However, no matter how great the losses were, there was no longer any suspense about the outcome of the attack on Pearl Harbor. In fact, Admiral Nimitz, the commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, knew that the situation was over after hearing the surrender of the 24th Division and the Japanese army's capture of the first coastal fortress.
He once lamented, "I never thought I would become the first captured admiral in the history of the US military...".
However, a U.S. submarine captain used his wit to save Nimitz and several other senior officers in the command. When the Japanese launched a bombing, his submarine had just returned to port and was preparing to go ashore for a holiday (at that time, the Pacific Fleet was still
Before entering a state of war, the life of submarines when they were at sea was very difficult, so they would have a long vacation every time they docked. In fact, the same is true for the current submarine force.), but I heard a buzzing sound from the horizon and kept looking at it.
The submarine officers and soldiers whose aircraft was their natural enemy suddenly changed their expressions.
At this time, the captain did not think about going ashore to escape, but immediately ordered his subordinates to control the submarine to sink to the bottom of the water and turn off the engine, pretending to be sunk, in order to save the submarine. After all, submarines have no air defense capabilities and should be minimized as much as possible.
Loss was all he could do at the time. And their luck didn't count either.
Unfortunately, because it was still dark at that time, several destroyed and stranded giant ships not far away attracted the enemy's attention. In addition, the Japanese army did not choose to land directly at Pearl Harbor, but only sent a group of aircraft to drop missiles in the sky.
The bomb, therefore, could not be looked at too carefully. In the end, no abnormality was detected, and it was fooled by it.
Because this submarine is an old-style ship-type submarine with a very slow speed underwater, it is impossible to sail to a safe area just by submersing. And it can easily be discovered by Japanese planes when it surfaces. In order to avoid meaningless losses, this submariner thought it had been blown up by the enemy.
The captain, who would retreat after landing the ship in the harbor, decided to hide underwater until the Japanese troops withdrew.
After dawn, the passive sonar on the submarine did not hear any loud noises for an hour. The captain, who thought the Japanese had retreated, breathed a sigh of relief and ordered the submarine to surface. However, when he stepped out of the submarine, he saw that there were dozens of people in Pearl Harbor.
There are less than ten "junk" ships of various types left that have not sunk because they have been stranded. The sound of gunfire and explosions on the island also tells the American officers and soldiers on these submarines a cruel fact - the enemy's
The attack is not over yet...
Therefore, in order to avoid being discovered by the enemy again, the submarine had no choice but to hide under the water. And the captain gradually realized the seriousness of the situation. If Oahu really fell, then the submarine would have to stay in the harbor.
He will definitely become a prisoner of the enemy, but it is not easy to escape. If he does not surface, he will not be able to escape. But it is already dawn, and the patrol range of the aircraft is too large. If he rashly surfaces and leaves Pearl Harbor, there is a high probability of death.
Will be caught. Just when the captain is confused
At that time, the always calm sea bottom suddenly made him realize that the enemy seemed to be in a blind spot of thinking. They may have thought that all the US warships in Pearl Harbor had been sunk or destroyed, so they stopped sending planes over. In this case, as long as they waited until
At night, the submarine can surface and leave. Although airborne radar may also detect submarines sailing on the surface, the ability to identify targets is far inferior to that of the naked eye, and the enemy pilot will miss it if he is distracted for a moment...
.
But after nightfall, the captain who was about to give the order to leave suddenly realized another problem. If his side finally defended Oahu, wouldn't he escape without a fight? So, thinking that there would be cover of night anyway, after the submarine surfaced, he
I ventured ashore to inquire, and found out that the Japanese army had captured many key forts and forts, and that the U.S. troops defending the island could not even suppress the rioting Japanese residents of Hawaii. I immediately understood that the island could not be defended no matter what.
Already......
However, after learning that the commander-in-chief of the fleet, Admiral Nimitz, was still at the headquarters, the captain's thoughts suddenly became alive again, and he immediately went to the headquarters not far away in person to persuade Nimitz and others to take his submarine.
After leaving, Nimitz was overjoyed when he heard that a submarine had survived, and issued the final order to the remaining troops on the island.
After the last few orders, he took several senior officers from the headquarters and followed the captain onto the submarine. Without sinking, he sailed out of Pearl Harbor directly at night. After arriving at Midway Island, he was worried that the Japanese fleet would soon come to kill him.
After briefly setting up their defenses, they quickly transferred to a large plane and returned to the United States...
Although in history, the U.S. military generally chose to surrender after being in desperate situations, this was not necessarily because of fear of death, but mostly due to Western values. In fact, as long as there is a chance to escape, even if there is a narrow escape in the process of escape,
Generally speaking, the U.S. military will resolutely escape and will not surrender; although Nimitz and others escaped on the submarine, although there was cover of night,
But now that Japanese aircraft are equipped with airborne radars, there is still a high possibility of discovering the submarine if it hits it. If it is just to survive, it is actually the wisest choice for Nimitz to surrender directly to the Japanese. Perhaps it is also
Because of this, Nimitz, who abandoned his men and fled back to his homeland, not only was not punished for this, but was comforted by being awarded a medal by the U.S. government.
U.S. President Roosevelt couldn't help but feel scared after asking about the situation. In the history of the United States, an admiral had never fallen into the hands of the enemy. If Nimitz was really captured by the Japanese, it would undoubtedly be an extremely heavy blow to the morale of the U.S. military.
At the same time, it will also put him, the president, under unprecedented pressure from public opinion. Therefore, in order to express his gratitude to the captain, and to create a hero to boost the morale of the country and the army, Roosevelt personally issued the order
He received unprecedented commendations and awards, and the captain prospered in officialdom from then on. After the war, he even became the Secretary of the Navy of the United States. Under the instruction of the White House, Hollywood repeatedly polished and adapted this story into many movies that were passed down to future generations.
His classic film and television works not only made him famous, he also earned tens of millions of dollars through publishing books after his retirement. Many people in later generations called him one of the biggest winners in life during World War II...
Before escaping from Pearl Harbor, Nimitz originally wanted to order the ammunition to be destroyed to avoid injuring the enemy. However, considering that the main ammunition depot on Oahu and even the ammunition depots of each fort are set up inside the mountain, once it detonates, the entire US military on the mountain will be destroyed.
Everyone will die as a result. According to the tradition of the US military,
, even if Nimitz really issued such an order, the U.S. military guarding the ammunition depot probably would not carry it out. Therefore, in the end, he just asked the U.S. military to destroy the weapons as much as possible, especially those fortress guns, so that the Japanese army would not obtain them and use them to deal with the U.S. troops who would come to seize the island in the future.