Steel Reign (Kirov Series Book 23)

by John Schettler

  The key to all their operations is the aircraft carrier. My god, they brought over 300 aircraft to strike Pearl Harbor. They only use their battleships to support amphibious operations, and as escorts for their carriers, and their cruisers are fine ships. What would the Royal Navy do in the Atlantic if they had to face a fleet built like the Japanese Navy? Yes, I was a fool to dream of 70,000 ton super battleships, though the Japanese have them. They are probably wishing they had invested that money and steel in more aircraft carriers, just as I am now converting the hull of the Oldenburg to a new carrier, and renaming it Brandenburg. The island superstructure and deck armor is now complete. Soon we will be installing the cranes and hanger elevators. Building a carrier is far easier than constructing a ship like the Hindenburg.

  Yes, Brandenburg will be my Ace in the hole. It will be a marvelous ship, 175 feet longer than the American carrier Enterprise, and more than 60 feet wider abeam. Without having to install all those heavy barbettes and turrets, and most of the superstructure, the displacement lightened up considerably. The battleship would have displaced well over 60,000 tons, but the carrier no more than 38,000. Since the power plant and propulsion systems were already finished and built to drive the heavier ship at 30 knots, the much lighter carrier will achieve even faster speeds. All that interior space now gives Brandenburg a massive series of hanger decks, and plenty of room for aviation fuel. The ship will have very long legs, tremendous endurance at sea. And now we believe we can get at least 90 aircraft aboard, possibly even more. We can crate spares and easily store them below the hanger deck. The American carrier Enterprise carries that many, and it is a much smaller ship than Brandenburg.

  The design for this new ship is also very ingenious. The Americans had the right idea when they built those two light scout carriers. Since those ships retained forward turrets as hybrids, they decided to give their flight deck a slight angle so the guns would have clear arcs of fire. As Brandenburg already had its Anton turret fully installed, I suggested that we simply leave it in place, and then use that marvelous wide beam on the ship to create a second angled flight deck. It looks to be progressing very well, heavily camouflaged under all that netting so the British can’t see it from above. This opens up some new possibilities for carrier operations that not even the Japanese have thought of yet.

  Yes, all the Japanese, and American carriers as well, have one long straight flight deck. The British build their carriers this way as well. So when they operate, they can only do one thing at a time, either recover or launch planes, but not both. That will not be the case with Brandenburg. That angled flight deck will allow us to recover aircraft even while we launch, and I am insisting on steam assisted catapults, four of them. Two will be mounted at the end of that angled deck, and another two on the bow of the ship. That big 16-inch turret will be flanked by a pair of fighters, always ready for takeoff.

  At the moment, I can put 42 planes at sea aboard Peter Strasser in the north, another 40 on the Prinz Heinrich, and 12 on the Goeben. When I get Brandenburg, I can double that, and if we manage to convert Seydiltz and commission that ship as the Wesser, then I get 20 more. The DeGrasse conversion looks to be too far off to contemplate. But those other four ships will give me over 200 planes if I concentrate the carriers like the Japanese. That is real naval air power. That is how the Japanese and Americans operate, and we can do the same… that is, if I can keep Goering’s fat hands off the planes earmarked for naval assignments. He’s likely to demand control of the carriers personally! He has it in his mind that anything with wings belongs to him, and any place those planes are based comes under his thumb. Well, I must be very firm, but also very cautious.

  Hitler told me to discontinue the Oldenburg, and I have obeyed that order. But wait until the Fuhrer’s birthday next year. Wait until I invite him to stroll with me on the deck of the Brandenburg. I am risking my entire career on this.

  Part III

  In for a Penny

  “In for a Penny, in for a Pound.”

  ― English Proverb

  Chapter 7

  MacArthur had barely escaped from the Philippines, spared what would have been an ironic death at the end of a Standard Missile 2 designed by his own countrymen. Captain Harada refused to allow any operation to ambush the American General, in spite of the urgings of his executive officer Fukada.

