Chapter 964: Still Have to Rely on the Yamato?
The Battle of Christmas Island in September 1943 and the subsequent "Grand Fleet Breaking Battle" produced a consequence that Hersman did not expect - naval experts from all over the world began to doubt the "aviation victory theory", which had already been reduced to The battleships that serve as aircraft carrier escorts and landing support ships have the opportunity to take charge.
Of course, naval experts who hold this view do not deny the role of aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft, but believe that aircraft carriers and battleships are two types of capital ships that are interdependent. They must be used in conjunction to lock in the victory of the naval battle.
The specific cooperation methods refer to the experience of the Battle of Christmas Island. The aircraft carrier can adopt an all-fighter configuration, while the battleships accompany the aircraft carrier in action, and are supplemented by escort ships with powerful anti-aircraft firepower to form a huge formation. Then he swaggered towards the enemy's frontline island to seek a decisive battle.
To deal with such a fleet with extremely powerful anti-aircraft firepower, ordinary aviation warfare methods alone cannot deal with it - for example, Japan lost hundreds of excellent pilots in the Battle of Christmas Island. Although it sank a large number of ships, it still The gain outweighs the loss, and the vitality of the aviation force is greatly reduced!
The correct tactic should be to assemble several Yamato-class battleships and other Japanese Navy battleships, escorted by aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and other ships, and go to the battlefield to collide with the huge American fleet. Rely on the powerful destructive power of Yamato-class battleships to destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
"Boom boom boom..."
On February 20, 1944, when Palmyra Atoll was finally occupied by the US military, all the 2,000 Japanese troops on the island were reduced to gods. Isoroku Yamamoto was watching the test firing of the main gun of the battleship "Kii" in Danguan Bay, Elofu Island, the anchorage of the United Fleet.
According to the Japanese Navy's battle trial procedures, the main gun test firing is the last step of the trial. After the test is completed, the trial will be over and the battleship will officially join the combined fleet.
The "Ki" battleship tested today is the fourth ship of the "Yamato" class. Historically, it was suspended in March 1942 and never resumed work. However, in this time and space, both the "Kii" and the "Shinano" were completed as battleships, becoming the most powerful battleships of the combined fleet.
"Great, the four Yamato-class ships have finally gathered together. Now the Battle of Hawaii has a better chance of winning!" Seeing the 460mm shells fired by the Kii stir up huge water columns on the distant sea, Japanese Navy Minister Yamamoto Marshal Fifty-Six nodded happily.
There is constant controversy within the Japanese Navy over whether to build four Yamato-class ships. Many people believe that instead of spending huge sums of money to build the "Yamato" class, it is better to build a few more aircraft carriers.
However, the experience of the "Battle of Christmas Island" just showed the limitations of relying solely on aviation warfare. Because the foundation of aviation warfare is the extremely precious carrier-based aircraft pilots - it is impossible for Japan to cultivate such elites in unlimited quantities. In the case of tight wartime fuel supply, there is no time to replenish consumption. In fierce aviation battles, it is only a matter of time before they are exhausted.
In comparison, the 3 main guns of the 4 Yamato-class battleships appear to be very reliable.
According to reliable intelligence, not only is the United States unable to build a battleship that can compete with the Yamato, but even Germany and the United Kingdom, which are known to be technologically advanced, cannot build such a powerful battleship. At least these three countries do not have 460mm-class cannons, let alone the Type 98 L45/510mm caliber naval gun that the "Yamato Kai" will use.
"Your Excellency, Marshal," Nagumo Chuichi, although he was the commander of the First Air Fleet in the early days of the Pacific War, he is not an aviation fan who is superstitious about aircraft carriers. He also has high expectations for the "Yamato Unsinkable Ship". He has great expectations for Yamamoto Go. Sixteen said, “The Combined Fleet has recently summarized the experiences and lessons learned from the Battle of Christmas Island, the Battle of the Mariana Islands (when the aircraft carrier Yorktown was sunk), the Night Battle of Midway and the Night Battle of the Palmyra Islands, and has already prepared for the upcoming decisive battle. achieved more than 70% of the cost.”
Nagumo now dare not say anything about 100% victory in front of Yamamoto, because the Japanese Navy has never fought a hearty victory since the Battle of Panama! Moreover, the recent night battles at Midway and Palmyra Atoll were very miserable.
Obviously, the U.S. surface fleet is not easy to bully!
"The 70% chance of winning is not bad," Yamamoto Isoroku retracted his gaze from the distant sea, and then nodded at Nagumo, "Germany has also taken actions in South America recently. I just received a letter from the Navy Ministry. The telegram stated that the German landing force entered Belem, an important port city in northern Brazil, on the afternoon of the 19th. In addition, a German fleet was attacking Natal, an important port in Rio Grande Norte, Brazil.
So now the Americans are on fire in their backyard and are under attack from both sides! As long as the Combined Fleet can work hard in the Battle of the Hawaiian Islands, it will inflict heavy damage to the U.S. Navy. Decent and peaceful conditions can still be expected. "
"Hai!" Nagumo Chuichi bowed respectfully after hearing Yamamoto's words of encouragement, and then showed some embarrassment on his face.
