Recaps

Nagato came under concentrated fire from the German Navy Pacific Fleet as the Island Nation fleet tried to form a battle line. The German ships repeatedly hit Nagato from long range, leaving it burning and badly damaged as the battle continued.

• Captain Tokunaga Sakae panicked as German battleships and battlecruisers fired on Nagato from beyond visual range.
• Vice Admiral Mineichi Koga contacted Tokunaga and urged him to remain calm, while the flagship ordered the Capital Ships to form a battle line.
• Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo arranged the twelve Capital Ships into three groups, placing Koga's four ships at the front.
• Nagato turned to join the line but took a 380mm hit that tore through its belt armor, destroyed a secondary gun, and started a fire.
• German shells struck Nagato repeatedly, setting its bow and superstructure ablaze and killing sailors while Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo watched in disbelief.

The German Navy’s eight Capital Ships closed range and continued concentrating their fire on the damaged battleship Nagato, while the Island Nation Navy returned fire with little chance of hitting its targets. Nagato’s observation and fire-aiming equipment was destroyed, leaving the ship increasingly weakened as the battle continued.

• Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi ordered the German formation to close the distance to improve its hit rate.
• Captain Fukudome Shigeru reported that the Island Nation Navy’s radar had detected eight German Capital Ships, and Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo ordered his fleet to prepare for battle.
• German shells struck Nagato repeatedly, damaging its superstructure and fire-aiming equipment as Captain Tokunaga Sakae’s ship entered the battle line.
• Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo ordered the twelve Island Nation battleships to fire at the German line from more than twenty kilometers away.
• The Island Nation shells missed, while the German fleet kept targeting Nagato and left it unable to aim its guns effectively.

The German fleet continued its long-range bombardment, and the Nagato capsized after taking sixteen hits. Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo ordered the remaining Island Nation battleships to close the distance, leaving the slower Fuso and Yamashiro behind.

• Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi ordered the German fleet to maintain a range of twenty kilometers and keep firing on the Island Nation ships.
• A German 380mm shell pierced Nagato’s waterline armor, and Captain Tokunaga Sakae ordered the crew to seal the breach as repeated hits flooded the ship.
• After taking sixteen hits, Nagato capsized, and Captain Fukudome Shigeru reported its loss to Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo.
• Captain Fukudome Shigeru attributed the Germans’ long-range accuracy to their modern radar and rangefinding equipment, and Yoshida ordered the fleet to close the distance.
• Yoshida ordered Fuso and Yamashiro to fall behind while the other nine battleships accelerated in pursuit of the German fleet.

The German fleet turned east to join the approaching Indian Ocean Fleet while the Island Nation fleet pursued, hoping to finish off the German ships. Both sides continued exchanging fire, and the German fleet awaited reinforcements that could shift the balance.

• Major General Felix reported that the Island Nation fleet had accelerated and split its battle line after losing a battleship.
• Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi learned that the Indian Ocean Fleet needed four to five hours to reach the battlefield and ordered the German fleet to turn toward it.
• Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo ordered the Island Nation fleet to pursue the Germans but rejected Captain Fukudome Shigeru's suggestion to leave slower battleships behind.
• The German fleet turned from north to east as the Island Nation fleet followed, while seven German battleships from the Indian Ocean Fleet accelerated toward the battlefield.
• Both fleets continued firing, but their hit rates remained extremely low, with the Island Nation fleet's shots effectively missing at the long range.

The German fleet used its fire-control radar to suppress the pursuing Island Nation fleet and repeatedly hit Kaga, while both sides struggled to damage the enemy’s battleships. Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo weighed risky ways to close the distance before German reinforcements arrived.

• The German fleet concentrated its eight Capital Ships’ fire on Kaga, setting the battleship ablaze and damaging it without sinking it.
• Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi ordered the German ships to focus fire and destroy Kaga so the fleets would be evenly matched in battleships.
• Captain Fukudome Shigeru reported that the Island Nation fleet remained twenty-two kilometers from the Germans and that Kaga was in worsening condition.
• Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo asked how the Island Nation fleet could intercept the Germans before the Indian Ocean Fleet arrived.
• Captain Fukudome Shigeru proposed accelerating to twenty-nine knots to close the range within an hour, warning that this would leave the four Kii-class battleships facing the German fleet’s eight Capital Ships.

Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo weighed risking the Kii-class battleships against ordering destroyer torpedo attacks as the German fleet battered the Island Nation fleet. After Kaga was crippled and forced to withdraw, Yoshida realized he could no longer avoid taking a risk.

• Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo questioned Captain Fukudome Shigeru about alternatives to sending the Kii-class battleships against the German fleet, and Fukudome proposed destroyer torpedo attacks.
• A 380mm shell penetrated Kaga’s conning tower, killing Colonel Ōnishi Shinzō and the other officers there.
• A second 380mm shell struck Kaga’s amidships, causing boiler damage, steam leaks, and a loss of speed.
• Kaga’s Chief Engineer requested permission to withdraw, and Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo ordered the battleship to leave the battle line.
• The German fleet let Kaga go and asked its base to dispatch submarines while continuing to target the Island Nation fleet.
• After Kaga withdrew, Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo concluded that he could no longer avoid taking a risk.

Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo ordered the Island Nation fleet to charge the German fleet, hoping to reverse its worsening situation. The fleets closed in and began concentrating their fire on the Battleship König and Battleship Kii, leaving the battle at close quarters.

• Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo ordered the four Kii-class Battleships to intercept the Germans while the rest of the Island Nation fleet hurried to join the fight.
• Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi learned the Island Nation fleet was accelerating and ordered his ships to guard against Crossing the T.
• Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi asked Major General Felix to find out when the Indian Ocean Fleet Battleship formation would arrive.
• The four Kii-class Battleships reached 29 knots and closed the distance to the German fleet.
• Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo ordered the four Kii-class Battleships to concentrate their fire on the Battleship König, while the German fleet targeted the Battleship Kii.
• The German and Island Nation fleets began close-quarters combat.

The Island Nation fleet and the German fleet fought a brutal nighttime battleship engagement as both sides tried to sink the other's capital ships. The Kii and König were damaged, but the battle continued to intensify as the fleets closed distance.

• Yoshida Zengo ordered the Kii-class battleships to fire on the German flagship König and close the engagement range to improve their accuracy.
• A hit damaged the Kii's after deck and jammed Turret No. 5, reducing the battleship's firepower.
• The German fleet's guns struck König, destroying a secondary gun and igniting a fire that drew more fire from the Kii-class battleships.
• A second 410mm shell hit König's forward deck, killing more than a dozen sailors and prompting Yoshida Zengo to hope the German flagship could be sunk.
• A German 380mm shell hit Kii's superstructure and started a fire, while the fleets continued closing and trading hits.

Admiral Konrad Albrecht prepared to search for and destroy the Island Nation Carrier Fleet at dawn, confident that Germany held the advantage in the battle. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, troubled by the Island Nation Capital Ship Squadron’s losses, ordered Yoshida to win by any means and readied Nagumo’s aircraft for a dawn attack.

• Admiral Konrad Albrecht ordered seaplanes to search north and northwest of Ponape Island for the Island Nation Carrier Fleet before dawn.
• Admiral Konrad Albrecht and Lieutenant General Oskar Kummetz believed Germany’s battleship formation had gained the upper hand and that daylight would bring a decisive victory.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto learned that General Yoshida’s four Kii-class battleships were fighting the Germans but that the situation remained unfavorable.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto ordered Major General Takahashi Ibo to tell Yoshida to win by any means possible.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto ordered Nagumo to ready the Carrier-based Aircraft Unit for an attack after dawn.

Battleship Kii and Battleship König were both badly damaged by enemy shells and began taking on uncontrollable amounts of water. Their commanders abandoned the sinking ships and transferred their commands to other battleships as the battle continued.

• Battleship Kii lost Main Turret No. 3 and suffered a hole near the waterline, leaving it with two main turrets destroyed.
• Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo ordered the crew to keep fighting and asked Battleship Tosa to hurry to the fleet.
• Island Nation shells pierced Battleship König's side and stern, flooding the ship and damaging its steering gear and propeller.
• Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi evacuated König and transferred his command staff to Battleship Crown Prince.
• After damage-control efforts failed, König's captain ordered the crew to abandon ship, and German destroyers rescued them.
• Two more shells tore open Battleship Kii near the waterline, forcing Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo to withdraw to Battleship Suruga and continue the fight from there.

After Kii sank, Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo ordered the Island Nation fleet to close with the Germans and concentrate fire, despite being outnumbered three to seven. The German fleet battered Owari until an explosion in its aft turret left the battleship beyond saving.

