In 1907, the Japanese Empire, which won the Russo-Japanese War, formulated a new national defense strategy, and the United States on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean was listed as a new imaginary enemy country.

But due to the huge gap in national power with the United States. The Japanese Navy absolutely cannot possess the same strength as the US Navy, and the result of Japan's dispatch of its main fleet to attack the US mainland can only be total annihilation. Therefore, the Japanese Navy decided to copy the experience of naval battles in the Sea of Japan and mobilize all its forces to fight a decisive battle with the US fleet in the coastal waters of Japan.

Its main tactics were: Japan concentrated the main force of its fleet in the coastal waters of Japan (the decisive battlefield at that time was predetermined to be near the Ogasawara Islands), scattered the various mine fleets in the adjacent waters, formed a large-scale search network with powerful reconnaissance cruisers in the possible sea areas, assembled the cruisers to carry out a strong mine warfare attack on the enemy fleet after discovering the enemy fleet, disrupted the formation of the enemy fleet and weakened the enemy's military strength as much as possible, and then put in the capital ships to carry out a fleet decisive battle with the enemy. The Japanese Navy, which was waiting for leisure, had a relatively good chance of winning the decisive battle. To this end, on the one hand, Japan has strengthened the strength of its mine warfare team, and on the other hand, it has actively promoted the 88th Fleet plan, hoping to maintain partial superiority over the weakened US expeditionary fleet.

However, the "Washington Treaty" signed in 1922 shattered Japan's dream of fighting a decisive battle with the US Navy on a local battlefield with the same strength, because the total tonnage of its capital ships could only reach 60 percent of the total tonnage of the US capital ships.

Namely: ocean-going submarine units, shore-based aviation units, and powerful mine warfare units. The capital ship forces, they are all tasked with the so-called gradual annihilation combat mission, that is, the task of striking the enemy fleet at different stages.

Its main methods are: The first stage is ocean-going reconnaissance and strikes. The Japanese Navy predicts that once a war breaks out between Japan and the United States, the main force of the US fleet will move from the west coast to Pearl Harbor.

The second segment, cluster lightning strikes. Immediately after the U.S. fleet sailed out of Pearl Harbor, it used a large number of submarines to attack the Mi Fleet in turn; In the third stage, the delayed landing, when the U.S. fleet approaches the Marshall Islands and prepares to land, it will attack again with a submarine force to weaken the enemy and delay the enemy's landing to gain time;

In the fourth stage, the U.S. military began to attack the Neinanyang Islands in the Outpost Battle (which was also the expected main battlefield of the nine-stage operation, an area that required a lot of consumption of the enemy's strength), and at this time, the enemy fleet was confused with super battleships (i.e., Yamato-class battleships) and air carriers and Israeli attacks;

The fifth stage, the Inner South Sea diving battle. the U.S. fleet in confusion with submarines; In the sixth stage, aviation attack, the land-based air forces of the Inner South Sea attack the enemy fleet with all their might, inflicting maximum damage on the enemy fleet; In the seventh stage, the inland South Sea mine raid battle, the main night combat force of the Japanese Navy will launch a night mine attack on the US fleet; In the eighth stage, the mobile operation in the Inner South Sea, the main air carrier mobile force attacked the enemy ships with all its might; In the ninth stage, the final battle, the battleship unit finally appeared. Sweeping away the last remnants of the enemy, the Japanese navy won a complete victory

And in 1938, after the unscientific ship soul of Yamato Nadeshiko (Li Huamei) joined the Japanese Navy, she targeted her terrifying night ability to seek the enemy. The Japanese made corresponding improvements in the original nine-stage gradual annihilation combat concept around His Excellency Yamato Nadeshiko's ability to seek the enemy against the sky.

By the end of 1941, the Japanese military department had decided to fight the U.S. Navy.

Even Isoroku Yamamoto, who was the most reluctant to go to war with the United States in the past, had to admit that Japan was facing the United States in an international strategic environment at this time. It's already "too good to be better".

How good is this international combat environment?

The US Congress's ambitious plan to expand the navy of one fleet a year has really frightened the navies of various countries, and even more frightened the British. The US Navy's exaggerated military expansion has not only caused the Americans to stink once, but has also reaped only vigilance and hostility in the international community.

Relations between Britain and the United States deteriorated sharply in the past six months because of the trade dispute, and the British almost brazenly waved the pound sterling at their ally Japan, encouraging Japan to declare war on the United States. In order to achieve this goal, the British side almost always responded to Japan's demands. Military technology, oil, weapons and ammunition, it's all about what you want and what you give.

And the Germans, another powerful country in Europe, were silent on the surface, but secretly they did tricks and feet, and their support for Japan was even greater than that of the British.

