The Rise of the Third Reich

Admiral Spruance's judgment on the night of September 26 (Hawaii time) did not come true. On the Christmas Island battlefield, there was no fierce sea and air battle during the day on September 27 and September 28.

The Japanese fleet and aircraft seemed to disappear into the air. Nine American battleships and cruisers fired tens of thousands of powerful high-explosive shells towards Christmas Island, destroying all targets on the island that could be observed by aircraft. . On the evening of the 28th, an underground oil depot storing tens of thousands of tons of aviation gasoline was detonated, creating a mushroom cloud that resembled an atomic bomb explosion. Even people on the USS Essex aircraft carrier, which was more than 100 nautical miles away, were far away. In the distance, you can see the plumes of smoke rising into the sky.

"Haha, it's really pleasing to the eye. Get my camera quickly, I want to take a picture of it!"

Spruance was standing on the platform of the aircraft carrier's bridge at this time, holding a camera in his hand and taking pictures of the mushroom-shaped smoke in the distance.

Major General Browning beside him also looked very happy, "Admiral, the oil depot on Christmas Island was blown up. From the height of the smoke column, it should be a large oil depot with tens of thousands of tons... It is estimated to be aviation gasoline. This The Japanese will feel distressed for several months."

Tens of thousands of tons of aviation gasoline is nothing to the United States. They have 260 million tons of oil a year to squander.

But for Japan, which only produces more than 6 million tons of oil a year, tens of thousands of tons of aviation gasoline is definitely a huge wealth!

"They will no longer dare to hoard so much oil on Christmas Island in the future." Spruance said, "They will even reduce the defense force on Christmas Island, which is very beneficial to our next step in occupying it."

Japan hoards so much gasoline on Christmas Island to cope with the fierce sea and air battles. Thousands of fighter planes of various types must burn at least one thousand tons of oil in one sortie. Tens of thousands of tons of oil can only cope with dozens of sorties.

In the view of the elite staff of the Japanese Navy, the Battle of Christmas Island will be the beginning of the decisive battle in Hawaii. It is entirely possible to fight for several months. The aircraft deployed on Christmas Island can at least hit hundreds of attack waves.

But the current result was far beyond their expectations. More than 300 aircraft were lost in just three attack waves (excluding the losses from the First Mobile Fleet), and the reincarnation rate of the attacking pilots was as high as over 50%! After only one day of fighting on Christmas Island, the Japanese aircraft had to turn around in despair. The aviation gasoline that could not be taken away was now exploding due to the bombardment of naval guns.

This time I really lost the plane and lost the fuel!

"Sir, it seems that the Japanese planes will not be dispatched again. They cannot afford the losses." General Myers Browning said, "Why don't we start the second phase of the operation tonight."

According to the original plan, the 58th Task Force would be separated on the 29th at the latest - if they had not been defeated by the Japanese.

"Okay," Spruance nodded, "Tonight...the main fleet retreats towards Panama; three groups, 58.0, 58.3 and 58.5, form the 58th Breaking Fleet, led by Commander of the 58.5 Carrier Group, Michael Commanded by Major General Er.”

Group 58.0 is composed of three cutting-edge battleships, the USS Iowa, USS New Jersey, and USS Washington; Group 58.3 Cruiser Group is composed of 2 Baltimore-class heavy cruisers, 6 Cleveland-class light cruisers, and 2 Oakland-class air defense cruisers; 58.5 aircraft carrier The group consists of two large fleet aircraft carriers (Hornet and Yorktown).

Therefore, the entire break-up fleet consists of 3 battleships, 2 aircraft carriers and 10 cruisers. The scale is not very large, but the combat power cannot be underestimated. If Japan leaves them alone, then the communication lines in the Western Pacific will not be destroyed but directly cut off, and even some islands without sufficient aviation garrison may be bombarded.

And if Japan wants to take down this break-up fleet...if it needs to bombard it with battleships, it will take three Yamato-class troops to do it. However, the three American battleships are all faster than the Yamato class, so it is not easy to catch up.

The air fleets of the Hornet (Essex class) and the Yorktown will also be assembled (drawn from other aircraft carriers), with a total of 170 commonly used F4U and F6F aircraft, plus 24 reserve aircraft, 10 The escort cruisers are also "air defense ships". If you want to use air strikes to get it done, you will need at least 500 elite pilots (captains), all of whom must fly carrier-based aircraft, because the breaking fleet will not approach the islands where a large number of Japanese aircraft are stationed.

And if the Japanese Navy loses another 500 elite pilots, their aircraft carrier-based aircraft force will be useless...

…

"Commander," Furumura Keizo jogged all the way into Ozawa Jisaburo's cabin on the "Shokaku" aircraft carrier. "The reconnaissance plane discovered a huge mushroom-shaped smoke rising from Christmas Island, thousands of meters high!"

"I know." Ozawa Jisaburo nodded slightly.

The destruction of the oil depot on Christmas Island was already expected. Although the oil depot was strong, it could never withstand the bombardment of the 406mm naval gun.

