Chapter 71 Chapter 7: The Rain Is Coming on Midway Island

As early as April, after studying the map, Nimitz made a preliminary judgment that Yamamoto might attack Midway.Since then, Leighton and Rocheford have made similar estimates. In their intelligence reports to Nimitz, they predicted that Yamamoto would probably attack Midway with all his strength on May 28. Nimitz did not rush to fully endorse the report.He always maintained the necessary caution and sobriety as he did with the information about the Coral Sea. The matter is of great importance. If this is false information deliberately leaked by Yamamoto, wouldn't he fall into his trap?

"I'll have to think about it, but I believe what I know is true," Nimitz said. The characteristic of Nimitz is that he will think twice before doing anything, but once he has made up his mind, he will no longer waste time doubting and hesitating. On May 2, 1942, Nimitz flew to Midway Island. At this time, the naval battle in the Coral Sea was about to begin. The commander of the Pacific Fleet visited the island in person. Nimitz spent one day, accompanied by Midway Commander Shannon, Saimad and others, inspecting all the fortifications on the island.He didn't mention a word of classified information throughout, but at the end of the inspection, he asked Shannon what else the outpost needed to withstand the large-scale Japanese amphibious attack.

Shannon had thought about it.Before the Pearl Harbor incident, there were not many defenders on Midway Island. At that time, Japan sent Suzaburo to Washington, but was blocked on the way and waited for three days at Midway Island.The Japanese special envoy should not underestimate the strength of Midway Island. Shannon ordered the marines to line up in a long snake formation and move slowly on the road. When Shannon accompanied Laiqi by car, Shannon introduced to Laiqi seriously that the Marines were conducting routine training exercises, and this was only a small number of officers and soldiers under him.

The fact is that in order to assemble this team, Shannon has mobilized all the living people on the island, even the cooks and cooking soldiers. It was rare for Nimitz to inspect Midway in person and ask questions. Shannon unceremoniously made a long list of requests. After listening to it, Nimitz asked again with an emphatic tone: "If I meet what you need, can you hold Midway Island and repel the enemy's attack?" "Yes, sir," Shannon replied emphatically. This state is good, Nimitz smiled with satisfaction.He then asked Saimad, who was in charge of the aviation force, what needs he had, and then recorded them one by one.

Back at Pearl Harbor, Nimitz implemented it immediately.Thousands of meters of barbed wire, thousands of tons of cement and ammunition, and tens of thousands of sandbags were quickly transported to Midway Island, and the number of soldiers was also supplemented. The garrison reached more than 2,000 people. For a while, the island was almost assembled People and things are overwhelmed. Along with the reserve materials and supplementary troops, there was also a personal letter from Nimitz to the two commanders. When Nimitz went to Midway Island, he not only inspected the fortifications, but also inspected the commander.The result is satisfactory, and now he can go straight to action.

In the letter, Nimitz informed Shannon and Saimad that their military ranks had been directly promoted from lieutenant colonel to colonel. At the same time, Nimitz also confided all the information about the Japanese army’s plan to attack Midway Island, including the strategy to be used and the amount of troops invested. and possible attack time. Shannon and Semad were surprised to read the letter, but as Nimitz had hoped, they did not panic. Due to its outpost position, the garrison of Midway was always on high alert.Patrol planes spread out to patrol the west at dawn every day, and the marines on the ground wear helmets and carry rifles at all times, even when eating and swimming.At night, all personnel, except the lookout post, took refuge in the basement.

Now that they have done their homework, Shannon and Saimad don't need to make major changes. They just need to make the final preparations as soon as possible and organize the supplementary troops into each combat unit. By this time, Nimitz was convinced that Yamamoto's target was Midway.Of course, not everyone made the same judgment as him. The biggest difference was the United Kingdom. It will "go west", that is, enter the Indian Ocean again. In fact, "Westward Advance" was once a plan proposed by the Japanese Army, but it has been rejected by its navy. The U.S. military itself is even more divided.Marshall and the U.S. Army suspected that the Combined Fleet was attacking the west coast of the United States.MacArthur said that the Japanese army would resume its "southern advance" and continue to attack New Guinea and Solomons.

Every opinion has its reason, and they all emphasize that their own side is the focus of defense.For example, the Army was unwilling to allocate all land-based bombers to Nimitz for the purpose of defending the West Coast. Even the U.S. Navy is not unified.Nimitz's immediate superior, Admiral Ginger, believed that Yamamoto's target should be the island of Oahu in Hawaii. This inference was also agreed by most frontline commanders. Even some of Nimitz's aides said that they did not believe that Yamamoto would assemble a huge fleet to attack Midway Island, because doing so would be tantamount to spearing small fish and shrimp with a harpoon.

A reasonable explanation must be given to everyone. Nimitz called Rochefort: "You should tell me what the Japanese army is going to do."