The War Journal of Baron Tekisasu Belasar, Prime Minister of Imperial Japan

......The question now before the Council is just how to array our forces in China to bring the Nationalist and Communist bandit threat to an acceptable level. The Colonel begins with the Army's thoughts and intentions in regard to our northern most tier in Manchukuo.

Manchukuo is by far our most secure and safe provincial holding within China-Asia Mainland (save Korea). The local government is largely compliant to our needs, the populace, largely docile and the Imperial troops, the Kwantung Army, consists of some of our best troops. It is in most respects, how we hope to remake the balance of North, Central and South China.

Still we cannot simply rest on our laurels in Manchukuo. It too must contribute to the reformation of the balance of China.

The Army views Manchukuo and specifically the Kwantung Army, as a critical component in our future efforts. Short term, units of the Kwantung Army will be a source of trained combat units who can first provide temporary defense formations to cover our reorganization of Chinese troops in our service. After the reorganization, some will likely remain in the south to aid our renewed efforts to bring bandit opposition under control.

The remaining troops within the Kwantung Army will also act as a birthing area for new formations to allow us to expand the Army to meet our ever increasing need for troops to defend our acquisitions. If each division remaining can periodically throw off one green, but trained, battalion, joined together we can see a steady stream of fresh Brigades, and eventually, Divisions.

Some of these new units will remain in Manchukuo to replace troops sent south (no way to tell when those sent south can be redeployed and it would make sense to send them further south if needed), others will move to other fronts as needed.

All this has an unspoken advantage. The Kwantung Army has for the last decade been a source of political headaches for the Home government. With its overabundance of hot heads and super imperialists it has driven Imperial policy rather than been an instrument of Imperial will as it should be. All this activity should keep them too busy to plot and by splitting them up into new formations, many sent to distant parts of our Empire, they should begin to lose their power base and the opportunity to cause mischief....,.