Recaps

Lieutenant General Sōsaku Suzuki ordered the Island Nation's Army to attack the German defensive line despite the loss of its artillery. German bombardment devastated the advancing troops, while Suzuki and his fellow commanders continued to accept the casualties.

• Lieutenant General Sōsaku Suzuki requested air and naval support to destroy the German artillery positions.
• Suzuki postponed sending the Island Nation's artillery into battle until nightfall, then ordered Lieutenant General Asasaburo Kobayashi and Lieutenant General Tōkichi Hōjō to attack without artillery support.
• The 30th Division's 74th and 77th Infantry Regiments and four battalions of the Independent Mixed 54th Brigade advanced against the German defensive line.
• German artillery pounded the attackers, killing many soldiers before they reached the defensive line.
• Kobayashi protested that the assault was sending soldiers to their deaths, but Suzuki and Hōjō allowed it to continue as German commanders Major General Leiser and Major General Manteuffel welcomed the losses.

The Island Nation's Army suffered catastrophic losses under German artillery fire, but Lieutenant General Sōsaku Suzuki ordered the 35th Army to keep attacking regardless of casualties. The latest assault continued as Suzuki reported to Commander Masaharu Honma that his forces were still trying to break through.

• German artillery devastated the Island Nation's Army's first assault, killing most of the more than ten thousand troops committed and forcing the survivors to rout.
• Lieutenant General Asasaburo Kobayashi and Major General Miyoshi Tomochika urged restraint or a delay, but Lieutenant General Sōsaku Suzuki insisted the attack continue without pause.
• Suzuki ordered Kobayashi and Lieutenant General Tōkichi Hōjō to send more troops forward, and the remaining regiments and Independent Mixed 54th Brigade launched another assault.
• German shells again tore through the attacking soldiers as Suzuki watched from the rear and continued sending troops into battle.
• Suzuki told Major General Miyoshi Tomochika to report to Commander Masaharu Honma that the attack was ongoing and that the 35th Army would keep trying to break through.

Masaharu Honma ordered the 35th Army to continue attacking the German defensive line regardless of casualties, while preparing the 41st Army to take over. After the 30th Division and Independent Mixed 54th Brigade were nearly destroyed, fresh Japanese divisions attacked at night but were stopped by German artillery, minefields, and barbed wire.

• Masaharu Honma ordered the 35th Army to maintain its assault and told the 41st Army to prepare to replace it when it lost combat capability.
• Seiichi Tanaka and Tachiki Ayabe arrived at headquarters, where Tanaka agreed with Honma’s plan to grind down the Germans despite heavy losses.
• Sōsaku Suzuki halted the 30th Division and Independent Mixed 54th Brigade’s attack at night after both units had been nearly wiped out.
• Sōsaku Suzuki ordered the 100th Division and 102nd Division to attack the German line that night.
• The German artillery suppressed the Japanese bombardment, and the 100th and 102nd Divisions advanced without adequate fire support into minefields and barbed wire under heavy German fire.

The Island Nation's Army's 35th Army failed to break the German defensive line and was ordered to halt, while the 41st Army took over the attack and also suffered a repulse. Meanwhile, Major General Friedrich prepared the German 226th Infantry Division to block the Island Nation's Army advancing toward the Beaufort line.

• Lieutenant General Sōsaku Suzuki's 35th Army suffered devastating losses without breaking through, so Lieutenant General Masaharu Honma ordered it to stop attacking.
• Major General Leser and Major General Manteuffel rotated fresh troops onto the German first defensive line to relieve their exhausted regiments.
• The 41st Army took over the offensive but was also smashed against the German defenses.
• The Island Nation's Army's advance force reached Bapa, prompting the German 226th Infantry Division to prepare for an attack expected by the following afternoon.
• Brigadier General Georg reported that German troops and artillery were ready, while their fleet was approaching; Major General Friedrich said they would block the Island Nation's Army.

Lieutenant General Shojiro Iida’s 15th Army rushed to Beaufort under orders to attack the German 226th Infantry Division, despite his expectation that the well-prepared defenses would cause heavy losses. The Japanese began their assault believing their artillery outmatched the Germans, unaware that German reinforcements gave them superior guns.

