Chapter 12 Use "pawn" to kill "handsome"

The gunners of the U.S. Marine Corps fought more and more brilliantly. A row of shells happened to hit the destroyer "Hailstorm", and then detonated the bomb bay, and "Hailwind" was blown into two pieces. At first, I just wanted to drive away the sparrows, but I didn't expect a big bird to fall down.Being able to sink a destroyer is a remarkable feat even in a ship-to-ship naval battle.The gunners cheered and celebrated, and a veteran hurriedly shouted: "Don't be too happy, you guys, go back to the gun position. What do you think this is? Is it a ball game?"

Don't remind me, there is really a feeling of shooting into the net in a football match and then stripping for fun.Everyone calmed down, returned to their artillery positions, and continued the shelling.Three more ships of the Kajioka fleet were hit, including the destroyer, and these wounded ships also joined the fleeing ranks. Four Wildcat fighters survived the air raid on Wake Island.Four "Wildcats" rose up in pursuit and dropped bombs on the Kajioka fleet. The rear deck of destroyer Kisaragi was hit, detonating the ship's depth charge bay.Amidst the deafening explosion, the Kisaragi quickly sank to the bottom of the sea, and no one survived on board.

So far, two destroyers of the Kajioka Fleet have been sunk, and more than 500 officers and soldiers have been killed or injured.In view of the high morale of the defenders and the accuracy of the artillery fire, if they continue to forcefully land, the entire army may be wiped out, so Kajioka had to order to withdraw from the battlefield. On this day, the U.S. military was very relieved."December 10, 1941," wrote one American historian, "should be a day of eternal pride in the history of the United States Marine Corps." "Hayate" and "Kidsara" were the first warships lost by the Japanese Navy since the beginning of the Pacific War.In a battle as big as the attack on Pearl Harbor, not a single warship was lost, but two ships were destroyed in a row on a small island. Of course, Yamamoto felt unacceptable.He was furious, and immediately ordered the Nanyun Fleet, which was still on its way back, to send troops to support it.

On that day, there were two "unsinkable" ships competing with Yamamoto in the Pacific Ocean.In addition to the Wake Island base of the US military, there is also the "Prince of Wales" of the British army. The "Prince of Wales" was a battleship built by the United Kingdom before World War II, and it was also the most powerful battleship in the world at that time.In the early days of World War II, it sank the latest German battleship "Bismarck", so it is famous in the world's navies and is called "unsinkable warship". In order to curb the "southward advance" of the Japanese army, Churchill had sent the "Prince of Wales" to Singapore a few months ago, along with the high-speed battleship "Counterattack".Among them, although the "Counterattack" was an old ship during World War I, it had been technologically updated before World War II, and it was not much different from the latest battleship.

The joining of two heavyweight battleships has greatly enhanced the strength of the Royal Navy's Far East Fleet (codenamed "Z").Radio Singapore commented: "Singapore is now a fortress like a fortress with iron walls, and it is impossible for any country's fleet to fight here." Just after Britain declared war on Japan, Philip, the commander of the British Far East Fleet, learned that a Japanese fleet was invading the Gulf of Thailand at full speed. Tom Phillips was small in stature, and was secretly called "Tom Thumb."But he had a fiery temper, and had a falling out with the Prime Minister when he was in the Admiralty, so he was called the "Little Napoleon" in the Navy.After receiving the information, Philip immediately held an emergency meeting and decided to personally lead the "Z" fleet to defend against the enemy.This "Z" fleet includes the "Prince of Wales", the "Repulse", and four other destroyers.

In the formation of the "Z" Fleet, there should have been at least one aircraft carrier for escort, but the planned new aircraft carrier "Invincible" happened to run aground and was damaged during the trial voyage, and could not go out with the fleet. This undoubtedly increased the danger of the fleet's travel coefficient.Imagine that if enemy planes came, there would be no fighter jets to defend against them. Philip set out anyway. He had been a gunner of a warship and had a strong belief that "bombers are no match for battleships". The "Prince of Wales" alone has more than a hundred artillery pieces, which can be said to be armed to the teeth.When the bomber strikes, as long as it is within the range of the battleship's artillery fire, it will be shot down directly.If it is not within the range of artillery fire, the accuracy of its bombing will be a problem, so don't be afraid.

On the morning of December 10, 1941, the "Z" fleet entered the Malaysian sea.There, they did not find any Japanese ships.Just as the fleet was about to turn back to the port of Singapore, Philip suddenly received a telegram saying that the Japanese army was landing in Kuantan in eastern Malaysia. The fighter plane cannot be missed, and the "Z" fleet immediately sailed to Kuantan.But this information was also wrong, the Japanese did not show up in Kuantan at all.It was later learned that it was the buffalo that had stepped on the mines buried on the beach. Philip was really unwilling to go out with all his strength and go home without firing a bullet.Therefore, the "Z" fleet did not leave Malaysian waters immediately, they turned around and searched for several Japanese tugboats and small ships.

Philip did not realize that he had entered Yamamoto's scope. The existence of the "Z" Fleet not only poses a huge threat to the United Fleet, but also seriously hinders the implementation of Japan's "Southern Advance" strategy. Z" Fleet. Yamamoto's staff advocated sending a powerful fleet to meet the "Z" fleet, but Japan did not have any warships in Southeast Asia that could compete with the "Prince of Wales". The fleet responsible for operations in the south has only some second-rate warships and heavy cruisers. Looking at the staff scratching their heads, Yamamoto said, "It doesn't take so much trouble, we don't need warships, but we can still fight this war very delicately with aviation."

He also made use of his expertise in gambling, using chess as a metaphor for war, and made a calculation for everyone: "What the opponent has in his hand is a warship. If we also use warships to deal with him, we will use 'rooks' against 'rooks'." ’. It’s meaningless to use a ‘horse’ against a ‘horse’, and there is no advantage to be gained. To deal with opponents like Britain and the United States, Japan must not fight a war of attrition, but must try to use ‘pawns’ to eat their boss.” As soon as this remark comes out, those who disdain Yamamoto will inevitably roll their eyes. If you brag, you can also lie behind someone's back, please, don't let the whole world hear it!Who doesn't know that eating "handsome" with "pawn" is the most cost-effective, but how to eat it?The attack on Pearl Harbor was due to the fact that the fleet didn't know about it in advance. Now it's a face-to-face naval battle. Who would let you blow it up without moving?

Yamamoto is not just talking about it. In terms of military thinking, in addition to "aviation wins" and "aviation priority", he also insists on a view that is completely opposite to Philip's, that is, "the theory that large battleships are useless." Philip's set was once the mainstream in naval tactical thinking.Not only the United Kingdom, but also Japan. The Japanese Navy called it "big gun ship doctrine".What they have in common is that they all believe that battleships with large displacement and powerful firepower are decisive weapons in naval battles.Yamamoto retorted that this theory has long been outdated. Although the battleship has the same size as Bajie, it is not as flexible as Wukong, and the larger the hull, the more serious the problem.In naval battles, battleships will definitely be sunk by aircraft before they can fully exert the role of naval guns.

Yamamoto's opponents were at a loss for words, so they could only cite an "iron evidence": "In the history of world naval warfare so far, no battleship has been sunk by an aircraft." Yamamoto waited until now, and finally waited for an opportunity. He wanted to use aviation to destroy the "Z" fleet, and use actual combat to prove that the "aviation age" at sea had arrived. There is no doubt that this is another big gamble.