Seven Hundred and Seventy-One 1 Dignity

"Wow!" Yamamoto Fifty-Six slammed the wine glass in his hand to the ground in the temporary headquarters of the Admiral of the Japanese Army on the Marshall Islands. His current anger has almost swelled to an unbelievable level. If it weren't for the presence of many subordinates, he would probably have scolded the street on the spot.

Waiting for the U.S. Navy’s counterattack at Midway Island, the U.S. Navy finally shrank. The expected U.S. Navy’s hot-headed attack on Midway Island did not come. Yamamoto also realized that the U.S. Navy may have to adopt the most correct tactics. Bring down Japan.

So he had no choice but to make the greatest effort before the defeat to earn more fighting capital for Japan. As long as a stalemate can be achieved on the battlefield, tough wars will also make Americans choose temporary peace. Yamamoto believes that the Americans will eventually compromise, but Japan cannot imagine winning the war without paying a little price. The best ending for Japan now is to exhaust the determination of the United States to fight the war with a tragic battlefield.

After thinking about this for a long time, Yamamoto decided to use the maritime guerrilla warfare used by the United States to delay time, and while training himself to supplement the quality of soldiers, he also consumed the effective strength of the US Navy. Therefore, Yamamoto Fifty-Six made a bold decision to leave Midway and go south, first helping the Japanese army in the south to win a decisive victory in Australia, and then going north to find trouble with the US Navy.

But who would have thought that in Yamamoto's thinking, the U.S. Navy, which has been extremely cunning, and the U.S. Navy Admiral Nimitz, who has been shy for almost a month, actually arrived at the Marshall Islands on the ninth day after the United Fleet went south. , He resolutely launched the second Battle of Midway.

"Baga! The Japanese navy has just gone south, and it has only appeared in the Marshall Islands for a few days? The Americans already know the exact location of our main force! The US Navy fleet, which did not even dare to go to Midway Island, just appeared in the Marshall Islands. The waters near Midway Island! You generals who are engaged in intelligence work, what do you do?" The first thing that needs to be reprimanded is the department in charge of intelligence secrecy. The U.S. Navy definitely needs enough Supported by intelligence information, the Americans got the intelligence they wanted, which proves that Japan's intelligence work is not very good.

"Hi!" Several Japanese naval generals who were in charge of intelligence warfare in Nanyang stood up one after another, bowed their heads in front of Yamamoto Fifty-Six. After all, the dereliction of duty of the intelligence department is already a fait accompli, and now it is useless to quibble, and it has left a bad impression on Yamamoto Isuo-Six for no reason.

In addition to the intelligence department, the reason that annoyed Yamamoto even more was that Spruance went south to the Marshall Islands before the Battle of Kauai, which caused considerable trouble for the Japanese Navy and forced Yamamoto's combined fleet to go south to expel This U.S. task force missed the best time for the U.S.-Japan Kauai Island decisive battle.

Now when the Japanese navy uses this trick in turn, it does not play a role in containing the US navy at all. Instead, it wastes time and consumes its troops, and the entire fleet has not been able to get time to rest. The same tactic, used by different people, has different effects.

In fact, this is also very easy to explain. First, because the U.S. Navy was mainly engaged in breaking wars and raids at that time, mainly destroying Japan’s sea transportation lines. The second is because the U.S. Navy is equipped with a more advanced radar system, which is enough to enable the U.S. fleet to avoid the Japanese fleet and achieve the purpose of running ahead of schedule.

However, the strategic purpose of the Japanese Navy is not to destroy the attack, but to occupy it permanently, so its route is relatively fixed, and its main force is easier to judge than when the US Navy goes south.

Putting these aside, there are two options before Yamamoto Isuo-six. One is to go north to seek a strategic decisive battle and fight a fateful battle with the U.S. Navy in the waters of Midway Island; the other is to continue to stay in the Nanyang region Be a turtle and watch the US Navy capture Midway.

Now the entire United Fleet has been rushing all the way south to Marshall, and has separated a battleship fleet and an aircraft carrier squadron non-stop to provide support for the Japanese Army operating in northern Australia. It has not been rested for a few days, so rashly went north, and the United States It is not a good idea for the navy to conduct a decisive battle.

At the same time, Yamamoto Fifty-Six was unwilling to give up Midway Island, after all, the location of Midway Island was too important. As an important island base in the central Pacific Ocean, it can be said to be an important bridgehead to contain the US attack and expand the range of joint fleet maneuvering at sea. Once it is lost to the U.S. Navy, the combined fleet's maneuvering space will be reduced by half, which is what the Japanese Navy's senior management does not want to see.

