A Trial of Time- India/US Transference.

Chapter 7: They Ain't Zeros! V2

22nd April 1942

11°54'01.0"N 83°41'18.4"E

Bay of Bengal

Indian Ocean

05:20:47 AM

Imperial Japanese Navy

On board the Japanese aircraft carrier, IJN Akagi, Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo stood on the top deck looking towards the land in the far distance while the sky above became dark blue, alerting the Admiral that the sun was about to rise in some time. Admiral Nagumo breathed in the fresh morning air of the Bay of Bengal as he once again contemplated the reasons for his and his fleet's presence so close to what was once called the 'Jewel of the British Empire' around a month back.

Being a high-ranking officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy, Vice Admiral Nagumo was, of course, aware about the strategic situation in the Indian Ocean. At Least before the so-called 'Wall of Light' incidents around India and America, that is.

The IJN command had designated the island of Ceylon to be of strategic importance if they wished to gain a stranglehold on the Indian Ocean, not just because it could give the Japanese access to India, but also because Trincomalee was an important harbour and naval base the IJN could then used to conduct operations in the region. Already, their propaganda department had done their work on the Sinhalese population of Ceylon, and they were ready to betray the British imperialists the minute the word was sent from Tokyo.

Furthermore, the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942 was an important step that allowed their armies in Burma to be supplied. While they would have appreciated being able to capture the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as well to further solidify their gains, the 'Wall of Light' obviously derailed plans that had been painstakingly prepared. Then, of course, there was the added disappointment that the British warships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse had managed to evade and escape the air attack they had sent and had only suffered superficial damages. Now the Tokkeitai had reported that they, along with the Royal Navy's Force Z had already linked up with Force H in the northern corner of the Bay of Bengal defending Chittagong from the so-called Indian Army.

Then there was the issue that communications had arrived from Admiral Yamamoto himself, ordering that Operation C was to be delayed. Operation C had been developed to destroy the Royal Navy's Eastern Fleet and disrupt the British lines of communication and resupply routes from the Middle East to Australia (via India, but again, before the 'Wall of Light').

This operation was envisioned because the IJA were behaving like the uncouth imps they were and refused to allocate troops to invade Ceylon. When Vice Admiral Nagumo requested for an explanation, he was replied that the new Indian Government wished to hold diplomatic talks with the Emperor's people, and if concluded positively, would allow the IJN to cover the entire Indian Ocean Region from Australia to the Middle East! Even for Vice Admiral Nagumo, that was a rather better alternative than facing some of the Royal Navy's best ships.

So imagine his surprise, when 14 days ago (two weeks), just a few days after the supposed meeting in Singapore, his new orders were as follows. 'Breakdown in negotiations. Begin preparations. Operation C is to be commenced. New target. Await further instructions.' Safe to say, the Vice Admiral was certainly left flummoxed. Nonetheless, he ensured ‌his men were once again ready to set sail when a courier from Imperial General Headquarters arrived carrying confidential instructions that carried the name of his new target and the possible tactics he could use.

After a nine-day voyage, they were now at the spot Vice Admiral Nagumo decided was ideal to launch his attack from. Since the original objective of Operation C had changed, he made sure to sail as far away from land as possible once his fleet crossed the Sunda Strait. Deliberately ensuring that he did not go anywhere near to Ceylon.