Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 102



Only Noblemtl

##102

Japanese Prime Minister Konoe did his best.

To stop Hideki Tojo and the army guys who were shouting for an all-out war, saying that war with the United States was no problem, like crazy people.

One of them was to organize a negotiation team in a flash and send it to the United States, saying that they would at least try to negotiate before the war.

“We must start negotiations before that bastard Churchill returns to England.”

“But both this export ban and the Lend-Lease Act were done by Churchill···.”

Externally, it seemed that Britain had come to ask for it directly, and that the United States had accepted it. However, Kono did not think so.

“America has always been afraid of two fronts. And what do you think Britain is most afraid of now?”

“Well, wouldn’t that be an invasion of Germany’s homeland?”

“No. Isn’t it true that America is more interested in this Pacific, in us, than in Britain?”

“iced coffee.”

Konoe’s interpretation was that Britain wanted to monopolize American support, otherwise the prime minister would not have risked crossing the Atlantic to come to the United States in person.

“After hearing the Prime Minister’s words, I think that is correct.”

“So it would be better to arrive quickly and negotiate before the British Prime Minister leaves.”

And his interpretation was not wrong to some extent.

Wasn’t avoiding a two-front war a basic policy that has been passed down for a long time, regardless of East or West?

Even within the United States,

“Wouldn’t it be best to avoid war if possible?”

“Do you still say that after seeing the state of Britain and France today?”

“Do you think you can turn it down and come out if we negotiate?”

“no···.”

Everyone agreed that we had to get involved in the war in Europe, but at the same time, we had to fight Japan, which was another matter. So when the story came that Japan had asked for negotiations, quite a few people took it seriously.

“The State Department will remain open to all possibilities and engage in negotiations with Japan.”

Of course, it seemed meaningless to me, but it wasn’t really meaningless.

I nodded my head slightly at the Secretary of State’s words and whispered to Marshall, who was sitting next to me.

‘Before the negotiations completely fall apart, grab whatever you can and send it to Ike.’

Marshall had already replied that he was doing so. And then the guy went one step further.

‘If we want to send anything more, the negotiations will have to drag on a bit.’

‘I know.’

That’s how negotiations with Japan began.

When the State Department first heard that Japan had sent its special envoy to the United States, Gurus Saburo, the negotiators had their own expectations.

however,

“Are these kids really going to negotiate?”

The first proposal, which called for an end to the Sino-Japanese War and a limited withdrawal of Japanese troops, was met with immediate rejection.

The State Department, which had approached the negotiations with a serious attitude, refused, not hiding its disappointment.

Then, as if it had been waiting, Japan made a second proposal.

“Resumption of oil exports, military withdrawal from Southeast Asia and China···.”

“At this point, wouldn’t it be worth negotiating?”

The problem, however, was that what they proposed to us and what Japan actually did were quite different.

“No, they said they would withdraw, but instead they are moving deeper.”

“Isn’t this just wasting time?”

“No matter how I look at it, it seems like that.”

“Ha, these kids.”

In the end, even those who had been willing to actively participate in negotiations had no choice but to withdraw their claims.

As a result, Secretary of State Cordell Hull abandoned his desire to reach a negotiated settlement.

“Write down everything you want to say and send it to us.”

“yes?”

“Tell them to get out of China, not to mention Southeast Asia.”

Naturally, Japan was furious when it accepted our proposal, which later came to be called the Hull Note.

“Chicks. This is just too much. Even if you ignore us, it’s not enough.”

Gurus Saburo, the special envoy dispatched from the home country, was furious and vented his anger.

The US demands, which were just delivered in the name of Secretary of State Hull, were…

“Withdraw from France, not only from Indochina, but also from China?”

It was obviously an unacceptable condition.

“You didn’t say that on purpose, did you?”

Saburo, who had barely calmed down after hearing the words of Ambassador to the United States Nomura Kichisaburo, relayed the news to his home country, while also visiting Britain, which had once been a close ally.

“You’re in contact with Britain?”

“Yes. Weren’t Britain and Japan originally on a fairly close relationship?”

I laughed at the story that the Japanese envoys were contacting the British side as negotiations with us were stalled.

“You’re trying hard.”

“That’s right.”

I don’t know what Japan was thinking, but the person who wanted the outbreak of the Japanese-American War more than anyone else was none other than Britain.

