1936

During the General Elections of 1936 on February 20th, the Liberal-Social Democratic coalition had lost a number of seats in that election, but they still had enough seats in the National Diet to maintain a majority government. In short, the "Navy" government was still in power.

For the Imperial Japanese Army, which had been increasingly sidelined by the government in favor of the Imperial Japanese Navy and harassed by the IJN-led Tokko, Special Higher Police, the general election results were the final straw. The two remaining factions, the Tosei-ha and the Kodo-ha, who were in a shaky truce, began planning a coup d'etat to "free" Japan from the yoke of the IJN and the Western democratic government. Yet the plan was doomed to fail from its onset.

Moles, double agents, and old-school interrogations would lead the Tokko, and thus the IJN and the government, to discover the plot. Although they had the evidence to arrest the plotters, a decision was made to instead use the attempted coup to completely "cure" the IJA of its Gekokujo thinking. But in reality, it was just a calculated move to re-establish the IJA with a much more cooperative leadership and junior officers, and most importantly, an IJA indirectly subordinated to the navy.

Each side carefully made its preparations, plans, and counter plans. However, the cracks within the Toseiha-Kodoha truce had begun to grow, as both sides suspected that the other would turn their guns against them before or after the coup. Then, on February 25th, the Kodoha leadership made its decision.

February 26, 1936

In the early hours of 5:00 a.m., the city of Tokyo was awakened by the sounds of gunfire on the streets. The coup attempt had started, but it began days earlier than the appointed time because the Kodo-ha, in an attempt to seize total control of the nation and destroy the Tosei-ha, had made the fateful decision to attack as soon as possible, even if meant doing so without a plan.

However, the Tosei-ha had noticed the Kodo-ha movements, which started at 3:30 a.m., prompting them to make their own unplanned moves as well. The situation, fueled by distrust between the factions, led to complete chaos in the city.

Kodo-ha and Tosei-ha forces fought against each other for control of strategic areas or on their way there. The streets of Tokyo had become a battlefield, fueled further as the IJN Marines and police forces, preemptively stationed in each key area, began engaging the rebellious army forces. What ensued was a three-way battle in the heart of the nation.

The still unharmed administration gathered and quickly began ordering the loyal reserve forces into action. As loyalist forces entered the city of Tokyo from land, sea, and even air, the two rebellious armies were forced to retreat and take positions in improvised defensive areas. There they began their bitter last stand against the government forces, exchanging fire until the morning of the next day.

The sieges of the rebellious strongholds became so intense that the failed coup became the first combat action taken by the Imperial Japanese Air Service, using dive bombers to bomb the stronghold buildings with as much precision as possible. The fighting only ended by the middle of February 27th when the last Kodo-ha and Tosei-ha strongholds were destroyed, with many of the plotters and junior officers choosing to commit Seppuku instead of capture.

With the rebel forces defeated, the government moved swiftly to capitalize on the ongoing confusion and convinced the emperor to condemn the army's actions and declare the disbandment of the IJA. With their only obstacle now completely removed, the government would begin a series of searches and trials to decide the fate of every individual who served in the IJA. Some would receive lenient punishment, while others would receive the death penalty.

In one stroke, the disbanded IJA had been completely purged of its radical and insubordinate elements. However, not all was good, as the IJA officer corps and high-ranking echelons had been practically reduced to just a quarter of their original strength. In practical terms, the former IJA had effectively been beheaded by its own government.

The Showa Democracy (1936-1981)

Even after months had passed since the coup, the effects of its aftermath could still be felt. In April, the National Diet finished drafting and ratifying the new Showa Constitution, one of the consequences of the coup. The government, Privy Council, and even the Emperor were forced to recognize the necessity of fixing and reforming many of the loopholes existing in the Meiji Constitution to prevent another restorationist or militarist coup by the armed forces.

After three months of disbandment, the Imperial Japanese Army was re-established, but this time with much more oversight from the government and reduced political power and size. The 2nd IJA, as it became popularly known, was rebuilt under the command of loyalist and moderate members such as Kazushige Ugaki, Masaharu Homma, and Jotaro Watanabe, incorporating many the new breakthroughs made by European armies, especially the British Army.

Due to the reduced force and lack of opposition to their army reforms, the IJA rapidly turned into the second fully motorized force in the world by that point in time. The years following 1936 focused on rebuilding the IJA to a decent level of strength, particularly due to the remaining threat of the Red Army to the north and the Nationalist forces in China to a lesser extent. The same period also saw changes in the IJN and IJAS.

