Chapter 72: Between the Peace and the War (18)

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Artillery rumbled, shrapnel flew everywhere, and fire shot everywhere

In the early morning of April 12, under the unified command of Tsukahara, the main force of the Combined Fleet suddenly launched a fierce attack on the main island of Hawaii, the easternmost point of the Hawaiian Islands.

This attack was very sudden, because during the day on April 11, the Japanese and the United States also "ransomed" a large number of civilians according to the tacit agreement, and at that time there was no change in the Japanese army, at most it felt that there were more Japanese ships monitoring the transaction than usual, but the months-long confrontation had effectively numbed the nerves of the defenders, so that they did not pay attention to this less significant change, and the patrol planes also routinely carried out reconnaissance and found no special findings as usual.

In fact, since the encirclement of the Hawaiian Islands, especially after the Atlantic Fleet was almost destroyed, everyone knows that the fall will be sooner or later, but because the "ransom" deal has been going on, the United States has an illusion that it is impossible for Japan to finally take action against Hawaii before it has squeezed out the maximum use value, and this will be an effective delaying tactic.

There was also a bit of moral reproach for the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the assault on Hawaii Island did not even accuse it, but compared to the indignation of 1941, all that remains on Hawaii Island is bitterness and despair, and 70 percent of the civilians on the island have been evacuated, and the rest are panicked, and thousands of skilled and stalwart officers have been evacuated. The entire island was demoralized and unstable, unable to organize an effective defense, and within the first 40 minutes it allowed shells and bombs to fall on the island like a raging storm.

In particular, the firepower fired by the three ships Musashi, Shinano, and Nagato, which were the main forces in the shelling, caused devastating consequences, destroying section after section of the defensive front, taking away wave after wave of officers and men guarding the front, and focusing on suppressing and attacking the coastal fire prevention force.

On the other hand, the U.S. military, on the one hand, was demoralized due to mental malaise, and on the other hand, because of the priority to retreat the backbone after the retreat order was issued, there was a huge hole in the command system for guarding Hawaii Island, and it was not until 40 minutes later that the shore fire force launched the first round of counterattack and was quickly suppressed by the opponent because of the exposed position.

By early morning, the Japanese artillery fleet had destroyed a large number of fortifications at the intended landing site, and the attack group that took off at night had also effectively suppressed and destroyed the airfield on the island just after 8 o'clock, and the army landing force that was as dense as a tide began to charge, and what made the defenders even more desperate was that they saw the amphibious No. 4 and Tiger tanks in the landing force, and also saw the T34, Churchill and Sherman tanks on the Sibel tank landing craft

"Bastard! Bastard! "Doolittle, who is trapped on Oahu, is like an angry lion cursing loudly, but there is nothing to be done, just organized a large-scale smuggling two days ago, most of the pilots on the island have been transferred, and now there are only more than 60 most basic escort fighters left, and there are more than 60 on Hawaii Island, but after being bombed by the Japanese army, these forces can no longer be brought into play, as for the attack aircraft pilots, there are only a few left, and they can't launch a strike at all.

By the time Dulles received the telegram from the rear, the situation had deteriorated very much The Japanese army successfully landed a wing of nearly 2,000 men and horses and established a solid bridgehead, and the follow-up troops were still coming ashore in a steady stream, and the defense system deployed by the US army on the beachhead was simply unable to parry under the three-dimensional attack of the Japanese sea, land and air, and a large number of civilians and troops retreated to the depth of the island in a hurry, and some of those who did not have time to retreat were taken prisoner on the spot. However, the proportion of 23 percent was simply unable to withstand the influx of Japanese troops.

"Sir, the army said that it can land a division before sunset today, but the supplies and weapons still need to rely on our guarantees."

"How many captives have they taken?" Tsukahara asked casually.

"More than 2,000 civilians, about the same number of officers and soldiers."

"Let the army red deer restrain his behavior, and not kill a surrendered officer or civilian, and I will keep it and sell it to the Americans."

"Sell?" The staff officer behind him was stunned, "Sell prisoners? ”

"Keep the waste of food, and have to travel thousands of miles to the mainland, how cost-effective, just sell it to the Americans, 4,000 dollars a tell Lieutenant General Anda 23, let them catch as much as possible, and then divide the ransom with half of them."

