Iron Cross

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The atmosphere of the meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was shrouded in pessimism. The Hawaiian garrison sent a telegram to Washington, reporting the news that the main force of the Combined Fleet had occupied French Polynesia. Currently, French Polynesia, Christmas Island and the Marshall Islands formed a large triangle, cutting off the entire central The Pacific routes, including Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands, have all been interrupted, and the blockade is even more severe than when Musashi broke diplomatic relations.

In addition, about 2,200 kilometers east of Hawaii, a Japanese fleet consisting of two battleships (Musashi and Kongo), four aircraft carriers, and multiple cruisers and destroyers was performing break-up operations, and the route to Hawaii was cut off.

This was the Second Air Battle to implement the blockade of Hawaii under the orders of Tsukahara 243. Although there appeared to be 4 aircraft carriers, only 2 were regular fleet aircraft carriers (Unryu and Amagi), and one of the other 2 was One of the escort carriers, the Condor, is the water machine carrier Rijin, but on the surface it looks fine and majestic.

"Lieutenant General Halsey wants to attack, but General Ingram doesn't agree?" Truman frowned as he looked at the last few sentences of the telegram. "What do you think of this?"

Li Hai sighed: "Hawaii's blockade is a terrible thing. It means that except for air transport, supplies will no longer be transported to Hawaii. The distance between Hawaii and the mainland is nearly 5,000 kilometers. Heavy transport aircraft can barely reach it, but the weight of the transported supplies is only 4- 5 tons, and after deducting the return fuel, it can only transport 1-2 tons.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Arnold jumped up: "The Army Airlines is not capable of carrying out ultra-long-distance large-scale transportation missions for Hawaii. This distance is twice as far as the original support for the Iceland campaign and 60% farther than the strategic airlift to Britain. The aircraft must be in Flying in the air for nearly 12 hours is a great test for pilots. The technical difficulty and risks are greatly increased. It may be feasible for individual elite crews to carry out emergency transportation missions in small formations, but it is definitely not feasible to carry out large-scale supply missions for Patton's headquarters in the South American battlefield. This has tied up a lot of the energy of the army’s aviation transportation force, and it is impossible to allocate manpower to perform other transportation tasks.”

"General Halsey believes that the interruption of the sea route means that Hawaii is blocked, and we must take the initiative to break this blockade. Moreover, from the comparison of strength, our army is not particularly disadvantaged." Li Hai listed, "The Pacific Fleet is in Hawaii has two South Dakota-class battleships. Their combat effectiveness is weaker than the opponent's Yamato-class but stronger than the Kongo-class. Overall, it is barely the same. Our army has 14 escort aircraft carriers, and it can also receive some land and aviation support. Its aviation force does not fall behind when facing its opponents. Wind. More importantly, the main force of the combined fleet is currently attacking French Polynesia and is in a state of division. It is a very good time."

Truman nodded: "In that case, why did General Ingram object?"

"The admiral has two concerns. First, the 14 escort carriers are too slow and have weak combat capabilities. They may not be able to defeat the opponent. If the main force of the combined fleet comes to cover up the battle in the middle of the battle, should we retreat or hold on? A scalp fight? Either option is very passive; secondly, Admiral Nimitz's TF48 fleet has two fleet aircraft carriers, and he hopes to wait for these warships to return before looking for fighters." Turner added, "TF48 has just arrived. Upon arrival in Melbourne, the Franklin has been put into emergency repairs and is expected to complete the repair work on September 14 and return home around the South Pacific route."

Truman calculated it. According to this arrangement, TF48 would have at least 7 weeks to arrive in California. Then the Wasp would have to be repaired for at least half a month, and it might not be able to be used again in November. If you insist on waiting until TF48 returns to the team before attacking, there is no need to consider breaking the blockade before December. And even if the two fleets converge as scheduled in December, can the Pacific Fleet with 2 large and 14 small fleets be able to deal with the main force of the combined fleet?

"If it takes Hawaii until December to launch a counterattack, can the remaining supplies on the island last until that period?"

"Basically OK." Turner asked someone to find a form. "The Joint Chiefs of Staff and Hawaii have verified how long the existing material inventory can last without a ton of material assistance. The overall conclusion is relatively optimistic, but... …”

Truman took it and looked at it carefully. The above items were listed very completely:

Food and other daily necessities: more than two years;

Various types of ammunition, spare parts and other military supplies: more than one year;

Oil storage capacity: Currently there are still 534,000 tons, which can support more than half a year, but it is not safe;

…

"What does this sentence mean?"

"Hawaii had a total of approximately 4.5 million barrels (7 barrels, approximately 1 ton) of fuel storage capacity before the war, which maintained more than 80% compliance at ordinary times. However, most of the storage sites were exposed on the ground. Fortunately, they were not destroyed by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. battle, but it also sounded the alarm for us. In recent years, a number of underground oil storage facilities have been built, but only a few, with a storage capacity of only tens of thousands of tons. They are used to store the most dangerous aviation fuel and other gasoline. "Turner's face was full of sorrow, "I am most afraid of this scene: after the Japanese blockade the route to Hawaii and then send planes to bomb to destroy the fuel, then this battle will really be lost, and we still can't stop the enemy's bombing. Just one 500-pound bomb dropped in a key location is enough to cause a fire in the oil storage area..."