Not long ago, American newspapers carried extensive reports about the horrific atrocities committed by Nazi Germany in Jewish concentration camps.

“Is this the work of British people?”

“Yes. It was spread by the British Intelligence Service.”

“Tsk. You’re doing something useless.”

It was annoying. It was Britain who interrupted the situation where the build-up to a declaration of war was gradually being built up and ruined the situation.

I was so angry that I almost burst out in rage when I saw the bastard who overturned the table.

What are you talking about? Throughout history, anti-war sentiment in the United States has peaked around presidential elections.

One of Roosevelt’s campaign promises during his third term was that he would never go to war.

Well, as is often the case with promises, they weren’t kept.

But thanks to my delicate work,

“Reversal is important, but if you are too afraid of war and miss the right time, you will fail.”

“We must not follow in the footsteps of Poland and France.”

This was the level of public opinion that had changed. Thanks to this, the number of volunteers for the Sino-Japanese War was able to be recruited in much larger numbers than before.

The reason why the atmosphere suddenly changed in a reversal was none other than Churchill.

“No, what else are you trying to get out of us that you’re holding out and not going?”

“You want weapons, food, money on credit, and even delivery. You think that’s not enough?”

“Ha, you’re still as shameless as ever.”

In addition to the backlash against Roosevelt, who succeeded in winning three terms and broke the unwritten rule that had not been broken since the first president, George Washington,

“What did Britain and France do for us, who shed blood together as Allied Forces in the last war?”

“You say we died less? Of course we helped them even though it wasn’t our war, so should we be criticized for dying less than them?”

To be honest, right after World War I, at the time of the Treaty of Versailles, Wilson said that if Germany was pressured too much, the same situation as now could occur, so they should be given an appropriate amount of breathing room.

Although some doubt remains as to whether he truly foresaw a future like ours, Wilson’s words turned out to be correct.

“But wasn’t it France and Britain that squeezed Germany so hard?”

“That’s right. But this time, you want the blood of our young people?”

What fueled people’s discontent more than anything was Britain’s hard-line stance toward negotiations with Japan.

“No, who are you to interfere in our negotiations with Japan?”

“Yes. Isn’t this interference in internal affairs?”

As soon as Churchill’s interview was reported, saying that Japan could not be trusted and that a firm stance had to be taken, anti-war public opinion was instantly ignited.

“Isn’t it because of Burma, which is their colony?”

“What? Are you asking us to protect your colony?”

And, of course, it was Japan that rejoiced over this situation in the United States.

##

“Have you seen the offer the Americans made to us? From the beginning, the Americans had no intention of negotiating!”

Hideki Tojo raised his voice in response to Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo’s comment that further negotiations with the United States would be difficult.

And this time, even the Navy, which had been opposed to war with the United States, responded to Tojo’s words.

“Aren’t you asking us to give up all the international standing we have built up over the past several decades?”

“That’s right.”

Now, the only thing left for Japan was war.

“It’s actually a good thing. Now that the US has come out like this, there won’t be any more people who keep talking nonsense about how we should avoid war!”

Tojo shouted for war with the United States with an air of arrogance.

“Our goal is to take Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, into our own hands and complete the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.”

“Hmm.”

“If they take over Southeast Asia, China will be isolated and helpless. Then their only future will be surrender.”

There, Southeast Asia was the land that had all the resources Japan needed at the time.

“At the time of the Washington Naval Treaty, our country demanded that the construction of defense facilities and military bases be limited in Southeast Asia. This was a foresight that foresaw the future we see today.”

Navy Minister Oikawa Koshiro slyly interjected that the Navy had been preparing for a day like today for a long time. Tojo looked at him with a puzzled expression, but he ignored him and continued talking.

“In all of Southeast Asia, the most important thing is sea supremacy and air supremacy, and both of these are the jobs of our Navy.”

Tojo frowned at Oikawa’s words and shouted.

“That’s nonsense.”

“What nonsense? Who said that we had to attack the Soviet Union to protect the Triple Alliance? It was our Navy that kept insisting that we had to advance south to secure resources.”

Konoe couldn’t help but sigh at the sight of Tojo and Yamamoto arguing.

However, despite their fierce bickering, the Army and Navy unanimously called for an advance into Southeast Asia, and as a result, an operational plan called the Southern Operation was established.

