by Wagher, Ward
“Yes, Mr. President. “He thought the bad weather would make it impossible for them to find his task force. He was wrong. They did chew up the Jap planes as they returned from the strike. But, as far as we can tell, I don’t think we scratched the paint on their ships.”
“What is the condition of the Intrepid?”
“It’s out of action, Sir. The hull and propulsion are in good shape. She is headed for Bombay. We hope the British yards there can get her repaired. Otherwise, they have to bring her back to Norfolk.”
“Is Admiral King still aboard?”
“No, Sir. He transferred his flag to one of the destroyers and is now back in Trincomalee.”
“And Forbes is now fresh out of carriers.” Truman seemed petulant.
“We should have two British carriers there within the month. We’ve got another Essex working up in Norfolk. I thought maybe we could send it to Forbes and King. We have our hands full with Hawaii right now.”
Admiral Leahy was present but had said nothing to this point. He decided it was time to speak.
“Admiral Nimitz is looking at a possible operation in the Solomon Islands. It would interdict the shipping back and forth from Australia.”
“Can we pull that off?” Truman asked.
“Not with the forces we have right now. We would have to take everything we have at Hawaii out there, and nobody wants to leave that uncovered. We saw what happened to the Japs when they pulled everything out of Hawaii. That is why Frank is anxious to reinforce the Indian Ocean combined fleet. We have a successful landing on the west coast of Australia. We should move heaven and earth to support the landing.”
Truman thought for a few moments and then walked over to the door. He opened it.
“Send the stenographer in, please.”
A marine corporal walked quickly into the Oval Office. If he was intimidated by the acres of brass in the room, he didn’t show it.
“I want to dictate a memo to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Please route a copy to Secretary Knox’s office.” He thought some more. “Also, send a copy to Admiral Nimitz. And, one copy for the record.”
“Aye, aye, Sir.”
“It is my desire that we make all efforts to reinforce the Indian Ocean fleet. Please notify me if there is some reason why this cannot be done. Okay, Corporal, type it up.”
“Aye, aye, Sir.” And the marine corporal quickly left the room.
Truman turned to the other two men in the room. “I believe that the course of the war will turn on events in the Indian Ocean. Secretary Knox, please see to it that no opprobrium falls on Admiral King. I believe he made a good call for some good reasons. I would have done the same thing.”
“Of course, Mr. President. I will do so.”
“Thank you for coming to see me, Mr. Secretary.”
Knox stood up and shook Truman’s hand. “Thank you for your time, Mr. President.”
After Knox left, Truman turned back to Leahy.
“Thoughts, Admiral?”
“I think Ernie Rey made the right call, too. Sometimes, things just don’t work out. And I agree that the Japs have no choice but to do whatever is necessary to pry our people out of Perth. We cannot let that happen.”
“Will you brief General Marshall concerning this meeting?”
“Of course, Mr. President. I will be glad to do so.”
“Thank you, Admiral. Now we need to see how Leslie Groves is doing.”
“I hope the Manhattan project proves out. We are pouring a God-awful amount of money into it.”
Truman smiled. “I do too, Admiral. The treasury has been screaming about how tough it is to finance this war. They would be apoplectic if they knew how much we were spending on this single project.”
“If it pays off, it will win the war for us.”
“When it pays off,” Truman corrected.
Leahy nodded in acknowledgment.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
September 13, 1943; 6 PM
Near Aswad, Libya
Stefan Gorber watched with satisfaction as the drilling crew finished setting the Christmas Tree in place on the wellhead. Although this new well was in the same general vicinity as the first, the oil flowed freely from the ground. They wouldn’t need a pump here, at least at first. Once they had recovered substantial amounts of crude, then the pressure would likely taper off. He turned as his assistant walked up.
“Hey Vince, it looks like we can start using this well just as soon as we extend the pipeline to it.”
“I wonder how long that will take. It’s a good kilometer from the first well. And I heard there’s a shortage of steel pipe right now.”
“Yeah, I heard that too. I don’t think the war is going well for us.”
“I wish the stupid Russians would just go home. Even if they succeeded in overrunning Germany, the place would be in ruins.”
Gorber looked around the drilling site one more time. “I suppose we should get back to the office. There is no telling what has come in during the day. But I just wanted to see the new well come in.”
“If we can’t get the pipe to run to the wells, what is the point of drilling?”
“I don’t know, Vince. I think we need to keep prospecting. Herr Schloss seems very confident about beating the Russians. If we can bring in several more wells, we can cap them until we get the pipe to connect them to the network.”
“That makes sense,” Chase said. “We’re doing our part, and I can’t complain about the crews. It seems like everyone in Libya is pulling their weight. Even the Eyetyes are efficient.”
“The Italians do know how to conduct business. Their army isn’t any great shakes, but I.G. Farben is getting ready to turn over management of the oil terminal to them.”
“True. And I. G. Farben is not tolerant when its business partners screw up.”
The two men walked to where the Kübelwagen was parked. Chase climbed behind the wheel, and Gorber used the passenger seat.