• Lieutenant General Shojiro Iida and Major General Haruki Isayama discussed the German defenses and the pressure from Front Commander Lieutenant General Akito Nakamura to attack.
• After receiving orders to launch the attack by the next day, Iida ordered the 15th Army’s five divisions to hasten their march to Beaufort.
• On April 13, the 15th Army arrived at Beaufort, rested briefly, and began attacking the German 226th Infantry Division’s defensive lines.
• Isayama reported that the Japanese had 254 artillery pieces and believed they could overwhelm the Germans, while Iida remained cautious.
• The Japanese commanders relied on outdated intelligence and did not know the German division had received enough artillery reinforcements to outmatch their guns.

The German 226th Infantry Division and its reinforcements counterattacked the Island Nation's artillery during its bombardment, then called in air support to destroy the guns. Lieutenant General Shojiro Iida ordered the surviving artillery to take cover as losses mounted.

• Colonel Moritoshi Riho ordered the Island Nation's artillery to bombard the German defensive line.
• Major General Friedrich ordered German heavy artillery to target the Island Nation's guns and requested air support.
• German heavy artillery devastated the Island Nation's artillery positions, while Lieutenant General Shojiro Iida learned his guns could not reach the German batteries.
• German dive bombers and ground-attack aircraft joined the assault under fighter cover and inflicted heavy losses on the Island Nation's artillery.
• Lieutenant General Shojiro Iida ordered the artillery to retreat and take cover.

After German air and artillery attacks nearly destroyed the Island Nation's Army 15th Army's guns, Lieutenant General Shojiro Iida ordered the 4th Division to attack the German defensive line without artillery support. The chapter ends as more than ten thousand soldiers began a costly “boar charge.”

• Lieutenant General Shojiro Iida fumed as German aircraft destroyed the 15th Army's artillery and the Island Nation's Army Air Force arrived too late to protect it.
• German BF-109 fighters routed the Island Nation's Type 1 and Type 97 fighters, while the 15th Army lost all but a few dozen of its more than two hundred guns.
• Lieutenant General Shojiro Iida ordered the troops to attack despite their lack of artillery, assigning the first wave to Lieutenant General Kitano Kenzō and the 4th Division.
• Lieutenant General Kitano Kenzō sent the 4th Division's infantry regiments into position, and more than ten thousand soldiers charged the German defenses in a “boar charge.”

The German military slaughtered the Island Nation's Army as its 4th Division launched repeated assaults against the German defensive line. By nightfall, the 4th Division's main infantry regiments had suffered losses exceeding seventy percent, and Shojiro Iida assigned Chiba Kuma-ji and Kawata Suezaburo to lead the night attack.

• Friedrich and Georg watched the Island Nation's Army charge, and German artillery opened fire with heavy howitzers and field guns.
• Shojiro Iida and Haruki Isayama recognized that the German guns were devastating the attacking troops, but the Island Nation's Army continued its advance.
• The German 2261st Infantry Regiment used mortars, grenade launchers, machine guns, and rifles to stop the attackers at the defensive line.
• Kitano Kenzō lamented the massacre, while Shojiro Iida argued that heavy casualties were necessary to win.
• At dusk, Shojiro Iida halted the assault after the 4th Division's main infantry regiments suffered losses exceeding seventy percent, then assigned Chiba Kuma-ji and Kawata Suezaburo to lead the night's attack.

Lieutenant General Shojiro Iida sent the 72nd and 73rd Divisions to attack the German defensive line at night, but mines, wire, and German firepower stopped them and inflicted grievous losses. With the line still intact at sunrise, Iida requested naval gunfire support from Area Army Headquarters.

• Lieutenant General Chiba Kuma-ji and Lieutenant General Kawata Suezaburo prepared their divisions for a night assault after the 4th Division's disastrous battle.
• Chiba and Kawata decided to send two regiments from each division in the first wave, then commit their remaining regiments.
• At eight o'clock, more than fifteen thousand soldiers from the 72nd and 73rd Divisions advanced toward the German positions without artillery support.
• German mines exposed the assault, and flares and heavy fire struck the advancing troops as they struggled against minefields and barbed wire.
• The 2262nd Infantry Regiment held the German line through the night, forcing the 72nd and 73rd Divisions to halt at sunrise after suffering grievous losses.
• Shojiro Iida requested Navy fire support, asking for large-caliber naval guns to break open the German defensive line.

The 18th Area Army suffered heavy losses against the German defensive line and asked the Navy for naval-gun support. Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo reluctantly prepared to assist, despite fearing the risks to the Navy.

