"Your Excellency! The Fuso was broken, and Fuji Kishi asked to withdraw from the battlefield! The communications staff officer's words silenced all the Japanese officers on the bridge. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

After a long and brutal naval battle, the combat strength and morale of the Japanese Navy were rapidly declining. I was full of confidence to change the situation of the battle, but I didn't expect it to be this situation at this moment.

The seven old battleships, which were considered to be very powerful enough to compete with the battleships of the Ming Navy, were either sunk or injured after being beaten by the Ming Navy. Most of the combat effectiveness has been lost.

In this rainy night of tears, most of the main forces of the Japanese Navy's battleship formation were lost. Inside the luxurious bridge of the Yamato, many officers didn't know what to do. Look at the ships that are still burning, or have sunk. The people here don't know how to explain to the navy, to the emperor, and to the people when they go back.

"What time is it?" After the eerie silence, Nobutake Kondo slowly opened his eyes and asked in an unusually calm tone.

"Your Excellency, it's 3:27 a.m." The captain of the Yamato on the side, Takayanagi Yihachi, hurriedly responded.

"Call back and agree to the Fuso's withdrawal from the battlefield." An ugly smile tugged at the corner of Kondo's mouth, "Tell Kishi Fukuji Osa that on behalf of the Navy, I personally thank all the officers and men of the Fuso for everything they have done for the Imperial State. Ladies and gentlemen, you have worked hard. ”

After a fierce battle, only seven battleships remained on the battlefield at the moment. After the Fuso, which miraculously held on until now, withdrew from the battlefield, only three scarred battleships were left on both sides.

The main guns of the Yamato-class battleships were huge, and the armored defenses were very strong. But their hit rate is not high. And the new provincial capital-class battleships of the Ming Navy were originally launched to deal with the super warships of the Japanese. At this moment, their new 400-millimeter main gun was already approaching a distance of 10,000 meters between the two sides, and it was completely capable of penetrating the armor of the Yamato-class class. At the same time, in addition, the Ming Navy has advanced sighting equipment and fire control radar, and its hit rate is far superior to that of the Yamato class.

After a series of indiscriminate bombardments, the Mutsu was destroyed by an explosion at an ammunition depot and sunk, and now the Fuso has been heavily damaged and withdrawn from the battlefield. The strength of the Japanese fleet has fallen to freezing point.

On the side of the Ming Navy, the Taihang Mountain was destroyed by multiple large-caliber shells in the previous battle, and the rescue was ineffective and sunk. The Chengdu was left with a 460-mm shell from the Musashi that pierced the main armor belt, causing the boiler compartment to explode. Eventually, it sank on the platform due to too much water. The sea area in the northeast of Bay Island.

At this time, the only six remaining battleships on both sides were already scarred, and no one knew how long they would be able to hold out.

The morale of the Japanese Navy has fallen to the bottom. The Yamato-class super battleship, which was relied on as a decisive weapon and could not be used until the final decisive battle, was also severely damaged. The main guns of the new warships of the Ming army can pose a great threat to the Yamato-class.

As early as more than half an hour ago, a tragic lightning battle broke out between the two sides. At that time, both sides felt that they could no longer bear huge losses, and they coincidentally tried to use the cover of night to launch lightning strikes against each other. However, the result of dozens of light warships on both sides being mixed together was that each of them sank a number of light warships, but the capital ships were all unharmed.

The artillery bombardment, which had been briefly and chaotically halted to avoid lightning strikes, resumed after both sides regrouped. Wang Haibo did not think about temporarily withdrawing from the battlefield and leaving the rest to the naval aviation to do. It was just a telegram from the Navy Command, signed by Deputy Commander Zhang Cheng, that changed his decision.

"Fight to the end and never back down." Zhang Cheng's telegram was very short, but the meaning was very obvious, no matter what, it would entangle the Japanese battleship formation. As long as they could survive until dawn, even if it was still raining at that time, the HNA fighters would forcibly take off to send these Japanese warships to the bottom of the sea. As long as the Japanese fleet is annihilated, there will be basically nothing to do with the Japanese in this war.

After receiving the order, Wang Haibo only pondered for a short time before deciding to continue the battle. Moreover, in order to achieve greater results, he ordered the battleships to turn closer to the Japanese battleship formation to close the distance between the two sides.

The tonnage of the Yamato class was too large and the armor was too thick. In order to penetrate the strong armor of the Yamato-class, Wang Haibo chose to step forward regardless of his own casualties, narrowing the distance to a position where they could be penetrated by each other. This desperate fight crushed the last will of the Japanese army to resist.

"Retreat." After a long sigh, Kondo Nobutake said softly, "We've done our best. ”

Weeping began to sound in the bridge of the Yamato. I was full of confidence in the battle, but I didn't expect it to be this situation at this moment.

The last essence and main force of the Japanese Navy were destroyed in this rainy night. Even if they successfully sank many Ming Navy warships, their own losses were irreparable. And even if the Ming Navy on the other side is completely wiped out, they still have a more powerful fleet. But the losses of the Japanese Navy were not to be replenished, at least in wartime.

