Great time travel

Chapter 19. Raid on Etajima

However, for the old navy, Principal Takeo Kurita, he no longer cares about how miserable the army red deer was bombed.Because there came another bad news that made him even more heartbroken: the fourth Yamato-class ship Kii, which was under construction in the Kure Port Naval Factory, was blown up!
As the final decisive weapon of the Japanese Empire, the Yamato-class battleship should have four sisters according to the original plan: Yamato, Musashi, Shinano and Kii.When the Pacific War broke out, only the first ship Yamato was launched into service.Later, Musashi and Shinano were also completed and shipped.Because the search for Nanyang was very fruitful, financial resources and materials were quite abundant, and the performance of the Yamato-class ships on the Nanyang battlefield was amazing, so the construction of the fifth Yamato-class battleship Mino started at the Naval Factory of the Yokosuka tutelary government. The USS was finally launched this spring and sailed to the Indian Ocean to participate in the Battle of Bombay.

On the contrary, the fourth ship of the Wugang Naval Factory, the Kii, first delayed the start date because of the need to free up the berth to build an aircraft carrier and a fast troop carrier.Later, there were a bunch of messy accidents, and as a result, the construction progress fell behind the fifth ship, Mino. It has been procrastinating until now, and the hull is finally 98% complete. I went into the water, but I didn't want to encounter this big bombing by the US military!

Obviously, the U.S. troops who have landed in Japan have quite accurate information on the inside information of the Imperial Japanese Navy. During the air strike, it is clear that the Kure Port Naval Factory, which is building the battleship Kii, is the number one key bombing target... Fifteen times before and after A 1-pound "earthquake bomb" nicknamed "Goblet" hit the Wugang Naval Factory. Together with other incendiary bombs and gas bombs, more than a thousand workers were killed.

Three of the "earthquake bombs" accurately hit the Kii under construction. The huge kinetic energy and powerful explosion equivalent caused the unlaunched warship to be broken immediately, and the original complete hull was dug out. There are three horrible holes.Especially in the rear stern, not only the No. [-] main turret was turned into steel garbage, but also a huge hole was cut below, blasting through the third deck, shaking the turbine pipeline inside into a mess.

Fortunately, the battleship has not been launched yet, and there is no fuel or ammunition in it, otherwise, the explosion of the oil bomb will turn the ship into a steel twist.

When Principal Takeo Kurita, who hurried over to inspect the situation, stood in the factory where the fireworks were still on, and asked the factory manager if he could still repair and build the Kii, the factory manager shook his head sadly, "... It can't be done, sir. To repair such damage and complete the ship, I need sixteen cooperative companies including the Wartime Headquarters, the Ministry of the Navy, the Naval Administration Headquarters, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and more than [-] suppliers to provide parts. Supporting manufacturers... Only a complete Japanese Empire can build such a great warship. And now, there are only a few broken wrecks left in the Empire."

Regarding this, Principal Keno Kurita couldn't think of anything other than sighing regretfully...

After inspecting the Wugang Naval Factory, which was almost in ruins, and encouraged the rescue team who were digging up survivors in the ruins, Takeo Kurita was about to go to the field hospital to see if President Jisaburo Ozawa of the Naval University had woken up, but suddenly I remembered a very important thing:
The new commander of the United Fleet who broke into his office just before the bombing by the US plane suddenly ran from Truk Atoll to Admiral Narumi Inoue at the Etajima Naval Academy. Where is he now?

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One of the safest places in the entire Jiangtian Island sea area, on the legendary destroyer Yukikaze with its auspicious halo, the new commander of the United Fleet, Admiral Inoue Narumi, led a large group of people, with nervous and serious expressions, huddled in the current captain's temple. The lieutenant's captain's room.

According to the introduction of Miss Xuefeng, the ship's mother, Comrade Wang Qiu, who claims to be a "special commissioner of the Communist International", is manipulating the black technology props [Mini Reconnaissance Satellite] of the Doraemon plane here, using the photos taken by satellites to send These people showed the size and orientation of the attacking US fleet.

In fact, Admiral Halsey didn't want to hide his fleet at all, and from the beginning he wanted to attack head-on.It is a pity that after the collapse of the Japanese imperial government, the intelligence capabilities of the remaining Japanese troops in the Hiroshima area were truly tragic. Even if they were fighting on their own land, their eyes were darkened, and they were unaware of the invasion of the U.S. military. Let the naval aviation of the Halsey fleet achieve the miraculous effect of a surprise attack.

"... 26 regular aircraft carriers and light aircraft carriers, 38 escort aircraft carriers, [-] battleships, [-] cruisers, more than [-] destroyers and frigates each, plus at least [-] auxiliary ships, submarines hidden under the water surface I don't know how many..."

Looking at the rows of giant steel ships covering the sea on the screen, Wang Qiu couldn't help but feel a little moved: he was very clear about how strong the military industrial production capacity of the United States of America was when it was fully mobilized during World War II. What a level of despair.

In another world, the Yankees pulled up a huge army of 200 million during World War II. While racing tens of thousands of tanks and tens of thousands of planes on the European battlefield, they sent troops across the Himalayas. Chairman Jiang's muddy national government gave blood transfusions, and at the same time organized the Liberty Ship Fleet to sail the North Pacific and Indian Ocean routes, and used hundreds of ships of supplies to assist the Soviet Union's steel uncle. Aircraft carriers, countless landing ships, the strategic bombing of burning down a city every week plus atomic bombings, taught the Japanese devils how to behave... Finally, they brutally abused the ferocious Japanese devils from wolves to dogs, forcing these The dwarfs in the island country have degenerated their cute skills...

