The Rise of the Third Reich

"Boom..."

The earth-shaking roar of the naval guns began to echo in the Pacific Ocean south of Oahu as the naval guns and 1st naval guns fired the first salvo. Walter Short, who had just been appointed as an admiral governor by Roosevelt, had no choice but to go to the fortress on Diamond Head to supervise the battle as soon as the Yamato appeared this afternoon.

But until dark, the Yamato and the other two Nagato-class battleships were all circling on the sea 40 kilometers away from the south coast of Oahu. When it was dark, the three battleships drove to a distance of 30,000 meters from the Williston Battery under the cover of night, and then began to shoot.

At the same time, several Zero-type reconnaissance and Zero-type observation aircraft flew above the Williston Battery, braved the dense anti-aircraft fire to drop flares and correct the landing points of the shells.

"Oh my God, that... is that a 17-inch or 18-inch cannon?"

In the distance, the cannon flames that seemed particularly huge compared to the muzzle flames of the 1st cannon stunned Admiral Walter Short and his staff. Although this was the first time they saw a 460mm caliber super cannon roaring, each of them knew that the armor protection of the Williston Battery could not withstand the fierce bombardment of this level of cannons at all - because the imaginary enemy of the Williston Battery was only the Nagato class with a 410mm caliber main gun...

Just when Walter Short and others were shocked by the huge momentum of the Yamato's main gun. Several fireballs had risen from all around the Williston Battery. The huge orange-red fireballs had made everyone on the Williston Battery shudder. They had never seen such a huge fireball.

"Artillery parameters! Quick, tell me the parameters!"

Major Cook, the commander of the battery, was not afraid and shouted and asked. Of course, there was no high-tech thing like fire control radar on the Williston Battery, and various artillery parameters could only be observed and calculated visually. And now it's night, in the dark, who can see what's 30 kilometers away? Not to mention the American soldiers, even the Japanese cat-eyed soldiers can't see clearly.

And there are not many flying planes on Oahu now. The only planes that can be used for artillery observation are large ones like the Catalina seaplane. If they really fly over the Yamato, they will most likely be shot down by anti-aircraft guns. The Yamato is equipped with the FuMo23 radar imported from Germany, which can detect the general direction of the Catalina seaplane.

Therefore, the American artillery observers on the Williston Battery tonight can only rely on the gunfire of the Japanese battleships to calculate the bombardment parameters.

"Commander, the Americans have begun to fight back."

In fact, even if Ugaki didn't say it, Yamamoto Isoroku had already seen the flashes of gunfire from the Williston Battery and the vicinity of the battery. This should be the armored turrets of the Williston Battery and the two stranded American battleships near the battery firing. However, the shells they fired were so off-center that no one knew where they landed.

But this scene still made him frown slightly. Knowing that it was impossible to win, they still fought to the end. This fighting spirit, coupled with the strong industrial strength of the United States, cast a shadow on Yamamoto Isoroku's heart. He just thought of this, and suddenly heard the people around him cheering.

"Onboard!"

"Hit!"

After 10 rounds of adjustments, the 410mm main gun of the Nagato battleship was the first to succeed. A 1020 kg Type 91 armor-piercing shell hit the top of the armored turret of the Williston Battery. Although it did not penetrate the thick steel armor, it still boosted the morale of the people in the Yamato command tower.

Because now the Yamato, Nagato and Mutsu ships are aimed at the same time, and they are all fired according to the same parameters. Since the 410mm shell hit the target, it is only a matter of time before the 460mm shell hits the target.

"It looks like we can get rid of the Williston Battery and the two stranded Colorado-class battleships tonight." Yamamoto Isoroku closed his eyelids, as if talking to himself, "Tomorrow night is the Hatch Battery and Kamehameha Battery, and the night after tomorrow is the Randolph Battery, Fort Ruger, and Crosson Battery. These three batteries may take some effort and may take an extra night. In this way, we can start landing by the 22nd at the latest..." He suddenly opened his eyes and said to Ugaki Matome: "Go and give an order to Nagumo Tadashi. We must return to the waters near Kauai on the night of the 21st." Ugaki Matome was stunned and said: "Commander, Nagumo-kun is chasing the American aircraft carrier with all his strength." "We can't catch up, and there is no need to chase." Yamamoto Isoroku shook his head, "Let the mobile fleet go to the waters near Kauai to rest and And add supplies, fuel and ammunition. A batch of additional planes and pilots will arrive soon, and they must be on board in time so that they can catch up with the next battle. "

"The next battle?" Ugaki asked, "Where?"