Don't underestimate this inconspicuous island. At least the Japanese navy with this island in its hands can better protect its northern defense line. In this way, the Japanese army can invest its troops in Australia more safely and efficiently, and Japan's future will only have a chance to have a close relationship with the United States on the basis of the complete integration of China, Australia and the entire Southeast Asia. Fighting capital.

Unlike the strong family background of the United States, Japan has nothing to dare to lose. Australia is its strategic buffer zone, and the Nanyang islands and Southeast Asia behind it are Japan’s raw material bases. In addition, China has always involved more than half of the Japanese army. A casual look at the so-called Japanese-occupied area is like a house riddled with holes, with fatal flaws everywhere.

If the Midway Island is lost, the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy will be forced to shrink back, then the Marshall Islands and Wake Island, which have lost their command of the sea, will have to face the harassment of the US Navy, highlighting the army in Australia, and the situation will be even worse. . Once Australia is lost, Japan is not far from failure.

"Use two days to assemble the fleet, and use the first plan of the original retreat plan to meet in the waters near Wake Island." In the end, Yamamoto decided that the two evils were the lesser, and gritted his teeth and ordered the combined fleet to be near Wake Island. Gathering in the sea area, going north for a decisive battle with the US Navy fleet: "Midway Island is absolutely unacceptable. I have a hunch that the Battle of Midway Island will become the most important battle on the Pacific battlefield!"

There is God's will in the dark, and the Japanese naval forces that escaped the fiasco of the first Midway naval battle now have to go to this ominous place for Japan. They are more tired than when they first arrived there. The weapon advantage is also weaker.

Yamamoto Fifty-Six had a premonition of danger instinctively, but he still wanted to fight the U.S. Navy in an upright manner. After all, the teacher of the Japanese Navy, the British Navy, paid attention to the idea of ​​fighting against the enemy. The Japanese Navy has already won by relying on this idea. They have won all the previous wars-this time there is no reason to change their minds, as long as they defeat the US Navy Pacific Fleet in front of them, everything will go back to a few months ago, and the Great Japanese Empire will never be a dream.

"Gentlemen, please pray, and pray that His Majesty the Emperor will bless us, and that the Great Japanese Empire will last forever!" Yamamoto stood up, looked at all the Japanese generals present, and said slowly: "This war is about In our future decisive battle, I hope that you can forget all the unpleasantness, cooperate sincerely, and strive for the most brilliant victory for our nation!"

"Hi!" On both sides of the conference table, all the generals and officers stood up, bowed their heads and stood at attention, answering Yamamoto Fifty-Six's expectations.

And when Yamamoto Fifty-Six was preparing to send troops to Midway Island, the position on Midway Island had been patronized by the heavy artillery of the US Navy for a long time. Itan's troops had never fought under such harsh coastal defense conditions, and the morale of the army even seemed to be unstable for a while.

"Baga, why do these American bastards only shoot and not attack? What are they going to do?" A Japanese military officer yelled with a mournful face in the trench. Beside him, next to a broken Type 92 heavy machine gun, the corpses of two bloody Japanese soldiers were still steaming. A shell just now hit the position of the machine gun and captured five Japanese soldiers. soldier's life.

"Sergeant Cao... I have already felt the call of His Majesty the Emperor. I can't do it anymore, I'm going to die. Don't waste any more medicine to save me, please give me the dignity of a samurai." A man lying in the trench The soldier wailed loudly, his legs were gone, his khaki military uniform was stained red with blood, and the wounds on his body made him look extremely embarrassed, but his words were still firm.

Sergeant Cao put down the binoculars hanging on his chest, and looked back at his companion. This soldier is a veteran who has fought for many years. He has killed more than 10 Chinese soldiers on the Chinese battlefield. Unfortunately, Now he can only lie there, not even the strength to commit suicide.

"Asami-kun... your family..." Sergeant Cao obviously couldn't bear it. Their wars have been going smoothly all along, and such heavy casualties have rarely occurred, so that kind of large-scale suicide has never happened. , the atmosphere on the battlefield is relatively normal.

The only real Japanese defeat was the Battle of Kauai Island, and that battle did not cause any waves because no survivors returned to the friendly forces. Only by experiencing it firsthand can we know how tragic and terrifying it is.

"Sergeant Cao...give me some dignity..." The soldier closed his eyes, but judging from the expression on his face, he could still feel the pain he was going through.