Nice update, who would expect Poland to invade Imperial Japanese islands and indeed the Polish Pacific Colonies are amazing.
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MUSSOLINIIIIII said:
That is the indeed the effect I was hoping to achieve. Seriously, Poles in the Pacific? What is this world coming to!?
Nabendu said:
Thank you! Always good to have another subscriber.
Update to follow tonight. I didn't update for the past two days, because I decided to try my hand at modding and surprisingly had fun with it. Nothing too fancy - I just thought that the Philippines is slightly underpowered in HoI2. I mean, I think they did have the second-highest per-capita GNP in Asia during the 1930s-1940s, after only Japan. So I decided to...tweak them a little bit. Of course, I will not be using those modded files for this AAR.
Congratulations, you manage a very good game until now. As a matter of fact, as Poland I was able to chalenge Germany for air supremacy, but every time I did that, they simply refuse to fight on air, rending my planes useless, so indeed is not a good thing to waste resources on planes until defeat Germany.
A/N: Okay, okay. I apologize. I was too lazy to update this for a long time, due to problems IRL. However, I don't leave something unfinished after starting it. I mainly consider this a practice run for another AAR I'm planning after, but I should finish this one first.
Capturing Japan's Pacific islands was easy enough, but they were defended by garrisons using WW1 equipment. When the Poles tried to attack islands defended by 1943-standard infantry, they failed with heavy casualties. It was decided that special infantry, trained in executing amphibious assaults, would have to be developed. In the meantime, future offensive operations had to be put on hold.
This was especially true after reconnaissance of the Japanese islands revealed large numbers of defenders. The Allies were surprised since it was assumed that most of Japan's army would be on the mainland, fighting both the Chinese and the Soviets. However, this was not the case. No doubt the fact that most of Japan's transports had been sunk also contributed, for new troops would have no way of being sent to the mainland. Polish planners had considered this when conducting the naval bombing operation to destroy the IJN, but could see no way around it.
It was decided that while waiting for the Marines to be trained, Polish forces would do what they could. Reconnaissance showed that the island of Formosa was defended by only one division. General Anders's infantry corps, after receiving reinforcements to replace their heavy casualties from the last amphibious assault, went ashore without opposition near Taipei, Formosa's largest city. They captured it without resistance from the enemy division based at Kaohsiung.
Also of note was that Polish submarines kept up the pressure on the Japanese merchant marine, continually sinking Japanese merchant convoys.
Instead of attacking Kaohsiung immediately, the Poles secured eastern Formosa first, to prevent the Japanese from escaping. They needn't have worried. It was a garrison division that was incapable of escape.
Next, it was decided to attack Korea and take it from the Japanese before the Soviets could. Polish transports could operate freely and unescorted because the IJN had ceased to exist, save for a few transports. All of Japan's once formidable naval bomber wings had been eradicated as well.
Anders and his men landed near Pyongyang, quickly capturing the undefended city. To their surprise, Japanese presence on the mainland was indeed light, and most of the IJA was in Japan. It was surprising that the Soviets did not advance considering that the opposing Japanese forces averaged 1 division every 100 miles.
Landing behind the Soviet-Japanese front line, the Poles quickly moved to cut the peninsula in half. After securing the northern part before the Soviets could, they could liberate the south at their leisure.
Finally, after cutting across the peninsula, the Poles prepared to attack the single Japanese division at Chongyin. However, resistance was surprisingly stiff. The single division held off a corps of three Polish divisions, and defeat seemed imminent.
Then, to the Poles' surprise, the Soviets attacked as well from the north, with five divisions. The Japanese quickly folded under the two-sided assault by countries that were not allies. It was now a race to see whether the Poles or the Soviets would reach Chongyin first.
The Poles won. They later went on to take the entire peninsula.
As 1944 turned into 1945, the Poles undertook no further offensive actions. A failed assault by Anders's infantry corps on Kyushu confirmed that dedicated marines would be required. The only exception was Poland's submarine squadrons, which were deployed in the Yellow Sea and Sea of Japan, through which convoys had to pass to reach the Japanese still on the mainland. Sinkings averaged 10 to 20 convoy ships every month, and the occasional destroyer escort.
The Poles spent the winter of '44-'45 researching and training the marines, as well as brigades for them. As much as possible, they tried to only research techs they had blueprints for from their larger Allies. One exception was dive bombers, which neither France, the UK, nor the US had bothered to research. Poland took it upon itself to research these, for reasons that may become apparent later on.
The Poles also secured Palawan and Mindoro at last, which had been captured by the Japanese earlier. The troublesome Japanese infantry division on Mindoro, which fanatically resisted the first Polish assault, was bombed into oblivion by Australian bombers when the Poles on Palawan left and they moved to re-occupy Palawan. A mistake.
The Poles intended to return the islands to the Philippines, but since the Philippines was an American colony, Poland could not trade with them directly.
Capturing Japan's Pacific islands was easy enough, but they were defended by garrisons using WW1 equipment. When the Poles tried to attack islands defended by 1943-standard infantry, they failed with heavy casualties. It was decided that special infantry, trained in executing amphibious assaults, would have to be developed. In the meantime, future offensive operations had to be put on hold.
This was especially true after reconnaissance of the Japanese islands revealed large numbers of defenders. The Allies were surprised since it was assumed that most of Japan's army would be on the mainland, fighting both the Chinese and the Soviets. However, this was not the case. No doubt the fact that most of Japan's transports had been sunk also contributed, for new troops would have no way of being sent to the mainland. Polish planners had considered this when conducting the naval bombing operation to destroy the IJN, but could see no way around it.
