As a naval soldier, Ozawa has a strong military temperament. Ozawa is good at accepting new things, has a long-term vision and studies hard, which is completely different from the conservative fleet soldiers. Ozawa's composure has created his brave and witty style, which is more suitable for a commander, such as Yu Yuanyuan. In all senses, he is undoubtedly the best candidate for the commander of the mobile force (Yamaguchi's character is braver than calm, so he is not suitable to be the supreme commander). It can be said that in the relatively conservative Japanese navy (which is also caused by the weak national strength), Ozawa and Yamamoto are also heterogeneous, but Ozawa, who is the same kind of person, has not been reused by Yamamoto, which makes people feel sorry. If yohji yamamoto is a generous person like Takasu Shiro, then the cooperation between him and Ozawa in strategy and tactics will probably make the Japanese navy go further. However, there will be no ifs in history. As a historical figure, Ozawa can be said to have lost his reputation, but his superb tactical command, keen and brave determination and conscience as a professional soldier should be remembered by today's Japanese.
Judging from the commander of Japan's World War II joint fleet, Ozawa is undoubtedly excellent. Its failure in Mariana was not due to improper command. First of all, the sinking of the Taihō and Xianghe ships was entirely caused by submarines. The sonar of the Japanese destroyer is far from that of the United States, so the heavy losses caused by the failure to find the submarine in time cannot be attributed to Ozawa. Secondly, Ozawa's so-called ultra-long-range shuttle bombing tactics were really an avant-garde theory at that time, keeping Japanese ships out of the attack range of the US military. It can indeed effectively avoid the threat posed by the US military to the Japanese fleet. War is Japan's strong point. Japan's industrial strength is much worse than that of the United States. As Yamamoto said, it is not a problem to go to war with the United States 1 year, 1 year and a half, and it is hard to say in two or three years. Unfortunately, Kenzaburo Ozawa was the commander of the Japanese fleet three years after the commander-in-chief started the war. When more than a dozen Essex-class ships, F6F and F4U keep coming off the production line, however, the gale type can't be equipped with troops, so it's difficult to fight against F6F in zero war (F6F is designed for zero war, just like using T34 to fight tigers, tigers or veteran pilots). Japanese aircraft are inferior to the United States in technology and quality, so long-range bombing tactics are worth a try. Of course, the air defense capability of American warships at this time has been qualitatively improved through a large number of modifications to old warships in 42 years and the introduction of new radars and new anti-aircraft artillery shells. The Japanese army has always been relatively backward in the research of new technologies, and only considers the comparison in quantity. However, the backward quality of Japanese pilots has long been unable to give full play to their preemptive advantage. It is difficult for the Japanese army to successfully attack the US military in three batches before being countered. In the face of the absolute superiority of the US military, it also successfully organized more effective defense. Without much fighter defense, it only sank a light aircraft carrier (much stronger than Nanyun).
Ozawa, the teaching plan for Japanese naval forces, was established. Among the Japanese naval generals in World War II, he was one of the few generals who combined theorists and officers with troops. Due to his qualifications, Ozawa could not be the commander of the naval forces before Nanyun. After taking over Nanyun's exhausted troops, he was defeated by the overwhelming forces of the US military. Even so, Ozawa can still struggle when the quality and quantity are not as good as people. In the naval battles he participated in, he made far fewer mistakes than the US military. However, because the level of his subordinates can't compete with the US military, his tactics can't be effectively used. Therefore, the United States has a high evaluation of Ozawa's tactical ability and command ability, and getting the affirmation of the former enemy may be the greatest comfort to the defeated army!
(Note: This was dictated by Japanese officers in World War II)
Saburo Ozawa will be one of the two officers who will be the highest commander of the Japanese naval aircraft carrier mobile unit in the Pacific War.
Ichiro Ozawa's term of office is more than two years, which is about twice that of his predecessor Lieutenant General Nan Yunzhong in wartime 1 1 month. Because he is an expert in mine tactics, he has rich experience in the joint fleet before the war. Unlike Lieutenant General Nan Yun, during this period, he served as the commander of the First Air Force for nearly a year.
The biggest feature of Lieutenant General Ozawa's war calendar is that whether he is the commander of the mobile unit with the navy's most precious aircraft carrier or not, he failed to sink an American aircraft carrier, which is the main force of the US Navy. On the contrary, he lost seven empty mothers as big as us. During most of Ichiro Ozawa's time as commander of the mobile force, I served as aviation staff officer in the Second Air Force under the direct command of Lieutenant General. I think most of the responsibility for the above situation lies with Lieutenant General himself.
