On 19 November, the atmosphere at the Oahu Command of the U.S.-British Pacific Fleet was tense. At the beginning of the year, the new commander of the Pacific Fleet, American Admiral Buck, was listening to a report from his subordinates, and the atmosphere was very tense. With the course of the war, with the continuous weakening of the British Empire's maritime power, and with the continuous entry and growth of the United States. So far, the number and quality of the new warships of the US military have far surpassed those of the British Imperial Navy. It is only natural that the old British Empire's industrial manufacturing capacity was quickly overtaken by the United States.

In the face of a new crisis, it is not surprising that the Americans have become the core force, and it is not surprising that the British have become followers. In particular, the US Navy has rapidly surpassed the British Navy in terms of the total tonnage of its warships, and the number of cruisers alone far exceeds that of the British Navy. The U.S. Navy borrowed from the Chinese Imperial Navy's combat model and converted all medium-sized battleships into frigates, and at the same time hunted destroyer fleets, forming a modern fleet model dominated by cruisers.

At present, the Pacific Fleet is entirely dominated by US warships, and all British warships have been transferred to the 2nd Pacific Fleet. In order to improve combat efficiency and facilitate command of operations, the US Pacific Fleet does not have a single allied warship. At present, the Allied Pacific Task Force 2nd Atlantic Fleet is completely dominated by the British, but the 2nd Task Force and the Atlantic Fleet have a large number of Allied warships, and although the number of warships is huge, it is still a hodgepodge. And the US Pacific Fleet, under the leadership of the US Navy, has completely changed its command system to the Americans.

At the beginning of the year, the US Navy's Pacific Fleet Command reshuffled. The command apparatus completely turned into American. Admiral Buck served in the British Navy in his early years and was a wise, pragmatic soldier. Buck was ordered to be in danger, and as soon as he took office as Admiral Buck, he was based on the operational characteristics of the Imperial Chinese Navy. The operational doctrine of winning by firepower, tonnage, and quantity was drawn up. At the same time, taking advantage of the coastal combat mode of the Chinese Imperial Navy, a huge offshore torpedo boat defense fleet was formed.

Buck divided the Pacific Fleet into four squadrons, each of which was armed with six cruisers, each with a displacement of 25,000 tons, and the cruisers were all equipped with eight main guns with a caliber of 350 mm. Each detachment also hunted 6 battleships with a displacement of between 6,000 and 8,000 tons. The front and rear main guns are single-packed, caliber 305 mm. It has 22 frigates and 16 destroyers, with a tonnage of between 2,000 and 5,000 tons, and 250 mm of main guns in the front and rear.

In addition, each detachment is equipped with 15 reconnaissance and attack submarines. 20 submarine hunters, 20 transport ships, 6 minesweepers. Each sub-fleet has a total of 111 large and small warships, and the US Navy's entire Pacific Fleet has a total of 444 ocean-going combat vessels. Offshore attack torpedo boats and offshore gunboats, as well as engineering vessels, are not included here. Not long ago. In order to strengthen the combat strength of the Hawaiian Islands and to block the attack of the Chinese Empire on the ocean, the US Navy Department put into the Pacific Fleet all four newly launched cruisers, which have a displacement of 28,000 tons, and increased the number of ocean-going combat ships of the Pacific Fleet to 448.

The United States can be said to have put all of its naval combat power into the Pacific Fleet. The huge number of combat ships and the terrifying firepower of the Americans were the main purpose of ensuring the solid defense of the oceanic defense line, and its central purpose was to prevent the Chinese Imperial Army from landing on the American continent. The Americans have carefully studied it. It was believed that if the Imperial Chinese Navy wanted to break through the oceanic defense line, it would inevitably pay a heavy price. If the Imperial Chinese Navy could not effectively break through the oceanic defense line in a short time, the turning point for the Americans would come. As the U.S. navy's combat capability continues to strengthen, the Chinese Empire's ambition to land on the American continent will be aborted.

At this point, General Buck was extremely calm and silent after listening to the communications officer's report, and his eyes were fixed on the map of Tonkin Bay. Buck is about 50 years old, with gray hair mixed with a few strands of black hair, giving people a sense of vicissitudes. Buck is a great man, about 190 centimeters tall. "Your Excellency, the reconnaissance submarine lost contact after sending the report, and it is estimated that it will not be able to escape." All the generals in the headquarters knew in their hearts that once the reconnaissance submarine was discovered, it was almost impossible to escape, and this was no exception.

"Your Excellency General, the discovery of large-scale combat ships of the Chinese Empire in Tokyo Bay, it is completely certain that the Chinese Imperial Navy is about to launch an attack, and the target is undoubtedly the Hawaiian Islands." Chief of Staff Condoleezza Rice analyzed. Buck said calmly: "According to the shipbuilding speed of the Chinese Empire, there are no conditions for attacking at all, so it is difficult for them to take risks?" "Your Excellency, the Chinese have never played cards according to common sense, maybe the Chinese misjudged and did not expect our battleships to be launched so quickly."

