In the early morning of the 20th, the Japanese army was attacked on Wake Island, and the naval resistance army launched a landing battle. When the news reached the command of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Yamamoto Isoroku fainted at that time.

Yamamoto Isoroku was not at all surprised by the air raid on Wake Island. This kind of thing, the American ghost animal has to come once in a while.

The bombing of ghost animals by the United States is somewhat frequent, but the Japanese fighters lack effective early warning means, and there are often cases where the planes are blown up by the American ghost animals on the ground. The Japanese had no choice but to evacuate most of the planes.

For this reason, Japan is not without efforts, and is planning to deploy an air defense radar on Wake Island, the kind of thing that the Japanese army calls an electric detective. A few days ago, the ships transporting the radar had already departed from the Japanese mainland.

Originally, the navy was the most technologically advanced branch of the army, but in fact, the deployment of radar on Wake Island was a requirement of the Japanese Army.

The Japanese Navy behaved strangely and anti-science in many ways, such as officers who did not pay any attention to new technologies such as radar. You must know that although Japan's radar is poor, it is not impossible, and due to the lack of attention of the navy, the installation of radar on Wake Island has been seriously delayed.

This delay caused irreparable losses to the Japanese army, and several air raids by the Naval Resistance Army did not prevent all of them. Before the landing battle began, the Japanese lost 30% of their strength.

Rear Admiral Toshiichi Sato did a ghost, and when he saw Aunt Amaterasu, I don't know if he will sue the Japanese Navy, it's very likely.

Yamamoto 56 was hit hard by the news that the island was seized by the Naval Resistance Army. He couldn't figure out how the U.S. military had the strength to divide its forces to attack Wake Island. You must know that on the battlefields of Kuah Island and New Guinea, the Japanese army suffered heavy losses, and the American army did not feel good.

But, whether he wanted to understand it or not, the Japanese army had to send reinforcements. For Japan, Wake Island cannot afford to lose.

It's a pity that Yamamoto Fifty-six really can't send a decent fleet at this time period.

As mentioned earlier, Wake Island was a fortress for the Japanese army. Although there were many Japanese islands within hundreds of kilometers of the vicinity, those islands were small and did not have airfields. The Truk base, the core fortress of the Japanese army in the South Seas, is too far away from Wake Island, and as for Guam and Saipan, although there are airports, they are even farther away.

Other words. The Japanese had no way to provide air support except for sending aircraft carriers. Of course, without fighters, the Japanese Navy would not be able to fight. Yamamoto 56's traditional big ships and huge artillery sent more officers, and they pulled out one at random. Dare to take battleships, cruisers, destroyers or something.

So, what else does Yamamoto Fifty-Six have to brain? Just send troops.

The problem is not so simple. In the South Seas, the main combat power of the Japanese Navy was concentrated. Combined Fleet First Fleet. 2nd Fleet, 3rd Fleet, 4th Fleet, 8th Fleet. There are four fleets, and the strength is not insignificant.

However, the strength of the Japanese Navy was only on paper.

First Fleet. A total of four battleships were sunk, and now there are eight battleships in total. Two old battleships are home to the Japanese mainland. The two battleships, which were not the main force, were sent by Yamamoto to the mainland to be converted into aircraft carriers. Now there were only four battleships. Of course, these four battleships were very powerful, namely the Yamato and Musashi. Nagato, Mutsu. They are all world-class battleships, and if they are taken out and fight to the death with the existing battleships of the US military, the US military will definitely lose. However, these four battleships were the treasures of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and Yamamoto Fifty-six did not dare to use them as a war of attrition except for the decisive battle with the US Navy.

The battle for half a year has already said everything, the US army is not a Japanese samurai, and will definitely not give Yamamoto Isoroku a chance to fight a fair duel. Therefore, the First Fleet sortie was vetoed.

The Second Fleet, which was the heavy cruiser fleet of the Japanese Navy. At the time of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, there were a total of 18 Japanese ships, and now there are only 12 ships, and these 12 ships are fine if they can all fight, but six of them are injured or need maintenance and cannot fight. What made Yamamoto even more troublesome was that due to the specific needs of the battle, just six heavy cruisers were still scattered in various fleets. In essence, the strength of this so-called Second Fleet is not weak, but in essence, it exists in name only.

The Third Fleet, which was a new air fleet of the Japanese Navy after the Battle of Midway, became the commander of the fleet at the time of the attack on Ceylon. Historically, Nagumo Tadaichi was originally Nagumo Tadaichi, but in the Battle of Midway, Lieutenant General Nagumo Tadaichi was injured a lot and was still recuperating for the time being.

After the Battle of Midway, Japan had six aircraft carriers. Five ships were allocated to the Third Fleet, although there was only one regular aircraft carrier, but it was not a weak fleet.

However, one ship was sunk in the Battle of Kuah Island. There are now only four of the five aircraft carriers, and two of them were seriously injured and returned home for repairs. Now Yamamoto Fifty-six has only two at hand, and these two are the modified aircraft carrier Hayabusa Eagle and the Flying Eagle aircraft carrier. Not only is the number of aircraft on board small, but the bigger drawback is its speed, which can only run 24 knots.

