Chapter 502 Tiger! Tiger! Tiger VI

"General, is there going to be a war? The Japanese have declared war on us?"

Lieutenant General Halsey was impatient and straightforward. As soon as he walked into Kimmel's office, he gave a military salute and then opened his mouth to ask.

"There is indeed going to be a war!" General Kimmel nodded, pointed to a chair opposite his desk, and motioned for Halsey to sit down.

“But the Japanese have not declared war yet,” Kimmel said. “Reliable intelligence suggests that they will launch war in early December, most likely an undeclared sneak attack... just like they did with their surprise attack on the Russian fleet in Port Arthur in 1904. "

It turns out that Admiral Kimmel had just received an early warning and an order to increase combat readiness levels from the Department of Naval Operations!

"Damn Japs!" Lieutenant General Halsey cursed, "Where do they want to attack this time? Is it Clark Base in the Philippines?"

"Mostly the Philippines and Guam," Kimmel said. "The Philippines is our big stronghold to prevent Japan from moving south. It is as important as Port Arthur in 1904. Now we have more than 400 aircraft deployed there (of which about 100,000 are commonly used). 300 aircraft), many of which are B-17s that can threaten Japan's military bases in Taiwan and French Indochina."

Although Stalin's agents obtained the Japanese "National Policy Outline" and knew the timetable for Japan's break with the United States, they did not know where the Japanese would attack.

After analyzing the National Policy Outline, the U.S. Department of Naval Operations, Pacific Fleet Command, and the U.S. Army Staff all agreed that the Philippines is Japan's first target to attack.

Lieutenant General Kimmel also believes that the war between the United States and Japan probably started when Japanese planes bombed the large airport at Clark Base!

"Admiral, we must support the Philippines and Guam, so let's send the aircraft carrier task force." Lieutenant General Halsey waved his fist, "I will definitely let these yellow-skinned monkeys know how powerful the U.S. Navy is!"

Kimmel nodded and said: "That's why I brought you here! Just 2 hours ago, the latest intelligence came from the Naval Operations Department. Japan's 8 aircraft carriers and 2 battleships have been removed from their daily berths. The anchorage disappears!”

The spy network of the Third International and the Soviet Military Intelligence Agency is of course very powerful. Even Konoe Fumimaro can have eyes and ears around him. Isn’t it a piece of cake to monitor several anchorages of the Japanese Combined Fleet?

Therefore, as soon as Chuichi Nagumo's fleet set off, internationalist fighters sent intelligence to the Soviet Embassy in Japan. It is a pity that these Japanese internationalist fighters are all classmates who failed to enter the Etajima Naval War School, so they cannot have access to the core secrets of the Japanese Combined Fleet.

Admiral Kimmel said: "Admiral Stark believes that the Japanese aircraft carrier formation may head to the waters east of the Philippines. Then launch an air attack on Clark Base from there, and at the same time, Japanese shore-based aircraft stationed in Taiwan will also attack. In completion After the air attack on Clark Base, the Japanese aircraft carrier formation will also launch an air attack on the Guam base to support the landing operation.”

The Japanese Navy has been preparing for a fight with the U.S. Pacific Fleet for twenty years, and the U.S. Navy has not been idle, wondering every day what cards the Japanese will play. It is not unknown for Americans to use aircraft carriers to attack Pearl Harbor. The Americans also published a novel called "The Great Pacific War", which described the Japanese fleet's sneak attacks on Pearl Harbor, Guam and the Philippines.

However, after repeated studies by the U.S. Navy generals and staff, they all believed that the possibility of a fleet sailing 3,500 nautical miles without being discovered was extremely slim.

Moreover, Pearl Harbor also has a strong enough defense. There are more than 400 commonly used aircraft, a large number of fortress forts, hundreds of anti-aircraft guns, 200 tanks, and countless medium and light artillery under 8 inches (203mm). The defenders The number is as high as 60,000. The Japanese navy can't even attack such an island fortress!

So now the U.S. Navy is not worried about Pearl Harbor being beaten. Admiral Stark and Admiral Kimmel are eyeing the Philippines and Guam.

"The key to defending the Philippines is Guam," Admiral Kimmel told Halsey. "Guam is between the Philippines and Hawaii, 3,300 nautical miles from Hawaii. If the Japanese take Guam, the Philippines is finished. So we must be in Guam. Defeat the Japanese combined fleet's aircraft carrier nearby and destroy the Japanese stronghold of Saipan near Guam. As long as you can complete these two tasks, the main force of the Pacific Fleet will be dispatched immediately to transport marines to occupy Saipan. If we go to Saipan, the Japanese will definitely be defeated.”

Halsey nodded while listening. The battle plan Kimmel mentioned had been conducted by the Pacific Fleet Command countless times. Halsey knew how to play it with his eyes closed.

