Chapter 2: Foundations of an international force.
1st division headquarters, Nerima Japan.
The headquarters of 1st Airborne Division, the unit traditionally charged to protect the now devastated capital of Tokyo, swarmed with military personnel with some of them in the uniforms of the other nations of the globe. When Kitagawa, the 1st's Airborne's CO, assumed command for the UN expeditionary force to destroy Godzilla, the base also became the command center for the growing force and already commanders of the nations planning to participate had just arrived and met with their Japanese counterparts.
General Kitagawa sat in his quarters looking over recon pictures of Antarctica. He looked around for any way to negotiate the harsh terrain but even with the best of satellite guidance equipment, command and control would be difficult at best. Beside it, were stacks of papers dealing with the status of his old command and the schedule of delivery of new maser weapons.
Just then someone knocked on the door and when he announced that the door was unlocked, his visitor entered into the room. Kitagawa sat up from his chair and shook the man's hand and offered him a drink, "It's been a long time Reynolds".
The American nodded and replied, "It's good to be back here again". Reynolds fought in the Pacific during the war, served in Europe after the war for a brief while before the military transferred him along with many other soldiers to stop the communists in Korea. Along that time, he had stopped by in Japan for periods of rest and had struck up a friendship with Kitagawa. Considering the lingering wounds of the Pacific war, Reynolds felt fortunate that he managed to stay sane and achieve much better attempts at reconciliation with former enemies though on some nights, the horrors of the war on both fronts preyed on his mind, depriving him of any sleep. After that he had transferred back to Europe for a while before heading back to the states. Reynolds observed the Japanese man's darkened eyes and replied with sympathy for the Japanese general's burden for his experience had put everyone else's to shame, "Though I wish it could have been under better circumstances".
Kitagawa nodded and then said, "You've managed to get up to speed with the details". The American nodded and then Kitagawa continued, "As you know the opponent we're facing is unlike anything you and the others have ever witnessed before and even if we succeed, we would receive heavy casualties".
Reynolds paused for a moment before spilling his thoughts on the matter, "I'd never thought I say this but it seems that the president's rearmament program may provide the firepower my units may need in order to fulfill the requirements that you stated".
The Japanese general nodded as remembered the reaction of his own people to the US military buildup with all of its attached problems. He remarked, "Funny that you Americans hold life very precious but you develop weapons that unleash the most destructive power on those who are on the receiving end of your temper".
Reynolds remarked, "Would you prefer to waste men or material in a firefight". Hakauyate nodded as he remembered that it was sheer brutal firepower that helped the United States win World War II. Realizing the need to deal with the touchy subject, the two shared a laugh that helped lower the tension in the room. As they took large gulps of their drinks, Reynolds asked a final question, "When will the operation be launched".
Kitagawa sat for a moment in silence before stating, "All I can say is that we have to hit Godzilla before he leaves Antarctica". Knowing full well the probabilities involved, Reynolds nodded and the two shook hands again before the American headed back to his own command staff.
As Reynolds walked onto the field to the sight of command tents and military vehicles of different nations dotting the area, he somewhat mused to himself, "It seems that we're going to have another World War II style Alliance after the last one". That type of alliance helped saved the world against the great darkness of its generation and now the great darkness of the current generation helped forged a new version of that alliance, this time with the entire world participating. The American general realized with a surprised smile that he wouldn't want to be anywhere else for a war to save all of humanity was truly a justified war.
At one of the tents, Russian General Gregory Brezarin looked over the map of the terrain of Antarctica. He had experienced such harsh conditions in the fighting for Leningrad and the Russian offensive into Finland in 1944 and knew what to somewhat expect when operating in icy winter conditions. Unfortunately, he and everyone else knew that fighting in Antarctica would dwarf the experiences of World War II in sheer scale and savagery. The worst part of it was that he had to work with the capitalistic Americans and Japanese. He like most Russians never forgave the Western Allies for taking too long to open up the second front and that his country had done most of the fighting that defeated Hitler and Nazi Germany. He tried to repress his anger at the sight of the Americans and Japanese working together and swore to himself the very thoughts that echoed in his countrymen, "Once they're done with Godzilla, those capitalist pigs will come for us".
Tsukuba City:
In the huge hangers, Japanese technicians scattered about with diagrams and tools as they hurried to ready the huge flying battleships for the arrival of the dignitaries from the other nations. They had been working around the clock and many had fallen asleep due to exhaustion and it was only due to the presence of the commanders on the base and their tempers that drove them on.
Captain Nakano cursed loudly as he watched it and he revealed his displeasure to Udea, "They should have given us more warning time". He snarled and turned back to the sight of the flying warships, "It'll take a miracle to ready the ships for combat".
Udea nodded and remembered the meeting he had with the engineers for the huge warships and the news they delivered was enough to give him a large headache and he literally yelled at them to hurry up with the preparations. Seeing that they didn't know what was worse, having the captain or the XO screaming down at them, they crews worked themselves hard and had made spectacular progress but it seemed that there were still many problems to be ironed out and time was always against them.
