Chapter 901: The Battle of the Solomon Sea

The Japanese Navy was actually quite serious about fleet air defense, as could be seen from the number of times they had piled anti-aircraft guns onto their warships. However, a warship was ultimately not designed to fight aircraft, so most of its massive tonnage was dedicated to dealing with enemy warships.

And Japan was a poor country. During the First Sino-Japanese War, they had bet their last penny and won against the Manchu Qing government, extorting Taiwan and two hundred million taels of silver, which had made them rich overnight. So the Japanese were used to living frugally and had a remarkable ability to pursue development on an empty stomach.

But as the saying goes, even the cleverest housewife can’t cook without rice. A country like Japan, which lacked everything but faith, could only resort to all sorts of tricks to maximize the combat effectiveness of each of its warships when faced with the frantic naval arms race of the world’s great powers.

So when the battleships Ise and Hyūga were being built, they had followed the glorious tradition inherited from the Fusō class, installing a full six main gun turrets on the warships—just thinking about it was a little exciting. That was two more turrets than the German battleship Grand Admiral Raeder, a full one-third more main guns!

Besides the tragic internal layout of magazines and boilers, this design actually had another rather fatal problem: too many big guns severely crowded the space for anti-aircraft weapons. This meant that these anti-aircraft guns either had poor firing arcs or couldn’t be installed at all.

Why else would it be said that historical designs all have their practicality and inevitability? It’s no wonder that after the First World War, the battleships designed by various countries all adopted a structure of 3-4 main gun turrets, and no one ever thought of installing more big guns again.

From this perspective, the Japanese Ise-class battleships were a kind of super-WWI battleship, completely unsuitable for the modern naval battlefield. It should be known that what they were facing was the U.S. Naval Air Arm, which had learned from the combat experience of the German Navy and had almost perfectly replicated it. So for the Ise to be easily sunk by the U.S. Navy was completely within everyone’s expectations.

On the other hand, the Japanese anti-aircraft guns were really a bit of a joke. At least the ones equipped by the Japanese Navy were far from meeting the needs of modern warfare in terms of both performance and density. For example, the performance of that 25mm triple-barreled machine cannon was about the same as a single-barreled Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun (its range was even shorter)—to change a single barrel to a triple, who knew how much volume was wasted?

Leaving these aside, let’s first talk about Yamamoto Isoroku. After learning that his bait fleet had been routed by the U.S. Navy, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and join the battle. Just a few minutes after the American planes had spotted his fleet, his lookouts had also spotted the American planes that were shadowing the Japanese fleet.

“Your Excellency, Marshal! The number of American planes has increased to two. They are following our fleet from a distance, not entering our anti-aircraft fire range!” an officer reported to Yamamoto Isoroku after putting down the lookout’s telephone.

Hearing that American planes had discovered his fleet’s movements, Yamamoto couldn’t help but frown. After all, he still hoped to achieve something in this war. To be discovered by the Americans at a time like this was clearly not good news.

“Long live the Great Japanese Empire! Order the fleet, all ships to prepare for anti-aircraft combat!” Yamamoto Isoroku gave the order. He still stared intently at the distant sea, hoping with all his heart that his target would appear there in the next second. But hope was just hope. After all, he was no god and could not make his wishes come true.

And so, the Japanese fleet, in a hurry, began to prepare for anti-aircraft combat. The sound of counting was everywhere, as were the carts transporting ammunition magazines. The air defense alarm sounded throughout the ships, and red warning lights flashed everywhere.

“Nagumo-kun, it all depends on you!” Yamamoto Isoroku finally withdrew his gaze from the distant sea. He walked towards the chart table and said to himself in a low voice, “The American fleet’s operational range is getting smaller and smaller, and the number of their carrier-based aircraft is also decreasing… This is your only chance.”

Although the American carrier fleet had an absolute numerical advantage, this advantage could not always be brought to bear. For example, when the first wave of American planes that had attacked the Japanese bait fleet was returning, the American carriers would lose the ability to launch planes at the same time. At that time, if the Japanese Navy’s carrier-based aircraft arrived on time, the U.S. Navy would suffer a devastating disaster.

Just as Yamamoto Isoroku was praying that Nagumo Chuichi could achieve a great feat and fight for the future of the Great Japanese Empire, the U.S. Navy’s fleet was already in a state of chaos.

“Hello? Hello? Say that again! Yes, this is Halsey! I hear a Japanese fleet is operating to the east of my fleet…” On one side, the Halsey fleet, which had already charged forward to finish off the Japanese bait fleet, was clinging to the battleship Hyūga, when they suddenly heard that a Japanese battleship had appeared on their flank.