"Boom!" The flames flashed, and the violent explosion was deafening, and the bridge of the Yamato shook for a while. A shell of 400 mm caliber hit the Yamato again.

Climbing up from the heavy carpet with difficulty, Kondo Nobutake pushed away the staff officer who stepped forward to support him, and shouted the order, "The whole fleet retreats, and the lightning strike fleet attacks to cover!" ”

"Your Excellency!" Takayanagi Yihachi, whose face was full of unwillingness, stepped forward and shouted, "Hold on a little longer, we will defeat them!" "The only three remaining Ming battleships on the opposite side have been heavily damaged, and many of the main turrets are unusable, and maybe the next round of shelling will sink them. At this time, the mid-level commanders of the Japanese army were unwilling.

"If you don't leave, you really can't go." Nobutake Kondo looked through the porthole with an expressionless face at the Ming warships that were blazing in the distance, gritted his teeth and said, "Now that the rain is getting lighter and smaller, maybe the rain will stop at dawn." What to do when that time comes? Waiting to be overwhelmed by the fighters of Daming Hainan Airlines? ”

The young officers were all silent. Although I know that this is the truth, I am still unwilling. For the military, there is nothing more unacceptable to them than defeat.

"Retreat." Nobutake Kondo said with an ugly face, "I will ask His Majesty the Emperor for guilt." ”

......

A traditional large-scale night battle ended with the voluntary retreat of the Japanese First Fleet. Eleven Japanese battleships that took the initiative to fight a decisive battle with the Ming Navy lost eight ships! Only the Yamato, Musashi, and Nagato were able to struggle to return to mainland Japan.

After the Fuso withdrew from the battlefield, the power system was damaged in the artillery battle, which caused the speed to be too slow, and was finally sunk by the Daming Naval Aviation fighter formation that took off urgently after dawn. Among the destroyers escorting the Fuso at that time were the Yukikaze and the Shiyu.

The battleship formation of the Ming Navy sank three super-dreadnoughts, and one super-dreadnought was heavily damaged and had to retire from active service. One of the new provincial capital-class battleships was sunk, and the other three were all seriously wounded and had to lie in the dock for more than half a year.

Judging from the results, both sides were defeated, and the Ming Navy had a slight advantage in terms of results. However, at the strategic level, the essence of the Japanese navy was destroyed, and it was no longer able to launch an offensive against the Ming navy. The Japanese Navy, which was left with only a group of light aircraft carriers, could no longer dominate the sea. For the Japanese Navy, their path to war was basically over.

During the battleship duel, the lightning fleets between the two sides also launched a decisive charge. After a scuffle, more than 20 light warships were damaged on both sides, and countless warships were wounded. And that's not all there is to this Kerama naval battle.

Before leading the battleship formation into the capital ship duel, Takasu Shiro had ordered the Eighth Sentai of the Combined Fleet to rush into the Kerama Waterway with the 1st and 3rd Mine Squadrons to attack the transport fleet there. However, this fleet was intercepted at the entrance by the heavy patrol formation of the Ming Navy, which had been heavily damaged before.

A fierce battle broke out between the two sides at the southern entrance to the Kerama waterway, with each side suffering heavy losses. However, the Ming Navy successfully prevented the assault and protected a large number of transport ships in the berth yard and the material barracks and airfields on the islands.

At the same time, the 12th Task Force led by Lin Luo encountered the Japanese blockade fleet that came to flank the waterway when it escaped towards the northern exit of the waterway. After a scuffle, the Japanese were repulsed, and the 12th Task Force suffered heavy losses.

In the midst of this dark and rainy night, the dreams of the Japanese Navy were shattered. The belongings that had been painstakingly built up for decades were almost lost. Since then, in front of the Ming Dynasty, he has only been passively beaten, and he has completely become a spectator in this war. In this world of the jungle, there is no right to speak without strength!

By daybreak, everything was settled.

The heavy rain that lasted for several days gradually dissipated after dawn, and hordes of Daming naval aviation fighters dominated the entire sky.

All the Japanese ships that failed to retreat in time during the night battle or suffered damage to their power systems were sunk one after another.

Not only here, the air fleet led by the Katsuragi as a decoy was chased and killed by the 11th and 13th task forces of the Western Pacific Fleet of the Ming Navy all the way to escape, and four aircraft carriers, including the regular aircraft carrier Katsuragi, and several escort warships were sunk. At this point, the Japanese Navy was left with only one regular aircraft carrier, the Zuizuru, which was still lying in the dock for maintenance.

The luxurious building of the Japanese Ministry of the Navy was in a gloomy fog for several days. The hearts of the Japanese are about to break.

This battle, in which both sides lost dozens of warships and tens of thousands of naval officers and men, directly kicked the Japanese out, and there was nothing for them in the subsequent war.

After returning to Japan, Kondo committed suicide to apologize, but his death did little to help the whole war.

As soon as the war at sea ended, the attack on land began in earnest. (To be continued.) )