Introduction

Interestingly, the navy that has vanished is almost fatefully intertwined with the navy that caused its disappearance from the very beginning. Firstly, the direct reason for the birth of the modern Japanese navy was the imminent threat posed by the United States Navy; the development philosophy of the Japanese navy was also deeply influenced by the U.S. naval officer Mahan's theory of "sea power"; the expansion of the Japanese navy was constantly compared with that of the U.S. Navy, with the latter being its greatest imagined enemy; furthermore, many may not know that the Japanese navy very likely had a confrontation with the U.S. Navy before engaging with the Beiyang Fleet; of course, the most glorious victory of the Japanese navy was also against the U.S. Navy; however, it was also the U.S. Navy that completely transformed the Japanese navy into a term that exists only in the dictionary as a relic of the past.

For a long time, there has been a perplexing viewpoint both domestically and internationally regarding the Japanese military, suggesting that the Japanese Navy and the Japanese Army are fundamentally different. It is believed that all the misdeeds and foolish actions are attributed to the Army, while the Navy is seen as restrained and anti-war, dragged into conflict with the United States due to the Army's reckless behavior. Whether this viewpoint is accurate or not, let us examine the history of that Navy—from its emergence, development, expansion, madness, to its demise—to understand the trajectory of its journey.

However, that navy was not without opportunities; even after the outbreak of war, Lao Bing believed they still had at least two chances, which will be discussed later

However, the laws of history are merciless. The disappearance of a main fleet signifies the substantial disappearance of a navy, regardless of whether the name of that navy still exists or whether its hardware configuration is still considered advanced. The once formidable Japanese navy was wagered by some as a stake in a colossal gamble involving the fate of their nation, and it lost utterly.

Today marks the anniversary of the Japanese Navy's attack on Pearl Harbor. I would like to share an introduction to something I am currently writing to commemorate this occasion. This is a day worth remembering. From that day forward, that peculiar navy embarked on an irreversible path, and that empire was destined to meet its end.

There have been many things in this world that once existed but have since disappeared, and fleets are certainly no exception. Among the most famous is perhaps Spain's "Invincible Armada." However, the disappearance of the Invincible Armada did not signify the end of the Spanish Navy itself. Although the Spanish Navy has since become a force that is almost unknown to the public, it merely remains "unknown"; it still exists.

The rise of modern Japan began with the ascent of the Japanese Navy. After defeating the Beiyang Fleet of the Qing Dynasty in the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russian Far East Fleet as well as the Baltic Fleet in the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese Navy garnered global attention, establishing itself as a first-class naval force, and Japan subsequently emerged among the ranks of the great powers

It was precisely because the Japanese fought a war that should not have been fought that they lost their gamble. Their appetite was too great, reaching for things that did not originally belong to them and that would never belong to them.

In the early hours of December 8, 1941, Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, commander of the First Air Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, delivered a speech on the deck of the aircraft carrier Akagi to the military pilots who were about to launch an attack on Pearl Harbor, stating: "At this moment, when the fate of the Empire is at stake, you have become the glorious vanguard." However, he did not explain to the pilots what this so-called "fate of the Empire" actually entailed or why he felt it necessary to mention it.

The panic that cannot be revealed in public is starkly exposed by some in private. Almost simultaneously, along the coast of Malaya, Major General Ozawa Tsukasa, commander of the escorting Third Fleet, signaled with lights the message "Wishing for long-lasting military fortune." Meanwhile, with trembling hands, Lieutenant Colonel Tsuji Masanobu of the 25th Army, preparing to land at Songkhla on the Thai-Malay border, diligently wrote in his diary: "The fate of the hundred-year-old empire rests on this one move." Tsuji Masanobu understood very clearly: Japan had wagered its "century of national fortune" in this gamble, and the result of this gamble was that Japan lost its "century of national fortune." The warships of the target fleet, which they had bombed without declaration of war, could now freely enter and exit all Japanese ports without the permission of the Japanese government. Leading the parade of all Japanese citizens and the procession of the temple fair was always the jubilant American military band, proudly holding the sign "U.S. Military Band in Japan." Besides these musicians, the Japanese government had to cover all expenses for the U.S. military stationed in Japan, and for decades, Japan also had to pay for all military operations conducted by the U.S. military around the world.

The coexistence of two extremely contradictory natures within the same army is remarkably vivid and closely intertwined, serving to highlight each other. This foreshadows that, apart from a tragic end, there can be no other outcome. Thus, the remnants of this navy now exist only in the depths of the ocean, which it once treated more as a casino than a battlefield.

A careful examination of the history of this vanished navy reveals an intriguing phenomenon: it is a force characterized by a gambler's nature that can almost be described as "madness." This is a highly creative navy, capable of disregarding all existing economic, political, and military rules and conclusions to take bold risks, thereby establishing numerous "firsts." Yet, at the same time, it is an extremely conservative force, stagnant and insular, with a way of thinking that lags behind the times by decades.

Another fleet that has disappeared is the Imperial Japanese Navy Combined Fleet, which vanished during the Pacific theater of World War II. The disappearance of this fleet marked the end of a once formidable navy, and even the nation itself seemed to fade away for a time. To this day, Japan can hardly be considered a normal nation in the conventional sense, or rather, it can be described as a peculiar "nation." Nevertheless, this country still possesses maritime power, and depending on various metrics, one could even conclude that its maritime strength remains quite formidable.

Indeed, Vice Admiral Nagumo, leading six aircraft carriers and 360 combat aircraft, may have genuinely believed in that moment that "the fortunes of the Greater Japanese Empire will last long." However, it was only for that brief moment, for just a few minutes earlier, upon seeing the excited pilots, Vice Admiral Nagumo was unconsciously murmuring, "Being young is wonderful; it is so easy to believe in victory." This reflects the mindset of a gambler heading to a casino; he did not possess absolute confidence in victory. He merely masked his inner panic with grandiose rhetoric, encouraging the oblivious young rookie pilots. For just a few minutes earlier, upon seeing the excited pilots, Vice Admiral Nagumo was unconsciously murmuring, "Being young is wonderful; it is so easy to believe in victory." This reflects the mindset of a gambler heading to a casino; he did not possess absolute confidence in victory. He merely masked his inner panic with grandiose rhetoric, encouraging the oblivious young rookie pilots.