In the IJN, 1936 marked the beginning of the construction of the first two ships of the Yamato-class battleships, Yamato and Musashi, as well as the construction of the two Shoukaku-class fleet carriers, Shoukaku and Zuikaku, which would replace Kaga and Tosa, respectively.

Alongside these new additions to the fleet, the main battle doctrine of the IJN was shifting towards the carrier force due to Japan's geographical position and the need to achieve naval dominance. This Carrier-centric thinking made the IJN into a pioneer in carrier operations and tactics. While joint exercises with the Royal Navy in East Asia and the sharing of British and Japanese doctrines would shape the two navies into creating the most effective carrier groups and submarine hunting tactics of the world.

As for the IJAS and the air branch of the IJN, they maintained their rigorous requirements and training courses, but the focus shifted towards teamwork with commanders and wingmen. This change aimed to gradually remove the concept of Bushido, which caused most of the army insubordination and radicalization, from all military branches and reduce potential unnecessary losses during wartime.

Regarding the rest of the world during those three years of relative peace both inside and outside Japan, China was still embroiled in its civil war. The Nationalists, led by Chiang Kai-shek, were slowly pushing against the communist forces and were on the verge of completely defeating them, as they also consolidated their lines against the other remaining warlords.

The USSR was undergoing purges much like in Japan, but the difference was that the purges weren't rooting out the bad elements from the military, but out of paranoia. The US was still recovering from the Great Depression, and its relations with Japan had warmed up, but Japan still viewed the US as a threat and untrustworthy, especially due to the fresh memories of the US trying to undermine Japan during the Washington Naval Conference.

In Europe, the situation was starting to gain more speed and size, like a snowball. Germany, now under the command of Adolf Hitler, began to ignore the terms of the Versailles Treaty and expand its so-called Third Reich. The first major move was the remilitarization of the Rhineland in 1936, followed by the annexation of Memel and Austria in 1938. In October 1938, under the terms of the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland region was given to Nazi Germany. Which, the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, announced it as:

"My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honor. I believe it is peace for our time. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Go home and get a nice quiet sleep."

Yet, there would be no peace. In March 1939, Germany occupied the remainder of Czechoslovakia, further strengthening the Wehrmacht and the German war machine. But that wouldn't be Germany's last move.

On September 1, 1939, that day marked the start of what would become known as World War II, when German troops began their invasion of Poland. The European powers of Britain and France quickly followed with a declaration of war on Germany, soon joined by the British Commonwealth, and eventually, Japan, which joined to honor the Anglo-Japanese alliance.

The United States of America, however, was the most surprised nation by this news, as both the population felt outwitted by the Japanese due to their secret alliance with Britain made behind their backs. As for the government, a certain sense of relief was felt, as the alliance was revealed to be a defensive one with the cooperation of both nations in case either of them were attacked.

Japan, now entering a wartime situation, began mobilizing its armed forces. Within just a month, the first contingent of the Japanese Expeditionary Forces was ready for deployment in Europe, which began on October 5th.

Accompanying the JEF was the Rengo Kantai, or Combined Fleet, consisting primarily of the Kido Butai, or 1st Air Fleet, and many of the other modern vessels of the IJN. The two forces sailed together until they arrived at the Horn of Africa, where the transports and their escorts broke off towards the Suez Canal, while the Combined fleet, due to the size of its ships, had to go around Africa through the Cape.

By mid-December, the Combined fleet arrived in Britain, where most of its forces were attached to the Home Fleet to combat the Kriegsmarine. But even with the bolstering of forces provided by the IJN, the Allies were too slow to react to the German invasion of Denmark, which only lasted for hours, due to the now clear plans of Germany trying to take over the Nordic countries. Operations Wilfred and R 4 were commenced as ways to prevent the fall of Norway to German forces.

As the Allies suspected, the Germans began their planned invasion of Norway, but the invasion attempt was stopped thanks to the massive naval presence provided by the Home Fleet and Combined Fleet. However, due to the unfavorable weather of the North Sea, the damage caused to the German invasion forces was minimal, and many German assets and units were able to return back safely with minimal losses. Nevertheless, Norway was saved from an invasion by Nazi Germany and brought to the Allied side in their war against Germany.

Germany's fortunes were mixed during the phoney war, but the lack of movement by the Allies had granted enough time to redeploy most of its forces west, after the capitulation of Poland. The Germans prepared themselves to launch their daring offensive against the British and French forces, and on May 10, 1940, they initiated their offensive against the Low Countries and France.

