Chapter 1041 Hawaii (4)

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On the morning of October 4, Truman received two pieces of news. Unfortunately, one was good and the other was bad. The bad news diluted the good news.

The good news is from Hawaii. The Nimitz fleet has successfully arrived. The USS Wasp aircraft carrier has been inspected by engineers on site and confirmed that it can be completely repaired. The estimated construction period is 20-25 days, and the repair will be completed in about three weeks.

The bad news is that an emergency telegram was sent from the Galapagos Islands. The main force of the Japanese fleet was found more than 900 kilometers west-northwest of the island, advancing at a speed of about 17 knots.

The Galapagos Islands are the gateway to Central America in the Pacific. They have an important geographical location and are administratively subordinate to Ecuador. However, the United States has stationed more than one battalion and more than 100 aircraft on it, as well as relatively abundant supplies. When the Joint Chiefs of Staff asked the Nimitz fleet to return, they tried to have the fleet resupply on the island and then return to the United States. Once the Japanese army occupied the island, it could effectively threaten several countries in Central America and northwest South America (Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru included).

"Can we continue to send more troops to the island?"

"No, firstly, the Ecuadorian authorities strongly object, and the country is still a neutral country so far; secondly, increasing the number of troops is of no use, as it will only bring victory to the Japanese army in vain in front of the 18-inch cannon; thirdly, if we allocate troops to defend Panama, What if the Japanese feint to attack Panama first? The most terrible thing is to move back and forth!" Spruance frowned, "I'm more worried about Panama now. After the Japanese army takes over the island, unless we have a chance to recapture it, the Panama Canal will be repaired. Tong Tong is also under threat from the island.”

Of course Tsukahara would not pick the target at random. The location of the Galapagos Islands is very delicate. It is more than 1,000 kilometers away from Panama and the South American continent, so it can cover the entire territory.

Truman also saw on the map that the direction of the Japanese fleet's sailing was the most critical now. He could not guarantee whether the Japanese army's next move would be to attack Panama or occupy the island first. Several staff members believed that they would have to wait at least at night before they could judge the Japanese army. Should we attack the Islands or Panama?

"Hell, it was dark at that time, how could I know where the Japanese were going to attack?"

Arnold, who was commanding in San Francisco, also learned of the news and sent an emergency telegram. On the one hand, he emphasized the fact that the island's defense force was not strong. On the other hand, he believed that Panama was more important and suggested that the defenders completely withdraw after destroying the inventory. Defense of Panama.

At the urgent meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Truman first asked someone to state the current war situation, and then suddenly attacked Dewey's army: "Mr. Dewey, what do you think about this matter? Judging from the current situation, the Galapagos Islands must be defended." However, destroying supplies and making a comprehensive retreat can also strengthen Panama's defense, but it is not ideal politically; ordering the defenders to persist to the end can only lead to the complete destruction of the army, which is not ideal militarily. "

This dilemma left Dewey with no choice. He racked his brains and couldn't come up with a good solution. Finally, he said: "This... I am currently in the auditory stage and am not familiar with the situation. Naturally, I will give priority to your opinions."

"Then adopt General Arnold's suggestion, immediately destroy all supplies and then retreat to Panama and Ecuador. At the same time, notify Panama of full alert!"

In the afternoon, a Saiunai aircraft sent the latest reconnaissance news. Ryunosuke Kusaka was overjoyed after reading it and reported to Tsukahara 243: "Sir, the U.S. military is retreating. The reconnaissance plane saw thick smoke billowing from the island and was filled with gunpowder smoke. There were black oil stains on the sea surface, and it seemed that the defenders were destroying supplies. "

"The Americans are wise and know that hard-topping is not the answer, but is retreat the answer?" Tsukahara smiled slightly, "What's going on with Tsunoda?"

"He moved the fleet back a little. It is currently about 2,600 kilometers away from Pearl Harbor. There is no sign of the enemy leaving the port, and there is no sign of any abnormal movement of the US military on the west coast."

"The U.S. fleet has just returned and is expected to need a good rest before fighting. Send him a telegram, emphasizing: Once the U.S. military leaves the port, no matter how large or small it is and whether it is certain of victory, do not fight, but do your best to lead the opponent in a circle and delay it for a while! In another week, the commander’s reinforcement fleet will be ready to set off!”

"Onboard!"

"Onboard!"

On the evening of October 5th, as the huge figure of the Yamato and a string of steel jungles appeared on the sea behind it, the Port of Ayora was filled with people. There were also people wearing kimonos and dragging wooden clogs who cried with joy and jumped up and down. .

After the U.S. troops withdrew, the Ecuadorian administration immediately informed the Japanese side through a clear telegram that there were no U.S. troops on the island and hoped that the other side would not attack. At the same time, they also stated to the German Embassy that they had no intention of going against the Axis. The country is still very sensible. It did not use the rhetoric of "neutral countries are sacrosanct" to annoy the Japanese. It can bulldoze the island in a matter of minutes. Why bother?

