Six Hundred and Fourteen Sense of Smell

On the battleship Nagato, the flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Yamamoto Fifty-Six looked at the sea horizon in the east, squinted his eyes and didn't know what he was thinking, but his fingers kept tapping on the table, and he didn't seem to be distracted , but thinking about something.

"Xiao Li-kun, tell me...will the Americans come?" Seeing the orderly who was in charge of taking care of him bring tea, Yamamoto Fifty-Six suddenly asked. Asking an orderly about the future of an entire fleet seems like child's play in itself.

"Your Excellency Marshal...I'm just an orderly." The orderly who had been with Yamamoto Fifty-Six for two years hastily lowered his head and replied, "My subordinates don't understand this kind of thing, and my subordinates are only responsible for your food and daily life, Marshal. "

Yamamoto waved his hand, apparently dissatisfied with the old orderly's answer, he took a sip of tea, looked at the cup full of horizontal stripes in his hand, and asked again as if he did not give up: "Tell me, simple Just say your opinion, I really want to hear it. Just treat it as... curious... Curious."

"Your Excellency Marshal, my subordinates feel that the American warships have already been sunk by us, and they must not have the guts to attack and harass us." The orderly thought for a while, and then spoke out his thoughts.

Yamamoto seemed to confirm something, nodded in satisfaction, and then waved his hand to signal that his orderlies could retreat. In fact, his heart was full of fear. Some battleships in the United Fleet were running out of fuel, and the aviation troops on the aircraft carrier had been fighting continuously for more than ten days. At this time, his fleet was exhausted and it was no longer suitable for fighting.

However, there are still more than 30,000 Japanese soldiers on Kauai and Oahu who are fighting bloody battles, so the combined fleet cannot leave. Too much Japanese army power has been consumed here, which has already made the wily Yamamoto Fifty-Six feel a little uneasy. He was afraid that the United States would launch a counterattack at this time, and he prayed countless times in his heart that the Americans would not suddenly appear at this time.

"The destroyer Akikaze sent a telegram. They found that four planes had taken off from the U.S. military airport on Hawaii Island. They seemed to be doing reconnaissance flights." A staff officer walked to Yamamoto and lowered his head to report the latest battlefield intelligence.

"What? A reconnaissance plane?" Yamamoto narrowed his eyes, and after repeating a sentence, he suddenly opened his eyes wide: "At this time, the Americans, the reconnaissance plane...what are they looking for? Looking for the fleet! Looking for... Nagumo's fleet! "

Muttering to this point, he suddenly stood up and hammered his hands: "Here we come! The Americans! They finally came! Give Nagumo Tadaichi an electric power! Order him to get ready to fight against the sea, notify all warships, and send reconnaissance planes to scout the nearby sea , especially the area east of the Hawaiian Islands! Find the American fleet!"

Yamamoto Fifty-Six has a keen sense of the arrival of the American fleet. This is not how skillful and miraculous he is in commanding operations, but that he has always been concerned about the various countermeasures that the United States may adopt. He felt that if he himself served as the commander of the US Navy fleet,

It will definitely choose this opportunity to launch a counterattack against Japan.

As the commander-in-chief of the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy, Yamamoto Fifty-Six is ​​one of the few commanders in the Japanese Navy who can correctly assess the power of the United States. He knew or partially understood the war potential of the United States, and he could guess part of the high-level US strategic policy, just as Nimitz and Roosevelt could guess the actions of the Japanese.

Therefore, at this moment, when he heard the news that the American fleet might be coming, he was fighting fiercely in his heart. He was not ready to face the American fleet. He is hesitating, hesitating whether to abandon Oahu and turn around, or take the risk of fighting the US Navy here. He frowned, and suddenly hoped that all this was a false alarm. He even felt that it must be so, that he must be too nervous.

"The reconnaissance plane on the battleship Mutsu spotted an American destroyer. For fear of being shot down, the seaplane did not approach for reconnaissance, but just sent back the news. The message said that he saw a destroyer, which may be followed The second ship." Thirty minutes later, a Japanese reconnaissance plane finally spotted the American fleet, and at about the same time, the American fleet also spotted the approximate location of the Japanese navy.

Chuichi Nagumo led the fatigued Japanese Navy's four aircraft carriers and immediately launched a counterattack against the detected US fleet, because he carried out the order of Yamamoto Fifty-Six, prepared carrier-based aircraft in advance, and loaded these aircraft with sea attack torpedo, so now he can calmly let the plane take off and pounce on the US fleet.

On his own command ship, the commander of the Japanese Navy's First Air Fleet, Nagumo Chuichi, stared at the information, and after comparing the charts, he confirmed the attack mission with his aviation commander: "The first wave of attack is at It is here to sink the US aircraft carrier as soon as possible and return to the voyage. The second wave of attack will take off in the gap, so the time must be seized."

