Chapter 494: Big Gamble

"It's impossible for the Yamato class to go to the Atlantic Ocean!"

In the official residence of the Japanese Navy Minister, Admiral Oikawa Koshiro, the Navy Minister, shook his head vigorously and said to the visiting Yamamoto Isoroku.

"Yes, the Yamato and the Musashi are the treasures of the Imperial Japanese Navy. How could they be sent to the Atlantic Ocean? And the Pacific Ocean is the main battlefield against the US Navy! If the navy is to be used together, the Germans should send the 'Bismarck' to the Pacific Ocean.”

Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Nagano Shushen also shook his head and echoed Admiral Oikawa Koshiro.

"But the Germans promised to send a fleet of four aircraft carriers converted from fast cruise ships to the Far East to support us, and...these four aircraft carriers will be equipped with 240 commonly used aircraft."

The one who was somewhat moved was the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet, Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku. In fact, he was opposed to this proposal at first - the Yamato, which has not yet been commissioned, is the new flagship of the Combined Fleet. How can it be sent to the Atlantic Ocean?

However, Combined Fleet Aviation Staff Minoru Genda strongly agrees. He is an extreme "aircraft carrier faction." He believed that Japan would definitely regret building such a giant ship like the Yamato in the future. Now that he heard about Hessmann's "Polar Night Battle" plan, he naturally greatly agreed with it, thinking that it could "use waste" and replace it with Four very useful German aircraft carriers and 240 "commonly used carrier-based aircraft" - this is not the concept of 240 aircraft, but includes all the crews and maintenance personnel of 240 carrier-based aircraft!

There is no shortage of aircraft for Japan, but ace pilots who can fly carrier-based aircraft are definitely not rich for Japan. After all, pilots of this level are "burned" with gasoline, and it is impossible to train them in large numbers with Japan's national strength.

Moreover, these carrier-based aircraft pilots sent by Germany are all aces who have fought in actual combat, and they are even more precious compared with Japan's aces who have basically never fought in actual combat.

Under Minoru Genda's strong encouragement, Yamamoto Isoroku was a little tempted. So at today's meeting of the three navy chiefs, Yamamoto felt that Hersman's suggestion could be considered.

"Then send at most two Nagato-class ships to the Atlantic Ocean." Admiral Oikawa Koshiro said. "Nagato and Mutsu are powerful enough to fight against any American battleship."

Yamamoto Isoroku frowned and said: "But the 'Nagato' class is very old after all, and the power of the 410mm caliber cannon cannot be compared with the 'Yamato' class 460mm caliber cannon."

If Japan is willing to send out the "Yamato" class, even just one of them can have the final say in the "Polar Night Decisive Battle". After all, the cannons there were so powerful that no British or American battleship could withstand them. Although the 410mm cannon of the "Nagato" class is also very powerful, it cannot be compared with the 460mm cannon.

"That's it!" Admiral Nagano Shushen said with a wave of his hand, "It would be good to let the 'Nagato' and the 'Mutsu' go. They can't ask for too much... After all, the aircraft carrier converted from a cruise ship cannot compete with the 'Zeppelin' class "Compared." He paused and asked, "Is it possible to occupy Hawaii?"

Ozawa Jisaburo's telegram also mentioned the proposal to "occupy Hawaii." Hersman believes that although the gap in national power between Japan and the United States is large, the strength of the combined fleet is also clearly superior. Therefore, it is completely possible to have a decisive battle that determines the outcome! Just fight in Hawaii. All the main forces of the combined fleet will go over, and then bring 3-4 divisions of landing troops. A sneak attack first. If the sneak attack fails, it will lead to a naval battle. The U.S. Pacific Fleet will definitely not be able to defeat the Japanese Combined Fleet. After the naval battle, they landed directly, even if the mountains of corpses and seas of blood filled up Hawaii.

Although the losses may be heavy with this style of play, the results will definitely be the greatest. It is very possible to destroy the Pacific Fleet and occupy the Hawaiian Islands!

"It is possible to occupy the Hawaiian Islands, and it is also possible to destroy the Pacific Fleet in one fell swoop." Yamamoto Isoroku frowned, as if he was thinking hard.

He said: "Marshal Hersman believes that once Japan and the United States go to war, Japan will be strongest on the day of the war, and the United States will be weakest on the day of the war. Therefore, Japan should achieve a decisive victory on the day of the war... Otherwise , as time goes by, the advantage will gradually shift to the side of the United States. I think this analysis is correct. The strategic vision of this imperial marshal is indeed extremely brilliant!"

It does not require a brilliant strategic vision to come to such a conclusion. All it takes is an understanding of the comparison of industrial strength between Japan and the United States.

If Japan’s industrial score is 1, then the United States’ industrial score is 100! And unlike Germany, Japan has no industrial countries around it that it can occupy or integrate. Japan's industrial strength has very limited room for improvement during wartime, but once U.S. industry exerts its full strength, it can generate military power sufficient to crush Japan.

