Chapter 2469 The Japanese’s Final Preparations 7
? The only thing about the Kasuga-class armored cruiser that currently dissatisfies the Japanese is the power system. After all, the Kasuga-class armored cruiser came out too early, and it still uses a reciprocating steam engine. This problem is worse than a boiler. But fortunately, the Japanese have been prepared for it. They have long considered that these warships will be used in the future, so before During the overhaul, the boiler and steam turbine were replaced together. This was not economical, but it saved time!
"How do you plan to use these cruisers?" Yamamoto Gonbei asked.
"The Americans will definitely not be able to set up just one landing site. They will definitely have multiple. Under normal circumstances, these armored cruisers will be used to attack and harass some secondary landing sites in order to confuse the Americans' sight. And if it comes to a decisive battle, , they are cannon fodder and escorts, used to contain and delay the offensive of the US fleet." Shimamura Hayao said.
"Have you ever thought about another way to use it?" Yamamoto Gonbei thought for a while and said: "Can we also imitate the Su Xiong fleet deployed by Germany in the Indian Ocean during the war and use it to harass American maritime transportation lines? Woolen cloth?"
To be honest, throughout the entire war, the Japanese had the most dealings with the Su Xiong fleet among all regular naval forces! Looking through the combat records, we can see that, except for the failure of Thomas and a group of queens to encircle and suppress Su Xiong's fleet, the Japanese fleet and Su Xiong's fleet had large-scale battles no less than three times! The Japanese hate and fear this fleet! After all, when Su Xiong was at his peak, he attacked two waves of Japanese battleships in a row, and the submarine force he cooperated with caused heavy losses to the Japanese transport fleet. Out of reverence for the enemy, Yamamoto Gonbei personally studied Su Xiong's tactics and combat ideas. So an idea came up. Since the Germans could use supplies from the United States on the ocean to have a major impact on the British maritime transportation lines and involve a lot of troops, why couldn't the Japanese?
"We can use camouflaged cruisers. Just modify them with commercial ships and install artillery. Civilian ships generally have a large cargo capacity and very economical fuel consumption. These camouflaged cruisers will have a very good range. And they are not easy to be discovered. Even if it is discovered, the loss will not be huge." Shimamura Hayao obviously had some opinions on Yamamoto Gonbei's idea, but he did not directly refute it. Instead, a counter-proposal was made.
He also studied Germany's tactics for breaking diplomatic ties during the war, and keenly discovered that although the two battleships of Su Xiong's fleet were majestic! But it is a pity that the main losses of the Allied transport fleet in the entire Indian Ocean were caused by auxiliary cruisers, submarines and the mines they laid. Then Shimamura Hayao thought, if this is the case, why not use cheap auxiliary cruisers to break the relationship and insist on bringing the main ship?
"Shimamura-kun, you are confused by the appearance. The significance of the existence of Suxiong's fleet is not how many transport ships they destroyed, but that it made it impossible for our transport fleet to unite. You know, we cannot give every small ship The fleet is equipped with escort warships. Because we don’t have that many ships, and neither do the British. If we have to equip a moderate escort fleet, then the fleet will be very large, and Su Xiong’s value lies in destroying Our escort system! Whenever we gather a large fleet to prepare for escort,
The Su Xiong fleet will pop out! Then use a clean offensive to break up the fleet! "
"Actually, you can understand this by looking at the time and regularity of the dispatch of Su Xiong's fleet. After repeated heavy attacks, we did not dare to use the escort system to transport supplies, and could only operate in small fleets, and this gave Opportunities to camouflage cruiser combat! Therefore, this is the real value of the Su Xiong fleet! In the future, the armored cruisers we deploy in the Eastern Pacific will also have this purpose." Yamamoto Gonbei said.
"However, the Germans deployed two fast battleships and submarines. We do not have the capital. All we can deploy are armored cruisers, and capital ships are impossible." Shimamura Hayao said.
"That's enough. We are admittedly not as good as Germany, but the U.S. Navy is also far inferior to the original Allied Navy. The U.S. fleet is large, but it lacks enough fast battleships. The Americans' new light cruisers are not enough to defeat the Kasuga-class armored cruisers head-on. The number of heavy cruisers is insufficient. If they can find us on the vast sea, even if they can't defeat us, they still have a chance to escape. As for the escorting destroyers, just take them away."
"Of course, if they ask the Germans for help, we will not suffer. The help the Germans provide to the Americans is limited. If an armored cruiser can be exchanged for the German Bavaria or aircraft carrier to be transferred from the main battlefield, Then it’s a good thing for us! Don’t you think so?”
Yamamoto Gonbei settled the accounts very clearly! The U.S. Navy has huge shortcomings. The fleet battle can be said to be very strong. Escort and anti-submarine warfare can be considered so-so. Although there is little experience, there are many destroyers. The core goal of escort is to prevent submarine attacks, and it does not necessarily have to sink the submarine. This is a bit difficult in World War I.
However, the U.S. Navy is somewhat unable to respond to a battle involving fast battleships. This is also the gap between a second-rate naval power and a first-rate naval power! In fact, there is only one powerful country that can deal with both decisive battles at sea and breaking engagements at sea, and that is Britain.
Although the German Navy performed superbly in the decisive battle, it was third-rate in counterattacking and breaking diplomatic relations! Because the German warships were designed for decisive battles and lacked sufficient numbers. Overseas also lacks sufficient logistical system support. Not to mention the fact that the Thomas Fleet failed to kill the Su Xiong Fleet, it was able to immediately dispatch five fast battleships in a short period of time to the Indian Ocean thousands of miles away to hunt its opponents. This ability is not available to all naval powers now!
Yamamoto Gonbei knew very well that if nothing unexpected happened, these armored cruisers tasked with breaking the engagement would eventually fail... That's no problem. Think about it, the armored cruiser that broke the diplomatic ties went deep into the ocean alone. The area west of Midway Island is the sphere of influence of the United States. Even if they are unprepared at first, the force is thin, or they can be mobilized in a short time due to problems on the front line. There are not enough troops to encircle and suppress. But if someone is offended and the Japanese fleet does not withdraw immediately, it will be a matter of time before they are caught. After all, we are on someone else's territory, and the other party has absolute advantages in military strength, technology, and logistical supplies.
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