Chapter 232

< World War II - The Day (3) >

January 25, 1942

Hawaiian Islands, Honolulu Island – Pearl Harbor

What should have been a peaceful weekend.

Pearl Harbor was now swarming with a bee-like cloud of Japanese carrier-based aircraft flying in from all directions.

Almost at the same moment the 1st Attack Wave of the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Service was pulling back after unleashing its assault, the 2nd Attack Wave arrived, pouring a relentless stream of attacks on Pearl Harbor.

The crew of the CV-5 Yorktown, which had been hit first near the harbor entrance, heeled over, and settled on the bottom, were lucky enough to have a significant number of survivors.

The crews of the other ships were not so fortunate.

The CV-3 Saratoga was completely shattered and sunk by a succession of torpedoes and dive bombs, and not a single battleship was left floating properly on the water.

“Gasp, gasp, what the, fuck! What is this! Help me!”

“Mom, moooom!”

Sailors on duty inside the ships screamed as their compartments suddenly flooded, and they were entombed in the sea along with their massive vessels, never knowing why.

Most of those lucky enough to be on deck or to have escaped from their sinking ships flailed in the water, only to meet a painful end after swallowing the heavy oil-laced sea.

Having silenced their primary targets, the capital ships, with surprising ease, some of the more thoughtful Japanese pilots began to target key facilities like fuel storage and dry docks.

“Run, run away!”

However, a considerable number of them simply began to strafe everything in sight with their machine guns.

“Aaaack!”

“Honey!”

In a place as confined as Pearl Harbor, the line between the naval port and the civilian area was blurry. Discerning civilians was difficult.

In that situation, Japan chose the path of indiscriminate attack to inflict the maximum possible damage from their surprise assault.

Pearl Harbor, shrouded in flames and rising smoke, was filled with shrieks and screams.

---

January 25, 1942

Washington D.C.

, The Capital of the United States - The White House

The Japanese Ambassador to the US, Nomura Kichisaburo, could not hide his anxiety.

The document his home country had ordered him to deliver three hours ago was so long and complex that by the time the decryption and translation were finished, the scheduled time had already passed by over an hour.

Even the embassy staff only realized it was a declaration of war document when they reached the final sentence.

Nomura had rushed over to request a meeting with Secretary of State Taft, but he was left to wait for nearly two hours before being half-forcibly dragged to the White House.

“Ambassador, this way.”

Nomura, who had been trembling with anxiety and impatience, shot to his feet at the employee's call and followed him inside.

In the room he entered, he found not only Secretary of State Taft, whom he had sought to meet, but also President Wendell Willkie and the chiefs of staff of the US military.

As the realization that the document in his hand was a declaration of war dawned on him, Nomura felt a cold chill.

“Why are you just standing there? Weren’t you here to deliver a document, Ambassador?”

At President Wendell Willkie’s icy question, Nomura glanced at Taft, whose face was as pale as his own, then approached President Willkie and handed him the declaration of war document.

President Willkie quickly scanned the verbose, 13,000-character-long declaration of war that had been translated into English.

His actions, as if he already knew the contents, puzzled Nomura, but the President’s next question made him gasp.

“Are you aware that three hours ago, your country launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor without a declaration of war?”

Nomura swallowed dryly under Willkie’s piercing gaze.

“Th-That was due to a slight error…”

“Your country has long caused trouble with the discrepancy between the words from your diplomats’ mouths and the nation’s actions.”

Before Nomura could say anything, Willkie slowly rose from his seat and added:

“They say in the East, unlike here, a diplomat is not a representative of the head of state, but a mere servant.

Is that so?”

Willkie came to a stop in front of Nomura.

Nomura felt himself shrinking before the president of another country, not even his own superior.

“I am the president of a democratic nation, a man who works for the people. I cannot irresponsibly spew vicious lies as you do, nor can I let my anger at your actions drive me to call for war.”

Willkie glared at the dumbfounded Nomura as if he could devour him and opened his mouth.

“That is the responsibility of one who represents a nation, and it is the basic courtesy that must be observed between nations, Ambassador.

Japan’s actions today have proven to the entire world just how deceitful and despicable a nation it is.”

“Bear this in mind, Ambassador.

It is the international norms of diplomacy, our respect that acknowledges an ambassador as the representative of a head of state, that is protecting you, a man who has trampled upon that diplomatic good faith like a worn-out shoe.”

“M-Mr.

President—”

“You should be thankful, Ambassador, that the fact that I am a politician of a democratic country who must follow the will of the people and of Congress is what is suppressing my rage right now.”

Willkie finally spat out at the deathly pale Nomura.

“So go back immediately and tell your government. As soon as Congress passes a resolution, we will make your country pay the price, thoroughly, for the deceit and baseness you have shown!”

Nomura retreated, his face ashen, unable to properly respond.

Wendell Willkie, his face flushed red, stared at the ceiling before collapsing back into his seat.

No one in the room dared to speak.