##

“Your face looks better.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. I guess the water from the mainland is definitely better.”

Eisenhower responded as if he had been waiting for Mitchell’s words as he came out to greet him.

“So, the director also goes to the home country···.”

“Okay. And when did I get discharged as a major general? My rank is Marshal. Marshal of the Philippine Army.”

Eisenhower shook his head at Mitchell’s teasing, asking him to pat his shoulder boards and call him marshal instead of major general.

Although he was a little thinner than when I last saw him, he still looked quite healthy and didn’t look like someone who was going to die any time soon.

‘Well, there are so many heart problems···.’

At Mitchell’s age, it was harder to find someone who didn’t have some sort of sore spot here and there.

“By the way, what is the unit price of the airplane?”

“That was also something they almost stole from the guys who were going to England and ran away with.”

As if that wasn’t enough, the US Army Air Corps was scraping together even those that were on the verge of being scrapped.

But the bigger problem is…

“Well… It’s gotten a lot better since I left, though….”

“Honestly, is this an improvement? It’s because of the addition of those from the Provisional Government of Korea and the volunteer army from the mainland. Those Filipinos….”

Wainwright was worried about whether he could properly fight Japan with such guys.

Now that negotiations with Japan have broken down, it’s clear that they’ll invade soon.

The problem is,

“First of all, it is impossible to protect all of the Philippines.”

Everyone gathered nodded silently at Wainwright’s bland remark. Even Philippine President Manuel Quezon.

“You have to give up where you need to give up and decide where you need to protect and hold on.”

It was Eisenhower who took up Quezon’s words in a gloomy tone.

“The air power is still not bad.”

In the Philippine Air Force that Mitchell had devoted so much effort to nurturing, there were Korean pilots and even those who wrote “volunteer army” but read it as veterans of the US Army Air Corps.

The problem was land power.

“The US Army has less than 20,000 troops, and the Philippine Army has just over 100,000 troops. This time, a few Shermans were brought in and deployed, but…”

“If there is a situation where we can use Shermans, it means that the Japanese have landed, and that means the situation is already over.”

A quiet fell over the conference room as Mitchell neatly organized the meeting.

“However, if we can hold out against the Japanese landing as much as possible and hold out until the Pacific Fleet’s support arrives, we have a good chance of winning.”

Above all, what gave hope to those gathered here was Eisenhower and MacArthur standing behind him.

‘Doug thinks the Philippines is so special, he’s never going to abandon it.’

‘I sent my beloved Eisenhower here, but I can’t believe it…’

‘You sent me all the way here, so you wouldn’t just leave me alone, would you?’

Because there was no one who didn’t know MacArthur’s love for the Philippines.

But that evening, Mitchell called Eisenhower over and asked him with an unusually serious expression.

“What do you think? If this falls into Japanese hands, do you really think we can declare war on Japan?”

Eisenhower hesitated and was unable to answer Mitchell’s question.

It is clear that anti-war sentiment had weakened as anti-Japanese and anti-German sentiments rose considerably ahead of the presidential election.

however···.

“Anyway, Tommy’s little guys are never helpful. Damn it.”

Mitchell, who was in the Philippines but had his antenna up to the situation in the U.S. mainland, clicked his tongue and took out a cigarette and lit it.

“Doug, that kid must be pretty fucked up.”

“But aren’t you the one who always finds a way?”

“Even the best guy in the world wouldn’t have known that that bastard Churchill would not only break the board, but turn it upside down.”

“Well, that’s true.”

At the afternoon meeting, it was agreed that we only had to hold out until the Pacific Fleet arrived, but the situation was not so easy.

The sudden rise of anti-war public opinion.

There was resentment toward Roosevelt, who broke convention and was elected for a third term and wielded great power, as well as dissatisfaction with the shameless British.

“They might think that they can give up on the Philippines just like the Japanese do.”

“Surely that shouldn’t happen?”

Although Eisenhower jumped up and down as if it were nonsense, Mitchell knew full well that life was a series of ridiculous absurdities.

“If things had gone their way, I would have been the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, not the Field Marshal of the Philippine Army.”

“Still, that···.”

Before Eisenhower could even finish saying that it didn’t seem like it, Mitchell threw down his cigarette and muttered.

“This time it’s time to show off your senior’s authority.”

Mitchell Task Force