August 1, 1929, Sasebo Military Port, Japan.

Battleships, large and small, new and old, lined up neatly beside the docks, and in the sun, the sixteen flags of the rising sun were as bright red as blood. On each of the warships here, officers and men in white uniforms lined up on the fore and aft decks and on both sides, and the exterior of the bridge, masts, and open combat positions of the battleships were covered with sandbags, and the entire harbor was filled with pre-battle solemnity as far as the eye could see.

At 7 a.m., the slightly hoarse voice of the commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Naoma Taniguchi, was heard on the radio:

"Fourteen years ago, in this place, Marshal Heihachiro Togo, the god of the Imperial Navy, and tens of thousands of officers and men of the Combined Fleet swore here, and then annihilated the Russian fleet in one fell swoop and won a great victory at Tsushima, making immortal contributions to the Empire! The empire rose in World War I, and the countries of the world did not dare to underestimate our great Japanese empire from now on! ”

"Marshal Togo once said that a cannon with a hundred rounds is better than a cannon with a hundred shots! Today, all the officers and men of our navy are diligent in training and proficient in gunnery, and their military appearance is so strong that no one can beat them in the world! If Dekou dares to come and invade, our army will follow in the footsteps of the Russians! This is the trust of the country, the hope of the nation, and the trust of His Majesty the Emperor in us! ”

"It is true that the enemy in front of us is very powerful, far superior to the Russian fleet of the past, but our army's elite weapons are more than ten times better than the enemy, and our army's tenacious spirit is more than a hundred times better than the enemy, His Majesty the Emperor is expecting us to fight the enemy bravely, and thousands of people are looking forward to our triumph, we will take the lead bravely, and we will not hesitate to sacrifice our lives for the empire!"

"The rise and fall of the imperial kingdom is in this battle, and all the monarchs work hard to kill the enemy!"

After the brief speech, the national anthem "Kimi-no-yo" and the naval anthem "March of the Warships" began to be played on the radio, and the sailors lined up on the deck immediately disbanded and returned to their respective posts.

In the light melody of "March of the Warships". One by one in the harbor, warships began to anchor and unmooring.

At 7:28 a.m., as the flag of the flagship "Kii" was hoisted, the destroyers belonging to the advance reconnaissance detachment of the Japanese Navy's 1st Fleet began to sail out of the harbor.

"The rise and fall of the imperial kingdom is fighting here!"

Naoma Taniguchi, who was standing on the bridge of the "Kii", said softly to himself.

"The rise and fall of the imperial kingdom is fighting here!"

A low harmony came from all around, and Taniguchi Naoma turned his head to see that it was Ichiro Fukuda, captain of the "Kii", Yoshiro Shida, chief of staff of the Combined Fleet, Tohei Aoki, chief of staff of the 1st Fleet, and Isoroku Yamamoto, chief of staff of the 1st Fleet Air Force.

Taniguchi nodded silently to everyone, and then moved his gaze back to the sea, where the six destroyers in charge of reconnaissance and vigilance were leaving the port, and the flagship of this destroyer detachment was the new Fukiyuki-class destroyer "Shirayuki", which had a still water speed of 38 knots. This destroyer with a displacement of 1,680 tons is equipped with a triple 610 mm torpedo tube, which is the most powerful level of lightning strike power among the destroyers of all classes in service in the Japanese Navy, and the destroyer of this class is also equipped with three 127 mm high-level dual-purpose guns, and can carry out mine-laying and mine-sweeping tasks, and is a kind of high-speed, multi-purpose destroyer, but it is a pity that the sonar and radar for destroyers developed by the Japanese technical department are still being tested, and this kind of destroyer has not been able to get rid of the shortcomings of the Japanese Navy's light ships in anti-submarine and air defense capabilities.

The destroyer reconnaissance detachment was followed by the battle cruiser detachment, the main guerrilla force of the 1st Fleet, and at the beginning of the war, the Japanese Navy had the world's largest battle cruiser fleet, "Amagi", "Akagi", "Takao", "Atago", "King Kong", "Haruna Ko", "Kirishima", and "Hiei". These are all big guys with fast speed and fierce firepower. The Japanese people regarded it as a source of pride and the Japanese navy regarded it as a guerrilla god, but as the war progressed.

