If they're a great power allied with the West in a Cold War against China by the end of the century, I'd say they have a much better chance of surviving than in OTL.
A Red Shrimp Among Whales-a North Korean Victory TL
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I have been reading about the Anpo protests to get an idea of Japan in the 60's and given that Japan did rearm ITTL, I can imagine that the protests in question would be at least more intense than OTL's (which can lead to some more..."interesting" domestic events) and that fella, Kishi Nobusuke, would still become PM, especially under ITTL's circumstances. However, I cannot see the US allowing Japan to become fascistic again for many reasons, so I can imagine that the CIA would help keep Tokyo under the US leash for better or worse in that regard (they did this to an extent in OTL regarding the elections you know).
Yes, this is my plan. It’s pretty clear that japan is developing into somewhat of an American vassal in east Asia ITTL, and this’ll make Japan’s people much more anti-American. I already have plans for Anpo.
However you’re right, they wouldn’t allow a Japanese Park Chung-hee or Chun Doo-hwan figure and I never planned to have it occur. It’s worth keeping in mind while the US ITTL will be much more aggressive, they’re still going to be rather pragmatic. A fascist japan, or one led by a strongman, wouldn’t benefit the US much at all.
Though stay tuned, because a japan chapter will come soon.
Will the pro-China faction in Vietnam, led by Truong Chinh, come out on top with China more invested in that region? Irl Truong oversaw the failure of the land reform in the 50s and was discredited by Ho Chi Minh when he apologized for the violence of the (very maoist inspired) land redistribution in a speech
Not gonna say how it’ll conclude, spoilers and all. But I will say Truong’s faction will be gaining a lot of strength.
Chapter 14: Viengxay campaign
A map of the Houaphan province
Chapter 14
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Secure the Nam Et-Phou Louey region. A beautiful, mountainous region, securing this region would give the UN a massive strategic advantage, and give them a significant chunk of the high ground. While it’ll be tough to capture….. Compared to the other goals, it’s rather easy. Once it is secured……
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Capture Xam Neua, the provincial capital. Once a French settlement, the village of Xam Neua is now firmly in the hands of the Pathet Lao. Well fortified and with a loyal populace, to capture it would be quite difficult. But a capture of the village is mandatory, as it would destroy the enemy’s abilities to wage war in Laos. But once Xam Neua is captured….
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from left to right: Kaysone Promivahne, Nouhak Phoumsavahn, and Phoumi Vongvichit
….. It’s time to clear out the Viengxay Caves, and capture or kill the movement's leadership. Easily the hardest part of the operation, the Viengxay Caves will be a nightmare to capture. But to capture it would destroy the Pathet Lao, and severely weaken the VM. And if the UN can capture Souphanouvong, Kaysone Promivahne, Nouhak Phoumsvavahn, and Phoumi Vongvichit, the Laotian resistance would fizzle out. While they also wish to capture Giáp, they also understand his capture wouldn’t be very catastrophic to the VM, though it’s still a high priority.By this point, the UN’s intervention has been reinforced by soldiers of the French Foreign Legion, and also by Moroccan tirailleurs. Moving into the mountains, their advance is slowed by both traps and incoming monsoons. While monsoons had affected their offensive on Phonsavan, the realities of mountain warfare make them even more dangerous. But Ridgway and Navarre both agree that the storms must be weathered, as Navarre’s strategy is to attack the Dien Bien Phu region afterwards, to pressure the Viet Minh into coming to the table. Ridgway considers the plan to be, “risky, but plausible.” Airstrikes also rumble through the mountains of both Laos and Vietnam, with UN planes reaching as far into Vietnam as the Yen Bai province.
The first notable battle of the Viengxay campaign is in Viengthong, specifically near the Buddhist settlement of Muang Hiem. A small, humble village, it’ll most likely be forgotten once the UN is done with it. Like clockwork, the village is heavily damaged by the preceding airstrikes, and then the battle itself occurs. Capturing Muang Hiem would give the UN the ability to encircle both Nam Et-Phou Loey and Xam Neua, and the UN’s assault is fast and furious. With 360 VM/PL dead, and 45 UN dead, Muang Hiem only survives the ordeal through a few temples still standing.
