Chapter 64 no one wants to be a substitute

Nimitz received assurances from Layton: "No ship has been found heading to Hawaii." However, before Halsey left, Nimitz still took special care of him. When the situation in the Coral Sea stabilized, all US aircraft carriers and frigates must rush back to Pearl Harbor non-stop to deal with possible Japanese attacks.The Halsey fleet ultimately failed to catch up with the sea battle.In the Coral Sea, the U.S. Navy, in addition to the two aircraft carrier formations, also has a small fleet reinforced by MacArthur, which is composed of allied navies. All these maritime forces are combined into the 17th Task Force, with Fletcher as the commander-in-chief.

According to the plan of the Japanese Navy Command, Port Moresby was supposed to be occupied in March, but because Nimitz sent the "Yorktown" formation into the Southwest Pacific, they had to postpone the implementation of the combat plan until early May. Also enhanced.At first, only the Fourth Fleet led by Lieutenant Admiral Inoue Narumi was dispatched, and Yamamoto also drew reinforcements from the Nagumo Force Takagi Fleet.After the merger, it was split into two formations. Among them, the Goto formation was responsible for directly covering the landing of the amphibious troops, and the Takagi formation was responsible for the mobile operations at sea. The task was to fight against the US Navy.

On May 3, 1942, the Japanese army occupied Tulagi Island at the southeastern tip of the Solomon Islands, and established a take-off base for sea planes on the island. Inoue planned to use this as a forward base to further capture Port Moresby. The whole process seemed to be so smooth, until a US military reconnaissance plane arrived nearby. Seeing Japanese ships gathering in Tulagi Harbor, the pilot immediately called the aircraft carrier and reported by radio. Due to the distance from the aircraft carrier, the pilot used a high-power long-range transmitter, which was likely to be discovered by the Japanese and shot down. Fortunately, there were thick cumulus clouds over Tulagi Port all day long, and the aircraft used this as a cover. Like stealth, the Japanese army didn't see it at all.

At dusk that day, the reconnaissance plane returned to the aircraft carrier and made a detailed report to its superiors.Prior to this, although Fletcher knew that the Japanese army would occupy Port Moresby, he did not know where the Japanese invasion fleet would gather. Before being ordered to Coral Sea, Fletcher had been hit several times. The first time was to rescue Wake Island according to Pai's order.It was a failed rescue operation, and the reason for the failure was generally attributed to the indecision of Pai and Fletcher afterwards. Since then, Fletcher participated in the command of the attack on the Marshall Islands, but his luck was still bad. After his formation was separated from the Halsey formation, he encountered storms one after another. The formation was washed away twice and six torpedoes The plane crashed in a storm, no one on board survived, and Fletcher failed to achieve any decent results.

With such a not-so-great report card, Nimitz was not particularly relieved about sending Fletcher into battle, and judging from the previous positions of the generals, Fletcher was in great contrast to Halsey. A "defeatist and pessimist". Fletcher is not as brave as Halsey in commanding the battle. For example, if he is going to attack the enemy, Halsey's mind may be full of how to kill the enemy, while Fletcher is much more cautious. He will replenish supplies first. Fuel up the fleet, and then consider launching an attack on the enemy. Judging by the standards of a brave general, he is indeed a little timid.

If possible, Halsey would be the most suitable commander-in-chief, but there is a 3,500-nautical-mile voyage from Pearl Harbor to the Coral Sea. As early as Halsey set off, Nimitz had already realized that he might not be able to keep up with the battle, so he might as well Only let Fletcher try it. They are all generals, and they don't want to be seen as a substitute role. Of course, Fletcher feels suffocated.But gold fell in the well, what's yours is always yours, and the veteran of World War I finally had a chance to prove himself.After getting the report, he kept his composure and let the task force continue to sail normally on the original course.

When the last faint twilight disappeared, Fletcher immediately ordered the "Yorktown" formation to change course, use the night as cover, and head for Guadalcanal Island (hereinafter referred to as Guadalcanal Island) at high speed. At this time, the "Lexington" formation led by Major General Fitch was refueling at sea.Fletcher strictly followed the rules of radio silence, sending only one destroyer to contact Fitch to discuss a rendezvous location for the next day. At dawn on May 4, 1942, the "Yorktown" aircraft carrier arrived in the southwest sea of ​​Guadalcanal.There are Japanese reconnaissance planes on duty in the Coral Sea area, but the hazy weather conditions are like a thick screen, blocking the sight of the Japanese planes.

From 6:15 in the morning, 40 carrier-based aircraft carried out air strikes on Tulagi Island in two stages.The Japanese army did not expect the American army to launch a surprise attack, and there was no one on the anti-aircraft artillery emplacement. When they heard the piercing scream of the first dive bomber, they woke up like a dream. The bombers made a mess of the port, with thick smoke, water jets and debris everywhere, and the huge explosion even muffled the sound of the plane's engines. Great momentum, but it does not necessarily mean that the actual effect is high.The U.S. dive bombers and torpedo planes are one high and one low, and the cooperation is obviously not enough. In addition, the pilots dived down from an altitude of 17,000 feet. When they dived to the humid low altitude, a layer of fog formed on the windshield and sight , causing the target to be unclear, and the accuracy is much worse.

In the end, the U.S. military sank a destroyer, a minelayer, and a troop carrier, and five Japanese seaplanes were damaged. Fletcher then reported to Nimitz by telegram. At the end of the telegram, Fletcher said what was in his heart: "What a joy!" According to other Japanese military telegrams deciphered by the "Magic Team", Inoue's schedule is very tight this time. He must complete the Coral Sea operation before May 10, and then transfer two aircraft carriers to the United Fleet so that Yamamoto can send troops to Midway Island. . After receiving the telegram, Nimitz was very excited, because on the one hand, it proved that the intelligence of the "Magic Team" was accurate. The next target of the Japanese army in the Pacific Ocean was not Pearl Harbor, but Midway Island. On the other hand, Fletcher The air strikes launched would help to delay Yamamoto's offensive on Midway.

Now Nimitz needs to observe the progress of the battle.The staff in the war room marked Fletcher's position and route with tracing paper, and changed one every day at midnight. Despite the constant calls in the office, Nimitz still left the office from time to time to check the situation in the war room. He knew that the curtain of the Coral Sea naval battle had just begun, and it was still unknown who would win. The fate of Fletcher and the task force still had to be sweated. The subsequent situation not only made everyone's palms sweaty, but they were also anxious to hit the wall collectively.