Nanpo Gunseikan
Flag of the North Borneo Military Administration TAG = NRB | |
Capital | Kuchin |
Ruling Party | 37th Army |
Head of State | Baba Masao |
Sphere | Co-Prosperity Sphere |
Foreign Alignment | Sphere Military Administration |
GDP | $0.37B |
Credit Rating | Good |
Market Type | Planned Economy |
The North Borneo Military Administration, commonly known as Nanpo Gunseikan, is an overseas Japanese territory occupying the territory of the former British colonies in northern Borneo. Specifically, the former British territories of Sabah and Sarawak, the Sultanate of Brunei and Labuan. With the administration led by the Japanese 37th Army under the leadership of Baba Masao, who rules Borneo with an iron fist.
It borders the Republic of Indonesia on the island of Borneo, It has a large coast line along the South China Sea.
History[edit | edit source]
In 1941, Borneo was divided between the Dutch East Indies and British protectorates (North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei) and crown colonies (Labuan).
The rest of the island, known as Kalimantan, was under Dutch control. The Netherlands were invaded by Nazi Germany in 1940. However, Free Dutch forces, mainly the Royal Netherlands Navy and the 85,000-strong Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL, including a small air service)—fought on, spread throughout the Dutch East Indies, and by December 1941 under an embryonic and somewhat chaotic joint Allied command which became the short-lived American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM).
Under the Tripartite Pact, the Axis powers of Germany, Japan and Italy guaranteed mutual support, and this paid off for Japan in July 1941 when French weakness in the wake of the fall of France to Germany allowed Japan to occupy French Indochina. This blocked a supply route for the Kuomintang and in whole, the Chinese United Front, which Japan had been fighting since 1937, in the Second Sino-Japanese War.
It also gave Imperial Japan a seaboard facing Sarawak and North Borneo across the South China Sea. On the 8th of December 1941, Japan attacked US possessions in Hawaii and the Philippines, declaring war on the US and the European Colonial Powers.
The Conquest of Borneo[edit | edit source]
With its rich petroleum exploitation capacity, Borneo was a prime target for Japan, and a very poorly guarded one. Chronically short of natural resources, Japan needed an assured supply of fuel to achieve its long-term goal of becoming the major power in the Pacific. Borneo also stood on the main sea routes between Java, Sumatra, Malaya and Celebes. Control of these routes were vital to securing the territory and the South East Asian region.
In 13 December 1941, a Japanese invasion convoy left Cam Ranh Bay in French Indochina, escorted by the cruiser Yura (Rear-Admiral Shintaro Hashimoto), and the destroyers of the 12th Destroyer Division, the submarine chaser CH-7, and the seaplane tender Kamikawa Maru. Ten transport ships from the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy carried the Japanese 35th Infantry Brigade HQ under the command of Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi. The Support Force—commanded by Rear Admiral Takeo Kurita—consisted of the cruisers Kumano and Suzuya and the destroyers Fubuki and Sagiri.
Part of the Japanese force was allocated to capture Miri and Seria, while the rest would capture Kuching and nearby airfields. The convoy escaped detection and, at dawn on 16 December 1941, The Japanese Kawaguchi Detachment came ashore on Seria, whilst a force consisting of 10,000 Japanese troops landed on Tanjung Lobang Beach in Miri, these two landing units secured Miri and Seria, encountering very little resistance from British forces. A few hours later, Lutong was captured as well.
Upon hearing news of the invasion, the oil fields across Borneo was destroyed by the British forces to prevent being captured by the Japanese.
In reponse to the Japanese attack on Pearl Habour and the prevention of landings, the Borneo administration decided on a complete destruction of oilfields and airfields in Miri. Shell company officials received orders to carry out the Denial Scheme on 8 December 1941. In the evening on the same day, the task was completed. All producing oil wells were sealed up with vital equipment and machinery dismantled and shipped off to Singapore.
On 17 December 1941, a Dutch flying boat from Tarakan Island attacked the Japanese destroyer Shinonome (under the command of Hiroshi Sasagawa) off Miri. The ship was sunk along with the entire crew of 228.
