When at last I found the village gray and gloomy
I asked him where he had gone and what was the name of the country
Moved with pity, I listened to the novels of old.
About Poland wiped off all the world's maps.
- Porando Kaiko (Memory of Poland) Naobumi Ochiai- Excerpt from the Japanese Poem Journey on Horseback, which includes the first stanza of the above-mentioned Song
The first official contact between Poland and Japan took place in the international waters between the island on which the Kingdom of Altaras is located and the mainland Roderius, on the bases of ORP Warszawa on the Polish side and JS Kongo on the Japanese side. It happened on April 26, a day after the Great Battle of Roderius, which was victorious for the Japanese. In that battle they sunk without losses 1400 Lourii ships out of their total number of 4400.
The two ships met at a pre-arranged spot, when one of the Polish Il-28s was intercepted by a key of Japanese F-15J fighters as it flew over the water towards Japan. The encounter nearly ended with the Il-28 being shot down as they tried to communicate with each other. The problem was that the Polish pilots did not speak English and the Japanese did not speak Russian. Fortunately, it turned out by accident that both sides knew German, which avoided a clash that the IL-28 could not win, of course.
This meeting was one of several meetings held by aircraft over the next few days, before the two countries were linked by satellite from Japan. The meeting was finally to take place at sea because of distrust between the parties, especially on the Polish side surprised that the signals received were coming from Japan. Eventually it was agreed that the meeting of diplomats would take place on board of ships.
For the Poles, of course, it was a problem, given that of the three largest and most powerful ships, only ORP Warszawa was a ship modern enough to take up arms in case it was a sneak attack by surprise of the capitalists, Officially. Unofficially, it was due to the fact that ORP Grom had already been withdrawn from service and was waiting to be dismantled and ORP Wicher was to be withdrawn from service. Needless to say, both ships were hastily restored to battle, but there was more work on Grom and what was done was a typical makeshift job.
Another thing is that the only hope for the Polish ships in battle was to use their speed, which was greater than that of the Kongo class destroyers sent to meet them, and to hit them with Polish guns, because Polish ships as such did not have rockets to fight the enemy ships.
Description and technical data of Polish and ex-Soviet ships type Smielyj / NATO type Skoryi report to JSDF
This is a typical post-war destroyer belonging to the most numerous class of ships. After the war the whole class numbered 70 ships in total, although 85 were planned.
The destroyers themselves were built between 1947 and 1953. They were not overly successful and the PRL Navy took them on solely because of the lack of other ships and the low Navy budget. Originally leased from the USSR in 1957 ORP Grom/1958 ORP Wicher were bought in 1965. Both ships would have been withdrawn in 1973/1974 but due to the lack of other ships they were returned to service. First of all, the armament soon became obsolete. The anti-aircraft artillery fire control systems were not very effective and the anti-aircraft artillery itself turned out to be quite weak, the main artillery was not universal. The naval qualities of the ships in stormy weather were also not the best. For these reasons the first ships were withdrawn to the reserve already in 1956. Some of them were later adapted to auxiliary tasks, others were transferred abroad to the friendly countries.
I estimate their combat effectiveness to be low only because the sailors on those ships are of the highest quality after all. A big advantage may be their speed which, although impossible to use in bad weather, is higher than our ships
Armament:
4 130 mm guns (2 x II),
2 guns 85 mm plot. (1 x II),
7 guns 37 mm plot. (7 x I), attention Poles can replace on 8 x 37 mm plot (4xII)
10 torpedo launchers 533 mm (2 x V),
depth bombs, 2 depth bomb throwers , mines
Tactical and technical data:
Displacement
Standard - 2240 t
Full - 3181 t
Length - 120.5 m
Width 12 m
Draught 4,2 m
Propulsion 2 sets of steam turbines with total power 60 000 KM, 2 screws
Speed 36 knots
Range 3900 NM
Description and technical data of ORP Warszawa and also ex-Soviet Pacific SAM / NATO Type Kotlin SAM Report to JSDF
She was built in 1957 for export and as the only one of her class she was used by a foreign country, but of course she served her time in the USSR. Handed over to Poland in 1970, had it not been transferred, the Poles should have withdrawn it from service in 1986. It is the most dangerous Polish warship, although like its predecessor it has a problem with bad sea conditions, although better than its predecessor. The main class of the ship is not famous for the best anti-aircraft defense but this ship has, although simplified, electrical systems is of the anti-aircraft type. It is the first ship to be armed with anti-aircraft missiles. Apart from that, it is still a standard post-war destroyer, but with increased survivability. It can pose a threat to our air force, although mainly to helicopters. It is less well armed than the standard class of this ship, the effect of being a prototype. Like its predecessor, it has problems with aiming and directing fire despite its multiple upgrades,
I rate its combat effectiveness as average thanks to its sailors it has the same advantage as its predecessor and the disadvantage itself is lower.
