On Christmas Day, December 25, 1941, the flag symbolizing the commander of the Pacific Fleet was raised on the battleship "North Carolina". Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

With a standard displacement of 36,600 tons and nine 16-inch cannons, the USS North Carolina and its sister ship USS Washington are now the newest and most powerful battleships of the US Navy. According to the original plan, the two battleships were to be used in the Atlantic against the two Bismarck-class battleships of the German army. After the other 4 "South Dakota" class battleships (which are an improved version of the "North Carolina" class) were commissioned from March to August 1942, these 6 powerful battleships plus 3 "Colorado" class battleships with 16-inch guns will go to a decisive battle at sea with the combined German, Italian and French fleets together with the British battleships!

However, the plan could not catch up with the change, and now two of the three "Colorado" class ships are gone, and the two "North Carolina" classes, which were supposed to shock the Germans in the Atlantic, had to be quickly transferred to the Pacific Ocean, and entered the port of San Diego with the USS Wasp on December 25.

And on the very same day, Nimitz moved his headquarters from the shore to the battleship "Carolina".

"USS Carolina, USS Washington, USS Wasp, USS Raider...... By the way, the USS Colorado is also joining Task Force 7. ”

"The battleship Colorado?" Milo. Rear Admiral Frederick reminded Nimitz that "the battleship was slow, the fastest was only 21 knots." ”

"Bring it, it has eight 16-inch cannons." Nimitz said, "There's still a good chance we'll have a fight with that Japanese super-battleship." ”

"Fight with Japan's super battleships?" Major General Frederick looked at Nimitz with some surprise.

"It's the worst," Nimitz smiled wryly, "but when you're unlucky, the worst happens." Now the United States is not very lucky, so it is likely to encounter the Japanese super battleship. ”

At the behest of President Roosevelt, Nimitz drew up a sprawling plan with three goals. The three objectives were: 1) to send supplies and troops to Australia, 2) to evacuate some of the personnel on Oahu, and 3) to support the Oahu operation.

In order to achieve these three goals, Nimitz had to find a way to temporarily divert several Japanese fleet carriers and five Japanese battleships from the vicinity of Oahu. Thus creating conditions for the breakout of cruisers, destroyers and the counterattack of the Oahu Army.

And in order to implement such a risky battle plan, it is natural to be prepared to be caught and beaten by the Japanese super battleships. That's why Nimitz brought the USS Colorado with him - while the Colorado's eight 16-inch (460mm) cannons might not be able to hit the Japanese super-battleships, they were enough to deal with other Japanese battleships, even the Nagato-class. If one or two other types of battleships that followed the Japanese super-battleships were heavily damaged, then Nimitz's fleet would not necessarily have no chance of breaking away unscathed.

Looking at the sky outside the porthole, Nimitz said, "Task Force 7 departed with SS01 this evening and left San Diego. In this way, the German agents lurking in San Diego early tomorrow morning will think that Task Force 7 and SS01 are acting together and going in one direction. ”

……

The kilometre-long stretch of beach line in and around Haleiwa has become a gathering ground for the giant's army and a dumping ground for supplies. The Japanese Army's ship units were indeed more energetic than the Navy. From the night of the 23rd to the present, the transfer of personnel, equipment and materials has been carried out for more than 30 hours. Each "ship sapper" is supported by a frenzied virtual fire, carrying out super-heavy work. But the infantry of the entire 2nd Division was still not finished, not to mention the various heavy equipment in their artillery, baggage and engineer wings. As for the 38th Division, not even a single soldier has gone ashore now, and they continue to get seasick on the rickety transport ship.

Although the Japanese Army Ship Command has done a lot of useful work in the past few years, it has developed various landing tools such as army aircraft carriers, landing ships, large and small engine boats, etc. However, Japan's national strength is limited after all, and it is simply impossible to give the army enough budget to build aircraft carriers, landing ships, and landing craft (large and small launch boats). And the Japanese Army could not have imagined a few years ago that they would one day become the hegemon of the entire Pacific Ocean, landing on many islands controlled by the United States and Britain at the same time. Therefore, the preparation of various landing vehicles was very inadequate, which also greatly slowed down the speed of the army's landing.

The troops that had already gone ashore included all of the 3rd Infantry Brigade (under the jurisdiction of the 4th Infantry Wing and the 29th Infantry Wing), and the 16th Infantry Wing, which belonged to the 15th Infantry Brigade, was divided into two parts. Among them, the headquarters of the 15th Infantry Brigade remained on the beachhead and in the town of Haleieva to continue to assist the "ship engineers" in transporting personnel and materials. The 3rd Infantry Brigade began to advance toward the nearby Wyanai Ridge (an arc of the Wai Nai Ridge, the northern foot of which is near Haleiva), where it engaged in fierce fighting with the 5th Infantry Regiment of the 25th U.S. Army Infantry Division.

