Chapter 183: Japanese Victory in the Coral Sea

Although the army and navy have always been at odds.

The army regards the navy as a "noble club," while the navy mocks the army as "fools."

But at this moment, Terauchi Hisaichi knows better than anyone that if the navy is defeated in the South Pacific, all of Southern Army's victories in Southeast Asia will turn to nothing.

The Southern Army still needs the navy's victories to seize more territory; if the navy loses, they will be unable to continue the advance on Australia.

Terauchi Hisaichi quickly informed the Fourth Fleet Commander Jingshang Chengmei, Lieutenant General, and Jingshang Chengmei dared not be careless; falling into an American Army trap would be trouble.

In fact, Japanese intelligence was clearly inferior to that of the United States; before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, it had already been learned by Huaxia and passed on to the American Army, and whether there was a conspiracy inside had become irrelevant.

Perhaps the American Army did not join the Pacific War solely for that reason; they may also have feared the strain of fighting on two fronts.

Or, the Americans wanted to completely disrupt Nanyang, reshuffle it so that the British would no longer be the top and the French the second, and they also wanted to take part.

And the troublemaker happened to be the Japanese.

Jingshang Chengmei and Japanese Headquarters both believed that the South Pacific would not see two American aircraft carriers, because everyone thought the United States would seek a decisive battle with the main Japanese fleet, which would require concentrating Pacific carriers; thus at most only one American carrier would appear in the South Pacific.

Consequently, in the Coral Sea the Japanese would have two carriers against one American, giving us the advantage!

It can be said that after the Pearl Harbor incident, the United States knew all Japanese intelligence.

However, this American industrial machine needs time; they need someone to hold back the Japanese so that more planes, tanks, and carriers can join the fight.

It was precisely this intelligence that kept Jingshang Chengmei from being careless, and he once again dispatched several reconnaissance aircraft to monitor the American carriers' movements.

The silence before dawn

In the Coral Sea, a thousand miles away, two massive fleets were silently closing in.

On the decks of the American carriers Lexington and Yorktown, carrier aircraft were fully fueled and loaded with torpedoes;

Japan's Shōkaku and Zuikaku were also ready to launch in the morning mist.

"Order!" Jingshang Chengmei sprang up, "Immediately dispatch six Type 97 carrier reconnaissance aircraft to cover the entire Coral Sea east and south quadrants! Better a false report than no report! Report any enemy ship at once!"

The Japanese army and navy's mutual suspicion, even when receiving intelligence, made them paranoid; faced with the possibility of two American carriers, Jingshang Chengmei would not dare take any risk.

Coral Sea.

Having received the urgent telegram, Jingshang Chengmei stayed awake through the night.

According to the original plan, he would use the carriers Shōkaku and Zuikaku to meet a formation expected to contain only one American carrier.

Japanese Headquarters firmly believed that the main American force would concentrate toward Midway, and at most only one carrier would be used to contain the Coral Sea.

But if there truly were two…

On Shōkaku's flight deck, reconnaissance aircraft were taking off one after another. Jingshang Chengmei stood on the bridge, his palms slick with cold sweat. He had planned a dawn raid, but now he could only wait—for the reconnaissance planes to bring back the truth.

On the morning of May 7, just as dawn broke, the Japanese reconnaissance formation swept over the sea like hawks.

08:15, a Type 97 carrier reconnaissance aircraft sent back a crucial telegram:

"Enemy carrier spotted, bearing 135°, distance 200 nautical miles!"

Almost simultaneously, another reported, "A large fleet to the southwest, possibly a second carrier!"

Jingshang Chengmei hesitated no more: "All carrier aircraft, launch! Target the American carrier!"

09:30, the Japanese carriers Zuikaku and Shōhō launched a total of 78 aircraft, diving straight toward the target.

11:00, the Japanese aircraft reached the skies over the American carriers Lexington and Yorktown.

Bombs whistled down, torpedoes ripped through the water.

Lexington was hit by two torpedoes, causing aviation fuel to leak and trigger a series of explosions, the fire spiraling out of control;

Yorktown was also struck by a bomb on the flight deck, igniting a large fire.

However, because the American carrier's reconnaissance aircraft spotted the Japanese planes en route, Navy Rear Admiral Fletcher also launched all aircraft at once; on the decks of Lexington and Yorktown, SBD dive bombers and TBD torpedo bombers roared.

Although the American forces fought back fiercely, heavily damaging the Japanese light carrier Shōhō and forcing it out of the battle line, because the Japanese had initiated the attack on the American carriers, the United States temporarily lost control of the South Pacific.

Strategically, however, the Japanese were highly successful, inflicting a heavy price on the United States.

But the post‑war loss report.

Shōhō's deck was severely damaged, rendering it unable to take part in the Midway battle a month later;

Zuikaku escaped unscathed, but its carrier pilots suffered heavy losses;

The only good news was that before Shōkaku entered combat, an accident during routine training caused a dive bomber to accidentally drop a bomb, leading to a fuel leak and explosion on board, inflicting severe damage and forcing the ship to withdraw from the combat line for repairs.

And the turning point of all this surprisingly stemmed from a telegram of uncertain authenticity.

The Coral Sea battle thus became the first carrier‑versus‑carrier clash in human history, and also the first engagement where both fleets determined the outcome without visual contact. Although the Japanese held a slight tactical edge, they sank the carriers Lexington and Yorktown.

Although Shōhō was forced out of the fight, it was not sunk, meaning the carrier could be towed back home for repairs.

At the very moment the Japanese Navy secured victory in the Coral Sea battle,

Jingshang Chengmei also issued the landing plan for Port Morzby, assigning the Fifty‑five Division fighting in Myanmar—5,000 troops under Major General Huojing Futailang, equipped with 100 vehicles and 1,000 horses.

All of this unfolded so suddenly that it gave the illusion that the balance of the Pacific War was quietly tipping toward Japan.

And the starting point of all this surprisingly came from a Japanese 50th Division radio station captured in the northern Myanmar rainforest.

At this moment, deep in the northern Myanmar rainforest, in front of a monument built by the Engineer Company for the Special Forces Unit and all fallen members, Jiang Anguo stood before the monument and whispered, "Brother, what you sent away was not just a division commander… you also gave the Japanese and the Americans a mystery they will never decipher."

Jiang Fei, the fallen Special Forces Unit, and Li Defa's troops—all the casualties—were cremated and sent to Lashu's rear area.

They have their own names, their own birthplaces, but they have no relatives.

And Jiang Anguo is their only kin; he does not want them buried by an unknown mountain trail, a place of their sacrifice but insufficient to bear their glory!

The Americans could never have imagined they would be betrayed.

Indeed, the telegram sent to the Japanese originated from Jiang Anguo's hand.

The Americans can lose once, twice, three times; once this machine of theirs is set in motion, they need only seize a single chance, and that little life will have no chance to turn the tide.

But for the Americans to hold out until that point, they must provide more supplies to support Huaxia against the Japanese, who field millions of troops there.