If the bombing of Midway has aroused the close attention of the top brass of the Imperial Navy, and even the Prime Minister of the Imperial Empire has noticed the incident, then the bombing of Oahu Island has dealt a big blow to the US government and the public. Nimitz had been in the Navy for decades and knew very well what would happen after the bombing of Oahu, so on the 19th, Nimitz contacted King, first reported the situation, and then promised to continue to hold on, but his assurances did not have much effect.

The pressure comes directly from the White House, which has been in the war for more than three years, and the US military has made no achievements in the Pacific theater, although MacArthur messed up the fighting in the southwest Pacific, but fundamentally speaking, the Pacific Ocean is a battlefield dominated by the navy, and Nimitz is the commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet and the commander of the Pacific theater, and he must also assume most of the responsibilities. Even though the United States had imposed press restrictions at this time, and the news of the bombing of Oahu had not been made public, paper could not contain the fire, and the news quickly spread in the country. It can be said that the United States was in an uproar, before that, all Americans thought that Pearl Harbor was the most heavily defended port in the world, and the United States was the safest country in the world, but now, almost all Americans are doubting whether the homeland is safe and whether the United States can still win this war.

The President of the United States cannot fully control what is happening at home, and in the face of many doubts and accusations, the President of the United States has only one way, that is, to find a scapegoat, and someone must come out to take responsibility for the failure. The first person to be criticized was the Minister of the Navy Kim, but Admiral Kim was only the commander of the rear, and he was mainly responsible for the deployment of various naval units, the delivery of materials, the transfer of warships and other logistical work, and was not responsible for the command of the front line, so Admiral Kim was not capable of taking on this responsibility. Then the rebuke was inflicted on Nimitz, who was the commander-in-chief of the theater. The commander-in-chief of the fleet, the supreme commander of the front, must be responsible for all ground battles. Only Nimitz could carry this black cauldron, but at that time, no one could replace Nimitz, especially in the navy, Nimitz's prestige was no one else who could shake it, whether it was Admiral Kim. Even the president of the United States, when dealing with this issue, he must first consider Nimitz's position.

It is not surprising in any country that a defeat on the battlefield has led to a political struggle at home. In the early days of the war, because the army was unfavorable in fighting on the front line, political struggles broke out within the Tang Empire, and the assassination of Xue Xiyue was a direct manifestation of the domestic political struggle in the empire. The United States was no exception, the U.S. army was losing and retreating on the battlefield, and the counterattack was ineffective, but it allowed the Tang Imperial Navy to seize the initiative. And to lose the Pacific is to lose the entire war. In this context, it is not surprising that there are problems in the United States.

On the morning of the 20th, Washington time, that is, in the early morning of the 20th, Hawaii time. The President of the United States convened a meeting of senior government department leaders at the White House. The meeting did not decide to remove Nimitz from office, because the vast majority of officials were opposed to it, the impact of the change of generals was even greater, and there was no one to replace Nimitz now. In the end, the U.S. president set a new short-term war goal, that is, to hold the Hawaiian Islands at all costs, and instructed Nimitz to organize an effective counterattack as soon as possible to annihilate the Tang Empire Marines on Kauai and regain sea supremacy in the Central Pacific. This is basically an executive order, not a military order. The President of the United States asked Kim to draft a telegram to Nimitz. It is also the president, not the commander-in-chief of the U.S. military, to give this task. At this time, the American president himself did not have much hope for war, at least not for the battle that was taking place in the Hawaiian Islands at hand.

In the days that followed, the President of the United States issued several executive orders, including adjustments to the United States' important industrial production targets for the second half of '27 and '28. The distribution of the productive forces of the domestic military industry was adjusted, the 28-year shipbuilding plan was reformulated, and the number of main warships built was increased by more than 40 percent. Adjust the proportion of employees in various industrial sectors. Emphasis has been placed on strengthening the number of employees in metallurgy, chemical industry, electric power, coal, petroleum, machine tools, manufacturing, shipbuilding, aviation, vehicle and other industries, and the number of employees in light industry, service industry, and agriculture has been greatly reduced. The conscription program for the second half of '27 and '28 was expanded, the scale of women's re-employment training was expanded, the length of military service was readjusted, and a crackdown policy was formulated with a focus on some people who evaded military service. In addition, in June, the President of the United States enacted more than a dozen laws related to war and peace. In the words of historians, the production and armament readjustment program carried out by the United States in the middle of '27 was squeezing out the last bit of America's war potential, and the new domestic production and mobilization plan formulated by the President of the United States1 was actually the last straw put on the camel!

These adjustments to domestic production and mobilization were not directly related to Nimitz, who received a telegram from Admiral King at about 10 a.m. on the 20th, Hawaii time, and another telegram from Mitchell a few hours earlier. When Nimitz put the two telegrams together, he understood that he had to make a big decision.

To be fair, Nimitz trusted Spruance more than anyone could have imagined. From the time Halsey recommended Spruance for the post of commander of Task Force 16, Nimitz had always placed great trust in his subordinate, who had only become a rear admiral in his 50s. From '24 to '26, Spruance's performances on the battlefield rarely disappointed Nimitz. Although Spruance made many "ridiculous" decisions, on the whole, it was precisely because of Spruance that the Tang Imperial Navy was unable to achieve a quick victory in the Central Pacific Theater and restrained the Tang Imperial Navy's offensive speed in the Southwest Pacific. If it weren't for the battles commanded by Spruance, the U.S. military would have lost Australia in 25 years and the Hawaiian Islands in 26 years. But the problem is that Nimitz's trust is not everything, especially when the situation is gradually getting out of control, and Nimitz cannot continue to "protect" Spruance.