Armament:
2 guns 130 mm (1 x II)
16 45 mm guns (1 x IV)
1 ZIF-101 anti-aircraft missile launcher (1 x II)
5 PTA-53-61 torpedo launchers of 533 mm caliber (1 x V)
Tactical and technical data:
Displacement
Standard - 2850 t
Full - 3600 t
Length 127.5 m
Width - 12.9 m
Draught 4.6 m
Powered by steam turbines with a total power output of 53,000 KW (72,000 hp) driving 2 propellers
Speed
Maximum - 38 knots
Range 4,000 NM
To complete the picture of misery and despair of the Polish Navy ORP Błyskawica, the pre-war Polish destroyer of the Grom type, was to be temporarily (as in the Eastern Bloc for a very long time) restored to service. The ship was quickly escorted to a shipyard in Gdansk and is to undergo a general overhaul largely involving the replacement of almost everything inside the ship given the age of the vessel itself. Ironically, this already 36 year old destroyer was awarded the title of Best Naval Ship in 1964 and 1966.
Additionally, she was to be converted into a museum ship this year and rest sweetly in retirement, succeeding her older peer in that role. Fortunately for ORP Burza, her condition and general age saved her from the fate of her younger colleague. Burza herself, due to the fact that Błyskawica is returning to service, is also to be repaired and become a propaganda ship for the Navy in order to boost morale and encourage people to join the ranks of the Navy as never before in the history of Poland.
Fortunately for the Navy, in view of the need for new large warships, it was agreed in the new five-year plan that 20 new large ships will be launched by Polish forces within the next 2-3 years to give Poland more breathing space. Contrary to what one may think, the Polish People's Republic was capable of building its own large ships, but unfortunately being in the shadow of the big brother effectively tempered the possibilities of building large ships. First of all, it lacked the possibility of gaining the most important electronic systems from the USSR and its own abilities were suppressed, although if given some leeway they could equal or even surpass those of the Soviets.
Fortunately, having the second largest shipbuilding industry in the Eastern Bloc would allow building the necessary ships in a short time.
But as for now, the competition for a new destroyer for the navy is to be launched soon.
International waters between the island the Altaras Kingdom and the mainland of Roderius.
26 April 1974 P.C/ 26 April 2015 J.C
PLH-31 Shikishima
The place of the meeting was a small patrol ship of the Japanese coast guard performing a diplomatic function. The meeting took place in a tense atmosphere, but you could feel that neither side wanted war. The Poles because of, as the Japanese noticed, the obsolescence of their fleet even by Polish standards, and the Japanese who, although unpleasantly surprised by the extremely militarized communist state, did not want war.
Japanese side was represented by Asada Taiji diplomat from Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Polish side by Tadeusz Zawadzki special envoy to Japan. Both sides looked at each other with distrust. Especially because of the Polish sailors standing on the side of Warszawa, who armed with the famous AKM known more widely and erroneously as AK-47 stood ready to open fire. In turn, the guard around the Polish MP consisted of soldiers from the Polish Military Commando Unit. There was also the fact that the guns of all three Polish ships were aimed at the Japanese ships.
In order to break the first ice Asada bowed and began ''Welcome, I am Asada Taiji diplomat from the Empire of Japan and I would like to welcome on behalf of our nation the unexpected guests with whom we hope to continue the cordial Polish-Japanese relations. I hope this meeting will be the beginning of a new great era in our relations.'' He finished and looked carefully into the eyes of the Polish envoy remembering the advice of one diplomat not to overdo the politeness and look sincerely into the eyes of the Poles. They heartily dislike exaggerated politeness and not looking into the eyes during a serious conversation. For them it is a sign of an attempt to deceive them and these Poles do not intend to be deceived any more.
