February 11, 1941, the sixteenth day of the first month, Guam.

The pearl of the Marianas, has been restored to its pivotal function. The Aganya airfield and the four field airfields scattered throughout the island were filled with all kinds of aircraft, more than 300 bombers of all kinds. The port of Apra has also been reopened, the docks are full of warships and cargo ships, and the dredging of the waterway and the reconstruction of the harbor are under intense construction. The Army and Marine Corps have five divisions and are spread across the Mariana and Palau Islands outside of Saipan, making it truly the most important military base in the entire Southwest Pacific.

In the middle of the bay, two Liaoning-class aircraft carriers that have just been commissioned are sailing out of the waterway, followed by several cruisers and destroyers. Their departure also means that the Spring Festival holiday is over and a new offensive is about to begin.

Agania, the area where the two sides fought the most, was where more than 400 Marines died. "This is the bunker of the Japanese army at that time." Dai Anlan was in a cement bunker that could only be squatted in and out, and introduced the battle situation to Yang Qiu, who came to Guam to comfort the soldiers. Yue Peng, who has already stepped down from his post and is currently serving as a military adviser to the General Staff Headquarters, casually pinched the protruding cement, and with a little force, the cement block collapsed and fell apart. "All the fortifications and bunkers have no rebar, they are all low-grade ordinary cement. You see here, judging by the size of the firing window, a maximum of 105 mm shore guns can be deployed. Dai Anlan and other officers scoffed at the Japanese army's ability to build fortifications. In such an important place, there was not a single decent reinforced concrete fortification that could not be found for more than half a year, which shows how embarrassed the domestic materials were after the Japanese army was exhausted. Of course, this is also related to the rapid capture, because the intelligence says that there are many fortifications in Saipan, which has been in operation for a long time, and there are large fortresses in Ryukyu and Rabaul.

Yue Peng shook his head lightly and said with emotion: "Either Japan is not ready, or it is not qualified to fight a modern war at all." ”

"I think it's the latter." Shen Honglie, who chased after him from China to report the situation, was also quite touched.

Yang Qiu smiled: "It's better not to underestimate the enemy." Unlike Guam, Ryukyu, Rabaul and Truk have been in business for decades, and the mountain terrain is better than here, and even the Marshall Islands are better defended. ”

"What the president said is, so we are the following actions, which are all prepared in accordance with the defense strength of our island of Taiwan, and the firepower of places such as the Ryukyus and Truk are designed." Shen Honglie and the officers hurriedly put away their contempt and nodded their heads one after another to indicate that they would not underestimate the enemy. After stepping out of the bunker, the blowing sea breeze made the mouth refresh, looking at the departing fleet. Yang Qiucai returned to the matter of the Japanese Combined Fleet attack: "Can you remind Yamamoto Fifty-six?" Tell him the news that Halsey is being helped? ”

"It's too late." Shen Honglie said: "I received news before I came out that after the combined fleet made a false shot in the Ryukyu Sea, two Nagato-class battleships and four heavy cruisers continued to move south to pose for a decisive battle with us, but Tsukahara 243 and Nagumo Tadaichi secretly turned around and entered the Chiba Islands to avoid US submarines in the Ogasawara Islands and the Marshall Islands, and also pulled many planes from Truk and stationed in the Eniwetok Atoll north of Paliquil. This is the closest place to Wake Island in Japan, about nine hundred kilometers, on the edge of the maximum combat radius of the Zero fighter. The Eighth Fleet stationed in Truk has also come to our side, presumably to guard against our sneak attack. At least a dozen more submarines have already departed half a month and a half ahead of schedule.

In addition, we also got the news that Kimmel of the U.S. Pacific Fleet has personally led the battleships USS Maryland and USS Tennessee in San Diego to set off, saying that it is to strengthen Pearl Harbor, but we think the destination should also be Halsey Fleet on Wake Island! ”

"Is that the big7 battleship selected by Europe and the United States?"