“You know,” Chase commented as they drove off, “I like this better than the Horch staff car we had.”
“It’s not as comfortable, but we don’t have to fix it every other day, either. Plus, it does well in the desert.”
“I’ve always thought that no one builds cars like the Americans, but I think I would make an exception in this case.”
They rode in silence for a few minutes before Chase spoke again. “This project has gone so well it’s scary, Stefan. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
“Hush, Vince. I like having things go well. We were lucky we were able to put out the fire on Well Number 1. That could have been very bad.”
“It was too bad about the kid getting killed, though.”
Gorber was quiet again as the car rolled across the desert. “I know that kid cut the fence and was where he was not supposed to be, but I feel guilty about it.
“I can’t believe it happened. I’m amazed the men of the village didn’t come after us after that.”
“That worried me too. We don’t want to get the natives stirred up. I think there is a lot of oil under this place, and Germany needs it.”
§ § §
September 14, 1943; 10 AM
Prime Minister’s Office
Tokyo, Japan
“So, Admiral Shimada, tell me what transpired in the Bay of Bengal.”
Shigetaro Shimada looked at Prime Minister Yamamoto as they sat in the office. He began his report.
“In summary, Prime Minister, we staged a strike at Trincomalee. We discovered the harbor was empty – Forbes had sent everything out to sea. We managed to damage the shore installations, and the tank farm was in flames when we left.”
“How could they have known to put to sea like that?” Yamamoto asked.
“The Americans and the British fly their Catalina flying boats all over the area. We surmise they spotted the task force.”
The Prime Minister nodded. “On the other hand, they could have simply acted on impulse. They
knew we had reinforced Singapore. Please continue, Admiral.”
“The strike force was set upon by American airplanes on the return to the carriers. We lost maybe twenty-five aircraft and crew. The weather was terrible, and our pilots were able to lose the Americans in the clouds.”
“And the sea battle?” Yamamoto asked.
The Americans attacked us with dive bombers and torpedo planes. Both carriers suffered minor damage but are still in operation. One of the cruisers was torpedoed but was making its way back to Singapore.”
“Our search planes located the American Essex class carrier, and we mounted a strike. Although it did not sink, we believe it is out of action. Admiral Kondo pulled his forces back to Singapore.”
Yamamoto rubbed his chin in thought. He looked up at Shimada.
“It seems to me that Admiral Kondo is handling his forces aggressively yet seems to know when to pull back. You must congratulate him.”
“I will send the message today,” Shimada barked.
“Fine. Now, what of the situation in Perth?”
“Prime Minister, we have a problem there. The Americans landed their First Marine Division and have local superiority in numbers. At this time, even communicating with our people in Perth is difficult. The Americans landed a large supply of small arms and distributed them to the Australians. It makes the correlation of forces unbalanced.”
“What do you think we should do?”
“Why are you asking me? It is the Army’s responsibility.”
“You have seen how the Army responds to my questions. I am asking for your advice. What should we do?”
“I believe we should take the troops that we have been able to pull out of Hawaii, which is about twenty-thousand, and fortify them with two divisions. We need to land them on the west coast of Australia and have them push the Americans into the sea.”
“Will two divisions plus a short division be enough to do the job?”
“The Army will insist it is ample.”
Yamamoto nodded. “Yes, but I am asking you.”
“Why are you asking me, Isoroku-san?”
“Because I trust you, Admiral. I fear we have not dissuaded the Army from following their own agenda.”
“So, we must do something about it.”
“So, we must. Homma will do our bidding, but only because it serves his purposes at the moment. I plan to continue to make examples of recalcitrant generals. But they are becoming more clever at hiding their disrespect and disobedience. We have suffered two major setbacks in this war. We will eventually suffer more. We must make it so expensive for them to free Australia that they might be willing to consider negotiating.”
“What will we offer?” Shimada asked. “If we agree to status quo ante, I don’t think we would be able to save your life.”
“Perhaps not. I will say that if we do not break the will of the generals, the Americans and the British will break the will of the people. At that time, you and I will likely be dead.”
“What can we do?”
“Something that I have feared doing, Admiral. We need to construct a secret society that is dedicated to preserving our lives and preserving Japan. At the proper time, we will strike the leaders who have not obeyed the emperor. It must be soon, and it must be done quickly. I am asking you to accept this task.”
Shimada rose to his feet and bowed to Yamamoto. “You have honored me with your trust. I joyfully accept the task.”
“And you honor me with your loyalty.”
After Shimada left, Yamamoto stood up and walked over to the large map that hung on one wall of his office. It was mounted on a thin sheet of steel, which allowed Yamamoto to place magnets representing military units on the map and then move them around to reflect the reports from the battle zones. He studied Singapore and Australia in particular. These were the key to Japan surviving the war.
