Chapter 14: Plight of the Lion Part 1: The Invasion of British India & The Battle(s) off Nauru
October 1st 1942 - January 1st 1943
At the beginning of October Chinese marines start landings on and around the Dutch colonial outpost of Manado in order to deny it's use as a base to the Dutch sea wolves preying on Chinese shipping in the South China Sea, despite their desperate determination, they accept the inevitable within a couple days of our landings and lay down their arms. On October 6th a British squadron sailing east led by the new pride of the Royal Navy HMS Anson was discovered by our battlefleet in the Eastern Celebes Sea, in exchange for the 14th CL, Britain loses the 4th Destroyer Flotilla, HMS Cumberland and Dragon, with Anson taking heavy damage.
The fools.
Under the cover of darkness, Australia tries again to seize the ungarrisoned island of Saipan, Ouyang Ge's 1st Cruiser Squadron consisting of China's 3 battlecruisers and 3 light cruisers set out to intercept the would-be invaders who refuse to learn from previous experience, with their last heavy cruiser being vastly outgunned, the end result was all but guaranteed...
Australia's fleet is for all intents and purposes a non-factor for the remainder of this war, so we like to think...
In order to keep an eye on any possible Allied collaborators or guerillia's aswell as to free up conventional forces much needed for the invasion of India, we continue to build garrisons and militias with police brigades attached aswell as Radar stations to be deployed in southern Chinese cities to detect British heavy bombers, the advance through Burma will eventually end that threat and future Radar will be built at important bases and outposts, work continues on training 8 new infantry divisions with artillery and anti-tank support brigades which will be stationed near the frontier with Outer Mongolia.
Many more divisions like these will be needed if Soviet Russia is to be cut down to size, but we also need to research more modern Infantry weapons so they don't get decimated by Soviet armor.
Meanwhile the advanced through Burma slowly continues, with the resistance from the hermit kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan being less of a factor than mud, tigers and malaria, occasional British bombings of our forces are intercepted by our long-range fighters based in Rangoon and medium bombers flying ground attack missions on whatever remaining Allied soldiers remain in the path of our advance.
The soldiers complain more about mosquitoes than they do mines.
A Brief summary of the future plans of the Chinese Navy
R&D has been refocusing on naval technology in order to catch up to the United States in quality if not quantity, naval construction in 1943 will start with anywhere from 6 to 10 heavy cruisers shortly after the new year to supplement our current battle fleets, with any spares being assigned to a convoy raiding group, research will continue throughout the first half of 1943 until we have a design that can catch up with the newer American carriers expected to come online in early 1944. Light cruisers will be in development for around the same time, anywhere from 10 to 20 of the 4th generation (6th when compared to those of other naval powers) light cruisers will be laid down after the last of the 1938-models are completed by early February, with a even faster and heavily-armed class to be laid down in even greater numbers after that set is completed, these new cruisers will serve as the new backbone of the Chinese Navy once sufficient numbers are produced to relegate our old light cruisers to transport escort duty. Development of newer carriers is to continue through the next 6 to 9 months, with 1 carrier to be laid down in the spring to join Chen Ce's fleet upon completion replacing the Liaoning which will be reassigned to reserve, training and escort duties and at least 4 more of a semi-modern design for a new carrier task force before the year is out, it is being debated whether to build another battleship for shore bombardment and escorting troop transports, and some Chinese officers including the Generalissimo himself are contemplating recruiting several Japanese naval and air commanders to fill in the void China has as far as air and naval commanders go.
Chinese shipyards will also be busy trying to build more convoy's to replace losses to submarines and to have more on hand for future amphibious invasions, to free up a few extra convoy's and supplies for our troops, a trade embargo is imposed on the United States, leaving the Soviet Union as our last major supplier of raw materials even though barring the drought of metal in Asia proper, China is in a position of self-sufficiency with a stockpile expected to last at least a few years when war with the Soviet Union does come.
Preparations for the crusade against the United States are underway, but will take well over a year to come into bloom.
