Truk Island is an island belonging to the Caroline Islands and is the core island of the archipelago. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Using the island as a base, the Japanese Navy could support Gilbert and the Marshall Islands in the east; South could threaten New Guinea and the Solomon Islands; The west can shelter the line from Palau to the Philippine Islands; The north can be a barrier between the Ogasawara Islands, the Mariana Islands, and the Japanese mainland. The island is strategically important, and is known as the "unsinkable aircraft carrier" and "Gibraltar in the Pacific" among the Japanese military.

The Second Mobile Fleet under the command of Vice Admiral Tabun Yamaguchi left the Japanese mainland, and its first destination was Truk Island.

On the island of Truk, Vice Admiral Tabun Yamaguchi met with another vice admiral, Vice Admiral Nobutake Kondo, commander of the Second Fleet.

The Second Fleet, commanded by Vice Admiral Nobutake Kondo, had a strong force of thirteen heavy cruisers, as well as twenty-nine destroyers.

Lieutenant General Nobutake Kondo has a round face, a full and smooth forehead, and a slightly chubby body, and his temperament always gives people a sense of calm and unhurried and everything under control.

Yamaguchi Duowen has a slightly elongated winter melon face, and the biggest feature is that the eyes, nose and other organs are extremely compact, especially the two outer corners of the eyes droop, which always gives people a sense of decadence that is loveless.

After the two exchanged pleasantries, Yamaguchi took the initiative to ask, "The hundred martial arts generals of the Seventeenth Army didn't come?" ”

Lieutenant General Hyakutake Haruyoshi, commander of the 17th Army, was asked by Yamaguchi, and Lieutenant General Kondo said: "His base is in Rabaul, Solomon Islands, which is far away from us, and the war between us and the Americans in the Solomon Islands is at a critical juncture, and he can't get out." ”

"When are we leaving?" Tashi Yamaguchi asked.

"Departing in two days, the troops are expected to land in Fiji on September 15." Lieutenant General Kondo said.

"I'd like to see my new troops."

"I'll go with you."

Walking on the docks of the Truk Military Port, Vice Admiral Kondo pointed to the warships docked on the docks and said, "The Shoho and the Hayabusa are all here, and the Kirishima and the secret weapon are over there." To be honest, I envy you, Yamaguchi-kun, for being able to command such a powerful fleet at such a young age. ”

"I would like to thank Commander Yamamoto and all the seniors for their appreciation, and I would like to ask for a lot of advice from the seniors, all for the holy war of His Majesty the Emperor, and all for the sake of victory."

Yamaguchi said and bowed respectfully to Lieutenant General Kondo.

Most of the Japanese are very rigid, and this rigidity is especially reflected in the ranking of seniority in the military.

Yamamoto Fifty-six is the 32nd graduate of the Japanese Naval Academy, Nagumo Tadaichi is the 36th, Yamaguchi Tabun is the 40th, but the Vice Admiral Kondo in front of Yamaguchi Tashi is a more senior veteran than Nagumo Tadaichi.

The exceptionally promoted to vice admiral by a junior "little brother" like Tashinori Yamaguchi was tied with old qualifications like Nagumo Tadaichi and Kondo Nobutake, which caused a lot of criticism in the Japanese Combined Fleet.

Lieutenant General Kondo was pleased with Yamaguchi's respectfulness and patted Yamaguchi on the shoulder warmly.

"I have heard some people say about you, so ignore them. When I was young, I couldn't get used to some guys who were stupid and didn't have much talent, but they bullied recruits with seniority. In peacetime, we have no choice but to face this situation with hard qualifications, but now is a war era, and being able to win a war is the most trustworthy capital for a soldier. ”

"Thanks to the guidance of my predecessors, Yamaguchi will work hard to win this battle." Yamaguchi Tawen bowed to Kondo again.

"No matter what your true thoughts are, you are here, and the two of us have no choice but to support each other and cooperate sincerely for victory. After winning this battle, there will be much less non-councils against you. As for me, I might be able to get promoted to the rank of general. ”

Lieutenant General Kondo expressed his outlook and encouraged Yamaguchi.

Yamaguchi asked, "Where are the aircraft carriers Ryuchamp and Flying Eagle?" ”

"Last month, when you had just set off with your fleet, the Longxiang went to Guadalcanal to provide air support to the troops there, but was discovered by the Americans and unfortunately sank. The Flying Eagle's engine room was out of order, and it was under repair, not in time for the battle. ”

"It doesn't matter, we have five aircraft carriers, Shozuru Zuizuru, Shoho Zuiho and Hayabusa, three battleships Hiei, Haruna and Kirishima, and secret weapons, enough to deal with the Americans."

"Now is the time when Americans are most vulnerable, and if we can't win the war like this, we might as well commit suicide and apologize."

Over the course of two days, Yamaguchi's 2nd Mobile Fleet replenished fuel and food on Truk Island and conducted a simple internal inspection to confirm that the fleet was in the best possible state of combat readiness.

At 7:30 p.m. on September 5, the huge fleet sailed out of the port of Truk and embarked on a mighty journey.

Vice Admiral Kondo personally led two heavy cruiser fleets, one destroyer squadron, a total of six heavy cruisers, and sixteen destroyers, escorting the transport convoy transporting infantry, following behind the second mobile fleet.

In the transport fleet, two special warships attracted the close attention of Yamaguchi Tarumi.

The names of the two warships are "Shenshu Maru" and "Akitsu Maru", and the model is a type C special ship, whose specific function is that it can carry about 2,000 infantry and a small number of landing craft.

The capabilities of such landing craft carriers were not enough to attract Yamaguchi's attention, and the real wonder of these two warships was that they could carry fighters, provided that the number of infantry on board was reduced.

Fighter jets can use catapults to take off on these two special ships to support the infantry's beach-rushing landing operations.

When he first heard Vice Admiral Kondo introduce the two special ships, Tabuni Yamaguchi asked a key question.

"Why haven't I heard the names of these two special ships? Could it be that these two special ships are the secret weapon of the combined fleet? Can't be made public? ”

Lieutenant General Kondo's answer was simple.

"It's normal that you don't know about their existence, because they belong to the Army, and the Army secretly created them without us."

With the attention to these two special ships, and with the emotion of the "civil war" between the army and the navy, Yamaguchi Tawen completed the whole process.

Because the speed of the transport ships was generally slow, at about ten knots, slowing down the fleet.

In order to avoid being discovered by the U.S. military, the fleet took a circuitous route to the north of the Fiji Islands, which invisibly lengthened the voyage.

It took eight days for the fleet to approach the Fiji Islands.

On the evening of 13 September, 400 nautical miles directly north of the Fiji Islands, the 2nd Mobile Fleet slowed down while the fleet under the command of Vice Admiral Kondo accelerated and passed by the 2nd Mobile Fleet on the western flank.

The position of the two fleets was changed to the position of the Kondo fleet in front and the second mobile fleet in the rear.

As the two fleets passed by, the battleships in the 2nd Mobile Fleet left the formation and joined the battle sequence of the Kondo fleet.

A day later, on the evening of 14 September, the Kondo Fleet was about 100 nautical miles from the Fiji Islands, with the 2nd Mobile Fleet about 100 nautical miles behind.

On the bridge of the Mizuru aircraft carrier, Tamon Yamaguchi gave the final order to prepare for battle.

"Let the pilots rest well, strike on time at five o'clock tomorrow morning, remember, this is not a sneak attack, it is a strong attack."