Part 44 1947

September to December 1947

December 2 More then 60 Pe-8 heavy bombers belonging to the Soviet 9th air army make the first Soviet air attack against the Japanese home island when the drop their bombs on the city of Sapporo located on the island of Hokkaidō ( the Soviet 9th air army is attached to the Soviet far eastern front ).

September 3 German crown prince Louis Ferdinand arrives in the Spanish province of Valencia where he is going to observe the Spanish ,German and Italian military exercise which is now in entering its 10th day.

September 4 Escorted by 1 destroyer, 8 patrol vessels, 7 minesweepers, 6 patrol boats, 18 torpedo boats, 6 landing vessels, 4 transport vessels and protected by 300 fighters and bombers a recon detachment belonging to the Soviet 355th separate marine battalion and a infantry company belonging to the Korean volunteer army land in the Japanese port city of Seishin where the face a garrison of some 3,000 Japanese soldiers.

September 5 Second landings by the Soviets against the Japanese held port city of Seishin ( Ch'ŏngjin ) as the remaining troops belonging to the Soviet 355th separate marine battalion ,13th Marine Brigade and the 2nd battalion of the Korean volunteer army reinforce the first landing wave who have captured some part of the city the previous day.

September 6 Generaloberst von Montag , crown prince Louis Ferdinand and generalissimo Franco observe the last day of the Spanish , German and Italian military exercise taking place. Whit more then 6,000 Soviet and Korean volunteer army soldiers fighting in the port city of Seishin a third landing is made by the Soviet 363rd rifle division who lands 2,000 men into the city , wile this happens the Soviet 35th red banner army ( part of the Soviet far eastern front ) has crossed the Tumen river ( border between Soviet Union and Japanese Korea ) and is advancing along side the coast line towards the city.

September 7 Siege of port Arthur by the Soviet-Manchuria front begins , the new Politburo considers the capture of the city important as they want revenge for the Japanese capturer of the city fifty-two years ago ( the siege of port Arthur is one of the last operation the Soviet-Manchuria front is doing in the former state of Manchuria ).

September 8 The city of Dairen near the besieged city of port Arthur is taken by Soviet naval infantry landing parties who where transported by 34 GST flying boats taking of from Sukhodol airport near Vladivostok ( the GST flying boat is a Soviet version of the US designed PBY Catalina flying boat ).

September 9 Forced to wait as supply lines are unavailable , the Soviet-Manchuria front is forced to halt at the border of Yalu River ( border whit Japanese Korea ) , only one large army has crossed the Tumen river and is already in Japanese Korea and that is the Soviet 35th red banner army.

September 10 In Belgrade the former leader of the Yugoslavian resistance movement , marshal Tito is executed by a firing squad made of soldiers belonging to the Serbian state guard.

September 11 The Soviet 56th rifle corps begins the invasion of South Sakhalin where the face the Japanese 88th infantry division ( the Soviet 56th rifle corps has a strength of 20,000 men wile the Japanese 88th infantry division deployed on the Japanese part of the Sakhalin island has a strength of 2,000 men and some 10,000 poorly trained military veterans serving as reservists ore civil volunteer defenders ).

September 12 After eight days of battling house to house and supported by naval artillery from the Soviet pacific fleet and more then 800 air sorties flown by the Soviet naval air service the fight for the port city of Seishin is over as the Soviet and their Korean volunteer army allies take control of a ruin city.

September 13 Still waiting until the supply lines become available again and whit the news that the Chinese liberation army 2nd group army is reassigned to the be uses as a security force in Manchuria and will fall under the command of the Soviet-Chinese headquarters who has establish its headquarters in the former Manchurian capital of Xining.

September 16 The next invasion by the Soviet Union begins as 2 coast guards ships , 1mine layer , 4 minesweepers , 17 transports and 16 special landing vessels carrying nearly 9,000 sailors, soldiers and officers begin landing operations on Shumushu island against fierce opposition from the Japanese Defenders , but are able to establish a beachhead successfully.

September 17 Wile the Soviets are battling on the island of Shumushu island , elements of the Soviet 87th rifle corps and navy elements begin invading Shimushiro island , Kunashir, Shikotan and five smaller islands Sibotzu, Taraku-Shima, Uri-Shima, Akiuri, and Suiseto , all of them belonging to the Kuril islands.

September 18 The United States army air force together whit some components of the United States navy's air arm becomes the United States air force ( this happens on the same date as in OTL ).

September 19 After having waited more then ten days and having the 5th red banner army which is redeployed from the Soviet far eastern front and the placing of the Soviet 35th red banner army under its command the commander of the Soviet-Manchuria front army general Maksim Purkayev decides that he has enough forces to crush the Japanese in Korea.

