The Rise of the Third Reich

"Commander, Commander Yamamoto orders: The second phase of Operation Plan Z is about to begin!"

Chuichi Nagumo received Yamamoto Isoroku's latest instructions at almost 12 o'clock at noon on December 9, Hawaii time. The previous emergency meeting at the Japanese base camp approved Yamamoto Isoroku's suggestions and agreed to implement Z The second phase of the battle plan is the battle to capture Oahu!

"Oh?" Nagumo Chuichi was anxiously waiting for the return of the first attack wave launched this morning.

His First Mobile Fleet has been lingering in the waters 200 nautical miles north of Oahu for two and a half days. Four waves of attacks were launched on December 7th, and five attack waves were launched on December 8th. Today, December 9th, due to heavy rain in the morning, the first wave of attacks was not until It was launched around 9 o'clock, and the second attack wave was launched around 10 o'clock. So around 12 o'clock is the time when the first attack wave returns.

Oahu's resistance had weakened significantly by December 8. The number of fighter jets dispatched to intercept the Japanese attack waves was significantly reduced, and only a dozen or so could barely take off at a time. Moreover, there was no further attack on the First Mobile Fleet, although on the morning of December 8 and early morning of December 9, American PBY Catalina seaplanes approached the Japanese fleet. It is obvious that the Americans know the approximate location of the Japanese aircraft carrier, but they are no longer able to launch an attack.

As U.S. resistance on Oahu weakened, Japanese aircraft losses also decreased. Only 37 aircraft were lost in the five attack waves on December 8, most of which were shot down by US ground artillery and surface ship anti-aircraft guns.

But there was bad news. According to reports from pilots who participated in the air raid, there were two Colorado-class battleships stranded on the beach near Williston Fort at the exit of Pearl Harbor. And the anti-aircraft guns on these two battleships are still firing!

Obviously, the Americans used the two damaged Colorado-class battleships that were stranded as forts.

That is a fort with 16 16-inch cannons! Although the Colorado-class 16-inch cannon is not as powerful as the Nagato-class 410mm main gun, and the stranded battleship is a dead target that cannot move. But no one would be willing to use two Nagato-class ships to fight against two stranded Colorado-class ships, not to mention that the Americans also had four 16-inch cannons from Williston Fort and Hatch Fort to assist in the battle.

Therefore, Nagumo Chuichi sent many "Comet" dive bombers and Type 97 torpedo bombers to bomb the two battleships with heavy bombs. However, the bombing on December 8 did not achieve any ideal results, and only destroyed a turret of one of the battleships. The reason for this is that the Americans deployed many anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns near the two stranded battleships. Japanese aircraft fired desperately as soon as they approached, making it very difficult to drop bombs.

Nagumo Chuichi was about to discuss the attack on Oahu with his staff when he heard Genda Minoru shouting: "Commander, look, the first attack wave of planes is back!"

Nanyun quickly raised his telescope and looked into the sky, only to see groups of aircraft flying in formation, at least one hundred, fifty or sixty. It seems that today's first wave of attacks went smoothly and did not suffer too much loss.

"Genda," Nagumo Chuichi put down the telescope and looked back at Genda Minoru, "What do you think of the Hawaii strategy?"

Although Minoru Genda is not very old, he is the core staff officer of the First Mobile Fleet. He and two other majors made plans for each wave of air raids starting on December 7.

"Commander," Minoru Genda was also counting the planes in the sky just now. He counted them more carefully than Nagumo. He wanted to count out a specific number, but was interrupted by Nagumo Chuichi in the middle of the count. "Are you asking about the second phase strategy for capturing Oahu?"

Nan Yunzhong nodded, "Are you sure?"

Genda Minoru thought silently for a moment, then nodded heavily and said: "Commander, since Commander Yamamoto has made up his mind, he must be sure. Now Oahu has been bombed by more than a thousand aircraft from our side, and the airport and The oil depots have suffered heavy losses, and their defense capabilities have been greatly reduced. As long as we dispatch five battleships including "Yamato", "Nagato", "Mutsu", "Hiei" and "Kirishima" to carry out repeated bombardments, we will definitely be able to completely defeat them. Destroy the will of the US military on the island to resist! And the main task of my first mobile fleet should be to fight the reinforcements of the US aircraft carrier!"

Nan Yunzhong nodded and said to himself: "The American aircraft carriers... I don't know where they are now?"

…

"Lieutenant General, telegram from Wake Island, Japanese planes bombed there again, dispatching twin-engine medium bombers, 27 in total. They should have taken off from the Kwajalein Atoll Airport, which is more than 1,100 kilometers away from Wake Island."

