Getting Ahead of Ourselves: A B-29 TL

[Parmenion]

The Pentagon: April 20th 1943​

The office those assembled now sat in still reeked of fresh paint and varnish. The Pentagon had been offically completed months ago, and this office was one of the few that was suitable for those who were attending. General Marshall sat at the head of the table, joined by Generals LeMay and Arnold, who together formed the closest thing to the USAAF's commanders. Also joining them were the two leading engineers at Boeing in charge of the project the were here to discuss, and a few other assorted army officers who were here for various reasons.


Marshall opened the meeting "From my understanding, the B-29 has passed all the necessary trials needed for entering service and production.". "Yes General" The lead engineer spoke up "In fact production has already begun, and we have 250 service ready aircraft as of today, and a monthly production of 100 and rising steadily.". Marshall pondered that, That was enough for combat service to begin today, in theory at least. One of the other officers spoke up "We've already begun cross-training crews who have seen action in europe, We should have enough crew to keep up with production, with some to spare." Marshall nodded aprovingly. "Now the more important business, what are we going to do with these machines?" LeMay spoke up "General Stilwell is already overseeing the construction of facilities in China, they should be prepared for the aircraft by a month from today." Marshall nodded again. "I'd prefer to command whatever bombardment group gets sent to china" Arnold said "Out there, we'll need top down pressure to make sure the nationalists are keeping these things out of Jap hands." "Agreed" said Marshall "General Arnold, you are hereby ordered to take command of twentieth air force, You'll be expected to ship out this week" "Thank you sir" Arnold said as both men exchanged salutes.


Marshall Continued "Are any other concerns anyone thinks need to be adressed today?". LeMay stood up "Sir I think we should discuss who and what will be protecting these bombers.The Jap army air forces in china are still potent enough to pose a threat, and on the ground the superfortress is as vulnurable as any other aircraft. We can't rely soley on the Chinese to protect us in the air, as they will on the ground." Marshall waved him off "That reminds me, Arnold, you'll also be given a wing of about 80 P-40s, they're old, but they're the best we can spare at the moment, and they can operate from existing airfields. If there's nothing else, this meeting is over." After a round of saluting and plesentries, the men filed out, with one unifed thought that they all shared in some way or another "It's payback time you son's of bitches".

 

[Parmenion]

Imperial General Headquarters June 16th 1943​

The Emperor of Japan was well aware that he was the only man here who didn't have the openly stated hatred of at least one other man in the room. While the heads of the Army and Navy general staff were good enough at working with each other, many of the other officers and men didn't do well enough at masking their disgust for one another. The turn the war had taken this past year had only made it worse, both branches had been eager to save face by blaming the other for Japan's situation. Hideki Tojo was here as well, mostly at The Emperor's insistence. Hirohito was anxious at the newest development of the war, given the sour reminder it gave him of the Doolittle raid last year.


Now everyone's attention turned to the projector screen on the wall. While there was little that could be made out in the grainy gun camera footage, the four engines and massive sleek fuselage were visible enough. More concerning was where and when that photograph was taken, last night over Yawata on Kyushu. Every man in that room knew what that meant, Japan was now under sustained threat of air attack. Japan's cities, and the lives of her civilians, were in jeopardy.


1st Air Army commander Kumaichi began his report "Last night at about midnight, roughly 60 American heavy bombers were spotted by a radar station on Jeju about one hour before arriving at Yawata. The 4th air regiment scrambled it's night fighters to intercept, however the speed and attitude of the bombers meant they escaped. One exception was an aircraft that was damaged by a lucky anti-aircraft shell, which the crew of one of the Ki-45's managed to destroy" at that two men standing in the rear nodded, not seeming to know what to do in a room with so many officers, not to mention the Emperor. "What can you say about casualties?" Hirohito asked. "Thankfully most of the bombs fell at least two kilometers east of the city, casualties are below 100, deaths less than a dozen, the mayor reports the cities industry is unaffected. However the inaccuracy of a new bomber is not unexpected, we should expect the Americans to improve their aim with time". At that Kumaichi sat down. "The main question" Tojo said "is what can we do now to improve our response to future attacks. Myself and General Sugiyama (The IJA chief of general staff) are already in contact with forces in china to organize a strike on these bombers while they're grounded. Our reconnaissance aircraft have already managed to locate the base in question, and the strike is due to launch next week."


At that The Emperor spoke out "And for how long will China be the only avenue through which these bombers can reach us?" Navy chief of staff Admiral Osami hung his head at this slight "Based on these reports, these planes can likely reach us from as far as the Marianas, or the Philippines. And being that the navy has so far proven unable to keep our territories safe, perhaps the Army should start arranging for these islands defense." Admiral Osami stammered "Heavenly sovereign if you doubt my intent to defend our homeland I assure you-" Hirohito raised a hand to silence him "Admiral I have no doubt or you or your sailors resolve to die for this nation. As such there are better uses for your fleet than a suicide charge. Once your fleet is rebuilt you'll have your hour, rest assured. Continue, Prime Minister." Tojo nodded and turned the page of his report "General Yamashita has been ordered to transfer to the Philippines to oversee defensive preparations (Serves the fool right, he thought), and General Kuribayashi has been ordered to oversee the same from Saipan.". "Kuribayashi?" One general asked, "Isn't he in charge of a training division, why him?". "He's an expert engineer and knows how to defend a static position better than most generals, The Emperor recommended him personally". After a few more points were discussed, The men bowed to Hirohito and filled out. That night, The Emperor's dreams were of burning cities, and melting children.

 

[Parmenion]

Chengdu Airfield June 25th​

General Arnold rubbed his temples in frustration, these damn planes were going to give him his next heart attack. They were still probably the best bomber on the planet, he conceded, at least when they could actually fly. His base now had a total of 92 B-29s, Down from the 112 that had made it over the hump. Of those only two had been lost to enemy action in the five raids launched this week, the rest had crashed due to engine trouble. These new machines were having the mother of all growing pains, Arnold thought to himself. What's worse, on each raid at least 15 aircraft had had to turn for home due to one malfunction or another. Every spare part, and drop of fuel had to be dragged accross the Himalayas. And now he had to deal with the fact the that Japanese probably knew where he was, things were rough at the moment. As if god himself had decided to prove him wrong in that moment, air sirens began to wail.