Passing through the Viengthong brings a special threat to UN soldiers, however: tiger attacks. Well hidden in the jungles of northeast Laos, these tigers typically only stalk approaching soldiers, but on some occasions, they do a bit more. An unsuspecting soldier, bent over to tie his boot, perhaps, may soon find a tiger ripping out his throat. And if one gets too close to one with cubs, game over. However, an attack on a soldier, regardless of whether they’re UN or VM, leads to the tigers swift demise as well. A less known casualty of the Viengxay campaign, the campaign is part of what contributes to the eventual extinction of the tiger in Laos [1]. Leopards are also among the casualties, as they also attack soldiers during the campaign.
The muddy countryside outside of Xam Neua
French troops with a captured teenage guerilla
With the Viengxay Campaign concluded, Ridgway and Navarre agree that the next order of business is to attack North Vietnam, and get the VM as far away from Hanoi as possible[2]. While the UN is generally disinterested in aiding in Vietnam, the US deploys soldiers in both Conchina and Tonkin, as they prepare to try to weaken the communist insurgency as much as possible. Ridgway writes to Eisenhower, on May 23rd:
“A full victory in Indochina is frankly not just unlikely, it is impossible. Even removing them from Conchina will be very difficult. But our victory in Laos proves that they can be backed into the corner, and forced to make peace. However, drawing too close to the Chinese border certainly isn’t in our best interests.”
In any case, the war in Indochina continues on, even if it remains unpopular in France, with protests against the war being staged across the country, in response to the casualties sustained while defending Laos. With Luang Prabang safe from the communists, and the elite X Corps arriving in Vietnam to fight, things are definitely shaking up to get spicy in the region.
Authors note: yeah, this definitely isn't the best chapter. But I wanted to establish the end of the Upper Laos campaign, with a stalemate in Northeast Laos. The next chapters will be much better but, this one was just hard to detail further without running into issues with redundancy. plus.... I wanna get away from writing about war for a little while.
[1]: the tiger in Laos went extinct sometime before 2007, mostly due to poaching (source). Due to the fighting in the region, the Laotian tiger goes extinct far earlier.
[2]: IOTL, Matthew Ridgway was the leader of the "Never Again Club", a group of men in the US Army that was opposed to a land war in Asia, due to fears of another taxing war with China. However, due to the lack of a major war in Korea, and the defeat of China in Taiwan, he is less opposed to going toe to toe with China, though he is still reluctant to provoke China.
1. I still hope the VM and PL 'wins' only cause I dislike the UN (they're incompetent in whatever timeline they're in...)
2. I'm expecting either Ridgeway or Navarre will get injured, killed, or POW if/when they restart their campaign but probably won't happen so who knows.
3. I wouldn't mind seeing the development that's going on in the US since they, along with the other UN members, are 'losing' the war in Indochina (using a lot of both resources and manpower, surprised there yet but at the same time... propaganda is a thing...)
2. I'm expecting either Ridgeway or Navarre will get injured, killed, or POW if/when they restart their campaign but probably won't happen so who knows.
3. I wouldn't mind seeing the development that's going on in the US since they, along with the other UN members, are 'losing' the war in Indochina (using a lot of both resources and manpower, surprised there yet but at the same time... propaganda is a thing...)
Yeah, I was planning this. I considered adding it to this chapter, but, I decided it’d be better with its own full chapter…. as I plan to explore the effects Attlee winning in 1951 would cause, and it would fit right in with it.
Truly. Fucking hate poachers, so many animals are endangered or extinct due to them. Part of why I did add that detail was to bring awareness to that, honestly-just another sad example of a species being hunted into extinction.
i hate them too. beyond the human tole it the devestation of nature in war always saddens me deeply like when i was a boy and all the trees around me got burned and shredded, and it really angered me because what have the trees and wildlife ever done to anyone?
Chapter 15: The Two Chinas
Chapter 15
Taiwan, 1953. 2 years after the invasion, the island is still recovering from the episode. With its cities still under reconstruction, the populace tries to move forwards….. But due to the anger over the losses of Kinmen, Mitsu, and the rest, and the paranoia of a second invasion, things have gotten more violent than they already were. The Taiwanese government, even in spite of the deposition of Chiang, has increased the White Terror, and with Sun Li-jen’s reign, the number of American troops on the island has only expanded. American troops patrol alongside Taiwanese soldiers and policemen, and they aid them with the crackdowns on Taiwanese leftists. But the KMT has a special target now: Taiwan’s indigenous population.Due to some Taiwanese aborigines supporting the PRC’s invasion, the KMT’s suppression of them has only increased, with the indigenous, regardless of who they are, all being lumped in with supporters of the mainland. Movements to increase their rights are violently suppressed, and leaders of the movement are specifically targeted. Although Sun is less extreme than Chiang, he still supports the crackdowns, as he still believes leftism is a “scourge” upon the Taiwanese nation.
