Sword of the Rising Sun

This is going to be an AAR of my Hearts of Iron 3 campaign playing the Empire of Japan. Now the funny thing is I'm a 100% noob when it comes to HOI. I basically read through the quickstart guide and manual and played through the tutorials, which means I have a vague understanding of what most of the GUI elements do. But that's really about it. Now what could possibly go wrong here?

BANZAAAII!!




January 1st 1936.



You can see that we control the Japanese home islands, Korea, the island of Taiwan, a number of islands in the Central Pacific with bases at Truk, Kwajalein, Eniwetok and the large puppet state of Manchukuo.

An overview of our military:

Army brigades:

Artillery: 2
Cavalry: 12
Engineer: 1
Garrison: 51
Infantry: 68
Motorized: 1
Military Police: 1

About 50% of these forces are in Manchukuo, about 30% on the home islands, with the rest in Korea, Taiwan and the Central Pacific Islands.

Air wings:

Carrier Attack Groups: 7
Interceptors: 4
Naval Bombers: 2
Tactical Bombers: 5

Navy:

Battleships: 6
Battlecruisers: 4
Heavy Cruisers: 14
Light Cruisers: 21
Destroyers: 20
Aircraft Carrier: 3
Escort Carrier: 1
Submarines: 8

Looks like a pretty impressive force, especially our Navy and Air Force. And our industry seems to be in decent shape, too. One BIG problem is resources. Oil. Metal. Rare Materials. I'll need to secure these either through trade (boooring) or expansion (yay!).

My very basic plan for the coming months is to build up my army by creating more infantry divisions and researching the relevant upgrades including mountain and marine infantry. I will also improve my industrial capacity and increase my navy. As far as naval strategy is concerned I will concentrate on aircraft carriers instead of battleships.

I start with only a couple of decisions like implementing the 3-year draft and replacing 2-3 ministers. I order the creation of 3 new infantry divisions with 4 infantry brigades. And the building of a new aircraft carrier.
The command structure of the army seems a bit weird, will probably restructure it ASAP. I'll also try to reorganize the forces of the Kwantung Army in Manchukuo. I've already put a number of commanders skilled in logistics in command of several armiies to reduce the strain on my supply lines. And I started reorganizing my navy by creating the 1st Carrier Attack Squadron with Kaga, Akagi, Zuiho and Ryujo plus several CLs and DDs, 1st and 2nd Battle Squadrons with 3 battleships each and 3rd battle squadron with 3 battlecruisers and 1 battleship.

Good news: I managed to secure a trade agreement with Germany (selling them supplies) and the USA (buying oil). Still need more resources though...

Diplomacy? I frankly have no idea... I'll probably try to keep friendly with the US and Allies as long as possible and hold out on joining the Axis.

Ok, time for a break...

April 1st 1936

3 Months have passed and we haven't been bombed, nuked or overrun by hordes of enemies. We're doing good.

I have reorganized most of the Kwantung Army, which now consists of the North China Army Group, which will be tasked with the conquest of China, and the 4 armies of Army Group Manchukuo stationed along the frontier with the USSR. At the moment the North China Army Group consists of the 1st and 2nd armies (each with 4 infantry divisions) and the 1st Cavalry Army of 5 cavalry divisions. Another HQ is already on its way to consitute the 3rd army. And in a few days two new, four-brigade infantry divisions will join this army. I am now starting to create a couple of brigades to add a 4th infantry brigade to all the infantry divisions who will participate in offensive operations in China. It's still a long way until I'm ready for offensive actions though.

Dalian will provide an excellent base for our fighters and tactical bombers.




For the navy a new destroyer has entered service and has joined the 1st Carrier Attack Squadron. Work on the aircraft carrier Amagi progresses well.

I'm also investing in improving my industrial capacity on the Japanese mainland.

Research continues and should yield the first results within a few weeks.

I'm having a bit difficulties with trading since time and time again my trading partners run out of money... Still, I've managed to get quite a bit of crude oil from the USA and the USSR and am selling fuel (which I have a surplus) and supplies to gain some $.

Diplomacy is still being largely ignored. Except for trying to get trade agreements.

In Europe Germany has reoccupied the Rhineland. Looks like France didn't interfere with Mr. Hitler's plans at all.