As soon as they heard that there was an opportunity to capture the "walking wallet", the army was as excited as if they had been beaten with chicken blood, and the 18th Army under the command of Anda 23 was subordinate to the Southern Army and was transferred from the direction of New Guinea, with a total of three divisions, the 20th, 41st, and 51st, plus a number of headquarters and auxiliary troops, with a total strength of nearly 100,000, which was considered a strong force, and most of the troops had been used in the attack on Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu and other places. Only the most elite 20th Division and the headquarters of the army headquarters have been staying on Christmas Island to wait, seeing that the navy handles a large amount of materials every day, the army has long been blushing, but there is really no reason to ask for it, plus their supply system is all contracted by the navy, compared to the army's standards are much higher, then it is even more embarrassing to speak, now I heard that there is a chance to make a big profit, how can I let it go?

In order to better capture more "wallets", Anda 23 can also release a few captured officers, so that they can persuade other officers and soldiers and civilians on the island not to continue to resist, and to surrender as soon as possible, waiting for the opportunity to "redeem". I don't know whether they were frightened by the Japanese attack or completely hopeless about the future, but by the time the sun went down in the evening, the number of prisoners captured by the Japanese had exceeded 20,000, a jaw-dropping number.

The Japanese attack on Hawaii not only broke the fragile tacit understanding between the United States and Japan, but also had a profound impact on the German-American negotiations, and Dulles felt very annoyed that the Japanese army's large-scale attack was instructed by Germany in order to pressure the United States to bow its head at the negotiating table; Ribbentrop clearly knew that Japan's actions had nothing to do with Germany, and he could not understand why the Japanese, who had been besieged for several months and had been receiving ransom money from the United States, did not know which nerve was wrong to start attacking, but the German side was happy to see it happen, so it deliberately or unintentionally led the action in the direction of "coordination" on the axis, which further aggravated the suspicions of the United States.

The Japanese attack in April, the joint European military exercises in May, and the future "Strange Man of the High Castle" pressed down on the Dewey government like three mountains.

On 17 April, Dulles arrived in Washington with the results of the preliminary negotiations, and the atmosphere of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was quite solemn.

After three days of fighting, Hawaii Island finally fell into the hands of the Japanese army, with more than 10,000 casualties among the troops and civilians stationed on the island, and the remaining 40,000 people became prisoners of the Japanese army.

Now, with only one island of Oahu left, Doolittle had already counted the strength in his hands, believing that it was impossible to hold on, and could only hope for a few more days.

In addition to reiterating its previous territorial and border demands, Germany also made high economic demands, which on the surface did not seem to be a big deal, but when seriously analyzed, it was a large sum of money, at least equivalent to one year's military spending, which the United States categorically could not afford.

This time it also focused on the Newfoundland issue, and the United States hinted that the Churchill regime could be placed in Newfoundland to form a confederation whole, but Ribbentrop directly rejected it, and even said: "The memorandum signed by the German and British governments pointed out that the German government has always adhered to the principle of one British, and only recognized the London government as the legitimate government representing the entire British Empire, and we are resolutely opposed to any form of two Britain, one Britain, one Britain, and one Britain, and one Canadian, if the United States insists on accommodating the Churchill regime, We think that George VI can be crowned King of Canada, and that the Dominion of Canada and Great Britain Proper can form a confederation"

In this way, it is not enough for the United States to lose Newfoundland, but also to take another Canada, which Washington will never tolerate.

At this juncture, although the talks had not yet broken down, because of the large differences between the two sides and the fact that they could no longer be maintained, the US Government was faced with a situation in which it was "unable to fight and unwilling to make peace." However, fate closed one door and then pushed open another, and the Japanese side delivered the terms of peace between Japan and the United States through the secret channel of East Russia

ps: Finally arrived home at noon today, Hangzhou is taking a sauna, as soon as I get off the car, I feel very hot, I am really tired, there is only one change today, yesterday I said that the 3rd was updated normally, in fact, I was confused and made a mistake on the 3rd before I got home, in fact, it was the 4th.

Tomorrow (4th) three watches, strive to send it before 20 o'clock, thank you for your support.

(End of chapter)

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