In the southern waters of the Bismarck Islands, aboard the German Navy Pacific Fleet's flagship, the aircraft carrier Aries, Fleet Commander Admiral Konrad Albrecht was awakened from his rest. The moment he learned what had happened, his face turned extremely grim.
By the time Admiral Konrad Albrecht arrived at the operations room, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Oskar Kummetz, Capital Ships Formation Commander Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi, and Aircraft Carrier Formation Commander Lieutenant General Wilhelm Canaris had all arrived. Everyone knew what had happened, and every face was grim as death.
"Without a doubt, this was a carefully planned sneak attack by the Island Nation. Those contemptible bastards launched war without a declaration. Our airfields in the Mariana Islands were all destroyed by the Island Nation's capital ships and carrier-based aircraft, and our losses were enormous. Many aircraft were destroyed right on the airfields. The casualties among pilots and ground crews were also severe. With these airfields destroyed, our strength in the Pacific Ocean has been greatly weakened. Now, we can only rely on the airfields in the Caroline Islands, Micronesia Islands, and Marshall Islands to resist the Island Nation Navy's attack!" Lieutenant General Oskar Kummetz said solemnly.
Everyone felt heavily burdened. When they had first learned that the Island Nation Navy's Combined Fleet was making unusual movements, they had guessed that war would likely break out soon. But none of them had expected the Island Nation Navy to choose such a sudden strike. And from the very first move, it had been such a grand gesture, forcing the German Navy to pay a terrible price.
In this battle, the German Navy had lost more than six hundred aircraft of various types. For the German Navy's land-based forces, this was undoubtedly a crushing blow. After all, across all the islands