Chapter 585: Lip Service

At the entrance to the conference room in the Wolf’s Lair, Manstein found Führer Akado, who was just about to convene a military conference. He found it somewhat incredible that the Reich would get involved in a war with Japan for the sake of an insignificant ally. Germany’s declaration of war on Japan would not bring any substantial benefits, and even Japan’s declaration of war on Germany would not cause Germany any losses. He did not understand why everyone was so concerned with this pointless lip service.

“My Führer, to go to war with Japan for a distant land that doesn’t even belong to Northern Britain, isn’t that a bit too rash?” Manstein said the moment they met. “We could just ignore Japan’s declaration of war and slowly wait for the outcome in the Pacific.”

“This is a political issue. If we were to consider it from a purely military perspective, I wouldn’t even have accepted Australia’s declaration. I would have cursed them out and then watched Japan occupy the place,” Akado said with a smile, looking at Manstein and explaining. “But once political interests are involved, then the pros and cons of many things have to be re-analyzed.”

“We have planted the seeds of friendship in China. If we get too close to the Japanese, then General von Seeckt’s previous strategic investment will have been in vain. This is clearly not in the interest of the Reich, nor is it in line with the Reich’s long-term strategic arrangements,” Akado said, handing a document to Anna at his side. “Moreover, if we do not respond immediately to the Japanese declaration of war, then Germany’s influence on its surrounding allies will be weakened. Once Northern Britain finds a reason to flirt with the Americans, then a weakness will appear in our Atlantic Wall. This is not a consequence the Reich can tolerate.”

“Then, my Führer, we can declare war, but why send so many submarines to the Pacific? To help the United States fight the Japanese Navy is clearly not in our interest,” Manstein continued to ask.

Akado pointed at Manstein and said, “You, you. If it were August, he wouldn’t ask such a stupid question. I sent out so many submarines, but I didn’t touch our main fleet. Don’t you see the difference? The arrival of the submarines in the Pacific will minimize our losses. And this scale is to appease Northern Britain. Any less, and Chamberlain would be cursing in the streets.”

Why was Akado wasting his breath explaining this to his general? Because it wasn’t just Manstein who was puzzled by Akado’s decision. Even the commander-in-chief of the submarine force, Dönitz, was dissatisfied with Akado taking 10 of his submarines. However, due to the distance, Dönitz, who was inspecting the construction of a submarine base on the Norwegian coast, had no opportunity to ask Akado the reason in person.

So Akado was now explaining it to Manstein, because he needed Manstein to spread his ideas and persuade more people to support the decision to declare war on Japan. Therefore, Akado decided to say a little more. “In the past, I would never have dared to let the submarine force carry out a mission so far away. But everything requires accumulating experience, and so does long-range command and control. Therefore, I feel that we can use this method to accumulate valuable experience for the navy and to lay the foundation for a fleet expedition.”

“In addition, the maturity of the naval submarine technology and the extremely low failure rate of the new, improved submarines are also a guarantee for this expedition. Such a long sea voyage is an opportunity to test the long-term combat capability of our submarine force. And as for the mission itself, I believe that after the captains of the 10 submarines return, I will have to sign the order to award another 10 medals,” Akado said with a smile and did not intend to say any more. In the conference room were several generals from North Africa, as well as General Schörner, who was about to go to North Africa to command the K Army Group.

Manstein watched Akado walk into the conference room with Anna and stood outside for a few more seconds. He now knew a lot about the Reich’s considerations. Some of the problems Akado had mentioned were ones he had already guessed, and some were ones he had not thought of. He was a general, not a politician. Most of the time, he only needed to consider how to reduce losses and win the war, not other issues.

Germany was sending 10 submarines to Australia. This move had to be made for Chamberlain to see; this was politics. And these 10 submarines had to accumulate experience for fleet navigation along the way and finally participate in a commerce raiding war; this was military. To mix politics into military affairs to achieve diplomatic goals, and to mix military affairs into politics to reduce wasteful spending—this was a science, worth studying and considering.

And at this very moment, Chamberlain had flown to Berlin and had an audience with the Reich Chancellor, August. The two discussed the Australian issue for a whole morning. Chamberlain’s meaning was to do everything possible not to abandon Australia, and he even hoped that the German army could dispatch one or two divisions there to help the British defend this vast colony.

