Mikawa Junichi also knew that the Eighth Fleet did not have aircraft escorts, and it would be extremely dangerous to encounter U.S. fighter planes, but he had no choice. Therefore, Mikawa Junichi led dozens of warships of the Eighth Fleet towards Guadalcanal with the courage to kill himself. Go fast.
At this time, Mikawa Junyi was sitting in the command room of the warship, and his heart was very heavy. He knew that the heavy cruisers of the Eighth Fleet were all old warships launched around 1925, and the light cruiser was the first in the world. Warships during the war, and it is said that there are several US aircraft carriers on Guadalcanal. Without air cover, the Eighth Fleet launched an attack on the US aircraft carrier formation. This is no different from committing suicide.
However, as the commander-in-chief of the Eighth Fleet and responsible for the waters in this area, he has no other choice but to move forward.
At around 02:00 in the afternoon on August 7, the Eighth Fleet, led by Mikawa Junichi, sailed out of the La Baoer base and swooped towards the Guadalcanal waters at full speed with a jade-like mentality.
Seeing the preoccupied look of the Mikawa Army, the Eighth Fleet Chief of Staff Colonel Kamishugetori said: "Your Excellency, General, although our army does not have an aircraft carrier to provide air cover, it is not without a chance of victory."
"Oh? Kamijuge-kun, please tell me." Mikawa Junichi said.
"First of all, I think there are some cowards who deliberately exaggerate the role of the aircraft carrier. They talk about the aircraft carrier and talk about it, as if victory in the battle cannot be achieved without the aircraft carrier. In fact, the role of the aircraft carrier is not that great. Those who talk about the aircraft carrier and those who talk about it are all The people on the aircraft carrier are a bunch of cowards."
Kami Shigetoku was stationed in Germany in his early years and was a pro-German faction in the navy. Because Germany separated its aviation arm into an air force, and Japan had no corresponding service branch, Japan's pro-German faction, regardless of the army or navy, was all aircraft carrier blind, and God's virtue was no exception.
"Kamijuge-kun, do you have any way to win this battle without an aircraft carrier?" Mikawa Jun asked.
Kamizhongtoku said: "We can form the most basic one-line column, with the flagship rushing at the front, and the remaining ships just follow the flagship. It doesn't matter if there is no air cover, let's fight the 'night battle' that our Japanese navy is best at. Only conduct a major battle, and then withdraw from the battlefield, and before dawn, retreat beyond the control range of the U.S. Navy and Army Air Forces, and enter the air control area of Rabaoer Base."
Mikawa Junyi looked a little gloomy. He didn't agree with Kamizhongtoku's idea that he didn't value aircraft carriers. However, now there was no other way to think of but to listen to Kamizhongtoku's opinion.
At that moment, the Japanese troops formed a single column and advanced toward Guadalcanal.
The Eighth Fleet of the Japanese Navy sailed towards Guadalcanal during the day. They could not avoid the reconnaissance of US military aircraft. However, the Americans did not expect that the Japanese would support Guadalcanal without air cover. There was no one from top to bottom. Mental preparation was not taken seriously.
During the day on August 7, a US B-17 bomber responsible for monitoring the Japanese army discovered that four Japanese ships were being ordered to assemble towards Rabaul. Because they were too far away from the war zone, they failed to attract the full attention of the US military.
As soon as Mikawa's fleet was dispatched that night, the US military's S-28 submarine discovered it and reported it to its superiors. At this time, the Japanese fleet was still more than 500 nautical miles away from Guadalcanal, and it still did not attract the attention of the US military.
The next day, an Australian reconnaissance plane spotted the Mikawa fleet for the third time, but the pilot did not report it in time due to radio silence.
What's even more speechless is that the pilot didn't take the situation seriously after getting off the plane. He ate a lot of snacks and drank a lot of beer leisurely, and then reported to his superiors with a belch, and the time had passed. What's more terrible is that this careless pilot also misremembered the size of the Japanese fleet and reduced the size of the Japanese fleet several times.
In this way, Turner, the commander of the US military formation in charge of the landing, thought that such a few Japanese warships could not pose any threat to the US landing force. They could not have come to Guadalcanal. It was such a mistake that the US military originally had Absolute advantage, but due to human factors, all advantages have been wiped out. The Eighth Fleet of the Japanese Navy has been sharpening its sword.
Mikawa Junichi is an old fox. His fleet kept accelerating and headed towards Guadalcanal. When it was still a certain distance away from Guadalcanal, Mikawa Junichi ordered five heavy cruisers to eject a reconnaissance aircraft each to reconnoiter Guadalcanal. The movement of the island in order to know yourself and the enemy.
Several reconnaissance planes lived up to expectations and conducted a comprehensive reconnaissance of Guadalcanal, and learned about the composition and location of the US fleet. When he learned that the US military had multiple aircraft carriers in the waters of Guadalcanal, it controlled the air and had superior strength. , he decided to use his own strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses and carry out a night battle. However, Turner, the commander of the landing US military formation, knew nothing about the upcoming naval battle...
