I need feedback for my months long project for a WWIII scenario. Here is what I've written so far thanks to research/notes I've made. The plot is Japan is partitioned, and WWIII begins in May of 1946. It will cover both Europe and the Pacific theaters of war. I have done meticulous research for this spanning many months, and have more research yet to do, as I don't think it will ever be complete, I will simply keep on layering it. I even plan, ambitiously, to extent it into the Cold War following WWIII.
Part One: Operation Downfall
Y-Day: The Invasion of Honshu
Tokyo had fallen, yet still the Japanese forces refused to surrender. No matter how far north Allied forces had pushed them, they just kept on fighting till they got cornered in Niigata, between the Soviet forces to their north and American forces to their south. To compound matters for the Allied forces, the same divine winds, or typhoons, that had utterly wrecked the Mongol invasion fleet, first in 1274 and then again in 1281, had occurred once more on the day of the invasion. Most of the main invasion force, consisting of the First and Eighth armies respectively, were quickly annihilated before they even hit dry land.
The few remaining soldiers that did make it ashore found themselves outgunned and fighting not to hold the beachhead, but simply to preserve their lives. Ultimately, they prevailed and the Japanese defensive garrisons were forced off of the beaches. However, it would take sometime before reinforcements, pooled in from the reserve units, could be sent to their positions due to the typhoon. When they did finally arrive however, what remained of the First and Eighth armies were pitiful.
Forced to advance inwards as a result of the bad weather, The First army's III Amphibious Corps was without a doubt shattered as a result of trying to hold down the beach, while XXIV Corps, which consisted of the main force which further was made up of the 7th, 27th, and 96th Infantry Divisions, was left in a similar shape as the marines that came before them. The Eighth army was in no better shape as the First army, but was fortunate to have landed further away from the typhoon storm, thus avoiding heavy casualties that no doubt would have resulted.
The ensuing slog from Tokyo to Niigata however would be far worse then the barely salvaged beach landings. What remained of the Japanese forces after their retreat from Tokyo, which in itself was not much to look at anymore, was more then expected. They fought in every inch of every village and town north of Tokyo. And when the First General Army was reduced to that of only a few thousand men, their was always dirty guerrilla war tactics to turn to. Booby traps, suicidal kamikaze charges, grenade detonation by surrendered troops soon turned into the name of the game.
But the Americans an to a lesser extent the Soviets were not about to give up just yet. The leaders of all nations present in the invasion knew the cost of simply abandoning Japan and signing a white peace was simply too high. The American public was already war weary from the war in Europe, and was becoming less and less likely to want to continue the fight. The military planners involved in Y-day simply had too much to lose from an early peace agreement, and so the decision was made to continue the hellish advance to Niigata.
The actual city of Niigata, as well as the surrounding region that made up the province of the same name, was like the rest of Japan rapidly militarized in preparation for the invasion of the home islands. What little remained of the Japanese First General Army, led by General Masamitsu Kawabe, was at this point reduced to waging small scale guerrilla attacks, designed to hamper their enemies' advance. Indeed, it would take several weeks to even get close to the city of Niigata, whose population prior to the war had been evacuated due to threat of atomic bombardment, but who now were tasked with its defense.
Fanaticalized by years of endured propaganda, the citizens of Niigata were wiling to sacrifice their lives for the Emperor, which unbeknownst to them he had been sacked by Japan's military rulers and held prisoner in Kyoto till the end of the war. The now few remaining forces of the First General Army had no intention of simply surrendering, when they could instead die a glorious death in the name of defending the Empire. They also had no intention of sparing the Civilian population, and so the decision was made to arm them with their remaining surplus weapons.
The battle for Niigata had begun.
Surrounded from both the north and the south, their was little hope of actually winning the battle. Even if the city's defenders could break through the blockade that was set up around the city, they'd be cut down by American air power as well as reserve forces in the rear of either the Soviet or American main force. And so the decision was sent out to fight to each and every citizen, read reluctantly by hapless soldiers, that their would be no surrender. The last ones standing after the city's expected fall were supposed to commit suicide in the face of the enemy, rather then surrender. General Masamitsu Kawabe was also prepared to sacrifice himself for the Empire, allegedly telling the soldiers under his command that he would “be at the front of the barricades” when the white devils came at the defenders.