Oh, and Ethiopia has surrendered to Italy and promptly been annexed.

Hehe... I really had to smile when I saw that message, thinking about your adventures in Africa...




July 1st 1936

6 months have passed since I took control of the Empire of Japan. What did I do in this time? Well, mostly rearranging armies, trading with half the world, researching all kinds of tech (concentrating on infantry, industry, aircraft, carriers and light cruisers) and producing a couple of infantry units.

The Situation in China:




I have 13 Divisions covering the frontier with the USSR. Another 7 divisions are holding North and Central Manchukuo. And 15 divisions are concentrating in the West, at the Shanxi border. My plan is to have at least 12 infantry divisions, each with 4 brigades, and 5 cavalry divisions ready for the invasion of Shanxi/China next year. Add in a couple of support units at army level and we're talking about some 200.000 men. Hmm... thinking about it, that doesn't actually sound that much. I need to step up my intelligence operations soon. So far I've been busy building up a domestic spy network to help stabilize my government.

Production is running well and through trading I've managed to maintain my stockpiles of rare goods and crude oil while increasing supplies, fuel and money.

Diplomacy is still...well... I can't seem to do much, besides trading agreements.

I've also run into a few minor supply problems in Manchukuo. Main reason is I still have no idea how supply works.


Oh well, we'll get to that sooner or later.

Nice to see another of these coming. Wish i had time to get back into HoI.

October 1st 1936

Another 3 months have passed. Phase 1 of my preparation for the invasion of China has been completed: I have assembled 12 infantry and 5 cavalry divisions under the command of North China Army Group. Phase 2 will involve the reinforcement of all assault divisions to 4 brigades per division and the creation of a 4th infantry army with another 4 divisions. I will also transfer the Imperial Guards division consisting of 3 motorized infantry brigades and 1 artillery brigade to the cavalry army.
This will provide me with 16 infantry divisions, 1 motorized division and 5 cavalry divisions for the initial campaign.

Once research on marine divisions is completed (march '37) I will start building 2 marine expeditionary forces of 2-3 marine divisions each.

I've also done a lot of research:



Production is continuing on schedule and our resources so far can easily cope with the demand. Thanks to some rather successful trading agreements:



Logistics and supply is still a bit of a mystery to me. For example, all units on continental Asia draw supplies from the main logistics hub at Hamhung. For the forces of the North China Army Group the port of Dalian would be much closer. But I have no idea how to tell the units where to draw their supply from. Sending supply convoys to Dalian didn't do anything. And only the emperor knows why that lone border guards division on the USSR border is the only unit in the Japanese Empire to constantly have supply problems. The province they're in doesn't suffer from any worse infrastructure than the neighboring units but still.. weird...

The screenshot below shows the supply level:




Oh, and a bit of news from Europe: Hungary has joined the Axis. And France has stopped trying to influence us. Japans continues to drift towards the Axis.

And of course:




January 1st 1937

Business as usual. I have deployed the 4th Army with 2 infantry divisions to the Shanxi border and reinforced a couple of divisions with a 4th brigade. I have also given order to construct a new aircraft carrier, the Soryu. Unfortunately producing the carrier air groups takes a serious chunk of my industrial capacity, it will be quite some time until I I get those 2 new carriers operational. The plan is to have 2 Carrier Attack Squadrons by 1940, each with 3 carriers, 1 escort carrier, and 6 light cruisers.

Oh, and some bad news: despite my police cracking down on the instigators a worker strike is increasing public dissent and thereby reducing my industrial capacity.



The emperor is not amused.



On the plus side stockpiles for crude oil, fuel, rare materials and supplies are still slowly increasing despite some serious production programs.

June 1st 1937

In Europe the Spanish Nationalists lead by General Franco have won the Spanish Civil War! I really didn't expect such a quick victory. Will be interesting to see what happens next.

Back in Japan it's business as usual: reinforcing North China Army Group and keeping industrial production up. My previous investment in improving the industrial capacity has finally paid off! After a tough year of juggling available production I now can invest in some serious hardware: 2 new aircraft carriers, the Hiryu and the Soryu are being built! That means I now have 3 carriers under construction as well as 4 carrier air groups (every carrier can operate 2 air groups, an escort carrier 1).

