Chapter 29 Chapter Four Walking on the Tip of a Knife

Every morning, Nimitz would walk from the dormitory to the office with his chief of staff.On this day, while walking, Nimitz suddenly said to Spruance: "There will be some changes in the senior commander of the fleet, and I really want you to go." When talking about this, Nimitz paused, and then said: "Unfortunately, I need you to stay here even more." Spruance is called a "living machine" by the outside world. Like Nimitz, he is a person who can control himself. He always has good things in his heart and bad things in his heart.After hearing Nimitz's words, although Spruance was a little disappointed, he still expressed his attitude to Nimitz in a gentle tone: "War is a big event, and I personally hope to fight the Japanese again, but you need me If I stay here, I can only obey."

That night, Nimitz thought about it all night.On a walk the next morning, he told Spruance: "Lucky you, I finally decided to let you go." Spruance had thought that he had missed the opportunity to lead troops in the front line, but he was surprised and delighted when he heard about it.A few days later, the official appointment was made, and Spruance was appointed as the commander of the 58th Task Force while serving as the commander of the Fifth Fleet. This time, many people were surprised because of Spruance's role. In the past, U.S. aircraft carriers were operated by a single ship. Even in the same formation, they basically fought separately. This was mainly because they would sacrifice the mobility of the aircraft carrier if they were involved with each other.However, in actual combat, since each aircraft carrier has to send fighter jets to escort and patrol itself, and two or three security ships are also assigned to act as "bodyguards" for them, the overall combat efficiency of the aircraft carrier is greatly reduced.

Based on this, Nimitz proposed the tactical concept of fast aircraft carriers, and based on this concept formed the 58th Task Force.The 58th Task Force is a fast aircraft carrier formation, which consists of four aircraft carrier task groups, each of which is equipped with a different number of large aircraft carriers, light aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers, and destroyers. Different from each aircraft carrier's individual air security, the aircraft carrier brigade takes advantage of the team and implements centralized combat patrols.When cruising, the outer anti-submarine warning screen is composed of destroyers. Once there is a danger of air attack, the destroyer will join the inner ring-shaped warning screen composed of battleships and cruisers. These escort ships use radio fuze anti-aircraft guns. Unprecedented defensive advantage.

The four aircraft carrier brigades can operate jointly or independently, and some ships can even be drawn from them to form an assault formation to carry out special missions.For example, when the Sherman and Montgomery aircraft carrier groups went to the South Pacific to fight, they adopted this model. In addition to doing subtraction, it is more often to do addition, one of which is to equip a logistics supply ship formation.When numerous oil tankers, aircraft supply ships, and supply ships moved with Task Force 58, the carrier group was a floating airfield at sea, and its maneuverability and self-defense capabilities reached the unbelievable heights of early carrier operations.

Tojo regarded the long-range combat capability of fast aircraft carriers as another key factor for the United States to defeat Japan besides the "leapfrog tactic".In fact, as soon as the 58th Task Force came out, it showed its high worth.Anyone who is familiar with Pacific combat plans knows that this fleet is extraordinary and is likely to become the core of the Fifth Fleet, but there is no officer with ambitions who does not want to be the commander of the 58th Task Force. Before the appointment was made, most aviation officers had wishful thinking that this position would fall to someone among them. After all, the aviation team is of irreplaceable importance to the aircraft carrier formation.

Unexpectedly, Nimitz finally chose Spruance.Disappointed, some unsuccessful candidates criticized Nimitz for employing personnel for various reasons. For example, since Spruance had never been a pilot, how could he command such an important aircraft carrier force? Nimitz was unmoved.His criterion for selecting people is based on ability, not others.It is true that Spruance has never piloted a plane, but this does not mean that he is not good at commanding people who fly planes. Nimitz said: "Spruance knows what his mission is, and his greatest advantage is that he is good at flying. Judgment — a judgment based on intelligence and his expertise."

As the commander of the task force, Spruance does not need to personally fly the plane to fight, but to make correct judgments in the turbulent and ever-changing complex battle situation, the ability in this aspect, Spruance As early as the Battle of Midway Island, it was most vividly displayed.Nimitz fully affirmed this: "The victory of the Battle of Midway depends entirely on Spruance. The reason why we can win that battle is because of his judgment and wisdom." Spruance's judgment is sometimes even worse than Nimitz's.In the Central Pacific offensive, Nimitz envisioned attacking the Marshall Islands first, but Spruance raised objections.The reason is that no land base of the U.S. military can carry out successful reconnaissance and support for the Marshall Islands. It is difficult to know yourself and the enemy. Moreover, the defense of the Marshall Islands is relatively strong. If something goes wrong in the first battle, it will have a negative impact on the entire offensive. .

Spruance suggested that the first strike should be aimed at the Gilbert Islands, which are closer and easier to capture.After occupying Gilbert, it will be much more convenient to conduct reconnaissance and support for the Marshall Islands. After full discussion and research, Nimitz adopted Spruance's suggestion and changed the target of the strategy to attack Gilbert first and then Marshall. According to the scheduled battle plan, Gilbert's first goal was Nauru Island.However, after seeing the photos and charts of Nauru Island, Spruance found that the circular island had a narrow beachhead and was surrounded by cliffs.

On the other hand, Nauru Island is too far away from Tarawa Atoll, the next target of the US military's attack. After occupying Nauru Island, it will not be able to support the capture of Tarawa.Also, Nauru is too close to Truk, the base of the United Fleet, to be vulnerable to attack. Spruance's idea was for Schenauru, taken from Makin Atoll.The latter is not far from Tarawa Atoll, and is closer to the Marshall Islands, and Makin Atoll is a coral island-every coral island has two advantages: an airport can be opened on the island, and ships can be parked in the atoll. His own decisions have been repeatedly overturned by his subordinates. No matter how modest Nimitz puts on his face, he will inevitably feel a little embarrassed in front of everyone, but he knows that Spruance's suggestions come from careful consideration of actual combat needs and are well-founded. Therefore, after calming down, he immediately reported to the Joint Chiefs of Staff for approval.