Chapter 455: Attack on the Ryukyus
Since Tang Lin sank the aircraft carrier Tosa, the other submarine commanders were all red-eyed and envious, everyone had saved up enough energy to sink the large Japanese warships, after all, no matter how many civilian ships were sunk, it was difficult to be regarded as a hero, after all, the army always had a sense of bullying when bullying civilian ships, or attacking warships with strength!
However, it was not easy to attack the large Japanese warships, and the battleships and aircraft carriers were surrounded by cruisers, destroyers, and even aircraft patrolling every time they sorted.
Therefore, these days, the submarine force just ambushed some old ironclad ships, everyone waited for so long, and the opportunity finally came, three battleships such as the Mutsu were sunk, and at the same time, more than a dozen auxiliary warships were also sunk, and several destroyers were also lost when attacking Shanghai, and Keelung was bombed, and in the flames, most of the ships originally docked in the military port were also lost.
By this time, the Japanese warships no longer had enough escort troops, and there were only a dozen or so warships around the Kaga, Nagato, and Akagi, which were already most of the combined fleet's base in the East China Sea, and several of them were wounded, ammunition and fuel were not replenished, and their combat effectiveness was seriously reduced.
In order to ensure the morale of the army, Kanji Kato has concealed the news of the sinking of the Mutsu, but the news that Keelung was shrouded in fire can no longer be hidden, and many Japanese soldiers have seen with their own eyes that a large amount of aviation fuel and heavy fuel oil stored in Keelung are all burned, especially heavy oil, once ignited, it is not easy to extinguish.
When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the fire on the Arizona burned for two days, and the heavy oil in Keelung was prepared for the entire fleet, which was much more than a warship, and now it is all burning, and it will not be extinguished in ten days and half a month.
You can imagine how fierce the fire must have been, and almost half of the sky was shrouded in red flames. Keelung: For the combined fleet. Almost the overseas home, now completely destroyed, all the Japanese soldiers have a sense of foreboding in their hearts, morale is getting lower and lower, and they are completely unaware of the Chinese submarine that is quietly approaching.
This time, a total of five Chinese submarines were targeted at the Japanese, and in the sea area more than 10 kilometers wide, the Chinese submarines formed a fan-shaped encirclement. The ships were nervous at this time, although they had practiced the wolf pack tactics before, but this did not guarantee that they would succeed in actual combat.
Today's submarines have a very fatal problem, that is, their survivability is very low, and once discovered, even destroyers can easily sink the submarine. In addition, the torpedo range carried by the submarine is only a few thousand meters, and in the battle, in order to accurately hit the target, it is necessary to get as close as possible, and then it must float above the water when shooting, which undoubtedly increases the probability of the submarine being attacked!
Even the famous German wolf pack suffered heavy losses in World War II, and it can be said that no tactic is omnipotent, only continuous improvement. Lessons learned. Between the spear and the shield is a foot high, and the magic is one foot high. A relationship that grows and decreases with each other.
Therefore, Chinese submarines absolutely do not dare to be careless, they gradually sneak into the interior of the fleet from the space of the outer escort ships, select targets, enter the attack position, and wait until the sky is dark, and then attack the target with the help of the cover of night, for the Chinese, attacking Japan's aircraft carrier is undoubtedly the best choice, as long as the Akagi and Fengxiang are sent to the bottom of the sea, Japan's naval aviation will be completely destroyed!
Without the protection of naval aviation, Japan's combined fleet would not have any threat, but it was not easy to attack the aircraft carrier, Japan set up a heavy protective ring to protect the Akagi, and even the battleships Kaga and Nagato, which have always been regarded as the symbol of the Japanese Navy, had to escort the aircraft carrier, and it was too difficult to attack.
After much consideration, China zeroed in on the Kaga, which is Japan's most powerful battleship at the moment, capable of sinking the Kaga and dealing a serious blow to Japan's morale!
Japan's Combined Fleet is still sailing fast, and their destination is Okinawa, the most important naval base outside of mainland Japan, where the Combined Fleet can receive valuable fuel and ammunition replenishment, and wounded sailors can be treated.
However, Kato Kanji also knew that Okinawa was not a place to stay for a long time, and if Chinese planes came to bomb him, he would not have enough strength to resist it, so it was the king to return to the mainland as soon as possible.
Time flew by, and just when the Combined Fleet was still forty nautical miles from Okinawa, the sun finally set, night fell, and the time finally came for the wolves to attack, and the head wolf commanded the other ships to prepare for battle, and the target was the Kaga.
Soon the island of Okinawa was already in sight, and what Kanji Kato was most afraid of at this time was that Okinawa was also on fire, and by that time the combined fleet would really be finished, and judging from the current scene, it had not yet been attacked, which was a blessing in misfortune.
At this moment, five Chinese submarines surfaced at the same time, and each submarine fired torpedoes together as agreed, and then these submarines almost had time to observe their own results, and they dived into the sea one after another, and a dozen torpedoes formed a huge fan surface, blocking almost all the escape routes of the Kaga.