September 20 In the republic of Syria the French 1st Foreign Regiment is replaced by the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment who will take over its role in teaching and assisting the Syrian army which has a strength of two brigades which are the 1st brigade ( two infantry battalions and one armored battalion ) and the 2nd brigade ( two infantry battalions and one armored vehicle battalion , most of the equipment the Syrian army is using is supplied by the French who are donating much of their older hardware to the Syrian army as the are supplied by the British and United States and don’t need them as much of it is pre 1940 designed ).
In the early hours of September 20th , the battle for Yalu river and the main invasion of Japanese Korea begins as a massive bombardment by several hundred artillery pieces and Katyushas , attack Japanese positions on the other side of the river followed shortly by tank and infantry crossing the river , in Japanese Korea the Soviet 35th red banner army is reaching towards Wonsan.

September 23 After many battles the island of Shumushu is taken by the Soviets who despite suffering heavy loses are able to get reinforcements onto the island , wile also having fire support of the Soviet pacific fleet and air cover available to them something the Japanese defenders on the island don’t have as the imperial navy is destroyed and the few aircraft the have are back home defending the home islands.

September 24 The Soviet-Manchuria front reaches the outskirts of Pyongyang where the Japanese 63rd infantry division and the 17th tank regiment belonging to the 3rd armored division have dig them self in.

September 25 The Soviets capture the southern part of Sakhalin suffering only 2,000 death ore wounded , in the battle of Pyongyang the soldiers belonging to the Soviet-Manchuria front have entered the city wile the Soviet 35th red banner army has captured Wonsan.

September 29 General lieutenant N.D. Zakhvataev commander of the Soviet 35th red banner army declares the city of Pyongyang liberated despite the fact that Soviet soldiers are still engaged in house to house combat in some areas of the city.

September 30 The nations of Pakistan and Yemen join the United Nations.

October 4 The remaining Japanese garrisons on the Kuril islands surrender ore are defeated by Soviet forces.

October 5 Whit daily attacks by the Viet Minh independence movement against the French Indochina expeditionary corps which have only increased sins the US army having left , a decision is made by the French government to inflict a major blow to the Viet Minh independence movement in capturing Ho Chi Minh and General Giap , the operation which is called operation Bastille will involve a airborne assault and a ground assault numbering 17,000 French soldiers of the French Indochina expeditionary and is slated to begin on October 8th.

October 6 The biggest Soviet air raid happens as 200 Tu-2DB , Il-4 and Yer-2 bombers attached to the Soviet 9th air army attack targets on the island of Hokkaidō , during their attack several Soviet bombers and their escort encounter USAF long range fighters who are patrolling the island in the search for Japanese targets ore are conducting reconnaissance missions.

October 7 The battle for Seoul begins as the Soviet 5th red banner army begins its attack wile more then 15 artillery brigades begin to shell the city ( more then 20,000 Japanese soldiers and some 10,000 Manchukuo imperial army soldiers who managed to escape from Manchuria are defending it ).

October 8 Operation Bastille begins and more then 1,100 paratroopers belonging to the 1er Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes land in and around the city of Bac Can , in only a matter of hours the French paratroopers manage to take control of the city but fail to capture Ho Chi Minh ore General Giap as the have left the city a day earlier.

October 9 General Jean-Etienne Valluy who is the French Indochina expeditionary corps commanding officer announces that French forces have captured the previous Viet Minh control city of Bac Can but where unable to capture any high ranking Vietnamese leaders in the city , he also announces that in his view the cease fire between the French republic and the Viet Minh independence movement in French Indochina is over and that the French Indochina expeditionary corps will now use any means at its disposal to defeat the Viet Minh.

October 10 President Truman by phone tells French president Jules Auriol that he regrets that the French-Vietnamese cease fire is over and informs him that despite the United States best hop for a peaceful solution it still stands by it allies and will support the French in their war.

October 14 United States test pilot captain Chuck Yeager flies a Bell X-1 faster than the speed of sound, whit this the United States is the first to brake the sound barrier , the German Kaiserliche Luftwaffe who also have a program to brake the sound barrier are closely on their tail.

October 24 Two F-7B Photographic reconnaissance aircraft ( modified B-24 ) belonging to the USAF eleventh air force and taking of from a Aleutian islands air field , fly reconnaissance mission over Shimushiro island and take photos of the Soviet occupation in the area before Soviet fighters intercept them and force them away.

October 25 The Japanese garrison in Port Arthur surrenders after a siege of forty-eight days , a famous picture is taken that day when soldiers belonging to the Soviet-Manchuria front hoist a flag of the Soviet Union over Port Arthur fortress ( whit the capture of Port Arthur all of the state of Manchuria is under the control of the Soviet Union ).

November 2 The Hughes H-4 Hercules ore also known as the Spruce Goose is flown by Howard Hughes , the large heavy transport aircraft designed and built by the Hughes aircraft company is the largest flying boat ever built , Howard Hughes the builder and designer during a interview on its main flight hopes that Hughes H-4 Hercules will enter into service whit the US navy.

November 3 Whit more firepower available then the Japanese defenders who only got 20,000 soldiers to protect the city of Seoul ( remains of two infantry divisions and the 3rd armored division ,) the 45th rifle corps and 65th rifle corps belonging to the Soviet 5th red banner army and their supporting brigades and regiments fight their way into the city center and mange to capture it.

