Midway is of course important, but it is very difficult to defend, relying on the limited defenders and dozens of aircraft on the island (mainly a land attack that can be used for long-range reconnaissance and attack), it will definitely not be able to hold it. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Ryunosuke Kusaka, who served as chief of staff of the Central Pacific Fleet at the time of the Battle of Christmas Island, told Nagumo Tadaichi with great certainty: "The U.S. fleet close to Midway should be the main force of the Pacific Fleet dispatched from San Diego, the number of aircraft carriers is estimated to be more than 50, most of the carrier-based aircraft are in an all-fighter configuration, there may be more than 1,500 F4U and F6F, and there will be about 10 battleships/battle cruisers responsible for shelling." In addition, the anti-aircraft fire of this American fleet is certainly very strong...... "

"Caolu-kun, this official knows the situation of the battle on Christmas Island." Nagumo Tadashi interrupted Kusaka Ryunosuke with a wave of his hand, "What you mean by this is that you don't approve of using the Combined Fleet to fight the U.S. fleet at Midway, do you?" ”

"Hay." Kusaka Ryunosuke nodded heavily, "From the analysis of the situation of the Battle of Christmas Island, unless a special attack operation is carried out immediately, it is impossible to defeat the American fleet with ordinary aviation operations alone, but the number of Sakura missiles is very limited. ”

The Sakura missile mentioned by Kusaka refers to the "Silver Reaper", which is the name of the "Silver Reaper" missile changed by Japan, and they are also planning to develop a lite version of the "Sakura" based on the Sakura missile (Silver Reaper).

However, Minoru Genda, the commander of the 343rd Air Force of the Navy, who was in charge of commanding half of the "Sakura Special Attack" (and half of which was commanded by the immortal Tokugawa Yoshitoshi), thought that there was little point in developing a lite version of Sakura, because the Sakura missile was too difficult to pilot, and non-elites were not enough to exert its power.

Therefore, the Sakura special attack is a one-shot deal, and it must be invested at the most critical moment to play a decisive role.

And the most critical moment, according to the provisions of the "Jet-1 operation" plan, is certainly not now, but after a large number of US troops have landed on the Hawaiian Islands.

As for the kamikaze attack launched by the Zero and Hayabusa aircraft, it is currently positioned as a supplement to the Sakura special attack, and it will be decided whether or not to launch it after the Sakura special attack is over according to the situation -- this is because the kamikaze special attack members are all rookies recruited from the army and navy flight schools, and if they encounter the F6F and F4U piloted by experienced American fighter pilots when launching an assault, they will definitely die in vain.

Therefore, it is only after the Sakura Commando has eliminated or severely damaged most of the American aircraft carriers that the kamikaze task force should be considered.

And the main force of the precious combined fleet will also have to wait until the Sakura special attack is effective before going on the field to fight the final battle. Use a powerful battleship force to smash the U.S. capital ship force that has lost the protection of aircraft carriers, and then use the air fleet to pursue the remnants of the U.S. fleet retreating from the Hawaiian Islands. In this way, it was possible to fight a beautiful battle of annihilation in the Second Battle of the Hawaiian Islands -- although the Army's big deer were very skeptical of the Navy's capabilities, the Japanese Navy's top brass did not give up their intention to annihilate the main force of the US Pacific Fleet, and their intentions were also reflected in the "Operation Jet-1" plan.

Therefore, the "Sakura" cannot be invested now, and even if the "kamikaze" is invested, there will be no results, and the main forces of the combined fleet cannot be rashly dispatched. As for the use of shore-based aviation in the Hawaiian Islands...... First, the distance is too far; Second, the lessons of Christmas Island are placed there. Therefore, it is also not feasible.

"It's better to give up." Kusaka said, "Putting troops on Midway Island is for nothing, and it is better to let the Americans go to the island as soon as possible...... In this way, the fateful Second Battle of the Hawaiian Islands can also start early! As for a maximum of a few dozen P51s, there is nothing to be afraid of, because the Army has already deployed three Type 3 'Feiyan' II fighters on Oahu, and they are enough to fight the P51! ”

Kusaka's opinion is not unreasonable, because during this period the activities of American submarines in the South China Sea and the western Pacific Ocean were rampant to the extreme (this was related to the Japanese mobilization of troops to prepare for the decisive battle in Hawaii, and also the stimulating effect of Japanese bacteriological warfare), and in January 1944 alone, Japan lost 320,000 tons of various ships, a record high. And the amount of oil imported into Japan has also dropped to less than 300,000 tons!

Therefore, it will not do Japan any good to delay the "final battle".

"That's right." Nanyun Zhong thought for a while, "If the U.S. military really encounters a bitter battle on Midway, it is very likely that they will give up attacking the Hawaiian Islands, so that we will have worked hard in vain." ”

……

"Mr. President, we've reclaimed Midway."

