My own war game

Chapter 202 Counterattack
History is made up of countless coincidences.

There has always been a hypothesis among postwar World War II historians, especially Japanese scholars.

If Nagumo Chuichi had not been so conservative at the time and had instead sent more than half of his carrier-based aircraft to attack the Enterprise, could he have sunk this meritorious American aircraft carrier?

If the Enterprise had been sunk at the beginning, would the US military's tactics in the later Battle of Midway have been different because of the loss of an important bargaining chip? Would at least one of the Kaga aircraft carrier or the later Akagi aircraft carrier have been preserved?
Well, even if Nanyun sent less than 40 carrier-based aircraft to attack the Enterprise, if the Pacific Fleet Command in Pearl Harbor at that time did not arrange for the "Red Wing Dragon" to refuel on the Enterprise, but let it land on the spot, would they have a chance to severely damage or even sink the Enterprise?
Taking a step back, if the pilot named Suzuki Koji could turn around and continue shooting at the jeep he accidentally discovered instead of choosing to drive away, would it be possible to kill the mysterious genius driver code-named "Red Dragon" in the cradle?
If this were the case, would Japan's national destiny have been a little different?
Maybe at least we can exit the war with dignity?
Of course, this was just the nonsense of some orphans who were unwilling to accept defeat. Given the domestic situation in Japan at the time and the relationship between the navy and the army, those lunatics would not give up until the last bit of war potential in the country was squeezed out and until they were absolutely exhausted.

These are all things that happened later, and now the crew of the Enterprise, who have just experienced a disaster, are welcoming a mysterious guest.

Because this F4U Corsair was a test model, a hook specifically for landing on an aircraft carrier was installed underneath, and the red fighter successfully landed on the deck with the help of the arresting cable.

The ground crew nearby came over and clapped, all curious about who this ace pilot was.

When the Asian faces appeared in front of everyone, some people were so surprised that they forgot to continue clapping.

Asian soldiers were a minority in the U.S. military during World War II, and pilots were even rarer. He Chi getting off the plane caught everyone off guard.

Especially since he was in casual clothes.

"I'm Captain George Maury, thank you for your support." The colonel walked down from Cambridge and extended his hand.

"He Chi, the airport ground maintenance sergeant, I actually didn't expect this to be the case." The Oriental man also stretched out his hand and shook hands with the other party.

George Mori was obviously stunned, but he just took the other person's words as a special joke. "I appreciate your sense of humor, but let's get to the point. Do you have any news from Pearl Harbor?"

He Chi shrugged, not planning to explain it in a short time, and then changed the subject, "I only know some general ideas..."

George Mori felt sweat starting to appear on his head. If it was true as the other party said, that the Japanese army could launch two attacks totaling more than 300 sorties, then it meant that the Japanese fleet had at least five medium and large aircraft carriers.

His own Enterprise is now completely alone and helpless.

"Jack, do you have any suggestions?" the colonel asked his deputy.

The deputy put on his military cap and thought for a while. "From a tactical point of view, we should immediately break away from contact with the Japanese fleet. If we can't do that, we should cruise around the periphery of the military port, within the radius of ground anti-aircraft firepower and ground-based aircraft support. However, the current state of Pearl Harbor is very poor, and the protection it can provide us is limited, and..."

Before he could finish, a soldier from the telegraph room ran out with a piece of paper.

"Sir, this is the latest order, and it was sent from Washington, bypassing the fleet headquarters."

George Mori took the telegram. It was just a short piece of paper, but he read it for several minutes until his adjutant couldn't help asking, "Sir, what does it say?"

"We are ordered to launch a counterattack against the Japanese army on the premise of saving the Enterprise." George Maury said this.

The adjutant was silent for a moment, then uttered a few words through his teeth, "Damn politics!" The meaning of the telegram was very clear, that is, the attacked Pacific Fleet must have an appropriate counterattack to highlight the bravery and fearlessness of the army, but the top leaders did not want to sacrifice the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier.

Therefore, letting carrier-based aircraft launch a high-risk frontal assault became the only option. From Washington's perspective, it didn't matter even if all the pilots were killed. As long as the news was reported well, it could even arouse the people's hatred of the enemy.

Colonel George Maury's reason told him that letting planes attack the Japanese aircraft carrier formation at this time would be tantamount to suicide, but just as his adjutant said.

This is politics, damn politics!

"Order the dive bomber squadron to prepare for attack and tell the pilots that they have the right to abandon bombing in dangerous situations." The colonel ordered through gritted teeth.

Sixteen SBD "Dauntless" dive bombers took to the deck, and because of the need to guard the aircraft carrier, there were only four Wildcat fighters to escort them.

This seemed to be an attack from which there would be no return, but no pilot refused. The news of Pearl Harbor had already spread among the grassroots soldiers. The Japanese sneak attack without declaration of war made everyone feel a common hatred of the enemy. These young pilots now just wanted to teach the shameless villains on the opposite side a lesson with bombs.

At this time, the mysterious Asian pilot came over and said, "Captain, I hope we can go together."

"He, this is an order given to us. You have no such obligation."

To be fair, having one more excellent pilot can make the bomber formation safer, but Colonel George Maury does not want the talented Asian in front of him to sacrifice himself in this life-threatening flight.

"I know, Mr. Commander, I don't intend to die, I have my own plan, and..." He Chi paused and looked in the direction of the Japanese First Air Force, "I have some personal grudges with those guys on the opposite side."

The red Corsair fighter was refueled, and the six Browning 6-inch machine guns were restocked with ammunition. At He Chi's request, the ground crew also hung three "gadgets" under the wings.

"Hey man! Now we are in the same team. Do you want us to design a lucky symbol for you?" A young pilot ran over and said to He Chi.

"Lucky symbol? What is it?"

"Come, let us teach you, Jack, to design something exciting for our new partner!" someone shouted enthusiastically.

Someone pulled He Chi to the front of the plane and painted various patterns on the front of the fuselage with homemade watercolors. This is a kind of military camp culture called Nose Art.

Simple Ace of Spades, sexy beauties, sharks with wings, tigers, etc.

The painter named Jack looked at He Chi and said, "Well, you said you were from China, so... I got it!"

The young pilot got busy with the watercolors, and soon He Chi had his own Nose Art
It was a giant red dragon, spewing flames at the enemy.

(End of this chapter)