It's a dead end indeed.

Wake Island is the "stepping stone" of the Pacific Ocean, 3,700 kilometers from Hawaii, and is the bridgehead of the United States into the Southwest Pacific. The United States knows this, Japan knows it, and China knows it too. So after Halsey went around Guam, he was stationed there, and fifty or sixty land-based P40 fighters and B17 bombers were deployed. But like all islands, Wake Island has no depth, and unless Halsey can win, it will fall into Japanese hands, and if it falls into Japanese hands, China will definitely take the opportunity to send out the Guam Fleet (XN21 battle group) to grab it.

Even if the United States retreats on its own initiative, Japan and you will still capture it, and China will also rack its brains to seize the second Guam.

So Halsey had to fight!

The problem is that North Africa is not long in waiting. Now the Pacific Fleet now has three aircraft carriers, and the Atlantic Fleet only has one Hornet that has just been delivered, and if there is an accident like the Sino-Japanese Ryukyu Naval War, not only will Wake Island be lost, but it will also cause the United States to be unable to interfere in the Southwest Pacific for half a year! Also to cause a significant delay in the North African landing!

Can North Africa postpone?

In the next few days, Marshall, together with Eisenhower and others, discussed the specific landing plan with the British, but whether it was Tunisia and Algeria proposed by the British, or Casablanque and Oran proposed by the United States, either the Vichy French governor of West Africa refused to open the landing, or could not get the agreement of the two companies. And no one can guarantee that they will be able to hold off the German and Italian air forces coming from Malta and Sardinia. Seeing that the German army continued to increase its forces in Libya, Britain and the United States realized that there was a serious shortage of aircraft carriers, so Roosevelt had to personally send a telegram to Yang Qiu, hoping that Yang Qiu would send three aircraft carriers of the Indian fleet to contain the Luftwaffe in Malta from the flank.

But Yang Qiu refused, and there were only four sentences, very simply: "Are you just watching from the sidelines and letting us do anything?" If you are afraid of sacrifice, then simply end this war! "Of course, the end is impossible, Churchill will be the first to jump out and draw his gun, because China can still rely on the Suez Canal to hold the end, as long as Iran and Japan are defeated, the current interests can be ensured. The United States can also return to North America, but Britain is completely finished.

Accompanied by quarrels and doubts, finally China, the United States and Britain reached an agreement. The Chinese side sent two Anhai-class battleships maintained in Alexandria and two New York-class battleships of the United States to make a feint to Greece and Sicily respectively to divert the attention of the German and Italian naval and air forces. At the same time, Britain and the United States abandoned the plan for a landing in Tunisia and instead landed in Oran and Algiers, closer to Gibraltar. The total number of troops for the first landing was 200,000. Including 10 divisions of the American Army led by Patton, 4 divisions of the United Kingdom, 3 divisions of the Free France, and 1 division of Poland. The landing was divided into two groups, 2 British divisions, 1 Free French division and Polish division, and part of the American army were to depart from Britain and land in Algiers. Three U.S. divisions will depart directly from the United States for the Orlan landing. After the capture of both places, the remaining 5 divisions of the American army, 2 divisions of the British army and 2 French divisions will be quickly reinforced from the United Kingdom. In order to ensure air cover during the landing, the US military immediately sent 50 additional B-17 bombers and 60 P-40 fighters to Gibraltar, while Britain also sent 80 additional H-6 bombers. However, because the Luftwaffe never stopped bombing the British mainland, Britain was temporarily unable to provide fighter jets. 60 P40s alone were not enough, so the U.S. military transferred the Enterprise back to the Atlantic, and together with the Hornet, which had just been commissioned and was being trained, to provide air cover for the landing force. In order to increase the number of fighters, the TBD Avenger torpedo aircraft were also deliberately not carried. This allows the two ships to carry 120 F4F Wildcat fighters.

