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* * *

The Imperial General Headquarters of the Forbidden City was in a dire state.

The situation on the Chinese front was stagnating on this side, while the Americans were steadfastly refusing negotiations and, following the expulsion of ambassadors, began to churn out ships nationwide to engage in small fleet battles with Japan.

At this point, even Tojo Hideki was starting to feel the pressure.

Things had escalated quickly, and the U.S. was coming down harder than anticipated.

Not only that, but they had swiftly ended their civil war and were starting to mobilize factories nationwide as if to say, “We’ll deal with you first.”

“Are they still sending fleets without negotiating?”

“Yes. They’re producing ships in shipyards all over the nation to capture us.”

The U.S. Atlantic Fleet had merged forces that were once split between the Military Government of the United States and the Confederate States of America, moved west, merged with the remaining Pacific Fleet, and were squaring off against the Imperial Army at U.S. shipyards.

Ideally, they would have remained split, but during the time they were divided, they focused on building up naval power for potential sea battles against one another, resulting in quite a formidable fleet.

While the allied fleet only had to focus on the Pacific, even Yamamoto Isoroku, who executed the attack on Pearl Harbor, was offloading responsibilities to Nagumo Chui and continuing to advocate for a defensive strategy.

“We have been underestimating America’s capabilities.”

“But they are just a bunch of unskilled rabble, aren’t they? If it were the army, maybe, but their navy has no way to beat us.”

“The problem is they’re sending more fleets.”

“Those fools are churning out fleets with their monstrous economy, but eventually, as they keep breaking things, public sentiment will turn against them.”

Some were cycling through a hopeful delusion, but regrettably, the current America was blind with rage against Japan.

Most notably, MacArthur’s authority had grown considerably, and cities that were once under KFC’s jurisdiction were actively cooperating in the war effort.

On the other hand, Japan wasn’t winning without its struggles either.

Regardless, the longer the war dragged on, the more it turned into a fight against a restructured China, and due to encounters with America, they were suffering in air battles as well.

“While we’re smashing American fleets, we’re also accumulating damage. We lost a significant number of elite pilots in the war against the Chinese as well, so I have no idea how long we can maintain our advantage.”

“The most critical issue is still resources. The war is taking longer than expected, and resources are too scarce.”

As Europe entered the war, resource supply became challenging, and the Sino-Japanese War had devolved into such barbarity that Europe had cut off resource exports to Japan.

“We have no choice. Given the situation, we must come up with new measures.”

“Do you have any good ideas?”

In the original timeline, Okamura Yasujirō was slated to become the commander of the expeditionary forces in ’44 and asked Tojo Hideki this question.

Tojo chuckled at this inquiry.

A good plan? Why would there not be one?

Regretting not having struck at the American mainland if he had foreseen this, he concluded that they had to push forward until the end.

“I heard that Turkey has occupied the French area of Syria, claiming it was to prevent the exile government’s protests, and that they erected stakes in the land of the Reds, which has nothing to do with the exile government. Coincidentally, isn’t French Indochina right around here? If we acquire this place, we can launch an attack on the Chinese from the south as well.”

What if they marked French Indochina as the Commune’s territory and simply occupied it?

They would be upholding their duties as an air defense agreement nation, and since they were riding the coattails of Turkey, how could France possibly object?

“Hmm. But will that solve the resource problem?”

That wasn’t enough.

Tojo pointed at Indonesia on the map.

“Of course not. So let’s look further and aim for the Dutch East Indies, which is now solely in the hands of the exile government.”

Especially since the Dutch East Indies is one of the regions that could be dubbed a resource lifeline for the Allies.

Naturally, if they can siphon resources from there, including oil, they can ensure a sufficient supply.

“But that land, even if it’s an exile government, is a colony of England’s ally, the Netherlands, isn’t it?”

“Simultaneously, it’s where German Reds have planted communists. The justification of sending troops under the guise of eliminating Reds should suffice.”

That should be enough.

Seriously, what could France, having lost its mainland, possibly do? Can Britain, busy safeguarding its own islands, offer assistance?