Uyongʉ Yata'uyungana (1908-1954)
One specific target is Uyongʉ Yata'uyungana, a Tsou musician, former mayor of the Wufeng Township in Chiayi, and an educator for the Tfuya tribe. 44 years old, the man will turn 45 on July 5th, and he has a daughter, Kikuko, waiting for him at home. But Uyongʉ isn’t as mild mannered as he seems: in 1947, while still mayor of Wufeng, he was one of the leaders of the Tsou who took part in the 228 Incident, where anywhere between 18-000-28,000 Taiwanese civilians were killed in the ensuing massacre by Taiwanese soldiers. Uyongʉ had been jailed for his participation in the attempt to seize Chiayi Airport, but thanks to the lobbying of Atayal leader Losing Watan, Uyongʉ was released, and allowed to return to his family.
But the government has kept a close eye on him ever since. Declared a traitor for his support for indigenous Taiwanese rights, Uyongʉ is seized by soldiers on his way home, while walking through Chiayi. Put through torture, sleep deprivation, and psychological manipulation by his captors, Uyongʉ is sentenced to death by the government, along with Watan, and is imprisoned.
This is only part of the KMT culturally genocidal actions against the Taiwanese aborigines. The Educational Office-ran schools showed an emphasis in teaching Mandarin, Chinese history, and citizenship, with a nice tinge of KMT propaganda to go with it. In 1951, a major political socialization program began, which greatly encouraged the aborigines to adopt Han customs. Part of the “Shandi Pingdi Hua” policy, the goal was to “make the mountains like the plains”. An aura of shame surrounds the aborigines, even in spite of the heavy intermarriage between soldiers and aborigine women.
Speaking of Taiwan’s soldiers, due to both the invasion, the paranoia towards China, and the better relations with Sun Li-jen, the US begins to put in a lot more effort into reforming the Taiwanese military. Sun, an alumni of the Virginia Military Institute, uses his own knowledge of the US army to mold it more in line with it.
ROC Cadets bayonet training on the beach, 1952
Top: an example of PRC leaflets dropped on Taiwan, featuring Zhang Baoxing, niece of Zhang Xkngyuan, the former vice-commander of the Kinmen Defence Command. An appeal to Taiwanese people on blood relations.
Bottom: a much more aggressive example of PRC leaflets, it warns KMT officers that their lives are coming to a close, and will soon perish, it is only meant to frighten those who read it.
But the war isn’t fully over, you see. While the PRC now realizes their chance at military conquest of Taiwan to be impossible, they believe the Taiwanese people can still surrender via psychological warfare. The PRC drops leaflets onto Taiwanese shores, trying to appeal to the Taiwanese people through “family ties”, though not all are cordial, with some threatening the lives of KMT politicians, soldiers, and generals, and some declaring that if the ROC continues to remain free of Beijing's grasp, “Kinmen is only a warning”, and declaring that further resistance will only lead to death. But the invasion of Taiwan only strengthens the hearts of the people, who petition for Kinmen to be retaken, a request the government only gives lip service to. Sun, unlike Chiang, has no delusions that the mainland can be retaken, and only wishes to build Taiwan into a powerful state that is safe from Beijing.
ROC Cadets bayonet training on the beach, 1952
Top: an example of PRC leaflets dropped on Taiwan, featuring Zhang Baoxing, niece of Zhang Xkngyuan, the former vice-commander of the Kinmen Defence Command. An appeal to Taiwanese people on blood relations.
Bottom: a much more aggressive example of PRC leaflets, it warns KMT officers that their lives are coming to a close, and will soon perish, it is only meant to frighten those who read it.
A heroic depiction of the Battle of Kinmen, in 1951
A homeless woman rests with her baby in Taipei.
“We are slowly becoming their newest state. American culture is now everywhere you look. I fear that by the time I am dead, my grandchildren will be American citizens. But alas, we have no choice but to swallow our pride and accept it. It is not acceptable to go against what the West demands.”