Buck analyzed: "I hope that the Chinese misjudge, but they cannot paralyze their rivals." In the past failures, we were all self-righteous and caught off guard by the enemy. The terrible thing about our enemies is that we are naked and naked, while our enemies are always shrouded in mystery, and we must not repeat the lessons of the past. Order, dispatch all reconnaissance submarines and fast gunboats, at any cost, to find out the enemy's situation. I demand that within a range of 1000 km, all the activities of the enemy fleet. ”

Buck continued: "The rapid hunting and killing of reconnaissance submarines by enemy ships in Tokyo Bay shows that the enemy is about to launch a large-scale military operation. Immediately report to the mainland that the Chinese Empire has massed a large number of warships in Tokyo Bay, and our Pacific Fleet has taken precautionary measures in an effort to obtain the accurate situation of the enemy fleet. In addition, all officers and men of the fleet were ordered to cancel their vacations and enter special combat readiness. All communication contacts are fully opened, and communication is maintained 24 hours a day. ”

All the warships of the US military were put on standby, there was no news, and the wait was difficult. Buck said to Chief of Staff Rice: "If the Chinese want to land on the American continent, they must capture the Hawaiian Islands." The Chinese are not fools, if the warships do not reach a certain size, the expedition to Hawaii is a military adventure, and the Chinese have always fought a sure war. However, based on the speed of China's shipbuilding, they will not have more than 12 cruisers and no more than 30 battleships, which is the maximum estimate. ”

"Your Excellency, you are right. According to intelligence, the Chinese Empire formed the 2nd Pacific Fleet, the Indian Ocean Fleet, and it was impossible to transfer all of them to the Gulf of Tonkin. According to recent reconnaissance, the number of warships of the Chinese Empire in Australia has not changed, and according to the British reconnaissance, the number of warships of the Chinese Empire in the Indian Ocean has not changed. Even if they put all the newly launched warships into the 1st Pacific Fleet, the total tonnage would not be able to surpass ours. In summary, it is possible that they have misjudged. ”

Buck nodded and said, "I don't deny that it is the other party's suspicious soldiers, and immediately report the situation we analyzed to the mainland." If the enemy really miscalculates, our chance has come. Chief of Staff Rice said: "When the results of the reconnaissance come out, we will reveal the truth, if we can inflict heavy damage on the enemy's main fleet, the enemy will not want to land on the American continent." No matter how strong the Imperial Chinese Army is, without a strong fleet as a cover, could it be that they flew over with wings? Hearing the analysis of the two commanders, the generals of the headquarters showed a happy expression on their faces.

Far away in the White House on US soil, a military meeting was urgently convened. After receiving the telegram from Hawaii, President Cleveland quickly notified Secretary of State William and summoned Ingmari, commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, Briton Hanrowe, chief of staff, and US Navy commander Hillaire and other senior generals and heavyweight military experts to study countermeasures. President Cleveland faced the crowd: "The commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Barker, quickly called that one of his reconnaissance submarines had spotted a massive build-up of warships of the Chinese Empire in Tokyo Bay, Japan. ”

"General Buck judged that the enemy was about to attack. According to our analysis of the development speed of the Chinese Navy, it is judged that they do not have the conditions for large-scale ocean-going operations, but it is difficult for the Chinese Navy to have the conditions for an expedition within two years? Secretary of State William said: "According to the situation in Europe, the Chinese have the conditions. As for how far the Chinese Navy will reach in two years, we do not know anything, so we must believe that the Chinese Navy has the conditions to attack. ”

At this time, a senior strategic expert in the White House stood up and said: "Your Excellency, according to the comparison of the naval strength of the two sides, perhaps the enemy has miscalculated. According to the convention, our warships will not be launched so quickly, and perhaps the enemy did not anticipate the strong industrial manufacturing capacity of the United States. So I think the enemy has miscalculated in terms of conventional thinking. Germany began to rannish its forces in Europe, and the Chinese Empire decided that the time was ripe for an expedition. ”

After in-depth discussion, everyone reached a consensus that the first Chinese Empire misjudged the speed of development of the American and British navies, and the second Germany ignited a war in Europe, and the Chinese Empire believed that the time for an expedition had come. President Cleveland confidently said: "If we inflict heavy damage on the main fleet of the Chinese Empire, the Pacific defense line will be stable and buy us enough time to hold on to the American continent." ”

"Order General Buck to closely reconnoiter the enemy's movements, and once the enemy fleet is discovered, we must find out the true situation of the enemy fleet and create conditions for us to meet the enemy in the next step." As soon as President Cleveland finished speaking, a communications officer came in and handed him the telegram. Cleveland gave a few brief glances and said, "General Buck is worthy of being an excellent general, and his judgment is almost the same as ours. Ordered the 1st Pacific Task Force to assemble in Panama and be ready to support operations in the Hawaiian Islands. ”

On December 1, at the headquarters of the Pacific Fleet on Oahu, the sound of bulletins was endless. The telegraph technology of the United States and Britain developed rapidly, and its level was on par with that of the Chinese Empire. The long wait was torturous, and General Barker's cheeks were visibly stiff, his eye sockets were sunken, and his eyes were bloodshot. Buck sat in his chair and was silent, when a communications officer hurriedly came in and reported: "Your Excellency, the No. 22 reconnaissance submarine reports that the enemy fleet has been found in the sea area of 21?5 degrees north latitude and 170 degrees east longitude!" ”

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(To be continued......)

PS: Who is misjudged?