Monday, December 18, 2023

Hearts of Iron - Australia and New Zealand - Part 12

From the desk of the NZ PM, the Right Honourable Mr Bruce.

17 April 1944

The push into Manchuria and Korea (1) proceeded slowly as it faced low supply and Japanese reinforcements.

A small New Zealand naval invasion launched against Tokyo (2), but it was intercepted and suffered many losses, so was abandoned.

Germany capitulated with the ANZACs making only a very small contribution to the war compared to Russia, UK and USA.


An Australian-led naval invasion launched against Nagasaki (3) landed unopposed.  (Was the Japanese garrison fighting in Manchuria?)  ANZAC reinforcements poured in, pushed towards Tokyo and faced little organised resistance.

Victory!

Japan capitulated with the ANZACs having made a very large contribution to the war.  For example, ANZAC forces caused 1.3 million Japanese fatalities.

ANZAC leaders feel proud that their small island nations made a disproportionately large impact on the war by:

  • capturing Italian East Africa,
  • sinking about 450 conveys (by the Australian navy),
  • liberating the Philippines,
  • capturing most of the Japanese conquests in China, and
  • invading and conquering the Japanese home islands. 

In the peace that follows, ANZAC contributions to the war are rewarded by the victorious powers.  Australia retained the East Indies as a puppet, which was originally transferred by the Netherlands government-in-exile and obtained a northern slice of the former Italian East Africa.  New Zealand leveraged its Māori heritage to form a Pacific Federation of islands plus Manchuria, Korea and a puppet of newly democratic Japan.

With the war finished victoriously, both Australia and New Zealand are now fully independent countries with bright futures. 

6 comments:

  1. Stirring work. Fun to see alt history 'work' in your narrative.

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    1. Our next game will possibly be an early intervention in the Rhineland.

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  2. couldn't be simpler really :)

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    1. The AI had sent all the Japanese forces overseas it seemed and so the end came very quickly.

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  3. Having brought Japan to defeat and to abandoning its imperial ambitions, the ANZAC powers negotiated a peace with the Japanese government that they had high hopes of lasting. The United States apprehending a resurgent future Japan gave vent to strident objections. To placate the American power, the ANZACs allowed the US to join in a tripartite agreement under the acronym ANZUS...

    Well - it's a possible post-bellum narrative!
    Cheers,
    Ion

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