Chapter 43 dark clouds

Before the launch of the U.S. Central Pacific Offensive, under the supervision of Emperor Hirohito, the Japanese base camp had just delineated an "absolute defense circle".It is a pity that the "absolute defense circle" is not so absolute. When the "Operation Fusilier" started, the "outer line of defense" composed of the Gilbert Islands and the Marshall Islands was quickly pierced, and the U.S. military was killed in a blink of an eye. doorstep. As the situation became tense, the conflict between the Japanese navy and army in terms of resource allocation became more acute, especially the competition for aircraft, which almost reached a fever pitch.The navy believes that the army aviation is self-satisfied, strong on the outside but capable in the middle, and looks like an aviation force on land. Not only is it completely useless at sea, but it also refuses to work together with the navy. It is a "deformed air force."Prime Minister Tojo was caught in the middle, so it was difficult.

There is only one heart, but there are a thousand things on the mind.In order to please the navy and get rid of the rumors that he was born in the army and naturally favored the army, Tojo agreed to the request of the navy and decided to increase the navy's aircraft ration, but this move was immediately opposed by military adviser Sato Kenryo. According to Sato, the base camp has always relied on the navy to achieve success, hoping that they can defeat the United States in a decisive battle at sea. However, seeing that the periphery of the "absolute defense circle" has been pierced, the navy has not been able to send good news. Next, you want to add planes to them?

Sato believes that the U.S. military has already reached its doorstep, and future battles will mainly take place on small islands not far from the interior of Japan. There are "unsinkable aircraft carriers" and the bases for future land battles. Therefore, they will play a major role. It will no longer be the navy, but the army. Speaking of which, it should be clear who most of the planes will be allocated to, right? Tojo understood, he woke up as if enlightened, and said to Sato: "It seems that your idea is right, we must rely on the army." But when Sato went to inform the navy, the navy quit.Nagano, the chief of the military command department, roared: "The navy will never accept the revised decision!"

Tojo had no choice but to hold a high-level meeting of the two armies in the palace.Nagano has grasped the psychology of Tojo and others. Doesn’t it mean that if you have new ones, you don’t want the old ones, and if you have sweet ones, you don’t want to drink spicy ones. He thinks our navy is useless. Let me tell you, the key battle with the U.S. military will still be in the When fighting at sea, the navy has to play the leading role. Chief of Staff Sugiyama Moto had been promoted to Field Marshal at this time, and he immediately retorted: "If I give you exactly the number of planes you want and let you fight a battle, can it change the situation of the war?"

Yong Ye, who was still a general, was so angry that his hair stood on end: "Of course I can't make that kind of guarantee—can you guarantee that if all the planes are given to you, the war situation will be changed?" Sugiyama was momentarily at a loss for words.Everyone is talking to each other, so both sides of the opposition calm down.Sato, who was in the middle, proposed a compromise method-to concentrate on the production of fighter jets, not to produce bombers, and the extra fighter jets would be divided equally between the two armies. Compared with the Navy's original request, there were only 1,000 fewer, and Nagano reluctantly nodded in agreement.

An internal storm has passed, but the external storm tends to intensify, because after breaking through the "absolute defense circle", Nimitz has set his sights on the Truk Islands near Marshall. The strategic position of the Truk Islands is quite important, known as "Gibraltar of the Pacific".The U.S. military launches an offensive from the Central Pacific, and the Truk Islands are bound to be won, and the key step is to destroy the port of Truk. Truk Port is actually a huge saltwater lake in the middle of Truk Island, which is a natural place for ships to park.Since the United Fleet lost in the Battle of Midway Island, Yamamoto moved the headquarters to the Port of Truk. After painstaking efforts, this port became the base camp of the Japanese Navy and the heart of the Japanese defense line in the South Pacific. Its scale is no less than that of a pearl. Hong Kong, so it is also called "Pearl Harbor of Japan".

During the "Operation Fusiliers", Nimitz specially sent a reconnaissance plane to fly over Truk for the first time for reconnaissance.The information brought back by the reconnaissance plane not only showed the deployment of the Japanese army, but also found that there were hundreds of Japanese ships parked in the Port of Truk! Nimitz was overjoyed and ordered the U.S. Navy's mobile force, the 58th Task Force, to prepare for the attack.Unexpectedly, the appearance of the reconnaissance plane aroused Koga's vigilance. Unlike other islands occupied by the Japanese army, the Marshall Islands already belonged to Japan's territory, but once the Kwajalein Atoll landing battle was over, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Japan was about to lose this area that it had operated for 25 years.The Marshall Islands and Truk are interdependent. If Marshall is not guaranteed, Truk will be paralyzed. The joint fleet will continue to stop at Truk, which can only be used as bait for the enemy.

The discovery of the U.S. reconnaissance plane intensified Koga's sense of crisis.He immediately ordered the main force of the United Fleet to evacuate from the port of Truk. In order to communicate with the base camp, he himself returned to Japan on the "Musashi". As soon as the United Fleet left, the 58th Task Force arrived on the back. On February 12, under the command of Rear Admiral Mitchell, Task Force 58 sailed quietly to Truk.This operation implemented a strict confidentiality system. Except for Mitchell and a few high-level fleet officials, most of the personnel were not informed of the mission until they were about to arrive at the attack target.

It was neither smart nor smart for Koga to evacuate the main force of the United Fleet in advance.Being smart is keeping a distance from danger; not being smart is doing this, not only makes Truk completely lose the function of the base, but also makes people panic. lax. On February 16, the 58th Task Force approached Truk from the northeast, and the Japanese planes performing daytime patrol missions were unaware of this. On February 17, when it was time to launch the offensive, nine US aircraft carriers sailed against the wind, and their decks were full of aircraft about to go out.At 6:50 in the morning, the first attack wave, consisting of 150 aircraft, rushed towards Truk like a dark cloud.