Throughout the period 1900-1920, Japanese merchants had been established in Western Nowapan, especially along the coast. Officially, this was against Nowan policy, but a number of local Ttéra officials were turning a blind eye to it, thanks in no small part to large Japanese bribes. They had driven a large number of Ttéshá out of business through intimidation (aided and abetted by local officials) and by undercutting prices. Once the Ttéshá had left, the Japanese merchants raised prices and substituted Japanese goods for the previously Nowan manufactures. A great deal of hard feeling had begun to accumulate, culminating on the night of July 17, 1920.
On that night, in the small town of Bdóttenge, a mob, angered by a sudden increase in prices, went on a rampage. They burned every Japanese business and killed 5 Japanese. This had two effects. First, it brought to the attention of the Nowan Emperor the whole corrupt business. Secondly, it outraged the Japanese government which promptly issued a set of demands. The Ultimatum of July 20 as it is now known called for the following;
Reaction was divided. Ttéhanpir leaders called for outright refusal and military action to resist if necessary. They coupled this with a diplomatic suggestion that leadership of the forces should be returned to Ttéhanpir hands. Ttéra leaders were split into a camp supporting refusal and one which counseled conciliatory gestures which might lead to a withdrawal of the Ultimatum. Ttotnet decided to attempt the latter course. On July 29, he offered the Japanese their first three points. Further, he offered to station Nowan police to guard Japanese merchants. Finally, he allowed as how many of the Japanese merchants were illegal but he would change their status to a legal one and would continue to allow them limited access to more Nowan towns and cities.
The Japanese found this completely unacceptable. On July 30th, the Japanese fleet began moving towards Nowan waters. The Nowans were not unaware of this movement. On the same day, Ttotnet orders Prince-Admiral Ttotte to lead the Nowan fleet to the waters off of Ttormóka to conduct 'maneuvers.' On August 5th, the Nowan fleet arrived at Ttormóka and began coaling. As coaling was well underway, an advance wing of the Japanese fleet, consisting of the Kongo, the Hiei, 2 cruisers, and 5 destroyers swept into the waters off of the harbor at maximum speed. They carried out a brief but intensive shelling of the vessels in the harbor, few of which were able to respond. Nowan losses totaled 2 pre-dreadnought battleships and 1 destroyer sunk, with another Neptune class battleship and a cruiser heavily damaged.
On August 6, Nowapan issued a formal declaration of war and ordered mobilization. The remnants of the Nowan fleet at Ttormóka finally got underway on August 8. The two fleets spent 3 days searching for each other but never making contact. On August 12, the Japanese fleet turned back for coaling. There was relatively little fighting for the next few weeks. Nowapan did round up all Japanese merchants and seized their assets, a move copied by the Japanese against the handful of Nowan assets in Japan. On August 24th, a Japanese submarine sank a Nowan torpedo boat. Two days later, a Nowan submarine evened the score by sinking a large (6000t.) Japanese freighter and damaging another off the coast of Kyushu. On August 28th, a Japanese fleet got underway again. This time it included troop transports and a full division of the Japanese Army.
On the night of September 4th, advanced elements of the Japanese fleet arrived off of the northern shore of West Cape. They carried out a brief bombardment of a small fishing town called Hangkinptán and shortly after dawn, the transports were escorted into the harbor where they began to unload their cargoes. News of the invasion did not reach Nowaka until late that afternoon but it through the royal household into a panic. Although after the war it would become clear that Japan had only limited objectives, the Nowan courtiers feared that outright conquest was their plan.
To counter the invasion, Nowapan had one ill-equipped division, the 79th, at Ttormóka and five others scattered about the western third of the island. Corrupt Ttéra procurement officers had pocketed most of the money that had been allocated for arms and ammunition. The whole of the air force consisted of 67 World War I era fighters and bombers. Factories that had been bought whole from the Germans were still being rebuilt and would not be a major factor in this war.
The men of the 79th Division were certainly willing to fight but a lack of fuel for their trucks meant they had to hike to meet the enemy. The Japanese were moving towards them, clearly Ttormóka was their objective. On September 8th, near the half way point, the Japanese paused to dig in and wait for the Nowan troops. They had no clear information about their numbers and equipment and frankly, little more was expected of them than that they should hold their positions until more troops arrived from Japan. Confronted with dug in positions, Prince-General Tehet ordered a frontal attack. The Nowans had an average of 12 rounds per cannon (of which they only had 25) and the men had only 40 rounds of ammunition apiece. The 79th Division had only 8 working machine guns and even these had only limited ammunition supplies.
The assault was a disaster, nearly 1/3 of the initial wave were killed. Attempts at regrouping largely failed as successive waves pushed through the floundering front wave. By the time the sun had set, 6000 of the approximately 8000 Nowans were dead. Tehet and his entourage scrambled for the few cars and truck available and fled back to Ttormóka, leaving the survivors to their best efforts. At Ttormóka, Tehet drafted a telegram to Ttotnet blaming his defeat on the cowardice of his officers and the lack of fighting spirit of his men. He withdrew the next day to Luizakhai to await reinforcements.