In addition to selling a large number of weapons at almost free prices and providing eye-watering military-industrial technical support, the Germans also sold 38 S3 torpedo boats to Japan in April 1942, a critical juncture before the war, under the cover of selling torpedo boats to China - only two of the 40 torpedo boats claimed to have been sold to China were actually sold to China, and the remaining buyers were Japan.

Torpedo boats played an important role in the Japanese Navy's plan for a surprise attack on the U.S. fleet. Although Japan also has a large number of torpedo boats in Japan, the German S3 torpedo boats in the 200-ton class are recognized as the best of the small torpedo boats in the world. Its hull is designed for the harsh waters of the North Atlantic, and it is even easier to operate in the relatively quiet Pacific Ocean.

In the nine-stage gradual annihilation operation plan formulated by Japan, the Japanese Navy suddenly received such a large number of high-quality torpedo boats to join, and the Japanese Navy was even more confident.

And the greatest support of the Germans for the Japanese Navy was not to provide such a large number of torpedo boats at cost price, nor to provide a large number of finished FW190TF, but the German gods personally came to Japan and joined the Combined Fleet to participate in the attack on the Pacific Fleet.

The mysterious German deity is now aboard the "missing" air defense cruiser Freya. Shortly after the cruiser visited Wèn in Japan, it was sent directly to the shipyard for refit.

The main modification was the demolition of some German-style superstructures, and the shape of the chimney was camouflaged to make it look more like a Japanese-style cruiser. In addition, the bow hull was refitted, and a large number of torpedo launchers were installed.

The name of the ship was changed to Izumo - the real Izumo was damaged by a torpedo boat converted from the Sephiroth during the war in 1935, and although it was repaired, it was relegated to the third line of use as a patrol ship in the Japanese Navy. In this war against the United States, although the Germans did not openly declare war, they quietly joined the Japanese Navy in this way to stab the Americans.

On the night of the 22nd, the German air defense cruiser, renamed the Izumo, served as the flagship and guide ship of the lightning strike ships in the raiding fleet.

The German Valkyrie-class air defense cruisers were originally pure artillery cruisers without torpedo tubes. However, after the ship was sent to Japan, the Japanese referred to their "North Superior" mine-strike ship and carried out a "lightning-struck" transformation of the ship. Four quadruple 610-mm torpedo launchers were forced into the hull in one go, and part of the anti-aircraft guns were dismantled to make room for this.

In this operation, the torpedo used by the Japanese Navy was not the historical ninety-three acid torpedo, but its improved version.

The biggest flaw of Japan's oxygen torpedoes, when used in actual combat, is that half of the torpedoes with the cavitation effect detonate prematurely after launch. After Hannah obtained the manufacturing technology of oxygen torpedoes, Hannah also made corresponding improvements to this shortcoming, redesigning the shape of the torpedo, the spiral structure, and deliberately reducing the speed of the torpedo, after a series of improvements, although the range of this type of torpedo was reduced to 18 kilometers, but the shortcomings of early explosion had to be corrected.

Later, the Germans' transformation plan, Yamato Nadeshiko, incarnated by Li Huamei, was fed back to the Japanese Navy. After correcting this biggest flaw, the modified nine-three-acid torpedo will play a greater role tonight.

In order to increase the mutual trust of the Japanese-German alliance, during this attack, King Xuanren, the elder brother of Emperor Takahito of Japan, also served on the rank, and his main role was actually to play the role of "hostage". The so-called son of a daughter cannot sit down, and the "German gods" join the Japanese Navy to participate in the war, and Japan must also pay "sincerity" to show that it will not have malicious intentions, and Prince Xuanhito, as the imperial prince, will also go on the ship to show that the Japanese side will not have malicious intentions.

The Japanese lightning strike fleet, with the Izumo as its flagship, with a total of nearly 100 torpedo boats of various types, quietly approached the sea area where the Pacific Fleet was about to pass to Guò at half past two in the morning of 22 June, which is also the time when the human body was most tired.

The most important thing in the first stage of the Japanese Navy's combat policy, which was designed with the idea of nine-stage gradual annihilation, was to seek the enemy.

However, for the combined fleet with ships, they can easily determine the specific location of the American fleet in the dark sea.

On the 22nd, the US Pacific ships, which had just left Saipan, had not even recovered from the slackness brought about by the repairs on Saipan. The fleet, which was going to the Philippines to show its strength, did not even have strict lighting control when sailing at night - although the capital ships and auxiliary combat ships were under lighting control, one of the best-inhabited hospital ships in the supply fleet accompanying the fleet was also brightly lit that night. At this point, the arrogant Americans made the same mistake as the Russian Navy in the Russo-Japanese War. (To be continued.) )xh118R1052