The icy waters, the hoarse cries, the helpless struggles, the desperate wails......

"Ahh

Tachino Tokujiro screamed, and the whole person woke up from a terrible nightmare. When he opened his eyes, he saw a large group of Japanese naval officers and sailors wrapped in blankets, and he was lying on a very simple single bed.

"General, you're finally awake!" An officer next to him said this in a thankful tone.

Tachino turned his head to look at him, the man was not wearing a military cap, and his clothes were tattered, but the remaining collar badge still indicated his status as a school officer. For Tachino, this face was not very familiar, indicating that this person was at least not an officer in the command of the 3rd Fleet. He was only in his forties, he was still fair-eyed, there were a few wounds on the left side of his face that had been bloody, and although his eyes showed a little excitement because of his awakening, this could not hide the disappointment of the whole person from top to bottom.

"Uh......" Tachino tried to straighten up, but immediately there was a painful feeling all over his body, and his head was heavy, forcing him to give up his attempt to sit up, and instead continue to observe the strange new environment with difficulty in his current flat position.

It is a cabin with four walls painted with traditional German gray, and it is not difficult for a person who has lived on a warship for many years to recognize that this is the storage room in the bilge of the ship. In the small space at this time there were about forty officers and men of the Japanese navy, and judging from the uniforms, there were only four or five officers, and none of them were of very high rank, and both officers and sailors looked disheveled and exhausted.

Tachino struggled to search for the last memories in his mind, he remembered that he led the fleet in pursuit of the German fleet with high spirits, and it seemed that he was only a few hours away from a great victory, but before dawn he fell into an inexplicable mine array, and was attacked by countless torpedoes, the mighty battleships capsized and sank one by one, and countless sailors were forced to jump into the icy waters, and the sea was full of struggling overboarders, looking like a pot of boiling dumplings......

Yes. It turned out to be not a nightmare of oneself, but a terrible reality! Tachino closed his eyes in pain and didn't dare to think about it again.

"This ...... Where is this? Is it a hell of a nose? "Tachino would rather this place be hell.

"No, General, we are on a German destroyer, and we were all saved by the Germans after the battleship sank!" The school officer just now explained euphemistically, that is, they were all prisoners of the Germans at this time.

Hearing this, Tachino's body shook. But he didn't say anything more, and he didn't want to say anything more, and the huge contrast between the hours made him so ashamed that he wanted to kill himself immediately, but unfortunately he didn't even have the strength to kill himself now, and just like that, he lost consciousness again.

In a drowsy state, Tachino heard footsteps, followed by the sound of the iron door being opened and the sound of the body rubbing against each other, followed by two people talking in Japanese.

"General, General!" This is the voice of the school official just now.

Tachino opened his eyes. I found that there was no other person standing next to me, but the Japanese school officer. There is also a German ** officer.

"General, their commander wants to see you!" The school officer explained softly from the side.

"Oh?" Tachino glanced at the ** official, blonde and blue-eyed. Not unlike any European he had ever seen, the outfit was the same uniform style that the Germans had used since the Prussian naval era—a large-brimmed hat embroidered with gold ornamentation, a white shirt, a black tie, a double-breasted tight short jacket, and a double-breasted military coat with lapels on the outer.

Seeing that Tachino didn't say anything, the first officer asked in fluent Japanese: "You are Vice Admiral Tachino Tokujiro of the Japanese Combined Fleet!" ”

After a few seconds of silence, Tachino said in extreme pain as if after a fierce ideological struggle: "Yes, it's Tachino Tokujiro down there!" ”

"Then please come with me, our commander wants to see you!" The official said politely and neither humbly nor arrogantly, but in Tachino's opinion, this was undoubtedly the arrogance of the victor and could not disobey the order.

By this time, Tachino's strength had regained somewhat, and after barely sitting up from the bed, he found that all he had was a close-fitting shirt and a pair of Japanese-style underwear. Even this last cover-up was semi-wet.

With a wave of his hand, a German sailor standing at the door walked in with a stack of clothes.

"I'm sorry, but that's all I have at the moment!" The German ** officer said quietly that it was a set of officer uniforms of the German Navy, but the ornaments used to indicate identity and rank were removed, and there was also a military coat without epaulettes.

At this time, Tachino didn't have much choice, and after slowly putting on that set of clothes, his body felt much warmer. However, Tachino's expression was extremely embarrassed, and fortunately, none of the Japanese officers and soldiers present showed disdain. Most people just glanced at him quietly, and then regained their numb expressions.

After getting ready, Tachino followed the German ** officer out of the cabin.

As it was only a destroyer, they made their way from the bilge to the deck in a short time, and along the way Tachino was embarrassed by the curious German sailors, and when he stepped out of the dimly lit passage to the ship's surface, the bright light made him feel slightly dizzy. When he regained his sight, he found that the destroyer was all white, and the sea was extremely calm, not even the slightest ripple - the sea was already frozen here, and the destroyer was slowly moving in a narrow channel less than 50 meters wide and drifting ice. - Tachino was stunned for a moment, but looking at the white coastline and the smoke-filled harbor in front of him, he understood the idea.