What the Japanese had done to the civilians in Hawaii and Australia was immoral and abhorrent. Yet, the emperor refused to allow him to sue for peace. There had to be a conclusion that was both acceptable to the Americans and satisfied Japan’s honor. He wondered if he would have to resort to extreme measures to bring Japan to the table, and pondered whether he was willing to try.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
September 14, 1943; 10 AM
The Queen’s Office
Buckingham Palace
London, England
“Your new press secretary is doing well.”
Queen Margaret raised an eyebrow as she looked up from her notes at Clement Atlee.
“What do you mean by that, Prime Minister?”
“Only that I had my doubts about him for the position.”
“If you had doubts, then why did you recommend him?” the queen asked.
“Mostly because Stewart was so adamant that we get him back in government service. Putting him back in Six would have sent the wrong message. He is a competent journalist, despite some of his unorthodox ideas. And you must admit he has proven himself capable.”
“I am pleased with him myself. I still am tempted to wash after shaking hands with him, but I am working to overcome my distaste.”
“Has he said or done anything to cause you to doubt his sincerity, Your Majesty?”
“No. He has not. He does his job, and he does it well.”
“I was mainly concerned after he was so anxious to stab Winston in the back. I don’t know if you were aware, but he went to see Stewart Menzies about his concerns with Churchill. He has been visiting Chartwell regularly. Stewart covered his expenses and asked him to report back on anything he saw or heard.”
“And did he see or hear anything?” Margaret asked ominously.
“Only that he assiduously has been trying to develop contacts who can give him information about what is happening in the government and Europe. The only thing that seemed to be of concern was that he had several meetings with Desmond Morton before he went over to Germany and got himself in trouble.”
“Do you still think Winston fomented this?”
Atlee tilted his head back and forth. “That is difficult to say. One cannot doubt his patriotism and his loyalty to you personally. He came to see me, you know.”
“No, I did not know. Did you not think this was something that you should have passed along to me?”
“Your Majesty, I did not know what to think. He was concerned about leaks in the government. And he was getting conflicting information about the Russo-German war.”
“That the Germans started the thing?”
“Well, yes, frankly.”
The queen sighed. “Philby has tried to tell me that on two occasions. I patted him on the head and told him to run along and be a good boy. I am sure he did not appreciate being patronized. Clement, this country is full of eccentrics. I think it must be the British disease. Kim Philby ought to know better, but if I started vetting people for having crazy ideas, I would have to start with my prime minister.”
Atlee looked at her in shock. He wondered how to respond until he saw the twinkle in her eye.
“I suppose I deserved that, Your Majesty.”
“And I am cruel. Forgive me for that. I wanted to simply illustrate how we must be careful about how we judge people. You and I disagree fundamentally on many aspects of government policy, but I would not gainsay your desire to advance the interests of the kingdom. Now, perhaps we should look at the agenda.”
“Of course, Your Majesty. The first item is the summit. We are looking at several possible dates, the first being 13 October. Also, 29 October looks like a good possibility. And 1 November.”
“Any of those is fine with me. Please go ahead and set a date. I think sooner is better than later. I believe that whether we like it or not, Germany is going to be our proxy in fighting Communism. If something doesn’t change, we will be facing the Soviets across the channel, and that would be a bad thing.”
“Of course, Your Majesty. Then there is the question of who to take. I believe it shoul
d be either me or Anthony.”
“You would like to go, wouldn’t you, Clement?”
“Yes, I would. However, this is more the Foreign Minister’s bailiwick. Anthony has interacted with Schloss before, but I have not met the man.”
The queen seemed to consider it for a few moments before she spoke. “Very well, we can decide that later.”
Atlee looked over at Colin Marty, who was carefully taking notes. He was surprised at how well the man had earned the queen’s trust. And because he made sure Atlee received notes of the meeting, the prime minister was able to concentrate on the conversation.
“Now, talk to me about the Indian Ocean.”
“Very well, Your Majesty. We suffered an air raid on Trincomalee. Admiral Forbes suspected one was coming and had his entire inventory put to sea. Admiral King arranged to ambush the Japanese aircraft as they returned to their carriers. They were able to shoot down perhaps twenty-five Japanese planes. However, the Japanese were able to locate Intrepid and effectively knock her out of action. She still has her engines and hull integrity. We are investigating whether we can effect repairs in Bombay, or if she might have to return to Norfolk.”
“What was the damage in Trincomalee?”
“We suffered perhaps 15 dead and 125 injured. The Japanese managed to destroy the tank farm so that we will be short on fuel for a while.”
The queen studied the top of her worktable for a few moments before speaking.
“So, this probably counts as a loss for us.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. The weather was bad, and we doubt anyone was able to rescue the Japanese pilots who were shot down. They are not easily replaceable. However, losing our fuel storage has a major impact. It will take several months to get things back to where we were. The damage to Intrepid was serious, but we have two carriers joining the Indian Ocean fleet within the next six weeks. The Yanks have indicated that they will send the next two Essex class carriers that come into service. They cannot make any major advances in the Pacific until they can properly protect Hawaii. It seems the Indian Ocean and Western Australia is where we will focus in the short term.”