The final landing time was chosen at the end of February and early March, and the operation was codenamed "Torch"

With the operation confirmed, the U.S. Atlantic Fleet was fully mobilized to protect the first seven army divisions bound for Britain. The long-awaited arrival of the American troops made Britain boil, and many people ran to Southampton to welcome the arriving American soldiers, regardless of the German planes in the sky. Hordes of brand-new M3 tanks and supply trucks give the hope of an imminent counter-offensive in Europe. Upon learning of the arrival of American troops in Britain, the German General Staff also accelerated the deployment of additional troops to North Africa, and repeatedly suggested to Hitler that Spain be seized immediately. But I don't know if it's a convulsion, Hitler just didn't want to open his mouth to attack Spain, and even Guderian scolded: "If we don't control Gibraltar, we will fight a war of attrition with the enemy again." ”

The death of Wake Island is also very obvious, and China, the United States and Japan all know the importance of Wake Island. For Japan, the seizure of Wake Island means that it can gain a buffer time of half a year to fight to the death with the Chinese Navy, otherwise it will be a joint attack by 10 aircraft carriers and 18 battleships of China and the United States. Even if the Japanese Navy was conceited, it had no chance of winning in the face of 28 capital ships and dozens of heavy cruisers, so Japan had to attack Wake Island. As long as it can capture Wake Island, the Japanese Navy will not be able to worry about being attacked by China and the United States for at least half a year, and it will be able to devote itself to the battles of Ryukyu and Malacca.

"Read the newspaper, read the newspaper, the US army has arrived in London, and the counterattack on the fascists is in this move!"

The streets of Guangzhou are also filled with a strong Chinese New Year flavor. "Give me a copy, thank you." Hakan politely handed the newsboy a five-cent coin, opened the newspaper and read it carefully. He has lived in China for more than ten years and can already read and write Chinese, although he is still a little jerky, but it does not prevent him from reading Chinese newspaper.

But the news in the newspaper made him unhappy.

Tens of thousands of American troops were not much, but the news of landing on the British battlefield was like a fierce war drum, urging him and the workers on all fronts in Germany to speed up. "Mr. Hakan." A soft cry came from beside him.

Hakan turned his head to see a man in an overcoat and a wide-brimmed hat looking at him warily, and if Zhuo Fan was there, he would definitely recognize this man as the aviation technician he saw on the train in Beihai. "It's a pleasure to see you here, I'm from the Elbe." After the man quickly said the joint code, Hakan's eyes immediately lit up, and he looked around and stretched out his hand: "I'm glad to see you too." ”

The two scurried to their temporary residence in Hakan, the office of an American company in China. "Mr. Lawn, you've worked hard." As soon as he sat down, Hakan greeted the other person. The man named Raune didn't say much, and then took out a thick package of film negatives and cautiously handed them to Hakan: "Mr. Hakan, here are some confidential drawings and photos that we have obtained, which contain detailed information on China's new aircraft, tanks, and super torpedoes, and we need to send them back to China immediately." ”

Hakan had no doubt about the importance of the negatives, and after picking up two and looking at them, his face was worried: "The customs inspection of the Chinese is very strict, and I am afraid it will be difficult to take them out." ”

"I know, so we need your help."

"What should I do?"

"We know that you are familiar with some Chinese officials, so we hope to take you through the Yalu River blockade and then send them back from Japan."

"Japan." Hakan nodded—

Yokosuka.

At the Tokuyama Oil Depot Base, the largest oil depot in the Japanese Navy, supply dispatch officer Akihito Ono Nakasa was working earnestly. Supply dispatch is an important task of the Japanese Navy. As everyone knows, Japan lacks resources, so how to distribute the naval supplies that are not in stock in the country depends on them, the dispatch management officers. And the Tokuyama oil depot, which stores 70% of Japan's heavy oil, is the top priority! In order to ensure safety, the main body of the oil depot is all built underground, with a thickness of several meters of reinforced concrete, although there are also many oil storage tanks on the ground, but there are ordinary reserve oil. Ono's job is to manage the oil depot and distribute every drop of heavy oil as needed. In the Japanese Navy, people like them are nicknamed "oil houses".

From the moment it was decided to infiltrate the Japanese Navy, the MIA set its sights on the oil house. Because no matter how strict the system of the combined fleet is, there will be loopholes here. Moreover, through the data of a ship's refueling volume and fuel consumption rate, it is easy to infer the maximum speed, approximate combat distance and combat objectives of the warship.