Amagi and Akagi sank into the icy Sea of Japan along with the entire 3rd Fleet, and Atago and King Kong also fell in the Battle of Hawaii.

The battle patrol detachment was followed by the battleship detachment under the command of Taniguchi Naoma himself, the "Kii", "Kaga", "Tosa", and "Fuso". "Kii" is not only the largest Japanese battleship at present, but also occupies the world's first displacement, the first caliber of the main gun, and the first position in the height of the bow tower. "Kaga" and "Tosa" are twin ships. They belong to the same Kaga class, except for a few small details, they are almost identical, and their displacement of 40,000 tons makes them second only to the Kii-class in tonnage among the Japanese Navy's battleships, but the gun configuration is the same as the other side - five twin 410 mm 45 times diameter main guns, and twenty 140 mm 45 times diameter side gunner-type secondary guns, which also means that the Kaga class is one level lower than the Kii class in defense.

The lone Fuso was at the back of the entire battleship detachment, and the dreadnought, launched in 1914, had been through 15 years of ups and downs, and although the hull had been repainted, the years had left rust on details such as the anchor chain and the ship's side waterline. After modernization, the displacement of 3.65 million tons, the maximum speed of 25 knots and 12 356-mm guns gave the "Fuso" the capital to continue to struggle on the battlefield.

Coming out of port after four battleships were equally large aircraft carriers. The "Shozuru" and "Zuizuru," as well as the "Soryu" and "Flying Dragon," which were recently repatriated from Southeast Asia, were the aircraft carrier battle groups that the Japanese Navy was proud of, and they were also the last force on which to counter the powerful German naval aviation.

"This is the first time that the two ships Xiang and Rui have participated in a naval battle!" Taniguchi Naoma looked at the two heavy aircraft carriers and said, and the most qualified to answer this question was Commodore Isoroku Yamamoto, who was only 45 years old, had already served on the "Shozuru" for more than a year, and successively served as deputy commander of the 1st Air Force, chief of staff of the Aviation Technology Department, and staff officer of the 1st Fleet Air Force.

"Yes, General!" Yamamoto bowed respectfully and at 75 degrees, "In 1924, the two ships participated in the military operation to receive the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippine Islands. but did not clash with the US military; In 1927, Zuihe went to the Yellow Sea with the China Task Force, but the Ranchina Navy was weak, and Zuihe only carried out cover missions for army units! ”

"Our enemy, but he has been in battle for a long time!" Taniguchi looked at the middle-aged officer in front of him, who was exactly the same height as the military god Togo Heihachiro, and his tone was deep and worried.

The expression on Yamamoto's face did not change in any way, but a trace of loss flashed in his eyes.

"General, rest assured, although our naval aviation rarely has the opportunity to engage the enemy. The daily training and exercises were arduous and meticulous, and all the officers and men on the battlefield regarded death as if they were at home. ”

Taniguchi Naoma nodded, looking into the distance with a face of vicissitudes, behind the four aircraft carriers, a huge number of light ships are also waiting to leave the port, the cruiser fleet composed of 3 heavy cruisers and 4 light cruisers will cover the flank of the main force of the fleet, and the 9 fleet destroyers and 54 torpedo boats are organized into 9 mine strike squadrons, which will be the "surprise soldier" in Taniguchi's hands, and it is also one of the advantages of the Japanese fleet's home battle.

in the sky. A group of three fighter jets was patrolling the airspace near the port back and forth. The Japanese land-based aviation units stationed at the Sasebo military port were not only responsible for the air defense alert of the fleet during its departure from the port, but would also go out to the area within 500 kilometers of the port to participate in the battle if necessary, according to the estimates of the Japanese Navy Headquarters. The battlefield of the naval battle will be in the sea area 300 to 400 kilometers south of Kyushu.

"General! Commodore Mitsumi Shimizu, commander of the 7th Task Force, sent a telegram! ”

While the Kii was slowly moving along the way out of the port, the lieutenant communications officer, dressed in a white military uniform, came to Taniguchi's side, which was still standing on the bridge.

"Read!"

Taniguchi did not shy away from the officers at all levels beside him.

