REIWA JIGOKUHEN - Chaotic Disturbance of Reiwa Era

Chapter 83 - Error

Washington, D.C.: The White House

It seemed as if the overcast sky had lifted and a flash of light shone through. Indeed, the report was a revelation. Whether it was the loss of support from the Alexandrians or the fact that they had not been able to acquire much in the first place, the Japanese were beginning to rely on captured weapons. Bombings were as fierce as ever, and in recent days Chicago and Boston had suffered heavy damage. But the time for a counterattack must be near.

"God says we are not destined to back down here," President Truman sternly declared in front of the lined-up generals.

The artificial incandescent light illuminating the bunker has never felt more divine than it does today. Never has morning coffee tasted so good.

"Anyway, gentlemen, we need to rescue Hawaii as soon as possible. If we can drive them back into the sea, the Pacific will be ours again."

"The Japanese have certainly reached the limit of their offensive, and it certainly looks likely," Admiral Leahy, the President's chief of staff, spoke. "The Japanese have occupied Alaska and are poised to invade the mainland, but they have also made landings on Oahu. Indeed, as reported by Lieutenant General Richardson, this may prove that they do not have the capability to invade any further. In fact, unlike Alaska, we have been able to obtain information about it on Oahu."

"Then all is well, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid, Mister President, that there is no way to rebuild the Pacific Fleet," COMINCH King bitterly remarked. "The only major ships in our Navy are a few Essex-class aircraft carriers, a few old battleships, and a few ex-British ships that have just begun their familiarization voyages. There are still dozens of jeep carriers, but they will never be a serious fleet force."

"That's—ah, no, nothing."

Truman somehow managed to swallow the words. He wanted to yell at whoever was responsible for the loss of hundreds of ships off the coast of Alaska, but then remembered that he was the commander-in-chief of the United States military and had ordered them to do something before it was too late.

"Hmmm..."

He took a deep breath, drank a sip of coffee, and thought for a while.

The report he had seen the other day said that production efficiency in almost all industrial sectors had dropped to a fatal level. Even if the factories themselves are safe, they were unable to receive the necessary parts and materials due to the concentrated bombing of business leaders, highly skilled technicians, and government supervisors, as well as the disruption of logistics and finance. It was only natural that it would take years to rebuild the fleet. And the physical loss of high-level personnel, management, and bureaucracy, would cast a dark shadow over the United States economy for decades to come, even if they won.

'But we must win that victory now,' Truman reminded himself.

The situation seemed to be going in all directions, but if the enemy was nearing the end of its offensive, there had to be some way to deal with the situation. He thought hard and looked at Secretary of War Stimson to see if he could come up with some good ideas.

"Right, the Army Air Forces could hit them."

"Huh...?"

Stimson's eyes widened, and all around him, there was an uproar.

"Mister President, it's 2.500 miles between the West Coast and Hawaii, and even a B-29 would have a hard time pulling that off."

"No, it won't be a problem," Truman assured.

"When the bombing mission is completed, you can go down to the Big Island. Anyway, we're going to do everything we can to relieve the troops at Pearl Harbor."