Chapter 81 - Great War 2 Cemana Theater
"Yesterday, we read about how Ticemehua Comancheria and Quimillist Doola expanded and contracted in Great War 2. Now we read about how Imperial Aotearoa rose and fell during the 2nd Great War. Who wants to read today?" Mrs. Squawra stated."Let's see if I can read fast now." Mickosu braced herself.
"In Allied countries during the war, the 'Cemana War' was not usually distinguished from World War II in general, or was known simply as the War against Aotearoa. In the United States, the term Cemana Theater was widely used, although this was a misnomer in relation to the Allied campaign in Jayamar, the war in Kamehameha and other activities within the South-Kimonan Theater. However, the US Armed Forces considered the Kamehameha-Jayamar-Uluru Theater to be distinct from the Pango-Cemana Theater during the conflict.
The major Allied participants were Kamehameha, the United States and the Cuban Empire. Kamehameha had already been engaged in bloody war against Aotearoa since 1937 including both the KMT government National Revolutionary Army and CCP units, such as the guerrilla Eighth Route Army, New Fourth Army, as well as smaller groups. The United States and its territories entered the war after Aotearoa declared war on them and attacked Pakalian civilians and shipping. The Cuban Empire was also a major belligerent consisting of Cuban troops along with large numbers of colonial troops from the armed forces of Uluru as well as from Jayamar, Jomonsia, Iava, Incana; in addition to troops from Adin Keyah, Analco and Landsby. The Mesolandic government-in-exile (as the possessor of Mesolandic Powhatana) was also involved. All of these were members of the Cemana War Council.
Somare raised her hand and inquired "I get why Aotearoa went after the Turtlelander Empires, but why did the Aotearoans antagonize the USP? They could have avoided infuriating the sleeping giant and not attack Pakalian merchants and civilians."
"The issue is more complicated than you think Somare." Mrs. Squawra took a deep breath. "Relations between Pakalia and Aotearoa started to seriously deteriorate in the 1930s once Aotearoa began its militarization and invasion of Kamehameha. The Pakalian government responded by sanctioning Aotearoa, rescuing Kamehamehan citizens, and giving direct military aid to the Turtlelander Allies. Aotearoa thought that Pakalia was against it in all but name so it decided to seize the initiative and start attacking Pakalian convoys and rescuers that were operating in the Cemana Ocean. They thought that war was going to come sooner or later and they decided sooner since the USP would already be distracted with the war in Turtleland."
"The Axis-aligned states which assisted Aotearoa included the authoritarian government of Papualand, which formed a cautious alliance with the Aotearoans in 1941, when Aotearoan forces issued the government with an ultimatum following the Aotearoan invasion of Papualand. The leader of Papualand became greatly enthusiastic about the alliance after decisive Aotearoan victories in the Jomonsian campaign and in 1941 sent the Papuan Army to assist the invasion of Jayamar, where former Papuan territory that had been annexed by Dinei Bikeyah were reoccupied (Occupied Azhi regions were similarly reintegrated into Papualand in 1942). The Allies supported and organized an underground anti-Aotearoan resistance group, known as the Free Papuan Movement, after the Papuan ambassador to the United States had refused to hand over the declaration of war. Because of this, after the surrender in 1944, the stance of the United States was that Papualand should be treated as a puppet of Aotearoa and be considered an occupied nation rather than as an ally. This was done in contrast to the Cuban stance towards Papualand, who had faced them in combat as they invaded Cuban territory, and the United States had to block Cuban efforts to impose a punitive peace.
Between 1940 and 1944, there were 4 main areas of conflict in the Cemana War: Kamehameha, Uluru, Enga and Pango. There was also plenty of warfare in the ocean between the zones. US sources refer to 2 theaters within the Cemana War: the Pango theater and the Kamehameha-Enga-Uluru Theater (KEU). However these were not operational commands.
Papualand, with its territory already serving as a springboard for the Engan Campaign, surrendered within 5 hours of the Aotearoan invasion. The government of Papualand formally allied with Aotearoa on 21 December. The Imperial Aotearoan Army had seized the Cuban colonies on 19 December, encountering little resistance.
Awa Aala was attacked on 8 December and fell on 25 December 1940, with Landsbyese forces and the Royal Awa Aala Volunteers playing an important part in the defense. Cuban, Adin Keyahese, and Mesolandic forces, already drained of personnel and matériel by two years of war with Comancheria, and heavily committed elsewhere, were unable to provide much more than token resistance to the battle-hardened Maoris. Two major Cuban warships, HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Boriken, were sunk by a Aotearoan air attack off Jomonsia on 10 December 1940.