A photo of KMT soldiers and their families, in temporary lodgings, after coming to Taiwan from Vietnam.
Meanwhile, on the mainland. In response to the American troops in Taiwan, the remilitarization of Japan, and the UN’s intervention in Indochina, the Chinese realize they need a trump card. Calling a Politburo meeting after the conclusion of the Plain of Jars campaign, Mao discusses a new idea he has decided on: a nuclear weapons program. Mao believes that a nuclear weapons program will increase China’s diplomatic credibility, and make the US less likely to continue their interventions against Asia’s growing communist tide. While discussing the matter with a Politburo undergoing reshuffling, Mao proclaims the following:“Now we're already stronger than we were in the past, and in the future we'll be even stronger than now. Not only are we going to have more airplanes and artillery, but also the atomic bomb. In today's world, if we don't want to be bullied, we have to have this thing.”
The Politburo is in agreement, and Mao requests the USSR aid the beginning of the program, which they accept, sending advisors to the PRC. The Soviets see a nuclear China as a necessity: with the UN intervention in Laos, it seems the Americans and their allies could soon be on China’s doorstep. The remilitarization of Japan also evokes worry within the Party, and the Soviets fear a major war between the US and the PRC to be inevitable….. Unless Mao gets his trump card. They agree that a nuclear weapons program is the best way to prevent another major Asian land war, but….. It takes a while to build a nuke. But in any case, the Chinese nuclear weapons program begins, and construction of research plants in Lop Nur and , and a new era dawns for China.
Meanwhile, the Great Reforms continue on inside of the PLA. Under the guiding hands of Lin, Mao, and Soviet advisors, the PLA continues its transition from a peasant army to a professional one to be feared. In the two years since the failure of Operation Eternal Victory, the PLA has made significant gains in organization, armament, and tactics and strategy. However, at the same time, the changes are slow. Although much stronger and better armed than in 1951…. The PLA is still not up to the standards Mao demands.
Civilian troops on the coast of Xiamen. Written on the rocks is, "We will liberate Taiwan!"
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Well looks like the US and UN are now stuck in a Asian quagmire, that frankly is even worse than the OTL.
Situation in Taiwan is grim, and frankly will make the communist cause around the globe burn for decades if it looks like the US is not ''just'' helping imperialist power hold onto their colonies and slaves but might be expanding themselves, well the results are already showing themselves with the PRC here circling around the USSR here than in the OTL where disputes were slowly building up.
I feel the USSR certainly could exploit all those independence movements far more with the other door shut effectively, maybe a lot more scientists work for the USSR?
Besides that the US might have the opposite the costs of the interventions is already quite bloody and will get worse overtime, there manpower pool is certainly going to suffer a bit from quality as it did in Vietnam.
Plus there is the Indonesian and Philippines questions, as given the threat of communism trying to control or worse make them colonies again is going to be hard task, and I imagine both nations here would be increasing there military strength to avoid that.
Situation in Taiwan is grim, and frankly will make the communist cause around the globe burn for decades if it looks like the US is not ''just'' helping imperialist power hold onto their colonies and slaves but might be expanding themselves, well the results are already showing themselves with the PRC here circling around the USSR here than in the OTL where disputes were slowly building up.
I feel the USSR certainly could exploit all those independence movements far more with the other door shut effectively, maybe a lot more scientists work for the USSR?
Besides that the US might have the opposite the costs of the interventions is already quite bloody and will get worse overtime, there manpower pool is certainly going to suffer a bit from quality as it did in Vietnam.
Plus there is the Indonesian and Philippines questions, as given the threat of communism trying to control or worse make them colonies again is going to be hard task, and I imagine both nations here would be increasing there military strength to avoid that.
The US will be much more committed to protecting Taiwan ITTL, yes. Especially with the more accommodating Sun in power, instead of Chiang.
It was truly inevitable. China will be much more keen to build a nuclear armament in the face of US involvement in Indochina. And speaking of said involvement, it may have some effects on the domestic actions of everybody’s favorite crazy man, Mao, as well.
US interventionism will backfire at some point, and it’ll only turn more and more people away from them. But men like Dulles and Nixon himself will not have any other answer, and will only want to continue the “crusade against communism”. You can already see how this’ll end up clashing with the more level headed Eisenhower as the decade goes along.
How is the situation in domestic politic in the us, start a peace movement o still in the high of the baby boommers?