Chapter 67: Typhoon Halsey (middle)

Since ancient times, typhoons have been a monster for the inhabitants of coastal areas. But for some island nations www.biquge.info typhoons are the patron saint that protects them from the conquest of foreign powerhouses. For example, the famous battle example called the "Battle of Bunkyu & Koyasu" by Japanese historians: in the late 13th century, the Mongol army, which had almost conquered the world, crossed the sea twice to attack Japan, but was swallowed by typhoons in the coastal areas of Japan and the whole army was wiped out.

At that time, the ancient Japanese, who were lucky enough to escape, cheered for it and called these two typhoons that saved the fortunes of the country "kamikaze".

And now, when the military boots of the United States of America set foot in Tokyo, the "kamikaze" that blessed Japan actually came again!

-- The storm in the Pacific Ocean changed color, the heavens and the earth wept for it, the US imperialists were terrified, and the world was shaken.

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Oval Office, White House, Washington, USA

“…… Extra! Extra! A modern version of Don Quixote! Admiral Halsey leads his fleet to suicidally challenge the Typhoon! ”

“…… Big news! Big news! Comparable to the super shipwreck of Atlantis sinking! Eighty thousand young men of the United States died at sea! ”

“…… Japan's red fascist regime issued a statement full of schadenfreude, declaring that the typhoon disaster on our army was a curse of heaven......"

“…… Religious experts claim that Japan has a long tradition of worshipping typhoons as guardian spirits, and that the United States must be prepared to defeat them...... General Halsey, are you really ready to become the god of war to defeat the Typhoon? ”

……

Looking at the glaring black headlines in the newspaper, President Truman had the urge to tear them to shreds at once and then step on the ground to vent his anger, but after all, he still had a bit of a politician's temperament, so he held back the anger in his chest and just handed the newspaper to Admiral King, who was sitting opposite.

-- Although the US media often deliberately exaggerate newspaper headlines in order to attract the attention of customers, this time it is clear that this time it is not sensationalism, but a bloody fact...... Sure enough, after only a cursory glance at the newspaper headline, Admiral Kim, who claimed to be "always angry," frowned, "...... Why didn't such news that shook the morale of the military and bewitched public opinion be decisively blocked? What is the government doing? ”

“…… Blockade? How to block? Seize the nation's radios like Hitler? "Sitting next to the couch Secretary of State Cordell. Hull sneered with a depressed face, "...... The Japanese and Soviets had already added fuel to this story to the newspapers and broadcast news commentary programs on the radio! Even newspapers in Africa and South America have received the news! If we still want to block the news from the country, we can only deceive ourselves, do we wait for those reporters to sneak out? And then let the populace take to the streets of Washington to protest? ”

-- Even in times of war, even when martial law is imposed, it is very difficult for a democratic country like the United States to completely block public opinion, especially when it comes to war-related heavyweight news. At present, the news media in the United States are paying close attention to the war situation in the Pacific, and it is really difficult to conceal and lie to the people on such a major matter, and once it is discovered, the consequences will be even more unimaginable.

In Secretary Hull's view, it is better to shake the truth of the matter out than to let all kinds of false gossip fly all over the place.

Although this terrible truth was maddening, the Halsey fleet struggled in the typhoon for nearly two days and two nights, and when the sea was calm, it took the fleet command a full week to get the battered ships back one after another, regroup, and begin to count the damage...... Perhaps the Japanese are really a people blessed by a typhoon, and in this devastating typhoon, the U.S. Pacific Fleet sank ships and lost more people than in any previous naval battle!

-- After the typhoon, the Halsey fleet, consisting of two large aircraft carriers, four light aircraft carriers, five battleships, three heavy cruisers, five light cruisers, 15 destroyers, six escort aircraft carriers, 24 medium landing ships and tank landing ships, and 39 transport ships and auxiliary vessels, sank during the typhoon due to the rupture of the hull, the capsizing of the wind and waves, the fire and explosion in the cabin, or the collision with each other. Among them, the Pentagon and the White House are most distressed by the fact that the United States of America's shipbuilding technology, the new super battleship "Hawaii", which has a displacement of 105,000 tons and a 20-inch cannon, was buried at the bottom of the sea in this typhoon before it had time to make a confrontation with the Japanese Combined Fleet!

In addition, there were more than 100 ships that did not immediately sink or capsize, but also lost power, damaged rudders, or fell off their propellers, and had to be towed by other ships. Since the structural strength of landing ships and troop carriers is generally inferior to that of warships, the landing force that the US military planned to use to attack the Mariana Islands actually lost more than 80% of its troops in one go during this typhoon! Technical equipment such as tanks and heavy artillery were even more lost. There was even a troop carrier that was captured by a Japanese naval patrol destroyer after losing power and drifting for a week!