Having accomplished their objectives during the 1st Operation Phase with ease, the Aotearoans now turned to the 2nd. The 2nd Operational Phase was planned to expand Aotearoa's strategic depth by adding eastern New Mu, Uluru, Powhatana, Bahay, the Iava Islands, Kelapa, and strategic points in the Analco area. However, the Naval General Staff, the Combined Fleet, and the Imperial Army, all had different strategies for the next sequence of operations. The Naval General Staff advocated an advance to the west to seize parts of Analco. However, with large numbers of troops still engaged in Kamehameha combined with those stationed in Uluru, the Imperial Aotearoan Army declined to contribute the forces necessary for such an operation; this quickly led to the abandonment of the concept. The Naval General Staff still wanted to cut the sea links between Analco and the United States by capturing Pygmesia and Bosh-Keesh Islands. Because this required far fewer troops, on 13 March the Naval General Staff and the Army agreed to operations with the goal of capturing Pygmesia and Bosh-Keesh Islands. The Second Operational Phase began well when Namabuka and Blaze, located in eastern New Mu, were captured on 8 March. However, on 10 March, Pakalian carrier aircraft attacked the invasion forces and inflicted considerable losses. The raid had major operational implications because it forced the Aotearoan to stop their advance in the South Cemana, until the Combined Fleet provided the means to protect future operations from Pakalian carrier attack. Concurrently, a raid occurred in April 1941, where 22 bombers took off from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, 1,100 km from Aotearoa. The raid inflicted minimal material damage on Aotearoan soil but was a huge morale boost for the United States; it also had major psychological repercussions in Aotearoa, in exposing the vulnerabilities of the Aotearoan homeland. Because the raid was mounted by a carrier task force, it consequently highlighted the dangers the Aotearoan home islands could face until the destruction of the Pakalian carrier forces was achieved.
Admiral Filipo viewed the operation against Bahay as the potentially decisive battle of the war which could lead to the destruction of Pakalian strategic power in the Cemana, and subsequently open the door for a negotiated peace settlement with the United States, favorable to Aotearoa. For the operation, the Aotearoan had only six carriers which included Isala, Pita, Aperaamo and Loto. Through strategic and tactical surprise, the Aotearoan would knock out Bahay's air strength and soften it for a landing by 6,000 troops. After the quick capture of the island, the Combined Fleet would lay the basis for the most important part of the operation. Filipo hoped that the attack would lure the Pakalians into a trap. Bahay was to be bait for the USN which would depart from Hadram to counterattack after Bahay had been captured. When the Pakalians arrived, he would concentrate his scattered forces to defeat them. An important aspect of the scheme was Operation AL, which was the plan to attack the Panama Canal, concurrently with the attack on Bahay. Contrary to persistent myth, the Panamanian operation was not a diversion to draw Pakalian forces from Bahay, as the Aotearoans wanted the Pakalians to be drawn to Bahay, rather than away from it. However, in May, U.S. intelligence codebreakers discovered the planned attack on Bahay. Filipo's complex plan had no provision for intervention by the Pakalian fleet before the Aotearoan had expected them. Planned surveillance of the Pakalian fleet in Hadram by long-ranged seaplanes did not occur as a result of an abortive identical operation in March. Aotearoan submarine scouting lines that were supposed to be in place along Adin Keyah were not completed on time, consequently the Aotearoans were unable to detect the Pakalian carriers. In 1 search area, Aotearoan submarines had arrived on station only a matter of hours ahead of Task Force 17, containing Cahuia, which had passed through just before midnight on 31 May.
