853 The sunset of the old empire went to the West six times

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April 15, 1939, 6 p.m. Hundred.

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Andaman Islands, Strait of the Ten Degrees.

Under the afterglow of the setting sun, two small destroyers of the 1936 model flying the blue sky and white sun flag were patrolling back and forth nervously back and forth at the entrance to the strait. They belong to the Malacca Coastal Defense Fleet of the Chinese Navy and are currently patrolling the waters of the Andaman Islands.

On the deck, the sailors were conducting various tactical training under the command of the officers, and with the officers' commands, the sailors nervously adjusted the firing parameters of each gun, and repeatedly loaded and fired the training shells. On the aft deck, there are sailors practicing throwing depth charges, looking like they are strictly trained. And on the mast of the destroyer, there are sentries with wide eyes, holding binoculars and repeatedly searching the sea level in the distance.

Suddenly, several masts and a few blue-black smoke rose above the sea level in the telescope, and then more and more masts and smoke appeared on the line between the sea and the sky. It's dusk, but the visibility in the 10-degree Strait near the equator is still very good. The sailors at the lookout post could even identify the two slightly slender masts in the lead, which were the unique style of the "Polish Legion" class armored ships, and the blue sky and white sun flag of the Chinese Navy were faintly fluttering on them! From the shape and size of these masts, any lookout of the Chinese Navy can accurately judge that there are at least two armored ships of the "Polish Legion" class in this approaching fleet, and there should also be two powerful Admiral-class heavy cruisers of the Hipper-class class.

That must be the main force of the Chinese Western Fleet! The newly formed second Chinese ocean-going fleet has now finally left its home port of Singapore and begun its first expedition!

Gradually appearing on the sea level, slowly sailing towards the Tenth Degree Strait is a fairly large fleet, with two 15,000-ton "Polish Legion" class armored ships, two "Admiral" class heavy cruisers with the same 15,000-ton standard displacement, and four "Guangzhou" class anti-aircraft cruisers with a standard displacement of 8,000 tons and powerful anti-aircraft firepower,

Six 6,000-ton Königsberg-class light cruisers, 22 large destroyers, and four particularly large aircraft carriers - "Zhongshan", "Liaoning", "Jilin" and "Heilongjiang". Under the cover of these military ships, there are also nearly 200 transport ships, oil tankers, hospital ships, landing ships, and light destroyers. The entire fleet was in the most standard anti-submarine formation, with large ships in the center, non-combat ships such as transport ships and oil tankers on the outside, and dozens of destroyers on the periphery. The whole fleet was like a floating city, slowly but resolutely pressing in the direction of India.

Admiral Chen Si is now standing on the island of the "Zhongshan" aircraft carrier, looking at the 10th Degree Strait, which is named after the line of latitude 20,000 meters west of the sea level, but his face shows a rare solemnity. Although five days ago, at a military meeting in the General Staff Building, he boasted in front of Luo Yaoguo about the victory in Haikou, in fact, he was still a little jealous of the two "missing" British aircraft carriers. It is estimated that the two missing British aircraft carriers should have been the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and HMS Indomitable, which had just been put into active service in November 1938, and could carry a total of 120 carrier-based aircraft. Although it is not much, it is still necessary to pay attention to the performance of British carrier-based aircraft in the battle of Truk Atoll.

In addition, intelligence shows that Britain recently sent an "Eastern Fleet," including at least one battleship and one aircraft carrier, to the Indian Ocean region to fight. If this "Eastern Fleet" converges with the two missing aircraft carriers, then his mission this time will be full of uncertainties. It's not that I'm worried that my 224 carrier-based aircraft can't beat up to 180 British carrier-based aircraft, but I'm worried that something will happen to the huge transport fleet with 200,000 GC troops and 150,000 Wehrmacht, especially the British naval aviation is also good at night raids. hundred

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"Commander, we've already crossed the Tenth Strait." The voice of the navigation staff member sounded in Chen Si's ears.

According to the plan, this huge fleet of 254 ships of various types will be split into two after sailing through the 10th Degree Strait. With the "Zhongshan" as the flagship, the "Liaoning" aircraft carrier, the "Huaiyuan" armored ship, the "Wuhan" heavy cruiser, three anti-aircraft cruisers, and four light cruisers will form the 31st Task Force. Task Force 31 will be personally commanded by Chen Si to escort more than 100 transport ships and landing ships of the 5th Army under the command of Vice Admiral Du Yuming to attack Ceylon.

The remaining half of the fleet will form the 32nd Task Force with the "Heilongjiang" aircraft carrier as the flagship, under the command of Admiral Zhang Yiming, and will protect the 86 transport ships carrying the GC International Force through the Bay of Bengal to seize Kolkata, India.

"Well, let's divide the troops according to the original plan."

Under Chen Si's order, the entire fleet began to move, and the originally complete and huge fleet began to split into two at sea, one group headed west for the island of Ceylon, and the other team went east to Calcutta.

"Commander, the destroyer Chang Binh of the Singapore Squadron reports that they have spotted a submarine south of the Tenth Degree Strait!" Just when the fleet had just completed its diversion, the voice of the communications staff officer of the 31 st Task Force made the air on the island of the "Zhongshan" suddenly tense.

