Germany Joins the Fight - Late Summer, 1939

Continued Success in the Pacific

    After the high drama of July, both my fleet and those of the Allies needed some down time.  This down time favors me, of course, since my fleet needed only a few weeks of repairs, while the Allies will need years to replace the sunken capital ships.  The seas remained calm for the first few weeks of August, but on the 21^st the persistent Americans attempted a landing at Marcus Island, followed a week later by a French invasion of Taiwan.

    Marcus Island is not a high priority for me; it is in zone 4, and is too small and too distant from our homeland to be a problem.  However, the chance to deal another blow to the Americans is appealing, and I send out 1 & 3 Kaigun to see what we can accomplish.  At first, we fail to accomplish much at all.  The Americans landed unopposed, and thus the transports were able to escape before my fleets arrived.  The remaining American naval forces were focused around the Saratoga, which had escaped us last month, and now provided adequate air support.  We are able to sink only one heavy cruiser before driving them into port.  With the other ships under the Saratoga’s protective umbrella, our gunship fleets can do little, and head back to port while 11 Kaigun takes over.  They begin aggressive port strikes, and within a week deal a crucial blow by sinking the Saratoga itself.  Exhausted but victorious, 11 Kaigun returns to port, leaving the Americans in possession of an insignificant island and the burning hulk of an aircraft carrier.

    The French invasion of Taiwan is theoretically more problematic, as Gaoxiong is a large port and could serve as a very useful launching pad for future operations.  The French, however, lack the naval and air power to secure the island, and thus their invasion is more reminiscent of the humorous Dutch invasion earlier in the year than the more substantive American attempts last month.  In order to preserve our convoys for more important duties, I left Taiwan unoccupied, and thus the French are able to land unopposed.  However, 2 and 4 Kaigun are nearby, and are able to catch them during the landing operation.  We sink the battleship Bretagne and the battle-cruiser Dunkerque before they retreat into port.  They subsequently attempt a break-out a few hours later, and lose a light cruiser, a transport, and the battleship Provence before making it to the open sea.  Prior to this attempt, we estimated the French naval force at 22 ships, including one aircraft carrier and five battleships.  This battle cost them a quarter of their force, and a disproportionate number of capital ships, and must sting badly.

    The counter-invasion is held off until the smoke clears from the naval combat.  Trusty I Gun has become by default problem-solving force, and are landed north and south of Gaoxiong.  They attack the port on September 8^th from both sides.  We find that the French landing force consists of one French infantry division and three American airborne divisions.  Although completely cut off from any hope of reinforcement, resupply, or evacuation, they put up a strong defense.  We lose 1490 taking the port, and inflict 2780 killed.  Inexplicably, they are allowed to retreat eastward (I’ve never seen troops allowed to retreat into enemy-owned, enemy-controlled provinces), but this only delays the inevitable, and the remaining 33,277 men surrender when attacked again.

    The battles of Marcus Island and Taiwan are the only significant combat in Asia during the late summer of 1939.  By no means am I bored, however, as events in Europe keep me quite entertained.

Eruption of War in Europe

    The situation in Europe progresses along its expected trajectory.  On August 6^th we receive word of the finalization of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.  This prevents the Soviets from getting involved, at least for awhile, and sounds the death knell of Polish independence.  With no further need of subtlety, Germany mobilizes a few days later.  They give their army a few weeks to fully mobilize, and declare war on September 1^st.  Generally speaking, there isn’t much Japan can do to affect the war in Europe, but I have already made a significant impact on the course of events there.  Traditionally, the Germans can wipe out the unprepared Poles fairly quickly, then shift their forces to the west; there they give the Dutch and Belgians the same treatment, in order to circumvent the Maginot Line. Because of my warmongering in Asia, I’ve made things more difficult for the Germans.  The Netherlands and Belgium have already joined the Allies.  Thus, the war in Western Europe starts in earnest on day one.  Additionally, every Allied nation has been on war footing since the beginning of the year, so the Germans will be fighting full-strength opponents.  Oh well, they can handle it.