  “Why are you so squeamish?” Fukada had protested. “We’re committed here. You know that as well as I do. Taking out MacArthur would be a real blow to American operations.”

  “Possibly,” said Harada. “You could see it that way, and I know you may have a sour belly because of what happened to your family during the occupation. Losing your great uncle like that was hard.”

  “Don’t bring that into it,” said Fukada. “This is simply a matter of strategy now. Why not get the primary mover on the other side? They took out Yamamoto, and didn’t bat an eyelash at that.”

  “Because we don’t know who we might get in MacArthur’s place. Taking him down is going to create a big hole in this history, and we both know that nature abhors a vacuum. Something has to fill that void, and that will be entirely unforeseen, a real wildcard in the deck. What you have to realize is that our missiles will only take us so far in this. But the knowledge we have about how this war plays out is perhaps the greatest advantage. Take out MacArthur and everything could unwind. He’s the devil we know, likely to influence events in a fairly predictable manner. Don’t you see? We can read MacArthur like a book—literally. We know what they pushed for, what they decided, and that’s real power. Suppose they send someone like Patton over here? He’d be completely unpredictable?”

  “That’s ridiculous…. But I do see your point. Yes, Big Mac is the devil we know, I’ll grant you that. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to let him sail into Tokyo Bay on the Missouri and rub our noses in those surrender documents.

  “That’s a long way off, if it ever happens at all,” said Harada. “The whole point of our being here is to see that it doesn’t have to come to that. But what I’m trying to say is that we can’t see the real ends of any intervention we might make here. You act as though we’re riding this war like a horse, all nicely tethered and amenable to our every command. Yet we both know it’s a pretty wild steed, and things could easily get out of control. Everything we do here will have some consequence. For one thing, what if our presence here becomes widely known? Can you imagine the effect that would have?”

  “Who’d believe it?” Fukada shook his head. “Hell, we can still barely believe it ourselves. No, my bet is that we’ll remain a secret weapons project, a prototype, to anyone outside the very limited circle of those who know the real truth. There’s practically no chance any real knowledge of our presence here would become generally known. People simply would not believe something that fantastic.”

  “Let’s hope you’re right, but you see my point, don’t you? We don’t belong here. That’s the simplest way I can put it. Everything we do will be an anomaly, an insult to the history, and we have no way of knowing what dominoes will fall because of our actions.”

  “The damn Russians don’t seem to be worrying much about it. They put Hiryu down and then roughed up Mutsu and Chikuma without all this hand wringing.”

  Harada took a deep breath, thinking about that. “That may end up being our real aim here—the Russians. You’re right about one thing. This Karpov fellow seems to have no qualms about using his missiles, or any consequences arising from that. If we go north, then we’re going to end up butting heads with that man and his ship. Mark my words.”

  “So MacArthur gets a pass here?”

  “I just can’t do what you’re asking XO. Call me stupid, but there’s something wrong about bushwhacking him with a hot missile, in spite of what the Americans did to Yamamoto. But I’ll give you this much, we’ll even the score by making sure the Admiral doesn’t meet his appointed rendezvous with those P-38s. After all, we need him if this crazy plan of ours is to ha
ve any chance of succeeding.”

  Fukada had to settle for that, but he made one last argument. “Look Captain… Alright, fair is fair, and if MacArthur gets a pass, then we save Yamamoto. I’ll go with that. But the time is coming, and very soon, when that Admiral is going to want to see just what this ship can really do. I’ll tell you one thing—the Emperor will not accept a negotiated peace if it involves major concessions, and Tojo will fight it tooth and nail. Our plan is crazy, though I’ll still support you all the way on this. But you’d better get your decks cleared and ready for action here. It’s coming.”

