The Resurrected Fleet: Isekai World War 1942

Chapter 43 - 47

CHAPTER 43

To Save a General

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The United States Navy's Pacific Fleet was absolutely outgunned. This was due to the Otherworldly Empire invading South America. Following battles in the Atlantic, the enemy also seized control of Hawaii in the Pacific, devastating the main force of the Pacific Fleet. The Navy was attempting to recover its strength, but the attack on the Panama Canal made it difficult to move forces between the Pacific and Atlantic. Moreover, there were no ships available for such transfers in the first place. As a result, the only operational battleship in the Pacific was the USS Colorado, and the only aircraft carrier was the USS Saratoga. Their survival was determined by their presence on the West Coast during the Battle of Hawaii.

The Pacific Fleet's Task Force 11 was currently considered the most powerful force the US had in the Pacific. This small fleet consisted of the Saratoga, the heavy cruiser Vincennes, the light cruisers Concord and Trenton, and seven destroyers, totaling 11 ships. The fact that this comprised the majority of the Pacific Fleet's strength illustrates the dire straits they were in.

Despite the risks, the United States dispatched this meager fleet to the Philippines to rescue an army general who was valiantly fighting against the Otherworldly Empire.

Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who had replaced the previous Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Husband E. Kimmel after his death in the Battle of Hawaii, was reluctant to undertake such a highly speculative mission. However, under the strong insistence of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the overwhelming public outcry to save MacArthur, TF 11 was dispatched.

Ideally, Nimitz wanted to assign the only remaining battleship Colorado to the escort, but its slow speed would have been a hindrance, so the faster aircraft carrier and cruisers took on the mission. Even so, crossing the Central Pacific which was increasingly engulfed by the Otherworldly Empire was extremely risky. Thus, the chosen route was devised to skirt the edges of Japanese territory, navigating between what was believed to be the Otherworldly Empire's sphere of influence. Despite severely strained relations with Japan, which had deteriorated to the brink of war, they were not enemies at present. Both were preoccupied with the common enemy of the Otherworldly Empire and were avoiding conflict with each other.

Politics aside, there were those in the Navy who were contemplating whether relations could be improved. For example, the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Navy General Staff also desired oil for the war against the Empire, and since the United States had been a major supplier, resuming imports was highly desirable for future battles. Admiral Nimitz of the US Pacific Fleet also considered whether some form of cooperation or alliance with the Japanese Navy could be established to alleviate the severe shortage of military strength. Nimitz's relatively favorable view of Japan contributed to this.

Returning to the main topic.

Task Force 11, dispatched to rescue Army General Douglas MacArthur fighting in the Philippines, advanced westward through the Philippine Sea, approaching the northern tip of the Philippines. However, the Otherworldly Empire, progressing toward full control of the Philippines, dispatched their advancing air units to strike at them.

The F4F Wildcat carrier-based fighters of Saratoga's Carrier Air Wing 3 engaged in aerial combat with the Otherworldly Empire's dragonfly-like fighters—Vonvix—desperately trying to prevent their flying squirrel-shaped attack aircraft, Migas, from approaching the task force. Despite the valiant efforts of the CVW-3, however, several waves of attacks resulted in damage to TF 11. Vice Admiral Wilson Brown watched the listing, damaged aircraft carrier Saratoga with a look of bitter frustration from the bridge of the flagship Vincennes.