"Commander, American planes are bombing the Army on Oahu. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ”

Yamamoto had just gotten up and heard the news of the army's bad luck for the red deer, but he was not surprised, as if everything was expected.

"How many planes are there? Is it a single shot or a quadruple shot? Yamamoto asked as he slowly got dressed.

"There are more than 100 of them! All single-engine aircraft, which should have taken off from an American aircraft carrier! ”

Ugaki, who reported to Yamamoto Isoroku, was full of regret in his tone, if the 1st Mobile Fleet had been dispatched one day earlier, he might have been able to attack now!

Yamamoto seemed to have guessed Ugaki's thoughts, and just smiled faintly: "It's useless, you can't hit the American aircraft carrier." They must have calculated the time and sent the plane out before dawn, and then the aircraft carrier immediately fled...... Look at it, these more than 100 planes will definitely not return after bombing the army. ”

"Commander, then you don't have to send the 1st Mobile Fleet out?"

Yamamoto Fifty-six thought for a while and said, "That's not going to work, in case the American aircraft carrier doesn't leave, it will be troublesome." Let Yamaguchi lead a second voyage to 200 nautical miles south of the Hawaiian Islands...... In addition, the Zuizuru of the Fifth Air War was strengthened to the Second Air Battle. ”

Yamamoto's order was to split up Nagumo's 1st Mobile Fleet. The three aircraft carriers, Soryu, Feilong, and Zuizuru, were commanded by Tawen Yamaguchi and went to the south of the Hawaiian Islands to drive out the Halsey fleet -- in fact, Halsey had already run away, and his four aircraft carriers were now related to the survival of Australia, and they really could not afford to lose, and Halsey, who knew the severity of the matter, certainly did not dare to have another gamble with the Japanese.

However, Yamamoto Isoroku still had to be cautious, so it was still necessary to send Yamaguchi Tawen troops (three aircraft carriers).

"And what about the main force of the First Mobile Fleet?" Ugaki then asked.

"Send planes to deal with the new American planes on Oahu first," Yamamoto Isoroku had already put on his military uniform, opened the sliding door of his bedroom, walked to the outer commanding office, and said to Ugaki, who was standing there, "and then go north of Oahu...... In a day or two, there will be really big fish on the hook. In addition, Mikawa Gunichi was given command of the 3rd Sentai of the First Fleet to support the landing operation. The main forces of the First Fleet are now preparing to take on the battleships of the US Pacific Fleet! ”

"Hay!"

……

"Admiral, the telegram from Oahu, the bombing 30 minutes ago was very successful, and the beach of Haleiwa turned into a sea of fire, killing a lot of Japanese devils who had just come ashore, and also blowing up a lot of supplies piled up there."

On the battleship "North Carolina", Admiral Nimitz had just gotten good news. This morning (Hawaii time), an air strike on Japanese forces on Oahu, launched by 146 F4F and SBD, was a great success. Hundreds of high-explosive bombs fell on the heads of unprepared Japanese army officers and men, killing perhaps 2,000 or more, and destroying many of the materials that had been painstakingly brought in from the Japanese mainland.

"Admiral, now there are planes on Oahu again," Maj. Gen. Frederick said, placing the telegram on Nimitz's desk, and laughing, "maybe we can hold Oahu." ”

Nimitz glanced at his chief of staff and said lightly at his words, "If we can sink that Japanese super battleship...... Otherwise, the makeshift airfield inside the Scaffield barracks wouldn't be around for long. ”

The temporary airfield of Screffield Barracks is not in the valley, but on the plain south of Scaffield Barracks. Because the airfield was located in a valley, it was very unsafe for planes to take off and land, and although this valley was a dead end for naval artillery firing, it was too close to the front line and was vulnerable to bombardment by Japanese heavy mortars.

At this time, the voice of a report sounded outside Nimitz's office, and then Nimitz's adjutant pushed open the door: "Admiral, Major General Spruance has arrived. ”

"Please come in." Nimitz said.

Raymond. Ames. Rear Admiral Spruance was a naval commander whom Nimitz had a high regard for, and now he commanded a patrol detachment that Nimitz wanted him to lead into Kaneohe Bay in the early hours of January 3 to "fish for men."

"Raymond, there's a difficult task for you to accomplish," Nimitz beckoned Spruance to take his seat, and then said, "You lead the 3rd Sentai to assault Oahu at high speed starting tomorrow morning, so as to enter Caneohe Bay after dark. ”

"It sounds like a death," Rear Admiral Spruance said to Nimitz in the tone of American bluntness, "Admiral, I have heard that there are five Japanese battleships and a lot of heavy cruisers near Oahu. ”

"Actually, not so," Nimitz said with a smile, "and there are no heavy cruisers, and the Japanese heavy cruisers are now attacking Guam, the Philippines, Wake Island, Borneo, and Malaya." So as long as you dodge the attacks of Japanese battleships and aircraft, the 3rd Sentai is very safe. Because the New Orleans-class heavy cruisers and Cleveland-class light cruisers were very powerful enough to deal with Japanese light cruisers and destroyers. ”

The New Orleans-class heavy cruiser was a treaty heavy cruiser, and the combat effectiveness was just that. However, the Cleveland-class light cruisers are really good, not light at all, with a standard displacement of 11,800 tons, which is larger than a treaty heavy cruiser. Rear Admiral Spruance's 3rd squad included 1 New Orleans class and 2 Cleveland-class ships.