On the other side, Spruance was receiving the first wave of planes that had attacked the Japanese bait fleet. His carrier fleet could not launch planes at the first opportunity. He could only let those planes return to the carriers before he would have a chance to launch his third wave of attack echelons.

“Order! Have the two old battleships in the fleet, the Colorado and the Mississippi, move to port to prevent the Japanese warships from charging into the core of our fleet. All destroyers and cruisers, prepare for first-degree combat readiness. Relay the latest news from our side to Halsey,” Spruance gave several orders at once. The thing he had feared most had still happened. It seemed the Japanese fleet was not just putting on a show this time, but was launching a real, full-scale counter-attack.

He turned around, stared at an officer in charge of compiling and summarizing naval intelligence, and asked in a questioning tone, “Go, quickly, go and verify all the intelligence resources you have on hand. I want to confirm the positions of the battleship Fusō and all the Kongō-class battlecruisers! And the exact positions of the two Japanese carriers, Sōryū and Hiryū!”

The main reason the Americans had dared to head south so openly to attack the main Japanese naval force stationed in the Solomon Islands was because the American intelligence agencies had confirmed the positions of some of the Japanese warships. So the cautious U.S. Navy had come out in full force this time, with the aim of changing the balance of power in the Pacific theater in one fell swoop, to annihilate a portion of the Japanese Navy in the Solomon Islands.

Watching the intelligence officer turn to check the complex telegrams and intelligence reports, Spruance looked at the planes landing one after another on the deck, a sense of unease always welling up in his heart. He didn’t know why he was uneasy, but that feeling just made him a little at a loss.

“General! A message from the reconnaissance aircraft unit!” an officer burst in from the door, holding a telegram. He crossed the slightly chaotic and extremely tense bridge command room and stood by Spruance’s side. “A second plane has gone to confirm the scale of the Japanese fleet.”

“Give it to me,” Spruance said, snatching the telegram. Only then did he know where that sense of unease in his heart had come from. The telegram stated very clearly that two other battleships of the Japanese fleet had been discovered, as well as most of their cruisers and destroyers. The entire fleet was moving very fast, but no Japanese aircraft carriers had been found.

“Damn it! The Japanese carrier fleet is not in the east! They’re in the west!” Spruance roared. “Cancel the third wave of carrier-based aircraft’s attack mission! Immediately! Now! Have the pilots remain on standby!”

As the saying goes, “when the map is unrolled, the dagger is revealed.” After the Japanese fleet had shown most of its forces, it had also made it easier for the U.S. Navy to determine the position of the remaining Japanese fleet. The American fleet had come from the north. At the very least, its own transport fleet was still behind, so that area should be absolutely safe. The Japanese fleet had already appeared in the south and east, but there were no carriers. So it was very obvious: the Japanese carrier fleet was on the west side.

“My God! Have the fleet prepare for battle! All hands, first-degree air defense readiness!” Spruance felt he finally knew what Yamamoto Isoroku was up to. This time, he had finally seen his opponent clearly, seen the other’s killing blow. And this time, he knew that this opponent, Yamamoto, was the most dangerous opponent of his life.

“May your fortunes of war be long-lasting!” On the deck of the aircraft carrier Akagi, Nagumo Chuichi’s bomber formation was preparing to take off. All the Japanese pilots were standing on the deck, arranging for a photographer to take their last group photo. White headbands were tied around the foreheads of all these pilots, with the two characters for “certain victory” written on them in calligraphy.

“His Majesty the Emperor… banzai!” After the photographer had pressed the shutter and the flash had let out a dazzling flash, all the pilots, led by their captain, raised their hands high and shouted the most sacred words in their hearts.

“His Majesty the Emperor! Banzai!” Nagumo Chuichi, watching these pilots who were taking off with a determination to die, also raised his hands. This was a war that would decide the fate of the Japanese Combined Fleet, and even of the Great Japanese Empire. For him to be able to hold the most important position in this war was already history’s affirmation of him personally.

“First attack echelon! Take off!” With a shout from an officer, all the Japanese pilots began to run to their planes. These planes were fully prepared, with long torpedoes or huge bombs slung under their fuselages.

Amidst the roar of the engines, the Japanese planes began to form up over the fleet and, under the escort of Zero fighters, flew towards the east. Watching these planes fly off, Nagumo Chuichi closed his eyes. “Yamamoto-kun, victory or defeat… it all rests on this one move!”

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