Chapter 2737 Misjudgment 1

Chapter 2737 Misjudgment 1

"Has the result of the battle on Taragon Island come out?" At this time, on the flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Combined Fleet Commander Shigetaro Yoshimatsu also convened senior Japanese navy officials to discuss the outcome of the future war. He did not care about the outcome of the battle on Taragon Island. Damage to oil fields, refining facilities and ports. Because under the full attack of more than half a dozen battleships, all targets on Tarakan Island within the range of the artillery will not survive. Therefore, for Shigetaro Yoshimatsu and the Japanese combined fleet, what they need to consider is how to fight the next war well and make the American fleet pay a heavy price or even be completely annihilated.

"In this battle, the U.S. Navy has two brand-new battleships. If nothing else, they should be the first-class Colorado-class battleships built by the Americans equipped with 16-inch naval guns. Judging from our current reconnaissance situation , the U.S. Navy should have 11 battleships, including one Bavaria-class battleship, and the others are standard battleships."

"But in addition to battleships, the U.S. Navy also has a large number of armored cruisers. At least three of them are new fast armored cruisers. We destroyed one. The Americans have at least two more. In addition, they may have three more. An old-fashioned armored cruiser. If we count warships above light cruisers, we have an advantage in quality, but not in terms of tonnage." Shimamura Hayao said.

"How many aircraft carriers do the Americans have? How many have we destroyed?" Motaro Yoshimatsu asked.

"The Americans dispersed their aircraft carriers. They had at least two aircraft carrier groups. What we found was an aircraft carrier group. This group had three aircraft carriers. We destroyed two and damaged another one. There was also an aircraft carrier group. One group was outside our reconnaissance range. We didn’t know their location at the end of the battle, but we were certain that there was a German aircraft carrier in this aircraft carrier group. According to our previous estimates, this group had not been discovered. The aircraft carrier group has about three aircraft carriers," Shimamura Hayao said.

"In other words, theoretically, the U.S. Navy still has four aircraft carriers, one of which is a German aircraft carrier? What a pity, even though we lost more than three-digit twin-engine bombers and fighter jets, we still did not gain maritime aviation superiority. What do you think, General Betty?" asked Motaro Yoshimatsu.

"It's difficult. Even if we remove the injured aircraft carrier, we still have no advantage in terms of aviation strength, 4 vs. 3. American aircraft carriers are generally larger and have stronger aviation capabilities. Moreover, they have deep pockets and have a large number of aircraft carriers. Spare aircraft were stored in the form of spare parts, and at the end of the battle, they took control of the battlefield. Therefore, most of the pilots who fell into the water could be rescued. We worked hard to bring our aviation power to a comparable level. level, so if we want to win this battle, then be prepared for a close battle with the battleship fleet. This will be a very difficult battle. The Americans have brought out their most elite fleet and the best The same goes for our officers and soldiers," Betty said with a sigh.

Although the Japanese tried their best to conduct investigations,

However, due to various reasons, the Japanese Navy still misjudged the strength of the U.S. Navy. The U.S. Navy's previous move of placing two aircraft carriers outside the Japanese reconnaissance range had an unexpected effect. If the Japanese discover the full aviation strength of the U.S. Navy, that is, there are only 5 aircraft carriers, and now only 2 are intact and 1 is severely damaged, then the Japanese Navy, which has gained aviation superiority, will definitely take the initiative to seek a war. At this time, just one aircraft carrier is the difference between heaven and hell. However, fortunately for the Americans, they are clearly in hell, but the Japanese mistakenly think that they are in heaven!

"So what about the auxiliary forces of the U.S. fleet? For example, seaplane carriers, destroyers and other warships." Motaro Yoshimatsu continued to ask.

"The Americans have at least 4 or more seaplane carriers. As for destroyers? There are too many of them, and the battle scene is very chaotic, so we don't have an exact number, but according to our estimates, the Americans have at least 50 or more The destroyers are all ocean-going destroyers with a displacement of at least 1,500 tons, which are completely different from our escort destroyers or large torpedo boats." Shimamura Hayao said.

"In addition to our advantages in capital ships, we are completely at a disadvantage in armored cruisers and destroyers. We can't even bring out an old armored cruiser now. The warships that participated in the war to break the diplomatic ties are under maintenance, and there are only two cruisers accompanying the fleet. With a light cruiser, our destroyer squadron was unable to reopen the opponent's escort fleet, and it was also unable to prevent the opponent's lightning strike." Suzuki Kantaro said.

"We still have two dreadnoughts. Do we want to take them with us?" an officer said.

"That will slow us down. These two battleships are taking too long, and the maximum speed may not even reach 19 knots." Another officer said. Afterwards, the entire venue fell into silence, and everyone was weighing how to fight this battle.

The Japanese were in hesitation, because some deviations in intelligence caused them to hesitate. A battle with the American fleet was necessary, but how to fight was a problem. After several large-scale naval battles, the naval battle had gradually formed a pattern. A relatively fixed template, aircraft carriers are responsible for reconnaissance, air defense and attack on all other battleships except capital ships. After gaining aviation superiority, carrier-based aircraft turned to cooperate with battleships and the enemy's main fleet in decisive battles, and aircraft carriers became one of the prerequisites for victory. one.

Now, except in bad weather when aircraft carrier-based aircraft cannot be dispatched, no one is willing to engage in a close battle with the opponent's main fleet when the opponent has aviation superiority. The Americans are afraid of the four aircraft carriers of the Japanese Combined Fleet, and They chose to find a way to destroy the Japanese aircraft carrier before engaging in a fleet decisive battle, and the Japanese did the same, but due to errors in judgment, the Japanese were hesitant. The Japanese are even worried about how the Japanese fleet will intercept the US fleet if it rushes out of the Sulawesi Sea immediately.

Interception means a collision between the main fleets of both sides, and before the battleships fight, the Japanese will suffer from the battle between the aircraft carriers of both sides. If luck is worse and the American aircraft carrier severely damages the Japanese aircraft carrier and still retains a certain combat effectiveness, then the Japanese will have no choice but to give up this war.

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