Ten thousand feet above, and less than 50 miles away, 60 Ki-43 fighters began to accelerate. Another mile above them, 45 Ki-49 heavy bombers prepared their bombsights and gunners. Each bomber was armed with four 250kg fragmentation bombs, expected to be the best at destroying parked aircraft. On the ground, the P-40 Warhawks began filing down their runways. Meanwhile, pilots and ground crews began preparing every airworthy Superfortress they could to take off. Flak batteries, crewed by a mix of Chinese and American gunners, were already searching the skies. As the Oscars arrived over the airfield, the found some of the Warhawks still taking off, the rest clawing for altitude, the attack began.


The Ki-43's dove on the struggling Warhawks, in spite of the flak. Their pilots fought well, knowing they stood no chance in a dogfight, they engaged in risky head on attacks, where their armor gave them a better chance. Howevery most of the Oscar pilots were reasonably experienced, not against the Americans, but they knew how to fly their planes. A few had been flying since the war began six years ago. While the Americans were well trained, most of them were flying their first proper combat mission. The duel in the skies was a bloody affair, but the Japanese prevailed.


With the Warhawks too busy fighting for their lives down below, the Ki-49s began their runs on the bomber airfield. The American 90mm flak batteries were accurate, and many aircraft were knocked out of the sky, but not enough. The bombs fell, widely dispersed for maximum effect. One B-29 still tumbling down the runway, recieved what as almost a direct hit by a bomb. She managed to get airborne for a few seconds, before the brutalized bomber slammed back into the runway. Another bomb turned the base's fuel silos into swiss cheese and while there was no fire, the fuel leaked onto surrounding grass.


As the Japanese force began it's flight back to Wuhan, a handful of chinese planes attempted a chase, but the old soviet planes were too slow. In the end the Japanese losses were 15 fighters and 23 bombers, to the American losses of, 43 fighters and 45 bombers, with another 20 bombers damaged. General Arnold suffered a heart attack the next day, and although he would recover, it put him out of action for a week. The next week, General LeMay would advise General Marshall that Operation Matterhorn was logistically untenable, and that further action against the Japanese home islands should wait until the more secure base of the Marianas was secure. President Roosevelt reluctantly agreed, but ordered Admiral Nimitz to speed up preparation for the invasion of said islands.

 

[Parmenion]

Guam, August 6th, 1943​

General Kuribayashi gazed out at the sea from his position near the summit of Mount Lam Lam. An excellant place for the heavy guns, he thought to himself. The beach below was likely to be a landing ground, it would be wise to put pressure there. Kuribayashi was exhausted, He'd only arrived on Guam two hours ago after first stopping to see Tinian. The men had taken to calling him "The tourist" because of how frequently he moved between the islands. But it was needed, most of the other officers didn't seem to understand his strategy, constantly trying to concentrate the defences near the shore. And it seemed every time he looked away, those damn sailors were trying to dig trenches so close to the shore that they flooded at high tide.


His plans for Guam were a hybrid defence. While he was setting up static defences all over the island, his men would be permitted to retreat if their position was untenable. This would mean that any enemy advance would continueously be fighting both fresh soldiers, and those who had retreated from the previous position. The size of Guam meant that there was no need to throw everything at the beaches on day one. Lam Lam and the rest of the mountainous southwest Guam would be the area of strongest resistance, miles of caves and tunnels were being built to safely house thousands of soldiers during the bombardments, as well as allowing positions to reinforce eachother. Guam also had no shortage of fresh water, an issue on Saipan and Tinian, and local agriculture meant that more supplies besides food could be sent. Perhaps Guam would be a better position for me to command from, he again thought to himself. There was still much to attend to.

Pearl Harbor, August 6th 1943​

Admiral Nimitz sat at the head of the table, every flag officer relevant to the topic had been assembled. He opened the meeting "This operation is coming stright down from the top, President Roosevelt signed the order himself, so postponing or cancelling the mission isn't an option. We've been tasked with securing the Marianas by the end of this year, Apparently the President wants those bases for our bombers ASAP. So here's the skinny, Admiral Halsey, You'll be in charge of whatever carrier fleet we can muster, hopefully we can get at least half a dozen fleet carriers plus whatever escort's we can scrape out of the atlantic." Halsey nodded. "Oldendorf, You're in charge of the battleships, as well as any ships assigned to shore bombardment. Turner, you will be in command of the amphibious ships, as well as coordinating with marine command, which falls to Generals Buckner and Smith, Any objections?" The men looked around and nobody had anything else to say "Alright, General Buckner, what can you tell us about amphibious capacity" "It's not great" the General said "There's more to spare, but most of it is tied up in Italy, or England for one reason or another, so Eisenhower says the portion of production we're getting is all we can expect for at least another few months."

"And that being the case" General Smith spoke up "I doubt we can take every island at once. We'll have to secure them one at a time, otherwise the men won't be able to be ensured of steady resupply". "And then there is the question of the Phillipines" eyes rolled as General MacArthur could not bare to be ignored any longer. Nimitz sighed heavily and said "Look Doug I know you made a promise, but securing an archipelago of that size will require material we simply don't have. We'll see about it next year, but these orders are from the CINC himself, so agrue with him if you think that'll work out for you" MacArthur gave a look that could melt steel, but said nothing.

At that, General Buckner spoke "We estimate the Japanese forces in the Marianas to number no more than 60,000 in total. My guess is about 40 percent of that on Guam and Saipan each, with the rest spread throughout the other islands. To meet with the Presidents order's I think only Guam, Saipan, and Tinian actually need to be captured, the rest we can isolate and neutralize like we did with Rabaul. Nimitz nodded in agreement "Alright, weather means we probably shouldn't risk a landing before October, we'll start with Saipan and work our way south. With any luck, the chain should be secure by January. You'll be shipping out to your new posts immediatly. Good lick and godspeed." Salutes were exchanged, and the men recieved their detailed orders. The time to start clawing back what they had lost was here.

