Chapter 583: Total Outbreak of War

“Banzai!” a Japanese soldier shouted, his hands raised high, a long rifle still clutched in one of them as he stood on the beach of Wake Island. Behind him, more Japanese soldiers began to chant in chorus, their voices growing louder with each wave.

They had captured an American island. The American commander on the island now stood with his head bowed in dejection beside the triumphant Japanese commander. The American prisoners of war, who had already laid down their arms, were being guarded by Japanese soldiers with fixed bayonets, slowly walking up to the transport ships that were preparing to carry them away.

Japan, like Germany, was severely lacking in labor. However, the countries Japan had invaded were slightly different from the countries Germany had invaded, so the composition of the labor shortage was also different. The educational level of Japan’s labor force was significantly lower than Germany’s. Although the countries it had invaded, such as China and Vietnam, could provide a large amount of labor, they could not fill the severe shortage of high-tech talent in Japan. Germany, on the other hand, was different. The variety of its prisoners of war was much greater than Japan’s. In terms of pure manual labor, Germany had countless Soviet prisoners. For high-tech talent, Germany had highly educated prisoners of war from France and Britain, which could, to a certain extent, alleviate its own labor shortage.

So after Japan went to war with the United States, it established concentration camps specifically for holding Americans in places like the Philippines and the Chinese province of Taiwan, in order to “train” the prisoners of war to engage in the production of peripheral military-industrial products. This whole system came from Germany. During the period of German-Japanese friendship, the Japanese had been very interested in this system of reproduction in concentration camps and had naturally learned a lot.

On several fronts, whenever they captured American prisoners, the Japanese would immediately send them back to Taiwan or even northeast China, so that these prisoners of war would be completely reduced to slaves who would sell their lives for Japan, producing the necessary military supplies for the Japanese army’s expanded aggression.

The fall of Wake Island caused the United States to lose an important Pacific stronghold. What was even more terrifying was that the United States had lost the naval fleet to defend against a Japanese attack. The entire Pacific was now like a young girl with her clothes open, exposed to the covetous prying of others.

Roosevelt urgently summoned the British special envoy and proposed a plan to relieve the pressure in the Pacific theater. This plan was simply a stroke of genius. After Roosevelt had drawn it up, he couldn’t help but applaud himself. Once this plan was implemented, the entire world would be thrown into complete chaos.

“Mr. President, why have you summoned me in such a hurry?” the British special envoy asked, looking at Roosevelt with an anxious expression, afraid that the American government would pull some strange trick again, profiting from the war by selling out the interests of the British. It was clear that he had guessed right again this time. The United States had indeed set its sights on its ally, Britain.

Roosevelt gave an embarrassed smile, had his assistant push his wheelchair to the British special envoy’s side, and said, “Australia has 15 divisions of troops in training. I want to use the navy to transport these troops back to the United States.”

“Why? To withdraw the troops from Australia at a time like this will allow the Japanese to take advantage of the void,” the British special envoy said. Although he was not a military general, he knew that the current situation was very unfavorable for the Australian region. It was very likely that Japan would mobilize its forces in the short term and invade the under-strength Australia.

“Not just the 15 divisions of the new Australian army, but also the 5 divisions of American troops deployed in Australia. These forces must all be transported back to the United States to prepare for the defense against a further Japanese attack,” Roosevelt said solemnly. He knew that saying this would definitely make the British special envoy fly into a rage, and he also knew that doing so was indeed very unfavorable for the British Royal Government. But he had to do it to obtain the greatest benefit for the United States.

Nimitz’s naval assessment report had already come out. The new commander who had taken over the U.S. Pacific Fleet believed that to defeat the Japanese Combined Fleet with the existing U.S. naval forces was absolutely like a fool’s dream.

So Nimitz had drawn up a bold operational plan. This plan included abandoning Pearl Harbor, and almost all the islands in the Pacific held by the U.S. Navy. Roosevelt had approved this plan and strongly supported Nimitz’s proposal to train the navy as much as possible, to expand the scale of the Pacific Fleet’s aircraft carriers, and to wait until the number of their carriers was greater than Japan’s before seeking a strategic showdown.

To put this strategy bluntly, it was a naval version of the “trading space for time” tactic, using the vastness of the Pacific as a trump card to delay the Japanese attack. The Americans were even willing to give up Wake Island and Hawaii to make Japan suffer the same unforgettable pain that the U.S. military had endured.

But the Americans did not want to hand over these islands to Japan. In other words, if Japan were to take these islands without a fight, then it was possible that in half a year they would be threatening the American mainland, which was not a result the United States government wanted to see.

So the American advisors came up with a solution that was perfect for both sides: to withdraw the British garrison in Australia to help the United States defend these small islands to the death, until the United States finally produced a massive fleet to counter-attack Japan.

