Chapter Summaries

German Navy BF-109 fighters devastated the Island Nation Navy’s carrier aircraft, but some dive bombers and attackers broke through and found the three Kaiser class Battleships. The battleships’ escorts opened their air-defense engagement as the incoming aircraft approached.

• Colonel Yamashiro Ryutaro ordered Zero fighters to engage the BF-109s while the dive bombers and attackers pressed forward.
• The German Navy’s second wave of seventy-two BF-109 fighters joined the battle, and Yamashiro ordered the Zero fighters to hold them off while the bombers and attackers tried to break through.
• Island Nation pilots attacked desperately, and both sides lost aircraft as German fighters shot down much of the carrier aircraft group.
• Some Island Nation dive bombers and attackers escaped pursuit and launched an attack on the German Navy’s three slower Kaiser class Battleships.
• Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi warned the fleet to prepare, and the ships opened fire with their 105mm anti-aircraft guns.

Colonel Yamashiro Ryutaro’s carrier aircraft failed to break through the German fleet’s defenses, suffering heavy losses without damaging any warships. With retreat blocked and few aircraft left, a pilot proposed crashing into the German ships, and Yamashiro approved the attack.

• Colonel Yamashiro Ryutaro ordered the surviving Island Nation Navy aircraft to attack the German capital ships despite the heavy anti-aircraft fire.
• German warships shot down many attackers, while a Type 99 bomber’s bomb missed Brandenburg and the bomber was destroyed.
• Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi and Major General Felix concluded that German fighters had helped the fleet survive the attack.
• A Type 97 attack aircraft was destroyed before it could launch a torpedo at Crown Prince, leaving Yamashiro with almost no bombers or attackers.
• An Island Nation pilot asked permission to crash his aircraft into a German warship, and Yamashiro approved the suicide attack.

Island Nation pilots launched suicidal attacks against the German battleship Crown Prince, destroying its Turret No. 1 and causing further damage despite heavy anti-aircraft fire. Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi ordered every German anti-aircraft position to target all enemy aircraft, but the remaining Island Nation planes continued their assault.

• A Zero fighter evaded much of the German fleet’s anti-aircraft fire and rammed Turret No. 1 on the Crown Prince, setting the forward deck ablaze.
• Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi learned that Turret No. 1 had been destroyed and ordered all anti-aircraft positions to attack every Island Nation aircraft.
• Colonel Yamashiro Ryutaro rallied the remaining Island Nation pilots to attack the Crown Prince, which had become the German flagship.
• German ships concentrated their anti-aircraft fire on the incoming aircraft, blasting many apart before they could reach the fleet.
• A damaged Zero fighter still crashed into the Crown Prince’s side, destroying an anti-aircraft gun, starting a fire, and killing several sailors.

Island Nation carrier pilots launched suicidal attacks that heavily damaged the Crown Prince Battleship, but its armor saved the German commanders from Colonel Yamashiro Ryutaro’s final strike. The surviving Island Nation fleet withdrew, unaware that a German submarine had discovered and reported the 2nd Carrier Squadron’s position.

• Island Nation carrier aircraft repeatedly rammed the Crown Prince Battleship, destroying two of its main turrets and setting parts of the ship ablaze.
• Colonel Yamashiro Ryutaro rammed his Zero fighter into the Crown Prince Battleship’s conning tower, but its thick armor protected the German commanders inside.
• Lieutenant General Theodor Burchardi ordered the damaged Crown Prince Battleship to continue to Lion City for repairs after the Island Nation aircraft were eliminated.
• Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo reported the loss of nearly two hundred aircraft to Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, and they decided to head north without waiting for news from the other attack group.
• A German submarine discovered the position of the Island Nation Navy’s 2nd Carrier Squadron and sent a Telegram before diving and escaping.

Admiral Konrad Albrecht and his officers learned that the Island Nation’s suicidal air attacks had badly damaged the battleship Crown Prince, but a submarine then located at least four enemy aircraft carriers. The German Pacific Fleet redirected its carrier planes and launched reinforcements from Ponape Island to attack them, while searching for the enemy’s other carrier formation.

• Lieutenant General Oskar Kummetz reported that nearly two hundred Island Nation aircraft had attacked and that the battleship Crown Prince was severely damaged by suicide attacks.
• Admiral Konrad Albrecht and Lieutenant General Wilhelm Canaris discussed the threat posed by the Island Nation’s tactics and the need to find its aircraft carriers.
• A staff officer reported that a German submarine had located at least four Island Nation aircraft carriers.
• Lieutenant General Wilhelm Canaris ordered the nearby German carrier aircraft to attack, and Admiral Konrad Albrecht ordered seaplanes and submarines to search for the other enemy formation.
• Lieutenant General Oskar Kummetz ordered aircraft from Ponape Island to join the attack, and the German aircraft formations changed course toward the discovered carriers.

