Hara now considered his own options. He had sunk a second carrier, but the other was reported some thirty or forty miles further on, yet that contact was now over 90 minutes old. His forward scout group with Tone and Takami was following a British heavy cruiser to the west, and that was now their only solid contact. The day was young, and he could get planes up to look for the enemy again, which is what he decided to do. Until he knew more, he would continue due west towards Koggala. He had not yet used his dive bombers, knowing the enemy had armored flight decks like Taiho. Now he began to consider using those planes to strike the British bases. He could always spot torpedo planes on one of the other carriers in the event he found the British fleet again.
Using information provided by Takami, he sent another scouting group northwest, looking to find his enemy running down near the coast of Ceylon. By 11:10 he had found a heavy cruiser, still running southwest as before, but there was no sign of the carrier. Or any other ships. Where might they be, lost in this low marine layer? Might they have turned north?
By noon, with no further word, he was beginning to think his quarry had turned to run for Trincomalee. We must have hurt them very badly yesterday. Today they did not even dare to draw their sword. Suzuya fell as she ran down the enemy, but after that, we have not seen a single enemy plane.
An hour ago, they should have been within easy strike range, but now that begins to change. I will ignore the ships fleeing west. My mission was to attack Colombo. Ozawa still has three heavy cruisers, and four destroyers. I will order them to look for the enemy to the north. For now, it is time to get the dive bombers on deck and prepare to hit the enemy port. In another hour we will be close enough, and the planes can fly right over the island
At 1:30 the planes were up and on their way. Somerville on Indomitable was just able to see them on their long range radar, but he was unwilling to launch fighters unless he knew the enemy had found him out. The last of his fighters were on deck, engines running, ready for takeoff, but he held them tight, waiting.
“Sir,” came a message from the radar crews. “We’ve lost contact with those enemy planes. They must have moved to the northwest. There’s nothing on the scope heading our way now.”
Somerville nodded.
“Get yourself to the radio room,” he said. “Have them send out a coded warning to Colombo. The Japanese are coming.”
Somerville looked at Wells, a look on his face like a man who had just received a severe dressing down. “Mister Wells,” he said. “We got very lucky just now, and must never forget it. You and I might have shared the dubious distinction of having been the only two officers in the Royal Navy to ride a sinking ship down twice in the same battle. They’re going to hit Colombo next. Thank God for low clouds when you need them.”
“Will we make for Trinco, sir?”
“Too close,” said Somerville. We’d better run all the way up to Madras. Number 67 Squadron has Hurricanes at Alipore, and 146 Squadron has more at Dum Dum. I’ll see about getting them moved to Madras.”
“We be in a bit of a box, sir,” said Wells.
“Yes, I know that, but the Japanese can’t stay here forever. Their fleet will have to withdraw to Singapore, and then we’ll slip out to sea.”
“Will they come for Ceylon sir?”
“Very likely, but I’m afraid we won’t be able to do a thing about that. It will come down to the fight on the ground there now. At our first opportunity, I’m taking the fleet to Addu; perhaps all the way west to Madagascar. We’ll need considerable reinforcements if we have any hope of showing our faces in the Bay of Bengal again soon. God only knows where we’ll find them. I’ve a lot to answer for here, and had I sat with you earlier, and listened to your good advice, things might be a good deal better. As it stands, this whole sad affair can be laid at my feet, and I’ll spend a good long time writing my report.”
Hara hit Colombo the following day, then swung around the Island and bombed China Bay at Trinco on the 27th. That was to be the main landing site, and so he committed all his fighters to a decisive battle with the Hurricanes of the British 30th Squadron and a few Fulmars of F.A.A. 261 Squadron. Even a section of old Blenheim Bombers from 11th Squadron got into the act and tried to bomb Taiho, albeit unsuccessfully.
In these actions, Takami had operated with Kurita’s battleships, out looking for any further sign of the enemy fleet south of Ceylon. No enemy ships were found. Ozawa looked for the British up north, but never found them, and was fortunate in that. His three heavy cruisers would not have had a good time with Vice Admiral Willis and his three battleships. The fight over Trincomalee was costly, with the Japanese losing another 12 planes, but they had established air superiority by nightfall. Satisfied that he had command of the sea and sky, Hara ordered the invasion task force to proceed.
One day later, on the night of the 28th of September, the Japanese landed the 11th Regiment, 5th Division, on the beaches near Trincomalee. Churchill’s worst nightmare had come true, and the battle for Ceylon would now begin on the ground. 98th Indian Regiment of the 34th Division had been posted there, with a battalion of the British 16th regiment to stiffen the ranks. As in so many confrontations with the rugged Japanese infantry before, they were no match for the seasoned veterans of the 5th Division.
Trincomalee fell on the 1st of October, but there had only been enough shipping to lift this first regiment along with supplies adequate for the first two weeks. Hara departed for Singapore, where he planned to then refuel and escort the 21st Regiment to Ceylon for the landing at Colombo. In that interval, a chastened and disheartened Somerville slipped out of Madras and made a run for the Indian Ocean, but not before the three old battleships under Admiral Willis paid a visit to Trinco, protesting the Japanese occupation there with their 15-inch guns. No effort could be made to try and defend Colombo from any subsequent Japanese landing, and no further troops were available to send there.
In spite of his greatest fears coming to life with this Japanese invasion, Churchill was persuaded to use that same interval to pull out anything he could. A bird in hand was worth two in the bush, and Madagascar would be that bird. Indomitable lingered briefly, while the remainder of the 16th Brigade, with 99th and 100th Indian, and 21st East African were moved by sea at night. Three days after the last men got off, the Japanese 21st Regiment arrived to claim their pearl of great price.
Part IV
The Mission
“A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.”
Chapter 10
Karpov had every reason to be restless with the situation that had developed on Sakhalin Island. His 32nd Siberian Division had been successfully landed, seizing the small port of Okha in the north, and the nascent oil fields in that region. They then pushed south along the western coast, while his air mobile units lifted by airship landed small groups ahead of the main advance to cut the rail line the Japanese had built and impede any enemy effort to move troops north. The Magadan Marine Regiment was able to slip into the Tatar Strait and seize the vital ferry site of Lazarev, which was now his logistical link to the mainland. Other irregular forces were operating there, fast moving cavalry units, small militias, and native tribal groups loosely allied with his cause.