The Soviet Union and the United States of America Remnants

Keywords

- Northern Faction: Let's strike the Soviet Union and crush communism!

- Southern Faction: Let's liberate the Western colonies in the south!

- Realist: Forget ideals, securing resources is what matters.

- Idealist: Let's liberate the people of Asia and create the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere!

- Compromiser: Let's create an Asia for Asians, with Japan leading to build a Japanese economic sphere.

- ほうこうおんち

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The Japanese Army had become quite arrogant, but it came as no surprise.

Those who had supported Chiang Kai-shek had all suffered painful consequences. The United States had ceased to exist. Britain had started to flatter Japan. Chiang Kai-shek had no options left and was holed up in Chongqing.

"Japan is indeed the divine nation! Even the European and American powers have no way to fight back before the divine providence! The punishment of Chinese tyranny will surely be fulfilled!" an enthusiastic officer shouted.

"At this rate, Chiang Kai-shek will surrender soon," said Hotsumi Ozaki, a former Tokyo Asahi Shimbun journalist and a key advisor to Prime Minister Konoe, to his friend.

"He has no support from America or Britain anymore. If we don't intervene, the war will be over."

His friend, Richard Sorge, nodded in agreement.

The Soviet Union's instructions were to obstruct peace talks between Japan and China and to keep the Japanese army tied down in China to exhaust their national strength. To do so, the war must not end. With the US and Britain out of the picture, what should be done?

There was also the option of the Soviet Union taking a more direct stance. Although the Soviet Union had confidence in its national strength and military power, there was something troubling that made them hesitant: the possibility of Germany attacking.

The Tripartite Pact between Japan, Germany, and Italy had been successfully concluded. Britain was seeking a ceasefire with Germany through Japan. Germany also did not achieve favorable results in the Battle of Britain. With the United States gone, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring said confidently, "We will make Britain surrender with just the Luftwaffe."

However, Germany's short-range single-seat fighters had insufficient escort time for bombers, and its twin-engine fighters were not effective in aerial combat. Britain was on the verge of victory, and even Hitler was ignoring Göring's boasts and seeking peace.

"I am generous. I will give Britain one last chance. This is because our allies have strongly urged it, so I extend this hand once again for them. If they reject this offer, the great power in the Far East will declare war on Britain."

What Hitler offered Japan was a declaration of war against Britain if peace talks failed. However, the diplomatic negotiations between Japan and Britain were essentially a show. While pretending to hesitate, Britain joined the peace talks with Germany.

However, Britain was playing a clever game. Even while pretending to be open to peace, it showed its willingness to continue the war for the sake of the exiled Polish, Dutch, Norwegian, and French governments who had sought refuge in Britain. Moreover, it demanded that Hitler withdraw from Western Europe and return the occupied territories. Though Hitler would never agree to this, Britain did not desire to continue the fighting for the time being.

"The point is, as long as both sides refrain from combat during negotiations, it's fine if this situation lasts for several years. Britain won't lose the trust of its allies, and at the same time, it can avoid a crisis."

Hitler was no fool, so he intuitively understood Britain's intentions. For Germany, even if a true peace wasn't achieved, as long as Britain didn't intervene when attacking the Soviet Union, it was enough. Even if for a hundred years they remained technically at war, it would be sufficient as long as there was no actual combat. In fact, the Phoney War of 1939 had already shown this to be possible.

Once Germany settled its war with Britain, it was certain to turn its attention toward the Soviet Union. To gather information on this, Sorge infiltrated the German embassy. It was difficult for the Soviet Union to directly gain intelligence from Germany due to counterintelligence concerns, but through an allied country, the gap would be much wider. Here, Sorge had even become a comrade to the Prime Minister's brain trust.

"What do you think? Could we get the Soviets directly involved in turning China into Communism?" Ozaki suggested, but Sorge remained silent.

The Soviet Union had stated it did not want a two-front war with both Japan and Germany.

There was a fact that even Sorge was unaware of. It was the truth behind the Nomonhan Incident, which the Soviets referred to as the "Battle of the Khalkhin Gol." Japan had lost a significant number of aircraft and soldiers, officially recognizing it as a defeat. The Japanese army had failed to achieve its strategic objectives and suffered severe tactical losses. However, while the Soviets did achieve their strategic objectives, the losses on their side exceeded those of Japan.

Japan's casualties were about 23.000 men, 30 tanks, and 180 aircraft. On the Soviet side, casualties amounted to over 25.655 men, 400 tanks and armored vehicles, and 350 aircraft. But Japan, despite the heavy losses, endured and kept the damage secret, which led to a situation where Japan was considered to have lost. The Kwantung Army, regardless of its initial formation, was essentially an independent force against the Soviet Union at that point. The shock within the Kwantung Army's staff was immense, as they shifted from advocating for the northward advance strategy to the southward strategy. Internally, they had considered the Nomonhan battle a massive failure.

