Chinese name: Raymond Ames Spruance mbth: Raymond Ames Spruance alias: Raymond Plant Nationality: American Nationality: Germanic Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland, USA Date of birth:1July 3, 886 Date of death: 1969. 65438+February 23rd Occupation: Commander-in-Chief of Pacific Fleet, Dean of Graduate School of Naval Academy: Belief of American Naval Academy: Major Achievements of Christianity: Battle of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Battle of the Philippine sea
Rank of Midway Battle: General, five-star general (posthumously awarded), early life, World War II years, early war, Midway Battle, China Pacific Battle, Mariana Naval Battle, Okinawa Battle, anecdotes after retirement, early life 1886, Raymond Ames Spruance was born in Baltimore, Maryland, with German ancestral home, and was the son of Alexander and Anne spruance. But soon, his family moved to Indianapolis, Indiana. His childhood lacked warmth, and his parents didn't care much about his children. She was sent to New Jersey and raised by her grandmother. Although academic performance often gets high marks, it is not surprising. 1903 In July, spruance was admitted to the United States Naval Academy from Indiana. In the military school, he rarely attracted attention. Although he is a quiet and introverted young man, he works hard. When I graduated, I was the 25th among 209 students in my class. His first command post was on the torpedo destroyer first built by the US Navy. His warship is the 420-ton Bain Bridge, belonging to the Asian Fleet. /kloc-0 was promoted to second lieutenant in September, 908. Later, after studying electricity, he went to work on the battleship Cincinnati. 19 13 was promoted to captain of the destroyer belonging to the Asian Fleet of the US Navy. A year later, he moved to work on the shore and married Margaret Dean. He has participated in many engineering and technical jobs and is unwilling to do this kind of work again for fear of being limited by his major. However, his rank rose rapidly and he was promoted to lieutenant colonel before the end of World War I. Due to the shortage of naval funds after the war, spruance once considered resigning. Fortunately, however, in 19 19, he got the opportunity to command a brand-new destroyer. That's the 1 100 ton Aaron Ward, which was sent to serve in the Pacific Ocean. He belongs to a fleet of six ships led by Lieutenant Colonel halsey. After spruance became famous as a high-speed destroyer commander, he was deeply disappointed when he was transferred back to Washington for service in 192 1. This time, he became the power chief of the Naval Engineering Bureau. However, in 1924, due to halsey's highly praised personnel report, he had the opportunity to shoulder the heavy responsibility. Soon, he was elected as assistant chief of staff by Lieutenant General Andrew, then commander of the US Navy in Europe. At the end of his term, spruance was sponsored by Andrew, and spruance succeeded halsey in commanding the destroyer Osborne in European waters. 1in the summer of 926, spruance went to "show off the national flag" for many times, and then entered the US Naval Military Academy for further study. This is his first visit to the Naval War College. Later, before the Second World War, he came back twice, but both worked as educators. He came back after the war, and that was the honorary dean. Later, spruance believed that his successful combat operations largely benefited from the training of the Naval Military Academy. He did well in the War College, and he did well in the team. This implies that he has a chance to rise to a high position. After further study, he worked in the naval intelligence office for two years, and then served as the vice captain of the battleship Mississippi. Until the 1940s, spruance held several positions in the School of Engineering, Intelligence and Naval War. 1931June, transferred to the naval military academy to take charge of correspondence courses. The following year, he was promoted to captain of the navy. 1in may, 933, he became Watson's chief of staff, commander of destroyer escort fleet. 1In April, 935, he was transferred to the head of the Tactics Department of the Naval Military Academy, and many of the trainees held important positions in World War II. 1938 became the captain of the battleship Missouri. 1940 in February, he was promoted to commander of 10 naval military region, responsible for Caribbean frontier defense, and his headquarters was in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In June of the same year, 10 was promoted to Major General. Europe is already at war at this time. In order to consolidate its position in the Caribbean, the United States is building a series of bases to protect the shipping between the Panama Canal and North and South America. After the French fall, spruance's responsibility will be heavier. 