All B-25 pilots received a warm welcome and were escorted to a safe place that night, where they were entertained with good food and wine.
None of the pilots knew that if it weren't for Zhou Zhihan, the fate of many of them would have been tragic.
That night, about 250,000 sleeping people were completely unaware that their fate was saved by Zhou Zhihan.
In the early morning, the United States knew that all planes participating in the bombing of East Longitude had landed safely.
Doolittle's bombing of East Longitude gave great encouragement to anti-Fascist countries around the world.
The next day, American newspapers overwhelmingly published the bombing story of the Doolittle fleet. Newspapers from all over the world rushed to reprint it, and people were unprecedentedly encouraged.
After breakfast the next day, Zhou Zhihan drove the No. 214 Mustang back to Chengdu. Zhou Zhirou gave him a day off to go home and spend time with his family.
While the Americans were celebrating, Yamamoto Isoroku was scolded by the emperor so badly that he apologized repeatedly and promised that such a thing would never happen again in the future.
It was this time that East Longitude was bombed by the Americans, which made conservatives in Japan begin to consider whether they should agree to Yamamoto's Midway Island plan.
This incident made conservatives see that the threat from the east is far greater and more dangerous than the south. In addition, the military failed to stop the US bombing campaign, so their objections to the Midway plan also disappeared.
So, the next day, Yamamoto Isoroku called the military: "The attack on Midway is to protect the safety of the capital and His Majesty. This is the sacred duty of the imperial soldiers. If Midway cannot be taken, the United States will Human fighter planes will use Midway as the fulcrum and come to the east longitude in a steady stream."
Under multiple pressures, the Japanese military headquarters held a joint meeting and decided to postpone the southward combat mission and go all out to capture Midway Island to ensure the safety of the capital.
As a result, the Midway Island plan was released, and the landing time was scheduled for June 7. Each fleet must depart from each base in late May.
In order to launch the largest naval battle in the 70-year history of the Japanese Navy, Yamamoto Isoroku mobilized almost all the warships he could mobilize, almost in full force, and organized these fleets into six tactical formations.
Advance Force: Commanded by Vice Admiral Teruhisa Komatsu of the 6th Fleet, it has 1 light cruiser and 16 submarines. Its mission is to first detect the U.S. military and weather conditions at Midway Island and arrive at the designated attack position before the war begins.
1st Mobile Force: Commander Nagumo Chuichi, which has 4 heavy aircraft carriers, 2 battleships, 3 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser, 13 destroyers and 261 various carrier-based aircraft. The mission was to attack Midway Island before the landing battle and annihilate the American fleet sent to support.
The task of capturing Midway Island was handed over to the commander of the 2nd Fleet, General Kondo Hsinchu, which had 1 light aircraft carrier, 2 battleships, 8 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 21 destroyers, and 2 seaplane carriers. There are 15 transport ships and 56 carrier-based aircraft of various types, carrying an attack force of 5,800 people.
The main force, under the personal command of Isoroku Yamamoto, has 1 light aircraft carrier, 7 battleships, 3 light cruisers, 21 destroyers, 2 seaplanes, and 53 various carrier-based aircraft. Its mission is to control the Midway Islands and the Overall operations in the Aleutian Islands and support on all battlefields at any time.
The Northern Fleet, commanded by Lieutenant General Xuan Mozilang, commander of the 5th Fleet, has 2 aircraft carriers, 3 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers, 13 destroyers, 6 submarines, several minesweeper transport ships, and 92 carrier-based aircraft , in addition, it carries 2,500 landing soldiers. Its mission is to conduct air strikes on the US military base in Dutch Harbor and attack and contain the US military on Adak Island.
The shore-based aviation force, commanded by the 11th Aviation Commander General Tsukahara Tsukahara, has 1 light cruiser, 3 destroyers, 19 transport ships and 224 various shore-based aircraft, including 36 zero combat aircraft. The main mission is It is a U.S. fleet used to detect and prevent Pearl Harbor.
