Time Slip Reiwa Japan

091 - China Upheaval - 10

The defensive-offensive scorched earth tactic employed by the Chinese government's cavalry units had a significant psychological impact on the United States, greatly disrupting their war plans. For the US, the war with China was initially expected to be conducted on the offensive throughout. However, right at the outset of the conflict, an attack on the South Mongolian independence movement – the Southern Mongolian people – took place, involving a force of 20.000 troops, equivalent to a division. The pre-war plan (War Plan Yellow) *1 was completely shattered.

At that moment, the only forces the US could immediately deploy were the 11th Mechanized Division and three mechanized divisions from the Frontier Republic. The Frontier Republic's 4th Armored Division was in the midst of substantial pre-war equipment preparations, making it impossible to move at that time. Additionally, the forces of the Republic of Korea and the Pardes were judged to be insufficiently familiar with their equipment. Four mechanized divisions, totaling over 80.000 personnel, had a significant advantage over the lightly equipped Chinese government cavalry forces, at least when it came to a head-on confrontation.

However, what the Chinese government cavalry units were conducting were small squad-sized or smaller group scorched earth tactics, with swiftness as their primary goal. There was no intention of engaging in direct combat, as per the orders of the Chinese government's General Staff Headquarters. The villages and towns protected by the South Mongolian independence army (warlords) were meticulously avoided. Even if the South Mongolian independence army's cavalry units searched and attacked, there were strict orders not to engage in combat unless it was impossible to escape. What the Chinese government cavalry units were conducting wasn't even guerrilla warfare. This was not going to be a proper war by any means.

The issue at hand was the vastness of the territory that needed protection. The territory officially declared as their own by the South Mongolian independence movement exceeded 1.000.000 square kilometers. It was a vast expanse of land, more than twice the size of the Japanese archipelago (mainland), and it was impossible for the small-scale (less than 1.000 individuals) cavalry units of the South Mongolian independence army to manage it.

In response to the desperate pleas for support from the South Mongolian independence movement, the US military decided to deploy all the units they could immediately spare, but that amounted to only five divisions. A Japanese-American staff officer dispatched to the US Military Staff Headquarters in the Frontier Republic from Guam (USFJ) muttered while looking at the enlarged map, "South Mongolia is large, but our men are few," expressing his lament about the future of this war.

. . .

South Mongolian Campaign (D-Day+0 – 14)

The South Mongolian Independence Volunteer Army (US military) hurriedly advanced into South Mongolia's territory as quickly as possible. However, even after two weeks had passed, they still had control over less than a third of South Mongolian territory, or to be precise, a little more than a third. There were issues with the mechanical reliability and fuel *2 of the half-tracks, which were the primary vehicles of the mechanized divisions. But more significantly, the Americans had to deploy their forces widely along the perimeter of the territory they had captured in South Mongolia to prevent the Chinese government's cavalry units from infiltrating. In short, they had a manpower (unit) shortage.

As a result, within one week of the war's start, the US had decided to deploy the forces of the Republic of Korea and Pardes, who were still in the process of proficiency training with their equipment. While both nations reacted hesitantly and even negatively, the US pushed through with it. It wasn't so much a political decision as it was due to the dire situation caused by the atrocities committed by the Chinese government's cavalry units, which had been widely reported by the media. Soldiers and officers from both nations who were on the ground knew about these events from newspapers and other sources, making them eager for early participation in the war. With three divisions and two brigades protecting the flanks, the US sent its main divisions forward. *3