"Admiral, is there going to be a war? Did the Japanese devils declare war on us? ”

Lieutenant General Halsey was an impatient man, and he spoke straightforwardly, and as soon as he walked into Kimmel's office, he gave a military salute, and then opened his mouth to ask. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

"There is indeed a war!" Admiral Kimmel nodded, gestured to a chair across from his desk, and motioned for Halsey to sit down.

"But the Japanese haven't declared war yet," Kimmel said, "and credible intelligence that they're going to start a war in early December, probably an undeclared sneak attack...... Just like they did in 1904 by sneaking up on the Russian fleet in Arthur. ”

It turned out that Admiral Kimmel had just received an early warning and an order from the Naval Operations Department to raise the level of combat readiness!

"Damn Japs!" Lieutenant General Halsey scolded, "Where do they want to sneak up this time?" Is it the Clark base in the Philippines? ”

"Most of them are the Philippines and Guam," Mr. Kimmel said, "and the Philippines is as important to us as Lushun in 1904 in preventing Japan from moving south." We now have more than 400 aircraft deployed there (about 300 of them commonly used), many of which are B-17s that can threaten Japanese military bases in Taiwan and French Indochina. ”

Although Stalin's spies got the "Outline of National Policy" from the Japanese and knew the timetable for Japan's break with the United States, they did not know where the Japanese would attack.

After analyzing the "National Policy Outline," the US Naval Operations Department and the Pacific Fleet Command, as well as the US Army General Staff, unanimously agreed that the Philippines was the first target to be attacked by Japan.

And Lieutenant General Kimmel also believes that the war between the United States and Japan is likely to start with the bombing of the large airfield at the Clark base by Japanese aircraft!

"Admiral, we must support the Philippines and Guam, so let's send an aircraft carrier task force" Vice Admiral Halsey waved his fist, "I will definitely let these yellow-skinned monkeys who don't know how powerful the U.S. Navy is!" ”

Kimmel nodded and said, "That's why I brought you here!" Just 2 hours ago, the latest intelligence came from the Naval Operations Department that 8 Japanese aircraft carriers and 2 battleships had disappeared from their daily anchorages! ”

The spy networks of the Third International and the Soviet Military Intelligence were certainly awesome, and even Fumiro Konoe could have eyes and ears around him, and it was not a piece of cake to monitor several anchorages of the Japanese Combined Fleet?

So as soon as Nagumo Tadaichi's fleet set off, internationalist fighters sent information to the Soviet embassy in Japan. It is a pity that these Japanese internationalist fighters were all classmates who could not be admitted to the Etajima Naval Academy, so it was impossible for them to have access to the core secrets of the Japanese Combined Fleet.

Admiral Kimmel said: "Admiral Stark believes that the Japanese aircraft carrier formation may go to the seas east of the Philippines. And then from there launched an air strike on the Clark base, and at the same time Japanese shore-based aircraft stationed in Taiwan would also strike. After completing the air raid on the Clark base, the Japanese aircraft carrier group will also launch an air raid on the Guam base in order to support the landing operation. ”

The Japanese Navy has been preparing for a fight with the US Pacific Fleet for 20 years, and the US Navy has not been idle, and every day it is wondering what cards the Japanese will play. The Americans did not expect to use aircraft carriers to attack Pearl Harbor, and the Americans also published a novel entitled "The Great Pacific War," in which the Japanese fleet's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Guam, and the Philippines was described.

However, after repeated research by US admirals and staff officers, it was concluded that the chances of a fleet sailing 3,500 nautical miles undetected were very slim.

Moreover, Pearl Harbor was also well defended enough, with more than 400 aircraft in common use, a large number of fortified batteries, hundreds of anti-aircraft guns, 200 tanks, countless medium and light guns under 8 inches (203 mm), and more than 60,000 defenders. Such an island fortress, the Japanese Navy simply can't gnaw on it!

So now the U.S. Navy is not worried about Pearl Harbor, and both Admiral Stark and Admiral Kimmel have their eyes on the Philippines and Guam.

"The key to defending the Philippines is Guam," Admiral Kimmel told Halsey, "and Guam is located between the Philippines and Hawaii, 3,300 nautical miles from Hawaii." If the Japanese occupy Guam, the Philippines will be finished. So we had to defeat the aircraft carriers of the Japanese Combined Fleet near Guam, and at the same time blow up Saipan, the stronghold of the Japanese near Guam. As soon as you can complete these two missions, the main force of the Pacific Fleet will immediately be dispatched to transport the Marines to occupy Saipan. As long as Saipan is taken, the Japanese will be defeated. ”

Halsey nodded while listening, the battle plan that Kimmel said The Pacific Fleet Command had already done an unknown number of wargames, and Halsey knew how to fight with his eyes closed.

"Admiral, how many motherships are we going to dispatch?" When Kimmel finished his plan, Halsey asked questions.