In Yamamoto Isoroku's plan, the Japanese army dispatched a total of 205 surface ships, 510 carrier-based aircraft, 224 shore-based aircraft, and 16,800 landing troops, which almost used the wealth of the Japanese navy.
...
During the Pearl Harbor incident, the Japanese Combined Fleet severely damaged the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Admiral Kimmel, the person directly responsible for the failure, became the scapegoat, and his replacement was Chester W. Nimitz.
In late April 1942, Nimitz's most trusted intelligence expert, the Rochester Tactical Intelligence Group, successfully deciphered the Japanese Midway plan.
However, most people in the United States do not believe that the Japanese will use such a huge force on a small island. They believe that the Japanese’s target is Hawaii or Alaska on the west coast of the United States, because Alaska is militarily in the Pacific Ocean. The cornerstone is the primary goal of the Japanese.
But Nimitz had no doubts about employing people. He knew how much effort Rochester and his tactical team had put in, so he firmly believed that the Japanese goal was Midway Island, and with the support of Roosevelt, he began to actively And secret preparations for war.
In early May, Nimitz took Lechester to personally inspect Midway Island, inspected all the defenses on the island, and mobilized a large number of aircraft.
A few days later, 115 fighter planes of various types were in place, and the number of troops stationed on Midway Island increased three times than before. Guns, ammunition and other weapons were transported and scattered and stored in air raid shelters everywhere.
Midway Island in mid-May had become a fortress.
Throughout May, Nimitz was strengthening the island's defenses. Groups of Marines were sent to the island. There were cannons everywhere on the island, and dense defensive wire fences were deployed on the beaches. Covered with dense mines and mines.
Under Nimitz's dispatch, Midway Island quickly became a fully staffed, well-equipped, and highly vigilant outpost island. Torpedo boats patrolled day and night, and reconnaissance planes took off many times a day to conduct blind spots. Undersea defenses were built at a location 200 nautical miles away.
Although the commander on the island promised Nimitz that he could hold Midway Island, Nimitz knew that no matter how strong and powerful the fortress on Midway Island itself was, it could not stop the Japanese combined fleet's hundreds of aircraft and hundreds of guns. Due to the attack of naval guns, the only hope to defend Midway Island lies at sea. Only when the United States Pacific Fleet severely damages Japan's combined fleet can Midway Island be defended.
But the premise is that Midway Island must first block the first two rounds of attacks by the Japanese combined fleet and attract the Japanese firepower. Only then will the Pacific Fleet have the opportunity to unexpectedly come up and severely damage Yamamoto Isoroku.
In Nimitz's strategy and tactics, he did not expect Midway Island to protect him. The Japanese army deployed the strongest force in history. The only way to protect Midway Island was for the Japanese carrier-based aircraft to be on the aircraft carrier. When it arrived, it attacked the Japanese aircraft carrier and wiped out the force attacking Midway Island.
However, the shore-based fighters and defenses on Midway will play an important role in resisting the Japanese attack. In this regard, Midway is equivalent to another aircraft carrier in the hands of Nimitz, and it will not be sunk. aircraft carrier.
Nimitz called Doolittle, who had just returned from triumph, and asked about Zhou Zhihan's current situation.
During Pearl Harbor, the reputation of this legendary figure was resounding throughout the United States. If he had led the land-based fleet to resist the attack of Japanese carrier-based aircraft, Midway would not only become an unsinkable aircraft carrier, but also become a Japanese aircraft carrier forever. The unbeatable aircraft carrier.
This ace pilot made the Japanese Air Force frightened. He was a chasm that Japanese pilots could never cross.
...
In mid-May 1942, Zhou Zhihan, who was on vacation at home, received a call from Zhou Zhirou, asking him to return to Chongqing Airport immediately because he had an important mission.
In late May, Zhou Zhihan appeared at Midway Island as the commander of land-based fighters.
----Complete book---
