"Everyone retreat!" Toshihei Inoguchi ordered loudly. He looked anxious as if he wanted to get into the water and push the warship away.
Inoguchi Toshihei actually knew very well that in this situation it was almost impossible for the fleet to safely withdraw from the anti-ship missile range. At this time, the fleet had already penetrated into the anti-ship missile range for a hundred nautical miles... Even if the "Musashi" was 27 nautical miles away
It would take more than three hours to evacuate at full speed to a safe area.
However, there is still a glimmer of hope to retreat. If you don't retreat, the only possibility is to be sunk here.
Just as the Japanese warship turned around on the sea, the Eighth Route Army launched its attack. A cloud of smoke rose in the direction of the port, and then a dense pile of anti-ship missiles flew into the air, at least more than a hundred.
In fact, there were exactly one hundred, 98 to be exact, two of which malfunctioned during takeoff and failed to ignite successfully.
At this time, the Eighth Route Army's total inventory of anti-ship missiles in Dalian was only about 400. It was a big deal to shoot out a quarter of the inventory in one go.
This is what Wang Xuexin meant.
Because anti-ship missiles should be fought using a "saturation attack" method.
If it is a small batch each time, such as forty or fifty, this number of anti-ship missiles is just within the air defense capabilities of the Japanese fleet, so the Japanese can easily intercept these anti-ship missiles one after another.
But if the number of missiles that exceed its anti-strike capability is fired at one time, then it will be useless no matter how the Japanese warship is positioned and how fast and accurate the gunner's movements are... This cannot be changed by manpower, and some anti-ship missiles will inevitably overflow and attack.
Hit his warship.
At this time, the anti-ship missiles are slow and easy to intercept, so this "saturation attack" method should be used to attack.
If it weren't for the limited number of operators to control the missiles, Wang Xuexin would have hoped to be able to shoot two hundred, three hundred or more missiles at a time.
The Japanese lookouts were the first to notice the situation. They shouted nervously: "Enemy attack, anti-ship missiles!"
Inoguchi Toshihei raised his binoculars and looked in the direction indicated by the lookout. His heart immediately went cold. With so many anti-ship missiles, even if the "Musashi" was not injured and the anti-aircraft firepower was not lost, it would not be able to stop it. Now I am afraid that it is fierce.
Too much luck.
At this time, another lookout on the other side shouted: "Anti-ship missile, direction of the enemy fleet!"
Toshihei Inoguchi looked in the direction of the fleet, and sure enough he saw a batch of anti-ship missiles coming from the Eighth Route Army fleet behind them.
This two-sided attack is quite fatal to warships.
If anti-ship missiles only come from one direction, then the anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns on the warship only need to be aimed at one side, and at most they need to be adjusted at a small angle. The shooter can concentrate on aiming and the firepower will be more concentrated.
But if the anti-ship missiles come from two directions and one after the other, then there will be a series of scheduling problems for the air defense firepower:
How to distribute anti-aircraft firepower on both sides?
How much is allocated to intercept at the same time?
What if the attacks on both sides are different in time?
After intercepting one side, should one side reinforce the other side?
All of this is a severe test for the command of grassroots commanders, and as long as one side cannot be stopped, it will be fatal to the air defense firepower and even the attack on the warship!
At this time, Toshihei Inoguchi could no longer care about all this. He loudly ordered on the radio: "Everyone, cover the 'Musashi'! Repeat, cover the 'Musashi'!"
From Inoguchi Minpei's point of view, he had sufficient reasons to issue this order.
Because the "Musashi" is the flagship, the glory of the empire, and to a certain extent, it is also a symbol of the empire. It cannot be defeated by the enemy, let alone sunk, otherwise it will cause a serious blow to the morale of the combined fleet.
!
But this is not the case from the perspective of other warships.
For example, Captain Nakano, the captain of the "Myoko" cruiser, pretended not to hear. He only ordered his subordinates: "Stop all missiles and retreat at full speed!"
Colonel Nakano thinks this way:
"Are you kidding? You are still protecting Musashi at this time! Do you want all the warships to be buried with it?"
"If we get injured while covering Musashi, and we can't even protect ourselves in the end, will we also be unable to protect Musashi?"
"So, only a fool would do this!"
…
Objectively speaking, Colonel Nakano's idea is correct.
Because the "Musashi" battleship was severely damaged by anti-aircraft fire and could not protect itself; secondly, although the battleship was strong and powerful, its maneuverability was very inconvenient... The battleship was huge and had a speed of only 27 knots, while the "Myoko" cruiser had a speed of 35 knots.
, the destroyer even has a speed of 37 knots.
If both cruisers and destroyers are surrounding the battleship to cover it, should the speed also be reduced to 27 knots?
This is obviously very dangerous and unrealistic, and is equivalent to slowing down the entire fleet.
So the "Myoko" immediately relied on its speed to distance itself from the "Musashi" while conducting air defense while performing flexible snake-like maneuvers on the sea.
Colonel Nakano has already thought about it. If he wants to explain today's behavior in the future, he will answer confidently: "I think that under the circumstances at that time, we should travel dispersedly so as not to be concentrated by the enemy's firepower. This is to deal with the enemy."
A tactic for anti-ship missiles!”
The point is, the range of the Japanese Type 96 25mm anti-aircraft gun is only more than seven kilometers. The cruiser cannot provide air defense cover for the battleship if the cruiser is just a little farther away, which means there is a loophole in the defense circle...
The anti-ship missiles came directly towards the Japanese warships with long wakes, and most of the missiles targeted the Japanese battleships.
This is also Wang Xuexin's order.
This is not only because the Japanese "Musashi" has been injured and its anti-aircraft firepower has been greatly reduced, but it should also be a symbol of the Japanese empire.
Wang Xuexin doesn't have to believe this, because it symbolizes a ghost. This thing is just a vase, and it didn't play any role in the end. Even the "Yamato" was meaninglessly sunk by the Eagle fighter as a suicide ship.
But the point is that the Japanese believe this, and these battleships have become a kind of belief for the Japanese.
Therefore, to undermine the Japanese's confidence, we must attack the battleships.
On the other hand, Wang Xuexin's concentrated fire attack on the Japanese battleships also meant to divide the Japanese...
If the Japanese find that the main target of the Eighth Route Army is the battleship, and the battleship is slow, will other warships be willing to slow down and accompany the battleship to be beaten together?
This is a test for them!
The reality is that the Japanese fleet is not monolithic. The first batch of missile attacks left the Japanese fleet fighting independently: except for one destroyer still beside the "Musashi", the other two have moved away.
Then, without any surprise, with a burst of "boom", at least twenty missiles hit the deck of the "Musashi" and exploded. The "Musashi" was instantly enveloped in thick smoke and fire!