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* * *

What on earth does that mean?

Does it imply that they can punish Italy?

Ethiopia, which was helplessly at their mercy over 40 years ago and even now, can directly go to Italy to demand surrender.

“That means!”

“We will also grant your majesty the authority to punish Benito Mussolini. Furthermore, we will assist in the modernization of Ethiopia by aiding Russian companies in entering Ethiopia and developing resources such as iron ore, gold, and natural gas.”

Haile Selassie’s eyes sparkled with intelligence.

Ethiopia is allowed to punish that detestable scoundrel.

If that’s the case, it’s a condition that can certainly be accepted.

Moreover, the offer to help modernize is also appealing.

Since Ethiopia lacks the capability to develop its resources, there’s nothing to lose if they are granted some degree of stake in modernization.

“Yes, we will do just that. Of course. We must seek revenge on those who invaded our homeland. My soldiers must sweep through the Italian peninsula.”

Haile Selassie clenched his fists tightly.

He would surely make that dream a reality.

He would achieve the feat of being the first African nation to conquer a European nation.

“That’s it. We will support your majesty with all our might. So, shall we take a commemorative photo to celebrate the day when an African nation has achieved equal standing with Europe?”

“Oh, that doesn’t sound bad. A photo is a must on this historic day.”

On the day Ethiopia stood on equal footing with the European powers.

A photo must not be missed.

Ethiopia’s joining of the air defense agreement was supported by Russia and other nations like Turkey, the Balkans, and Austria that could fight against Italy, but Britain and France were enraged by Russia’s unilateral inclusion of Ethiopia in the air defense agreement.

How dare they include an African nation while they’re busy fighting!

“Damn that Empress of Russia; she must be out of her mind. How could she pull an African nation into the air defense agreement? What, did she fall in love or something?”

“They say the Ethiopian Emperor is a descendant of King Solomon, so he isn’t just any African nation.”

They added various things, claiming it would help defeat Italy, but it looked more like they were just making fun of Britain and France.

Yeah, Russia’s gangster antics will probably only last now.

We’ll see how they fare once they deal with Germany.

* * *

Military Government of the United States, Washington DC

MacArthur and Huey Long held multiple meetings in the capital of the Military Government of the United States, Washington DC.

However, they still hadn’t found a complete consensus.

As MacArthur had come this far, he couldn’t possibly think of dismantling the existing military government system and going to the Confederate States.

Huey Long also had been duly elected as the legitimate president of the United States.

He didn’t want to relinquish the presidency so easily.

“Have we not seen some truly undesirable sights? Let’s wrap up this civil war. I’ve said it many times. First, let’s overcome the Great Depression and then deal with KFC. After all, I’m a staunch anti-communist. Why would I ally with those scoundrels?”

“Hmm.”

MacArthur frowned.

In truth, he could hardly doubt Huey Long’s words at this stage.

Huey Long had never really shown any pro-communist tendencies.

Now, suggesting an end to this situation was a move to prevent further damage.

Indeed, a significant amount of blood had already been shed in the process of subduing the American Communist Union, so if the conflict between the Military Government and the Confederate States continued, America would face considerable hardship for a while.

“Even the Empress of Russia attempted socialistic policies during the civil war to win the hearts of the people. Of course, the Tsar was engaged in a struggle against the Bolsheviks, so the situation was different. We are currently in a state of no fighting with each other.”

“So what does the President wish?”

“Let’s unite again. We need to make concessions on both sides. I’m willing to cede a great deal of authority to the Chief of Staff. We must unify now. There are strange currents even within the South.”

In previous discussions, Huey Long and MacArthur had been vying for superiority over who would become the master of the United States.

Now, Huey Long was willing to adjust himself as much as possible to align with MacArthur’s military and proposed unification, making significant concessions.

MacArthur acknowledged that Huey Long had more legitimacy, but something more pressing occupied his mind than Huey Long before him.

Before the meeting, there had been a report from Okhrana.

-It seems Japan is targeting Pearl Harbor. The Tsar has advised you to prepare for it.

MacArthur had barked back, asking if he had to comply with what their Tsar said, but that concern lingered in his mind.

Honestly, what were those guys planning to do by attacking America while fighting with China?

Would they really antagonize America over just oil? Those Japs?

That seemed a bit implausible.

“Strange currents?”

