Chapter 95. The End of the Pacific War
July - August 1946, East Asia
The Imperial intervention in the Quarantined Area of Western China (eastern Kansu, southern Ninghsia, most of Shensi, most of Szechuan, small parts of Kweichow and Hupei) began to yield positive results, with the spread of disease being largely curbed and the worst of the humanitarian crisis being overcome. Consequently, the level of the emergency was reduced from critical to severe and the Quarantined Area itself was shrunk, with some of its western fringes being excluded altogether (including the cities of Hsining and Yinchwan). However, it was still impossible to concentrate enough Imperial troops in the area to allow ground attacks against the Japanese positions further east (in Shansi, Honan, Hupei, Hunan).
In the south, the Imperial armies continued their difficult advance through the mountains and jungles of Indochina.
Rangoon fell on the 3rd of August and most of
Burma (except its southern panhandle) was under Imperial control before the end of the month, as well as most of the Thai province of
Shan (the former Shan State of Burma).
Further north, in
Yunnan and
Kweichow, the Imperial armies finally reached flat, open ground and the speed of the advance increased dramatically.
Kunming fell on the 11th of July and
Kweiyang on the 16th, then the Imperial armies entered
Kwanghsi and
Tonkin (northern Vietnam).
Nanning was captured on the 9th of August,
Hanoi on the 18th and the Empire reached the
Gulf of Tonkin on the 21st of August (but the Japanese managed to hold the port of
Haiphong). Finally, in the last week of August, vanguard Imperial units crossed into southern
Canton and, bypassing the
Luichow Peninsula, reached the open
South China Sea.
North of the Quarantined Area, the Empire advanced in
Shansi (but failed to take
Taiyuan) and in
Hopei, taking
Peking (the old capital of Qing China) on the 23rd of July and
Tientsin on the 8th of August and reaching the
Bohai Sea on the 17th. The Japanese defenders of
Paoting held their ground and stopped a planned Imperial thrust southwards.
In
Manchuria, the Empire took the rest of eastern
Inner Mongolia and continued to advance in
Liaoning (all the way to the
Bohai Sea),
Chilin and
Amur, overrunning more than half of
Manchukuo (its northern and western parts). However, the Japanese resistance intensified closer to the
South Manchuria Railway, which remained under Japanese control, including the three important Manchurian cities of
Fengtian,
Changchun (called
Hsinking by the Japanese) and
Harbin.
In
Far-Eastern Russia, the Imperial and Russian forces liberated
Blagoveshchensk and a series of Japanese-held pockets on the shores of the
Sea of Okhotsk (
Chumikan,
Okhotsk,
Magadan,
Ola and several uninhabitated peninsulas vacated by the Japanese by sea). An ill-thought attempt to enter the
Kamchatka Peninsula failed, as it became clear that more forces were needed.
The lower course of the
Amur River was also crossed in August, with the Imperial forces reaching the
Sea of Japan, south of the
Strait of Tartary, thus severing the last safe link between the Kwantung Army and the Japanese Home Islands.
Thus, at the end of August, the remaining Japanese forces in Mainland East Asia were divided in three large areas,
Manchuria-Korea,
China and
Indochina, as well as several smaller ones,
Kamchatka (which could be evacuated to the Kuriles), the
mouth of the Amur (which could be evacuated to Karafuto), the
Luichow Peninsula and
Haiphong (both could be evacuated to Hainan).
The Imperial advance in East Asia had finally gained momentum, amid the accelerating deterioration of the fighting capacity of the Japanese, and it was expected that the conquest of the rest of Mainland East Asia be completed before the end of the year (if Japan did not surrender before that).
A number of changes were performed in the administrative organization of China in August.
- The rump Tsinghai Province (around Hsining, after the bulk of it was transferred to Tibet) and the small Ninghsia Province were dissolved and joined to Kansu.
- The rump Inner Mongolia (four disjointed parts, two in the area recovered from Mongolia, two in the area not annexed by Mongolia from Manchuria) was dissolved.
- Wuhai, Ordos, rump Bayannur and rump Paotow (Baotou) were joined to Shensi.
- Kweisui (Hothot) and rump Wulan (Ulanqab) were joined to Shansi.
- Rump Xilingol was joined to Hopei.
- Rump Chihfeng and rump Tungliao were joined to Liaoning.
- Rump Hulunbuir was joined to Amur.
- The Manchurian part of Hopei was rejoined to Hopei.
.
On the 30th of August, China was
federalized, with the 21 Chinese Provinces (half of them still under Japanese occupation) changed into
Chinese Federal States. The same day, Anne officially claimed the
Mandate of Heaven and became
Empress of China.
