Hearts of Iron: The Empire of Japan
May 2nd, 1938 The War Room
Assembled in the war room were the major commanders for Operation Mighty Wind. Generals Kawabe (Commander of the Ist Korps, Marine Division), Okamura and Kaiso as well as Lt. Generals Ayabe, Kozuki and Nakai. The ever present Field Marshall Hata was seated as well next to General Togo and the newest commander in Manchurai - Field Marshall Terauchi was seated next to Hata.
The two Field Marshall controlled the two major Korps in Manchurai. Hata with seniority and experience was given command of the II Korps consisting of 17 divisions in total and compromising the entire motorized sections in China - eight divisions in total. As well he commanded 5 divisions of cavalry and 4 more of regular infantry. Field Marshall Terauchi on the other hand was given command of the III Korps consisting of only 12 divisions total and all being foot infantry with little motorized or armored forces included.
Lt. Generals Ayabe and Kozuki had been given command of the vital V Korps consisting of two three division formations. Finally the last major formation was General Okamura's VI Korps which would if need arise be the wars only quickly available reinforcements. Okamura currently had his forces along the eastern Manchurian border with Soviet Russia. His command included six regular infantry divisions and strategic reserves of three cavalry divisions.
Finally there were two more minor organizations in play. Firstly General Togo had command over the IV Korps consisting of a single four division command of infantry. The Korps role would be reinforcement for Field Marshall Hata and plugging any holes that would appear in the line. Lastly was General Kawabe's new and untested Marine Korps itself having three divisions of marines, it would be reinforced a month into the war with another division and its goal would be to distract the Chinese and draw troops away from the front and possibly even take Shanghai itself.
General Togo had now called the first meeting in the WAR ROOM to discuss the final aspects of Operation Mighty Wind. The final plans for the II and III Korps had been easy to fix and the V and IV Korps had been almost as easy, however planners had trouble deciding just where to land the I Korps - the Marine forces. Some had argued for an immediate landing at Shanghai, others had argued for a delay of the war itself to 1939 for the Marine forces could be fully organized and deployed. However a plan was reached two days ago. The marines, supporting the invasion would land south of the Hwang Ho river, the first major objective of Operation Might Wind at Lianyungan, they would try to push inland towards Xuzhuo but there primary objective was too tie up Nationalist resources in a bid to weaken the enemy in the North. General Kawabe - the commander of the Marines had called for the VI Korps to participate in the landing as well, stating that with an additional 9 divisions from General Okamura's command that he could land in Shanghai and meet Hata's forces in central China. His plan was called down as VI Korps might still be needed on the Soviet border, the Russians had still not removed forces from the border since the non-aggression treaty was signed and it was a worry to General Togo ever present at the back of his mind.
General Togo now got up and began the meeting.
"As you know gentlemen, the invasion of China will begin tomorrow. Each of you can review your specific orders in the folders in front of you, however I am going to spell it all out for you anyway. The invasion of China will be conducted mostly by Field Marshall Hata's II Korps and the III Korps under Field Marshall Terauchi. The northern front will be commanded by Lt. General Ayabe and his counterpart Lt. General Kozuki. Finally General Kawabe will be in command of our new marine divisions."
"Our primary objective in China will be to take as much ground as possible before the Chinese are able to reorganize from the initial shock that we give them. Public opinion around the world will go against us as well so it would not be hard to expect the British and Americans not to help the Chinese in some way against our invasions."
"As I have said the III and II Korps will spearhead the attack into China. Motorized elements from Field Marshall Hata's II Korps will strike first in Tiajing province and will continue onto Xinxiang. Once there the II Korps will stop to wait for III Korps to breakthrough to Handan past Beijing and will then spearhead across the Hwang Ho river into Jinan and Qingdao provinces thus linking up with General Kawabe's marines who will support the invasion by landing elements in Qingdao and Lianyungang provinces on the coastal regions."
"In the north the forces under the command of Lt. Generals Ayabe and Kozuki will converge upon Chinese controlled Hohhot and then strike further into China via the Mongolian desert."
"While this is going on the Imperial Navy will be conducting a naval blockade upon the Chinese fleet docked in Shanghai. Eight battleships and four heavy cruisers will provide the blockade, backed up by Naval Bombers in Korea."
"You all have your specific orders, you should report back to your positions at once"
May 3rd, 1938 China Erupts in WAR! Sino-Japanese conflict restarts!
With the Japanese military headed by General Togo still keeping up the false pretense that Japan was a democracy the cause of war with China had to be found that would allow for the war to go on unhindered by politicians and civilian opinions. The answer to this problem was simple - blame the Chinese. The plan was simple really, have a Japanese soldier disappear on the border, demand access to Chinese border towns to look for the soldier and if rebuffed attack in retaliation. That was the plan that was enacted May 2nd, 1938. (The real world incident occured in late June, 1937)
Command decided that the incident would take place as near as possible to Beijing. The place was decided with utmost secrecy and was only revealed to the participants a week in advance - the place - Marco Polo Bridge near Wanping Town garrisoned by the Kuomintang forces. At the dawn of May 2nd the Japanese army telegraphed the KMT demanding access to the town to search for a soldier they said had gone missing during the night. The commanding officer of the Kuomintang forces - Colonel Ji conferred with his superior General Song Zheyang he then denied the request.
By now the Japanese artillery had targeting the town and awaited orders from their commanders. A further ultimatum was made by the Japanese giving the KMT until the morning of May 3rd to allow Japanese troops into the town. With no response received by midnight the Japanese grew anxious and still having some element of surprise began shelling of the town at midnight. Tanks and infantry soon began advancing along the Marco Polo bridge towards Wanping Town, by dawn they had advanced five miles and taken the town, killing most of the defenders and hanging Colonel Ji as an enemy of the Emperor.
Historians would later call the opening conflict the Battle of Marco Polo Bridge or Luguo Bridge however the battle would in the end mean little to anyone other than the direct participants. However one relevant thing still existed.
The second Sino-Japanese War had begun.