Aviation-Centric Combined Fleet

BATTLE OF MIDWAY | Chapter 59

Midway

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December 1943

A certain Navy restaurant

The pretext for the farewell gathering of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the 1st Mobile Fleet, before embarking on a long-term expedition, brought together Navy Minister Hori, Navy Chief of Staff Shiozawa, and the Combined Fleet Commander Yoshida, all Naval College alumni of the 32nd class, at a certain high-level naval-approved restaurant with thorough counterintelligence.

"Despite it being the end of the year, I must say I admire your dedication as you embark on your journey to Midway. However, this upcoming battle will determine whether we achieve peace with the United States or not, in other words, it is a battle that will decide the fate of the Empire. Even those of us remaining on the mainland will do our best, but the future of the Empire rests on your shoulders. Please do not forget that," Hori remarked, to which Yamamoto responded with a wry smile and words not to put too much pressure on him.

As the top official of the Navy Ministry overseeing military administration and as the leader of the non-war faction, Hori, along with his deputy Vice Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue, spent their days engaged in a subtle struggle with the pro-war faction. For an ordinary person, the demanding workload would have exhausted both body and soul long ago, but Hori faced his responsibilities with a calm demeanor. Yamamoto genuinely believed that, compared to the heavy responsibility of the Navy Minister, being the commander-in-chief of the 1st Mobile Fleet was a relatively easy task.

"I'm more worried about whether the Americans will really take the bait."

In the next phase of the campaign, the main battlefield will be the waters around Midway Atoll. The Pacific Fleet, having established San Diego as its new base after two attacks on Oahu, currently stationed its main fleet there. On the other hand, Midway, often referred to as the outpost of Oahu, has relatively quickly recovered due to its smaller size compared to Oahu. It had strengthened its air power more than before.

"As for the success of the Renzan's development, it has already been conveyed to Germany and Italy. And, without a doubt, this information will leak to the Americans, especially from Italy. The Americans cannot overlook its existence."

The Renzan was the first long-range bomber in the Imperial Navy, designed from the beginning for transoceanic missions. Its range significantly exceeded 6.000 kilometers, and if the Renzan were to be deployed to Midway's airbase, it could easily round-trip to Oahu. While such an aircraft had not been completed, and it was not something that could be easily produced with Japan's current technology, the specifications of the Renzan were by no means fanciful. Germany and Italy, having received information from Japan, had even sent congratulatory messages.

For President Roosevelt, the Renzan would undoubtedly be nothing but a threat. If Oahu were to be attacked not once or twice but three times, especially by the Renzan's bombing, Roosevelt's political career would be in a decisive crisis. Already, anti-war sentiment prevailed throughout the United States, and particularly since the loss of national war capabilities due to the fierce attacks by the German army against the Soviet Union, it had become more pronounced. Furthermore, on the West Coast, even members of the ruling Democratic Party, including the residents, were increasingly expressing opposition to the war.

"In this situation, achieving a significant victory is the most effective remedy for regaining popularity. Roosevelt understands that, which is why he will stake everything on a major showdown at Midway. Moreover, Roosevelt had accumulated more than enough chips in his pocket. The Pacific Fleet is expected to have at least 15 ships, and possibly close to 20 aircraft carriers, confronting the 1st Mobile Fleet."

Yamamoto responded to Hori's explanation with a small nod, indicating his agreement.

Following the Battle of Wake Island, the US Navy accelerated the construction of aircraft carriers. The emphasis was on speed rather than quantity, considering that six out of the seven regular aircraft carriers were suddenly lost in the Battle of Wake Island.

As a result, the construction of the Essex-class aircraft carriers was expedited, taking as little as a year and a half from laying the keel to completion, and even the slowest ones were completed within two years. The Yamato-class aircraft carriers, part of the Circle 4 Plan initiated by the Imperial Navy in the spring of 1940, were built at an unprecedented pace due to the fact that shipyards had already constructed similar vessels in the Circle 3 Plan, and the nation was already at war. However, it still took three years for them to be completed. On the other hand, granted it does not have an armored flight deck, the US managed to build the formidable large regular aircraft carriers of the Essex-class in a year and a half. The shipbuilding capacity of the United States was not just feared but also regarded with astonishment.

Nevertheless, Yamamoto did not believe in defeat. The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth ships of the Yamato-class aircraft carriers had already completed their familiarization training and joined the battle line. In addition, the long-awaited successor to the Zero, the Experimental Type 15 carrier fighter with the nickname "Reppū," had also entered the fray. Moreover, the Ryūsei, which had taken over from the Type 1 carrier attack plane and assumed the role of the main carrier-based attacker, was awaiting its turn alongside a new weapon that Japanese engineers had improved based on German technology.

If all went as planned, the only remaining factor would be information. In aerial warfare and especially in battles between mobile fleets, accurate information was crucial. Turning his gaze towards Shiozawa, the man holding the key to that information, Yamamoto expressed his expectations.