Chapter 266

< World War II - Attrition Interception Operation (1) >

Indochina Peninsula.

Passing through the jungles of Thailand, the Allied Forces' armored units that had entered the plains of Cambodia began to sprint with unstoppable momentum.

"P-Panther!"

A Chi-Ha was already practically no different from a piece of paper.

Facing a Panther that appeared to have the weight class of a heavy tank but sprinted at speeds exceeding a medium tank, the Japanese Army had no choice but to fall into shock and terror, panic-stricken.

Be it the German Army, Polish Army, Finnish Army, or Ukrainian Army, the European Army heavily armed with Panthers, armored vehicles, and STG42 assault rifles was practically a disaster from the perspective of the Japanese Army.

"F-Fire!"

With a Thud!, the Type 99 Tank, the Empire of Japan's proud creation finally made by modifying the French-made SOMUA Tank to Japanese standards, spewed fire from its main gun.

And that shell ricocheted and bounced right off.

"T-That's absurd!"

The prototype of the new model tank, the S-35, which the Imperial General Headquarters had boastfully declared could face German-made tanks, had long been obsolete on the European Front, being inferior even against a Panzer IV, let alone a Panther.

Struck by the Panther's main gun, Japan's 'new model' Type 99 Tank was miserably shattered to pieces right then and there.

The morale of the Japanese Army, which the Imperial General Headquarters had raised by enthusiastically promoting the Type 99 Tank as a decisive battle weapon capable of crushing Germany's 'powerful medium tank' Leopard, plummeted to rock bottom.

"H-How are we supposed to stop that!"

"Flee! We can't stop that monster of a heavy tank!"

With nothing they could do, the only path left for the Japanese Army was to be crushed after engaging in a desperate struggle.

"A-Aaaagh! E-Emperor, Banzai-!"

There were some soldiers among them who mustered the courage to charge while holding a lunge mine in their hands, but-

Rat-tat-tat!

Most of them collapsed in vain, spewing blood alongside the continuous gunfire of the STG42 assault rifles.

"S-Support! We request support!"

Those desperately requesting help.

"I don't care what it is, just give me a weapon that can catch that monster tank!"

Those wailing as they searched for what wasn't there.

"Where are we supposed to magically conjure up and send a military force we don't have!"

Those lamenting at the requests for salvation flooding in from all sides.

"M-Mutaguchi, if only it weren't for that damn bastard-!"

"What bullshit! That's all the fault of Sato Kotoku, that coward who committed mutiny and ran away as he pleased!"

Those engaging in faction fights even in the midst of it all.

"I-If we can't stop the tanks, then at least try to stop the infantry! If they don't have infantry, we can somehow catch the tanks too!"

And even those trying to engage in a desperate struggle somehow amidst it all.

"Idiot, while we're shooting peashooters, every single one of those bastards is holding something like a machine gun!"

However, all of that was meaningless before the overwhelming difference in combat power that could not be overturned.

"Where did all those bastards go who were going on about weak White Brutes!"

The territory of the Empire of Japan, which had been expanding throughout World War II while devouring countless money and manpower, was crumbling down like a sandcastle.

-

August 20, 1942

Indochina Peninsula, Saigon in Southern Vietnam - Empire of Japan Occupied Territory

"The Allied Forces have penetrated into Cambodia!"

"We absolutely cannot stop them! The entire front is collapsing!"

"Lieutenant General Miyazaki Shigesaburo is doing his best to hold them off, but it's not enough! He is requesting reinforcements!"

In the crucible of all that tragic news, the Commander-in-Chief of the Indochina Army, Kimura Heitaro, shouted in annoyance.

"What happened to the Type 99 Tank that the home country was so confident could crush their Leopards!"

"L-Leopards are already not the issue! All the Empire's weaponry is useless before the tank called Panther that they brought in anew!"

"Damn it, are those German bastards monsters or something…?"

"G-General! We need a countermeasure! Once they pass through Cambodia, they will soon reach here, Saigon!"

"We don't know how long Lieutenant General Shigesaburo can buy us time either, we have to help…!"

No matter what the staff officers said, Kimura Heitaro trembled as he grabbed his head.