1941June served as commander of the detachment fleet. The flagship is Northampton, which belongs to William Frederick Halsey. At the beginning of World War II, like most naval officers, spruance always wanted to return to the sea. However, he finally got his wish and was ordered to take over the 5 th cruiser detachment of Pearl Harbor. 194 1 September 17, and planted his flag on the heavy cruiser Northampton. This position gave him the opportunity to work with halsey again. At this time, halsey was the commander of Task Force 8, and spruance's contingent happened to belong to this unit. At this time, halsey has been promoted to Lieutenant General and has become a qualified pilot, with the "Enterprise" as the flagship. 165438+1On October 28th, halsey was ordered to set out from Pearl Harbor to deliver fighter planes to wake island. On the morning of June 5438+094165438+February 7, when the attack on Pearl Harbor took place, the 8th Special Task Force was still at sea due to bad weather, and I escaped this disaster. Until the end of 65438+February, Nimitz took over the Pacific Fleet, and halsey's troops remained idle. After Nimitz came to power, he ordered halsey to launch surprise attacks on Gilbert and Marshall Islands, and then there were more attacks, the most important of which was the air raid on Tokyo. Every attack, the task force is under the command of halsey, and spruance undertakes the escort task (including four heavy cruisers and support ships). Spruance thinks this attack is a waste of time. He advocated that the aircraft carrier should be better used, instead of letting such an expensive warship take unnecessary risks just to make headlines. Midway Sea Battle The Japanese are going to launch a big sea battle with Midway Island as the target. Midway Island is located at the western end of the Hawaiian island chain, about l200 miles northwest of Honolulu. Isoroku Yamamoto's real purpose is to lure the American fleet into the war and then annihilate it. He knew that America's industrial capacity was enough to disillusion Japan's victory. On the eve of the naval battle, Admiral halsey, commander of the aircraft carrier Enterprise nicknamed "Bull", contracted herpes at a critical moment and had to be hospitalized for treatment. He suggested that spruance (a major general at that time) take his place, and let spruance borrow his chief of staff, Mills Bai Langning, to assist spruance in directing operations. Opponents believe that spruance, as a cruiser commander, will not command the aircraft carrier. Nimitz also ordered the emergency repair of the aircraft carrier "York City" and the formation of the 17 task force, with the overall operation under the command of Major General Frank Jack Fletcher (until Fletcher ordered the abandonment of the ship because the flagship "York City" of the 17 task force was seriously damaged). Although Nimitz explicitly ordered senior Fletcher to be in charge of the battlefield command of the Battle of Midway, the two fleets always commanded and fought independently in actual combat. On May 28th, spruance led a 16 task force formation, including two aircraft carriers, Enterprise and Hornet, six cruisers and nine destroyers, and left Pearl Harbor. On June 3, they met Fletcher in the scheduled sea area northeast of Midway Island, waiting to engage with the Japanese joint fleet. His task is to "hold the midway island and use the tactics of heavy consumption to make the enemy suffer the greatest loss." In another secret letter, Nimitz instructed again; "You should abide by the principle of taking certain risks? The implication is to tell him that protecting the aircraft carrier is more important than defending midway. Because Yamamoto is interested in destroying the American fleet rather than taking Midway Island. At dawn on June 4, Tadashi Nayun, commander of the Japanese aircraft carrier fleet, ordered the first attack wave to bomb Midway Island. Not knowing that the American fleet was nearby, Nan Yun converted all the planes originally intended to use torpedoes against aircraft carriers into bombs, so that the second wave of attacks could be dispatched as soon as possible. Just then, the reconnaissance plane reported the discovery of an American aircraft carrier, which put Nan Yun in a dilemma: the first attack wave is about to land, and it needs to replenish oil and bombs, and the second attack wave needs to reload torpedoes; Fighters protecting aircraft carriers are about to run out of fuel. Nan Yun ordered a retreat to the north. While picking up the plane, he changed torpedoes and refueled. The unloaded bombs were placed on the deck of the aircraft carrier. Three American torpedo bomber squadrons flew over the target, but the attack failed because there was no fighter escort, and only six of the 4/KLOC-0 bombers were able to return to the aircraft carrier. However, Nan Yun failed to organize aerial reconnaissance and could not send fighters quickly. It also ignores an important rule that no matter where the torpedo bomber appears, the dive bomber will follow. Just as some planes of "Nan Yun" were waiting to take off on the deck, spruance's dive bomber flew over the Japanese