I’ve heard that they couldn’t even stabilize Algeria. Under the pretext of protecting it, they could seize Indochina while also claiming the Philippines are at war with the Americans, making it a possible target as well. The logic behind Indonesia being filled with communists opens up endless possibilities here.

‘Oh my god.’

Yamamoto Isoroku trembled at the increasingly deranged behavior of the Imperial forces.

Indochina was one thing, but given that Turkey had restored lands from the Ottoman Empire under the pretext of being the Commune’s territory, forcefully introducing the Japanese army could be seen as asking for war with Indonesia right off the bat.

And soon after…

“Why are those Japanese folks here?”

Due to shifts in history, the Governor of French Indochina, Jozeru Katuru, could only watch as the Japanese made their way into Indochina under the pretext of possibly combating communists, while at the same time, Indochina was being massively invaded and all resources were being pilfered.

And once Japan succeeded this time…

“If the British army gets annihilated in a single battle while transferring their fleet, then wouldn’t they look towards British Malaya under the justification of protecting it?”

They began to rampage even more.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the bunker beneath Berlin, Goebbels’ face was contorted as he sat among his staff.

As Russia continued to rain down J2 rockets to preserve their pilots, Berlin turned to ruins, forcing them into a bunker lifestyle.

“Comrade Secretary, it seems you must take refuge.”

“Has the situation truly reached such a dire point?”

Surely it couldn’t be this bad?

“Amidst the already dire circumstances, the bombings of Cologne and Hamburg have caused significant production setbacks. Reactionary imperialists are coming in waves.”

Damn those British! With their army focused in the east, they pulled off such a ridiculous scheme.

How could this have gone so wrong?

Goebbels had been convinced that his plan was flawless.

After all, even the greatest obstacle, the British, were holed up on their island.

With those fools trembling in fear, resources should be plentiful.

“This is all that Mussolini’s fault! He couldn’t even break through Austria and just widened the front; what kind of nonsense is this?”

Goebbels had somewhat expected to be outdone by Russia.

Although he thought that the Danube Federation, backed by Russia, would falter quickly if Italy could provide a little pressure from below.

But what a surprise! Mussolini’s forces were getting repelled by a scant handful of Austrian mountain divisions.

Austria was a must-conquer nation, but the defense line of Sudetenland was quite formidable, resulting in failure.

If Russia had arrived just a bit later, they would have breached Sudetenland. No, it was just that Mussolini was to blame.

Damn Mussolini! If only he had done his part right. Hitler would be toasting with victory by now.

This was all Mussolini’s doing.

Hitler might be completely mad, but Italy’s failure to hold its ground was significant.

“Following the crushing defeat of the Italian fleet at the Aegean naval battle, naval supremacy in the Mediterranean has fallen to Russia.”

Now they were losing naval battles too?

What on earth can Italy do? They are losing on land; they are losing at sea. Their air force isn’t worth mentioning. What on earth are they doing?

“Isn’t there anything they can do right? Damn it. The fleet of the French Commune—”

“The fleet of the French Commune is solely focused on guarding their homeland. I heard that they coincidentally joined forces with the Baltic Fleet to enter the Mediterranean.”

Crap. Has the Mediterranean completely fallen into the hands of the reactionaries?

Given this, with defeats at sea and losing ground, the future of the Red Front looked exceedingly bleak.

“The Kaiser’s army has increased in number thanks to the joining of Junkers.”

Yes. The remnants of the German Empire were no small matter.

That time of revolution, they should have captured those bastards; now as the Kaiser’s German Empire pushes forward, the Junkers are surrendering. What more is there to say?

“Hold as long as you can. If Berlin falls, this nation will immediately fall into the hands of those reactionaries.”

“Comrade, right now, no one can be trusted. You must take refuge with the Commune.”

They needed to flee quickly.

Despite the Berlin General Staff pushing Goebbels to escape, he found it difficult to extricate himself from his post.

“No. Even if I have to take refuge, I’ll hold out as much as I can before fleeing. I cannot abandon the homeland. Will the comrades abandon the people?”

“That’s not the case.”

If they retreated now, the revolution would fail.

No, more than just failing, the name “Goebbels” would be remembered in history as the coward who turned tail after claiming he would carry out a worldwide revolution.

