Chapter 96 car or that car

What Shanshita got was the pre-made plan in the temple.The embarrassment for Yamashita is that the implementation of this plan is very difficult, because there are only general goals in it, and there is no detailed operational plan. How should Luzon defend itself?Also, the 14th Army is all scattered on various islands, how to coordinate among commanders?None of the plans provided by the monastery covered these key issues. According to regulations, the 14th Army can propose further combat plans, but it must be approved by the Southern Army Command. That is to say, the 14th Army cannot be completely independent.

Those young staff members at the foot of the mountain expressed dissatisfaction with this: "According to this, isn't it impossible to move at all?" Although Yamashita was also full of complaints, he no longer cared about competing with the temple. For him, the most important thing now was to visit all the troops he belonged to, and after grasping the actual situation, he quickly worked out a detailed battle plan. The problem is that most of the units of the 14th Army are scattered and stationed on remote islands. If you go under the mountain on the same day, it will be difficult to return on the same day, and the army headquarters will not be able to do without him for another day-the young staff arrived later than him, and they are not familiar with the situation at all. , Lieutenant General Akira Muto, the chief of staff, has not yet arrived. If Yamashita leaves, the command system of the 14th Army is likely to face the danger of shutting down. What if the US military suddenly attacks?

Yamashita had no choice but to sit in the army headquarters, waiting helplessly for the arrival of Chief of Staff Muto. Muto didn't come, Halsey did. As the battle line continued to advance, Halsey's original South Pacific theater was getting farther and farther away from the frontline battlefield.The Third Fleet was also gradually reduced to a garrison force, with most of its navy and marines transferred to Nimitz, while the army and some warships were handed over to MacArthur. It is obviously a huge waste of talent to let Halsey, who is capable of fighting well, have nothing to do, and Halsey himself is not a person who can sit still in the office.Nimitz's solution was to divide the Pacific Fleet into two teams: when the Pacific Fleet was commanded by Spruance, it was called the Fifth Fleet, and when Halsey was commanded, it was called the Third Fleet, Task Force 58. The designation was also changed to the 38th Task Force.The two sets of teams were rotated, that is, one set of teams commanded the battle at the front, and the other set of teams planned and brewed the next battle in the rear, and the two sets of teams alternated.Nimitz described it as: "The car is still the same car, but with a different driver."

Halsey was first sent by Nimitz to drive MacArthur, and Spruance was replaced to prepare for the capture of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.This unique dual-echelon offensive mode in the history of warfare can not only make full use of command talents, use one fleet as two fleets, and objectively confuse the opponent.The Japanese have always thought that there are two US fleets in the Pacific Ocean, one is called the Third Fleet and the other is called the Fifth Fleet. They are constantly amazed, how come there are so many US fleets? Beginning on October 10, 1944, Halsey led the 38th Task Force to drive straight in, using carrier-based aircraft to launch a series of attacks on Japanese air bases in Manila, Luzon, Okinawa, and Taiwan.

Fleet long-range attack, which was quite dangerous in the early days of the Pacific War, but now there is no need to worry too much, because most of the Japanese pilots who took off to face the battle are rookies who have just received training, and their combat experience can be described as blank. What happened in actual combat? Well, they just watched it in the movies. These films were all produced by Toho Films, the largest film studio in Japan during World War II. The whole process involved first digging a lake, and then placing some nearly two-meter-long models of American ships on the lake.A photographer stands on a pylon and uses a camera to shoot these models from various angles, simulating various speeds.After the filming is completed, it is exclusively for pilots to watch instead of combat training.

The gap between movies and reality is more than thousands of miles. Everyone understands this truth, but it can save fuel, so that's the only way to do it. At that time, the Air Force of the Fifth Base commanded by Lieutenant General Shige Fukuro was stationed on Taiwan Island, and their training was to watch movies.When the U.S. carrier-based aircraft launched a raid on the airport on Taiwan Island, Fuliufan sent all his 230 fighter jets to the air to fight, and he stood in the combat command post to watch the battle. Fu Liufan watched the Japanese planes rush towards the American planes in large numbers. After a while, the planes caught fire one after another and fell to the ground. The sky was filled with flashes of explosions and thick smoke in arcs.At first he thought it was a beautiful plane that fell, and couldn't help applauding: "Good fight! Good fight! A big victory!"

At the same time, Fukuto was also a little surprised. He didn't expect his pilots to do such a good job. "I can't ask them to play better."After taking a closer look, he realized that all the fighters shot down were Japanese fighter jets, no wonder they fell so fast. Disappointed, Fukuro looked up to the sky again, and the majestic and circling above were all American planes. Their battle formation could be described as indestructible. The Japanese fighter jets rushing past, without exception, all fell down like eggs hitting a rock. . The air battle on the sea around Taiwan Island was a completely one-sided battle. Some Japanese torpedo planes had just arrived on Taiwan Island and were beaten down in the air battle before they had time to catch their breath.Halsey lost only 79 aircraft, most of which were shot down by flak.

In Halsey's powerful air strikes like cannonballs, the 38th Task Force destroyed more than 1,200 Japanese aircraft. In just one day, 60% of the Japanese air power in the Philippines was destroyed.This is just a "staple food", as a "non-staple food", 16 Japanese warships parked in the port of Manila were sunk, and 70% of the fuel, ammunition and other military supplies piled up near the trestle were blown up, 4000 barrels Gasoline turned into nothing in a blink of an eye, and the pillar of gasoline burning flames has been extended to the sky above Manila. That was the time when gasoline was in short supply, and a drop of oil was equal to a drop of blood. The Japanese commander who was in charge of supervising the air battle was so anxious that he was bleeding from seven holes, but he didn't know how to fight it.

In response to the crisis, the Japanese Navy hastily dispatched "T" troops.This is a special attack force specially established by the United Fleet for the 38th Task Force half a year ago. It is mainly composed of torpedo planes. In addition to the survivors of previous sea and air battles, the pilots have added some novices who lack actual combat experience. After dark on October 14, the "T" troops somehow seized the opportunity and carried out a sneak attack near the waters of Taiwan Island. In this sneak attack, the "T" troops were severely damaged. Not many of the 106 torpedo planes were left, and only two US cruisers were shot and injured. The standard is not worth the candle.But the rookies who escaped took it seriously. They took the flames when their plane crashed as evidence that the US ship was sunk, and the "results" reported in the end were astonishing: 11 aircraft carriers, 2 battleships, 3 cruisers.

Any data in this report is questionable, but Japan still chooses to believe it. In the early hours of October 15th, "Tokyo Rose" broadcast this fictitious victory to the world on the radio: "Admiral Mitchell's aircraft carriers are all sunk-in an instant!" The "Second Pearl Harbor" fell from the sky. Emperor Hirohito issued a letter of commendation to the combined fleet, and at the same time ordered the whole country to have a day off to celebrate.Since Tojo formed a cabinet, Japan has implemented a seven-day work week system, and Sunday has been completely "abolished". There have been no holidays in Japan for more than two years.

When the National Victory Ceremony is held in Tokyo and Osaka, the moment when lights and festoons are everywhere, it is like a flashback to Japan.