Chapter 718 Coral Sea-Enemy in the Coral Sea
"Lieutenant General, the airport on New Caledonia is temporarily unavailable. Six Catalina seaplanes were either destroyed in air strikes or lost contact during the flight..."
In his commander's cabin, he was listening to his chief of staff, Major General Browning, chattering about the military situation. Lieutenant General Halsey waved his hand impatiently and said, "Major General, just focus on the important points."
"Well, the point is that New Caledonia was blinded by the Japanese."
"Just blind... didn't log in?"
"Not yet," Major General Browning replied.
Halsey picked up his coffee cup, took a sip, and said thoughtfully: "There was no landing, which means that the Japanese fleet that attacked New Caledonia did not carry a landing force."
Colonel Browning is a carrier-based aircraft pilot and is also an expert in the use of naval aviation, so he also considers issues from the perspective of an aircraft carrier commander. He thought for a while and then said to Halsey: "Lieutenant General, there are two possibilities for the Japanese fleet not to carry a landing force. One is that the landing force is still on the way and needs to wait until the battleships and carrier-based aircraft completely suppress New Caledonia. The second possibility is that there is a second Japanese fleet in the waters near New Caledonia, which is the Japanese aviation fleet! "
"Japan's aviation fleet?" Halsey gently turned the coffee cup, "But submarine reconnaissance showed that the main force of Rabaul's fleet went northwest... It should be to deal with our three break-up fleets."
"Perhaps the Japanese fleet heading north does not include all of their large aircraft carriers!" Colonel Browning said, "The Japanese have a lot of aircraft carriers, perhaps more than 10 large aircraft carriers, and several light aircraft carriers. In the use of aircraft carrier forces "They're very generous."
"There are already two 20,000-ton aircraft carriers near New Caledonia..." Halsey said with his fingers. "We have three break-up aircraft carriers operating in the Western Pacific. If the Japanese want to ensure that they To ensure the safety of the two key routes, at least two aircraft carriers must be deployed on each of the two routes, so that the positions of the six aircraft carriers can be confirmed.”
"There are still 5-6 aircraft carriers that may be waiting for us in the Coral Sea!" Colonel Browning said, "Added to the two aircraft carriers accompanying the two Yamatos, the Japanese have up to eight, while we only have 4 aircraft carriers.”
"No, no." Halsey waved his hand, "Colonel, your calculation is wrong. The Japanese only have 5-6 aircraft carriers available at most, because the two Yamato-class ships are too valuable to the Japanese. If the Japanese take When they come out as bait, they will definitely deploy a large number of Zero fighters on those two aircraft carriers. Therefore, in terms of the number of aircraft carriers, we are 4 to 6 with the Japanese. Considering that our aircraft carriers can carry more carriers. aircraft, so in terms of the number of aircraft, we are basically on par with the Japanese aircraft carrier fleet.”
"Aren't we going to deal with the two Japanese Yamato-class ships?"
"No," Halsey shook his head. "How can such a 70,000- to 80,000-ton battleship be so easy to sink? We ignored them and only looked for the aircraft carriers where the Japanese were ambushing us. Even if we were to compete with the Japanese devils, The exchange is also cost-effective, even if you trade 4 ships for 3 of them, you won't suffer a loss! Because we are the US Navy, with the most powerful industry in the world behind us, and our Independence class and Essex class will soon begin to enter service in batches! "
The first ship of the Independence class has already been commissioned, and the first ship of the Essex class will be commissioned in December. By 2043, there will be a lot of excitement!
Not to mention 4 for 3, 4 for 2, or even 4 for 1, sooner or later Halsey will be able to wipe out all of Yamamoto Isoroku's capital.
Colonel Browning thought for a while, nodded and asked: "So... what if there is no Japanese aircraft carrier fleet ambushing north of New Caledonia?"
Halsey put down the coffee cup and spread his hands, "Don't we still have an army in the United States? They have so many tanks, planes and artillery, they will definitely be able to protect Australia."
…
November 5, 12:20.
Coral Sea, about 50 nautical miles off New Caledonia, battleship Yamato.
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto stood on the bridge, listening to the muffled thunder-like roar coming from the distance. It was the target of the battleship Kongo and Hiei when they bombarded the island of New Caledonia.
This kind of bombardment has been going on for several days, but there is not even a shadow of the American fleet. However, some destroyers from the Australian Navy came, but they did not dare to approach New Caledonia during the day. Instead, they quietly approached at night and then left in the early morning.
Obviously, this is the people who are evacuating the island! The British and American Allies may soon abandon New Caledonia...
Yamamoto Isoroku frowned deeply. He had no intention of occupying New Caledonia. It wasn't that he didn't know how important this island was, but he thought that the Allies would defend the island, and if they wanted to capture it, they would have to invest at least tens of thousands of army troops. As a result, his fleet fired artillery for a few days and dropped more than a hundred bombs, and the Allies seemed to begin to retreat.