July - August 1946, Indonesia and Japan
In
Indonesia, the United Nations forces under Australian command took
Wetar,
Alor,
Ceram,
Ambon and
Morotai and landed in
Halmahera, evicting the Japanese from the eastern and central parts of the island (but not from its northern and southern peninsulas). The nearby small island of
Ternate was secured by a paratrooper assault. Further landings were planned in other East Indonesian islands for the following months.
There were no attempts to land in the
Philippines, because they had already been conceded by the Empire and spending men and resources there was pointless. In East Indonesia, on the other hand, the United Nations wanted to establish
facts on the ground, in the reasonable belief that they would keep what they already control.
However, the Pacific War could not be won in Mainland East Asia or in Indonesia, but only in Japan Proper, as the Japanese militarists, despite their setbacks, were not even contemplating a surrender. The American military strategists had already concluded that there were four ways to convince the Japanese to surrender: (i) a military invasion of the Japanese Home Islands, first Kyushu, then Honshu, (ii) a continuous string of atomic bombings against Japanese cities, (iii) a catastrophic famine due to the naval blockade of the Home Islands or (iv) the threat of an Imperial invasion through Karafuto and Hokkaido (just the threat, not an actual invasion).
Unfortunately, all four possibilities presented serious drawbacks. An invasion of the Home Islands would surely result in hundreds of thousands, if not millions of casualties. Deploying atomic weapons against Japanese civilians would be considered barbaric, in deep contrast with the restraint showed by the Empire. A continued naval blockade would only result in an unmanageable famine in 1947, presenting a real risk of an Imperial invasion of northern Japan in the meantime. And the threat of an Imperial invasion of Japan could result in a peace between Japan and the Empire and the dreadful possibility of future Imperial support for Japan (for example nuclear missiles).
Therefore, Truman decided to ignore the cost in lives and launch the invasion of Kyushu. The American invasion fleet was impressive, but still smaller than that planned for Operation Olympic in the stem Universe¹.
1. The Americans had lost numerous ships in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, in the Imperial nuclear strikes and in battles against the Empire, as well as unfinished hulls in the nuclear strikes against the Norfolk and Portsmouth shipyards (which had also diminished the ship building capacity). The Panama Canal was still closed and moving ships to the Pacific was difficult. Britain was neutral, so the British Navy was not present (but the British have sold numerous ships to the Americans). Numerous Australian and New Zealander ships were deployed in Eastern Indonesia.
On the 10th of August (in full typhoon season), following intense bombardments (including the use of three nuclear bombs), the Americans landed in southern Kyushu, at three points (Miyazaki, Ariake and Kushikino). The Ariake and Kushikino landings succeeded in creating expandable beachheads, despite the ferocious Japanese resistance, but the force landed in Miyazaki was obliterated in a nuclear explosion with an estimated yield of 18 kilotonnes of TNT (less than the usual yield of the Imperial bombs, because the implosion geometry was not perfect, and the fission did not start quite simultaneously in the entire volume, thus ejecting some unfissioned plutonium from the bomb during the initial stages of the explosion).
The Japanese use of an atomic weapon was both puzzling and extremely worrying. On one hand, both the complete lack of evidence regarding a sufficiently advanced Japanese nuclear programme and the isotopic signature of the fallout strongly suggested that the bomb had been built by the Empire. On the other hand, it was absurd to believe that the Empire was exporting nuclear weapons to Japan while engaged in a colossal war against it in East Asia. Anyway, just hours after the explosion, the Empire admitted to having lost two bombs² during the initial bombings of Manchuria, but had assumed that the severely damaged bombs were beyond repair or, even if repaired, they would be used against them, not against the Americans.
2. In fact, the Empire had only lost one bomb. That lie was a little gift which was very appreciated by the Japanese and which made the Americans very nervous.
Nonetheless, the invasion of Kyushu was an American victory, as, three weeks later, the southern sixth of the island was firmly under American control (including the city of Kagoshima). Thus, Tokyo Bay was within the reach of the second phase of the invasion (albeit only barely, as preferably more of south-eastern Kyushu would need to be taken first).
While the Tokyo Bay invasion was tentatively scheduled for December, the very high numbers of casualties incurred during the invasion of Kyushu (almost four hundred thousand) and the risk presented by the second atomic bomb purportedly salvaged by the Japanese, convinced President Truman to ignore the public relations hit and try to bring down the Japanese will to fight with a nuclear bombing campaign against Japanese cities (albeit ostensibly targeting industrial areas). It was decided to drop one bomb every week, starting in September.
September 1946, India
The
Administrative-Territorial Reorganization of Southern India was finalized after careful studying of the ethnic, linguistic and religious make-up of the region.
The States of
Bombay,
Hyderabad and
Madras were dissolved.