"Yes!" The communications officer unfolded the telegram folder, "To Your Excellency the Commander of the Combined Fleet: The 7th Task Force has been deployed in the predetermined area, and as soon as the German fleet is found, it will immediately report to the Commander and wait for an opportunity to attack the German ships. ”

"Reply to the telegram to Commodore Mitsumi Shimizu, Jun and all the ships under his jurisdiction should wait for their prey with the patience of cheetahs, and in this way, the first credit of the combined fleet is none other than Jun!" After the communications officer had finished recording and saluting, and turned to leave, Taniguchi turned to the officers standing not far behind him. "The Germans have always been proud of submarines, and now our army will master the skills of the master to control the submarines! Hundreds of submarines have been laid in the sky, and we should wait here for the good news of Task Force 7! ”

Yes, "Shiyi is skilled in controlling Yi", Wei Yuan in "Atlas of the Sea Kingdom. However, the ideas of the Westernization Movement failed to make China rise in real terms, but were better interpreted in its neighbor Japan, which has to be said to be a joke made by history.

"What the general said is very true!" Rear Admiral Yoshiro Tsukita, First Staff Officer of the Combined Fleet, immediately echoed Taniguchi's view, regardless of the prospects. Regardless of whether the 7th Task Force was really able to successfully fire this first gun, in fact, Taniguchi's so-called "100 submarines" were nothing more than 42 offshore submarines of mixed use and old, and compared with the German Navy, which was "targeted and fully blossomed" on various naval vessels, the Japanese Navy spent too much energy on battleships in the 10s, and was busy filling in the disadvantages of aircraft carriers and air defense and anti-submarine technology in the 20s, and as a result, the production of submarine technology in the country was in a situation where there was a shortage of both talent and funds, until the time of the war between Germany and Japan. The submarines of the Japanese Navy are still generally stuck at the level of the mid-10s in Europe and the United States.

Except for a small number of submarines purchased from abroad, the Japanese Navy is currently mainly equipped with domestically produced Lv series submarines and Lv series submarines -- Lv 57 coastal attack submarines, Lv 16, Lv 26 patrol submarines, Lv 29 broken submarines, Lv 60 medium-range attack submarines, Yi 1 ocean-going patrol submarines, Yi 54 and Yi 57 ocean-going fleet attack submarines, and Yi 21 ocean-laying minelaying submarines. In terms of performance, it was far from being the German submarine that was stable and mass-produced by the IV model.

Looking at the officers whose confidence was greatly boosted, Taniguchi felt an indescribable pain in his heart, the inferior hardware technology of his own submarines was only one aspect, and the Japanese Navy also had its "unique" side in the understanding of submarines as a weapon; because the guiding ideology of the main force of the combined fleet was to win a decisive battle at sea, and based on the purpose of being the first to discover the enemy, submarines were regarded as the "eyes and ears" of the main fleet, and endurance and reconnaissance capabilities were placed in the first place in submarine design. Even the development of a unique aircraft-carrying submarine carrying reconnaissance aircraft (historically, the I-1 ocean-going submarine built by the Japanese Navy in 1923 could carry one reconnaissance aircraft), under such a guiding ideology, the speed and attack power of Japanese submarines were put on the back burner, and when they had to face the German Navy with strong anti-submarine capabilities in an ambush formation, the advantage of submarine warfare was greatly weakened.

Although Taniguchi knew this very well in his heart, as the commander of the fleet, he had to give every officer and soldier as much confidence as possible before the battle, and it was the same reason that the previous conversation with Yamamoto did not break the other party - it is not difficult to imagine how a team that only trains and does not compete will perform in a tournament!

"The battle cruiser detachment is lined up outside the harbor!"

"The battleship squadron is lined up outside the harbor!"

"The cruiser detachment is all out of port!"

"The 1st Lightning Strike Squadron is out of port!"

"The 2nd Lightning Strike Squadron departs!"

When the last mine-striking squadron finally left the harbor to join the huge battle group, Taniguchi and his staff officers waited for an expected telegram - the reconnaissance planes sent by the 3rd Fleet in the sea area of the island had discovered the German harassment fleet heading north, and nearly 100 carrier-based planes would pounce on the German fleet within ten minutes!

After receiving this telegram, the expression of joy on Taniguchi's face was reflected in the renewed excitement of other officers, and in the eyes of Japanese soldiers who were trained in Eastern traditions, a good beginning heralded a good end. Naoma Taniguchi, who served as commander of the Combined Fleet, immediately issued the order that "the fleet should advance in battle formation," and 91 large and small battleships began to advance toward the battlefield in eight battle columns.