Chapter 510 Tiger! Tiger! Tiger 14

Saipan (Tokyo) time, 5:10 am.

In the Pacific Ocean, 150 nautical miles east of Guam-Saipan, the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier.

Halsey looked up at the sky, which was still dark. This place is near the equator, and the hours of day and night are very even. 5:10 in the morning is just before dawn.

However, Halsey did not intend to wait any longer. He waved his hand suddenly and ordered: "Turn on the lights and let the carrier-based aircraft take off now!"

"Lieutenant General, we are now in the sentinel circle of Saipan Island. It is very likely that there are Japanese reconnaissance planes operating..."

"What are you afraid of?" Halsey interrupted the staff officer with a wave of his hand, "I have 5 aircraft carriers and more than 400 commonly used aircraft. How many aircraft can there be on Saipan?"

Pearl Harbor only has 400 commonly used aircraft. No matter how important Saipan is, it cannot be compared with Pearl Harbor. Moreover, Japan is not as wealthy as the United States. It has only been able to produce about 3,000 commonly used aircrafts for many years. How can it be willing to put 400 aircraft in a place like Saipan?

"Moreover," Halsey continued his analysis, "all the Japanese aircraft carriers are attacking Pearl Harbor, and there are no Japanese aircraft carriers near Guam-Saipan at all. So we are invincible here!"

Although Halsey's character is a bit reckless, he certainly has a few skills to become the most outstanding naval commander in the world. After a simple analysis, we can deduce the comparison between the enemy and ourselves near Saipan.

"Lieutenant General, after we bomb Saipan, should we immediately return to support Pearl Harbor?"

Halsey still shook his head and said: "We are 3,000 nautical miles away from Pearl Harbor, and we can't get there even with wings. For such a long distance, it would take 6-7 days for the fleet to travel in a straight line. It is impossible for the Japanese to stay near Hawaii. That long, unless they want to take over Hawaii, but that's...impossible!"

"If we don't go back to Pearl Harbor, where will we go?"

"Go to the Marshall Islands," Halsey thought for a while and said, "The Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor must be part of a huge offensive plan. And the goal of this huge offensive plan should be to gain control of the entire Pacific region. Control of the sea. I think the important islands in the Pacific such as Guam, Midway, and Wake Island must have been seized by the Japanese from the beginning. Our bombing of Saipan can defeat the Japanese army's attempt to seize Guam. The bombing of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands can also defeat the Japanese army's attempt to occupy Wake Island, and it may also attract Japanese aircraft carriers to the Marshall Islands for a decisive battle!"

Under Halsey's order, all five U.S. aircraft carriers turned on their deck lights at 5:15 a.m. on December 8 (Tokyo time) and began to use the lights to release carrier-based aircraft.

On December 8th, at around 6:30, I was on the island of Saipan, which was about to be next to me. Major General Horii Tomaro (Army Major General), commander of the Japanese Nanhai Detachment, and Major General Kasuga Atsushi (Navy Rear Admiral), commander of the Guam Attack Force, are discussing the upcoming operations in the headquarters.

The two Japs were in a good mood. The news of the victory at Pearl Harbor had just come, and the home port of the U.S. Pacific Fleet had now become a hell. It seems that control of the Pacific Ocean has been achieved!

For the two of them, the next task they need to complete is extremely easy, which is to occupy Guam with an overwhelming force advantage.

According to reliable intelligence, the total strength of the US military in Guam is only 550-750, and a considerable number of them are indigenous soldiers on Guam, with no combat effectiveness at all. In addition, there are a total of 4 US military ships stationed in Guam, 3 patrol boats and 1 small oil tanker.

The strength of the Imperial Japanese Army is very powerful. The army has 4,886 troops, including infantry, cavalry and artillery. The Navy invested 21 ships, including a 4,000-ton laying ship (with multiple functions such as mine-laying, supply, and anti-submarine warfare), 4 destroyers, a 6,800-ton ad hoc seaplane carrier, and 8 other special ships. Equipped with driving boats and sea sweepers. In addition, there are four heavy cruisers in the waters north of Saipan that can come for reinforcements at any time.

Rear Admiral Kasuga Atsushi, who once served as the captain of the battleship "Mutsu", said with confidence: "There will be no problems in the Battle of Guam. Now even if the Americans send a battleship to reinforce, the navy can completely handle it!"

He didn't know that the Americans had sent five aircraft carriers...

Major General Tomitaro Horii also boasted: "Even if there are 10,000 U.S. troops on Guam, my 5,000 elites can definitely wipe them out!"

"Huh? What's this sound?" Major General Horii Tomaro's ears were sharp. He suddenly heard a familiar "buzzing" sound, which was getting louder and louder, but he couldn't remember what it was for the moment.

