Chapter 2684: Survival by Cutting Off the Tail
"The situation is very critical now." Sturdy picked up his pipe and took two puffs. His tone was very indifferent, as if he was describing something that had little to do with him.
"Yes, it's critical. The Kasuga armored cruiser has been destroyed. Fortunately, another armored cruiser returned early. Otherwise, we might have lost two armored cruisers. And the fleet that provided us with supplies was probably also in misfortune. Otherwise, even if they are only sailing 6 knots per hour, they should arrive on time. If nothing else happens, the Americans should have blocked the entire east coast of Australia, and it will be too difficult for us to get supplies." Yamamoto Isoroku rubbed a He said with the cold sweat on his head.
"Yes, it is indeed difficult. Now that we have powerful warships, we are like fish caught in a fishing net. Although we are struggling hard, we can't get rid of the shackles of the fishing net. Maybe the next moment, they close the net, and we Just hang up." Sturdy said after blowing out a smoke ring.
"You don't seem to be surprised by all this?" Yamamoto Isoroku said that he couldn't accept that the other party was so calm! It seems that this has been expected for a long time.
"It's certainly not surprising. For a powerful fleet, it is a bit troublesome to catch our warships, but as long as they plan carefully, are willing to invest strength, and persevere, they can always succeed. Fighting to break diplomatic relations at sea This is more of a containment than a fundamental solution to the problem. Frontal fleet battles and breaking of diplomatic relations are master-servant relationships. Now, as the master, the main force of the Japanese combined fleet is shrinking in the Philippines, then breaking of diplomatic relations as a servant The fleet can only be crushed when facing serious Americans, right?" Sturdy looked at Yamamoto and said: "I remember when I talked to you before, didn't you also think that you were very dangerous this time? Now? , are you scared?" Sturdy said this last sentence a little jokingly.
"I just didn't expect this day to come so soon." Yamamoto said while flipping through the documents and scribbling on the charts on the wall from time to time. "I thought we could contain the US military for at least half a year!" Yamamoto said angrily.
"Half a year? Are you too confident in yourself, or do you underestimate the Americans and Germans?" Sturdy stood up and walked towards the chart. He had to work hard to think of a solution now. It doesn't matter if the Japanese fleet hangs up. , wouldn’t it be a loss if he died?
"I think that from now on, it will be difficult for the entire east coast of Australia and even all supply ships coming from the Western Pacific to provide us with supplies. What is even more frightening is that they may point the U.S. military in our direction." Di said as he picked up the putter and circled it around the map.
"You have to know that the number of high-speed ships that can carry large amounts of supplies for replenishment in the ocean is already small, and in the Pacific region, when there is a war, there are even fewer such ships. If through strict elimination and sufficient intelligence, , it is not difficult for the Americans to screen out suspicious targets, and the Americans have enough warships or armed ships to carry out search missions, which will bring our supply lines to the brink of collapse," Sturdy said.
"In the face of this situation, General Betty also has a way to deal with it. We also have a backup supply fleet, and the departure port of this fleet is in New Zealand." Yamamoto put down the document in his hand and said. "As long as we can receive supplies from New Zealand, then we will have enough fuel to cross the South Pacific and then go north back to our sphere of influence. This is the last chance. We must end the break in diplomatic relations and put the two precious ships warships to bring back to Japan."
"What if the New Zealand direction is also targeted by the Americans?" Sturdy said.
"How is it possible? New Zealand is so far away from the main battlefield, and we have never sent a supply fleet from anywhere before.
They have no reason to do this! " Yamamoto said in a panic.
"Haha? Is there no reason? Since General Betty can think of setting off from New Zealand to provide supplies to the fleet when necessary, why can't the Germans think of it? I don't think the Germans are stupider than us. Since the Americans have decided to break up with the British, why not Ships departing from Australia are searched, so why don’t they try to bring New Zealand with them? And New Zealand only has a small amount and doesn’t need many troops.” Sturdy said with a smile.
"Zhou Cao, what's going on? Did Betty's so-called contingency plan at the beginning fool me! Did the British know from the beginning that the final outcome of this broken battle would be annihilation of the entire army?" When the last fuse was broken , Yamamoto is really scared, after all, no one wants to die, he now fully feels the gradually tightening fishing net, which may catch them all at any time!
"Don't worry, I don't want to die yet, because I haven't lived enough!" Sturdy couldn't see any fear on his face, but patted Yamamoto's shoulder with his hand and motioned for him to follow him to the captain's room. He needed to talk carefully with Yamamoto about the matter.
"Do you know why General Betty insisted on having the battleships grouped in two?" Sturdy said with a smile.
"Isn't it to enhance the combat effectiveness of the formation to deal with the transport fleet with escort fleet?" Yamamoto said.
"This is naturally one of the reasons. It is also a very important reason. After all, even if it is just facing a destroyer, it would be a bit confusing for a large warship to drive away the destroyer and hunt merchant ships at the same time." Sturdy nodded and said, "But the most important thing is The best thing is that two warships can help each other when they are together. For example, now, if foreign aid is cut off and the US fleet gradually closes its net, we can at least run one!"
"What do you mean, let the battleship Yamagiri give up its fuel and supplies to us, and then let the battleship Yamagiri go to New Zealand for supplies? If New Zealand does not have a US-German fleet, then the Yamagiri receiving supplies can naturally Returning to Japan, if New Zealand is also targeted, then the German and German fleets will definitely attack the Yamagiri, and the Yamagiri will become a bait for us to escape from trouble?" Yamamoto Isoroku suddenly realized.
"Everything has a price. In the Battle of the Norwegian Sea, Crown Prince Ruprecht asked Hipper to attract our most elite fleet, creating an opportunity for the main force of the High Seas Fleet to defeat the Grand Fleet, which had just ended just before In the Battle of New Ireland, General Su Xiong also gave up the cover of Weimar in order to let the other three Bavaria-class battleships escape. Although, in the end, we failed to sink a single Bavaria-class battleship, there is no doubt that , Any outstanding naval commander is a person who is good at giving up! The same is true for General Betty, and I hope you will be like this in the future!" Sturdy said meaningfully.
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