On the aircraft carrier "Enterprise", Lieutenant General Halsey had just received a telegram from Wake Island.

His current mission is to rescue Wake Island. On December 8, the Japanese sent 36 Type 96 Land Attack and Type 1 Land Attack to bomb Wake Island, destroying 8 Marine Corps F4F "Wildcat" fighter jets. , also destroyed the grain warehouse and some dormitories and barracks on Wake Island.

"How far are we from Kwajalein Atoll?" Halsey asked immediately.

"About 1,000 nautical miles. At the current speed, an air strike can be launched on the 12th."

Halsey's fleet is now moving at a speed of 18 knots and can launch air strikes when the fleet is about 200 nautical miles away from the Japanese-controlled Kwajalein Atoll. In other words, the fleet still has about 800 nautical miles to sail, which is 44 hours. But that was a straight line. Now that the Pacific has become a battlefield, who knows if we will encounter a Japanese submarine? Therefore, Halsey's fleet has been taking a Z-shaped anti-submarine route as it sailed eastward from near Saipan. Therefore, it takes more than 60 hours of sailing to reach a position where an attack can be launched.

"Where's Oahu?" Halsey asked with a frown, "Still getting bombed?"

"Yes." The staff officer replied, "The Japanese just launched another wave of bombings."

"What the hell!" Halsey breathed, "What do these damn Japs want to do? Do they want to capture Oahu?"

"Capture Oahu? That's not possible, is it?"

Halsey shook his head and said: "Call Commander Kimmel and ask my question. I suspect that the Japanese want to occupy Oahu... It is a fortress that cannot be lost!"

When Kimmel received the telegram from Halsey, he was leading the main force of the Pacific Fleet sailing in the direction of Wake Island. According to his plan, after Halsey's fleet bombed the Japanese airport on Kwajalein Atoll, it would continue eastward and join the main force of the Pacific Fleet two to three hundred nautical miles east of Wake Island.

After the rendezvous, the fleet will return to the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands. If the Japanese fleet has not left, the Pacific Fleet will seek a decisive battle.

"Sir, the Japanese just bombed Oahu again, and one of the West Virginia's main gun turrets was blown up."

"I haven't left yet..." Kim Mel's brows knitted together. "Are these Japanese crazy? Do they really want to occupy Hawaii?"

As soon as he finished speaking, another staff officer reported loudly: "Admiral, a Catalina seaplane taking off from Midway Island discovered a Japanese fleet. There are 4 battleships and 4 battleships about 220 nautical miles northwest of Oahu. There are 2 heavy cruisers, more than 15 light cruisers and destroyers, and more than 20 transport ships. This fleet is heading south, and the direction seems to be Kauai..."

"More than 20 transport ships... going to Kauai?" Kimmel's eyes suddenly bulged. "God, the Japanese are going to occupy Kauai! They...their goal must be to seize Hawaii!"

…

"Capture Hawaii!? That's not true, is it?"

When U.S. President Roosevelt heard the news, he was almost shocked to drop the cigar dangling from his mouth.

"Mr. President, a Japanese transport fleet is heading to Kauai, possibly carrying 10,000 fully armed Japanese soldiers!"

Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Stark almost cried when he said this. There are not many defenders on Kauai, and it will definitely be occupied! Once the Japanese occupied Kauai, they would have a springboard to land on Oahu.

Once Oahu is lost, the U.S. Pacific Fleet will... He didn't dare to think about it anymore. He just looked at President Roosevelt helplessly and said in an inaudible voice: "President, we should concentrate our efforts to defeat these... Damn the Japanese, they are America’s biggest enemies!”

"What did you say?" Roosevelt's expression quickly changed from surprise to coldness, and he just looked at Stark coldly, "Admiral, do your job! We cannot lose Hawaii. As the Chief of Naval Operations, you , now is the time to come up with a plan to defend Hawaii, instead of questioning the president’s policies!”

Concentrating our efforts to defeat Japan naturally means that we cannot cause trouble with Germany. The United States must betray its two friends, Britain and the Soviet Union, so that the Germans can defeat them and become the overlord of the Old World.

After the "Pearl Harbor" incident, there were many people in the United States who held this view.

Many people believe that the United States only needs to defeat Japan and dominate the Pacific, which is enough to compete with Germany, which dominates Europe, Africa, and the Atlantic. It seems very unwise to start a war on two fronts and fight Germany and Japan at the same time. If defeated, the United States will not even be able to maintain its current status as the Big Brother of the Americas!

Moreover, Germany has not declared war on the United States until now. It seems that the United States and Germany can coexist...