Chapter 5 The "gambler" who is afraid of losing

Back then, before deciding to attack the Russian fleet, Togo Heihachiro sent a telegram to the base camp. He said at the end of the telegram: "The weather is fine today, but the waves are high." It has become a famous saying that the Japanese talk about. On December 3, 1941, the Nanyun Fleet received a telegram from Yamamoto: "Climbing the new mountain 1208".The same is "high", standing on the shoulders of the predecessors, Yamamoto is pursuing a higher level, he asked Nagumo to launch an attack on December 8 as originally planned. December 8th is Tokyo time, and US Eastern Time is December 7th.This also means that a gamble of the century has officially begun.

Yamamoto of the navy and Tojo of the army both bet on the fate of Japan, but their gambling methods and methods are completely different. In a word, Tojo uses emotion, while Yamamoto uses more brains. Some people say that gambling is purely based on luck, but Yamamoto believes that this view is not comprehensive. In addition to luck, scientific calculation is also very important.According to him, he used advanced mathematics for calculations in his gamble in Monaco, so he could win every game. Before the "Z" plan was approved, the military command questioned Yamamoto with two questions.Although Yamamoto did not make a positive response at the time, he knew very well that to ensure the success of the attack, these two issues must not be avoided and must be resolved one by one.

How to solve it is up to you.How do you calculate it? You have to break your fingers first, and if your fingers are not enough, add your toes.In short, it must be done until it is impossible to calculate. The first one is to ensure that it is not discovered by the United States. The most important thing here is to choose a suitable route. From mainland Japan to Pearl Harbor, there are three routes: North, Central and South.The three routes have their own advantages and disadvantages. Compared with the northern route, the central and southern routes are closer to Pearl Harbor and have a suitable climate. The disadvantage is that there are frequent merchant ships and they are easy to be discovered.

Yamamoto calculated and calculated, and finally chose the northern route.The previous two deduction on the map used this route.After the failure of the first deduction, the commander of the simulated Japanese army once said to Yamamoto with a look of embarrassment: "There are many dangers in the northern route, and any mistakes will inevitably cause heavy losses." Yamamoto patted his chest and encouraged him: "Don't worry, I will bear all the responsibilities." Later facts proved that his calculation and persistence were correct. The next thing is to know when the main force of the Pacific Fleet will be at Pearl Harbor.If the Nanyun Fleet finally arrives at Pearl Harbor and the harbor is really empty, it will be an international joke.

To answer this question, it is not only about counting, but more importantly, "knowing the enemy", knowing yourself and the enemy, is the only way to win a hundred battles.As early as before the "Z" plan was formed, Yamamoto recruited a spy named Takeo Yoshikawa from the Naval Intelligence Bureau to sneak into Pearl Harbor to collect intelligence.Yoshikawa is a retired naval officer. He was not originally a professional spy, but he is bold and cautious with strong adaptability.After long-term observation, he gradually grasped the activities of the US Pacific Fleet and discovered its hiding place.

Yoshikawa described with great excitement: "This is a large collection of fleets that I have never seen before. There are so many ships, there is neither smoke nor noise, and they are quietly moored on the sea surface, and the sea water is shining with dazzling white light." Yoshikawa said that at that moment, he suddenly thought of the past when he hunted wild ducks in his hometown, and the current situation was exactly the same as that of hunting wild ducks back then, so he couldn't help shouting in his heart: "I found a large number of wild ducks!" What Yamamoto is eager to know is the day when these "wild ducks" will gather in the port.

Yoshikawa replied: Sunday! The reason why Yamamoto set the start of the war on December 7 was based on the information provided by Yoshikawa. At the same time, he also considered that on Sundays, the US military on duty had the most vacations and the most lax guard. Although Yamamoto tried his best to revise the "Z" plan to what he thought was the most perfect level, compared with the game on the table, there are too many unpredictable factors and links in the war, so since the departure of the Nanyun Fleet, his The heart has been hanging in mid-air. Many people think that the northern route is dangerous, and the first thing they mention is the sea climate.Statistics from the past ten years show that every December, the weather in the North Pacific is particularly bad. In a month, there are only seven days of good weather, and the rest are all stormy.

Fortunately, the Nanyun Fleet did not encounter any strong winds and waves along the way, and Yamamoto couldn't help but say, "God help me!" One of the important reasons why Yamamoto insisted on choosing the northern route in spite of various unfavorable conditions was that American patrol planes would not patrol this area, as if it was completely open, and very few merchant ships would pass through the northern route, which was convenient for the Nanyun Fleet to approach quietly. Pearl Harbor. But what if a merchant ship passes by and discovers the fleet?That would be all kinds of boring.

Yamamoto's plan for this is that no active attack is allowed, and only when attacked, he will fight back. As the saying goes, what you are afraid of is what you are afraid of. On December 5, 1941, the Nanyun Fleet still encountered a merchant ship head-on. Nagumo was very nervous. Although he followed Yamamoto's plan and did not take the initiative to attack the merchant ship, he was still closely monitoring the opponent and made preparations. Once he found a merchant ship reporting the fleet's whereabouts by radio, he would immediately shoot him down within three minutes. Shen.

I don't know what the merchant ship was thinking, anyway, after a while, it sailed away without making a sound, which also made Nanyun feel a little worried. Due to the long distance, the Nanyun Fleet must resupply midway.On the same day, the fleet completed its last refueling, and the entire fleet was raised to a first-level alert state, and received an order from Yamamoto: "The imperial kingdom will rise and fall, and all soldiers will fight hard in one fell swoop." This is Yamamoto's war mobilization order issued to the Nanyun Fleet imitating Togo Heihachiro's tone.Nanyun immediately notified the entire fleet of the message by means of light signals, and then raised the "Z" flag on the mast of the flagship "Akagi" aircraft carrier.

In the Battle of Tsushima 36 years ago, Togo also raised the "Z" flag on his flagship, which has become a symbol of the victory of the Japanese navy.Yamamoto did not repeat Dongxiang's style of play, but what he was looking forward to was to repeat Dongxiang's glory. On December 6, 1941, after an 11-day voyage, the Nanyun Fleet finally arrived at the scheduled sea area north of Pearl Harbor. The next day was about to start, and Yamamoto couldn't sleep all night, so he found a staff to play chess with him.Yamamoto's chess skills are as superb as his gambling skills, and he usually only wins but not loses, but that night there were many bad tricks.The staff officer found that something was wrong, and hurriedly and secretly gave up the chess, but Yamamoto still looked restless and absent-minded. Coincidentally, after the war, according to Tojo's wife's recollection, late that night, crying came from her husband's bedroom.She got up and opened the corridor door, and peeped into her husband's room, and saw Tojo sitting on the futon, crying towards the palace. There is no way, the gamble at Pearl Harbor is really too big.As planners and commander-in-chief, neither Yamamoto nor Tojo can afford to lose. At this time, it is very difficult to keep their composure. From beginning to end, these two people are most concerned about what the Americans are thinking, and will the whereabouts of the Nanyun Fleet be discovered?