Chapter 94: Japan and the United States Go to War
The Nomura-Hull negotiations were on the verge of failure. Against this background, the Japanese Imperial Headquarters held an Imperial Conference on September 6, 1941, at which it was decided that if the Japan-US negotiations failed, Japan would declare war on the United States .
To this end, the Third Konoe Cabinet made all possible preparations, but Konoe himself was unwilling to take responsibility for starting a war and offered to resign.
In mid-October, after some behind-the-scenes maneuvers, the Hideki Tojo cabinet was established.
Hideki Tojo, who once served as the Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army, was an out-and-out warmongerer. He strongly advocated that Japan and the United States go to war, and said, "In your lifetime, it is necessary to make such a decision to disregard life and death." However, the United States had long deciphered the secret telegrams from the Japanese government to the embassy in the United States and was well aware of Japan's movements, in order to further force Japan to provoke a war .
On November 26, the United States formally proposed the "Hull Memorandum" to deny the Manchukuo and Wang Jingwei's puppet regime, demanding that Japan withdraw its troops from China, and putting pressure on Japan with an unprecedentedly tough attitude.
At this point, the Japan-US negotiations had in fact broken down, but Japan was trying to use the negotiations to cover up its impending surprise attack.
When going to war with the United States, Japan's confidence naturally came from its so-called third largest navy in the world. However, compared with the United States, the Japanese navy was at a disadvantage both in terms of quantity and the quality of individual ships.
How to win a victory against the U.S. Navy has been the biggest issue for the Japanese Navy since it identified the United States as its number one enemy in the "Meiji 40-year National Defense Policy" in 1907.
Based on the lessons learned from the Russo-Japanese naval war from 1904 to 1905, as well as part of Mahan's "The Influence of Sea Power", the Japanese Navy summed up a set of combat strategies of "offensive defense and gradual attack".
The so-called "offensive defense" is to occupy the main US military bases in Asia at the beginning of the war, and at the same time strengthen Japan's fortifications on the islands in the central Pacific, waiting for the main force of the US fleet to arrive from the west coast of the mainland to launch an attack.
The so-called "gradually reducing and inviting attack" is to use new weapons such as sea-based and land-based aviation, ocean-going submarines, high-speed destroyers and large cruisers to launch uninterrupted encounter battles in the process of the US fleet moving westward, so as to reduce the US Navy, which originally had a numerical advantage, to a level roughly equivalent to the main force of the Japanese Navy, so as to finally fight a decisive battle on the battlefield selected by Japan.
But this is an almost absurd and idealistic plan. The ocean is so vast. Why should the Americans march according to the marching route planned by Japan, thus exposing their fleet to layers of obstruction by the Japanese guerrilla forces?
Moreover, even if the US Navy marched along the route planned by the Japanese army, how could the Japanese guarantee that their guerrilla blocking forces would be able to achieve the effect of "gradual reduction"?
Not to mention whether the Americans will adopt the tactic of attacking in multiple batches and small fleets.
There is no need to say whether the Americans will follow suit and carry out the so-called gradual reduction of the Japanese Navy.
Precisely because of the uncertainty of the gradual reduction tactic, Isoroku Yamamoto, then commander-in-chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet, decided to launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the headquarters of the US Navy in the Pacific, in order to realize the so-called "one-strike peace" idea.
In order to carry out the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and defeat the US Pacific Fleet in the shortest possible time, the bulky and slow battleships were obviously not the best tools. Therefore, as a calculating gambler, Isoroku Yamamoto turned his attention to the naval aviation force.
Isoroku Yamamoto decided to dispatch two air squadrons, four large aircraft carriers and several submarines, to attack Pearl Harbor from thousands of miles away, striving to annihilate the main force of the US Pacific Fleet at anchor and destroy the port facilities in Pearl Harbor, making it impossible for the US military to repair and use them in a short period of time, thereby delaying the speed of the US counterattack and ensuring that Japan established a self-sufficient "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" on time. In April 1941, Major General Onishi Takiji, then Chief of Staff of the 11th Air Fleet, and Lieutenant Colonel Kameto Kuroshima, the first chief of staff of the Combined Fleet, formulated and completed the combat plan for Hawaii.
From September 11 to 20, 1941, a special war game simulation of the Hawaii Operation was held at the Japanese Naval University in Meguro, Tokyo. Isoroku Yamamoto personally commanded the attack of the "Red Army (Note: Japanese Army)" against the "Green Army (Note: US Army)". The results of the simulation showed that although the mobile fleet was eventually wiped out, the US Pacific Fleet would no longer exist.
Although many senior Japanese naval officers expressed doubts about the outcome of the battle, Yamamoto forcefully pushed forward the implementation of the plan. Coincidentally, at this time, the Japanese aircraft carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku were commissioned, and the voices within the Japanese Navy opposing Yamamoto's plan disappeared.
Based on this, the Japanese military headquarters immediately decided to start the war on December 8.
The military decided to start the war on December 8th because there would be a waning moon on the night of the 7th, and the 7th and 8th were weekends and Sundays in Hawaii time, which would be convenient for the Japanese army to launch a surprise attack. If this day was missed, the monsoon climate in the Pacific Ocean would soon make it difficult for the Japanese army to sail through the northern waters that they planned to pass through.
