The Rise of the Third Reich

Using the main force of the Pacific Fleet to reinforce Guam and the Philippines was not Roosevelt's whim, but a plan proposed by the U.S. Naval Operations Department itself.

Because there is no such thing as a "sneak attack on Pearl Harbor" in the imagination of the U.S. Naval Operations Department. Pearl Harbor is six to seven thousand kilometers away from the Japanese mainland, and the Japanese fleet would have to sail continuously at sea for half a month to reach it. The possibility of a huge fleet traveling six to seven thousand kilometers in half a month without being discovered seemed almost impossible to Admiral Stark.

Therefore, Admiral Stark and other senior leaders of the U.S. Navy did not think that the Japanese would go crazy and attack Pearl Harbor. In their view, the Japanese would attack Guam and the Philippines, cutting off communications between Pearl Harbor and British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies. Then they would seize Malaya, take over the Dutch East Indies, and then move west to the Indian Ocean to join forces with Germany and Italy.

The main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet will set up a battlefield in the Pacific between the Japanese mainland and the Philippines, waiting for the Pacific Fleet to travel thousands of kilometers to fight - this is the tactic adopted by the Japanese in the Russo-Japanese War. .

Therefore, in the plan formulated by the U.S. Naval Operations Department, the U.S. Pacific Fleet must fight a difficult decisive battle with the Japanese Combined Fleet near Guam and the Philippines and achieve a decisive victory. Then the U.S. Navy can concentrate on dealing with Germany.

"President, this is exactly what I'm here for." Admiral Stark took out a document from his briefcase and placed it in front of Roosevelt.

President Roosevelt did not take a closer look, but directly asked: "What is this?"

Stark replied: "It is an outline of a combat plan and a plan to mobilize part of the Atlantic Fleet to strengthen the Pacific Fleet."

"How are you going to defeat the Japanese?" Roosevelt asked.

Of course, Roosevelt was preparing to defeat Japan, not to let the Japanese blow up the Pacific Fleet. There is no doubt about this! They won't play with the Pacific Fleet or anything like that.

"Use the aircraft carrier's shore-based aviation to cooperate." Admiral Stark said.

The U.S. Navy is certainly not blind or deaf. They know everything about the air raids at Scapa Flow, the Great Battle of the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Great Battle of Shetland. If you don't pay attention to aircraft carriers and aircraft now, then the generals of the US Navy should check their brains to see if there is water!

"This is a good idea!" Roosevelt also nodded. The cooperation between aircraft carriers and shore bases represents the trend of advanced naval warfare in the world! In Churchill's letter to Roosevelt, he mentioned more than once the story of the Germans using this advanced tactic to defeat the British Royal Navy.

"But do we have aircraft like the Ju88 and S.M.79?" Roosevelt asked again.

"We don't have twin-engine dive bombers like the Ju88," Admiral Stark said, "but we have aircraft that are as capable as the S.M.79. The B-25, B-26 and A-20 can all be modified to carry torpedoes. to attack.

In addition, our SBD Dauntless dive bomber is very good. The latest improved model already has a maximum range of 2,200 kilometers and can serve as a shore-based dive bomber. "

"Where's the fighter jet?"

Army Chief of Staff Marshall took the question at this time and replied: "You can use P-40 and P-51 to cooperate, because Japan does not have high-altitude fighters such as BF-109 and Fw-190, so there is no need for Spitfire aircraft. In addition, we can also deploy radars in the Philippines and Guam."

The air combat is P-40 plus P-51, the anti-shipping is B-25, B-26, A-20 and SBD, and then aircraft carrier support is added. This was the method planned by the U.S. Naval Operations Department to quickly defeat Japan.

"In addition, we also plan to transfer the aircraft carriers USS Yorktown, USS Hornet and USS Raider to the Pacific?"

Admiral Stark went on to talk about the plans of the Department of Naval Operations. The navy's plan was made with full reference to the naval battles in the European battlefield. Specifically, five aircraft carriers, including the USS Lexington, the USS Saratoga, the USS Enterprise, the USS Yorktown, and the USS Hornet, were gathered as the core to form a task force. Attack the main force of the Japanese combined fleet heading south!

"When will our aircraft carrier depart from Pearl Harbor?" Roosevelt thought for a while and asked again.

Admiral Stark replied: "They should leave Pearl Harbor when the main force of the Japanese combined fleet has disappeared."

Of course, the United States also has its own intelligence network in Japan, and now the United States and the Soviet Union have strengthened intelligence cooperation, focusing on monitoring Wujun Port and Sashibao Military Port. Although no important information could be detected, it was still possible to know whether the Japanese combined fleet was at home.

