Russia to the 1960s

Following the surrender to the Third Reich in 1940 and peace with Japan in 1942, the once mighty Soviet Empire had collapsed into a rump state of roughly 40 million. Ruled by a military junta headed by General Vlassov, moves were made to secure Russia's remaining raw materials and to rebuild lost industry.

With threats on both fronts, Vlassov made conscription mandatory with every citizen, including women, required to undergo military training and to remain in the reserves up until the age of 60. The military became the central facet of Russian existence roughly comparable to anicent Sparta. Well over 50% of Russia's budget was allocated to military spending. Vlassov also paid former Wermacht and Luftwaffe officers handsomely to come to Russia to train his soldiers in armor, infantry, and air tactics.

Foreign policy was also important. Vlassov ensured non-aggression treaties with both the Third Reich and Japanese Empire in order to secure his borders. The general became adept at playing both sides off against each other in order to preserve his country's precarious position. He understood the friction that began to develop between both parties and played up his place as a buffer between the growing super powers.

The economy was built on a war footing. Everything was subjugated to keeping the sword sharp against possible invasion. This was further reinforced by the occassional refugee who wandered into Russia either from the Third Reich or the Japanese Empire relating horrific tales of what was happening to Slavs abroad. Still, an embryonic consumer economy began to emerge among the population as fears of invasion from either side abated by 1955. This would later lead to double digit growth in the 1960s as military spending began to decline and consumer investment rose coupled with the government cutting imports.

Vlassov proved liberal in his later years allowing for the formation of a Duma elected by the people. Though it held little power, it allowed for the people to offer their opinions and open dialogue at the local level. By the 1960s, the Duma began to accumulate true legislative power as the population pressed for economic reform, tired of the spartan environment they were captured in. This led to further reforms and Vlassov eventually allowing for presidential elections which he won handily. Some claimed voter fraud though others believed the people embraced the general as their father, protecting them as he had for decades.

Attempts were made to woo back the lost Central Asian republics though prodding by Germany quickly ended this political action.

The Russian arts flourished beginning in the late 1950s. Fatalist in nature, garnering a romantic streak in later years, it served to intiate a movement which would migrate to the Reich and abroad with its stress on mortality and its acceptance of suffering.

SOURCE: SS Factbook

Armistice between Russia and Japan

8 July 1942 - Vlassov has concluded an armistice with the Imperial Government of Japan. Following the United States' defeat at Midway, there was a fear in many circles that Japan might turn its attention back to Russia and finish what it had started. Since October of last year, the Russo-Japanese front has largely been quiet. Immediately after news of America's loss became known, Vlassov contacted the Germans to serve as intermediaries for a truce. Ribbentrop accepted for the Reich on the condition of Russia's recognition of independence of the Central Asian republics.

Vlassov is expected to accept Japan's terms for ceding of all of Siberia east of Lake Baikal in exchange for a ten year non-aggression pact and the repatriation of all White Russians to Vlassov's ever shrinking country.

SOURCE: Münchener Beobachter

The Fall of Konoe

In Siberia, Vlassov saw Japanese forces cross the Ussuri River in late May 1941. Following the collapse of Russian forces at Khabarovsk and the fall of Vladivostok, the Russian Army was rent through with pessimism and thoroughly demoralized. Not even stories of rape and murder filtering out of the occupied Far East could fire up their souls. Vlassov needed a victory to save his country. Desperate, he committed his final reserves of aircraft and armor to stop the Japanese drive at Irkutsk in mid-June. Japanese forces, overextended and overconfident, found themselves surprised. Japanese armor had failed to keep up with the infantry, breaking down along the rough terrian, their fuel tanks running dry as their supply line was stretched thin. Japanese aircraft also lagged behind, waiting for new airfields to be built to accomodate them. Caught off guard without air or armor support, the Japanese suffered heavy casualties. The Japanese drive once more stalled. With Russian survival feasible for the foreseeable future, Dewey had American military aid increased to Vlassov's government.

Back in Japan, the Imperial Staff continued to plan for war with the United States. While the Emperor received detailed reports from Sugiyama and Nagano about the planned operations in the South Pacific and the attack of Pearl Harbor, Prime Minister Konoe made one last desperate attempt to avoid war. That very evening, he arranged a secret dinner conference with the US Ambassador to Japan. Konoe told the ambassador that he was prepared to travel to meet Dewey on a moment's notice. The ship had already been prepared. He was convinced that the United States and Japan could reach a true agreement, and when that happened, he would radio back to the palace, and the Emperor would issue a rescript ordering a complete halt to all aggressive activities.