  So they left it at that, and MacArthur made his way to Darwin, narrowly escaping from Del Monte Airfield before the Japanese could take it. He would arrive in Australia to learn the US was sending him the 41st and 32nd Infantry Divisions, and a mix of three regiments that would later be formed into the 23rd Division was to be sent to Fiji to relieve the two New Zealand Brigades there. To those forces he could add anything the Australians could make battle worthy, and in this, the three divisions Prime Minister Curtin recalled from the Middle East would play a very prominent role.

  The General inclined his head, eyes narrowed with fatigue as he set down the sheaf of reports he had been reading. The memories of Corregidor were still heavy on him, the faces of the men and officers he left behind. He had no choice in the matter, as much as he hated to abandon his command in the middle of a fight.

  My god, he thought, the Japanese certainly licked us in the Philippines, and damn good. But this isn’t over. I’ll be back. It will only be a question of time. Once I get the troops and supplies I need, the aircraft, then we’ll see how Tojo likes what I have planned for him.

  Strategy… They are all trying to figure out what to do, Admiral King, Nimitz, Marshall and even the President. I mustn’t allow the navy to muddy the waters here. The United States has always been a maritime power, but now we’re looking at a war on two oceans. It’s clear where Marshall stands. He’s hot for action this year in the Atlantic, but I must impress upon him the importance of what we’re losing now in the Philippines. I must make certain the Pacific Theater is not overlooked.

  In the early months of 1942 the United States was debating its war strategy at the highest levels, and the US Joint Chiefs had to decide how to divide up the resources at their disposal. The decision had been made early on that the Western Theater against Germany would be the primary area of US operations. MacArthur could understand that, but with the British pushed back to Burma, the Dutch entirely defeated, and the Japanese in an excellent position to seize the Solomons, he hounded Marshall for everything he could get his hands on, sometimes going right over his head and making direct appeals to Roosevelt.

  The President decided to try and make a commitment of 100,000 men to the Pacific territories beyond Hawaii, and also send 1000 planes, the type and mix to be decided by the joint Chiefs. The first division sent to Australia was the 32nd, and the 1st US Marine Division was being moved into Samoa. Now more troops would soon follow, intending to bolster the defenses of Fiji. For the most part, however, Roosevelt remained convinced that the operations in the west should take precedence over the Pacific.

  The planning division, now headed by Eisenhower, was already hard at work on joint US/British operations, and the movement of men and equipment to support them was dubbed BOLERO. He was one damn good clerk when he worked for me, thought MacArthur. Now he’s right in the middle of all the high level planning for the western front. Roosevelt wanted action, and he wanted it this year, in 1942. BOLERO was the war chest, and the operation they have in mind was being called GYMNAST.

  The situation in the Atlantic was going to get the best units the Americans had, he knew. MacArthur had learned that the 1st, 3rd and 9th Infantry Divisions were being readied for operations there, along with the 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions. Well they mustn’t overlook the Pacific.

  The German seizure of Gibraltar, France as an active belligerent in Northwest Africa, and Spain’s complicity in allowing German troops on its soil were all problems that Eisenhower never had to face in Fedorov’s history. The fall of Gibraltar and Malta had effectively sealed off the entire eastern and central Mediterranean, and the action then underway in the Canary Islands with the German Operation Condor was seeing more and more German resources directed to that theater.

  The only development that proved in any way hopeful for the Allies was Rommel’s defeat on the Gazala Line and his subsequent withdrawal from Cyrenaica. Yet as Eisenhower looked over the plans for GYMNAST, the prospect of trying to invade both North Africa and Spain at the same time was a dual thrust that would tax existing resources. He subsequently flew to the Azores to meet with all the British Principles that would be involved in the operation and hammer the matter out. What emerged from that meeting would then become the first Allied operation on the long road they hoped to walk to victory, but the journey was by no means certain to succeed.

