The U.S. fleet left, and the combined fleet dispatched zero observation and reconnaissance aircraft to take precautions in the air and underwater, and to avoid repeating the losses caused by carelessness.
The crew on the Zuihe tried their best to save the ship and put out the fire. They are waiting for the ship designer and other experts to determine whether the warship can continue to return.
On the side, several destroyers are ready. Once it is determined that the aircraft carrier Zuikaku cannot return to Japan, they will immediately use torpedoes to sink it, leaving no chance for the Americans.
Nagumo Chuichi moved the command room to the "Flying Dragon". He lost two front teeth, but it was not serious.
This was the biggest shame in his life, and he vowed to make Zhou Zhihan pay for it.
Several other commanders were slightly injured. After being bandaged, they again discussed whether to attack or retreat.
"I believe that the aircraft fleet that just attacked our task force is owned by the United States in Pearl Harbor. Our military should take the opportunity to launch a third wave of attacks to completely destroy Pearl Harbor and those US aircraft just now."
Seeing the crew struggling to rescue the Zuikaku, Yamaguchi Wenta still advocated launching a third wave of attacks.
Mitsuo Fuchida said: "What Chief Yamaguchi said is absolutely true. The Americans are a strong foreign force but a powerful leader. They gathered all the remaining fighter planes in Pearl Harbor to attack our fleet in order to make us retreat and leave early."
Nagumo Chuichi was very angry. If it weren't for Yamaguchi Bunta and Fuchida Mizuo's insistence on launching a third wave of attacks, his task force could have recovered the carrier-based aircraft during the retreat and retreated unscathed, instead of staying where they were and waiting. The carrier-based aircraft was so caught off guard by the American fleet.
But now that the matter has come to this, there is no point in complaining and looking for responsibility. After all, the journey back home is a long one and requires everyone to work together.
In fact, when Nagumo Chuichi secretly complained about Fuchida and Yamaguchi, the two men also complained about Nagumo in their hearts. If Nagumo took off the third wave of attacks before the second wave of attack planes returned, the American fighter planes would have no chance to take off. , the aircraft carrier Zuihe will not suffer such heavy damage.
At this moment, the aircraft carrier designer team came to report that the fire on the Zuikaku aircraft carrier had been controlled, but the power unit had only restored 60%, and could only return to Japan at a speed of 18 knots.
Hearing this, the gloom on Nagumo Chuichi's face dissipated slightly: "We have caused huge losses to the enemy's battleships, and the results are unprecedented and quite satisfactory.
Since Kimmel's aircraft carrier, the biggest target, is not in the harbor, there is no need for us to launch new attacks.
Therefore, the task force should not use elite troops to attack military facilities on Oahu, but should recuperate and prepare for a decisive battle from enemy aircraft carriers in the future.
Moreover, our aircraft carrier Zuihe was severely damaged by the enemy and needed cover to return to Japan for rest. "
Nagumo has always been worried that the Zuikaku aircraft carrier will not be able to return to Japan. If that happens, the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor will not be considered a great victory at all. The power of an aircraft carrier exceeds that of four battleships.
Yamaguchi Wenda still insisted: "We can send two destroyers to protect the Zuikaku and retreat first, while the other five aircraft carriers continue to attack Pearl Harbor. The Americans never dreamed that we would be caught off guard and take all their The facility was completely destroyed."
Nagumo Chuichi has been jealous of Yamaguchi Wenduo for a long time, and it was even more so at this time, but he still maintained a calm expression: "At present, our army should consider withdrawing from the waters of Pearl Harbor for three reasons.
First, the attack has achieved more than expected effects and should be timely as the best strategy;
Secondly, another attack may cause the task force to suffer heavy losses. Currently, one of our aircraft carriers has been severely damaged. It is a wise move to bring the Zuikaku back to Japan;
Third, the whereabouts of the enemy's aircraft carrier are unknown and may launch an attack at any time, which is very detrimental to us. Now that the enemy is in the dark, we are in the open. It is definitely not wise to continue to stay. "
After Nagumo Chuichi finished speaking, he paused. Seeing Yamaguchi Wenduo's unconvinced expression, he hated this person even more in his heart.
