It's a bold move, so the Tokyo press will be pleased (and more importantly, the many powerful factions at home and in the IJA's officer corps).
You don't know if you actually outrange the Chinese at Dairen - they brought up siege artillery and heavy guns when they attacked last time. On the other hand, last time they basically human-waved with militia in support of said artillery so...
I can say this much, if you manage to fold the flank of the XXIInd, they're in a real bad spot. On the other hand, they're fully aware of this, and have reinforced their flank.
Well, then this is where superior equipment, training, discipline, and planning need to make up the difference. This won't be easy but it is achievable. Even without the first world war tensions are still high and if Japan is going to have any chance at being a true power we need to win in this war. Plus that also means the USA is still considered an outsider to the great powers. We can and should leverage a good relationship with them. But that is for later first we need to beat this front.
(Railway map. Rivers are Green, Dalinghe Bridge circled in red)
"General Hirano, General Ueno has found the Chinese IXth Army. They're entrenched across Panshi and outside Jilin! The IXth, supported by infantry from the IVth is assaulting our advancing units near Baishan!"
"Suzuki, the maps!"
"Yessir!" Your secretary takes off at a sprint, and you turn back to the runner.
"What's the situation for the Fourth Army corps?"
"Sir…"
13:00, Baishan, 7th Mars, 1915
"Infantry contact, southwest! Someone get a machine gun pointed at them!"
"They're coming down the mountains! We need more machine guns pointed northwest!"
"Someone send a runner to the General, we're going to need more assistance, they've got us pinned down!"
"Fuck! Machine guns on the hillside, west!"
In their hastily dug trenches, that are as much holes as they are trenches, the 24th brigade ducks for cover, and scattered cries of "Namu Amida Butsu!" and "Banzai!" continue to be heard as Chinese Krupp guns rain down howitzer fire and Maxim guns make short work of anyone trying to return fire or worse, countercharge.
The rest of the infantry division, supported by heavy artillery and a flying artillery division, attempts to entrench on the spot as the 24th blows a full retreat, but Chinese machine gun fire and supporting artillery, combined with vicious bayonet and sword charges from militia sees them pulling further and further back as position after position gets overrun.
"Orders from General Ueno! Pull back, we'll have to fight back to back with the First. The Heavy Assault division is going to reinforce the north!"
A collective, relieved sigh is let out at the Colonel's words. The remaining men in the 22nd brigade mutter in both disappointment and relief as they begin to wheel their HMGs and supply trucks around.
"At a double, you brats! You think Yinchang and his monkeys are going to let you sit around moping?!" The commander, Lieutenant Colonel Kaneshiro, tries to sound stern to his brigade, but his voice sounds just as broken as the rest of the 22nd brigade feels. The cold March rain begins to fall as the machine guns go silent, the militia stopping to let their supplies catch up, and to clear out the remnants of the 24th still stuck in the hastily dug hole-trenches.
As the 22nd retreats, following the 24th and the 23rd, already moving ahead of them, the last thing they hear of the 4th company of the 24th Brigade is a trumpet sounding Japanese attack.
-----
"Damnation!" You can't stop yourself from cursing. Ueno might be inexperienced and an obvious scapegoat, but you can't with any honesty claim that this is his fault. The fierceness of the Chinese militia was unexpected and, catching us unentrenched and advancing, it's no wonder the situation turned into a disaster.
As the heavy assault divisions to the north found themselves surrounded on three sides and under immense pressure by as many as a dozen Chinese divisions, there was simply no support to aid the advancing troops that wouldn't worsen the situation by weakening critical points of the frontline, and you find yourself wondering if you've condemned the hundred thousand souls of assault troops and infantry that's fighting for their lives in the salient.
You've come to realise that Yinchang of the XXIInd, is a madman baiting his entire army of three hundred thousand to lure you into a counterattack led chiefly by militia. The man is clearly subscribing to some variant of German large scale Manoeuvre Warfare, but has apparently kept a close eye on the Russo-Japanese war and its demonstration of the power of entrenchments.
A young lieutenant rushes into the room with a report from the Submarine base at Mokpo in the southern end of the Korean peninsula.
22:00, IJN Type-6 Submarine "3", bay of Shanghai, 7th March, 1915
"Fire!"
The unmistakable "thuum" sound that is heard as the torpedo tube opens and water displaces, makes Captain Yanagi's heart beat like nothing else. The tension in the submarine is so thick it could be cut with a knife. He can hear a sailor chewing on his nails in the distance.