 

[Parmenion]

Yokosuka Naval Base September 15th, 1943​

Admiral Mineichi Koga, commander of the Combined Fleet, sat in the ward room of the Shokaku, along with Vice-Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa, Commander of the newly created 1st mobile fleet. The Shokaku and her sister were the last survivors of Japans pre-war carrier assets. A few of the new generation of Japanese carriers could be seen out the porthole, the Unryu and a few of her sisters were coming along quite well, but not well enough. While Japan knew little of the Essex-class, it seemed to them that the Americans had invented a printing press for carriers. While Japan hadn't gotten a single fleet carrier completed since Midway, the Americans had managed to commission four, with well over a dozen more coming. Toga had been expecting to hear what he already knew, but it disappointed him nonetheless.

"There's just no way sir" The notoriously hideous Vice-Admiral lamented "Even if we can get Hosho ready for combat again, we can't expect more than six light carriers available for fleet service" Toga finished for him "Not enough to properly combat the Americans" "Yes sir, have you spoken with Admiral Shimada?" "I have, and it seems that we're all in agreement. The navy won't be capable of mounting a proper offensive until at least late spring next year, once the Unryu's and the Taiho are ready.". By which time the Americans will have produced another six carriers, both men thought to themselves. The entire upper command of the Imperial Japanese Navy felt like jumping off a bridge. They had failed protect Tokyo last year, failed to defeat the Americans at Midway, and now weren't even capable of sortieing against their foe. The Navy had failed The Emperor and Japan.


Ozawa changed the subject "How's work on the A7M coming?" he asked, eager for a counter to the American Hellcat. "Cancelled I'm afraid. Development was taking up enough of our time as it is, so Shimada had all Reppu resources transferred to Shiden production" "Because of the bombers." Ozawa said, and Koga nodded. "It's the only option we have to compete with the Army on that matter. And either way it's a good plane, Suisei and Tenzan production is being retained, so you'll still have a strong carrier attack arm whenever you do get to fight. And that reminds me, since a fleet action this year is likely out of the question, I'm scaling down the Hosho's combat refit to just lengthening her flight deck. I'll have her transferred to Yokosuka for advanced carrier training, it isn't combat, but it can't hurt for the men to be trained as much as possible." At that Koga saluted and left Ozawa to his work. The IJN's future still looked bleak.

 

[Parmenion]

Saipan, October 3rd, 1943​

General Saito watched the initial American landings from his command post near Mount Tipo Pale. In the next life I owe Kuribayashi an apology, Saito thought to himself as he watched the American boats approach. He'd come close to openly accusing his superior of cowardice, on account of his strategy. He thought a strong, aggressive response to the landing was the only way to push them back. He was eating his words now. The Americans hadn't even arrived, and yet the shore was already stained with what was left of the sailors who had dug in on the beaches. Three days of shore bombardment, and a week of air strikes, had destroyed many of the exposed above ground static defenses. The men however, had suffered less than 500 casualties, mostly the flak gunners. Even now, nearly half the garrison was underground, waiting for their positions to have a clear view of the enemy. As the marines landed around the ruins of Chalan Kanoa, Saito gave the order to hold fire until further notice. Nearly an hour passed, the marines slowly advancing unopposed. Now Saito raised his radio and said "Commence firing".


The Southwest slope of Mount Tipo Pale lit up as the Japanese artillery opened fire. Everything from 25mm AA guns turned into field guns, to 320mm spigot mortars all pre-sighted, came down on the beach. The marines for their part, continued to advance, assisted by flamethrower tanks, and Admiral Halsey's Corsairs. The aircraft conducted dangerous low and slow strafing runs, which managed to silence many stubborn positions. By nightfall, the marines had barley advanced 1,000 yards, and had suffered nearly 700 dead. That night most of the Garrison retreated to the central mountains of Saipan, with the exception of naval commander Admiral Nagumo and 1,500 sailors, who attempted a nighttime banzai charge against orders. Nagumo and his men were slaughtered, only managing to inflict two dozen casualties before being mown down.


Meanwhile on Guam, Kuribayashi listened to radio reports, anxiously wondering how his defenses would hold up, And preparing a surprise for the Americans the following night.

 

[Parmenion]

The morning of October 4th brought no lull in the fighting, the marines had shrugged off the banzai charge of Nagumo's sailors, and were hot on the tail of the retrating Japanese soldiers. Their next objective was Isa Drive, a road That connected north and south Saipan through the central mountains. Kuribayashi had realized the natural chokepoint of the pass, and had concentrated the main effort of his defense here. That morning, several advance recon units of the marines were obliterated by the waiting japanese. As most of the Japanese defenses were expected to be facing the sea, the fortifications looking down on Isa Drive had been neglected in the preparatory bombardment.


Pre-sighted anti tank guns laid waste to the marine shermans and stuarts, destroying 36 on this day alone. The road itself was so heavily mined that men and vehicles were forced to crowd the hills to its side. Hundreds of 14 inch shells were fired, to little effect as the Japanese would simply slink into their underground bunkers during the bombardment. Again the carrier aircraft were the heros of the day, over 1,000 sorties were flown in support of the marines. In spite of this Saito was pleased to report that his forces had held up well, only suffering 5,000 casualties in spite of Nagumo's stupidity. The Americans were bleeding for every inch of Saipan, and they would not yield with out bleeding them for every inch that remained.