Chen Si hurriedly walked to the chart and asked, "Where did you find it?" How many are there? ”

"Here."

The communications staff officer pointed to the island of Carnicobar south of the Tenth Degree Strait, "25 nautical miles away from us, only one has been found so far, and it is likely that it is a reconnaissance submarine of the British." This area is the only way to enter the Indian Ocean, and the British will definitely deploy submarines to monitor it. ”

Chen Siwei frowned, nodded, and approved the staff officer's analysis. "If I were the commander of the British Eastern Fleet, I would definitely send submarines to reconnoitre...... Looks like they've discovered us. As he spoke, he looked up at the sky and gave a faint order: "Send a telegram to Port Blair, and let them send two squadrons after dark."

F-110 covers us and the 32 task force. ”

The F-110 was developed by Germany

A twin-engine large fighter developed by MW, Sino-German Aircraft Company also participated in the development and obtained the relevant technology. This kind of twin-engine, three-seat large fighter cannot be compared with a single-engine single-seat fighter in terms of fighting performance. Therefore, after obtaining this aircraft, the Chinese Air Force and Navy did not use them to compete for air supremacy, but used them as reconnaissance aircraft and night fighters. And two deployed in the Andaman Islands

The F-110 squadron was the first to follow the latest development of airborne radar.

"Sir, according to the plan, those two squadrons are going to protect 120 FW200 bombers of an aviation bombing regiment tonight to attack Calcutta. Moreover, air raids on a fleet at sea at night......" Hearing this order, the communications staff officer was slightly stunned and hurriedly reminded.

Although the British had a certain advantage in night bombing, it was incredible to find and bomb a fleet moving at high speed in the dark night sky! Therefore, in the original plan, there were no plans to send night fighters to provide air cover for the fleet.

"There's nothing wrong with being careful." Chen Si smiled faintly: "Let them cancel tonight's bombing." We now have an absolute advantage, and as long as we are cautious, the winner of this war must be China. So now I'm not afraid of fighting the British, I'm just worried about being attacked by them or something. I'm afraid this is the only way for the British to salvage the situation, right? ”

……

Mumbai, India. On the aircraft carrier "Brave", the flagship of the British Eastern Fleet.

"Admiral, I received a report from the submarine H28 that two hours ago a Chinese fleet of more than 200 ships sailed through the Tenth Degree Strait! Among them were found four aircraft carriers, four heavy cruisers, ten light cruisers. After passing through the strait, the Chinese fleet began to diverge, with some turning to the northwest and the rest continuing westward. ”

"Oh, they're coming!" Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Fleet, James. Admiral Mersavel exhaled softly, with a relaxed expression on his face, and he walked over to the chart and stared.

Located between the Andaman Islands and the Karnicobar Islands, the Tendu Strait is the gateway from Singapore to the Indian Ocean. And the only explanation for the presence of a fleet of more than 200 Chinese ships there is that the next target of the Chinese attack is India!

In order to determine the direction of the Chinese offensive, the top of the General Staff and the Admiralty of the British Empire did not bother their brains during this time! Even, the attention of the Imperial General Staff to this has exceeded that of the French campaign that has already begun.

The German offensive was launched on April 12 against Belgium and the Netherlands!

Hearing the news, the British Imperial General Staff almost opened champagne to celebrate. Because the line of attack of the Germans was exactly the same as expected by the staff elites of Britain and France! It's basically a remake of the 1914 "Stephen Plan". Of course, the offensive was much louder. Two million, I don't know if it's three million Germans armed to the teeth, drove thousands of tanks and thousands of planes into the two neutral countries of Belgium and the Netherlands. But so what? Now 2.2 million Anglo-French troops are also stationed in Belgium according to the plan, and they will be deployed against the Germans in the Liège defense line built on the Maas River.

Of course, even if the Liège line could not be held, there was nothing, and the Anglo-French army could still build a second or third line of defense somewhere else, just like in 1914, there was always somewhere to stop the Germans! And the Anglo-French army also has an armored cluster of 14 armored divisions and 16 motorized infantry divisions! With them, they should be able to withstand the 18 armored divisions of the Germans and the Chinese!

It doesn't matter if the Germans burst out with some unexpected fighting power and crush the armored forces of the Anglo-French army, because by then there will be 3 million French troops and hundreds of thousands of British expeditionary forces to fight. It is believed that the German army, which has fought all the way through continuous hard fighting, must have become a tired army, and it will not be able to defeat the surging French army, and the European war will also be deadlocked, just like the First World War. If it drags on for a year and a half, maybe the war will end because of some secret weapon?

However, the situation on the battlefield in the east is not easy to say. The Chinese and Japanese have swept through Southeast Asia, except for French Indochina, which is still holding out, and the rest have fallen. In particular, the fall of Fort Singapore had cut the British Empire's defenses in the East in two. The Chinese occupying Singapore could choose to go west or south at any time, and soon the flames of war could reach India or Western Australia. The British, on the other hand, had to spread their already stretched forces to these two battlefields, which were very important to the British Empire.

