Chương 120: 120
November 26, 1941
Washington DC, USA
"Is this really the will of the United States government?"
"That's right."
Secretary of State Cordell Hull shrugged his shoulders in response to a question from Japanese Ambassador to the United States Kichisaburo Nomura. An expression that asks if there is anything more to say.
Nomura couldn't control the trembling of his hands. Oh my god, this is… .
"Woah, the conditions are too… for our government to accept." ."
"This seems extreme. Is this what you want to say?"
Hull snorted as if it was absurd. And he stared with cold eyes at the Asian man sitting in front of him, his body trembling.
"The United States has already warned your country countless times and given us a chance to stop the war. It was Japan that ignored it all and kicked it away. "Have you not thought about that?"
Nomura was left speechless by Hull's fierce criticism. Nomura avoided Hull's gaze and lowered his gaze to the document in his hand.
1. Japan will completely and immediately withdraw from Chinese territory and French Indochina.
2. Japan will voluntarily dismantle the puppet government established in China.
3. The United States and Japan will recognize Chiang Kai-shek's government as the only regime in China and will not provide any military, political, or economic support to other regimes.
4. Japan must immediately release the detained French civilians and French military prisoners and voluntarily dissolve the puppet government established in French Indochina.
5. Japan will give up all extraterritorial rights in China.
6. The United States and Japan will lift the freeze on each other's assets.
7. Japan will sign a non-aggression pact with the governments of China, Britain, France, the Netherlands, and the United States.
Six days ago, Nomura delivered Japan's negotiating terms to Hull.
Japan's negotiating conditions were that if the United States lifted the freeze on Japan's assets in the United States and the embargo against Japan, it would gradually withdraw from all occupied territories, excluding China's North China region and northern Indochina.
Roosevelt was furious after accepting Japan's terms. He instructed Hull to offer strong terms since there was no possibility of negotiation with Japan.
Hull faithfully followed the president's instructions.
In his view, it seemed unlikely that Japan would accept the above conditions. If you actually accepted it, it would be even stranger. If they had been like that in the first place, they wouldn't have started the war.
The 'Hull Note' was passed on to Japanese Foreign Minister Togo through Nomura, and was soon made public to the entire Japanese leadership.
The hardliners in the military who accepted the contents of Hull's note exploded, and even the appeasement faction, which had taken a negative stance on the invasion of the United States, became indignant, calling the U.S. conditions unreasonable.
"America sincerely wishes for the fall of the empire!"
"Further negotiations are impossible. "Now all that's left is war!"
"I'm showing the power of the Imperial Army to those arrogant Yankees!"
What particularly angered Japan was the withdrawal from China specified in the Hull note.
The United States did not specifically specify whether Manchuria was included in China's territory, but Japan interpreted that the Chinese territory mentioned by the United States also included Manchuria.
Withdrawing from China is difficult to accept, much less giving up Manchukuo?
Manchuria was Japan's frontline base and the 'goose that lays the golden egg', providing Japan with a huge amount of resources and manpower. It was a puppet state in words, but was in fact recognized as Japan's actual territory, like Joseon and Taiwan.
Giving up Manchuria was like telling Japan to give up its territory.
If they give up Manchuria, Joseon and Taiwan will be next, and they will even try to rob all of Japan.
Therefore, Japan must go to war with the United States to protect Japan's territory and safety - that was the military's argument, and in other words, the will of all of Japan.
"Your Majesty, now Japan has no place to retreat anymore. If the military refuses to go to war, citing negotiations as a reason, the military will stage a coup, and the empire will return to the Warring States Period. In order to avoid the empire's self-destruction, a war against the US is indispensable."
"then… . I can't help it. "If war is the only means to save the empire, then we have no choice but to do it."
***
November 30, 1941
North Pacific
"In the end, is war inevitable? ."
Yamamoto Isoroku, commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet, was full of worry.
When he heard the news that the war against the US, which he had opposed so much, had finally been decided, he let out a deep sigh and felt helpless.
"I'm sorry, Your Excellency. "I didn't hear you clearly."
"No, no. "I'm just talking to myself, so ignore it."
When he waved his hand and gave the order to congratulate the guests, the soldier on duty put down his coffee and quietly walked away.
The coffee served by Yamamoto's man on duty was of the highest quality, made from Brazilian coffee beans.
Yamamoto liked the deep scent of coffee. However, in this situation, even the fragrant scent of coffee could not shake off his sense of helplessness.
Yamamoto, who studied abroad in the United States and lived there for a long time as an attaché at the U.S. Embassy, knew the power of the United States better than anyone else in Japan.
While most Japanese people dismissed the United States as nothing more than a country of big, arrogant Yankees, he realized early on that the United States was the greatest power in existence.
