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“…… My God, please save these poor children! ”

Seeing the area where the incident occurred was covered with floating battleship debris and the soldiers struggling in the water, Lieutenant General Kincaid, who was desolate in his heart, could only pray to the sky in a low voice.

At the same time, it is not too much to constantly ask yourself whether you have made too low-level tactical mistakes that led to this fiasco, or rather a disaster.

The flagship battleship "Indiana" ("South Dakota") of the 64th task force has been tilted more than 15 degrees, and its speed has dropped to less than 20 knots.

In fact, after discovering that the enemy was using lightning tactics, Kincaid immediately asked the fleet to evade it.

But the ships were advancing westward at a 30-degree angle, which was equivalent to exposing half of the side to the attacking torpedo group.

The battleship "Indiana" was hit by seven torpedoes one after another, the most lethal of which was a very concentrated concentration of bullets.

The 45,000-tonne behemoth was badly flooded and soon began to lean towards the injured side.

Do not compare with "Yamato" or "Musashi", the super-battleship with a full load displacement of more than 70 thousand tons.

And the tonnage of the treaty battleship was far inferior to that of the opponent, and if you eat seven or eight torpedoes on one side, it is equivalent to a death sentence.

Despite the captain's desperate efforts to pour water into the starboard side, hoping that the battleship would be able to maintain balance.

However, due to the severe injury on the port side, a large amount of water injection is equivalent to "chronic self-sinking"!

After more than ten minutes of rescue, seeing that the situation was irreparable, Vice Admiral Kincaid had to give the order to abandon the ship.

After the "Alabama" was the first to sink, the battleships "Massachusetts" and "North Carolina" followed in their footsteps.

As the flagship, the Indiana became the last of the four battleships to submerge into the sea.

“…… Is this all there is to us??? ”

The result of the almost instantaneous naval battle was still a little difficult for some of the surviving officers and men in the fleet to accept.

In addition to the loss of four new battleships at once, the two heavy cruisers and four light cruisers in the formation were not spared.

Of the 25 destroyers, 17 were torpedoed and sunk, and the remaining eight were acting as jumbo taxis, rescuing crews between Kuah Island and the area where the incident occurred.

However, the wartime strength of a treaty-type battleship was as high as 2,000 people, and it was far from enough to rely on eight destroyers and dozens of lifeboats to help.

"Officers and men of the U.S. Navy, if you rashly land ashore and retreat to your own positions, our ship will not be able to guarantee that you will not be shelled! If you choose to surrender, our ship will vouch for the samurai reputation of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Combined Fleet, and you will be treated well under the Geneva Conventions! There will be no malarial treatment! Otherwise, what awaits you will be a path of death to Hell! ”

The battleship "Izumi" sailed through the sea strewks and shouted to each other through the ship's loudspeakers.

The second-class young man did not give the order to beat the water dogs, and as long as the US destroyers did not take the lead in attacking, they could be allowed to continue to save people.

Captain Nishida Masao believed that the Divine Envoy was thinking about the problem from the perspective of humanity, after all, the Japanese Navy was not as desperate as his army counterparts.

Moreover, if the US crew refuses to surrender, there will really be a regimental annihilation, and a 420 mm shell can kill a company of US soldiers in an instant.

The two sides are several kilometers apart, and the naval guns do not automatically recognize which enemies have laid down their arms.

As for the samurai reputation of the gambler's general...... Throw the bread out first!

"Sir, what are we going to do?"

“…… Let me think! ”

Lieutenant General Kincaid also knew that what the other party said was indeed a real problem, and he didn't want these children in their twenties to die tragically under the opponent's naval guns unarmed.

If it's just this super battleship, it's still easy to do, maybe you can find a way to perfunctory it.

But soon, two smaller battleships appeared behind him, and they were the two "New Kongo" (Scharnhorst) under the command of Mikawa.

Behind him was the Nagumo Fleet, which had gone and returned.

The young men of the second cargo asked them to turn around and return to the Iron Bottom Strait, just to get more "oil and water".

The "Izumi" gave the other side 10 minutes to think about it, and if it exceeded the time limit, it would not be able to ensure the safety of the lives of US officers and men.

Vice Admiral Kincaid summoned most of the senior commanders, including the captains of the ships, and no one was willing to choose to surrender outright.

But the situation was pressing, and no one dared to pat their chests to guarantee that the Japanese would not fire after all their men had landed.

Besides, escaping from the range of the battleship's main guns on two legs was an almost impossible task.