Then, nine escort carriers and two light aircraft carriers were swept off the entire flight deck by the typhoon, and the flagship Enterprise was burned half by fire and could only barely sail at a maximum speed of three to four knots, the hull was littered with exposed welds and iron plates, and the flight deck seemed to have been demolished by a directional blast. The decks and elevators of the remaining aircraft carriers were also seriously damaged in the typhoon, and they basically lost their ability to take off and land.

That is, the Halsey fleet is no longer left with available aircraft carriers, and the carrier-based aircraft units of his naval aviation have completely lost their combat effectiveness!

Next, the sea-to-air radars of all the ships of the Halsey fleet were basically damaged by the wind and waves, and a considerable number of ships even broke their radios. Only the submarine forces hiding under the water suffered relatively minor losses, but there was also a submarine that lost its signal during the typhoon.

In addition, the typhoon then swept through Midway, causing the tiny island to be plunged into darkness, and the island's airfield, forts, and military barracks were also devastated. More than 1,000 troops defending the island were swept away by the typhoon and suffered a catastrophe. The hangars, oil depots, planes, and towers at Midway Airport are all gone, and there is not even a single transport boat left at the island's dock. Instead, a heavy cruiser, the USS Louisville, was thrown away by the storm and is now resting on the reef at Midway, so badly damaged that it cannot be repaired.

The survivors on Midway are now in critical condition, with no fresh water, food, medicine, or fuel, and are calling for help on the radio.

-- All in all, if we include those ships that are barely floating on the surface of the sea for the time being, but have been judged to be of no repair value, the total tonnage of all types of ships lost by the US Navy in this typhoon has actually reached a staggering 1.8 million tons!

Measured by a concept that is easier for Chinese to understand, it is that the Yankees were blown away by a typhoon and fifty Beiyang sailors!

Got it! That is, a big bull like the United States can still bear it, and other countries can't make up so many ships to sink even if they break their belts!

In fact, such an exaggerated loss figure, even with the wealth of the US Navy, was broken by a heavy hammer, and it can no longer be toughened! So, in the preliminary statistics of the losses of the fleet...... To be exact, after counting the surviving numbers of the fleet, Rao was an iron-clad tough guy like Admiral Halsey, and he couldn't help crying, and then ordered the battle plan to be canceled and turned around and returned home.

However, the tragedy of the United States of America and the United States Pacific Fleet is far from over.

-- To add insult to injury, that damn super typhoon, as if bent on opposing the U.S. Pacific Fleet, after destroying the Halsey Fleet and Midway, continued all the way east to Hawaii and landed directly at Pearl Harbor, the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet!

Just this morning, the White House and the Pentagon received reports of damage from the Hawaiian side: the entire archipelago was completely de-energized, five villages and two small towns were razed to the ground, three destroyers, two light cruisers, and an escort aircraft carrier were washed up on land, broken into several sections. The building of the headquarters of the Pacific Fleet collapsed in the wind, about a thousand aircraft were destroyed, and more than seven thousand local military and civilian people were killed and wounded...... What's worse is that because the port facilities and shipyards and docks were seriously damaged in the typhoon, it is likely that the Halsey fleet, which is about to return from its home, will not be repaired in time at Pearl Harbor......

At this point, with the exception of the submarine forces that had escaped the storm underwater, the front-line fleet trapped in Tokyo Bay, and the coast guard on the west coast of the homeland, the ocean-going naval fleet of the United States of America in the North Pacific had almost been swept away by this "kamikaze" that obviously blessed the Japanese!

So, President Truman and Ernest . Admiral Kim was saddened to find that the key task at the moment seemed to be no longer how to intercept and annihilate the Japanese Combined Fleet, but to prevent the Japanese Combined Fleet from taking the opportunity to attack Pearl Harbor again and seize Hawaii.

It's a cruel and sad cold reality...... But they had to face it head-on......

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ps: The French Prime Minister has gone out of his mind again, announcing that terrorist attacks have become part of daily life in France, and I hope everyone will not be afraid, and they will get used to bombing and bombing. By analogy, Chairman Chiang can probably say that civil war is a daily routine in China, and everyone is used to killing and killing...... However, the French Prime Minister finally told the truth, that is, even if the terrorists succeeded and made France green, there would only be more bombings, not less......

Then, under the rule of Nazar Khan of Kazakhstan, there was also a riot, shooting in the streets, and it is not known whether it was a terrorist attack or a coup d'état.

Since the misfiring of a missile in Taiwan and the confrontation in the South China Sea at the beginning of the month, how much big news has happened? Could it be that this July is really the month of military disasters?