What a lovely sight!




As we get nearer to the historical start of the second Sino-Japanese War a review of my forces shows that I have pretty achieved the planned strength: 1st Army with 3 infantry divisions, 1 mixed division with infantry, engineers and heavy artillery and the Imperial Guards division with 3 motorized infantry divisions. 2nd Army with 4 infantry divisions with 4 brigades. 3rd Army with 4 infantry divisions with 4 brigades. 4th Army with 4 infantry divisions, 3 with 4 brigades and 1 with 3 brigades. And the 1st Cavalry Army with 5 cavalry divisions.

225.000 soldiers, supported by 5 tactical bomber wings and 3 interceptor wings operating out of Dalian.

2nd Battle Squadron with 3 battleships has been sent to Dalian.

The 1st Carrier Attack Squadron will remain in the home islands until well after the initial attack.

Same with my 4 Submarine Squadrons (each one consisting of 2 subs).

Time for another break.

Good luck with your conquests.
Might want to ignore those advisers calling for a push to the East for a few more years too.


Wheels

Nice work! If this keeps up they are going to have to change your title to BanzaiKamikazeTenno.

July 1st, 1937

WAR!

The Marco Polo Bridge incident gives us the pretext to invade Shanxi. We have prepared for the last 18 months for this, now's the time to secure the future for the Empire of Japan!





Unfortunately Nationalist China, Communist China, the Guanxi Clique and Xibei San Ma now declare war on Japan. That's a lot of Chinese...

Being now a country at war I can enact new laws, most importantly Total Economic Mobilization and Service by Requirement. The first should help with my war economy, the 2nd with any manpower problems.

The attack on Shanxi will feature a two-pronged attack enveloping Beiping and taking the port city of Dagu.

Due to the lack of armoured and motorized divisions I doubt I'll be able to achieve a battle of annihilation but we'll see...





July 14th 1937

After two weeks of fighting we have captured both Beiping and Dagu! Casualties so far are roughly 230 for the Japanese Army and more than 3.500 for the Chinese. That's certainly a good ratio. But there are a ton of Chinese units out there. I'm wondering if I haven't bitten off more than I can chew...



My submarines are hunting for convoys but the Chinese Nationalists keep them tucked in Shanghai and Qingdao. I've decided to unleash the 1st Carrier Attack Squadron on Shanghai and its air groups are devastating the ships there. So far 4 destroyers and 2 Cruisers have been sunk.




I've started producing a few garrison divisions. And made another nice deal with the US, giving me some much needed metal. Resource stockpiles are still looking good.

...to be continued...

A very nice read! Never got the hang of any HoI game but always wanted to give it ago. They're so complex... Prolly wait for the 4th one now.

September 1st 1937

3 months have passed since the attack on China. And after the initial skirmishes versus a surprised and apparently unprepared enemy the war has now turned into a serious fight. The massed units of the of various Chinese states are seriously bogging us down. They outnumber us at least 5:1. And no armour divisions to break through and fight a decisive battle. We're pushing them back. But that means I have to fight them again another day.




Casualties have increased a lot. In the last 6 weeks the Japanese army has lost close to 15.000 men. Chinese casualties are estimated around 26.000. We do win all the battles though. But it's starting to cost us.

The frontline:



I've conquered about half of Shanxi by now, but my divisions are starting to feel the strain of the heavy fighting. My tactical bombers, now all based in Beiping, are an invaluable help for the infantry divisions. Time and time again they turn a pitched battle against a numerically superior into a victory.




My subs have also done very well and by now have sunk 13 enemy transports. Nationalist China should feel the impact of those lost convoys soon enough.

The Nationalist Chinese Navy seems to have ceased to exist, thanks to the 1st Carrier Attack Squadron.

So far the war is going OKish. No spectacular victories, but no real setbacks, too.

...to be continued...

Don't try to push everywhere. Aim at their new center of government and drive toward it. Broad front will mean grinding high casualty war. Use your air power only at the main thrust.

Looking forward to this Sensei Para. Are you going the standard co prosperity sphere or moving into Texas and beyond ?

