Iron Cross

Just as the Joint Chiefs of Staff was gearing up to let Halsey swallow up the Japanese fleet, in the battle room of the Katsuragi aircraft carrier, Horikichi was also listening to intelligence summaries from all aspects and discussing the next step:

"The Second Air War sent a telegram. At 5:15 this afternoon, the US fleet was sighted in the southeast direction, heading 295 degrees, speed 17 knots. It is suspected to be the main force of the enemy's Pacific Fleet. It is about 1,100 kilometers away from the Tsunoda Fleet. The distance was increased because it was getting late. It was too far and no attack was launched; the other two aircraft carriers reported that they had limited fuel and did not dare to use the fastest speed. They only used economic speed and expected to rush to the designated rendezvous point to join our unit in 72 hours. "

While Chiaki Matsuda signaled the staff to mark the position of Halsey's fleet, he also informed the Tsukahara fleet: "Commander Tsukahara commanded the main force of the First Air Battle to arrive in the east of Hawaii, which is basically at the same latitude as Hawaii Island, 2,600 kilometers away from Hawaii, and about 2,600 kilometers away from Los Angeles. 1,700 kilometers away from the U.S. fleet and not detected by U.S. reconnaissance aircraft.”

"The U.S. fleet is surrounded by our forces on three sides?" Horikichi looked at the chart and laughed. "This U.S. fleet is 2,000 kilometers away from me, 1,100 kilometers away from Tsunoda, and 1,900 kilometers away from Tsukahara... It's really interesting!"

"This fleet is not weak. It has 2-3 fleet aircraft carriers, more than 12 escort aircraft carriers, and it seems there are 2 battleships!"

Horikichi nodded: The Halsey fleet can attack any of our fleets, but it is not easy to retreat unharmed after the attack. He asked the staff to deduce and combine the four enemy and our fleets according to the current course and speed. Mark possible locations tomorrow morning.

"At 7 a.m. on October 27, the distance between our headquarters and the Tsunoda fleet was 1,500 kilometers, the distance between us and the U.S. fleet was 1,800 kilometers, and the distance between Tsunoda and the U.S. fleet was approximately 800 kilometers."

Looking at the situation after the deduction, he thought thoughtfully and asked Matsuda Chiaki: "Do you think the enemy has judged that our armies are about to converge?"

Chiaki Matsuda thought carefully and nodded slowly: "Although the U.S. military did not know that it was short of oil in the Second Air War, it is true that it attacked Seattle and that we attacked Pearl Harbor. Both fleets suffered losses to varying degrees. I would also guess. These two enemy armies will converge..."

"So the current heading is towards our rendezvous point."

"But that doesn't make sense..." Chiaki Matsuda became confused. "Firstly, the US military doesn't know where we will meet up. Secondly, in the era of aircraft carrier operations, two fleets do not necessarily have to meet within visual distance to exert their combat effectiveness. But if they cooperate with each other at a suitable distance, even if they really find the rendezvous point, won't they worry about being attacked by our army from both sides? The Ministry of Staff believes that the enemy is most likely to attack one of our troops, and then use the power of victory to attack the other. A fleet. The reason why he went to the rendezvous point was because he hadn’t decided which end to attack first or which part he could attack first.”

Horikichi nodded: "There is a factor that you cannot ignore. After sunrise tomorrow, reconnaissance planes will definitely be sent to Pearl Harbor again. It will be easier for them to find our army, unless I drastically adjust the course now..."

"You want to?"

"If the fleet withdraws towards Midway Island now, the U.S. military will probably not be able to find us." Horikichi smiled, "But this is impossible. If I withdraw there, the second aviation battle without fuel will be entangled. Even Tsukahara couldn’t save him if he was beaten to death.”

Chiaki Matsuda was so angry that he was itching his teeth: "This guy Tsunoda will have to be rescued by the commander in the end."

"The U.S. military is currently not trying to close the distance with our fleet, because the distance is too far now, and it will be too late for him to pursue us, but it is a bit intriguing that he is gradually getting closer to the rendezvous point with our fleet - the opponent's judgment is quite accurate!" Horikichi sighed with emotion! , "The US military commander is not weak, we must be more careful."

The forward route of TF50 was determined after much discussion between Halsey, McCain and others. Although Halsey wanted to rush over and kill Horikichi's men immediately, after listening to Spruance's opinion, he took The response measures are quite cautious. There are three reasons for maintaining the 295-degree heading:

First, the Horikichi fleet was heading north of Hawaii and continuously retreating to the north-east direction. This was confirmed by the Pearl Harbor reconnaissance aircraft;

Second, Tsunoda's final course after leaving the west coast surveillance was to head west-south. It was also clear that he believed that a simple connection between the two last positions was the most likely direction of the Japanese army's rendezvous;

Third, even if the Japanese army does not converge like this, TF50 can at least stop the Tsunoda fleet and avoid being overtaken by the Tsukahara fleet behind it - although Halsey still doesn't know where the Tsukahara fleet is currently.

The TF50 fleet has 2 battleships, 2-3 fleet aircraft carriers, and about 12 escort aircraft carriers. The enemy situation report made Horikichi believe that it would be difficult to deal with it on his own, and he must cooperate with Tsunoda to fight - whether he sends oil to Tsunoda or not, he must join forces. , otherwise there is a possibility of being defeated by the US military. So he smiled and said: "Don't blame Tsunoda. It was my order to lure the enemy, and he completed the task brilliantly. The U.S. Pacific Fleet currently has such strength. If he were at Pearl Harbor during the day today, we would not be able to attack him at all!"