The choice fell on him, despite the fact that there were many other better candidates who knew the People's Republic of Poland, for one reason. He was younger than them and had the courage to enter the places for which they were too old. Originally, they were going to send the last ambassador to Poland to conduct the first contact with Poles, but he refused, saying that he only knew contemporary Poles and had little chance to get to know more about how they lived in the People's Republic of Poland because most Poles reacted only negatively to him and the descendants of those who were in the party or other forces of communist Poland did not, to put it lightly, gain his trust in what they said.
The others, in turn, excused their age and the fact that most of them had forgotten what it was like in the People's Republic of Poland or do not want to have more to do with paranoid communists.
Tadeusz looked carefully at Asada and then answered, ''The People's Republic of Poland and its people welcome the brotherly Japanese nation. And in the name of the Polish people I want to announce that we are interested in the continuation of our cordial relations and that our nation which suffered unimaginable torment during the Second World War does not want a war with Japan over some imperialistic desire for power and wealth.'' Then he smiled to the extent that it could be considered a cordial smile.
Asada, seeing that the Polish diplomat was friendly, breathed a sigh of relief and then proposed. ''I understand, comrade Taiji, simply and to the point, so let's discuss business.'' Then they went to the table and started talking.
Contrary to initial fears, the talks lasted only two hours and were more concerned with the details of the Polish-Japanese treaty than with what it was supposed to concern. Both sides wanted the best and none of them wanted to fight a war with each other. The biggest problem was rather a dispute over trade, or more precisely, over technological trade. The Japanese wanted the People's Republic of Poland to join them in the Act on Prevention of Technological Displacement, which, unfortunately, Poland could not afford because most of what they produce is concentrated in the production of military equipment, and despite enormous efforts to strengthen light industry and products intended for the civilian market undertaken since 1970 by Gierek, still what Poland produces is rather everything in heavy industry.
Apart from military equipment, the other main thing produced by Poland is of course agricultural and industrial machinery. There is also a lot of shipbuilding, which recently got a lot of orders for small ships for the navy to cover the newly annexed areas. In short, Poland is geared up to export anything that is likely to increase its level of development and has a lot to do with the military.
Another important sector is the construction industry, which currently builds large blocks of flats made of large plates, so characteristic for the eastern block. The other thing is that because of the low production of household appliances these apartments are generally empty and very poor looking.
Another thing that does not wait for them is the need to sell suddenly huge surpluses of clothes, shoes and other things which were mostly sent at a loss to the USSR. The market saturates very quickly with these products, but it is clear that the PRL needs markets quickly. The Kingdom of Altaras which first opened its market was flooded with goods from Poland for their magic jewels which PRL appeared to be interested in finding use for them.
As well as many other products. What also turned out to be surprising for the party was suddenly a lot of food, causing the shelves to be filled with food for the first time in many years. Needless to say this is due to the lack of USSR.
But the most important is the placing of an order by the Altaras Navy for small ships produced in Polish shipyards. These are not large ships, just ordinary chasers, but even their small flotilla will allow for an increase in combat effectiveness on an unimaginable scale for the local sailors, the ships themselves being of proven design are to be delivered to their fleet in 3 months.
Much also gained goods from Altaras such as exotic and inaccessible food under the barter trade, for PRL whose money has no value outside it is easier than for Japan, which fell into economic crisis after the transfer. The PRL, on the other hand, is in perpetual crisis and 1974 began as the year it was supposed to collapse. The sudden influx of money from the Altaras changed that.
Another important thing is the Altaras' interest in modernizing the army along the lines of the Polish one, and talks are currently underway to modernize their armed forces. The People's Republic of Poland, of course, intends to sell them equipment which is redundant or obsolete to them, although in pretty good condition. It is also planned to launch a production line for example for the Polish version of Mosin and T-34/85M2 for the Kingdom of Altaras. Of course they wanted the latest models, but Poles easily and quickly explained to them that in order to have their equipment first you need to master the basics and have something that is harder to what is better for that than T-34?
Everything, of course, simplified due to lack of necessary infrastructure for such equipment. However, they intend to build such an infrastructure, especially since Altaras is on a straight path to buying a license for a modernized version of 7TP, i.e. 9TPA for the Kingdom of Altaras, and 4TPA in a special version, too. So far they are not interested in buying aircraft for themselves, arguing that first they want to improve what they have and only then try to build a new type of armed forces.
