Event Horizon (Kirov Series Book 34) by John Schettler

Author:John Schettler [Schettler, John]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2017-11-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Lt. Commander Kenji Fukada walked in to the Admiral’s ready room, saluting. Captain Harada was already there, along with the other task force Captains, all gathered to discuss the latest news from the front. The Admiral spoke first, a weariness on him that morning, facing work that needed to be done, but with a certain reluctance.

“I suppose you’ve all heard that the Americans are in the Gilberts.”

“Just a little ahead of schedule,” said Harada.

“Surprising,” said Fukada. “After they retook Port Moresby, I was certain they would move on Tulagi.”

“It’s undoubtedly on their list,” said the Admiral.

“Well what about Guadalcanal?” asked Captain Jenzu of the Kaga. “They had to fight there for months before they could move on up through the Solomons.”

“We don’t know if that battle will play out as it did in the real history,” said Kita. “To me, it looks like they’ve pivoted to the Central Pacific strategy.”

“That’s what I would do,” said Harada. “It’s all about the bombers now. This is just to get on the doorstep of the Marshalls. They’ll want Kwajalein and Eniwetok next. After that, we know they go for the Marianas—Guam, Saipan, Tinian. From there, they can burn Tokyo to the ground once they move in the B-29s”

“I just don’t see how they can bypass all those positions in the Solomons,” said Yoshida, Captain of the Akagi.

“Why not?” said Fukada. “It would take them a year to run Operation Cartwheel all the way up to Rabaul. They could get to Saipan a whole lot sooner from the looks of things. Tarawa fell yesterday, and they hit Makin Island this morning. We all know it won’t hold out but for a few days, and that pretty much wraps up the Gilberts. Those island garrisons can’t stop them. The only thing that might impede their progress is the Kido Butai.”

“Our carriers fought two hard battles over Milne Bay,” said the Admiral.

“And they won,” said Fukada, “at least in a strategic sense. They successfully covered the landing of 3rd Division there, and then prevented the Americans from landing a counterattack force.”

“You could say that,” said Kita, “but it came at a cost. That’s why they had to send all those carriers home for repairs. Then the Americans just diverted to Moresby, and I think that had to be MacArthur’s doing. After all, if they have pivoted to a Central Pacific Strategy, he’s just left holding the bath towels. His ego won’t permit that, so I expect he’ll push for Buna and Gona over the Kokoda trail.”

“We all know how that turns out as well,” said Captain Namura off the Kirishima.

“We can’t be certain of that outcome,” said Fukada. “The same pieces are on the board there, but the game is being played a year late. The Australians had already pushed into Buna and Gona in late 1942, and were fighting to secure those objectives by January of 1943. So we see what the successful capture of Port Moresby bought us, a year in Papua New Guinea.

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