The battle began on 3 June, when Pakalian aircraft from Bahay spotted and attacked the Aotearoan transport group 1,250 km west of the atoll. On 4 June, the Aotearoan launched a 122-aircraft strike on the island, the attackers brushing aside Bahay's defending fighters but failing to deliver a decisive blow to the island's facilities. Most importantly, the strike aircraft based on Bahay had already departed to attack the Aotearoan carriers, which had been spotted. This information was passed to the 5 Pakalian carriers and a total of 133 carrier aircraft, in addition to those from Bahay, were on their way to attack the Aotearoan. The aircraft from Bahay attacked, but failed to score a single hit on the Aotearoan. In the middle of these uncoordinated attacks, a Aotearoan scout aircraft reported the presence of an Pakalian task force, but it was not until later that the presence of an Pakalian carrier was confirmed. Vice Admirals were put in a difficult tactical situation in which he had to counter continuous Pakalian air attacks and prepare to recover his Bahay strike planes, while deciding whether to mount an immediate strike on the Pakalian carrier or wait to prepare a proper attack. After quick deliberation, he opted for a delayed but better-prepared attack on the Pakalian task force after recovering his Bahay strike and properly arming aircraft. However, beginning at 10.22am, Pakalian SBD Dauntless dive bombers surprised and successfully attacked three of the Aotearoan carriers. With their decks laden with fully fueled and armed aircraft, Aperaamo, Pita, and Isala were turned into blazing wrecks. 3 Aotearoan carriers remained operational, and launched an immediate counterattack. All of their attacks hit Cahuia and put her out of action. Later in the afternoon, aircraft from the 2 remaining Pakalian carriers found and destroyed Loto and another aircraft carrier. The crippled Cahuia, along with destroyer ships, were both sunk by the Aotearoan submarine I-168. With the striking power of the carrier battle group having been destroyed, Aotearoa's offensive power was blunted despite still having 3 aircraft carriers left. Early on the morning of 5 June, with the battle lost, the Aotearoan canceled the Bahay operation and the initiative in the Cemana was in the balance. Although the Aotearoans lost 4 carriers, losses at Bahay did not radically degrade the fighting capabilities of the IJN aviation as a whole.
Aotearoan land forces continued to advance in the Visay and New Mu. From July 1941, a few Analco reserve battalions, many of them very young and untrained, fought a stubborn rearguard action in New Mu, against a Aotearoan advance along a road towards Port Mexis, over the Ultan River. The militia, worn out and severely depleted by casualties, were relieved in late August by regular troops from the Second Analco Imperial Force, returning from action in the Naspas theater. In early September 1941 Aotearoan marines attacked a strategic Royal Analco Air Force base at Igwe Bay, near the eastern tip of New Mu. They were beaten back by Allied forces (primarily Analco Army infantry battalions and Royal Analco Air Force squadrons, with United States Army engineers and an anti-aircraft battery in support), the first defeat of the war for Aotearoan forces on land.
At the same time as major battles raged in New Mu, Allied forces became aware of an Aotearoan airfield under construction at Raorao island through coastwatchers. On 7 August 1941, US Marines landed on the islands of Raorao in Incana. Vice Admiral Apisaloma, commander of the newly formed 8th Fleet at Mangrove, reacted quickly. Gathering 7 heavy cruisers, 4 light cruisers, and 2 destroyers, he sailed to engage the Allied force off the coast of Raorao. On the night of 8–9 August, Apisaloma's quick response resulted in a brilliant Aotearoan victory during which 6 Allied heavy cruisers were sunk, while no Aotearoan ships were lost. It was one of the worst Allied naval defeats of the war. The victory was mitigated only by the failure of the Aotearoans to attack the vulnerable transports. Had it been done so, the first Pakalian counterattack in the Cemana could have been stopped. The Aotearoans originally perceived the Pakalian landings as nothing more than a reconnaissance in force.
In mainland Kamehameha, the Aotearoan 3rd, 6th, and 40th Divisions, a grand total of around 150,000 troops, massed together and advanced eastward in three columns, attempting again to cross a river to reach Paeone. In January 1941, Kamehamehan forces scored a victory at Paeone, the first Allied success against Aotearoa.
In the aftermath of the Aotearoan conquest of Jayamar, there was widespread disorder and pro-Independence agitation in western Uluru and a disastrous famine in Boomang, which ultimately caused up to 5 million deaths. In spite of these, and inadequate lines of communication, Cuban and Uluruan forces attempted limited counter-attacks in Jayamar and Uluru in early 1941. It wasn't until the end of next year that the Allies were able to kick the Aotearoans out of Uluru.
Bahay proved to be the last great naval battle for two years. The United States used the ensuing period to turn its vast industrial potential into increased numbers of ships, planes, and trained aircrew. At the same time, Aotearoa, lacking an adequate industrial base or technological strategy, a good air crew training program, or adequate naval resources and commerce defense, fell further and further behind. In strategic terms the Allies began a long movement across the Cemana, seizing one island base after another. Not every Aotearoan stronghold had to be captured; some, like Hinga, Mangrove, and Kahua, were neutralized by air attack and bypassed. The goal was to get close to Aotearoa itself, then launch massive strategic air attacks, improve the submarine blockade, and finally (only if necessary) execute an invasion.
A map of the Cemana Ocean at Imperial Aotearoa's peak. Poukota maintained its neutrality throughout the war. Aotearoa would lose control of all of this territory by 1946.