And come they did. Soviet and American, both wary of fighting the Jap, found that storming the barricades would be easier said then done. General Masamitsu Kawabe stuck to his word, fighting ferociously until a Soviet bullet to the head claimed his life. Quickly and without warning the chain of command broke down in the absence of General Kawabe, as was common in the Imperial Japanese Army, especially during the battle of Okinawa.
For the Japanese defender, it was no longer practical or desirable to defend the city of Niigata. The enemy was simply too numerous and the lack of a real command hampered defensive operations. The defense of the city essentially had degenerated into a downhill fight for survival. Every man for himself. The few brave attempts by lower ranking officers to reestablish a sense of unity in the rapidly diminishing ranks rapidly ended in failure, and it was not long before the remaining defenders, civilian and military, were pushed deep into the center of the city.
A massacre soon followed. Calls were given out by surrounding American and Soviet troops to surrender. If anyone could understand Russian or English in the city, no one was willing to heed the surrender call. By this point, the Japanese First General Army had been whittled down to a few hundred troops, and the civilian irregulars were undisciplined, yet eager to die. Attempts by several soldiers and civilians to surrender ended in their slaughter by Japanese troops. When they realized that surrender was not an option, the Americans and Soviets proceeded to assault the Japanese forces en mass.
After an inglorious slaughter, the city of Niigata had fallen. By April of 1946 the last of the Japanese defenders had been subdued, and a partition of Japan soon followed. The southern and central halves were ceded to the Allies, while the northern halve, consisting of northern Honshu and Hokkaido, which had fallen prior to Operation Downfall's commencement, was ceded to the Soviets.
But not soon after the end of WWII in 1946, a new war was brewing. Border skirmishes were common in both partitioned Germany as well as partitioned Japan. Yet no one expected these small scale skirmishes to lead to a third World War. But it did, in May of 1946. This war would be even more terrible then the last, fought with a combination of land, sea, and air power, as well as nuclear weapons That would further devastate an already battered Japan and Europe. It would be the war to end all wars.
Part One: Operation Downfall
Y-Day: The Invasion of Honshu
Tokyo had fallen, yet still the Japanese forces refused to surrender. No matter how far north Allied forces had pushed them, they just kept on fighting till they got cornered in Niigata, between the Soviet forces to their north and American forces to their south. To compound matters for the Allied forces, the same divine winds, or typhoons, that had utterly wrecked the Mongol invasion fleet, first in 1274 and then again in 1281, had occurred once more on the day of the invasion. Most of the main invasion force, consisting of the First and Eighth armies respectively, were quickly annihilated before they even hit dry land.
The few remaining soldiers that did make it ashore found themselves outgunned and fighting not to hold the beachhead, but simply to preserve their lives. Ultimately, they prevailed and the Japanese defensive garrisons were forced off of the beaches. However, it would take sometime before reinforcements, pooled in from the reserve units, could be sent to their positions due to the typhoon. When they did finally arrive however, what remained of the First and Eighth armies were pitiful.
Forced to advance inwards as a result of the bad weather, The First army's III Amphibious Corps was without a doubt shattered as a result of trying to hold down the beach, while XXIV Corps, which consisted of the main force which further was made up of the 7th, 27th, and 96th Infantry Divisions, was left in a similar shape as the marines that came before them. The Eighth army was in no better shape as the First army, but was fortunate to have landed further away from the typhoon storm, thus avoiding heavy casualties that no doubt would have resulted.
The ensuing slog from Tokyo to Niigata however would be far worse then the barely salvaged beach landings. What remained of the Japanese forces after their retreat from Tokyo, which in itself was not much to look at anymore, was more then expected. They fought in every inch of every village and town north of Tokyo. And when the First General Army was reduced to that of only a few thousand men, their was always dirty guerrilla war tactics to turn to. Booby traps, suicidal kamikaze charges, grenade detonation by surrendered troops soon turned into the name of the game.
