"The Japanese are amazing!" Throwing the pencil in hand, Makanov stood up and said. The Russians were greatly surprised by the news that the Japanese fleet had occupied Samoa and captured the American Far East Fleet, and they really did not expect that the Japanese would be so crazy and move so fast. Not only does it completely control the Philippines, but it also makes it difficult for Americans to return to Asia in the next 20 years.

"After the end of this war, we need to deal with the five armored cruisers of the Japanese fleet, and it is reported that the Spaniard Carlos V was captured and the damage was repairable. It won't be long before you can join the Japanese fleet. Roger Stevensky said.

"The Americans have lost this war, they have no ability to return to Asia, and it is difficult to say whether Hawaii can even be saved, as I said earlier, the Americans cannot be trusted. And we lost 2 armored cruisers for the sake of this country," said Rear Admiral Enkweis, commander of the cruiser detachment of the Baltic Fleet, with some indignation.

"Well, the Americans are out of the competition for the Far East, and now it's our turn to face the formidable armored cruiser formations of the Japanese. Let me know what you think. Makanov said with a sigh. The fundamental purpose of his return was to convince the government to agree to the Germans' harsh conditions in exchange for more powerful warships than the Asama-class.

The combat effectiveness of the Japanese fleet exceeded the expectations of the Russians, and who would have thought that in just three years, the Japanese Navy would directly surpass the Russian and American Far East fleets! In the entire Pacific Rim, it has become the largest naval force after Britain, and this is the enemy of the Russian fleet in the future! Can the Russians not be in a hurry?

"This war has changed East Asia so much. Today's Japan and pre-war Japan are completely different concepts. They had a colony that was even more fertile than the mainland. And stuck us with our way from the South China Sea to East Asia. Japan has plenty of strategic depth, and even if the mainland coast is attacked, the Philippines can still provide some output for the empire. And because of the distance factor, if we want to strangle this country, it will be very difficult, and the range of the battleship is an unavoidable problem. Roger Stevensky said.

Although this guy lost the Battle of Tsushima in history, in all fairness, with the situation of the Russian fleet at that time, he couldn't win if he replaced Nelson, and it was not easy for the Russian Navy to complete this journey of tens of thousands of kilometers. You have to fight with a strong enemy who waits for work, and it's no wonder that you can win!

In terms of the future strategy of Russia and Japan, the Russians find themselves in a situation that has become more serious. First of all, the first unavoidable problem is geographical! Russia has only two ports in the Far East, one is Vladivostok, the other is Arthur, the former has limited port facilities, and it is not a warm water port, and the freezing period of several months a year is an eternal pain in the hearts of the Russians.

The other Port Arthur was no better, the internal environment of the port was indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack, but the narrow access was also suitable for the Japanese to conduct blockage operations. And it's so close to mainland Japan! In the event of war, there is a high probability that the Japanese Navy will carry out a nearshore blockade of the Russians.

What is the purpose of the Navy? Whether it is to fight the opposing fleet, destroy the enemy's sea lines of communication, or bombard the ports, the root cause is to destroy the Empire's use of sea lanes. Guarantee your control over the ocean. For Russia, a continental country, the mobilization of troops can be guaranteed without sea transportation, which is a huge advantage over Japan, which has to rely on sea transportation.

But this huge advantage has now been greatly discounted, Port Arthur is too close to Japan, and if the fleet in the port is not strong, it will be blocked to death. The fleet from Vladivostok is not only affected by the seasons, but it is a challenge to sail from Vladivostok to the east coast of Japan.

According to the original plan, battleship formations were deployed in Port Arthur and cruiser formations were deployed in Vladivostok, and in the eyes of the Russians, it was the battleships that would decide the victory or defeat at sea. And the cruiser is specially designed to provide cover for battleships and at the same time perform the task of breaking diplomatic relations at sea. Historically, most of the Russians' cruisers were designed in this way, whether it was Rurik of more than 10,000 tons or dome-armored battleships such as the Aurora. But now it's a different story!

On the one hand, because of Japan's occupation of the Philippines, the strategic depth has undoubtedly expanded a lot. It's okay for the existing cruisers to make do with the Japanese mainland, but if you want to disrupt the transportation of the Philippines, it's better to wash and sleep. From Vladivostok to the Philippines, there is not a single port along the way where coal can be replenished!

How did this make the Russian cruisers embarrassed? Even judging from the Rurik's 2,000 tons of coal, it is a bit stretched. After all, you don't just run back and forth, and you can't always sail at economic speed, and when you can get supplies at sea depends on your luck and the luck of your enemies, and you have to go to the other party a few times to live and die! The range and endurance calculated with a pen are extremely unreliable!

If the range problem can be managed by overloading or camouflaging supply ships at sea, then there is no way to defeat the opponent! In the battle of breaking diplomatic relations at sea, the maximum speed of a warship is often a good-looking theoretical data, which belongs to the kind of unattainable.

Don't you see, whether it is the Essen fleet in the Russo-Japanese naval battle or the Spe fleet in the 1st World War, how many times did the maximum speed run? Bismarck may have run away, but after knocking out Hood, his speed was also greatly affected (before he was cut off by the Swordfish, his range and speed were affected by the underwater bomb of the KGV). Therefore, even if it is a warship that breaks diplomatic relations at sea, it must have strong combat effectiveness, otherwise if it is caught by the other party and killed, then what kind of friendship will it break?

And the idea of the Japanese to allow armored cruisers to participate in the decisive battle of the battle line in the naval battle of the Sea of Sulu also struck the eyes of the Russians. "Damn, it turns out that the armored cruiser is so powerful?!" The Russian Navy is now envious, jealous and hateful of the four Japanese armored cruisers. If it was one, the Russians could still bear it, and now, the Japanese have a whole five! 5 armored cruisers with a speed comparable to that of a first-class armored cruiser, and the firepower and protection are not at a loss to the battleship!

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