The Wehrmacht's advance was unprecedented. Through a combination of combined land and air power, the German forces were able to push deep into Belgium and conquer most of the Netherlands. This forced the British Expeditionary Forces and the French army to be hastily redeployed in unprepared defensive positions in Belgium. It also left the French forces thinly spread across their border with Germany and Luxembourg, but that was exactly what the Maginot Line was made for—to multiply the combat power of the French Army. However, there was one flaw.

The Maginot Line only extended across the German border, thus leaving the areas bordering Luxembourg and Belgium practically unprotected. This was especially evident in the Ardennes, caused by outdated French high-command thinking that believed the hilly and forested terrain of the region would make any armored breakthrough impossible from there. They were wrong.

May 12 marked the beginning of the Second Battle of Sedan, where German forces launched their offensive into France proper. The city held strategic importance, as a defeat there would mean the Germans could advance inside France with little opposition, and that's exactly what happened. The French forces defending Sedan were defeated by the combined forces of the Heer and Luftwaffe. With their main obstacle gone, the Germans continued their blitzkrieg into France with the aim to cut off and encircle the entirety of the Allied army in Belgium.

The German forces, through their combination of speed and surprise, broke the French forces before they could even prepare for battle. Panic soon ensued in the French army as broken communication lines and rumors of the German advance already cutting off their main army in Belgium began to spread.

But not all was lost yet. The French forces, in command of the joint command of France and Britain, were slow to react, which was the main cause of the disorganized situation of their counter-attacks and lack of effective response. However, to the JEF stationed in reserve near the Belgian frontier, that mattered little as they were disjointed from the joint command. They disregarded the command issued to them to remain in place and react to a possible German attack through the North or Northeast. Gambling that they could reach the Germans on time, the JEF raced southwest.

In their race towards the growing bulge, the JEF encountered the right flank of the 1st and 2nd Panzer Divisions racing towards the English Channel through the Somme Valley. With the initiative in their hands, the Japanese commander ordered his forces to charge into the German line. What ensued became known as the Third Battle of the Somme, later described as the most important engagement during the Battle for France.

Due to the initial surprise achieved by the JEF, a number of Panzer Is and IIs were destroyed, but none of the Panzer IIIs and IVs were hit. Nevertheless, the Germans were forced to stop their advance to engage the Japanese. For a full three days, Type 97 Chi-Has engaged the German Panzers, and one by one... the Japanese tanks were destroyed by the Panzer IVs, which far surpassed the capabilities of the Chi-ha, while the Panzer IIIs were an equal match for the Japanese tanks. In the air, the Luftwaffe, still having air superiority, joined the fray with Ju-87 Stukas, causing chaos in the JEF ranks.

In those three days, the JEF would be nearly annihilated, with barely a fifth of their original strength remaining. Yet, their sacrifice wasn't in vain, as Allied reinforcements began arriving to secure the thin crossing between the Germans and the Channel, and finally forcing the German break necking advance to stop. With their advance halted, Guderian and his forces were forced to stop their armored offensive under direct orders from Hitler, allowing the Allied forces to partially reorganize during that time. However, with the threat of encirclement still present, confusion, and the disintegration of communication lines, the Allied army in the Low Countries began the evacuation of all their forces in the region.

The Germans would realize their mistake and hastily restart their offensive in Belgium and northeastern France, but they were too late. The Luftwaffe was unable to completely stop the evacuation of the Allied forces in Calais, Zeebrugge, Dunkirk, and what became known as the Somme's Corridor. Yet, there was still a chance to win. The French Army was still recovering from the disarray caused by the German offensive and it was plagued by defeatism, while the escaping armies were still reorganizing and under-equipped from their hasty evacuation.

The German leadership still believed in the possibility of attaining victory against France and, consequently, the Allies, the Germans desperately raced towards Paris. However, in an ironic twist of fate, the German rapid advance was stopped at the Third Battle of the Marne by a hastily redeployed British, Japanese, and French force right on the outskirts of Paris, which became the second Miracle of the Marne. Much like in World War I, the Germans were stopped just as victory seemed to be within their reach.

And now, for the second time, the Germans and French were forced to engage in trench warfare in the fields of northern France. The hopes of a quick victory for the Reich were shattered, but they weren't going to give up. The French skies were still under German control, and the Nazi Party was ready to achieve victory no matter the place or cost. As the land and seas came to a stop, the air started to rumble even more as the Battle for the French Skies commenced.