Lieutenant General Ozawa was the commander-in-chief of the southern dispatch fleet in the early days of the Pacific War, and was responsible for escorting and supporting the army troops landing in the southwest, especially in the Malay Peninsula. Since then, it has supported the offensive operations in southern Sumatra and western Java, and successfully completed the scheduled plan with minimal losses. Lieutenant General Ozawa received great thanks from the relevant troops. Although Ozawa's troops mainly protected the army's transport fleet, it goes without saying that the air force of Malay troops sank the main force of the British Far East Fleet in the Malay naval battle and gained air superiority in this respect.
Ozawa's troops had some problems in the first phase of the operation. First, in Showa 17 and February 15, near Bali in the south and east of Sumatra, our army's water reconnaissance plane found the enemy fleet. At that time, Japan had air superiority, and Ozawa's naval power had superiority. However, Ozawa did not take the initiative to attack on the grounds of protecting the fleet and lost the opportunity to annihilate the remaining enemy fleet in this area.
At the beginning of April 2007, Ozawa's troops sank 14 enemy ships in the Bay of Bengal and destroyed 3 ships. At this time, due to the active influence of Nanyun. Obviously, there is no need to worry about enemy planes and ships in this state.
Showa1July 07, 7 14, when the formation of the joint fleet was greatly revised after the naval battle in midway, Lieutenant General Ozawa served in the military command department and waited for the opportunity of new tasks. In the same year,165438+1October 1 1 replaced Lieutenant General Nan Yun as commander of the Third Fleet. According to the army of the joint fleet, it means that it is the highest commander of the mobile unit of the air carrier.
When Lieutenant General Ozawa was the commander of the mobile unit, he directly commanded the First Air Corps (aircraft carriers Ruihe, Shoukaku and Ruifeng) and the Second Air Corps (aircraft carriers Falcon, Eagle and Dragon and Phoenix). "Shoukaku" and "Ruifeng" were repairing the wounds caused by bullets, when they were unable to fight. Ruihe and the flight team of the air force had to be in the mainland because of the necessary take-off and landing training.
The "Flying Eagle" of the Second Air Force was unable to move because it failed to repair the main machinery and rebuild the flying team. "Dragon and Phoenix" was incorporated into the Second Air Force instead of the "Dragon Boat" sunk in the second Solomon Sea Battle, and stayed in the mainland to make necessary preparations.
For the above reasons, the only joint fleet that can fight neutrally is Admiral Kakuta's flagship and Falcon Eagle, which is on standby training in trucks.
Lieutenant General Ozawa first commanded the Air Mother Flying Team in actual combat in the "Iraq War" in Showa 65438+April 2008. At that time, there were about 160 mobile planes in the first air force and the second air force, which was less than 183 when the first attack team of Nanyun Force attacked Pearl Harbor. The above actions were carried out under the direct command of the commander of the joint fleet. Lieutenant General Ozawa's order was not specifically marked.
It is worth noting that after this battle, when General Yamamoto planned to visit frontline base in Solomon Islands, Ryoji Takada, the army chief of staff of Ozawa, advised the general that there were not many fighter guards on the plane, but Kuroshima, the chief of staff of the Joint Fleet Command, did not adopt it.
Ozawa's second actual combat was the "Lu" campaign of Showa 18 1 1. At that time, the commander of the joint fleet, General Ke Hefeng, was in command in the truck. In rabaul, Lieutenant General Ozawa commanded about 170 flying teams of the First Air Force and the flying teams of the Base Air Force commanded by Lieutenant General Kushiro.
The main purpose of this operation is to annihilate the enemy fleet near bougainville island, especially the empty carrier. The main air strikes were the first to third Bougainville air battles. The comprehensive results of the report sank ten American ships, including two empty motherships, and destroyed many ships. The base camp was also announced with great fanfare. During this period, Ozawa's troops suffered heavy losses, losing half of the pilots and 80% of the equipment, including several flight team commanders.
Later, it was found that the loss of American ships at that time was very slight, and none of the main ships were sunk. It can be said that this series of air strikes is completely self-deception. The U.S. air mother mobile unit used F6F fighters with better performance than zero war, and the number was far greater than ours, and the air defense firepower of the enemy fleet was also significantly strengthened. In other words, the combat effectiveness of our naval flying team has long been worse than before, and this fact is well known to our battle-hardened aviation stakeholders in this field.
The lack of realistic understanding of these facts is the main reason why Lieutenant General Ozawa's level as commander of aviation forces is questioned. Undeniably, the wrong judgment at that time had a bad influence on the overall operation of the joint fleet in the future.
Lieutenant General Ozawa's ability as the highest commander of the mobile forces near Mariana in the "A" campaign was also questioned.