"Hi!" The flight commander of the air force stood at attention and bent down, and promised loudly: "Please rest assured, the air force will definitely complete the mission and destroy the last US aircraft carrier fleet." After finishing speaking, the man with the saber The commander stepped off the bridge to encourage his pilots to attack the American fleet.

deck. The Japanese pilot was raising his arms and shouting, yelling that he was about to set off. The slogan of Long live His Majesty the Emperor echoed over the deck of the aircraft carrier. Some of the engines of the aircraft engines had already been started, and some Japanese ground crews were finally confirming whether the torpedoes mounted on the aircraft had been disarmed.

"Satou-kun, this flight will be related to whether the United Fleet can attack the United States. Please be sure to carry forward the glorious Bushido spirit of our army, sink the US aircraft carrier, and bring a glorious victory to the empire." Commanding the sword, Commander Suzuki Osamu just came to the deck from Nagumo, and explained to Sato, the commander of the front-line flying troops, with a solemn face.

"Hi! Suzuki-kun, please rest assured." Sato was obviously full of confidence in this flight mission: "My fighter pilots have all flown for more than 15 hours, and they can be said to be the most elite pilots in the world. This Once the Americans dared to come to provoke the samurai of our Great Japanese Empire, I will definitely make them regret their stupid decision."

Sato has his own proud capital. His carrier-based aircraft unit has shot down 90 American aircraft of various types since it participated in the battle against the US military in the Philippines a few months ago. There are several ace pilots in the team. Even Nagano Shoshen from the Japanese headquarters (this elder brother is the backer of Yamamoto Fifty-Six) ​​personally praised him.

"Let's go! I am looking forward to your safe return here! Push the Imperial Navy to the peak of glory!" Suzuki nodded, indicating that Sato can go. Sato nodded fiercely, turned and walked towards his plane.

Not far from the two of them, a row of pilots raised their hands high and loudly cheered before leaving: "His Majesty the Emperor! Long live!" The entire deck was busy, and the first plane had already slid to The takeoff stand-by area.

Standing on the bridge, Nagumo Nagaichi watched his carrier-based plane begin to taxi and take off, and unknowingly, sweat was already oozing from the palms of his hands. It stands to reason that the state of the fleet is not very good now, and neither the pilots of the carrier-based aircraft nor the sailors of the battleship have been rested. It is obviously unreasonable to conduct a decisive battle at this time.

But as a commander of the Japanese navy, he also knew that escaping was obviously not something an imperialist should do. There are still 49,000 soldiers on Oahu and Kauai who are fighting bloody battles. For the elite of these empires, the United Fleet cannot choose to retreat.

"God bless my emperor, my luck will last forever." Nagumo Chuichi silently prayed in his heart, the only thing he could do at this moment was pray. If the Japanese navy withstood the pressure, or if its naval aviation withstood the pressure and won this crucial battle, then Japan could still dominate the Pacific for a long time. But in case something goes wrong, what he holds in his hands is the elite flesh and blood of the Japanese navy. As a commander, he knows that he really can't afford to lose.

"General! Marshal Yamamoto is calling! The four battleships Nagato, Mutsu, Ise and Hyuga have moved to the left flank of the fleet. Marshal Yamamoto hopes to rely on the high speed of the four battleships to approach the U.S. Navy from the side and attack with artillery U.S. fleet, distract your opponent." An officer walked over and said to Nagumo Chuichi.

The U.S. aircraft had already found the location of the aircraft carrier of the Japanese Navy fleet, so keeping the radio silent would be deceiving oneself and others.

"The Marshal personally took risks. He is really a role model for the emperor." Nagumo Chuichi admired, and then issued an attack order: "After the first batch of carrier-based aircraft is released, the second batch will be ready immediately! The bombers and torpedo planes simultaneously Send out! Be sure to sink the opponent's aircraft carrier fleet!"

One after another, Japanese planes jumped up on the deck of the aircraft carrier and formed a flying formation far away from the Nagumo Chuichi Bridge. Facing the morning sun, they flew overwhelmingly towards the confirmed coordinates.

On the other hand, the battle alarm of the US fleet has already sounded, and Nimitz knows that his opponent already knows his arrival. However, he had received information a few hours ago that some aircraft carrier-based aircraft of the Japanese Navy had appeared in Darwin Port. This news prevented Nimitz and Spruance from turning around and fleeing, determined to stay and fight to the death.

"General Spruance, the command of the aircraft carrier fleet is entrusted to you, please take over the command." Nimitz sent a message to his subordinates before the battle began: "God bless America, victory belongs to us!"