Cash-Loaded Fleet

Chapter 71 - Turning Point

It's been just under two years since the war began. During this time, the Pacific Fleet faced the dire fate of complete annihilation not once or twice, but three times. In the battle known as the Second Battle of Oahu, the Pacific Fleet lost all 12 aircraft carriers, 6 battleships, 12 cruisers, and 52 destroyers in its possession. Moreover, the sunk ships were all state-of-the-art vessels like the Essex-class carriers, Iowa-class battleships, and Baltimore-class heavy cruisers, as well as Fletcher-class destroyers. There was not a single outdated ship among them.

And it wasn't just the vessels that were lost. Rather, something even more valuable was lost: the personnel to operate those ships. In the battles of the Marshall Islands and Oahu, the seasoned veterans who had undergone meticulous training since before the war were almost entirely lost. The survivors were treated not just as a rare breed but as an endangered species. With the depletion of personnel capable of withstanding harsh naval combat, despite the continuous construction of new advanced vessels, the reinforcement of the fleet was progressing at a sluggish pace. Instructors and educators to train new recruits were severely lacking, and the first step was to cultivate such personnel. It will take a considerable period for the US Navy to recover from this personnel damage.

However, there is no need to consider this at all regarding the adversary's plight. On the contrary, efforts should be made to widen the wound. Therefore, the Combined Fleet will steadily proceed with what needs to be done. Of course, what needs to be done now is the attack on Oahu. Not only the military facilities on the island but also the social infrastructure such as port facilities, roads, and bridges will be thoroughly destroyed.

From the twenty aircraft carriers, Zeros and Tenzan took turns launching attacks. These planes showered bombs and rockets on airfields, anti-aircraft positions, and fortress guns on Oahu. On the other hand, the Americans, having lost most of their fighter planes, were unable to mount an effective counterattack. While the carrier-based air squadrons wreak havoc on Oahu, the minesweepers that accompanied the destroyers or supply units engaged in minesweeping in the waters around the island. Of course, this was to prepare for naval gunfire from large surface strike vessels such as battleships and heavy cruisers.

As soon as the minesweeping was completed, naval gunfire was executed. Twelve battleships, including the Yamato, and ten heavy cruisers, including the Atago, rained a variety of shells ranging from 20 to 46 centimeters on Oahu. The total number reached 100.000 rounds, causing Oahu to completely lose its function as a base.

The result of this battle had a great impact on the US military. Especially remarkable was the unusually high accuracy of the new Japanese weapons, such as air-to-air rockets and air-to-surface guided bombs launched by carrier-based aircraft. The US military had not yet reached practical use of such rocket weapons. They were still forced to rely on outdated tactics such as dive bombing or torpedo runs. The confidence that the United States was far ahead of Japan in scientific capability was completely shattered by this. In any case, all the vessels of the Pacific Fleet were sunk by these new weapons. On the other hand, they did not sink even one enemy ship. Not being shocked by this would be truly unusual.

And soon, this fact became known to the United States government and the American people. As a result, not only the residents of Hawaii, who became the battlefield, but also those on the West Coast, began to voice a desire for an early peace with Japan. It is only natural for people to reject the idea of their cities being engulfed in war, especially one initiated, as believed, by President Roosevelt personally.

The devastating defeat in the Second Battle of Oahu naturally led to a drastic decline in Roosevelt's popularity and the authority associated with it. Faced with successive failures, Roosevelt received criticism not only from the opposition Republicans but also from Democratic Party members who should be his allies. Since the start of the war, Roosevelt, despite maintaining ultra-low approval ratings, had continued to be the leader of the nation. However, he finally reached the limits of his physical and mental strength. Roosevelt succumbed to illness, and Vice President Wallace hastily took over the reins of the nation.

In the midst of the confusion in the US political arena, Churchill, leading the Free British Army, and Stalin of the Soviet Union seized the opportunity. Churchill and Stalin, who once plotted to create discord between the United States and Japan to involve the US in the European war, now judged that the war between the US and Japan was, in essence, beneficial to their respective homelands.

Having defeated Britain, the German forces could now focus all their efforts on the war against the Soviet Union. The Soviet forces, on the other hand, are solely on the defensive. Although the advance of the German forces is currently stalled due to the arrival of winter, it is evident that they will resume their offensive after the spring thaw. And Germany persistently extended invitations to Japan to join the war against the Soviet Union. If Japan were to accept this, and they initiate the blockade of the Bering Sea, the weakening of the Soviet forces, cut off from supplies from the United States, would become decisive. In the worst-case scenario, the fate of the Soviet Union itself may be sealed.

On the other hand, Churchill also found Japan and the presence of the Combined Fleet to be too obstructive toward the liberation of the homeland. As long as the US and Japan are in a state of war, a significant portion of the war resources flows to the Pacific side. In reality, the US Navy deployed most of its newly built ships to the Pacific Fleet, and the US Army allocated much of its forces to the defense of the West Coast. With such a situation continuing, the recapture of the British mainland became uncertain.

Though Churchill and Stalin were concerned about the current situation, there was a common key figure for both of them. There's a Japanese man named Binta Satsutaba, who boasted overwhelming financial power. He held an extremely negative attitude towards the war between Japan and the US and was one of those who, more than anyone else, wished for an early end to the war. However, he was not a simple pacifist who merely advocated against war. He was someone who approached matters with calculations and rationality rather than a cheap sense of justice or a chivalrous spirit. That's why Churchill and Stalin trusted Binta Satsutaba, a man who, in a sense, shared a similar sensibility with them.