That evening on Guam, General Kuribayashi oversaw the delivery of his surprise. While the American air strikes had destroyed most of the Japanese strike aircraft, they had missed 43 Ki-51 attack aircraft hidden in the jungle, each loaded with a single 250kg bomb. The pilots were not specifically told this was a suicide mission, but none of them expected to return. As their planes began the short flight to an area 50 miles off the coast of Saipan, they scanned the twilight sea for targets. They spotted Carrier Divison 2, the southern flank of Halsey's carrier fleet, consisting of the old workhorses Enterprise and Saratoga as well as escorts, who were conducting fighter sweeps and ASW support of the forces closer to Saipan. The last daytime sortie of dauntlesses were coming in to land when radar contacts were reported.

Minutes later, the sky was bright with flak. The aircrew on board were struggling to get the dive bombers back in the hanger, while fighters from the rest of the fleet were speeding to their aid. The sonia's were plucked out of the sky one at a time, but not all of them. A crippled sonia slammed into the Saratoga's bridge killing her captain and most of the bridge crew. Another dropped her bomb on the flight deck of the Enterprise, her armor not stopping the fire that formed from aviation fuel and cooked off ammunition. Yet another sonia landed a near miss that shore off several propeller blades. Another plane slammed into the side of Saratoga, shrapnel maiming many of her hanger crew. The attack lasted mere minutes, but the damage was severe.


Only six sonia's would return, all of which were destroyed in bombing attacks the next morning. The Saratoga would suffer 130 killed and nearly 400 wounded, while the crippled Enterprise's luck finally ran out. The fire spread despite the valiant efforts of her crew, reaching the five inch ammunition storage before the magazine could be flooded. The explosion knocked out the ships power, and she was finally scuttled six hours after the attack, taking 400 sailors with her. Over the next weeks, President Roosevelt would read the daily casualty reports with a heart full of regret.

 

[Parmenion]

The sinking of Enterprise did little to sap the bloodlust of the marines, they were eager for revenge. October 5th was the only day of the battle where not even a single prisoner was taken by the Americans. The advance up Isa Drive cost the marines 8 bloody days. On several occasions, The marines would come under fire from artillery they had cleared days ago, which had been re-manned via the numerous underground tunnels the ran through the hillside. Saito's force led the Americans through central Saipan, his forces retreating whenever possible instead of dying where they stood.


By the start of November Saito had rallied the remainder of his force on the Northernmost part of the island, centered around Marpi Point. Many of the Japanese civillians were herded into this area, the lucky ones being given bayonets without rifles, or rifles without ammo. Saito managed to check the Americans on this last defensive line for nearly two weeks. By the 15th of November with his men nearly out of food and ammo, and with nowhere left to retreat to, Saito requested and recieved permission for a banzai charge. The artillery crews fired off the last of their rounds before charging in barehanded, and nearly 15,000 men sprinted at the American lines. The Charge reached and briefly broke through the marines positions, the fighting was hand to hand for several hours. General Smith even shot several Japanese soldiers who managed to nearly reach his forward command post. After two more days of mopping up, Saipan was declared secure, save about a thousand men in the hills that still needed to be dealt with.


Almost the entire civillian population of Saipan was dead, many forced to commit suicide rather then fall under enemy occupation. The Marines had suffered more than 50% casualties. The 2nd marine divison had to be brought home to be properly reformed, Two regiments each had less than a hundred men in fighting shape. The American public was appalled at the losses, many called for somebody to be held accountable, General Buckner ending up as the scapegoat, never again holding command. General Eichelberger would replace him in overall command of the Marianas campaign. Losses were so high that the landings on Tinian which were poised for just three days after Saipan was secure, didn't go ahead until December 2nd. Kuribayashi and Saito had achieved what was thought to now be impossible, they had staggered The Marine Corps.

 

[Parmenion]

General Spaatz sighed as he listened to the crackly voice of General Marshall on the far side of the Atlantic "Sir, you are aware that the superfortress is being used for absolutely nothing right now.". "I am" Marshall replied "Aside from training that is, I'm afraid we simply can't send much for a myriad of reasons, at least until nine months from today.", Spaatz retorted "Well sir, all due respect to the stress I'm sure you're under, but I think my airmen, and the people of occupied europe are owed an explanation.".

"Fair enough Carl, mostly it's just goddamn logistics. We're already sending B-17's, liberators, havocs and lord knows what else. Our friends have the lancaster and mosquito, facilities for a new heavy bomber are just going to be too much of a pain in the ass for now. Not to mention the risk of enemy capture, I've already read your reports about hijacked bombers shooting up your formations. Lord knows what Goering would do if he got his hands on a few of these while he was sober." Both men gave that a tired chuckle, Marshall continued "There is some good news though, the RAF has been hounding us for more anti-submarine aircraft. Some of the Boeing fellas are curious to see how it works in that role anyway, so we're going send about 60 for that purpose, under the condition that they don't fly over enemy territory. They'll be under the RAF command structure, but they're still our crews. If they perform well, I'll see about speeding up delivery of the recon varient for you.". "Aright, thank you George, best of luck", "And to you Carl". Both men hung up, their thoughts quickly returning to their respective posts.

 

[Parmenion]

Kure Naval Arsenal, November 20th 1943​

Vice-Admiral Kurita had been summoned to a meeting with Minister of the Navy Admiral Shimada. As he waited for the minister to arrive, he pondered the reason for his being here. He doubted they had taken this long to fire him for anything he had done, so it was probably a new assignment of some kind. He had heard whispers of using the remaining capital ships in a sort of "naval banzai" to try and take the American fleet with them, he hoped his legacy wouldn't be such a foolish operation.

Finally the Admiral entered, and after pleasantries were exchanged, he got to business. "As I'm sure you already know, oil tanker losses the the South China Sea are continuing to climb." Kurita nodded "We've been sending out as many of the new destroyers as we can, but these American submarines are like ghosts. If this keeps up, what fuel the army leaves us may not be sufficient for us by six months from now. So here's what I'm thinking, I want you to take command of the Kongo and Haruna, as well as a few light cruisers and destroyers. This force is going to escort a fleet of about two dozen oilers and other cargo vessels to Borneo and back home. Many of these ships are too slow or undefended to make the trip alone, and without a serious escort the convoy will just get eviscerated by the American submarines. The fleet you're getting will hopefully be deterrent enough for them, and barring that they may soak up torpedo's that the supply ships can't.".

