The defeat of the Korean Peninsula had a far greater impact on the Japanese government and opposition parties than anyone expected. Within a few days, all the Japanese troops in the northern half of Korea were dispersed, and hundreds of thousands of Japanese army elites were just left on the battlefield.
, this means that hundreds of thousands of families have to endure the pain of losing relatives. Even Japan, a militaristic country, cannot bear this blow of sacrifice.
What's even worse is that the Chinese army invaded North Korea, which aroused the fear hidden deep in the Japanese heart. Will China drive Japan away from the Korean Peninsula like it did during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty? By that time
Japan has completely lost its springboard into the Asian continent.
Although Japan still controls the Far East at this time, Japan knows very well that the defense capabilities of the Far East are far from comparable to North Korea, which has been operating for a long time. What is blocking China in the Far East is the cold air. As long as the air gets warmer,
China will definitely launch an attack without hesitation. By then, Japan will have no choice but to retreat to the islands and be honest fishermen. World hegemony has nothing to do with Japan!
You must know that Hirohito has been dreaming of ruling all nations and peoples all day long. How can he sit back and watch the defeat? Hirohito first found Tanaka Yiichi and cursed him. Hirohito had given him a death order. The Japanese Army must
We must guard against it and we must not lose Seoul.
However, Hirohito also knows that it is already very good that the Army can maintain the current front. If it wants to make progress or even defeat China, it can only rely on a powerful combined fleet. This is Japan's only chance.
Moreover, there is another factor that forces Japan to launch a decisive naval battle as soon as possible, that is, the power of submarine warfare at sea has been demonstrated. In less than two months, China has sent a cargo ship of 500,000 tons to the bottom of the sea, and China's attacks against Japan
The escort operation adopted wolf pack tactics to respond.
Four or five submarines were arranged in advance to form a huge fan-shaped trap. After the Japanese fleet entered the ambush circle, they launched attacks from all directions. This special skill of the German Navy in World War II was used by China in advance, and the effect was amazing.
Not only were the cargo ships sunk, but even some slower ironclad ships were unable to escape. Japan had already lost four warships.
As an island country, Japan has very limited resources. It cannot even be self-sufficient in food. Originally, Japan could get food from China. Now that the two sides have gone to war, Japan has no chance of getting it. In addition, Taiwan is also an important food base, but
The route is always facing the threat of Chinese submarines, and it is impossible to transport food to Japan's main island.
As a result, Japan is facing a serious threat of starvation. It can only implement strict food control and collect the last remaining grains from farmers. In addition to supplying the powerful people in Tokyo, it also needs to provide limited supply to the army, navy, and military industrial enterprises.
As for the life and death of those farmers, it doesn't matter.
Of course, Japan's top leaders are not fools. If they don't make progress quickly, they are afraid that another riot will break out in Japan. By then, Japan will really be unable to sustain itself. Therefore, it is urgent to break the deadlock at sea as soon as possible.
The terrain position between China and Japan determines that there will not be many choices for the maritime confrontation between the two countries. The most effective option for Japan is to rush to the Bohai Bay and directly attack Yaojin, thereby threatening Bei Jing. You must know that Yaojin is
The economic center and railway hub in northern China, and the political center of Beijing City, as long as the security here is threatened, China's layout can be disrupted.
However, as long as Japan is not crazy, it will not do this. The Shandong Peninsula and Liaodong Peninsula are deep into the ocean, and a large number of Chinese air forces are stationed on the two peninsulas. If Japan rushes in, China will definitely let them try to shuttle.
The power of bombing.
After careful consideration, Japan decided to divide Japan's combined fleet into two parts. The first part is centered on the battleship Nagato and the battleship Kaga, with the aircraft carrier Akagi and Hosho providing air protection, and Japan's attack
The target is Zhoushan Islands.
This place is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, which happens to be the center of China's north-south shipping route. The strategic location is the most important. Japan has also concentrated its most elite forces in this direction, preparing to fight China to the death!
In addition, Japan dispatched a battleship formation with the battleship Olu as the core. Its main task was to cut off the South China Sea route. Japan also estimated that there was no Chinese naval aviation in the South China Sea, and only land-based aircraft could threaten the battleship formation. However, these
If the battleships operate outside the range of land-based aircraft, there will be no danger. You must know that the South China Sea is still very vast, and Japan can form a blockade on the periphery.
Japan did not do this when the war started, because it was a little wary of the influence of Britain and France. However, now that Japan is facing life and death, there will never be any consideration. Whoever dares to stop it will be Japan's enemy!
The core of the attack on the South China Sea route will be the battleship Oulu. This is the sister ship of Nagato. It is larger than Nagato. It is one of the most powerful battleships in the Japanese Navy, except for Oulu.
In addition to the USS Fuso, there are also the battleships USS King Kong, as well as some auxiliary ships, which can be said to be a strong force.
Japan's preferred attack target is the Dongsha Islands. Japan hopes to occupy this area, which can not only serve as Japan's forward base for attacking China's mainland, but also serve as a fulcrum for Japan to cut off the South China Sea routes.