Before this battle, General Toyota added "attacking enemy aircraft carriers with large forces in the air outside the air attack circle, with the focus on pre-emptive attacks during the day" in his operational policy. Lieutenant General Ozawa not only obviously overestimated the strength of the mobile forces, but also underestimated the capabilities of the US Air Force. Obviously, my mobile unit made a big mistake as a result. Specifically, with the training level of our flight team, the probability of successfully implementing ultra-long-range tactics is almost zero, which is the achilles heel of Lieutenant General Ozawa as the commander of mobile forces.
This method of warfare is the official order of General Toyota. There is no doubt that this is the sudden death of General Koga, and General Toyota, as the commander of the joint fleet, adopted Lieutenant General Ozawa's opinion of attaching importance to ultra-long-range tactics and tactics.
In the battle later known as Mariana naval battle, it was difficult to ensure the accuracy of the enemy fleet position reported by the reconnaissance plane because the target distance of each attack team of Ozawa's troops was too far. Besides. When our attack team arrived near the target, the enemy's position also changed greatly, and the fatigue and technical inexperience brought by the attack captain's long flight led to the phenomenon that the flight team failed to find the target one after another.
On the other hand, the commander of the U.S. air mother mobile unit gave up the attack on our air mother because the two armies were too far away to attack my own flying team. The soldiers were ordered to concentrate on the attack team. Therefore, the attack team lucky enough to reach the enemy's empty mother suffered great losses, and it was basically difficult to attack the enemy's empty mother.
Even more neglectfully, this mobile unit was attacked by an American submarine, and not only Lieutenant General Ozawa's flagship "Taihō" but also "Shoukaku" was sunk. I'm afraid this is because his attention is completely focused on the enemy air carrier in the distance, and the enemy submarine only one step away has an opportunity. Only consider the advantages brought by ultra-long-range operations to our army and ignore its potential dangers. As the commander of a large army, there is still something lacking. It is not unreasonable for Lieutenant General Ozawa to incur such criticism.
Lieutenant General Ozawa commanded a joint fleet with nine aircraft carriers in the Pacific War, but he had no chance of success. As an organized action of the joint fleet-the decisive battle of the fleet, the enemy's empty mother was not retaliated. Coupled with the "Eagle" on the 20th, * * * lost three empty ships and was completely defeated. No less than the defeat of the midway naval battle.
Regarding Lieutenant General Ozawa's command in the Mariana naval battle, it is worth mentioning that as the supreme commander of a huge army, his words and deeds are not consistent.
Before attacking the Mariana naval battle, Lieutenant-General Ozawa called commanders and staff officers at all levels on the flagship "Taihō" of Taweta to give instructions on the importance of the battle and our determination. At that time, Major General Kezang Komura, Chief of Staff of the First Mobile Force, explained the significance of this instruction in detail on behalf of the Chief Executive. What impressed me the most was this paragraph:
"... if this operation fails to achieve the expected purpose, the naval forces on the water will lose their meaning of existence ..."
The commanders of the youth flying team who attended the meeting all heard this sentence, and they also proved it with their own actions in the subsequent actions. After listening to these words, I am convinced once again that this is probably the last battle of the fleet. I am convinced that this is the main reason why they bravely carry out ultra-long-range attacks with many attackers regardless of their own technical deficiencies.
In addition, perhaps because "Taihō" and "Shoukaku" were unable to sail one after another, Lieutenant General Ozawa's fighting spirit dropped sharply, and he instantly turned to defense, slowing down the pace of attack. As a result, the naval battle suffered heavy losses, but the gains were close to zero.
On the evening of 20th, the empty mother "Hayabusa" quietly returned to Okinawa Midtown Bay with the current ship. I wandered on the flight deck, but I couldn't find any words to report the story of this naval battle to many young air warriors who rushed to death under the orders of the supreme commander.
The problem is not limited to. After returning to Wujun Port, the name of the long-established Second Air Force to which I belong was removed from the naval establishment list. At this point, the senior staff of Lieutenant General Ozawa's headquarters declared to the staff at the headquarters:
"Success or failure is in the sky"
Hearing this sentence, I seem to re-understand the atmosphere in Ozawa's army headquarters during the Mariana naval battle. In fact, this sentence has another meaning when I am still looking forward to my comeback. But after losing the final battle, there is nothing to say except the general idea.
The complete defeat of Mariana naval battle is not so much the disorder of each order as the lack of fighting spirit of the supreme commander, who put the position of this naval battle too casually. From this perspective, it is understandable that Lieutenant General Ozawa's qualification as commander of the air force is questioned.
In addition, there is a view that in the Mariana naval battle, the strength of the flying team can not reach the excellent tactics of Lieutenant General Ozawa, which I disagree with. The greatest responsibility of the commanders of front-line troops is to win the battle, but the sacrifices they make must also achieve corresponding results. This is the cruelty of fighting.