Because of the high latitude of this Kuye Island, the coastal ports have a longer or shorter freezing period, and even the Tatar Strait is not completely passable, although the Soya Strait is not frozen, but there will be a large amount of drift ice in winter, which greatly affects the freedom of navigation. However, this does not mean that ships must not be able to enter and leave these two straits and the main ports of Kuyo in winter, and since the advent of specialized icebreakers in the mid-19th century, many ports have been able to carry out limited navigation during the freezing period, and it is clear that the Russians are the most experienced in this area, and they have made and ordered a number of icebreakers from foreign countries to clear the channels of the various ports in the winter. After the capture of Vladivostok and Kuye Island, the Germans bought several large icebreakers from the Russians at a high price, which was at the right time.

Although I am not sure of my location, I can see the general direction and the shape of the coastline. Tachino speculated that the port ahead was the largest port in Kolsakov, the largest port on Kuye Island - 15 meters deep enough to dock any German warship, the 12 docks in the inner and outer harbors could accommodate a medium-sized fleet, and the port was surrounded by strong fortresses and the Luftwaffe, which seemed to be the largest military port for the German army in the waters around Japan after the fall of Vladivostok.

But how did the German fleet break through the western entrance of the Soya Strait, which was heavily marked by mines and drift ice, and which was closely monitored by Japanese warplanes and submarines, into the port of Korsakov in Aniwa Bay? Tachino was puzzled as he walked, believing that the inability of the Spee fleet to quickly pass through the west entrance of the Soya Strait was one of the main reasons why he led the fleet to pursue the German fleet, and if the Spee fleet could not pass through the Soya Strait in time, there would be only one port of Kholmsk to the north that could be navigated by icebreakers. However, there were only berths of no more than 6 meters, and the German battleships and aircraft carriers could not dock at all, so the Speese fleet was left with only one way to fight the Tateno fleet with inferior forces.

"Your Excellency is Vice Admiral Tokujiro Tachino?"

In the ground command room of the destroyer, a lieutenant commander of the German Navy received Tachino like a lost dog.

Despite his rank being several ranks higher than his opponent's, and despite his soldier's dignity making him try to puff up his chest, Tachino was surprised and ashamed to find that he could only speak weak words.

"Yes! Below is Vice Admiral Tachino Tokujiro of the Imperial Japanese Navy! ”

"The commander of our fleet, Admiral Spee, wants to see you, in half an hour!" said. The German lieutenant colonel set his sights on the harbor that was getting closer and closer. There, huge warships were docked at the docks, and the surviving ships of the decoy fleet were lined up. It is said that a total of 7 aerial bombs and 2 torpedoes hit it, and it is a miracle that it can continue to float if it is a British battleship, an American battleship or a Japanese battleship of the same class.

"Okay!" Tachino did not refuse, and could not refuse.

Thirty minutes later, Tachino stood in front of Spee as promised, and the tall victor made Tachino feel depressed with a majestic momentum. Standing beside Shi Pei was an equally tall translator, and Tachino felt humbled in every way.

"Oh. General Tachino, we're meeting again! Spee walked over to the wine cabinet and took out two glasses, poured half a glass of brandy into them, and handed one of them to Tokujiro Tachino, as if they were old friends reunited after a long absence. In fact, the two of them only had a few encounters during a few joint exercises, but the former ally became a victor and a prisoner, and the huge contrast in identity made Li Zhi feel very uncomfortable, and said sourly: "It's been a long time."

Your Excellency, General! ”

"The conditions on the ship are very limited, and I hope your Excellency doesn't mind!" Spee was referring to the fact that Tachino was locked up in the destroyer's storage compartment, which was undoubtedly humiliating for a senior general, but among the captured Japanese naval officers and sailors, it was best to arrange a bed independently.

"The general's words are serious, what kind of face does the general of the defeated army have to ask for high treatment!"

Tachino's words are quite true.

"Heh, the general doesn't have to be so pessimistic! We have arranged barracks for the general and his men, the general will have an independent residence, and three meals will be provided according to the rank of the German Navy, and we hope that the general and his subordinates will be able to live in a habit! Shi Pei said it politely, but everyone knew that the barracks were also prisoner of war camps, and although it was only separated from the Japanese archipelago by the Soya Strait, Tachino and his men could only sigh.

Tachino asked knowingly: "Dare to ask how long the general plans to keep us?" ”

Spee unhurriedly took a sip of the liquor into his mouth, and despite the fireplace, there was a slight chill in the room.

"The general doesn't have to worry, although this Kuye Island is located in the cold north, the scenery is also unique, as for the return date of the general and his subordinates, I'm afraid it is not for you and me to decide!"

Tachino thought about it, and that was indeed the case, so he changed to a topic that he was more interested in.