The United States is a country that is incomparably stronger than Japan in all respects, including differences in population and territory.
The Detroit industrial area in the United States alone produces several times the amount of steel produced by factories in Japan and Manchuria, and unlike Japan, which supplements its own food production shortage with rice and beans stolen from Joseon and Manchuria, the United States is short on food. It is overflowing and exported all over the world.
It also came as a shock to Yamamoto that cafes across the U.S. placed containers filled with sugar cubes on outdoor tables.
What would be unthinkable in Japan, where sugar is scarce, was already a part of daily life in the United States.
The United States was such a prosperous country that even if you ordered one serving at a shabby restaurant, you would get enough food to feed two people in Japan.
Is that all? In rural America, everyone knows how to drive a car.
On the other hand, what about Japan? The number of illiterate people who cannot even write their own names, let alone drive, is overwhelmingly higher than in the United States.
Going to war against a country with an overwhelming gap between the Empire and the Empire not only militarily, economically, politically, but also socially.
Where on earth is the Empire trying to go?
As the mood in the military shifted toward preparing for war with the United States, Yamamoto, who was opposed to war with the United States, began intensive training in preparation for war with the United States.
Seeing Yamamoto like this, the army thought he had finally come to his senses, but in reality it was the opposite.
If war is unavoidable, we must inflict as much damage as possible on the enemy.
Wouldn't that allow the Empire to gain a slight advantage in negotiations with the United States?
Still, the best option was to avoid war with the United States, so Yamamoto did his best in training and prayed again and again for negotiations to be concluded.
However, heaven did not know his earnestness. Just as the Imperial Headquarters and the Japanese did not know about America's power.
Japan, having accepted the Hull Note, chose war, and now no one can stop the war.
Only after the coffee had cooled completely and stopped producing steam did Yamamoto lift the cup and bring it to his mouth.
I could feel the subtle sweetness of the coffee that had lost its warmth. And the scent was still there.
The idiots recreating the war claimed that just as the Empire had won victories over Qing and Russia in the past, it could also win against the United States.
They also won against China and Russia, so is there a law preventing the United States from doing the same?
If you just listen to it, it makes sense.
But they don't know. The Empire was able to win because the Qing and Russia were large and empty illusions, but the United States was on a different level from the Qing and Russia.
And although they firmly believed that the United States, which suffered great damage from the imperial army's surprise attack, would negotiate, they did not even consider other variables at all.
If the United States chooses war instead of negotiation, what will it do then?
Can the Empire withstand the United States, armed with enormous supplies, technology, and population?
Yamamoto sighed and stood up. Then he went to the window and gazed at the horizon.
The battleship Nagato on which he was aboard was far away from Japan and continued to move further away.
***
December 1, 1941
New Fuhrer's Residence in Berlin, Germany
The news that the United States delivered the 'Hull Note' to Japan and that the Japanese military was furious upon receiving it soon reached me.
Although it was a little different from the actual history I remember, the overall framework remained the same.
Japan did not stop its invasion despite warnings from the United States, and the United States took an ultra-strong response by banning oil exports to Japan.
The oil embargo was nothing short of a lightning strike for Japan, which imported 80% of its oil from the United States, and Japan tried its best to appease the United States, but the United States remained steadfast.
"Sooner or later, Japan will attack the United States. Their goal is probably... "It will be Pearl Harbor."
I tapped Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, located in the center of the Pacific Ocean, with the tip of my baton.
"Is it because the U.S. Navy is gathered here?"
Leder asked before I could explain why. also. As a result of my decades of experience in the Navy, I noticed it right away. I smiled and nodded.
"The United States would never think that Japan would attack the Philippines or Guam or attack Hawaii. Of course, considering the distance, it is not unreasonable to make that judgment. However, Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet, is no ordinary person.
He will no doubt attempt to tie up the American military by launching a surprise attack on Hawaii and inflicting a crushing blow on the U.S. Navy."
Almost all of my predictions so far have come true, so the generals did not question what I said.
Everyone had no doubt about what I said.
I wanted to show off better here, but... . I didn't. Exactly, I couldn't do that.
"The problem is that we have no idea how the Japanese military will attack Pearl Harbor."
In history, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor using aircraft launched from aircraft carriers and achieved great success.
However, it was not known whether the same method as in history would be used here.
That's because the Taranto air raid has never occurred in the history of this world.
When World War II broke out, Italy, which had been caught between England and Germany, declared its participation in the war and declared war on England when it became convinced that the war would end in Germany's victory.
As Italy entered the war, Africa and the Mediterranean naturally became battlefields, and securing control of the Mediterranean Sea was an urgent priority in order to protect the Suez Canal, which was a lifeline for Britain.