Moreover, Japan's oil reserves were less than two years' worth, and the war could no longer be delayed.
The Japanese military's move seemed quite strategic, but it was also a desperate gamble.
The Japanese upper class understood that even if the war went smoothly, Japan would not be able to land on the U.S. mainland and force the United States to surrender. The only result would be a decent peace negotiation to ensure the fruits of the invasion in China. As for if the war was not going well, then the entire kingdom of God would have no need to exist. On November 26, the Japanese mobile fleet with six main aircraft carriers as the core secretly set out from Danguan Bay in the Southern Kuril Islands and headed for an unpredictable future.
The next day, based on the relevant intelligence it had collected and analysis of the current situation, the United States concluded that war between Japan and the United States was imminent.
The US military immediately issued a "war alert" to the relevant parties, pointing out that Japan is very likely to launch an attack on the Philippines, Thailand, Malaya, Borneo and other places in the near future, but Hawaii is not included in the above-mentioned areas.
At a certain time and space, countless "conscientious" historians argued that this was a trap set by US President Roosevelt for Japan. The Americans, who had long been familiar with Japan's secret codes, were fully aware of the Japanese army's attack plan. For this reason, many people even said in a serious manner that the two major parties in a certain country had already warned the United States of the attack on Pearl Harbor through countless channels.
This is sheer nonsense. Even if Roosevelt wanted to set a so-called trap, he would never easily use the main force of the Pacific Fleet as a target for the Japanese.
In fact, Roosevelt and the top US military officials never thought that the Japanese would boldly rush to America's doorstep. Perhaps in their eyes, the inferior yellow people would not even have such an idea, so they deserved to suffer the loss.
The so-called alarm from two parties in a certain country is an outright lie. In fact, even if one party could decipher the Japanese army's low-level codes, they would not be able to understand the Japanese army's overall plan, otherwise they would have gained the upper hand in all the battles. Not to mention that the Japanese army frequently changed codes before and after the war, making it impossible for the outside world to monitor.
As for the story that an underground worker of a certain party obtained intelligence about the Japanese army from a Japanese friend who sympathized with the Chinese people, it is also quite ridiculous. Unless the Japanese intelligence network is a sieve that leaks everything, this Japanese friend of the Chinese people should be a high-ranking official in the Japanese military. Otherwise, how could he have known about top-secret intelligence such as the time of the start of the war and the location of the first battle, which even members of Congress and ordinary cabinet ministers did not know?
However, how could the Japanese military officials who were actually in high positions be good friends of the Chinese people?
Just like that, on December 8, 1941, from 7 to 9 a.m. on the 7th, Hawaii time, the Japanese army launched two waves of air attacks on Pearl Harbor, achieving absolute tactical success. Only three American aircraft carriers escaped because they were temporarily dispatched and not in the port. Apart from them, the U.S. Pacific Fleet suffered a devastating blow.
Japan provoked the Pacific War with a sneak attack. On December 9, Britain and the United States declared war on Japan. On the 12th, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. World War II then expanded, and the Americans gained access to dominate the world at a heavy price.
"Your Excellency, I have just received a report from Guiyang that Chiang Kai-shek has declared war on Japan."
Song Cheng, deputy director of the adjutant's office, then handed over a document .
"This is the full text of the declaration of war against Japan."
Seeing that Dai Jiliang showed little interest in this, Song Cheng added.
"The Nationalist government also declared war on Germany and Italy at the same time."
"What a shame. Our business in Berlin was just starting to pick up again."
Dai Jiliang raised his head and sighed.
"Let the diplomatic department inform Shen Qianxuan to retreat to Switzerland. Since the central government won't give us a name, we can use the trading company as a cover. As long as the German line is not broken, we will have great gains in the future."
Song Cheng immediately responded: "Please rest assured, Your Excellency. I believe the Liaison Office will handle this matter properly."
Dai Jiliang suddenly thought of something and asked, "That Deye is still in Shanghai, right?"
Song Cheng was stunned, thought for a moment, and replied, "He shouldn't be here. The report from the Liaison Office's European station said that he has become one of the main members of the Fascist Party in Leghorn, and often appears in Rome and Berlin."
"This guy got a bargain."
Dai Jiliang shook his head regretfully. No matter how powerful he was, he could not reach out to Europe.
"Please make a note of this. After Italy is defeated, immediately file a complaint with the occupying authorities against Deye for defaulting on payment and ask him to compensate for the shares of the Benghazi Oil Company."
At this point, Dai Jiliang denied his own statement.
"Don't use this name, but file a lawsuit in the name of American shareholders to veto the equity transaction between me and Deye."
Song Cheng was speechless and didn't know what to say. Dai Jiliang knew that he couldn't accept it for a while, so he laughed and said, "Why? Do you think it's funny that I sued myself? No, the transaction between me and Deye is strictly insider trading. It doesn't comply with the regulations that all shareholders have the right to purchase the shares transferred by other shareholders. It is illegal and should be cancelled."
Song Cheng understood that the key was to cancel the two words. He then solemnly recorded the matter in his notebook, and then replied seriously: "Please rest assured, whoever eats our food will be made to spit it out sooner or later."
