Part 5: Southeast China: June 12, 1939

The battle for China continues into the summer.



With Amoy secured, our forces are moving on westward. We'll need to take control of the airfields and eliminate all enemy troops in the area. Further south, we are getting closer and closer to Canton.

Axis Turn 7: June 12, 1939
Day, Rain (Dry)
The rain arrives at last.


Since we're unable to get any closer to Hong Kong, the approach to Canton must go through the rough and hilly inland area. We can fight well in the open spaces, but it's going to be tough to dislodge the dug-in troops on the heights.


The rain makes any sort of combat difficult, and these undergunned tanks only manage to flail at each other ineffectively.


This poor weather puts our advance to a stop, as we can't send out any air support missions to spark battlefield success.


Allied Turn 7: JUne 12, 1939
Day, Rain (Dry)


Fortunately for us, the Chinese no longer wish to fight and die for an airfield already in our hands. They use the falling rain to cover their retreat.


Axis Turn 8: June 19, 1939
Day, Cloudy (Dry)


Our destroyer is scouting the Hong Kong waterways but fails to spot a Chinese cruiser hiding out there until it's almost on top of it.


All our heavy ships open fire shortly thereafter, with the battleship Fuso scoring the best hits.


Back on shore (or above it, at least), the pesky American fighters are back, and we still can't deal with them. Even the Sa-To failed to hit anything today.


The engineers are able to find the weaknesses in the enemy line and undermine their defenses.


The Chinese are attempting to rebuild their line around another airfield. We send the kawaii tanks to prevent them from entrenching.


Allied Turn 8: June 19, 1939
Day, Cloudy (Dry)


Luckily for us, those P-40's are the only quality plane the Chinese have at the moment.


Those Soviet-made tanks successfully harass our line as we prepare to advance.


Axis Turn 9: June 26, 1939
Day, Rain (Mud)


Advancement will be even tougher in this humid muck, but we do have enough strength to force the Chinese to keep pulling back to Canton.


The harbor is cleared of naval resistance, and our fleet is about to give us the edge even if our planes stay grounded.


Too many resources have to be diverted to deal with those Soviet tanks. This, along with the mud, keeps us from making any sort of move westward.


Allied Turn 9: June 26, 1939
Day, Rain (Mud)


The Chinese leave us alone to prepare for a showdown in Canton. Even the planes overhead scout into our territory to see what's going on at our airbases.


Rain, along with the severe reduction in their combat power, prevents the enemy tanks from being a serious threat to us.


Axis Turn 10: July 3, 1939
Night, Cloudy (Mud)


Canton is scouted, and we commence with the naval bombardment.


The Type 94 suprisingly turns out to be the only unit that manages to force the enemy tanks out of our lines.


Allied Turn 10: July 3, 1939
Night, Cloudy (Mud)


The only activity seen is the enemy planes scoping out our lines in the darkness.


Axis Turn 11: July 10, 1939
Day, Cloudy (Mud)


Hirohito's Hieneys score one of the first air-to-air kills against the American fighters.


Shortly followed on by the wannabe Zeros, who trade them (mostly) for losses. That of course emboldens...


...the Ki-10's, who manage to not get destroyed!


The 75mm flak guns at Canton are not at all like the weak 20mm AA units we've seen so far. The Fuso selects them as its first target.


And that allows the infantry to knock them out of position. This will allow even greater support from above.


The Japonies drive out a cavalry unit on the opposing side from the northern airfield of Canton.


The main thrust is really having trouble getting underway, as units are forced to make their way along a narrow swampy road.


Allied Turn 11: July 10, 1939
Day, Cloudy (Mud)


The mostly Soviet-powered air force of the enemy is able to knock us down a few pegs on occasion.


Canton has not been abandoned; Chinese forces rush eastward to defend it.


Axis Turn 12: July 17, 1939
Day, Fair (Dry)


Sabai's Flying Circus takes on a target more its speed than the P-40.


The Nells are finally able to drop their payload to finish off the annoying T-26 unit.


The enemy defensive line is an exposed vee pointed at us, and we are able to use our engineers to blunt its tip.


The first real assault at Canton is repulsed as we realize the city center is full of entrenched soldiers.


We get a good view of the line behind it, and it's clear that we need to capture this spot quickly, and fully rely on our naval guns to keep the battlefield covered.


Allied Turn 12: July 17, 1939
Day, Fair (Dry)


The enemy chooses to respond to our attacks by rushing out to meet our lines. The artillery guns take a few hits.


But the engineers stand strong.


At Canton, the reinforcements rush in to hold the city; they cannot scratch the armor of Steel Death, however.


Axis Turn 13: July 24, 1939
Day, Fair (Dry)


The two heavy cruisers (both Takao-class) and the Fuso are in the best position to shell the enemy positions; the other ships are guarding the Kaga or scouting down the coastline.


After several days of bitter fighting, we manage to take control of the next airfield.


We end up having to pull back from Canton due to a lack of supplies for the troops. Prestige is dwindling, and we have as yet almost nothing to show for two months of combat.


Allied Turn 13: July 24, 1939
Day, Fair (Dry)


The Claudes suffer a somewhat humiliating defeat as the I-16's get the better of them.


In comes the enemy cavalry to the aid of Canton. Within the city proper, the defenders make a probing attack. It surprises Steel Death and results in a few lost guns.

100 - 937 (Defeat)

Poor weather and unexpectedly high enemy resistance has set back our timetable by several months. If this keeps up, we can't even be sure of taking all of southern China before the end of the year.




Type 97 Sa-To
PG Name: Sa-To Type: Anti-Aircraft
Effective Date: 7/36
Value:8 Cost:96 Spot:2 Move:5 MM:Track Trans:Naval Fuel: 42
Init:5 SA:3 HA:2 AA:7 NA:0 GD:6 AD:4 CD:1 TT:Hard Ammo:12

I had a hard time locating any information about this unit, but the game describes it as being built on the chassis of a Type 97 tank, and armed with a single 20mm AA in an enclosed turret. I doubt whether any of these were ever fielded, and it may be that there are no extant photographs of them. Either that, or it's intended to be another unit with a different name.

Best lead: http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=53458

In-game analysis: Not that great, but not that bad either. In a campaign it'd be worth it to have one of these, if only to gain experience until the So-Ki comes along.

Fuso-class Battleship (2 built)
PG Name: Fuso / Fuso 1944 Type:Battleship
Effective Date: 7/36 / 1/44
Value:20/24 Cost:360/436 Spot:2 Move:5 MM:Deep Naval Fuel: 123
Init:5 Range:6 SA:7 HA:10 AA:[4] NA:22 DA:0 GD:22 AD:8 TD:10 Ammo:40
Special: Night Optics/ +Radar

The Fuso and Yamashiro were originally laid down during World War I. They would likely have been scrapped by the 1920s, but because the Washington Naval Treaty allowed for improvements to completed ships, these ended up being modernized over time. The ships are likely best known for their distinctively tall 'pagoda' superstructure. In the end, the two ships both went down during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the world's last big battleship fight.

In-game analysis: Hands-down, the best battleship available for quite some time, and possibly the best capital ship for the price. It has better defense than anything on the water until 1942, better offensive power than every contemporaneous ship save the American Maryland class, and a faster movement rate than similar heavy ships. It's just a very well-rounded unit. There are better ships later in the war, but this one is tops in every category for a good while, and hardly loses any ground later on.