On the west coast of the United States, the Port of San Diego in southern California, is one of the stations of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

In the spacious conference room of the Pacific Fleet, the Allied top brass was also in session, and because of the time difference, the Berlin side held a night meeting, while the San Diego side held a morning meeting.

Sitting in the middle of the table, chairing the meeting was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, Admiral William Daniel Leahy.

Admiral William Daniel Leahy was a silvery-white haired veteran who graduated from the Anapolis Naval Academy in 1897.

During World War I, Admiral Leahy commanded a Navy transport ship and became a lifelong friend of Roosevelt's confidant and aide to Franklin D. Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the Admiralty.

After the formation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff organization, Roosevelt sent Admiral William Leahy to lead the organization and serve as a liaison between the U.S. military and him.

In addition to Admiral Leahy, the meeting was attended by Admiral Marshall, Chief of the General Staff of the US Army, Admiral Arnold, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the US Army and Commander of Army Air Forces, and Admiral King, Chief of Naval Operations.

In addition to the top of the US military, two generals from Europe attended the meeting.

One is Vice Admiral Cunningham, commander of the Pacific Fleet of the British Royal Navy, who was once sent back to the British mainland for trial for his failure to command the Mediterranean Fleet.

Later, with the defeat of the British Royal Navy, the reason for the defeat could not be attributed to a single general, and with the strong mediation of his colleagues in the army, Cunningham was acquitted and appointed commander of the newly formed Pacific Fleet to the United States.

Another European general who attended the meeting was the commander of the 1st Army of the German Marine Corps, Lieutenant General Ludwig von Stein.

Admiral Leahy was the first to speak when he saw the attendees arranged: "Gentlemen, the theme of this meeting is to finalize the upcoming Operation Two-Headed Snake. At the last meeting, you already knew the specific plan for the operation. Now, the Japanese 1st Mobile Fleet under the command of Nagumo Tadaichi, with three aircraft carriers, is currently operating in the Indian Ocean region, relieving the pressure on us, so it is imperative that we complete Operation Two-Headed Serpent before Nagumo's fleet returns from the Indian Ocean, regain control of the Fiji Islands, and pull out this nail that has been nailed to the Australian route.

Just before the meeting began, we learned something new. The information came from a clear telegram sent by General Heinz von Rosen of Germany, and I will read the contents of the telegram to you.

Nagumo Tadaichi, you stop for me, I want to run away after the submarine sneak attack? If it's a man, use a battleship to duel, and I promise not to kill you.

What can you think of from the content of the telegram? ”

Vice Admiral Stein saw that Admiral Leahy looked at him after speaking, and said: "It seems that the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen on which General Rosen was riding was attacked by a Japanese submarine, but successfully avoided the torpedo. In a fit of rage, Admiral Rosen commanded a fleet that pursued the First Mobile Fleet commanded by Nagumo, and wanted to engage in a naval battle with Nagumo. ”

"But why duel with a battleship? And what about their aircraft carriers? Admiral Leahy asked, puzzled.

Admiral Stein was stumped by Admiral Leahy's question and could not think of an answer for a while.

Lieutenant General Cunningham, who was sitting on Admiral Stein's right, said lightly: "It should be a matter of time difference, it should be night in the Indian Ocean." ”

"Oh, that makes sense." Admiral Leahy suddenly realized, "What else do you have in mind besides the inference that General Rosen is tracking Nagumo?" ”

Admiral Kim said: "What we have to be concerned about is that Nagumo will lose several capital ships, especially aircraft carriers, in the next battle. ”

Admiral Marshall continued: "I think that if the war situation is unfavorable, it is likely that Nagumo will lead the fleet out of the Indian Ocean and return to Japan in the next two days, and by that time the pressure on us will become very great." ”

Admiral Leahy nodded and said, "That's what I'm worried about, Nagumo will lose a few capital ships in the next battle, when will he leave for home?" What kind of significant impact will this have on our two-headed battle plan? Therefore, we must speed up our actions and complete the two-headed snake project before Nagumo returns home. Are your troops ready? ”

Admiral Leahy nodded in unison when he saw several generals, and then said in a sonorous voice: "Two days later, Admiral Cunningham led the Royal Navy's Pacific Fleet from Pearl Harbor to Midway. If the Japanese Navy does not send reinforcements, then support the 3rd Marine Division of the United States Marine Corps to retake Midway. If the Japanese Navy aircraft carriers rushed to the aid of Midway, then the goal of dispersing the enemy's forces had been achieved, and the plan to capture Midway could be abandoned and the fleet could be led back. ”

Lieutenant General Cunningham nodded slightly reservedly: "I will complete my mission." ”

Lieutenant General Leahy turned his head to look at Admiral King and Lieutenant General Stein.

