In the waters 230 nautical miles north of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese aircraft carrier fleet is at its peak, like giant dragons entrenched on the blue sea. These steel giants show a majestic momentum. No matter who sees them, they can feel this The task force has an arrogant aura.
Nagumo, who had begun to think about retreating after releasing the second wave of carrier-based aircraft, turned around while retracting the carrier-based aircraft against the wind. The fleet remained silent and prepared to return.
[Soryu] and [Kaga] are located at 265 degrees and 235 degrees, with a side distance of 10 nautical miles, leading the arrows of the fleet.
[Akagi] and [Hiryu] are placed in the center, with a side distance of 10 nautical miles. They dominate the center of the fleet and have a balanced offense and defense.
[Shokaku] and [Zuikaku] are 8 nautical miles apart from each other side by side. They are located at the end and are in a defensive posture.
The six aircraft carrier battle groups assumed a posture of both offense and defense, retracting and launching carrier-based aircraft.
All recovered carrier-based aircraft are being refueled, inspected, and loaded.
The carrier-based aircraft waiting to go into battle have already been out of the warehouse in full condition and ascended to the flight deck. The pilots are ready. Many of them are the first batch of pilots to return home. They are explaining to the pilots preparing for the third wave of attacks how they will feast on Pearl Harbor. , I heard that the pilots who had not yet gone into battle were all gearing up and eager to try. They wished they could jump on the carrier-based aircraft now and continue to conquer the skies, land and oceans of the United States.
Slightly forward on both sides of the aircraft carrier battle group are the high-speed battleships [Hiei] and [Kirishima]. They are arranged in equal columns on the left and right, positioned forward to defend the sea areas on the left and right in front of the aircraft carrier.
In the middle of both sides of the aircraft carrier are the heavy cruisers [Tone] and [Chikuma]. These two battleships are responsible for the central air defense mission. When on alert, their main responsibility is to take off and recover dispatched patrol aircraft.
At this time, two Zero Fighters that had been converted into aerial reconnaissance units were released from the catapults, like two arrows flying from the string, into the air. Just as the second batch of carrier-based aircraft returned to prepare to land, there were already two The water reconnaissance plane was ejected,
Led by the light cruiser [Abukuma], it leads 7 destroyers [Tanikaze], [Urakaze], [Hamakaze], [Isokaze], [Shiranui], [Kagero], [Aki] "Cloud Number" formed an enclosure around the aircraft carrier battle group and set up a solid defense.
[Kasumi] and [Hai] serve as rearguards to alert tracking submarines.
Three submarines [I-19] [I-21] and [I-23] are distributed in the triangle area behind the aircraft carrier, cruising in deep sea, shallow sea, and middle sea areas. They cooperate with two anti-submarine destroyers to detect any incoming U.S. submarines in advance.
Once this arrogant and huge fleet returns, it will ride the wind and waves at a speed of 20 knots.
At that time, [Xia] and [Xia], who serve as the final defense, will zigzag every 5 to 10 minutes, swapping positions to ensure that any incoming enemy can be detected from any angle.
In the waters 300 nautical miles ahead of them, seven large supply ships led by the "Stone Corridor" were parked quietly. If the fleet continued to attack, two of them would sail to the fleet assembly area at high speed. If the fleet returned, these seven The large supply ships set off early, just waiting for the fleet to catch up with them. Halfway through the voyage, it was the best time to refuel.
In order to attack Pearl Harbor, the Japanese thought of every detail as meticulous and perfect as possible.
Just when the fleet was about to return or attack, a fierce dispute broke out between the main offensive faction represented by General Yamaguchi Bunta and the returning faction represented by Chief of Staff Ryunosuke Kusaka.
Faced with Yamaguchi Wenduo's rudeness, Nagumo Chuichi's face darkened, but he still did not speak.
The atmosphere in the room was dead silent.
In the Japanese army, the relationship between superiors and subordinates is clear and very strict. Even if Yamaguchi Wenta is a general, Nagumo Chuichi, as the commander, can punish him. Especially in this major military operation, Nagumo Chuichi will definitely Has the power to punish anyone under his command.
Major General Oishi and Chief of Staff Kusaka were also stunned. They didn't expect Yamaguchi Wenta to be so rude.
At this moment, the reconnaissance officer came to report: "The fighter planes conducting aerial reconnaissance have returned. They started a sector search using 130 degrees, 140 degrees, and 150 degrees as the baseline, searching the sea area 180 nautical miles forward, and then flying 37 kilometers to the left and right. , and finally returned in a fan-shaped search, landed on two cruisers, and found no enemy. At the same time, two other reconnaissance aircraft had already taken off and launched a two-way search method in the direction of Pearl Harbor."
Chief of Staff Caolu, who looked gloomy just now, smiled and nodded slightly to the investigator, expressing his satisfaction: "Thank you for your hard work!"
"Hai!"
The officer nodded with a military salute and stepped back.
"I'm sorry, Commander!"
Yamaguchi Wenduo knew that he had bumped into the commander-in-chief and bowed his head to apologize, but he still insisted on his principles, "Hawaii is the key to the US military's Pacific military operations. Controlling Pearl Harbor controls the Pacific, and also controls the world's oceans. Only by completely Only by destroying Pearl Harbor and driving the Americans back can the Japanese Empire completely defeat the U.S. Navy. General Yamamoto launched this raid to completely wipe out the U.S. Pacific Fleet from Pearl Harbor. I think it is too late for us to retreat now. morning."
Yamaguchi Wenduo said, once again standing at attention and lowering his head, his military boots snapped together: "Commander, please think twice."
Yamaguchi Wenduo's collision when he first entered the room made Nagumo Chuichi very angry. It is a taboo for a commander to have no face and dignity in front of his subordinates.
Yamaguchi Wenduo's repeated apologies made Nagumo Chuichi's anger gradually subside. Yamaguchi was also a veteran military officer, and the two usually had a good relationship.
The atmosphere in the room was relieved.
Nagumo Chuichi still didn't speak. He was almost in a state of confusion. Fighting or not fighting was like two roly-poly men shaking left and right in his heart. The only thing he could maintain now was to remain calm on the surface. There was no wave in the ancient well. Let's first listen to the war faction and the defender faction. debate before making a decision.
What Yamaguchi said just now is not unreasonable. The purpose of this surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was to drive Americans away from Hawaii.
Seeing that Nagumo Chuichi continued to remain silent, Kusaka Ryuunosuke coughed twice and took a sip of water:
“In this attack, our task force basically fulfilled General Yamamoto’s strategic intention.
Two waves of air strikes have destroyed the U.S. Pacific Fleet, causing the loss of most of its nine battleships, most of its cruisers and destroyers, and almost all of its aircraft destroyed on the ground, making it lose its combat effectiveness and unable to enter the Pacific Ocean for at least half a year.
It can be said that in this battle, our task force achieved unprecedented great results in history, frightening the Americans, raising the morale of the imperial people, and creating good opportunities for all the imperial forces to cooperate with our army's southern front. attack to ensure that the Imperial Army would not be attacked from the flanks by the U.S. Navy when implementing its plan to occupy Southeast Asia. "
Just as Yamaguchi Wenda was about to speak, Lieutenant Colonel Mitsuo Fuchida rushed in like a gust of fire.