Kusaka, who is good at observing colors, calmly reminded everyone: "During the expedition, Commander Yamamoto entrusted everything to Nagumo-dono, and all actions are fully responsible for Nagumo-dono. Nagumo-dono must be responsible for the safety of all crew members.
Moreover, the purpose of the Pearl Harbor operation stated by Commander Yamamoto has been achieved. Now, we must prepare for future military operations. "
When Kusuka said this, everyone was speechless. He brought out the big sign of Yamamoto Isoroku, and no one dared to refute it. After all, everyone sincerely admired Yamamoto, and Nagumo was the commander of the fleet after all. He had The right to decide the actions of the entire fleet.
Nayun looked at the Zuikaku aircraft carrier and said decisively: "Cancel preparations for the third wave of attacks and return the entire ship."
Soon, a signal flag was hoisted above the aircraft carrier [Akagi], instructing the task force to prepare to retreat, and ordered the reconnaissance aircraft to include a 300-mile radius within the reconnaissance scope to ensure that if there was a situation, the enemy would be discovered in advance and launched first blow.
Although many officers and soldiers feel that this opportunity is rare, they will regret it for the rest of their lives if they miss this opportunity.
But it is also a joyful thing to be able to win a victory in a sneak attack and successfully return home after successfully completing the mission.
Moreover, finally being able to enjoy the journey back to Japan without fear and being warmly welcomed by the people was a scene that made everyone feel warm.
After receiving the notice to return home, the soldiers on the warship shouted "Long live" and took out good wine to celebrate.
The news of the withdrawal of the chaos fleet to Japan soon reached Yamamoto Isoroku. Hearing that Nagumo Chuichi did not launch a third wave of air strikes on Pearl Harbor, Yamamoto Isoroku looked up to the sky and sighed.
Seeing this, one of his close associates asked: "Your Excellency, Commander, why are you sighing?"
Yamamoto pondered for a moment: "Missing this opportunity will be a lifelong regret."
"You can send a telegram to ask Mr. Nanyun to continue launching the third wave of attacks."
Yamamoto Isoroku shook his head: "In this battle, it seems that Nagumo is undoubtedly mediocre. When he was commanding, he was like a thief breaking into a house. At the beginning, he was determined to win and was bold, but as soon as he succeeded, he became frightened and eager to escape. "
Yamamoto sighed, blaming himself for not knowing how to employ people: "If you let him go back now, he will still be worried, and it will be counterproductive..."
Because there was no third wave of strikes, and in the first two attacks, the Japanese army only focused on attacking warships and aircraft, and did not attack the shipyard at Pearl Harbor, and because of the existence of Wildcat No. 214, it did not bomb the 18 million liters of fuel stored in it. oil depot.
Nagumo Tadashi never dreamed that it was because of his indecision and thief-like combat command that the Americans could quickly catch their breath at Pearl Harbor and use the shipyard's equipment to salvage the sunken warships and quickly repair them.
The guarantee of fuel allowed aircraft carriers to frequently leave port, restoring the combat effectiveness of the Pacific Fleet in a short period of time, which led to the subsequent Battle of the Coral Sea and the decisive Battle of Midway.
Not destroying the shipyard and oil tanks was the biggest mistake of the Japanese army in this operation. Sanben Fifty-Six was still brooding about this matter until his death.
On December 8, 1941, the United States officially declared war on Japan, followed closely by China, and then Britain and France also declared war on Japan. From then on, the Second World War began.
On December 10, while watching the salvage of injured battleships at Pearl Harbor, Zhou Zhihan "accidentally" discovered that there was a distress signal at the bottom of the battleship USS Oklahoma.
Because he was the hero of Pearl Harbor, all the salvage teams tried their best to rescue the Oklahoma. After a day and night of hard work, the rescue team successfully rescued the trapped people.
January 1, 1942.
The day after the embassy in the United States celebrated the traditional Chinese festival New Year's Day, Zhou Zhihan returned to the Pearl Harbor base and was visited by a mysterious guest.
"Colonel Zhou!" The person who came was probably in his 40s, with piercing eyes and a stocky build. He smiled and showed his ID, "I am James Doolittle..."
…
Next, we bomb that thing...