• Major General Seiji Moriya told Lieutenant General Akito Nakamura that the 15th Army’s offensive had failed and three divisions had suffered grievous losses.
• Lieutenant General Akito Nakamura agreed to request naval-gun support from the Navy to help break the German defensive line.
• Major General Ryunosuke Kusaka reported that Southern Army Commander Hitoshi Anami had arrived at Subic Bay, likely to seek Navy support.
• Major General Ryunosuke Kusaka warned Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo that aiding the Army could expose the Navy to heavy losses, but Nagumo insisted he would decide what to do.
• Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo reluctantly went to the reception room, knowing he could not refuse the Army’s request without risking the Army-Navy alliance.

General Hitoshi Anami secured Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo’s agreement to have the Navy support the Army’s failing offensive against the German 23rd Army Corps in Borneo. Nagumo assembled the Island Nation’s main fleet, which sailed from Subic Bay into the South China Sea on April 14.

• Hitoshi Anami told Chuichi Nagumo that the Army needed naval help to break through the German defenses in Borneo and pursue its plans to capture the South Seas and Australia.
• Nagumo agreed to support the Army and ordered Major General Ryunosuke Kusaka to prepare the fleet to put to sea.
• Nagumo worried that the replenished carrier pilots were less experienced and that the fleet’s aircraft were inferior to German carrier-based aircraft.
• The Island Nation’s assembled fleet included its available carriers, capital ships, cruisers, and destroyers.
• On the afternoon of April 14, the task force left Subic Bay and sailed into the South China Sea.

The German 226th Infantry Division expected the Island Nation's Navy to attack its coastal defenses, while Lieutenant General Akito Nakamura took command of the battered 18th Area Army and reassured its commanders that naval gunfire would open a path to victory. Both sides believed their forces could prevail as the fleet approached.

• The Island Nation's Army reduced its attacks on April 14, and Major General Friedrich wondered why its forces had stopped charging in large numbers.
• Brigadier General Georg agreed that the Island Nation's Army would seek another way to break through, and Friedrich predicted its navy might bombard the coastal defenses.
• Georg reported that the Imperial Navy fleet would return that night, and Friedrich trusted it to stop the Island Nation's fleet.
• Lieutenant General Akito Nakamura took command from Lieutenant General Shojiro Iida and told his commanders the Imperial Navy would break the German defenses that night.
• Nakamura's commanders regained confidence and echoed his declaration that the Empire would win.

The German and Island Nation fleets advanced toward Beaufort for an expected nighttime clash as both sides sought to support their armies in the South Seas. The chapter ended with the Island Nation fleet cautiously sailing south under Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō’s command.

• The German Navy assembled five Capital Ships, dozens of cruisers and destroyers, and a carrier group to guard against and attack the Island Nation fleet.
• Lieutenant General Otto Schneewind and Major General Abraham discussed the likelihood of a nighttime battle and prepared the German fleet to protect the army near Beaufort.
• The Island Nation Navy’s 18th Area Army suffered more than thirty thousand casualties, increasing the pressure for naval support.
• The German fleet headed for Beaufort while the Island Nation fleet sailed south with its Capital Ship formation ahead of its carriers.
• Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō issued the main orders from the Capital Ship Squadron, with Ibuki serving as the task fleet’s flagship.

Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo prepared the Island Nation fleet for a nighttime attack near Borneo while suspecting that the German fleet was nearby. He and Major General Ryunosuke Kusaka discussed the Island Nation Navy’s growing plans for aircraft carriers and battleships.

• Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo worried that the German fleet had entered the South China Sea and ordered Major General Ryunosuke Kusaka to alert Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō to watch for it.
• Major General Ryunosuke Kusaka praised the future strength of the Yamato-class battleships, while Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo favored carrier power.
• The chapter listed the aircraft carriers nearing completion or under construction, including Shōhō-class, Ryūhō-class, Chitose-class, Hiyō-class, Taiyō-class, Shōkaku-class, Taihō, and Unryu-class ships.
• The Island Nation Navy planned Improved Taihō-class carriers and future Improved Yamato-class and Super Yamato-class battleships with larger guns.

The chapter compared the Island Nation Navy’s expanding shipbuilding program with Germany’s growing carrier forces and described the looming struggle for control of the Pacific. As Takasu Shirō’s capital ship squadron sailed south, it received warning of a possible German fleet nearby, and German radar detected the Islanders shortly after 1 a.m. on April 15.

• The chapter described how American support and potential territorial gains could strengthen the Island Nation Navy, while Germany planned to counter it with more advanced carriers.
• Takasu Shirō commanded Suruga, Ōmi, Mutsu, and Ise south under escort after being appointed commander of the reorganized Capital Ship Squadron.
• Suzuki Yoshio delivered intelligence from Nagumo, and Takasu ordered the fleet to prepare for a possible encounter with German forces that night.
• Just after 1 a.m. on April 15, a German heavy cruiser’s sea-search radar detected the Island Nation fleet heading south.

