Episode 179 Battle of the Pacific Ocean

Moment.

Under fire from the heavy cruiser Myoko, an American cargo ship exploded, seriously wounded, two crew members were killed and four were injured. The other two American cargo ships immediately surrendered with their signal lights, and at the same time raised the white flag and stopped the ship, allowing the Japanese sailors to go up.

All three ships were loaded with Ford military vehicles. Not only that, but the compartments of military vehicles and the spaces between military vehicles are stuffed with large and small parts, all wrapped in oiled paper, and printed with manufacturers and instructions for use...... It's clearly about making the most of the space and getting as much stuff as possible on each cargo ship.

Needless to say, the two remaining cargo ships were also sunk by the Myoko with two shots each. All American crew members were also imprisoned on the Myoko. The Japanese treated them with courtesy, and the four injured Americans were treated in the medical cabin. But now, the facts are out: Japan made a choice, sank the American cargo ship and killed the American crew.

At the same time as the Japanese warships shelled, the other two American cargo ships sent telegrams to inform China of the situation urgently. In the United States, political circles, business circles, and the people of the United States were in an uproar. And Da Ming knew it immediately. Shen Rongxuan knew that he had no choice now, and he had to make a statement before public opinion in the United States changed.

Shen Rongxuan couldn't worry about the meeting of other ministers, so he called Dongchang directly and gave an explanation.

An hour later, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Kerensky, who was far away in Khabarovsk, made a radio speech. In his speech, Kerensky emphasized several things:

First, it strongly condemned the brutal acts of the Japanese Navy and called it a "pirate".

Second, it was announced that in the future, the Russian Government would provide full compensation for any losses suffered in connection with deliveries to Russia. Including this one.

Third, in view of the piracy of the Japanese Navy, Kerensky suggested that the American captains should cooperate in stopping the ships in the future after encountering Japanese warships to avoid casualties. In addition to the freighter, the sunken cargo, the Russian government still pays the bill.

Half an hour later, Shen Rongxuan of Nanjing also made a radio speech. He said that in view of the friendly relations between the Ming and the Russian Federation, as well as the alliance interests of the two countries, the Ming Navy may soon provide escort for the US merchant fleet.

This series of short-term measures has caused the isolationist faction in the US Congress to wilt before it has even begun to make trouble. And the voice of the American people, in addition to the anger against Japan, the mainstream opinion is that we should continue to supply to the Ming Dynasty.

……

In Japan, these two speeches also shocked the two Japanese military and political terms. Especially the latter Shen Rongxuan's - Ming Guo announced that he would escort the merchant fleet!

In the eyes of the Japanese military and political leaders, the Ming Kingdom now has at least two choices, the first is to let all US merchant ships be rerouted to the Atlantic and Indian Ocean routes. Merchant ships departing from the east coast of the United States are better said to be directly close to the Atlantic. Merchant ships departing from West Coast ports had to head south to Central America, then cross the Panama Canal, cross the Caribbean Sea, and then enter the Atlantic. Although this is far from a lot, after all, there is no need for escort. The second option is to provide escort for the merchant fleet on the Pacific route.

Now Ming Guo has chosen the second path. Obviously, the Ming Empire intends to take it on the ground.

Mingguo's attitude has made Japan mixed. Happily, for such a long time, the main force of the Ming Navy has been cowering in the harbor to avoid a head-on battle with the Japanese fleet. The "Armageddon at Sea," which has been brewing throughout Japan for many years, has not yet been staged. Well, now, since the Ming Kingdom wants to defend its own sea transportation lines, then the surface ship forces are bound to be dispatched in a big way. The Pacific naval battle is about to begin.

Japan is worried that Japan's domestic fuel reserves are running out now. Not only are there not many reserves, but now Japan's shipping routes have been completely cut off by Ming submarines, and there are still a small number of cargo ships that can break through the blockade, but not a single oil tanker with a large target can enter. The navy is a big fuel guzzler, and the battle in the Pacific Ocean is bound to accelerate Japan's domestic fuel consumption at a geometric rate. If the Japanese Navy does not achieve a major victory in a short time, then Japan will face an even faster death.

The Japanese cabinet and the military department have thought of it, and it is likely that Ming Guo is deliberately fighting with Japan and wants to fight Japan to the death. And Japan has no choice but to give it a go.

……

Three days after Shen Rongxuan's speech, on 8 April, the three battleships of the East China Sea Fleet, the "Changping" and the "Yanping," as well as the overhauled "Zhengde," left the port together, and sailed out of the Zhoushan Islands with a fleet of three cruisers and 12 destroyers, headed south along the coast of Zhejiang, and headed for the Nanyang Fleet in Zhanjiang Port.

A day later, on April 9, four aircraft carriers "Tianshu", "Tianxuan", "Tianji", "Tianxuan", and one battleship "Tokunaga" also headed south with three cruisers and a dozen destroyers.

With the successive southward movement of these two large fleets, only the "Hongwu" is the only battleship left in the base of the East China Sea Fleet.

In total, there were 4 battleships, 4 aircraft carriers, 6 light and heavy cruisers, as well as twenty or thirty destroyers and other auxiliary ships. Counting the battleships "Yongle" and "Zhurong", which were already in the Nanyang Fleet, the strength of the Nanyang Fleet is now terrifying. Most of the main forces of the entire Ming Navy are concentrated in the Nanyang Fleet.

The Ming Navy completely gave up the struggle for sea supremacy in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea, which was equivalent to losing all of them to the Japanese Navy. And the defense of the coast is mainly supported by aircraft and the army. However, this "abandonment" is only a temporary abandonment and a focus on the Pacific naval battle. Moreover, the Ming army did not intend to win by relying on a hard-fought naval battle, but was preparing to go around in circles with the Japanese Navy in the Pacific Ocean, relying on the advantage of two more aircraft carriers to force Japan to quickly consume oil. Once Japan's oil runs out, then not to mention the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, the entire western Pacific region will have the right to control the sea.

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The first to act were two aircraft carriers. After a brief stop at Zhanjiang Port, at 3 a.m. on April 10, the Tianji and Tianxuan departed the port with six destroyers. The task of this aircraft carrier squadron was to reconnoitre, and with the advantage of high speed and carrier-based aircraft, it searched the vast western Pacific Ocean and tried to find out the location of each Japanese ship as much as possible.

The Dimensity detachment did not take the traditional Philippine route, but kept sailing due east, heading for the strait between the southern tip of the island of Taiwan and the northern tip of the Philippines. It is clear that the Dimensity detachment does not intend to make a detour, but to go straight ahead. There are definitely Japanese ships cruising here, but there should be no aircraft carriers. The Ming Navy intends to once again use the superiority of aircraft carriers, and in addition, cooperate with the cover of land-based aircraft at the Taiwan base to directly enter the western Pacific. If the Japanese had battleships or heavy cruisers here, then it would have been the first to take them.

The distance from Zhanjiang port to the strait is 630 nautical miles, which is about the voyage of the aircraft carrier detachment in less than 30 hours. The detachment departed at a predetermined time, leaving port in the early hours of the morning, approaching the strait exactly the next morning, to facilitate air combat, and to ensure that the first perilous journey was all in daylight. By the time night fell again, the detachment had gone deep into the vast western Pacific Ocean and was hidden.

At the same time, more than a dozen small U.S. fleets sailing in the eastern Pacific, as well as individual U.S. cargo ships, have received "advice" from Washington and are heading to a point 230 nautical miles north of Honolulu, Hawaii, to assemble and prepare to form a large fleet of 40-50 ships to wait for the escort of the Ming fleet from the other side of the world.