The
Gujarat State (
Gujarati language) was created from the northern part of Bombay, with the capital in
Ahmedabad.
The
Maratha State (
Marathi language) was created from the central part of Bombay, the northern part of Hyderabad and the southern part of Central India (around Nagpur), with the capital in
Bombay.
Mysore (
Kannada language) was extended with the southern part of Bombay, the southwestern part of Hyderabad and the westernmost part of Madras, its capital remaining in
Bangalore.
The
Andhra State (
Telugu language) was created from the southeastern part of Hyderabad and the northern part of Madras, with the capital in
Hyderabad.
The
Tamil Nadu State (
Tamil language) was created from the southern part of Madras and a small part of southern Travancore-Cochin, with the capital in
Madras. While the Tamils asked for the northern part of Ceylon to be included in their state (because of its Tamil majority), Anne preferred to create a
Tamil Autonomous Region there.
The recently extended Travancore-Cochin (with the southwestern part of Madras) was renamed
Kerala (
Malayalam language), its capital remaining in
Trivandrum.
Like China the previous month,
India was also turned into a
Federal Empire, formed of 20 Federal States. Anne wanted to place
Princess Margaret of Windsor on the Indian Throne, but many Indians were so vocal against
being ruled by the British again, that Anne relented and took the Indian Crown herself.
Anna Julia (Ana Iulia) Imperatrix Regina, Empress of the Romans, Empress of Africa, Empress of China, Empress of India, Queen of Romania, Queen of Hungary, Queen of Slovakia. And future
Empress of the World (in her dreams).
September - October 1946, East Asia
The Japanese resistance began to falter in September and started to collapse altogether in October. The main reasons given for that state of affairs were (i) the loss of the avantage given by the difficult terrain further west, which had already been overcome by the Empire, (ii) the loss of the industrial base in Manchuria due to sustained Imperial bombardments, (iii) the increased fuel and spare parts shortages, (iv) the massive and irreplaceable casualties, (v) the intensified Chinese partisan warfare, (vi) the defection of Thailand (see below), (vii) being cut into multiple areas by the Imperial rushes to the Sea, (viii) the decreased morale due to the continuous defeats and the difficult situation in the Home Islands, (ix) the increased numbers of Imperial forces (including tanks), taking advantage of the open terrain and the longer frontlines, etc.
The
Quarantined Area of Western China was further shrank, to about half of its initial size, and it was estimated that the quarantine would be completely lifted before the end of the year.
In Indochina, the Empire continued to advance southwards in
Burma,
Thailand (including Laos) and
Vietnam (where
Haiphong fell on the 1st of October). Realizing that further resistance was completely futile and seeking to spare their country the destruction that would surely be provoked by a fighting retreat over its territory, Thai Prime Minister
Plaek Phibunsongkhram (Phibun) and
King Rama VIII decided to bypass their Japanese allies and surrender separately to the Empire.
The Japanese were well aware of the impeding Thai surrender, but were unable to spare sufficient forces to fill the gaps that would be created by the surrender of the Thai Army, to coup the Thai Government, and to place the country under occupation, while fighting not only the Empire but also, presumably, the Thais. In those conditions, the Japanese quickly evacuated Thailand Proper and the Burmese panhandle (Tenasserim Region) and retreated eastwards, over the Mekong, to Laos and to Cambodia, and southwards, to Malaya.
Thailand surrendered on the 15th of September and the Imperial Army entered
Bangkok three days later, thus reaching the
Gulf of Thailand. According to the Instrument of Surrender, the Thai King and Government remained at their posts and
Shan and
Laos remained parts of Thailand (albeit with internal autonomy). However, the areas annexed from Cambodia and Malaya earlier in the war were reverted to those countries and the
Patani State also became a part of Malaya, for demographic reasons.
Fighting continued in the
Kra Isthmus, with the Empire approaching the Malayan border, and in Laos and Cambodia, where the Empire captured the northern part of
Laos, including the capital,
Vientiane, and the northwestern part of
Cambodia. The Japanese began to plan the evacuation of their remaining forces from eastern Indochina to the relative safety of Borneo.
In the second half of October, the Empire landed troops in northern
Sumatra (Aceh), and, after encountering heavy resistance, managed to secure a narrow strip of land.
In China, the Empire attempted to take the
Luichow Peninsula, in order to prepare a subsequent landing in Hainan, but stubborn resistance kept the southern half of the Peninsula in Japanese hands.
Further north, the Japanese positions collapsed and their hurried retreat towards the coast turned into a rout, with the Empire advancing hundreds of kilometres and overruning over one million square kilometres with over one hundred million inhabitans (the rest of
Kwangsi,
Kweichow,
Szechuan,
Shensi,
Shansi and
Hopei, the whole of
Honan and
Hupei, most of
Hunan,
Kiangsi and
Anhwei, and small parts of
Shantung,
Kiangsu,
Chekiang,
Fukien and
Canton).