The US Ambassador was impressed with Konoe's sincerity. He cabled back, urging his superiors to advise Dewey to accept the summit proposal. The State Department continued to think that an open-ended summit was a waste of time. If Japan were serious, it would begin meaningful and detailed negotiations that would be affirmed at a summit. Konoe's last push for a diplomatic solution was taken in vain.

Throughout July the Army and Navy continued to prepare for war. Konoe had hoped that the August deadline would not be observed. The Army and Navy leaders disabused him of this notion. Japan had to act soon, because of the oil embargo. Otherwise it would be conceding defeat through delay. Also, American aid had to be cut off if Japan was to break through and finish off Russian forces. War with America had become inevitable in their eyes. This came to a head at a cabinet meeting on August 14. Army Minister Tojo Hideki stated that negotiations had failed, the deadline had passed. Konoe and his allies had become convinced that if the Army would only agree, in principle, to an ultimate withdrawal from China and SIberia, a negotiated settlement could be reached with the US. This was brought up at the meeting and General Tojo responded heatedly:

To yield to the American demand and withdraw their troops, he exploded, would wipe out all the fruits of the Chinese and Russian Wars, endanger Manchukuo, and jeopardize the governing of Korea. To accept troop withdrawal in name only would not benefit Japan either, he said. Withdrawal would mean retreat. It would depress morale. A demoralized Army would be as worthless as no Army. Our troops in China and Russia are the "heart of the matter," he persisted. Having made one concession after another, why should Japan now yield the "heart?" "If we concede this, what is diplomacy? It is surrender … a stain on the history of our empire!"

At the close of this meeting, Konoe realized that he had lost the struggle with the military. He knew that many in the Navy were convinced that war with the United States would end in disaster. Yet he was not able to win Navy backing against the adamant Army stance. Navy Admiral Nagano summed up his service's ambivalent attitude during this period by observing "The government has decided that if there is no war, the fate of the nation is sealed. Even if there is a war, the country may be ruined. Nevertheless, a nation that does not fight in this plight has lost its spirit and is doomed."
Konoe resigned on 16 August 1941, one day after having recommended Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni to the emperor as his successor. Two days later, Hirohito chose General Hideki Tōjō as Prime Minister despite the wish of the Navy and the Army, who would have preferred Prince Higashikuni. In 1946, he explained this decision : "I actually thought Prince Higashikuni suitable as chief of staff of the Army; but I think the appointment of a member of the imperial house to a political office must be considered very carefully. Above all, in time of peace this is fine, but when there is a fear that there may even be a war, then more importantly, considering the welfare of the imperial house, I wonder about the wisdom of a member of the imperial family serving [as prime minister]." Six weeks later, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

Konoe justified his demission to his secretary Kenji Tomita. "Of course his Majesty is a pacifist and he wished to avoid war. When I told him that to initiate war was a mistake, he agreed. But the next day, he would tell me : 'You were worried about it yesterday but you do not have to worry so much.' Thus, gradually he began to lead to war. And the next time I met him, he leaned even more to war. I felt the Emperor was telling me: 'My prime minister does not understand military matters. I know much more.' In short, the Emperor had absorbed the view of the army and the navy high commands."

SOURCE: The Legacy of Konoe

The Path to a Pacific War

Many questions have arisen as to why the Japanese invaded Russia (Operation Haichi-Go) with an ongoing conflict in China as well as American pressure not to intervene in Siberia. The leading theory is that the Japanese believed Russia was nothing more than a corpse waiting to be dismembered, the head chopped off by the Germans and the life blood of industry, population, and raw materials bled out and lost with its European lands. Siberia held less than 30% of the Soviet Union's former population, nearly every factory was now in German hands, and the Russian Army, or what was left of it, was poorly armed. The lure of potential raw materials and land at so little cost drew Japan like the Sirens' call.

