Against the Tide Imperial: The Struggle for Ceylon (The Usurper's War: An Alternative World War II)

Well, here’s to hope that my gamble is correct. For if I am wrong, I may truly regret this decision.—Vice Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, commander of the Kido Butai

July 1943. When the United Kingdom was torn asunder under a hail of German firebombs and nerve gas, the distant outpost of Ceylon was an afterthought for both Allies and Axis. Now, one year after King George VI's death, the small island off of India becomes center stage for a titanic confrontation.

For Vice Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, the Commonwealth forces on the island sit astride Japan's sole reliable source of oil. With the Dutch East Indies' refineries damaged during the Imperial Japanese conquest, Axis crude from the Persian Gulf and rubber from Ceylon's plantations will be critical to the Japanese Navy's ability to continue the war into 1944. Yamaguchi knows challenging Vice Admiral Andrew Cunningham may end poorly. Still, the Kido Butai is undefeated, and with good planning the Commonwealth's Far East Fleet will have to face Yamaguchi's carriers alone. With the Empire's lifeblood on the line, the Japanese must roll the dice.

Across the Indian Ocean, Lieutenant Eric Cobb is  bewildered to be operating with the Commonwealth against Axis forces in Africa. Along with an Asiatic Fleet contingent that includes Captain Jacob Morton's Houston, Vice Admiral Fletcher's forces set out to rampage from Madagascar to Mogadishu. Unfortunately for the Allies' plan, the IJN's unexpected attack forces them to immediately respond.

When established foes clash in a wholly unexpected location, brave men and violent execution will determine whether the Commonwealth holds Ceylon…or succumbs to the Tide Imperial.

Against the Tide Imperial is the third novel of the Usurper's War series. As Allied and Axis warriors are faced with a completely different war than the one planned for decades, their actions will chart a new course for the Greatest Generation.