That Time When I Was Suddenly Reincarnated in a Fleet Battle

Chapter 59 - The Enemy is Powerful

Just like during the Second Battle of the Indian Ocean, I was facing the third battle of Midway aboard the battleship Musashi, the flagship of the Second Fleet. In contrast to the First Battle of Midway, the Second Fleet, centered around battleships like Musashi and Yamato, took the vanguard, with the carrier-centric Third Fleet divided into four groups following in the rear—an orthodox formation, positioning the mobile fleet behind the surface strike force.

It had been over a year since I arrived in this era, and the world situation had significantly diverged from what I knew. In Europe, Germany, which should have been in a state of decline, still retained strength, while Italy, vibrant and energetic, replaced the declining British Empire in the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean.

Like the UK, the Soviet Union was also struggling. Losing control of the Indian Ocean cut off the Persian Corridor for the British, putting the Soviets in a difficult position as the supply route via the North Sea was severed. While the Allied nations were grappling with these challenges, the United States seemed to be thriving. Despite losing all seven pre-war aircraft carriers and numerous state-of-the-art battleships in the Second Battle of Midway, their forces were more formidable than ever.

If my memory serves me right, by the time this battle began, the US had already commissioned five Essex-class and around seven Independence-class carriers. Among them, four Essex and perhaps four to five Independence carriers should have completed training and were ready for combat. Alternatively, due to losing far more carriers than in the original timeline, the deployment of new carriers might have accelerated, so it's safer to estimate a larger force.

Regarding battleships, survivors of the South Dakota-class, Massachusetts and Alabama, and newly commissioned battleships like Iowa and New Jersey, were known to be deployed on the Pacific side. Especially, the highly mobile Iowa and New Jersey would likely be a significant concern for the carriers, causing disruption on the battlefield. Apart from these four new battleships, the presence of several older battleships was confirmed, some of which might have suffered damage during the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was anticipated that most of these Pacific Fleet ships would be dispatched for the defense of Midway.

The Imperial Navy's intelligence estimated that the main force, including carriers and battleships, numbered close to 20, with auxiliary vessels like cruisers and destroyers totaling around 70. I had no objections to this assessment. The American mobile fleet's carrier-based aircraft exceeded 500, and when including land-based aircraft deployed at Midway, the total might reach 700 to 750, possibly even close to 800. Moreover, these aircraft were not the old F4F or F2A types; they were all likely equipped with state-of-the-art planes.

The US Navy, boasting a naval force that clearly surpassed ours in both surface strike vessels and aircraft numbers, was confidently awaiting the Second and Third Fleets. Moreover, this was enemy territory, and the presence of American submarines, having overcome torpedo fuse issues, posed a threat.

In the original timeline, armored carriers like Taihō and Shinano, as well as fast carriers like Shōkaku and Unryū, met their untimely end due to enemy submarines. Although the Second and Third Fleets had not suffered submarine attacks so far, they intercepted multiple suspicious radio signals believed to be transmitted by the enemy, indicating that they had not succeeded in eliminating these ships. At least in the realm of information warfare, it was undoubtedly the American submarines that held the upper hand. In any case, the Americans had undoubtedly concentrated deployable forces in the waters near Midway.

The battle was expected to be more intense than ever before.