Time Slip Reiwa Japan

090 - China Upheaval - 9

Before entering into a state of war with the United States, China had made a strong request to Germany pertaining to a contract for arms sales, specifically the early and guaranteed delivery of items for which payment had already been made (in exchange for Chinese laborers being sent to Europe). For China, this was a reasonable request, but for Germany, it posed a significant challenge. At that time, the contract for arms sales between China and Germany included unfulfilled portions, with 36 Panzer IVs leading the list, along with over 200 units of anti-aircraft vehicles and half-track armored vehicles. Additionally, there were 200 sets of parts for the state-of-the-art jet fighter FJ-2, with the supply of jet engines being of the highest priority to China.

Land-based equipment such as Panzer IVs had already been deployed to a significant extent within the Chinese government forces, and China was confident that the quality of its elite ground forces was not inferior to that of the US Army. However, the situation was different when it came to the skies. The fighters currently equipped by the Chinese government forces could not possibly defeat the F-1 Sabres brought in by the Americans. Such a gap existed between jet fighters and piston-engine fighter aircraft.

Given these circumstances, it was only natural for China to request, at all costs, the delivery of as many jet engines as possible. On the other hand, Germany had no problem in assembling the jet engines, as they were being produced in double digits per month for domestic use, and production was in full swing. The real issue lay in delivering them from Germany to China. In recent years, repeated transportation of goods and personnel had significantly strained Germany's maritime capabilities, and forming a convoy with early escorts was challenging. Large, high-speed cargo-passenger ships that Germany's government could charter without affecting civilian needs were in a dire state, and the same applied to escort forces. *1

After several negotiations, Germany and China reached an agreement, or perhaps a compromise. China's request for engine transportation was accepted, but Germany's demand that it couldn't handle the transportation with its maritime capabilities was also granted. The agreement involved shipping the engines on third-party (Soviet) transport ships, camouflaging them among ordinary supplies and presenting a solution to various difficulties.

. . .

Soviet Union

The Soviet diplomats were simply shocked when they first heard about the plan to transport engines to China. As a Soviet citizen, the diplomat's honest impression was that the war between China and the United States was of little concern to them. The outcome was evident due to the disparity in their strengths, and it was clear that the Soviet Union couldn't benefit from involving itself in this situation. *2

With an air of detachment, the Soviet diplomat had been observing the situation from a distance, and the news caught them by surprise. They questioned what they had just heard, looking closely at the faces of the German and Chinese diplomats sitting beside them, and asked for confirmation. But the reality was unforgiving. Having come to terms with the reality of the situation, the Soviet diplomat responded to the government without revealing their inner turmoil, simply stating that they would contact the government.

Upon receiving the first report, the Soviet government panicked. They jumped to conclusions, thinking that the intermittent support they had been providing to the Chinese Communist Party (through overland smuggling) had been discovered by other countries. It was a dire situation that couldn't be allowed to become known in the international community or the League of Nations. This heightened concern stemmed from the presence of Japan in the East Turkestan Republic, a known smuggling route. The Soviet Union understood that their actions were a dangerous game, which might provoke Japan. *3