Nanjing, Tangshan.

In the busy combat command center of the Ministry of National Defense, the telephones rang one after another, and the staff officers in white or blue military uniforms were all hurrying and looking nervous. Compared with the previous Korean battles, this battle in the Pacific may be the first shot of World War II, and it will not be easy to fight this battle well. According to Chang Ruiqing's words, winning a war is not the same as fighting a good war, and only by maximizing China's interests can it be regarded as a good fight, so we must choose the most favorable time to defeat Red Japan.

Although the losses of the North Korean Army were no less than those of the opponent, they defeated the self-confidence that the Japanese Red Army had accumulated with great difficulty, and I believe that in this war, the Japanese will not dare to fight the idea of attacking the Asian continent again.

It was precisely because the North Korean army had just the right victory, defeated the Japanese army, but did not completely defeat them, and made it possible for them to turn the spearhead of the attack to the rich South Sea, that China had the opportunity to go to the deep sea and the Pacific Ocean in the name of fighting against Japan.

However, the Chinese navy's performance in this "first battle in the Pacific" must also be just right, but it must not be too powerful, if it knocks out the little momentum of Japan's southward movement, it will be more than worth the loss.

In addition, the stalemate in the Pacific was a reassurance to Comrade Trotsky that he should not worry too much about the situation in the East, so that he could concentrate his main attention on the liberation of the oppressed peoples of the Middle East, India, North Africa and Europe. It is better to let the Soviet-Polish Red Army and Hitler's German army fight to the death, and then China will take action to clean up the mess.

Of course, Chang Ruiqing has never told anyone about these little abacus in his heart. It's just that Tongguo hinted at letting his subordinates "understand" his intentions. Fortunately, Bai Chongxi, Wang Junhao, and Zhao Zhen have followed him for many years, and in the conservative overall layout of the National Defense Force, Chang Ruiqing's overall strategic intentions have been reflected.

Stand in front of the newly laid out sea chart table. Chang Ruiqing carefully looked at the two fleet markers in the waters south of Okinawa. It was the main fleet of the Chinese Navy, which was slowly heading south at Wèizhì, a little further south, and the British Far East Fleet, which had just sailed through the Bass Strait and was about to turn south and take refuge in the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean. Since Britain had not yet declared war on Japan, the British Far East Fleet had only come east to deter the Japanese and force them to withdraw their troops from North Korea, and perhaps some other behind-the-scenes deal. In short, it was not for war, so after showing up near Okinawa, the commander of the Far East Fleet could not wait to withdraw the fleet into the deep sea. Far from the area of activity of the Japanese fleet. But where is the main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet now?

"Haven't you found the main force of the Japanese fleet yet?"

"Nope." The new Deputy Chief of Staff of the Navy, Rear Admiral Bai Sven, shook his head: "Seaplanes have already searched a large area of the sea south of Okinawa Island and have not found a shadow of the main force of the Japanese fleet. ”

"Are you sure they left Kure Harbor to attack?"

"Pretty sure," Bai Sven affirmed, "we have a P-class submarine at the exit of the Bungo Waterway that witnessed the departure of the Japanese Grand Fleet into the Pacific Ocean. So there can be no mistake. ”

"The waterway flows into the Pacific Ocean...... Then you can only set up an ambush in the waters near Okinawa! Kecheng (Bai Siwen). The Japanese should have discovered our fleet, right? ”

"It has been spotted and was spotted by a Japanese seaplane about 80 nautical miles south of Okinawa this morning." Bai Siwen said: "But they didn't choose to attack with planes, maybe they didn't have confidence in their own air forces, right?" ”

"Maybe there are not many planes on the island of Okinawa, and there are aircraft carriers in the main force of the combined fleet leaving the Japanese archipelago?"

