"Commander, American planes are bombing the army on Oahu."

Yamamoto Iroku heard the news of the unlucky red deer in the army as soon as he got up, but he was not surprised, as if everything was expected.

"How many planes are there? Is it a single or four-speed?" Yamamoto asked while slowly wearing his clothes.

"There are more than 100 aircraft! All are single-engine aircraft, and they should have taken off from the US aircraft carrier!"

Ugaki Chan's tone, who reported to Yamamoto Iroru, was full of regret. If the 1st mobile fleet had been dispatched one day earlier, it might have been possible to launch an attack now!

Yamamoto seemed to guess Ugaki's thoughts, but just smiled faintly: "It's useless, it can't be used to hit the US aircraft carrier. They must have calculated the time and sent the plane out before dawn, and then the aircraft carrier will escape immediately... Look at it, these more than 100 aircraft will definitely not return after the army is bombed."

"Commander, then there is no need to let the 1st mobile fleet be dispatched?"

Yamamoto Iroku thought for a while and said, "That won't work. If the US aircraft carrier doesn't leave, it will be troublesome. Let Yamaguchi Tatsume lead the second flight battle to attack 200 nautical miles south of the Hawaiian Islands... In addition, strengthen the fifth flight battle Ruizuka to the second flight battle."

This order from Yamamoto Irojiro was to split and use Nagamoto's first mobile fleet. Three aircraft carriers, including Aolong, Feilong, and Ruihe, were commanded by Yamaguchi Tatsume. They went to the south of the Hawaiian Islands to drive the Halsey fleet away, in fact, Halsey had already run away now. His four aircraft carriers are now related to the survival of Australia, and they really can't afford to lose. Of course, Halsey, who knows the importance of the matter, dare not have another gambling with the Japanese.

However, Yamamoto Izuru still needs to be cautious, so it is still necessary to send Yamaguchi Tatsumetsu troops (three aircraft carriers).

"Then what about the main force of the first mobile fleet?" Ugaki Chan continued to ask for instructions.

"Send a plane to deal with the new American planes on Oahu," Yamamoto Iroku had already put on his military uniform, opened the sliding door of the bedroom, walked to the commander's hall outside, and said to Ugaki who was standing there, "Then go to lurk north of Oahu... In another day or two, there will definitely be a real big fish to take the bait. In addition, let the Mikawa Army command the 3rd team of the First Fleet to support the landing operations. The main force of the First Fleet is now ready to fight the battleships of the US Pacific Fleet!"

"Hayi!"

...

"Admiral, the telegram from Oahu, the bombing 30 minutes ago was very successful. The beach of Haleiwa turned into a sea of ​​fire, killing many Japanese devils who had just arrived ashore, and also blowing up a lot of supplies piled up there."

Admiral Nimitz just got good news on the battleship "North Carolina". This morning (Hawaiian time), the air strikes on the Japanese army on Oahu, launched by 146 F4Fs and SBD, were very successful. Hundreds of high-explosive bombs landed on the heads of unprepared Japanese army officers and soldiers, perhaps killing two thousand people or even more, and also destroying many materials that had worked hard to transport from Japan.

"Admiral, there are planes on Oahu now," Major General Frederick put the telegram on Nimitz's desk and smiled, "Maybe we can guard Oahu."

Nimitz glanced at his chief of staff and said lightly as he said: "If we can sink that Japanese super battleship... Otherwise, the temporary airport in Skefield Barracks would not exist for too long."

The temporary airport of Skefield Barracks is not in the valley, but on the plains south of Skefield Barracks. Because the airport is placed in the valley, it is very unsafe to take off and land. Moreover, although this valley is a blind spot for naval gun shooting, it is too close to the front line and is easily bombarded by heavy Japanese mortars.

At this time, the sound of a report sounded outside Nimitz's office, and then Nimitz's adjutant pushed open the door: "Admiral, Major General Spruins has arrived."

"Please come in," said Nimitz.

Major General Raymond Arms Spruenz is the admiral Nimitz is very fond of. Now he is commanding a patrol team. Nimitz wants him to lead the team into Kaneohe Bay in the early morning of January 3 to "retrieve people".

"Raymond, there is a difficult task for you to complete," Nimitz greeted Spruenz and said, "You lead the 3rd team to attack Oahu at high speed starting tomorrow morning to enter the Bay of Kaneohe after dark."

"It sounds like a death sentence," Major General Spruins said to Nimitz in an American blunt tone. "Admiral, I heard that there are five Japanese battleships near Oahu and many heavy cruisers."

