Chapter 520 Tiger! Tiger! Tiger 24

From Kauai Island in the distance, there was still a faint sound of gunfire. After dozens of nautical miles, it was like faint thunder. This is a small Japanese ship shelling the US military position on Kauai in order to support the landing operation of Taiwan's mixed brigade. The landing ship group carrying seven to eight thousand Japanese troops has arrived on the Pacific Ocean near Kauai with murderous intent.

Farther away, on the sea near Oahu, a larger fleet appeared, with 5 powerful battleships and 9 aircraft carriers as the core, as well as dozens of cruisers, destroyers, and dozens of Oil tankers, ammunition ships, supply ships, laying ships. Formations were laid out on the dark sea, like a floating city.

The three main forces of the Japanese Combined Fleet, the First Mobile Fleet, the First Fleet and the Hawaii Dispatch Fleet, finally completed the merger on the evening of December 12, local time in Hawaii. General Yamamoto Isoroku, who was in charge of the "Yamato Hotel", now took over the command of the Hawaii battlefield. This also announced the official start of the second phase of "Operation Z Plan".

Before Yamamoto's battleship Yamato arrived, four battleships (Nagato, Mutsu, Hiei, and Kirishima) commanded by Vice Admiral Takasu Shiro had already carried out the first attack on Oahu under the cover of darkness on the evening of the 11th. This was a tentative bombardment, and the target of the bombardment was mainly the oil depot area in Hawaii.

For safety reasons, the four battleships opened fire on the ocean more than 20 kilometers and nearly 30 kilometers away from Oahu. They relied on a large seaplane "Type 2 Large Boat" to correct the ballistics in the air. A total of nearly a thousand hits were fired. Large-caliber artillery shells were fired and several oil tanks were exploded. The U.S. fort on Oahu and the two stranded battleships also fired back, but the fire was inaccurate and none of the shells hit the target.

Tonight, Yamamoto Isoroku, who had just taken over the command, did not order another bombardment. Instead, he invited Takasu Shiro and Nagumo Chuichi to the "Yamato Hotel" to discuss the war situation with them in person.

"Commander, after days of bombing and air battles, the U.S. shore-based aircraft on Oahu have basically lost their combat effectiveness." Nagumo Chuichi assured Yamamoto Isoroku in the commander's office on the Yamato, "We will continue to receive the response." In the ongoing battle, there is no need to consider the threat of US military shore-based aircraft. However, the US military's ground air defense firepower on Oahu is relatively strong. In the air strikes on the 10th, 11th and today, there were 6, 5 and 4 aircraft respectively. A plane was shot down."

"There is no need to bomb Oahu starting tomorrow," Yamamoto Isoroku said. "We must maintain the strength of the carrier-based aircraft force and prepare for a decisive battle with U.S. aircraft carriers."

"Hai!" Nan Yunzhong nodded.

Yamamoto looked at Takasu Shiro and said: "The Hawaii dispatch fleet and the 1st Fleet have merged. Takasu-kun will still serve as the commander of the 1st Fleet, and the flagship will be on the Nagato. Starting tomorrow, the 1st Fleet will attack during the day, Continuously bombard Oahu with powerful firepower!”

"Hai!" Takasu Shiro nodded heavily.

Yamamoto Isoroku's plan for the decisive battle was very simple, which was to use five battleships to bombard Oahu, and at the same time allow the Taiwanese mixed brigade to land on Kauai, while the eight aircraft carriers of the First Mobile Fleet were recuperating and waiting. The main force of the U.S. Pacific Fleet came back for a decisive battle.

At the same time, the two divisions originally prepared for the Philippines landing operation and the two divisions on standby boarded the transport ship and were heading towards Hawaii under the escort of the Third Fleet. If the First Mobile Fleet can defeat the U.S. Pacific Fleet, then Oahu is a sure bet.

"The decisive battle is expected to take place on the 15th to the 18th," Yamamoto Isoroku turned to Chuichi Nagumo and said, "This battle is related to the rise and fall of the empire. I hope Nagumo-kun and the First Mobile Fleet will work hard!"

Since Halsey's carrier-based aircraft bombed Saipan, Yamamoto Isoroku could roughly estimate the time when the decisive battle occurred based on the distance between Saipan and Oahu. If Halsey's fleet takes the risk of taking a straight line to return reinforcements, the decisive battle will occur on the 15th. If Halsey's fleet takes a Z-shaped anti-submarine route, the decisive battle will occur on December 18, 1941.

…

"Damn, these Japs must be crazy!"

In the waters near Midway Island, aboard the USS Pennsylvania, the flagship of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Admiral Kimmel said to Rear Admiral Fletcher, who had just assumed the post of Chief of Staff of the Pacific Fleet: "They must want to seize Hawaii. Damn it... all of us. They all underestimated the madness of the Japanese devils, these yellow-skinned monkeys are a bunch of lunatics!”

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was completely unexpected, and now they are even more serious about capturing Oahu! Although this style of play is a bit crazy, it completely disrupted the United States' position.

