Yamamoto Fifty-six looked at the information that had just been sent in his hand, and this information was tantamount to a hard knock on his heart. For the first time, Nagumo Tadaichi's carrier-based aircraft suffered such heavy losses in a confrontation, which also made Yamamoto Isoroku feel for the first time that there seemed to be no way to win the war.

This marshal, who led the Japanese Navy to unprecedented glory, now suddenly had the idea that it would be better to go back. He looked at the terrible number on the report, and before he knew it, his whole palm was sweating.

There is no doubt about the victory of Sato's fighter unit. A full 24 of the 40 American planes were shot down, thanks in any case to the bravery and tenacity of the carrier-based aircraft forces of the Japanese Navy. They hadn't had any rest for days on end, and the pilots were so exhausted that they sometimes fell asleep after they had stopped their planes on deck.

However, they still achieved a proud record, 30 Zero fighters against 40 American P-40s, and still achieved an astonishing result of shooting down 24 aircraft. However, this time, while shooting down the opponent, the Japanese also paid a heavy price, 11 Japanese planes were shot down, and 11 highly skilled Japanese fighter pilots could no longer continue to fight for the Empire.

For the first time, Yamamoto felt that the issue of air supremacy was a bit tricky, and his battleship fleet had to abandon the intention of pursuing the American fleet because General Kurita feared that his battleship force would be attacked by US Navy carrier-based aircraft.

General Nagumo Tadaichi was also stubborn, he did not have Yamamoto's consent, he advanced his aircraft carrier fleet to the east 20 kilometers, hoping to bite the American fleet and continue to attack, and even he himself personally sent a telegram to Yamamoto Fifty-six, in which he spoke earnestly: "Marshal Yamamoto Fifty-six, although our army has suffered certain losses, but on the whole it still occupies a certain advantage and initiative, I implore you to agree that the fleet is here to fight a decisive battle with the US Navy, and the life and death of the Imperial Navy will be decided in a war!" I, Nagumo Tadaichi, will be with the aircraft carrier Akagi. Long live His Majesty the Emperor! The Imperial Army of Japan has been in military fortune for a long time!"

This telegram was sent along with Sato's battle report, and it was clear that Nagumo Tadaichi was going to give it a go. The four aircraft carriers of the Japanese fleet have pressed against the US fleet, and the Japanese Navy still has an advantage in the number of ships and air forces, but the gap between the two sides has indeed narrowed to a negligible level.

"Australia is such a chicken. Yamamoto 56 sighed that if it weren't for the dispersion of the Japanese navy caused by the attack on Darwin Harbor, the Japanese fleet near Pearl Harbor would be in a much better position now. However, the plan to reinforce the port of Darwin was also proposed by the Admiralty, after all, the Japanese top brass wanted to obtain a permanent large port in Australia to store strategic materials for attack.

The Japanese Navy's plan was that once the port of Darwin was captured, Australian iron ore would be continuously shipped to Japan, allowing Japan's shipbuilding industry to grow by leaps and bounds, laying a solid material foundation for complete control of the entire Pacific Ocean. However, the division of troops at the limit distance directly caused the situation that the Japanese Navy was difficult to ride the tiger this time.

It is not impossible to drive out this American fleet, and if you fight for losses, you can even eat this American fleet, but Yamamoto knows that once he does this, then the combined fleet will be completely finished. The Americans will see a weak Japan in the intelligence, and the capture of Hawaii will definitely not end the war, but will make the United States more determined to fight the war.

Yamamoto knew that the Japanese Navy and Army were powerless to attack the United States, and even if the US Navy was completely wiped out and not a single ship was gone, the Japanese Army would not have the courage to send hundreds of thousands of Japanese soldiers to the east coast of the United States to fight a protracted war with millions of American GIs and thousands of tanks.

The last time we provoked China, a big country whose strength could not catch up with one-tenth of that of the United States, the Japanese had already put a heavy burden on their backs, and now they really did not have the courage to face a country like the United States on a vast territory. If it is arrogant to challenge the whole world with the power of one country, it is absolutely suicide to challenge the whole world with the power of one country like Japan.

Two days ago, Yamamoto attended a memorial ceremony for the pilots of the Japanese naval aviation on the deck of the aircraft carrier Akagi. Ten days of fighting cost the Japanese Navy the precious lives of 32 pilots. Yamamoto personally bowed to the 32 ashes and expressed his deepest condolences.

Yamamoto put down the text in his hand, turned back to his staff and said: "Japan is too small, so small that it makes people a little desperate, every pilot is a precious asset of the Japanese Empire, if we lose too many troops here, then the great Japanese Empire will be over!"

