Battle of Hokkaido

The **Battle of Hokkaido** refers to a series of simultaneous battles on and around the Japanese island of Hokkaido during the Greater Decade's War. The battle shortly followed Carolus Ironhard's expedition into the north of Honshu Island, then occupied by the Nuuk Empire. Ironhard led an amphibius invasion of Hakodate, a major city in the south of Hokkaido. He also commanded several fleets to move around the east and west coasts of the island, with the intent to squeeze the Nuuk forces in the middle. However, they were met with insurmountable odds. The naval fleets were entirely destroyed, and the amphibius invasion of Hakodate resulted in total failure. By the end of the battle, it became clear that the Weltreich would not be able to capture the entirety of the Japanese Isles.

## Background

Following the Conference of Tokyo, a massive war between the Nuuk Empire and Weltreich erupted. The war was sparked in Japan, and that is where the first battles began. Reich general Carolus Ironhard led an expedition into the north of Honshu Island, occupied then by the Nuuk Empire. The Reich pushed the Empire out of Honshu at the Battle of Hirosaki, forcing them back to Hokkaido. However, Ironhard wanted more. He called for a fleet and a platoon, which he duly recieved. He spent two days formulating the plan before it went into effect, and when he was ready, launched his invasion.

## The Battle

Carolus led his fleet across the Tsugaru Strait to the city of Hakodate. His intent was to capture it and move north as two other fleets landed on the East and West coasts of the island. When he landed just south of the city, he marched onwards with his troops. The city was visible to the naked eye, but they were ambushed from behind by a battallion of Nuuk soldiers, led by Tamesse Ayodele. Carolus' soldiers could not advance to Hakodate until they finished their current battle, and were forced to stay behind. Meanwhile, the Eastern fleet encountered three Nuuk fleets that had rounded around the island from the Kuril Islands. In a massive naval battle, the entire Reich fleet was sunken, with minimal Nuuk losses. The Western fleet, meanwhile, had gotten quite close to Sapporo. Upon hearing the news of the other fleet's sinking, the captain of the fleet got prepared to handle an attack. When the Nuuk ships arrived from the port of Sapporo, he was ready for them. However, he was completely unprepared for a huge Nuuk fleet to loop around from the North of the Island to attack him from behind. Surrounded on all sides, the fleet was unable to withstand the pressure of an attack from all sides. The crew surrendered and were taken into custody at Sapporo. Meanwhile, Carolus' troops near Hakodate were seeing massive losses as reinforcements arrived, squeezing them in from behind. Carolus himself was lucky to live, as he escaped into the bushes and ran off to the coast. He used a Reich lifeboat to escape back to Hirosaki, humiliated by the ultimate failure of the Battle of Hokkaido.

## Aftermath

The Battle of Hokkaido signified an end to the Reich's expansion in Japan. Carolus Ironhard, depressed and traumatized from the battle, refused to go anywhere near Hokkaido again, claiming, "That damned island is cursed." His bitter rage and hatred would turn into fuel for his campaigns in Mongolia and Siberia, but ultimately even then he couldn't withstand fighting in the bitterly cold and harsh terrain of Siberia. He ultimately redeemed himself at the Third Battle of Paris, pushing the Empire out of mainland Europe and driving the war into a stalemate.