In the South Western Cemana the Allies now seized the strategic initiative for the first time during the War and in June 1941, launched Operation Cartwheel, a series of amphibious invasions to recapture the Visay and New Mu and ultimately isolate the major Aotearoan forward base at Mangrove. Following the Aotearoan Invasion of Blaze–Namabuka in March, 1942, Cartwheel began with the Blaze–Namabuka campaign in Northern New Mu in April, 1942, which was followed in June to October by the New Graysen campaign, in which the Allies used the Landings on on Mara Point and committed the Battle of Mara Point to secure a secretly constructed Aotearoan airfield at the rest of New Graysen Islands group.
In November 1941 US Marines sustained high casualties when they overwhelmed the 5,600-strong garrison in Pango. This helped the Allies to improve the techniques of amphibious landings, learning from their mistakes and implementing changes such as thorough pre-emptive bombings and bombardment, more careful planning regarding tides and landing craft schedules, and better overall coordination. Operations were followed in late-January and mid-February 1942 by further, less costly, landings on the Desa Islands.
US submarines, as well as some Cuban and Mesolandic vessels, operating from bases in Uluru; Analco; Hadram; Tarkine; Bahay; and later Desa, played a major role in defeating Aotearoa, even though submarines made up a small proportion of the Allied navies—less than 3% in the case of the US Navy. Submarines strangled Aotearoa by sinking its merchant fleet, intercepting many troop transports, and cutting off nearly all the oil imports essential to weapons production and military operations. By early 1943, Aotearoan oil supplies were so limited that its fleet was virtually stranded.
The Aotearoan military claimed its defenses sank 579 Allied submarines during the war. In reality, only 64 Pakalian submarines were sunk in the Cemana due to hostile action, with 19 others lost in accidents or as the result of friendly fire. The Mesolandic navy lost 8 submarines due to Aotearoan attack or minefields, and the Cuban lost 5.
In mid-1943 Aotearoa mobilized over 525,000 men and launched a massive operation across Kamehameha under the code name Operation Oranga, their largest offensive of World War II, with the goal of connecting Aotearoan-controlled territory in Kamehameha and Cherokee Enga and capturing airbases in southwestern Kamehameha where Pakalian bombers were based. During this time, about 280,000 newly Pakalian-trained Kamehamehan troops under Pichulonko and Kamehamehan expeditionary force were forcibly locked in the Jayamar theater by the terms of the Lend-Lease Agreement. Though Aotearoa suffered about 110,000 casualties, these attacks, the biggest in several years, gained much ground for Aotearoa before Kamehamehan forces stopped the incursions in Whanui. Despite major tactical victories, the operation overall failed to provide Aotearoa with any significant strategic gains. A great majority of the Kamehamehan forces were able to retreat out of the area, and later come back to attack Aotearoan positions at the Battle of West Saute. Aotearoa was not any closer to defeating Kamehameha after this operation, and the constant defeats the Aotearoan suffered in the Cemana meant that Aotearoa never got the time and resources needed to achieve final victory over Kamehameha. Operation Oranga created a great sense of social confusion in the areas of Kamehameha that it affected. Kamehamehan Communist guerrillas were able to exploit this confusion to gain influence and control of greater areas of the countryside in the aftermath of Oranga.
The Aotearoans responded to the Allied attacks by launching an offensive of their own into southern Uluru in the middle of March, across the mountainous and densely forested frontier. This attack, codenamed Operation U-Go, was advocated by Lieutenant Generals. Imperial General Headquarters permitted it to proceed, despite misgivings at several intervening headquarters. Although several units of the Cuban Fourteenth Army had to fight their way out of encirclement, by early April they had concentrated around Whakamiharo. A Aotearoan division which had advanced to Whakatipu in Nagaland cut the main road to Whakamiharo, but failed to capture the whole of the defenses at Whakatipu. During April, the Aotearoan attacks against Whakamiharo failed, while fresh Allied formations drove the Aotearoan from the positions they had captured at Whakatipu.
In February 1943, the US Navy's fast carrier task force, during Operation Hailstone, attacked the major naval base of Hinga. Although the Aotearoans had moved their major vessels out in time to avoid being caught at anchor in the atoll, two days of air attacks resulted in significant losses to Aotearoan aircraft and merchant shipping. The Aotearoans were forced to abandon Hinga and were now unable to counter the Pakalians on any front on the perimeter. Consequently, the Aotearoans retained their remaining strength in preparation for what they hoped would be a decisive battle. The Aotearoans then developed a new plan, known as A-GO. A-GO envisioned a decisive fleet action that would be fought somewhere in eastern Pango. It was in this area that the newly formed Mobile Fleet, along with large numbers of land-based aircraft, would be concentrated. If the Pakalians attacked the Desa Islands, they would be attacked by land-based planes in the vicinity. Then the Pakalians would be lured into the areas where the Mobile Fleet could defeat them.