"There are four 'Canglong' classes that can carry up to 280 carriers, but they are not our opponents, and this time our three 'Nakayama classes' are carrying 300 carriers. All of them are the latest J-2B and Attack 2B. And the air defense of our warships is very strong, basically there is no need to worry about wēixié from the air. The department thinks. The tactics of the Japanese fleet were supposed to be to deal with the British fleet with air strikes and against us with a night battle of the fleet. In addition, it is possible that they will deploy a large number of Kaida-3 submarines around Okinawa to ambush our and the British fleet. ”

Hearing this Haida Type 3 submarine, Chang Ruiqing felt a little big, this submarine is a large ocean-going submarine jointly developed by Japan and the Soviet Union, and it is said that its performance is not below the P-class submarines equipped by the Chinese Navy. And the most troublesome thing is the large number of submarines of the Haida series, the Soviet Navy alone may be equipped with more than 500 Haida series submarines, and the Japanese Navy also has no less than 100 Haida submarines. Once the world war officially starts, the submarines of the Soviet Union and Japan must be a big trouble, even more troublesome than the German wolf pack in the previous life!

"Prime Minister, it's already past 4 p.m., and in two hours at most it will be dark in the Pacific. Did he order Commander Feng to speed up his southward movement and wait until after dawn tomorrow before turning back to the north? ”

"Okay," Chang Ruiqing nodded, and ordered, "Tell Feng Yizhi to practice radio silence from now on." Also, how to fight the next battle told him to decide for himself, and the Tangshan command would no longer interfere. However, one thing must be firmly remembered, it is absolutely impossible to inflict too heavy a blow on the Japanese fleet, and it is necessary to show mercy to your subordinates, and they will also need to exert their might in the next war! ”

……

On the night of July 2, the waters of the Pacific Ocean east of the Philippines.

China's main fleet and flagship of the First Fleet, the heavy aircraft carrier Zhongshan.

The night sky was covered with dark clouds, the moonlight and stars were firmly obscured, and the entire ocean was almost impossible to see five fingers, and the huge ships with a full load displacement of more than 35,000 tons rose and fell in the waves, but there was not a single light that came through. Since night fell, Feng Yundong has given the order to control the lights.

Inside the shipyard, Commander Feng was sitting on a chair with his arms crossed, watching his staff officers discuss calculations around the charts, his eyebrows tightened more and more.

This time the task was extremely complex and uncertain. The final order issued by the Ministry of Defense and the Navy Command was not to carry out the Haitian 1 plan. Rather, when the fleet was approaching the Beilun base, Vice Admiral Bo Fuping, chief of the general staff of the Navy, personally took a destroyer and sent a plan that had never heard of before. What is even more unexpected is that the focus of the "Pacific 1" plan is not to strike at the Japanese Combined Fleet! Rather, it is necessary to fish in troubled waters to get a naval base in the Pacific Ocean, for this. A whole division of marines followed the main fleet with 20 transports.

In addition, cooperating with the British as an ally also worried Feng Yundong. Originally, the strength of the two fleets of China and Britain was far superior to that of the Japanese Combined Fleet, and if the merger could be achieved, it would basically be invincible. However, the British did not seem to have any serious intention of going to war with Japan, and the purpose of the fleet of the Nuoda fleet in the Pacific Ocean was only to "deter" Japan...... It is estimated that the commander of the British Far East Fleet, Admiral Barkes, did not have the instructions for war issued by the British Admiralty at all! I really don't know what those British will do when they encounter the main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet? Do you have to wait for the opponent to fire the first shot? This kind of thinking would have been nothing more than in the era when giant ships and cannons dominated the sea, and most of the first shots fired would not have hit, but at the moment when aircraft and submarines began to emerge. But it's very dangerous.

If it was really attacked by a Japanese carrier-based aircraft group or a submarine group, the British Far East Fleet would have to shed its skin if it did not die. Maybe that's what Prime Minister Chang Da wants to see?

