Chapter 771 Hawaiian Islands (3)

Major General Wilson, the commander of the Oahu defense, stood in front of the observation window of the solid concrete fortification, looking at the German fleet on the sea in the distance, his face was very gloomy.

The German fleet had five battleships alone, and the rest were densely packed with battlecruisers, heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and destroyers covering the entire sea. Behind these battleships, you can see fighter planes constantly taking off from aircraft carriers.

"Damn it!" Major General Wilson cursed angrily. "If our coastal artillery was still there, you wouldn't be so presumptuous."

Oahu had deployed coastal artillery before. As early as 1906, the U.S. Congress passed the first appropriation in the "Defense Act" to build the largest and best-equipped Randolph Battery at the time on Fort DeRussey on Waikiki Beach, with two 14-inch cannons on the battery.

In 1910, several artillery positions were built inside and outside the Diamond Head crater. In 1913, two batteries were built on Ford Island, deploying 305mm and 356mm caliber coastal artillery.

In 1917, the War Department established a new review committee under the leadership of Brigadier General Hugh Scott. The range of new naval guns equipped by European navies has exceeded the 305mm and 356mm coastal artillery currently deployed in many port artillery batteries in the United States. The Scott Committee recommended the development of new coastal artillery with larger calibers, and finally the establishment of two batteries at Fort Kamehameha. The location of this position is the newly reclaimed land adjacent to the eastern part of the Fort Kamehameha Reservation. The gun position consists of a huge concrete, two gun mounts located at both ends, with a range of more than 27,000 meters, greatly increasing the coverage area except for the northernmost beach of Oahu. In order to make up for the firepower gap left by the removal of the old artillery, some wheeled and tracked heavy artillery were transferred to Hawaii. At that time, the railway trunk line of Oahu had already surrounded the entire island, which was very beneficial for the use of railway artillery.

In 1920, a turret with two 406mm guns was built at Cape Iroquois on the west side of Pearl Harbor. The structure of the new turret was even simpler than the long-range turret with 305mm coastal guns. The guns and gun mounts were placed on a cement platform in the open air.

Unfortunately, all this has become history. The last time the Germans raided the oil depot on Oahu, a fire on the island burned for seven days and nights, and everything was burned. Those coastal guns were naturally not spared. Even if the ammunition depot was not detonated, the barrels of the coastal guns would have been scrapped long ago after being baked at high temperatures for several days.

The adjutant on the side couldn't help but wonder. "Are the Germans so sure that there are no cannons on our island that can hurt them?" The German fleet was so openly deployed in the sea more than ten kilometers away. If there were large-caliber coastal defense guns on Oahu, these warships would be living targets.

Major General Wilson sighed lightly. "I'm afraid the Germans have learned that our coastal defense guns have been destroyed. The Germans' intelligence capabilities are really... It seems that they are about to bombard. Have the soldiers on the front line withdrawn?"

"They have withdrawn a long time ago."

As they spoke, the five German battleships were lined up in a row, and all the large and small gun barrels were pointed at Oahu, adjusting the height angles bit by bit.

Hearing the report of preparation, the German fleet commander Hermann nodded casually. "Fire."

Soon, the order to fire spread throughout the fleet.

Suddenly, the 45 main guns of the five battleships roared loudly, and the power of the naval guns when they fired salvos made the huge battleships tremble slightly. Hermann enjoyed this feeling very much, and felt that the blood in his body was boiling.

It can be said that the dream of giant ships and cannons is engraved in the bones of every navy. As early as the period of William II, Germany wanted to build a strong navy. At that time, Germany's "Navy Act" planned to take 6 years and cost 400 million marks. It was planned that by 1915, the navy would have 34 battleships, 11 heavy cruisers, 34 light cruisers and 100 destroyers, directly doubling the number of naval fleets.

The United Kingdom implemented a "two-power standard", that is, the British maritime power must be greater than the sum of the second and third naval forces. Faced with Germany's shipbuilding speed, Britain had to speed up the upgrade of its fleet. In 1906, Britain launched the giant dreadnought-class battleship, thinking that it could suppress the German navy, but soon Germany also began to build dreadnought battleships. The two countries launched a fierce arms race, and both stipulated that if the other side built a dreadnought battleship, then the country would produce two. The maritime arms race fell into a white-hot, and the era of large ships and big guns reached the peak of history.

As a result, the unrestrained naval competition put a heavy financial burden on both sides. But Britain can still maintain it because they have India to exploit, while Germany does not. At the same time, Britain only needs to develop the navy, while Germany still has the army to develop. Before World War I, although Germany's naval power ranked second, it still had a big gap with Britain, and due to geographical restrictions, it did not play any role in World War I.

This time, they finally avenged their previous shame, kicked over the arrogant British Empire, and took the throne of maritime hegemony.

Just as Commander Hermann was sighing to himself, the shells fired by the battlecruisers, cruisers, and destroyers in the fleet fell on Oahu like raindrops.

Countless fireballs rose from the US military positions on Oahu, and all kinds of debris and earth and rocks were blown all over the sky. Then the entire position was covered with dust and smoke. The entire front position has become a huge ruin, and the remains of destroyed fortifications and various building fragments can be seen everywhere.

However, since the U.S. military had been well prepared, the soldiers on the frontline had already withdrawn. The German fleet's several rounds of bombardment did nothing except plow the coastline of Oahu, and the U.S. casualties were still zero. Looking at the German artillery fire extending forward, Major General Wilson ordered. "All soldiers on the second line of defense evacuate their positions and retreat to the third line of defense."

"Yes, commander."

Of course, Commander Hermann was not a fool, and he did not expect to kill all the Americans with these rounds of bombardment. But he was not in a hurry. Since the U.S. fleet did not dare to fight, they could slowly ravage this isolated island without backup.

"Commander, the first formation of attack aircraft has been assembled."

Commander Hermann ordered. "Let them destroy the fresh water purification station on the island as much as possible." Even if they would eventually occupy the island, they did not expect the Americans to leave the various facilities on the island intact to them. In this case, it would be better to destroy it early, and maybe a few Americans would die of thirst.