Kurita asked "Do we even have the storage capacity for that much crude oil in such a short amount of time?" "We should manage to find it, and baring that we can always just store it in the ships themselves until space opens up. and if nothing else, it gets the men some seagoing experience, it's not like the Americans are going to charge Formosa at a time like this. What's more, we need to seem useful while the army is getting all the glory down in the Marianas, Nagumo didn't help the navy's reputation.". Kurita thought on that. The situation in the navy had improved little over the last few months. He decided to change the subject, "How is the shiden production turning out" "Not terribly" Shimada replied "we're already prepared to equip the first kokutai with the planes, The plan is to fit them out from Manilla. It's a good place for them to get experience flying them in combat. And the newer models are going to be ready sooner than expected, they should enter service by June."

Kurita left to place his flag aboard Kongo, his worries were still on the honor of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the same as most of his peers.

 

[Parmenion]

General Kuribayashi hadn't put as much thought into the defense of Tinian as he had Saipan and Guam. The island was largely flat and forested, making static defenses difficult to build, and chokepoints few and far between. Nonetheless, the flatness of the island also made it an ideal location for constructing large runways for the B-29. The horrific losses of Saipan nearly caused General Eichelberger to bypass the island all together, but concerns about artillery firing on Saipan from Tinian led him to reconsider. Admiral Oldendorf would use Tinian as a testing ground for his improved shore bombardment tactics, such as the "reverse creeping barrage" designed to prevent Japanese reinforcements from reaching the beaches during the landings.


The three day air and naval bombardment was significantly more effective, in large part due to improved coordination with navy spotting aircraft. The battleships South Dakota and Washington, the only new battleships present, were able to destroy several shallow underground positions with sustained armor piercing shells. In spite of this, Colonal Ogata followed Kuribayashi's doctrine, and was able to conduct a fighting retreat across the island. Snipers and booby traps, easy to set up in the jungle, haunted the marines for the entirety of the battle. On December 24th Ogata receieved permission for one final banzai charge from his headquarters on the south of the island. In what went down in marine legends as the "Christmas Eve Massacre" the remaining defenders silently charged the marine positions, many sleeping soldiers were bayoneted where they lie. After two more days the island was declared secure, but nearly 2,000 holdouts remained hidden, specifically to impede the construction and operation of the airfields. With the threat of Guam still remiaining, and the risk of aircraft ferried there via the phillipines attacking Saipan and Tinian, Generals Eichelberger and MacArthur reluctantly submitted a request for the use of chemical weapons to weed out the Japanese on Guam.

 

[Parmenion]

Pearl Harbor, January 3rd, 1944​

"Absolutely not!" President Roosevelt all but screamed into the phone, "I will never even consider the use of chemical weapons on American soil! And it is American soil, I would hope you at least realize that!". "I do sir" General MacArthur sheepishly replied "But considering the casualty reports you read I thought you-" Roosevelt cut him off, now outright screaming "One more word, I swear to the lord, one more word out of your goddamn mouth and the only thing you'll be in command of is a janitors closet in the pentagon! Are you really that desperate for your precious 'liberation of the Phillipines' that you're willing to gas American citizens? For christs sake, you were on the western front, saw what that stuff can do. You pompous fool. Nimitz are you still there? "Yes sir" The admiral replied " Very good, let me be very frank for a moment. If that fool, or any other officer even hints at suggesting the use of chemical weapons on American soil again you call me. I'll have him scrubbing toilets at West Point by week's end so help m-" Nimitz and MacArthur both heard the president stammer, then let out something between a moan and a gurgle, followed by a thud. An aide could be heard shouting "Call a doctor, and the Vice-President, an-" then the line went dead.


Nimitz and MacArthur stared wide eyed at eachother for a moment, their staff officers doing much the same. "Jesus Christ" Nimitz said, for once the two men were in complete agreement.

 

[Parmenion]

Admiral Kurita had been pleasantly astonished with his luck so far, and optimism had begun to creep into his head. It wasn't just luck, he conceded. Great care had been taken to conceal the convoy. On the way out of the home islands, all messages had been sent via dispatch vessel or lamp signal. After passing Formosa close enough to do the same, a complete communications blackout had been enforced, so much so that on approach to Borneo, they were briefly suspected to be an American invasion fleet. Kurita had hugged the coast of Indochina and Formosa both ways, so that the only open section of the South China Sea they had to cross was between Hainan and Formosa. The cover had surprising worked for once, American codebreakers had little to work with. Kurita's luck had run out however, the night of the 15th, 200 miles southwest of Formosa.


There was no warning, just an explosion as a hole was blown through a bulk carrier full of rubber. Just 1,500 yards away, three Sargo class submarines under the command of skipper Robert Ward on the Squalus were busy getting to work. Kurita didn't hesitate to react, even as an oiler went up in a fireball, from his flagship Haruna, he ordered the closer Kongo and three destroyers to fire star shells and close to engage. He knew the risk, but he figured if nothing else, Kongo would be a more enticing target than the cargo ships. After nearly an hour, and four more ships being hit, A lookout spotted the periscope of the Squalus. Kongo opened fire with high explosive shells. Squalus dived, but the 14 inch shells landed close enough to rattle her bones. Finally the boats ballast tanks were ruptured, and she plunged to the bottom, taking her whole crew with her. Her sister Seawolf retaliated launching a full spread of torpedoes that all struck home. The destroyer Wakatsuki Was blown in half and sank in minutes, taking all but six of her crew to the bottom. Kongo was struck by the other three and while her speed was cut to 20 knots and she listed heavily, she managed to stay afloat. The experimental destroyer Shimakaze charged ahead at 40 knots, a depth charge attack damaging and driving off the Seawolf. The remaining submarine Swordfish would continue to hassle the Japanese convoy for six more hours, sinking another seven vessels before Shimakaze drove her away.


with no wolfpacks or submarines close enough to engage, the convoy arrived in Sasebo next week without further incident. While the state of the convoy was such that Kurita faced a court-martial (That cleared him of any wrongdoing) The convoy had succeeded in deliver tens of thousands of tons of oil, rubber, lubricant, and important metals that Japans industry longed for. After a lengthy and rather shameful haggling session with the army, they were promised a third of the fuel for aviation and fleet use. While they didn't realize it at the time, the Kongo had the distinction of being the only battleship to sink a submarine with gunfire. Admiral Shimada did however order the discontinuation of large convoys after the losses suffered.

