The news that the main force of the Pacific Fleet was dispatched again earlier to the huge Skefield Barracks on Oahu. Admiral Schott did not keep a secret from his subordinates, but instead told the good news through the broadcast to all the officers and soldiers in the Skefield Barracks, greatly encouraging a somewhat sluggish morale.

At the same time, the fierce battle on the northern foot of the Wyane Ridge attracted the attention of everyone in the U.S. Army Command in Hawaii. Although in Short's plan, Wyane Ridge was not the decisive battlefield that determined the life and death of the U.S. troops on Oahu. However, the battle on Wyane Ridge was the first confrontation between the U.S. Army and the Japanese Army.

This is the first battle! If the first battle makes people unable to find the north, the next decisive battle on the Oahu Plain will be difficult to fight.

However, judging from the situation of the first day of the confrontation, these Japanese devils were far less terrifying than the Germans. Because their style of play was completely in battle-first style, they were just artillery-stage coordination, and even air-ground cooperation was very small. They had overwhelming air superiority, but they did not drop many bombs on the head of the 5th Infantry Regiment that was guarding the Wyane Ridge (the Japanese Navy aviation was replenishing their energy, and only more than 20 Type 1 aircraft of the Army flew from Kauai to support). Due to the lack of sufficient air support, the Japanese Navy's naval guns also had limited threat to the US military that relied on the mountain to defend. Therefore, in the first day of land battle, the Japanese army did not make any major breakthroughs. The officers and soldiers of the 5th Regiment of the 25th Division of the US Army withstood.

Although General Short was exhausted, he stood there with an excited expression and said to his chief of staff Colonel Collins: "Admiral Nimitz left San Diego yesterday. If he followed the z-line route at a speed of 15 knots, he would be able to reach Oahu in a maximum of 200 hours... We will definitely be able to defend until then. When the Navy leads away the Japanese aircraft carriers and battleships, our armored troops will be the ones to fight back. These Japanese devils will definitely not be able to withstand it!"

"Yes! They will definitely not be able to withstand it!" Colonel Collins agreed, "There are no infantry in the world that can block the armored forces... Not to mention the Japanese, even if the Germans come, they will not be able to stop it."

In the world wars over the past two years, the German armored forces have left a deep impression on the world. In front of the German steel monsters, the world's most powerful army was beaten to pieces within a few days, and there was no force to resist at all. Infantry that could block the German armored forces did not exist. So now it shouldn't be bad if it was replaced by American armored forces to crush the Japanese infantry, right?

According to the frontline report, the Japanese troops landing on Oahu were poorly equipped, with no tanks, no assault guns, and no self-propelled artillery, as if they didn't even have cars. How could such a poor infantryman block the 152 (not including reserve) American tanks on Oahu?

When the thought of the tank crushing the Japanese infantry, the clouds of sorrow on General Short's face were swept away. But at this moment, Colonel Collins received a somewhat disappointing telegram from the staff, which was sent by General Nimitz.

"Admiral Nimitz said that his fleet would approach Oahu from January 1 to 3, 1942. He hoped to concentrate the personnel prepared to retreat in Kaneohe Bay in advance... At that time, light cruisers and destroyers would come to pick them up."

Kaneohe Bay is located in the southeast of Oahu, facing the sea and backed by the Kulao Mountains. Because of the "natural danger" of the Kulao Mountains, Kaneohe Bay has no landing value. Therefore, the Japanese army has not yet shelled there.

In fact, it was not Yamamoto Izuru's negligence, but the Japanese Navy wanted to keep Kaneohe Bay for use for the Japanese fleet. Although the water depth and terrain there were not as good as Pearl Harbor, it was also an easy-to-defend bay and there were some port facilities. Once Pearl Harbor was blocked by the Americans with shipwrecks, it could be used as an anchorage for the Joint Fleet in Hawaii.

Colonel Collins paused and said, "Commander-in-Chief Nimitz also hopes that we can prepare to retreat to the Kulao Mountains for a long time..."

The Kulao Mountains is the largest mountain range on Oahu Island. One mountain occupies half of Oahu Island. The terrain is dangerous and easy to defend and difficult to attack. Moreover, the mountain range spreads along the east and north coasts of Oahu Island. In many places, the coast is the base of the mountain. If the US military retreats to the Kulao Mountains after falling into the Oahu Plain area, the Pacific Fleet can provide them with submarines. So as soon as Nimitz took office, he asked the army on Oahu Island to prepare for drilling the ravine.

"Do you still have to retreat to the Kulao Mountains for a long time?" General Short's expression became solemn again. He knew that Nimitz said this because he had no confidence in the sea decisive battle a few days later... Perhaps Nimitz didn't want to fight a decisive battle at all.