Yeah, that's the idea. The problem is that China is just so frickin' huge! And my armies move at the speed of Napoleon's army. I need to cover quite some front line in order to not expose my flanks. And while I try to concentrate my air power there's usually more than one crisis they need to intervene in.



The idea is to loosely follow the historic route, although without the whole "getting my carriers sunk at Midway" and "getting the home islands blasted by B-29s" mishaps...



September 5th 1937

Shanxi surrenders!



The confusion of the moment is immediately capitalized upon by 2nd and 3rd armies with a vicious thrust through the gaps in the enemy line. The result after 2 weeks of fighting is the encirclement of some 10 Communist Chinese divisions! Under a relentless aerial bombardment these forces are utterly destroyed by concentric attacks.



But just as the first battle of annihilation in China ends bad news arrive at North China Army HQ: a large army of the Guanxi Clique, the most powerful group of the Chinese warlords, is approaching from the South! 1st army has just managed to take the city of Jinan but now faces a numerically far superior enemy! The enemy masses at Dezhou, most probably intending to cut off my forces at Jinan to the East. Withdrawal is not an option for the Emperor's Finest so on October 1st I order an attack by 1st army to hit the enemy before he can attack us.



Time and time again my Ki-21s from Beiping bomb the enemy as our interceptors see their first action while flying combat patrols over the frontline.

The battle is still on but the Japanese forces are advancing!

In the West I am in the process of concentrating 4th Army for an advance on Yan'an, the capital of Communist China.

My subs are continuing to sink enemy convoys. So far more than 20 transports have been sent to the bottom of the sea.

...to be continued...

28th October 1937

Communist China surrenders!



In heavy fighting 4th Army finally breaks through the Chinese forces and it is the 4th 'Osaka' division commanded by General Uega who takes the capital of Yan'an. The surrender of a good number of Chinese troops should give us a bit more breathing space.

The main problem at the moment is still the armies of the Guanxi Clique. Nationalist China seems to still have a rather large army but they also have a vast territory to cover. And Xibei San Ma's army is no match for us. Well, at least if my intelligence reports are to be trusted. My spy network is a bit of an embarassment...

With the Communist armies gone for good I draw up plans for Operation Swift Wind: a thrust aimed at encircling the greater part of the armies of the Guanxi Clique. What would I give now for a couple of Panzer divisions... And my cavalry is stuck holding the western front... good news is that the first marine divisions should be ready in December.

And despite heavy fighting our forces have pretty much maintained their strength. Especially 1st and 2nd armies need a bit of rest though.



Oh, and on October 15th the aircraft carrier Amagi was completed!

My submarines have sunk 45 ships in the last 4 months.

November 30th 1937

Nationalist China has started an offensive from out of Xibei San Ma, threatening my weak left flank China. The 1st Cavalry Army is fighting bravely but simply lacks the punch to stop the attack, even though everything that can fly hits the Chinese hard. I realize I really am an army short in China. With such an army I could've held my flank and left the cavalry army for raids deep into enemy territory. The Chinese Army won't be able to turn this attack into an operational success, but I must reinforce my western flank ASAP. A fresh division from Japan is closing in from Beiping while 2 garrison division are en route from the USSR border.
I've also launched a counter attack threatening to cut off the advancing Chinese forces from the South-East.



In the East Operation Swift Wind is on the verge of closing the trap around a couple of Guanxi Clique divisions. Due to the lack of mobile formations I had to opt for a less ambitions action. But still, a success here should pave the way for an advance towards Nanjing. And soon my new marine divisions should be able to dish out a little surprise for the Chinese...

Wheels

February 1st 1938

With the help of 2 newly arrived infantry and 2 garrison divisions 1st Cavalry Army manages to push back the enemy forces on the western front. Did I mention already that China is really, really big? I have no idea how I am supposed to hold all that territory. I will probably form the puppet state of Mengkukuo of parts of Shanxi, Communist China and Xibei San Ma soon so I have to worry less about that region.

In the early morning hours of January 5th the 1st Amphibious Corps launches its attack on Shanghai! The new 1st and 2nd Marine and one infantry division take the city by assault against weak resistance! Apparently the Chinese have concentrated pretty much all their forces to the North leaving the back door wide open. I reinforce the landing with another marine division and 2 infantry divisions over the course of the next 2 weeks, while 1st Amphibious Corps advances towards Nanjing.

