Tide Of Fortune (Kirov Series Book 20) Page 18

  “Yes, that seems odd, but you nonetheless achieved surprise over the harbor, in spite of the intelligence failure that led to that warning. We failed to properly conceal our plans from every potential enemy. Who can say how the Siberians learned of our movements, but they did. That must be addressed before our next planned offensive operation.”

  “None of that excuses my failure to find those enemy ships at sea,” said Nagumo. “For that lapse, both Kaga and Hiei have limped off to Kwajalein.”

  “Yet you sunk the Lexington, and also put hits on at least two of their battleships at sea.”

  “I should have sunk them all, but, having achieved our objective at Pearl Harbor, my mind was set on a safe withdrawal. It was shameful, particularly after we were attacked again, and this time by a third rate power that has been our serving boy for thirty years.”

  “You are too hard on yourself,” said Yamamoto. “Things happen in battle that can foil the best laid plans. Take a lesson from this and hold your head high. I cannot tolerate gloom and doom just now. This is our hour. We have achieved a good victory, but there will be much more to accomplish in the months ahead. For now, with most of our amphibious landings completed, the offensive lies with the Army on the ground.”

  “I have heard there was trouble in the New Hebrides,” said Nagumo.

  “The French tried to intercept an American convoy bound for Australia.” Yamamoto indicated the position on the table map. “Apparently the Americans used those two light battle carriers we spotted at Mindanao to good effect. They fled south, possibly to cover the movement of this supply convoy. The French went after them, and lost their only carrier.”

  “And Hiyo?”

  “It is back at Noumea, with engine damage, but that will also be repaired. Yet that action brings the entire question of Australia into sharp focus. The Ichiki Regiment was safely delivered to Noumea, which will now be a knife at the enemy’s throat. It is right astride their lines of communications to Australia, but between that place and Truk, we have no secure positions. The offensive into Southeast Asia and the Solomons will now become the top priority for the Navy.”

  “You wish to move to the second operational phase soon?”

  “Immediately. As a result of the smooth progress of the first-phase operations, we have established an invincible strategic position that cannot be maintained if we go on the defensive now. The Operations in Borneo and the Dutch East Indies will proceed as planned, but we must also look to our outer perimeter. In order to secure it tenaciously, we must keep on striking offensively at the enemy's weak points one after another.”

  “How will we proceed?” Nagumo leaned over the map.

  “The first step will be Rabaul as planned, but I am canceling your Indian Ocean operation. We need to use Carrier Division 5 now in the Solomons. Gozo and Mezu are at Truk, but they carry only 24 planes each. I wish to occupy New Britain and Bougainville as soon as possible. Then we must push on to New Georgia, the lower Solomons, and possibly even as far as the Santa Cruz Islands. That operation will allow us to build a land bridge of good airfields and anchorages to Noumea on New Caledonia, but it will need substantial carrier based air support at the outset.”

  “Can we conclude all these operations before May? What about the plan for Midway?”

  “At the moment, it is of secondary importance. It was only intended to challenge the Americans so we could complete the destruction of their fleet. We must isolate Australia before considering the Midway operation, or any significant move into the Aleutians. Your pilots performed bravely, and the sinking of the carrier Lexington was perhaps the strongest blow we landed at Hawaii. That said, we have learned that their carrier Saratoga is now moving to Pearl Harbor. We can also anticipate that they will send reinforcements from their Atlantic fleet. So I expect our moves into the Solomons will be opposed. Ready yourself for that. But first, I want you to take the 5th Carrier Division back out again to support Operation R against Rabaul.”

  “Has there been any change in enemy dispositions?”

  “Not much to speak of. The Australians dispatched a single battalion, apparently to defend their air base at Vunakanau near Rabaul. They also have a few flying boats at the nearby Simpson Harbor, and those should be destroyed immediately. There will be little air opposition. We have identified only a small squadron of perhaps ten obsolete fighters at that airfield, and four old twin engine bombers. Guam is now secure, so we will utilize General Tomitaro Horii’s troops for the follow up landings at Rabaul. The 144th Regiment was retained with 55th Division for the Burma operation.”

  “Then what will we use for the initial landing at Rabaul?”

