Iron Cross

Halsey originally hoped that the Army Aviation would come forward to attack the Japanese army again, but Ingram sent a telegram telling him that there were very few heavy bombers left in Hawaii that could fly 4,000 kilometers, and a forced attack would only lead to death, so he gave up in frustration.

In the afternoon, Japan and the United States once again launched a second round of reconnaissance. Before the results came out, neither side dared to act rashly and still operated according to the planned plan and route. At 6 o'clock in the evening, the Japanese reconnaissance plane once again determined the position of Halsey's fleet - and The Tsunoda fleet was 980 kilometers away and had not divided its forces. Halsey also reconfirmed the position and course of the Horikichi fleet through the Hawaii Army Air Force reconnaissance aircraft and everything was normal.

Although everything went peacefully throughout the day, everyone knew that this was just an illusion and that a storm was coming soon.

What puzzled Halsey was that Yoshiki Horita knew that the routes of the two armies intersected and also knew his own position. Ingram also reported that he believed that the other party was not as powerful as himself. Why did he not break away from evasion but continue to maintain the course?

He asked McCain: "What the Japanese are doing is wrong. They clearly know where we are and know that our army is not weak, so why are they still going like this? What is his plan? Doesn't he plan to leave? In other words, on this route, Is there something he has to go to?"

"I guess there may be another Japanese fleet on the extension of this route, and the two may be in a hurry to meet up."

"But if so, he should have concealed his intentions instead of charging straight ahead - no newly graduated naval command student would make such a stupid mistake."

McCain thought about this question carefully and tried to explain after a long time: "The Japanese army may really want to leave the battlefield and confuse us, but our army's reconnaissance capabilities cannot be ignored. If it adjusts its route prematurely, it will still be inevitable today. He was caught up by our reconnaissance plane and the investigation was clear. We will have to wait until tonight to adjust and avoid him...it will be much more difficult for us to find him tomorrow."

The navigation staff reminded: The Japanese fleet will be more than 1,600 kilometers away from Pearl Harbor early tomorrow morning, and it is still more than 1,500 kilometers away from our army, making it difficult for aircraft to detect.

Halsey was scratching his head about this. He wanted to adjust the course but didn't know what to do. He decided to wait a little longer to see if there would be more intelligence at night - Nimitz mobilized a group of submarines to assemble in the direction of Hawaii. , so far it has not received strong intelligence support.

"This huge fleet was able to reach Pearl Harbor without anyone noticing. Could it be that Isoroku Yamamoto is leading the fleet again?"

"I don't think so. This attack on the fuel depot is more like Horikichi's style. This is an extremely terrifying opponent. Either he doesn't move, but when he moves, he is vigorous and ruthless. He even dares to take risks. He is more powerful than Yamamoto. Much more. I heard that he launched a coup in Japan more than half a year ago and purged and executed the royal family in charge of the navy. Now the entire navy is obeying him and he is the only one who obeys. Yamamoto cannot do this. "

"How do you know so clearly? Have you ever dealt with him?"

"No, I didn't. This is what General Spruance told me... He likes to study the combat style of enemy commanders and does everything possible to collect all kinds of information. I still learned about the defeat of Midway from his mouth Nagumo Chuichi who fought in the battle committed suicide during the coup. He thought it was 'suicide'..."

"He didn't communicate with me that much."

"During that time, you were busy training pilots. I didn't go to the hospital to see him every day. Sometimes I just sat there all afternoon. By the way, back then you criticized me for not doing my job properly..."

"You still hold a grudge, I was just joking."

"A joke? William, your expression was very serious back then... If you don't believe me, ask General Nimitz or someone else to testify!"

"What other deep knowledge does he have of the enemy?"

"This is a very scary opponent with almost no flaws. If you play against him, you must be very careful. Any negligence or luck may cause disaster. Moreover, Japan's system is different from ours. We sometimes have to Worrying about Washington and the constraints of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he can make the final say on his own. In the navy, he has unparalleled prestige and appeal, and can even make the Japanese willing to die for him... The Battle of Tarawa Proving this, just because of his words, not one of the 5,000 Japanese soldiers surrendered! Does our general have such charisma? "

Halsey accepted the explanation, and after a long silence decided to change the subject and asked, "What is the situation at Pearl Harbor now?"

Of course, the situation at Pearl Harbor was not ideal. By dawn, except for a few areas that were still burning, the overall fire was initially under control. In addition to the losses caused by the fire, the losses caused by the Japanese air raid were much more serious than the first bombing of Pearl Harbor. In particular, the explosion at the central fuel depot directly "washed" the area within a 2-kilometer radius, which was horrific.

Under Chennault's dispatch, Army Airlines dispatched more than 300 C-69 and C-54 transport planes to provide emergency supplies to Hawaii in the early morning. In order to shorten the distance, all planes took off from San Francisco. Even so, the straight-line distance was still more than 4,000 kilometers. , after deducting the return fuel, only more than 1,000 tons of fuel, 40 fighter spare parts and a batch of medicines were transported. When Halsey received the reconnaissance telegram, this transport aircraft formation was still flying in the air, and the crew had to stay on the aircraft for a full 10 It takes an hour to complete one shipment.