    The first month of the war in Europe is not especially noteworthy, at least from a safe distance.  The Italians join in almost immediately, while Hungary bides its time.  The Germans sweep across Poland with modest resistance; the most interesting point is the dogged defense of Danzig.  Normally it is the first point to fall, being sandwiched between two German provinces.  In this case, however, it holds out until the end and falls nearly simultaneously with Warsaw.  Despite an honest effort at self defense, Poland surrenders on October 4^th, and the Germans hand over East Poland to the Soviets the next day.

    The European Axis forces then focus their attention on the west, where it is needed.  Over the first month of combat, the Belgians and Dutch, likely aided by the French and British, push the Germans out of their forts along the lower Rhine.  The Allies then hold a swath of land from Bitburg in the south to Krefeld in the North, while the border remains unchanged north of that.  It is unlikely Germany will re-enact history by sweeping through the low countries easily; instead, the entire “sitzkrieg” period is likely to be replaced by continuous and bitter fighting all along the front.  I predict Germany will ultimately be victorious, and thus I need to make preparations to ramp up my land grab in Asia before Germany has a chance to foul things up.

Troop dispositions at the end of September, 1939

Food is Back on the Menu

    A fortunate combination of factors turned the supply situation around in South-East Asia for me.

    The first factor, which I mentioned in my last post, was the conquest of Vietnam and the subsequent reduction of my forces in the region.  The second factor is my continued replacement of convoys.  In July we produced two batches of convoys, thus tripling our merchant fleet.  Over the next several months I plan to complete convoys at a rate one batch (10 ships) every two weeks, which should be more than enough to replace recent losses and accommodate future growth.

    The third factor is the completion of a rail line through the jungles of Northern Vietnam.  This provides a connection between my numerous and well-protected Chinese ports and my hungry troops in Indochina.  At the moment, only a modest trickle of supplies can get through, but the shift to a single contiguous supply network should increase redundancy and ensure a more steady flow of supplies.

    The fourth factor improving my supplies is the significant drawback of Allied convoy raiders.  As I expected, once war broke out in Europe, the British immediately recalled the bulk of their fleet back to their home island.  The French and Dutch likewise probably withdrew whatever naval forces they had in Asia.  Thus, the convoy sinkings dropped dramatically in September.

    So, with supplies again reaching the front, the situation begins to turn around in Burma and the Malay Peninsula. LXI Gun, having retreated all the way back up the peninsula, finally meet supplies near Nakhon Si Thammarat. We concentrate the force into one province to discourage attacks, and begin to recover organization for the re-conquest of the peninsula.  10 Kaigun, launching a sortie towards Singapore, finds only a handful of destroyers there, indicating that this time the conquest is likely to be complete.

    In Burma the situation benefits both from increased supply and increased force strength.  Throughout July IX Gun was in trouble.  They were spread out to attempt to cover eight provinces with only six divisions; they had steadily given up ground in the west, and eventually abandoned Rangoon to the advancing British.  Yet the British did not occupy the city, and our fortunes began a dramatic turn-around in August.  VI Gun completed its long march through the Laotian mountains, and took up the position along IX Gun’s right; nearly simultaneously, VII Gun, having finally completed its (literally) year long march from Western Xibei San Ma to the Chinese coast, is ferried to Rangoon and takes up the spot on IX Gun’s left.  In the north, LI Gun splits into two portions, one driving to Kathmandu, the other to Dhaka.  Once we capture Dhaka, the Allies in Burma are cut off from the rest of Asia, and receive supplies only from Chittagong.  VIII Gun joins in the grand encirclement by driving south from Yunan towards Mandalay.  Thus we have five full corps cinching the British in Burma; the rugged terrain will keep our progress slow, but the final result is inevitable and likely to be decisive.