But compared to the Dominions of Australia, which was loyal to the British Empire, India, which was further and further down the road to independence, seemed less important. If India can be turned into a quagmire, so that the main force of the squadron, at least part of the main force, can not get out of it, so as to reduce the pressure on the Australian side, of course, it is the ideal choice!

"Sacrificing India to hold China down and buy time for Australia's consolidation." After the Battle of the North Sea, this operational line of thought gradually became the guiding ideology of the Imperial General Staff in dealing with the situation in the East.

It is based on this line of thought that there was the rapid advancement of India's autonomy, the formation of the Australian and New Zealand Theater and the Australian Grand Fleet, and the emergence of James. Admiral Mersaville's small fleet came to Bombay.

The Eastern Fleet consisted of the USS Valiant, HMS Sovereign, HMS York, HMS Exeter, HMS Sheffield, HMS Glasgow, 11 obsolete S-class destroyers, and 10 H-class submarines. Of course, it is not an opponent of the powerful Chinese Navy, but with the existence of such a large fleet, the main forces of the Chinese Navy will not dare to leave the Indian Ocean for fear of it, right?

Of course, the premise is that John. Greer. The Anglo-Indian army led by Admiral Dill can drag out the war on the South Asian subcontinent! As long as the war in India drags on, the Chinese must ensure the safety of the Bay of Bengal shipping line. And under the threat of the Eastern Fleet, the Chinese can only ensure the smooth passage by stranding the main forces in the Indian Ocean.

Thinking of this, Mersavel straightened up and said to Louis, the chief of staff of the Eastern Fleet, who was already standing beside him. Rear Admiral Mountbatten said: "Louis, inform the fleet, and in three hours all set off!" Let's go around the Indian Ocean and see if there is a chance to harass the Chinese. ”

"Also, inform the General Headquarters of the Indian Military Region and tell them that the Navy has discovered that there are two large Chinese fleets ......" Mersavil's eyes scanned the chart, and finally Mersavel stretched out his finger and tapped lightly on the chart Ceylon Island and the west coast of India, thinking: "The two fleets of the Chinese should go to capture the island of Ceylon and somewhere on the west coast of India, so tell the army." ”

"Inform the Indian Theater Command that our shore-based aircraft stationed in the Maldives and Ceylon are on maximum alert and that they search a range of 300 nautical miles east of Ceylon and launch an immediate attack if the Chinese fleet is spotted."

"Inform the Indian Theater Command that the garrison fleet of Ceylon be ordered to immediately lay mines at the entrances to the ports of Colombo and Galle; The West India Garrison Fleet was required to lay mines in the major ports of the West Indies, such as Chittagong, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Madras, etc. ”

"Order all our submarines in the Indian Ocean to continue to closely monitor the Shidu Strait and the Sunda Strait."

"Admiral, should we inform Admiral Cunningham?" Rear Admiral Mountbatten reminded: "According to intelligence, the Chinese Navy has at least six aircraft carriers, and only four have appeared now, and maybe two more will operate in the waters near Western Australia." ”

"So what?" Mersavel sighed softly, "The Royal Ark and the Indomitable are still being repaired in the dockyard in Port Jackson!" With the remaining three carriers, Admiral Cunningham is not sure of destroying two Chinese aircraft carriers, and ...... Our opponents don't necessarily have only six motherships. ”

"Report!" At this moment, the voice of the communications staff officer suddenly interrupted the conversation between the two generals. "Submarine H31 reported that an hour ago, they spotted a huge fleet passing through the Sunda Strait! This fleet has at least five large aircraft carriers! Among them, the aircraft carrier Taiwan, with a displacement of 27,000 tons, was also discovered. After passing through the Sunda Strait, the fleet turned eastward, estimating that it was targeting the west coast of Australia. ”

"What!?" Mersavel and Mountbatten gasped at the same time. Five more large aircraft carriers have been discovered! Together with the four large aircraft carriers that were discovered earlier, the Chinese Navy now has at least nine large aircraft carriers. Britain has only six aircraft carriers in the Indian Ocean and Australia, two of which are under repair, and it will take at least a month before they can go to war.

"Five large aircraft carriers, among which there is also the USS Taiwan...... There should be 420 carrier-based aircraft, Admiral Cunningham has only 180, and the Chinese FW-190C has much more combat effectiveness. The Grand Australian Fleet was by no means an opponent for them and had to be transferred from the port of Darwin. Mountbatten snapped his fingers in his heart, and knew that Cunningham was going to be defeated.

"Inform the Grand Fleet of our findings, Cunningham knows what to do." Mersavel shook his head slightly, his face becoming more and more difficult to look at.

At this time, Mountbatten gritted his teeth and suggested loudly: "Admiral, we may consider temporarily merging the Australian Grand Fleet and the Eastern Fleet and concentrating them in the Indian Ocean. This will make it possible to use four aircraft carriers, 230 carrier-based aircraft, against four motherships of the Chinese, up to 320 carrier-based aircraft. Although they are still outnumbered, we still have hundreds of shore-based aircraft available in the Indian theater of operations......"