If the sea control power is firmly controlled by the Japanese, then the battle on the Oahu Plain will only be temporary even if it wins. In the end, the battle on the Oahu will inevitably fail, and the dangerous Kulao Mountains will become a refuge for the US military to survive on Oahu...

Admiral Schott nodded and said to Collins: "I understand, generate electricity for Admiral Nimitz. We will seek a decisive battle with the Japanese landing forces after his fleet arrives. If the decisive battle is not won, I will lead my troops to the Kulao Mountains."

...

"2,000 nautical miles, 10 knots of speed, it will take 200 hours even if you don't take the anti-submarine route... The US Pacific Fleet will arrive at the earliest on January 3 or 4. If you want to sail in the z-shaped voyage, there are possibilities for arrival on the 7th and 8th. Therefore, the rest of the 1st mobile fleet will end on January 2 and arrive in the designated waters on the 3rd. "

On the Yamato battleship, Iroku Yamamoto was presided over a joint military meeting between the Army and Navy. Tadaichi Nagamoto of the mobile fleet, Imamura of the 16th Army, and German military adviser Paulus were invited to the Commander's Office and sat around a topographic map of the Hawaiian Islands and its surrounding waters (Yamamoto did not use a nautical map, but deliberately used a topographic map that the army could understand).

Since Yamamoto and the others who attended the meeting did not expect that the main force of the Pacific Fleet and the ss01 fleet would act separately. Therefore, they all miscalculated the time of the decisive battle. Because when they were with the ss01 fleet, the fleet's speed would drop to about 10 knots. If there were no ss01 fleet, the speed would be maintained at around 15 knots.

Ugaki, chief of staff of the Joint Fleet, continued: "It is expected that the US Pacific Fleet will still use a tactic to lure the main force of our fleet to leave the vicinity of Oahu, and then use the main force of the fleet to attack Oahu. Our Joint Fleet Command has studied and decided to adopt a strategy to ambush the 1st mobile fleet in the waters south of Hawaii, in order to annihilate the US fleet that undertakes the task of luring the enemy, and then support the 1st Fleet to fight. At the same time, the 1st Fleet and the enemy attack Oahu fleet will launch a decisive battle..."

"Chief of Staff Ugaki!" At this time, the commander of the 16th Army, Imamura Jun, suddenly interrupted Ugaki Chan, and said, "I don't care about how to fight the decisive battle at sea. I just want to know when the navy's sneak attack on the beach of Honolulu can be launched? The battle on Oahu is very fierce now. The US military resists fiercely, the firepower is very strong, and the Imperial Army does not have enough air support. Now every step forward is a sea of ​​corpses and blood!"

When Imamura said this, he looked at his good friend Yamamoto with some resentment. The Navy is so shameless! There are so many bombers, but they are unwilling to send them to support the 2nd Division, and they say nonsense like "the pilots are too tired and need to accumulate energy" (this is said by Tadaichi Nagamo, who is known for caring for pilots). He is afraid of hardship and fatigue when fighting a war. How dare such an army say that he is a great Japanese Imperial Army?

Yamamoto Iroji knew that the Army was making difficult progress on Oahu, so he smiled apologetically: "The sneak attack on Waikiki Beach will be carried out at the same time as the decisive battle at sea begins. Because once the US ground forces on Oahu are completely wiped out, the US Pacific Fleet may cancel the reinforcement plan. In this way, our navy will lose an opportunity to destroy the main force of the US Pacific Fleet! Imamura, there are not many such opportunities!"

...

"Sir, General Short decided to fight the landed Japanese Army in the early morning of January 3."

On the battleship "North Carolina", Major General Frederick, chief of staff of the Pacific Fleet, is reporting the plans of the Hawaiian Army to Nimitz.

"The army will lure the enemy deep into the periphery of Skefield Barracks, first use the strong fortifications there for defense, and after fully killing the Japanese ground forces, 150 m3 tanks are deployed to counterattack."

"Does the Japanese Army that boarded Oahu have no tanks and anti-tank weapons?" Nimitz asked.

"The Japanese Army attacking Oahu certainly does not have tanks (but the Japanese Navy has one), and may have some 37mm anti-tank guns. However, the number will not be too large, and it cannot deal with 150 m3 vehicles. Therefore, General Short promised that the counterattack that started in the early morning of January 3 will inevitably win. However, in order to achieve the greatest success of the counterattack, he hopes to get strong air and sea support."

Nimitz thought for a while and said, "Tell Admiral Short that on January 2, SBD and F4F will fly to Oahu Island to bomb the beach where the Japanese landed. In the early morning of January 3, New Orleans-class heavy cruisers and Cleveland-class light cruisers will break into the vicinity of Oahu Island, and they will be responsible for shelling the Japanese positions." Then he paused and added, "But the air support on January 2 and the shelling on January 3 will probably be the most powerful support for a long time in the future... The Hawaiian defenders are likely to face a long difficult period." (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!