Many in the Imperial Army were sure the campaign would be over quickly and that President Dewey of the United States would not intervene in their affairs, much like his predecessor, President Garner. Garner, being a staunch isolationist, was against any involvement in Asia despite Congress' constant attempts to intervene throughout the Second Sino-Japanese War as stories of atrocities and threats to American investment in the region mounted. Dewey's saber rattling was perceived as a hollow threat to sate the interventionists in America. Some records have arisen corroborating this theory with many Japanese generals on record stating their belief that the whole of Siberia would fall within a month. A thorough combing of Imperial records also revealed there was little to no planning on the contingency of American intervention in Operation Haichi-Go.

Thus it came as a surprise to the Kwangtung Army when their initial drive was blunted by dug in Siberian troops. Russian soldiers are famous for their defensive capabilities as the Japanese quickly discovered. The first week of fighting along the border was brutal with the Japanese taking incredible casualties for every foot of earth. Each step forward saw Siberian forces stiffen. Despite a numerical advantage of troops (3:1) and the use of aircraft and armor, the Japanese could not shatter the Russian line.

Though the Russians were surprising the world with their resistance, their forces were beginning to crumble. Nearly half of the Russian Air Force was lost in the opening stages of the war, the remainder pulled back to protect the core of the rump Russian nation should the Japanese break through. Russian armor, meanwhile, proved useless as fuel stocks quickly ran dry and resupply proved impossible. Vlassov knew there was no way to defeat the Japanese offensively. He could only hope to bleed the Japs and pray that the American embargo would make future attacks untenable. He sacrificed men and land for time.

With the failure of the opening week, many in the Imperial Staff were afraid they had found themselves in another China. Siberia had seemingly become another meat grinder into which Japanese soldiers were lost. The situation was further exacerbated by the American oil embargo. With stocks of oil limited, the campaign had to be settled quickly. Incredible solutions were offered to successfully conclude the war from the use of gas to biological weapons. The most radical approach of all was a proposal of diplomacy with America made by the Prime Minister. For once, the Imperial Staff was inclined to listen.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe felt pressure from the Imperial Staff to find some solution to the debacle they had bumbled into. Already, the Imperial Staff were putting together a plan to seize the Dutch East Indies to alleviate the oil problem, part of the staff certain America wouldn't end the embargo even if Siberia fell. The oil of the Indies would solve Japan's needs and make her immune to future American economic dependence. Likewise, seizure of British possessions in the region would help to create a buffer to protect against American counterattacks sure to come. British power had been waning since 1939, their colonies ripe for the taking. Also, problems continued to fester in India which Japan fostered tying up what few British troops were available. Initial victory seemed assured as there were no real forces to oppose their plan.

The very notion of assaulting the Indies and British possessions throughout the South Pacific horrified Konoe who saw such an act as likely to draw America into a war which could only end in Japan's utter devastation. The idea of launching yet another campaign while two others (China, Siberia) were ongoing, especially one that could draw the United States as an adversary, was to be avoided at all costs.

Konoe had been against the Russian invasion from the beginning, hoping instead to mend Japanese-American relations rather than gamble the destiny of his people on yet another military adventure. With detereorating conditions in China, Konoe had hoped to achieve recognition for the Wang Jingwei Government, stripping Chiang of support and possibly pushing the stubborn Generalissimo to the bargaining table so that the war could end. Garner had been deaf to such pleas, instead waiting for both sides to destroy each other and caring little for the bloodshed. With Dewey, Konoe hoped he'd found a ready ear. When the Army invaded Siberia, Konoe found his plans in tatters.

With the Imperial Staff drawing up plans for a strike likely to start war between America and Japan, Konoe made a desperate attempt to avert conflict. He proposed a personal summit with Dewey–in the United States if necessary–to come to some understanding. Konoe secured backing from the Navy and the Emperor for this move. The Army reluctantly agreed, provided that Konoe adhere to the consensus foreign policy, and be prepared to go to war if his initiative failed. Konoe secretly confided to a friend that he intended to grant concessions to the US, including withdrawal from Russia and China, using direct authority from the Emperor. His friend cautioned that he would be assassinated upon his return. Konoe agreed that this was likely, but felt that it was worth the personal risk.