"Admiral, it is impossible for the Japanese to capture Oahu." Major General Fletcher shook his head and said, "There are many fortresses on Oahu, and there are about 60,000 defenders. The weapons and ammunition reserves are very sufficient. Moreover, there are Two Colorado-class battleships were stranded near Fortress Williston. Last night, the four Japanese battleships did not dare to approach and only dared to fire from 16 nautical miles away. "

"Of course they can't conquer Oahu!" Kimmel forced a smile. "Oahu will be fine. The Japanese will definitely get a bloody blow there."

Major General Fletcher had already guessed Kimmel's intention, "Admiral, are we going to use the Oahu fortress to weaken the Japanese fleet?"

"Yes," Kimmel clapped his hands and said, "That's it! Oahu is the strongest fortress in the world, and no one can knock it down. But this alone is not enough for us to defeat the Japanese. ...We must try to send P51s and SBDs from the mainland to Oahu. As long as the island's aviation force can be replenished, the Japanese will have no choice but to retreat from Hawaii. "

After several days of air strikes and air battles, the naval aviation and army aviation aircraft on Oahu have been exhausted. However, there are a lot of pilots on the island, because most of the planes were destroyed on the ground, and most of the remaining ones were shot down in air battles over Oahu. Therefore, the consumption of pilots is not large. If we simply compare the losses of American and Japanese pilots, then the losses of the Japanese must be greater.

But there are no planes, and there is no way for pilots to fight. Therefore, replenishing aircraft to Oahu has now become the key to victory in Hawaii.

"It is impossible for the transport ship to approach Oahu," Rear Admiral Fletcher said. "There are four Japanese battleships near Oahu. Even if the main force of the Pacific Fleet is used to escort them, there is no guarantee, because at least one of the four Japanese battleships is Nagato. class."

Excluding the USS Colorado, which is still under repair on the west coast, the battleships currently capable of fighting in the Pacific Fleet are the USS Pennsylvania, the USS Tennessee, and the USS Nevada. They are not opponents of the two Nagato-class ships at all - because the two "Nagato" ships participated in the battle on the night of the 11th In order to bombard Oahu, the Americans had already determined that at least one "Nagato" class ship was near Oahu through the craters made by the main gun shells of the Nagato and Mutsu.

"We can let the transport fleet enter the Hilo Port of Hawaii Island," Kimmel thought for a while and said, "and then let the plane take off from the airport near Hilo Port and fly to Oahu."

Hilo Port on Hawaii Island is about 350 kilometers away from Pearl Harbor on Oahu Island, basically at the edge of the attack radius of Japanese aircraft carriers. Japanese planes have not bombed Hilo Port in the past few days, but the Japanese army will certainly not ignore the existence of Hilo Port.

"There must be Japanese submarines or light ships patrolling near Hilo Port, and their seaplanes must fly farther." Rear Admiral Fletcher said thoughtfully, "Unless we can divert the Japanese aircraft carrier away from Oahu, transportation will The fleet is still unable to approach the Port of Hilo.”

"I'm afraid we can't use battleships." Kimmel crossed his arms and walked to the chart table. "If they wanted to blow up and sink our battleships, they would have followed us long ago." He paused and said, "The only way is to use Halsey. The aircraft carrier! Use the 1st Task Force to lure the enemy, and we will first go around to the east of Hawaii to meet up with the transport ships from the mainland, and then escort them into Hilo Port."

While Kimmel and Fletcher were discussing the military situation, the communications officer who was on the bridge of the USS Pennsylvania suddenly shouted: "Admiral, telegram from the Marine Corps on Kauai, the Japanese have landed on Kauai." "

…

at the same time.

Dozens of Japanese landing craft, the large engine boat Type B, broke through the fog on the sea in the early morning of December 13, and landed on a beach on the east side of Kauai with a bang.

Before the landing craft could stop, the Japanese officers and soldiers packed with it had already jumped out staggeringly. These people are not the navy who are accustomed to the rough seas, but the officers and soldiers of the Japanese Army's Taiwan Mixed Brigade. They rode the 11,800-ton "Akitsu Maru" on the sea for more than ten to twenty days. Every one of them was exhausted from seasickness, and most of them had weak bones in their legs and feet. Now they are all fighting for their loyalty to the emperor and insisting on going to the battlefield.

If they were to land on Oahu now, they would probably be easily wiped out by the US military stationed on the beachhead. However, on the beach of Kauai, there were no American soldiers armed to the teeth waiting for them.

Although these tired and probably still sick Japanese soldiers belong to the elite Taiwanese mixed brigade, they are all on the battlefield for the first time. They all look nervous, for fear of being hit by the soldiers who come out from nowhere. Lost his life.

Suddenly someone shouted in Japanese with a Taiwanese accent: "We are here on American soil! It's worth dying here!"

Lieutenant Kosaki, the Japanese squadron leader who led the team, looked back and saw that the person shouting the message turned out to be Takenori Iwasato, a Taiwanese volunteer. Kosaki also pulled out his command sword and shouted: "Are the warriors of Kyushu (most of the Taiwanese brigades are Kyushu soldiers) inferior to the Taiwanese? Come on! Kill all the American devils! Kill them all..."