It was decided that while waiting for the Marines to be trained, Polish forces would do what they could. Reconnaissance showed that the island of Formosa was defended by only one division. General Anders's infantry corps, after receiving reinforcements to replace their heavy casualties from the last amphibious assault, went ashore without opposition near Taipei, Formosa's largest city. They captured it without resistance from the enemy division based at Kaohsiung.
Also of note was that Polish submarines kept up the pressure on the Japanese merchant marine, continually sinking Japanese merchant convoys.
Instead of attacking Kaohsiung immediately, the Poles secured eastern Formosa first, to prevent the Japanese from escaping. They needn't have worried. It was a garrison division that was incapable of escape.
Next, it was decided to attack Korea and take it from the Japanese before the Soviets could. Polish transports could operate freely and unescorted because the IJN had ceased to exist, save for a few transports. All of Japan's once formidable naval bomber wings had been eradicated as well.
Anders and his men landed near Pyongyang, quickly capturing the undefended city. To their surprise, Japanese presence on the mainland was indeed light, and most of the IJA was in Japan. It was surprising that the Soviets did not advance considering that the opposing Japanese forces averaged 1 division every 100 miles.
Landing behind the Soviet-Japanese front line, the Poles quickly moved to cut the peninsula in half. After securing the northern part before the Soviets could, they could liberate the south at their leisure.
Finally, after cutting across the peninsula, the Poles prepared to attack the single Japanese division at Chongyin. However, resistance was surprisingly stiff. The single division held off a corps of three Polish divisions, and defeat seemed imminent.
Then, to the Poles' surprise, the Soviets attacked as well from the north, with five divisions. The Japanese quickly folded under the two-sided assault by countries that were not allies. It was now a race to see whether the Poles or the Soviets would reach Chongyin first.
The Poles won. They later went on to take the entire peninsula.
As 1944 turned into 1945, the Poles undertook no further offensive actions. A failed assault by Anders's infantry corps on Kyushu confirmed that dedicated marines would be required. The only exception was Poland's submarine squadrons, which were deployed in the Yellow Sea and Sea of Japan, through which convoys had to pass to reach the Japanese still on the mainland. Sinkings averaged 10 to 20 convoy ships every month, and the occasional destroyer escort.
The Poles spent the winter of '44-'45 researching and training the marines, as well as brigades for them. As much as possible, they tried to only research techs they had blueprints for from their larger Allies. One exception was dive bombers, which neither France, the UK, nor the US had bothered to research. Poland took it upon itself to research these, for reasons that may become apparent later on.
The Poles also secured Palawan and Mindoro at last, which had been captured by the Japanese earlier. The troublesome Japanese infantry division on Mindoro, which fanatically resisted the first Polish assault, was bombed into oblivion by Australian bombers when the Poles on Palawan left and they moved to re-occupy Palawan. A mistake.
The Poles intended to return the islands to the Philippines, but since the Philippines was an American colony, Poland could not trade with them directly.
wielka polska welp
Indeed.
I do believe a Pole could do a better job at a Poland AAR than I can. I wanted to put in a bit about Marian Rejewski and the cracking of Enigma, but I think Germany got annexed too quickly for that to be significant.
Update to follow.
Holy crap it's alive! On the other hand it looks like the Japanese mainland will be a tough fight. (Unless Polska/America/Soviets has been dabbling in nuke tech.)
awww a non pole doing an aar aarbout poland
Thank you!
Indeed. That's actually the reason it's taking me so long to update. It's a bit disheartening to see that many troops defending the Japanese Home Islands. Normally they're only lightly defended. I think now I made a mistake in sinking the entire Japanese Navy, transports included, so quickly. That means that the Japanese would not be able to transport troops from Japan to the mainland, and so they stay there.
Well that is one big problem. I'm assuming USA and UK won't give you military control? If I remember correctly they don't often grant military control to weaker nations it has been a while since steam deleted my hoi2 randomly and have been unable to redownload it due to bad internet.
In this version of HoI, countries will grant military control to any ally, except to their puppets. So the US and UK will give it to me if I ask. However, on top of the fact that I consider it gamey, I have never been a big fan of controlling other countries (and don't understand why some other players like it so much). The force compositions and officer assignments are all messed up, as are the assignment of brigades to divisions, when you take military control of AI countries. Not only that, but it seems the AI still retains joint control of their troops along with you, and sometimes they issue their own movement orders or cancel an attack one hour after you order it. That really annoys me.
I will still continue this AAR, but I only have six divisions in the Pacific theater at the moment, and it might take months to move a sizable force in for the invasion. Updating might take some time.
PS: Although it wasn't apparent in the above screenshots, Poland is now completely out of manpower. I still raise new divisions every time the manpower gets high enough, bringing it back to zero again.
Guys, I am so sorry that it's taken me so long to update. Real life kept getting in the way. Plus the fact the Japanese Home Islands were so well-defended, and that after defeating Japan would be the inevitable war with the Soviet Union, had me worried. I briefly considered abandoning the AAR. After all, Poland's main goal in HoI2 is to defeat Germany, and that had been achieved.
But don't worry, there's going to be no abandoning here. I've started it; might as well see this AAR through to the end. It's only two more years to go, after all. This AAR is officially back in business.
I have already played about a year past the last update. And quite a lot took place within that year, as you'll see...
Thank you very much! Of course, you might have stopped following this already because of how long I took to update, but if ever you come across this again in the future, I'll be glad!
Your wish is my command!
Update to follow...
But don't worry, there's going to be no abandoning here. I've started it; might as well see this AAR through to the end. It's only two more years to go, after all. This AAR is officially back in business.
I have already played about a year past the last update. And quite a lot took place within that year, as you'll see...
Thank you very much! Of course, you might have stopped following this already because of how long I took to update, but if ever you come across this again in the future, I'll be glad!
Your wish is my command!
Update to follow...