Dewey played along, even though he felt that negotiations were probably a waste of time after his initial dealings with the Japanese. He also doubted that Konoe could make an agreement that was both acceptable to the US and to the militarists at home. Dewey told Ambassador Nomura that he would like to see more details of Konoe's proposal, and he suggested that Juneau, Alaska, might be a good spot for a meeting.
Meanwhile in Siberia, the strain of battle began to take its toll on Siberian troops. Repeated air attacks served to pound their nerves raw. Japanese armor would shatter them. Desperate for progress at any cost, the Japanese focused their assault at Khabarovsk in what was the first use of Japanese blitzkrieg tactics. They hoped to split the Russian line, roll up the east all the way to Vladivostok while using the Ussuri River to protect their flank, and then regroup for the push west. 29 April, Japanese forces commenced their assault. Softened up by artillery and air bombardment, the depleted Siberian ranks finally broke when Japanese armor crashed through. A sliver of Siberia was lost, the first hairline crack in Vlassov's defenses. This victory served to cool the Imperial Staff's initial interest in a diplomatic solution to the crisis. The Imperial Staff became even more averse to dealing with the United States when they found American weapons among some of the Russian soldiers' corpses.

On 5 May, Konoe met the Emperor with chiefs of staff Hajime Sugiyama and Osami Nagano. Alarmed at military officers accompanying the Prime Minister, Emperor Showa asked what happened to the negotiations with Dewey. Konoe replied that, of course, negotiations were primary, and the military option was only a fall-back position if negotiations failed. The Emperor then questioned Sugiyama about the current state of affairs in Siberia. After Sugiyama answered positively, smiling broadly as he releated the victory at Khabarovsk, Hirohito scolded him, remembering that the Army had predicted that the invasion of Russia would be completed in only one month.

The next day the policy about the preparation for war against "United States, United Kingdom, and Holland" was formally proposed at the Imperial Conference. Hara Yoshimichi, the Privy Council President, observed that the plan seemed to put military action ahead of diplomacy. Standing in for the Emperor, he asked if that was the case. There was silence. No other figure, including Konoe, attempted to answer the question.

The Emperor then stunned the gathering by speaking out. He stated that Hara's question was an important one, and that it was "regrettable" that none of the senior leaders had addressed it. He then read a verse that had been composed by the Emperor Meiji:

Throughout the world
Everywhere we are all brothers
Why then do the winds and waves rage so turbulently?

He stated that he had often reflected on this verse, which represented the Emperor Meiji's desire for peace, a desire that he shared. Stung by this unexpected rebuke, Navy Chief of Staff Nagano rose to defend the policy, assuring the Emperor that this consensus document was not a decision to go to war and that priority will be given to negotiations.

The Imperial Conference adopted the policy that would result in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The policy established a set of minimum demands that must be met through negotiations. If Konoe's negotiations did not bear fruit by mid-August, Japan would commence hostilities against the United States and the Netherlands' Pacific holdings. The minimum demands included a halt to the economic and oil embargoes, withdrawal of political support for the Chinese Nationalist government, an end to military aid for Russia, agreement to keep Western military forces in the Pacific at their current level, and non-interference in Japan's attempts to bring" peace" to China. In other words, to accept Japanese hegemony over China, Manchuria, Mongolia, Russia, Burma, and French Indo-China, and Japanese military primacy in an even broader swath of the East.

SOURCE: Dawn of the Pacific War

German War Machine Back on the March

9 April 1941 - Hitler has recognized the new republics of Uzbekistan, Tajikstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, sending in German troops to occupy these infant governments against the hostilities between Russia and Japan. These five countries had been battling for independence from Russia since the Second Treaty of Best-Litovsk last year. Many see Hitler's recognition and occupation of Central Asia as a stab in the back to Russia as well as a land grab. Too weak to protect both its western and eastern borders, Russia has remained quiet on the situation. Anonymous sources state that treaties are already being prepared allowing German military bases within the new republics as well as economic concessions and more.

President Dewey Attempts to Cripple Japan!

8 April 1940 - Following Japan's invasion of Russia last week, President Dewey has cut all oil exports to Japan. The threat of an oil embargo was made by the president last month following a buildup of Imperial forces along the eastern Siberian border in what was perceived by many to be preparations for an invasion. This comes on the heels of Dewey's earlier Export Control Act passed in March which halted shipments of airplanes, parts, machine tools, and aviation gasoline; a move meant to slow if not halt Japan's growing militarism across the Asian continent. For the past year Congress had attempted to pass such legislation only to have it vetoed by President Garner who accused the legislature of trying to start a war. With Dewey, Congress has become much more confrontational with Imperial forces.