"It's not that bad," Nimitz said with a smile. "There are no heavy cruisers. The Japanese heavy cruisers are now attacking Guam, the Philippines, Wake Island, Borneo and Malaya. So as long as you avoid the attacks of Japanese battleships and aircraft, the 3rd Team will be very safe. Because the New Orleans-class heavy cruisers and Cleveland-class light cruisers are very powerful and enough to deal with Japanese light cruisers and destroyers."

The New Orleans-class heavy cruiser is a treaty heavy cruiser, and its combat effectiveness is just that. However, the Cleveland-class light cruiser is really good, not light at all, with a standard displacement of 11,800 tons, which is larger than a treaty heavy cruiser. Major General Spruins' third team includes one New Orleans-class and two Cleveland-class.

"But how could I avoid planes and battleships?"

"In fact, they probably won't attack you because your team is not a high-value target, and the Japanese are likely to use Team 3 as a bait," Nimitz said. "And today's weather is terrible."

"What if the Japanese didn't treat my team as bait?"

Nimitz shrugged and said, "If they send battleships to attack you, the third battle can escape. If the plane is coming... this possibility is not great. If it really comes, I will send a carrier-based aircraft to support you."

Nimitz's plan sounds unreliable, but in fact, the Japanese planes do not have the time to deal with Spruenz's team on the highway near Oahu, because they have too many enemies to deal with.

Some Japanese planes followed Yamaguchi's Tatsumega team to march south of the Hawaiian Islands; the other part took off from Akagi, Kaga and Xiangzawa to deal with American planes on Oahu, and also went to bomb the airport; in addition, five battleships, Yamato, Nagamon, Muro, Kirishima and Hiei, also need aircraft cover.

Moreover, the weather in the Hawaiian Islands on January 2, 1942 was not very good. A large thunderstorm cloud floated in the sky, and from time to time a heavy rain fell somewhere.

So Yamamoto Irosaki on the Yamato didn't learn until 2 pm on January 2 that there was a US fleet including three heavy cruisers coming to Oahu at high speed.

"Three heavy cruisers?" Yamamoto Iroku frowned slightly after hearing the news. Since the weather was not very good and fierce fighting broke out on Oahu, the ones sent out to seek enemies today were all seaplanes with small ranges. Moreover, these planes often encounter sudden thunderstorms, so many sea areas will inevitably be missed.

"Commander, do you want to send a plane to bomb?" Ugaki asked.

"No," Yamamoto Izuru touched his head and shook his head, "No for the time being... It's impossible that there are only three heavy cruisers. It must be a trap!"

Ugaki Chan nodded and said, "I think so too. Although I don't know what the Americans want to do, they must have some tricks... Anyway, they are just three heavy cruisers."

Three treaty heavy cruisers are not a high-value target, especially when Tadashi Nagashi doesn't have many carrier-based aircraft to be deployed. So both Yamamoto Ioruku and Ugaki Chan would rather choose to wait and see for the time being.

Yamamoto Iroru thought about it and said with a smile: "But we can't let them get too close to Oahu. Tonight is the night of the decisive battle! Ugaki-kun, it seems that our Yamato will show its might again tonight!"

...

Hawaii, Oahu.

By the time it was approaching evening, the sky was already dark clouds, and the battle between US and Japanese aircraft could only come to an end temporarily. After the consumption of the 176 F4Fs and SBDs taken off from Lexington and Saratoga, after today's daytime consumption, there are now less than 100. Of the more than 70 aircraft lost, about half were lost in air combat, and half were destroyed by the bombing of Japanese aircraft.

Although the losses were heavy, the results achieved were very significant. The Japanese army landed on Oahu Island had been on defense since the morning, which must have been the result of the bombing. In addition, more than 30 Japanese planes were shot down, and almost no one saw Japanese pilots parachuting!

In other words, behind these more than 30 shot downs, at least 50 Japanese pilots were killed. If the pilots were lost alone, the Japanese actually lost today's air battle.

Such an air battle result made General Walter Short very satisfied. He took his eyes off the cloudy air and said to Colonel Collins beside him: "The Navy has done a great job, it's our turn now. Let the children drive the tanks out of the woods and then let the engineers build the pontoon bridge. I hope to launch an attack at 9 pm and push the front to Haleiwa Beach tomorrow morning... This goal should be accomplished. For the counterattack tonight, we have concentrated 150 tanks, 120 cannons and 5 regiments of infantry."

"Admiral, we have a lot of infantry in it," said Colonel Collins. "We have almost no reserves."

"Isn't there a battalion?" General Short smiled, "This is enough... Can the Japanese soldiers who have no weapons besides the 'gun' (referring to the Type 38 rifle that is a bit over-developed after being equipped with bayonets), machine guns, mortars and grenades, can defeat an armored unit? This is impossible. The experience of European war clearly tells us that only another armored unit can defeat an armored unit, and the Japanese must have no armored units in Hawaii!" (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!