New Update
May 10, 1945
Poland was now at a crossroads. Japan had to be defeated in order to end the war. Despite having the world's most powerful nations at war with her and having no allies, Japan refused to surrender. An invasion of the Home Islands would be necessary. However, Polish intelligence predicted that, once Japan was defeated, the Soviets would declare war on the Allies. Therefore some Polish generals argued that the defeat of Japan had to be delayed a while longer, in order to give time for Poland to complete its defenses. After all, among all the nations of the Allies, it was Poland that would be the first line of defense against the Soviet Union if ever the Third World War broke out. This was something that Poland had to consider very carefully.
Complicating the issue was the fact that even if Poland had decided to invade Japan at the soonest possible time, it wasn't going to be that easy. Polish intelligence predicted that Japan would be fairly lightly defended, with most of the IJA in China, fighting both the Chinese and the Soviets. To their surprise, reconnaissance revealed that a relatively small part of the Japanese army was on the Asian mainland; most of it was stationed on Japan. Any potential invasion just got a lot harder.
Despite Japan not being self-sufficient in resources at all, they still had enough stockpiled to maintain operating their industries at full capacity. Intelligence indicated that the Japanese had somehow stockpiled enough resources to continue operating for years. They could also trade with neutral countries in any case, since many countries were still neutral. A naval blockade wasn't going to work either. Other Polish generals worried that delaying the invasion of Japan would result in them training more and more divisions for defense until an invasion was completely impossible.
To compromise, it was decided to take care of first things first. The divisions earmarked for the invasion would be moved from Europe to Asia, which could take months. Poland's navy and air force would also be moved to Asia to provide support. There were only six Polish divisions in Asia at the time. A further 27 were authorized, bringing the total invasion force to 33 divisions. Even so, intelligence indicated the Japanese had upwards of 90 divisions, of which about 60 or 70 were in the Home Islands. The invasion force would be heavily outnumbered.
But no more could be spared because Poland had to maintain the bulk of its army on the Soviet border. Moving more troops to Asia would take even longer, and if the Soviets declared war right after Japan's defeat, with most of the Polish army in Asia, the consequences could be disastrous.
Fortunately, Polish intelligence indicated that the Soviets would not declare war until after Japan was defeated. Poland had until then to organize a defense. Lacking the manpower and industry (even with the annexation of Germany) to fight the Soviets, it was decided to fight defensively through fortifications.
Facing Germany in 1939, Poland had done something similar. Lacking the industrial capacity to build a continuous line of forts from Gdansk to Krakow (and even further along the Slovakian border when Czechoslovakia was annexed) it was decided to build two forts on the two most important and vulnerable provinces along the border - the Bydgoszcz area because it could be attacked from three provinces, and the Krakow area because it could be attacked from five provinces and was the source of much of Poland's natural resources. They could not be completed to level 10 before the Germans attacked, but were doubtless essential in contributing to Poland's defense and eventual victory.
Now, Poland would do the same thing on its eastern border. Poland began to build a line of fortifications, of the same quality as France's Maginot Line, but far longer. The most formidable defense line the world had ever seen. The Kościuszko Line.
A cheaper "shortened version" of the line was proposed, running through Konigsberg-Suwalki-Grodno-Baranowicze, which would leave Memel and much of northeastern Poland to the enemy. But since Poland was flush with victory and industrial capacity after the annexation of Germany, it was decided to spare no expense in building the complete line. The Kościuszko Line was so expensive that even with Poland's new IC, not all of it could be built at the same time. Time would tell if the decision to protect every single province had been a wise one.
Poland's manpower was scraping the bottom of the barrel, as many infantry divisions had been recruited to defend the Soviet border. Infantry had to be used because Polish IC, while higher than before, was certainly still not on the level of the UK or the US or the SU. Also, infantry fit with the Polish land doctrine. Given how well-defended Japan was, the Poles had to research and train marines, starting from scratch. These divisions were even more manpower-intensive, but absolutely necessary for the coming invasion.
Fortunately, it occurred to some member of the Polish general staff that Poland had one last source of manpower. Instead of using Garrison divisions for anti-partisan work, Poland had used regular Infantry divisions equipped with military police brigades. These divisions were pulled off occupation duty and sent back to the front. There were also six divisions simply guarding the border with Italy, in case they declared war after Germany's defeat. Put together, these totalled 18 divisions, an additional 180,000 men for a manpower-strapped Poland. Partisan activity in occupied Germany rose as a result, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Notice in the previous two screenshots how occupied Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia are empty of garrisons, compared to before.
Once six divisions of Polish Marines, with attached advanced rocket artillery brigades, were trained, the invasion force could be assembled in Korea. As mentioned earlier, it took months to ferry troops from Poland to Asia. However that wasn't such a bad thing as it was more time for the Kościuszko Line, which was far from complete, to continue building. Six Marine divisions, three Mountaineer divisions, 24 Infantry divisions, supported by four wings of Fighters and 10 wings of Tactical Bombers. The Polish navy, with two Wladyslaw IV-class aircraft carriers, four Warszawa-class heavy cruisers, and 24 flotillas of destroyers, was on hand as well. Since the Japanese navy was completely annihilated, they were there mainly for shore bombardment and to protect the transports from Japanese naval bombers.
A/N: Coincidentally, May 10 is my birthday.
May 10, 1945
Poland was now at a crossroads. Japan had to be defeated in order to end the war. Despite having the world's most powerful nations at war with her and having no allies, Japan refused to surrender. An invasion of the Home Islands would be necessary. However, Polish intelligence predicted that, once Japan was defeated, the Soviets would declare war on the Allies. Therefore some Polish generals argued that the defeat of Japan had to be delayed a while longer, in order to give time for Poland to complete its defenses. After all, among all the nations of the Allies, it was Poland that would be the first line of defense against the Soviet Union if ever the Third World War broke out. This was something that Poland had to consider very carefully.