But the Americans an to a lesser extent the Soviets were not about to give up just yet. The leaders of all nations present in the invasion knew the cost of simply abandoning Japan and signing a white peace was simply too high. The American public was already war weary from the war in Europe, and was becoming less and less likely to want to continue the fight. The military planners involved in Y-day simply had too much to lose from an early peace agreement, and so the decision was made to continue the hellish advance to Niigata.
The actual city of Niigata, as well as the surrounding region that made up the province of the same name, was like the rest of Japan rapidly militarized in preparation for the invasion of the home islands. What little remained of the Japanese First General Army, led by General Masamitsu Kawabe, was at this point reduced to waging small scale guerrilla attacks, designed to hamper their enemies' advance. Indeed, it would take several weeks to even get close to the city of Niigata, whose population prior to the war had been evacuated due to threat of atomic bombardment, but who now were tasked with its defense.
Fanaticalized by years of endured propaganda, the citizens of Niigata were wiling to sacrifice their lives for the Emperor, which unbeknownst to them he had been sacked by Japan's military rulers and held prisoner in Kyoto till the end of the war. The now few remaining forces of the First General Army had no intention of simply surrendering, when they could instead die a glorious death in the name of defending the Empire. They also had no intention of sparing the Civilian population, and so the decision was made to arm them with their remaining surplus weapons.
The battle for Niigata had begun.
Surrounded from both the north and the south, their was little hope of actually winning the battle. Even if the city's defenders could break through the blockade that was set up around the city, they'd be cut down by American air power as well as reserve forces in the rear of either the Soviet or American main force. And so the decision was sent out to fight to each and every citizen, read reluctantly by hapless soldiers, that their would be no surrender. The last ones standing after the city's expected fall were supposed to commit suicide in the face of the enemy, rather then surrender. General Masamitsu Kawabe was also prepared to sacrifice himself for the Empire, allegedly telling the soldiers under his command that he would “be at the front of the barricades” when the white devils came at the defenders.
And come they did. Soviet and American, both wary of fighting the Jap, found that storming the barricades would be easier said then done. General Masamitsu Kawabe stuck to his word, fighting ferociously until a Soviet bullet to the head claimed his life. Quickly and without warning the chain of command broke down in the absence of General Kawabe, as was common in the Imperial Japanese Army, especially during the battle of Okinawa.
For the Japanese defender, it was no longer practical or desirable to defend the city of Niigata. The enemy was simply too numerous and the lack of a real command hampered defensive operations. The defense of the city essentially had degenerated into a downhill fight for survival. Every man for himself. The few brave attempts by lower ranking officers to reestablish a sense of unity in the rapidly diminishing ranks rapidly ended in failure, and it was not long before the remaining defenders, civilian and military, were pushed deep into the center of the city.
A massacre soon followed. Calls were given out by surrounding American and Soviet troops to surrender. If anyone could understand Russian or English in the city, no one was willing to heed the surrender call. By this point, the Japanese First General Army had been whittled down to a few hundred troops, and the civilian irregulars were undisciplined, yet eager to die. Attempts by several soldiers and civilians to surrender ended in their slaughter by Japanese troops. When they realized that surrender was not an option, the Americans and Soviets proceeded to assault the Japanese forces en mass.
After an inglorious slaughter, the city of Niigata had fallen. By April of 1946 the last of the Japanese defenders had been subdued, and a partition of Japan soon followed. The southern and central halves were ceded to the Allies, while the northern halve, consisting of northern Honshu and Hokkaido, which had fallen prior to Operation Downfall's commencement, was ceded to the Soviets.
But not soon after the end of WWII in 1946, a new war was brewing. Border skirmishes were common in both partitioned Germany as well as partitioned Japan. Yet no one expected these small scale skirmishes to lead to a third World War. But it did, in May of 1946. This war would be even more terrible then the last, fought with a combination of land, sea, and air power, as well as nuclear weapons That would further devastate an already battered Japan and Europe. It would be the war to end all wars.
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