On 31 December 1941, the force under Lieutenant Colonel Watanabe moved northward to occupy Brunei, Labuan Island, and Jesselton (now called Kota Kinabalu). On 18 January 1942, using small fishing boats, the Japanese landed at Sandakan, the seat of government of British North Borneo. The North Borneo Armed Constabulary, with only 650 men, hardly provided any resistance to slow down the Japanese invasion. On the morning of 19 January 1942, Governor Charles Robert Smith surrendered British North Borneo and was interned.
The town of Pontianak was finally occupied by the Imperial Japanese forces on 29 January 1942. After ten weeks in the jungle-covered mountains, Allied troops surrendered on 1 April 1942.
Establishment of Military Administration[edit | edit source]
To hold its gains in Northern Borneo, the Japanese 37th Army was originally formed as the Borneo Defence Army, a garrison force organised on 11 April 1942 under the Southern Expeditionary Army Group.
During the failed attempt to retake the Philippines by the United States in 1944, the organisational structure of the Southern Expeditionary Army was changed, and the Borneo Defence Army was re-designated the Japanese 37th Army. Despite the change of organisational structure, the Japanese 37th Army was undermanned and poorly equipped, with most equipment and experienced units shifted toward more critical areas such as Malaya or the Philippines.
However, it was during this organisational structure that the infamous Masao Baba became commander of the 37th Army. Baba Masao, in his new post became a tyrant who did not shy away from any brutal methods to suppress any attempts at resistance and enforce his will. A fervent believer in Japanese supremacy, he furthered Japanese assimilation policies in North Borneo and turned it into a playground for Japanese zaibatsus, each seeking for their share of riches from the island.
The administration in Borneo is where the IJA's presence in Southeast Asia is most directly felt, with the military garrison having near-absolute control over the territory, and a blank check to do whatever it wants on the territory, away from Tokyo's prying eyes. Although North Borneo on paper is strictly run by the IJA garrison, in practice it's rife with myriad abuses and exploitation.
National Spirits[edit | edit source]
The North Borneo Military Administration starts with the following National Spirits
Name | In-Game Description | Effects |
---|---|---|
Home of the 37th Army | The famous, or perhaps infamous Baba Masao commands the 37th Army, which is directed to maintain its garrison in North Borneo. Nominally ensuring that the interests of Shōnan and Indonesia are protected, in reality, the 37th Army's sole purpose is to ensure that the strategic port of Kuchin does not fall to dissidents and rebels hiding within the Bornean jungle.
Comprised of the 56th Mixed Infantry Brigade and the 71st Mixed Infantry Brigade, it is quite a weak force in comparison to others across the Co-Prosperity Sphere, but their invaluable combat experience ensures that their lack of manpower is made up for in skill. Needless to say, there is no North Borneo without the 37th Army, lest Japan lose their sole directly-controlled foothold in the Spice Islands. |
Division Attack on core territory: +5.0%
Division Defense on core territory: +5.0% |
Sarawak Independence Movement | Before the North Borneo Administration, there was the Raj of Sarawak, and in the northeast British North Borneo. While British North Borneo, or perhaps more appropriately Sabah, submitted more easily to foreign control due to its lack of native rulers for some time, Sarawak maintained its own Raj and government.
Somewhere within the suburbs of Canberra, the last Raj to reign, Vynar of the House of Brooke, continues to maintain his contacts with pro-independence elements in North Borneo in addition to OFN leaders, in the hope of returning to his native land. With this competent government-in-exile posing a threat to Japanese interests in North Borneo, it will be quite difficult to fully cement our hold on the territory of Kuchin and its surroundings with this threat at hand... |
Stability: -10.00% |
Extremely Underfunded | It is undeniable to Baba: the administration he runs operates on a budget to budget basis. His men's wages, the maintenance of heavy weaponry, infrastructure projects, all are subject to the whims of Tōkyō and its backstabbing kleptocratic politicians.
However, as an honorable general, Baba remains resourceful as one can be in a situation like his, and simply puts a notice to the Imperial General Headquarters every quarter to request lobbying in favor of an increased budget. Regardless, more yen is needed if the administration is to function at its highest point, rather than at its most conservative... |
Division Organization: -25.0%
Research Speed: -50.00% Max Planning: -25.0% |