"Admiral, how many motherships are we going to dispatch?" Halsey asked after Kimmel finished explaining his plan.

Kimmel said: "The Enterprise, Saratoga, Yorktown, Hornet, and Lexington are all for you. The Raider is going to transport Marine Corps aircraft to Wake Island, so it will not participate in the task force." Fleet. In addition, the warships in Pearl Harbor are too slow. Letting them join the task force will only delay things. The "Chicago", "Portland" and other five heavy cruisers will serve as escorts, and you will be given 5 light cruisers and 15 destroyers. As long as there is no direct confrontation with the Japanese battleship force, the escort ships should be enough. "

At this time, the US Pacific Fleet had 9 battleships, namely Pennsylvania, California, Maryland, Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado. They looked powerful, but in fact, these battleships were outdated "iron turtles". The armor and main guns were OK, but the power system was not good at all. The maximum speed was 20 knots and 21 knots. If they were pulled out to fight a fleet decisive battle, they would be beaten by the opponent. Moreover, it was a bit tiring to keep up with the aircraft carrier at this speed. The only role of this slow ship was probably to serve as a floating artillery platform to attack the enemy's islands and fortresses.

Therefore, Kimmel did not dare to pull the battleship unit out of Pearl Harbor to fight a fleet decisive battle with the Japanese before the aircraft carrier task force gained the upper hand. However, this completely correct decision ruined Kimmel's military career soon after!

…

Combined Fleet Chief of Staff Ugaki Tsutomu hurriedly walked into Yamamoto Isoroku's luxurious cabin on the "Yamato Hotel".

Because the "Z Operation Plan" included a plan to occupy the Hawaiian Islands and a plan for the "Yamato" to attack, this giant ship, which was regarded as a national treasure by the Japanese Combined Fleet, completed its sea trials ahead of schedule on December 2 and officially joined the Combined Fleet.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto moved his headquarters from the "Nagato" to the "Yamato" on December 2.

Now he is reading a report on the sea and air war in the European battlefield submitted by Minoru Genda in his cabin.

Hearing Ugaki's footsteps, Admiral Yamamoto raised his head and smiled at Ugaki politely: "It's Ugaki-kun."

Ugaki was known as the "Golden Mask" and was a not very likable chief of staff. Yamamoto Isoroku also didn't like him very much. He didn't let him participate in this "Z Operation Plan".

Ugaki bowed to Yamamoto and said, "Commander, I just received intelligence that 5 American aircraft carriers and 5 American heavy cruisers left Pearl Harbor last night."

"All 5 aircraft carriers left?" Yamamoto Fifty-six was stunned, his brows were already twisted, aircraft carriers are the most valuable targets.

"Commander, these 5 aircraft carriers and 5 heavy cruisers and some other light cruisers and destroyers left at the same time." Ugaki said with some concern, "So many warships are dispatched together, either a large-scale exercise or..."

Yamamoto Fifty-six glanced at Ugaki, "Ugaki-kun, do you think the First Mobile Fleet has been discovered?"

"There is such a possibility!" Ugaki frowned and said, "Although the First Mobile Fleet is still maintaining radio silence, it is not ruled out that they were discovered by American submarines."

This possibility certainly exists, after all, the First Mobile Fleet has to sail 3,500 nautical miles. Although it chose a North Pacific route where few merchant ships pass. But it is still possible to encounter patrolling American submarines, and now the US Pacific Fleet has sent out 5 aircraft carriers and 5 battleships at once. The timing is really coincidental, and Ugaki Chan can't help but worry.

"Commander, should we..." Ugaki Chan looked at Yamamoto Isoroku, as if he wanted to ask him to stop this gamble. But the words were on his lips and he couldn't say them, because he didn't know how Japan could gain an overwhelming advantage in the early stages of the war after giving up the attack on Pearl Harbor. If Japan can't get such an advantage, then the United States doesn't have to fight a decisive battle with Japan at all, and can rely on a protracted war to exhaust Japan's oil reserves.

Once Japan's oil reserves are exhausted, not only will there be big problems at sea, but there will also be huge crises on land. The Soviet Union's "million-strong army" in the Far East is still eyeing it covetously!

Yamamoto Isoroku smiled and said, "Send a telegram to the Akagi and inform Nanyun of the news... Tell Nanyun that a US aircraft carrier formation is likely to be approaching him."

"Commander..." Ugaki Chan didn't quite understand, and was about to ask Yamamoto if he wanted to cancel the operation.

Yamamoto Isoroku waved his hand first and said with a smile: "If we cancel the operation now, the Empire will have no chance of winning. So we might as well give it a try. Nagumo has 8 aircraft carriers and 500 carrier-based aircraft, as well as the best ace pilots, so the chances of winning are still very high.

Ugaki-kun, give Nagumo Tadashi an order: Climb the new peak 1208."