Chapter 1086 1944: Speed and Lightning (36)
"To sum up, for the current battle strategy, I advocate retreat to preserve the vitality; during the retreat, it is impossible to guarantee that all warships and all personnel will retreat, and we can only select the most important part to retreat..."
As for what's most important, Turner puts the order succinctly:
Very high priority: all pilots and officers above major;
Higher priority: officers and soldiers in core positions on each warship and other officers;
Next highest priority: 4 battleships;
General priority: remaining officers and soldiers;
Others: various fast warships;
Finally: escort carrier.
Seeing such a ranking, everyone took a breath of air, but didn't know how to evaluate it: Turner not only divided the personnel into levels, but also placed the importance of the four battleships above ordinary officers and soldiers - this is Extremely "politically incorrect". No wonder Nimitz, Spruance and others must summon Turner back to let Turner speak these words.
"Normally, personnel must take priority over warships, but this time the situation is special. The two Essex-class ships are of extraordinary significance - without these two warships, the Pacific Fleet cannot fight even if it is fully staffed, unless We will quickly negotiate a peace with Germany, then add this group of personnel to the Atlantic Fleet, and then go around Cape Horn. It will take 2 months to be effective. Even if we agree to an armistice with Germany tomorrow, Congress will have to wait for 1 month. The procedure can’t be completed, so it will take three months. In three months, I’m afraid that Hawaii will be over..."
Everyone's expressions turned bitter for a while: Not to mention that the armistice with Germany was now at a deadlock, the German army had been dispatched in large numbers, and everyone was nervous about it.
But everyone understands Turner’s tactics and strategies. In short, Turner is betting:
First, bet that the Japanese army will not launch a large-scale attack before sunset today, or even if it launches a large-scale attack, it will not threaten the survival of the four battleships - the staff believe there is a 70% probability of success;
Second, it is a bet that the Japanese army cannot find the main fleet at night, or even if they find it, they cannot cause irreparable damage. As long as the engine is not destroyed and the speed is not reduced, it does not matter if the deck is bombed. These can be repaired on the west coast, Wasp Isn’t that how the number came back to life?
Third, bet that after dawn tomorrow the Japanese army will not be able to continue a large-scale offensive due to losses, rest, etc., and the core fleet will rely on the protection of land-based aviation to tide over the difficulties.
If you don't bet like this, you can only choose to fight hard. This is a sure way to die, but you can still have a reputation.
If it were Truman's choice, he would definitely choose this one, at least politically it can be explained - the Pacific Fleet fought to the last moment, inflicted heavy losses on the enemy and was gloriously destroyed.
But Dewey couldn't make this choice. Truman would leave in two months. In addition to gaining some political capital for Truman before stepping down, it would also greatly overdraw Dewey's political credibility - without the Pacific Fleet. , it is only a matter of time before Hawaii falls, and it is also a matter of degree that the West Coast is harassed every day. By then, all dissatisfaction and pressure will be on the Dewey government, so he cannot let Halsey bring him down. This time he agrees with Turner, no matter what We must preserve our vitality.
Moreover, Dewey knew very well that Turner's ideas and choices were what the Navy leaders really wanted. Otherwise, why would they bother to push Turner out? It would be easy to get Halsey to fight for his life, as long as Nimitz gave the other side an order. He would scream and pounce on him, and it would be troublesome for him to endure the humiliation and bear the burden of escaping.
After discussing for a long time, no one had a perfect solution, and everyone was at their wits' end. Li Hai, who had been silent, regretted it now. If he had known this, he might as well have followed Spruance's advice and let Halsey protect the transportation. The fleet has returned to Hawaii. It's good now. The lives of tens of thousands of people are linked to life and death. If something happens, I don't know how many people will hate him in the future.
So he was the first to come out and express his support: "The way I see it, General Turner's plan will be evaluated and discussed in detail. At least the TF50 will retreat to the west coast in a group. How fast they can drive depends on whether the Japanese can attack them. , the second and third steps are only possible if we don’t fight back. In addition, I want to emphasize that only by retreating in a group can we maintain morale. If the fast troops abandon the slow escort aircraft carrier and go alone, I am afraid that the officers and soldiers will mutiny in the future. "
Everyone was shocked: Li Hai's words were very explicit, but they pointed out the problem. If the battleships always leave the slow escort carriers alone when the navy is escaping, and the armored forces always leave the slow infantry behind when the army is escaping, Who will be allowed to board slow-speed warships in the future? Who should be the infantryman? There will be ghosts only if they don’t mutiny.
"Finally, I would like to give an idea in my own name. Even if the battleships are saved and most of the officers and soldiers have returned safely, the situation in the Pacific is also in trouble. Hawaii may fall, and there will be more variables in the direction of Australia and New Zealand. From the United States Based on the fundamental interests of the United States, I hope to seek decent armistice conditions." Turner bowed to Dewey, "In view of the many extreme words I have said before, I want to apologize to Mr. Dewey... Soldiers are not afraid of death. In order to reduce the sacrifices of the country, the people and the vast number of officers and soldiers, sometimes we have to endure the humiliation.”
