When the naval battle in the Philippine Sea, in which the U.S. and Japanese navies were the absolute main force, not only the Japanese and Americans in the Pacific region were closely watching this heavyweight showdown, but also in Europe, thousands of kilometers away, many pairs of eyes were glued to the Philippine Sea on the world map......

Wilhelmshaven, Germany, where the Combined Staff of the Allied Fleet was located. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

"Yes, I bet the Americans will win this without any suspense! The Filipinos regained their independence, Japan shifted from strategic expansion to strategic contraction, and the Asia-Pacific landscape will continue to change in the next decade. ”

This loud voice came from the German Kurt Hoffmann. He served as the captain of Germany's number one capital ship "Germania" and the commander of the 1st Battleship Squadron of the German Navy, and was honorably retired from the rank of admiral in July 1945, and was later hired by the Allied Fleet Joint Staff as a senior tactical adviser.

"Your Excellency is underestimating the Japanese Navy! In the two naval battles of the Yellow Sea in 1896 and 1904, the Battle of Malacca in 1933, and the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1934, the Japanese Navy won the victory without an absolute superiority. The total tonnage of the ships participating in the joint fleet is slightly less than that of the US task force, and the number of carrier-based aircraft is only two-thirds of that of the US fleet, but as long as they can make full use of the proximity of the war zone to the Philippine Islands, the Americans may not be able to take advantage. Furthermore, the commander of the Combined Fleet is Koga Mineichi, a man you may not know, who is a smart, patient, meticulous, and very sensitive fellow, who in my opinion is probably the best fleet commander of the Japanese Navy in recent decades, and whose abilities are by no means comparable to those of a reckless man like Halsey. ”

The one who choked up was also hired as a senior tactical adviser to the Allied Fleet Staff after his retirement, Anzu Yaquino, an Italian admiral who retired with the rank of admiral, but whose career resume was far less than that of Hoffmann. With the exception of leading ships in the latter part of the Azores campaign, he spent most of his time in the Mediterranean, but even so, he always talked about naval strategy and tactics on various occasions, and always liked to go against the mainstream opinion.

"Of course, who among you here has the opportunity to spend a long time with the admirals of a country like Japan, which has been severely sanctioned by the League of Nations?" Hoffman expresses his contempt for the Italians in a long, subdued sentence. All the people present, whether they were active officers or retired generals, Germans, Irishmen, French, Dutch, and Spaniards, all showed ill-intentioned smiles, which made the personnel of Italy and Austria-Hungary, who had repeatedly bypassed the sanctions of the League of Nations and secretly supplied military technology and weaponry to Japan, look embarrassed and bitter.

Aquino was the only one who was unmoved, and gushed out: "As we all know, the reason why the League of Nations has imposed tough sanctions on Japan is only because some countries are worried that it will be difficult for Japan to defeat it on a frontal battlefield after its rise. In the past few years, we have indeed had exchanges with Japanese military personnel, but you can rest assured that such exchanges do not go beyond the scope of the League of Nations sanctions. ”

Hoffman snorted coldly, Italy and Austria-Hungary were like a pair of cunning speculators, who had just found a loophole in the words of the League of Nations sanctions clause and made enough money through the deal with Japan.

As usual, Captain Stephen Selke, Ireland's representative to the Allied Fleet Joint Staff, eased the mood in a relatively tactful tone: "Ladies and gentlemen, our personal prejudices aside, the Japanese Navy is indeed an extraordinary adversary. Its modern history is very short, but it has produced a number of outstanding generals, its combat methods are eclectic, undeclared war, sneak attacks, surprise attacks are all-encompassing, its officers are very dedicated, sailors are very professional, and daily training is quite strict, although these aspects are not entirely worthy of our recognition and learning, but their all-out attitude is worthy of respect. Because of the well-known knowledge, we know a little more about the current US Navy, and a few days ago, the US task force inflicted a negligible loss on the Japanese Southern Fleet, which had three main aircraft carriers, and we have done this several times. Obviously, the gap between the two sides is not at the tactical level, nor is it simply a matter of the number of ships and aircraft, the Japanese Combined Fleet is completely backward at the technical level, and their military development ideas are as outdated as colonial policy, so they are destined to be abandoned by this era. According to my personal analysis, even if the combined fleet sends all the remaining six main aircraft carriers into battle, it will not be able to change the fate of defeat. ”

Vice Admiral Malis Goretzka, the current chief of staff of the Allied Fleet Joint Staff and former chief of staff of the German Navy, continued: "From an objective point of view, the US Navy deserves victory in this naval battle, but it is estimated that it will not be won too easily. ”

Retired Italian Admiral Anzu Aquino was obviously not convinced, he clasped his hands in front of his chest, and said in an arrogant tone: "The victory or defeat of the battle depends on many factors, some are inevitable, some are accidental, since the vast majority of people think that the US military will win this battle, we might as well take a gamble, how about it?" ”

Hoffman provoked: "Are you going to bet your personal reputation on the victory of the Japanese fleet?" ”

Aquino pouted: "With the help of the Irish Navy, it is unlikely that the Japanese fleet will reverse and win, but I believe that my old friend can lead the Japanese fleet to retreat." As for the bet, if I lose, how about giving each of you a bottle of fine Italian wine? ”

"General Aquino, if you lose your bet, don't fool us with the wine you bought at the street shop! It is well known that the best Italian wines are produced in the Piedmont region, with the best vintages being 1937, 1936, 1931 and 1928. Lieutenant General Goretzka smiled and mended the knife to the Italian.

