Ch.209Churchill’s Agony

* * *

“It’s really an absurd development, but what about striking America now to secure various interests including oil?”

Look at Russia.

Haven’t they already extracted numerous concessions from America?

If we deliver a stunning slap to their face, we might at least gain recognition of Japan’s supremacy limited to the Pacific.

The war in Europe is progressing in unknown directions.

“What are you suggesting?”

“Isn’t this precisely the time to deploy the Imperial Combined Fleet?”

Now is exactly the time to use the Imperial Combined Fleet.

He’s saying this right now, but what on earth does that even mean?

“What in the world.”

Even Yamamoto Isoroku wore a dumbfounded expression.

Though he doubted his own ears, Tojo Hideki’s sinister smile confirmed that he had heard correctly.

The Combined Fleet was currently tasked with destroying ports and Chinese warships and transports along China’s rivers and coasts, so it was absurd to suddenly hear what amounted to a call for war with America.

“Let’s show America our strength and directly demand oil from them. What about giving the American Pacific Fleet a little nudge?”

“Are you suggesting war?”

Suddenly war? What kind of war is this now?

And the opponent is far across the Pacific.

“War? How is it war if we just make a show of force and ask for oil? There might just be some friction in the process.”

Isn’t this show of force itself essentially an act of war?

No matter how you look at it, it’s like slapping someone and demanding their oil.

All the military generals at Imperial Headquarters were dumbfounded by Tojo Hideki’s words.

“Is there any reason to make a show of force?”

Right. A reason. Strictly speaking, there isn’t one.

But at minimum, they needed to demonstrate their superiority in the Pacific.

“Hasn’t America been picking fights with us ever since we occupied Southern Manchuria? That’s why we’ve been getting oil from Russia.”

Though Anastasia doesn’t know, Japan has had constant friction with America over infringement of interests since Japan’s occupation of Southern Manchuria.

At that time, Japan accommodated American conveniences while importing resources from Russia. Yet America still strongly protested that Japan’s occupation of Southern Manchuria violated international law.

It was absurd to Japan that America, being an imperialist country itself, would claim some kind of legal violation, though they weren’t sure which law exactly.

While Russia’s occupation of Northern Manchuria might somehow be tolerated with some justification, Japan had no such excuse. With Northern Manchuria falling to Russia, and Japan now on friendly terms with Russia as if the Russo-Japanese War had never happened, America was unhappy about Japan firmly taking Southern Manchuria.

In other words, America’s containment of Japan was natural because of the appearance of Russia and Japan joining hands.

But why was it acceptable for Russia but not for Japan? How absurd this seemed to the Japanese.

Of course, the difference was that Russia’s occupation of Northern Manchuria was “recognized” by the great powers to prevent them from losing in their civil war, while Japan received no such recognition.

But when had Japan ever cared about such considerations?

Naturally, with America telling the Empire what to do, anti-American sentiment was gradually rising within Japan.

That resentment remained in Japan.

From the beginning, it was uncertain whether America, in the midst of what was essentially a civil war, would provide oil.

If that’s the case, they needed to strike hard to make sure America couldn’t disrespect the Empire.

“Think about it. If we ask them for oil, what will those Yankees think of us?”

They would likely treat Japan with contempt.

If Japan had to beg a country that had just gone through a civil war, that would say it all. They would treat Japan with such contempt.

So what if they showed who was stronger in the Pacific while America was weakened?

It was about using Japan’s accumulated grievances against America and recognition of Japan’s supremacy in the Pacific. The idea was to give America a little nudge.

Perhaps Japan confronting America was inevitable, even in this alternate history.

‘Does this make any sense?’

Yamamoto Isoroku, who had been listening quietly, frowned.

If this was the plan, it would be better to recall Mutaguchi Renya (currently regarded as a great general in Japan) to quickly finish the campaign in China.

They had scraped together all the army forces to fill the front lines against China, claiming to avenge the Emperor. But now they wanted to widen the front with the navy? What nonsense was this?

Of course, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

Japan had experienced friction with America.

Though Japan followed Russia in supporting the MacArthur government, this was only to counter communism.

But just looking at the proposed show of force, this was clearly a call to fight America.