Complicating the issue was the fact that even if Poland had decided to invade Japan at the soonest possible time, it wasn't going to be that easy. Polish intelligence predicted that Japan would be fairly lightly defended, with most of the IJA in China, fighting both the Chinese and the Soviets. To their surprise, reconnaissance revealed that a relatively small part of the Japanese army was on the Asian mainland; most of it was stationed on Japan. Any potential invasion just got a lot harder.
Despite Japan not being self-sufficient in resources at all, they still had enough stockpiled to maintain operating their industries at full capacity. Intelligence indicated that the Japanese had somehow stockpiled enough resources to continue operating for years. They could also trade with neutral countries in any case, since many countries were still neutral. A naval blockade wasn't going to work either. Other Polish generals worried that delaying the invasion of Japan would result in them training more and more divisions for defense until an invasion was completely impossible.
To compromise, it was decided to take care of first things first. The divisions earmarked for the invasion would be moved from Europe to Asia, which could take months. Poland's navy and air force would also be moved to Asia to provide support. There were only six Polish divisions in Asia at the time. A further 27 were authorized, bringing the total invasion force to 33 divisions. Even so, intelligence indicated the Japanese had upwards of 90 divisions, of which about 60 or 70 were in the Home Islands. The invasion force would be heavily outnumbered.
But no more could be spared because Poland had to maintain the bulk of its army on the Soviet border. Moving more troops to Asia would take even longer, and if the Soviets declared war right after Japan's defeat, with most of the Polish army in Asia, the consequences could be disastrous.
Fortunately, Polish intelligence indicated that the Soviets would not declare war until after Japan was defeated. Poland had until then to organize a defense. Lacking the manpower and industry (even with the annexation of Germany) to fight the Soviets, it was decided to fight defensively through fortifications.
Facing Germany in 1939, Poland had done something similar. Lacking the industrial capacity to build a continuous line of forts from Gdansk to Krakow (and even further along the Slovakian border when Czechoslovakia was annexed) it was decided to build two forts on the two most important and vulnerable provinces along the border - the Bydgoszcz area because it could be attacked from three provinces, and the Krakow area because it could be attacked from five provinces and was the source of much of Poland's natural resources. They could not be completed to level 10 before the Germans attacked, but were doubtless essential in contributing to Poland's defense and eventual victory.
Though the fort at Bydgoszcz did fall early on in the war, the Germans never captured Krakow during the entire war. It was defended by over 20 divisions, and was attacked many times from five directions by between 30 and 50 Axis divisions, but never fell.
Now, Poland would do the same thing on its eastern border. Poland began to build a line of fortifications, of the same quality as France's Maginot Line, but far longer. The most formidable defense line the world had ever seen. The Kościuszko Line.
Probably the most expensive fortification project ever attempted. The plan was to have Maginot-level (level 10) forts along every single border province with the USSR.
A cheaper "shortened version" of the line was proposed, running through Konigsberg-Suwalki-Grodno-Baranowicze, which would leave Memel and much of northeastern Poland to the enemy. But since Poland was flush with victory and industrial capacity after the annexation of Germany, it was decided to spare no expense in building the complete line. The Kościuszko Line was so expensive that even with Poland's new IC, not all of it could be built at the same time. Time would tell if the decision to protect every single province had been a wise one.
Poland's manpower was scraping the bottom of the barrel, as many infantry divisions had been recruited to defend the Soviet border. Infantry had to be used because Polish IC, while higher than before, was certainly still not on the level of the UK or the US or the SU. Also, infantry fit with the Polish land doctrine. Given how well-defended Japan was, the Poles had to research and train marines, starting from scratch. These divisions were even more manpower-intensive, but absolutely necessary for the coming invasion.
Fortunately, it occurred to some member of the Polish general staff that Poland had one last source of manpower. Instead of using Garrison divisions for anti-partisan work, Poland had used regular Infantry divisions equipped with military police brigades. These divisions were pulled off occupation duty and sent back to the front. There were also six divisions simply guarding the border with Italy, in case they declared war after Germany's defeat. Put together, these totalled 18 divisions, an additional 180,000 men for a manpower-strapped Poland. Partisan activity in occupied Germany rose as a result, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Notice in the previous two screenshots how occupied Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia are empty of garrisons, compared to before.
Once six divisions of Polish Marines, with attached advanced rocket artillery brigades, were trained, the invasion force could be assembled in Korea. As mentioned earlier, it took months to ferry troops from Poland to Asia. However that wasn't such a bad thing as it was more time for the Kościuszko Line, which was far from complete, to continue building. Six Marine divisions, three Mountaineer divisions, 24 Infantry divisions, supported by four wings of Fighters and 10 wings of Tactical Bombers. The Polish navy, with two Wladyslaw IV-class aircraft carriers, four Warszawa-class heavy cruisers, and 24 flotillas of destroyers, was on hand as well. Since the Japanese navy was completely annihilated, they were there mainly for shore bombardment and to protect the transports from Japanese naval bombers.
The invasion force assembles in Pusan in Polish Korea on the eve of the invasion.
A/N: Coincidentally, May 10 is my birthday.
Last edited:
May 11, 1945
The timing of the invasion was just about right. The Poles had chosen to attack in spring, giving them time to complete the conquest of Japan before winter set in and made things harder.
Although Japan as a whole was well-defended, there were bound to be weak spots. One weak link was the northern tip of Honshu. Another was the island of Kyushu. It was decided to secure Kyushu first. While the Japanese home army seemed formidable on paper (and still was) much of it was composed of garrisons and militias. The garrisons could not be moved around easily, and would immediately surrender or be annihilated upon defeat.