Because the attack distance was too close, and the Kaga was too large, there was no time to dodge, and six torpedoes hit the Kaga in an instant, and the violent explosion shook the calm sea, and Kato Kanji was still in the Kaga at this time, he only felt a violent explosion in his ears, and then the warship began to shake violently, Kato was not an idiot, he immediately guessed that it was a Chinese submarine that launched an attack.
However, they did not have much to do with this underwater weapon, they could only order other warships to pursue them, and more important to him was the condition of the Kaga, if the largest Japanese warship was also sunk, Kato would have to apologize.
Soon the damage was reported, and a total of six torpedoes hit the Kaga, two of them hit the bow and four more hit the side of the ship, of which the two torpedoes that hit the bow caused the most serious damage, blowing up a huge hole and the cold sea water quickly poured into the warship.
In addition, the boiler on the port side of the Kaga was also affected by the explosion and stopped working, and after careful observation, the Japanese determined that the behemoth was not sinking for the time being. But the two-meter-sized hole in the bow of the ship was terrible. At this time, the warship seemed to open its mouth, and there was a constant influx of seawater.
Seeing this situation, Kato's heart was half cold, there is no way to recover from such a serious injury in Okinawa, and it can only be repaired if it is sent to a shipyard in Japan, but with the condition of the Kaga, it is simply not capable of sailing thousands of kilometers again, not to mention that there are a large number of Chinese submarines blocking the way along the way.
Ordinary Japanese soldiers were still glad that the Kaga had not been sunk, but Kato knew in his heart that the warship was abandoned. He had no choice but to order the Japanese Navy soldiers to plug the loopholes as much as possible, and then quickly enter Okinawa.
In addition, Kanji Kato ordered several destroyers to search for Chinese submarines, and the Japanese at this time had already hated the Chinese Navy, and these bastards not only destroyed Keelung, but also haunted and damaged the Kaga. This is the symbol of the Japanese Navy, and all Japanese navies have a heart-wrenching feeling.
However, it is not easy to find a submarine in the vast night, and the Japanese destroyer did not find the Chinese submarine with great effort, but this does not mean that China has no losses, and when a submarine was sinking rapidly, there was an engine failure and completely sank to the cold bottom of the sea, and all 24 crew members on the ship died. It is also the third submarine sunk by the Chinese Navy.
Two more were sunk by Japanese destroyers before that. This is the cruel side of war, and no one is immune. As long as they participate in the battle, they must be prepared to accept death, even if China has the advantage of the second side.
Soon succeeded in destroying Keelung Port, and spread the good news of the damage of the Kaga to Beijing, Qiao Yu and everyone felt sincerely relieved, now the advantage of the battlefield has completely fallen to the Chinese side, no matter what kind of effort Japan makes, it is still a trapped beast.
Of course, the wounded beast is also the most dangerous, China can't relax its carelessness yet, and the two Japanese aircraft carriers have not been eliminated, this is always a henchman, Qiao Yu immediately gave an order to Chen Shaokuan in the name of the Supreme Command, let him complete the rest as soon as possible, and then attack Okinawa and completely drive the Japanese Combined Fleet back to the mainland.
At the same time, China must also start a comprehensive mobilization and plan for landing operations, without the interference of sea forces, the island of Taiwan has become a ripe peach, and China has no reason not to pick it, but Japan has been operating in Taiwan for more than 30 years, and it is not easy to attack it, especially this kind of amphibious landing operation, China has no experience, and who to send there will also be a lot of headaches!
"Brother Baili, I think it's better for you to pick up this burden, start collecting civilian ships now, hoarding supplies, as long as the sea control is completely in hand, you will launch an attack on Taiwan and recover your homeland!"
Commanding the attack on Taiwan is a great honor for all soldiers, and it is absolutely an unparalleled pride to be able to get back this piece of land that has been lost for more than 30 years, and it is the dream of every soldier, but Jiang Baili thought about it for a while, and then rejected this proposal.
"President, the opportunity is still left to others, I think it is better to let Liu Xiang take on this task, he has a flexible mind, attacking Taiwan is not only to fight, but also to appease the people, and let Deng Xihou be his deputy, I think they are enough to take Taiwan back!"
Since ancient times, there are not many people who can take the initiative to give credit, Jiang Baili can do this, and he can also be called a model for soldiers, Qiao Yu actually intends to let the old subordinates of the Sichuan army make meritorious contributions, so he agreed!
At this time, on the surface of the sea, the three aircraft carriers of the starting point, the Yangwei and the Chaoyong are heading towards Okinawa under the encirclement of many frigates, and you can see from the map that the Ryukyu Islands are like a string of pearl bracelets, blocking the land of China's eastward exit from the Pacific Ocean, which is a battleground for soldiers, and China will still be restrained by the Ryukyus in later generations, which has a significant impact on China's strategy!
This naval attack on the Ryukyus is the most important step for China to move towards the Pacific Ocean, and the Chinese Navy will stride into the deep blue with its head held high, and no force can stop China's footsteps! (To be continued.) )