Yamamoto Isoroku, having been dispatched as a military attaché to the US embassy, studied at Harvard University, and frequently visited America on navy and Manchurian business, knew how formidable America’s capabilities were.

If America rejected their initial proposal, wouldn’t the next step be a preemptive strike?

“Wouldn’t it be better to import fuel from the Anti-Comintern Pact countries? Or recall the Governor-General of Southern Manchuria to quickly occupy China?”

Wouldn’t that be better than confronting America?

But Tojo Hideki had already made up his mind.

“America is just finishing its civil war. Are you that afraid? Mutaguchi Renya? Surely the Empire has great generals besides him?”

At minimum, they needed to demonstrate that while fighting China, they still had the power to project force into the Pacific.

Above all, Tojo Hideki had essentially risen to the position of Shogun of Japan by exploiting the Emperor’s death.

He didn’t like the idea of Mutaguchi Renya’s reputation growing further.

And if pressed, Japan needed to exploit America’s civil war to firmly establish its dream of Asian domination.

Considering they were at war, it was time for bold decisions.

Though the victory of the Imperial Way Faction hadn’t eliminated competition between the army and navy, the navy also needed an opportunity to distinguish itself.

So Yamamoto Isoroku had no choice but to follow Imperial Headquarters’ directives.

“When you say show of force, do you mean directly against the American mainland?”

Surely not that?

In reality, even Tojo Hideki didn’t want to go that far.

At least Yamamoto’s final wish was granted in that moment.

From the beginning, Tojo Hideki had a different target in mind.

“Don’t we have an operation plan established when relations with America deteriorated?”

Surprisingly, Japan was truly beyond Anastasia’s expectations.

Japan had experienced greater friction with America over China than in the actual history.

Therefore, they had naturally considered the possibility of war with America. Yes, it was the Pearl Harbor attack that was used in the original history.

“Pearl Harbor, hmm.”

Pearl Harbor was a bay on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, belonging to America.

Originally a place where Hawaiian natives harvested pearls, it became a naval base in 1908, and after repeated expansion and renovation, it became the home port of the Pacific Fleet.

In other words, just like in the original history, they intended to strike the American Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor.

“Hawaii was neutral during the civil war, but now as the civil war reaches its end, it’s supporting MacArthur. We need to show our strength now.”

“That’s not a show of force, is it?”

The operation was a surprise attack without a declaration of war, aimed at annihilating the American Pacific Fleet.

How could this be considered merely a “show of force”? Even gunboat diplomacy wasn’t this extreme, and the opponent was America.

Yamamoto Isoroku, who knew America better than anyone, felt like committing seppuku.

“We’ll request oil first, so don’t worry about that. We’re just going to Hawaii first. Besides, though MacArthur is gaining the upper hand in America, the United States still exists, so they can’t easily dismiss us.”

Don’t worry?

Anyone could see that attacking Hawaii was essentially a call for war.

Just like during the Russo-Japanese War, this was no different from striking first and then declaring war afterward.

Yamamoto Isoroku felt his head spinning.

This was clearly more than just seeking oil.

Yes, the idea was to quickly establish supremacy in the Pacific before America recovered from its civil war.

But Yamamoto Isoroku, who knew America’s capabilities better than anyone, found it hard to accept.

What could he do? When ordered to attack, he had to attack.

“I understand.”

Looking at how Imperial Headquarters was operating, they would have launched the Pearl Harbor attack eventually anyway.

If so, it was better to strike now while America was still divided.

‘Where is the Empire heading?’

Yamamoto Isoroku felt the future of the Empire looked increasingly dark.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Anglo-French Allied Command in London faced difficulties.

They had confidently started the war, but Communist Germany didn’t seem likely to collapse.

Viscount Gort, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, heaved a deep sigh.

“They’re like ghosts. Those Jerry bastards must have sold their souls to Goebbels, shouting ‘Heil Goebbels’ and even committing suicide when cornered.”

It was like the desperate resistance seen only in some colonies. Truly astonishing.

“Hmph. Even so, we have far greater numbers.”

True. Militarily, the Allies were much stronger.

But the Germans’ determination was extraordinary.

The Allies had united to crush Germany in war again, and the British and French people had cheered, but their mindset was fundamentally different.

