That Time When I Was Suddenly Reincarnated in a Fleet Battle

SECOND BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA | Chapter 24

European Situation

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After the Battle of Midway concluded, more than half a month had passed since returning to the mainland on July 1. The global situation had undergone significant changes from what I knew. It seems that Fall Blau has been canceled. This operation was supposed to have started around the end of last month. It was an extremely ambitious plan to occupy the Baku oil fields and tighten the economic noose around the Soviet Union, which relied on those oil fields. However, it was also a reckless operation that exceeded the German military's strength and logistical capabilities by a considerable margin. In reality, although the German forces inflicted significant damage on the Soviet forces, the operation itself failed. During this series of operations, the German military suffered decisive damage to its personnel, making the subsequent conduct of the war extremely difficult.

Knowing the historical facts, I appealed to Admiral Yamamoto to stop this reckless operation. It seemed that Admiral Yamamoto accepted my suggestion and, using his influence, issued warnings to Germany from various angles. Despite Admiral Yamamoto being polarizing, with many enemies, there were also those who admired him. Through his contacts in the intelligence department, he reportedly conveyed to Germany that the secrets of Fall Blau were leaked. The confirmation of this leak included details such as the initiation date, forces involved, and deployment status of Fall Blau, information that Japan should not have known, shocking the Germans.

Furthermore, on June 18, I vaguely predicted a decisive leak in the operation. This referred to an incident where a German staff officer, conducting enemy reconnaissance by plane, was shot down with the orders for Fall Blau. Of course, at the time of issuing the warning, only I, Admiral Yamamoto, and a few others had the hindsight to know about this. From what I later heard, he issued the warning on June 16, two days before the incident. The warning or prophecy came true, and the Germans panicked.

In the midst of such events, the generals who had a very sensible understanding that Fall Blau was a reckless operation did not miss this golden opportunity. Knowing that the enemy was aware of details such as objectives and mobilized forces, the success of the operation was far from certain. The generals likely pressured Hitler to reconsider. One can imagine Hitler's fury at the military blunder of handing over confidential documents to the enemy. Still, he wasn't foolish enough to sacrifice a large army to a well-prepared enemy. Well, from what I know, the Soviet forces were not entirely prepared either. I think Admiral Yamamoto and his subordinates managed to create documents that gave that impression. In any case, in the European theater, the German military managed to avoid a decisive crisis, which was a significant development for Japan as well.

With this situation, the next focus would be the Pacific theater. Regarding the actions the Imperial Navy should take next, Admiral Yamamoto and I had already discussed it aboard the Yamato. Now, it was just a matter of putting that plan into action.