the Army was able to report one victory, one defeat, and the closing of the gap in the front with the Republic.
But it had lost 913 soldiers to the Land Combat while the Nationalists had only lost 219 men to Land Combat and the Communist Chinese had only lost 252 men to the Land Combat. And the maps of the fronts, in the newspapers, did not look at different to the public. In fact there was a HUGE gap on the front with the Reds!
The Air War
The 3. Nihon Koukuujieitai, one of the Army Bomber Groups, found itself in the airbases in Jinan. By noon on the 30th of September it was still trying to organize the two Air Wings into something that could be operational. Being on the very end of the supply lines meant it was having some 'issues' getting the supplies and fuel it needed. And the pilots were blaming the infantry for hogging most of the shipments.
To be honest it was more likely the conditions of the Chinese roads and rail in the Province. The infantry, after all, didn't need fuel.
The other Army Bomber Group and the two Army Fighter Groups were still based at Beiping. At least THEY were getting all the supplies, ammo, and fuel they needed. They were just a long way off from the front lines.
By the 1st of October the 3. Nihon Koukuujieitai was low on everything. It seems the Air Group was BEYOND the very end of the supply lines. The infantry divisions would handle this. The fuel hungry aircraft of the Army Air Force could not.
While one Army Bomber Group complained the other one, stationed in Beiping, started launching long distance bombing runs on the Communists in Yulin. By the end of the fourteenth week Yulin had been hit four times and their bombs had killed 288 Communist soldiers.
By the 3rd the first Air Bomber Group finally started operations against the Nationalist Cavalry in the Puyang to help retake the Province. They were only able to carry out four bombing runs and kill 338 Nationalist soldiers, plus their horses, by the end of the period.
The Navy War
The Navy continued to do their best to blast the Chinese soldiers assembling around their footholds from Operation 'Pitch-Fork'.
The Province of Minhou was attacked twenty-eight times and 1,048 Nationalist militia were killed.
The Province of Zhangzhou was attacked only four times and about 35 Nationalist Chinese were killed on the 30th. Shortly before midnight the 9th CAG was told to rebase at the airbase in the Province of Gaoxiong on Taiwan. The reason for this was that the Chinese troops had withdrawn from the province.
But the unit was soon given a new target as a Nationalist Militia unit entered the Province of Yong'an. So the 9th CAG started bombing runs on the newcomers. There were twenty-five bombing runs on Yong'an in which the Japanese aircraft killed 651 enemy militia.
While the neighboring Province of Zhangping was attacked twenty-eight times and 740 Nationalist soldiers were killed.
Up north the Province of Shenxian was attacked thirty times and 547 Nationalist soldiers were killed.
While the Carriers did their best to protect the occupied ports the Navy's Bomber Groups did their best to win the war.
Operation : Stone Age
As the bombing of the enemy Capital continued it was slowly becoming clear that Nanjing was running out of factories to bomb. 1. Hikoutai launched seven bombing runs on the factories, metal and coal stockpiles, between the 30th of September and the 3rd of October. At that point the 5. Nihon Koukuujieitai (the Naval Bombers) were ordered to also attack the Capital and started their own bombing runs. From the 3rd of October to the 4th of October there were seven more bombing runs.
Shortly before midnight on the 3rd the Naval Bombers were recalled from the Operation. Information from agents within Nanjing reported there was no factories left to hit. The Navy renamed the Strategic Bombing Operation 'Stone Age' after deciding to EXPAND the bombers' targets. The Naval Bombers were ordered to start bombing the factories and the stockpiles of metal, coal, and rare materials, in the Province of Hefei. This new target was just a little bit to the west of the enemy capital and within easy range of Shanghai.
But it was also within range of where the Chinese Fighter Wing had withdrawn to. They pounced on the Naval Bombers. And while both sides were worn out the bomber crews beat the fighters off and still completed their bombing run. They launched six bombing runs by the 6th of October.
By the late morning of the 4th of October the 1. Hikoutai was also recalled. Nanjing was in ruins. All the roads and rails were gone, the factories were empty shells, and there was only a few pieces of coal left to feed the local industrial.
They were reassigned to attack the Province of Nanchang. Which had factories to bomb AND more stockpiles of metal, coal, and rare materials. It also held the airbases where the Chinese Air Forces, both their fighters and bombers, were stationed. The perfect target. Of course the Chinese Finger Wing took to the air to attack the Japanese Bombers. And once again, while both were worn down from months of combat, the Japanese crews beat back the enemy pilots. The Naval Bombers carried out six bombing runs.
By the end of the week, while there were reports that Nanjing had repaired some of their factories, both provinces of Nanchang and Hefei had no functioning industry to speak off.
Many supporters of the Navy pointed out that the bombing was not just hurting the Chinese war industry BUT it was also hurting the civilians' spirits. Sooner or latter the Nationalist government would HAVE to beg for peace.
Misc. Events
A few events outside the war caught General Shō-ichi Utsunimiya's attention.
On the 2nd of October the government of Yunnan announced they had nationalized the private sector. And Tibet was taking steps, again, to join the Comintern.
On the 3rd El Salvador was trying to track down illegal printing presses within their country.
