On December 7, 1941, without warning, the Japanese suddenly launched an attack on Pearl Harbor, an important base of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific, and the Americans suffered heavy losses. The United States, which had been left out of the ordinary, officially intervened in World War II.
In order to defeat the Japanese Navy in one fell swoop, the U.S. military decided to give the position of commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet to Chester Nimitz, then director of the U.S. Naval Navigation Bureau. The glorious moment that belongs to this US military god of war is also about to begin.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >, the boyhood of the God of War</h1>
According to the data, the Nimitz family has Germanic ancestry, and the ancestors were once Teutonic nobles, which can be said to be the authentic "famous queen". In early 1840, Nimitz's grandfather came to Texas with his family, and 45 years later, on February 24, a healthy little boy descended into the immigrant family, and he was Chester Nimitz.
As a child, Nimitz did not lack love, he had a hard-working mother and a grandfather full of intelligence. Even his stepfather was a warm and kind man, so the young Nimitz did not have an unhappy childhood like other divorced families. Even though his other friends were richer than him, Little Nimitz didn't seem to have an inferiority complex or insecurities.
Nimitz with family, 1901
When Nimitz was 15 years old, two young officers who had just graduated one day lived in their own hotel, and the temperament and handsome uniform of the soldiers deeply attracted this young man. After some exchanges, Nimitz learned that the two were also from poor families, and the purpose of applying for military school was to exempt them from tuition and miscellaneous fees. After some deliberation, the young man had the idea of applying for a military school.
According to the requirements, anyone who wants to apply for a military school, in addition to the academic performance to meet the requirements, also needs to find a local parliamentarian to recommend to be eligible for the examination. An excited Nimitz hurried to find a local senator, but it backfired: the military academy recommendation was full, and if he wanted to become a soldier, he had to try his luck in the navy. But Nimitz, who had come from his heart, had already made up his mind that as long as it was a military academy, he could not distinguish between the branches of the army.
United States Naval Officer School, Nimitz's alma mater
On September 7, 1901, after an examination, Chester Nimitz was sworn in as a cadet at the Naval Officer School. After entering the school, Nimitz actively studied military theory and performed very well in practical activities, even if he was hospitalized because of illness and was far behind others, he would make up for it as soon as possible and become the best in the class.
In January 1905, Nimitz officially graduated from the Naval Officer School. Nimitz was described in the Naval Officer School Yearbook as "a positive, cheerful, optimistic and confident young man", and from then on, Chester Nimitz's career as a naval officer officially began, and the future belonging to this cheerful young man will become brighter and brighter.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > second, the budding Texas kid</h1>
Shortly after graduation, Nimitz was placed in service on the battleship Ohio, during which time Heimids also became acquainted with a famous general, the commander of the Battle of Tsushima, Japanese Admiral Heihachiro Togo. In 1907, when relations between the United States and Japan were tense, Nimitz also went to command an old destroyer named "Decatur", and after two weeks of repairs, the "Decatur" drove out of the dock and was ready for war against Japan, when he was only twenty-two years old, the earliest contemporary to hold a senior position. In 1913, Nimitz at work also met his future other half, librarian Kesselrine Freeman.
In 1916, Nimitz, already a captain, was sent to work on the tanker Momi, mainly on the technical side. When the United States declared war on Germany in 1917, Nimitz and his colleagues conducted the first experiment of refueling on the voyage in the early days of the war, which was a contribution to the entire navy and the maritime industry.
USS Momy tanker of the U.S. Navy
After World War I, Nimitz became a member of the Navy's ship design department. In 1920, Nimitz was ordered to Pearl Harbor as commander of a submarine force and commander of the 14th Submarine Detachment, and in the spring of 1922, Nimitz came to the Naval Academy as an instructor.