The president who had turned from Democrat to Republican, who had sat in the presidential office due to the Democrats’ self-destruction, and who had tried to be humble and gentle, was no more.

“Secretary of State.”

“M-Mr. President…”

“Are you satisfied with being America’s Halifax?”

Taft could say nothing.

Willkie slammed his fist on his desk and shouted.

“We could have stopped this! We could have stopped it! ‘Don’t provoke Japan!’ ‘It’s an irresponsible action that will cause anxiety among the people!’”

As everyone flinched, Willkie shouted again.

“Your actions, which brought about a disaster that could have been avoided after all that talk, are the truly irresponsible ones!”

“I-I am deeply sorry, Mr. President.”

Willkie, breathing heavily, spoke again.

“When can we expect an accurate damage report?”

“They are still under attack, so it will take time.

We are receiving reports of air raids on the Philippines as well.”

Hearing the reply from Army Chief of Staff Marshall, Willkie glared at Secretary of State Taft, Secretary of War Stimson, and Chief of Naval Operations Stark, then said:

“Germany warned us, and yet you were still hit.

You should all prepare for a congressional hearing.”

No one said a word.

“Let’s submit a war resolution to Congress. This is no longer their war; it is our war.”

“Understood, Mr. President.”

“As soon as the resolution passes, I will sound out Germany on their intention to join the Allied Powers. I trust no one will argue about listening to Germany or not at this point.”

No one dared to voice an objection. Willkie, suppressing his fury, declared:

“Together with the Allied Powers, we will make Japan pay.

We absolutely will!”

---

January 25, 1942

Northern Germany, Berlin, Government Building

Sunday evening. I jumped out of my car the moment I arrived in front of the Government Building.

Claudia was now heavily pregnant and extremely bored from being cooped up at home. We were supposed to be spending a leisurely Sunday together, but…

Just like Japan to launch a surprise attack on a Sunday! Forcing me to work overtime on a Sunday evening, leaving my wife, who’s about to give birth, all alone at home?

“These damn Jap bastards! They have no sense of good faith or common sense!”

“Jap… what did you say?”

“Hmph, it’s nothing.

Pay it no mind.”

Leaving my puzzled aide, Mr.

Berger, behind, I headed inside. There, I found half of the government Cabinet members already gathered, and—

“As expected of the Minister of Defense! This Manstein is in awe of your divine foresight—”

“That’s enough of that.

What’s the situation in the Philippines?”

Damn it all. Pearl Harbor was probably a hellhole right now, so what was so great about that?

Ahem, ahem.

While Manstein cleared his throat after I cut him off, Director of the Abwehr Canaris answered instead.

“We’ve just received a telegram from Admiral Dönitz that air raids have begun on the Philippines, Minister.”

“Thank you, Director.”

I nodded my thanks to Canaris and took my seat.

Pearl Harbor was a lost cause.

I knew it was coming, so I had tried my best by giving them a warning, but in the end, I couldn’t prevent an incident that went beyond the common sense and prejudices of this era.

As I was briefly discussing things with the military high command, the other Cabinet members and Prime Minister Heuss entered.

“Mr.

Heuss.”

As I stood and greeted him, Mr.

Heuss gave a dismissive wave of his hand, sat down, and began.

“Alright, since we’ve all been forced to work overtime on a weekend evening against our will, let’s get straight to it.

As you’ve all heard, America—Pearl Harbor—is under a surprise attack.”

After finishing his statement, Mr.

Heuss looked at me and asked:

“I’d like to hear the opinion of the Minister of Defense, who foresaw this situation.”

Just like Heuss, no unnecessary frills or formalities.

I liked that.

Because I had been harping on about Pearl Harbor and persuaded Admiral Raeder to send a report to America, all the Cabinet members and military leaders gathered here were looking at me.

Even though I couldn't stop it in the end…

“Now that the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor has happened, there is no way for us to intervene further. However, Japan will also attack the Philippines.

After all, the most important reason they decided on a war with America is to neutralize the Southern Resource Area. Reports have already come in that air raids have begun in the Philippines.”

Since America had failed to defend itself, there was no way for Germany to help against the Pearl Harbor attack.

But the Philippines was a different story.

“We must prevent the Philippines from falling to Japan.”

“Hmm.

But it’s not as if we can dispatch the Army to Asia right away, and isn’t our Navy, which is already out there, inferior to the Imperial Japanese Navy?”

“Admiral Raeder’s assessment is correct. Admiral Dönitz’s submarine fleet, currently stationed in the Philippines, must inflict maximum damage on Japan’s landing forces.

Admiral Marschall’s India fleet must tie down the Japanese Southern Fleet in the East Indies to prevent them from interfering with Admiral Dönitz.”

“Hmm…”

“Our objective on the Asian Front is a delaying action.

The goal is to defend the Philippines, checking the Japanese Southern Fleet as much as possible, until the Royal Navy can restore its fleet from the damage of the Battle of Ceylon, or until a joint front can be established with the US fleet.”

“However, the Philippines is an American colony, is it not? The Pearl Harbor attack has been reported, but we don't know how much damage America has sustained.