After the Second Carrier Division’s position was exposed, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto chose to withdraw the 1st Carrier Squadron rather than risk losing it to protect Kakuta’s ships. Kakuta’s division tried to flee north, but its radar detected a large German air formation approaching.

• Lieutenant General Kakuta Kakuji confirmed the German submarine signal, ended radio silence, and ordered the Second Carrier Division into air-defense mode.
• The German Navy detected Sōryū’s telegram and confirmed the division’s position.
• Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo warned Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto that the fleet lacked enough fighters to defend the Second Carrier Division and that the 1st Carrier Squadron could also be found.
• Yamamoto ordered the 1st Carrier Squadron to withdraw west at full speed and refused to notify Kakuta, fearing a telegram would reveal their position.
• Kakuta ordered the Second Carrier Division north at full speed, but its radar detected a large incoming formation that would arrive in less than half an hour.

The German Navy’s carrier-based aircraft attacked the Island Nation Navy’s Second Carrier Squadron after its last twelve Zero fighters failed to stop them. The German aircraft began suppressing the fleet’s anti-aircraft defenses and focused their assault on the escort ships protecting the carriers.

• Lieutenant General Kakuta Kakuji ordered the Second Carrier Squadron to prepare for battle as the German aircraft approached.
• Colonel Johannes sent the 3rd Fighter Squadron to engage the twelve Zero fighters, and the German BF-109s quickly suppressed them.
• Kakuta Kakuji told the fleet to rely on its anti-aircraft guns and inflict as many losses as possible on the attackers.
• The German aircraft split into four groups, each assigned to one of the Island Nation’s carriers, while fighters strafed the fleet’s anti-aircraft positions.
• German aircraft concentrated their attack on Urakaze, which was protecting the carrier Ryūjō.

German Navy aircraft destroyed the Urakaze and Ryūjō and left the Hoshō mortally damaged. Reinforcements from Ponape Island arrived as Colonel Johannes ordered the attack to continue against every remaining Island Nation warship.

• Vice Admiral Chōgi Shiraishi ordered the Urakaze to fire on the German aircraft, but German bombers and torpedo bombers struck the destroyer and sank it with its crew.
• German carrier-based aircraft attacked the Ryūjō, hitting it with three bombs and two torpedoes before continued bombing triggered its magazine and sank it.
• The Hoshō struggled to stay afloat after being hit by two torpedoes and more than ten heavy aerial bombs.
• A new wave of German aircraft arrived from Ponape Island, and Colonel Johannes ordered his forces to sink every remaining Island Nation warship.

The German Navy destroyed the Island Nation Navy's 2nd Carrier Squadron, sinking all four of its aircraft carriers and the squadron's cruisers. The battle ended with Germany holding the advantage, while the surviving First Carrier Division had lost nearly all its aircraft and pilots.

• Lieutenant General Kakuta Kakuji evacuated Sōryū as German attacks left it critically damaged, and the carrier sank shortly afterward.
• Hiryu sank after repeated torpedo and aerial-bomb hits, leaving all four carriers of the 2nd Carrier Squadron destroyed.
• German carrier-based and land-based aircraft sank the squadron's heavy cruisers and light cruisers, while its remaining destroyers survived.
• Kakuta ordered Colonel Sanwa Yoshitomi to report to the Commander before returning to the homeland.
• German fighters intercepted and shot down every Island Nation aircraft sent to attack the Pacific Fleet's carrier formation.
• The First Carrier Division's four carriers escaped, but almost all their aircraft and pilots had been lost, bringing the battle to an end with Germany in the overall advantage.

Admiral Konrad Albrecht assessed the costly German naval victory over the Island Nation and prepared the Pacific Fleet for another battle. Emperor Qin Tian received the news in Berlin, recognized that both sides had suffered heavily, and remained wary of the Island Nation’s next move and American support.

• Lieutenant General Wilhelm Canaris and Lieutenant General Oskar Kummetz reported that the Germans had sunk four enemy aircraft carriers and inflicted severe losses, while losing two carriers and several capital ships themselves.
• Admiral Konrad Albrecht called the battle a case of both sides being badly hurt, ordered repairs to damaged ships and Mariana Islands airfields, and vowed to prepare for the next engagement.
• Marshal Raeder reported the battle’s results and Germany’s losses to Emperor Qin Tian at the palace in Berlin.
• Field Marshal Manstein said German control of the seas would protect the South Seas and Australia, while Emperor Qin Tian suspected the Island Nation would continue fighting with American support.