“Southern businessmen are thinking of declaring independence and making the South a real Confederate State.”

“Those Dixie folks dare?”

If that’s the case, it would be better to simply unify.

Whether it’s the Japs or anyone else, the right move now is to unite again and establish the United States system.

“So it’s not a time for us to fight. The Chief of Staff must prevent the Southern businessmen from going rogue.”

“Hmm.”

Then perhaps it’s time to slowly accept this. If he pushed back enough, he must have achieved quite a bit of rights.

“Mr. Chief of Staff, it’s a big deal.”

“Ike, what’s the fuss about?”

With his head swirling, Eisenhower barged into the conference room in a hurry.

What, did those Japs actually launch an air raid on Pearl Harbor?

“The Japs have launched an attack on Pearl Harbor.”

I had my doubts, but here it was—the Pearl Harbor attack had indeed occurred.

Initially, I suspected it was a joke or that I misheard, but looking at Eisenhower’s stern face, it was clear he meant it.

“What?”

What Anastasia Tsarina had foretold had finally come true.

Even Huey Long, who was listening, appeared stunned.

They should just continue with their barbaric acts in China as they had been. But those mad Japs had triggered a significant incident.

Upon receiving reports of the damage, MacArthur felt a swirl of dizziness in his head.

* * *

Pacific Ocean

Yamamoto Isoroku, the Commander of the Combined Fleet, had urged to delay as much as possible or at least use intimidation, but ultimately, he couldn’t override Tojo Hideki’s intentions.

In essence, Tojo Hideki couldn’t refuse the demands of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy, which aimed to annihilate China.

“Listen here, Commander. We just need to strike once and negotiate with the United States over dominance in the Pacific and oil. Wasn’t this operation initially proposed by you? This is the time to act. The U.S. is like a divided China, still dazed and confused. Now is the moment to deliver a decisive blow. Think of the Battle of Tsushima. With just that one move, we put ourselves in a position of war leadership.”

If ordered, it had to be done. In the end, he had no choice but to accept it.

Moreover, the Combined Fleet had only been doing menial tasks in China until now, so they were eager to break loose a bit during this opportunity.

In original history, Admiral Nagumo Chuichi of the First Air Fleet had been particularly proactive for this operation, leaving Isoroku with no choice.

Given their previous clashes, this also tied into the internal hierarchy of the military.

Furthermore, at this time, the American fleet stationed in Hawaii was similar to the original history, but the air power was weaker than in the original timeline.

Considering the civil war, based on the intelligence from the Pacific Fleet by Yoshikawa Takeo and the briefing by Commander Suzuki, if Pearl Harbor were to come under attack, it would leave the United States in a severely weakened state for a while.

Unlike the original history, where the U.S. had overestimated its air force on Oahu, it seemed likely due to the slowdown in weapon development.

As a show of military force, a show of force operation was approved.

The goals of the Pearl Harbor attack, differing from the original history, were threefold:

1. To blow up the oil storage facilities, incapacitating the Pacific Fleet.

2. To deal as much damage as possible to the incapacitated Pacific Fleet.

3. To use the remaining fleet as hostages to bring America to the negotiation table.

In reality, as the U.S. was caught completely off guard, they would have no idea why Japan committed such an act.

Would they even come to the negotiation table?

Getting suddenly thrashed with no explanation?

Of course, late to grasp the situation, they would eventually express recognition over Japan’s domination in the Pacific and demand oil, but anyway, following Japan’s long history, this is how a war without a declaration of war begins.

“Since we’ve started this, we must execute it perfectly, so we have to safeguard our code system from being leaked.”

Yamamoto Isoroku decided he would proceed with this erupted situation as perfectly as possible.

With just a single strike, he aimed to permanently incapacitate the Pacific Fleet.

With that singular intent, he continually entrusted orders to Nagumo Chuichi.

Meanwhile, Pearl Harbor remained peaceful, as usual.

At least, through Okhrana, MacArthur had been informed about the attack on Pearl Harbor, but he didn’t believe it, and frankly, it was a bit late.

Though it was an attack nearly two years early, considering the impact of the civil war, the oil reserves there were filled to the brim, and the U.S. forces in Hawaii were not weak.

In fact, they had fortified Pearl Harbor to apply pressure on Japan so it wouldn’t act out during these civil war times.