On January 14th Nanjing falls! The capital of Nationalist China is captured!

The government moves to Meishan in the West, on the border to Yunnan.

The Chinese forces to the North react to the new threat by pulling parts of their forces back South towards Nanjing. Finally the stalemate of the last 2 months is over and my divisions can continue their advance, hopefully linking the forces of 1st and 2nd armies and the forces at Nanjing soon.

The 1st Carrier Attack Squadron has supported the invasion, destroying 3 Chinese cruisers heading out from Qingdao and then supporting the drive on Nanjing.



So far the invasion of China has been far from being a cakewalk. But we're still doing good, no major setbacks yet. Production and research are going well, resource stockpiles are OK. We actually have more crude oil and fuel than in 1936. We're developing a bit of an energy shortage though, will have to look into that soon.

I'm still amazed by the sheer number of forces fielded by the Guanxi Clique though. I really hope I can break them soon, because slugging it out with a numerically superior enemy across the vast expanses of China isn't going to be much fun.

March 1st 1938

Our armies keep pushing back the enemy on all fronts. Qingdao is captured on February 14th. Now Nationalist China has no more ports. The front line in the South-East has really cracked under the pressure from the successful invasion at Shanghai, I'm now aiming at cutting off half a dozen divisions between Nanjing and the sea.




The puppet state of Mengkukuo has been created on February 8th. This should help in keeping resistance in the conquered areas down. Once more territory has been captured in the North West I will be able to significantly add to their territory.

A good month.

Keep it up, I really like this!

Enjoying this one too.


Wheels

Thanks guys!




April 1st 1938

It finally looks like the Chinese armies have reached their breaking point. I push forward on all fronts. My offensive in the Nanjing sector has lead to the cutting off of another half dozen Chinese divisions. Within a week they are all destroyed.

With Nationalist China having lost all ports I now send my subs towards South China to wreak havoc on the Guanxi Clique's trading fleets. Within days the first reports of sunk shipping reaches Imperial HQ in Tokyo.



In the North West I keep pushing back the armies of Xibei San Ma. With a continuous flow (rather a trickle but well...) of new divisions from Japan I can keep pushing while securing the Manchukuo border towards the USSR. In the NW I will keep advancing until the conquered territory allows me to enlarge the puppet state of Mengkukuo. Then I will dig in here. For the rest of China I intend to capture a couple more provinces with strategic resources. Then maybe plan another naval invasion of the territory of the Guanxi Clique. But as long as I have the Chinese on the run I will advance.



Production is going strong, my 2nd new carrier will be ready within the next 4 months. Resource stockpiles are OK. I plan a big military reform by adding artillery to my infantry divisions. Will take quite some time though.

And I have some ideas about a small number or armour/motorized divisions...

Superb AAR!

May 1st 1938

In the past 8 weeks the Japanese army has pushed back the Chinese on all fronts. Only in the sector between Yan'an and Pinglian in the West has the enemy managed to offer coordinated resistance, which finally was broken using our tactical bombers. Our continued conquest has enabled us to enact the Expansion of Mengkukuo event on April 10th, giving more territory to that puppet state and thereby hopefully reducing civil unrest.

Our advance on the southern front is basically only limited by how fast the soldiers can march. What would I give for half a dozen motorized divisions now. And unfortunately my cavalry divisions are still tied up in North-West China. The constant trickle of reinforcement divisions is starting to create a bit of an organizational problem. Soon I will have to restructure my army. But as long as I'm busy advancing I'll adjourn this task...

I did form a new 5th Army in Southern China though, with 1 garrison and 3 infantry divisions.

As far as the Imperial Navy is concerned, my plan is to have 2 Carrier Attack squadrons operational in January 1939. Each with 3 carriers, 1 escort carrier, 5 light cruisers and 7 carrier air groups. And I started building 2 more carriers and their respective air groups. If I could field 3 carrier attack squadrons in the summer of 1941 I could sweep through the pacific like a hot knife through butter.

Especially the carrier air groups are a pain to produce though.