News of the defeat set off near panic in Ttormóka. Prince- Admiral Ttotte ordered the fleet to make ready to sail. On September 12th, with the Japanese force now bombarding the city, the fleet left harbor. It sailed right into the arms of the Japanese fleet. The Battle of White Island (Ptúheking) was about to begin.
Order of Battle, Japanese and Nowan Forces
Japanese: Nowan:
Battleships:
Settsu (12x12") 2 Neptune Class (10x12.2")
Fuso (12x14") 4 Erin Class (10-13.4")
Yamashiro (12x14")
Ise (12x14")
Hyuga (12x14")
Battlecruisers: Pre-Dreadnoughts:
Kongo (8x14") 3 Various classes (4x12.2")
Haruna (8x14")
Hiei (8x14")
Kirishima (8x14")
Armoured Cruisers
Aso 2 Various Classes
Nisshin
Kasuga
Cruisers 5 Various Classes
Hirato
Yahagi
Chikuma
Tone
Destroyers:
10 various classes 11 various classes
The battle began at 8:03 AM when the Kongo class battlecruisers, sweeping ahead of their own fleet, sighted the Nowan Fleet. They frantically signalled their commander and at near maximum range, began a brief and largely ineffectual artillery duel with the Nowan Erin Class ships. Prince-Admiral Ttotte turned his ships towards the Kongos and unbeknownst to him, the rest of the Japanese fleet. At 9:17 AM, the two fleets met headon. For several minutes both sides struggled to regroup, the Nowan forces actually accomplishing this first. Reforming into a firing line, the larger vessels began firing broadsides at 9:23 AM. They had some immediate success, the Japanese battleship Settsu was hit almost immediately and visibly slowed. But then the Japanese gunners found the range. The lead Erin class was hit and hit hard by at least 4-14" shells. She pulled away to starboard and the Japanese shifted their fire towards the second Erin. The Fuso was hit next, a 12.2" shell penetrated her X turret, putting it out of action for the duration of the battle.
A rainsquall seperated the two sides at 9:37 AM and contact was briefly lost. At 10:00 AM, the Japanese find the range and open fire again, this time on the Pre-Dreadnought squadron. The first ship targeted was hit repeatedly in the space of 5 minutes. Her forward magazines blew up at 10:06 and she was lost with all hands. By this time the bulk of the Nowan fleet had resighted the enemy and all ships were engaged whose guns could bear. The admiral in charge of the destroyer flotilla asked and was refused permission to lead a torpedo attack. Over the next 10 minutes, all the Nowan battleships were hit. Ttotte's flagship was hit 3 times in short order beginning at 10:15 AM. Through the smoke and haze it was difficult to judge their own success against the Japanese but in fact they were doing well. Only 2 of the Japanese capitol ships had not been hit at that time. The battle might have ended in a draw but for the lack of ammunition on the Nowan vessels and Ttotte's own lack of intestinal fortitude.
The last hit had been very near the admiral's bridge and he was being bombarded by warnings from his captains about their lack of ammunition. Panic took over from reason, he ordered all the battleships to turn south and make their way to Yunk'attor. An exception was made for the most heavily damaged battleship who was permitted to sail for Yunk'ushútt'i, an exception at least partly based on the hope the Japanese would follow it. He then ordered 2 destroyers to escort his own flagship but ordered the rest of them and the cruisers to attack and hold the Japanese fleet while the battleships escaped. Seven cruisers and 9 destroyers attacked the Japanese fleet at 10:22 AM. By 10:30, only 1 armored cruiser, 1 light cruiser and 3 destroyers were left, all with significant battle damage. The Ttéhanpir admiral commanding the surviving ships reluctantly broke off the attack as the Japanese swept past and after the Nowan battleships. The Nowans were out of ammunition and unable to maintain contact due to loss of speed. The last shots were fired at 10:35 and the battle was over. Rain squalls prevented the Japanese from making further contact with the Nowan vessels which had scattered by then in any case.
On September 13th, with only token resistance, the Japanese army occupied Ttormóka under the protection of the Japanese fleet. More troops were arriving almost daily and the narrow Japanese corridor across West Cape began to expand.
On the northern shore of West Cape, their forces turned inland and began to march towards Yunk'ushútt'i. They arranged their forces in the low hills surrounding the city and on October 15, began a prolonged bombardment. The battleships Fuso and Yamashiro took up station off of the coast and periodically joined in with their guns. Yunk'ushútt'i had been considered one of the most beautiful cities in western Pan, it was slowly being destroyed. The destruction had little reason behind it. There were less than 2000 troops in the city and they were armed with only light arms. The battleship in her harbour was badly damaged and could offer only occasional efforts from her guns, in part due to the lack of ammunition. The Japanese had 13,000 troops massed around Yunk'ushútt'i and could have taken it easily.
The final assault did not begin until November 6 and within 2 days, the city was in Japanese hands. Some 1200 Nowan soldiers and 15,000 civilians had died, the Japanese lost less than 1000. The battleship fired her last few rounds but was then destroyed as the Fuso and Yamashiro closed to point blank range and poured over 100 14" shells into her. She sank in place and was finally scrapped in 1927.
