Tyranny of Steel

Itami sat at her dining table, feasting upon a delectable breakfast. However, her chopsticks had not moved an inch since she first laid eyes on the document in her hands. It was a copy of the newspaper that Berengar had shipped to the Majapahit Empire. 

The pictures in the paper were undeniable proof of her soldiers' war crimes within the Korean Peninsula, Ryukyu Kingdom, and the island of Hokkaido. Piles of corpses, makeshift brothels, and literal slavery were all taking place across the theaters of war that the Imperial Japanese Army waged. 

An overwhelming sense of fury rose within the young woman's heart as she saw this. Without her knowledge, the soldiers of her army were committing atrocities left and right, and the Germans had documented it all, using her actions as propaganda to fuel the fear of the people she wished to subject to her influence.

Learning from her failures in Korea, Itami had planned to move into the region one known in her past life as the Philippines, not as an overt military action, but as an "alliance of mutual cooperation." She had planned the same for Malaysia and Indonesia. Unfortunately, before she could enact this new strategy of conquest, her soldiers had given the Germans the fuel they needed to light a fire within the hearts of her targets. 

Itami did not know who to even hold responsible for these atrocities, as they were being conducted in nearly every theater in which her soldiers operated. Aside from maybe her most trusted advisor, General Shiba Kiyohiko, all of her general staff were guilty of the most heinous of crimes. However, if she were to execute them all for their actions, she would have nobody left to lead her troops. 

This issue with the chain of command had become something that was practically unsolvable. As she tried to reacquire her appetite, the young Empress could only reflect on her past life and have a conversation with a man who had long since been deceased.

"Oh Julian, what would you do if you were in my position?"

A memory flashed in her mind, as if she were reliving it all over again, a conversation she had once had with Julian about the nature of war crimes. 

"It is the threat of strict punishment that keeps soldiers in line, and the responsibility of the leadership to ensure that these punishments are enacted. Thes two things will prevent a large majority of war crimes from happening. The soldiers must both fear and respect the chain of command, more than they trust their base human instinct to dominate the enemy after they have proven victorious."

Itami repeated the words she once said aloud as if she were still Mizuno Ai having this exact conversation with Julian Weber. 

"But what if the Generals are the ones who give the command to enact said war crimes? Who will hold them responsible?"

Julian sighed as he explained the potential scenarios where such a thing occurs as if he were lecturing a toddler on the basic principles of the English language.

"Generally, war crimes are only enforced by two means: In the first scenario, a nation will hold itself to the same standards as the enemy, which throughout history is rare,. By doing this, the military itself, or the civilian government, will try to convict their own soldiers for their crimes, no matter their rank.

The second scenario is where the defeated nation is held accountable for their actions by the victors. This is the far more common scenario. This means that the winners of the war will use their might to punish those they believe to be responsible, such as the nuremburg trials. 

In WWII the Germans were heavily punished for their war crimes, while the Allies, who were just as bad in many cases, especially the soviet union, walked free, without a single repercussion for their own atrocities. That's what they don't teach you in history class. Both sides of that war committed their fair share of crimes against humanity, but since we were victorious, we paint the conflict as a war between saints and sinners. 

Let's say for the sake of argument that you are in a position where you can punish your own general who commits some atrocity on the battlefield. It is not only your responsibility to inflict upon them the most severe penalty there is, as they are a high-ranking General who either ignored the crimes committed by his troops, or outright commanded them.

But it is also your duty to the soldiers beneath his command to hold him responsible, for if he is not punished, then they will continue to believe they can behave so horrendously. And if you truly believe in the concept of war crimes, and or crimes against humanity, then you must enforce them, for if you don't, then ultimately you are the one responsible for whatever suffering your troops cause. 

If you draw a line in the sand, you must enforce it, even if it means replacing your entire general staff with less experienced officers. However, such a thing can have disastrous effects, so you must decide was it was more important to you as a leader, total victory, or moral superiority."

Ai sighed in understanding as she nodded her head in agreement with Julian's assessment. With a wide smile on her face, she called out to him as if he were still in front of her.

"Thank you Julian, you are always there to help me when I need you..."

However, in the next moment, he vanished, and Itami realized she was all alone in her dining hall. She immediately became overwhelmed with grief, knowing that during that conversation in her past life, she had cursed out Julian for implying that victory was the most important goal of a military, and that war crimes were simply a part of conflict. It was only now, after living in a world where she was forced to undergo a similar situation, that she realized how right Julian was. 

However, because of this memory, Itami now drew a line in the sand. Disregarding collateral damage in pursuit of a hostile target and gunning down fleeing enemies was one thing. But rape, execution of POWs, murder of civilians, and outright slavery were simply intolerable. Because of Julian's advice, she had now gained the resolve to do what was necessary. 

She quickly got up from her seat and fetched the nearest servant. She was no longer in the mood to eat. After finding her target, she gave the woman an order. 

"Bring this command to the nearest telegraph station. Every General who is currently in the field, as well as every officer above the Rank of Major who is with them, is to be immediately recalled to Heian-kyō. I must have a word with them all."

The palace servant quickly nodded her head before rushing off to deliver the Empress's orders. In the time since Itami had regained control of her memories, she spent whatever time she was not overwhelmed with grief at advancing the technology of her society.

Among these innovations were research into radio-communications, radar, sonar, and other pieces of technology that were necessary for the function of a warship. After all, though her people may be able to manufacture the hulls to her warships, those vessels would still not be functional without these critical pieces of technology. 

The light of the divine mirror she had inherited from the previous dynasty provided significant benefits. The only problem was that it needed twenty-four hours to charge in the sun for every twelve hours of use. 

However, this was enough to allow her to complete the development and production of radio-telegraphs which she fielded in limited numbers across the Japanese mainland, and her areas of occupation. 

With this order given, Itami returned to her room. Exhausted by the complicated emotions she felt, she immediately changed into something more comfortable before hopping into bed where she hugged onto a large body pillow roughly the size of her long deceased love interest. Itami immediately pulled the covers over her and smiled as she fell into a deep sleep. Her final words before her consciousness were a whispered pleasantry.

"Goodnight Julian..."