  Its first obstacle, in spite of Roosevelt’s insistence that the Atlantic be given the highest priority, was the constant drain on resources that were being siphoned off for the Pacific. At one point, Marshall threw up his hands and wrote a pointed memo to the President stating that if 100,000 men had to go to the Pacific, the necessary shipping and time schedules would set back planning for BOLERO considerably, possibly even precluding it altogether.

  The question again landed on Roosevelt’s lap, and he was quick to decide the issue saying: “I don’t want BOLERO interfered with in any way, and I regard it as essential that active operations be conducted in the Atlantic theater in 1942.” If this were to be the case, then the Pacific would simply have to make do with what it had.

  Eisenhower and Marshall both thought that would be the end of it, and began drawing up plans to ship troops to Iceland, Ireland, and other Atlantic outposts. It soon became apparent that the operation required for offensive action in 1942—GYMNAST, was going to take considerably more time, materiel and planning than first expected, as well as careful coordination with the British. Even the most optimistic proposals and plan drafts did not see any real offensive beginning until late summer. In the meantime, the situation in the Pacific would continue to worsen with the loss of the Philippines the final blow.

  The strategic problem facing the Allies in the Pacific was very much complicated by the hostility of the French. They had bristled when the US demanded Bora Bora as a rear supply base, impudently sending troops there. Then, in the brief hot action of early January, they had tried to exact a toll with a sortie against the US relief convoy bound for the Philippines that had to be diverted to Australia. The Pensacola Convoy had been fortunate that a pair of fast escort carriers had been sent to the region, and the diplomatic frost soon melted in the fire of real weapons, as the US put the French carrier Bearn under the sea for its meddling. With French now an active combatant in the Pacific, the Japanese had wasted no time in sending a small relief force to the primary bastion of French strength in the SE Pacific—New Caledonia.

  The light Carrier Hiyo had arrived right in the thick of the disagreement then underway between the Americans and French, covering a small troop convoy bound for Noumea. Aside from its strategic position as a sword cutting right astride the lines of communications between the US and Australia, the Japanese also coveted this territory for its vital copper and manganese mines, resources the Empire was eager to secure.

  The small Japanese convoy had carried the Ichiki Regiment to Noumea, the very same troops the Japanese once used to try and foil the early days of US occupation on Guadalcanal. Once there, the regiment distributed its battalions to the most vital locations, two near the big harbor in the south at Noumea, another further north at the airfield near Kone, and a cavalry reconnaissance units at the northern anchorage of Koumac. Other sites were being surveyed, for the detachment also had aviation engineers there to further develop airfields.

  The French had little in the way of ground troops in the New Hebrides, but pressed by Japan in F
ebruary of 1942 to contribute more to the defense of these important island outposts, two brigades of the Tonkin Division in French Indochina were shipped to the Pacific. Escorted by the Japanese Navy, they arrived just before more powerful American units could be shipped in to seize territories that had been otherwise unoccupied up until that month. By mid-March, the French had troops on Malakula, Ambrym and the more important island of Efate. Vanuatu, a joint holding with the British, saw the deployment of a single battalion in the southern French territory of that island. The northern segment, designated Espiritu Santo, found the only British unit then operating in the Southeast Pacific, a small constabulary force composed of no more than 15 police squads at Hog Harbor. Separated by miles of humid jungle and highland terrain, the two sides simply ignored one another, though both made vociferous claimed to the entirety of the island itself.

  This de facto Axis occupation of the New Hebrides would have a major impact on the course of events, and shape strategy on both sides. The Japanese already had a plan dubbed ‘Operation FS’ to move first into the Solomons and then occupy Fiji, thus eliminating the nearest bastion from which the Allies might threaten the New Hebrides. From there, they would then plan to drive the US forces from American Samoa, completing their stranglehold on Australia. With the Americans scrounging up shipping, and trying to muster forces for operations in the Atlantic and Pacific, the vital outpost of Fiji had been occupied by two brigades of New Zealanders, the 8th and 14th. There they labored to construct costal and AA defenses, and build several airfields requested by the Americans in January.