After the Combined Fleet suffered a devastating defeat against the German Navy, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto arranged to return to the Island Nation while Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo took charge of the surviving fleet. Navy leaders Mitsumasa Yonai and Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu received the news and realized their plans to seize the South Seas and Australia were in grave danger.

• Major General Takahashi Ibo reported that the Combined Fleet had lost four carriers, nine Capital Ships, and many other warships, while its aircraft and pilots were nearly wiped out.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto ordered the defeat reported to the homeland and prepared to return, instructing Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo to bring the remaining ships safely back.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto left the aircraft carrier Ibuki by seaplane for the Island Nation.
• At the Navy Ministry, Mitsumasa Yonai and Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu confidently discussed victory and plans to seize the South Seas and Australia.
• A staff officer delivered the Combined Fleet's Telegram, and Mitsumasa Yonai and Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu were shocked to learn of the defeat.
• Mitsumasa Yonai lamented that without command of the seas, the Island Nation could not send its Army south or continue the war as planned.

Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu and Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai discussed the Combined Fleet’s heavy losses and tried to frame the battle as a temporary setback rather than a defeat. They planned to rely on incoming warships and secure more resources, while anticipating criticism from the Prime Minister and the Army.

• Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu asked Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai about German losses, and Yonai reported that Germany had lost or suffered damage to several carriers and capital ships.
• Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu argued that destroyed German aircraft in the Mariana Islands made the Island Nation’s losses seem less severe, and Yonai accepted the framing.
• Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu pointed to battleships and aircraft carriers nearing completion as proof that the Navy could rebuild and challenge Germany again.
• Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai recognized that replacing lost pilots would be difficult and decided that pilot training needed to expand.
• Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu warned that the Prime Minister and Army would question the Navy over its defeat, and Yonai vowed to persuade them and request more resources.

Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai tried to calm the Island Nation’s leaders after the Combined Fleet lost its naval battle against Germany and secure continued funding for the navy. The army accepted that it still needed naval cooperation, and Yonai promised the fleet would challenge the Germans again after it was replenished.

• Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai went to Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe’s residence, where General Seishiro Itagaki and other Cabinet Ministers confronted him over the Combined Fleet’s defeat.
• Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai defended the navy’s performance, saying its men had fought bravely but Germany’s forces were too strong, and promised the Combined Fleet could fight again with its main force intact and new ships entering service.
• General Seishiro Itagaki accused the navy of wasting the Empire’s money, and Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai retorted that the navy could withdraw from the war or disband and let the army take its funding.
• Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe rebuked Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai for speaking irresponsibly, while General Seishiro Itagaki held back because the army still needed the navy.
• Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe asked how the navy would address the defeat, and Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai promised the replenished Combined Fleet would challenge and defeat the German Navy.

After its naval defeat, the Island Nation’s leaders backed efforts to rebuild the Navy and prepare for another battle against Germany. Both sides claimed victory, while other nations watched for how the war in the Pacific would develop.

• Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai asked the Cabinet for more funding, ships, and carrier-pilot training, while General Seishiro Itagaki resisted further cuts to the Army’s budget.
• Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe approved seeking aid or loans from the United States and urged the Navy to defeat Germany.
• The Island Nation Navy concealed its defeat with exaggerated claims and accelerated construction of battleships and aircraft carriers.
• The German Navy also declared victory, saying its fleets had inflicted heavy damage on the Combined Fleet and retained control of the Pacific seas.
• Buru and the United States hoped the Island Nation would launch a major offensive, but Germany’s naval performance appeared to frustrate their expectations.

Charles Edison and senior US Navy commanders analyzed the Island Nation–Germany naval battle to assess German strength and prepare for an eventual war. They concluded that US carrier aircraft needed urgent improvement, while confidence in American capital ships remained high.

• Charles Edison summoned senior US Navy commanders to discuss the naval battle and how the United States could prepare to fight Germany.
• Harold Stark reported that the Island Nation had suffered greater losses, while Germany had lost two aircraft carriers and two capital ships and had two more of each heavily damaged.
• Nimitz and Ernest King judged that the German Navy held clear advantages in ships and aircraft, and that the Island Nation would struggle to repeat its surprise attack.
• Husband Kimmel argued that modernized capital ships still mattered, especially in night battles, and Stark said American capital ships could match or surpass Germany's.
• Halsey warned that American carriers and F4F fighters were outclassed by German forces and urged the United States to avoid war until it improved its aircraft.
• Charles Edison promised to monitor development of the F4U and equip the main carrier-based aircraft units with it before war with Germany.

