PS: Thank you for liking to be fat and tipping a monthly pass. Ask for a commuter pass. There are fewer manuscripts, and today I am working hard to code words.

At Midway, after receiving a report from Captain Eddie, a reconnaissance plane, all US planes immediately began to move at 5:30 p.m.

By six o'clock, when the Japanese plane group was still 150 kilometers away from Midway Island, the Japanese plane group had already been spotted on the US radar screen.

Just after six o'clock, all the US fighter planes had already taken off. When the Japanese fighters approached Midway Island more than 50 kilometers, a US military reconnaissance plane actually threw flares behind the Japanese planes, which further alerted the US troops at Midway.

With such clear information, the U.S. military's response was extremely appropriate. The US planes were divided into two groups, including more than 50 fighter planes, which went straight to the Japanese planes. The other group, consisting of bombers and torpedo planes, flew westward to pass the Japanese from the northwest and then pounced on the Japanese aircraft carriers.

It's six o'clock again. The U.S. aircraft carrier group and the USS Liberty Dragon all received telegrams from the Japanese troops.

By this time, the order given by Major General Spruance at 7:38 p.m. yesterday evening had shown its effect.

The Japanese fleet was four hundred and ten kilometers northwest of Midway. And the lucky point of the American army is 480 kilometers northeast of Midway. The position of the two armies and Midway Island formed a triangle, and if the fleet had not moved last night, the bottom edge of the triangle, that is, the distance between the two armies, would have been more than 500 kilometers.

And Spruance's order made the 16th Task Force and the aircraft carrier Liberty Dragon only 175 nautical miles away from the coordinates of the Japanese fleet at this moment - about 330 kilometers.

The amount of water in the bucket is determined by the shortest plank of the bucket. The combat radius of an aircraft carrier is also determined by the fighter with the shortest range.

The U.S. military's F4F Night Cat fighter has a combat radius of more than 400 kilometers, and the U.S. military's SBD dreadnought dive bomber has a combat radius of 700 kilometers. And the combat radius of the most rubbish TBD torpedo aircraft in the US army is exactly one hundred and seventy-five nautical miles.

Other words. Spruance's order put the U.S. fleet in just the right position to attack. It's a stroke of genius.

Battlefield intuition is also an indispensable quality of a famous general.

Rear Admiral Fletcher, who served as commander, could not send carrier-based aircraft from his aircraft carrier "Yorktown" to attack first after receiving accurate information from the enemy fleet. The reason for this was that the 10 reconnaissance planes he sent were running out of fuel, and they needed to empty the flight deck and let the reconnaissance planes land before they could organize an attack. The reason is very Fletcher--it's refueling.

In fact, Fletcher really couldn't attack, and his Yorktown was still forty or fifty nautical miles behind. The combat radius of the torpedo machine was insufficient.

Because the message sent back by Lieutenant Eddie, a US reconnaissance plane, was sent back by radio, and the content was not very clear, Captain Eddie's original words were, "Three aircraft carriers have been discovered, oh my God." There are also two aircraft carriers". Then the news was cut off.

The U.S. aircraft carrier group did not receive Eddie's radio, after the news was relayed by the U.S. military at Midway via telegram. It becomes that there are three or five aircraft carriers.

And Li Guang's memory. The Japanese were four aircraft carriers at Midway. Nimitz's judgment was three or four. In the official documents of the US military, the so-called three to four ships actually mean three. But just in case, remind that there may be four.

Now, according to Captain Eddie's report, U.S. generals, including Li Guang, have begun to make multiple-choice questions.

Fletcher thinks. The Japanese were supposed to be three aircraft carriers. As for the other two ships that Eddie said, they may have mistaken it. It is not uncommon for pilots to missee the type of ship, and it has not happened once or twice in the past few months that an aircraft carrier is a tanker, or a battleship is a merchant ship.

Spruance thinks it's likely five. Because the tankers, which are most easily confused by pilots, cannot be in combat formation.

Nimitz didn't take it for granted. Rather, it is believed that at least three ships, the others need further confirmation of reconnaissance.

And Li Guang actually thinks that it is four, but it is less to win, and more to win. After reading Sun Tzu's Art of War too much, Li Guang still felt that it was safer to count more. Moreover, the battle plan of the Naval Resistance Force was based on the fact that there were four Japanese aircraft carriers. Huang Zhonghua believes that if it is five, it is completely reasonable. Because the Americans will pull such a modified aircraft carrier as the Shanghai Resistance Army, it should not be difficult for the Japanese army to add a modified aircraft carrier. Li Guang also makes sense when he thinks about it, US generals may not look down on escort aircraft carriers, but small Japan is a poor country, and it is not impossible to fight with escort aircraft carriers. Isn't this how the Liberty Dragon of the Maritime Resistance Army was refitted? The only difference is that this Liberty Dragon was used as an aircraft carrier from the beginning of its construction, and its power system is powerful enough. It is unlikely that an ordinary modified aircraft carrier will reconfigure its power system, and it is impossible for it to reach a speed of 30 knots.