In order to seize control of the Mediterranean Sea, it was necessary to first destroy the Italian Navy, and Britain planned to attack the port of Taranto on the Italian mainland and cause enormous damage to the Italian Navy.
On November 11, 1940, the British Mediterranean Fleet mobilized 21 Fairy Swordfish to raid the Port of Taranto, destroying the Italian battleship Conte di Cavour, seriously destroying Caio Duilio and Littorio, and destroying a heavy cruiser and a destroyer. Two ships were damaged.
Britain's only casualties were two Swordfish planes shot down, two killed, and two prisoners.
It was Japan in the Far East who paid attention to this incredible victory, disabling three golden battleships with only two torpedo bombers.
Japan, which wanted to suppress the U.S. Navy at once, which would interfere with the southern operation, intensively studied the Taranto airstrike and used it in the Pearl Harbor airstrike, sinking 4 battleships, 1 gunboat, and damaging 3 ships, and 3 cruisers and destroyers each. In addition to the damage, it achieved a tremendous achievement of destroying 188 aircraft.
however… . Since the Taranto air attack did not occur here, it was impossible to guess in what direction the Pearl Harbor attack would take place. No, it was unclear whether it would be an 'air raid'.
Although there was no air raid on Taranto, an aircraft-versus-battleship confrontation did occur in the North Sea, pitting the Royal Navy against the German Navy.
However, there were no battleships sunk by aircraft attacks.
What choice will Japan make here? Should we launch an air strike using an aircraft carrier like in history, or should we use another method?
Perhaps, instead of attacking Pearl Harbor, they might only attack America's Pacific strongholds such as the Philippines, Guam, and Wake Island.
But as long as Yamamoto Isoroku is around, there is no way Pearl Harbor will be left alone... .
shit. I don't know about this either. Still, if we had to consider the most likely possibility, I think they would attempt an air strike using an aircraft carrier as in history.
Since Yamamoto Isoroku realized the importance of aircraft carriers earlier than others, it is a very possible scenario (although it is comical that even he, who preached the importance of aircraft carriers, placed more importance on battleships).
"Secretary Ribbentrop, what is America's response?"
After hearing the news that the United States had delivered the Hull Note to Japan, I tried to inform the United States that Japan would soon attack.
Originally, the purpose was to save lives that would have died according to history, but it was also to win the favor of the United States and establish friendly relations to minimize the possibility of conflict with the United States.
And if the damage to the U.S. Navy is reduced even just a little, the U.S. victory will naturally accelerate, and furthermore, the Korean Peninsula will be liberated sooner.
"That is… ."
Ribbentrop frowned and frowned.
"Despite the information we provided, the United States has not yet given us any response. "On the outside and behind."
Franz von Papen, who was appointed German ambassador to the United States, did as instructed and informed the United States that Japan would soon make a surprise attack, but the United States showed no response.
There was no formal thank you for providing the information or even a question as to whether the information was true.
Is this also due to Roosevelt's instructions?
It may have been because they judged the information we provided to be disinformation, but it could also have been that Roosevelt, who hated Germany, deliberately ordered them not to react in any way.
It's hard for even me to tell what's true. Maybe it's both.
"Even if you show us favors, you still treat us with complete contempt. "Arrogant Yankee guys."
When Göring grumbled, Raeder immediately agreed.
"They even sold destroyers and fighter jets to Britain at low prices. "As if we were showing off."
"you're right! This is a blatant signal that they intend to keep Germany in check. "If they keep provoking us, we don't have to approach them anymore!"
Göring was angry that the United States had sold fighter jets and bombers to the British government at a low price, and Raeder was also angry that the United States had sold some ships, including destroyers and transport ships, to the British government.
It was so obvious that if war broke out again, they would be used to attack Germany.
I, too, was quite annoyed with Roosevelt.
No matter how unreliable and threatening we feel, we want to be friends, but they openly criticize us.
At this level, I think some people are starting a fight.
Still, it did not mean that there was no progress in German-American relations, and trade went back to resumption as before September 1, 1939.
Food exports from the United States to Germany increased even more than before the war. Thanks to this, German citizens could freely drink Coca-Cola as before the war.
"Still, we must not give up on promoting relations with the United States. If we lose with the United States, the damage will come back to Germany. Without going too far, think of World War I."
"Umm… ."
"I understand what you mean, Mr. President. Still, I wonder if we are too stooped to enter the United States... ."
"It hurts my pride a little, but I can't help it. "Pride cannot replace survival."
Of course, self-esteem is also important. But you also have to build that pride by observing others.
In front of the United States, it makes sense to put it aside for a while. Especially in today's times.
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