The Rise of the Third Reich

"What? An unidentified aircraft was found 50 kilometers north of the island?"

Kimmel was stunned for a moment, and he immediately thought that there seemed to be more than a dozen Army Air Forces B-17 bombers flying to Oahu from the United States today.

"Could it be B-17s flying from China?" Kimmel thought for a while and asked, "When were these aircraft discovered?"

"It was 15 minutes ago." the staff member replied. "It's not clear yet whether it is a B-17..."

"What? 15 minutes ago... why are you reporting now?" General Kimmel roared. Although he did not believe that the Japanese really dared to send an aircraft carrier to attack Pearl Harbor, the Air Defense Command was so irresponsible that such an important discovery was delayed by 15 minutes!

It's a war-like situation now! How could you neglect your duty like this?

15 minutes is enough for the plane to fly 70 to 80 kilometers, which means that these unidentified planes are likely to be close to Pearl Harbor now!

"Sound the air defense siren!" General Kimmel shouted, "Order the fighter jets to take off, immediately!" He then added, "Tell everyone that Pearl Harbor is already in wartime, and this is not a drill... It’s not a drill!”

Kimmel's anger was justified. The U.S. Air Defense Command on Oahu did delay things a bit. They did not call Pacific Fleet Command immediately after the radar station reported it. However, the Air Defense Command did not violate regulations by doing this, because the quality of radars in this era was very poor, and malfunctions of one kind or another occurred frequently, and false alarms occurred every now and then. Therefore, according to the regulations of the US Radar Force, it must be verified before being reported, so it was delayed for some time.

From the perspective of the U.S. Army Air Forces and Naval Air Forces, a short 15 minutes does not seem to be a bad thing. Because the radar they now have can see 240 kilometers away, if you include the distance from the north shore of Oahu to Pearl Harbor, it is almost 280 kilometers, and it will take enemy planes 30 minutes to arrive at the fastest. Therefore, the 15-minute delay in reporting is not a big problem. It is enough for the anti-aircraft artillery positions and aircraft on the airport to respond.

However, Americans living in a peaceful environment were still slow to respond to various new technologies and tactics in European wars. U.S. soldiers in Hawaii still don't know that aircraft can avoid radar detection by flying at ultra-low altitudes, greatly shortening the distance at which enemy aircraft can be detected by radar.

However, because of the joining of 80 German foreign aid, the carrier-based aircraft force of the Japanese Combined Fleet learned the trick of avoiding radar detection at low altitudes. Therefore, in the plan formulated by Genda Minoru, the aircraft in the first attack wave must adopt ultra-low altitude penetration to increase the surprise of the attack. Therefore, the American radar on the north shore of Oahu did not respond until the first Japanese attack wave flew 50 kilometers away.

However, the U.S. radar soldiers responsible for operating these radars did not immediately report the unknown aircraft because they discovered that the distance was quite close. Instead, they conducted verification and inspection in accordance with regulations before reporting to the Air Defense Command.

After receiving the report, the Air Defense Command did not immediately issue a combat order. Instead, it called through the radio - this was also in accordance with regulations. After all, the current U.S. military is an army that has lived in a peaceful environment for a long time. Not just a few simple commands can make them immediately enter the role and turn into a highly vigilant wartime army.

After the radio call failed, the Air Defense Command realized that something was wrong and hurriedly called Lieutenant General Short, commander of the Army in Hawaii, and the Pacific Fleet Command to report.

At this time, 208 Japanese aircraft led by Lieutenant Colonel Mitsuo Fuchida, commander-in-chief of the first attack wave, had already flown over Oahu, and Pearl Harbor could be seen visually.

"No enemy planes were found!" the radio operator and bombardier sitting behind Mizuo Fuchida yelled, "Commander, the raid was successful, Pearl Harbor is defenseless!"

Mitsuo Fuchida also discovered at this time that there was no American plane over Pearl Harbor (there would be one soon), which probably meant that the sneak attack was successful.

He shouted excitedly: "Power the Akagi: Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!"

The code word "Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!" means that the sneak attack was successful.

"Onboard! Onboard!"

Everyone on the bridge of the "Akagi" was cheering, and the depressed mood of the past few days was finally swept away when the signal of a successful sneak attack came.

Although the five American aircraft carriers are still missing, and the British and American troops in the Philippines and Malaya are on the highest alert, the success of the attack on Pearl Harbor put the Japanese Empire in an absolutely advantageous position after the war.

"Break the radio silence, send power to the Yamato immediately, and report the success of the sneak attack!" Nagumo Chuichi has not slept for several days, and his voice is hoarse now, but his excitement cannot be concealed.