According to the thinking of the U.S. Naval Operations Department, if the Japanese combined fleet is deployed in full force, it goes without saying that it will definitely go to attack the Philippines and Guam. The Combined Fleet is a big consumer of oil. Now that Japan is subject to the embargo, it relies on consuming oil reserves to live. If there is no war, the Combined Fleet will never be dispatched.

Therefore, as soon as the combined fleet is discovered to be dispatched, the US task force will immediately set off from Pearl Harbor regardless of whether Japan has declared war. There are thousands of kilometers to travel, and we can't reach the place in less than half a month. If we don't start early and wait until war is officially declared, it will be too late.

"What about the main force of the Pacific Fleet?" Roosevelt finally asked, "When will they dispatch?"

"It depends on the situation," Admiral Stark said. "If the task force wins on the Guam-Philippines line, then the main fleet will go to Guam under the cover of the aircraft carrier USS Raider to join the task force. . Then start the final decisive battle with the Japanese combined fleet!"

…

"General Terauchi, Lieutenant General Ozawa, I am very happy that Japan has finally made the right decision!"

On August 15, 1941, just half a month before the "deadline" given by Hirschmann, the Japanese Empire finally made up its mind to follow Germany's path into darkness. At the same time, they also sent a high-level military delegation. The delegation was composed of senior officials from the Japanese Army and Navy. The head of the Navy is Lieutenant General Ozawa Jisaburo, president of the Naval University. The representative of the army is the Military Councilor General Hisashi Daiichi Templeuchi.

Terauchi Juichi once served as deputy army attaché stationed in Vienna in Europe before World War I. He could speak fluent German and was a bit of a "German fan", so he was one of the powerful promoters of the Japan-Germany Alliance. In today's meeting, Juichi Terauchi automatically acted as the translator for Ozawa Jisaburo (in fact, both parties brought full-time translators).

Terauchi translated Hirschman's words into Japanese and told Ozawa. Jisaburo Ozawa, who had a "grandma face", was obviously not as optimistic as Juichi Terauchi. He said to Hersman: "Marshal, I always have some questions in my mind and I want to ask for advice in person."

Hersman smiled and nodded. Ozawa Jisaburo continued: "Marshal, your Excellency, you should know the industrial strength and war potential of the United States. If you can keep the United States neutral, you, Germany, will have a sure chance of victory. But why do you ignore the sure-win strategy and take the risk of pushing Japan against the United States?" What about starting a war?"

"Because as long as Japan cooperates, we can achieve a decisive victory before the United States' industrial potential is fully realized!"

Hersman said lightly: "Although the United States has strong industry, it takes a long time to convert industrial strength into war potential. Although the United States has begun to work hard in this regard, before 1943 or 1944, it It is still relatively fragile. We can defeat the United States! Only by defeating the United States can we truly win the world war!"

Ozawa Jisaburo nodded and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, Marshal, your views are similar to those of me and many of my colleagues in the Imperial Navy. Our Imperial Navy is confident that it will take the initiative within 12 months at most after entering the war. It will fall into the hands of the United States...but it will be very difficult to completely defeat the United States within 12 months.”

"It's not a complete defeat, but an irreversible advantage." Hersman corrected Ozawa's words. "To completely defeat the United States, we need to land on the east coast of the United States and defeat the U.S. ground troops, which may number several million. This is difficult to achieve. To force the United States to lose hope of victory, accept an unfavorable peace treaty, lose control of South America, and be permanently blocked in North America is the goal we pursue. To achieve this goal, we must. A fatal blow must be given to the U.S. Navy before 1943."

"How to do it?" Ozawa Jisaburo asked.

Hessman smiled, held out two fingers, and said, "There are two ways. One is to occupy Hawaii and force the main force of the U.S. Pacific Fleet to fight a decisive battle near Hawaii!

The second is that after you open the Strait of Malacca, you will send the two Yamatos to the Atlantic to form a joint fleet with the German, French, and Italian fleets, and then destroy the main force of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet in the North Atlantic. "

"This is impossible!" Ozawa Jisaburo immediately shouted in English after listening to Terauchi Juichi's translation, "Marshal Your Excellency, the suggestion you made is impossible!"

Hersman shrugged and answered in English: "It's not a question of possibility or impossibility, but a question of whether you have determination. Your combined fleet is a more powerful naval force than the U.S. Pacific Fleet, and the Hawaiian Islands are the U.S. The foundation of the Pacific Fleet. Once you attack there, the U.S. Pacific Fleet will definitely go all out to rescue you. This is your chance to give the Pacific Fleet a devastating blow. If you dare not do this, then send two Yamato-class battleships. On the Atlantic battlefield, we can take advantage of the polar night period in 1942 to fight the U.S. Atlantic Fleet near Iceland and Newfoundland!”