As for the residents chanting slogans and waving small Asahimaru flags, they are all descendants of immigrants who have immigrated from Japan for decades. They are usually cautious, but now they all appeared arrogantly in an instant, which made the Ecuadorians uncomfortable. Comfortable but helpless.

Ecuador is a small country in South America. It has been clinging to the United States for many years, but now this thigh seems to be unable to protect itself: not only was it driven back from Europe, but even the home court in South America is almost out of control. Of course, the Ecuadorians dare not act recklessly in front of the Axis. Seeing the La Plata Group countries confiscate British and American capital, they are simply envious and jealous. But envy is envy, but dare not imitate, so they can only cautiously adopt a policy of not offending both sides and be neutral outside the game.

In fact, the Combined Fleet does not have many army forces now. Tadamichi Kuribayashi brought out only one Guards 2nd Division. A multi-unit garrison was stationed on Midway Island. The battle on Christmas Island lost several thousand due to air raids and battles, and then stationed more than 2 units of troops on Christmas Island. The troops accompanying the attack this time are less than 2,000.

Tsukahara also knew that the army was not strong enough, so he sent a telegram to the country, hoping to send more army soldiers with "sacrificial spirit" to garrison. Hori Teikichi understood what he meant and asked the army for people. Finally, he got two divisions and reinforcements for the Second Guard Division from Ishihara Kanji. The corresponding ships and supplies also needed to be expanded.

Long-distance garrisons cost a lot, but Tsukahara thought it was worth it to station troops on the Galapagos Island, which was equivalent to Japan directly having a base to deter Central America.

After the army landed, it sent people to inform that most of the US military camps and facilities were intact and fully usable. Even the radar station was not completely blown up. Only a few key equipment were damaged in a hurry. The rest of the supplies were almost destroyed, especially the heavy oil that the fleet most desired was basically at the bottom, and the whole bay was a black oil slick. Overall, as long as a little cleaning is done, there will be a ready-made camp, and the facilities are much more complete than those built by Japan itself! Only one carrier battleship of the entire combined fleet did not dock, and it was still guarding more than 200 kilometers away from the island, ready to provide cover in an emergency.

After landing on the island, Tsukahara and local officials of Ecuador paid a courtesy visit, saying that the fleet would stay here, "To prevent the United States from further violating Ecuador's neutrality, Japan will station troops here, but will not harm Ecuador's interests."

The Ecuadorians naturally did not believe this, but the situation was stronger than people - why can the United States station troops in Japan but not? They could only say goodbye after nodding.

On the other hand, the junior staff had already met with the Japanese and Japanese groups, comforting and thanking them while collecting all available intelligence from them.

"The garrison must observe discipline. Ecuador is a neutral country, not a hostile country. It will be difficult to deal with a scandal! If there is not enough daily necessities, we can use the seized US dollars to buy from Ecuadorians, and we can ask our expatriates to act as intermediaries!" Tsukahara issued orders while sighing, "It's a great place, but it's a pity that we can't occupy it for a long time."

"Are you worried about the US military's counterattack?"

"No! Germany."

Kusaka Ryunosuke was stunned for a moment: "Didn't Germany also conquer cities and plunder in America? Speaking of our own descendants, there are more Japanese descendants than German descendants!"

"But Japan is not as strong as Germany, especially at this embarrassing moment when we need Germany a lot in other aspects, we must not go against Germany. Germany will definitely reach out to this island in the future, It would be great if we could finally exchange some real benefits - just like Guinea Island! "

"What should we do next? Our army does not have much fuel left. It will take at least 3 weeks for the commander's follow-up team to come up, and we did not get the fuel from the US military today."

"Don't worry, rest for 3 days, and then we will go to Lima."

"Go to Peru?"

"The commander had communicated with the Germans before the battle. The German side coordinated the La Plata Group to help our army with supplies. The fleet can stop in Peru. We will not lack fuel and supplies. The Germans will pay, and we can settle the accounts at that time."

Hearing that Hori Teikichi had already made arrangements, Kusaka Ryunosuke was relieved. Thinking about it, it was also true: the commander had said that he would come to attack the west coast. How could he not be prepared at all? The biggest hidden danger now is the Kakuta Fleet. I hope he can continue to circle around at sea and never be caught by the US fleet in Pearl Harbor.

The US side, which received the news of the Japanese attack on the Galapagos Islands, broke out into a dispute. Halsey believed that since the main Japanese fleet was not there, the fleet should be sent out to attack the Japanese commerce-breaking fleet. At present, the fuel reserves in Pearl Harbor were less than 500,000 tons - just filling up Nimitz's fleet with fuel consumed a lot. He believed that an Essex-class aircraft carrier with 7-8 escort aircraft carriers was enough to overwhelm the opponent.

But Nimitz thought the time was not yet ripe. He hoped to completely repair the Wasp before attacking the commerce-breaking fleet. The reason was, "The key to solving the problem now is not to fight a battle with the Japanese, which will hurt both sides. What I want to do is to destroy the enemy cleanly and neatly. Even if it means destroying the Japanese at the cost of sinking the Franklin, it is currently unaffordable."

Ingram was sandwiched between the two people. He felt that both made sense and it was difficult to express his opinion...