The relaxing days of the Third Regiment on Guadalcanal only lasted one day. Since the US military suffered heavy losses in the attack on Tulagi Island, Vandergrift had no choice but to put the Third Regiment on Tulagi Island. .
However, what Vandergrift did not expect was that Xu Rui's troops did not attack after landing on the island, but continued to bask in the sun on the beach and enjoy sunbathing.
An American officer reported the incident to Vandergrift. Vandergrift was furious and personally landed on Tulagi Island to question Xu Rui.
Vandergrift came to the beach and saw many soldiers from the Third Regiment sunbathing, drinking beer, and even lit a fire on the beach and grilled beef, looking like they were on vacation. Ford was so angry that he almost vomited blood.
After asking where Xu Rui was, Vandegrift walked towards Xu Rui's direction. He saw Xu Rui wearing a pair of shorts and barbecuing and drinking beer. When he saw Vandegrift coming, Xu Rui did not panic. Instead, he greeted him and said, "General Vandergrift, let's have a drink together. This Japanese beer tastes really good."
Vandergrift shouted angrily: "Xu, the soldiers at the front are bleeding and dying. What are you doing? Is this how you beat the Japanese?"
Xu Rui chuckled and said: "Vandergrift, we are preparing to fight the Japanese. Only by eating well and drinking well can we have the strength to fight the Japanese!"
"You..." Vandergrift was so angry that he couldn't speak.
Xu Rui said: "Vandergrift, it is daytime now. If we attack the valley now, it would be irresponsible to the soldiers and let them die. However, if we wait until the sun goes down before attacking, then we will definitely It can have unexpected effects.”
Vandergrift was moved after hearing Xu Rui's words. After thinking about it carefully, Xu Rui's words made sense. Most of the anger in his heart was gone. Xu Rui handed a bottle of beer to Vandergrift and said : "Come, try some Japanese beer, it tastes good."
Vandergrift suddenly felt dumbfounded, and finally took the beer and said, "When do you plan to attack?"
"When the night really falls." Xu Rui said.
"Okay, I'm waiting for your news, and I hope you won't disappoint me." Vandergrift drank the beer in one gulp, and then said: "It tastes good..."
In the dark night, a burst of fierce gunfire suddenly broke out in the valley of Tulagi Island, and the sound of killing was loud. The gunfire continued for more than an hour, and finally calmed down. Xu Rui's three regiments worked hard to annihilate them all. According to the post-war count of the remaining Japanese troops on Tulagi Island, in the two days of fierce fighting, except for 23 people who were captured, all the Japanese troops were killed and none of them surrendered. About 100 American troops were killed in action, while 500 Japanese troops were killed. The remaining people.
Even among the more than 500 people, the US military actually eliminated only more than 200 people. The remaining more than 300 people were also eliminated by the Third Regiment, and the Third Regiment also paid the price of dozens of casualties.
Shortly after Xu Rui eliminated the remaining Japanese troops on Tulagi Island, Vandegrift came to Tulagi Island again. He held Xu Rui's hand tightly, with a look of shame written on his face. , but Xu Rui said: "Vandergrift, we were not familiar with each other before. I believe that we will have a good cooperation in the future. Now, can we have a drink together?"
Vandergrift laughed and said, "Of course."
That night, Vandergrift and Xu Rui drank a box of beer each. Vandergrift drank a lot, but he had a good drinking capacity and was not drunk. However, none of them expected that a A sea battle is imminent.
"Whoosh~"
A flare rose into the sky, and the entire area around Guadalcanal was as bright as day. Vandergrift was shocked when he saw the flare, and felt something was wrong. Could it be that a warship was about to move when the flare was being fired at this time
"Report to the general, General Turner has asked you to hold an emergency meeting. The situation has changed." An officer ran over and said.
Vandergrift realized something must have happened and immediately said to Xu Rui: "Xu, thank you for the beer, but I have to leave now."
Xu Rui said: "General, I wish you good luck..."
Turner, the commander-in-chief of the landing formation, urgently summoned the covering formation commanders Crutchley and Vandergrift for a meeting. Seeing that the two men had arrived, Turner said in a low voice: "You two, please be calm after listening to what I said. "
Vandergrift said: "General Turner, if you have anything to do, just ask."
Turner said: "Just at dusk, Commander Fletcher of the aircraft carrier group, who was responsible for sea and air cover, had reported to General Gormley to request withdrawal due to the loss of carrier-based aircraft and lack of fuel."
"What? The aircraft carrier formation has withdrawn? Has General Gormley approved it?" Vandergrift and Crutchley asked in unison.
Turner shook his head and said: "Fletcher has not received approval. He has led the aircraft carrier group to withdraw from the waters of Guadalcanal without authorization. At 20 o'clock, the entire aircraft carrier group has been far away from Guadalcanal."
"Boy, due to the loss of air cover, my warships will withdraw the next day." Turner said.
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