The savagery of the almost wholly unnecessary Japanese bombardment did not escape the attention of the world press. Newspaper in Europe and the Americas were calling for an immediate end to hostilities. As much as most outsiders disliked Nowans, apparently they disliked the Japanese even more. On November 12, the American government offered to mediate. The British government issued a sharply worded protest the following day. Both were rejected out of hand by the Japanese government.
To underline their point, they began moving westward to occupy the last parts of West Cape. One of the towns in their path was a little village called Hempínngo. There a small garrison of 400 Ttéhanpir led soldiers had set up an emplacement on a strategic, but as of yet nameless hilltop. Having gathered every scrap of ammunition in the immediate area and even a few light cannon, they were prepared to resist to the death. A Japanese column of some 5000 men began to move past their hill on November 25 and after letting the first few pass, the Nowans opened fire. The Japanese initially fell back with heavy casualties and the Nowans rushed to gather ammunition and arms from their dead. The Japanese commander placed his far superior forces completely around the small hill. He ordered simultaneous charges from several directions at once, but the withering fire from above halted every charge. He fell back and ordered artillery brought up but before his guns could be setup, the Nowan cannons began to fire on their positions, destroying several of them and disrupting the rest. Night fell shortly thereafter and the Japanese resumed their emplacement efforts under cover of darkness. Shortly after 2 AM, their work was interrupted by machine gun fire and a group of about 40 Nowan soldiers brazenly invaded the Japanese position. For 10 minutes, pandemonium reigned as the Nowans fired on cannon crews and blew up some of their ammunition supplies. As they fell back, the Nowan cannon again fired on the positions to cover them. That night, 6 Nowans died along with 120 Japanese.
Heroic as the effort was, it was also largely futile. There were simply too many Japanese soldiers below the hill. Their guns were set up by morning and even with the night's losses, were still capable of weilding considerable destructive power. A pattern began that day with a heavy bombardment followed by a sweeping charge up the hill which in its turn was forced back. On December 8th, the surviving Nowan soldiers were finally overrun and the Battle of Black Hill gétt'ó drew to a close. The Japanese bayonetted the few survivors and buried them in their trenches. All 400 Nowans died along with 2312 Japanese soldiers. Sadly enough for all concerned, the Japanese drew their lessons from this war, not from Gétt'ó but from the efforts of Ttéra led forces.
Outraged at their losses, the Japanese turned their anger on Hempínngo, burning it to the ground and massacring its 2000 inhabitants. Once again, western governments met into the late evening trying to decide what to do.
News of the battle, the heroic last stand and the massacre, gave new energy to the Nowan forces. Tehet gathered an army of 64,000 at Luizakhai and on December 30, began slowly moving towards West Cape. Japanese strength was now over 130,000 well equipped troops. On January 2, the two sides met a crossroads some 100 km from Ttormóka. A brief but bloody engagement stopped the Nowans. Tehet began a withdrawal back towards Luizakhai. It would not be a rapid withdrawal, to his credit he maintained order in his army and stopped and fought repeatedly.
Fearing another massacre at Luizakhai, the United States and Great Britain finally acted. They issued a joint statement calling for an immediate ceasefire and for all forces to stand in place. The Japanese ignored the statement although the Nowan government welcomed it and appealed for Western aid, an humiliating request for all Nowans. By January 14, the Japanese were at the outskirts of Luizakhai and were shelling its outskirts. The United States and Great Britain finally felt compelled to act. They demanded an immediate ceasefire or threatened to intervene. On January 16, the Japanese agreed, the Nowans had already accepted the terms on the 14th. Negotiations began in the American city of Seattle on January 30.
The Japanese refused to budge from their ultimatum of July 20, a position the Nowans found unacceptable. After weeks of frustrating deadlock, Japanese forces in Nowapan decided to act on their own. On the morning of March 12, 1921, young colonel ordered his regiment to attack Nowan positions to the north of Yunk'ushútt'i. The ceasefire was at least temporarily at an end. The fighting was fierce and with the element of surprise, much to the favor of the Japanese.
Furious at what they perceived as a perfidious attack launched by the Japanese government, the Americans and British decided to intervene directly. They declared an immediate blockade of occupied territory and began moving their own forces into Western Pan. This time, they demanded that the Japanese withdrawal completely. It was all too much for the Japanese government. On March 30, they accepted the western ultimatum. By May, all of their forces had been withdrawn and the American and British forces followed soon thereafter.
There was enough humiliation handed out for both sides and
neither would forget the lessons learned. The Japanese learned
to trust their own strength, not that of the West and learned,
incorrectly, that they could easily defeat the Nowans. The
Nowans did not become fully cognizant of their own lessons until
after the Revolution, of which, the bungling leadership of the
war, was a major catalyst. But they learned that
Ttéhanpir
should lead their forces, that only a strong and self-reliant
military could defend them, and that other nations would go to
war over trade issues. All of these stood them well the next
time their forces met the Japanese in combat.
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© 2001 Brad Coon