Industry is still doing fine. Through heavy trading (and a bit of conquest...) I've managed to increase all stockpiles significantly in the last 2 years. Research is (as far as I can tell) also going well.

So, all in all, I'm quite happy about how things are going.

June 1st 1938


The general advance in China continues relentlessly. A bold move by the Imperial Guards motorized division past Changde opens an opportunity to cut off another couple of Chinese Divisions in the Badong sector. Half a dozen enemy divisions are soon cut off and then destroyed by concentric attacks. Feels almost like Blitzkrieg!



With the Nationalist China forces in complete disarray I launch the Guards division on a raid towards the enemy capital of Meishan. In the South the armies of the Guanxi Clique begin to offer a more coordinated defense, but I still keep pushing them back.

Then, on May 29th 1938 Nationalist China surrenders!





I decide to create another puppet state and not annex Nationalist China. That's a lot of land to secure against uprisings. I'd rather have them happy and provide me with their resources than having to create an occupation army.

I'll now reorganize my forces in the North and South to finish off Xibei San Ma and the Guanxi Clique.

June 19th 1938


The Guanxi Clique surrenders to the Empire of Japan!

A concentrated assault by 2nd and 5th armies and the 1st Amphibious Corps broke the enemy after 14 days of heavy fighting. The successful naval invasion of Guangzhou finally forced the chinese Warlords to lay down their arms, only days after the Guards division had routed them out of their previous capital (whose name I failed to record...).





This time I choose to annex the nation since I consider the whole area of great strategic importance.

This all came as a bit of a surprise, after all the months of hard fighting in China. I can now finish Xibei San Ma at my leisure and prepare for my next moves. I will recall the amphibious corps back to Japan and maybe create a second one. I will also have to provide garrison forces for all ports and the new borders. And of course I need to restructure my whole army. In the next two months 8 artillery regiments will be ready for deployment, which I will use to create 8 infantry divisions with 3 infantry and 1 artillery regiment. At a later date all frontline divisions will be reformed to this setup.

In the Pacific I started building up Eniwetok as a second major base besides Truk.

Oh, and I'm still very good friends with the USA.

Nice! What are your strategies for the US and USSR? the traditional hold the islands and get oil, or something new?

And ......

This stuff is amazing! I love your enthusiastic story-telling about the offensives on China.
Keep it up!

Thanks guys, next update will have to wait until monday/tuesday.

I obviously don't know about the status of different alliances, but as an intermediate small step you might take a look at Siam.
At least in my game as Japan it stayed independent and could be invaded without reaction by the other majors. There are a few resources to be gained there, but the main benefit is Bangkok and the staging ground into British Malaya/Singapore and Burma.
As it is mostly jungle, you will need primarily amphibious+engineer units. Regular infantry is still okay, but artillery will be slowed down to a crawl.

Any chance the USA could declare war on you without being attacked by you first?


Wheels

Sorry for the delay guys, been terribly busy the last couple of days.

At the moment I don't think the US will declare war on me any time soon. I've been their best trading partner for a while now and our relations are quite good. Actually, my relations with the US are better than with Germany or the USSR.

This could well change once I start moving South though. A lot of stuff can happen in this game. A good example is all the Chinese factions declaring war on me when I attacked Shanxi. That wasn't something I expected.

I'll try to put up an update later this evening.

And then what happened ?

Personal stuff.

Kinda difficult ATM to motivate myself to play. I will continue this campaign. Just not the next couple of days.

Good stuff so far Para, as all above i eagerly await your next moves. Love the little pics you have been putting in with each update as well

Tap, tap, tap.

Is this thing on ?

Little bump, this army can't march on an empty stomach !

There is still plenty of horse to eat ;-)

Thinking of picking this up again PB?


Wheels

I keep coming back too...

I keep checking.

Sorry guys but I kinda lost the motivation to continue with this campaign.




I am currently starting to play again War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition and once I understand the basics would love to do a US AAR. We'll see...

Looking forward to those upcoming AARs too. It's one of the titles sitting dormant on my HDD and could use some motivation to figure it out more based on your great AARs. Thanks for the heads up and doing the Sword of the Rising Sun.

War in the Pacific sits dormant on my drive too. I'm just not able to get into it.