"That's the sound of a plane!"

"Buzz buzz..." Kasuga Atsushi responded quickly, but as soon as the words came out, he felt something was wrong. "No, it's only after six o'clock, and the plane from Saipan hasn't taken off yet!"

"Could it be an enemy plane sent by Guam?" Major General Tomitaro Horii's face changed slightly, but generally he was quite calm. He smiled faintly, "The Americans reacted quite quickly, but just a few planes from Guam What kind of threat can it be..."

Before he finished speaking, a piercing air raid siren sounded outside, and then the office door was slammed open. A young navy lieutenant named Ganfu appeared at the door, with a look of panic on his face.

"What happened?" Because the people who came were from the navy, Major General Kasuga Atsushi asked with a frown.

"Air raid! Air raid!" Lieutenant Kanfu shouted.

"Baga!" Major General Kasuga looked at the lieutenant who had just graduated from the Naval Academy a few years ago with contempt, "Why are you panicking? Are the emperor's warriors afraid of a few American planes?"

"Commander," Lieutenant Kanfu stamped his feet and shouted, "Not just a few, but at least 100 enemy planes! Covering the sky and the sun!"

At least 100? How is this possible! The United States does not have so many planes in Guam!

The two Japanese generals rushed out of their headquarters with a head full of question marks. The Japanese headquarters on Saipan Island is facing the port, and the airport on Saipan Island is about five or six kilometers away in the south. When Horii Tomitaro and Kasuga Atsushi rushed out of the headquarters, the sound of explosions had already come from the direction of the airport.

Tomitaro Horii and Atsushi Kasuga quickly took the telescope from the adjutant and looked towards the sky in the south. They saw hundreds of dark blue single-engine small planes flying towards them in groups, and some small planes that looked like SBD Dauntless were also in a dive-bombing formation, probably bombing the airport on Saipan.

Before the two Japanese generals could react, most of the American planes had already passed over their heads and rushed towards the 21 ships docked at the pier.

"Baga!" Atsushi Kasuga immediately knew what these evil American planes were going to do. "They are going to bomb my fleet!"

Major General Kasuga wanted to die now, there were at least 100 planes, and he also recognized that there were SBD dive bombers and TBD torpedo bombers among them! Even the battleship "Mutsu" was now parked in the port of Saipan, and it could not withstand so many planes. What's more, he only had 4 small destroyers and 2 large and useless laying ships and seaplane carriers.

However, even if Rear Admiral Kasuga Atsushi really looked for a place to eat, he could not save his small fleet. Although the bombing and torpedo dropping skills of American carrier-based pilots were not very strong at the moment, the force Halsey used to attack Saipan was not something that a small Japanese fleet without even a light cruiser could handle, and this small fleet was still in a state of power failure and anchoring.

At around 6:20 a.m. (Tokyo time), the SBD Dauntless dive bomber that took off from the "Enterprise" first made a contribution, dropping two 500-pound armor-piercing bombs on the 6,800-ton special seaplane carrier "Shokawa Maru". This carrier, which carried 6 small seaplanes (3 Zero-type reconnaissance aircraft and 3 Zero-type observation aircraft), had no armored deck at all. One of the two 500-pound bombs entered from the top of the bridge in the middle of the ship and exploded inside the bridge, killing a large number of officers on board the ship, including the captain, the first mate and the second mate. The other one penetrated from the seaplane deck at the stern to the lower cabin, then broke the keel and opened a large hole in the bottom of the ship, causing seawater to rush in. A few minutes later, with a strange "creaking, creaking" sound from the hull, the "Shokawa Maru" suddenly broke into two pieces, and then sank to the bottom of the sea with more than 100 sailors and more than 500 army officers and soldiers on board (they were preparing to land in Guam). In the end, less than 30 people were rescued.

One minute later, the TBD "Destroyer" torpedo bomber that took off from the "Saratoga" dropped 5 torpedoes on another large ship in the Saipan port, the "Tsugaru" laying ship, 2 of which hit the starboard side of the "Tsugaru". In less than 5 minutes, the influx of seawater caused the 4,000-ton ship to capsize to the right and sink into the sea. There were more than 500 sailors and army officers and soldiers on board, and only less than 23 people survived.

Then the four destroyers in the harbor, Kikuzuki, Yuzuki, Uzuki and Oboro, were attacked by American dive bombers and torpedo bombers. Kikuzuki and Yuzuki were hit by a 500-pound bomb each, and Uzuki was hit by a torpedo. Only Oboro was lucky enough to escape the attack.

However, for the Japanese troops on Saipan, any luck was obviously only temporary, because the more than 100 American planes attacking Saipan were only the first wave of attacks sent by Vice Admiral Halsey, and the second wave of attacks consisting of almost the same number of planes would arrive soon!