Chapter 532: The First Battle of Hawaii 5

On the night of December 23, the Japanese Navy's First Fleet, which had five battleships, including Yamato, Nagato, Mutsu, Hiei and Kirishima, and a fleet carrying the entire Army's 2nd Division and 38th Division, had arrived at the sea off Haleiwa, north of Oahu.

Although the five battleships, including Yamato, Nagato, Mutsu, Hiei and Kirishima, had been bombarding targets at Pearl Harbor and Honolulu (Horunu) on the south coast of Oahu for several days, it was not surprising that they finally chose to land in the north of Oahu. After all, Pearl Harbor and Honolulu south of Oahu were large strongholds operated by Americans for more than half a century. Although several turrets with large-caliber cannons were destroyed by the terrible Yamato.

However, there were still many strong fortifications on the southern foot of Diamond Head and Kulau Mountains, and 12-inch (305mm) mortars were placed in some dead corners that could not be fired by naval guns. There are also dozens of movable 8-inch (203mm) and 5-inch (127mm) cannons hidden in tunnels at the foot of Diamond Head and Kulau Mountains that have not been destroyed. If the Japanese army wants to land directly from Honolulu and Pearl Harbor, these cannons will be very powerful.

In addition to Pearl Harbor and Honolulu, areas on Oahu suitable for large-scale landings include Kaneohe Bay and Kailua Bay in the east of the island, Makaha, Waianae and Nanakuli on the west coast of the island, and Haleiwa in the north of the island. These places have beaches for landing troops to land, and there are also small and medium-sized ports nearby.

However, Kaneohe Bay and Kailua Bay are blocked by the Kulau Mountains from Pearl Harbor and Honolulu, making it difficult for landing troops to pass through, and the US military is also easy to defend, so they are not considered.

Makaha, Waianae, and Nanakuli on the west coast of the island are too close to Pearl Harbor, and the second largest mountain range on Oahu is Waianae Ridge. To the south of Waianae Ridge is Hatch Battery, which was destroyed by the Yamato. Although the battery was destroyed, a large number of fortifications guarding the battery are still there, which can block the road from Viana Beach to Pearl Harbor and Honolulu. Moreover, the artillery of the US Army deployed near Pearl Harbor is enough to block the southern foot of Waianae Ridge, so this is not a particularly ideal landing site.

After excluding the east, west, and south sides of Oahu, the only suitable landing site left is Haleiwa in the north of Oahu. Haleiwa not only has a beach that is very suitable for landing, but also has a small port. In addition, after landing from Haleiwa, it is the Oahu Plain-a plain located in the center of Oahu, between the Kulau Mountains and the Waianae Ridge. The northernmost end of the plain is Haleiwa, and the southernmost end is Pearl Harbor and Honolulu.

In other words, as long as the Japanese landed successfully in Haleiwa, they could rush south along the Oahu Plain to Pearl Harbor and Honolulu. However, Americans are not a race that can't fight. They have long known the defensive weaknesses of Oahu, so many years ago, they built the Schofield Barracks near Wahiawaa in the center of the Oahu Plain as a stronghold for defending the Oahu Plain. Admiral Short's headquarters was located in this barracks.

In addition to this barracks that guards the key points, Admiral Short also has a trump card in his hand, which is the two tank battalions assigned to the 24th and 25th Divisions of the US Army stationed on Oahu. These two battalions are equipped with a total of 152 M3 "Stuart" light tanks (plus more than 50 in reserve). Although the M3 tank is only a light tank, it is a good thing for slaughtering infantry. It is equipped with a 37mm gun and 5 7.62mm machine guns. For infantry, such firepower can be described as terrifying.

Therefore, Admiral Short, who had the Schofield Barracks and two tank battalions, decided to place the decisive battle on the plains of Oahu, and did not deploy heavy troops in the Haleiwa area on the north shore of Oahu, where the Japanese army was most likely to land.

Admiral Short and his staff thought that no matter how powerful the Japanese battleships were, they could not land. In a land battle on the plains of Oahu, which was far away from the beach, the two tank battalions would definitely show their prowess. Those Japanese troops who came from afar would not bring tanks with them, right?

Therefore, at 11 o'clock in the evening of December 23, when the huge Japanese landing fleet arrived at the offensive launch line on time as planned, the beach of Haleiwa was still quiet, as if no one was defending.

"Why is there no one defending? Are the Americans on Oahu scared by Yamamoto's battleships and dare not fight a decisive battle with the Imperial Army on the beach?"

Imamura Hitoshi, commander of the 16th Army of the Japanese Army who commanded this landing battle, said to himself while holding a telescope on his command ship "Choshu Maru" and observing the quiet Haleiwa.