German forces aboard Blücher detected the approaching Island Nation fleet and prepared their five battlecruisers for a night engagement. The German fleet advanced to seek a decisive advantage while the Japanese ships remained unaware of the threat, leaving Takasu Shirō uneasy aboard Suruga.

• Otto Schniewind and Abraham discussed their desire to defeat the Island Nation Navy after the previous battle’s costly outcome.
• A staff officer reported that German heavy cruisers had spotted the Island Nation fleet less than forty kilometers to the north.
• Otto Schniewind ordered the fleet to prepare for combat after learning the enemy had four Capital Ships, and Abraham relayed the orders.
• The German battlecruisers formed a battle line and advanced to attempt Crossing the T, while cruisers and destroyers took positions to protect them from torpedoes.
• Takasu Shirō felt uneasy aboard Suruga, but the ship’s limited radar range left the German fleet undetected.

The German fleet ambushed the Island Nation Navy task force with five battlecruisers, concentrating fire on the battleship Suruga. As the fleets closed to under twenty kilometers, Otto Schneewind ordered close watch for a torpedo attack while the Island Nation ships formed a battle line and advanced.

• Otto Schneewind ordered the German destroyer flotilla to prepare to intercept Island Nation destroyers and then commanded all ships to open fire.
• The five German battlecruisers fired their forty-five 380mm guns at Suruga, flagship of the Island Nation Navy task force.
• Takasu Shirō learned the German fleet had ambushed his force and ordered the Island Nation ships to increase speed and close the distance.
• The four Island Nation Capital Ships formed a battle line and maneuvered toward the Germans under continued bombardment.
• After Abraham reported the range had fallen below twenty kilometers, Otto Schneewind ordered the fleet to watch for torpedo attacks and evade if necessary.

The German and Island Nation fleets exchanged fire at night, with German radar-guided guns giving them a clear advantage. The Germans damaged the Battleship Suruga, but the Battlecruiser Blücher was suddenly hit by a 410mm shell, leaving both sides’ ships ablaze.

• Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō ordered the Island Nation battleships to return fire despite the eighteen-kilometer range, and they focused on the Battlecruiser Blücher.
• Lieutenant General Otto Schniewind kept the German fleet beyond fifteen kilometers as radar-guided German shells closed in on their targets.
• The Battlecruiser Von der Tann scored the battle’s first hit, piercing the Battleship Suruga’s deck and starting a fire.
• Major General Suzuki Yoshio ordered Suruga’s damage-control crews to extinguish the blaze, but German ships used the flames to aim more accurately.
• The Battlecruiser Blücher hit Suruga’s side, destroying a secondary gun and igniting more fires.
• A 410mm shell struck Blücher’s port side, destroying a secondary gun, killing sailors, and starting a fire.

The German and Island Nation fleets fought a fierce nighttime battle, with both flagships hit and set ablaze. German radar-guided gunnery struck the Battleship Suruga again, crippling its stern turrets as Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō recognized Germany’s technological advantage.

• The Island Nation fleet hit the Battlecruiser Blücher and set it on fire, prompting Lieutenant General Otto Schneewind to order the blaze extinguished.
• Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō ordered the Island Nation ships to intensify their bombardment, and both fleets concentrated fire on the Battleship Suruga and the Battlecruiser Blücher.
• Damage-control crews extinguished the fires aboard both flagships, and Blücher disappeared into the darkness without taking another hit.
• At 1:55, a 380mm shell from the Battlecruiser SMS Lützow destroyed Suruga’s No. 5 turret and jammed its No. 4 turret, costing the ship forty percent of its firepower.
• Major General Suzuki Yoshio told Takasu Shirō that German radar likely guided its nighttime attacks, and Takasu concluded that Germany’s technological lead made victory difficult.

The German fleet used its speed and radar advantage to keep the Island Nation fleet at long range while pounding the Battleship Suruga. After two explosions shook Suruga, Takasu Shirō realized the ship was likely doomed, but the chapter left its fate unresolved.