On the 4th the Republic of China signed a Trade Agreement with the government of Afghanistan.
Then it was announced by the Ministry of Armaments, on the 5th of October, that there had been advancements made in the field of Infantry Warfare that helped improve on Organization.
Once the Research Team was given their pat on the back they disappeared. It seems they were taken to a secret location and it was said they were working on something so important that not even the military knew what they were up to. Even many within the government were being kept in the dark.
On the 5th of October the Japanese Empire made a deal with Nicaragua for the export of Supplies. On the 6th the same deal with made with Venezuela.
Om the 6th General Shō-ichi Utsunimiya approved the training of two Marine Corps. To be assembled one Corps at a time.
By the end of the week the Head of Intelligence reported that Nationalist China had captured two Japanese agents while the Guangxi Clique had captured only one Japanese agent.
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Author's Notes:OOC Peek Behind The Scenes : If you look close you can see WHY we are having supply issues.
Excellent picture!
The Navy War
OK, so that’s a problem. Hope some of the convoys are at the top of the production queue: is it worth cancelling any of the trade deals currently using merchant shipping, or diverting them to the supply runs (If that is the problem)?OOC Peek Behind The Scenes : If you look close you can see WHY we are having supply issues.
With all of these Chinese forces moving South to face the Navy's beachheads, one would expect the Army to be able to break the stalemate and take some key cities and resource-rich areas in the process, possibly forcing the Chinese to concede to a conditional surrender wherein they hand us their coast line and most of their major industrial centres. As much as I wish for this outcome, I remain sceptical of the army's capability to obtain it. At the very least, I want to see the Shandong Peninsula taken within a month, or at least cut off from the rest of China. If they can't pile on the pressure, I'm afraid the Navy's forces may well be faced with overwhelming enemy numbers, and no choice but a strategic withdrawal. I suggest a focus on beating the Nationalists while they're distracted, and dealing with the Communists later.
An added positive is the Navy's successful efforts to transform any and all Chinese industry into rubble. If that continues, the Nationalists are going to have trouble supplying their existing forces, let alone deploying new ones. I'm not sure what the effect will be on the Chinese population. I'd like to think it's demoralising them to have their cities bombed with little or no answer from the Chinese Air Forces. However, that may well be wishful thinking, it could just as well embolden them to fight to the very last man no matter what. Without an industry to provide weapons and munitions, I would expect that last man to be fighting with sticks and stones, so we would probably still win. That the Navy's strategic bombing is bound to become a major contributing factor in our victory is a moot point.
The IJAAF will have to wait for those brainless pencil-pushers in the Kwantung Army Logistics department to reorganise the distribution of supplies & fuel on the Asian Mainland before they'll see any fuel. Needless to say, it could take a couple of months before they can start flying missions, if they're lucky. I, for one, am very happy about the fact that the Navy's bombers can rely on the Navy's excellent logistical network in the Shanghai area.
Things are looking grim, and the war is far from over. Let's hope the IJA can capitalise on the opportunities it is presented with.
Captain RobaS3,
Proudly hanging a large picture of a bombed out Chinese Armaments factory in the living room of the main house of his country estate despite objections from his wife.
An added positive is the Navy's successful efforts to transform any and all Chinese industry into rubble. If that continues, the Nationalists are going to have trouble supplying their existing forces, let alone deploying new ones. I'm not sure what the effect will be on the Chinese population. I'd like to think it's demoralising them to have their cities bombed with little or no answer from the Chinese Air Forces. However, that may well be wishful thinking, it could just as well embolden them to fight to the very last man no matter what. Without an industry to provide weapons and munitions, I would expect that last man to be fighting with sticks and stones, so we would probably still win. That the Navy's strategic bombing is bound to become a major contributing factor in our victory is a moot point.
The IJAAF will have to wait for those brainless pencil-pushers in the Kwantung Army Logistics department to reorganise the distribution of supplies & fuel on the Asian Mainland before they'll see any fuel. Needless to say, it could take a couple of months before they can start flying missions, if they're lucky. I, for one, am very happy about the fact that the Navy's bombers can rely on the Navy's excellent logistical network in the Shanghai area.
Things are looking grim, and the war is far from over. Let's hope the IJA can capitalise on the opportunities it is presented with.
Captain RobaS3,
Proudly hanging a large picture of a bombed out Chinese Armaments factory in the living room of the main house of his country estate despite objections from his wife.
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The IJA couldn't capitalise on an opportunity to get drunk in a Saki brewery! Just as the IJN has had to take over the air war, so the marines (that the incompetent Utsunimiya has so belatedly started to train) will have to win the ground war.
The only silver lining is that this will prove that the IJA is a complete waste of resources and is best abolished. The best troops and leaders (if any can be found) should be incorporated into a vastly expanded IJN Marine Corps.
I also echo the call of my honourable colleague Bullfilter-san, end the traitor Utsunimiya's obsession with foreign trade, cancel the deals and use the convoys freed up to support operations in China. What is the point of stockpiles and reserves if not to use them when the situation demands it?
So much so that they are starving the Air Force of its fuel to try to make us look worse than them.
STOP! COOKIE TIME