 

[Parmenion]

Walter Reed Medical Center, January 16th 1944​

The boardroom that those here now assembled was full of quiet turmoil. At the front of the room stood Vice-President Henry Wallace, who along with house speaker Sam Rayburn at his left, had managed to pass an emergency bill through congress last week. Giving Wallace essentially the powers of acting President until Roosevelt recovered (or did not, though that part remained unspoken).The supreme court was presently ripping said bill to shreds, but the hope was it would not be needed by then, one way or the other. All they knew at this point was that The President was alive, and conscious, but had gotten little else out of the doctors. The first lady had joined them in refusing to allow any presidential business while he was in a hospital bed, a demand that only became more firm when the most hated American citizen in the world had arrived.


"You are aware that you're done." Secretary Stimson spoke up "Yes sir I am." MacArthur replied in his now typically passive tone, it seemed that almost killing the President had finally humbled the man. General Marshall spoke up, the fury of a great war veteran peaking through his tired eyes "Let us be clear, the only reason we aren't looking for something to court-martial you for is because we all have better uses of our time. That said, you will never step foot off mainland America so long as you wear that uniform. We're letting you stay in the military without assignment, so here's what you're going to do. After this meeting you are going to go home, you are going to stay quiet. No Interviews, no public statements, and absolutely no chemical weapons talk. If you behave we'll overlook that, and maybe give you a logistics position in a port city. One, and I do mean one slip up, and I will personally lock you inside a bomb casing with General Patton and drop you on Hamburg. Am I clear. "Yes sir" MacArthur said quietly. Stimson silently pointed to the door, and the General exited.


Minutes later, a doctor arrived, Mrs.Roosevelt following "Is that wretch gone?" she almost spat. Wallace nodded and she relaxed. The doctor spoke up "The president suffered a major stroke, his lower body is now completely paralyzed, he'll never stand again." "And of his... mental faculties?" Wallace asked hesitantly. "Intact it seems. He's very fatigued of course, so when we release him next week he'll be going to Warm Springs for a month or so to unwind. Of course he insists on retaking his duties as soon as he leaves." Wallace sighed with relief, he did not want this job, especially now. The cabinet men and General Maeshall left, and they braced for a return to the real fight.

 

[Parmenion]

USS Blue Ridge, anchored off Saipan January 22nd, 1944​

"So it's a no then?" General Eichelberger asked mournfully. General Smith nodded "Afraid so sir. Even if we neutralize Guam now, unless we blow the whole island off the face off the earth, the Japs can just ferry aircraft by way of the Phillipines." "And why not just neutralize them as well" Admiral Halsey quipped. "You'll probably have to get around to that eventually, but that's a whole project on it's own. Not to mention to completely cut the chain you'd also have to neutralize at least Formosa and South China, by then we'll all be retired.". The men all chuckled lightly. It was true, Guam had to go. But the losses the marines had suffered had meant they all felt they needed to be sure that was their only option.

Even as they spoke, marine corsairs and army thunderbolts were striking Guam from their bases on Saipan. Halsey had pitched in as well, and Oldendorf had been promised perhaps as many as eleven battleships for the bombardment, but they all knew that would not be enough. General Smith stood to speak "I think we should review our options for landing strategy. At both Saipan and Tinian the enemy waited until our forces had concentrated on the beachhead before opening fire, therefore we should not give Kuribayashi that chance. Therefore, what I recommend is a sort of first wave charge. Our first wave will come ashore with direct fire support from the LVT's, they'll be ordered to make immediately inland to force the enemy to start firing early." "Bait" Eichelberger replied grimly "Unfortunately, yes. But they'll also be saving the men behind them from being shredded on the beach. If the Japs don't fire, their positions will get overrun. They'll be in for it one way or another."


150 miles away, General Kuribayashi was still seeing to the construction of his defenses. His biggest challenge had been deciding which end of the island to concentrate his defenses. With Guam being long and narrow, attempting to hold both ends would likely result in his men being split in half. The north had better roads, and was the likely sight of the airfields that had led to this fight. On the other hand the south had more defensible terrain, and ample freshwater. In the end Kuribayashi had decided to go south, putting his main defensive line between Aga and Yona, and leaving some snipers and landmines up north. The occupation had been brutal, of the 20,000 locals nearly a quarter were dead, the men from forced labour and the women from an appalling ammount of violence, much of it sexual, on the part of the Japanese soldiers. Additionally, nearly 6,000 Korean laborers had been worked to death in the hot sun, the Japanese had increasingly decreased their rations, seeing them as a liability once the fighting started.


Kuribayashi had also spent much of his time training the reinforcements that joined him on Guam. Many of them were 17 year old boys and 45 year old men, who had avoided conscription until now. Kuribayashi's time in charge of a training division had paid off, and the men were gradually beaten into quite fine soldiers by his standards. Kuribayashi knew they would all be dead by springs end, but expected and hoped to take many marines with him.

 

[Parmenion]

Starting January 28th, an armada of 11 battleships, 20 cruisers, 40 destroyers and nearly 1,000 carrier aircraft from 9 fleet carriers, began to rain hellfire upon guam. General Kuribayashi had realized a week prior from increasing airstrikes and more ships being spotted that the invasion was imminent, and ordered construction to cease. The men crawled into their start positions, and awaited the coming storm. As usual, the bombardment did little besides silencing some of the shore batteries, which still managed to sink the USS Burns.