The situation is going from worse to catastrophic for the Allies in Burma, 3 more hermit kingdom infantry divisions and the army group headquarters are surrounded and overrun by Chinese forces in the Battle of Minbya, leaving British India even more open to invasion, Li Sen takes over the foreign ministry and attempt to distance ourselves from the Axis and enacts much laxer Press Laws, in the possible event of a Chinese invasion of Italian-occupied Kuwait or Somaliland and going through the Mediterranean Sea to Gibraltar and launching a invasion of the British Isles codenamed 'Operation Sea Dragon' but these plans require resources that China won't have for a couple of years yet, the 2nd Invasion Fleet is moved from Saigon to Batavia in order to gather the forces that will be deployed to British India.
The clock is ticking for the Raj.
The 1st Cruiser Squadron is sent to raid Australian convoys in Halifax Bay to help finish off Australia's ability to support overseas invasions and ability to trade with the outside world, naval bombers based in ex-Portugese East Timor finally find several Dutch submarines in the Southern Buru Coast which eventually take port in Ambon, which results in their destruction by naval port strikes, taking some pressure off of our convoys.
The tide is slowly turning in the convoy wars.
The Battle(s) off Nauru
Before the invasion of India could take place, it was vital to keep the British Pacific Fleet from rebasing to India and operating with greater freedom of action, Fu Zuoyi's 1st Assault Corps was loaded up in Truk and sent to invade the base from the northern beach while the 2nd Battle Fleet and 1st Carrier Fleets Blockaded the port in the southeast, forcing the British to engage the blockading force consisting of 2 Jiangxi-class battleships, the Liaoning and 3 Gansu-class carriers and approximately 20 various heavy and light cruisers. The landings begin on the 17th of November with the blockade intercepting 4 cruisers and 2 destroyer flotillas, sinking the HMS Danae before it enters port.
Could this be the beginning of the decisive battle?
Thinking our attention is completely distracted and taking note of the fact we still haven't garrisoned Saipan, the Australian's launch another invasion, Ouyang Ge sets an intercept course but the invasion transports managed to offload the rest of the division and just escape our cruisers, the destroyers weren't so lucky and it is deemed unlikely Australia can continue advancing beyond Saipan with almost all of their navy gone and in the process of elimination, several infantry divisions which Australian can ill afford to replace. Even so, Australia is allowed their token victory for the time being while we focus on the British at Nauru, with the Royal Navy losing a heavy cruiser trying to break through the blockade, after intercepting the transport north of Saipan, the 1st Cruiser Squadron is sent to support the rest of the blockade as a precaution to ensure we're not vastly outgunned.
A lot of their heavy units are damaged but they have many healthier destroyers and light cruisers plus there is the possibility of them using their own transports as shields or decoys...
On November 23 as Chinese marines start their march to the harbor, the British set sail with all of their assets and run into the blockade, in spite of massive damage inflicted by both sides this first skirmish proves undecisive at first, Li Shijia gives chase and finds his force outnumbered in the Plaanu Pass, as day turns into night, in spite of reinforcement by battlecruisers, both them and his fleet are left on the side with the most lost tonnage lost, losing 5 light cruisers yet only taking out 3 destroyer flotillas and a invasion transport and the rest of the ships left in various states of damage and disrepair by shells, torpedoes and bombs.
China's most Pyrrhic victory yet.
The venerable Sun-Yat-Sen battleships, originally deemed too old and slow to take part in the battle, were ordered to rebase to Truk and set sail for Nauru and intercept the escaping British forces, in the ensuing Battle at Meiju Bank the pride of the British Empire was destroyed by the pride of Republic of China after a pair of lucky salvos first destroyed the bridge and then struck the forward magazine, sending shockwaves around the world.
The Republic Strikes Back.
Seeking to build on this victory, or perhaps intoxicated from it, Gui Yongqing gives chase despite the fact that several of his ships took considerable damage already. His determination pays off and even though he loses 2 light cruisers, he pays the English back with 1 light and 2 heavy cruisers, 2 destroyers flotillas and a landing craft, while another transport was intercepted off Truk and sunk, whatever cargo it was carrying going down with it thus potentially saving Truk or preventing reinforcement to Saipan. Later that day the new British pride, the King George V was finished off by the venerable Ton Chi in spite of the damage her and the other ships were taking from the British Albacore and Skua pilots flying off the decks of the HMS Furious, Illustrious, Argus and Eagle, the order was given to return to Truk before the flyers had the chance to make a lucky hit and sink the Ton Chi or any other ship for that matter.