"No hits on target."
Captain Yanagi lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and orders a retreat. This time, the protected cruiser Hai Chi, the flagship of the Chinese navy, is safe. As far as Yanagi is concerned, however, its days are numbered.
-----
You turn back to Suzuki and ask him plainly, "any news on the Third's position, have they seen any success?"
Suzuki tenses up, as men are wont to do when delivering the worst of news.
"Sir, the Third's right flank is…" Your secretary trails off in the traditional Japanese way of delivering the worst of news.
You take a deep breath, closing your eyes, knowing in your heart what has happened.
"It has broken, then?"
"Yes sir. Lt. General Nakano is reporting that the XXIInd is advancing on his right flank, but hopes that they might overextend."
"Damn it all! Are they cowards the lot of them? Have they not fought with honour?! They had all better be dead or dying!" Your chief of staff is none-too-pleased, but you are more even tempered, having seen the horrific battle of Port Arthur first hand. Charging up the muddy hills as a Lt. Colonel has taught you that bravery is not an unlimited resource, and that even on the defence, trench warfare is a horrific thing.
"Peace, Kawasaki. We have no time to worry about their mettle now."
He immediately goes silent at the reprimand from a superior, bowing in deference to your words, even if clearly disgruntled.
"Does he have the forces to plug the hole in his lines?"
"Uncertain, sir. He reports that two major holes are in his current front line, approximately 25 to 50 kilometres each. The right flank has fallen back far enough that they're sharing trenches with his corps headquarters, and the pressure on put on his centre by the XXIInd means that he can't properly reinforce. The Koreans are moving their cavalry in, but it's only one division."
To: General Hirano Saburou, Commander of the Expeditionary Army in Korea
Time: 12:00, 8th of March
The First, in cooperation with the Third, have driven them across the Western Tumen!
Long Live His Majesty the Emperor,
Lt. General Hideki Kenji, Commander of the First Army Corps
Ever dramatic, Hideki's news are nonetheless the most welcome you have heard in what feels like a century. The supply line going into the salient is no longer 50-some kilometre wide gap for more than a hundred kilometres, but instead a robust funnel with only a short section being dangerously thin.
As you read the letter aloud in your command room, the whole room breaks out into cheers, and Lt. General Kawasaki orders a bottle of whisky be sent to Hideki and Nakano and Suzuki waves the empty map cylinder in the air like a flag. You smile, and raise your cup of sake. "To our brave men, and to the Emperor! Kampai!"
After the cheering has settled, and everyone's had a swig of alcohol, you look over the maps. The situation is chaotic at best, and the same seems true of the Chinese. Both of you have extended your armies to the breaking point, and both are buckling under the pressure.
You unfold the list of casualties and grimace. The Chinese have lost over 20000, but you've lost 9500 of your own. The French Lebel rifles the Chinese army have got their hands on with smokeless powder is really putting their army a step above what it was last time you fought them.
Just as you think enough chaos has unfolded, you're greeted by another letter, this one written on the highest quality paper, sealed with the emblem of the Emperor. You know immediately who has written it, and open it carefully. It's in a special code, but you read it like plain text.
Saburou,
We write to you to inform you that Field Marshal Hiiragi requires the marine divisions you requested. We have ordered the Imperial Guard be sent instead. We hope this replacement is sufficient, and wish you the very best of luck in Korea.
Of interest is that We have recently met a man from China who is discontent with the current government. His name is Sun Yat-sen, and he is the man behind the recent unrest in Guangzhou that you have no doubt heard about. He is doing his best to help you from across the sea, and is very eager to meet you.
Your friend,
Yoshihito
Options:
Vote by Plan
[X] Have the First abandon the salient and fall back. The First will aid the Third in defending against attacks from the XXIInd and the Fourth against the IXth.
[X] Have the First reinforce the Fourth! Push back the militia as they advance, the Third will have to manage!
[X] The Second will continue to hold its position.
[X]The Third has to hold! Weaken its western flank to reinforce the east!
[X] The Third will have to manage, there's nothing we can do.
[X] Have the Fourth abandon the salient and fall back. Entrench!
[X] The Fourth must counter attack! All available means (not many) charge!
[X] Order the Dairen Garrison and its reinforcements to launch an attack on the XIXth, hopefully relieving pressure from your front.
[X] The Garrison will have to hold, reroute the Imperial Guard to Pyongyang and give it to the...