At 6:07 a.m., Rear Admiral Fletcher sent a telegram to Rear Admiral Spruance aboard the USS Enterprise, ordering Task Force 16 to launch an air attack on the enemy fleet first, followed by Task Force 17.

To say, Rear Admiral Fletcher's order was not much wrong, and when the number of Japanese aircraft carriers was unknown, half of the fighters attacked, and the other half were ready, which was quite reasonable. But miraculously, Fletcher's telegram was addressed to Spruance, and there was no mention of the Liberty Dragon at all. In this way, Li Guang was uncomfortable, you must know that the Liberty Dragon was in the 17th task force. But it was sailing with Task Force 16.

Spruance immediately gave the order for the reconnaissance plane to take off. He not only released 10 biplane reconnaissance planes on five heavy cruisers, but also released eight radar-equipped reconnaissance planes supported by the British army.

At 6:10 a.m., 18 reconnaissance planes flew directly to the Japanese aircraft carrier formation.

At the same moment, the 15 Caterina water reconnaissance planes hovering in the air also received orders and all rushed to the position of the Japanese aircraft carrier. This was an order from Admiral Nimitz.

The US military had a total of 32 water reconnaissance planes, which were originally responsible for a two-phase search within a 180-degree range of the entire western Midway Island, but since the Japanese aircraft carrier had already been discovered, there was no need for such intensive search and reconnaissance, and Nimitz immediately changed it to a single-phase search. The 16 (actually fifteen) Catalina water reconnaissance planes that were freed were used as key reconnaissance of the Japanese fleet. This point was also put forward by Li Guang at the military conference before the war, and its purpose was to absolutely not let the Japanese aircraft carrier out of the sight of the US-Tang coalition forces.

Spruance's next order made Li Guang a little confused. Spruance did not order the planes to take off immediately, but ordered the fleet to continue westward for an hour. The fighters were all raised from the cabin to the deck, ready for everything, ready to take off at any time when the order was given.

The fighters on the Liberty Dragon do not have a combat radius problem, whether it is a P40 or a dreadnought dive bomber, or the six TBF torpedo aircraft that have just been added, the combat radius can reach more than 400 kilometers.

Li Guang did not know the reason why Spruance issued this order, but Spruance's order was very inconsistent with the operational principles of the Naval Resistance Army--the first time it was discovered, it would strike immediately.

Huang Zhonghua said to Li Guang: "Why don't you ask Fletcher again?" ”

Li Guang shook his head and said: "Don't ask, maybe the results will be better if you take the lead in attacking, but the pilot losses are also large." The first wave of our army consisted of only twenty-two fighters. Whether it is breaking the defense or attacking, it is inevitable to lose. ”

Li Guang analyzed it in this way, but Li Guang was a little superstitious in his heart, and he always liked to find an entry point from historical knowledge, so as to maximize the interests of the Haitang Kingdom and the Naval Resistance Army. Since Major General Spruance, who was famous in later generations, made such an arrangement, there must be a reason for him.

Postwar. Spruance explained his considerations. Because the U.S. military is not the Japanese army, it only takes fifteen minutes for a fleet to take off more than 100 fighters. The training of the US military is not only inferior to that of the naval resistance army, but also far inferior to that of the Japanese army. All the fighters took off. It takes an hour of preparation (remember preparation). More importantly, Spruance is well aware of the level of US military reconnaissance aircraft.

Facts have proved that Spruance has an incomparably accurate grasp of the combat effectiveness of the US military and its capabilities in all aspects. Spruance took advantage of the time to raise the fighters, refuel and hang the bombs, and the fleet continued to move west. The post-war summary proved that this order was a stroke of genius. Because. Captain Eddie, who piloted the Tekarina reconnaissance plane to spot the Japanese fleet. It did report the wrong location. The position of the Japanese fleet happened to be thirty nautical miles away from the coordinates reported by Captain Eddie.

Thirty nautical miles away means that the combat radius of the US torpedo planes cannot be reached. A famous general is not so easy to be, and he also needs to accurately grasp the overall training level of his own troops. It is even detailed to the training level of a certain squad.

For example, even if the famous German general Rommel, Guderian commanded the Chinese army with the current level of equipment and training, and he was absolutely invincible. And the famous generals in the Chinese army commanded the steel-armored German army, and it was difficult for them to exert their due combat effectiveness.

The so-called famous generals and the so-called art of command are all based on an accurate grasp of the combat effectiveness of one's own army. This is the foundation, but how many generals can really grasp it?

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At 6:40 a.m., a fierce battle broke out in the northwest of Midway between a group of U.S. fighter planes taking off from Midway and a Japanese bombing cluster on Midway.

In order to fight the battle of Midway, Nimitz can be said to have done his best. Nimitz sent all the planes he could collect, regardless of model or age, to Midway, turning a small island into a place like a museum of combat aircraft, and there were at least ten or more models of more than 10 warplanes in more than 100 warplanes.