However, it is not only the British Far East Fleet that is in danger now, but also its own Chinese main fleet may encounter accidents at any time! If during the day when the weather conditions are good. The main Chinese fleet, which has air superiority, certainly has nothing to fear. Because he has more than 200 Tap-2B light dive bombers in his hands. This aircraft has a combat radius of 270 km with 1 250-kilogram armor-piercing bomb, and if it does not carry a navigator/bombardier, the Attack 2B can also carry 1 320-kilogram armor-piercing bomb! With such a sharp weapon in hand. The Japanese battlecruisers and battleships simply did not come close. However, the aircraft is not an all-weather combat weapon. Under the weather conditions when planes could not be dispatched, only six "Guangdong" class battlecruisers were left available in their main fleet.

Feng Yundong took a breath, got up and walked to the porthole, the fleet that was in the midst of the lights could only see a vague outline, and the two "Guangdong"-class battlecruisers on both sides of the front made him sigh a long sigh.

This is a large surface capital ship designed and manufactured by China itself, with a localization rate of 100%, which represents the highest level of China's shipbuilding industry.

In accordance with the provisions of the Shanghai Naval Treaty, the unladen displacement of the "Guangdong" class battlecruisers, which were equipped with anti-mine blocking and anti-aircraft decks, reached 28,000 tons. Full load displacement up to 36000 tons. It has surpassed the battlecruiser Kongo, which was sunk by submarines in the Sino-Japanese War in 1923, but the main gun firepower is more than a cut worse than that of Kongo. Only 3 triple 280mm/50x caliber guns were installed.

However, the anti-aircraft firepower of the "Guangdong" class is much more powerful than that of the King Kong class, with 18 twin 127mm high-level dual-purpose guns, 36 40mm anti-aircraft guns, and 40 twin 20mm anti-aircraft guns.

The "Guangdong" class is also very powerful, with eight heavy oil boilers and two steam turbine engines, with a maximum power of 140,000 hp, a maximum speed of 33 knots, and a cruising range of up to 10,000 nautical miles / 18 knots.

In addition, the defense level of the "Guangdong" class is also relatively outstanding among ships of this class, with 250 mm armor on the side and 125 mm on the main deck, three layers of 200 mm armor in the upper part of the engine room, and three layers of 250 mm armor in the upper part of the ammunition compartment. turret 330 mm, 150 mm; Command tower 270 mm.

On the whole, the performance of the "Guangdong" class is relatively good, and it is very ideal in terms of armor, speed, and anti-aircraft firepower, and the only deficiency is that the main gun firepower is weak, and it can still constitute a certain wēixié against the seven old Japanese battleships, but it cannot deal with the "Akagi", "Kaga", and "Tosa" ships at all. If you encounter the main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet at close range, you will probably have to flee with your tail between your legs.

So on this night, Feng Yundong was most worried about being ambushed by the main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet, which had always been good at night battles! Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps came from behind.

"Report, received a telegram from the submarine P22 (P-class submarine). The submarine had encountered an unidentified fleet 30 minutes earlier, and it was not possible to identify the other party due to its distance and poor visibility. Attacks were also not carried out. ”

The air in the ship island suddenly became tense, Feng Yundong hurriedly walked to the front of the chart platform, and said, "Where did you find it?" Can you determine the size of the opposing fleet? ”

"Here."

The fleet's communications staff officer pointed to Kitato Island, about 360 kilometers southeast of Okinawa: "200 nautical miles northeast of us, the fleet is relatively large, with at least 30 large and medium-sized warships!" ”

"More than 30 ships!"

Hearing this number, Feng Yundong's pupils shrank suddenly. The current British Far East Fleet could not have been so far to the east, and it was definitely the Japanese Fleet that could have appeared there. If there are more than 30 ships, it will undoubtedly be the main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet!

"Humph!"

Feng Yundong snorted coldly and said with a smile: "Very good." Now that we've found the main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet, let's go and blow it up first!

Now regroup.

Zhongshan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Haitian, Nanjing, Shanghai and 8 destroyers formed the first team; Yaoru, Fujian, Taiwan, Haian, Guangzhou, Wuhan plus 8 destroyers formed the second team; Zhantang, Jiangsu, Hairong, Zhejiang, Beijing, Tianjin, plus 8 destroyers formed the third battle; The rest of the ships formed the Fourth Squadron, with Vladivostok as the flagship.