Nakano turned to the Gotengo and replied, "Even if we did get these ships airborne, we still need skilled crews to drive these dam things". He then turned to his XO and replied, "I'm retiring to my quarters for the night, keep the preparations moving so that these things will be ready once the other crews arrive". Saki nodded and the fat Japanese captain started to head to his quarters.
Unfortunately, a loud voice came out over the speakers, "The first wave of recruits and the engineers have arrived ". This caused a groan in Nakano who replied angrily, "I really hate international politics". Udea shook his head and the two headed outside along with several other Japanese officers to greet the new arrivals.
The international groups had just disembarked from their transportation and assembled in the field when the Nakano arrived. He observed the crew and admitted that they were an elite group but trained to fight opponents that they could easily kill and they all had the same capabilities to inflict and receive damage. After observing them for a while and wondering if they could handle the strain of the task ahead, the captain took a deep breath before starting to deliver a speech he had planned.
"Welcome to Tsukuba gentlemen, you've been chosen by your leaders to represent your countries in perhaps the greatest military operation initiated by mankind", "To help achieve the momentous task, you will fly in the greatest machines ever created by mankind". The captain paused before plunging into the heart of the matter, "Perhaps the most important element of the mission is our ability to work together as a functioning unit" "This includes respect for each other as individuals and the cultures of which we all represent and the acknowledgment that we're are all human". He then finished his speech by stating; "Now we'll show you to your quarters and take you through a tour of the facilities".
Between Yokosuka, Japan and the Inland Sea.
Not only were the air bases crowded with men, vehicles but it was the same story with the ports of Yokosuka and the Inland Sea where ships crowded the docks while crews struggled to unload military equipment as fast as possible. Despite a tight air of secrecy, the usual rumors started to make the rounds again and some even included jokes that Japan was turning to southern England (during the preparation for D-Day, the amount of men and material in Great Britain persuaded people to joke that the island would sink if it weren't for the barrage balloons hanging overhead). Also, the harbor crews along with that of the Japanese and American fleets worked on ways for the transport ships to accommodate Japanese equipment since the country's constitution forbade it from having weapons of an offensive nature.
Out on the open seas, the ships of the JMSDF practiced maneuvers with the naval warships of the world in order to iron out command and control problems and to help forge a sense of comradeship among those that would have rather commit national suicide before considering asking the other to help.
Onboard the JMSDF guided missile destroyer Amatsukaze, Admiral Shuichi Sakai watched the sight with a sense of harsh remembrance. Born in the late 1880s, he had served with the former Imperial Japanese Navy all the way to the end of World War II and had survived numerous murderous battles against the Americans. After the end of the war, he had worked for a shipping corporation but felt restless and when the JMSDF was established, he immediately signed up and returned to duty. Never in his wildest dreams, could he imagine commanding not just a Japanese naval fleet again but also of an international fleet and train it to fight offensively and to die. He mused to himself as he saw the flags of the different nations with some of them being former enemies, now forced allies, "At least hopefully this time the sacrifice will be made for the right reasons".
That thought also occurred in much the same way to Admiral Charles Maxwell on board the bridge of the carrier USS Constellation. An aviator all his life, he served in the grand carrier battles of the Pacific before dealing with the politicians in the aftermath and then serving in Korea before advancing to carrier command. He observed the exercises, especially with the Russian ships with a measure of wariness considering the fact that the Russians were now the enemy and the Japanese were now allies during the Cold War. Alongside the Constellation, Maxwell had command over the USS Ranger, and the USS Midway.
Close to the American carrier fleet lay the British carriers HMS Eagle, HMS Victorious, and HMS Hermes along with the rest of the British Pacific fleet. While Victorious was an old and proud veteran of World War II, the two other carriers were both brand new with the Eagle having only seen noticeable service in the controversial Suez Canal crisis of 1956. Rear Admiral Henry Carver, a veteran of the Mediterranean and Pacific campaigns of World War II as well as Korea commanded this force from the Victorious. Unlike his American and Japanese counterparts, the British admiral felt nonchalant about the mission since he thought that they were only going to have to cover the escorting of troops and their landing onto the most inhospitable continent of the world. One thing he was going to hate was the weather there, a sentiment shared by nearly everyone else.
Overhead, scores of naval air and air force units practiced attacking targets en-masse while in a constricted air-space and directed by the use of radar-controlled aircraft. Some would practice attack from high altitude while others launched mock attack runs from the water level.
Everyone, at all levels of the high command, watched with great interest as their troops began the training the Japanese felt everyone would need to survive in a battle against Godzilla. As they continued to receive aerial updates from U-2 aircraft, all breathed in silent tanks as Godzilla was still in the vicinity and it seemed that he wouldn't be journeying back into the ocean anytime soon. Now they all admitted silently that they hoped that the saurian would stay there until they were ready the greet him and unfortunately no one had any idea on how long that may take.
Note: Since this has been confirmed to take place forty years ago, I've made the necessary changes.
Please read and review and sorry if this doesn't turn out well.