• Kii sank, leaving Yoshida Zengo's fleet with only three battleships facing seven German capital ships.
• Yoshida Zengo ordered his ships to target Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm and close to short range, while the German fleet prepared to sink another enemy capital ship.
• The Island Nation fleet closed the distance, but the German fleet's radar-assisted fire struck Owari repeatedly.
• A German 380mm shell hit Owari's No. 5 aft turret, igniting its shells and propellant and blasting a huge hole in the stern.

After the battleship Owari sank and Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm withdrew for repairs, Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi ordered the German fleet to destroy Suruga and the Island Nation fleet’s remaining Capital Ships. Facing the German fleet’s overwhelming advantage, Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo decided to report the defeat and call for a retreat.

• Captain Shiyoshi Yatoya ordered the crew to abandon Owari after an ammunition explosion destroyed its stern, and fewer than a hundred of its more than fourteen hundred men escaped.
• The Island Nation Navy struck Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm twice, destroying a propeller shaft, so Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi ordered it to withdraw under destroyer escort.
• Theodor Burchardi ordered the German fleet’s six remaining Capital Ships to concentrate fire on Suruga, the Island Nation fleet’s flagship.
• Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo learned that Tosa would take at least half an hour to arrive and accepted that it could not reverse the battle’s course.
• Yoshida Zengo ordered a telegram to the Commander reporting their defeat and calling for a retreat to prevent the loss of all their Capital Ships.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto ordered the Island Nation Navy’s Capital Ship Squadron to withdraw after four battleships were sunk and the fleet was outmatched by the German Navy. Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi ordered the German fleet to pursue and sink more enemy ships.

• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto received Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo’s request to withdraw and learned that Nagato, Kaga, Kii, and Owari had been sunk.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto approved the withdrawal and told Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo to prepare carrier-based aircraft to support the Capital Ship Squadron after dawn.
• Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo ordered all ships to withdraw as battleship Suruga took repeated 380mm hits.
• Captain Fukudome Shigeru transmitted the order, and the Island Nation ships turned away from the German fleet.
• Major General Felix celebrated the enemy’s retreat, and Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi ordered the German ships to pursue.

The German fleet pursued the withdrawing Island Nation ships while the Indian Ocean Fleet rushed to block their retreat. Lieutenant General Otto Schneewind’s force detected two Fusō-class Battleships and moved to attack them.

• Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi ordered the three Derfflinger-class Battlecruisers to speed ahead while the Kaiser-class Battleships fell behind, and he asked after General Otto Schneewind’s fleet.
• Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo slowed Suruga and Ōmi to help the battered Battleship Tosa fend off the three German battlecruisers.
• Lieutenant General Otto Schneewind led the Indian Ocean Fleet’s seven Capital Ships toward the battlefield and ordered his crews to prepare to engage the Island Nation fleet.
• The radar officer aboard Nassau detected two targets thirty-five kilometers southwest and identified them as Fusō-class Battleships.
• Lieutenant General Otto Schneewind ordered the seven German ships to increase speed and attack the two Fusō-class Battleships.

The German Navy’s Indian Ocean Fleet attacked the retreating Island Nation battleships Fuso and Yamashiro while the rest of the Island Nation fleet struggled to escape the German pursuit. The Germans sank both battleships and Tosa, while the Island Nation fleet’s defeat left only a few ships able to withdraw.

• German battleships opened fire on Fuso and Yamashiro, and Captain Sato Tsutomu requested reinforcements from Suruga.
• Lieutenant General Yoshida Zengo received Sato’s plea but ordered Fuso and Yamashiro to withdraw on their own rather than send a rescue force.
• Yoshida ordered Ise, Hyuga, and Mutsu to turn back and flee before the German fleet caught them.
• The German fleet used its fire-control radar advantage to press its attack as the Island Nation fleet retreated.
• The German Navy sank Fuso, Yamashiro, and Tosa, while one German battlecruiser was also sunk and two Kii-class battleships escaped.

Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō led the Island Nation Navy's 2nd Capital Ship Squadron on a secret mission to ambush the German Navy's Carrier Fleet while the other squadrons fought the German main fleet. Facing heavy losses and a growing disadvantage, the squadron searched for the carriers, leaving the outcome of its surprise attack unresolved.

• The Island Nation Navy's 2nd Capital Ship Squadron, led by Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō, sped toward the German Carrier Fleet while the other fleets clashed.
• Major General Suzuki Yoshio told Takasu that the Island Nation Navy had lost four Capital Ships, three sunk and one heavily damaged, while the Germans pursued its main fleet.
• Takasu and Suzuki acknowledged that the German Navy's greater air strength made their surprise attack on its carriers crucial to turning the battle around.
• The four Amagi-class battlecruisers searched eastward in a line abreast, using sea-search radar as they sailed at thirty knots.
• At two in the morning, the main fleet battle continued, with the Germans having sunk six Island Nation Capital Ships and heavily damaged another.