The marines were put on offensive supply for what might be the largest amphibious campaign of the war. The invasion fleet sailed from Pusan and took up positions off Kyushu. The southern half of the island would be the target. As day broke, six divisions of Polish marines landed and began their assault. This would be their first live combat situation. Opposing them were three garrison divisions, a far lighter defense than elsewhere in Japan, but not as light as could be hoped. Because the invasion force was relatively small, it would need all the support it could get from the navy and air force.
Seven hours later, the Japanese garrison divisions were close to breaking. Polish bombers also moved in to speed up their defeat.
Interestingly, note that the French had occupied the Amami Islands northeast of Okinawa, and were now attacking the Japanese defenders at Okinawa. These attacks would fail however. Despite Okinawa being defended by just one division, it would repel all the French attacks. The French should have used marines.
The Japanese were eliminated and the marines landed on the island. After taking some time to organize themselves from the landings, they turned their attention to the northern half of Kyushu. Fukuoka turned out to be defended by one garrison and one infantry division. With this victory, the Poles now occupied the whole of Kyushu. A corps of three infantry divisions was ferried from across the Tsushima Strait to keep Kyushu from being retaken by the Japanese in Hiroshima.
Taking Kyushu had been fairly easy, but now the real hard part began. Now the whole invasion force (besides the three divisions in Kyushu) was taken to off the Pacific Tohoku coast. Sendai was also discovered to be fairly lightly defended. The marines would assault the beaches, and the rest of the troops would land once a beachhead was established. The attack began at daybreak of May 21, 1945.
Again, the area was defended by three Japanese divisions. After another tough fight, these divisions were defeated. Two were garrisons, but one was an elite Japanese marine division. This division was now retreating from the battlefield. A lone retreating division was the perfect target for aircraft, so Polish bombers were sent in from their bases in Korea to bomb it into oblivion. Destruction of special divisions such as marines was a priority.
Poland's fighter wings were also conducting air superiority missions over Japan, along with many other Allied aircraft, because the Japanese did still have an air force. Losing a transport flotilla loaded with troops to the Japanese would be a severe loss. Fortunately, the patrols succeeded at catching Japan's fleet of naval bombers in the air over Hiroshima.
These interceptions would continue during the course of the invasion, keeping the Japanese from using their air force.
Soon after that, the Marines landed in Sendai, followed soon after by the rest of the invasion force. The Poles now had a foothold on Japan.
This didn't mean things were going to get any easier, though. The Japanese had huge numbers of troops on Honshu, especially around the Kanto and Kansai regions. However, the swift capture of Kyushu and landing in Tohoku had caused the Japanese to begin moving their troops all over Japan. The Poles could take advantage of this confusion to win against much greater numbers...
The difficulties of the campaign were revealed when the Poles attempted to expand their area of control. Fukushima was undefended when the Poles landed, but was quickly reached by a large number of Japanese troops from Tokyo, forcing the Poles to stop their attack. Next, the Poles attacked mountainous Akita with Sosabowski's mountaineers, supported by infantry. The goal was to cut off the defenders of Hokkaido, and provide a second axis of attack on Fukushima. This was important as the Poles made an oversight in planning the invasion - they failed to bring a headquarters division along. With no field marshals in the attack force, nine divisions was the maximum that could attack from one province without suffering crippling penalties.
Though they defeated the Japanese in Akita, once the Poles occupied the province, they themselves were attacked by a portion of the large Japanese stack in Fukushima. They were forced to retreat.
On the plus side, during this time a Japanese HQ division was caught alone and unentrenched. This valuable target was quickly destroyed by Polish bombers.
With the large group of Japanese troops in Fukushima making matters risky, it was noticed that the haphazard movements of Japanese troops all over Japan had left Hokkaido relatively undefended. A portion of the invasion force was detached to take Hokkaido. In fact, the northern half of Hokkaido was completely undefended, and this is where the Poles landed. However, six garrison divisions were defending Sapporo, Hokkaido's largest city. The Poles attacked them with nine infantry divisions, again supported by shore bombardment and air support. The Japanese would be unable to retreat because Polish ships blocked the Tsugaru Strait, and in any case Akita was still in Polish hands, though not occupied by any Polish troops.
The six divisions were annihilated and Hokkaido secured entirely. Now, both the northern and southern of the Japanese Home Islands were in Polish hands, including much of Japan's resource production. It only remained to take Honshu and Shikoku. The Poles, having fewer forces than the Japanese, were adopting a strategy of not landing in one place and proceeding inland from there, but instead being maneuverable and striking across the least-defended coastal provinces of Japan. This took advantage of the fact that out of Japan's total strength on paper, around 40 divisions were stationary garrisons that could not move on their own and could be eliminated when defeated. Despite this strategy of strung-out attacks however, the Poles would still have to fight the large Japanese armies eventually.
The timing of the invasion was just about right. The Poles had chosen to attack in spring, giving them time to complete the conquest of Japan before winter set in and made things harder.
Although Japan as a whole was well-defended, there were bound to be weak spots. One weak link was the northern tip of Honshu. Another was the island of Kyushu. It was decided to secure Kyushu first. While the Japanese home army seemed formidable on paper (and still was) much of it was composed of garrisons and militias. The garrisons could not be moved around easily, and would immediately surrender or be annihilated upon defeat.
Japan's defenses were formidable, as these reconnaissance flights showed.
The marines were put on offensive supply for what might be the largest amphibious campaign of the war. The invasion fleet sailed from Pusan and took up positions off Kyushu. The southern half of the island would be the target. As day broke, six divisions of Polish marines landed and began their assault. This would be their first live combat situation. Opposing them were three garrison divisions, a far lighter defense than elsewhere in Japan, but not as light as could be hoped. Because the invasion force was relatively small, it would need all the support it could get from the navy and air force.