Although there is a friendship between Imamura and Yamamoto that transcends land and sea, this friendship cannot override the collective army. Therefore, Imamura cannot set up his military headquarters on the spacious and comfortable Yamato, and of course he cannot board other ships belonging to the navy. Instead, he puts the military headquarters on a passenger ship called "Choshu Maru" - speaking of which, the total tonnage of ships in the hands of the Japanese Army is much larger than that of the Japanese Navy! Because most of the requisitioned civilian ships are used and controlled by the army, with a total tonnage of up to 2.1 million tons! The navy, including military ships and requisitioned civilian ships, has a total tonnage of more than 1.5 million tons.

"Commander, the main force of the US military should be concentrated in the area in the middle of the Oahu Plain where naval guns are difficult to fire." The commander of the 2nd Division, Masao Maruyama, has also boarded the "Choshu Maru". When he heard Imamura's words, he analyzed, "But there should be long-range artillery aimed at Haleiwa Beach."

"It doesn't matter," Imamura said, "Navy reconnaissance planes are already in the sky. Once the US cannons fire, they will be exposed, and the naval guns will quickly destroy them." He frowned, "But Oahu will be won quickly. The key is the navy's surprise attack... If the strange method of using submarines to transport tanks works, it may be easy to capture the ports of Diamond Head and Honolulu, and then it will be easy to fight. "

Although the Japanese Army has aircraft carriers (no more now), landing ships, and landing craft such as large launchers, they do not have the ability to send two divisions to the beach at one time. Moreover, the 2nd Division and the 38th Division still have a lot of heavy equipment. It is too slow for this kind of heavy equipment to land at the small port of Haleiva. It would be much easier if the big port of Honolulu can be captured.

Therefore, after referring to the island landing plan formulated by the Navy, Imamura still retained the plan of carrying tanks on submarines for sneak attacks, and also asked Taiwan to form mixed brigades to cooperate. However, he did not come up with such an imaginative plan as soon as he came up. Instead, he had to wait until part of the 2nd Division and the 38th Division came ashore at Haleiwa to attract the attention of the US military before he implemented the imaginative plan. Open a sneak attack.

…

"Lieutenant General, telegram from San Diego, Japs landed on Haleiwa Beach!"

"Damn it, it's finally here!"

On the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier, Commander Halsey of the U.S. 1st Task Force was woken up from bed by his staff and heard unexpected bad news. When he quickly put on his clothes and went to the bridge with his staff, the latest order from the Taiping Fleet Headquarters had already arrived.

"Lieutenant General, the headquarters ordered us not to return to San Diego." Captain George Murray, the captain of the Enterprise and the chief of staff of the 1st Task Force, said to Halsey, "Admiral Nimitz ordered us to go to G2 immediately. Turn around with the S1 supply fleet in the sea area, and immediately go to support Oahu after completing the supply.”

The so-called G2 sea area is a temporary code name, located about 200 nautical miles west of the Gilbert Islands, which is about 900 nautical miles from Oahu and not very far from the current position of the Halsey Fleet.

Halsey's fleet has been drifting on the sea these days, carefully avoiding Japanese aircraft carriers, and also staying far away from Hawaii where Japanese ships are gathered, so the sailing speed is not very fast. Until the early morning of the 24th, it was still in waters about 1,000 nautical miles southwest of the Hawaiian Islands. At this rate, it would not be able to reach San Diego within 1941, so Nimitz simply asked Halsey's fleet to receive supplies at sea and then continue fighting.

The S1 supply fleet is part of the original SH01 fleet, consisting of several oil tankers, cargo ships and a destroyer. Shortly after the night battle on Hawaii Island, Nimitz, who succeeded Kimmel as commander of the Pacific Fleet, was sent to the G2 waters to stand by. The purpose is to resupply Halsey's 1st Task Force when necessary.

"Support Oahu?" Halsey frowned, "How?"

"Release all the SBDs and F4Fs on the USS Lexington and USS Saratoga in the sea 1,000 kilometers away from Oahu, and let them mount high-explosive bombs to bomb the Japanese troops landing on Oahu. But it will not be implemented immediately. , but to wait for Commander Nimitz’s orders.”

"What happens after the explosion?" Halsey asked. "These aircraft cannot return to the aircraft carrier."

"Land at the temporary airport on Oahu," Colonel George Maury said, "and then put it under the command of the Hawaiian Army. In addition, the 1st Task Force immediately turned to San Diego after releasing the carrier-based aircraft. Nimitz on It is expected that Japanese aircraft carriers will come to pursue us. If we can get rid of the Japanese aircraft carriers, then the 1st Task Force will be divided into two, with the Lexington and Saratoga as the core to form the 6th Task Force and head to San Diego. . The remaining ships are still part of Task Force 1 and will join the SS01 fleet."

"SS01?" Halsey was stunned. "From where to where?"

Colonel George Murray said: "It is the San Diego-Sydney First Transport Fleet. Admiral Nimitz specifically mentioned in the telegram that this is a very large and important transport fleet and they must be sent to Australia safely."