Chapter 615: Reeling
Yamamoto Isoroku studied the intelligence report that had just been delivered. The information within was like a heavy blow to his heart. It was the first time Nagumo Chuichi’s carrier aircraft had suffered such severe losses in an engagement, and it made Yamamoto feel, for the first time, that the war might be impossible to win.
The marshal who had led the Japanese Navy to unprecedented glory now suddenly felt the urge to turn back. He looked at the horrifying numbers on the report, his palms unknowingly drenched in sweat.
Sato’s fighter unit had achieved victory; this was beyond doubt. Out of 40 American planes, 24 had been shot down, a feat that could only be attributed to the bravery and tenacity of the Japanese naval aircrews. They had been without any rest for several days straight. These pilots were exhausted, sometimes even falling into a deep sleep the moment they brought their planes to a stop on the flight deck.
Nevertheless, they had still achieved a proud combat record. Thirty Zero fighters had engaged forty American P-40s and still managed the stunning result of shooting down 24 enemy planes. This time, however, shooting down their opponents had come at a heavy cost. Eleven Japanese planes were shot down, and eleven highly skilled Japanese fighter pilots would never again be able to fight for the Empire.
For the first time, Yamamoto felt that the issue of air superiority was becoming difficult challenge. His battleship fleet had to abandon its plan to pursue the American fleet, because Admiral Kurita feared his battleships would be attacked by American carrier aircraft.
Admiral Nagumo Chuichi, on the other hand, was defiant. Without waiting for Yamamoto’s approval, he pushed his own carrier fleet 20 kilometers eastward, hoping to catch the American fleet and continue the attack. He even personally sent a telegram to Yamamoto Isoroku, his words impassioned: “Marshal Yamamoto Isoroku, although our forces have suffered certain losses, overall we still hold a definite advantage and the initiative. I implore you to grant the fleet permission to engage the U.S. Navy in a decisive battle here, to decide the life or death of the Imperial Navy in one stroke! I, Nagumo Chuichi, will share the fate of the carrier Akagi. Long live His Majesty the Emperor! May the Imperial Japanese Army’s fortunes of war be everlasting!”
This telegram arrived along with Sato’s combat report. It was clear that Nagumo Chuichi intended to risk everything. Japan’s four fleet carriers were already bearing down on the American fleet. The Japanese Navy still held an advantage in the number of ships and aircraft, but the gap between the two sides had indeed shrunk to a negligible degree.
“Australia is truly a ‘chicken rib’,” Yamamoto Isoroku lamented. If the attack on Darwin hadn’t dispersed the Japanese Navy’s forces, the Japanese fleet near Pearl Harbor would be in a much better position now. But the plan to reinforce Darwin had also been proposed by the Navy General Staff. After all, the Japanese high command hoped to secure a large, permanent port in Australia to stockpile strategic materials for future offensives.
The Japanese Navy’s plan was that once Darwin was captured, Australian iron ore could be continuously shipped to Japan, allowing Japan’s shipbuilding industry to advance by leaps and bounds and laying a solid material foundation for the complete control of the entire Pacific. But splitting their forces at such an extreme range had directly led to this unwinnable situation for the Japanese Navy.
It was not impossible to drive off this American fleet. If they were willing to accept the losses, they were even confident they could annihilate it. But Yamamoto knew that if he did so, the Combined Fleet would be finished. The Americans would see a weakened Japan in their intelligence reports. Capturing Hawaii would absolutely not end the war; it would only strengthen America’s resolve to fight on.
Yamamoto knew that the Japanese Navy and Army were incapable of invading the United States. Even if the entire U.S. Navy was wiped out without a single ship remaining, the Japanese Army did not have the courage to send hundreds of thousands of Japanese soldiers to the East Coast of America to fight a protracted war against millions of American G.I.s and thousands of tanks.
Provoking China, a great power not even a tenth as strong as America, had already saddled Japan with a heavy burden it could not shake off. Now, it simply did not have the courage to face a country like the United States on its vast territory. If it was arrogant for one country to challenge the whole world, for a country like Japan to challenge the whole world was absolute suicide.
Two days earlier, on the deck of the carrier Akagi, Yamamoto had attended a memorial service for the pilots of the Japanese Naval Air Force. More than ten days of fighting had cost the Japanese Navy the precious lives of 32 pilots. Yamamoto had personally bowed to the 32 funeral urns, expressing his deepest condolences.
Yamamoto put down the document in his hand, turned to his staff, and said, “Japan is too small, so small it’s despairing. Every pilot is a precious treasure of the Japanese Empire. If we lose too many forces here, then everything for the Great Japanese Empire will be over!”