Originally, the 25th Division of the US Army should not have been able to defeat the Japanese 2nd Division, because the 25th Division of the US Army was recently reorganized from the National Guard in Hawaii, and although it was quite well-equipped, the quality of the soldiers could not be compared with that of the soldiers of the Japanese 2nd Division who had come out of "hard training for seven days." However, the soldiers of the Japanese 2nd Division had been bustling on the sea for many days, and they were so seasick that they could hardly find the north, and their feet were weak when they first came ashore, and their combat effectiveness was naturally reduced. Moreover, the 25th Division of the U.S. Army is guarding its hometown, and it can't do it if it doesn't work hard, so it's also a bit of a super long play.

The battle lines of both sides spread out at the foot of the Wyanai Ridge, and the artillery fire was grounded. Although the Japanese army did not have a few land guns and did not have enough ammunition, the naval artillery support was quite in place. The artillery performance of the US 25th Division was also remarkable, and they scattered their howitzers on the slopes of the back of the Wyanai Ridge. Not only did it avoid the suppression of the Japanese guns, but it was also able to hit the beachhead of Haleieva and blast through the scattered piles of ammunition, supplies, food, and light artillery that had just been unloaded from the ship! It did not cause much damage (perhaps the beach absorbed considerable explosive power), but it greatly hampered the landing operation.

Lieutenant General Maruyama Masao, commander of the 2nd Division, who had served as military attache in Britain for many years, had also come ashore and set up a headquarters in a church in the small town of Haleiwa. The confusion of the landing, the setbacks in the depths, and the suffering of seasickness for many days did not discourage the Japanese lieutenant general, who was still urging his troops to attack the Wyanai Ridge, the northern foot of which held the access to the heart of the Oahu Plains. The Oahu Plains, as its name is, actually somewhat like a valley, with the Wai Nai Ridge and the Kurau Mountains on either side, and a small plain in between. One of the ranges in the Wyanai and Kurau Mountains had to be captured to cover the army's attack on Pearl Harbor and Honolulu through the Oahu Plains.

The Kurau Mountains are taller and steeper than the Wai Nai Ridge, so Imamura and Maruyama have taken the Wai Nai Ridge as a target.

The German military adviser Paulus was also at this time with his adjutant and photographer Rudolf. Feng. Ribbentrop went ashore together. A telescope on the roof terrace of a three-story building near Maruyama's church, while Ribbentrop Jr. used a Zeiss camera to photograph the nearby beach – these were valuable first-hand information that would be useful for future landings in Britain!

At this moment, the second lieutenant in charge of communications in the military advisory group rushed up and said loudly to Paulus: "Lieutenant General, a telegram from the General Staff from Emperor Frederick III. ”

"A telegram from the General Staff?" Paulus looked at Rudolph. Feng. Ribbentrop glanced at it, and the latter immediately stepped forward to take the copy of the telegram, looked at it, and then said to Paulus: "Lieutenant General, it's a military briefing. The US Pacific Fleet left San Diego with 3 battleships, 2 aircraft carriers, and a large number of transports! ”

"They're here to reinforce Oahu!" Paulus muttered, strode towards the staircase, and before he could go downstairs he turned back to Rudolph. Feng. Ribbentrop said, "Rudolph, I'll come as soon as I go." You stay here and continue to take pictures, and remember to take more scenes related to the landing. ”

……

"Commander, this time 3 more battleships and 2 aircraft carriers...... In addition, there are at least 4 more aircraft carriers loitering in the Pacific Ocean. ”

On the battleship Yamato, Yamamoto Isoroku had already received a telegram from Paulus, and he smiled and said to Ugaki, who informed him: "I knew that the Americans would not give up, and now it is Hawaii that is fighting!" But this is also our chance...... The first battle is a decisive battle! Now is the time when our empire is the strongest, and the United States is the weakest. It will be of great benefit to our side to have a decisive battle now. So the more American ships come, the better! ”

"Commander, we have sunk 8 American battleships and 1 aircraft carrier. If 2-3 more battleships and 2 or more aircraft carriers can be eliminated this time, the strength of the US Pacific Fleet will not be restored for at least 2 years. By then, we would have already turned Hawaii into an impregnable fortress. (To be continued.) )