aircraft carrier, and Fletcher's plane arrived later. The former dived and dropped bombs on the carrier Chicheng and Kaga, while the latter dived and dropped bombs on the carrier Canglong. After the Chicheng was shot, the bomb exploded on the deck, and the Kaga and Canglong were also shot, plunged into the sea of fire and sank one after another. Later, spruance talked about this action: Some authors praised me for accurately choosing the time when the Japanese aircraft carrier was in the most unfavorable situation-the deck of the aircraft carrier was full of planes that had been refueled, loaded and waiting to take off, but it was not like that. I think the only thing I can boast about is that I am very sensitive to the urgent need to take unexpected action and try my best to attack the enemy aircraft carrier as soon as I get close to the enemy. Later that day, the escaped aircraft carrier Dragonfly found and destroyed Fletcher's Yorktown, and Fletcher handed over the command to spruance. Spruance's fleet sank the oncoming "Dragonfly" aircraft carrier, then recovered all the planes, turned around, quickly withdrew to the waters near Midway Island, and turned around to the west after midnight, so as to give full play to the advantages of the carrier aircraft at dawn and bankrupt Isoroku Yamamoto's plan to take revenge at midnight. This move is regarded as spruance's second important decision. Stop the pursuit in the process of pursuit, so as not to enter the air power circle of the Japanese army in wake island, and make Yamamoto's attempt to attack the American fleet in the air power circle to save the defeat go up in smoke. This move is regarded as the third important decision of spruance. After the Battle of Midway Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, spruance was transferred as Nimitz's chief of staff in June. At that time, the plan to attack the Marshall Islands had been determined, but spruance thought that the US military lacked both Marshall defense information and amphibious combat experience, so it was better to capture gilbert islands first. After his battle plan was approved, spruance carefully considered the choice of commanders, the configuration of troops and weapons, and the organization of logistics support, and also set up a mobile service fleet that played an important role according to Nimitz's instructions. During his tenure as chief of staff, he was promoted to vice admiral, lived with Nimitz, and discussed war guidance and various actions in the Pacific theater. . 1On August 5th, 943, spruance became the commander of the Central Pacific Fleet. Ernest joseph king, chief of staff of the US Navy, said when issuing the personnel order: "Among the general officers of the US Navy, spruance has more intelligence than all others. "He took the cruiser Indianapolis as the flagship and commanded the battle of gilbert islands. Initially, both the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Nimitz advocated a direct attack on the Marshall Islands, but spruance strongly opposed it. Spruance thought it was easy to attack Gilbert, and the lessons learned there could guarantee a successful attack on Marshall in the future. On the contrary, a direct attack on the Marshall Islands may lead to failure. He gradually won the trust of his superiors. The attack plan on Tarawa Coral Reef and Luz Island was approved in July, and the attack date was set at 1943 1 1.5. As for the attack plan on the Marshall Islands, it was postponed to 1944 and 1. Spruance hates being an armchair strategist and likes to finish most of the staff's work in meetings. He made a decision after listening to opinions from all sides, and then went out for a walk alone, leaving the staff attending the meeting there to make detailed plans. Colonel Moore, his chief of staff, often complains. When he said he wanted to make a decision, his old man's house had already gone without a trace. This may be because spruance couldn't make up his mind at the moment, so he walked for a long time. But once he decides, he seldom changes. In an emergency. He can make up his mind quickly, and these decisions are usually correct. Spruance chose his old friend Major General Turner to command amphibious operations, while the landing force was commanded by Major General Smith of the Marine Corps. Smith is plain in appearance. He is more like a businessman than a marine general. He is one of the most dynamic commanders. When drawing up the attack plan, spruance expressed dissatisfaction with targeting Nauru Island. On September 2nd, when King visited Pearl Harbor, spruance put forward all the reasons for his opposition. When the king asked him what to replace Noru, spruance immediately replied, "Ma Jin. "makin island is also a coral reef, just north of Tarawa 100 miles. It is closer to Marshall and has a lagoon for the fleet to park. At the same time, there are also open spaces on the island where airstrips can be built. After consideration, Kim agreed to ask the Joint Chiefs of Staff to change the plan, and of