Since the thick smoke caused by the burning of heavy oil cannot subside quickly, the fleet will land far away from Pearl Harbor, prepare to unload and replenish cargo the next day, and then fly back to the West Coast early in the morning on the third day to focus on transporting more than 1,500 heavy-duty passengers. The injured were transported to major hospitals on the West Coast. Now Pearl Harbor Hospital was overcrowded, lacked medical treatment, and the people were on the verge of collapse.

Flying the 4,000-kilometer Pearl Harbor-San Francisco route back and forth in three days is a huge test for pilots and ground crews. Fortunately, the pilots all have long-distance flight experience-all are composed of crews who have flown the Hump route (including Chinese aid crews). American Aviation Vanguard), with Chennault as commander-in-chief. He initially planned to maintain a supplementary scale of 500 aircraft in the short term, that is, divide it into two echelons of about 250 aircraft, and adopt the method of taking off at the same time in the early morning: that is, Pearl Harbor took off to transport the wounded and sick to the West Coast, and San Francisco also took off at the same time. Transport supplies and equipment to Pearl Harbor as often as possible three times a week.

Because it could only transport more than 1,000 tons of fuel at a time, Chennault hoped to send more aircraft, but was soon disappointed: First, the Army Airlines did not have that many large 4-engine heavy transport aircraft, and the Boeing factory was bombed After that, all other factories are doing their best to ensure the production of bombers, and transport aircraft really cannot squeeze out the production capacity; secondly, there is a lack of enough skilled crews, and it is not easy to find people to fly a route of more than ten hours and 4,000 kilometers in a single trip. Currently, there are not so many crews at all. With 500 aircraft facing each other, Chennault has already divided the skilled crews into two, and the old crews are leading the new ones, and they are barely operating.

Regarding the aircrews, Chennault proposed to introduce Soviet aircrews after returning to the United States. Of course Arnold agreed, and *** sent a note to the Soviet authorities, but Stalin, after careful consideration, declined politely: It’s not that he couldn’t provide the crews. But the Kwantung Army was conducting exercises every day, with more and more armored units, better and better equipment, and even a large number of train guns. He really didn't want to take risks - Japan and the Soviet Union were now legally neutral countries. If the Soviet crews were attacked What should I do if Japan captures the enemy and the other side uses this excuse to start a war? Although Japan will definitely find an excuse to start a war, in the end, it is better to stimulate its opponents less.

After listening to McCain's explanation, Halsey was shocked: "There are so many sick and wounded in Pearl Harbor now? How many people have we lost?"

"The exact number is unclear at the moment. I estimate that the total number of casualties must be more than 20,000. I estimate that the wounded and sick will be transported 2-3 times. Now due to the fire, a large number of communities have been destroyed and the temporary settlements are overcrowded. I guess the government may have to transport them Relocating to the West Coast will also reduce material consumption in Hawaii and reduce the pressure of public opinion. "

Several staff officers had just listened to the radio and learned that President Truman delivered a national address, announcing the "victory" of the defense of Pearl Harbor, emphasizing that the arduous defense of Pearl Harbor had "repelled" the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor, and called on the country to unite. Help Hawaii.

Although he had not witnessed it with his own eyes, Halsey could imagine the tragedy of Pearl Harbor, because he also led the fleet outside last time - damn, as long as I and the fleet are outside, you will attack Pearl Harbor!

Especially when he heard that all 6 escort aircraft carriers left in the harbor were sunk, and more than 200 novice pilots lost nearly 70 crews without a fight, he hated it even more. Staring at the chart, he suddenly felt... The staff members squeezed out a sentence: "Please help me calculate. Assuming that the enemy travels at a speed of 15 knots on the current course for 24 hours, and our army advances at full speed, what is the theoretical maximum distance that can be shortened?

The staff immediately started working on the map. Two minutes later, the navigation staff reported: "If our fleet takes a 282-degree course and advances at a constant speed of 18 knots, the minimum theoretical distance after 24 hours will be 970 kilometers."

"Hey, it still doesn't work!" Halsey sighed.

"Do you want to fight this Japanese fleet?"

"Yes, but 970 kilometers is too far, not even 900 kilometers. It will be dark when we return, and the plane will not be able to find its return route."

"Then wait one more night and continue traveling at night to shorten the distance. After the reconnaissance results come out tomorrow morning, we will make plans to see if we can hit the enemy."

"There are too many uncertainties. The enemy might turn around at night. No, yes!" Halsey suddenly clapped his hands excitedly, "The enemy's speed won't move. Please try calculating our speed at 30 knots..."

"But sir," the navigation staff officer said awkwardly, "the Casablanca class can't drive so fast!"

"I know they can't move fast. Can't I let two Essex-class ships and two South Dakota-class ships rush forward?"

The other party had no choice but to recalculate the results: Theoretically, according to the newly adjusted speed, the gap between them will shrink to about 450 kilometers after 24 hours. If the attack range is calculated as 650 kilometers, the effective attack range can be entered at about the 19th hour, which is tomorrow Around 3:30 pm...