"General, I'm ashamed to say that I lost consciousness after falling into the water. I don't know the situation of the battle since then, and I hope the general will tell me generously! ”

"Oh, this!" Spee glanced at the Japanese vice admiral in front of him, thought for a while, and then told him that only a few destroyers in his fleet had escaped, "Nagato"

Directly sunk by a torpedo, the "Mutsu" suffered heavy damage because of mines and torpedoes. After dawn, they were sunk by German bombers, and the "Katori" and "Kashima" were both sunk before the German bomber group appeared, and the "Amagi" and "Akagi", which were in a state of slow driving, were attacked by German bombers and submarines in turn at dawn, and finally did not escape the fate of capsizing. The most tragic of all was the "Awaji", although the flight deck of the aircraft carrier was no longer able to take off and land planes due to the fire, but the crew continued to use naval guns to fight the German bombers until the last moment, which can really be described as "fighting to the last man", and the ship was also the last of the seven capital ships of the Tachino fleet to sink. It was not until half an hour after the sinking of the "Awaji" that Japanese Army fighters taking off from Hokkaido arrived on the battlefield, but their appearance did not help at all. Instead, a German destroyer was sinking a search and rescue for those who had fallen overboard. This directly caused more than 100 German officers and soldiers and an even larger number of Japanese officers and soldiers to freeze to death and frostbite in the icy seawater. In the end, the destroyers of the Spee fleet rescued more than 2,000 Japanese officers and men who had fallen overboard, including Tachino Tokujiro himself.

After listening to Spee's narration. Tachino couldn't say a word for a long time, and the first action he took when he came back to his senses was to suffocate the brandy in his hand.

"The general's strategy is admirable! But, dare to ask the general's fleet through the Soya Strait into this Aniwa Bay? ”

Shi Pei smiled strangely and said, "This is very simple, although your country has deployed a lot of fighters in Hokkaido, and there are submarines lurking in the Soya Strait, but that is already in the past!" ”

"Past tense...... Tachino's eyes widened, he knew what the word meant, it seems. With their own fleet almost completely annihilated, the Germans were able to launch a powerful naval and air counterattack in the direction of Kuye Island. As a result, the base camp's plan to land on Kuye Island across the sea will definitely be postponed.

Seeing Liye's dejected appearance, Shi Pei kindly persuaded: "Even a military genius like Emperor Napoleon will inevitably encounter Waterloo, so I hope the general will look away!" I think that by the time the war is over, the general will be able to return to his homeland and reunite with his family! ”

Tachino was completely silent.

Two days later, Tachino Tokujiro left a farewell letter and ended his life in a prisoner-of-war camp in the southern part of Kuyo Island.

After the devastating blow to Japan's first inkstone team, the whole country of Japan was shocked.

The Japanese army quickly mobilized air forces from Honshu and Shikoku, and began to launch fierce air raids on the ports and military bases in the south of Kuye Island in mid-January, and the port of Korsakov, where the Spee fleet was located, naturally became a key target for the Japanese army, and the battleships whose movements were restricted due to the freeze appeared extremely passive, and the "Caesar Barbarossa" simply sat on the shallow bottom and used it as a floating battery after being heavily damaged, and the battle cruiser "Thessaloniki" and the aircraft carrier "Georg" also suffered varying degrees of trauma. Fortunately, the Luftwaffe and air defense units stationed on Kuye Island crushed the Japanese army's frantic attacks again and again with relatively sufficient strategic depth and effective radar alert, and after losing nearly 400 fighters, the Japanese army was finally unable to support this "revenge war" with huge consumption, and after hastily announcing the "great victory", the Japanese army stopped large-scale air raids at the end of January, and soon after, even small-scale air raids simply stopped.

However, the Japanese were still collecting ships in Hokkaido and northern Honshu during this time, and it seemed inevitable to launch a cross-sea attack after the beginning of spring, and the Japanese 1st Fleet stationed in Sasebo also sent a new 3rd Fleet to reinforce the north. It is undeniable that the Japanese still had a considerable advantage in the Far East at this time, but the destruction of the Tateno fleet and the successful transfer of the Spee fleet laid the groundwork for the future combat operations of the German army.

On January 25, the coalition fleet of Germany, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand pledged to go on an expedition, and as a result of Chile's entry into the war, the coalition fleet would use Chile as a forward base to launch an offensive in the South Pacific.

At the same time, the German 3rd and 4th Pacific fleets were announced, and the two fleets will attack from Canada and Mexico respectively to capture the Aleutian Islands and the Hawaiian Islands, and 100,000 marines have also completed the assembly and rest in Canada and Mexico, and they will become the main force of the German army's landing operations in the Pacific.

At the beginning of February, the German Crown Prince Andres arrived at the German-Turkish headquarters in Mumbai as an army trainee staff officer, and after gathering 220,000 Turkish troops, 310,000 German ** troops and nearly 200,000 Indian auxiliary troops, the coalition forces began to advance in the Japanese-controlled United Kingdom of India, and the German-Turkish combined fleet also began to launch an offensive in the Bay of Bengal.

Judging from the map, although these three armies cannot threaten the Japanese mainland for a while, a huge encirclement is gradually shrinking, and will eventually become a circle of death that tightens the neck of the Japanese.