Recaps

Japan’s leaders prepared to enter the war against Germany as American envoy Hopkins was due to arrive and press them to honor their promise. The chapter left the Five Cabinet Ministers readying Japan’s forces while hoping to use the conflict to become a leading world power.

• Japan’s government abandoned its bid to join the Allied Powers and prepared to fight Germany under American pressure.
• Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe arranged for Hopkins to meet him at the Prime Minister’s residence when the envoy arrived in Tokyo.
• Konoe told the ministers that Japan’s entry into the war was unavoidable and asked about its military preparations.
• Army Minister Seishiro Itagaki reported that the Army had mobilized one hundred divisions and planned to expand to two hundred by year’s end.
• Navy Minister Mitsumasa Yonai said the Navy was prepared to attack Germany’s Pacific and Indian Ocean fleets, though he doubted Japan had a clear advantage.
• Konoe urged the ministers to treat the dangerous war as an opportunity for Japan to become one of the world’s foremost powers.

Fumimaro Konoe and the Island Nation’s ministers discussed what they would demand from the United States in exchange for entering the war against Germany, including territory, reparations, and wartime supplies. Their talks awaited the arrival of American envoy Hopkins, who reached Tokyo aboard a converted B-17 transport aircraft.

• Fumimaro Konoe asked his ministers what demands they should make of the Americans before the Island Nation joined the war against Germany.
• Kuniaki Koiso and Seishiro Itagaki demanded that the South Seas, Australia, and German-held Pacific islands belong to the Island Nation after victory.
• Seihin Ikeda proposed claiming India, while Konoe doubted the Americans would accept that demand and Naruhiko Higashikuni suggested beginning negotiations with a high asking price.
• Naruhiko Higashikuni called for a share of Germany’s war reparations, and Konoe said the Island Nation should receive at least one-quarter.
• Mitsumasa Yonai urged the Americans to provide steel, coal, oil, and other supplies needed to fight the war, and Konoe agreed that victory was the priority.
• Hopkins arrived in Tokyo aboard a transport aircraft converted from a B-17 Bomber.

Hopkins met with Fumimaro Konoe and the Island Nation’s senior officials to secure their promised entry into the war against Germany. Konoe confirmed that Island Nation troops would attack without a prior declaration, while Hopkins offered supplies and intelligence about resources in the South Seas and Australia.

• Shigenori Tōgō welcomed Hopkins at the airport, and Hopkins insisted on meeting Fumimaro Konoe without resting first.
• Hopkins urged the Island Nation to honor its promise to fight Germany, warning that a German victory would threaten every other nation.
• Fumimaro Konoe said the Island Nation would send its troops into action but would not declare war before launching its attack.
• Konoe requested American support with war resources, and Hopkins promised increased supplies of steel and oil.
• Hopkins revealed that Germany had found oil in the Dutch East Indies and iron ore in Australia, prompting the Island Nation’s senior officials to eagerly consider seizing those regions.

Hopkins negotiated with Fumimaro Konoe over the Island Nation’s entry into the war and its expected rewards, while concealing the United States’ plans to limit its ally’s future power. Konoe demanded vast territories and resources, and the talks ended with him challenging Britain’s claim to its colonies.

• Hopkins assured Konoe that the United States would supply the Island Nation and enter the war by the end of the year.
• Konoe asked about postwar spoils and demanded the South Seas, Australia, German-held Pacific islands, India, and a share of Middle Eastern oil.
• Hopkins rejected the demands as excessive and argued that Britain’s claims to its colonies had to be respected.
• Konoe replied that Britain would deserve to keep its colonies only if it made a contribution to the war comparable to the Island Nation’s.

Hopkins negotiated with Fumimaro Konoe and Seishiro Itagaki over the Island Nation’s rewards for fighting Germany. Roosevelt approved an agreement granting the Island Nation the South Seas, Australia, and twenty percent of postwar reparations, while the United States kept control of the Middle East.

• Hopkins offered the South Seas to the Island Nation if it helped defeat Germany, but Seishiro Itagaki demanded greater rewards for committing millions of troops.
• Hopkins agreed that the Island Nation could govern the South Seas and Australia after the war, while refusing to offer India.
• Fumimaro Konoe asked for Middle Eastern oil, and Hopkins offered low-priced US oil sales and a chance to invest in its development.
• Hopkins warned that the Island Nation had to commit all its strength to the war, and Fumimaro Konoe promised it would fight Germany fully.
• Fumimaro Konoe demanded thirty percent of postwar reparations, and he and Hopkins settled on twenty percent after bargaining.
• Roosevelt approved the agreement, granting the Island Nation the South Seas, Australia, and twenty percent of reparations.

