On the night of 23 December, the First Fleet of the Japanese Navy, which had five battleships, Yamato, Nagato, Mutsu, Hiei, and Kirishima, as well as ships carrying the entire 2nd and 38th Divisions of the Army, arrived in a murderous manner on the ocean off North Haleiwa on Oahu. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Although five battleships, Yamato, Nagato, Mutsu, Hiei, and Kirishima, had been shelling targets at Pearl Harbor and Honolulu (Horununu) on the south coast of Oahu for several days, it was not surprising that they finally chose to land north of Oahu. After all, Pearl Harbor and Honolulu, south of Oahu, have been large strongholds of American operations for more than half a century. Although several batteries with large-caliber cannons were destroyed by the terrible Yamato.

However, there were still many strong fortifications at the top of Diamond Hill and the southern foothills of the Kurau Mountains, and 12-inch (305mm) mortars were placed in some dead corners where the guns could not fire. Dozens of movable 8-inch (203mm), 6-inch (155mm), and 5-inch (127mm) cannons were hidden in tunnels at the top of Diamond Hill and at the foot of the Kurau Mountains. If the Japanese were to land head-on from Honolulu and Pearl Harbor, the artillery would be in full swing.

In addition to Pearl Harbor and Honolulu, Oahu is home to large groups of Kaneohe Bay and Kailua Bay in the east of the island, Makaha, Wyanai and Nanakuli on the west coast of the island, and Haleiwa in the north of the island. These places have beaches for landing troops to disembark, and there are also small and medium-sized ports available nearby.

However, the Kulau Mountains between Caneohe Bay and Kailua Bay on the one hand, Pearl Harbor and Honolulu, made it difficult for the landing force to pass through, and the U.S. forces were easy to defend, so they were not considered.

On the west coast of the island, Makaha, Wyanai and Nanakulli are too close to Pearl Harbor, and on the shore are the Wyeone Ridge, the second largest mountain range on Oahu, and south of the Wyenai Mountains is the Hatch Battery, which was destroyed by the Yamato. Although the battery was destroyed, a large number of fortifications defending the battery remained, blocking the road to Pearl Harbor and Honolulu on the Viane waterfront. The U.S. Army's artillery deployed near Pearl Harbor was also large enough to blockade the southern foothills of the Wyanai Mountains, making it an ideal landing site.

After excluding the east, west, and south sides of Oahu, the only remaining suitable place for landing is Haleiwa in northern Oahu. Not only does Haleiwa have beaches that are perfect for landing, but it also has a small port. In addition, from Haleiwa ashore is the Oahu Plain, a plain in the middle of Oahu, between the Kurau Mountains and the Wai Nai Ridge, with Haleiva at its northernmost point and Pearl Harbor and Honolulu at its southernmost point.

In other words, as long as the Japanese landed successfully at Haleiwa, they would be able to rush south along the Oahu plain into Pearl Harbor and Honolulu. But Americans are not a race-incapable of fighting. They had long known the weakness of Oahu's defenses, so many years ago they had built the Scaffield Barracks near Vasiwaa in the middle of the Oahu Plains as a stronghold for the defense of the Oahu Plains, and Admiral Short's headquarters was located in this barracks.

In addition to this key barracks, Admiral Short also has a trump card in his hand, which is assigned to the two tank battalions of the 24th and 25th Divisions of the U.S. Army stationed on Oahu, which are equipped with a total of 152 M3 "Stuart" light tanks (in addition to more than 50 reserves). Although the M3 tank is only a light tank, it is a good thing to slaughter infantry, equipped with a 37mm gun and five 7.62mm machine guns, which can already be described as terrifying for infantry.

Therefore, Admiral Short, who had the Scaffield Barracks and two tank battalions, decided to place the decisive battle on the Oahu Plains, and did not deploy heavy troops in the area of Haleiwa on the north shore of Oahu, where the Japanese were most likely to land.

In the minds of Admiral Short and his staffs, no matter how powerful the Japanese battleships were, they would not be able to go ashore, and in a land battle on the plains of Oahu, far from the beach, two tank battalions would definitely show their skills. Those Japanese troops who came from afar would never carry tanks with them, right?

Thus, at 11 p.m. on 23 December, when the huge Japanese landing fleet arrived on time for the offensive line, as planned, the beach at Haleiwa was still silent, as if it were undefended.

"Why is there no one to defend it? Could the Americans on Oahu be frightened by Yamamoto's battleships and dare not fight the Imperial Army on the beachhead? ”

Imamura, commander of the 16th Army of the Japanese Army, who commanded the landing battle, held a telescope on his command ship "Choshu Maru" and observed the quiet Haleieva while talking to himself.

