Yamamoto squirmed inwardly. Outwardly he was his normal, composed self. “We will continue to plan for the attack. We will also, however, confirm what we have been told and attempt to evaluate the risks involved. But mark my words, I want that carrier destroyed.”
Lieutenant General John DeWitt was again trying to control his anger. Once again, he thought, this son of a bitch Hopkins was trying to tell him how to run his army, his command, and all the way from Washington, no less. Worse, he had to take it. Admirals Spruance and Nimitz were obviously trying not to laugh at his discomfiture, but he wondered how loudly they’d guffaw once they were alone. He was being mocked and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.
The navy was trying to take over the army, and that was intolerable. There was a war on and DeWitt had been tasked to protect the people of the West Coast from invasion, while the navy’s assignment had been to keep the Jap fleet from our shores. In DeWitt’s opinion, the navy had failed miserably while the army had succeeded in defeating the Japs in Alaska, so why was there this rush to give the sailors even more authority?
Nimitz tried to be conciliatory. “General, I know how much you must dislike this arrangement, but I assure you it is only temporary.”
“You have no idea what I am thinking, Admiral,” DeWitt snapped with more anger than he’d intended.
“Enough,” said Hopkins. “The situation requires one commander, at least for the time being, and that one commander is going to be Admiral Nimitz. Quite seriously, General, if the command structure is that distasteful, then a replacement for you can be found.”
Bluff called, DeWitt thought, and pulled back. “Of course I will comply and obey, Mr. Hopkins, but I do wonder at the necessity of it all.”
Hopkins sighed. “It’s because the president has signed off on a risky and daring venture that requires all people to be not only on the same page, but reading the same word and understanding the same meaning. We may have an opportunity to cause great harm to the Japanese and it is essential that army and navy efforts be coordinated to the utmost. There can be no mistakes, no confusion as to who is in charge, and no missed or misunderstood communications.”
DeWitt was somewhat mollified. More than anything, he wanted the Japanese to pay for Pearl Harbor and the Philippines. At least the destruction of the Japanese force that had landed at Anchorage had been not only an army victory, but a nationwide morale booster. Of course, he had to admit that the navy’s smashing of the Japanese reinforcement force had played an important role as well.
Nimitz continued. “Simply put, General, we hope to trap at least a large part of the Japanese fleet near our shores and either defeat or destroy it. We hope we have led the Japanese to believe that the
DeWitt still had his doubts. “But what you are asking, moving hundreds of planes from bases in California and elsewhere to spots where they can cover the Baja, will leave much of the West Coast naked and defenseless. Should the Japanese decide to attack other than where you think, it could be catastrophic. Not only that, but we will have to move large numbers of engineers and mechanics to bases that don’t yet exist. And will the Mexicans even cooperate, since we’ll be operating on their land?”
Hopkins sipped his coffee and made a face. It had gotten cold. There were no stewards available to get him a refill. They were all alone in the room. Secrecy had its drawbacks.
“The decision to strip other cities of their defenses was made by the president, who understands the risks involved. It is a chance that we have to take. As for the Mexicans, they will cooperate or they will regret it for a thousand years.”
“I understand,” DeWitt said.
Hopkins continued. “And if this should succeed, I guarantee you that you will get a prominent place in the historical record as well as a fourth star.”
DeWitt glared. “Do you really think I’m such a prick that all I want is another star? Of course I’d like to be promoted. I’m just as human and ambitious as the next man, but my first love is for my country and my second is for my command and the men in it. I’ve sworn to protect the West Coast and I’m damn well doing it to the best of my ability, no matter what some sob sisters think of my methods, and your inference that I can be bribed by another star is disgusting.”
Hopkins sat back, astonished by the outburst. “I apologize.”
“Don’t bother,” DeWitt said, his anger spent. “You can have anything you want. I will cooperate more than fully. Just one thing about my future. If this fails and results in another navy disaster, just keep my name out of it.”
The crews from the movie studios in Hollywood had no idea where they were going or why. They only knew that the U.S. Navy wanted them for a special project and that was good enough for them. As a result, several hundred men had volunteered, been put on a navy transport and shipped to the east coast of Mexico, across from the Baja Peninsula. There they found a tent city waiting for them, along with a number of barges that had been lashed together just offshore. They were confused by the sight and were further disconcerted by the presence of a number of antiaircraft batteries being built along with rude airstrips in various stages of construction.
Captain Bill Merchant called the assembly to order. They’d first thought of meeting in a large tent, but the air inside was stifling. Instead, they met outside by the waters of the Gulf of California. Merchant also thought that a little morale building was in order, so he’d brought in enough bottles of beer to lubricate the citizens of a good-sized city.
After thanking them for volunteering and getting everyone a cold one, Merchant got down to business. “You people are all supposed to be the best set designers and builders on the face of the earth. You’ve made magic out of movies by convincing people that they were watching Robin Hood in a real castle, a little girl traipsing through Oz, and, maybe most dramatically, setting fire to the city of Atlanta in
He paused and took a deep swallow of his beer. It was a Schlitz and he didn’t particularly like Schlitz, but it was cold and the Baja was torrid.
“We, the United States Army and Navy, want you to build a fleet out of those barges. You will have all the plywood and paint you need, and when you are done, we want anybody flying over real quickly to see a pair of aircraft carriers, a handful of cruisers, and a bunch of destroyers sitting out there in the bay. I wouldn’t mind if there were dummy models of planes on the decks of the carriers.”
A hand was raised. “You don’t want them full-sized, do you?”
“Nope. Maybe half or three quarters will do. They can’t be too small or somebody doing a flyover will notice.”
The first man rose. He had a big grin on his face. “The suckers we build are going to be lures or maybe bait, aren’t they?”
“Yep, and we’re going after real big yellow fish from the Land of the Rising Sun.”
Another hand. “When the hell do you want these mothers made?”
Merchant grinned. “I was thinking a week ago. But, since the sun is beginning to set, I think tomorrow morning is a better idea. When we start, though, we’re going to work like hell and pretty much around the clock. In the meantime, we have a bunch of dead cows that have been carved into steaks, and a whole lot more beer, and unless anybody has any objections, let’s get started.”
Bear clutched his rifle and ducked as the grenade went off not more than fifty yards away. He looked up and laughed. “Another damned Jap just went to meet his ancestors.” The other men in his group smiled appreciatively, but nervously. When would the last Jap be dead?
Almost all the Japanese Alaskan force had been killed in the suicidal attack on Fairbanks, but a few hundred had been left behind for various reasons, usually involving their inability to move because of earlier injuries or illness. Clearing them out of their nests and hidey-holes was both time-consuming and dangerous. Maybe the Japanese remnants weren’t very mobile, but they were, as he liked to say, very hostile.
Rifle fire to his left made him duck again until he recognized the sound as that coming from an American