Of course, despite such circumstances, the Japanese Combined Fleet deemed success to be possible and was still in motion,

“When will the civil war on the mainland end?”

“I suppose it will conclude soon. Fortunately, MacArthur and Huey Long aren’t at each other’s throats. We can just lounge around here as usual.”

“Yeah. Those Japs wouldn’t dare touch us.”

Unlike the chaos back on the mainland, it was another peaceful day on Oahu. The fleet personnel, believing the civil war neared its end, were also feeling a bit relaxed.

However, it just so happened that this day would become problematic.

Even seasoned crew members, who would generally relax in the absence of civil war chaos, sensed that something felt off today.

“Hey, James. What’s that over there?”

From a distance, something flitting through the air was approaching.

“Wait a minute, is that?”

They belatedly recognized it as an enemy aircraft, but by then, it was too late.

Boom!

Japan had finally launched their attack on Pearl Harbor.

“Destroy the oil storage facility for sure!”

The aircraft carriers Akagi and Kaga of the First Air Fleet, and the second air fleet comprising Souryuu and Hiryuu, along with the newest carriers Shoukaku and Zuikaku, which had been launched a year earlier, sent out their naval aviators in waves of strikes.

In the first through third phases, spaced apart, the airmen from each carrier launched horizontal bombers, torpedo bombers, dive bombers, and fighters to bombard Pearl Harbor.

In the first two waves, they took a ruthless beating, with the Pacific Fleet already incapable of mounting any resistance against Japan at this point, and the anti-air defenses had been destroyed.

Bam! Boom!

“The.. the oil storage has exploded!”

During the third wave of attacks, the Japanese forces, bracing for damage, focused on destroying the oil storage facilities.

In original history, due to the aircraft characteristics, the small number of Japanese bombers, and the difficulty of damaging the 54 tank oil storage, the attack faced multiple challenges. However, they managed to destroy more than half of the 54 tanks.

The remainder in good condition were mostly the submarine facility.

In the spring of 1940, the earlier-than-usual attack on Pearl Harbor effectively incapacitated the Pacific Fleet.

So much so that discussions arose internally in Japan about whether they should consider attempting to land in Hawaii.

Although the Combined Fleet also suffered some damage, they still held the confidence to dominate the Pacific.

The Military Government of the United States and the Confederate States were flabbergasted, only to snap back to reality at the Japanese ambassador Nomura Kichisaburo’s request for recognition of Japan’s supremacy in the Pacific and oil exports.

And Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor would lead to:

“In my lifetime, I will turn the archipelago inhabited by those Japs into a hell on earth!”

MacArthur accepted Huey Long’s proposal, resulting in the reestablishment of the United States.

* * *

Winston Churchill’s planned offensive still seems lukewarm.

The front lines in Europe have hardly changed.

Germany is still desperately holding on, which is amusing.

They surely wouldn’t want to taste the humiliation of Versailles again as those being invaded, not the ones launching an invasion.

However, within the allied forces, signs of cracks are emerging.

The reason is that with Churchill’s offensive having failed, doubts about trusting Britain are rising within the allies.

Moreover, France is somehow holding back the Italian forces from below, making it even harder to trust Britain.

“Your Majesty, as you predicted.”

Speak of the devil—they must have brought something significant from the Okhrana branch.

Seeing Boris Savinkov smiling brightly, it doesn’t seem related to Europe, but Japan?

“By my predictions?”

I casually asked; however, considering that it could also be nothing, I didn’t want to assume too much just yet.

After all, it could just be one of those positive streaks Savinkov enjoys.

But I seemed to be among the luckier lot in this world.

“Yes. Japan has indeed attacked America’s Pearl Harbor.”

They truly went ahead and launched an attack.

Well, it’s plausible enough. Even if not for oil, Japan is ultimately seeking greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

“Seriously, how absurd.”

Japan seems to have truly lost its mind.

No, honestly, could they even pull this off? That’s the level of incredulity we’re dealing with.

History has changed so drastically; I wonder if one could ever anticipate that without a natural disaster.

Moreover, Japan has its sights set on China.

Japan is still Japan—it seems that expansionist ambition can’t be overlooked either.

“How severe was the damage?”

I wondered if the situation would be worse than in original history or if Hawaii might also be embroiled in the civil war and its fleet was indisposed.

I’m quite excited to see how it unfolds.

 

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