"Hmm. The USS Maryland belongs to the U.S. Navy's Colorado class, along with Japan's Nagato-class and Britain's Nelson-class, and is one of the world's seven strongest battleships before the end of the Navy's vacation. ”

"Hehe, there's a good show to watch now. Pity. I can't remind Japan. Even the Maryland, one of the BIG7s, was dispatched, and Dai Anlan stomped his feet again and again: "If I can remind you, I'm afraid we can not only capture Wake Island." It can also sink four aircraft carriers in one fell swoop, ending the war with Japan at least half a year earlier. Yue Peng shook his head: "It's better not to remind you." This kind of thing will have to be liquidated after the war, in case it is known by the United States, and the impact will not be good. Since there are four aircraft carriers, even the Yamato has been dispatched, it shows that Yamamoto Isoroku took Pearl Harbor and us into account when he made his plans. ”

Yang Qiu remembered that the Japanese fleet that attacked Pearl Harbor seemed to be attacking from the Chiba Islands, and he thought that this route should be very secretive and could achieve the effect of a surprise attack. However, since there is no way to remind you, it depends on luck whether you can capture Wake Island. So he focused on the new offensive: "Are you all ready for the next offensive?" ”

Shen Honglie said: "Commander Bing has ordered two Beihai-class aircraft carriers and the Shandong battleship to move southward, and at the same time, the two Anhai-class and two Dunkirk-class battleships that have just been repaired have also rushed to Penghu, putting on the illusion of intercepting the Japanese Navy. The two Liaoning-class aircraft carriers that are now leaving will feint against Manado in four days, giving Yamamoto a reassurance. When the results of Wake Island are in, all five aircraft carriers and six battleships will be concentrated in Palau. If Japan wins, then we will attack Wake Island first, closing the door to the US access to the Southwest Pacific. If the United States wins, attack Truk, open access to the Marshall Islands, and seize the flank shipping lanes that threaten Pearl Harbor and Wake Island. ”

"Hehe, your ambitions are not small. Isn't Marshall a little far away? There were more than 40,000 Japanese troops stationed there. Yue Peng smiled. He had already retired, and although his prestige was there, he didn't want to cause the impact of leaving his post to others, which would not be conducive to the young man's performance, so he deliberately used a joking tone to warn about the danger of the expedition.

How could Shen Honglie not understand the meaning of the words, and nodded: "Marshal, don't worry, we won't use the fleet and soldiers to take risks." Although there were a large number of Japanese troops in the Marshall Islands, submarine reconnaissance found that some atolls were stationed very little, and our method was to seize these islands with few garrisons, then build airfields, and use bombers to steadily and steadily clear other islands, and encroach on the past one by one. ”

"Well, don't rush, the closure to the United States can be slow. Everything is based on the security of the fleet, and our main attack is still Ryukyu and Malacca. ”

"Yes, judging by the hydrological conditions, March to July is the best time to attack the Ryukyus and Singapore. We are already preparing ammunition and the training of the landing force is almost complete, with a total of twenty divisions, and the army is expected to be sent to the Ryukyus, Singapore and the Andaman Island in April. If all goes well, the First Fleet will cooperate with the XN21 battle group to flank the Ogasawara Islands, and the Army will also land on Sakhalin when the weather improves. As long as these goals can be accomplished before August, it will be equivalent to completely encircling Japan, and no matter who it is, it will not want to interfere with Japan, lest some countries want to get into trouble! ”

Everyone knew who the country he was talking about, and he laughed. With the laughter, the war of 1941 was the first to kick off in the Pacific. On 10 February, news spread that four aircraft carriers, seven battleships, and 12 heavy cruisers of the Japanese Navy were heading south, and such a powerful fleet made a lot of noise along the southeast coast. The hum of the reconnaissance aircraft was almost non-stop for almost twenty-four hours. In order to stop the enemy, the Chinese navy also made its best efforts, except for the battleship Nanjing, which was wounded in the Battle of the Mariana and docked, six battleships, including the Shandong, two Beihai-class, and the Liaoning aircraft carrier, which had just returned to China for vacation, all gathered in Penghu. Even the aircraft carrier Guizhou, which had not been completely repaired, was launched ahead of schedule. More than 100 warships were waiting for the rest of the coast to prevent a sneak attack by the Japanese Navy and put on a decisive posture. At the same time, Guam's XN21 battle group also relaunched after a four-month hiatus. On the 16th, they bombed Manado and Mindanao in Sulawesi, bringing the flames of war to Indonesia and the Philippines for the first time.