"Ono-kun." A voice interrupted Ono, who was counting heavy oil stocks. Before he could raise his head, a thick stack of refueling reports was placed on his desk. "These are ships that need to be refueled." Yuji Yamamoto, staff officer of the Combined Fleet Operations Division, stood in front of him.

Ono knew him, he was a staff officer in charge of logistics planning within the Combined Fleet. After flipping through the information, Ono found that there were dozens of ships to be refueled, and the first page was actually the battleship Yamato that had just been delivered! My heart trembled. As an intelligence officer embedded in Japan, he was all too familiar with the Yamato, and not long ago sent back a large amount of information about the battleship Yamato, including top-secret information such as the maximum range and speed calculated from the refueling data. I didn't expect that after a short time, I would have to refuel this super battleship. Looking further down, the heartbeat became faster and faster, because the ships refueled also included four Kongo-class battleships, two Nagato-class battleships, four aircraft carriers, and twelve heavy cruisers.

"What kind of mission is it to dispatch the battleship Yamato? And pull out the entire combined fleet ?! After his mind quickly flipped through his mind a few times, he picked up the report and read it carefully, and muttered: "Yamamoto-kun, didn't the Yamato just add a thousand tons of heavy oil?" "Don't look at Ono as just Nakasa, there are many officers who are higher than him in the navy, but the status of "oil house" is very special, even if Yamamoto Isoroku comes in person, he must explain the situation, otherwise he will not sell face, so the Japanese Navy loves and hates these guys who "take a funnel" to calculate fuel by liter.

Yuji Yamamoto knew these rules, and the corners of his eyebrows flashed with excitement, and he introduced the situation: "We have a big operation!" Admiral Yamamoto has decided to capture Wake Island to remove the threat of the Empire's two-sided attack, and then turn around and block the Bass Strait, forcing the Shina Navy to fight a decisive battle! ”

"Oh? That's great! Finally, I can teach these ghost animals and the people of China some lessons! Ono also pretended to be excited. Although the news in Japan is tightly blocked, and ordinary people and even grassroots soldiers do not know how far the war is going, anyway, every day is the propaganda of great victories and victories there, but these middle-level officers are very aware of how bad the situation is now, so there have been rumors within the navy that Yamamoto Isoroku is going to have a decisive battle to turn the situation around.

However, the supply of fuel back and forth for more than 70 ships at a time is already equivalent to the total fuel consumption of the combined fleet in a year before the war. So Ono followed the workflow, pretending to be excited to quickly calculate the required number while continuing to ask about the specific combat objectives and the approximate required range. When all the formalities were completed, Yuji Yamamoto remembered another thing and took out a list of refueling the submarine: "The I-100 needs to be refueled, and it needs to be refueled again at the Linga anchorage, and they are going to make a detour to our allies this time for a mission." ”

Allies? Go to Germany!

Ono's eyes are bright and snowy――

"Report! Commander, the Japanese Combined Fleet is about to be dispatched. ”

Shortly after Ono wrote down the number of refueling and stamped on the documents for refueling more than 70 ships, Bingwen, who had just taken office, heard a crisp report in the naval office of the General Staff in Beijing.

"Quick, show me."

In the office, Bingwen, Shen Honglie, Bai Yutang and others were studying matters such as landing in the Ryukyus and opening up Malacca, and even Zhu Binhou and Deng Haoqian were returning from Karachi. Hearing the news, everyone stood up. "This was transferred by the Military Intelligence Agency, and the news came from the Japanese" Oil House ". You see, here's the type and name of the bunkering ship, and the specific refueling quantity for each ship, and the informant said that he got the news that it was Wake Island and the Bass Strait that we control. We have already roughly calculated the combat radius of the fleet by the amount of fuel, and it is quite possible that it is true. And one more news! There was a Japanese submarine that not only refueled, but also applied for refueling at the Linga anchorage. The intelligence officer said that the submarine was going to the allies, and we speculated that the destination was most likely Germany. ”