"What's the matter?" Yamamoto asked, "Do you have anything to say?"
Nan Yun nodded and lowered his voice: "Your Excellency, Marshal, there are many powerful new battleships in the European Combined Fleet, right?"
"There are 2 Hindenburg-class, 2 Bismarck-class, 4 Veneto-class, 3 Richelieu-class... a total of 11 battleships that can be called cutting-edge." Yamamoto Isoroku's tone was also slightly envious. Although Japan has the Yamato-class that it is proud of, it is still far behind Europe in the number of cutting-edge battleships. "In addition, the German Navy has also commissioned the UK to build three 43,000-ton battleships, and France and Italy both have two similar battleships under construction. It is estimated that all will be completed by next year, and Europe will have 18 cutting-edge battleships by then. So the United States will face huge pressure in the Atlantic!"
"But these European battleships can only watch now..." Nanyun Chuichi glanced at Yamamoto and said, "Now the Germans' actions in South America seem to have been decided, and it should not be a problem to mobilize 1,000 new battleships to join the 9th Fleet."
The home port of the European 9th Fleet is in Cam Ranh Bay, but due to the cooling of Japan-Germany relations, the fleet has no strength now and is basically an empty shell. Chuichi Nagumo now proposed to let Europe's new battleships join the 9th Fleet, of course, the purpose is to unite them to fight together.
He whispered: "Even if there are two more Hindenburg-class and two more Zeppelin-class ships, the Battle of the Hawaiian Islands will have a 90% chance of success."
The chance of success is high, but what about the price?
Yamamoto Isoroku just shook his head when he heard this. It is possible to ask the Germans to send fleets and aircraft. But it is not without conditions. Japan must first provide plague whole-cell vaccines (Unit 731 does not have a truly reliable whole-cell vaccine, and in fact, there is no such thing in the 21st century, but there are unreliable whole-cell vaccines), and then provide Surabaya Port as a base for Europe to counterattack Australia.
The vaccine issue is easy to say. Anyway, the Americans have been forced out now, and it is impossible for them to shrink back after getting the vaccine through various channels. But Surabaya Port...this matter cannot be agreed. Although Japan does not have the power to capture Australia and New Zealand for the time being, allowing them to return to the embrace of Europe is also extremely unfavorable to Japan in the future.
In particular, the Anglo-Japanese peace talks have been delayed until now. The British are still upset about losing Singapore and the Malay Peninsula, and hope to take them back with the help of the Germans, at least Singapore.
Germany's attitude in the Anglo-German peace talks is very ambiguous, and it has been reluctant to put pressure on London...
In addition, the Russian-Japanese peace talks are also on the verge of collapse. Olga's White Russian regime is unwilling to cede an inch of land and insists on dividing the Japanese-Russian border according to the provisions of the Treaty of Portsmouth. And this position has been supported by Germany!
Obviously, both Britain and Russia hold a hostile attitude towards Japan. And France also hates Japan because of the loss of French Indochina, but it is just suffering from signing the treaty and cannot regret it.
However, the Pétain government has recently interacted frequently with local politicians in French Indochina, and has repeatedly expressed support for the complete independence of the Kingdom of Vietnam...
It can be seen that France is also hostile to Japan!
Now the three powers in the European Community second only to Germany are full of hostility to Japan, and Britain and Russia will become members of the Hohenzollern dynasty in the future-this means that the upper aristocrats of Britain, Russia and Germany will become one in the future.
Under this prospect, Japan must be wary of the eastward expansion of the European Community.
"Don't think about this kind of thing," Yamamoto Isoroku paused, and then said to Nagumo Chuichi, "A 70% chance of winning is enough, and I look forward to the victory of the Combined Fleet.
In addition, Germany's invasion of Brazil also means that the door to peace talks between Germany and the United States has been closed. Therefore, the international situation is in my favor. As long as the Imperial Army can win in the Hawaiian Islands, peace will come soon."
...
"Sir, look there!"
Halsey, commander of the 30th Task Force, heard the voice of Chief of Staff Dennis Callahan and turned back to look at the sea outside the starboard side of the "Enterprise" aircraft carrier. He saw a huge rectangular object being towed slowly by several "Fletcher" class destroyers, and there was a circle of "Benson" class destroyers protecting it.
"Great, they finally dragged the floating dry dock here, now we can start the counterattack on the Hawaiian Islands!"
What Halsey saw turned out to be a floating dock. According to the plan, after taking Palmyra Atoll, four floating docks would be placed there to repair the damaged American ships during the attack on the Hawaiian Islands.
What appeared now was the first floating dock in place, and later there would be another three towed to the Palmyra Atoll that had just been recaptured by the US military.
When the floating dock arrived, the Palmyra Atoll, where the smell of blood and gunpowder had not yet dissipated, had become a large construction site. Engineers and engineering machinery had already landed on the island to repair the airport, build docks, and build barracks. What a hot scene of building capitalism.
And once the floating dock is in place and the airport is repaired, the Hawaiian Islands will become a purgatory of blood and fire.