Captain general Ozawa continued to be the commander of the mobile unit after the "A" campaign. Showa 19 10 10 In late October, the allied forces landed in Leyte Island, Philippines. The command quality is not as good as before, attacking the northeast sea of the Philippines with the four weak empty mothers as the center. According to General Toyota's orders, in order to make the Kurita Fleet with Wright Bay as the target fight more smoothly, the mobile unit was commanded to lure the enemy and the enemy air force mother unit was lured north.
However, the effect of this tactic is not ideal. The commander of the American fleet who overwhelmed the joint fleet in the Mariana naval battle and the pilot of the mother of space are searching for our mother of space with eagle eyes. Once they find something, they must attack at any time. Besides, there is no room for comment on the difference between skilled and clumsy operations of our mobile troops. Once the empty mother arrived off the coast of the Philippines, even if no strategy was taken, the other side's attack had already arrived. In addition, because the US air mother group is very strong, it can be expected that the air mother group that Ozawa's troops can contain is only a part of it. In fact, the four air moms were sunk almost without doing anything.
Originally, the empty mother was not built as bait, and the so-called bait operation can only reflect its value if the overall operation is successful. But at that time, Lieutenant General Kurita knew nothing about the actual actions of Ozawa's troops.
As the commander of the longest aircraft carrier mobile unit in the Pacific War, Lieutenant General Ozawa did not see any success during this period. It also includes the failure of the Mariana naval battle.
Captain-General Ozawa served as the second minister of the military command for half a year after the middle period of Showa 19 1 1, assisting the chief of the military command and General Kawaguchi Jiro. In late May of 20 years, he served as Commander-in-Chief of the Marine Corps, Commander-in-Chief of the Joint Fleet and Commander-in-Chief of the Maritime Guard. The new position is to command all naval combat forces such as the joint fleet, the maritime guard regiment, the guard room and the guard room. After taking office, Okinawa completely fell into the hands of the enemy, and the situation entered the final stage, leaving only a few combat aviation units and diving units. The marine corps has been attacked by the enemy's sea and air, and it has been completely unable to take the initiative to fight.
When Lieutenant General Ozawa was the commander of the First Air Force of Showa in 15, he suggested that the air force should use empty mother to form a new air force, but General Yamamoto thought it was too early and refused. The Pearl Harbor attack was carried out ahead of schedule, and an air fleet was formed. These reasons make Lieutenant General get the evaluation of aviation operations. During the review, the battle of Lu, the naval battle of Mariana and the naval battle of the Philippines, which commanded heavy troops, sank the enemy's empty carrier, but lost nine empty carriers. Therefore, it is difficult to raise objections to evaluate him as the commander of the empty cluster with 0 points and 7 losses. To evaluate the commanders of front-line troops, we should not only look at his military thoughts and ideas, but also examine his achievements in actual combat.
American historians, including Major General E. Morrison, the author of "The History of American Naval Warfare in World War II", and several other Americans spoke highly of Lieutenant General Ozawa. But if they knew Japanese, I'm afraid they wouldn't have that opinion.
Lieutenant General Ozawa is a naval petty officer from Miyazaki Prefecture. Tall man. Before the war, Lieutenant General Enokic of Horai River, who served in the navy at the same time as Lieutenant General Ozawa, was six feet (65,438+0.83 meters) long and nicknamed six feet Horai River. And Ozawa is about five feet eight inches. Although he looks big, he doesn't look fat. Maybe he became a little red because of good wine.
As an island country, Japan's lack of resources makes every warship so precious, which leads to the particularity of the joint fleet. If the commanders of the joint fleet are roughly classified, there are at least three kinds of people: the first kind is brave, and the representative is Lieutenant General Yukio Nishimura who broke into the Surigao Strait alone. His judgment of the war situation is reckless and he is used to making great strides. Although I can occasionally get chestnuts from the fire, I often hit my head in the context of air and sea battles. The second kind is indecisive people, who are timid and hesitant in the face of strong enemies. For example, General Soeda Sobu, the commander of the third joint fleet after the war, actually let the joint fleet beat around the bush near rabaul, wasting fuel and materials. Even more amazing, Nanyun changed ammunition in Midway Island. As a chief of staff, he is not just a commander, which makes the war situation out of control. Such people should take the lead. The third kind of people are courageous and resourceful. This kind of person is rare in imperial japanese navy, but it is of decisive significance. The typical figure at the strategic level is undoubtedly Isoroku Yamamoto, while at the tactical level, Ichiro Ozawa is the first to push Saburo. As a figure in the history of the Pacific War, Kenzaburo Ozawa's fame is not as great as Yamamoto's and Nanyun's, but he is similar to makarov, a Russian famous soldier. Everyone who works with him agrees that Ichiro Ozawa is a rare figure in the joint fleet.