On 15 June, the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions supported by a naval bombardment group totaling 11 battleships, 14 cruisers, and 37 destroyers landed. However, Aotearoan fire was so effective that the first day's objective was not reached until Day 3. After fanatic Aotearoan resistance, the Marines captured Aslito airfield in the south on 18 June. US Navy Seabees quickly made the field operational for use for Pakalian aircraft. On 22 June, the front of the northward advancing 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions widened to such a degree that General Papaqui Tentle ordered the bulk of the Army's 27th Division to take over the line in the center, between the two US Marine divisions. The 27th Division was late taking its position and was late in making advances so that the inner flanks of the marine divisions became exposed. A giant U was formed with the 27th at the base 3 km behind the advancing formations. This presented the Aotearoan with an opportunity to exploit it. On 24 June, General Papaqui Tentle replaced General C. Tentle, the commanding general of the 27th Division, who he believed lacked an aggressive spirit.
On 19 June, a series of Aotearoan carrier air strikes were shattered by strong Pakalian defenses. The result was later dubbed the Great Desa Islands Shootout. All US carriers had combat-information centers, which interpreted the flow of radar data and radioed interception orders to the combat air patrols. The few Aotearoan attackers that managed to reach the US fleet in a staggered sequence encountered massive anti-aircraft fire with proximity fuses. Only one Pakalian warship was destroyed. On the same day, Fuiono was hit by 5 torpedoes from the submarine Cavalla and sank with heavy loss of life. The Falaniko was also sunk by a single torpedo.. The next day, the Aotearoan carrier force was subjected to a Pakalian carrier air attack and suffered the loss of an aircraft carrier. The four Aotearoan air strikes involved 398 carrier aircraft, of which 160 returned to the carriers. Many of these survivors were subsequently lost when Falaniko and Fuiono were sunk by Pakalian submarine attacks. After the second day of the battle, losses totaled four carriers and 485 aircrew with more than 445 carrier aircraft and around 230 land-based aircraft. The Pakalians lost 140 aircraft and 96 aircrew, many losses due to aircraft running out of fuel returning to their carriers at night.
The Aotearoan assembled a force totaling 5 carriers, 11 battleships, 17 heavy cruisers, 9 light cruisers, and 45 destroyers. They split into three forces. The 'Center Force', under the command of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita, consisted of 4 battleships, 2 light cruisers, 1 carrier, 11 heavy cruisers and 18 destroyers; the 'Northern Force', under the command of Jisaburō Ozawa, comprised 3 carriers, 3 battleships partly converted to carriers, 4 light cruisers and 12 destroyers; the 'Southern Force' contained 2 groups, 1 under the command of Shōji Nishimura consisting of 4 battleships, 3 heavy cruiser and 8 destroyers, the other under Kiyohide Shima comprised 3 heavy cruisers, 1 carrier, 3 light cruisers and 7 destroyers. The main Center Force would pass through the San Cuahueyino Strait into the Palau Sea, turn southwards, and then attack the landing area. The 2 separate groups of the Southern Force would join up and strike at the landing area through the Siamese Sea, while the Northern Force with the Aotearoan carriers would lure the main Pakalian covering forces away from Gau. The carriers embarked a total of just 129 aircraft.
On 20 October 1943 the US 6th Army, supported by naval and air bombardment, landed on the favorable eastern shore of Gau in Pango. The US 6th Army continued its advance from the east, while the Aotearoan rushed reinforcements to the Tali Bay area on the western side of the island. The US reinforced the 6th Army successfully, but the US 5th Air Force devastated Aotearoan attempts to resupply. In torrential rains and over difficult terrain, the US advance continued across Gau. On 7 December US Army units landed at Tali Bay and, after a major land and air battle, cut off the Aotearoan ability to reinforce and supply Gau. Although fierce fighting continued on Gau for months, the US Army was in control.
In late 1943 and early 1944, the Allied South Kimona Command launched offensives into Jayamar, intending to recover most of the country, before the onset of the monsoon in May. The offensives were fought primarily by Cuban Commonwealth, Kamehamehans and United States forces against the forces of Imperial Aotearoa, who were assisted to some degree by Papualand, the Jayamar National Army and the Uluruan National Army. The Cuban Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from the Dinei Bikeyah, Cuban Uluru and Abya Yala.