Japan thought their actions were very secretive, but they were discovered by Chinese submarines soon after they went to sea. In fact, this is normal. Although the sea area between China and Japan is not small, it is not enough to accommodate two large fleets.
Moreover, both China and Japan have astonishing amounts of spy power, so it is just wishful thinking to maintain complete confidentiality. The Qing went to challenge. Although both warships were old German warships before World War I, China had already carried out
Several improvements were made, especially the Guangxi was replaced with a 380mm main gun, which greatly enhanced its firepower and was able to fight Japanese battleships.
This time Japan imitated the experience of the Ridland naval battle and sent the Fuso and the Kongo to the front to take on the task of luring the enemy fleet, and then the Olu followed up to deal a fatal blow to the Chinese warships that appeared at any time.
.
What the Chinese submarine discovered was the enemy formation of Fuso and King Kong. Tang Xiangming led the Chinese fleet and rushed towards the Dongsha waters.
However, the Chinese fleet did not use backward tactics to lure the enemy like Japan did. China believed more in air power. All warships carried seaplanes. Seaplanes and land planes were developed almost at the same time.
There are two types, one is the hull type and the other is the pontoon type. The hull type is to make the fuselage into a ship shape, and then add wings, propellers and other devices to be able to take off on the water, while the pontoon type and land-based aircraft
The difference is not big, except that the aircraft's landing gear was replaced with two huge pontoons to increase buoyancy.
Although seaplanes were rare in later generations, they do have great value now. Seaplanes do not require a long deck to take off, so many warships will carry seaplanes. As a means of investigation, the Guangxi carried a total of four
A water reconnaissance aircraft.
Both fleets are rapidly approaching the Dongsha Sea. In the battleship battle, it is very important to discover the enemy first, which often means the ownership of the war initiative. At this point, the Japanese fleet is obviously lagging behind. Although they also carry
A seaplane was sent, but its performance was unreliable and the detection distance was limited, so Qian Jian did not send it out.
The Chinese reconnaissance plane was the first to discover the Qing, and this time it was the Fuso that led Japan.
This battleship participated in the Qingdao Naval Battle, but that battle was also a nightmare for the Fuso. The huge ship had no defense capabilities at all in front of Chinese aircraft and was completely passively beaten. After suffering a few bombs, the Fuso barely managed to
Fleeed back to Japan.
However, the superstructure was severely damaged, and it took Japan more than half a year to repair the Fuso. This time, the Fuso appeared in the South China Sea as a lure for the enemy fleet.
The Fuso appeared in the sight of the Guangxi. Tang Xiangming gave the order and the Guangxi launched the first round of salvos. The Japanese soldiers on the Fuso were also experienced and did not show much in the face of the Chinese attack.
Surprised, although they were in a disadvantageous position, ribenriyi ri fought back hard.
The steel behemoths began a crazy collision on the sea. While the Fuso was exchanging fire with the Chinese warships, it hurriedly sent a telegram to the Olu in the rear, asking the Olu to come over as soon as possible and annihilate the Chinese warships.
In fact, the Japanese aboard the Fuso were still very excited at this time. They knew very well that China currently only has one battleship, the Guangxi. If this warship can be sunk, it will definitely greatly damage China's confidence.
, which plays a huge role in helping Japan get out of trouble.
The quality of the Japanese sailors aboard the Fuso is indeed better than that of China. Although China took the lead in launching the attack, due to its unfavorable position, Japan could only use the six cannons at the front, so the power seemed weaker.
However, Japan still had the upper hand. In the third round of firing, a shell hit the front deck of the Guangxi.
The violent explosion caused the death of all the surrounding sailors, and also ignited a fire. Facing death and fierce fire, the Chinese Navy did not have any fear. All sailors stuck to their combat positions and worked hard to fire shells at Japan. Finally, on the fifth
During the battle, the Guangxi successfully hit the Fuso in the middle.
Although the displacement of the Fuso is two thousand tons larger than that of the modified Guangxi, the main gun of the Japanese warship is only 356 mm, which is worse than China's 380 mm main gun, and Japan is indeed good at artillery technology.
It can't compare with Germany. It's much different even with the same caliber, not to mention the gap in caliber.
The Japanese artillery shell hit the Guangxi, but only made a huge dent in the front deck, and did not completely penetrate the protective armor. However, the Chinese artillery shell was completely different. The huge warhead hit the middle of the Fuso.
The shell exploded violently, and the fire quickly swallowed the lives of nearby Japanese soldiers.
This shot caused a huge hole with a diameter of three meters to appear on the middle deck of the Fuso, which had damaged the internal structure of the warship. As a result, black smoke and fire continued, seriously disturbing the sight of the Japanese artillery. The b&qing had a huge
advantage, but the young Chinese sailors are not afraid. They know very well that China does not have many warships that can be mobilized to fight. If they do not withstand it, once two Japanese warships attack the Guangxi, the situation will be very bad. In order to give Guangxi
Buy time, even if you die in battle, it's worth it!