Against the Tide Imperial: The Struggle for Ceylon (The Usurper's War: An Alternative World War II B by James Young (story reading txt) 📕

carriers running amok near Madagascar. Given that Yamaguchi had placed three on the bottom of the Pacific and had to strain to keep air groups for six fully operational, it was astounding how quickly the Allies were recovering combat power.

I cannot sink them quickly enough.

“You seem very reflective, Yamaguchi-san,” Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto observed beside him. “I believed you would need to be restrained from running up and down the flight deck in joy now that Shokaku and Taiho have joined you.”

“I am merely doing math, sir,” Yamaguchi allowed. “The enemy will probably react strongly to our Ceylon operation.”

“I can only hope so,” Yamamoto stated. “So far we have split the honors with your counterparts.”

I think the first fight off Ceylon was a victory, Yamaguchi silently disagreed with his superior. I’d have traded Shoho for just about any other carrier in this war, and we definitely sank the Furious. Yamaguchi had seen the camera footage of the British carrier rolling over to starboard after taking three torpedo hits in quick succession.

“With the Yorktown, Victorious, Enterprise and Ark Royal confirmed to be on other side of the Indian Ocean,” Yamamoto said, “I am sorely tempted to send you south to see if you could convince the Illustrious to come out and fight.”

“I have enough pilots fighting land-based aircraft, sir,” Yamaguchi said stiffly. “I don't need to go picking a fight in Australia."

Yamamoto smiled as his subordinate continued.

"We have spent the last three months scraping together air groups, and one carrier would not be quite enough to justify that fight. Ceylon will bring them all out, then we will kill them."

Yamamoto nodded at Yamaguchi's proclamation.

"It is a shame that the refineries in the Dutch East Indies were so damaged," the senior admiral stated. "Otherwise we would not care about Ceylon."

"I was shocked at how much oil the Germans gave us from the Persian Gulf oilfields," Yamaguchi noted. "It would be nice to have access to that oil again."

"Instead we have Ceylon cutting that off like a fish bone in our throat," Yamamoto noted. "No matter. Hopefully this will end things in the Indian Ocean for the British."

It would have been easier if we could have persuaded India not to lease Ceylon, but there’s no way we could replace the British grain shipments. How India was going to feed herself after the Japanese seized Ceylon was not Yamaguchi’s problem, but he still felt a slight tug at his conscience.

“The Army still has delusions of invading northern Australia,” Yamamoto stated, changing the subject.

“I shudder to think of the problems we would have if those idiots were still in charge,” Yamaguchi spat. “In some ways, the Soviets did us a favor.”

Yamamoto gave his subordinate a sideways glance.

“I think there are several thousand soldiers still missing who would disagree with you,” he observed, then held up his hand before Yamaguchi could protest. “This, of course, versus the million or so that would still be stuck in China as snakes trying to swallow an elephant.”

Snakes that would be, in turn, consuming far more resources than they produced. At least the Southern Operations will eventually begin to pay for themselves once we get the Americans to accept the new world order.

“Ozawa-san believes that we should split the Kido Butai,” Yamamoto said, referring to Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa.

“Of course he does,” Yamaguchi replied sarcastically, then bowed slightly. “Sorry, sir.”

Yamamoto smiled knowingly.

“It is as if I knew another admiral who once complained loudly about a superior’s inability to effectively control this very force,” he observed drily. "Hopefully Ozawa will never be proven as prescient as that officer was."

Yamaguchi nodded, keeping his mouth shut. Yamamoto, seeing that his point had been gently made, continued.

“Ozawa is concerned what will happen if the Americans counterattack again towards Wake," Yamamoto said. "We cannot trust in our submarines managing to sink a pair of battleships every time.”

Dammit Ozawa. Ozawa had a point insomuch that the carriers remaining with part of the battle line had never been intended for a general fleet action. However, Yamaguchi knew there was a significant difference in what he could do with four aircraft carriers versus six, especially with Allied forces in the Indian Ocean.

“Never fear, Yamaguchi-san,” Yamamoto said after a few moments. “I reminded him if he had not let Ark Royal get away from him off Ceylon the first time, you would not have to worry about numbers so much.”

That had to sting a little bit.

"I pointed out that, with Ryujo being out of dry dock much earlier than anticipated, he will have plenty of airpower to keep Ceylon suppressed if we follow the plan."

The hard rain continued to rattle against the Akagi’s bridge windows, the wind starting to pick up as well. As he watched the tugs take over maneuvering the Shokaku, Yamaguchi was glad that he did not have that thankless job.

“Ugaki-san is driving the staff hard to finish the planning for Operation I,” Yamamoto said, gesturing towards the battleship Musashi roughly a half mile away. “His assumptions include that you will need time to work Shokaku back into your force.”

“We can work her back into operations on the way to Ceylon,” Yamaguchi said. “I know that every day we wait, the Americans grow stronger. I would prefer that we help them see the error of their ways before the giant grows robust enough to simply smother us with his size.”

Yamamoto nodded.

“It is sometimes hard explaining to people who have never seen their factories just how much potential the Americans have,” Yamamoto stated soberly. “I will tell Ugaki to plan on this force initiating operations in a week rather than three.”

Well, here’s to hoping that my gamble is correct, Yamaguchi thought. For if I am wrong, I may truly regret this decision.

"With six carriers to their five, plus Ozawa-san's flight decks, I like our odds," Yamaguchi said. "Especially if we can capture airfields on Ceylon before they can react."

Bremerton Naval Shipyard

Washington State

1100 Local (1400 Eastern)

26 July

“Well, I suppose it beats flying them aboard,” Major Adam Haynes, United