Kimmel said, "Enterprise, Saratoga, Yorktown, Hornet, Lexington are all for you. The Raider was going to transport Marine Corps planes to Wake Island, so it was not part of the task force. In addition, the big warships in Pearl Harbor were too slow, and letting them join the task force would only delay things. Let the 'Salt Lake City', 'Northampton', 'Chester', 'Chicago', 'Portland' and other 5 heavy cruisers serve as escorts, and give you 5 light cruisers and 15 destroyers. As long as there was no head-on confrontation with the Japanese battleship forces, the escort ships should be enough. ”

At this time, the U.S. Pacific Fleet had nine battleships, namely the USS Pennsylvania, USS California, USS Maryland, USS Oklahoma, USS Tennessee, USS West Virginia, USS Arizona, USS Nevada, and USS Colorado. It seems to be very powerful, but in fact, these battleships are outdated "Iron King Eight". The armor and the main gun are okay, but the power system is not good at all, the top speed is 20 knots, 21 knots, pull it out to fight the decisive battle of the fleet, just wait to be beaten by the opponent with the T-shaped head. And this speed is also a bit tiring to keep up with aircraft carriers, and the only role of such slow ships is probably to hit enemy islands and fortresses when floating batteries.

Therefore, Kimmel did not dare to pull the battleship force out of Pearl Harbor and fight a fleet decisive battle with the Japanese before the carrier task force gained the upper hand. However, this completely correct decision ended Kimmel's military career shortly after!

……

Ugaki, the chief of staff of the Combined Fleet, hurried into Yamamoto's luxurious cabin on the "Yamato Hotel".

Because there was an extra plan for occupying the Hawaiian Islands in the "Z Operation Plan" and a plan for the "Yamato" sortie, this giant ship, which was regarded as the treasure of the town by the Japanese Combined Fleet, completed its sea trials ahead of schedule on 2 December and officially joined the Combined Fleet.

On December 2, Admiral Yamamoto 56 moved his headquarters from the "Nagato" to the "Yamato".

Now he was in his cabin looking through a report submitted by Minoru Genda on the naval and air battles in the European theater.

Hearing Ugaki's footsteps, General Yamamoto raised his head and smiled at Ugaki very politely: "It's Ugaki-kun." ”

Ugaki is known as the "Golden Mask", and he is a not very likable chief of staff, and Yamamoto Fifty-six also does not treat him very well, and this time the "Z Battle Plan" actually did not involve him.

Ugaki bent down at Yamamoto, and then said, "Commander, I just received information that 5 American aircraft carriers and 5 American heavy cruisers left Pearl Harbor last night. ”

"All 5 aircraft carriers are gone?" Yamamoto was stunned, his brows were already wrinkled, aircraft carriers are the most valuable targets.

"Commander, these 5 aircraft carriers and 5 heavy cruisers, as well as a number of other light cruisers and destroyers, left at the same time." Ugaki said with some concern, "With so many warships dispatched together, it's either a large-scale exercise or a ......."

Yamamoto Fifty-six glanced at Ugaki, "Ugaki-kun, do you think the First Mobile Fleet has been discovered?" ”

"It's possible!" Ugaki frowned and said, "Although the First Mobile Fleet is still silent, it cannot be ruled out that they were detected by American submarines. ”

This possibility certainly exists, after all, the first mobile fleet will sail 3,500 nautical miles. Although a North Pacific route was chosen, which few merchant ships would pass. But it is still possible to encounter patrolling US submarines, and now the US Pacific Fleet has sent 5 aircraft carriers and 5 battleships at a time, which is really a coincidence in time, and Ugaki can't help but worry.

"Commander, do you want to ......" Ugaki looked at Yamamoto Isoroku, as if to ask him to stop the gamble. However, he could not say it, because he did not know how Japan would be able to gain an overwhelming advantage in the early stages of the war after abandoning the attack on Pearl Harbor. And if Japan cannot gain such an advantage, then the United States does not have to fight a decisive battle with Japan at all, and only needs to rely on a protracted war to exhaust Japan's oil reserves.

And once Japan's oil reserves are exhausted, there will be a huge problem not only at sea, but also on land. The Soviet Union's "million-strong army" in the Far East is still eyeing it!

Yamamoto Fifty-six smiled and said, "Send a telegram to the 'Akagi' and report the news to Nagumo...... Tell Nagumo that an American aircraft carrier formation is likely approaching him. ”

"Commander......" Ugaki was a little confused, and just wanted to ask Yamamoto if he wanted to cancel the operation.

Yamamoto Fifty-six waved his hand first, and said with a smile: "If the operation is canceled now, then the empire will have no chance of winning at all." So it's better to give it a go, Nagumo has 8 aircraft carriers and 500 carrier-based aircraft in his hands, as well as the best ace pilots, so the odds are still very good.

Ugaki-kun, give Nagumo Zhong an order: climb a new peak 1208. (To be continued.) )