Seven hours later, the Japanese garrison divisions were close to breaking. Polish bombers also moved in to speed up their defeat.
Interestingly, note that the French had occupied the Amami Islands northeast of Okinawa, and were now attacking the Japanese defenders at Okinawa. These attacks would fail however. Despite Okinawa being defended by just one division, it would repel all the French attacks. The French should have used marines.
The Japanese were eliminated and the marines landed on the island. After taking some time to organize themselves from the landings, they turned their attention to the northern half of Kyushu. Fukuoka turned out to be defended by one garrison and one infantry division. With this victory, the Poles now occupied the whole of Kyushu. A corps of three infantry divisions was ferried from across the Tsushima Strait to keep Kyushu from being retaken by the Japanese in Hiroshima.
Taking Kyushu had been fairly easy, but now the real hard part began. Now the whole invasion force (besides the three divisions in Kyushu) was taken to off the Pacific Tohoku coast. Sendai was also discovered to be fairly lightly defended. The marines would assault the beaches, and the rest of the troops would land once a beachhead was established. The attack began at daybreak of May 21, 1945.
Again, the area was defended by three Japanese divisions. After another tough fight, these divisions were defeated. Two were garrisons, but one was an elite Japanese marine division. This division was now retreating from the battlefield. A lone retreating division was the perfect target for aircraft, so Polish bombers were sent in from their bases in Korea to bomb it into oblivion. Destruction of special divisions such as marines was a priority.
Poland's fighter wings were also conducting air superiority missions over Japan, along with many other Allied aircraft, because the Japanese did still have an air force. Losing a transport flotilla loaded with troops to the Japanese would be a severe loss. Fortunately, the patrols succeeded at catching Japan's fleet of naval bombers in the air over Hiroshima.
Note that British, American, and Polish fighters all took part in this battle.
These interceptions would continue during the course of the invasion, keeping the Japanese from using their air force.
Soon after that, the Marines landed in Sendai, followed soon after by the rest of the invasion force. The Poles now had a foothold on Japan.
Note the large number of troops in Tokyo, these would move north to Fukushima.
This didn't mean things were going to get any easier, though. The Japanese had huge numbers of troops on Honshu, especially around the Kanto and Kansai regions. However, the swift capture of Kyushu and landing in Tohoku had caused the Japanese to begin moving their troops all over Japan. The Poles could take advantage of this confusion to win against much greater numbers...
The difficulties of the campaign were revealed when the Poles attempted to expand their area of control. Fukushima was undefended when the Poles landed, but was quickly reached by a large number of Japanese troops from Tokyo, forcing the Poles to stop their attack. Next, the Poles attacked mountainous Akita with Sosabowski's mountaineers, supported by infantry. The goal was to cut off the defenders of Hokkaido, and provide a second axis of attack on Fukushima. This was important as the Poles made an oversight in planning the invasion - they failed to bring a headquarters division along. With no field marshals in the attack force, nine divisions was the maximum that could attack from one province without suffering crippling penalties.
Though they defeated the Japanese in Akita, once the Poles occupied the province, they themselves were attacked by a portion of the large Japanese stack in Fukushima. They were forced to retreat.
On the plus side, during this time a Japanese HQ division was caught alone and unentrenched. This valuable target was quickly destroyed by Polish bombers.
With the large group of Japanese troops in Fukushima making matters risky, it was noticed that the haphazard movements of Japanese troops all over Japan had left Hokkaido relatively undefended. A portion of the invasion force was detached to take Hokkaido. In fact, the northern half of Hokkaido was completely undefended, and this is where the Poles landed. However, six garrison divisions were defending Sapporo, Hokkaido's largest city. The Poles attacked them with nine infantry divisions, again supported by shore bombardment and air support. The Japanese would be unable to retreat because Polish ships blocked the Tsugaru Strait, and in any case Akita was still in Polish hands, though not occupied by any Polish troops.
Since Poland had never been able to use its carriers in fleet-to-fleet battles, shore bombardment was pretty much the most useful function for them.
The six divisions were annihilated and Hokkaido secured entirely. Now, both the northern and southern of the Japanese Home Islands were in Polish hands, including much of Japan's resource production. It only remained to take Honshu and Shikoku. The Poles, having fewer forces than the Japanese, were adopting a strategy of not landing in one place and proceeding inland from there, but instead being maneuverable and striking across the least-defended coastal provinces of Japan. This took advantage of the fact that out of Japan's total strength on paper, around 40 divisions were stationary garrisons that could not move on their own and could be eliminated when defeated. Despite this strategy of strung-out attacks however, the Poles would still have to fight the large Japanese armies eventually.
I forgot to reply to this comment. Yes, I believe I disbanded the whole air force as it would only be using resources. Or if I did not, I kept them grounded the entire war with Germany. I did definitely disband the navy, since ships cannot be upgraded. For Poland to win the war with Germany it has to focus on the ground war alone.
Update to follow.
The Invasion of Japan
June 4, 1945
Since all the regions of Japan that could be easily captured had already been captured, the Poles now had to face the unappealing task of defeating the main Japanese armies on Honshu. Fortunately, reconnaissance revealed an astounding bit of luck that the Poles would capitalize on.
The Japanese, just as the Poles had hoped, had made an overreaction to the Polish invasion of the Tohoku region. In moving their large Tokyo army to the Fukushima area, they had left Tokyo entirely undefended. The cities of Osaka and Nagoya were only lightly defended as well, and mostly by garrison divisions.