At the end of October, the Japanese only controlled the Chinese coastline from
Canton in the south to
Weifang in the north, with a depth ranging from one hundred to two hundred kilometres. And the Imperial armies were quickly approaching Canton, Hangchow, Nanking, Tsining, Tsinan and Weifang. And the Japanese had no recourse to stop them.
In the last week of October, the Japanese decided to evacuate
China Proper (with the exception of the
Shantung Peninsula), but the success of that operation depended upon the cooperation of the Americans, who were expected to allow the Japanese forces to escape from succumbing to the Imperial Effect.
A
Kuomintang Government with limited attributions, led by
He Yingqin, was installed in the temporary capital of
Wuhan (because Chungking was still under quarantine and Nanking was still under Japanese occupation).
In
Manchuria, the Japanese resistance was the strongest, but that was still far from what would have been needed to stop the Imperial armies.
Fengtian,
Changchun and
Harbin fell in September and the Empire reached the Korean border on the
Yalu River and the
East China Sea in October, separating the Japanese forces in the
Liaotung Peninsula from those in the rest of Manchuria.
Further north, the Empire reached
Lake Khanka, leaving to the Japanese just a small part of Manchuria close to the Korean border on the
Tumen River. The Japanese evacuation to Korea was ongoing.
In
Far-Eastern Russia, the Empire liberated the city of
Khabarovsk and the rest of the eponymous oblast, including several islands close to
Sea of Okhotsk shores and the area around the mouth of the
Amur River, with the Japanese defenders retreating to
Karafuto, across the narrow
Strait of Tartary. The northern two thirds of the
Maritime Oblast were also liberated at that time, with the Imperial forces approaching
Vladivostok.
The
Kamchatka Peninsula was invaded again, that time successfully, with the Imperial armies quickly taking control of most of the region, with the exception of
Karaginsky Island, the area around the capital (
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky) and the southern tip of the peninsula (
Cape Lopatka), which faced the
Kurile Islands.
With no naval forces in the Pacific, the Empire used its excellent paratrooper forces for an aerial invasion of
Karafuto on the 26th of October. Although more than half of the twenty thousand paratroopers were killed in action in several hours, the Empire managed to secure a small area in the extreme northwest of the island and defend it against recurring Japanese attacks.
September - October 1946, Indonesia and Japan
The United Nations continued their military operations in East Indonesia, taking
Talaud,
Sangihe, the rest of
Halmahera,
Bakan,
Obira,
Buru,
Sanana,
Mangole, the northeastern tip of
Celebes,
Sumba,
Lembata, and the eastern part of
Flores.
The Empire accepted United Nations control of the Protestant majority islands of East Indonesia and of Muslim majority Halmahera (and adjacent smaller islands), which guarded the gate to the open Pacific Ocean, but not of Catholic Flores, Muslim Lembata, Taliabu, Mangole and Sanana, or Muslim majority Celebes (although the area occupied by Australia was majority Protestant).
The Empire claimed Borneo, Celebes, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Lembata, Taliabu, Mangole, Sanana, Buton, Muna, Peleng (and adjacent smaller islands), asked the United Nations to
put an end to their military operations against Indonesia and warned that the Oslo Ceasefire would be annuled and that the claimed islands would be taken by force, if not evicted peacefully. However, that was only a declaration, not an ultimatum, and no answer was expected or received. Moreover, the Imperial forces were not expected to arrive in East Indonesia anytime soon.
The frontlines in southern Kyushu remained mostly static, while the Americans executed hundreds of conventional bombing raids against various civilian and military targets in Japan and deployed seven nuclear bombs against industrial facilities in Nagasaki, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Himeji, Osaka, Nagoya and Yokohama. Although civilian areas were supposedly not targeted on purpose, about half a million Japanese civilians died in the bombings and due to the effects of radiation during the following weeks. An eighth nuclear bomb was detonated in the Seto Inland Sea, destroying most of the remaining Japanese Navy sheltered there.
Because of the destruction of their navy (north of Taiwan), because of the continued total blockade of the Home Islands, which would soon result in a severe famine, because of the continued bombardments against both military and civilian targets, because of the unsustainable losses in men and equipment, because continuing the war was all but impossible, because of the looming Imperial invasion, because of the impossibility to evacuate the forces stranded in China (which would succumb to the Imperial Effect), because otherwise the country and its people faced certain destruction, the
Japanese Emperor announced their intention to accept the United Nations' offer to end the Pacific War.
Therefore, after a short round of consultations, on the 22nd of October 1946, the Pacific War ended with the conditional surrender of
Japan to the United Nations.
