I'm working on this TL of mine (yes, the German one), and in bizarro-WWI, the Central Powers (Germany and Russia, mainly), after removing the Japanese from the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin, have begun to plot an invasion of Hokkaido.
So, should they invade from the Kurils or from Sakhalin? Could they just go straight for Sapporo instead? Is trying to exploit the ethnic tensions between the Japanese and Ainu a good idea?
How would such a large amphibious operation be carried out in 1905-1910, anyway? Would it be like Gallipoli (quick degeneration into static trench warfare), or could that feasibly be avoided?
So, should they invade from the Kurils or from Sakhalin? Could they just go straight for Sapporo instead? Is trying to exploit the ethnic tensions between the Japanese and Ainu a good idea?
How would such a large amphibious operation be carried out in 1905-1910, anyway? Would it be like Gallipoli (quick degeneration into static trench warfare), or could that feasibly be avoided?