"But how can I avoid planes and battleships?"

"In fact, they probably won't attack you, because your team is not a high-value target, and the Japanese are likely to use Team 3 as a decoy." Nimitz said. "And the weather is terrible today."

"What if the Japanese didn't use my team as bait?"

Nimitz shrugged and said, "If they send battleships to attack you, the 3rd battle can escape." If it's an airplane...... This is unlikely, and if it does come, I will send carrier-based aircraft to support you. ”

Nimitz's plan may not sound like a solid one, but in reality the Japanese planes did not have the strength to deal with the Spruance team approaching Oahu at high speed, because they had too many enemies to deal with.

A number of Japanese planes followed Yamaguchi's squadron as they marched south of the Hawaiian Islands; The other took off from the Akagi, Kaga, and Shotsuru to deal with American planes on Oahu, while also bombing airfields; In addition, the five battleships Yamato, Nagato, Mutsu, Kirishima and Hiei also needed aircraft cover.

And the weather in the Hawaiian Islands on January 2, 1942 was not very good, with a large thundercloud drifting in the sky, and from time to time it rained somewhere.

So it wasn't until 2 p.m. on January 2 that Isoroku Yamamoto learned that an American fleet, including three heavy cruisers, was heading for Oahu at high speed.

"3 heavy cruisers?" Yamamoto Fifty-six frowned slightly when he heard the news, because the weather was not too good, and fierce fighting was breaking out on Oahu, so the seaplanes that were sent out to seek the enemy today were all seaplanes with a small range. In addition, these planes are often exposed to sudden thundershowers, so there is bound to be a lot of sea area that will be missed.

"Commander, are you going to send planes to bomb?" Ugaki asked.

"No," Yamamoto Fifty-six touched his head and shook his head, "not yet...... It is impossible to have only 3 heavy cruisers. It must be some kind of trap! ”

Ugaki also nodded and said, "I think so too, although I don't know what the Americans want to do, but there must be some tricks...... Anyway, it's just 3 heavy cruisers. ”

Three treaty heavy cruisers were not a high-value target, especially since Nagumo Tadashi didn't have too many carrier-based aircraft to use. So Yamamoto Isoroku and Ugaki would rather choose to wait and see for the time being.

Yamamoto Fifty-six thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "But we can't let them get too close to Oahu, tonight is the night of the decisive battle!" Ugaki-kun, it seems that our Yamato is going to show its might again tonight! ”

……

Oahu, Hawaii.

By the time it was nearly evening, dark clouds were already hanging low in the sky, and the battle between US and Japanese planes could only come to an end temporarily. The 176 F4F and SBD that took off from the USS Lexington and Saratoga are now less than 100 left after the entire daytime attrition today. Of the more than 70 aircraft lost, about half were lost in air battles, and half were destroyed by bombing by Japanese aircraft.

Although the losses were heavy, the results were remarkable, and the Japanese troops who landed on Oahu were on the defensive from the morning, which must have been the result of the bombing. In addition, more than 30 Japanese planes were shot down, and almost no one saw a Japanese pilot parachuting!

That is, behind these more than 30 shot downs, at least 50 Japanese pilots were killed. If you compare the losses of pilots alone, the Japanese actually lost today's air battles.

The result of such an air battle made Walter. Admiral Schott was very satisfied. He withdrew his gaze from the cloudy sky and said to Colonel Collins beside him, "The Navy men are doing a good job, and now it's our turn." Let the children drive the tanks out of the woods, and let the sappers build the pontoon bridge. I hope to launch an offensive at 9 p.m. and advance the front to Haleiwa Beach by tomorrow morning...... This goal should be achievable, and for tonight's counterattack we have concentrated 150 tanks, 120 artillery pieces and 5 regiments of infantry. ”

"Admiral, we've put in a bit too much infantry." Colonel Collins said, "We have very little reserve left. ”

"Isn't there still 1 battalion?" Admiral Short smiled, "That's enough...... Could it be that the Japanese soldiers, who had no weapons other than 'pikes' (Type 38 rifles that looked a little too long with bayonets), machine guns, mortars, and grenades, could defeat an armored force? This is impossible, the experience of the war in Europe clearly tells us that only another armored army can defeat one armored force, and the Japanese certainly have no armored forces available in Hawaii! (To be continued.) )