Dewey was stunned for a moment, then reacted immediately, and said quickly: "What, General Turner's words are serious, everyone is doing it for the country... In the past few years, the army and navy have fought very hard in the war, and the people will understand."
Nimitz didn't have the power to make Dewey apologize in public, so only Admiral King could do it. Although Admiral King didn't think highly of Dewey, he was about to take office as president. Even if he could only serve one term, the impact would not be small. Letting Turner continue to confront Dewey would not only be detrimental to Turner himself, but also to the interests of the navy. So he wanted Turner to express his position and admit his mistakes in public to give Dewey a way out. Now these generals always lose, what if Dewey puts all the blame on the army and navy in the future?
Admiral King arranged this, and Nimitz and Spruance thought it was very right and shrewd, so Turner had to do it whether he was willing or not. Sure enough, Admiral King guessed correctly. Dewey, who was about to take office, generously expressed his understanding with Turner for political demeanor and to win the hearts of the people. That was an opportunity to tell everyone: I am very magnanimous, you can rest assured, Turner who jumped out to oppose me again and again can be forgiven, what do you have to worry about? Just follow me.
Truman showed a barely perceptible sneer on his face: Politics... politics! The Navy is a bunch of fence-sitters!
Only Li Hai seemed embarrassed and stunned, because he was completely unaware of it, but he knew his own business. He did not have a deep foundation in the Navy, and he relied on Roosevelt's authority and Truman's continuation to maintain his current role. Now it seems that his retirement is about to enter the countdown.
After half an hour of hesitation, no one could come up with a better solution. In the end, it was decided to implement the first phase of the plan according to Nimitz's order, and at the same time, speed up the dispatch of land, sea and air forces. Fighters will be sent out to cover them tomorrow.
At 11:28 noon, Halsey received an official telegram from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, asking him to maintain the highest speed possible to retreat the entire army, and at the same time, all fighters will cover the fleet, and must fight to save the four battleships. First see the results in the afternoon and then decide on the decision after nightfall. To express his relief, Spruance said that he was mobilizing air forces to prepare to cover him tomorrow.
He held his head and thought for a while, but he couldn't think of a better trick, so he implemented them one by one, waiting for the judgment of fate with a nervous mood.
At 12:07, the information about the US fleet maintaining a speed of 18 knots and retreating in a group was sent to Hori Teikichi. At this time, the assault column organized by Hori Teikichi had shortened the distance to 870 kilometers, and was still closing at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour. Everyone suggested attacking, but Hori Teikichi shook his head and refused.
"Attack pilots rest, fighters are ready for combat, and prepare for night battle!"
At 12:19, Kusaka Ryunosuke sent a telegram that the battleship formation and aircraft carrier formation of the Tsukahara fleet had completely merged and were currently pursuing at a speed of 25 knots. The distance from the US fleet was about 780 kilometers, and they were ready to press within 600 kilometers and prepare for a night attack. They were not ready to launch an attack before that.
Hori Teikichi smiled with satisfaction: "Tsukahara-kun has the same idea as me, chase! But don't fight easily, we will have a better attack position in the night battle, and it's still too far to attack now."
As for the attack distance, everyone agrees that the Meteor has the shortest range among Japan's aircraft: 1,800 kilometers with auxiliary fuel tanks when fully loaded with ammunition. Generally speaking, in order to leave room (including route errors, waiting stages for takeoff and landing), the maximum attack radius can only be arranged to be 800 kilometers, and this is still under the condition of receiving support during the return stage - like now the aircraft is released at a position of 800 kilometers, and the warship itself can advance 200 kilometers when it returns, which is equivalent to only flying 1,400 kilometers, leaving 400 kilometers of room.
But this margin is not safe, because the US military has a large number of fighter jets. Once they go forward to intercept, as long as they entangle for a few minutes, even if they don't shoot down, the Meteor will lose a lot of fuel in maneuvers, and finally they will have to throw it away in a hurry and return. The accuracy is difficult to guarantee, so Hori Teikichi said to shorten the distance.
As for the US military sending aircraft to counterattack when the distance is close, everyone is not too worried. This is something they want, because the range of SBD\TBF\F6F is not far. Unless they don't want to go back, otherwise a 700-kilometer attack plus the fleet heading east (which means they need to go a longer way to return) is suicide.
Time passed by minute by minute, and now the three fleets were advancing strangely on the sea: Halsey's course was 90 degrees, Tsukahara's course was 75 degrees, and Hori Teikichi's course was 120 degrees. In the process of shortening the distance with the US fleet, the latter two were also shortening due to the angle between their routes. It was estimated that by dawn on the 31st, the distance between the Japanese north and south clusters would be shortened to about 900 kilometers.
1 o'clock... 2 o'clock... 3 o'clock... 4 o'clock... 5 o'clock...
In addition to knowing that the Japanese fleet behind him was closing the distance, Halsey never waited for the possible attack. Although it was still an hour and a half before dark, his intuition told him that he might have won the first bet, and it would depend on Turner's second and third bets...