After these battles the only heavy units that were considered fresh were the 2 Yunnan-class battleships and 2 heavy cruisers based in Rangoon along with their screen, since they were earmarked to cover the landings in India and Ceylon.
Chen Ce sets out to intercept the elusive British carriers, his naval aviators were worn out and in need of fresh aircraft and rest after dealing with the blockade runners, but they were still able to inflict further damage on the enemy carrier fleet since their own air groups were in far worse condition, and after pursuing them twice more over the following day after losing contact, torpedo bombers from the Liaoning caught the Eagle while she was suffering engine troubles due to previous battle damage and was lagging behind the rest of the carriers, striking it at least 4 torpedoes on the port side shortly before sunset, by the time the pilots turned back and started racing the twilight back to their carriers, HMS Eagle was listing almost 45 degrees and still increasing, less than a hour later the survivors were pulled from the shark-infested waters by a barely-floating destroyer.
First Carrier Blood.
The largest naval battle in history has taken it's toll of the fighting capabilities of both the combatant fleets, but it was clear to not only the Allies and the Chinese but to many observers the world of was that the Chinese ultimately came out victorious and with greater freedom of operation than she had before, the Royal Navy, once considered the premier navy in the world, was now in a state of terminal decline, allowing the United States Navy and the Republic of China Navy to start filling the power vacuum.
Chinese losses:
7 CL
Minor to Heavy damage to 5 BB, 3 BC, 1 CA & most of their CL screens
Heavy damage to the carrier air wings, with over a hundred planes and their pilots lost.
Approximate British losses (Australian losses off Saipan are not counted)
2 BB
1 CVL
3 CA
3 CL
5 DD
3 LC
1 TP
Minor to Heavy damage to almost all of the ships that saw action against China off Nauru
Near-total destruction of the British carrier air wings.
The Invasion of British India
With the British having few fresh forces to counter any Indian invasion, 4 corps of the 3rd Invasion Army boarded their respective transports, the 2nd corps boarding the 2nd Transport Fleet and being escorted by Chen Jilang's battle group to land on Ceylon and seize it as a base for the main invasion of India on it's western coast, the British try to stop the landings with the battleship Queen Elizabeth and light carrier Hermes and their screen under the command of Harlowe-Wright who finds himself outmatched and forced to take port in Trincomalee until the landing operations compromise the port. His squadron, barring the Hermes and a handful of her aircraft is wiped out with extreme prejuidice.
Battleship Yunnan leading the way to victory.
Landing operations were then launched near Bangalore by the 6th Corps on the southwestern coast and then around the Bombay area by the 15th Corps and 2nd Assault Corps with virtually no resistance whatsoever from the native Indians thanks in no small part due to the activities of a certain pacifist known as Mohandas Gandhi and his cordial relationship with Chiang Kai-shek who, despite the vast differences between their methods and their ideologies, have common ground in opposition to the failing institution known as the British Empire. Chiang takes into consideration the emancipation of India and Pakistan as Chinese client states after the fall of Britain. On a side note several countries ranging from Argentina to Saudi Arabia start striking energy deals with China, Chiang can only grin as China is challenging the other energy superpowers for economic influence in addition to China's ever-increasing military prowess...
China is set for a complete walkover of the former British Raj, while gaining more potential allies.
A blockade is enforced by the 1st Carrier Fleet on Australian-held Saipan in preparation for a counter-invasion set to start before the year is out and end whatever little propaganda value it has for the Allies, naval engineers also complete the design for a newer class of aircraft carrier, but it's still far inferior to the 'United States-class' so development continues into the new year before any keel is laid down, the 4th Invasion Army is created from the 7th Corps being detached from the 3rd Invasion Army currently advancing through India in addition to the 3rd and 18th Corps
Australia's token gain is no more, the shrinking carrier gap and a new army with a undecided target...
The Battle of India (
If it can even be called that) progresses smoothly as the new year dawns...
As 1943 begins, so does more uncertainty, the British fleet has been dealt a heavy blow, but still very much in existence. The front in North Africa remains limited to Casablanca and the surrounding countryside. And neither the Germans or Soviets have broken their non-aggression pact so Eastern Europe is still quiet...
