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

Phase 30 - Great War (7)

The completion of the Eurasian Ring by the alliance had created the most troublesome issue for the Entente.

Germany, which had been at war and gasping for breath due to the interruption of overseas trade, had managed to recover to some extent.

Of course, the amount of supplies that Japan could send from the Persian Gulf was limited, but the strategic shift of Japan (Asia) connecting with Germany, while Britain and India were cut off, greatly boosted the morale of the German population. Furthermore, even though it was limited, supplies were delivered to Germany (there was also a significant movement of goods from Ukraine and the Trans-Siberian Railway at the same time), which further boosted the morale of the German population both materially and psychologically.

It is said that it was during this period that the German population began to feel Japan as a true ally.

On the other hand, Britain had lost India as well, and the supply of imported goods from overseas had greatly diminished. France, which had lost its major industrial areas in the war, was also heavily dependent on overseas sources, and therefore suffered a significant blow.

In other words, the situation had essentially reversed.

. . .

Moreover, when Russia completely withdrew from the war in March 1918, the tables had turned in the war's dynamics. This was the first time since the initial German offensive failure in 1915 that the offensive and defensive roles had reversed. Additionally, Britain was faced with a two-fold choice: whether to focus on the Western Front or the Middle East, which essentially meant India.

With Japan's forces in Asia and the inability to mobilize troops and procure supplies from Asia, Britain was already exhausted, much like Germany. The level of exhaustion was similar for other Entente countries like France. They were left with the choice of either prioritizing a do-or-die battle or engaging in a struggle to preserve their limbs. Furthermore, the impact of Japan causing turmoil in Asia, along with the inability to procure resources from colonies and elsewhere, was hindering the continuation of the war for the Entente. They simply couldn't afford to engage in another war alongside the current one.

The only relatively strong region within the Entente was the Confederate States of America, but the South had to maintain a political-military balance in North America, so there were limits to the forces they could send, making it difficult to overcommit. The reason they were relatively strong was the limited deployment of troops and the war demand boosting their economy.

In addition, the alliance navies were becoming more active again.

Japan, at the forefront with its state-of-the-art Kongō-class battlecruisers, easily captured Socotra Island near Aden, securing a bridgehead towards the Red Sea, and started moving to establish firm control over the Indian Ocean. If the Red Sea were blocked, having the Suez Canal would be almost meaningless.

In the North Sea, the German High Seas Fleet was also becoming more active, and everyone sensed that the final showdown was approaching.

However, the Alliance also had limited room to maneuver, as countries other than Japan had already reached their limits in the war effort. Japan had experienced very few battles of attrition, which typically involved building trenches and intense battles between large armies, so the number of casualties was relatively low, and the cost of the war was considerably better than other countries. Furthermore, European countries were continually squandering massive amounts of ammunition and resources, which was putting tremendous pressure on their national wartime economies.

In this war, most European countries had completely sacrificed their domestic economies to produce vast amounts of weapons and ammunition. Thus, within their immature economies and distribution networks, there was a significant strain in maintaining this effort for an extended period.