Quote:
Originally Posted by Roddoss72
If you bothered to read my post on this, my targets for the Japanese Army is to capture the Tran-Siberian railway from Vladivostok to Lake Baikal and go no further, with the 45 division that could be available, while this is going on the Japanese Army and Naval airforces have just wiped out any air units in the east, and that Japanese naval units/air wings pound ports into surrender, Sakhalin Island is taken. My whole point is this Japan does not go on a major offensive like their German counterparts in the West but to tie down the entire Central-Transbaikal and Far Eastern Fronts thus those 75 division you state would still be in the east, while the initial deployment of 45 Japanese divison might not seem much, but over the course of time this would build up to my hypothetical 107 divisions.
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I did read your posts. First, the
entire Japanese army cannot participate in this offensive or any offensive any more than the entire German, US, Russian, or any other nation's military could. If all the Japanese have is 42 divisions probably less than half will be participants at best.
Second, the above still begs the question: What's in it for the Japanese? Giving the Germans time and the possibility of conqueroring the western portion of Russia? That may be great for the Germans but it is a really raw deal for the Japanese.
As for the air war: Remember, during the Nomohan incident the 2nd Air Army of the Imperial Army was all but destroyed. It literally was decimated. Of the approxmately 200 aircraft it had in service about three quarters were lost during that operation with no replacements. Yes, the Soviets lost about double that of the Japanese but they made good their losses. I would not count on the Japanese air forces to dominate this airspace anytime soon after the war started.
But, in any case, it still comes back to what is the motivation for the Japanese to invade? How does it benefit them?