course it was approved immediately. Majin Island was as easy to capture as expected, but it took four days because inexperienced army troops were used. In Tarawa, the first target was Betiau Island, south of the coral reef. As a result, it took four days to capture this small island with an area of only 29 1 mu, killing and injuring thousands of people. Although the heavy casualties caused many accusations, spruance's theory of attacking Gilbert was first confirmed. Kwajalein coral reef in Marshall Islands is stronger than Tarawa. If you attack directly, it is still doubtful whether you can succeed. On the contrary, the experience gained in Tarawa made it easier to attack Marshall later. The Marshall Islands is located in the northwest of Gilbert and includes about 20 coral reefs. Kwajalein near the center is the largest coral reef in the world, about 65 miles long. Marshall's final plan called for the occupation of Kwajalein first, and then Eniwetok Island, about 200 miles northwest. 1944 65438+1October 30th, initial login only. It was not until the next morning that Roy, Namur and Kwajalein launched a formal attack. Gilbert's experience has been applied to Marshall's actions, especially in aviation fire preparation. This made the conquest of the Marshall Islands so fast that it didn't even need a mobile reserve. Spruance believed that among all the Pacific wars, Marshall War was the one with the lowest cost and the highest benefit. 1944 65438+1On October 29th, spruance commanded the landing troops and five special mixed fleets to prepare for the start of the Marshall Islands campaign with two days of artillery fire. On June 365438+1October 3 1 day, the US military first attacked Kemajuro Island, and then attacked Roy Namu Island. On February 1 day, American troops with accurate and timely actions landed on Kwajalein Island, and fought fiercely for seven days to annihilate the enemy. After the Battle of Kwajalein Island, spruance was promoted to Admiral, and the Central Pacific Fleet under his jurisdiction was renamed the Fifth Fleet. On April 24th, the Marshall Islands was conquered. During this period, spruance's aircraft carrier also carried out air strikes on trucks, isolating 50,000 defenders. In the Battle of Marshall Islands, the US military effectively used the tactics of seizing the airport on the island and suppressing the surrounding islands and reefs with air fire. At the cost of 1582 people being injured and 372 people being killed, 8 1582 people were killed. The air battle in Mariana Sea was due to the success of Marshall War. Spruance was promoted to general. He continued to command the Central Pacific Fleet, now also known as the Fifth Fleet, and prepared for the next major battle-the Battle of Mariana Islands. Mariana consists of volcanic islands on the sea, the three largest of which are Saipan, Tianning Island and Guam. The operation designated more than 6.5438+0.25 million troops and 635 combat and auxiliary ships. The nearest base is Eniwetok, just a place to park, 0/000 miles away from/kloc. Pearl Harbor is 3500 miles away, and Saipan landed just one week after Normandy, so I was impressed. Spruance took the same team, but like their boss, Richmond Turner, Holland Smith and Marc Mitscher were all promoted to Lieutenant General. Spruance was at ease to hand over the battle to their command. The landing time of Guam is tentatively scheduled for June 18, and Tianning is uncertain for the time being, depending on the progress of the two islands. Landing in Saipan is not as difficult as expected, and everything goes according to the schedule. But the progress on the island is very slow, so it is much slower than the scheduled progress. Spruance is particularly concerned about the task of capturing the Mariana Islands. Consolidating the beachhead position is the most important consideration in his mind. The experience of all previous campaigns shows that Japan may disperse its forces through complicated maneuvers and carry out flank attacks. He was afraid that when confronted with the main Japanese army west of Mariana, the latter would send one or two troops to bypass the side and attack the land position of Saipan. In Gua Danal, the Japanese tried this again and again. Spruance's 58th Task Force (under Mitchell's command) owns 15 aircraft carriers, plus many fast warships, cruisers and destroyers. This unit is divided into four commandos, two of which have gone north to attack Ogasawara Islands to prevent Japanese air reinforcements to Mariana. Turner commanded a fleet of old warships, destroyers and escort destroyers. Although the strength is very strong, the speed is low, and the task is to support the troops on the shore. It can also be used in fleet operations in an emergency. After consulting with Richmond Turner, spruance borrowed seven cruisers and 1 1 destroyers from him to strengthen the 58th task force. He recalled two commandos from Ogasawara; At noon on June 18, all the troops were concentrated on the sea about 180 miles west of Tianning. All the boats are full of fuel. Spruance has set up a special combat fleet, consisting of combat ships, cruisers and destroyers, which is deployed to the west of the aircraft carrier. Then the order was issued: "The 58th Special Task Force must cover Saipan and the troops fighting there. It is best to sail westward during the day and reach Saipan directly at night. 