Matsuda Chiaki and Ichigan's staff both nodded: If the TF50 fleet is at Pearl Harbor, the U.S. military will add 550 combat aircraft today; if the first and second attack waves attack the U.S. fleet first, it is possible to achieve significant damage, but the supporting fleet will definitely In the subsequent counterattack by the U.S. Army Air Force, heavy losses were suffered; if the first two attack waves still only attacked Pearl Harbor, the counterattack launched by the TF50 fleet would be unbearable for Horikichi; if the third attack wave had gritted its teeth and sent out, regardless of the fleet, , aircraft, etc. will suffer more heavy losses.

The bottom line is: if Halsey's fleet was in Pearl Harbor, Horikichi would not be able to attack Pearl Harbor. Only after Halsey left the harbor did it provide the prerequisites for the second attack on Pearl Harbor and the destruction of U.S. military fuel. As for today, Jiangcao Rongfu was simply defeated. Sending a squadron to eat up 6 escort aircraft carriers was a complete surprise and was not planned at all.

Matsuda Chiaki is also in trouble. Tomorrow morning, the Pearl Harbor reconnaissance plane will definitely come back to look for the fleet. If it does not change its route, it is likely to be tracked; if it retreats towards Midway Island instead, Tsunoda will be doomed; if If they turn to the northeast and speed up to merge, they will intersect with the forward route of Halsey's fleet. The distance between them will quickly shrink, and the Americans may hit them in the evening... It seems that no matter what choice they make, they will not work.

Horikichi was obviously more calm than him: "Keep the fleet's speed and course unchanged, and let the Americans come..."

"What do you mean?"

"Inform Tsunoda that the rendezvous point has been changed to 2,500 kilometers north of Pearl Harbor, so that he can adjust the course; in addition, I hope he will dispatch a reconnaissance plane as soon as possible and maintain a contact distance of 900-1,000 kilometers with the US military as much as possible so that the enemy can see it. But don’t get hit by the enemy.”

"Isn't it possible to hit him if he sees it? I'm afraid it won't be easy." Matsuda Chiaki sweated profusely. How could such a strategy be possible?

"Easy!" Horikichi was confident.

"Let me think about it carefully." Matsuda Chiaki's mind started spinning rapidly, and several staff members were also thinking hard about what Horikichi meant by "being able to see but not hit"? However, for a distance of only 1,100 kilometers, the US military has a whole day. With a little more effort, it can reduce the distance to within 800 kilometers and launch carrier-based aircraft attacks. Why does the commander dare to say that there is a way to "see but not hit"?

Matsuda Chiaki thought for a full 5 minutes, but in the end he was still not sure. He only asked one word in confusion: "Speed?"

Horikichi nodded: "Yes, it's speed! The Tsunoda fleet can actually run 27 knots. Now it runs 16 knots just to save fuel. The U.S. fleet can only run 18.5 knots at the fastest. The two armies are now 1,100 kilometers apart. Assume that both sides are traveling on the same course. , what scene do you think will happen?"

The staff suddenly realized: the Halsey fleet takes the fastest speed of 18.5 knots, and the Tsunoda fleet takes 16 knots. If the parallel situation is taken in the same direction, it means that it can only be shortened by 2-3 knots per hour, and at best it can be shortened by 30-40 nautical miles during the day. Now The distance is 1,100 kilometers. If we run at this speed until the sun sets tomorrow, the opponent will not be able to get close.

"The general direction of the US military is now north, whether it is northwest or true north. As long as Tsunoda changes his route from south to north, the Americans will not be able to catch him for a while."

"But what if the opponent speeds up? Although Tsunoda can run 27 knots, if he really runs at this speed, he will run out of gas on the third day."

"Americans can't run that fast. 18.5 knots is their limit."

"It is true that the Casablanca class can only run 18.5 knots, but the Essex class can run more than 30 knots. The other two battleships should also be able to run more than 30 knots. The US military can organize a fast formation to pursue it alone!"

Since many American officers and soldiers were captured, Japan was well aware of the performance of the Essex and Casablanca classes, so Horikichi was certain that the U.S. military formation could only run at this speed. To Chiaki Matsuda’s question, he responded:

"The method you mentioned exists, so the opponent must make a tactical choice and choose one of the two options:

First, no matter which way we go, he will continue to press forward with all his troops, maintaining a speed of 18.5 knots and coming slowly. Even if our two fleets merge, he will still have to kill us with all the warships gathered together.

Second, he took a gamble with us and pulled out the fast formation alone, speeding up to catch up with the Tsunoda fleet. "

Horikichi smiled and said: "I don't care about the first option. He shortens the time by more than 100 kilometers every day, and it is exactly 400 kilometers in three days. By the time he can hit us, Tsunoda should have joined our army, and everyone will have a full set of people versus a full set of people. Fight step by step; if the enemy commander makes the second choice, the US fleet will be divided into two parts, and the distance between the two echelons will become wider and wider. This will force the enemy to divide his forces, and I will have an opportunity."

"Isn't this not easy?" Matsuda Chiaki asked doubtfully, "The Americans have two Essex-class ships, which are equivalent to three Unryu-class ships in terms of combat effectiveness. They can't defeat two Unryu-class ships in the second battle and they are not full of personnel. Once they are defeated, Even if we don’t take the fuel factor into account, we probably won’t be able to catch up.”

"It's true that Tsunoda alone can't defeat him, but I still have a way..."