Although there is a friendship between Imamura and Yamamoto that transcends land and sea, this friendship cannot be overridden by the army collective. Therefore, Imamura could not set up his military headquarters on the spacious and comfortable Yamato, and certainly could not board other ships belonging to the navy, but placed his military headquarters on a passenger liner called the "Choshu Maru" -- speaking of which, the total tonnage of ships in the hands of the Japanese army is much more than that of the Japanese navy! Because most of the requisitioned civilian ships are used and controlled by the army, the total tonnage is as high as 2.1 million tons! The navy, including military ships and requisitioned civilian ships, totals more than 1.5 million tons.

"Commander, the main forces of the U.S. military should be concentrated in areas in the middle of the Oahu Plain where it is difficult for naval guns to fire." Maruyama Masao, the commander of the 2nd Division, is now also on the "Choshu Maru", and when he heard Imamura's words, he analyzed, "But there should be long-range artillery aimed at the Haleiwa beachhead." ”

"It doesn't matter," Imamura said, "that the Navy's reconnaissance planes are already in the sky, and once the American artillery fires, they will be exposed, and the naval guns will quickly destroy them." He frowned, "But the key to Oahu's quick victory in the first battle was a surprise attack by the navy...... If the strange way of using submarines to transport combat vehicles works, it may be easy to take the ports of Diamond Hill and Honolulu, and then it will be easy to fight. ”

Although the Japanese Army had aircraft carriers (now gone) and landing ships, as well as landing craft such as large engine boats, they also did not have the ability to send two divisions to the beachhead at once. Moreover, the 2nd Division and the 38th Division still have a lot of heavy equipment, which is too slow to land in the small port of Haleiva, and it will be much easier if the big port in Honolulu can be taken.

Therefore, after referring to the landing plan formulated by the navy, Imamura still retained the plan of sneak attack by submarines carrying tanks, and also asked Taiwan to form a mixed brigade to cooperate. However, he did not come up with such a brain-opening plan as soon as he came up, but waited until a part of the 2nd Division and the 38th Division came ashore at Haleiwa to attract the attention of the US troops before carrying out a brain-opening sneak attack.

……

"Lieutenant General, San Diego's telegram, the Japanese devils have landed on Haleiwa Beach!"

"Damn, it's finally here!"

On the USS Enterprise, Commander Halsey, commander of the 1st U.S. Task Force, was woken up from his bed by a staff officer and heard unexpectedly bad news. When he hurriedly put on his clothes and went to the bridge with his staff officer, the latest order from the Taiping Fleet Command had arrived.

"Lieutenant General, the command has ordered that we don't have to return to San Diego." Captain of the USS Enterprise and Chief of Staff of Task Force 1 George Brown. Colonel Murray said to Halsey, "Admiral Nimitz ordered us to immediately go to the G2 sea area and resupply the S1 supply fleet, and immediately go to support Oahu. ”

The so-called G2 Sea, a temporary designation, is located about 200 nautical miles west of the Gilbert Islands, about 900 nautical miles from Oahu, not very far from where the Halsey fleet is now.

These days, Halsey's fleet has been drifting at sea, carefully avoiding Japanese aircraft carriers and far away from Hawaii, where Japanese ships are gathered, so the speed of sailing is not fast. Until the early morning of the 24th, it was still in the waters of about 1,000 nautical miles southwest of the Hawaiian Islands. At this rate, San Diego would not be in San Diego by 1941, so Nimitz simply asked the Halsey fleet to receive a replenishment at sea and then continue the operation.

The S1 supply fleet was part of the original SH01 fleet, consisting of several tankers, freighters and a destroyer. Shortly after the night battle on Hawaii Island, Nimitz, who had succeeded Kimmel as commander of the Pacific Fleet, was sent to the G2 sea area on standby. The purpose was to resupply Hardey's Task Force 1 if necessary.

"Support Oahu?" Halsey frowned, "How to support?" ”

"Release all the SBDs and F4Fs on the USS Lexington and USS Saratoga 1,000 kilometers from Oahu, and let them hang high-explosive bombs to bomb the Japanese troops who landed on Oahu. However, it was not carried out immediately, but to wait for the order of Commander Nimitz. ”

"What happens after the bombing?" Halsey asked. "These planes can't go back to the aircraft carrier."

"Landing at a makeshift airfield on Oahu," said George. Colonel Murray said, "Then it was placed under the command of the Hawaiian Army." In addition, Task Force 1 moved towards San Diego immediately after releasing its carrier-based aircraft. Admiral Nimitz expected the Japanese carriers to come in pursuit, and if we could get rid of the Japanese carriers, then Task Force 1 would split into two, with the USS Lexington and the USS Saratoga as the core, and Task Force 6 would go to San Diego. The remaining ships will remain Task Force 1 and will join the SS01 fleet. ”

“ss01？” Halsey was stunned. "From where?"

George. Colonel Murray said, "It's the San Diego-Sydney No. 1 Transport Fleet." Admiral Nimitz telegraphed a very large and important convoy of transports that had to be delivered safely to Australia. (To be continued.) )