-[X] First
-[X] Second
-[X] Third
-[X] Fourth
seriously? what was the point of choosing the marines if they are only going to be replaced with lesser quality forces instead. We wasted an entire slot that could have been used on better weapons instead.
seriously? what was the point of choosing the marines if they are only going to be replaced with lesser quality forces instead. We wasted an entire slot that could have been used on better weapons instead.
[X] Have the First and Fourth abandon the salient and fall back. The Second and Third will continue to hold their positions. The Fourth will defend against the IXth and the First will support both the Third and the Fourth in their defense. Order the Dairen Garrison and its reinforcements to launch an attack on the XIXth, hopefully relieving pressure from your front.
So our port is getting shock troopers then great they can pull some fire in a more or less defensive fight. We could have made use of them on our front but we cut orders for those divisions to go to the port. So unless the replacements got told forget the old orders go to the front line instead they don't help us at all.
So our port is getting shock troopers then great they can pull some fire in a more or less defensive fight. We could have made use of them on our front but we cut orders for those divisions to go to the port. So unless the replacements got told forget the old orders go to the front line instead they don't help us at all.
We can order them to stage an assault out of Dairen. With the Chinese assault recently repulsed their units won't have the organization needed to hold against the Imperial Guard. This should remove enough pressure on the Yalu to allow 2nd Army to help out the salient.
So our port is getting shock troopers then great they can pull some fire in a more or less defensive fight. We could have made use of them on our front but we cut orders for those divisions to go to the port. So unless the replacements got told forget the old orders go to the front line instead they don't help us at all.
We can order them to stage an assault out of Dairen. With the Chinese assault recently repulsed their units won't have the organization needed to hold against the Imperial Guard. This should remove enough pressure on the Yalu to allow 2nd Army to help out the salient.
They launch an assault but the distance between the forces means it is unlikely to make the river any easier to deal with meaning the second still can't redeploy.
Let's try this. Strengthen the salient, save the 4th Army from getting routed with 1st Army's help, get defensive line set up to prepare for future attacks on Chinese railroads. Save the 3rd Army from getting pierced via Imperial Guard reinforcements.
[X] Plan Hold the Salient
-[X] Have the First reinforce the Fourth! Push back the militia as they advance, the Third will have to manage!
-[X] The Second will continue to hold its position while reinforcing the Fourth.
-[X] The Third will have to manage, there's nothing we can do.
-[X] Have the Fourth abandon the salient and fall back. Entrench!
-[X] The Fourth must hold the Salient! Find favourable terrain and entrench!
-[X] The Garrison will have to hold, reroute the Imperial Guard to Pyongyang and give it to the...
--[X] Third
[X] Plan Die on this Hill
-[X] First
--[X] Have the First reinforce the Fourth! Push back the militia as they advance, the Third will have to manage!
-[X] Second
--[X] Hold until forces from the Chinese 4th are drawn away to the fighting at Dairen
-[X] Third
--[X] The Third has to hold! Weaken its western flank to reinforce the east!
-[X] Fourth
--[X] Entrench on the current position and alongside the 1st push back the militia.
-[X] Order the Dairen Garrison and its reinforcements to launch an attack on the XIXth, hopefully relieving pressure from your front.
Remembered the actual distances that this area is in yeah we can pull forces away from the other Chinese armies and if they don't pull troops then the Garrison is far more likely to break loose and hit the flank of the Chinese 4th.
[X] Plan Double Envelopment
-[X] First
--The First shall push the salient eastward before falling upon the unentrenched parts of the XXIInd Chinese
-[X] Second
--[X] Hold until forces from the Chinese 4th are drawn away to the fighting at Dairen
-[X] Third
--[X] The Third will have to manage, there's nothing we can do.
-[X] Fourth
--[X] Hold the Salient and keep the enemy at bay while the First Pushes in on the XXIInd
-[X] Order the Dairen Garrison and its reinforcements to launch an attack on the XIXth, hopefully relieving pressure from your front.
Basically what i have in mind is a rather risky manouever that might pay of quite substantially. Instead of abandoning or simply holding the line, we let the fourth hold for now and entrench, while the first circles around that river and then breaks through the few division of the Ninth (to my understanding they are the ones protecting the salient thus they are all along it) into the unprotected back of the XXIInd.
The madman wants to bait his army? well bait has been taken.