The marines had originally been planned to land two points, south of the orote peninsula , and near Agana. However the concentration of Japanese forces in the south had meant only the later site was used. With only a few snipers and a handful of static positions. The marines were so perplexed by this that they took three days to advance towards the Japanese main line, suspecting an ambush. Some of the Japanese skirmishers in the north would outlast the entire battle, a few even fighting for years after the war ended.


Kuribayashi gave the order for the main fighting to commence on the 7th, and the marines fell under heavy artillery attack. The Aga-Yona line was nearly two miles deep, it's north consisting of machine gun nests and snipers, and heavier bunkers and pillboxes in the hills to the south. Kuribayashi had anchored his left flank with support from the east slope of mount Lam Lam, where the largest fortress on the island had been constructed. The entire mountainside had been practically hollowed out, dozens of artilery and machine gun positions overlooked the rest of the island.


The main fortres, nicknamed Kyoto Castle by the garrison, was inspired by fortifications on the Maginot line. Consisting of four different levels bulit near the summit, It held 3,000 troops and contained nearly five miles of tunnels. On level three were the centerpieces of the fort, two 28cm siege howitzers, nearly as old as Kuribayshi himsellf. The guns were still 30 feet underground, a small opening permitted 10 degrees of traverse and elevation, the range could be further adjusted by manually lowering the amount of propellant in the shells.


The fortress had steel doors and ventilation to protect against flamethrowers, and the terrain itself stopped tanks from getting too close. As it was also Kuribayshi's command post, it was equipped with radios and telegraphs to allow him to communicate with the island. The fortress had many access points, designed to also allow retreat when the time came, as well as an ammunition depot nearly 70 feet underground. The fortress had cost nearly 1,500 Korean and Chamorro lives to contruct, and would now become a bane to the marines.


The marine advance was constantly hampered as they clawed through the Yona line. Each post was supported at it's sides and rear, requiring a blooody assault, that often would find the positions already deserted. The bravest marines would sometimes try to use these tunnels to ambush the Japanese, only to find themselves pulled away and ripped to pieces by awaiting Japanese infantrymen. Many historians would later compare the ferocity of the fighting on Guam to the eastern front.


(Note: I edited the Casualty number's after some discussion that I couldn't really argue with)

 

[Parmenion]

Yokosuka Naval Base, February 5th 1944​

Navy minister Shimada sat in the ward room of the newly completed Taiho, along with Combined fleet Commander Koga, Admiral Ozawa, and their respective chiefs of staff. The ship had mangeged to be completed and commissioned a month earlier than anticipated. Partly due to the dock workers being run non-stop since Yawata was bombed, and partly due to 2 cruisers and a dozen destroyers having their construction suspended or postponed to free up manpower and materials.


Shimada said "More good news, the Hosho has been declared fit for combat yet agian, despite the scaled down refit. How many aircraft can you squeez out of her, Ozawa?" "That depends, a mixed air complement of now more than 12, But if we only use zeros it's closer to 22." Koga spoke up "Which would allow the remaining light carriers to carry more strike aircraft." Ozawa continued "The Combined fleet will be ready for combat service by eight weeks from today, mosty for Taiho to finish it's sea trials. In that time, Hosho can still have some of it's refitting done." Shimada said "by which time you should expect to have mostly susei's and tenzan's as your attack wing. While zero production facilities being transferred to shiden production, I'll ensure enough of the updated varient's are produced to keep you supplied."


Koga nodded "Now the most important matter, where amd how do we meet the enemy? I believe it's too late to save General Kuribayashi. By now the enemy has at least four of their new fleet carriers operating, plus escorts, in addition to whatever they have based on Saipan." Ozawa interjected "By now though, isn't it likely they've suffered heavy losses from attrition?" "Perhaps, but the Americans have proven capable of rapid resupply, I doubt they would be at less than 80 percent capacity by the time we got there, I agree the Marianas should be presumed lost. So logically we should prepare to meet them where they strike next." "Iwo Jima" Shimada replied. "Yes. They'll need to take it to keep the Marianas clear of attackers. They may not know about the reinforcements we sent last year, the garrison is at twenty thousand strong now. What's more, the third airfield has been completed, that allows significant land based air support if we prepare now."



" I agree. We may also be able to get heavy bomber support from mainland japan at that range, it's our best option. It's settled then, once the Americans prepare two attack Iwo jima, we'll sortie, and hope to catch them off guard. We'll begin preparation immediately." At that the men saluted, and returned to their posts. They all hoped Kuribayashi would hold out.

 

[Parmenion]

Imperial General Headquarters, February 5th 1944​

While Shimada was busy planning the next move of the Combined fleet, Hideki Tojo was taking advantage of having the General Headquarters to himself. He and the Chief of General Staff General Sugiyama had arranged a meeting to discuss the next moves of the army. Several liaisons to Field Marshal Hata who was in Nanking, as well as for General Kawabe in Rangoon. The Emperor was in attendance as well of course, but aside from some pleasantries said nothing.


Sugiyama opened "The main purpose for all of you're attending this briefing is to discuss the scaling-down of various operations that have been undergoing planning for the past year. Firstly, operation U-Go has been cancelled until further notice." Kawabe's liaison said curtly "General Kawabe will of course be expecting some explanation for that". "Mainly the army believes that such an offensive in a peripheral theater is not advisable at this time. Any incursion into India is unlikely to yield any significant advantage in short order, even if there is an Indian rebellion. That being the case, his priority should be in fortifying a position that keeps the Burma Road from falling into enemy hands. His equipment and units assigned shall remain unchanged. At that the liaison nodded.


Sugiyama continued "Next is the status of operation Ichi-Go. While the operation is to continue, all offensives north of Hankow not. The operations goal is now simply to link Canton and Ninning to Wuhan. Once these routes are secure, civilian labor will be transferred for the construction and maintenance of rail lines to these cities. This will be accompanied by similar efforts in Indochina, With the ultimate goal of creating a continuous rail link from Saigon to Shanghai."