"Christmas Island should be a hell now, right?" Ozawa Jisaburo said to himself, "Then...tomorrow should be the day when the landing battle officially starts."

"Yes," Furumura nodded, "Commander Onishi and Major General Saito Yoshiji of the Army's 43rd Division are preparing for a battle."

"Tamazui War..." Ozawa Jisaburo sighed, "Onishi-kun is a rare aviation warfare expert."

Onishi Takijiro is a veteran of Japanese carrier-based aircraft pilots. He joined the Kasumigaura Air Force not long after graduating from the 40th Marine Corps. Since then, he has been working hard in the Japanese naval aviation department and is a true aviation expert. In Ozawa's view, it is meaningless for such talents to die on Christmas Island, because there is not a single plane on Christmas Island now, and there is no need for aviation warfare experts at all. To conduct island defense operations, Army Major General Saito is all that is needed.

However, Onishi was the commander of the fleet. Leaving Christmas Island at this time would mean running away from the battle. Even with the order of the military headquarters, he could not leave out of the dignity of the samurai.

"Where is the main force of the Combined Fleet?" Ozawa Jisaburo changed the topic from the sad Christmas Island to the main force of the Combined Fleet that was coming at full speed.

"It's still early, we have just traveled more than a thousand nautical miles." Gucun said, "It seems that we have to wait a few more days before launching an attack."

In order to get to the Christmas Island battlefield as soon as possible, Koga Mineichi also spent all his money this time! With 9 battleships, 1 aircraft carrier, 10 heavy cruisers and dozens of other ships, they rushed from the Japanese mainland to Christmas Island in a straight line at a high speed of 20 knots - 20 knots is not an economic speed, and heavy fuel alone is The burning was frightening, and it also risked taking a straight line instead of a zigzag anti-submarine route.

However, regardless of fuel consumption and not being afraid of submarines, it will take 8-9 days to complete the journey of more than 4,100 nautical miles (you have to refill the oil halfway). It will only arrive on October 3rd and 4th, and it is only the 28th now.

Ozawa Jisaburo nodded helplessly. Just when he was about to end his conversation with Furumura and go out for a walk, there was a sudden rush of footsteps, and then he heard a report from a fleet staff officer.

"Come in." Ozawa said.

"Your Excellency, Commander, Your Excellency, Chief of Staff," the staff officer who came in looked happy and bowed to the two people in the cabin, "Good news, the US fleet has withdrawn from the vicinity of Christmas Island, and Christmas Island has been saved!"

"ah?"

Ozawa and Furumura, who had just arrived to feel sorry for Onishi Takijiro, who was about to be broken into pieces, were both stunned.

"Retreating?" Furumura asked, "Is that correct? Why did the Americans retreat?"

"It's absolutely unmistakable," the staff officer handed over the telegram from Christmas Island with both hands. "It was the telegram from the 10th Fleet Command that said the U.S. fleet stopped bombarding an hour ago and then left. Seaplanes flying from Palmyra Atoll (under the command of the 10th Fleet) conducted reconnaissance and confirmed that the American fleet was moving away from Christmas Island.”

what 's wrong? Really ran away?

Ozawa and Furumura looked at each other, feeling a little like they were in a fog.

"Commander," Furumura thought for a while and came up with a reason that sounded reasonable. "Could it be that the traces of the main fleet were discovered by American submarines?"

…

"It seems that the American fleet was really scared away by the main force of the combined fleet. In this battle, our Imperial Japanese Navy achieved a great victory..."

At 6 a.m. on September 30, Tokyo time (10 a.m. on the 29th, Hawaii time), in the Japanese Navy Ministry War Room, Marshal Yamamoto Isoroku announced the victory of the battle on Christmas Island... The Americans retreated and lost the battle. With so many aircraft carriers and ships, of course they were losers, but there was not much cheerful atmosphere in the war room.

"It is extremely cowardly to retreat like this!"

"That's right, you don't deserve to be called a soldier at all!"

"The Americans could obviously fight again, so why did they retreat? There couldn't be any conspiracy, right?"

The staff officers in the war room began to discuss in low voices. Yamamoto Isoroku and Nagano Osamu glanced at each other. Both of them looked very tired now. They had not had a good rest since the U.S. fleet approached the Hawaiian Islands. He stayed in the Navy Ministry's war room all day long, listening to news and discussing countermeasures. Originally, both of them thought that a decisive battle would be staged on Christmas Island, and their spirits were extremely high. But now that they heard the news of the Americans' withdrawal, their tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and all they felt was waves of fatigue.

"Gentlemen, although it is unbelievable, it was confirmed after repeated reconnaissance, and it should not be wrong." Nagano Shushen said in a hoarse voice, "Perhaps the real purpose of the Americans is to consume our fuel and elite pilots... …”

Before he finished speaking, a staff officer rushed in and handed a copy of the telegram to Ito Seiichi, whose eyes were bloodshot.

Ito read the telegram and became energetic as if he had taken a dose of stimulants. He said loudly: "Your Excellency, Minister, Your Excellency, the Commander-in-Chief, the U.S. fleet has not retreated yet..."