"Hai!" A staff officer next to him responded equally excitedly.

The radio waves passed through the sea and the sky, and in an instant reached the battleship Yamato, which was sailing eastward. On December 3, the day after Yamamoto Isoroku issued the order "Climbing New Peaks 1208", the Yamato left the anchorage of Danguan Bay and headed towards Hawaii under the escort of the aircraft carrier Shoho, which was put into service ahead of schedule without completing sea trials (this is the 11th aircraft carrier of the Japanese Combined Fleet. Because it was put into service ahead of schedule, there were engineers and workers from the shipyard on the aircraft carrier, and the number of carrier-based aircraft was only 16, all of which were Zero fighters), and another light cruiser and 5 destroyers.

According to Yamamoto's idea, if the First Mobile Fleet could successfully destroy the US military airports and oil depots on Oahu, and severely damage the main force of the US Pacific Fleet including aircraft carriers. Then Japan would have the opportunity to capture Oahu! And to capture Oahu, it is necessary to invite the great god "Yamato".

The captain of the Yamato, Colonel Takayanagi Giya, has been making plans to bombard the Williston Battery (which has two 16-inch cannons and is the key to the US military's defense of Oahu) based on the intelligence at hand these days. Of course, there is more than one bombardment plan, but the most ideal one is to use the super-long range of the Yamato's main guns to bombard the Williston Battery from a visual distance - although the two 16-inch cannons on the Williston Battery can shoot targets 40 kilometers away. But it is difficult to shoot at such a long distance by visual means. Although it can be seen in theory, the visibility problem must be considered in actual combat. If the weather is bad, the sky is too dark, or someone releases smoke, etc., the visual distance will be greatly shortened. At this time, it is very necessary to use aircraft or observation posts to correct the landing point of the shells. And to use aircraft for correction, then it is necessary to master air supremacy.

In other words, as long as air superiority is in hand, the Yamato can shoot at the limit of the visual range of the Williston Battery without risk, relying on aircraft correction, and can also use the weather or smoke released by destroyers to conceal itself. This is almost risk-free!

So after carefully studying the plan formulated by Takayanagi Isamu, Yamamoto Isoroku decided that the Yamato would set off in advance to the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands. As long as the First Mobile Fleet can destroy the airport on Oahu and severely damage the US aircraft carrier force, then the Yamato should be dispatched.

The Yamato will not only bombard the Williston Battery, but also lead the four battleships of Nagato, Mutsu, Hiei and Kirishima to carry out devastating bombardments on targets on Oahu!

Yamamoto Isoroku has now made up his mind that even if he cannot occupy Oahu this time, he must use battleships and aircraft to completely destroy it, so that Oahu will not be the home port of the Pacific Fleet in the next few years.

"Have you found any American aircraft carriers?" Although he learned that the sneak attack was successful, Yamamoto Isoroku still frowned. Because the five American aircraft carriers are still missing.

"Commander, no American aircraft carriers have been found yet." Chief of Staff Ugaki Matome replied, "But the American aircraft carriers are probably not near Oahu, because our submarines ambushed in the southwest waters south of Oahu have not found anything."

Yamamoto Isoroku nodded and said expressionlessly: "They will always appear. As long as Chuichi Nagumo can win Pearl Harbor, American aircraft carriers will definitely appear. They are no match for Nagumo. As long as they appear, we can win a great victory."

...

"Vice Admiral, Japanese planes are attacking Pearl Harbor!"

In the bridge of the "Enterprise" aircraft carrier, Vice Admiral Halsey finally knew where the Japanese aircraft carriers were at this time, but he was not worried about the safety of Oahu at all.

"Damn it!" Vice Admiral Halsey slammed his fist on the railing beside him, "They are near Oahu! These despicable Japanese devils actually want to attack Pearl Harbor, but it's okay, they will soon be killed by the brothers in Pearl Harbor. These Japanese bastards are not only shameless but also stupid. They dare to attack Pearl Harbor!" He took a breath and ordered in a loud voice: "Guys, take action immediately, carrier-based aircraft attack, target Saipan!" "Vice Admiral, how many planes should we send to bomb Saipan?" A staff officer asked immediately. "The more the better!" Halsey said, "Send as many as possible, and bomb all the Japanese airports and ships on Saipan. After bombing Saipan, we will sail north immediately to block the retreat of the Japanese devils!" Halsey was optimistic by nature and never thought that Pearl Harbor would be bombed into ruins, so he was now preparing to bomb Saipan first, and then go north to intercept the Japanese fleet retreating from Pearl Harbor...