At 20:30 on December 24, Hawaiian time, on the ocean 30 nautical miles southwest of Oahu, a thin black thing poked its head out of the sea, slowly rotated a few times, and quickly retracted into the sea.

In a moment, a huge black shadow in the shape of a long strip broke through the sea surface and floated up, and on the edge of the flat cylindrical protrusion in front of the middle of the black shadow, three white characters were faintly visible: whale 22.

It had been three weeks since the Imperial Navy submarine Whale-22 left Marshall, during which time it dived during the day, surfaced at night, and sailed cautiously into Hawaiian waters.

The Whale-22 is the latest Whale-3 ocean-going submarine with a speed of 8 knots and a range of 10,000 nautical miles, equipped with eight 550 mm torpedo tubes and 14 torpedoes, as well as two 120 mm guns, which is very suitable for ocean-going communication breaking and reconnaissance operations.

The Allied Sixth Fleet Command sent a total of 22 Whale series ocean-going submarines in three squadrons to Hawaii to form three cordons within 100 nautical miles of Pearl Harbor to monitor the enemy fleet's movements and wait for an opportunity to launch an attack after the battle.

The Whale 22 is part of the First Submarine Squadron of the Sixth Fleet and is on the most important first warning line.

The captain, Major Mo Ming, quickly slipped out of the narrow passage, jumped onto the command platform that still smelled of salty seawater, and raised the high-powered telescope on his chest to look into the darkness.

Captain Liu De'an, the first mate who came up later, breathed in the fresh air comfortably, stretched his arms and sighed: "I still can't see the land." ”

"Be quiet, and be observant."

The cramped podium barely held five or six men, and it was often the prerogative of the officers to enjoy the fresh air here, and the only opportunity for sailors to see the outside world during a combat voyage was to serve with the cannons in the fore and behind the upper deck – an opportunity that did not exist for a submarine that was purely on a reconnaissance mission.

The four officers—the captain, the first mate, the chief navigator, and the chief of the thunder gun—looked at the telescope for a long time, and there was nothing in the darkness, neither sparks spewing from the chimney nor the breaking waves of the warship, only the dark waves around them, gently beating against the hull of the ship, and swaying the four men slowly.

First mate Liu De'an put down the binoculars and nibbled on a compressed biscuit: "A moonless night...... It's not good for us and for them. ”

"What's so good about compressed cookies?" Mo Ming glanced at him.

Liu De'an pressed the military hat: "You can't smoke, so you should divert your attention." ”

"It is a matter of course for submariners to quit smoking."

"Don't worry, I'll make it back when I get ashore."

"You're out of ......"

Liu De'an carefully put away the remaining half of the packet of compressed biscuits: "Don't talk about this, captain, shouldn't we get closer?" Maybe there's a chance to eat big fish......"

"You are not allowed to leave the cordon until you receive an order, and you want me to bring someone to the commander? Eating big fish? Be careful to be eaten first. Have you forgotten the essentials of submariners? ”

Liu Dean shook his head: "Yes, sir." There is only one word for submariners - forbearance, hanging on the sword, calmly, not anxious, fearless and timid......"

"Okay, don't endorse me, do your business honestly - Captain, slow down on both sides, drive slowly for a while, and then we'll observe."

"Yes...... Twin Side Microvelocity ......"

The bell rang softly, and under the command of the cautious Captain Mo Ming, the Whale 22 began its cruise in the dark......

On the same day, at 22:00, 700 nautical miles southwest of Oahu, a huge fleet loomed in the darkness, like a group of huge ghosts floating on the sea.

The 90 ships of the First Fleet of the East Asian Coalition -- 76 combat ships and 14 fast supply ships -- are forming a seven-way column, sailing at a formation speed of 18 knots, discharging hundreds of thousands of tons of seawater and breaking the waves towards targets in the dark depths.

On the "Pinghai," the general flagship of the Combined Fleet, located on the Central Road of the Seventh Route Column, Admiral Sa Zhenbing, commander of the Combined Fleet, was carrying a cup of black tea and crouching down on a huge nautical chart to study carefully.

Two hours ago, Sa Zhenbing received a coded telegram from the base camp: The main force of the US fleet is still in the harbor, and the battleships 22, large cruisers 6-7, cruisers 7-8, and destroyers 16-18 will immediately start the battle according to the plan A!

That is, by the time the intelligence was sent from the Oahu side, it was confirmed that 3-4 large armored cruisers and about the same number of protective cruisers, as well as 6-8 destroyers, had sailed out of the harbor for routine patrols.

According to relevant intelligence, the US military's warning ring on the Pearl Harbor base is divided into three layers: the outermost layer is 200-450 nautical miles away from the base, and patrols are carried out by cruiser detachments; 150-250 nautical miles in the middle layer, which is covered by aircraft and submarines; The innermost layer is within 150 nautical miles and is the responsibility of the destroyer detachment.

Since the main force of the Combined Fleet was stationed in Marshalls, the US military has strengthened its vigilant patrols southwest of Pearl Harbor, and correspondingly, the patrol strength in other directions has been weakened, which is also to prevent the mobile forces from launching a surprise attack from the north of Pearl Harbor in a large circle.

However, in this way, the main force of the Marshallese frontal assault cannot attack at the same time as the mobile force - if the main force is discovered through the opponent's reinforced cordon before the mobile force launches the attack, the surprise attack of the mobile force is equivalent to bankruptcy.

Because of this, compared with the mobile forces, the main force delayed its journey by one day, and was scheduled to arrive outside Pearl Harbor the day after the surprise attack was launched, and challenge the US fleet in a dignified manner.

However, if the US fleet flees to the west coast at night after being attacked by mobile forces, the hope of annihilating the US fleet may be disappointed.

It is impossible for the mobile forces to carry out an attack on Pearl Harbor for a whole day, and because of the limitations of the carrier-based aircraft, the aircraft carriers will have to operate in dangerous waters 100 nautical miles from Oahu, and the enemy cruisers can fly there in just a few hours, and the aircraft will only need more than an hour, so that even two or three waves of aviation attacks will have to take great risks.

In that case, we can only pray that we can inflict maximum damage on the US fleet in these two or three waves of attacks.

Although he did have the knightly enthusiasm of "if he is a man, he will come to fight with dignity" in his heart, Sa Zhenbing still had to consider this situation that everyone did not want to face.

In any case, however, the current situation is much better than the premise set by Plans B and C, which is that the main US fleet will hold on to the west coast.

Even if you have to face the enemy's counterattack, the enemy's main fleet weakened by mobile forces, or the enemy's main fleet unscathed - which one will you choose as your opponent?

Besides, we still have those 22 submarines, which can be called the most modern and advanced submarines in the world!

At that time, if the submarine unit is allowed to stay outside the harbor and intercept the enemy ships in batches at any cost, it is expected that many results will be achieved.

How will the commander of the U.S. fleet over there choose?

Sa Zhenbing put down the teacup and twisted his somewhat sore neck, although he couldn't predict the future choice of the other party's commander, he knew very well that the other party's options were no more and no less, there were only two: fight and escape.

If the decision is given to the 380-mm guns on the "Pinghai", then there is no doubt that the former will be chosen.

Your Excellency, Commander of the Naval Fleet of the United States of America, how would you choose?