On December 8, 1941, the Japanese assault fleet sneaked into Pearl Harbor, the Pacific Fleet base of the US Navy, and Pacific Fleet was hit hard. After the Pearl Harbor incident, the US President decided to remove former Pacific Fleet Commander Kimmel from his post and decided to send Nimitz to Pearl Harbor HTML to serve as commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet.
Nimitz was born in February 1885 in a German immigrant family in Texas, USA. His father died after he was born. Nimitz's childhood has always lived with his grandfather, and his grandfather taught him the enlightenment education about the sea.
Due to poor family background, after finishing high school, Nimiz worked as a staff member in a hotel run by his aunt and used a meager salary to help poor families. In 1901, Nimitz decided to apply for the military academy, and by September, Nimitz was admitted to the Annapolis Naval Academy. In January 1905, 20-year-old Nimitz graduated early with excellent results and entered the navy to serve in the navy, beginning his long naval career.
During the First World War , Nimitz was the captain of the oil tanker "Momi" and drove his ship to the Atlantic Ocean many times to undertake offshore oil supply tasks. Shortly after the end of the First World War , Nimitz was promoted to the deputy captain of the battleship "South Carolina" because of his superiors' appreciation.
1922, Nimitz was promoted to Naval Colonel and was sent to the US Naval War College for further studies. After graduation, Nimitz became the assistant chief of staff of the main fleet of the U.S. Navy, and later served as important command positions such as the commander of the submarine team, the commander of the destroyer squadron, the commander of the second squadron of the cruiser and the commander of the first squadron of the battleship. In July 1938, Nimitz was promoted to Rear Admiral and took office as commander of the task force; the following year, Nimitz was appointed as the Navy Navigation Bureau (Director of the Navy Personnel Bureau).
Nimitz's outstanding command ability was valued by the White House of the United States. Shortly after he became a major general, the Japanese army's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor broke out, and the US President Roosevelt declared war on Japan.
President Roosevelt personally summoned him and planned to let him pass 28 admirals who were more experienced than him and become commander of the Pacific Fleet. Nimitz thought he had little experience and politely declined President Roosevelt's kindness.
President Roosevelt, who knew the extremely important strategic position of the Pacific Fleet and the Pacific War Zone, made an unchangeable decision: "Nimitz, you go to Pearl Harbor to clean up the mess and stay there until the war is won."
Nimitz, who was appointed in danger, accepted the appointment of the president and was promoted to four-star general and flew to Hawaii immediately. Nimitz's resignation made him one of the famous generals in World War II. The Zhenqiu Port that greeted him was a ruthless mess. The ship was overturned, rubble was piled up, and the burnt air was filled with pessimism and disappointment and negative depression.
How sad was the situation of the fleet at that time: the Pacific Fleet's aircraft carrier was ordered to stay at sea just to avoid possible Japanese air strikes; large ships were only allowed to return to the port when they urgently needed fuel and supplies, and only a single ship was allowed to return to the port, with the purpose of suffering less losses when they were attacked by the Japanese army again, and the fleet had been attacked by sneak attacks to cause huge shadows. During the cruise on the offshore, these large US ships will risk being attacked by the Japanese submarine at any time.
Watching all this, General Nimitz, over 50 years old, felt deeply that he had a heavy responsibility and had no way out. He had to regroup, improve morale, and build confidence in combat. The US military officers and soldiers of Pearl Harbor silently stared at the newly appointed commander-in-chief, with many doubtful expressions in their eyes. The then staff officer, Bill Ewing, who became a sub-compilation of the Red Star Briefing in Honolulu after the war, said: "When I first met Nimitz, he stood on the second floor of the Pearl Harbor Naval Office building, and did not look like a leader who was trying his best to pull the fleet out of unprecedented difficulties, but rather like a retired banker."
Nimize, with white hair, knows what he should do? That is to restore the morale and combat effectiveness of the Pacific Fleet as soon as possible. He did not rush to deal with those who were dereliction of duty, nor did he blame the officers who were pessimistic and disappointed with the view of failure, but said to the officers and soldiers: "Look forward, not backward." "We must establish a spirit of unity and work together to fight."
In order to revitalize morale, Nimitz commanded a joint formation composed of two aircraft carriers in January 1942, and unexpectedly carried out a surprise attack on the Japanese-controlled Marshall Islands and Gilbert Islands, which achieved results. It can be said that this is the first time the US Navy scored in World War II, which greatly enhanced the morale of officers and soldiers.
In early February 1942, Nimitz received an order to start planning a bombing operation in Kyoto, Japan. To achieve this action plan, only the Army Air Force's B-25 shore-based long-range bomber can be activated. This model will land directly in China after taking off from the aircraft carrier , which was a bold decision at the time. After more than two months of preparation, the 16th special mixed fleet commanded by Lieutenant General Halsey carried 16 B-25 bombers led by Doolid , and unexpectedly bombed Tokyo, which severely slapped the Japanese's arrogance.
5 In May, Nimitz formed a task force to engage in a Coral Sea naval battle with the Japanese army . In this way, after deciphering the secret telegrams of the Japanese army and mastering the movements of the Japanese army, Nimitz would never miss the opportunity to annihilate the enemy. He ordered the repair of the "York City" aircraft carrier as soon as possible, mobilize and organize all forces that can participate in the war, and win this naval battle.
On May 22, the severely damaged aircraft carrier "York City" arrived at Pearl Harbor. Nimitz ordered that he would do everything possible and he must repair it within seven days.
On May 28, Rear Admiral Spruins led two aircraft carriers, including "Enterprise" and "Hornet" , "Hornet" , and the 16th special mixed fleet consisting of 6 cruisers and 9 destroyers set sail from Pearl Harbor and headed to the standby waters first. Two days later, the 17th special mixed formation of two cruisers and five destroyers led by Lieutenant General Fletcher, led by the repaired aircraft carrier "York City", and the 17th special mixed formation composed of two cruisers and five destroyers also set sail.
On June 2, the two fleets met at the "Lucky Point" and Jinghou's prey arrived. Nimitz's order to Spruenz and Fletcher was: "Use the most effective tactics to give the enemy the greatest damage."
The naval battle is coming. Since Nimitz knows the Japanese Navy's 's combat action plan, the prophet and initiative before the war are in control, and the balance of victory turns to Nimitz before the war begins.
to be continued, thank you for your readers.