Even so, these two aircraft carriers, Yamamoto Fifty-six had no way to move to the direction of Wake Island. At this time, the two aircraft carriers were still in Rabaul, busy supporting the Kuah Island and New Guinea battlefields. If Yamamoto 56 transfers these two aircraft carriers back, not to mention the discomfort of the Japanese Navy, the Japanese Army will be trapped on Kuah Island and will be dead. There was a great contradiction between the Japanese navy and the army, but no matter how big the contradiction was, Yamamoto 56 did not dare to allow tens of thousands of Japanese troops to starve to death on Kuah Island.

In addition, Yamamoto Fifty-six is already planning an evacuation operation, and there are already ships that have departed in advance, and the support of aircraft carriers is indispensable at all. So the Third Fleet cannot be used.

The Fourth Fleet, Yamamoto Fifty-six shook his head, it really can't be used. The capital ships consisted of only two light cruisers, one of which was still a training ship. Together with a few poor old destroyers and more than a dozen submarines, it is just to maintain law and order in the inner South Seas.

Eighth Fleet. This was a strong army formed after the Battle of Midway. However, the main combat direction of this fleet was Kuah Island, and after several months of fighting, it sank deeply, and the wounded strength was not even half of what it was at the beginning. There were only two heavy cruisers and a couple of destroyers, a couple of submarines or something. Moreover, it played a very important role in the evacuation of Kuah Island in Yamamoto's 56 plan.

So I still can't move.

In other words, the Japanese Navy had only been fighting for more than a year, and the tonnage of the warships lost was less than a quarter of the total tonnage, but the situation was already stretched thin. Japan is building warships at full capacity. However, with Japan's shipbuilding capabilities, it will take time to make up for the war damage. And it's been a long time.

In addition, there are things that cause Yamamoto Isoroku even more headaches. That is Japan's maritime transportation capacity.

Before the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Navy's resistance forces relied almost exclusively on one or two submarines to fight, but in more than three years, they also killed about 900,000 tons of Japanese merchant ships and warships. In '42, the U.S. military and the Shanghai Anti-Japanese Army killed 1.9 million tons of Japanese merchant ships.

Historically, the US military only killed more than 800,000 tons of Japanese merchant ships in 42 years. It took four or three years to kill more than 1.6 million tons of Japanese merchant ships. And this figure, in fact, Li Guang is not satisfied. In the second half of the 42nd year, the main force of the submarine force of the Maritime Resistance Army assisted in the Ceylon campaign in the Indian Ocean. Therefore, the harvest is not very rich.

In other words, Japan's current maritime transportation capacity is about the same as it was at the end of four or three years in history.

The weakening of transportation capacity not only has an impact on the current war situation, but also has a chain reaction that Japan cannot bear. With reduced capacity, it will be impossible to get more resources from the occupied areas to replenish the Japanese mainland. It will not be possible to build more merchant ships and more warships, and produce more war materials, weapons and ammunition.

Before the war, Yamamoto believed that the Japanese Navy would be able to fight the American army for at least two years. But the cruel reality made Yamamoto fifty-six a little sad. Think after the Battle of Midway. Yamamoto fifty-six under a heavy blow. Still mustered up the courage to concentrate forces in the direction of Kuah and New Guinea to defeat the US Navy.

However, the battlefield is not decided by the Japanese side, and the US military is becoming more and more proficient the more they fight. The Japanese army is getting weaker and weaker the more it fights, but the American army is getting stronger and stronger. Fighting a war of attrition with the U.S. military, Japan can't afford it.

There is also economics in war, the farther the area of operations is from the place of supply. The greater the consumption. This is especially true for Japan.

For example, Kuah Island, such as New Guinea, and Ceylon. The battle line is so long. It simply cannot be afforded by the Japanese economy.

A thought became clearer and clearer in Yamamoto's mind:

If Japan can continue to support it, the only option is to shrink the front and drag the US military in the South Seas. In this way, it will buy time for Japan's domestic production, replenish the weapons and equipment of the navy and army, and strive to defeat the American army in a certain decisive battle.

So, how do you shrink the line of defense? The first is in the direction of Kuah. This is something that has been agreed upon by the entire Japanese population, and it is necessary to evacuate immediately.

And the Strait of Malacca, in the direction of the Sunda Strait - that is, in the direction of the Indian Ocean, Yamamoto Isoroku no longer wanted to attack, and simply blocked the strait, the Japanese army could not get out, and the Allies could not enter. This would also free up some of the naval forces.

But what about Wake Island in front of you? The situation in front of us is too similar to the Battle of Midway. Yamamoto tried not to think about the Battle of Midway, but the cursed name "Midway" buzzed around him like a fly, making him dizzy.

Yamamoto fifty-six was scared.

I am afraid of a crushing defeat like the Battle of Midway at Wake Island, and I am afraid of a war of attrition like the Battle of Kuah Island at Wake Island.