"Damn it, at this rate it's the end, it's the end…"

'To think the guy who ran wild so excitedly when ordering massacres is such a coward in front of the enemy…!'

While the staff officers clicked their tongues, Kimura finally raised his head with bloodshot eyes.

"We abandon Saigon and retreat to Hanoi!"

"W-What? You mean retreating without even trying to fight…!"

"If we blow away all of the Imperial Army here, what will we use to defend Indochina!"

"N-No…!"

It sounded plausible, but everyone was dumbfounded by Heitaro's decision to abandon Saigon, which they had to defend, and retreat.

"E-Excuse me, then what about Lieutenant General Shigesaburo…"

"Tell him to retreat on his own! He's a fellow who got promoted by retreating well in Imphal too, so he'll surely figure it out!"

Kimura Heitaro, who enthusiastically carried out local massacres more than anyone else in the Japanese Army and ultimately caused Aung San of Burma to turn his back on them, fled and abandoned the strongpoint he was supposed to defend faster than anyone else.

And that tragic news flew into the Japanese home country.

-

August 31, 1942

Empire of Japan, Tokyo - Imperial Palace

"What the hell happened here!"

Tojo Hideki and the leaders of the Imperial General Headquarters, who were summoned to the Imperial Palace, could not raise their heads at Emperor Hirohito's thunderous shout.

"We are losing the territory we have expanded over the past few years in just two months, a mere two months!"

Burma had completely collapsed, Thailand had also surrendered, they had suffered the loss of Singapore which they spent months bleeding to capture, and the Allied Forces were bringing about the fall of Cambodia and swarming into Laos and Vietnam.

Hirohito was fuming before he snapped his head toward Tojo.

"Speak, Prime Minister! Did you not say that the blood and sweat of the Subjects of the Empire would be rewarded!"

"I-I am sorry, His Majesty the Emperor."

Tojo Hideki could only bow his head as he squeezed his eyes shut.

It wasn't as if the Empire of Japan hadn't considered the possibility that this war would flow unfavorably for them.

That was why they had also set up the Total War Research Institute and attempted this and that.

However, it was also them who ignored the results.

'We couldn't give up.

'

Burma, the pathway to India.

China, which they had driven to the brink of death with the success of Operation Ichi-Go.

Even the Southern Resource Area that provided the massive underground resources they so deeply desired.

The Empire of Japan had already practically gotten their hands on almost all of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere they had craved.

How much blood had been shed and how much money had been invested through the war during that time; how could they abandon all of it, surrender to the White people, and pull out of the war?

They couldn't pull their hand out without letting go of what they held, but what they held in their hand was too large and coveted to simply let go of just to pull their hand out.

Even if it was a level of thinking similar to a monkey getting caught by natives because it couldn't let go of its greed and pull its hand out of the basket.

And as a price for that, the Empire of Japan was facing a result exactly as the Total War Research Institute had predicted, no, an even more serious result, as it crumbled down.

"What will you do now! Surely not… is the Empire, is the Empire going to be defeated?"

Looking at the war situation, it was a fact that anyone would think of, but Hirohito brought it up as if deliberately in denial.

Even the personnel of the Imperial General Headquarters, who would demote anyone for having weak mental fortitude if the word 'defeat' even came out, couldn't dare do that to the Emperor.

What came out of the mouth of Prime Minister Tojo Hideki, who had been swallowing dry saliva for a long while, was an excuse.

"I am sorry, His Majesty the Emperor. It is because the Soviet Union collapsed much faster than expected…"

"Did you not say the same thing when France collapsed!"

Tojo's pathetic excuse was cut off by Hirohito's resentment-filled shout.

"You said France collapsed much faster than predicted, but we could still win! You said if we launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and force America to surrender, we could continue the war with Britain and achieve victory!"

"T-That is…"

"But have they surrendered right now?"

"…"

"They are crying out for war! Those who had unjustly placed pressure on our Empire are blaming the victim and grinding their teeth, swearing to take revenge on our Empire!"

The Attack on Pearl Harbor and the war with America were things that the Emperor had also approved.

"Then, did you not say that we could win if we struck Imphal and dropped India before Germany arrived!"