The Allied soldiers had been indoctrinated with the idea that this time would be easier than the Great War because the opponent was weaker.

Meanwhile, the Communist German soldiers fought desperately, believing they would become slaves to colonial empires if they lost.

The great Red Deutschland could not become a slave under colonial empires.

As a result, there were cases where soldiers fighting German troops on the front lines retreated in fear.

“How is it possible that we’re being pushed back by those Reds? Could there be some problem with the French?”

“Problems with us? What problems are you suggesting?”

“Wasn’t the French army supposed to handle the main force?”

“You’re the commander and leading the main attack, yet you blame France?”

The Anglo-French alliance, which had started reasonably well, was deteriorating day by day.

How could this be happening when they had overwhelming military superiority?

Of course, Germany was also accumulating damage, but this situation was embarrassing for the Allied forces.

Maurice Gamelin, in charge of French forces at Allied Headquarters, gritted his teeth at Britain, their supposed ally.

“By that logic, isn’t the problem that Britain provided technology and resources to Germany in the first place? Aren’t all the weapons those Reds are using made with British resources? They’re making weapons to kill British people with British resources!”

“Ahem. This is not the time for us to fight among ourselves. At least we’re maintaining the front, aren’t we?”

Right. Now is not the time for allies to fight each other.

What’s important now is to force a war of attrition on Germany.

If the long, tedious trench warfare continues, Germany will collapse first.

Unlike the Allies who control the Atlantic, Germany has no sea access except possibly Italy’s Mediterranean.

And even that Mediterranean isn’t completely controlled by Italy.

The Anti-Comintern Pact won’t provide support, so Germany is essentially isolated.

Churchill, receiving reports from Allied Command at 10 Downing Street, shook his head.

“No progress in Poland either?”

“No, sir. The German Imperial Army isn’t making progress either.”

Poland doesn’t seem to be making much headway either.

This is hardly befitting the dignity of a great power.

“Ha. This is truly absurd.”

How could things be so different from before? Germany is weaker now than it was then, so how could this be happening?

“At least we control the air, which is fortunate.”

Churchill had despised these Reds since the Russian Civil War.

They should have crushed them earlier.

The disgusting thing about these Reds isn’t that they develop or prosper their country.

They claim to overturn countries with communism and create workers’ states, but that’s not what matters.

What’s frightening is that people are indoctrinated by this nonsense and brainwashed with terrible determination. That’s the scary part about the Reds.

Without any effort, they steal technology achieved through other countries’ hard work using spies.

These Reds are truly stubborn.

But the damn previous cabinet not only failed to stand up to Germany but even provided support to buy time.

“This is truly absurd.”

Churchill looked south with a sneer.

Across that sea, Communist Germany was desperately trying to hold on.

They should be paying the price for defying the British Empire, but they keep resisting.

‘How long do they think they can last?’

Eventually, in a war of attrition, Communist Germany will clearly lose.

With shortages of oil and various resources, how could Communist Germany hold out?

If they had known this would happen, they wouldn’t have provided oil, but they made the mistake of hoping Communist Germany would fight Russia first.

While Russia was tied up with America, they wanted to quickly crush Germany! With this thinking, they cut off all support to Germany and struck first, but they never dreamed it would turn out like this.

If only the previous cabinet hadn’t incompetently provided all that technology.

At least the Kaiser of East Prussia would have some justification. What was the point of this?

“What about requesting support from Russia? They’re part of the Anti-Comintern Pact.”

Churchill’s face crumpled at Mosley’s cautiously suggested words.

Although the Russian Empress had acknowledged him, that certainly didn’t lead to harmony with Russia.

For Britain to continue as the great British Empire, it could never become friendly with Russia.

“That is absolutely out of the question. If we do that, European hegemony will pass to Russia.”

This is ultimately a battle against time.

Colonial empires like Britain and France, which can draw resources from all directions, are different from countries with limited resources like Germany and Italy.

If this war of attrition continues, Communist Germany will eventually collapse.

After thinking briefly, another possibility occurred to him.

If they just continue this war of attrition…

If they continue until both sides are exhausted, there’s a possibility that Russia might push in.

Wouldn’t that be handing everything to Russia on a silver platter?