After the Island Nation Navy lost a battle to Germany, President Roosevelt and his Cabinet debated whether to continue supporting Island Nation. Roosevelt chose to keep backing its war effort and approved its request for naval steel so it could rebuild and attack again.

• Charles Edison ended a Navy meeting by urging officers to address American shortcomings, then went to the White House with Harold Stark.
• President Roosevelt told the Cabinet that Island Nation's defeat threatened the plan to draw German forces toward the South Seas and Australia.
• Henry Morgenthau proposed ending support for Island Nation, while Hopkins and Charles Edison argued that its fleet could still recover and win future battles.
• Roosevelt decided to continue supporting Island Nation and urge it to launch further attacks.
• Hull asked whether to provide naval steel for Island Nation's new capital ships and aircraft carriers, and Roosevelt approved the request.

Eisenhower devised a plan for Island Nation to use the Philippines as a springboard for a southward offensive, drawing German forces away from Europe and Buru. George Marshall recognized the plan’s potential and took Eisenhower to present it to President Roosevelt for a decision.

• After Island Nation’s Navy failed to defeat the German Navy, George Marshall ordered Eisenhower to find a way for Island Nation’s Army to attack south.
• Eisenhower proposed deploying aircraft on Okinawa and Treasure Island to escort convoys through the Philippines, enabling attacks on the Dutch East Indies and German positions in the South Seas and Australia.
• Eisenhower recognized that using the American-held Philippines risked bringing the United States into war before it was prepared.
• Eisenhower presented his proposal to George Marshall, who saw its strategic value and decided to bring him to President Roosevelt.

President Roosevelt approved Commodore Eisenhower’s plan to let the Island Nation use the Philippine Islands as a base for attacking German forces in the South Seas and Australia. The chapter ended with the Cabinet approving the scheme, which relied on a staged Island Nation attack and suppressed news to avoid giving Germany a reason to declare war on the United States.

• General George Marshall presented Commodore Eisenhower’s plan to President Roosevelt, who recognized that it could let the Island Nation attack the South Seas without naval superiority.
• President Roosevelt agreed to the plan because the United States needed to divert German forces while it prepared for war.
• President Roosevelt proposed that the Island Nation attack the Philippine Islands so the United States could appear to be Germany’s victim.
• President Roosevelt said the government would suppress news of the undeclared attack until the United States declared war on Germany, while General George Marshall called for a secret agreement to return the Philippines after the war.
• President Roosevelt presented the plan to senior Cabinet officials, and they approved it despite their doubts.

Advisor Hopkins secretly visited Tokyo as President Roosevelt’s envoy and urged the Island Nation’s leaders to attack the South Seas and Australia. He revealed that the United States wanted the Island Nation’s Army to use the Philippine Islands as a springboard, leaving the Cabinet to consider the plan.

• President Roosevelt sent Advisor Hopkins to Tokyo to press the Island Nation to launch an offensive into the South Seas.
• Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe and the Five Cabinet Ministers debated Hopkins’s purpose, while General Seishiro Itagaki and Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai clashed over their services’ rivalry.
• Foreign Minister Shigenori Tōgō received Hopkins at a military airfield and accompanied him to the Prime Minister’s residence.
• In a private meeting, Hopkins criticized the Island Nation’s naval defeat and urged its leaders to attack the South Seas and Australia soon.
• When General Seishiro Itagaki questioned how they could attack without control of the sea, Hopkins proposed using the Philippine Islands as a springboard.

Advisor Hopkins and Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe agreed secretly to let the Island Nation seize the Philippine Islands and use them as a base against Germany, while the United States avoided entering the war. After Hopkins returned to the United States, the Island Nation began preparing its aircraft and troops for the occupation.

• Advisor Hopkins proposed that the Island Nation use the Philippine Islands as a springboard to attack the South Seas and Australia, and General Seishiro Itagaki and Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai welcomed the plan.
• Advisor Hopkins said the Island Nation would surprise-attack and occupy the Philippines, where American troops would not resist and US military supplies would be made available.
• Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe agreed to return the Philippines after the war, and General Seishiro Itagaki promised to arrange for the American troops to withdraw safely.
• Advisor Hopkins and Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe signed a secret agreement that evening, and Hopkins flew back to the United States the next morning.
• The Island Nation's Army Air Corps moved aircraft to Okinawa and Treasure Island as elite units prepared to occupy the Philippines and build up forces there for attacks on the South Seas and Australia.