In the summer of 1933, Nimitz came to work on the heavy cruiser Augusta, and after a series of transfers, by 1939, Rear Admiral Nimitz was appointed Director of navigation of the Admiralty. Just when everyone thinks that Nimitz is about to spend his naval career in peace, the attack on Pearl Harbor completely disrupted Nimitz's naval career, and there is also the scene at the beginning of the article.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the birth of a famous general in World War II</h1>
In the first days of Admiral Nimitz's arrival at Pearl Harbor, the U.S. military did not have a good time in the Pacific. At that time, the Japanese offensive was very fierce, Singapore, Hong Kong and other places were captured, and in March, General MacArthur was forced to withdraw from the Philippines for other purposes, and General Nimitz was immediately appointed commander-in-chief of the Southwest Pacific Sea Region, with jurisdiction over the pacific sea areas except for the Central and South American Route.
On the night of June 3, amphibious aircraft from Midway bombed a Japanese oil tanker, and the fiercest naval battle of World War II began, which ended in the victory of the American army after two days and two nights of fierce fighting. Throughout the campaign, an American aircraft carrier and a destroyer were sunk, 307 killed, 147 aircraft destroyed, Midway facilities were widely damaged, and Attu and Kiska fell.
Four Japanese aircraft carriers and a heavy cruiser were sunk, a battleship, an oil tanker and three destroyers were damaged, 322 aircraft were shot down, and about 2,500 people were killed. This war turned the course of the Pacific War, and the US military shifted from defensive to offensive.
In July 1942, with the approval of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Nimitz would direct amphibious landings on a range of islands, including Guadalcanal in the Eastern Solomon Islands, and MacArthur, in charge of other islands, including the Solomon Islands. The U.S. counteroffensive in the Pacific began, and by the end of the year, the Eastern Solomon Islands, including Guadalcanal, had been retaken. The Pacific Theater entered a period of relative stability.
On April 14, 1943, intelligence of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, code-named Magic, inadvertently cracked a telegram that surprised the U.S. military: Isoroku Yamamoto, commander-in-chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet, would inspect troops on Bougainville Island on April 18. After consulting with another admiral, Ersi, Nimitz decided to carry out the interception, code-named Revenge.
In the early morning of the next day, a squadron of P-38 fighters was ordered to carry out an interception mission, after a battle in the air, the US pilot Lieutenant Rex Barber accurately locked the Yamamoto Fifty-Six's plane, after a burst of cannons, Yamamoto's plane plummeted straight to the ground with black smoke, and the former "sea devil" could not escape the punishment of justice and was buried forever in the tropical jungle of the South Pacific.
In October 1944, after a series of landing battles, MacArthur returned to the Philippines, where Nimitz, as commander of the Navy's Pacific Fleet, commanded the fleet to thwart the Japanese Navy's plan to sink American transport ships in Leyte Gulf and cost the Japanese a few heavy warships, including four aircraft carriers.
At the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the main Japanese fleet was completely destroyed and the ability to fight another decisive battle was lost, allowing the American army to win uncontested control of the Pacific. In the first half of 1945, Nimitz commanded troops to capture Iwo Jima and Okinawa, completed the blockade of the Japanese mainland by the American Army, and obtained a springboard for attacking the Japanese mainland.
Under the all-round attack of the Allied forces, the pace of Japan's defeat became faster and faster. On August 15, Japan announced its unconditional surrender, the Second World War was officially over, and the righteous side finally ushered in the dawn of final victory after making great sacrifices. On September 2, Nimitz signed the instrument of surrender as a representative of the United States, and this precious picture was also taken by photographers, becoming one of the most famous photographs in the history of World War II.
After the war, Nimitz served as Chief of Operations for the U.S. Navy until 1947, after which he remained at home, during which time the admiral served as a trustee of the University of California. On February 20, 1966, the distinguished U.S. Navy admiral and a famous field commander in World War II history died of illness in Oakland at the age of 80.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks</h1>
Chester Nimitz successfully commanded the U.S. Navy in a large-scale operation against the Japanese Navy during World War II. Successfully eliminated the Japanese threat to the United States-Australia line of communication. Successive victories in the war across the Pacific crushed the Japanese fascist naval power and accelerated Japan's defeat and surrender.
Resources
1. History of the Second World War 1939-1945
2. "The Famous Generals of World War II"
3. U.S. Naval History: World War II
4. The Biography of Chester Nimitz