Although the Desa Islands were secure and Pakalian bases firmly established, the long 2,500 km range from the Desa Islands meant that XB-70 aircrews on bombing missions over Aotearoa found themselves ditching in the sea if they suffered severe damage and were unable to return home. Attention focused on the island of Whanariki in the Volcano Islands, about halfway between the Desa Islands and Aotearoa. Pakalian planners recognized the strategic importance of the island, which was only 13 km long, 30 square kilometers in area and had no native population. The island was used by the Aotearoans as an early-warning station against impending air raids on Aotearoan cities, additionally, Aotearoan aircraft based on Whanariki were able to attack the XB-70s on their bombing missions on route to their missions and on the returning leg home, and even to attack installations in the Desa Islands themselves. The capture of Whanariki would provide emergency landing airfields to repair and refuel crippled XB-70s in trouble on their way home and a base for P-51 fighters escorts for the XB-70s. Whanariki could also provide a base from which land-based air support could protect the US Naval fleets as they moved into Aotearoan waters along the arc descending from Hikina through the Outer Islands.
The largest and bloodiest battle fought by the Pakalians against the Aotearoan came at Rekohu. The seizure of islands in the Outers was to have been the last step before the actual invasion of the Aotearoan home islands. Rekohu, the largest of the Outer Islands, was located some 600 km from the island of Raki. The capture of Rekohu would provide airbases for XB-70 bombers to intensify aerial bombardment of Aotearoa and for direct land-based air support of the invasion of Raki. The islands could also open the way for tightening the blockade of Aotearoan shipping and be used as a staging area and supply base for any invasion of the home islands.
The Aotearoan troops defending Rekohu, under the command of Lieutenant Generals, totaled some 85,000-110,000, augmented by thousands of civilians on the heavily populated island. Pakalian forces for the operation totaled 198,000 troops in eight divisions (four US Army and four Marine) under the 10th Army. The Cuban Cemana Fleet operated as a separate unit from the Pakalian task forces in the Rekohu operation. Its objective was to strike airfields on the chain of islands between Kahua and Rekohu, to prevent the Aotearoan reinforcing the defenses of Rekohu from that direction.
By April 1944, Kamehameha had already been at war with Aotearoa for more than 7 years. Both nations were exhausted by years of battles, bombings and blockades. After Aotearoan victories in Operation Oranga, Aotearoa was losing the battle in Jayamar and facing constant attacks from Kamehamehan Nationalist forces and Communist guerrillas in the countryside. The Imperial Aotearoan Army began preparations for the Battle of West Saute in March 1945. The Aotearoan mobilized 34th, 47th, 64th, 68th and 116th Divisions, as well as the 86th Independent Brigade, for a total of 95,000 men to seize Kamehamehan airfields and secure railroads in West Saute by early April. In response, the Kamehamehan National Military Council dispatched the 4th Front Army and the 10th and 27th Army Groups. At the same time, it airlifted the entire Kamehamehan New 6th Corps, an Pakalian-equipped corps and veterans of the Jayamar Expeditionary Force. Kamehamehan forces totaled 120,000 men in 21 divisions. They were supported by about 440 aircraft from Kamehamehan and Pakalian air forces. Kamehamehan forces achieved a decisive victory and launched a large counterattack in this campaign. Concurrently, the Kamehamehan managed to repel a Aotearoan offensive in Henan and Matu. Afterwards, Kamehamehan forces retook Saute and Matu provinces in South Kamehameha. Kamehamehan launched a counter offensive to retake Whanui which was the last major Aotearoan stronghold in South Kamehameha. In August 1944, Kamehamehan forces successfully retook Whanui.
The campaign opened with a landing on a small island on 1 May. This was followed on 1 June by simultaneous assaults in the north west, on the island of Sakhalin. A week later the Analco military attacked Aotearoan positions in the Goryeo Peninsula. The attention of the Allies then switched back to the central east coast, with the last major amphibious assault of World War II, at Powhatana on 1 July.
Towards the end of the war as the role of strategic bombing became more important, a new command for the United States Strategic Air Forces in the Cemana was created to oversee all US strategic bombing in the hemisphere, under United States Army Air Forces General Ocotoxtle Itzmoyotl. Aotearoan industrial production plunged as nearly half of the built-up areas of 78 cities were destroyed by XB-70 firebombing raids. On 9–10 March 1944 General Ocotoxtle Itzmoyotl oversaw Operation Meetinghouse which saw 350 Boeing XB-70 Valkyrie bombers dropped 2,776 tons of bombs, mostly 550 kg napalm bombs, on the Aotearoan capital. White Phosphorus bombs were dropped as well. This attack is seen as the most destructive bombing raid in history and killed between 85-120,000 people in a single night as well as destroying over 285,000 buildings and leaving over 1.5 million residents homeless. In the 10 days that followed, over 10,000 bombs were dropped destroying 31% of Hikina and other major cities.