On 17 February, two heavy cruisers of the First Fleet of the Chinese Navy suddenly appeared off the coast of Vuhun-ri, Siam. A two-hour artillery bombardment was launched against the Japanese and Siamese forces here. Subsequently, more than 300 bombers were dispatched at the Kunlun Island, Natuna, and Anambas bases at the same time to carry out the first large-scale bombing of Singapore, the Riau Islands, the Linga Islands, and Palembang, and dropped more than 50 magnetic mines in the Linga anchorage, forcing several warships of the Japanese Third Fleet stationed here to withdraw. On the same day, 50 Tien Quan and 60 H-10 attack planes departed from Saigon and arrived in Riau Province of Sumatra via Natuna. As a result, the Air Force has a total of more than 400 antiaircraft guns and more than 300 warplanes of various types, as well as three infantry divisions and more than 50 heavy artillery pieces of 210 mm or more.

This obvious deployment has made countries around the world subconsciously believe that the battle for Singapore and the Strait of Malacca is about to break out.

Just as the smoke of gunfire in the southwest Pacific Ocean was reunited, 570 nautical miles west of Wake Island, a full 43 warships raised the flag of the rising sun, which had shone on the entire southwest Pacific Ocean, crashed through the waves, and galloped southward. At sunset, the aircraft carriers Xianghe, Zuihe, Soryu, and Feilong formed a single-wing formation and advanced south under the protection of six heavy cruisers, four light cruisers, and thirteen destroyers. Fifty nautical miles behind it was a battleship formation consisting of the battleship Yamato, four Kongo-class battleships, two Tone-class heavy cruisers, nine destroyers, and eleven troop carriers. And in the middle of the two formations, there are several inconspicuous dots, if you don't look carefully, you may think that these are two aircraft carriers again, because they both have a long "straight to the deck"!

But if you can close the distance, you will find that the four destroyers are not protecting aircraft carriers, but two very peculiar warships. How peculiar is it? For the deck, as seen from above, was only a layer of deck-colored canvas, which covered the entire battleship from end to end, with very thick hemp rope fixed in a loop and tied to the hull. There are also a lot of steel pipe supports under the canvas to keep the canvas "deck" flat and not torn apart by wind and waves, while the starboard side is also supported by iron pipes to build something that looks like a ship island, and the "plane" on the "deck" is also a model made of wood, and the bottom is welded to the hull with steel pipes. The entire warship, including the mast, was flattened, and even the chimney was temporarily fitted with curved ventilation pipes, which looked like the horizontal chimney of the Shozuru aircraft carrier that curved downward.

The fleet broke through the waves silently at a speed of twenty knots. On the mast, the former Rising Sun Flag that once crisscrossed the Pacific Ocean sparkles in the setting sun. It wasn't until a suppressed debriefing sound sounded that the silence was broken. "General, the Shina Navy has been dispatched!" In the aircraft carrier Shozuru, the new flagship of the First Air Fleet, Takeo Shibata walked quickly into the conference room, and under the gaze of many officers, he handed the telegram to Tsukahara 243 in front of the wargame sand table.

"Gentlemen! The China Guam fleet began to attack Manado and Mindanao, and the domestic fleet was also attracted by Admiral Yamamoto to Taiwan and the Bass Strait. Tsukahara two-four-three's voice was very soft, but when he heard that the lure was successful, the officers present finally had a smile on their faces. But the smile didn't open up yet, and it quickly froze because of the next words. "The Third Fleet's Inoue-kun reports. Singapore, Linga and Palembang were bombed, and at least a hundred Chinay aircraft were stationed at the oil field bases in Riau, Sumatra, within two days. ”

The conference room exploded abruptly, and some officers began to worry about the South, others said it was a fake, believing that the Guam fleet would not attack the Philippines while Rabaul and Truk were still present, exposing their flanks and rear, and even some thought that the plan should be canceled.

"Could it be that the man of China is a false shot?"

"There are two Peking-class battleships in Guam, why is there no intelligence?"

"The Third Fleet should be allowed to attack, Kondo's Fifth Fleet should go back to Rabaul, and the Fourth Fleet should go to Dili. This will ensure the security of the Maluku Strait and the Sulawesi Sea. ”

"But Inoue-kun and Kondo-kun need to protect the South China Sea and Malacca, and the China Nanyang Fleet operating here still has two aircraft carriers (Liaoning and Guizhou under repair), three heavy cruisers and three light cruisers still have strong strength."

