Chapter 1,283 Indian Ocean Waves
Chapter 1283 Indian Ocean Waves
In the end, the British still did not agree to Japan's request for the oil fields in the Mesopotamia. After all, there are only a few places in the world that produce oil, including the United States, Baku in Russia, Borneo, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Romania. From the British point of view, since Japan has already obtained Borneo, it would be too much to encroach on the Mesopotamia. Therefore, the British just delayed the Japanese demands.
And because its "reasonable request" was rejected, Japan naturally has reason to do something about the issue of military strength. Of course, the most basic things still have to be done. First, they must continue to replenish the war losses in Europe in accordance with the agreement, and at the same time, the United Kingdom People used to transport various resources including natural rubber, tin ingots, and copper ingots. In order to "appease" the British, the shipping volume this time was a bit large.
"The entire transport fleet has a total of 23 ships with a total tonnage of 140,000 tons. We will provide the British with 6,000 tons of copper ingots, 4,000 tons of tin ingots. There will also be no less than 5,000 tons of natural rubber, and some other things. , of course, there are 12,000 Japanese troops and their 2,000 horses." Yamamoto Gonbei said to the current commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Ijuin Goro.
"So you want the battleships Yamashiro (the third ship of the Fuso class) and Kurama (a fast battleship equipped with 8 14-gun guns) to go over with these transport ships?" Admiral Ijuin Goro asked.
"Let's go together. After all, there are two German sharks in the Persian Gulf." Yamamoto Gonbei said.
"Haven't they been silent for a long time?" Ijuin Goro said in surprise.
"It is precisely because it has been silent for a long time that we need to be more careful. The wolves always attack when the opponent is most relaxed. And don't you think that after such a long time, these two ships should have been repaired?" Yamamoto Gonbei Wei said. "If we weren't under a lot of pressure, I would have sent more warships."
In order to maintain a balance against the United States, the Japanese Navy has deployed a large number of front-line warships in the Philippines and the former German Pacific Islands. Now the Japanese Navy has a total of 12 Dreadnought and Dreadnought-level warships, two of which will be sent to Europe, and one-third of them will be sent to Europe. The warships need to be maintained in the shipyard or are heading to the mission waters. Considering that the Americans went crazy again and sent three super-dreadnoughts equipped with 14-inch artillery to Hawaii. The Japanese Navy felt huge pressure from top to bottom, so in addition to promising to provide the British with two super-dreadnoughts in accordance with the agreement, they were not willing to provide even one quasi-dreadnought!
"Who is commanding this time?" Yamamoto Gonbei asked.
"Rear Admiral Kanji Kato, deputy commander of the Southern Expedition Fleet at the beginning of the war." Ijuin Goro said.
"Haha, okay, I'm afraid Prince Fuzama is helping him, right? But it doesn't matter, we still quite agree with his abilities.
" Yamamoto Gonbei said nonchalantly. "Let's get ready quickly. The fleet is about to set off. Tell Kato not to let down his guard after leaving the Strait of Malacca and before entering the Red Sea. If scale is not considered, the Germans are much more powerful than the British! "
At the same time, in the Persian Gulf thousands of miles away from Japan, the officers and soldiers of the German Indian Ocean Squadron, led by Fleet Commander Lieutenant General Su Xiong, were preparing to welcome the compatriots arriving from the mainland.
"How are the preparations going? Prepare more local seasonal vegetables. Don't bring cans. I'm afraid our friends will be sick to death when they see cans now." Standing on the deck of the flagship Scharnhorst, Su Xiong Said to the subordinate in charge of logistics.
"There are also clean uniforms and beds. I can guarantee that the officers and soldiers who have been in the small space of the submarine for more than a month will like these." Reidel added on the side.
Just a week ago, a telegram was sent from China informing Su Xiong that a submarine detachment consisting of 12 submarines would depart from the mainland for the Indian Ocean. Most of these submarines are ocean-going submarines with a displacement of 1,200 to 1,500 tons. It is generally equipped with 6 torpedo tubes, about 12 torpedoes and 2 to 3 medium-caliber deck guns. The surface range is between 9,000 nautical miles and 10,000 nautical miles. There are also two supply submarines codenamed Cow, which are deployed in the fleet. Each of these submarines can provide the fleet with an additional 600 tons of fuel and a large number of artillery shells and even torpedoes.
And this is undoubtedly good news for Su Xiong. With these submarines, the German Indian Ocean Fleet's trouble-making ability will be even higher! According to Redl, with these submarines with a maximum surface speed of nearly 17 knots, the German Indian Ocean Fleet's control range and pursuit capabilities will be further improved. After all, the speed of 17 knots is enough to catch up with more than 95% of transport ships. . (In the second battle, transport ships with more than 12 knots were considered high-speed ships) and 2 to 3 105MM or even 150MM cannons were enough to deal with 90% of the transport ships!
"With these submarines, I think we can make big news." Redel said to Su Xiong.
"What plans do you have? My Chief of Staff?" After a long period of cooperation, the two people's cooperation has been very successful. Redel has a big brain, so he is suitable for formulating plans and strategies. After all, Su Xiong has always been They are all in the front-line fleet, so they can translate plans into reality very well.
"Haven't we improved the Swordfish assault ship into a seaplane carrier? With it as the center of reconnaissance, our fleet can control the situation within a considerable range. With the submarine, we can even A very large transport fleet with battleship escort can attack during the day. We can use the Scharnhorst class to attack during the day, and at night, we can use submarines to attack. Even if the opponent is scattered, we have a large number of submarines and can better capture them. The fleeing sheep," Redl said.
After the Su Xiong fleet had a lucky escape from the Thomas fleet last time, the two German fast battleships were repaired in the port for a long time. But the fleet commanders were not idle. They continued to collect intelligence and analyze the transportation situation of the Allied Powers. Judging from the current situation, when the two Scharnhorst-class battleships are unable to dispatch, the Allied Powers generally organize large fleets, and then provide escorts with at least armored cruiser-level battleships. And this makes it almost difficult for the attack ship to function!
Of course, with the return of the two Scharnhorst-class fast battleships, it will be difficult to have someone in the Indian Ocean who can forcefully challenge the German fleet. Therefore, if the Su Xiong fleet comes out again, under the condition of good confidentiality, in Before the Allies reacted, Su Xiong's fleet had a very good hunting period.
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