  “I still have forces equivalent to a full brigade at Truk,” said Yamamoto. The 2nd and 5th Sasebo SNLF and two Teishin airborne battalions.”

  “Teishin? Those are air force troops.”

  “Yes, but Yamashita tells me our own Yokosuka Para Battalion was very useful in his Malaya operation. The air force has offered them to replace the 144th Regiment, and we will have 60 Ki-56 light transport planes to carry them. They have been ferrying additional supplies to Truk, and will soon be available for operations.”

  “Very well,” said Nagumo. “I foresee no difficulty in completing Operation R successfully. Yet we should also clear enemy resistance in New Guinea. There are good sites for airfields there, and we must not allow the Australians to retain their position at Port Moresby.”

  “Agreed,” said Yamamoto. “I will watch the progress of our thrust into the Dutch colonies very closely. The Island of Java will be the end point of those operations, and set the lower boundary of our defensive perimeter there. Yamashita must also occupy Singapore as planned. Then, once we are well established on Java, we can consider an expanded attack on both Port Moresby, and perhaps even Port Darwin. For now, Rabaul and New Britain will be your next objective.”

  “When am I to leave?”

  “As soon as 5th Carrier Division can replenish. I will depart for Truk myself in a few days time, and Yamato will be moved there as the new Fleet headquarters at sea.”

  “That will be a most welcome addition,” said Nagumo.

  “Considering that we have just shown how easy it is to sink battleships with aircraft, I sometimes wonder.” Yamamoto hedged his bet, but Nagumo disagreed.

  “Those old American battleships at Pearl Harbor were nothing more than nice fat targets. They are nothing like Yamato, and at sea, under a full head of steam, she would not be so vulnerable.”

  “I suppose this war will answer that question one day,” said Yamamoto. “As long as our carrier based aircraft can rule the skies over the sea, then our battleships may move about with impunity. One day, however, that may change. At the moment, I want you to light a fire in the Solomons. Run wild, Nagumo. Hit hard, and always keep moving.”

  “What if the Americans do oppose me with their fleet carriers?”

  “Then fight. We have the best ships, planes and pilots in the world. 5th Carrier Division has Zuikaku and Shokaku, our newest and most advance carriers. I know you will be eager to redress what you perceive as a failure in that last battle. But now is not the time to look over your shoulder with any regret. The next battle awaits you. That is where you must focus your thoughts.”

  Nagumo nodded, and there was silence between the two men for some time before he spoke again. “Admiral Yamamoto… Siberia is a beaten and backward nation. We have had them under our foot since 1908. How in the world did they produce such advanced rocket weapons, when our own programs are so far behind? And this ship? They have no major ports, no dry docks. Where did it come from?”

  “We believe it was built by the Soviets. It was at Murmansk in September, then it moved east through the Arctic passage before the ice closed in. This is how we believe it came to the Pacific.”

  “The Soviets? Then they have these rocket weapons? They are responsible?”

  “We believe so.”

  “And if they give this technology to
the Americans?”

  Yamamoto reached up, rubbing his chin, but said nothing more. He would take to the high seas aboard Japan’s mightiest battleship, ordering that Akagi was to wait in the lagoon at Truk until his arrival. Once there, he boarded the venerable carrier to survey the damage, and discuss repairs and the upcoming refit with the engineers.

  Before he left, he produced a list of all men lost in the sortie he had so long advocated against the Americans at Pearl Harbor. There were the names of the pilots and crews, men of the fabled Misty Lagoon. Some had died on this very ship, others on Kaga, and a great many more aboard Hiryu. True to his word, he ordered that all their names should be engraved on a brass plate and affixed to the wall, and that if ever this ship were in jeopardy of sinking, it was to be unbolted and removed, along with the portrait of the Emperor. Then he ordered the men out, and for a long time, he sat alone, silently reading the names upon that list, seeing their faces in his mind, hearing their voices, and taking upon himself the responsibility for each and every lost soul.

