Chapter 531: The First Battle of Hawaii 4

"Imamura-kun, what do you think of this Yamato?"

During the day on December 22, Isoroku Yamamoto hosted a banquet for the newly arrived commander of the 16th Army of the Japanese Army on the battleship Yamato anchored next to Kauai. Junchu Imamura, who looked like an old farmer, was rustic. Will.

Although the Japanese Army and Navy have always disliked each other, Yamamoto and Imamura are famously good friends in the Army and Navy. Both of them have better tempers, are easy to get along with, and have common hobbies. --gamble. Thus a friendship was established that transcended seas and lands.

After welcoming Imamura to the Yamato from a dilapidated merchant ship requisitioned by the army, Yamamoto Isoroku was like a nouveau riche who had just bought a beautiful house. He took Imamura on a "ship tour" with enthusiasm and a bit of ostentation. ".

"It's really luxurious. No wonder some people call it the Yamato Hotel. I think even the most beautiful hotel in Tokyo is not half as good as the Yamato." Mr. Imamura laughed and said in a slightly envious tone, "If only I had such a comfortable hotel It’s not appropriate to give me a minister of war.”

"Isn't it just a comfortable headquarters?" Yamamoto Isoroku said to Imamura with a smile when he pulled Imamura-kun into the most luxurious cabin of the entire Yamato, the Commander's Office. "As long as we capture Hawaii, we can find a Isn’t it easy to have a headquarters as luxurious as the Yamato? Americans know how to enjoy it.”

At this time, a long table for Western food has been set up in the commander's hall. As usual, the officers on the Yamato are served Western food for lunch, and a full Western meal will be served in the order of soup, fish, meat, vegetables, and desserts. If you eat in the commander's hall, you will be served by orderlies. At the same time, there will be music from a military band to enjoy during the meal - the military band is not playing in the commander's hall, but on the nearby rear deck. Normally, when the commander finishes his meal and starts drinking black tea, the music performance ends.

Lunch time has not yet arrived, and Yamamoto Isoroku, Imamura-kun, Ugaki Matoi, and the division commander of the 2nd Division, Lieutenant General Maruyama Masao, sat down separately and began to discuss the battle situation.

The battle situation was of course very ideal. All the main forts on Oahu had been destroyed, and only a few 16-inch cannons on the USS West Virginia could fire. But it is no match for the Yamato, and it can be destroyed in one night at most. In addition, the large-caliber mortar at Fort Ruger (located at Diamond Head) was not destroyed because it was in the blind spot of the naval gun.

"Does this mean that the Japanese 2nd Division will be able to land on Oahu on the 23rd?" Lieutenant General Masao Maruyama suffered from severe seasickness along the way and his face turned pale, but he was still eager to fight - the army is not as delicate as the navy. I can endure any hardship, even seasickness is nothing!

"On the 23rd?" Yamamoto Isoroku glanced at Masao Maruyama, frowned and said, "The night of the 23rd is fine, but the 2nd Division has been wandering for so many days, can it really carry out land operations immediately?"

"No problem!" Masao Maruyama patted his chest and said, "Our Sendai Division is the elite of the Imperial Army and we are not afraid of bumps."

Are Sendai people not afraid of seasickness? Yamamoto Isoroku didn't quite believe it, but he didn't argue with Masao Maruyama. Anyway, seasickness and death were the Army's own business. He continued to talk about his plan: "This time the Navy has also mobilized a small number of marines and 30 internal fire boats, so it wants to conduct a surprise attack and seize the port of Honolulu in one fell swoop."

There are two large ports on Oahu. One is Pearl Harbor, the home port of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. This is a port located in the bay with a narrow channel, surrounded by land, and is very easy to defend. One is the port of Honolulu. This port is right next to the city of Honolulu. There are no bays, and there is also Waikiki Beach that is suitable for landing.

The internal fireboats and the sneak attack Marines can rush directly to the beach, and then go all the way to the US military position on Diamond Head, and the other way to occupy the port of Honolulu. As long as the port can be captured, it will be easy for the large forces of the 16th Army to land.

Maruyama Masao frowned and was about to find fault, but Imamura Jun already said with a smile: "Okay, the army can refer to the navy's plan, but after all, the landing battle is dominated by the army... The plan must be prepared by the commander of the 16th Army Commander Yamamoto, what do you think?

"That's of course." Yamamoto Isoroku added: "In addition, I have received intelligence that the United States has assembled a large number of ships and troops in ports such as San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles on the West Coast, apparently to reinforce Hawaii. of."

"Oh? Is there no problem?" Imamura asked worriedly.