The German Indian Ocean Fleet prepared to use its carriers against the Island Nation fleet, confident after gaining the advantage in the naval battle. Their confidence collapsed when radar detected fast enemy capital ships, and Admiral Alfred Sawecht ordered the carrier groups to retreat as the Island Nation’s Amagi-class battlecruisers closed in.

• Admiral Alfred Sawecht and Lieutenant Generals Wilhelm Marschall and Walter Walzecha discussed their expected victory over the Island Nation fleet.
• Radar aboard the anti-aircraft cruiser FX12 detected several large targets approaching rapidly and identified them as capital ships traveling at over thirty knots.
• The captain of FX12 recognized the approaching ships as Island Nation Amagi-class battlecruisers and reported the threat to the flagship.
• Admiral Alfred Sawecht ordered the fleet to retreat at maximum speed and the four carrier battle groups to withdraw separately.
• Wilhelm Marschall questioned whether the slower Kaiser Wilhelm-class carriers could escape the faster Amagi-class battlecruisers.

Admiral Alfred Sawecht ordered the Indian Ocean Fleet to scatter and withdraw after the German carriers detected an approaching Island Nation force. The Germans prepared to strike back at dawn, while Takasu Shirō accelerated the pursuit and the Pacific Fleet readied its aircraft.

• Admiral Alfred Sawecht ordered the carrier battle groups to scatter and withdraw, and allowed the carriers to be abandoned if necessary to save their crews and other ships.
• Lieutenant General Wilhelm Marschall urged the fleet to notify the Pacific Fleet, and Sawecht ordered it to prepare a dawn attack on the Amagi-class battlecruisers.
• Wilhelm the Great broke radio silence, and Sawecht and Fleet Headquarters transferred to a light cruiser.
• Major General Suzuki Yoshio reported the German transmission to Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō, who ordered Akagi and Atago to pursue and Amagi and Takao to search the outer areas.
• Admiral Konrad Albrecht received the warning and ordered the Pacific Fleet's carriers to launch their aircraft at dawn.

The Island Nation Navy's 2nd Capital Ship Squadron pursued the retreating German aircraft carriers, prompting Lieutenant General Walter Walzecha to send German heavy cruisers to intercept the Mogami-class cruisers. The opposing heavy cruisers began a fierce battle, while the Amagi-class battlecruisers remained a major threat to the carriers.

• Admiral Conrad Albrecht planned to use carrier-based aircraft at dawn to strike the Amagi-class battlecruisers and protect the German fleet.
• Lieutenant General Walter Walzecha refused to commit his heavy cruisers until the Island Nation forces caught up.
• Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō ordered four Mogami-class heavy cruisers to pursue the German carriers at full speed.
• After sea-search radar detected the Mogami-class cruisers, Walzecha sent ZX23, ZX24, ZX25, and ZX27 to intercept them.
• Walzecha ordered his ships to make the Island Nation forces pay even if the German carriers were lost, and the opposing heavy cruisers opened fire.

German Navy heavy cruisers used radar to overwhelm the Island Nation Navy’s Mogami-class cruisers during a night battle. The German cruisers sank Mogami and Kumano and badly damaged Suzukaya, while the Island Nation Navy’s battlecruisers continued toward the German aircraft carriers.

• Izaki Shunji ordered Mogami to return fire as German and Island Nation Navy heavy cruisers fought in a chaotic nighttime melee.
• Takasu Shirō ordered the Mogami-class cruisers to hold off the Germans while the remaining battlecruisers pressed toward the German aircraft carriers.
• German heavy cruiser ZX24 hit Kumano repeatedly, and a shell detonated ammunition in its magazine, destroying the bow and sinking the ship.
• German heavy cruisers sank Mogami and badly damaged Suzukaya, whose captain, Takayanagi Gihachi, ordered it to withdraw.

The Island Nation fleet’s battlecruisers caught up with the German carrier fleet and sank the Wilhelm the Great after a night of heavy gunfire. The German carrier’s pilots and ground crews escaped, but the Island Nation Navy claimed the first aircraft carrier sunk in the war.