19, the carrier aircraft of both sides launched a fierce battle, and the US submarine took the enemy by surprise and sank two aircraft carriers (including the flagship Toyotomi, Japanese commander Ichiro Ozawa). /kloc-from the night of 0/9 to the morning of the 20th, the United States lost the best opportunity to attack because of insufficient air search. On the afternoon of 20th, the US military lost more than 80 planes, sank 1 enemy aircraft carrier and 2 oil tankers, and injured 6 aircraft carriers and other warships. The Japanese fleet retreated hastily. This service has completely lost the Japanese carrier-based pilots and seriously damaged the combat effectiveness of the Japanese carrier fleet. In the naval battle of Rey Taiwan Province a few months later, the remaining aircraft carriers were used as bait because of the lack of planes and aircrew. On July 6, a senior Japanese general committed suicide in Saipan. The next day, all 3,000 Japanese soldiers who launched suicide counterattacks were wiped out and Saipan was conquered. Soon, spruance advanced to Tianning Island and Guam. The former was won on July 24th, and the latter was won on July 2nd1. The battle was fierce, but there was no doubt about the result. The fall of Mariana Islands led to the collapse of tojo hideki's cabinet. In the battle of Okinawa, halsey succeeded spruance on August 26th, and the 5th Fleet was changed to the 3rd Fleet. The same ship, but with different commanders. After returning to Pearl Harbor, spruance suggested to Nimitz that Iwo Jima and Okinawa should be the next targets of the Fifth Fleet. Nimitz told him that the Joint Chiefs of Staff decided to continue to attack Taiwan Province Province after the Philippines recovered. Spruance thought it was too difficult to attack Taiwan Province Province, and it was too far away from Japan to pose a threat to Japan. Iwo Jima can keep Tokyo within the range of fighter planes, so fighter planes can be used to cover B-29 heavy bombers taking off from Mariana. In addition, it can also be used in crash landing for wounded bombers. From Okinawa, the US military can control the East China Sea and reach southern Japan, but from Taiwan Province Province, these goals cannot be achieved effectively. When spruance came back from vacation, he found that his opinion was adopted-after the Philippine War, there were not enough troops to attack Taiwan Province Province. In order to cover the landing of Iwo Jima, spruance ordered Mitchell to carry out a two-day air raid on Tokyo to contain Japanese reinforcements to the island. On February 16, the plane taking off from the aircraft carrier raided Tokyo. On February 17, spruance ordered to prepare for a two-day fire attack. On February 19, American troops landed on Iwo Jima as scheduled, and the battle on the shore was quite fierce. Due to the strong fortifications of the Japanese army 109 Shisu Road, the American troops engaged in the battle suffered heavy casualties. Later, with the support of tanks, the American army used a large number of flamethrowers and rocket launchers, and the war made great progress. The Japanese army began to use kamikaze suicide planes, injuring one aircraft carrier and two aircraft carriers. 16 In March, the battle of Iwo Jima ended, and the US army wiped out 23,000 defenders at the cost of more than 28,000 casualties, 33 ships and 168 aircraft. Spruance concluded that seizing the port or establishing floating facilities in the landing area and reasonably organizing the transportation of materials and equipment are absolutely noteworthy issues in landing operations. Before the Battle of Iwo Jima was over, spruance was already preparing for the Battle of Okinawa, because it was only a matter of time before Iwo Jima was conquered. Okinawa is a big island, and the troops needed are the US 10 Army, which consists of two armies. Because the army is in the majority, the commander of the army is also Lieutenant General simon bolivar buckner. The Japanese army has 65,438+10,000 people and 250 planes in Okinawa, under the command of Ershima Man, commander of the 32nd Army. There are dozens of minefields and anti-ship obstacles in the surrounding waters, and 500 kamikaze attack aircraft have been assembled on nearby islands. Allied forces participated in the war with 7 US special mixed fleets and 1 British special mixed fleet, totaling more than 450,000 people, 1457 ships (36 aircraft carriers and 2 108 carrier aircraft). On March 27, the US military captured the Qingliangjian Islands west of Okinawa as a naval forward base. On April 1 day, after fire preparation, the US military successfully landed and established a wide landing site. On