Although most Japanese people believe that the empire's navy is invincible, Imamura, as an army lieutenant general, has always known that the navy is unreliable. Before embarking on the expedition in Japan, he issued an order: If he drowned, the commander of the 2nd Division, Masao Maruyama, would command the 16th Army. If Maruyama drowned, he would directly command the 2nd Division. Fortunately, no American ships or submarines were encountered along the way, and the transport convoy, which was not protected by many naval ships, actually arrived in Hawaii safely.

"Actually, Americans' reinforcement of Hawaii is exactly what the Navy wants." Isoroku Yamamoto said with a smile, "So the Navy's 1st Fleet and 1st Mobile Fleet will go out to fight the U.S. Navy before the end of the month. By then, we can't Use naval guns and aircraft to support the operation on Oahu.”

"No problem. As long as our army can land ashore, we can take Oahu without the help of the navy." Imamura replied confidently.

Maruyama on the side was muttering in his heart: When did the Japanese Army ever think that it would rely on the navy to win the war? If the budget were not insufficient and the Army Ship Corps built more ships, maybe it could even fight naval battles on its own!

Wanting to fight a naval battle was not Maruyama's personal idea, but the will of the entire Japanese Army. At this time, the Japanese Army had a military-level ship headquarters. In addition to army aircraft carriers and landships, it also had combat ships (reconstructed from merchant ships), attack boats (torpedo boats, gunboats, etc.), and even Develop Army submarines. In addition, the Japanese Army also has its own shipyard and ship training department (roughly equivalent to the Naval Academy) and other institutions. It is really the most skilled army in the world in naval warfare.

…

On the same day that Yamamoto entertained his gambling friend Imamura Jun, Colonel Kimmel, an old classmate of General Nimitz, also returned to San Diego in disgrace.

Because he was lucky enough to survive the night battle on Hawaii Island, Kimmel alone bears the blame for the fall of Hawaii and the disastrous defeat of the Pacific Fleet. Before the others even got ashore, orders for dismissal, demotion, and forced retirement had been issued to the destroyer USS Semmes!

As for the commander of the Hawaii Army, Short can no longer take the blame with him, because the Army Chief of Staff, General Marshall, can't find another Army Lieutenant General willing to go to Oahu to replace Short. So Short could only be promoted to general and prepare to die for his country with a smile on Oahu.

"Chester, congratulations. You are now qualified enough to be the commander of the fleet." Colonel Kimmel, who was holding gauze on his head and a plaster on one arm, was with Rear Admiral Fletcher (Fletcher is the aircraft carrier commander). Officer, it is needed now, so he is still a major general) arrived together. Seeing Nimitz hanging up the rank of general and sitting in his own office, Kimmel really regretted it. Why couldn't I reject President Roosevelt heartily? Otherwise, he would be the commander-in-chief now, and Nimitz would take the blame.

"Yeah, I finally got enough qualifications." Nimitz smiled apologetically at his old classmate - he should have shouldered the blame!

"But I still don't have enough experience." Nimitz asked Kimmel and Fletcher to sit down, and then poured a glass of whiskey for each of them. "So I still need your help. Husband, I I plan to ask you to be a consultant to the Pacific Fleet."

"Advisor?" Kimmel took the glass and took a sip. "I thought I should find a place where no one was around to reflect alone."

"Reflect?" Nimitz shook his head. "Taking responsibility does not mean that you are actually at fault. We all know that Pearl Harbor is not suitable as a home port."

"But losing it has serious consequences." Kimmel sighed, "It's my fault... I shouldn't have let Halsey bomb Saipan. If the Japanese didn't know where Halsey was, They don't dare to continue attacking. By the way, Chester, I saw a lot of warship transports when I entered the port, and I also saw a lot of troops boarding the ship. Are they going to reinforce Hawaii? This is not easy to succeed? ah!"

"Because of the super battleship?" Nimitz asked.

"That's right!" Kimmel nodded, "At least 80,000 tons of displacement, nine 18-inch cannons, and the armor is extremely strong, and the 14-inch cannon can't damage it at all. I estimate that it is the North Carolina-class 16-inch cannon It is also difficult to penetrate its side armor defense belt. In addition, this ship is very fast, with a speed of at least 27 knots, and can even reach 28 knots! As long as it is in Hawaii, no surface ship can approach Oahu. "

The Yamato was not as powerful as Kimmel said, but because the Yamato killed three battleships with strong armor protection at once, many people in the U.S. Navy are now "Yamato phobic." Now the idea of ​​"Yamato is invincible" is somewhat deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and Nimitz has also been affected. After listening to Kimmel's introduction, he nodded and said: "It's really scary... but I still have to lead the fleet to challenge this." A steel monster."

"What? Chester, are you really going to do this?" Kimmel was startled by Nimitz's words.

Nimitz smiled bitterly and said: "The two North Carolina-class ships will arrive in a few days. I will use them to divert the Japanese super battleships so that the destroyers and cruisers can approach Oahu."