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B B The warlords in China have done one thing well, and that is to make it easier for the Gaijin Imperialists to establish themselves in Asia. We must show strong leadership and put them down first. The Germans have their own distractions closer to home; we can deal with their colonies after we have established ourselves as the dominant power in the region.
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May 25, 2017 10:42
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| # ? Jun 9, 2024 07:10 |
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B B
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May 25, 2017 11:01
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B B
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May 25, 2017 11:52
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BB
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May 25, 2017 11:54
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AB
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May 25, 2017 12:56
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A A
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May 25, 2017 13:35
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B, A, once Pu Yi gets the ball rolling it'll be impossible to stop him.
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May 25, 2017 13:47
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BA!
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May 25, 2017 13:54
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B B
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May 25, 2017 13:57
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BB
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May 25, 2017 15:30
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We should do AB, see?
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May 25, 2017 16:20
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A B
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May 25, 2017 16:45
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A B
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May 25, 2017 18:50
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A B
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May 25, 2017 20:39
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A B
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May 25, 2017 20:56
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B B China is an integral part of Japan.
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May 25, 2017 20:58
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BA
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May 25, 2017 21:07
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Always B votin' B.
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May 25, 2017 22:44
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B A
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May 26, 2017 04:01
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A B
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May 26, 2017 04:23
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AB Show them our destiny to lead by scouring the Gaijin/Gweilo from their lands.
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May 26, 2017 13:01
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A B Asia for the Asiatics!
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May 26, 2017 14:09
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B B
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May 28, 2017 19:59
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Mr. Nakamura listens attentively to the council's consensus. "I am not surprised that this group would favor the liberals (28-7, 1 non-SA vote for Minseito). It does fit with the course you have advised thus far, at least." He coughs. "I am, however, surprised about your other proposal. I would expect this group to favor the Navy's plans, but indeed you have convinced me of the wisdom of the Army's plans with regards to China (20-15, 1 non-SA vote for China). I will inform the Emperor at once."
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May 31, 2017 04:55
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Part Five: The Bear and the Dragon (March 1937-January 1938) The army’s China policy winning out over the Navy’s Singapore policy had immediate consequences for production. After years of limited military spending due to the economic crisis, the government made orders for new cavalry units to be trained. Armored units were preferred in accordance with the mobility doctrines adopted the previous year, but there were not enough resources and the Army was not confident in their existing armor designs. Cavalry were quicker than infantry and were only somewhat more expensive to produce than infantry.  The military spending and conscriptions upset the tenuous peace and quiet of the few months since the failed coup, but Japanese society was still on an arc towards becoming more stable, as opposed to being more chaotic.  With the domestic situation in hand and military spending on the rise, foreign affairs became more of interest to the Japanese public again. Russia, which had become more authoritarian since the assassination of Kerensky, had designs on the Caucasus, which were countered by Germany’s admission of the Don-Kuban Union and Azerbaijan into the Mitteleuropa alliance.  The back and forth between Russia and Germany over the Caucasus encouraged them to pursue their plans of supplanting Germany in Asia. The China policy was approved by the government and preparations, secret of course, were made for an eventual confrontation with the Qing.  