Chapter 11 "Pearl Harbor" II

The radar detected the enemy situation again, and immediately sent an early warning to Clark Airport with a fax machine.However, after the fax was sent, there was no reply.It was later learned that the correspondent walked away from the fax machine in order to have lunch and failed to receive it in time. I sent a telegram again, but nothing came of it.This is not because the telegraph operator left his post without permission, but because the radio waves were blocked by the Japanese army's technical means. The call was finally connected, and the officer who received the call promised to convey it as soon as possible.But before he stepped out the door, the first echelon of the "V" formation of Japanese planes had already appeared over the airport.

After being forced to postpone the attack time, the Japanese pilots were ready to fight a tough battle face to face.In most people's expectations, there will be a large number of US military fighter jets diving towards them, but the scene in front of them is unbelievable-there is no fighter jet patrolling the entire airport, and there are groups of fighter jets under the wings. live target.All the planes were neatly stacked on the runway of the airport, as if they were waiting for hot pot. The scene that once made Tsukahara sweat profusely is now reproduced exactly at Clark Airport.The difference is that the pilots are not on the plane, they are talking about the mountains while having lunch.

The loudspeaker in the airport restaurant was broadcasting the news: "According to unconfirmed information, Japanese aircraft are bombing Clark Airport." This sentence made almost everyone grin.Clark is being bombed, where is the bomb?If you tell a lie and get struck by lightning, the higher authorities want to raise our vigilance, and this is not the way to do it. A pilot picked up an empty beer bottle and threw it into the air. The bottle landed on the ground with a bang: "Ha, the bombing has begun!" As the laughter continued, bombs rained down. Some people still didn't understand the situation: "Hey, why did the plane throw tin foil down?"

The person who answered couldn't even straighten his tongue: "What tin foil, that's a goddamn Jap!" It is only now that everyone realizes the seriousness of the situation.When the second echelon of the "V" formation arrived, the National Guard in charge of defending the airport began to fire with anti-aircraft artillery.However, because it was not equipped with new shells, the fired shells exploded under the bomber, leaving the Japanese plane unscathed. The "V" formation launched three echelon attacks before and after. In the words of the Japanese pilots who participated in the war, all three attacks were perfect and the impact points were very accurate. "In fact, during the entire war, this is the most accurate attack I have seen bombing".

Flames soared into the sky, and there were scorched and smoking aircraft wreckage everywhere. In the end, even the fragments of the hangar and other ground facilities were not spared, and they were blown up everywhere. An airport seemed to be rumbling. Rise into the sky during the bombardment.Clark became the second Pearl Harbor, and all 18 "Flying Fortresses" originally intended to bomb the Taiwan base were reduced to pieces.At another airport that was attacked, 55 fighter jets also failed to escape the disaster.The price Japan paid was only the loss of 7 "Zero" types. In just one hour after the start of the Pacific War, MacArthur's air power was lost by nearly half, and the air superiority disappeared from then on.

On December 7th, Yamamoto Fifty-Six shocked the whole world. His two attacks all achieved the set goals, while Kimmel and MacArthur were both defeated by him, and they were both extremely embarrassing. Yamamoto, who is majestic at the gambling table, did not stop there. This guy who usually pretends to be gentle and harmless to humans and animals is actually more ambitious than anyone else, and he wants to continue to make waves in the Pacific Ocean. To land in Hawaii, Yamamoto thought to himself that he did not have the strength yet. His next goal was to capture the two major advance bases of the United States in the Pacific Ocean: Guam and Wake Island.

Guam is in the sea south of Japan, only more than a thousand nautical miles away from Tokyo, the importance of geographical location is self-evident.Once a war breaks out, Japan will take it for granted.Even, if there was no surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the offensive and defensive battle of Guam would undoubtedly become the first battle of the US-Japanese War. On December 8, 1941, the Japanese naval air force blew up major military installations on Guam.This is a tactical principle formulated by Yamamoto, that is, to implement aviation annihilation battles first, and then land operations.

On December 10, before dawn, Japanese marines forcibly landed on Guam.Although the defenders in Guam expected that the Japanese army would definitely come, they could hardly adapt to this style of play that had to crawl out of the bed before the chicken crowed. At the same time, the island lacked appropriate military defense methods.The Japanese army basically landed without bloodshed, and occupied the key points of the island that morning. Guam was isolated among the Japanese military bases, and was cut off by the Japanese bases in almost every direction. Therefore, the United States did not think it was worthwhile or necessary to reinforce the island. The Naval Operations Department authorized the chief executive on the island to let him Figure it out.The chief executive of Guam also felt that resistance was meaningless, and he chose to lead the garrison to surrender.

The United States' first forward base in the Pacific fell within a day. This was also the first piece of American territory that Japan had occupied since the beginning of the Pacific War.The war went so smoothly, even the Japanese themselves did not expect it, and they wishful thinking attributed to Japan's strong national fortune.The so-called fate is poor, holding gold and turning it into copper; life is rich, picking up silver and turning it into cloth. Yamamoto will try again on Wake Island to see if his luck has always been so good. Wake Island is a sea transfer station between the Philippines and Hawaii. As the second advance base, the island is known as "the stepping stone of the Pacific Ocean and the unsinkable aircraft carrier".

Yamamoto's landing tactics also targeted Wake Island.The air weather conditions on Wake Island were complicated. The Japanese planes used the thick storm layer as cover and skillfully approached the target. In the end, most of the fighter jets on the island were blown up or injured. On December 10, 1941, the same day as the attack on Guam, a Japanese fleet under the leadership of Rear Admiral Kajioka Sadamichi carried 450 marines and marched towards Wake Island in a mighty manner. According to Yamamoto's original plan, the Marine Corps will take advantage of the darkness before dawn to launch an attack, that is to say, Yamamoto still wants to repeatedly use natural forces.But there is an old saying that is good, evil people are not afraid of the sky, and good people are not bullying the sky.In the early morning of the same day, there was a sudden gust of wind near Wake Island, and the huge waves emptied out, making it difficult for the marines to transfer to ships to land.

Grinding and grinding, the sky is also bright.It seems that the way of catching drunken fish by slow oars and boats is no longer feasible, so Kajioka temporarily decided to change the sneak attack into a strong attack. Also defending Wake Island is the Marine Corps-the US Marine Corps. They have 3 artillery groups, each group has 2 cannons, and there are also 12 anti-aircraft guns and many machine guns. Such a strong firepower can be called an "unsinkable aircraft carrier", but the commander-in-chief, Colonel Cunningham, issued an order not to rush to fire even after the Japanese ship came into range. On the contrary, Kajioka couldn't bear his temper, and the closer the distance, the more his heart surged. When it was four miles from the coast, the Japanese army took the lead in firing at the fort on the shore. Seeing that they were being bullied to the nose, the U.S. Marine Corps still did not fire a single shot. Cunningham gave the order to launch a heavy attack until the two sides were only more than 4,000 meters apart. The U.S. military has never fought back, and Kajioka already felt that he had a chance to win, and he was so beautiful in his heart.What he didn't expect was that as the distance got closer, "beauty" would soon disappear without a trace.Under the close-range bombardment, the Kajioka fleet was in disarray, and soon two warships were hit, including the flagship "Yubari". Two shells just landed on the port side of "Yubari", thick smoke and steam were constantly ejected, and the speed of the ship became slower and slower. The "Yubari" evaded in a hurry, but did not run very far. Two more pursuit shells came, and they both hit the same place. The port side was completely enveloped by the ejected steam. After the flagship fled, the Kajioka fleet's misfortune did not end.