Therefore, it is more advantageous for Japan to have a decisive battle as early as possible, and it is more advantageous for the United States to have a decisive battle as late as possible.

If there is a decisive battle between the United States and Japan on the first day, in Hersman's view, the bigger the bets placed by both sides, the more beneficial it will be to Japan.

Historically, the bet was only on the battleships of the Pacific Fleet, which was a big loss for Japan. Most of those battleships were very old. Except for the two "Colorado" class battleships with huge guns, the other battleships sunk in Pearl Harbor were of little value.

If the Hawaiian Islands themselves and the entire Pacific Fleet become bets, then Japan will be able to win the Pacific War on its own.

Because although the industrial strength of the United States is strong, it is the 1940s after all, and the range of ships and aircraft is limited. Without Hawaii as a transit point, it would be difficult for the US Navy to reach the Western Pacific, and the route from the United States to Australia would lose its barrier due to the fall of the Hawaiian Islands, and it would be easy to be cut off by the Japanese fleet based in Hawaii. The route of counterattack from the South Pacific may also be completely cut off.

Moreover, when Japan captured Hawaii, the US Pacific Fleet would definitely fight desperately, and the result would most likely be the destruction of the main force of the Pacific Fleet. The United States lost not only surface ships and aircraft in this battle, but also tens of thousands of experienced officers, sailors and pilots. And these people are not something that the powerful industrial capacity of the United States can produce quickly.

"But..." Yamamoto Isoroku shook his head again and again, "But to carry out the operation to capture Hawaii, the Combined Fleet must devote all its main forces, and the southward operation may have to be postponed..."

It is not enough to occupy Hawaii with 6 aircraft carriers, and battleships and landing forces must be deployed. In order to ensure victory, the number of battleships dispatched cannot be small, and the landing troops must be brought as much as possible.

According to the estimate of the Combined Fleet, to transport a fully equipped division to Hawaii, at least 300,000 tons of merchant ships are needed! To dispatch 4 divisions, that would be 1.2 million tons, and to dispatch 5 divisions, that would be 1.5 million tons.

However, the total tonnage of Japan's current seaborne ships is only 5.9 million tons, and these 5.9 million tons cannot all be used by the army. At least half must be left to maintain domestic production. In other words, the merchant ships that can be used for military purposes are at most 3 million tons. Now, just transporting troops to Hawaii will take up 1.2-1.5 million tons, and many tankers and merchant ships will need to be requisitioned to provide logistical support for the main force of the Combined Fleet. The scale of the entire mobilization of merchant ships is likely to be as high as 1.8-2 million tons!

If you really want to go all out to attack Hawaii, then there will not be enough troops to occupy the Philippines, Malaya and the Dutch East Indies.

"The Dutch East Indies don't need to be occupied, just take over," the Navy's Chief of Staff, Nagano Osami, counted on his fingers, "Maybe we can postpone it for a few months, as long as we can get oil from the Dutch.

In addition, the battles in the Philippines and Guam can also be postponed... The Philippines has 1,000 shore-based aircraft (actually only 400), and it can't be taken down in the short term. Let the ships sail 500 kilometers around the Philippines. At most, Taiwan will be bombed."

Ichikawa Koshiro frowned and said, "Then go south to attack the Malay Peninsula and Singapore?"

Malaya and Singapore must be fought. After they are opened up, they can meet with Germany in the Indian Ocean, and Japan can obtain aid from Germany through the Indian Ocean route. As for the Dutch East Indies, Germany has agreed to persuade the Netherlands to give it up, on the condition that Japan helps Germany seize South Africa (South Africa compensates the Netherlands).

As for the Philippines controlled by the United States, it seems that the military force is strong and it takes a large army to occupy it. However, the area that the American aircraft deployed in the Philippines can reach is not too large. That is, the surrounding level is 100 kilometers, and it seems that it is not a big problem not to fight for the time being.

"If we don't attack the Philippines, don't occupy the Dutch East Indies, and only attack Malaya and Singapore, we will have enough ships."

Yamamoto Isoroku still frowned, and he said: "But with the goal of occupying Hawaii, the navy is gambling with the fate of the Japanese Empire. If we win, everything will be fine, but if we lose, the country will be destroyed..."

Ichikawa Koshiro looked at the Chief of the Navy, Nagano Osami, and said, "Nagano-kun, what do you think?"

Nagano Osami crossed his arms and thought for a while, and said, "Whether there is a chance or not is nothing more than a matter of strength. The Combined Fleet is definitely stronger than the US Pacific Fleet, but it does not have an overwhelming advantage. To ensure victory, we need to further strengthen our strength. If the Germans are willing to provide us with truly useful assistance, then we might as well make a gamble with the Americans on the fate of the country!"