The flesh on Aquino's cheeks twitched slightly: "The general is indeed an expert in this regard, but the result is still unknown!" What if I win? ”

Vice Admiral Goretzka immediately responded: "I bet with a case of top-of-the-line Dannemann cigars that the American fleet would sink at least half of the aircraft carriers of the Japanese Combined Fleet. ”

"Since it's an open bet, I'll sell a case of 1937 Burgundy and bet on the U.S. fleet to win." Colonel Vicente, the French representative to the Joint Staff of the Allied Fleet, did not want to be involved.

Hoffman clapped his hands and said, "The wine is enough, and I will provide the feast." If Admiral Aquino wins, it's nice to have a celebratory reception, but if the rest of us win, General Aquino will not only be there, but we'll each have a drink, how about that? ”

Aquino held his head proudly: "If the Japanese are defeated in this naval battle, are you really in the mood to have a good drink?" Think about it, if the Americans had achieved their strategic goal in one fell swoop and regained control of the Philippines in their own hands, they would soon have reached an armistice agreement with Japan, and there would be no need for the Americans to continue to purchase aircraft, ships, artillery, and ammunition from European countries, and there would be no need to continue to increase loans, and there would be no need to seek military assistance. ”

Everyone was dumbfounded by this inference.

At this time, Lieutenant General Goretzka spoke: "General Aquino, we really don't need to be too happy about the victory of the Americans, and I always think that the Americans will not win this battle too easily, right? ”

Born in Hamburg, Germany, where he received his primary education, Irish Navy Captain Stephen Selke was born in Hamburg, Germany, and moved to Ireland with his family at the age of 15 before joining the Irish Navy and completing two years of further education at the Kiel Naval Academy in Germany. No matter what level, he has an indissoluble relationship with the German Navy, so when General Goretzka threw the topic to himself, he smiled very calmly: "In the Battle of the South Philippine Sea, the three main aircraft carriers of the Japanese Navy were damaged, if we had dispatched a few more IK-43Ts to carry out high-altitude bombing, then the Japanese Navy may have completely lost one or two of these aircraft carriers, and the problem is that we have too few pilots who can carry out high-altitude bombing missions on our own, and the number of high-precision special aerial bombs is extremely limited, What a shame! ”

Selke's understatement, and those present understand the hidden doorway behind this. Ireland's dispatch of ships and aircraft to assist the U.S. Navy in combat continues a tradition that has been in place since 1937, effectively enhancing U.S. combat capabilities and enriching U.S. tactics, but also leaving room for Western allies to manipulate the course of the war. With the iron-clad relationship between Germany and Ireland, how could Ireland act as an international mercenary in such a way as to be done without the approval or even instructions of the German leadership?

After hearing this, Aquino sighed and said with a wry smile: "So, my wine is lost?" ”

Selke did not speak, but set his eyes on Lieutenant General Goretzka.

Goretzka slowly walked over to Yaquino's side, reached out and patted him on the shoulder: "Not necessarily! Reputedly...... The Japanese Navy urgently purchased a batch of expensive special aviation torpedoes from a certain European country before the war, and if the Japanese Navy had already obtained these torpedoes and put them into actual combat, and the performance of these torpedoes was as stated in the intelligence, it was not impossible for the Combined Fleet to turn the tables on the tables. ”

Aquino's face changed slightly, and he immediately returned to normal: "I don't know if the special aviation torpedo you are talking about is magnetic self-guidance or voice-activated self-guidance?" It seems that there is news that as early as the beginning of the year, the Irish Navy delivered these two new torpedoes to the Americans, which are enough to break the tradition of naval warfare, and they have probably been put into actual combat by the US Navy, right? What makes me wonder why the allies are not eligible to buy because countries outside the Allied camp are able to order in large quantities. ”

Selke unhurriedly explained: "It's not that there are no qualifications, but that the current production is too low for the Irish Navy to meet its needs, and according to the requirements of the Ministry of Defence and the Naval Technical Committee, it cannot be exported for the time being." As far as I know, the U.S. Navy did not acquire these two torpedoes, and the reason why there is a rumor that the general said is probably because the Irish ships sent to the Pacific Ocean carry these two torpedoes! ”

For such a far-fetched explanation, Aquino just snorted coldly and said no more.

(End of chapter)