As a result of Yamamoto's fear, only one light cruiser and several destroyers and several submarines of the Fourth Fleet were sent to attack. Mission: Symbolic support, or organizing the retreat of Japanese troops from Wake Island.

However, the Naval Resistance Army's action to capture Wake Island was too rapid. On the night of the 20th, at about ten o'clock, the Combined Fleet had already received a "jade shattered" telegram from the Army.

It's all 'broken', and Yamamoto Fifty-six also found an excuse--- the army's performance was too poor, and he didn't even carry it for a day. As a result, several warships were also recalled by Yamamoto Isoroku. Only six submarines continued on their way to Wake Island, hoping for a chance to breathe a bad breath.

Yamamoto Isoroku decisively suspended reinforcements from Wake Island. His decisiveness made Li Guang feel like he punched the air and flashed his waist.

In fact, it is not only Li Guang who has this feeling of flashing his waist, but also Nimitz, and Lieutenant General Spruance.

Li Guang consciously flashed his waist. However, he didn't expect to fight the Japanese army to the death, as long as it was a battle, there would be risks, especially in this period, the strength of the little devil was still there, and it was more in the interests of the Haitang Kingdom to hand over the task of death to the US military.

During their time on Wake Island, Li Guang and Spruance, the commander of the U.S. reinforcement of Wake Island, the chief of staff of the Pacific Fleet, were somewhat reticent. However, after reaching consensus with Li Guang on many issues, the two talked happily and their friendship deepened.

Yamamoto Fifty-six took the initiative to shrink and flashed the allies' small waists. But both Li Guang and Spruance saw that the Japanese army was already unsustainable, and it was a good opportunity for the Allies to take advantage of the situation to pursue.

Li Guang had already handed over the island-hopping tactics to Truman, just waiting for fermentation. Yamamoto's contraction is a good game. But it's just good. As soon as the sword of island hopping tactics came out, Yamamoto's fifty-six magic horse tricks were all in vain.

For more than half a month, the two aircraft carriers of the Maritime Resistance Army kept attacking, and some of the islands defended by the Japanese army within hundreds of kilometers of the surrounding area were almost bombed all over.

It is worth mentioning that the only battle of the Liberty Dragon aircraft carrier opened a new chapter in the history of the Naval Resistance Force.

The aircraft carrier Liberty Dragon, equipped with reconnaissance aircraft with anti-aircraft radar, played a role, spotting several Japanese bombers and fighters.

Immediately, more than 20 Wildcats on the Liberty Dragon took off, and all the Japanese bombers were shot down, and the Zero fighters also fell to the upper hand in this confrontation.

The rocket-boosting devices of the Naval Resistance Army saw miraculous results on the battlefield, shooting down a total of six Japanese bombers and six Zero fighters during the battle, while only one Wildcat fighter was injured by the Naval Resistance Army.

The radar and rocket boosters of the Maritime Resistance Army have all been effective, and since then, the combat effectiveness of the aircraft carriers of the Maritime Resistance Army has reached a higher level.

On 10 February, Li Guang bid farewell to Lieutenant General Spruance, and the Naval Resistance Army withdrew from the sea area of Wake Island.

Before leaving, the Naval Resistance Army got a small gift. BECAUSE THERE ARE TWO 127MM ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS ON THE LIBERTY DRAGON AIRCRAFT CARRIER, BUT THE NAVAL RESISTANCE ARMY DOES NOT HAVE SUCH ANTI-AIRCRAFT ARTILLERY SHELLS. Therefore, after consulting his superiors, Lieutenant General Spruance gave the Navy 2,000 shells.

Originally, such a trivial matter did not need to be so solemn, Spruance was completely in charge. The point is that these two thousand shells, all anti-aircraft shells with proximity fuses. This thing is a high-level secret in the US military, and the United States and Britain strictly require that it not be allowed to be used on land, so as not to prevent the bomb from being diseffective and obtained by the Axis forces, so that the technology can be cracked.

This thing has been developed by Haitang Kingdom, but it has no manufacturing capacity. These shells greatly improved the air defense of the Naval Resistance Army, but they blocked Li Guang's financial route, and I don't know if it was lucky or unlucky.

You must know that Li Guang originally planned to find an opportunity to sell the proximity fuse studied by the Naval Resistance Force to Germany or the Soviet Union. However, once the artillery shells provided by the United States were obtained, once this artillery shell technology was obtained by the Axis powers, then the Haitang Kingdom was the first object of suspicion.

With the development of the Haitang Kingdom, Li Guang must also pay attention to some things, which really can't be done as he pleases. Therefore, in order to avoid suspicion, the proximity fuse that Haitang has invested heavily in research and development cannot be exchanged for any economic benefits, which is really depressing. The traverser will also fail to invest, which really makes Li Guang blush.

On 15 February, Li Guang arrived at Pearl Harbor, and he needed to talk to Admiral Nimitz about something. The Naval Resistance Army fleet did not go with Li Guang, but went to the North Pacific. (To be continued......)