Since taking office in January, President Dewey had made an effort to bring Japan and China to the bargaining table to end their ongoing conflict. Rebuffed by the Japanese, who refused any negotiation that called for their retreat from Chinese territory, the president made it known he would not tolerate an expansion of Japanese military operations in Asia.

With reports of massacres and genocidal campaigns gradually emerging from China via survivors of those atrocities, America's isolationist stance has eroded. From San Francisco to New York City, many are demanding American moral action against the savage Japs.

In Washington, Senator Taft declared Dewey's act of embargo one more step forward on a path destined for war. He pointed out Dewey's immediate push for re-armament, the president's increasingly vocal attacks on the Imperial government, and now an economic blow meant to cripple the Japanese war machine. Taft went further, stating, "The president is poking at a snake. How long before it turns and bites him for it?"

Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy, Prime Minister of the Netherlands government in exile in the United States, has ordered the Dutch East Indies to likewise halt all oil shipments to the Japanese in a show of support for the American position.

With only eighteen months worth of oil stocks, the question is whether the Japanese will acquiesce to American demands to pull back from Russia.

SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

Invasion of Mongolia

September 1940 - With the Soviet Union reeling from Operation Babarossa, the Kwangtung Army began to plan for a rematch with the Red Army as early as June 1940. Their eyes fell on Mongolia.

What began in conception as a limited engagement to probe Russian strength in the region rapidly escalated into a minor offensive as the Germans neared Moscow and the Japanese believed the USSR approached collapse.

The Kwangtung Army built up their forces in the region from early August to mid-September, preparing to pounce when the Soviet's grip on Mongolia seemed weakest.

In early September, the Japanese began vocally protesting against local Mongolian forces committing hit and run incursions into Mengjiang. Citing the dissolving control the Mongolian central government had over its southern border, the Japanese demanded the right to occupy key points throughout the Sumbataar, Umnogovi, Dornogovi, Hovd, Govi-Altay, Bayanhongor, and Dornod provinces in order to prevent future assaults on Mengjiang. Khorloogiin Choibalsan, Mongolia's leader, stalled for time. He contacted General Vlassov, the junta leader of the rump Russian state, asking for military aid pointing to the former alliance between the Soviet Union and Mongolia and pleading for Vlassov to uphold that alliance.

General Vlassov had a tough decision to make. If he were to come to Choibalsan's aid, it may lead to war with Japan. That was something Vlassov was not sure Russia was ready for. With control of all European lands ceded to Germany, Vlassov had lost the majority of his heavy industry, military equipment, and manpower. To make matters worse was the composition of his forces in the Far East. Russian strength in the area had improved little since Nomonhan in 1939 which saw Russian armor drop to a mere 250 tanks and the utter anihilation of the Far East Air Force. Stalin had placed a priority for military equipment on his western border
believing the Japanese were too weak, and too smart, to try and assault Soviet territory again. Because of this, Soviet armor and aircraft were in short supply. Estimates range from 25-50% operational strength for Soviet armor and lower for Soviet aircraft, much of which was outdated to begin with. Fuel and ammo stocks were also limited. The ability to stop the initial Japanese drive seemed slim. Sure, Vlassov could use the forces at his disposal, a still commanding army of roughly 1.5 million, and counterattack the Japanese drive using the bones of his soldiers to stall the Japanese drive. But what then? He would exhaust his armor, lose precious aircraft, and be hard pressed to replace his losses. Even worse, what if the Japanese managed to break through? And even if they didn't, would the blood of so many dead draw the attention of the Nazis back to what was left of Russia? Was all this worth it for Mongolia, an arid, worthless piece of desert? Russia had enough problems with the central Asian republics already revolting, a faltering economy, and the nagging threat of Hitler just beyond the Urals.

Vlassov would turn his back on Choibalsan to buy time should the Japanese decide to continue north. The Kwangtung Army would march into Mongolia, officially annexing the nation to Mengjiang.

The long term effects of Vlassov's decision were enormous. Such wanton cowardice further demoralized Russian forces who had already seen too many defeats. Vlassov's refusal to aid Mongolia also emboldened the Japanese who saw Russia increasingly as a dying state ripe for dismemberment. A nation that had held them at Nomonhan now ran from battle. The Japanese continued to supply the central Asian republics with arms in exchange for influence in the region and to tie up Russian troops. Dreams of conquering Siberia began to reemerge among the inner circle of the Japanese High Command.

SOURCE: OnWar.com