On the Soviet side, too, they had suffered enough of a setback to want to avoid further conflict with Japan. They had learned lessons about how gasoline-powered tanks were vulnerable to Molotov cocktails, and how Soviet fighters could not win dogfights against Japanese aircraft, among other tactical flaws. These issues need to be addressed.

Additionally, the war with Finland from 1939 to the spring of the following year revealed the Soviet Union's vulnerabilities. Although the Soviets emerged victorious, their weaknesses became evident. The purges had caused a decline in the quality of leadership, winter gear was inadequate, and tanks lacked the firepower to break through enemy defenses, among other issues. Seeing the Soviet Union struggle to crush the small nation of Finland and eventually having to settle for territorial concessions through negotiation, Hitler began to think: 'Perhaps they are weaker than I thought?'

The lessons learned from these two wars were being applied in the development of a new type of tank, one that used a diesel engine that was less prone to ignition, with wide tracks that could traverse forests, snow, and muddy terrain, and was equipped with a large 76 mm gun, comparable in size to a field gun. However, Hitler was unaware of this development.

"We will only support China indirectly. If China surrenders to Japan, we will let the Communist Party carry out guerrilla activities within China. We will try to delay the surrender by providing volunteer soldiers and diverting military supplies to China through Comintern or other channels."

That was all Sorge said in response.

Sorge's mission was to gather and send information; strategic planning was beyond his authority. It was foolish to make rash statements that could attract attention from party leaders and make him a target for purges. Although he told Ozaki he would "pass it on to the higher-ups," he didn't actually make such a proposal.

His task was simply to send information regarding: "Does Japan have the intention to attack the Soviet Union?" and "When and how will Germany attack the Soviet Union?"

The Soviet Union would eventually regret its choices. They would wish they had supported the spread of Communism in China earlier and sent forces into the Far East sooner.

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In Southeast Asia and the Pacific, remnants of lost nations remained. There was the Dutch East India Company in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), while in French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia), the Vichy French government's presence continued. The United States Pacific Fleet was stationed in Hawaii.

After a major exercise in May of that year, the Pacific Fleet did not return to San Diego but remained stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The fleet was now referred to as the United States Combat Fleet, with no distinction between the Pacific and Atlantic fleets. The fleet and facilities for rest and relaxation were present, but infrastructure as a military port was still under construction. However, with the collapse of the government, this fleet had become a military unit without a master.

The Philippines, aiming for independence in 1946, established the Philippine Commonwealth, with retired US Army Major General Douglas MacArthur serving as a military advisor. Though MacArthur, who had political aspirations, was initially stunned by the dissolution of the US government, he quickly recovered and devised a plan.

"Let's establish a new United States, using the Philippine government as the base and incorporating the remaining territories like Hawaii, Alaska, Cuba, and Puerto Rico," he thought.

The few US Army units stationed in the Aleutian Islands and Guam supported MacArthur's idea.

Cuba responded, "If the Philippines and Cuba are of equal standing, we can form an alliance."

However, the largest community, Hawaii, was divided on the issue.

There are multiple opinions in Hawaii. Among the white Americans, two main views emerged. One was: "Let's accept MacArthur's proposal and join the new United States alongside the Philippines and Cuba."

The other view was: "Before annexation, Hawaii was an independent republic. Rather than ride on MacArthur's coattails, we should restore our independence and establish a government."

Half of the Japanese Americans supported the new United States faction. Of the remaining half, about half argued, "Perhaps it would be better if Hawaii became part of the Japanese Empire."

The rest of the Japanese Americans and the native Hawaiians began pushing for the revival of the Kingdom of Hawaii, with royal relatives of King Kalākaua being brought forward as potential leaders.

The naval officers supported the new United States faction. While they resented being under the army, it was clear they could not maintain a fleet consisting of nine massive battleships and aircraft carriers with just Hawaii alone. They would have to sell or dispose of some of them, and even then, Hawaii alone wouldn't suffice. Even with the combined economic power of the Philippines and Cuba, it would still fall short, but it was still better than just Hawaii alone.

While the policy was still undecided, the temporary US Navy Department in Hawaii began inquiring about selling half of its vessels to Britain. MacArthur was dissatisfied. He wasn't economically ignorant, but he wanted all the ships for himself. He reprimanded the Navy's fleet command, which led to a shift in opinion among the sailors. "Many sailors began voicing that they didn't want to serve under MacArthur," and the influence of the "Republic of Hawaii" faction began to grow.

The Japanese Navy watched these developments with growing interest and impatience.

Apart from a few rational military officers, the general mood was one of frustration: "We've prepared the fleet and the gradual intercept strategy. We want to fight! We want to use them!"

This growing discontent would eventually cause problems.

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- ほうこうおんち