"The task of capturing the Fiji Islands is entrusted to our Pacific Fleet and General Stein's forces, and in this battle we will commit two Essex-class aircraft carriers and two Independence-class light carriers. After the recapture of the Fiji Islands, General Stein, you and your troops will all enter Australia and be placed under the command of General MacArthur. ”

Lieutenant General Stein smiled and nodded: "I look forward to working with General MacArthur for a good time." ”

"Guys, do you have anything else to ask about the Two-Headed Serpent's battle plan?" Admiral Leahy asked.

After another half an hour, the meeting ended, and Vice Admiral Stein returned to his military headquarters and found a naval lieutenant who had come to him not long ago.

This naval lieutenant was none other than Chen Dao's adjutant, Major Lorenz.

After Major Lorenz left Chen Dao, he was sent to Lieutenant General Stein as a liaison officer with the country.

Stein walked into his office with Major Lorenz and said, "The two-headed snake plan has been confirmed to start in two days, and you can send a report to the country." ”

"I'll do it right away." Major Lorenz said.

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On the Japanese mainland, the headquarters of the Combined Fleet is located in the port of Yokosuka.

As soon as the commander of the Combined Fleet, Isoroku Yamamoto, got up, the adjutant beside him handed him a telegram.

"General, this is a telegram intercepted at about three o'clock this morning, and it is a clear telegram sent by General Heinz von Rosen of Germany to General Nagumo."

"Huh?" Yamamoto Fifty-six took the telegram in his hand, and after reading the contents of the telegram, he said, "That guy Nagumo actually ambushed General Rosen with a submarine? What does he want to do? Didn't he know that General Rosen was on our side? Not long ago, because the army group of red deer wounded General Rosen, the Germans did not hesitate to use poison gas to retaliate. When did that guy Nagumo fall to the same level as the army red deer? I was so angry that I immediately sent him a telegram and asked him to report what had happened. ”

After saying that, Yamamoto Fifty-six walked out of the door in a huff and went to exercise.

The adjutant faithfully carried out Yamamoto's order, and when the telegram from the mainland was delivered to the infirmary on the battleship Musashi, Nagumo was lying on his hospital bed waiting for the doctor to change the dressing for his wound.

Enduring the sharp pain from the wound, a layer of fine beads of sweat climbed on Nagumo's bright head.

Thanks to Mikami-kun and Hasegawa-kun sacrificing their lives to save each other, otherwise he would have returned to the Yasukuni Shrine at this time.

After Nagumo came to his senses, he learned about his injuries through doctors and other surviving subordinates.

A large-caliber aviation machine gun bullet rained down from the sky, first breaking the waist of staff officer Mikami Shaosa, who was lying on top of his body, then penetrating the chest of his adjutant Nagagawa Shaosa, and finally hitting the shoulder blade of his left shoulder.

Thankfully, he was able to survive with a shoulder blade to block the bullet, but according to doctors, his left shoulder could be slightly disabled in the future.

Nagumo didn't pay much attention to his injuries, what really caught his attention were the two telegrams he had just read, one was a plain code telegram sent by Chen Dao asking for a duel on the battleship, and the other was a battle damage report.

According to the battle damage report, in the previous battle, the battleship Kirishima was sunk by German naval aviation, and the Kaga was seriously injured and set on fire, and now the fire has been extinguished, but the interior of the ship, including the power compartment, is seriously damaged, and it can only sail at a speed of eight knots.

The Soryu and Akagi suffered varying degrees of damage, but were still able to continue fighting.

The battleships Musashi and Hiei were slightly damaged.

The telegram also noted that, according to the descriptions of the naval aviation units that attacked the return of the German aircraft carrier formation, they had never seen such frenzied anti-aircraft fire, especially a small-caliber anti-aircraft gun with an ultra-high rate of fire on a German naval warship, which reached the point of terrifying the dive bomber pilots.

Also, what's going on with that submarine? Why would General Rosen say that I attacked him with a submarine? Nagumo's thinking couldn't turn around for a while.

Wait, submarines? Could it be the I-26, that is, the news that it sent the British merchant fleet and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, yes, it must have been a misunderstanding caused by the sneak attack on the Prinz Eugen when the naval air force launched an air raid, it must have been.

Nagumo silently recited the name of I-26 over and over again in his heart, and then picked up the telegram he had just received from Yamamoto Isoroku.

Seeing that his boss Yamamoto asked himself to report on how he offended Lord Diablo and how he had fallen to the same level as the army red deer, Nagumo felt that the wound in his back hurt even more.

Enduring the pain in his back, Nagumo dictated a telegram with the name of the I-26 submarine as a reply, and then gasped and lay on the bed for a belated dinner.

The damned I-26 submarine caused General Rosen to have a serious misunderstanding about himself, how to explain this misunderstanding?

Also, General Rosen made an appointment with himself through a clear telegram, and if he was silent, the damage to his own reputation would be small, and the damage to the reputation of the Imperial Japanese Navy would be great, how should he reply to him?

For a while, Nanyun not only felt a pain in his back, but also a pain in his head······