Seeing the meaning, just use Rabaul to transport some land forces, and you can conquer New Caledonia without any blood.
But... where are the US aircraft carriers? Is it really not in the South Pacific?
"Is there any report on the battle situation in the Atlantic Ocean?" Yamamoto Isoroku suddenly turned around and asked.
"Oh, there are some." Ugaki Matoi replied, "The three countries of Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union formed a combined fleet of the Allied Powers, with Admiral Ingersoll, commander of the United States Atlantic Fleet, as commander, and Vice Chairman of the Soviet Council of People's Commissars and President of the National Bank of Russia, Burr Ganin is the military commissar..."
"President of the National Bank? Military Commissioner?" Yamamoto Isoroku was stunned. What is this?
Matoi Ugaki added: "This joint fleet is very powerful. It has now opened up the Arctic Circle route and has also escorted a group of US troops to the northern part of the island of Ireland controlled by the British."
"What?" Yamamoto Isoroku glared.
"Admiral," Ugaki Matoi smiled, "it seems that the Germans really cannot control the sea power in the Atlantic without our help. They are in a bit of trouble. Maybe there will be a fierce battle on the island of Ireland."
Yamamoto Isoroku frowned, noncommittal: "So... is there any news about US aircraft carrier activities in the Atlantic Ocean?"
"No," Ugaki said, "The Germans are currently attacking the Azores Islands, and the American troops guarding the Azores Islands are also resisting weakly. They seem to be abandoned."
Because of the loss of sea rights in the Atlantic Ocean, the Azores Islands have been semi-surrounded since the spring of 1942. The American transport fleet cannot get close at all, and can only use submarines and destroyers to transport supplies in small batches. Therefore, the island's defense force has always been insufficient, and it is unable to carry out effective defense. It is reasonable to become an abandoned son.
"Even the Azores have become abandoned?" Yamamoto Isoroku shook his head, "American aircraft carriers must still be in the Pacific." His tone was solemn, "If they are still in the Pacific, then they will either follow the A large transport convoy is heading to Australia, or it is near us!"
"Commander, it's unlikely that they are nearby, right?" Ugaki Matoi smiled, "If they were nearby, they would probably attack us."
Yamamoto's 1st Fleet (the flagship is Musashi) is actually a decoy. Therefore, each of the two Great Eagle-class aircraft carriers has 24 Zeros (commonly used) and 6 Comets (commonly used). The air defense force is relatively strong. Moreover, all ships, including the two Yamatos, have been modified for the purpose of strengthening air defense in the past 10 months. Therefore, even if it is attacked by aircraft sent by four large American aircraft carriers, it can probably withstand it.
As long as the US aircraft carrier is attracted, it is only a matter of time before its position is exposed, and the lurking Nagumo Chuichi's 1st Air Fleet will have the opportunity to take action.
But even if the American aircraft carrier was nearby, it obviously did not take the bait.
"No, they are probably nearby. Even if they are not, we have to pretend that they are here now." Yamamoto Isoroku paused and then said, "Send out all comets and Zero water reconnaissance! Search carefully, don't Let go of every inch of the Coral Sea!”
…
East of the Australian continent, the Coral Sea.
The flagship of the United States Task Force 1, the USS Lexington.
Standing in the command center on the second floor of the ship island, after seeing the two SBDs returning from reconnaissance landing smoothly, Halsey looked away: "Have you not discovered the Japanese aircraft carrier yet?"
"No." Rear Admiral Browning shook his head, "The seaplanes dispatched by the cruiser and the Catalina seaplanes that took off from the east coast of Australia have searched most of the Coral Sea, and no trace of the main force of the Japanese aircraft carrier force has been found. Is it possible? meeting……"
"Keep searching!" Halsey smiled, "You have to be patient. By the way, those Japanese warships..."
"Also using artillery fire near the island of New Caledonia to bombard targets on the island."
"Haha, then the main force of their aircraft carrier force must be in the Coral Sea!" Halsey gritted his teeth, "Let's disperse the formation now. Let Rear Admiral Fletcher command a 2nd Fleet with the Enterprise and Yorktown as the core. Team, keep 100 nautical miles away from us.”
"Disperse?" Major General Browning was stunned. "If we disperse, it will not be easy to defend against air attacks."
"But we won't be defeated by the Japanese in one fell swoop," Halsey frowned. "The question now is who discovers the opponent first... We must always maintain the power to counterattack, Major General. I have a hunch that in the upcoming battle, We will not escape unscathed, but we will definitely make the Japanese pay a heavy price!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a fleet staff officer shouted excitedly: "Sir, we may have discovered something! An hour ago, the Catalina seaplane sent by Bundaberg discovered a seaplane in the waters east of the Coral Sea Islands. An unidentified vessel and then lost contact."