Unfortunately, the plan failed, and now Takeo Kurita’s neck burned with shame as he came to report to Yamamoto, and explain why. He bowed low, a long and deep bow that would only be offered under such grave circumstances, and Yamamoto, knowing what was in the mind of his able officer, sat patiently until Kurita finally rose, eyes still averted, the shame a look of actual pain on his face. Then Yamamoto decided enough was enough.
“Very well,” he said. “I have seen, and quite clearly, that the mission recently concluded has not caused any more hair to grow on the top of that bald head of yours, Kurita. Make your report, but do not think, for a single moment, that I will entertain any thought of your resignation, and far less of any notion you may have of ending your life. You were sent to conduct an offensive operation, just as Nagumo was sent to Pearl Harbor, nothing more, nothing less. It so happens that both my warriors returned with casualties. So be it. Now tell me what happened.”
Kurita cleared his throat, taking some time to find his voice. “Sir,” he said. “The mission was not well coordinated, and I take full responsibility. I was prevailed upon to hold my battleships back, though I had every wish to close and engage this Mizuchi when it finally appeared. Yet this Captain Harada aboard Takami pleaded with me to refrain, and I was foolish enough to heed him. I should have advanced to engage when I saw how futile the strange rocket weapons he used were.”
“Futile? You saw them?”
“Of course. My battleships were out in front, some 20 miles ahead of the Takami. We first saw the enemy missiles firing, and my men beat to quarters to engage them.”
“Did you not heed the warning I gave you concerning these rockets?”
“I did sir, but I believed the armor on my ships was strong enough to prevail, and my gunners brave and skilled enough to defend my battleships. To do otherwise would be cowardice.”
“Yes, yes I have heard that from many others, and I do not wish to hear it again now. A man has a brave heart when he goes into any battle, but he must also have a head on his shoulders, and know when and how to fight. Did these missiles attack your ships?”
“One struck Haruna, but for the most part, these rockets simply passed us by, six or seven in a long train, all heading south. I should have increased speed immediately to engage the enemy, but this Captain Harada…”
“You should have done no such thing. I sent you to the wreck of the Mutsu for a good reason, and now we have damage on Haruna to repair. I will tell you that I second the movement suggested to you by Captain Harada, and it is very fortunate that you carried it out. Had you persisted in any attempt to engage this Mizuchi, you would have surely been visited by more of those naval rockets.”
“But sir, how can we defeat the enemy if we do not attack him?”
“That remains to be seen,” said Yamamoto. “Certainly Captain Harada hoped to use guile, and his own naval rockets to prevail. What happened to the air strike?”
“It was ill-coordinated. The carrier planes were late, the land based planes ineffective, and I must—”
“No Kurita, do not attempt to take that upon yourself either. It was the responsibility of the carrier commander to get his planes where they belonged, not yours. Frankly, when I discuss this further in a moment with your subordinate, Captain Harada, I expect I will learn that this battle could have ended in no other way. Everything depended on the rockets his ship carried. If they failed to find and hurt this Mizuchi, then there was nothing more your battleships were going to accomplish. At least both ships remain seaworthy, as well as both of our carriers. Haruna has damage, but it will be repaired soon enough. I want you to see to it personally, but that ship will be detached from your division. You will take the newer ship, Hiraga, in its place. Then prepare your battleship squadron for further operations as soon as possible.”
“But sir, I…”
“But sir what? Do not think any shame you may feel in this failure exempts you from further duty here. Nagumo felt the same when he returned from Pearl Harbor with only three operational carriers. We fight, we take losses. Sometimes we prevail, and at other times our enemies will get the best of the situation. That is the end of it. That is war. It is clear to me now that I failed to place the adequate tools in your hands to complete this mission successfully. Two carriers were not sufficient. It would have taken at least four in my estimation, and your battleships should not have been where they were. As you can see, the range of these naval rockets makes such a strategy foolish. Only our carriers have the means to strike the enemy at long range. From now on, your battleships will serve as fast escorts, running with the carriers, and doing everything possible to protect them. So this will be my order to you. Get Haruna operational again, and then prepare to join Carrier Division 3 with Hiraga and Satsuma. You will receive further orders in the near future. Understood?”
Kurita bowed again, then nodded.
“Good,” said Yamamoto. “Now then, I will see this Captain Harada and his executive officer next, and hear their report. But understand this—you did everything I asked of you, and so I order you to set down the burden that you now carry, just as I asked the same of Nagumo. This war is only beginning. I need every officer, and every ship we have. We had 15 carriers operational on December 7th, 1941. Now we have only eight operational, and six have been sunk. Zuiho Survived the 5th of May, but just barely. Even when that ship returns, our carrier fleet is nearly cut in half, though we are now commissioning the Taiho to try and redress those severe losses. That said, Taiho will likely be the only new aircraft carrier to join the fleet for many more months until Shinano is completed. So every one of our remaining carriers is now worth its displacement in gold. See that Carrier Division 2 is well guarded.”
That was that. Yamamoto had no room for shame ridden officers. The war was now going to enter a much more dangerous phase. The Americans had been hurt, and very badly, but it had taken those seven carriers lost in action to put that damage on them. Yamamoto knew that there were now at least seven or more enemy carriers building in the United States, while in Japan, only the Shinano would be ready for operations soon. That was a matter he would have to redress, and quickly.
He himself had already gone to the Emperor, his own head lowered with shame, to make his report. He knew this war would be costly, never expecting Japan to emerge from it unscathed, but these early losses were particularly severe. He had been forced to ask the Emperor to activate the emergency fleet expansion project that had been secretly planned before the war.
As for this Mizuchi, that ship was a monster of a different kind. Yes, it would have taken at least four good carriers to have any chance against that beast, he thought. But how many of them would survive? I had hopes that this Takami might weigh heavily in the balance, but apparently those hopes were ill-founded. Now I must find out why.
“Very well, send in this Captain Harada and his Executive Officer. That will be all.”
Chapter 2
“Then you have no more missiles to attack this Siberian ship?” Yamamoto had heard Harada’s report of the battle, the how and why of it all; the decisions made, missiles fired, and the outcome. Now his mind had moved on to the possibilities that lay ahead.