After Hopkins left Tokyo, the Island Nation’s leaders and military chiefs finalized preparations for war against Germany and discussed the risks of a naval campaign. Isoroku Yamamoto proposed striking one of the two German fleets first, but the Combined Fleet had no firm plan and the meeting ended with victory still uncertain.

• Shigenori Tōgō saw Hopkins off as the US envoy departed Tokyo for the United States.
• The Island Nation’s Army and Navy issued emergency combat-readiness orders and prepared for war.
• Fumimaro Konoe summoned senior Army and Navy leaders to discuss the coming campaign against Germany.
• Seishiro Itagaki said the Island Nation had to defeat the German Pacific and Indian Ocean fleets before landing troops in the South Seas and Australia.
• Mitsumasa Yonai and Isoroku Yamamoto warned that the German fleets’ coordination left the sides roughly equal despite the Combined Fleet’s strength.
• Isoroku Yamamoto said the Combined Fleet would seek a chance to strike one German fleet first, but admitted that no suitable battle plan had been settled.

Island Nation's leaders agreed to enter the war against Germany without a declaration, hoping the Combined Fleet could win control of the sea and enable the Army's campaigns in the South Seas and Australia. On January 28, 1940, the Combined Fleet secretly left Sasebo, formally beginning Island Nation's operations against Germany.

• Fumimaro Konoe and the naval leaders agreed that attacking Germany without declaring war offered the Combined Fleet its best chance of victory.
• Fumimaro Konoe asked whether the Army could attack the South Seas and Australia, and Prince Kan'in Kotohito said the Southern Army would need the Navy to secure maritime routes.
• Mitsumasa Yonai and Oshimi Nagano warned Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto that the Empire's fate depended on winning, while Yamamoto acknowledged the gamble and the Americans' orders.
• On the night of January 28, 1940, the Combined Fleet secretly sailed from Sasebo Naval Base with sixteen Capital Ships and eight aircraft carriers.

After U-204 reported that the Island Nation Navy’s ships had vanished from Sasebo, Admiral Conrad Albrecht ordered the German Pacific Fleet to its highest state of combat readiness and sent its main force out to sea. He authorized an attack if the fleet found the enemy under favorable conditions and notified the Indian Ocean Fleet to prepare to join forces.

• U-204 reported that all the Island Nation Navy’s warships had left Sasebo Naval Base.
• Admiral Conrad Albrecht ordered the Pacific Fleet to its highest state of combat readiness, citing the danger of a surprise attack.
• Albrecht ordered the Capital Ship Formation and aircraft carrier formation to leave Lion City that afternoon.
• Albrecht authorized Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi to attack the Island Nation Navy’s main fleet if conditions were favorable.
• Albrecht told Lieutenant General Oskar Kummetz to notify the Indian Ocean Fleet and warn it to be careful.
• The Pacific Fleet’s main force sailed from Lion City with five Kaiser-class Battleships, three Derfflinger-class Battlecruisers, and four Constellation-class aircraft carriers.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto led the Island Nation Navy’s Combined Fleet south to confront Germany’s Pacific and Indian Ocean fleets, knowing the battle would determine whether Island Nation could invade the South Seas. After learning that the German Pacific Fleet had departed Lion City, he ordered an urgent search for both German fleets while American intelligence joined the effort.

• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto considered the strength of the Combined Fleet and the pressure to defeat Germany or at least secure the sea routes for Island Nation’s Army.
• Major General Takahashi Ibo reported that the German Navy Pacific Fleet had departed Lion City and that the Indian Ocean Fleet’s location was unknown.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto ordered intelligence gathered on both German fleets and resolved to decide the naval battle within half a month.
• Island Nation’s intelligence department mobilized merchant ships and fishing boats to search the South China Sea and central Pacific Ocean.
• The American Navy’s intelligence department joined the search, and the German fleets’ movements could no longer remain hidden.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto learned that the German Navy’s Pacific and Indian Ocean Fleets planned to unite, creating a force that could match the Combined Fleet. He convened his commanders to discuss the threat, but they recognized that attacking either fleet near German land-based aircraft would be disastrous.

