Turning Point - Sekigahara: Toyotomi's Global Expansion and its Consequences

Phase 25 - Great War (2)

When the situation in Europe suddenly became deadlocked, Germany had to choose from among its options for potential adversaries. Unlike the Entente nations, Germany had multiple major fronts to contend with.

Their primary enemy was on the Western Front, which included France and Britain. Another option was to focus on the Eastern Front, where they could more easily control Russia. They also had the choice of assisting Austria or targeting Italy, which had effectively already betrayed them. Outside of Europe, the situation was influenced by Turkey and Japan, with Japan's actions being particularly crucial. Since Germany had only a small military presence overseas, they had no practical choice but to address the issues in Europe.

Fortunately, Japan harbored strong feelings of revenge against Britain and Russia and had sufficient military strength relative to its adversaries. This allowed Japan to make progress in its attacks and territorial reclamation. As a result, Russia was unable to move a full army from the Far East, while Britain and France found it challenging to mobilize troops and supplies in East Asia. Additionally, the maritime traffic in East Asia was disrupted. Notably, even though they were outdated, a large number of battleships were immobilized in the Asian theater, which was a significant advantage for Germany as it made challenging Britain in the North Sea easier.

As the leader of the alliance, Germany's initial choice was to focus on attacking Russia. The Eastern Front was characterized by a long and stretched-out battlefield, making it more suitable for maneuver warfare rather than trench warfare, which played to the strengths of the German army. Furthermore, the presence of Japanese forces in Siberia could serve as a distraction for the Russian forces, further justifying the choice to target Russia. A two-front war was a nightmare for everyone involved, but inflicting that nightmare on the Russians was one of the objectives.

. . .

On the other hand, Japan had two main strategies that were expected by Germany. One was to launch an offensive against Russia on the continent from spring to autumn, with the goal of reclaiming North Manchuria and Hokkaishū. The other was to attack and eliminate the fleet holed up in Singapore from the other side of the island.

If these two strategies were successful, it would enable Japan to launch an invasion of India in the winter, ensuring full use of resources and military power, and establishing a complete connection with Australia. This was a significant factor for Japan, and the Entente wanted to prevent it as much as possible.

However, the Entente had limited military power outside the European front. With a mobilized force of 5 million and Japan possessing industrial power greater than that of France, Germany had no effective means to counter Japan's serious attacks from Asia's remote areas.

In the newly acquired Hokkaishū, local Japanese people led active resistance activities against Russia right from the beginning of Japan's involvement, identifying themselves as the "Volunteer Japanese Army." They launched attacks on a small number of Russians and gradually reclaimed territory.

Although their activities quieted down during the harsh winter months, they resumed in the spring. Japan sent ships with troops and supplies to various coastal locations, causing a rapid change in the map of northeast Eurasia.

In addition to this, in the early stages of Japan's involvement, Russia's attacks on the Liaodong Peninsula in Northeast Asia, which was the main theater of war, ended in failure. During this time, Japan continuously sent troops and supplies to the Liaodong Peninsula and the German protectorate of Korea. During this period, the Kingdom of Joseon also joined as an alliance, with the condition of regaining sovereignty from Germany if victorious (although they were a protectorate, so it wasn't direct participation in the war).