April 5, the Japanese army began to resist strongly. In June, Japanese Kamikaze commandos' attack planes and bombers sank 16 American ships. On the 7th, American planes sank the battleship Yamato. Kamikaze special forces made the US military alert radar ships suffer heavy losses, and the number of US pilots increased. On the island, the first line of defense of the US military attacking the Japanese army was frustrated, and it was impossible to break through after 10 days of fierce fighting. On April 19, the US army attacked again and broke through the Japanese defense line on the 24th. On May 8th, American troops attacked the Japanese second line of defense, and it didn't work until 2 1. Nearly two months of continuous operations have exhausted the physical strength and energy of the commanders of the Fifth Fleet. Nimitz was forced to replace all senior commanders. Spruance was replaced by halsey, and the Fifth Fleet was renamed the Third Fleet. Spruance began to think about future battles. He advocated landing on the coast of China, north of Taiwan Province Province, to complete the encirclement of the Japanese army. He thinks it is unnecessary to invade Japan, and there may be many casualties. Although he knows nothing about nuclear bullets, like many naval generals, he believes that the combined use of sea blockade and aerial bombing can force Japan to surrender. When he returned to Nimitz's headquarters in Guam after his vacation, he found himself under the default command of the Fifth Fleet and was scheduled to launch an amphibious attack on Kyushu in 1 65438+1October1. But just as he was busy with the battle plan, the war was over. After the war, spruance took command of all Japanese naval forces, and took over from chester william nimitz as commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet in 165438+ year1October 24th. However, his term of office was very short, because he wanted to retire as the dean of the Naval War College, so he took office in 1 March 9461. As the dean of the Naval Academy, spruance reformed the curriculum, emphasizing the relationship between strategy, tactics and logistics. All the experiences learned in the war and the new ideas developed are included in the curriculum, so that the younger generation can learn from the experiences of their predecessors. In particular, focus on principles rather than hard dogmas that may be outdated. After retiring, due to the quota limitation, spruance has not been promoted to a five-star general. Congress finally passed an unprecedented bill, stipulating that after spruance retired, he would maintain the general's salary until his death. Spruance retired from the navy on July 1948 and moved to California. Later, he was appointed as the ambassador of the United States to the Philippines and completed the negotiations on the issue of American bases. The term of office is from 1952 to 1 month to1April 955. This simply surprised him. However, he did a very good job as an ambassador, although he was suspected of interfering in the politics of other countries. He helped the Philippines implement land reform and used his influence to make the wise and promising Magsaysay elected president in 1953. For the United States, the most concrete achievement is to complete the negotiations on the US military base. He finally finished this important work before he retired to China on April 1955. He returned to California and lived next door to Nimitz and Turner. In his later years, he was still keen on public welfare. Spruance died in California on 1969. He was buried in the Golden Gate National Cemetery in the south of San Francisco with the highest military honor. The first ship of spruance class destroyer, spruance (DD-963), was named in memory of him. The 6th1Burke-class destroyer (DDG-11) will also be named after him. 1952 spruance was in Manila, but spruance was prevented from becoming a five-star general by Congressman carl vinson. Congress finally passed an unprecedented bill, which stipulated that after spruance retired, he would maintain the salary of Admiral (four-star) until his death. On July 5438+0, 2006, Bill 12 was finally passed by Congress, and then Bill 2492 signed by President George W. Bush was clearly passed. The late Admiral spruance was posthumously awarded the rank of "Fleet Commander", namely "Five-Star Admiral". (The general of the army is the title of the army, and the corresponding rank of the navy is the commander of the fleet. Before that, spruance was an admiral. ) Anecdotal Nimitz once praised him as "an admiral among admirals". 1944' s July issue of Time magazine (published on June 26th) used him as the cover figure. Spruance has never been interested in wine, but he is a coffee lover. Someone once commented: "halsey can win the naval battle, spruance can win the battle, and Nimitz can win the war. Spruance's tombstone because he is a descendant of German immigrants, after he became famous, German officers added a noble title of Feng to his name, and spruance just smiled when he knew it.