Poland would swiftly take advantage of this turn of events and load marines from Sendai to immediately capture Tokyo. Although the Poles were aware that they would probably not be able to hold on to Tokyo for long without moving more troops from Sendai, particularly if the large army in Fukushima attacked, there were compelling reasons to go ahead with the invasion. First, this was a chance to take a large part of Japan's resource stockpile, which would also help Poland gauge how much more resources and supplies the Japanese had stockpiled. Second, capturing Tokyo would throw the Japanese government into chaos, even if no important government figures were captured. Third, Tokyo, as the Japanese capital, contained a very large concentration of heavy industry, and capturing it would deny this industry to Japan, even if the Japanese later recaptured it. There was also a fourth reason that would become more apparent later.
Poland occupied Tokyo without a fight on June 7, 1945.
Nearly 100,000 units of Energy, nearly 30,000 units of Metal, 5000 units of Rare Materials, and 6000 units of Oil fell into Polish hands upon capturing Tokyo. It was believed that this constituted half of Japan's current stockpile. Hardly any Supplies or Money was captured, however. The Japanese were probably just producing enough supplies and money to fulfill their daily needs.
Now, Polish generals planned something more ambitious, the fourth reason for the Tokyo landing. If Niigata could be occupied, the largest Japanese army, in Fukushima, would be cut off. It could then be attacked from three sides simultaneously, or even four if Poland put troops into Akita. The nine Polish divisions used to capture Tokyo began to attack Niigata on June 9. Niigata had been undefended when the Poles began to land in Tokyo, but since then both Niigata and Nagoya had become far better-defended. Niigata was now defended by four garrision divisions, which however seemed to be a bit low on organization from their redeployment. Although the Japanese resisted for some time in the mountainous region, they were eventually defeated and another four Japanese divisions destroyed. The encirclement would succeed if just one Polish corps could reach Niigata while defending Tokyo, and then the main Polish army in Sendai could attack.
However, at this point, with the Poles in Tokyo tired from the attack on Niigata, the large Japanese army in Fukushima attacked them. The Poles tried to hold, but could not and retreated back onto their transport ships. Poland had expected this to happen and fortunately a transport fleet was waiting in Tokyo Bay to take the troops. The attempted encirclement was extremely optimistic, so it was not such a loss that it failed. The capture of Tokyo still managed to capture half of Japan's resource stockpile and destroy the city's industry and raw materials extraction sites. The failure of the encirclement did mean it would take longer to defeat the main Japanese army.
Poland continued with the strategy of striking where the Japanese were weakest. Japan would not or could not defend all its coastal provinces. In any case, with total naval superiority and near total air superiority, Poland could move troops around with transports far faster than Japan could on land. The movement of Japanese troops to recapture Tokyo had left Japan's second largest metropolitan area, Osaka, only lightly defended. Polish marines landed in Osaka next. Upon landing in Osaka, another success - Japan's five remaining naval bomber wings were in the city when it fell and were all destroyed or captured on the ground by the Poles - an expensive loss for the Japanese.
This had the effect of surrounding 11 Japanese divisions in the Hiroshima region. Poland's strategy of invading different points around Japan had caused the Japanese to overreact, and they had left those 11 divisions simply to face the three Polish divisions in Kyushu, as well as leaving more than 20 divisions in Fukushima to face the Poles in Sendai.
The original plan was to launch a three-pronged attack with 18 divisions, to have the largest possible number of troops participate. Nine divisions would attack from Osaka, the fully rested three-division corps in Fukuoka, which had not seen any action since the capture of Kyushu, would attack from there, and the six marine divisions would attack from transports in the Inland Sea. All possible shore bombardment and air support would be provided.
However, the changing situation caused Polish generals to change plans. Nagoya was currently undefended and Tokyo had been retaken by the Japanese with a small force from Fukushima, but Poland could recapture it again if they moved fast before more Japanese troops arrived in the capital. Leaving Tokyo alone would result in more and more Japanese troops appearing there, because as the capital it was a transport hub for troops being moved around the islands.
Therefore, the assault on Hiroshima would be carried out with only 12 divisions instead of 18. The six marine divisions would occupy Nagoya instead. Attacking 11 divisions with only 12 was extremely risky. The attack would require all available air and naval support, and casualties would be high. The 11 divisions were found to consist mainly of militias and garrisons, with a marine division and two or three infantry divisions thrown in. Still, the marines and regulars fought hard, and the Polish troops were exhausted when the Japanese finally broke. 11 more Japanese divisions were annihilated. The corps in Fukuoka would advance to take Hiroshima.
The Marines occupied undefended Nagoya with no trouble. After resting for a short while, they attacked Tokyo. Polish High Command wanted Tokyo captured as quickly as possible, before more Japanese troops arrived.
The Second Battle of Tokyo
Luckily, Tokyo was only defended by four divisions at this time, three of which were garrisons. The elite marines defeated them, eliminating another three Japanese divisions in the process. Just as expected, more Japanese troops were arriving or being deployed in Tokyo the whole time. However, since the Poles had already defeated the first batch of defenders and were already marching on Tokyo, they were able to brush aside any new defenders piecemeal. The gamble of using the Marines to attack Tokyo instead of supporting the Hiroshima attack had paid off. Once the Poles arrived in Tokyo, they faced an attack from part of the Fukushima force, but the Japanese were no doubt not expecting the Poles to recapture Tokyo again so soon, and broke off their attack upon contact. Tokyo was occupied for the second time, this time permanently.
June 4, 1945
Since all the regions of Japan that could be easily captured had already been captured, the Poles now had to face the unappealing task of defeating the main Japanese armies on Honshu. Fortunately, reconnaissance revealed an astounding bit of luck that the Poles would capitalize on.
The Japanese, just as the Poles had hoped, had made an overreaction to the Polish invasion of the Tohoku region. In moving their large Tokyo army to the Fukushima area, they had left Tokyo entirely undefended. The cities of Osaka and Nagoya were only lightly defended as well, and mostly by garrison divisions.