The first team was ordered to be in the center, and the second and third teams were each 20 nautical miles open to the two wings of zuoyou. Heading northeast at 18 knots! The Fourth Sentai lingered on the spot and waited. At the same time, all enter combat readiness! And radio silence continues. ”

"Yes!"

……

Meanwhile. On the battlecruiser "Hood", Admiral Barkers breathed a sigh of relief with a telegram he had just received from a Chinese submarine.

"Where is the Chinese fleet?"

"I don't know, they have been practicing radio silence since 4:30 p.m. today, and before that their wèizhì was about 200 nautical miles southeast of Okinawa, and it was right here."

Bakes followed the staff officer's finger and found a mark symbolizing the Chinese fleet on the chart, and his heart was finally at ease.

The Chinese fleet is closer to the Japanese fleet than itself, and it is estimated that the Chinese and Japanese navies will start a sea and air battle after dawn tomorrow! That would be 300 carrier-based aircraft of China against 280 carrier-based aircraft of Japan...... It's exciting to think about! It's a pity that the British Empire has been shy in recent years. Ignoring the development of naval aviation, the British Navy so far has only two fleet aircraft carriers, the "Brave" and "Glorious". It's a bit behind the times. I hope that after this Sino-Japanese naval and air war, London will realize the importance of aircraft carriers to the maritime hegemony of the British Empire.

Thinking of this, Baques turned to the chief of staff of the fleet behind him and said, "Order the whole fleet to turn due south, the Chinese and the Japanese are going to fight, our cheerleading work has been completed, it's time to return to Singapore!" ”

"Yes, sir."

At this moment, the communications officer on the Hood suddenly shouted: "Sir, the light cruiser Grain Goddess reports that the sonar has spotted an unidentified submarine!" The Grain Goddess requests an attack! ”

Another submarine found? Who's for this time?

Barkers took the telegram and frowned tightly......

"Boom...... Rumble ......"

At the moment when Backs hesitated, two loud noises came, and Backston felt his scalp explode suddenly, and when he turned his head to look, he saw that in the darkness in the distance, two huge fireballs had exploded!

July 3, 1932, 1:58 a.m.

The battleship Emperor of India of the British Far East Fleet was hit by two torpedoes fired by the I-21 submarine in the Sea of Japan! The Pacific War has officially begun!

……

"Can you confirm which ** ship it hit?"

"It could not be confirmed that the enemy fleet was under light control at the time of the attack, and the I-21 could not confirm the identity of the other party. But it's estimated to be ......."

Before the communications officer could finish speaking, Yamamoto Fifty-six interrupted him and hurriedly said to Yamamoto Eisuke: "Your Excellency, Commander, please immediately order all submarines to concentrate in the sea area where the I-21 is located. The main force of the Combined Fleet is also heading westward with all its might, and this fleet must not be allowed to escape from under our noses! ”

Inside the bridge of the battlecruiser Akagi, all eyes were on the commander of the Combined Fleet, Eisuke Yamamoto. Eisuke Yamamoto stared at the chart table, not even daring to blink his eyes, drops of sweat continued to seep out of his vest, and in the blink of an eye, his shirt was wet.

War, most likely, a world war that will determine the life and death of Japan, has officially begun! And the winning fighter is in front of him...... Of course, it could also be a death trap that would bury the combined fleet. Which fleet was it that was just attacked? Britain or China? Or have the two merged? And how far is the Chinese fleet from the British fleet? After one of them is attacked, will the two quickly converge? If the Chinese and British fleets converge and the main forces of the Japanese combined fleet rush head-on again, the consequences will be catastrophic......

"Your Excellency, Commander! Look no further! For today's Japan, there is no perfect tactic at all, only to fight! Yamamoto Fifty-six stomped his feet and shouted, "Now fight if the enemy's two fleets do not converge, fight we can rush to the battlefield to annihilate one of them before they merge!" ”