If this pays off the 1st and third will be in a position to envelop the entire XXIInd and all its 200.000 (300.000?) men in one fell swoop. This depends largely upon the third holding, hopefully long enough for the Imperial Guard to arrive. If it fails it of course means not only the fourth but also the first will be enveloped and the third will probably have been broken...
But yeah just holding will gain us nothing in this war, we need to make some headway and enveloping the XXIInd will give us some much needed breathing space...and take away a lot of those Lebel Rifles.
--[X] The Third will have to manage, there's nothing we can do.
---[X] As soon as the Imperial Guard arrives put it in the Third to somehow save this.
-[X] Fourth
--[X] Hold the Salient and keep the enemy at bay while the First Pushes in on the XXIInd
-[X] Order the Dairen Garrison and its reinforcements to launch an attack on the XIXth, hopefully relieving pressure from your front.
Ach, i thought those reinforcements were the Marines? or did i miss something there...read that again, those guys go to a different theater altogether...fair enough will edit.
Ach, i thought those reinforcements were the Marines? or did i miss something there...read that again, those guys go to a different theater altogether...fair enough will edit.
The entire XXIInd army is entrenched, more or less.
Marines are going to a different theatre by order of the Field Marshal, but your personal friend Yoshihito (who just so happens to be the Taisho Emperor) has pulled some strings and sent the Imperial Guard for you.
The 22nd also got hit badly by the first and the third and while the third took a beating on the right flank the removal of the forces on the left flank gives them play. All we need to do is contain the 22nd while we stabilize the gap and break out from the port that means we can deploy the navy to support our attack on the 4th.
I figured I would tabulate the total reported casualties/butchers bill for this conflict thus far, for both sides.
Imperial China Formations Pre-conflict: 4 Armies, approximate # of men: ~870,000-1,020,000(IX, IV, and XXII Armies est 250-300k each , XIX est. 120k unknown)
Losses to date (March 9th, 1915): 45,156 (4.4%-5.2% casualties)
Imperial Japan Formations Pre-conflict: 1 Army (4 corps, Dairen Garrison)+ Attached Korean Corps: ~500,000 men (158 Japanese Brigades, 15 Korean Brigades)
Losses to date (March 9th, 1915): 12,598 (2.5% casualties)
Conflict Length to date (Feb 13th, 1915-March 9th 1915): 24 days
Average total casualties/day for conflict = 2,406.4/day (for comparison OTL WW1 ended up with a 6,000/day average)
Well folks, things are starting to get hot now. We are in a dangerous position right now and so are the Chinese.
[X] Plan Hold the Salient
Side note: Historical estimates put China's population at 446.8 million in 1915.
Japan at 52.7 million
Korea at 16.2 million
....Lets hope that Sun Yat-sen induces a successful rebellion and distracts the Chinese Imperial Court.
Edit: Added KlinkerKing's numbers below to tabulation.
I figured I would tabulate the total reported casualties/butchers bill for this conflict thus far, for both sides.
Imperial China Formations Pre-conflict: 4 Armies, approximate # of men unknown (IX and XXII Armies est 600,000 men, XIX and IV est. # unknown)
Losses to date (March 9th, 1915): 45,156 (?.?% casualties)
Imperial Japan Formations Pre-conflict: 1 Army (4 corps, Dairen Garrison), Attached Korean Corps: 392,000 men (158 Japanese Brigades, 15 Korean Brigades)
Losses to date (March 9th, 1915): 12,598 (3.2% casualties)
Conflict Length to date (Feb 13th, 1915-March 9th 1915): 24 days
Average total casualties/day for conflict = 2,406.4/day (for comparison OTL WW1 ended up with a 6,000/day average)
Well folks, things are starting to get hot now. We are in a dangerous position right now and so are the Chinese.
[X] Plan Hold the Salient
Side note: Historical estimates put China's population at 446.8 million in 1915.
Japan at 52.7 million
Korea at 16.2 million
....Lets hope that Sun Yat-sen induces a successful rebellion and distracts the Chinese Imperial Court.
I'll add to this: you estimate that all 3 of the Chinese armies on the Korean front are around 250 to 300k. The XIXth army numbers 120k or so.
The Expeditionary Army to Korea numbers around 500k with the Koreans and the Dairen garrison included, but not including the reinforcements arriving this turn.
I'll add to this: you estimate that all 3 of the Chinese armies on the Korean front are around 250 to 300k. The XIXth army numbers 120k or so.
The Expeditionary Army to Korea numbers around 500k with the Koreans and the Dairen garrison included, but not including the reinforcements arriving this turn.