Yet, even in this crisis, Goebbels’ mind was racing.

He had a very bad feeling about this.

Didn’t they just mention that the Mediterranean naval supremacy was captured? Germany isn’t the only problem here, right?

If somehow Germany is pushed out, they would have to fight to the bitter end in either the Commune or Italy, but if Italy has lost naval supremacy—

“No, wait.”

“Comrade?”

With Russia seizing control of the Mediterranean naval supremacy, wouldn’t they just start bombarding?

Especially, Italy has been losing battles systematically.

What if, hypothetically, Russia were to aim at Italian landings?

Wouldn’t Italy be too easy to land on now?

That would open the south wide.

“The Russian Baltic fleet has joined forces in the Mediterranean, and naval dominance is secured. This means you need to inform Comrade Mussolini to prepare for landing defenses!”

Surely, Mussolini is not clueless, but just to be safe, I put it out there anyway.

“Yes! Comrade!”

A Red Front that must achieve world revolution was now threatened from all sides.

Not with multiple nations but solely by Russia, it fell to this state.

Of course, there are Austria and the Balkan states, but without Russia, this situation wouldn’t have escalated to this point.

It’s all Russia’s fault. All of it.

* * *

Communist Germany suffered massive bombings in Cologne and Hamburg.

This bombing inflicted tremendous damage on the arms production of Communist Germany.

If this had been a time when Communist Germany could endure, there may have been recovery, but regrettably, they were in a losing position while suffering such damage.

“Oh, the British are indeed doing something after all.”

The British were at least giving their fair share of effort.

Not just ambushing from the back. Using bombing regiments, they inflicted significant damage on German production facilities.

This further weakened Communist Germany’s already precarious situation, and now they would perish even before recovering.

“Hahaha! Those damned British are likely trying to prove their worth in any way they can.”

Semenov, intoxicated with national pride, laughed at the actions of the British.

“The mighty British reduced to this?”

Indeed. For now, they must focus on achieving victory. That’s probably their current thought.

We could easily help to that end.

After all, it’s pathetic to watch them trying so hard just to elevate themselves to the victors circle.

“But there is one problem on the British side.”

“One problem? What is it?”

“The British bombing regiments have been reported to be killing civilians while targeting enemy industrial facilities.”

Well, that’s how it was in the original history.

America utilized precision bombing to precisely disrupt Germany’s war capabilities, while British bombings led to indiscriminate civilian casualties.

Within the Allied forces, the British air force was notorious for being reckless.

And the one who commanded that British air force was Arthur Harris.

“Is the responsible air force general Arthur Harris?”

“You know him! Essentially, Churchill has publicly cited the words of the King, declaring all communists as disgusting pests, insisting that no allowances be made for civilians; he is redirecting the anger of the British people outward toward something else.”

Impressive. Churchill was famously known for shifting blame.

Using the fury at Germany to his advantage is typical Churchill.

Even after evolving into Mister Dunkirk, he maintains that position because, ultimately, without him, Britain could collapse.

“What about the British people’s reactions?”

“The British are so angry at the Germans that they are cheering for the air raid results.”

“Hmm. Churchill is indeed redirecting British attention outward.”

That should mean that the anti-communist sentiment among the British is fairly intense.

Quoting my words is a bit odd, but Churchill’s anger towards France is notable as well.

“However, it seems there are now issues with the resource supply for the Allied powers.”

“Why? The Red Front can’t be reaching outside Europe right now.”

Did the British move all transport ships back to the mainland?

Or were there variables cropping up from elsewhere?

“Your Majesty, Japan has committed troops to French Indochina under the pretext of capturing the southern communists, and they have attacked the Dutch East Indies.”

“Hohlih! Your Majesty, those Japanese have truly lost their minds.”

What? Did I just hear that right? They’re messing with the Dutch East Indies?

Is this genuinely what they’re doing? This is a bit much.

“They’ve lost their grip.”

Amidst fighting America, they pull a stunt like this?

No, of course, there wouldn’t be another chance like now. But even so, how do they plan to handle the fallout from this absurdity?

It may parallel history, but they’re technically still allies, yet they’re hitting their colonial possessions?

Once the European war ends, can Japan manage this?

 

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