"Allies? Hehe, it looks like it's going to be a gift. Bingwen immediately realized the significance of the submarine venturing to Germany. Everyone smiled and turned their attention to the Japanese Navy's goal this time. After reading the information, Shen Honglie's eyes slowly became stunned: "Huh? You see, the Yamato, which has just been put into service, is also to be dispatched. ”

"Good fellows, four aircraft carriers, seven battleships, and twelve heavy cruisers are all refueled." Zhu Binhou also raised his head, looking vigilant: "Could there be other thoughts?" The United States has only one aircraft carrier Lexington and two heavy cruisers on Wake Island, and there is only one Saratoga aircraft carrier left in Pearl Harbor, but there are eight battleships, but the speed is relatively slow. ”

"I don't think they will all be sent out, but it is estimated that they will first put on a posture of a decisive battle with us to trick the US Navy into thinking that Japan's target is us. Then a few capital ships quietly returned, and the rest sneaked up on Wake Island. After Bai Yutang came to his conclusion, everyone nodded. After all, no matter how much the Japanese Navy dared to gamble, it would not dare to send all the capital ships, otherwise sending one or two battleships at random would make them unable to resist.

"Commander! This is a great opportunity. Chen Shiying is more concerned about what to do on his side. Wake Island is a good place, and like Guam, it's just a Pacific island under the auspices of the United States, that is, whoever grabs it belongs to whom. If Japan can take it, then the XN21 battle group can be completely used as a yellow finch and quickly seize it behind the ass. It was even possible to sneak up on the Japanese fleet and destroy four aircraft carriers and the battleship Yamato in one fell swoop. But Bingwen shook his head: "Yellow Sparrow is not so easy to be. The Guangdong and Guangxi have just been put into service, and the air brigades above have not fought before, and they still need training, and even if we change some old pilots to go up, Japan will also have four aircraft carriers. Besides, Guam used to be very far away, and if we were discovered by Japan on the way to our trip, I am afraid that Yamamoto's character would immediately abandon the Wake Island plan. ”

Shen Honglie nodded: "What the commander said is right, not only can we not be in a hurry, but we should also immediately let the XN21 battle group fight a dozen other places, so that Japan thinks that we have no time to take care of them." As for Wake Island, it's hard to say whether Japan can take it, and it's not good to follow behind the ass in a hurry. Anyway, if Yamamoto can win, even if he can't sink the Lexington, as long as he can cause serious damage, the United States will have only one aircraft carrier left in the Pacific Ocean within half a year, and we have a chance. ”

Chen Shiying smiled and said, "It's me who is a little anxious." Otherwise, I will transfer the fifth fleet to Guam to Palau, and then have Pan Duheng take the Canton and Guangxi ships to Manado and put on a posture of landing on Sulawesi. There are not many Japanese troops here, and there are few aircraft, so it is just right for two aircraft carriers to train and train, as long as you are careful of submarines and destroyers, there should be no big threat. ”

"I think it's okay, and I can also let the Second Fleet go to the South China Sea to patrol once, put on a posture of preparing to attack the Philippines in the north and south, and give Yamamoto a reassurance."

Bingwen finally made a decision: "Then do it, I will go to the president immediately and tell him the news." After deciding, everyone immediately got up to prepare, but before they were about to go out, the staff officer hurriedly pushed the door in, and almost pretended to be full of arms with Zhu Binhou: "Commander, I just got the news!" Pearl Harbor was moved, and the USS Saratoga, the battleship Pennsylvania, the battleship Arizona, the battleship Nevada, the battleship Oklahoma, and six heavy cruisers, six light cruisers, and fifteen destroyers left the port with unknown whereabouts. ”

"So coincidentally?" The new information suddenly made everyone look at it. How could it be such a coincidence? As soon as Yamamoto was about to launch a sneak attack on Wake Island, Kimmel sent a support fleet as if it had been arranged.

Everyone looked at Bingwen and was about to ask if he wanted the plan, but his face changed: "Not good!" It must have been the United States that deciphered the code of the Japanese Navy! ”。 The latest chapter of the peerless Tang Gate