Aviation-Centric Combined Fleet

Chapter 6 - Two Faces of Hospitality

"The situation has become troublesome."

Muttering so in his heart, Admiral Prince Fushimi sighed for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day. Shortly after the conclusion of the London Naval Conference, the Imperial Navy had split into staunch supporters and opponents of disarmament. Moreover, the issue extended beyond the Imperial Navy, causing ripples in the political world as a violation of command authority.

While the general public perceived the Navy Ministry as supporting disarmament and the Navy General Staff as opposing it, in reality, it was not so simple. There were some in the Navy Ministry against disarmament, and conversely, there were those in the Navy General Staff who understood the need for disarmament. In any case, forming factions based on subjective differences in principles and assertions within the organization was detrimental to the national interest. Despite pointing this out, there was no sign of either side backing down. In the competition for budget allocation within the organization, disputes between the gunnery faction and torpedo faction, or the gunnery faction and aviation faction were commonplace. However, the current situation far exceeded these in complexity. At this point, Prince Fushimi made a decision. Despite his efforts to eliminate any lingering grudges or animosity within the Imperial Navy, this situation could not be overlooked.

Prince Fushimi decided to purge the opponents of disarmament within the Imperial Navy. Most of the dissatisfied opponents of disarmament were gunnery or torpedo proponents. The dissatisfaction among the torpedo faction stemmed from the conference's failure to achieve a ratio of auxiliary ships that exceeded 70% compared to the United States and the United Kingdom. Additionally, the dissatisfaction of the gunnery faction arose from reducing the battleship ratio from 60% to 40%, in exchange for equal carrier capacity with the United States and the United Kingdom. The opponents of disarmament were not only dissatisfied with the number of warships agreed upon in the conference but also stirred up the troublesome issue of violating command authority. Furthermore, the opponents of disarmament, who had used the name of Marshal Admiral Heihachirō Tōgō, a hero of the Russo-Japanese War, as a rallying cry, attempted to hinder Prince Fushimi's vision of transitioning from the doctrine of battleships to air power.

In response to these actions, Prince Fushimi utilized his position as a member of the Imperial Family to its fullest extent. Regarding Tōgō, even the Navy's god could not stand up to a genuine living deity. Perhaps this was particularly weighty. Following the reprimand from His Majesty regarding Tōgō, the movements of the opponents of disarmament visibly weakened. Since being associated with the rebellious faction meant the end of career prospects, those with foresight switched to supporting disarmament within the government forces.

From Prince Fushimi's perspective, the opponents of disarmament not only obstructed the transition to air power but also appeared as rebels disrupting the organization of the Imperial Navy itself. He was satisfied with the results of the London Naval Conference. However, he had heard from several trusted subordinates about attempts to prevent the scrapping of the Fusō and Ise class battleships during the conference. He had no intention of ignoring this matter. Regarding these actions, it was likely that a prominent figure within the opponents of disarmament, a staunch supporter of the battleship doctrine, was pulling the strings behind the scenes. Moreover, this figure was influential enough to champion Tōgō.

"A thorough cleanup of the opponents of disarmament is necessary. I have no disagreement with them about enhancing and expanding naval forces, but if that means preserving the big-ship, big-gun doctrine and getting in the way of a shift to air power, then that's a different matter."

Prince Fushimi made a decisive judgment. While it was not possible to deal with them immediately, there were still means available. It was crucial to act as soon as possible for the future of the Imperial Navy.