“But, Your Excellency, Marshal, if we do not choose to fight a decisive battle at this very moment… then the more than 40,000 soldiers, two divisions of the army, on Oahu and Kauai will be completely lost,” a staff officer said with his head bowed. “Your subordinate believes that as soldiers of the Great Japanese Empire, we should not retreat now.”
“Indeed, Marshal! Soldiers of the Great Japanese Empire should not retreat!” another officer behind Yamamoto also said with his head bowed. “We should be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor! Fight to the death, without fear!”
“Admiral Nagumo is right, we should fight to the death! Since Admiral Nagumo is confident he can annihilate the American fleet, we have no reason to retreat!” another staff officer advised. “We must at least try. Otherwise, your decision will be criticized by the officials back home!”
Yamamoto thought for a moment with some unease before finally speaking: “Order Nagumo to continue searching for and pursuing the American fleet! Strive to annihilate this U.S. naval force!”
He paused, then continued, “Send a telegram to General Fukuda on the island. Ask him if he can end the battle within 24 hours. If he can guarantee victory within 24 hours, I will resolve to fight a decisive battle with the U.S. Navy here. If he cannot achieve a timely victory, the Navy cannot guarantee control of the sea!”
“Your Excellency, Marshal!” a staff officer tried to persuade him further, but he was quickly cut off by Yamamoto.
Yamamoto waved his hand. “No more persuasion! I have already made my decision! It cannot be changed! Go and carry it out!” He spoke with a firm tone, as if he had already made up his mind to withdraw his forces immediately after one more battle.
Just as Yamamoto was agonizing over whether to retreat, Nagumo Chuichi sent out his third wave of attack aircraft. This time, he risked everything, sending out torpedo bombers and level bombers without air superiority. One couldn’t really blame him for this desperate gamble; he had sensed the Marshal’s intention to retreat from Yamamoto’s telegrams.
In the first wave, Sato’s entire unit had taken off, shooting down 24 American P-40s at the cost of 11 Zeros. In the second engagement, the Japanese Naval Air Force had sortied a full 50 Zeros, clashing fiercely with the U.S. Navy’s fighter units once again. The two sides fought for over 15 minutes, and the results once again pained the Japanese.
Sato, against all advice, had sortied again. This time he scored his first kill of the day, but his wingman was also shot down by an American pilot. The loss ratio at one point reached 10 to 12; the Americans had only lost two more fighters than the Japanese. The final result of the battle was that Japan had lost 13 aircraft to shoot down 21 American planes.
Nagumo Chuichi was finally terrified by these dreadful combat statistics. In one day, he had lost a total of 24 aircraft, all of them the Japanese Navy’s most advanced Zero fighters. This nearly gave Nagumo a heart attack. He had already lost 37 pilots in the preceding days of fighting, and now another 24 had died in battle. For the Japanese Navy, which was short on pilots, this was absolutely terrible news.
“Bakayaro! Baka!” Nagumo smashed his favorite cup on the bridge. In less than ten days, he had lost 61 elite naval pilots and about 40 Zero fighters, as well as various other aircraft. This pained Nagumo to the extreme. Not since the invasion of Shanghai in China had Japan lost so many aircraft in such a short period.
“Those who died were the finest soldiers of the Great Japanese Empire! These men were the best pilots in the world!” As a key figure in the Japanese Naval Air Force, Nagumo Chuichi certainly knew how important his men were. Planes could be replaced if destroyed, but for Japan, pilots were an almost irreplaceable, rare resource.
“American bombers have appeared on the fleet’s periphery! Our aircraft are engaging them and have already shot down two enemy planes!” an intelligence officer hurried to Nagumo Chuichi’s side to report on the recent engagement. The Americans were not just taking a beating; they had also sent out their own counter-attack forces, although their results were not significant.
Just a few minutes ago, a Japanese light cruiser had been hit on the bridge by a bomb dropped from an American plane, killing the captain and more than 40 officers and men. Half an hour earlier, a destroyer had also been damaged and was ordered to return to Japan for repairs.
Soon, the news Nagumo wanted to hear came over the radio: the Japanese attack group had achieved results. A bomb had hit an American aircraft carrier. However, because the battlefield was very chaotic, the Japanese pilots could not confirm which American carrier had been hit.
“Good!” Nagumo clenched his fist in confidence. “Prepare the next wave of planes! We will crush the American fleet in one fell swoop!”
“Admiral!” the officer who brought the intelligence report said in a low voice. “We lost 29 aircraft… to continue launching attacks, isn’t that a bit too risky?”
“…” Nagumo was stunned, and then he suddenly felt the world begin to spin.
Published: 2025-09-11T01:52:27.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-01-23T16:33:31.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c615-reeling-138630060
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