Timeline Part Ten (No FDR)

July 1956- The war rages into July, with the German offensive in Asia ground to a halt due to the Japanese SJ-53 attacks on German forces in Peking and Chungking. The German Army, having suffered huge losses so unexpectedly, began to dig in and consolidate the Reich's wartime gains in Asia. While this newly constructed defense quickly turned into bloody trench warfare similar to that of World War I, it allowed the German Army to reorganize.

The Japanese suffered similar complications; consequently, they too were subject to trench warfare. However, unlike their German counterparts, morale was soon the highest it had ever been in Japan so far in the war, because they had successfully stopped the German invaders from conquering the mainland and undermined the Reich's superiority over the Japanese Empire. While they forced the Germans into a stalemate, they had suffered insurmountable losses. Japan's influence in Asia was now severely weakened, with much of its mainland territory falling into German hands. In addition, the Germans had gained a foothold in Australia, having captured the strategic port city of Perth. Japanese air and naval powers were also strained from the initial German attack that ignited the war.

So far in the war, Japan had suffered nearly a million casualties, along with Emperor Hirohito and the Imperial family. In response, the Japanese government imposed a national day of mourning on July 10th, in honor of their fallen Imperial leaders. Being treated as a hero among the Japanese people and within the government, the government honored Prime Minister Sakurai with the title of New Emperor, for ordering the attack that saved Japan from Nazi conquest.

Meanwhile, in Germany, there is not a cause for celebration at all. Reichkanzler Heydrich was furious when General Rommel radioed the message to Berlin regarding the SJ-53 attacks on the 6th. On July 8th, he ordered the German General Staff the strategic "rebuildup" of German Armed Forces. In addition, he ordered the introduction of martial law in the newly conquered Asian territory in the hopes of quelling any possible geurilla warfare that could put more strain on the German Army. After giving his orders to the General Staff on July 8th in Berlin, he established the precondition that the Third Reich WILL, by all means, force the Empire of Japan into unconditional surrender.

With German satellites detecting the use of Nagasaki as the staging area of the SJ-53 attacks, the Germans concentrated their rocket fire on the city on the 11th, killing 5,700 people as a result.

The struggle for control of East Asia continues...