Finally, after an exhaustive struggle, it was agreed:
-The People's Republic of Poland and the Empire of Japan will sign a non-aggression pact and reopen their embassies
-Poland will open to Japanese tourism, controlled by Poland but with a minimum of 50,000 people having access
-Japan will also open for Polish tourism, also controlled by Japan but without limit but may close its borders
-Both sides will open for trade but with customs duty, exchange rate of Polish zloty to Japanese yen will be fixed in another meeting
-Both sides will not support subversive elements in their countries, Poland Japanese communists, Japan Polish opposition
-Both sides will allow exchange of technology and ideas in their countries
-the People's Republic of Poland will return only half of Japanese plants nationalized by the authorities after the transfer and will pay compensation to those companies which did not keep the return but only to those Japanese companies which had property in the People's Republic of Poland until April 1, 1974 and also Japanese property until that day and year
-The Empire of Japan will return all property of Polish companies operating in Japan to the People's Republic of Poland, but only if the Polish owners want it and all that belonged to the Polish State until January 1, 2015
-Both sides will refrain from image attacks on each other
-Both sides will allow their companies to operate in both countries
-Poland and Japan will work together to build an underwater communication line in order to reach an early agreement, with half of each side building their part of the line
-Both sides reserve the right to change the terms of the agreement
The signatures of the diplomats authorized to do so were affixed below and the agreement was to be confirmed by their respective authorities. The treaty was to go down in history as the Intercoastal Pact. Then they held a short toast and said goodbye in a warm atmosphere. Both diplomats hoped that this agreement would be permanent, but time would tell if it would be. Right, comrades?
Welcome everyone to the second chapter, I was really surprised by the reaction of readers, this is still the fastest gaining reviews and observations story. I hope this somewhat boring chapter full of rather background descriptions did not bore you, but it is not without reason. This is rather a demonstration that there is nothing to count on for a war between Poland and Japan in the coming years.
I won't cheat in this world the navy is extremely important and what I've described in the reports above is in fact a description of the condition of the Polish Navy in 1974 and today, despite appearances, it is even worse than it was then. It was never important and the very fact of having WWII era ships in 1974 shows how much they didn't give a shit about it.
The next chapter will of course be more lively and push the plot forward and the action with Altaras who has read Summoning Japan knows how much that will change things. But for those who are disappointed by the lack of action by the communist state against our sweet and pacifist Japan, let's once again search the points of the treaty, he writes what he writes for a reason.
And now a short explanation
ORP- Okręt Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej/Ship of the Republic of Poland, despite the change of the name to People's Republic of Poland the abbreviation remained after all it sounds better than OPRL which for a Pole sounds like the name of anti-chemical equipment
AKM - Russian abbreviation for Avtomat Kalashnikov Modiernizovannyy - Kalashnikov Assault Rifle Modernized, AK-47 is a misnomer and refers only to the first prototype capable of shooting stones, the version known to all is really called AK-48 if I'm not mistaken, and from it comes the famous rifle that in the Eastern Bloc is called AK.
T-34/85M2- This is a Polish modernization of the T-34 which is a development of the previous version T-34/85M1 which had (engine heater, crew of 4 soldiers, reinforced suspension), this version was improved to more efficiently overcome water obstacles when moving on the bottom of water obstacles, yes you agree in the T-34 you could drive on the bottom of lakes and rivers.
J.C.- As mentioned in the previous chapter, it stands for Japanese Calendar
9TPA - Abbreviation of 9 Tonowiec Polski Altaras. It is, of course, a partially fictional version, because the 9TP itself existed and was simply a modernization of 7TP consisting mainly in additional armoring of the tank. It is a bit funny because there are two designs of this modernization.
The one for Altaras is after the second version worked out by the Technical Research Bureau of Armoured Weapons, it lowers the weight and has it better distributed, and a different engine for petrol, although in this version it is replaced by Diesel for the reason that it will have a different new engine to make the construction easier. Furthermore, the structure itself will be welded as in the planned 9TP and will generally be a better version than the one before the war. Specific details will be given later when it will be described what Altaras implemented.
4TPA- Abbreviation as above only it has 4 tons, it was to replace TKS tankettes in their role, designed in 1934 was armed with machine guns or cannon and machine gun. It was on track to enter service but the project was shut down due to it becoming obsolete within the next few years. Panzer I and II greetings. As above it will be welded and armed with Soviet version of cannon and machine guns. Of course it will get elements that the original could not have for obvious reasons. Like the 9TPA it will have its own column when describing the Altaran Army.
And now thank you for your attention and greetings warmly any time you read this and I hope you enjoy the story.