The capture of Imphal was also, in the end, something the Emperor had approved.

"But, but where did our Imperial Army go! Our military force of 200,000 in Burma! Where did our military force of 300,000 in Indochina all go, and why are we only hearing news of defeat, defeat, and more defeat!"

However, Hirohito fumed alone, filled with pent-up anger as if he knew absolutely nothing about it.

"Where did all the brave and peerless Samurai of the Empire who achieved victory in China and Singapore go, and do you mean to say only weaklings who lose whenever they battle remain!"

"I-I am sorry, His Majesty the Emperor."

Tojo and the high command of the Imperial General Headquarters had no choice but to simply bow their heads.

After fuming for a long while, Hirohito calmed down and opened his mouth, forcing a smile.

"S-Still, there's no way our Empire will be completely defeated in this war, right?"

"…"

Silence flowed.

Hirohito's smile grew stiff, but he asked once more.

"What kind of operation does the Imperial General Headquarters have prepared to overcome this war situation?"

The high command of the Imperial General Headquarters engaged in a fierce battle of reading the room amongst themselves.

At the end of that long battle of reading the room, instead of the Army, which couldn't bring itself to say they could rout Germany and the Allied Forces, the Navy stepped forward.

"T-The Attrition Interception Operation is prepared, His Majesty the Emperor."

"Ah, I see.

Attrition Interception. What a splendid operation.

Indeed, that's how the Empire's Navy should be."

Hirohito smiled as if he was relieved, but the Attrition Interception Operation was an operation established long before the Attack on Pearl Harbor.

Even after the success of the Attack on Pearl Harbor, the Empire of Japan had never assumed an incident where America, far from surrendering, would grind its teeth and attack them with all its might.

And even less so a situation where they had to check the still alive and well Royal Navy and German Navy, rendering them unable to even launch an offensive to deliver a decisive blow to the US Navy they had managed to corner onto the defensive.

The war with America, started under the plan to capture the Philippines in an instant and bring in the resources of the South, had not managed to drop the Philippines until now, but absolutely no one deliberately brought up that fact.

"If it's the Attrition Interception Operation, we can defeat their Navy, right?"

They had sneered at the Army, who couldn't say anything, and brought up an operation that was at least somewhat plausible on the surface, but the Navy couldn't bring themselves to answer Hirohito's following question either.

The Attrition Interception Operation was originally an operation that assumed a 1-on-1 with America, and even that had been pushed aside by the Attack on Pearl Harbor plan for not fitting the era.

A strategy of engaging the US Navy, carrying out successive interceptions to weaken the enemy's combat power, and achieving victory by engaging in a Decisive Fleet Battle after they were weakened.

Did they have the capability to make that a success against not only the US Navy alone but also the Royal Navy and the Reichsmarine?

Even the Imperial Japanese Navy, burning with baseless confidence and believing that the US Army would surrender if hit hard once, couldn't hastily say such things.

It was simply that they had no prepared plans other than that, so they might as well try it out.

At the very least, the US Navy's Pacific Fleet was in a greatly weakened state, and even if they had restored the fuel storage at Pearl Harbor, it would take time to transfer the entire Atlantic Fleet.

So…

'With a portion of the Pacific Fleet and the British and German fleets, couldn't we luckily achieve a great success like at Pearl Harbor?'

Surprisingly, the psychology of the top high command of the Empire of Japan's military was just like that.

In the end, after a long, awkward silence, Hirohito opened his mouth with a completely stiffened face bearing a facial expression that was closer to a bizarre distortion than a smile.

"…If we wear them out while protecting the Southern Resource Area as much as possible, we should be able to protect at least Hebei and Manchuria, right?"

The Imperial General Headquarters thought this much was at least worth an expectation.

Wouldn't they too eventually get tired and quit the war if they suffered heavy damage?

After Tojo Hideki and the high command of the Imperial General Headquarters engaged in a fierce battle of reading the room amongst themselves, they bowed their heads to the Emperor and answered.

"O-Of course that will be the case, His Majesty the Emperor."

Like that, an ambitious plan to provoke, apply attrition interception, and annihilate the Allied Powers' Navy before the American Atlantic Fleet could arrive was initiated.