Isn’t this moving too hastily…?”

At the words of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Erwin von Witzleben, I shook my head.

“If we lose the Philippines, Japan will be able to utilize the entire Southern Resource Area, which will extend the war with Japan by at least two years.”

In the original history, because the Pacific Fleet was largely wiped out in the initial Pearl Harbor attack and the Philippines were lost, the Allied Powers had to shed so much blood to reclaim it.

That was unacceptable.

To reduce the number of people who will be sacrificed in this war, this war absolutely must end sooner than in the original history.

The military high command still looked a little skeptical, so I added with a slight smile:

“America will join the Allied Powers soon enough and request a Pacific common front anyway.

Since they let Pearl Harbor burn despite receiving our intel, America is no longer in a position to be high and mighty in front of Germany.”

It wasn't a matter of America’s national power; they were now in a position where they had to cling to us politically.

Just then, a knock came, and the door to the conference room opened.

“Apologies for the interruption.

The US Ambassador to Germany is requesting an urgent meeting.”

See?

I let out a soft sigh.

“In the last Great War, Germany’s defeat was sealed the moment America entered the war. …And Japan’s defeat has been sealed right now, at this very moment.”

I am a little curious about how the Soviet Union will react, though.

---

January 25, 1942

Hawaiian Islands, Northwest of Honolulu Island – Near Pearl Harbor

By the time it was afternoon in Hawaii.

The 1st and 2nd attacks by the Japanese Mobile Fleet had both been successful.

Japan had sunk or neutralized all of its targeted enemy capital ships in Pearl Harbor, and in the process, its losses were less than 10% of the sortieing aircraft.

In this situation, the commander of the Japanese Mobile Fleet, Admiral Ozawa Jisaburo, watched the heated debate with a grave expression.

“We must carry out the 3rd Attack as planned!”

“Their fuel storage and dry docks are still intact! We must completely destroy them to fully neutralize the US Pacific Fleet!”

While the majority supported a third attack, Admiral Ozawa spoke with a serious face.

“According to reports, though the number of lost aircraft is small, a considerable number of the planes that sortied have sustained damage. If they sortie in this state, we risk large-scale losses.

But if we exclude the damaged planes from the attack, our attack force will be insufficient.”

A brief silence fell.

Admiral Ozawa looked around and added:

“Furthermore, the whereabouts of two battleships and two aircraft carriers are unknown. Although we circled south to carry out the air raid to avoid being attacked, if we send out a 3rd Attack, there is a risk that our main force will become vulnerable.

Is it still right to proceed with the attack?”

“Of course, Admiral! We cannot miss this opportunity to completely neutralize the US Pacific Fleet!”

“That’s right, Admiral! Now is the time to proceed according to plan!”

Admiral Ozawa frowned.

His decision to forbid the launch of the midget submarines, instead of following the plan, had ended up looking like needless worry, as the surprise attack had succeeded while the US military was completely off guard.

And his subordinates, who had held their tongues at the time, were now drunk on the great victory and insisting on launching an offensive according to plan this time.

In the midst of that atmosphere, the 5th Carrier Division's fighter commander, Iwamoto Tetsuzo, spoke up.

“With all due respect, Admiral, compared to the 1st Attack, which met almost no counterattack, during the 2nd Attack, the enemy activated numerous anti-aircraft guns and scrambled a small number of fighters, forcing our side to accept casualties. The American defenses, now on full alert, will surely be even tighter.

There is no guarantee we can destroy their scattered fuel storage and sturdy dry docks.”

Iwamoto continued to speak forcefully, even as the atmosphere instantly turned hostile.

“Furthermore, the crews of the Shokaku and Zuikaku, the 5th Carrier Division, still lack proficiency. If we attack at this hour, the sun will be setting by the time we return, and night landings are difficult even for skilled pilots.

If I may be so bold, the 5th Carrier Division is not ready to carry out a 3rd Attack—”

“What kind of defeatist talk is that!”

“In this great plan on which the fate of the Empire hangs, are you trying to protect your own inexperienced subordinates!”

Iwamoto’s words were cut off by enraged staff officers and other carrier division commanders.

As Admiral Ozawa grimaced at the chaotic state of the meeting, the staff officers shouted.

“We must proceed, Admiral! In the war game that simulated Operation Z, we concluded that we would lose two aircraft carriers with only a 50% chance of success. The current military gains are a truly unprecedented opportunity.

Even if we incur more losses in the 3rd Attack, they will be within the planned losses!”

Planned losses.

The numerous sacrifices that were certain to occur the moment the 3rd Attack was launched were dismissed so simply.

Ahem…

As Admiral Ozawa closed his eyes and sank into thought, a dagger-like remark flew at him.

“Admiral, if you cancel the attack now, Admiral Yamamoto and everyone in the Empire will doubt your loyalty and courage.”

Finally, Ozawa slowly opened his eyes and spoke.

“As planned… we will carry out the 3rd Attack.”