Poland would swiftly take advantage of this turn of events and load marines from Sendai to immediately capture Tokyo. Although the Poles were aware that they would probably not be able to hold on to Tokyo for long without moving more troops from Sendai, particularly if the large army in Fukushima attacked, there were compelling reasons to go ahead with the invasion. First, this was a chance to take a large part of Japan's resource stockpile, which would also help Poland gauge how much more resources and supplies the Japanese had stockpiled. Second, capturing Tokyo would throw the Japanese government into chaos, even if no important government figures were captured. Third, Tokyo, as the Japanese capital, contained a very large concentration of heavy industry, and capturing it would deny this industry to Japan, even if the Japanese later recaptured it. There was also a fourth reason that would become more apparent later.
Poland occupied Tokyo without a fight on June 7, 1945.
Nearly 100,000 units of Energy, nearly 30,000 units of Metal, 5000 units of Rare Materials, and 6000 units of Oil fell into Polish hands upon capturing Tokyo. It was believed that this constituted half of Japan's current stockpile. Hardly any Supplies or Money was captured, however. The Japanese were probably just producing enough supplies and money to fulfill their daily needs.
Now, Polish generals planned something more ambitious, the fourth reason for the Tokyo landing. If Niigata could be occupied, the largest Japanese army, in Fukushima, would be cut off. It could then be attacked from three sides simultaneously, or even four if Poland put troops into Akita. The nine Polish divisions used to capture Tokyo began to attack Niigata on June 9. Niigata had been undefended when the Poles began to land in Tokyo, but since then both Niigata and Nagoya had become far better-defended. Niigata was now defended by four garrision divisions, which however seemed to be a bit low on organization from their redeployment. Although the Japanese resisted for some time in the mountainous region, they were eventually defeated and another four Japanese divisions destroyed. The encirclement would succeed if just one Polish corps could reach Niigata while defending Tokyo, and then the main Polish army in Sendai could attack.
However, at this point, with the Poles in Tokyo tired from the attack on Niigata, the large Japanese army in Fukushima attacked them. The Poles tried to hold, but could not and retreated back onto their transport ships. Poland had expected this to happen and fortunately a transport fleet was waiting in Tokyo Bay to take the troops. The attempted encirclement was extremely optimistic, so it was not such a loss that it failed. The capture of Tokyo still managed to capture half of Japan's resource stockpile and destroy the city's industry and raw materials extraction sites. The failure of the encirclement did mean it would take longer to defeat the main Japanese army.
Poland continued with the strategy of striking where the Japanese were weakest. Japan would not or could not defend all its coastal provinces. In any case, with total naval superiority and near total air superiority, Poland could move troops around with transports far faster than Japan could on land. The movement of Japanese troops to recapture Tokyo had left Japan's second largest metropolitan area, Osaka, only lightly defended. Polish marines landed in Osaka next. Upon landing in Osaka, another success - Japan's five remaining naval bomber wings were in the city when it fell and were all destroyed or captured on the ground by the Poles - an expensive loss for the Japanese.
This had the effect of surrounding 11 Japanese divisions in the Hiroshima region. Poland's strategy of invading different points around Japan had caused the Japanese to overreact, and they had left those 11 divisions simply to face the three Polish divisions in Kyushu, as well as leaving more than 20 divisions in Fukushima to face the Poles in Sendai.
The original plan was to launch a three-pronged attack with 18 divisions, to have the largest possible number of troops participate. Nine divisions would attack from Osaka, the fully rested three-division corps in Fukuoka, which had not seen any action since the capture of Kyushu, would attack from there, and the six marine divisions would attack from transports in the Inland Sea. All possible shore bombardment and air support would be provided.
However, the changing situation caused Polish generals to change plans. Nagoya was currently undefended and Tokyo had been retaken by the Japanese with a small force from Fukushima, but Poland could recapture it again if they moved fast before more Japanese troops arrived in the capital. Leaving Tokyo alone would result in more and more Japanese troops appearing there, because as the capital it was a transport hub for troops being moved around the islands.
Therefore, the assault on Hiroshima would be carried out with only 12 divisions instead of 18. The six marine divisions would occupy Nagoya instead. Attacking 11 divisions with only 12 was extremely risky. The attack would require all available air and naval support, and casualties would be high. The 11 divisions were found to consist mainly of militias and garrisons, with a marine division and two or three infantry divisions thrown in. Still, the marines and regulars fought hard, and the Polish troops were exhausted when the Japanese finally broke. 11 more Japanese divisions were annihilated. The corps in Fukuoka would advance to take Hiroshima.
The Marines occupied undefended Nagoya with no trouble. After resting for a short while, they attacked Tokyo. Polish High Command wanted Tokyo captured as quickly as possible, before more Japanese troops arrived.
The Second Battle of Tokyo
Luckily, Tokyo was only defended by four divisions at this time, three of which were garrisons. The elite marines defeated them, eliminating another three Japanese divisions in the process. Just as expected, more Japanese troops were arriving or being deployed in Tokyo the whole time. However, since the Poles had already defeated the first batch of defenders and were already marching on Tokyo, they were able to brush aside any new defenders piecemeal. The gamble of using the Marines to attack Tokyo instead of supporting the Hiroshima attack had paid off. Once the Poles arrived in Tokyo, they faced an attack from part of the Fukushima force, but the Japanese were no doubt not expecting the Poles to recapture Tokyo again so soon, and broke off their attack upon contact. Tokyo was occupied for the second time, this time permanently.
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Polish marines conqering Japan? Brilliant! Not sure about HOI but in Darkest Hour the ai in my expirience doesn't attack level 10 forts.