But this created another fatal problem: who would defend Australia? If Australia were to be given to Japan, it would not be in America’s fundamental interest. So an insidious plan was pushed to the forefront: to drag the Axis powers into the water.

In the world right now, there were two Frances existing at the same time. This was the fundamental reason why the French battleships had shown their might in the Battle of Tobruk. Vichy France had sent out battleships to show its attitude because of the dispute over Somalia. This matter had suddenly given the Americans a countermeasure, a countermeasure to make the Germans and the Japanese fall out.

“Mr. President, in that case, who will be responsible for the defense of Australia? Are we to have the British Empire give Australia to the Japanese?” the British special envoy said, his teeth gritted in anger.

Roosevelt shook his head and, with a smile, handed a plan to the British special envoy. “Australia is not to be given to the Japanese, but to be exchanged with the British government. Australia will issue a statement, declaring its obedience to the leadership of the Chamberlain government in Scotland.”

“This…” The British special envoy was taken aback for a moment, then he instantly understood. This was a clear difference from giving Australia to the Japan. For a colony to waver between two British governments was something the British could accept, absolutely different from the colony being occupied by the Japanese.

He thought for a dozen seconds and found that using Australia as a bait did indeed have room for maneuver. If it was handled well, then the result would be the magnificent trap of whether Germany would care about Australia’s safety.

If the Japanese did not dare to invade Australia because of this, then a single statement would be worth a hundred thousand soldiers, and it would clearly be the Americans who had gotten the better deal. If the Japanese really did invade Australia, then this was already a colony of Scottish Britain. It had nothing to do with the Americans; it should be the responsibility of Scottish Britain.

Of course, Scottish Britain did not have this ability, but the Germans standing behind Scotland would have to step up and give an explanation to their little ally. And whether Germany intervened or not, it would still be beneficial to the United States. This move of retreating to advance was an absolute masterstroke, a rare diplomatic strategy in World War II.

After weighing the pros and cons, the British Royal Family accepted the Americans’ conditions. They ordered the withdrawal of a large number of young Australian men and then had the Australian government issue a public telegram.

On July 1st, the Australian government announced that, for its own reasons, it recognized itself as a colony of the Scottish British government. The formal written document would be sent to Prime Minister Chamberlain’s residence in a few days. The first colony in the world to recognize Northern Britain was thus born.

The German government could only give a wry smile upon learning this news. Old Sir August helplessly convened a meeting of the Imperial Chancellery to discuss a countermeasure. The result was that they could only passively accept the situation and recognize Australia as a colony of Northern Britain joining the Axis system. This decision was also at Akado’s behest. He felt that in any case, it was a thankless decision, so he might as well make the choice that was most beneficial to himself.

Since Australia was offering itself up, there was no reason not to welcome it. As for the subsequent problems, let the Japanese have the headache. Akado also wanted to know whether the great banner of the German leader of Europe, the tiger skin of the invincible Third Reich, could really intimidate the distant Japan.

And on the same day that Australia announced its recognition of Northern British rule, Tobruk was captured by Rommel. The Australian troops inside laid down their arms and surrendered, and the remaining Indian British troops also gave up their resistance. Rommel, having won a victory in North Africa, entered Tobruk in a car to personally review his Afrika Korps.

For a time, the Axis was in the limelight. The capture of Tobruk on the African front, the submission of Australia in the Pacific—it seemed that Germany really had the aura of dominating the globe. Unfortunately, this aura only lasted until July 15th, when it was completely shattered by another country.

On July 13th, 1938, the American forces, having lost their support, withdrew from several fortresses in the Philippines. 19,000 U.S. troops laid down their arms and surrendered to the Japanese. The Japanese Army had completely occupied the Philippines and Malaysia in Southeast Asia.

The Japanese Army, which had been sharpening its knives for a long time, did not stop its aggressive steps there but, with a world-shocking move, proved just how great the ambition of the Japanese was. The Empire of Japan, along with the puppet states of Manchukuo and Vietnam, declared war on the Axis powers in one go and at the same time advanced into Australia.

On the morning of July 15th, 1938, the German public, who had been dreaming of being the world’s hegemon for just a dozen days, was awakened by the news that Japan had invaded its ally, Australia, and had declared war on Germany. Filled with a common hatred for the enemy, they took to the streets in protest, demanding that the Reich respond to the despicable Japanese fools.

On the morning of July 16th, 1938, the Holy German Third Reich, along with the Kingdom of Italy, Vichy France, Northern Britain, Ireland, Spain, Romania, and Turkey, declared war on Japan. A Second World War, one that Akado was unfamiliar with, had, at this point, broken out in full force.

Published: 2025-09-08T03:31:16.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-01-07T18:19:20.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c583-total-138390771

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