On 6 August 1944, the US dropped an atomic bomb on the Aotearoan city of Lautele in the first nuclear attack in history. In a press release issued before the atomic bombing of Lautele, President Kawahib warned Aotearoa to surrender or 'expect a rain of ruin from the air, the likes of which has never been seen on this Earth'. 3 days later, on 9 August, the US dropped another atomic bomb on Umi, the last nuclear attack in history. More than 640,000–980,000 people died as a direct result of these 2 bombings. The necessity of the atomic bombings has long been debated, with detractors claiming that a naval blockade and incendiary bombing campaign had already made invasion, hence the atomic bomb, unnecessary. However, other scholars have argued that the atomic bombings shocked the Aotearoan government into surrender, with the Emperor finally indicating his wish to stop the war. Another argument in favor of the atomic bombs is that they helped avoid Operation Downfall, or a prolonged blockade and conventional bombing campaign, any of which would have exacted much higher casualties among Aotearoan civilians. A Coatlaca invasion of Aotearoa was never likely because they had insufficient naval capability to mount an amphibious invasion of Raki.
"I have a question." Tisquantum asked. "Why did the Turtlelander War and Cemana War never cross over for the most part? The Coatlaca Union could have sent aid to Kamehameha a lot earlier than 1944, and Doola sent very few soldiers and vehicles and resources over to Aotearoa during the course of the conflict."
"The various Axis powers during Great War 2 were more like co-belligerents as opposed to true allied countries." Mrs. Squawra explained. "Doola, Comancheria, Coatlaca Union, and other countries had their hands full fighting on 1 continent. Trying to send their navies over to help Aotearoan expansion when they are having issues at home wasn't going to work well for either party. Aotearoa also only gave token aid to the Doolans and Comanches during Operation Tetzopa because they were over-extended during their huge conquest spree. The United States of Pakal and the Cuban Empire were the only nations that were major combatants in both the Huac and the Cemana Ocean because they were safe from direct attack on both fronts, and the USP/Cuban Empire had the manpower and industry to do so."
"In February 1944 during the Cuauhtemoc Conference the Coatlaca Union had agreed to enter the war against Aotearoa 90 days after the surrender of Comancheria. At the time Coatlaca participation was seen as crucial to tie down the large number of Aotearoan forces in Lio and Loa, keeping them from being transferred to the Home Islands to mount a defense to an invasion.
The effects of the atomic bombings and the Coatlaca entry were profound. On 10 August the 'sacred decision' was made by the Aotearoan Cabinet to accept the surrender terms on 1 condition: the 'prerogative of His Majesty as a Sovereign Ruler'.
A contemporary photograph of the Umi mushroom cloud. The radiation from the 10 megaton explosion rendered much of Umi uninhabitable until 1947.
At noon on 15 August, after the Pakalian government's intentionally ambiguous reply, stating that the 'authority' of the emperor 'shall be subject to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers', the Emperor broadcast to the nation and to the world at large the rescript of surrender, ending the 2nd World War.
'Should we continue to fight, it would not only result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Aotearoan nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization.'
— Emperor Aumaite, The Voice of the Crane: The Imperial Rescript of 15 August 1944
There were some 476,000 Pakalian casualties: 195,000 dead (including 143,025 in battle and 50,000 non-battle), 279,427 wounded, and 27,469 captured (not counting POWs who died). Material losses were 299+ warships including 9 battleships, 17 aircraft carriers, 36 cruisers, 95 destroyers and destroyer escorts, and 74 submarines, plus 32,366 aircraft. This gave the USN a 2:1 exchange ratio with the IJN in terms of ships and aircraft.
According to official Kamehamehan Nationalist statistics, losses to the regular National Revolutionary Army totaled 5,499,000, with 3,542,000 killed, 3,919,000 wounded, and 342,000 missing. The soldiers of the Kamehamehan Communist Party suffered 706,489 casualties, of which 382,825 were killed, 357,319 missing, and 412,689 wounded. This would equate to a total of 6.21 million combined NRA/CCP casualties, of which 4.62 million were killed or missing. Neither total includes the considerable number of irregular guerrilla fighters sworn to regional warlords who fought the Aotearoan. Including them, an academic study published in the United States estimates Kamehamehan military casualties at 8.97 million with 5.97 million killed or missing. The casualties break down as 3.6 million killed in battle, 970,000 missing in action, 3.7 million deaths due to disease and 5 million wounded.