  Chapter 21

  While Yamamoto kept his silent vigil, half a world away, the Americans were also making plans of their own. Admiral Halsey’s lonesome watch with the Enterprise was relieved with the arrival of the Saratoga, another big Lexington class carrier that had once been designed as a battlecruiser. He was also heartened by the news that Yorktown was arriving on December 20th, escorted by the destroyers Russel, Walke and Simms. Trailing in her wake was yet another ship, the Kitty Hawk, one of many logistical support vessels that would make the United States Navy such an efficient and formidable foe in the years to come.

  The Kitty Hawk class was a special breed, over 16,000 tons fully loaded, and originally designed to transport commercial railway cars. The Navy saw them as perfect transports for crated aircraft and other equipment, and they could carry up to 120 planes in that capacity, and make a respectable 17 knots. They threw on a single 5-inch gun, four .50 caliber machineguns, and stuffed the ship full of planes for the carrier division. Two such ships were in the Pacific, the Kitty Hawk and Hammondsport.

  Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher brought the Yorktown in, and now he was meeting with Halsey to discuss the situation they faced in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor. An Iowa man from a Navy family, Fletcher graduated near the top of his academy class in 1906. He commanded a destroyer in the first war, won a medal of Honor at Vera Cruz, Mexico, and then was given the battleship New Mexico for a time before he moved on to command a Cruiser Division.

  “Hell of a situation here,” said Halsey. They were meeting aboard the Enterprise, berthed that night to replenish at Pearl. There was really no other suitable office ashore, for the entirety of CINCPAC headquarters had been destroyed in the awful fire resulting from the catastrophic explosion of the tanker Neosho. Fletcher had been shocked when he finally saw the damage.

  “Couldn’t believe my eyes,” he said. “Thank God Battleship Division 1 was out to sea with your operation.”

  “We might have been sitting right here had it not been for Newton wanting that fleet exercise,” said Halsey. “It put both our carriers right in the ring. Van Falkenburgh’s old ladies too.”

  “I heard they gave the Japs a bloody nose.”

  Out gunned them and set two of their battlewagons on fire,” said Halsey. “But they were too damn slow to close in and finish the job, and we had our hands full tangling with all those enemy carriers.”

  “Damn shame we lost Lexington,” said Fletcher.

  “That and the mess out there near Merry Point is where they really hurt us. I just heard the Navy is sending us Battleship Division 3 from the Atlantic. I asked for cruisers—I get more fat slow battleships instead.”

  “Pye should be happy.”

  Halsey gave him a look. “Haven’t you heard? Pye was at CINCPAC headquarters when the Neosho blew up. He didn’t make it out of there.”

  “Sorry to hear that, sir.”

  “Right… Well, when they get here we’ll have more battleships than we did before the Japs bombed the place, but with one catch. I just can’t use them now. They’re too slow, and they’ll need too much fuel to operate. That’s a commodity we may soon find in short supply. That fire ate up 42% of everything we had bunkered. So we’re going to have to be stingy.”

  “It won’t be your problem long, Bull,” said Fletcher. “Nimitz is flying in to take over out here.”

  “Good,” said Halsey. “The last place I’d want to be is sitting in that pile of rubble over there behind the one desk they manage to dig up for me. There’s work to be done at sea, and that’s where I belong. The effort now is to support Wake and Midway as long as we can. Everything was destroyed at CINCPAC, including all those nice little war plans filed away. You’ve read them. One was supposed to have us out there trying to lay an ambush for the Japs at Wake. Well, we haven’t the luxury of that kind of thinking right now. The time will come for that kind of finesse, but for now, we’re playing defense. The only problem we have is logistics. We’ll need to build forward bases out here, and I’ve just returned from the operation out to Bora Bora. The French didn’t like it, but the place is now ours. We’ll make it a forward depot for operations into the South Pacific, assuming we can find the fuel, and ships to carry it. I requested tanker support, but it may be a while getting here.”

  “They’re sending another Cimarron class ship,” said Fletcher. “The Guadalupe should be here by New Year’s Day.”

  “I hope they pumped in oil and not Champagne.”

  “That they did, sir.”