The US warplanes on Midway Island include 16 Marine Dreadnought dive bombers, 16 F4F Wildcat fighters, 32 Caterina water patrol planes, 17 B-17 Army bombers, four B-26 Army bombers, and a large number of old Buffalo fighters and other miscellaneous fighters. There were more than 130 fighters, but many of them were very backward in terms of performance.

Fighters are miscellaneous, and so are pilots. The U.S. pilots on Midway were a mix of Army and Naval Aviation, and as a small part of that, the pilots of the Navy were also in charge of a B17 bomber. Among the US military pilots, the pilots of the Navy are a little better, and they are basically proficient in flight maneuvers. But some army aviation is a pure rookie, these young people have just left school and the flight time is only one or two hours.

But Americans have always been adventurous. The United States is a country of immigrants, and all pilots have parents or grandparents who have come from Europe, and these people are restless people in Europe, and they all have a strong sense of adventure. And these European immigrants have infiltrated the blood of adventure into the marrow of their descendants. Despite the privilege of life in the United States, young Americans did not lose the adventurous spirit of their predecessors during the years of World War II. In this era, young people in the United States pursue romance and money, but the courage and tenacity of cowboys in the American West are also sought after by young people.

Although they were no match for the Japanese in terms of fighter planes, training, or combat experience, these American pilots were extremely brave in this battle. When one fighter plane was shot down, the other rushed forward again, and its bravery and tenacity were definitely not inferior to the Japanese Army's onboard charge. If there is a shortcoming, it is mainly in the tactics. The young fighter pilots of the US military only cared about fighting to the death with the Japanese Zero fighters, but they did not know how to attack the Japanese bomber formation with their superiority in mobility.

After a fierce battle, the result was forty-five to three. Forty-five American troops were shot down and were not able to stop the Japanese bombers from advancing. (Historically, it was thirty-eight to two, because of Li Guang's suggestion, Nimitz sent twelve more fighters to Midway.) As a result, there has been a change in the record. Sadly, not a single Japanese bomber was shot down.

At 6:40 a.m., a group of Japanese planes led by Japanese flight commander Tomanaga Shoichi arrived over Midway Island, raged for 20 minutes, and dropped all the bombs.

Tomanaga took one last turn, and he found that the runway had not been completely destroyed, and a second bombing was needed. Therefore, Toonagajo City reported truthfully to Nanunaka.

The US military really has enough money on Midway, and on the two small islands with a total area of only 4.7 square kilometers, they have built six official runways and several short runways. Therefore, even if more than 100 Japanese fighters dropped 100 tons of bombs, they were not able to completely destroy the runway at Midway.

In fact, there is another reason why the runway was not destroyed, that is, one of the most elite pilots in Nagumo stayed on the aircraft carrier to prevent the possible presence of the US aircraft carrier - this point was specially explained by the turtle people of Kuroshima.

Nagumo Nakaichi led the Japanese First Air Fleet and fought for more than half a year. In particular, in the Battle of Ceylon and the Battle of the Coral Sea, the pilots suffered heavy losses, which replenished a lot of novices. The mission of bombing Midway was less difficult than bombing warships, so only a small percentage of the pilots sent were elite pilots.

Nagumo's deployment seemed reasonable, but it caused the pilots to drop the accuracy of the bombs. In the face of the bombardment of ground targets, the operational objectives were not reached.

War, one ring after another. Nagumo Tadaichi's seemingly safe plan caused a lot of uncertainty in the battle situation. If all the elite pilots take action, I dare not say anything about other results, and it is probably possible to destroy the runway of the US military with all its might.

It can be said that the Japanese army lacked experience in attacking the islands. Don't look at the devils who fought the Pacific War for more than half a year, and even the landing battles were carried out dozens of times. But for capturing the opponent's heavily defended islands, such battles are not proficient. From the beginning of the war, the Fourth Fleet's attack on Wake Island can be seen that the Japanese army did not have a more scientific concept of firepower preparations for the capture of an island.

The Maritime Resistance Force has summed up a lot of experience in attacking the strongholds of the Japanese-controlled islands several times, and has developed its own algorithm for destroying the opponent's airfield. It is clear that the reconnaissance work of the Japanese army was poor, and a set of algorithms was not summed up. Because of this, the overall battle plan of the Japanese army was quite flawed. You must know that Midway Island is not the kind of island with complex terrain, mountains and ridges, this island is quite flat, and the highest point is only 12 meters above sea level. It should be said that as long as reconnaissance is emphasized, the Japanese army should have the ability to calculate the amount of ammunition to be delivered.

After receiving Tomonaga's report, Nagumo Tadaichi had no other choice but to prepare for another air attack on Midway. At 07:05, Nagumo Tadaichi made a fatal decision: all the planes on standby were replaced with ground attack bombs.

If you think of 7.5 as the second round of the battle. It should be said, then, that the Japanese army won a complete victory on the surface, but it buried a fatal hidden danger. (To be continued......)