Turning Point - Sekigahara: Toyotomi's Global Expansion and its Consequences

Phase 25 - Great War (2)

In the autumn of 1914, the war expanded from the "Great War" to the "World War." However, the basic name remained "Great War," and it was only referred to as "World War" in some places. Some even combined the two and called it the "Great World War." In the Japanese language used in the Pacific region, the basic translation for the final word was "World War."

As of November 1914, the countries involved in the war included Britain, France, Russia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Serbia, Montenegro, and the Yamato Republic in the Entente. The Alliance consisted of Germany, Austria, Turkey, the United States, Japan, and the Qing Dynasty. At this point, Italy, the Confederate States of America, Greece, Portugal, Romania, and Bulgaria were still neutral and had not yet joined the war.

It's worth noting that the protectorates of the great powers were not included as they typically lacked diplomatic rights, but if you were to consider colonies and territories, almost the entire world, except for Central and South America, was involved in the war in some way.

As a half-joke, half-serious remark, it was said that there were too many belligerent nations, and there was no country willing to buy war bonds.

Furthermore, this situation was unexpected and unprecedented for most nations, except for some that joined later. Many countries had anticipated traditional European-style bilateral wars but had never seriously considered a total war involving the full national resources and a multinational conflict. As a previous issue, no country had previously undertaken a full-scale mobilization of its resources. That's why the confusion that ensued might have been expected, but due to the already invested war costs and the involvement of numerous countries, no one could simply withdraw from the war. Countries that admitted defeat would be burdened with enormous national debts.

This situation was somewhat like a gambling game where only the stakes kept increasing. Moreover, this gamble didn't promise wealth and glory even if one side won decisively.

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After the speculative early offensives by the German army failed, it was the Japanese who took the next proactive steps.

These actions were taken by the United States and the Empire of Japan. In order to overturn their disadvantages in the surrounding areas, each country began to move before the other side could fully prepare. The US executed a long-planned "top-secret operation," while Japan, driven by a long-standing sense of anger, started striking at the hostile forces in the surrounding regions.

Let's take a closer look from the perspective of Japan.

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Japan's mainland was surrounded by many enemies. However, even Russia, which was connected to the home country by rail, was limited to its border regions. The colonies held by France and Britain in Southeast Asia were distant frontier territories from their respective home countries. In this context, the largest force among the Entente nations was the Russian Far East Army.

Before the outbreak of the war, Russia had been sending ships one after another from its home country and had organized the Russian Pacific Fleet. They also sent armies by rail, with approximately one army stationed in various locations. When the war started, reinforcements were rarely sent due to the difficult situation in Europe, but Russia considered this deployment sufficient.

The Japanese port town of Urashio, once established by the Japanese, became an invaluable base for the Russian fleet. The Russian Pacific Fleet hurriedly began to preserve its fleet, but the Japanese Navy first blockaded it from the sea. Similarly, the blockade of Hong Kong, a British territory, was enforced, and a separate task force was organized to initiate the recapture operation of the Philippines and North Borneo, which had been taken nine years earlier.