"Of course it's the Pacific Ocean!" Yamamoto glanced at Ugaki, "Ugaki-kun, you don't think the battle in Hawaii will end soon, and the Americans are ready to give up, right?"

"Commander, do you think the Americans will counterattack soon?"

Yamamoto Fifty-six looked solemn, nodded and said: "That's for sure, no one will be willing to give up Hawaii, a key stronghold. So the mobile fleet must be ready to attack at any time!"

At this time, Yamamoto Fifty-six had not thought about the issue of occupying Australia, and in fact, other Japanese devils had not thought about it either. In terms of strategic vision, the military and political leaders of the United States are indeed more brilliant, and they see farther than the Japanese.

Just as he finished speaking, cheers rang out again in the bridge of the Yamato. This time it was the armor-piercing projectile fired by the Yamato's 460mm caliber cannon that penetrated the top of the armored turret of the Williston Battery...

…

"Admiral, the Williston Battery and the USS Maryland were destroyed by the Japanese super battleship last night!"

On the first day that Admiral Chester Nimitz sat in the seat of commander of the Pacific Fleet, his chief of staff, Major General Milo Frederick, brought him very bad news.

The Williston Fort, the most important fort on Oahu, has been destroyed. In addition, the USS Maryland, which was stranded near the Williston Fort, was also destroyed. A 460mm Japanese shell hit a main ammunition depot!

"Admiral Short said that if that damn Japanese super battleship continues to be so arrogant, in three days at most, all the forts on Oahu will be destroyed, and the battleship USS West Virginia will also be destroyed. Then the Japanese will Will log in."

"Can we only hold on for three more days? That's the 22nd..." Nimitz frowned, "How long can Pearl Harbor be defended?"

"Up to 2 weeks."

“What about Oahu?”

"Maybe a month, maybe longer," Major General Milo Frederick said, "It depends on the intensity of our reinforcements."

The order given by U.S. Army Chief of Staff Marshall to General Walter Short was to hold Oahu for at least three months. However, General Short said that he could only stay for one month at most before he had to see the founding father, President Washington.

"Then it's too late. One month is enough." Nimitz asked again, "Where is Halsey? Where is his fleet now? Are the Japanese still pursuing it?"

"Vice Admiral Halsey's fleet is returning and can return to San Diego in 7 days. As for whether the Japanese are pursuing them, Vice Admiral Halsey doesn't know because his fleet had already thrown away the Japanese a day ago."

Because he was frightened by the previous V3 special attack, Halsey has been playing hide and seek with Nagumo Chuichi in the Pacific these days, and he is quite good at hiding. Before Nagumo Chuichi received the return order from Yamamoto Isoroku yesterday, Just lost Halsey. Now Halsey is leading the fleet on its way back to San Diego.

"Great, that's good news." Nimitz smiled, "The North Carolina and the Washington will arrive in San Diego in 8 days, and then we can start taking action!"

"Operation? Reinforcement of Hawaii?"

"Not only Hawaii, but also Australia." Nimitz said to the chief of staff of the Pacific Fleet. "Milo, we are going to conduct an operation of unprecedented scale!"

Before an operation of unprecedented scale begins, there is usually an unprecedented mobilization of troops and materials. This time is of course no exception. As early as when Hawaii was attacked, the transportation system of this industrial giant in the United States began to operate at full capacity, transporting massive amounts of materials and personnel to the west coast of the United States.

The three most valuable battleships in the Atlantic Fleet, the battleship North Carolina, the battleship Washington, and the aircraft carrier USS Wasp, began to be quickly transferred to the Pacific. Along with them, in addition to the escorting cruisers and destroyers, there are also all fast cruise ships (with a width of no more than 33 meters) that can pass through the Panama Canal that can be collected on the east coast.

Of course, the only purpose of mobilizing these fast cruise ships is to transport troops. Cruise ships were fast and comfortable means of transport, ideal for transporting soldiers. When these cruise ships arrive in places such as San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles, large numbers of U.S. Army and Marine Corps troops will also arrive and board the ships from public docks.

The transport ships and oil tankers that failed to reinforce Hawaii not long ago have also returned to the ports on the West Coast together with the cruisers and destroyers of the Pacific Fleet in the past few days. These transport ships and tankers, along with the fast cruise ships just arriving from the East Coast, crowded the ports of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

Now everyone, including German spies lurking in cities on the west coast of the United States, took it for granted that the U.S. Pacific Fleet would soon escort more troops and supplies to reinforce Hawaii.