• Major General Takahashi Ibo reported the locations and planned rendezvous of the German Navy’s Pacific and Indian Ocean Fleets.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto ordered Nagumo, Kakuta, Yoshida, Takasu, Koga, and Inoue to join him aboard the aircraft carrier Kii.
• Yamamoto warned his commanders that the united German fleets would have fifteen Capital Ships and eight aircraft carriers, making a decisive victory difficult.
• Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo argued that the Combined Fleet could not venture into the central Pacific because German land-based aircraft would inflict heavy losses.
• Yamamoto agreed that the Combined Fleet must avoid the central Pacific until it could destroy the German fleets.

Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo proposed a nighttime surprise attack to destroy German airfields and naval bases before the Combined Fleet faced the German fleets. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto approved the plan as their best chance of victory, leaving the officers to prepare for the operation.

• Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo argued that destroying German Pacific bases would weaken the German fleets and improve the Combined Fleet’s chances in a decisive battle.
• Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo proposed using battleships at night to bombard the Mariana Islands’ airfields, followed by carrier aircraft striking them at daybreak.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto endorsed attacking the four Mariana Islands airfields with four Capital Ship Squadrons and then extending the campaign against German bases across the Pacific.
• Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo suggested that the carrier task force attack Yap and Palau while the battleships struck the Marianas.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto concluded that the surprise attack was the Combined Fleet’s only present chance to win.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto and the Combined Fleet commanders approved Chuichi Nagumo’s plan to launch a surprise attack on German bases in the Mariana Islands before the two nations formally went to war. They assigned targets across the fleet and agreed to move the Capital Ship Squadrons’ attacks to dawn, leaving the Island Nation Navy committed to the gamble.

• Kakuta Kakuji and the other commanders supported Nagumo’s proposal, while Takahashi Ibo warned that attacking the Mariana Islands would begin a war with Germany.
• Yamamoto accepted that risk and ordered the fleet to attack German bases across Palau, Yap, Guam, Rota, Tinian, and Saipan.
• Nagumo asked Yamamoto to schedule the Capital Ship Squadrons’ attacks for dawn so the German bases would have less time to prepare.
• Nagumo argued that the ships could evade German aircraft and that destroying the Palau and Yap airfields would limit German reconnaissance in future battles.
• Yoshida Zengo, Kakuta Kakuji, and the other squadron commanders backed the plan, and Yamamoto approved the dawn attacks.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto’s Combined Fleet moved toward the Mariana Islands while Germany’s Pacific and Indian Ocean fleets stayed south to join forces. The Island Nation launched a surprise attack at dawn, confident that its carrier aircraft could strike the German airfields before Germany could respond.

• The Island Nation Navy entered the central Philippine waters on January 31 while German intelligence placed the German Pacific and Indian Ocean fleets in the Bismarck Sea.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto ordered the Combined Fleet to attack the Mariana Islands, and its squadrons set out for assigned targets under radio silence.
• Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo ordered seaplanes to watch for German warships and directed the fleet to maintain its course and speed after nightfall.
• At three o’clock on February 1, the eight carriers’ crews prepared aircraft while pilots received their briefings.
• The first Zero fighter took off from Ibuki at three-thirty, and the remaining aircraft launched in successive waves.

The Island Nation Navy launched more than two hundred carrier-based aircraft toward the German base on Yap, expecting a surprise attack. German radar detected the incoming force at 4:15 a.m., and the base sounded the alarm as its pilots and air defenses prepared for battle.

• More than two hundred Island Nation Navy aircraft took off from eight carriers, while Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto and Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo discussed the risks of the attack.
• A German air-defense warning Radar on Yap detected aircraft approaching from three hundred kilometers away at 4:15 a.m.
• The radar operator confirmed that no friendly aircraft were returning and sounded the alarm.
• German pilots, ground crews, and air-defense troops rushed to prepare their aircraft and weapons.
• The base duty officer reported to the Commander that more than one hundred aircraft were rapidly approaching.

The Island Nation Navy launched a surprise attack on German bases in the Mariana Islands before German aircraft could take off. Its battleships devastated the airfields at Guam, Rota, Tinian, and Saipan, leaving the bases with catastrophic aircraft and personnel losses.

• German commanders at Yap and Palau ordered their bases to prepare for combat after detecting the approaching Island Nation aircraft.
• Yoshida Zengo learned that German forces on Guam were preparing their aircraft and ordered the Island Nation fleet to attack, while Isoroku Yamamoto ordered all four Capital Ship Squadrons to strike the Mariana bases.
• Four Kii-class Battleships bombarded Guam, destroying aircraft and damaging its runways before German planes could launch.
• The Guam base commander ordered personnel to withdraw after the runways were destroyed and aircraft could no longer take off.
• Island Nation battleships attacked Rota, Tinian, and Saipan, destroying aircraft and airfields and inflicting heavy losses on German pilots and ground crews.

