"Zhang ......"

That morning, Zhang Chi was leisurely drinking coffee and eating bread in the headquarters...... This is the prerogative of the American officers, although the supply of Kwajalein Island is not abundant, but the American officers can already enjoy bread and milk, while Zhang Chi prefers rice and vegetables, of course, this can also be done, it is the result of Halsey's special explanation of the logistics unit, but Zhang Chi feels that breakfast can still be casual. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

At this time, the Halsey jeep stopped in front of Zhang Chi's headquarters, Halsey jumped down in a hurry, waved at Zhang Chi outside the window, and asked after entering the door: "Tell me, do you support attacking Japan from the Pacific or from the Philippines?" ”

"Of course it's the Pacific Ocean!" Zhang Chi replied.

"Good!" Halsey said, "Do you have anything to sort out?" We're going to Pearl Harbor! ”

"Pearl Harbor?" Hearing this, Zhang Chi couldn't help but be stunned, it was not close to Kwajalein Island. What's more, what are you going to do there?

When Halsey explained the purpose of the trip to Zhang Chi, they were already on the transport plane to Pearl Harbor, and the escort mission was a formation of twelve "Hellcats...... For this new type of fighter, which can be said to be the nemesis of Zero Battle, a formation of "Hellcats" is enough to take out any Japanese fighter that tries to pick up a transport plane.

This was the first time Zhang Chi had come into contact with the "Hellcats" so closely, so he watched them flexibly guard the neighborhood through the window of the machine.

"This is a great fighter!" Halsey praised on the side: "At the same time, it is also our magic weapon to win, and the Japanese are only afraid of it now!" ”

Zhang Chi just smiled because he knew that might not be the case.

This is not to say that the "Hellcat" is not good enough, or that Japan is not afraid, but ...... The Japanese were accustomed to blocking news that was unfavorable to them, just as the defeat at the Battle of Midway was disguised as a victory, and the "Hellcat" was afraid that the same was true, and many Japanese pilots did not even know that the American military was equipped with fighters capable of overpowering the Zero in all its aspects.

It is also impossible to tell whether this is right or wrong.

To say that it is right...... The Japanese pilots were bound to miscalculate because they did not know about this situation, and it was inevitable that the casualties of the Japanese pilots would increase.

It would be wrong to say that if the Japanese pilots were to know that the American ghost beast had a kind of fighter that could restrain the Japanese "Zero" fighter, which was almost mythical, it would not only deal a blow to the morale of the Japanese army, but would even deal a blow to the confidence of the people of the whole country, which the Japanese military could not tolerate.

At this time, the Japanese paid more attention to spirit and morale, so they chose to block the news.

"You know what?" Then Halsey said, "For this voyage, we used an escort carrier!" ”

"Oh!" Zhang Chi was still a little puzzled at first, why use escort aircraft carriers?

But soon Zhang Chi thought of ...... Pearl Harbor is 2,000 nautical miles (3,200 kilometers) from Kwajalein, which has long exceeded the maximum range of the Hellcat, so an escort aircraft carrier is needed to "relay" on the way.

Later, Zhang Chi learned that this "relay" was by no means as simple as he thought that he only needed one relay, because the maximum range of the "Hellcat" was 1,500 kilometers, and it was impossible to reach Pearl Harbor after only one "relay".

So the U.S. military used a more sophisticated method, using an aircraft carrier and an emergency airfield on an island to complete three "relays" to do this.

This can also be seen from the US Navy's skillfulness in the use of aircraft carriers and the deployment of fighter planes, and another point is what Zhang Chi is puzzled about......

"Why bother?" Zhang Chi asked.

"We're going to a meeting!" Halsey said.

"What?" Zhang Chi asked: "Is it about the direction and route of the attack?" ”

Zhang Chi remembered the question Halsey asked before leaving.

"Yes!" Halsey nodded and said, "The situation has changed, according to our reconnaissance, the Japanese have frequently moved forces in the Mariana Islands and the Caroline Islands and strengthened the defenses of these two places. Therefore, MacArthur, the stubborn guy, once again proposed that we should avoid the Japanese and go through the Philippines! ”

Hearing this, Zhang Chi couldn't help but smile.

Obviously, MacArthur had selfish motives...... It should be said that it is normal for the Japanese to strengthen the defense of the Maria Islands and the Caroline Islands, because the Marshall Islands are part of Japan's "absolute defense circle", and the Marshall Islands were broken by the US military so quickly, so the Caroline Islands and the Mariana Islands will be followed by them.

What Zhang Chi didn't know was that the Japanese side of Kenji Sato really planned to give up the two islands, but this plan was not approved by Hideki Tojo and put into practice.

As for the Philippines...... It was made up of more than 7,000 islands, and the Japanese had built many bases on those islands, and it was obviously a quagmire, and it was a good place to fight guerrillas, whether it was the army or the flying group, which was exactly what the Japanese army was good at.

The reason why MacArthur will not forget the Philippines is known to many people, that is, MacArthur was driven out of the Japanese army from there, MacArthur wanted revenge, and wanted to use the fact of retaking the Philippines to get back the face he had lost in front of the Filipinos.

MacArthur's view had actually been denied by Zhang Chi and others before, and many people in the US military did not agree to attack from the Philippines, where the terrain was complicated, but because the Japanese army was likely to transfer the main force to the Mariana Islands and the Caroline Islands, MacArthur was given a chance to revisit the old story.

Obviously, if MacArthur's suggestion had been taken by the top brass of the United States, then the US Navy would have to abandon the current direction of attack, and even have to serve MacArthur's offensive plan...... The Philippines is full of Japanese flight bases, and if it wants to land in the Philippines, it is obvious that the aircraft carriers of the US Navy need to cooperate in the operation.

This is unacceptable to the US Navy, so it is bound to fight to the death with MacArthur.

So Zhang Chi thought of the reason why Halsey wanted to bring himself and asked that sentence before leaving...... Zhang Chi had persuaded or could be said to have "defeated" MacArthur on several informal occasions, and MacArthur's eloquence was well known, so Halsey wanted to take Zhang Chi to be a lobbyist.

Then Zhang Chi felt a little headache, because he knew very well that MacArthur must have been prepared this time.

(To be continued.) )