November 4 Whit the fall of Seoul and the destruction of the last major Japanese force belonging to the Japanese 17th area army , no large Japanese force remain on the Korean peninsula and whit it the Soviet-Manchuria front can occupy the rest of the peninsula whit out much opposition.

November 5 Another over flight by two F-7Bs belonging to the USAF eleventh air force is made and this time they fly over Shumushu island before two La-7 Fighters intercept them and force them away.

November 6 In the early morning a USAF B-29 bomber drops a atom bomb on the Japanese city of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaidō is hit resulting in the deaths of 44,061 people , the city of Sapporo who was recently by the Soviet air force is completely destroyed as the result of the atomic blast.

November 9 The Soviet ambassador to the United states makes a formal protest to secretary of state Marshall in Washington DC about the USAF over flights of Soviet territory and ads that the Soviet Union has the right to defend its self if more over flights happen , secretary of state Marshall responds that the Kuril islands are not Soviet territory but are only occupied by the Soviet Union , and that any attack against USAF aircraft might hamper their relations.

November 17 In the port of Genoa the second Italian aircraft carrier is commissioned by princess Yolanda of Savoy who is the sister of king of Italy Umberto II , the carrier which is named RN Alcon can handle 40 naval versions of the Reggiane RE.2005 fighters and is the second aircraft carrier in service whit the Italian royal navy ( a third new carrier is also being build and will be named RN Corvine when she is completed in late 1949 ).

November 18 The new politburo decides not to launch any more operations against the Japanese empire as the have achieve all objections.

November 20 Princess Elizabeth marries the duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey in London , none of the ruling houses of Germany , Italy , Croatia ore Bulgaria who are members of the central alliance are invited to the wedding.

November 28 Pusan is captured by the Soviet-Manchuria front and is the last large city on the Korean peninsula to come under Soviet control , resistance by the Japanese in some coastal areas is still going on but is dealt whit by the Soviets whit the massive numbers available to them.

December 9 Last of the Zerstörer class 1934A is sold to Argentina and whit it SMS Z10 Hans Lody becomes ARA Rosales ( whit this the last destroyer is handed over to Argentine who now has bought three 1934A class destroyers and twelve Type IXC/40 U-boats ore known in Argentina as the San Pedro class submarine ).

December 12 The imperial Iranian army backed by the US military Iran advisory group takes back power in Azerbaijan province.

December 16 The Soviet military authority in Korea ( SMAK ) is establish whit its headquarters in the city of Heijō and the Soviet 35th red banner army being the garrison force for the country , the Soviet-Manchuria front is disbanded whit its army’s being resolved back into the Soviet far eastern front ore being sent to Manchuria.

December 24 Operation Bastille ends and is considered by the French supreme command a French tactical victory even if the operation failed to capture any high ranking Vietnamese leaders , more then 9,000 Viet Minh where killed ore wounded in the operation.

December 28 Former Italian king Victor Emmanuel III passes away in his private residency in Rome.

December 29 Japanese prime minister Yoshijiro Umezu inside the safety of the Matsushiro underground imperial headquarters meets whit former prime minister Yamamoto and emperor Hirohito who are under house arrest to get advise from them now that both Manchuria , Kuril and South Sakhalin islands have fallen under Soviet control , both former prime minister Yamamoto and emperor Hirohito beg prime minister Yoshijiro Umezu to surrender to the Americans as the now that only the islands of Hokkaidō , Honshū , Shikoku and Kyūshū are left of the Japanese empire and that the empire has nothing left to defend it self and a large part of the home islands left are already devastate by the massive US bombing campaign , prime minister Yoshijiro Umezu tells them that he will discuses it whit the chief of the army general staff and minister of army.

December 30 In the Portuguese capitol of Lisbon the peace talks between the Soviets and the Germans come to a end and whit it only the signing of the peace accord by the head of states of all 13 direct participant nations has to be done , now only the date for the signing has to be arranged and until then in order to prevent panic in the eastern region of Europe from braking out the details of the Lisbon peace accord will remain secret until the day of the signing.
Prime minister Yoshijiro Umezu speaks whit the chief of the army general staff and minister of army whit who he rules the remaining territory that makes op the Japanese empire , he tells them that whit the Soviets now controlling vital areas the empire al all considerations has lost the war more then the already have , he fears that the Soviet Union now will invade the home islands and that the Empire has no means to defend it self as it has no navy , air force to defend it and the imperial army in all battles has bin swept away if the where nothing by the Soviets , he also add that whit more then 58 city’s completely destroyed ( including A-bombs ) , infrastructure none exciting and more then 10 to 20,000 citizens dying of starvation ore other causes each day , the time has come to surrender unconditional and to accept the Belfast Declaration , the responds by both the chief of the army general staff and minister of army is that the will think about it and will give him their reply in 24 hours about what to do.