But even he himself knew that this plan was simply a fool’s dream. Even the most confident German commander could not agree to this crazy plan. So this plan to send troops to Australia was just a front, a bargaining chip for mutual haggling. In fact, what Chamberlain really wanted to say was the sentence that followed: Since army reinforcements are not feasible, then could the Reich please dispatch the navy?

“Mr. Prime Minister, I believe that even you agree with our view that the High Seas Fleet absolutely cannot be deployed, correct?” August and Raeder were in charge of meeting with Chamberlain. They had received this “British Prime Minister” with great ceremony at the Grand Hotel Berlin. The two sides wasted no time on pleasantries and immediately began negotiations on the plan to send troops.

However, even Chamberlain was no fool. He, of course, saw that Australia was a huge pit, a trap dug for him by the British Royal Family and the Americans. What he wanted to be was a “hero” who would revive and preserve Britain. Naturally, he could not and did not dare to play with his own life.

The matter of deploying the High Seas Fleet—even if Chamberlain requested it, the Germans would absolutely not agree. Moreover, Chamberlain knew better than anyone that the High Seas Fleet absolutely could not be moved.

Once the High Seas Fleet went to the Pacific, regardless of the outcome, the British naval fleet in the Atlantic would immediately regain its advantage. At that time, if the British were to really fight their way back to the mainland, he, the “British traitor,” would naturally be the first to die. So it was even more impossible for him to make such a foolish request as to deploy the High Seas Fleet.

For Chamberlain, the ideal situation was: the German navy would send a squadron, composed of a few cruisers or a few destroyers, to show off its strength for Northern Britain. Even if all these warships were sunk, it would be of no great consequence. It would be great if the Japanese were scared, but even if they really did make a move, the losses would all be the Germans’, and it would have nothing to do with him, Chamberlain.

However, the Germans clearly had a better option. They had dispatched a deep-sea submarine fleet to the troubled waters of the Pacific. In this way, Chamberlain could not say much. After all, the Germans had given Northern Britain enough face by sending a rather considerable lineup of 10 submarines.

However, compared to the 30-knot speed of cruisers and destroyers, the speed of the submarines was indeed somewhat tear-jerking. On the way to the Pacific, most of the time the submarines could only travel at about 10 knots. If they encountered a situation, they might even have to dive and reduce their speed to 5 knots. This speed, for the distant Australia waiting for rescue, was simply a cruel torture.

A distance of nearly 20,000 kilometers—it might take several months to get there. To call this “reinforcing Australia” was more like “retaliating against Japan for invading Australia.” It was estimated that by the time this fleet entered the Pacific, Japan would have already occupied Australia and would be singing its way to the American mainland.

But Chamberlain did not raise any objections. He knew that even if the German High Seas Fleet were to rush to Australia now, by the time it got there, Japan would probably have already occupied Australia. The Americans were not really giving Australia to the Germans but had used a trick to screw the Germans over. So this was not the Germans’ fault for not coming to the rescue, but the Americans’ for being despicable.

While the Germans were frantically dispatching submarines, preparing to show their presence in the Pacific, the Japanese were not idle. They had seized almost all of the Axis merchant ships in Asia and had completely fallen out with the Axis powers. This had brought Japan a windfall, with a lot of free goods from the Axis countries.

These merchant ships, because of the outbreak of the war, could not return to Europe. After all, the Indian Ocean, which was full of British warships, was an absolute restricted zone for Axis merchant ships. So these merchant ships had stayed in Asia, doing some short-distance business and occasionally moonlighting as intelligence gatherers. With Seeckt’s face and Japan’s own scruples, these merchant ships had even engaged in smuggling, secretly transporting American arms to China.

But this time, it was clear that the Japanese really intended to tear off all pretenses and go to war. They had actually seized these merchant ships. And they had killed the shipowners, sent the crew to concentration camps, and confiscated all the various goods on board, including rubber and grain, and even guns and ammunition.

The German government in Berlin, upon receiving this news, did not issue any statement. After all, the two countries were already at war, and to say anything more was useless. What the Germans had to do now was to wait, to wait for the submarines that had gone to the Pacific to send back some useful information.

“Gentlemen,” Dönitz said to the submarine commanders who were on their way to the Arctic Ocean to carry out a blockade mission, five days after the submarines had left port. “Our warriors are already on their way to the Pacific. Our submarine force will forever be the Führer’s sword of vengeance, forever the proud trump card of the Reich! I hope that on this trip to the battlefield, you will bring back more glory for the Reich!”

Published: 2025-09-08T03:34:07.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-01-09T15:46:13.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c585-lip-138390980

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