Heat-seeking missiles have a characteristic, which can of course be understood as a shortcoming, that is, if they attack the same target within a certain range, once one missile successfully hits the target, the following missiles will follow one after another towards the hit target. Nimitz and others did not know this, so when several heavy ships, including the battleship Oklahoma, were hit by missiles, but only minor parts were hit, they were deeply grateful. , thinking that the goddess of luck was on their side, and then, as the second wave, the third wave, and the fourth wave of missiles attacked one after another, the heavy ships that were taken care of by the Chinese were all in the same parts without exception. missiles, they immediately couldn't be thankful. If the target area was hit by three or even four missiles in a row, it would also have serious consequences. The real situation was that when the battleship Oklahoma's port side was astern, After the parts were hit by two missiles one after another, a big hole appeared there, which then directly caused the two missiles at the back to drill directly in and explode in the rear cabin of the USS Oklahoma, directly destroying the engine room and other comparisons. The important cabin structure was torn to pieces, and a huge hole was blown that was absolutely irreparable.
In less than ten minutes, the Chinese missile boat force launched all the missiles. Then, Nimitz and others watched the battleship Oklahoma as if it was hit by a big mountain in the rear. The entire hull began to move toward Tilt back and look at the trend. Even if it doesn't sink completely, it will end up with its head and tail down, completely destroyed.
Less than a quarter of an hour later, Truman and others received the second battle report. They learned that two battleships and three heavy cruisers had suffered serious damage. Two of the battleships and one heavy cruiser had begun to sink to the bottom of the sea. They immediately They were all stupid.
"...Because all the heavy ships in the fleet have been damaged to varying degrees, we have lost the ability to continue fighting with the Chinese fleet, even pure defense cannot do it. Therefore, I hope that the President can allow us to retreat..." The telegram should It was written in Nimitz's tone, with a bitter taste throughout. Even though Truman and others were thousands of miles away, they could feel Nimitz's mood when he wrote these words, and they also knew that for this Navy admiral, In the future, it will be very difficult to make the above decision.
"It's too late for air support." Truman, who didn't know much about military affairs, asked Knox.
Knox's face was pale. He had a cigar in his hand, but he hadn't put it in his mouth for more than ten minutes. "The main ship is damaged and loses its combat capability. Then once the Chinese main ship gets If the range is too high, then there will be a situation where you can only be beaten passively without the ability to fight back. Your Excellency, I suggest that you agree to General Nimitz's request." Knox said, with a bitter look on his face when he said the last sentence.
When it comes to naval battles, he naturally respects him. After hearing what he said, Truman frowned and thought for a while, then said to the attendant on the side: "Call General Nimitz back and tell him that I agree with his request. By the way, tell him, Bring back as many people as possible, and I allow him to abandon those slow-moving ships."
This was another difficult decision. What Truman meant by his words was clearly to allow Nimitz and others to escape, and the faster the better. Obviously, between the fleet and the people, he finally chose to keep the latter. , and even with the level of wealth of the United States, it is necessary to abandon almost an entire fleet at once. Regardless of whether this decision is right or wrong, it is absolutely heartbreaking.
The attendant nodded and went down, and the atmosphere in the conference room suddenly became heavy.
After a long time, Stimson broke the silence and said to Truman: "Your Excellency, your decision is right. The ships are gone and we can rebuild them. But if the people die, it will take a long time to train another batch." Yes, I think we should discuss declaring war on China now."
He said the last sentence sonorously and forcefully. It was obvious that he had been angered by the Chinese people's behavior.
Some participants who did not understand the situation asked silly questions about why the entire army could not retreat. They thought that the Atlantic Fleet might not be able to defeat the attacking Chinese fleet, but there would be no problem in escaping as a whole. Regarding this issue, Truman asked Knox came to answer.
Knox was actually in a very bad mood at this time, but he still answered the question calmly: "...our aircraft carriers, battleships, and most of the heavy cruisers have lost their combat effectiveness, so if we all retreat, The Chinese can unscrupulously send fighter planes to hold us back. Then, when the Chinese main fleet approaches, not only may the ships not be able to escape, but our soldiers may also suffer disaster." Speaking of this, Knox deliberately used He glanced at Truman with admiration, and then continued: "So if we want to save the lives of as many soldiers as possible, the best way is to abandon the slow large ships and leave in an extremely fast small boat... "
Knox's explanation was actually not exhaustive. Truman's instructions did not include abandoning the entire fleet. He did so for a reason. As a politician, preparing for a rainy day is an essential skill, so in order to prevent this incident in the future It was used as a weapon to attack him, so he just vaguely pointed out that "those slow-moving ships, I allow him to abandon them." And with Nimitz's wisdom, he could certainly understand the true meaning of this statement.
Truman was already in pain when he made the above decision, and when it came to Nimitz, this was even more difficult to accept than killing him. You must know that for him, the Atlantic Fleet was not only his honor, but also equivalent to His child now wants him to lose both his child and his honor. This kind of pain cannot be understood by anyone who has not experienced it. Of course, as Knox guessed, with his wisdom, it is impossible for him to understand He didn't understand the serious relationship between it, so no matter how painful this decision was, he had no other choice but to face it and accept it.
Half an hour later, as Knox had predicted, China's third wave of fighter jets arrived over the waters where the Atlantic Fleet was located. At this time, Nimitz was taking the last batch of several of his men onto a ship. Light cruiser.
Standing on the front deck of the USS Cleveland light cruiser, feeling the vibration caused by the sudden acceleration of the ship, Nimitz looked around at the heavy cruisers, battleships and light cruisers that were still smoking, and then looked at the sky. Flying low over the Chinese fighter planes, he seemed to be talking to himself or encouraging his men behind him, saying: "We will come back."