Chapter 106 U.S. generals don't take the bait

Yamamoto and his staff have been played by fate all day long.After the mobile force launched the first wave of air strikes on Midway Island, the atmosphere on the "Yamato" was relaxed and cheerful, and a smile from the heart appeared on Yamamoto's face. The appearance of the US fleet in the waters near Midway Island was unexpected by Yamamoto. The three submarine cordons he set up between Hawaii and Midway Island did not move. He thought the task force was still in Hawaii or somewhere else. .Like Nagumo, Yamamoto was nervous. Later, I got a report that there was another aircraft carrier in this formation. Nagumo's reaction was more nervous, but Yamamoto suddenly turned from worry to joy. He laughed loudly: "Isn't this a big piece that the enemy sent us? Are you fat?" I'm afraid that the task force will hide in Hawaii and refuse to come out every day until the sun shines on their buttocks. Now they come to the market eagerly, which is a good time to catch them.

No one would doubt the ability of Nagumo and the mobile unit to catch them easily, including Yamamoto himself, so the happy atmosphere of "Yamato" was restored.Some said: "Okay, this battle of the mobile troops will definitely be able to fight beautifully." Others said: "The rest of the defeated soldiers will wait for us to clean up." However, what "Yamato" received was not good news, but bad news that three aircraft carriers were shot and caught fire. The "Yamato" ship seemed to be hit by a bolt from the blue.Yamamoto will not be so naive as to think that the mobile unit will be intact in this kind of large-scale battle that exceeds the Battle of the Coral Sea. However, he can take it calmly if he loses one aircraft carrier, and he can bear it if he loses two aircraft carriers. , what are you doing?

No one pretended to be calm anymore, and everyone had cold hands and feet.An aide told Yamamoto very anxiously that if the mobile force dispatched the torpedo planes quickly, there would still be time to fight the task force to the death. In fact, it was already too late. Although the three aircraft carriers hadn't sunk yet, there was no place on the flight deck that was not in flames. How could the plane take off? Yamaguchi's critical command made Yamamoto and his staff finally grasp a life-saving straw.Yamamoto ordered the fleet to speed up and provide assistance in the direction of Midway Island, while praying in a low voice, hoping that his Japanese Bodhisattva would bless the only surviving "Hyryu".

At this time, there was heavy fog on the sea. Under the urging of Yamamoto and Ugaki, the fleet drove the speed to the limit of the situation regardless of the danger, so that no one could see each other among the ships. No matter how fast you rush, you will never catch up with the good news.Afterwards, "Yamato" received a telegram that the "Flying Dragon" was shot and caught fire. The wound in his heart was not healed, and another wound was added out of thin air.Yu Yuan was about to be beaten into tears: "On this only remaining aircraft carrier, all our hopes are pinned. In the end, it also died, my God!"

Later, Ugaki lamented in his diary that this was "the only day he experienced a major failure" in his life. No one will be reconciled to such an ending.After re-checking the deployment of the remaining navy, Yamamoto found that the situation was not completely irreparable, and he even had hope of winning a future decisive battle at sea. According to the "MI Action Plan", the Combined Fleet must first destroy the land-based aviation force on Midway Island, then occupy Midway Island, and finally lure the task force over and annihilate it. Now Yamamoto is forced to reverse the order. He wants to transfer aircraft carriers from other sea areas, and adopt the night combat method that the Japanese army is good at.

This is a good plan, but at the same time it is wishful thinking, because its premise is that the opponent can be fooled, that is, only when the task force continues to advance westward and pursues the remnants of the mobile force at night, the two sides will have a battle near Midway Island. Possibility of night battles. Spruance didn't get what Yamamoto wanted.Even if he wins the battle, he is self-aware that it would be quite strenuous for a carrier-based plane to hit the other fast ships of the maneuver force during the day. It's luck to hit a stone, and it's not surprising that it doesn't hit.At night, you are not even allowed to look at it, and you have to throw stones with your eyes blindfolded. How safe is it?

The aircraft carrier can stand out from the crowd at sea, relying on the carrier-based aircraft, which are its wings and sharp claws. Once the wings and claws are cut, it will have no power at all. Compared with other aircraft carriers, the U.S. military has obvious disadvantages.Nagumo's mobile force plus the transport fleet has basically the same number of cruisers as the task force, but in terms of battleships, Spruance has zero, while Nagumo has four ships, and the calibers of artillery equipped on the ships are all More than US cruisers. Not to mention, Spruance has received information that the Yamamoto Fleet and other Japanese support forces are approaching from all directions. If he is too aggressive, the connection between the Task Force and Hawaii will be in danger of being cut off. And any wins won by Fletcher during the day will be for naught.

Spruance has a unique point of view. In his view, all military operations are like women going to the street to buy things. There are two issues that must be considered, namely, how much it will cost, and whether it is worth it. He was willing to spend the price of destroying three Japanese aircraft carriers during the day and destroying one, but it was worth it at night, but the deal at night was not worth it.The so-called gluttony can't be chewed, since he has earned enough, there is no need to take risks for the little bits and pieces left by Nanyun. Spruance decided to abandon the pursuit and retreat east instead of west, so that the task force could further protect Midway.

When the news reached the Joint Fleet Command, Yamamoto, Ugaki and others couldn't believe it.The tactical thinking that these people accepted in the Naval Academy is the type of "going all out to fight a big battle". If they were placed in Spruance's position, they would have chased westward long ago. How could they retreat? What? To be sure, the task force is not desperate, why not step forward and enter our range of fire?Yamamoto was puzzled by this. After the setback, Nagumo seemed more sober and pragmatic. He believed that the task force had an advantage in the number of aircraft carriers, and his own destroyers were guarding the injured aircraft carrier (which had not yet sunk at the time), so he could not withdraw to carry out night battles.

Nanyun's seeking truth from facts made Yamamoto and others very angry: You are too cowardly, your soul was so scared that it flew away, and you haven't returned to your body yet, right? Yu Yuan was even more furious, and roared that from Nanyun's telegram, it was not clear that this defeated general still had any fighting spirit. Others raise cats to catch mice, my cat will just shrink into the corner and tremble.Yamamoto couldn't take it anymore and immediately canceled Nagumo's command. However, it is easy to hit the board of his subordinates, but the hope of ushering in a fighter is getting slimmer and slimmer.Seeing that it was only four hours before sunrise, and no one took the bait, the night battle plan was destined to go bankrupt, and the United Fleet Headquarters was completely discouraged.

At this time, a staff member proposed a new battle plan. After listening to it, some people became excited again.