Chapter Text
プロローグ、ドイツ大洋艦隊、自沈す
(Purorōgu, Doitsu Taiyō Kantai, Jichin su)
The Armistice signed on November 11, 1918, brought the First World War to an unofficial end.
Facing defeat, the remaining German surface fleet was to be detained at Scapa Flow, a British naval base in Scotland, until a decision was made about their fate. This was to ensure their surrender to the Allies. They would spend pointless time at Scapa Flow under the operation of the minimum required crew.
In Germany, where a sailors’ revolt had partly led to the end of the war, the prolonged conflict had left them weary. Being detained and confined to their ships resulted in the sailors’ morale reaching rock bottom. The conditions were abysmal, with no freedom, dissatisfactory food supplies, and the presence of doctors but no dentists. The British did not provide dental care either. Despite these hardships, the German soldiers gradually began to return home, and the sailors eagerly awaited their turn.
Meanwhile, the victorious nations were divided over the fate of the detained German fleet. France and Italy wanted to divide the ships among themselves, while Britain preferred to dispose of them to prevent the increase of other nations’ naval power. However, the Germans had their own plans. Konteradmiral Ludwig von Reuter in charge of the detained fleet decided to scuttle the ships after learning about the terms of the impending Treaty of Versailles. He secretly advanced these plans.
On June 21, the day the Treaty of Versailles was to be signed, Konteradmiral von Reuter executed the scuttling plan before the British could seize the German fleet. Orders were immediately sent to all ships, and the scuttling commenced rapidly. The Royal Navy rushed to intervene, trying to stop the scuttling or run the ships aground in shallow waters, but it was mostly too late.
・・・
“It’s quite noisy up there…”
Something lurked beneath the waters near Cava Island in Scapa Flow.
It was a submarine, specifically submarine Ma-1—an unusually large vessel for her time, with an odd appearance. This was because her hull still bore a significant resemblance to a surface ship. And for good reason: before being converted into a submarine, this ship was once a protected cruiser named Unebi.
Commander Takemoto, a Navy officer in his late thirties and the captain of the Ma-1, looked back.
“Ensign Shinmei, is that it?”
“Yes. The British are probably scrambling to stop the Germans from scuttling their fleet.”
The young, slender officer in his twenties nodded. He had sharp eyes and a calm demeanor that belied his age. Additionally, he was a wizard.
“Japan joined this war as part of the Allied Powers, but—”
Takemoto’s lips twitched.
“We’re hiding in someone else’s territory. It won’t end well if we’re discovered.”
“We haven’t been found so far,” Shinmei replied calmly. “The panicking British up there have no idea we’re here in the water.”
“Let’s hope it stays that way until we return to Japan,” Takemoto responded with a touch of irony.
・・・
The Ma-1 continued to lurk for a while. Ultimately, 15 out of 16 battleships and battlecruisers, 5 out of 8 cruisers, and 32 out of 50 destroyers and torpedo boats sank in the waters of Scapa Flow. Takemoto glanced at the measurements taken by the petty officers and Shinmei.
“How many ships in total?”
“The detained German fleet at Scapa Flow consisted of 74 ships in total—”
“Sixty ships,” Shinmei interrupted. “Sixty sank.”
“Sixty…” Takemoto unconsciously stroked his chin.
“Fifteen battleships and battlecruisers.”
Germany, which boasted the second-largest fleet after Britain, had now seen its High Seas Fleet scuttled.
“A defeated nation, its remaining main fleet sunk like this. How disheartening…”
“Losing a war means exactly that,” Shinmei said flatly. Takemoto thought to himself, this man is quite cold.
He looked back at the list.
- Bayern-class battleship Bayern
- König-class battleships König, Grosser Kurfürst, Kronprinz, Markgraf
- Kaiser-class battleships Kaiser, Friedrich der Grosse, Kaiserin, Prinzregent Luitpold, König Albert
- Derfflinger-class battlecruisers Derfflinger, Hindenburg
- Moltke-class battlecruiser Moltke
- Battlecruisers Seydlitz, Von der Tann
These dreadnought battleships and battlecruisers, with their main guns ranging from 30,5 cm to 28 cm, and the Bayern-class even featured 38 cm guns, which only Britain had at the time. It was understandable that France and Italy would want to acquire these ships even if they had to be divided among the victors, and that Britain did not want them to fall into other nations’ hands. Imagining these ships being incorporated into Japan’s Combined Fleet was enough to make one’s heart race!
“However, due to the scuttling of the High Seas Fleet here, the ships distributed to the victors as reparations will be minimal,” Shinmei dampened the excitement. At most, one or two outdated battleships, he said with a straight face.
“But the ships that sank here are all ours. The sunken ships are too much for Britain to handle.”
“Hm…”
This was why Takemoto and the Ma-1 were lurking in the waters of Scapa Flow. Even their allies didn’t know, and how many people in Japan knew about this…?
“Even if the Ma-class submarine is a giant among submarines, can she recover a fleet of 60 ships?”
“I understand your skepticism… No, it’s only natural to be doubtful.”
There were no salvaging facilities, nor any place to store over 20.000-ton large ships without anyone noticing. And with British ships moving about, raising the ships was impossible… under normal circumstances.
“Don’t worry. We have magic.”
For the first time, Shinmei smiled slightly.
“We will make all 60 German ships disappear from Scapa Flow.”