There was a lot of discussion in the conference room, and everyone didn't even pay attention to Nagumo Tadaichi and Yamaguchi Tashi. "What is this doing?!" Nanyun was a little angry, how could he be so undisciplined at the moment of the great enemy? After the conference room was quiet, Tsukahara 243, who had been watching the sand table, raised his head and handed the telegram to the two of them. Although the message in the second half of the telegram is a bit heavy, the first one is unmistakably told to the two men. Yamamoto Isoroku has already diverted the main forces of the Chinese Navy, and even if they find out the mistake of making a U-turn now, it will be too late.

"Your Excellency Nagumo." Tsukahara waved his hand, leaving behind several aviation experts such as Tabun Yamaguchi and Takeo Shibata. After letting the other officers leave, he placed several sets of ship models on the sand table in front of Nagumo. "The offensive will start tomorrow morning at ten o'clock! This is the offensive method that we are prepared to adopt after research. You see, there are a lot of American planes on Wake Island. They should also know that this is a place we must capture, so they will definitely strengthen the search in the north, south, and southeast directions. So I will accelerate tonight to the southwest, tomorrow morning, two aircraft carriers camouflaged with water aircraft carriers. Will go straight south from the north, make the illusion of a frontal attack, and I will leave eight Zeros hovering over them all the time. After the first wave of the attack launched by the Eniwetok Atoll Air Brigade, when retreating, it would lead the Miju planes over and deliberately induce the Miyak planes to attack them, and the Xianghe and Zuihe would be deployed to the west, the Soryu and Feilong to the east, and you to the back, all forty nautical miles apart. He quickly laid out the formation and explained in detail. But if Pan Duheng is here, he will definitely slap Tsukahara a few times, because this set of tactics is exactly the same as his tactics in the Battle of the Marianas, the only difference is that Japan is reluctant to use battleships as bait, so it deliberately modified two seaplane carriers, covered them with canvas, and pretended to be aircraft carriers to attract American planes.

Since aerial reconnaissance could not see both sides of the hull waterline, and only a thin line could be seen at high altitude, the pilot had to rely on the shape of the deck to analyze the species. Historically, in the Battle of the Coral Sea, U.S. pilots used oil tankers as Japanese aircraft carriers to attack, which shows that if the deck is flat, it is difficult to distinguish the type of target. So when the mast is flattened and covered with canvas, it looks very similar to the flight deck. Of course, there is no way to do it, the Japanese Navy is really scared, the two battles of the Ryukyus and the Marianas, how many warships were sunk! Therefore, the idea of protecting the ship was born quickly, and even Tsukahara, the most active aircraft carrier attacker, could not say that he used the aircraft carrier or battleship as a decoy.

"I believe that the United States also knows the importance of Wake Island, and the lack of good harbors here, so their fleet will never be in place. And the attraction of Admiral Yamamoto will definitely alert them as well, so our opponents will most likely be two or three aircraft carriers, four or five battleships, and eight heavy and light cruisers! Therefore, we must muster up the spirit of 120,000 points and be vigilant! In the end, Tsukahara 243 even explained the way out: "Your Excellency Nagumo, the U.S. Navy is very strong, but they have a huge weakness!" It's just that the speed of the battleship is too slow, so if I can get lucky and win, then the battleships of Yonmu will definitely retreat to Pearl Harbor to the east at all costs, and then I will ask you to pursue with speed, for the future of the Japanese Empire, please be sure to sink as many battleships as possible! The more they sink, the more time they need to recover! But if we fail, then please send a destroyer to save the pilot's life, withdraw from the battle, and protect the ship back home no matter what! ”

Tsukahara bowed deeply at the end, which shows how uncertain he is.

"Tsukahara-kun, don't worry, I'll do my best." Nagumo glanced at him and suddenly asked, "But I have a question, how do we keep Wake Island for a long time?" ”

"I don't know." Tsukahara shook his head unusually dryly.

If you don't fight, you may face a flank attack from Wake Island and Guam. If the war is won, the United States will have no forward base, and it must retract, and then use the last breath of the Imperial Navy to find a way to maneuver until the international situation has undergone major changes. Of course, if they are defeated again, these people will have to be loyal to the emperor!

So, it's a dead end.

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