Tojo now spoke "The main reason for this is to ensure a continuous supply of fuel to Japan. If the navy fails yet again, it's likely that the American submarines will fan out into the west pacific and sink every oil tanker that tries to get through. This rail link will ensure an alternative supply, although a limited one." The Emperor frowned at the jab against the navy, but said nothing.


Tojo continued "Additionally, Ki-84 production is beginning to reach capacity, we estimate 2,500 completed this year. We're also reorganizing anti-aircraft gun production to prioritize the new type 3 heavy gun, it's likely the only weapon we have that can destroy the American bombers. Our priority is the protection of the people of Japan" At that first Air Army commander Prince Yi Un spoke up "Which brings the issue of pilot training. Capable pilots for existing planes have proven hard enough to aquire, where should we expect to get more trained pilots?"


Tojo assured him "That was difficult, you're correct the Army Air Service has seen better days. About four dozen pilots have been recalled from various stations in China and The Phillipines primarily, to act as the backbone of the new air wings". After another hour of discussion on specifics, The Emperor gave a toast to Kuribayashi and the defenders of Guam, and the men filed out. None were confident in the success of the navy.

 

[Parmenion]

After a cautious advance to the Yona line, the marines began probing it on February 7th. The Japanese resist fiercely, Inflicting heavy casaulties before more armored support arrived. Oldendorf's battleships laid down heavy supporting fire in the Japanese rear, silencing many artillery positions, but were unable to provide direct support due to the risk of friendly fire. This was best exemplified on the 12th, when a shell from the USS Idaho fell short, landing near an American forward aid post and killing 50 wounded marines and medics. What's more, several battleships had to leave the area, not for resupply but to repair their guns, whose barrels had been worn down by constant firing.


The Advance was slow and hampered by the Japanese left flank, which despite heavy air and naval bombardment continued to rain heavy artillery on the American positions. The northernmost section of these mountains was dominated by a steep ridge that overlooked Aga. The Japanese heavily fortified the position with mortars and machine guns, forcing the marines to launch a blooding three day flankng maneuver to climb the ridge's eastern side. The marines were overjoyed when the position went quiet the morning of the 14th, only to find very few Japanese dead. The defenders had not been killed, but had simply abandoned their positions when they ran out of ammunition.


This was to be the order of the day on Guam. The Japanese were being killed, but most would simply pull back to a new position and keep fighting, much to the dismay of the marines. The army did at least begin providing support in the form of the 77th infantry division, which arrived on the 20th. Additional air support was also provided from army bombers stationed on southern Saipan, adding to the hail of fire that fell on the island. With Kyoto Castle still pounding several key roads with its heavy mortars, Eichelberger put the priority on knocking them out. Everything was thrown at the mountain, 16 inch shells, 2,000 pound bombs, even incendiaries did little besides defoliate the entire mountainside.


By early March, with the marines finally approching, Kuribayashi left his command post at Kyoto castle, telling the remainder of the garrison there to fire what ammunition they had left before doing the same. On March 3rd, marines finally reached the base of the fortress, where a 48 hour struggle to breach it began. After several setbacks the Marines finally entered, only to find a handful of dead soldiers, and a small mountain of shell casings. The Japanese had given them the slip yet again.

 

[Parmenion]

After the marines secured Mount Lam Lam from the Japanese defenders, they were more easily able to advance south across the rest of Guam. On March 6th, with the rear of the Yona line on the verge of falling, General Kuribayashi prepared his counterattack. While the battle up north had played out, around 6,000 fresh troops had been hidden in reserve to the south. The assorted soldiers, sailors and other units had been waiting for a key moment to strike back. Under the command of Colonal Nishi, the reseve force also included 32 Chi-ha Shinhoto medium tanks, the only tanks on Guam that had been kept mobile. The tanks had been hidden in various locations on southern Guam, some were even parked next to shell craters where they were disguised to look knocked out.


That morning, Nishi was given the order to move out and to prepare for a general advance. This was not a banzai charge, but a coordinated attack, designed to compromise the enemy line to the greatest degree possible. As the tanks rumbled accross Talofofo, the hilly terrain kept them out of the marines sight until they were in range. The Marines had anti-tank weapons, but most of them were not on hand due to there being little perceived need. What's worse many of the shermans had been armed with flamethrowers, which increased the risk of the tanks exploding.


The attack caught the marines off guard. As the tanks advanced, the found their 47mm guns insufficient to penetrate the shermans frontal armor, instead opting to aim for the turret or tracks. The advancing infantry overwhelmed the American frontal positions, driving them back nearly three miles before nightfall. It was only then that a combination of close naval gunfire support and an army counterattack forced the Japanese to return to their positions.


By late March, Kuribayashi and his 25,000 remaining defenders were corralled into a portion of southern Guam with an area of just 15 square miles. Kuribayashi had managed to keep more of his men alive than anticipated, which made finding ammunition for them difficult. With his men being subjected to constant bombardment from all sides, the general prepared his final attack. In the days leading up to it, Kuribayashi had his men withdraw from several key positions, giving the impression that he was almost spent. In fact, the American estimate on April 1st was merely 12,000 remaining defenders.


There were no screams of "Banzai!!" to warn the Americans, the Japanese silently advanced to their objectives in the dark. As they closed the men fired and advanced, covering one another. The marines had only seconds of warning before bayonets emerged from the darkness to strike at them. Kuribayashi personally led the attack, his body never being recovered. The fighting lasted nearly a full day before the Americans were able to finish off the Japanese, suffering nearly 2,000 dead on this day alone.

After three days of mopping up, Guam was declared secure on April 15th. Despite this, thousands of stragglers and holdouts would remain. Many were equipped with explosives and thermite grenades, their mission being to sabotage efforts to contruct airfields for the B-29's. In light of the severe losses suffered on Guam, President Roosevelt agreed to consider the use of chemical weapons on Japanese territory.