Chapter 56 The giggling "old urchin"

Since the beginning of January 1942, neither the U.S. nor the Allied forces have won a single battle at sea, but the expansion of the Japanese army in the Pacific has been rapid. For example, it is like a drop of ink falling into the water. Its speed and scale Even the Japanese themselves were surprised. Ginger kept urging Nimitz to launch a counterattack as soon as possible to reverse the unfavorable situation. For this reason, he also appointed Nimitz as the commander-in-chief of the Pacific Theater through Roosevelt. The more this is the case, the more cautious Nimitz is, and he will never attack lightly.At that time, the number of battleships and aircraft carriers of the U.S. Navy was only half of that of Japan. Nimitz's idea was that he had to save every bit of strength to meet the challenge. If he missed a little, the entire Pacific Ocean and the west coast of the United States would be opened by the Japanese army.

A member of the new staff team commented on Nimitz: "He is not like a leader, but more like a retired banker." To a certain extent, military strategists and bankers do have something in common, that is, Neither of them can afford to lose money in business, especially after the predecessor has already lost a lot of money. Ginger is also a military strategist, and it makes sense to reason with him. Compared with him, the interference of public opinion from the outside world is a headache for Nimitz. People have seen that neither the Pacific Fleet nor the Asian Fleet is chasing the enemy, but being pursued by the enemy.Questions naturally arose: We usually respect you like a god, but when you need to fight, where is your navy?

Nimitz avoided answering.He is used to keeping a low profile in his daily life, and after he became the focus, it is still difficult for him to adapt to the spotlight of the press—these reporters who chase you everywhere either like to gossip in the newspaper, or they like to pick and choose. He really didn't need or have the energy to deal with it. On the other hand, although Nimitz loved to collect jokes in private, in public, he couldn't tell MacArthur's glorious quotations that made reporters and the public go crazy, so he simply chose to remain silent. Journalists quit.For a profession like theirs, if there is nothing to report, it is better to commit suicide.The Department of the Navy received numerous complaints, and U.S. Secretary of the Navy Knox hurriedly sent a telegram to Nimitz, asking him to be interviewed by reporters: People all over the country are paying attention to the situation of the war. Do you think you can escape by hiding?

Knox is quite good at dealing with reporters. According to him, deceiving reporters is the easiest. He has no record, and he can pass the test by making up some trivial jokes.But how could Nimitz know this, he had no choice but to say to the reporters: "Why don't I listen to your opinions first, what exactly do you want to know?" What reporters need to understand and care about is of course the positive developments of the navy, such as launching counterattacks and the like.Nimitz spread his hands: "Gentlemen, so far, the Navy has no news other than bad news." There is no good news, but there is also bad news.Nimitz said that it is best not to publish bad news at the moment. He explained that if the Japanese learned about the results of their battles from American newspapers, it would have the opposite effect of encouraging the Japanese army.

When will there be good news suitable for publication?Nimitz told reporters in Hawaiian: "Be patient!" The reporters immediately exploded.The commander-in-chief's head has been confused. Under the current situation, "endurance" and "evasion" are synonymous. You dare to say this, aren't you looking for scolding? Under the relentless pursuit of reporters, Nimitz had to make concessions.He agreed to loosen press censorship.Originally, manuscripts sent by reporters had to go through double review by the Pacific Fleet Command and the 14th Military District of the Navy. Nimitz canceled the review at the military region level, and also made a request to the news censor of the headquarters, asking him to report to everyone in the future. Each reporter provides a vetted press release for the reporter to communicate with the newspaper.

There are still some "thorny reporters" who follow the news desperately. They can't be dismissed with a draft, and they pester Nimitz for exclusive news.Nimitz thought for a while and said, well, you are allowed to go to Gilbert and Marshall with the ship for interviews. Gilbert and Marshall were the closest Japanese military bases to Pearl Harbor, and the "stingy reporters" were very excited about it. They realized that this interview with the ship was unusual, and there must be something in it. Indeed, the material is not only available, but also sufficient.At this time, in the Central Pacific Ocean, the Japanese army had moved south from the two major islands of Gilbert and Marshall, advancing towards Samoa.

Samoa is the springboard between the United States, Hawaii and Australia. If it is captured by the Japanese army, Australia will be cut off from the sea supply line like the Philippines, and the consequences will be disastrous.Admiral Ginger suggested that Nimitz launch a counterattack against Gilbert and Marshall, thinking that at least this could disrupt the Japanese invasion plan and restore the morale of the American people.In fact, before Nimitz officially took office as the commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet, he had already asked the combat staff to prepare for this. Nimitz remains cautious, not saying not to strike, but to strike again based on the opportunity and conditions, and to strike quietly. You can't let the whole world know that you want to fight before you hit.

At Nimitz's persuasion, Pai served as his informal advisor.Although Pai made a wrong move in the operation to rescue Wake Island, he was still an excellent staff member, and the attack plan he launched won the approval of Nimitz. In order to defend Samoa, the United States plans to mobilize 5,000 marines to base in Samoa.The premise of Pai’s plan is that the Japanese army knows about this reinforcement plan and prevents the Marine Corps from landing. Then the Pacific Fleet will march towards Gilbert and Marshall to attack the enemy’s base. Log in smoothly. What kind of warships should be sent to fight? Battleships are generally preferred, but Pai and Nimitz agreed: instead of using the extremely limited number of battleships, let the aircraft carrier be the attack weapon of this operation.

As far as actual combat effects are concerned, battleships have long been tested. For example, when the "Prince of Wales" was stationed in Singapore, it once made the Japanese navy fleet silent.At that time, aircraft carriers were not as popular as battleships in the British and American navies. Most of them were only used in exercises and had not yet been tested in real wars. Many people had no idea about the combat capabilities of aircraft carriers. Nimitz has a soft spot for aircraft carriers. He believes that the future war in the Pacific region is destined to be an all-out war. During combat, both the sky and the sea must be equipped with protective armor, otherwise it will be easy for the opponent to find the flaws. Hit and hit, the British Far East Fleet and the "Prince of Wales" are unlucky on this.

Nimitz supported the Pai plan, that is, dispatching a task force with an aircraft carrier as the core to attack the Japanese base, but during internal discussions, the Pai plan was opposed by most officers. Opponents mainly feel that surprise tactics are difficult to succeed.Think about it, Japan used surprise attacks in its surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, and surprise attacks were also the main method when it attacked the Philippines, Peninsular Malaysia, and Singapore.This method is almost used up, and you still need to use it now. To put it bluntly, it is the director of a scholar; As for whether the aircraft carrier formation can produce unexpected effects, it is even more difficult to predict, because the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor also relied on the aircraft carrier, and they will definitely be more vigilant against aircraft carrier attacks.

Some people are also worried that Kimmel has just buried the battleship and Nimitz has just taken office. Don't terminate the aircraft carrier again, then the Pacific Fleet will be completely unable to survive. Opinions are to be listened to, but Nimitz himself is the one who calls the shots.He doesn't care about all these objections, all he cares about is the opinion of one person, and as long as this person says yes, he will make the final decision.