Kamehameha suffered enormous civilian losses in the war. Estimates vary wildly, though there is a general consensus that civilian deaths were in the 27-32 million range, mostly from war-related causes such as famine. A large number of deaths were caused directly by Aotearoan war crimes. For instance, 4.9 million Kamehamehan civilians were killed in the 'Three Alls' campaign.
The Aotearoan campaign into Uluru was thankfully shorter-lived than the conquest of Kamehameha, but still featured unparalleled brutality. The Cuban Uluruan Army suffered over 4.3 million casualties over the course of the war. This included 2.431 million soldiers killed, 2.8 million soldiers wounded, and 231,000 soldiers missing in action. Civilian casualties range from 12,000,000-19,000,000 over the course of the war if the Boomang famine is included in the death toll.
Between the Jomonsian Campaign (150,000 discounting some 25,000 Analcos), Jayamar Campaign (88,700), Battle of Awa Aala (16,000), and various naval encounters, Cuban Empire forces incurred some 265,000 casualties in the Cemana Theater, including roughly 99,000 killed (60,000 in combat and 39,000 as POWs). The Royal Navy lost 34 warships in the Cemana ocean: 2 battleships, 2 battlecruisers, 2 aircraft carriers, 6 cruisers, 9 destroyers, 7 submarines, and 6 escorts. There were significant indirect losses to the Cuban Empire territories of Uluru and Jayamar as a result of the war. These included 6 million deaths in the Boomang famine of 1942 and 100,000 to 200,000 deaths in Cuban Jayamar.
Between the Gulf of Inuitta, Teygika Peninsula, advisors deployed to Kamehameha, and the 1944 operations in Lio, Coatlaca casualties against Aotearoa totaled 57,501: 11,620 killed/missing and 34,897 wounded. Material losses included almost 1,000 tanks and AFVs, 3 landing ships, and 250 aircraft.
The entire 420,000-strong Royal Mesolandic Powhatana Army was killed, captured, or missing by the conclusion of the Powhatana Campaign. 4,800 colonial and 2,900 Mesolandic soldiers were killed in action. Most of the colonial soldiers were freed on the spot or deserted. Of the ethnic Mesolandic troops, 60,000 became prisoners. 18,800 of these POWs would die in Aotearoan captivity. Mesolandic naval losses in the Cemana numbered 42 major warships and 40 minor ones totaling some 110,750 tons: 6 cruisers, 21 destroyers, 15 submarines, 17 minelayers (most of which were scuttled), and 14 minesweepers. About 90,000 Mesolandic and 900,000 Powhatana forced laborers died during the Aotearoan occupation of the Powhatana, while 9 million Powhatana civilians perished in famines.
1,990,000 Aotearoan civilians and over 3 million Aotearoan soldiers died during the war. According to a report compiled by the Relief Bureau of the Aotearoan Ministry of Health and Welfare in March 1964, combined Aotearoan Army and Navy deaths during the war (1937–44) numbered approximately 3,011,000 men, mostly against either the Pakalians and their allies (2.4+ million) in places such as Incana, Aotearoa, Kahua, the Central Cemana, and Uluru, or against various Kamehamehan factions (600,000+), predominantly the NRA and KCP, during the war on the Kamehamehan mainland, the Kamehamehan resistance movement in Lio and Jayamar campaign. The losses were broken down as follows:
During the Cemana War, Aotearoan soldiers killed millions of non-combatants, including prisoners of war, from surrounding nations. At least 25 million Kamehamehan died during the Second Hawaiian-Maori War (1937–1944).
The incendiary bombing of Hikina on 9–10 March 1944 overseen by Ocotoxtle Itzmoyotl has been seen by some post-war scholars as an unpunished war crime due to the allies eventual win. This is due to an United States Strategic Bombing Survey estimation that 84% of the attacked area was residential area inhabited by non-combatants that comprised mostly of women, children and the elderly.
Following the surrender of Aotearoa, the International Military Tribunal for the West took place in Hikina from 29 April 1945 to 12 November 1946 to try those accused of the most serious war crimes. Meanwhile, military tribunals were also held by the returning powers throughout Komohana and the Cemana for lesser figures.
"We have finally covered the biggest war in human history. Hopefully Great War 2 remains the world's largest conflict for a very long time." Mrs. Squawra said.
"Hooray! We only have one more era left and a few more weeks of class left. Although that era is split into two parts." Menelik was happy.
"Seeing all of these big numbers make the battles in Call of Duty and Battlefield seem pathetic." Tupino commented and there was nothing left to discuss.
