Surprise Attack

On the afternoon of January 30, the Island Nation Navy's Combined Fleet began changing course. It turned southwest, preparing to enter the western waters of the Philippine Sea. This area was close to the Philippines, where the United States maintained naval and air bases that could provide them with intelligence support. If German aircraft or warships were spotted, they could be warned in advance to evade them.

On the afternoon of the 31st, the Island Nation Navy entered the central waters of the Philippines. They were now only a few hundred kilometers from the German-held Mariana Islands. At the same time, intelligence indicated that the German Navy Pacific Fleet and Indian Ocean Fleet were still in the Bismarck Sea to the south.

For safety's sake, the German Navy Pacific Fleet and Indian Ocean Fleet intended to join up before heading north. That would make their combined strength somewhat greater. If the two fleets headed north separately and encountered the Island Nation Navy's Combined Fleet, neither would likely stand a chance of victory. Although the German Navy was powerful, the only forces currently available to deal with the Island Nation Navy were the Pacific Fleet and Indian Ocean Fleet. Their strength was therefore extremely precious, and avoiding losses would naturally be best.

It was precisely this conservative German Navy strategy that gave the Island Nation Navy an opportunity to launch a surprise attack on the Mariana Islands.

Of course, that was also because the German Navy had never expected the Island Nation to be so shameless and bold as to once again use the tactic of attacking without a declaration of war, launching a surprise strike against Germany. It made the German Navy pay a grievous price at the very beginning of the war.

At two o'clock in the afternoon on