Mitchell's telegram was like a catalyst, and Nimitz knew exactly what Spruance was thinking at this time, which was the main reason why he didn't limit Spruance's actions. In terms of the situation at this time, the Fifth Fleet is definitely more important than the Hawaiian Islands. To put it bluntly, the Hawaiian Islands will definitely fall, the difference is only when. The navy of the Tang Empire achieved absolute strategic superiority, and the tactical superiority was also quite obvious. The fact that the US military was able to hold out in the Hawaiian Islands for half a year is already quite good. And with the end of the battle on the Australian mainland, the Tang Imperial Navy can still concentrate and mobilize more forces to attack the Hawaiian Islands, and at that time, even if the United States invests more troops, it will be impossible to hold this island. From a long-term perspective, the most important thing the United States should pay attention to at this time is not how to hold the Hawaiian Islands, but how to build a "Pacific barrier" on its own territory and how to block the attack of the Tang Empire on its own territory.

If you want to defend the homeland. In addition to building a "Pacific Barrier" on the west coast, the most important thing is a strong fleet that can continue to fight. This is also the importance of the Fifth Fleet, it is impossible to prevent the landing of the Tang Imperial Marines on the US mainland by relying only on the passive defense on the shore, and it is necessary to rely on the defensive barrier established by the fleet to be able to block the enemy from the US mainland. Therefore, the preservation of the Fifth Fleet is more strategically important than the defense of the Hawaiian Islands.

Nimitz knew that Spruance was trying to preserve the Fifth Fleet and avoid a decisive battle with the enemy's main fleet in an unfavorable situation, but this was contrary to the orders he had received at this time, and the decision of the President of the United States. Nimitz was a military man. But he was a soldier who knew politics. What the United States needs at this moment is not a line of defense on the West Coast. Rather, it was a victory, especially one at sea. Even if it's just a small one, it pays a heavy price. It did not affect the overall victory of the battle at all. The United States has been pressed and fought by the Tang Empire on the battlefield for three years, and three years is enough time for many Americans to lose confidence in the war. Therefore, a victory is necessary to boost the morale of the army and the people and boost the morale of everyone. Nimitz understood this, but he knew even more that the price of this victory was his, and that the U.S. Navy could not afford it.

Nimitz did not consider the conflict between Spruance and Mitchell, who in his view were both soldiers, and their ultimate goal was to defeat the enemy on the battlefield. The differences between them arise only because of the different angles from which they consider the problem, which is a contradiction in methods and methods, not a contradiction in essence. However, he had to make a choice, and he had to make a judgment about whether Spruance was still capable of continuing to command the Fifth Fleet, and precisely, whether Spruance would command the fleet as the President of the United States had requested.

This is an extremely complex issue that makes it difficult for Nimitz to make a decision. He trusted Spruance. He also knew that Spruance's decision was correct, but he had to take into account the pressure from the president's side, and he had to take into account the president's request, or order. He had to choose between these two extremes, and when it came to the practical question, whether to keep Spruance or Mitchell!

In the past, Nimitz would have spent days, if not more than a month, thinking about the issue or trying to resolve the conflict, but now he only has a few hours. At about four o'clock in the afternoon, Nimitz sent a telegram to Mitchell and Spruance, he had made a decision, he knew that at this time, he was no longer capable of reversing the defeat, and the development of the war had escaped his control.

After receiving the telegram from Nimitz, Spruance's expression did not change much. He walked around the commander's bridge, and looked at the escort warships around the flagship, and Spruance was very impressed. He thought of the time Halsey had recommended him for the post of commander of Task Force 16 three years earlier, of the many battles he had been through before, and of what he had seen and heard when he had returned home a few months earlier. Now he knew that it was time for him to say goodbye, to the fleet, to the navy, to the sea.

"General......

Spruance turned. "Has my replacement arrived?"

The adjutant nodded, he also knew Nimitz's orders, and he also complained about Spruance, but who has the power to change all this now?

"Well, then we should go to another battleship, this place doesn't belong to us anymore." Spruance straightened the navy hat on his head.

"General Turner sent a telegram saying he remembered your orders."

Spruance nodded slightly and walked off the island. He didn't think about why Nimitz had made such a decision, he just knew that now, he had to get out of here.

As he left the flagship USS Hancock, Spruance glanced back at the massive carrier, which he couldn't remember was the first time he had ever been on it, and all he knew was that it was likely to be his last. The cruiser "Indianapolis" approached. According to Nimitz's arrangement, Spruance would return directly to San Francisco on the battleship, rather than back to Pearl Harbor. This made Spruance think that maybe there were a few gendarmes waiting for him in San Francisco.

"Indianapolis" was an ordinary heavy cruiser, the conditions on board the battleship were not very good, and the captain prepared a separate main cabin for Spruance. Spruance did not rush into the interior of the ship, and after boarding the battleship, he looked back again at the aircraft carrier "Hancock", which was moving away. A new flag had been replaced on the mast of the aircraft carrier, and the staff officer was standing outside the commander's bridge waving goodbye to him. In all fairness, Spruance was extremely strict with his staff officers, and he could not understand why so many staff officers would say goodbye to him.

"General, it's time for us to go."

Spruance nodded, he didn't turn around, he still looked at the aircraft carriers that were moving away, the fleets that were moving away. He had a very bad premonition that he would never see the Fifth Fleet again, so he did not leave his eyes for a long time, and kept following the fleets that had gone away and the American officers and men who fought with him......