  “Fair enough. I could use a good stiff drink right about now, but first things first. I’ve got a job for you—Wake Island. Our boys repulsed a Japanese landing attempt last week, but they won’t give it up. So we need to get out there with a relief mission. We’ve got one tanker available to support operations, the Netches. Lucky for us that ship was en-route to Pearl when they hit us. She’ll only make 14 knots, so you’ll have to leave her in your wake most of the time with a couple destroyers, but keep an eye on her. We can’t afford to lose another tanker.”

  “But sir,” said Fletcher haltingly. “You can see these nice black shoes I’m wearing here. I’m a cruiser man. I haven’t any experience driving carriers. In fact, I thought they just stuck me on Yorktown for the ride.”

  “Look Jack, we also lost Wil Brown in that fire, so they sent you out here for a reason. Yes, I know the navy aviators get a hair up their ass whenever they don’t see an Admiral with gold wings on his chest commanding a carrier. Fitch can handle Saratoga with TF 11. I get the Enterprise with TF 8, and I want you to stay with Yorktown and TF 17. Nimitz recommended you, and the job is yours. Between the three of us, we’ll have enough clout to at least enforce security here in the Central Pacific.”

  “Alright sir. If you and Nimitz want me, I’m happy to serve.”

  “Good. I was going to give you Indianapolis, Chicago and Portland, but the last two got roughed up a bit and repairs are still underway. Don’t worry. I’ll find something for you. If you want the truth, I knew that Nimitz was flying in, and actually spoke with him just last week. In fact, I asked for you directly—and for more cruisers so I can keep you happy. Richmond pulled into Pearl on the 10th, and they’re sending us a new air defense cruiser, the Atlanta. God only knows when. Until then I’ll see what else I can find. That said, job one for us now is to lend a hand at Wake, and cover Midway. But there’s one other thing we need to discuss.”

  “I’m all ears,” said Fletcher.

  “Code and Signals section says they got an earful the other day. Apparently there was some kind of ruckus northwest of Wake.”

  “Northwest? Nothing much out there, except Marcus Island.”

  “It was much closer in. In fact, the boys on Wake picked it up too. There was a fight underway, that much was clear, but we didn’t get an invitation. It wasn’t any of our subs either, so this is a bit of a mystery. All we know is that the code crowd thinks it was the Japanese main body, t
he same group that hit us at Pearl, and after this engagement, they hightailed it for Japan. One of our subs spotted them on the way. There were only three carriers.”

  “Three? The reports I read said they hit us with six.”

  We know they sent one carrier to Kwajalein, and now they’ve sent another to Truk, but that still leaves one carrier unaccounted for.”

  “Then you think they took damage in that engagement?”

  “Seems that way, though I’d like to think they’re still shaking off the punches we landed on them when they hit Pearl. But the signals troop thinks something else happened. They think there was a scrap up there northwest of Wake, and I’ll be damned if I can figure out who might have had the balls to tangle with them—or the ships! It certainly wasn’t a commonwealth battlegroup.”

  “It does smell fishy,” said Fletcher.

  “Well, I just wanted you to know about it. Keep your eyes open, and run good search routines. That carrier might still be out there somewhere. We can’t write it off just yet.”

  “That would be a good assumption,” said Fletcher. “So what happened with the Pensacola?”

  “The damn French got in on the game, that’s what happened,” said Halsey, “and we gave them a black eye. Antietam and Shiloh were at Mindanao, and someone had the good sense to order them out of there when this thing started. That someone was me, of course. Well, they were headed for Fiji, and showed us just in time to head off that French task force, and the Frogs had a carrier. Jimmy Hansen was out the on the Antietam, and damn if they didn’t stick it to that French flattop.”

  “Good for them.”

  “Unfortunately, the Japanese showed up soon after. We’ve got more trouble than we realize now. They were running a troop convoy down to New Caledonia, and the escort carriers tagging along mixed it up with Hansen’s group. Antietam got hit, but she’s still haze grey and underway. I’m calling that group home to Pearl. They can patch up and then escort the marines out to Samoa and Fiji. That’ll leave our three fleet carriers free for independent operations. The thing is this. If the Japs moved troops to Noumea, you know damn well they can’t just leave it at that. They’d be out there like ripe fruit—really out on a limb. So I’m thinking they’ll need to move into the Solomons soon to support that forward base. Nimitz agrees.”