Chapter 2565 The Japanese Fleet Ready for Departure 1

"Now, the Japanese submarines should be almost in place, right? And if the Japanese are lucky enough, I'm afraid those fast pre-dreadnoughts can also be put to use, right? As long as the German fleet temporarily withdraws, then I will set the target for the Japanese You can try the two-step weakening strategy. I don’t say that the Japanese can win, but delaying is no problem!" Betty said confidently.

However, while Betty and his colleagues were examining the future destiny of the Japanese Empire from the perspective of bystanders, the Japanese were also making final preparations for their first large-scale naval battle after the Russo-Japanese War. Just like Shimamura What Hayao said means that the Japanese fleet is really gathering its elite!

"When I saw these familiar figures, I seemed to be transported back to the days of the Russo-Japanese War. I never imagined that ten years later, these veterans of the Russo-Japanese War would actually go into battle and fight alongside the elites of the empire." Shimamura Hayao said to Kato Sadayoshi, the commander of the First Battleship Squadron next to him.

In the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese navy concentrated a powerful fleet of 8 battleships and 6 armored cruisers to severely damage the Russian fleet from afar. In this battle, the Japanese fleet completely defeated the Russian fleet at the cost of losing three battleships. The ambitions of the Far East have reached the Pacific Ocean.

Times have changed, and so far, of the 14 battleships that year, almost all of them have withered away. First of all, the two earliest battleships in service, Fuji and Yashima, have been decommissioned. These two battleships were earlier than the Asami-class armored cruisers, and were only equipped with four 10-inch guns. They were decommissioned immediately after the Russo-Japanese naval battle. One became a museum, and the other became a target.

As Japan's second-class battleship, the Katori-class battleship has completely disappeared from the Japanese Navy's battle order. The Katori battleship was destroyed by the Su Xiong fleet in the Battle of the South Indian Ocean, and another battleship had its upper parts dismantled. After the equipment was installed, it was handed over to the second line as a mobile dormitory at sea.

As for the Satsuma-class battleships, which are called the most powerful pre-dreadnoughts by the Japanese, well, the performance of these battleships is actually pretty good, at least on the same level as the French Dandong. Equipped with 4 12-inch guns and 12 10-inch guns. In addition, the speed of 20 knots was already considered top-notch during the Russo-Japanese War. In World War I, it could also play a certain role on secondary battlefields. However, unfortunately, the Satsuma and Aki had been destroyed by the Su Xiong fleet in the Indian Ocean. The hammer exploded. Now there are only two ships left, the Churayi and the Kashima. The Japanese replaced the twin 10-inch guns of these two battleships with single 12-inch guns, redefined them as dreadnoughts, and then incorporated them into the Third Battleship Division.

As for the armored cruiser? During the Russo-Japanese War, there were a total of 6 ships, 4 of which came from Germany. This is the famous Asami-class armored cruiser. Another captured Spanish warship. There was also the Sagami built by the British. Among these battleships, two Asami-class armored cruisers and the captured Spanish battleship were destroyed in the Russo-Japanese naval battle. The Sagami was scrapped due to an unexplained self-destruction. (Self-destructing battleships are a normal operation of the Japanese Navy, nothing to make a fuss about.) As for the remaining two armored cruisers, the Japanese are not prepared to use them in this battle. After all, these two armored cruisers were originally intended to break diplomatic relations. , and to be honest,

The power of the 10-inch naval gun is really too small.

Therefore, Shimamura Hayao used the term "withered" to describe these old ships from the Russo-Japanese War. It was really not wrong at all. Only 4 of the 14 battleships are left for use, and two of the armored cruisers are not ready to be used this time. Entering the battle, only two Satsuma-class battleships are available.

However, compared with the Japanese Navy's own battleships, the four Rurik-type battleships obtained by the Japanese from the Russian Far East have greatly supplemented the shortage of second-class battleships in the Japanese Navy. These are equipped with 8 12-inch guns. With six 12-inch cannons on the side for firepower output, a speed that can reach more than 23 knots, and a defense equivalent to that of the first-generation dreadnought, the warship is already of considerable value in this era! Especially when facing a fleet like the U.S. Navy that lacks high-speed capital ships and is somewhat biased!

These Russian battleships will naturally change their names when they are incorporated into the Japanese fleet. This time, the Japanese named the four Russian battleships Asagiri, Yamagiri, Amagiri and Kaigiri respectively! This time, they will be organized into the Third Battleship Division together with the two Satsuma-class battleships. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Yamaya Tatoshi who had fought against Su Xiong in the Indian Ocean.

After the Indian Ocean battle in which the Japanese Combined Fleet lost two super-dreadnoughts in the first battle, the blame for the defeat was taken over by Kanji Kato who committed suicide. Although Yamaya and others also lost the battle, the comprehensive consideration of the Japanese Navy Later, it was believed that Yamaya was responsible for this battle, but he would not be directly dismissed from his post. Later, Yamaya's summary report on the entire battle was recognized by the top brass of the Japanese Navy. Therefore, the final result was that although this guy could no longer command It's a super-dreadnought, but it can still be used to command pre-dreadnoughts.

As a result, these six pre-dreadnought ships were put into his hands. The main task of these warships was to attack the outer guard fleet of the US Navy and act as bait to attract the US fleet, paving the way for the main fleet to rush into the core area of ​​the landing site.

Some people may ask, why do we have to assign the slower Satsuma-class battleships to the fleet? The reason is very simple. First, although the four Rurik-class battleships are considered good battleships in Pre-Dreadnought, it is still difficult to destroy battleships of the same level in a short period of time. Therefore, two pre-dreadnought ships must be added to increase firepower. Second, the Japanese fleet is fighting on the Americans' home turf. God knows what the fighting situation was like when the third battleship squadron commanded by others in Yamaya was bitten by the Americans. Maybe it was overtaken from behind, or maybe it was overtaken from behind. Blocking the way of the Japanese fleet, so bait is needed to attract the firepower of the US military when necessary! The two Satsuma-class battleships can be abandoned at any time!

In addition to these old ships, the real main force of the Japanese Navy is 10 fast battleships, including 6 Fuso-class battleships, 3 Kongo-class battlecruisers and 1 fast battleship. In addition, there were two first-generation dreadnoughts, but one of the two battleships was forced to leave the battlefield because it accidentally triggered a mine deployed by the US military, while the other battleship was repaired in the Philippines due to engine problems. , after all, this class of battleship is the first class of Japanese self-built battleship. Since it was built, there have been many problems...

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