Everyone was dressed in light-colored naval uniforms, and it was literally indicating targets for the enemy's naval guns.

If you refuse to surrender, it will take at least half an hour from landing to going deep inland.

During this time, what if to make sure that enemy ships do not fire at their own side?

"Lieutenant General Kincaid, I can't say Nice-to-meet-you when we meet on such an occasion!"

After the discussion, the commander, who had overcome all the opinions, decided to go to the battleship of the other side and hold a negotiation, hoping to buy time for everyone to retreat.

“…… You are the supreme commander of this battleship? So young! ”

Lieutenant General Kincaid thought that the guy who defeated them would have to be at least fifty or sixty years old, but he didn't expect it to be a kid in his twenties.

"I don't think you're here to discuss my age, are you? I can tell you responsibly that if you refuse to surrender to our troops and let those crews retreat inland, then you are killing them all with our hands! ”

If you insist on going your own way, you will soon regret it.

“…… Didn't you, Mr. Commander, just broadcast that you would abide by the Geneva Conventions? How can the previous statement be completely reversed now? ”

Lieutenant General Kincaid still wants to argue on the grounds, but the reasons are not so strong.

"For those who surrender to our army, we will naturally abide by the previous agreement, but if you refuse to surrender, we dare not guarantee anything! Please face up to the reality, Mr. Lieutenant General, you have lost the sea supremacy in the Iron Bottom Strait, and the air supremacy will soon fall into the hands of our army. Your ground forces on Kuah are about to be devastated, and I think you have already guessed what kind of approach our troops will take, and it will be indiscriminate and comprehensive! So, Mr. Lieutenant General, do you think it is better to surrender or retreat if the lives of officers and soldiers must be saved? If you really think that you can make the right judgment, it is better to retreat with your subordinates, and I can guarantee that you will not attack your troops in any way within half an hour! ”

Can you walk 10 kilometers in half an hour?

The firing range of the main gun of the "Izumi" is more than 40 kilometers!

Even if you go out of a distance of 10 kilometers, even the 105-mm high-level dual-purpose gun of the "Izumi" can bomb you to death!

Seeing that the other party was still thinking about it, the young man of the second cargo took the opportunity to say: "Mr. Lieutenant General, I know this makes you very embarrassed, but I can still reveal a little top-secret information to you alone!" ”

“…… Oh? What is it? ”

"After your surrender, I can release all of you as soon as we agree with Washington that your country is willing to pay a little hard currency, such as gold!"

If it weren't for the fact that they could only operate on the territory of the Axis powers, the second-hand youth would have looted the banks of Britain and the United States long ago.

Exchanging prisoners of war for gold, although it is a little inefficient, but it can be regarded as a purchase channel, and mosquito legs are especially meat!

“…… With all due respect, Mr. Commander, I'm afraid you can't call the shots, right? ”

"I can immediately send an application to Prime Minister Tojo and Commander Yamamoto! Within half an hour, you will get an official reply that satisfies you! You can save this telegram as a written document and as a voucher! ”

"Well...... this"

Masao Nishida immediately sent someone to send a report, and sure enough, the gambler's general and the Tokyo side were very efficient.

Although Prime Minister Chick doesn't like the young man, he doesn't want to offend this divine envoy.

Because as long as he can save the defeat, he will sit on the prime minister's throne more firmly and for longer.

So without openly opposing him, all the demands that could contribute to victory at the front, the chicks can take into account.

“…… I would like to send a message to the command of the Pacific Fleet about the situation in which we find ourselves now! ”

The surrender of the commander of the US Navy task force is not trivial, and Vice Admiral Kincaid will also throw out the pot.

And the call back from Pearl Harbor was - let the commander decide for himself!

This pot is back!

"Alright! I hope that Mr. Commander will be able to fulfill his previous written promises as promised! ”

Desperate, Kincaid can only use the telegram signed with the name of the second-hand young man as a lifesaver for his own department.

More than 10,000 officers and men of the 64th Task Force immediately landed ashore one by one, gave up resistance, disarmed themselves, and marched to the Japanese positions after assembling.

Lieutenant General Kincaid also knew very well in his heart that if he really had to retreat eastward against the rain of bullets from the other side, he was afraid that by the time he arrived at the defense area of the First Army, there would be no more people left to breathe.

And Robert? Vice Admiral Eckerberg was also in a precarious situation, having lost the full support of the U.S. Navy, and his First Army was simply unable to face the Japanese attack on land and sea.