The German Navy's BF-109 fighters ambushed the Island Nation Navy's carrier aircraft near Yap, inflicting heavy losses but failing to prevent the airfield from being destroyed. The Island Nation Navy also attacked Palau, forcing German fighters from both islands to retreat to the Caroline Islands.

• Major Nix ordered the twenty-four BF-109 fighters to prioritize the Island Nation Navy's bombers as they approached Yap.
• The BF-109s launched a surprise cannon attack and shot down eleven Island Nation aircraft, while Colonel Higashi Ichitaro ordered the Zero fighters to protect the bombers and attack aircraft.
• The German fighters pursued the slower Japanese bombers and attack aircraft, shooting down more aircraft despite losses to Zero fighters.
• The Island Nation Navy's first wave bombed Yap Island Airport, destroying its control tower and damaging the runway as German fighters continued attacking.
• A second wave joined the assault, and the German fighters left Yap for the Caroline Islands to avoid running out of fuel.
• The Island Nation Navy attacked Palau's airfield as well, and German fighters there also retreated to the Caroline Islands.

After the Island Nation Navy’s surprise attack destroyed German airfields across the Pacific and cost more than six hundred aircraft, Admiral Konrad Albrecht ordered the Pacific Fleet north to join the Indian Ocean Fleet for a decisive battle. Oscar declared Germany at war with the Island Nation and ordered the armed forces to crush it.

• Lieutenant General Oskar Kummetz reported that the Island Nation Navy had destroyed German airfields in the Mariana Islands and inflicted heavy losses.
• Admiral Konrad Albrecht agreed with Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi and Lieutenant General Wilhelm Canaris that the fleets had to unite and fight a decisive battle.
• Admiral Konrad Albrecht ordered the Pacific Fleet to head north and rendezvous with the Indian Ocean Fleet.
• Marshal Raeder reported the attack and the loss of more than six hundred German combat aircraft to Oscar and senior officials at the imperial palace.
• Oscar declared Germany at war with the Island Nation and authorized the army, navy, and air force to defeat it at any cost.

The Island Nation Navy’s Combined Fleet celebrated the destruction of German airfields across the Mariana Islands, while its carrier forces counted heavy aircraft losses from Germany’s counterattack. News of the opening victory reached the Island Nation, where the government and Emperor Hirohito responded with relief and praise.

• Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo signed a victory telegram and ordered his fleet to prepare for air defense as it sailed north.
• Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo reviewed the carrier division’s losses of more than fifty aircraft and warned Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto about German fighters and pilots.
• Major General Takahashi Ibo reported that the Capital Ship Squadrons had destroyed the German airfields, prompting Yamamoto to order a telegram sent home.
• The Island Nation’s Navy Ministry, Naval General Staff, and Cabinet celebrated the reported destruction of six airfields and more than six hundred German aircraft.
• Emperor Hirohito sent the Combined Fleet a telegram of commendation for its opening victory.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto and the Combined Fleet celebrated their destruction of six German airfields and more than six hundred aircraft, but recognized that the German Pacific and Indian Ocean Fleets remained a threat. Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo proposed attacking Ponape Island to force a decisive battle with the German capital ships.

• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto praised the Combined Fleet's victory and warned that the real battle against Germany had only begun.
• Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo said the German Pacific Fleet and Indian Ocean Fleet had disappeared and were likely heading toward the battlefield.
• Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo identified Ponape Island's three airfields and more than four hundred German combat aircraft as a target for another attack.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto questioned whether repeating the previous attack would work because the Germans would be prepared.
• Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo proposed sending the Capital Ship Squadron to attack Ponape Island and using the German response to force a decisive capital-ship battle.

Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo proposed luring the German fleet into a decisive battle near Ponape Island while sending the 2nd Capital Ship Squadron to ambush the German aircraft carriers. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto approved the risky plan and ordered the operations staff to refine it.

• Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo asked whether the apparent attack on Ponape Island was meant to draw the German Navy into a decisive battle, and Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo confirmed it.
• Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo warned that the Combined Fleet had lost many carrier-based aircraft and was outnumbered by the Germans.
• Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo proposed sending four Amagi-class Battlecruisers south of Ponape Island to surprise the German aircraft carriers while the main force engaged the German fleet.
• Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo cautioned that finding the carriers before dawn would be difficult, but Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo argued that the Germans would have to move to defend Ponape Island.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto approved the plan, ordered the fleet to withdraw before dawn, and directed the operations staff to refine the battle plan.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto approved the Combined Fleet’s plan for a decisive battle against Germany and ordered the fleet to begin operations. The squadrons broke away and accelerated toward their assigned roles in a gamble that would determine the Island Nation’s fate.

• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto and the senior commanders reviewed and refined the operational plan in the Philippine Sea.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto ordered Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō’s 2nd Capital Ship Squadron to depart ahead and hunt German aircraft carriers south of Ponape Island.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto assigned the other Capital Ship Squadrons to confront Germany’s capital ships and tasked Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo and Lieutenant General Kakuta Kakuji’s Carrier Fleet with covering their withdrawal and attacking the German fleet.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto rallied the commanders, who pledged victory as the Island Nation’s future depended on the battle.
• The Combined Fleet began preparing for the operation, with the 2nd Capital Ship Squadron breaking away and the other three Capital Ship Squadrons accelerating.

The German Pacific and Indian Ocean Fleets assessed their losses and adopted a cautious search strategy while preparing to face the Island Nation Navy. After a seaplane spotted a twelve-capital-ship enemy fleet approaching Ponape Island, the German commanders chose to engage it and planned a separate carrier strike at dawn.

• Admiral Konrad Albrecht and Admiral Alfred Saalwächter discussed the heavy losses at the Mariana Islands and agreed that the German fleets needed to avoid another surprise attack.
• Lieutenant General Oskar Kummetz and Lieutenant General Hans Georg von Friedeburg urged finding the Island Nation fleet, and Albrecht ordered ships and aircraft to search the waters between the Bismarck and Micronesia Islands.
• On the afternoon of February 3, a German seaplane from Ponape Island spotted an Island Nation fleet containing twelve Capital Ships.
• Albrecht and Saalwächter decided to send their Capital Ship forces north of Ponape Island to meet the enemy while keeping their carriers south of the island for a dawn attack.

The Island Nation Navy’s Combined Fleet advanced toward Ponape Island while avoiding German searches, and German commanders prepared to evacuate the island’s aircraft if an attack became imminent. A German submarine finally located the fleet, setting the stage for a nighttime battle.

• Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo led three Island Nation Navy Capital Ship Squadrons toward Ponape Island and prepared to rely on carrier fighters if German aircraft attacked.
• The Combined Fleet evaded German searches until nightfall, bringing it within a little over three hundred kilometers of Ponape Island.
• Admiral Konrad Albrecht ordered Ponape Island’s combat aircraft to prepare to relocate to the Bismarck Islands if the fleet drew near.
• A German submarine spotted the Island Nation Navy’s main fleet two hundred and sixty kilometers northwest of Ponape Island and sent a Telegram.
• Admiral Konrad Albrecht received the report and asked how far away the German main fleet was, confident it could defeat the Islanders at night.

Admiral Konrad Albrecht ordered the German Pacific Fleet to intercept the Island Nation fleet while the Indian Ocean Fleet moved to reinforce it, and he also ordered a search for the enemy carriers. Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi chose to engage the Island Nation fleet with his eight Capital Ships before reinforcements arrived, and the fleets met just after ten o’clock at night.

• Admiral Konrad Albrecht learned that the German Pacific Fleet was about a hundred kilometers from the Island Nation fleet and ordered it to intercept while the Indian Ocean Fleet came as reinforcements.
• Admiral Konrad Albrecht ordered continued searches for the Island Nation carriers and their four Battlecruisers so they could be attacked after dawn.
• Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi prepared his eight Capital Ships for battle and rejected Major General Felix’s advice to wait for the Indian Ocean Fleet.
• Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi trusted the German ships’ fire-control Radar to give them an advantage in a nighttime engagement.
• The Island Nation fleet and the German Pacific Fleet encountered each other just after ten o’clock at night, beginning the first large-scale Capital Ship showdown of the war.

The German Pacific Fleet detected the Island Nation fleet and prepared to attack it from beyond the enemy’s radar range. The first German salvo struck Nagato, forcing Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo to face a naval battle that had begun far sooner than expected.

• Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi ordered the German fleet’s five Kaiser-class Battleships and three Derfflinger-class Battlecruisers to form a battle line and target the foremost enemy ship.
• Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo worried over his battle plan and ordered the Combined Fleet to prepare for anti-submarine operations.
• German shells exploded around Nagato, surprising Yoshida Zengo and the Island Nation fleet.
• Captain Fukudome Shigeru reported that the fleet’s radar had not detected the German ships, which were beyond its twenty-five-kilometer range.
• Yoshida Zengo ordered the Combined Fleet to prepare for battle.