As the spring rolled around, a minor benefit of the Korea policy became apparent, as Japanese troops were redeployed from Korea to defend the new possession of Guam, along with other important Japanese outposts like Okinawa and Iwo Jima. The liberals trumpeted this as proof that trusting the Koreans with partial independence was a wise move.  Even though the “allies” (as the government referred to Japan’s puppet states) enjoyed this more liberal approach to their own sovereignty, the Japanese military command made it clear that their armed forces would be under a unified command in the event of a conflict.  The coordination of the Co-Prosperity Sphere was tested when Russian troop movements towards the east triggered alarm. Fortunately, the Russians were moving towards attacking Mongolia and not the Japanese sphere.  The liberals’ successes and the subtle endorsements of the Emperor carried them to victory in the April election. Rather than rushing towards left and right wing extremes, the Japanese public began to take pride in the fact that they were holding in the democratic center.  The new government was more liberal and democratic than the departed Seiyukai cabinet, but they maintained the hawkishness and interventionism of the previous government. This was practically a precondition of the military not instigating further coup attempts.  The new government was tested by the announcement of a reinsurance treaty between Russia and Germany. Germany proposed the treaty as a response to the militant tone of the Internationale. Germany’s message in signing the reinsurance treaty was to say that Russia was no concern of theirs compared to France. This was quite explicit. The implicit message from the Russians was what was concerning. Russia was willing to give up their European ambitions, but they had done nothing to signal that Mongolia was the extent of their Asian ambitions.  With the reinsurance treaty signed, Japan elected to respond in the best way it could. Organizing a high profile summit between the Emperor and the King of Siam gave the Japanese press a great deal of material and signaled to the Germans that they were making moves of their own.  Unfortunately, no alliance came from the summit, but the many friendly words and speeches gave the public no indication that the summit had been a failure. It was spun in the media as an initiative to encourage pan-Asian friendship, rather than a diplomatic maneuver against Germany.  The blessings for the government followed as the Army finally began to operate at its former capacity after the mass arrests following the failed coup.  This was fortuitous as the Russians seemed to be as impressed with the ideas of the French armor reformers as the Japanese command was. However, Russia had more industry, resources and political will to actually produce quantities of armor.  The Japanese High Command began to prepare to field its own armored units in case Russian armor appeared on the Manchurian frontier.   While the liberals settled into government, the Seiyukai imploded. However, the liberals were still caught up in the conservatives’ woes as the Kokumin Domei was formed from elements of both the Seiyukai and Minseito.  Other foreign developments came across the news wires of Japan. Burma fell victim to syndicalist revolution.  The socialists gained an upper hand in the American Civil War, as the Mexicans invaded the Union State due to border clashes along the Red River.  The Mexican involvement would be short-lived but crucial. Mexico gained control of Oklahoma and distracted the Union State long enough for the Combined Syndicates to penetrate deep into Alabama.  However, the two major stories in the Japanese media concerned two regional wars and two rival powers. The first was the Russian invasion of Mongolia. A Japanese operation against the vile Baron von Sternberg had been mooted earlier in the year, but preparations for a clash with Germany were considered more important.  Russia’s military was hardly as numerically massive as it had been during the Great War, but it was nevertheless sizable, certainly larger than the combined forces of the Co-Prosperity Sphere.  Hopes that Russia would stop its attack once it secured the regions containing the Trans-Siberian Railroad were dashed when a new national populist government seized power and recast the war as more than an operation to secure the Railroad. Instead, the far-right regime portrayed the war as the beginning of Russia’s resurgence to its rightful place as a Great Power. Russian control of both Mongolia and Sinkiang was certainly signs of their trajectory towards greater prominence, and something that concerned the IJA greatly.  The second war was between the Qing Empire and the Shangqing rebellion that had endured in the Shaanxi province.  A significant portion of the Army proposed that Japan should attack the Qing immediately, but the idea was shot down immediately by the civilian government.  The Qing were by no means a Great Power, not even a faded one like the Russians. They had a smaller army than the IJA, and one that was technologically inferior to boot.  However, as Qing quickly defeated the Shangqing rebels, their industrial and manpower base was expanding. In time, the Qing could easily become a power to rival Japan.  It was unlikely that the Qing would ever be navally strong enough to threaten Japan directly, but they could certainly become strong enough to attempt to evict Japan from the mainland, something that would be devastating for the resource situation.  The new cavalry divisions would be a welcome addition to the Co-Prosperity Sphere’s strength, but as it stood, Japan’s ability to stand alone against an undistracted Russia was suspect. Her ability to stand against both the Qing Empire and Russia was likely non-existent. Her ability to stand both of those nations with Germany behind the Qing was certainly non-existent.  