Battering Ram of the Sea

Chapter 21 - The Admiral's Distress

Unlike the excited Japanese populace celebrating the victory of the Naval Battle of the Marshall Islands, Admiral Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet, though he publicly displayed a high-spirited demeanor, his inner self was completely disheartened. In the last naval battle, the first-ever naval showdown between Japan and the United States, the Combined Fleet achieved a significant victory by sinking two aircraft carriers, seven battleships, one cruiser, and five destroyers.

Combined with the victory in the Naval Battle of Malaya, they had managed to sink a total of thirteen battleships within just under a month from the start of the war. Furthermore, they had also successfully sunk multiple support vessels, including three carriers from the United States and Britain. Despite being outnumbered and encircled by the vast American and British fleets, the Imperial Japanese Navy soldiers fought valiantly and achieved the remarkable feat of defeating the British Eastern Fleet and the US Pacific Fleet in quick succession.

However, on the other hand, the Combined Fleet suffered great losses, most notably the loss of the carriers Akagi, Kaga, and Ryūjō in the Naval Battle of the Marshall Islands. All three carriers were sunk by enemy aircraft bombings. Still, Yamamoto found the sinking of the Ryūjō somewhat understandable. It was a small aircraft carrier with a displacement of just around 10.000 tons and had limited defensive capabilities, making it vulnerable to large bomb attacks.

Even so, the loss of Akagi and Kaga was unexpected. According to reports, both ships were hit by five bombs each dropped by SBD Dauntless dive bombers. The direct damage from the bombs, combined with the inability to control the subsequent fires, proved fatal. In simple terms, Japan's largest aircraft carriers were lost due to onboard fires. Of course, Akagi and Kaga were warships, and they had redundant systems in place for wiring, firefighting equipment, and telephone lines to improve their resistance to damage. However, many of these systems malfunctioned simultaneously upon being hit, preventing them from performing at their specified capacities.

"Water is not flowing."

"The equipment won't start."

"The telephone lines are down."

After the hits on Akagi and Kaga in the fighting, such screams and shouts were heard throughout the ships. In addition to the unexpected malfunction of emergency control systems, the situation was exacerbated by unexpected fires spreading through the ships, particularly due to the burning of onboard paint and wiring. The flames, fueled by the ship's paint, traveled through the wiring, spreading throughout the ships. Eventually, the fires became uncontrollable and spelled doom for Akagi and Kaga.

Shocked by this reality, the Imperial Navy decided to make its ships more fire-resistant or fire-retardant by repainting them and by adding or upgrading emergency control systems to enhance damage resistance. What was also unexpected was the response and actions of the United States and its citizens.

'Ignoring military rationality, they attacked battleships even to the point of sinking them, and they did succeed in sinking them. However, the effect was not as significant as they had anticipated.'

Yamamoto's heart is filled with bitterness. During the Naval Battle of the Marshall Islands, it was none other than Yamamoto who gave the order to destroy the enemy aircraft carriers' flight decks with the first wave of bomber attacks, followed by a second wave of torpedo bomber attacks targeting the battleships. At the outset of the war in the Naval Battle of Malaya, the superiority of aircraft, or more precisely, aircraft carriers, over battleships had already been proven. Nevertheless, prioritizing the attack on battleships over delivering the final blow to the aircraft carriers in the second wave was a political calculation.

Yamamoto believed that if he could annihilate the Pacific Fleet, especially the battleships, at the very beginning of the war, it might undermine the American people's will to continue the war. For this goal, he was prepared to accept the sacrifice of a few aircraft carriers, and indeed, they lost three carriers. Certainly, as per Yamamoto's expectations, there was some panic among the residents of Hawaii and parts of the West Coast following the destruction of the Pacific Fleet. However, the effect was limited to that extent. Now, it is reported that the residents of Hawaii and the West Coast have regained their composure. One primary reason for this is the announcement by the United States government that a significant number of battleships and aircraft carriers, along with numerous cruisers and destroyers, will be redeployed from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

'Despite the severe initial blow, there is no sign that the United States intends to cease the war. On the other hand, we have lost the 1st Carrier Division, the Imperial Navy's most powerful force. Japan no longer has the capability to capture Hawaii. In other words, the path to the short-term decisive battle and early peace that I desired is completely closed off.'

Yamamoto knows better than anyone the horrors of the United States. If the war were to drag on, Japan's homeland would eventually be trampled and reduced to ashes by American warplanes. No matter how hard he wracks his brain, he can't come up with a solution to avoid this outcome. While most Japanese people celebrate in the name of victory, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's torment only deepens.