• Takasu Shirō ordered the Island Nation fleet to close the distance and prepare torpedo attacks, while Suzuki Yoshio relayed his commands.
• The German fleet tracked the Island Nation ships with radar and used its speed to keep the engagement range above fifteen kilometers.
• At 2:08, a 380mm shell from Von der Tann struck Suruga, wrecking its superstructure and starting a fire.
• Otto Schniwente ordered the German battlecruisers to concentrate their fire on Suruga, while Takasu Shirō refused Suzuki Yoshio's suggestion to transfer ships.
• Two explosions shook Suruga, leaving Takasu Shirō and Suzuki Yoshio convinced that the battleship was close to destruction.

The German fleet sank the Suruga and concentrated its fire on the Island Nation battleship Ōmi. By 2:38 a.m., the Ōmi was burning heavily and seemed close to sinking, while the German fleet retained a clear advantage.

• After the Suruga suffered fresh hits and began flooding uncontrollably, Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō ordered Major General Suzuki Yoshio to evacuate to the Mutsu.
• The Suruga sank less than five minutes after Takasu Shirō and Suzuki Yoshio left it.
• Lieutenant General Otto Schniewind ordered the German capital ships to shift their fire from the Suruga to the Ōmi.
• Schniewind ordered the cruiser and destroyer formations to watch for the Island Nation fleet's torpedo attacks.
• The Island Nation fleet fired on the Blücher, but its hits caused no fatal damage, while German radar-directed fire repeatedly struck the Ōmi.
• By 2:38 a.m., the Ōmi's superstructure was ablaze and German shells continued to batter the battleship.

After the battleship Ōmi was destroyed, Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō ordered the battered Island Nation fleet to withdraw from the German fleet. He prepared Kitakami, Oi, and the destroyers to counter a German pursuit with a massive torpedo attack.

• Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō and Major General Suzuki Yoshio watched the German fleet batter the battleship Ōmi and lamented their disadvantage in the night battle.
• An explosion detonated Ōmi’s forward magazine, tearing apart the front half of the ship, and Suzuki reported that Ōmi had sunk.
• Takasu ordered the remaining fleet to turn and withdraw, despite Suzuki warning that the faster German ships could catch them.
• Takasu ordered Kitakami, Oi, and the destroyer formations to prepare a torpedo attack if the Germans pursued.
• Suzuki went to issue the orders, while the chapter explained that Kitakami and Oi each carried forty 610-millimeter torpedoes.

The Island Nation fleet tried to lure the pursuing German fleet into a torpedo attack, while Lieutenant General Otto Schneewind weighed the risk and ordered the Germans to give chase. The chapter ended as Kitakami, Oi, and more than ten destroyers turned toward the Germans with their torpedoes ready.

• Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō ordered the Island Nation fleet to turn north and retreat, hoping the Germans would pursue them.
• Major General Abraham urged a chase, and Lieutenant General Otto Schneewind ordered the German fleet to pursue while its cruisers and destroyers guarded against torpedoes.
• Major General Suzuki Yoshio reported that the Germans were catching up, and Takasu ordered the torpedo attack formation to prepare to turn and fire in ten minutes.
• Light Cruiser Kitakami and Light Cruiser Oi led more than ten destroyers in an emergency turn toward the German fleet with 610mm Long Spear torpedoes loaded.

The German fleet countered the Island Nation Navy’s torpedo assault by sending its cruisers and destroyers to encircle the attack formation. With the assault badly mauled and unable to reach the capital ships, Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō chose to withdraw the main force.

• Lieutenant General Otto Schneewind ordered torpedo defenses as the Island Nation cruisers and destroyers turned to attack.
• The German fleet sent ten Light Cruisers and ten destroyers to charge the Island Nation torpedo formation.
• German warships encircled the attackers and battered them, heavily damaging the destroyer Hatsuyuki and targeting Kitakami and Oi.
• Lieutenant General Takasu Shirō rejected the suggestion to commit more ships to the torpedo attack and decided to withdraw while the German capital ships turned away.

Captain Masao Ueno ordered the Light Cruiser Kitakami to fire a torpedo spread at the German blockade, sinking two light cruisers and two destroyers. With the path partly cleared, he ordered the torpedoes reloaded and the pursuit of the German fleet's Capital Ships formation.

• Colonel Masao Ueno ordered the Light Cruiser Kitakami to launch all forty torpedoes at the German light cruisers and destroyers surrounding it.
• The torpedoes struck German ships, forcing one light cruiser to prepare to abandon ship and sinking two light cruisers and two destroyers.
• Colonel Masao Ueno celebrated the attack's success and ordered the crew to reload the torpedoes immediately.
• Colonel Masao Ueno ordered the Light Cruiser Kitakami to pursue the German fleet's Capital Ships formation.