"But, Your Excellency, if we don't choose a decisive battle at this moment...... Then, the more than 40,000 soldiers on Oahu and Kauai, the armies of the two divisions, will be completely finished. The staff officer bowed his head and said, "I think that as a soldier of the Great Japanese Empire, I should not retreat now. ”

"Yes, Marshal! The soldiers of the Great Japanese Empire should not retreat!" Another officer also bowed his head behind Yamamoto and said: "We should be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor!

"General Nagumo is right, we should fight to the death! Since General Nagumo is sure to annihilate the American fleet, we have no reason to retreat!" Another staff officer also said: "You must always give it a try, otherwise, Marshal, your decision will be criticized by the officials in the country!"

Yamamoto thought for a while with some uneasiness before he spoke: "Order Nagumo, continue to search and pursue the American fleet! Strive to annihilate this American navy!"

He paused, then continued: "Send a telegram to General Fukuda on the island, asking him if he can end the battle within 24 hours, and if he can guarantee that the battle will end within 24 hours, I will decide to fight the US Navy here." If he can't win the victory in time, the navy will not be able to ensure sea supremacy!"

"Your Excellency Marshal!" a staff officer tried to persuade him again, but his words were quickly interrupted by Yamamoto.

Yamamoto waved his hand: "No need to persuade me anymore! I have already made up my mind! I can't change it! Go and carry it out!" he spoke in a firm tone, as if he had made up his mind to lead his troops to retreat immediately after the first battle.

When Nagumo Tadaichi was struggling with Yamamoto whether to retreat, he sent a third wave of aircraft to attack the troops. This time he made a desperate gamble and sent torpedo attack aircraft and horizontal bombers without air supremacy. I really didn't blame him for being so devastated, because he could see from Yamamoto's telegram that His Excellency the Marshal was retreating.

The first wave of attacks on Sato's headquarters all took off and shot down 24 P-40 fighters of the US military at the cost of 11 Zero fighters. On the second occasion, the Japanese naval air force dispatched a full 50 Zeros, and once again exchanged fierce fire with the fighter units of the US Navy, and the two sides fought fiercely for more than 15 minutes, and the result was that the results made the Japanese suffer for a long time.

Despite the dissuasion, Sato flew the plane again, this time with his first victory of the day, but his wingman was also shot down by American pilots, and the battle loss ratio between the two sides reached 10 to 12, and the American fighters were shot down by only two more. But the final result of the battle was that Japan shot down 13 aircraft of the US Navy at the cost of 21 aircraft.

Nagumo Tadaichi was eventually frightened by this terrible number of battles, and he lost a full 24 planes in one day, all of which were the most advanced Zero fighters of the Japanese Navy. This made Nagumo Zhongyi almost have a heart attack. Knowing that in a few days of fighting, he has already lost 37 pilots, and now another 24 have died, which is definitely bad news for the Japanese Navy, which lacks pilots.

"Yaga, Yaga, Yaga!" Nagumo dropped his beloved cup on the bridge of the command ship, losing 61 elite naval pilots in less than ten days, as well as about 40 Zero fighters and various other aircraft. This made Nagumo feel extremely distressed, since Japan invaded Shanghai, China, it has never lost so many planes in a short period of time.

"Those who died in battle were the best soldiers of the Great Japanese Empire! These soldiers were the best pilots in the world!" As an important representative of the Japanese naval aviation, Nagumo Tadaichi naturally knew that the soldiers in his hands were very important. The plane can be replenished if it is destroyed, but the pilot is almost a rare resource that cannot be replenished for Japan.

"U.S. bombers have appeared on the periphery of the fleet! Our planes are engaged with them, and they have already shot down two enemy planes!" An intelligence officer walked quickly to Nagumo Tadaichi's side and reported on the situation of the battle that had just occurred, and the Americans were not blindly beaten, and they also sent their own counterattack troops, but the results of these counterattack forces were not significant.

Just a few minutes earlier, a Japanese light cruiser had been hit on the bridge by a bomb dropped by a US plane, and the captain and more than 40 officers and men had been killed. Half an hour earlier, a destroyer had also been damaged and had to be ordered to return to Japan for repairs.

Soon, the radio came back with the news that Nagumo wanted to see, that is, the Japanese attack aircraft group had achieved success, and a bomb had hit an American aircraft carrier. But because the battlefield was very chaotic, the Japanese pilots did not confirm which American aircraft carrier was hit.

"Okay!" Nagumo clenched his fists confidently: "Prepare for the next wave of planes!

"General!" said the officer who sent the information in a low voice: "We have lost 29 aircraft...... Isn't it too risky to continue to take off planes to attack?"

"......" Nanyun was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly felt the world spinning.