The liberal government was aware of the great need for more military hardware given all of the potential threats and so it convened an economic planning board in order to find ways to make the economy more efficient.  Liberalizing the economy was part of this initiative. By breaking the relationships between the Zaibatsu and the military, the liberal government hoped that a more competitive landscape would result in more efficient use of industrial resources as multiple companies attempted to produce hardware quicker than their rivals.  These initial reforms were only the beginning, as the planning board prepared to release a more extensive reform package.  The last major initiative of the government in this period was to appease the Navy who had been asked to take a backseat in favor of the Army’s China policy.  Six modern aircraft carriers were ordered and they would take years to finish. If construction began now, then they would become a factor in time for a potential war with Germany. POLICY VOTE: The Russian Question PROBLEM: The far-right regime in Russia is intent on uniting their fractured empire, and frankly they are more powerful as a land power than we are. They are beginning to agitate for a plebiscite in Transamur about a reunification with Russia. Should Japan be willing to risk conflict with Russia over Transamur, abandon Transamur and hope this is the end of their ambitions, or perhaps even seek a more comprehensive settlement with the Russians? Option A: Stand Behind Transamur Japan will refuse any Russian demands upon Transamur. quote:”It is absolutely disgraceful to suggest abandoning Transamur. The liberals were so insistent that their league of Asian nations idea would be a success, how would this undermine that idea? If we are willing to allow Russia to have their way with Transamur, then how do we convince Manchuria that we will not hand them over to the Qing when it’s convenient for us?” - Mototsugu Yoshikawa, Kokumin Domei member of the Diet quote:”We cannot allow this evil regime to expand any further! It is already a disgrace that we did not keep them out of Mongolia, but now they want to expand into our Co-Prosperity Sphere?! It’s preposterous! I have never been an advocate of the arrangement in Transamur, but to abandon them to the reactionaries not only shames socialists like me, but it shames all of you who call yourselves democrats.” - Arika Tsuchida, Shakai Taishuto member of the Diet Option B: Appease the Russians Japan will accede to any Russian demands upon Transamur. quote:”We simply are not ready for war with the Russians, even if we are not involved in a conflict with the Qing. We have to buy ourselves time. It is regrettable but Transamur must be sacrificed to protect the rest of the Sphere.” - Akitaka Baba, IJA Officer Option C: The Unholy Alliance Japan will offer up Transamur as a bargaining chip to the Russians in exchange for an alliance. quote:”If I may, I would like to offer an alternative solution to this Russia problem. Russia would like to climb to greatness over top of somebody’s corpse, but I do not see necessarily why it must be ours. Is the Russian government disgusting and racist and vile? Yes. Can we do anything about it right now? No. I agree with the appeasers that we should give up Transamur, but it should be as part of an overall settlement with the Russians. Russia has far more to reclaim from German hands than from ours, and I think they will see reason if we point out that a war with us would only distract us both from a greater foe. Until we are such a point that we can effectively oppose Russia, we should be directing their strength in a direction that behooves us.” – Isoroku Yamamoto, IJN Officer
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Jun 3, 2017 06:15
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A
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Jun 3, 2017 06:24
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A
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Jun 3, 2017 06:25
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A
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Jun 3, 2017 06:27
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C Who is in charge of Russia now?
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Jun 3, 2017 06:31
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A
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Jun 3, 2017 06:34
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C is peak realpolitik. We can stab them in the back once they've become bogged down in Europe, and we have all of Chinas resources backing us.
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Jun 3, 2017 06:53
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C A B
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Jun 3, 2017 08:01
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A C B
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Jun 3, 2017 08:26
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C A B
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Jun 3, 2017 08:36
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C
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Jun 3, 2017 08:36
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ACB
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Jun 3, 2017 08:42
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A
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Jun 3, 2017 08:58
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A then B then C.
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Jun 3, 2017 10:00
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C A B
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Jun 3, 2017 10:25
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| # ? Jun 9, 2024 07:10 |
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C
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Jun 3, 2017 10:49
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