“…… Bastard! I'm going to hold him accountable! ”

When the news reached Washington, the Pentagon was shocked, and the commander-in-chief of the US Navy, Ernest ? Joseph? Admiral Kim was even more furious.

How could a commander like Kincaid, who had been entrusted with such a heavy responsibility, do such a shameful thing?

Didn't he know what that meant?

Being subjected to a massive torpedo attack by the enemy is simply a pretext!

The pressure of public opinion is still withstood by Director Luo.

But congressional accountability is a question of the military's hard time prevaricating.

"This is the sorrow of the US Navy!"

"An unheard-of scandal!"

"A thorough investigation should be conducted immediately!"

The congressmen who opposed Director Luo immediately took advantage of the issue and vigorously criticized a series of stupid tricks of the current government and the military.

Fortunately, there are also die-hard fans under Mr. President, and the topic was quickly shifted to the fact that the children of the excrement-spraying parliamentarians did not join the army.

The two sides immediately launched a protracted war of words, and everyone exposed each other's shortcomings for the sake of the interests of their respective groups.

The question of whether or not a bear child should be a soldier or not, and how many children should be a soldier, has not been decided for decades.

In any case, the surrender of all members of Task Force 64 was very embarrassing to Washington, and it was simply a copy of the Philippine Army.

Fortunately, Tokyo has said that it can accept a conditional exchange of prisoners of war, including all U.S. military personnel under Japanese control.

The White House also wanted to discuss countermeasures privately, but after being exposed by major media outlets, the families of the captured military personnel immediately demanded that the government show due sincerity and release the prisoners of war as soon as possible.

The conditions proposed by Tokyo were that military ranks would be exchanged for reciprocal terms, that is, soldiers for soldiers, and officers for officers.

Although the Japanese army followed the spirit of bushido, some pilots who successfully parachuted fell into the hands of the American army.

The gambler general is desperate to replenish the manpower of the carrier-based aircraft force, and those pilots who have undergone rigorous training are more valuable than gold.

Compared with the enthusiasm of the navy, the Japanese army was not very interested, but fortunately, the prisoners of war in their hands were equal to a pile of gold.

When these U.S. officers and soldiers are sold for money, they can be exchanged for a large number of "Leopard" tanks from the Divine Envoy.

The price in Tokyo was 500 people for one ton of gold, and 10,000 people could be discussed in the early stage.

Washington strongly protested against this despicable act of deliberately raising prices, which required at least 2,000 people per tonne.

After several counter-offers, the two sides agreed in principle to exchange one ton of gold for one thousand people, which is equivalent to one kilogram of gold per person.

But Tokyo is afraid that the Americans will deceive with other metals, Washington is afraid that the other side will not keep its promises, and both sides are afraid that the enemy will eat and deliberately shade themselves......

That's the afterword, on the day of May 28.

After the attack of the 64th Task Force was completely thwarted, the US First Army on Kuah Island was about to usher in its own end.

Behind Kincaid, the rumbling sound of cannon resounded across the sea, causing the officers and men of the Navy who had already walked several kilometers along the beach to stop and watch.

The two sides had an appointment in advance, and the heavy artillery bombardment of the Japanese fleet naturally did not aim at them, but opened fire on the American positions to the east.

Veterans with many years of experience know that this level of shelling is by no means something that their own army can withstand.

If he refused to surrender before, I was afraid that he and his comrades would have to be bombed to God directly.

The reconnaissance planes that took off from Savo Island began to correct the shooting accuracy of the fleet, which made the US troops on the east side of Kuah Island even more terrified.

“…… Mr. Lieutenant General, if we no longer have air support, we will have to withdraw from our existing positions! ”

Following the collapse of the 25th Infantry Division, the brave and combative 1st Marine Division was also baptized by the enemy's artillery fire.

Alexander? Archer? Major General Vandergrif and his tens of thousands of men are stoic and ruthless.

It is his duty to annihilate the remnants of the Japanese army on the island, which is the result that everyone is looking forward to after more than half a year of fierce fighting.

But today, it backfired, and the sudden shelling instantly wiped out their good wishes.

As the enemy's artillery fire extended to depth, the 1st Marine Regiment, adjacent to the 25th Infantry Division's defense area, had already suffered a catastrophe.

Seeing that the 5th Regiment was also going to suffer, Major General Vandergrift could not wait for the enemy's shells to fall on the heads of his men before giving the order to retreat.

If two of the three regiments under its command (the other being the 7th regiment) were disabled, then the 1st Marine Division would have been able to attend its own funeral on its own......