• Major General Suzuki Yoshio reported that the Kumano had been sunk and the other heavy cruisers were badly damaged, while Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō ordered the fleet to keep pursuing the German carriers.
• The Akagi and Atago battlecruisers accelerated ahead of the Island Nation fleet and closed to within eighteen kilometers of the Wilhelm the Great.
• Lieutenant General Walter Walzercha ordered the carrier’s pilots and ground crews evacuated and rejected a torpedo attack against the protected, fast-moving battlecruisers.
• The Akagi and Atago opened fire, and a 410mm shell struck the Wilhelm the Great, tearing through its flight deck and igniting its hangar.
• At 3:42 a.m. on February 4, the Wilhelm the Great’s fuel depot exploded; the carrier flooded and sank after a little over ten minutes.

The Island Nation Navy sank the German aircraft carriers Wilhelm the Great and Frederick III while pursuing the Indian Ocean Fleet's remaining carriers. As dawn broke, Wilhelm II and Wilhelm III were damaged but still afloat, leaving the battle poised to shift toward the Island Nation Navy's carrier aircraft.

• Lieutenant General Walter Walzecha ordered the rescue of Wilhelm the Great's sailors and the remaining German carriers to flee until dawn.
• Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō ordered Major General Suzuki Yoshio to pursue and sink the German carriers, then reported Wilhelm the Great's sinking to Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto and Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo prepared the Island Nation Navy's carrier aircraft to sortie at dawn.
• The Island Nation Navy's Amagi-class Battlecruisers sank Frederick III after catching it during the pursuit.
• German warships launched torpedo attacks to cover the retreat, but Wilhelm II and Wilhelm III were hit as dawn broke.

Conrad Albrecht ordered the German Pacific Fleet to launch carrier aircraft against the Island Nation’s Amagi-class battlecruisers and search for its carriers. By dawn, German aircraft had taken off from the carriers and Ponape Island, setting up strikes while seaplanes searched for the enemy fleet.

• Oskar Kummetz reported that Wilhelm the Great and Frederick III had sunk, while Wilhelm II and Wilhelm III remained under attack from the Amagi-class battlecruisers.
• Conrad Albrecht ordered Wilhelm Canaris to attack the four Amagi-class battlecruisers and locate and destroy the Island Nation’s carriers.
• Conrad Albrecht ordered Ponape Island’s base to prepare aircraft to protect the Battleship formation and strike the enemy carriers.
• At five in the morning, Canaris launched the first carrier wave, including fighters, Dive Bombers, and Torpedo Bombers, toward the Amagi-class battlecruisers.
• German carriers launched additional fighters to escort the Battleship formation and bomb enemy carriers, while seaplanes searched the waters northwest and north of Ponape Island.
• Aircraft began taking off from Ponape Island’s three airfields, which held more than four hundred combat planes.

The German Pacific and Indian Ocean Fleet battleship formations withdrew to avoid attacks from Island Nation carrier-based aircraft. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto ordered the Island Nation carriers to launch their aircraft and then retreat, while Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō's squadron raced away from the battlefield under threat of German air attack.

• Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi ordered the German Pacific Fleet battleships to return toward Ponape Island in an anti-aircraft formation.
• Lieutenant General Otto Schneewind ordered the Indian Ocean Fleet battleships to withdraw after they sank two Fusō-class Battleships.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto and his officers discussed their losses and the threat posed by German aircraft carriers as Island Nation carrier aircraft took off.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto ordered the carriers to return to Naha after launching their aircraft to replenish aircraft, pilots, and supplies.
• Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō led four Amagi-class Battlecruisers away from the battlefield in an anti-aircraft formation.

The Island Nation Navy's 2nd Capital Ship Squadron tried to withdraw from the German carrier aircraft's range after damaging two German carriers, but German aircraft caught up with it. Isoroku Yamamoto dispatched fighters to protect the squadron and ordered an attack on the suspected German carrier position as the German planes began their own assault.

• Takasu Shirō refused Suzuki Yoshio's suggestion to drive off the German cruisers and destroyers, and ordered the 2nd Capital Ship Squadron to retreat.
• The Amagi's radar detected at least a hundred approaching aircraft, and Takasu asked the flagship for air-defense cover.
• Isoroku Yamamoto ordered Nagumo to send twenty-four fighters to protect the 2nd Capital Ship Squadron.
• Takahashi Ibo pointed out a suspected location for the German carriers, and Nagumo arranged an attack on them.
• The German carrier aircraft caught up with the 2nd Capital Ship Squadron, and their commander ordered fighters to suppress anti-aircraft fire while bombers prepared to attack.