Chapter 7 Who said it was a "demotion"

Kimmel, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, is a veteran of World War I. He is energetic and meticulous in his work, and is regarded as a model for American soldiers.Roosevelt admired and valued him so much that he promoted Kimmel to admiral over 31 higher-ranking officers, making him one of the few four-star admirals in the U.S. Navy. Before taking over the Pacific Fleet, Kimmel left his wife in California so he could concentrate his full time and energy on combat readiness.As early as a few months ago, he concluded that the US-Japan war would be a certainty.Subsequently, he received a war alert from the US government, which further confirmed his judgment.

For Kimmel's shrewdness and ability, Yamamoto had expected it. When giving Nagumo and other commanders a farewell party, he solemnly warned his subordinates: "Kimmel is a man with great foresight and sagacity. Sex, don’t take it lightly.” Yamamoto estimated that Kimmel was likely to have prepared for the raid and took careful precautions in advance.If that is the case, the Nanyun Fleet will have to resort to aggressive means. Kimmel was indeed not idle. By December 6, he had completed all the preparation tasks, and the Pacific Fleet had also raised its swords and guns, ready to counterattack at any time.

Unfortunately, the knives were aimed in the wrong direction. Like the U.S. government, Kimmel was misled by "magic" that Japan must ignite the flames of war by capturing Southeast Asia. Based on this understanding, on the one hand, Kimmel strengthened the defense forces of forward bases such as Midway Island, and on the other hand, assembled the Pacific Fleet in Hawaii, so that losses could be minimized after the war started. Yamamoto did everything he could to conceal the whereabouts of the Nagumo Fleet, but by the end of November, Kimmel, who was "vigilant like a dog like a hawk," still discovered that the main force of the Japanese aircraft carrier had left the country's waters and suddenly disappeared without a trace.

In this regard, Kimmel just laughed it off: if you have no experience, you still have to pretend to be a gangster.You guys are so exhausted in the middle of the night, thinking that I don’t know, but you are just going to Nanyang to fight the Philippines.Then wait for you to start first, and the main force of my fleet in Hawaii will let you know what it means to "have fun in the morning and pull out the list in the afternoon"! The cognitive dislocation not only made Kimmel go the wrong way in preparing for the battle, but also made him psychologically underestimate the enemy.Not only Kimmel, but many US admirals at the time were convinced that once the US-Japan war broke out, the US fleet could take out the entire Japanese fleet in just a few hours.

On December 2, the day before Yamamoto ordered the Nagumo fleet to "climb Shin Takayama 1208," Kimmel's intelligence officer reported to him that the Japanese carrier was still missing. Kimmel showed no signs of unease, telling the intelligence officer jokingly, "It's not like they're rounding Diamond Point right now and you don't know it? " The intelligence officer also responded with a smile: "Sir, I hope to find them now." As a result, Kimmel and his intelligence officer did not find where the opponent was hiding until the Nagumo fleet drew its sword.

The timing of the sneak attack Yamamoto chose was too good. The night of December 6, 1941 was a happy weekend night for officers and soldiers of the Pacific Fleet.All returning battleships lined up neatly in Pearl Harbor, the shore was brightly lit and bustling, and the entire fleet was completely disarmed. On the other side, the knife was sharpened, and the murderous intent was revealed. At 7:53 am on December 7, Yamamoto, who was 3,000 nautical miles away, received a telegram: "Tora, Torah, Torah." The three repeated passwords are the Japanese word "tiger", that is, "tiger, Tiger, tiger", the code word is "the surprise attack has been successful".

Before receiving the telegram, Yamamoto hadn't closed his eyes all night. The telegram finally made him smile, and his tense nerves gradually relaxed. At this time, the attack had not yet started, and it was not Nagumo who sent the telegram, but the carrier-based aircraft formation that had already flown over Pearl Harbor. As an innovator at the top of the navy, "aviation wins" is Yamamoto's consistent proposition.He believed that aircraft would be the decisive force in naval warfare, so he spared no effort in the development of the naval air force.It is said that at a meeting, Hideki Tojo was the first to speak, blowing about the superior performance of the Army's aircraft.When his speech came to an end, Yamamoto suddenly spoke up: "Yeah, it's amazing. It's really amazing that your plane can fly. But don't forget, when it comes to navy planes, people It is often said that the eagle on the sea is the chicken on the land.”

The audience roared with laughter, and there were only two people in the audience who did not laugh, one was Tojo and the other was Yamamoto. In the comparison of naval capital ships, it is obvious that the United States is strong and Japan is weak. Therefore, in the attack on Pearl Harbor, Yamamoto did not intend to use ships against ships. He wanted to use aircraft against ships. planes to attack the Pacific Fleet. The carrier-based aircraft formation is commanded by the attack team leader Fuchida Mitsuo.Fuchita used to be the staff officer of the Third Air Force. Before the war, he was suddenly appointed as the flight captain of the carrier-based aircraft. From the perspective of his position, this was a downgrade. "It's normal to be demoted because of mistakes, but I don't seem to have made any mistakes." Yuantian was quite puzzled, and when he went to the post, the officers who greeted him were very envious, as if he had been promoted three times in a row Average level.This is how the same thing?

After being explained by others, Fuchida knew that the person who "demoted" him was the famous Yamamoto. A month after becoming commander of the Combined Fleet, Yamamoto held an exercise.During the exercise, a flying team chased after his flagship, and the training torpedoes fired were all hits. Yamamoto saw all this clearly, and he said to himself: "According to this level, isn't it possible to attack Pearl Harbor?" At the end of the exercise, Yamamoto learned that the captain of this flying team was called Yuan Tian.When the "Z" plan was completed and Yamamoto started to select the captain of the attacking team, someone recommended Fuchita to him. After a little thought, Yamamoto smiled knowingly: "Then let him do a good job."

Obviously, Fuchida's transfer was not a relegation, but a reuse.Within six months, he would complete an intensive simulation of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Fuchida's training requirements are very demanding. The pilot must launch the torpedo at a height of 20 meters. This is because the water in Pearl Harbor is shallow, only 12 meters. If the torpedo is launched from the usual height, it will plunge into the bottom of the water. Flying and flying, suddenly lowering the altitude to 20 meters, for the pilot, it is equivalent to suicide.During the initial training, the pilots were all terrified, and the residents on the ground were also scared to death—the torpedo planes suddenly appeared, and then one after another, almost brushing the roof and passing, even the bamboo poles for drying clothes were knocked down.

Residents call this crazy flying training "sea vulture acrobatics". "Sea eagle acrobatics" was just what Yamamoto meant. He said to Fuchida: "The battle of Pearl Harbor is about the fate of the empire. The combined fleet must be 100% ready, not 99% by any means." The pilots who have undergone rigorous training are all eager to try. After taking off from the aircraft carrier of the Nanyun Fleet, they can't wait to dismantle the ships in Pearl Harbor immediately.But actual combat is different from training after all, and there was an accident in the formation at the very beginning.