Roosevelt received the good news of the reconquest of Midway on the evening of February 6.

"What? So fast? Roosevelt, dressed in his pajamas, looked at William. Leahy looked very surprised, "Didn't you say that the landing operation would not begin until February 10 at the earliest?" ”

"There was no landing operation," said William. Leahy said, "Hawaii time last night, the Japanese evacuated Midway, when several of our submarines were floating near Midway, and found that the Japanese planes took off overnight, and later found that some ships left, and also saw the flames of the blown up facilities, so it was determined that the Japanese abandoned Midway." ”

Midway was probably really a blessed place for the United States of America, and when the Japanese retreated, several American submarines were actually watching. In fact, they were not passing by, they were there to use radio signals to guide American planes to attack Midway at night, and who knew that they happened to see the Japanese retreating. Spruance on the "Essex" was immediately notified by telegram, and Spruance, who had always been relatively timid, was extremely decisive this time, sending a destroyer detachment to Midway Island overnight, and using the armed sailors on the destroyer to occupy the island abandoned by the Japanese.

"How's the airport on the island?" Roosevelt immediately asked the most crucial question.

"The Japanese carried out the destruction, but it was not complete (it was already completely in the eyes of the Japanese), we can repair it quickly, and now high-speed attack transports loaded with sappers and engineering machinery are rushing to Midway at full speed."

The airfield on Midway was built by the Americans before the outbreak of the Pacific War and is a large airfield that can take off and land B-17s and B-24s...... With a bit of reconstruction, the B-29 can be taken off and landed (Midway Airport was later a backup airfield for the Pacific civilian route, and even later jetliners could take off and land, not to mention the B-29?). ）！

Therefore, in the plan of the U.S. military, Midway, like Christmas Island, is a transit point for B-29s to transfer from mainland to Australia.

However, Midway was too small, too close to the Hawaiian Islands and the Japanese mainland, and the airfields on the island could easily be destroyed by Japanese fleets or bomber groups. So it's not the first choice for B-29 transit airports.

But Spruance, who had accidentally captured Midway, was willing to give it a try, so he immediately mobilized high-speed attack transports loaded with sappers and mechanical equipment from Task Force 51.

The so-called high-speed attack transport, codenamed APD, was converted from old destroyers from the First World War I (the United States had 273 destroyers at the end of World War I, most of which were preserved to the Second World War era), and was fast but had a limited capacity.

This type of ship is not suitable for transporting large forces, but Task Force 51 is now targeting a small Midway Island and does not need to carry large forces, so dozens of small but fast APD troop carriers are used.

"The rehabilitation and expansion of the Midway airfield must be completed as soon as possible!" Roosevelt immediately instructed, "Admiral, how many B-29s can be put into combat now?" ”

"There are 187 of them, but most of them are used as reconnaissance aircraft for offshore patrol missions."

"All to Australia!" Roosevelt ordered, "Move as soon as the airfield at Midway is ready...... Be sure to hurry, because no one knows when the airport on Midway will be destroyed by the Japanese! He paused, then accentuated, "The Japanese don't realize what a fatal mistake they made now, and once they think about it, they will do whatever it takes to completely destroy the airfield at Midway, so our time is limited." ”

……

"Your Excellency, the U.S. Navy has just made a fatal mistake!"

The person who discovered the mistake of the US Navy was the chief of staff of the Japanese Eighth Fleet, Tokutoku Kamishige, who made this point to Commander Gunichi Mikawa on the heavy cruiser "Chokai", the flagship of the Eighth Fleet.

"Oh." Mikawa nodded noncommittally - he didn't see anything wrong with the U.S. Navy?

"It was a big mistake for the US Navy to rush to occupy Midway!" Shen Chongde looked extremely excited, because he had just stared at the charts for a whole hour, and finally found an opportunity for the 8th Fleet to show his skills.

Was it a big mistake to occupy Midway? The more Mikawa Jun listened, the more confused he became, but he still looked like an old god.

"Because Midway, although it is far from the Hawaiian Islands, it is not the best place for shore-based aircraft in the Hawaiian Islands to display their power, but it is enough for our 8th Fleet."

Shen Chongde said with excitement on his face: "Our 8th Fleet can use the strength of cruisers and destroyers to carry out high-speed raids, cover the fighters taking off from the Hawaiian Islands during the day, and rush to Midway Island at night to carry out a sneak attack.

And such attacks can be repeated repeatedly...... Because the Midway in the hands of the Americans is a noose around the neck of the Pacific Fleet, as long as they are unwilling to give up, we can strike again and again and use night mine warfare to strike hard at the US Pacific Fleet!

So the occupation of Midway Island is a fatal mistake for the United States! ”