Re: Blood and Iron

For over a decade, the Russian Empire and the German Reich had entered an alliance that opened up the board.

One of the stipulations of this alliance was joint military command, procurement, and training. From as far west as German Burgundy, to as far east as Russian Kamchatka.

If there was a soldier raised, a weapon manufactured, or a bullet pressed, they would operate under the same specifications.

To put it simply, the Russian Army was as large, capable, and fearsome as the German Army on their western border.

And they were united with blood, faith, and dynastic ties. When the news entered Saint Petersburg that the Empire of Japan had attacked German Naval vessels in the South Pacific.

And that Germany had responded through mobilization of its Colonial Forces, Tsar was quick to do the same, without even being asked by his cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm II to do so.

Before Japan even realized what was happening, an Army of 100,000 Russians was being mobilized at their shared border.

With a sufficient ratio of Aerial Units in support. It took less than three hours for the Russian Bf-109s to obliterate Japanese fighters over the northern portion of Korean airspace.

And when they did, thousands of Do 17 medium bombers began to launch a coordinated campaign of hell on Imperial Japanese Ground forces in the vicinity.

All the while, Russian self-propelled artillery based on the e-10 chassis, using a 10.5cm quick-firing gun, as well as towed 15cm, 17cm, and 21cm field artillery, rained absolute hell from the land.

Before the Japanese Army at the border of Korea even encountered a single Russian rifleman, they were shelled and bombed into oblivion. With the Russian combined arms, battalions began pushing forward without even making contact with the enemy.

It was a disaster of epic proportions for the Japanese, who were already struggling with their losses at Buka during the onset of the war.

—

Tsar Nicholas II was quite pleased with the results of the war so far, he feared initially perhaps that the Japanese, who had more advanced equipment than he was initially expecting might put up a harder fight that could ultimately result in a stalemate.

But as the initial push proved to be an overwhelming success, Russia had proven its dominance.

It was not all that surprising that Russia now found itself for perhaps the first time in its history as a nation with actually competent military leadership.

Problems that had riddled the Russian Army for centuries, such as alcohol and drug abuse, had been banned while on duty and given strict penalties for those found breaking them.

In addition to this nepotism had been annihilated at every level. Meritocracy was the new norm, with the old aristocratic guard forcefully retired or outright purged depending on their unwillingness to comply with the new order.

At the same time, German Staff Officers, trained under Bruno’s guidance, had enlightened the new generation of Russian Generals and admirals towards the nuance and complexity of modern warfare.

Future Russian and German Officers studied the same curriculum, and often exchanged with one another freely per semester at the academy.

All of this had culminated into a Russian Army that had fully realized its potential. The Tsar could not be more pleased as he congratulated the men across from him on their initial victory.

“With the Germans obliterating the Japanese division in Buka, and our own forces crushing their border forces in Korea. I would like to make a toast to the effectiveness of this alliance, and the gains it has already proven within just the first twenty-four hours of conflict.

A Great Power has been crushed in the opening stages of its war with our alliance, and this is just the beginning! Together, Russia and Germany cannot be defeated! And it is thanks to all of your efforts!”

The Russian generals and admirals were quick to share their Tsar’s toast. And while Saint Petersburg was celebrating an exceptional start to the war. Tokyo was not so jovial with their current situation.

—

While the Emperor’s body had long been frail, a cocktail of imported medicines synthesized by Japanese laboratories after observing foreign advancements had spared him from death in 1926.

For years after, Taishō lingered like a shadow, delegating most imperial duties to his regent but remaining the last check on the army’s full ambitions. His survival delayed the inevitable… but not forever.

The war was not started directly by Taishō, rather his council of sycophants, had desired to push for it, now that he was bedridden, frail, and on his last limb of life. If he lived to see the end of the war? It would be painted as the final victory of the Emperor.

If he died beforehand? Then victory would be accredited to his efforts. And while this line of thinking was solid, it was contingent on earning victory.

However, now? Things were not going as well as anyone had thought within the Japanese Military and political leadership.

Both opening battles had resulted in significant losses to their forces, and in doing so proved a wide gap in Japanese technology and doctrine when compared to their enemies.

Japan had assumed, because their technology was significantly more advanced than what they observed being used by other nations, that it could contend with whatever Germany had fielded.

But they never expected the Germans to still be years ahead of them. Nor did they expect Russia to immediately join the war. The worst part was, the Emperor did not know that the war had even begun.

Had he been informed? He might have suffered a heart attack from pure anger at what his ministers and generals had done without his knowledge or expressed permission.

And if they told him now? He might have died of a heart attack from the pure grief of their failures. Their intentions didn’t matter when the end result was that Japan had just received two enormous slaps to the face on the global stage, over a war they never should have started.

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