During the attack on Pearl Harbor, many people in the Combined Fleet believed that the oil tanks placed on the ground by the US military were just disguises. Because fuel is almost the second most valuable thing in the Japanese Navy after warships, it is very valuable. All the oil tanks are built underground and can withstand direct bombing by 500 kg bombs. Every time refueling, the management of the oil depot (usually called the oil house by sailors) is extremely strict and never adds a drop of oil. The 6 million tons of heavy oil stored by the Japanese Navy at the beginning of the war was saved drop by drop in this way. Even though Japan's fuel supply has improved greatly, the conservation and attention to fuel are still deeply rooted.

Therefore, the oil tanks that the Americans placed on the ground during the Battle of Pearl Harbor did not seem real to the Japanese, which is why the pilots of the mobile fleet decided to let go of these fuels.

Later, everyone in the Combined Fleet knew that the oil tanks placed by the Americans were real, because they had seen it in Panama. The fuel of the US military was also placed on the ground in a big way, and then it was burned by the planes. Everyone, including Isoroku Yamamoto, felt deeply regretful - if the fuel in Pearl Harbor had been blown up, how could there be so many problems later?

Hori Teikichi waved his hand nonchalantly: "Gentlemen, forget it, there is no need to regret it. If it was not bombed, it was not bombed. What's wrong with bombing it again this time!"

Similarly, it was a bold person like Hori Teikichi who proposed the "violent and luxurious" tactics of replacing the crew with oil tankers. For others, they dared not think of such a thing anyway.

After listening to Turner's explanation, everyone in the Joint Chiefs of Staff was dumbfounded: Hawaii was blockaded and could barely support a few days without a drop of oil. If the inventory was lost, there would be only one outcome - defeat without a fight! Which of airplanes, warships, and tanks does not need oil? Judging from the current situation, the fuel situation of Hawaii after the blockade is more dangerous than that of the Combined Fleet. Although the latter is also terrible for losing its supply tanker, at least the fuel inventory of the warship itself can still support it for a while. Once the fuel base of Hawaii is destroyed, the entire Pacific Fleet and the Pacific Theater will collapse.

"Admiral Ingram has taken a variety of emergency arrangements. On the one hand, Hawaii has been declared to be in a state of emergency to reduce fuel consumption. All civilian gasoline is under control and cannot be used; on the other hand, the reserve fuel is dispersed, but this effort has not been very effective." Turner stammered, "He also suggested suspending the long-distance air strikes of the Army Aviation."

When Arnold heard that the Hawaiian Army Aviation would suspend the attack, he was not relieved, but his face was very solemn, which meant that something more terrible would happen.

At this point in the discussion, the situation and future direction of the war have been very clear: if the blockade of Hawaii is not broken, it will be waiting for death; Halsey taking a group of escort aircraft carriers out to fight the Kakuta Fleet is seeking death, at most it is a struggle for survival.

Fighting, there is no guarantee of victory; not fighting, there is no capital to persist! The entire American strategy is in a dilemma.

"Should we ask for peace with Japan and Germany?" An inappropriate voice sounded in Truman's mind. He tried every means to suppress it, but found that he could not get rid of it no matter what.

He was silent for 5 minutes, and after half a day, he spoke with difficulty: "Today's meeting was very in-depth. Everyone was not blindly optimistic, but spoke out the most terrible prospects. According to my understanding, the worst direction of the war will be as follows: in the Pacific direction, our army is unable to break the Japanese blockade and is eventually forced to surrender under the enemy's stranglehold; in South America, Patton's troops and Clark's troops cannot be defended and are forced to surrender, and our army will lose the entire South America... The two evil axes of Japan and Germany will approach the mainland from the west and south, and a cruel battle to defend the mainland will be needed in the near future."

Everyone sighed. Although the scene described by Truman was terrible, no one dared to guarantee that it would not happen. The Joint Chiefs of Staff had suffered many times from overly optimistic pre-war estimates and worsening battles in reality.

"Send a telegram to General Nimitz, tell him about the predicament and threat of Hawaii, Halsey's request for war and General Ingram's reasons for opposing it, and ask him to state his subsequent considerations for the war in Hawaii; send a telegram to General MacArthur, and ask him for his opinion on the South American battlefield, whether to abandon Patton's troops and let Clark retreat immediately, or stick to the original plan and let Patton go to Recife to join the defense of Recife..." Truman paused, "The United States is facing the most dangerous moment, I hope they can think about the problem from a holistic and long-term perspective, and don't worry about any available means - we don't have the capital to make hypocritical choices. In front of the country and the people, no one is not expendable, including me, Truman and all members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."

"Our strategy only needs to focus on one aspect: the survival of the United States and the fundamental interests of the people!"