In this time and space, the U.S. military has basically ceased fire in the European battlefield for more than half a year, and only the limited expenditure of aiding the United Kingdom remains.It seems normal for Admiral Halsey to quickly assemble such a huge fleet on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, and deal a fatal blow to the remaining local Japanese troops with thunderous momentum.

On the other hand, although the reconnaissance effect of the [Mini Reconnaissance Satellite] amazed the Japanese navy generals, but for them who already knew the existence of the ship and had witnessed many miracles, even if the [Mini Reconnaissance Satellite] No matter how amazing the principles and functions of ] are, they are a little numb.After all, they don't really understand the difficulty of launching a satellite into orbit, but they have seen a huge factory born in the wilderness... Instead of caring about these technical issues, it is better to study and judge the current battle situation. More important and fatal things.

In short, Admiral Narumi Inoue turned around and took out a ruler and a map. After a rough calculation, he found that the U.S. naval aviation launched an air strike on Kure Port from Tosa Bay. Even if it had to cross Shikoku Island and the Seto Inland Sea, the straight-line distance was only about [-] kilometers.This may have been a very long distance in ancient times, but in the naval aviation confrontation of World War II, it was only half an hour's journey for the bomber formation to fly, and it was not a hindrance at all.

As for the U.S. Army’s B-29 four-engine strategic bomber formation that bombed Kure Port, Eta Island, and Hiroshima at the same time, according to reconnaissance, they all took off from Japan’s mainland, Tokyo, Yokohama, Chiba, or Sendai, which have been occupied by the U.S. Army. Wugang is less than a thousand kilometers away.Moreover, it is a traditional and prosperous place in modern Japan. Even if Tokyo suffered a nuclear explosion, there are still many civil and military airports left, and towers, hangars, and oil depots are all ready-made.As long as the U.S. military slightly repairs and strengthens the runway, or lengthens the runway, and then uses the fleet to pull fuel and ammunition there, and then let the B-29 take off from Midway Island or Hawaii, then it is a ready-made air strike base.Well, maybe even aviation gasoline can use leftover Japanese products!
Although it is not known whether the Japanese troops in the eastern region had time to destroy the airport and oil depots before retreating or evacuating.But even if they really do this, with the engineering capabilities of the US military, as long as they directly pave the ground with steel plates and lay quick-drying cement, it will take a day or two to repair it...

Thinking of this, Admiral Narumi Inoue couldn't help but feel a burst of despair: such a huge disparity in strength, and the fact that people's hearts are not on the same page, how can we fight this battle?
However, Masamichi Terauchi, the captain of the Yukikaze, paid more attention to another aspect of the matter: "...such a large American fleet is deployed in Tosa Bay, south of Shikoku Island? It is less than [-] kilometers away from the coast ! And we don’t know anything?! Could it be that everyone in Kochi Prefecture is dead?!!”

He waved his fist excitedly, "...As long as a plane takes off, a fishing boat goes out to sea, no, even if a high-powered telescope is set up on a mountain by the sea, they should be able to detect the enemy's situation! Even if they are really dull and numb The level of medical treatment, but after the air raid started yesterday, seeing so many planes flying overhead, Kochi County should at least give us a radio warning!"

"...Well, I'm afraid people in Kochi County know everything, but they never thought of telling others! Especially the naval fleet in Wugang!"

"Primary school student" ship girl Sophie Xuefeng shrugged her shoulders and said, "...according to the communication I just intercepted, Kochi County has learned at least the day before yesterday that there is a very large American fleet not far from the southern coast. Wandering, before the air strikes started yesterday morning, the county governor also issued a warning notice to all towns in Kochi Prefecture, ordering fishermen in the entire county to never go out to sea, but it seems that he never thought of reminding the navy in Wugang.”

"...How could this be?! What a bunch of damned non-citizens!" Hearing this, a young naval officer's eyes turned red with anger.

"...Hehe, now that even the Japanese Empire is gone, how can there be any distinction between nationals and non-nationals?"

Xuefeng Loli curled her lips, "...If it was in normal times, of course this kind of thing would have to be reported directly to the Tokyo headquarters, otherwise it would be a crime of dereliction of duty. But now Tokyo has been razed to the ground, and the emperor and the cabinet have been turned into ashes , Where should the Kochi County Office report? Moreover, Kochi Prefecture has no affiliation with Hiroshima Prefecture, and they are not even neighboring counties. One is in Shikoku Island and the other is in Honshu Island. They can remind Wu Gang that it is selfless assistance, but even if they silently It cannot be said that it is a mistake to keep silent and pretend to be deaf and dumb. Besides, the people on Shikoku Island cannot be sure that this American fleet is here to attack Kure Port! Maybe it is preparing to attack Kyoto or Osaka? In that case , It’s better to have one thing more than one thing less, just keep your mouth shut.”

"...This is still looking for the best. If there is a worse situation, maybe some counties and cities have secretly colluded with the U.S. military! Otherwise, how dare the U.S. military dare to move the fleet so close to the coast with confidence? Don't say it's impossible! Don't forget, even the remnants of the Guards Division, who are the "Emperor's Imperial Guards", have now sold themselves to the "Japanese Provisional Government" in Yokohama, regardless of the hatred of the country and the family, and have become the U.S. Army How can we expect other citizens to still fight faithfully?" Admiral Narumi Inoue said with a gloomy face.

—Similar situations like this have also happened in the previous Japanese history. As a nation accustomed to obeying the strong, the Japanese are as famous for their obedience and unyielding perseverance.After the Fallen War broke out and the battle of Fushimi Toba was decided, the distance from Kyoto to Edo was such a long distance that the Meiji imperial court's thousands of troops from the east were all without bloodshed. The Bailai number Lengtouqing from the selected group fought a battle.So many other castles and vassal states on Tōkaidō all surrendered without a fight, and in the end even the Edo shogunate took the initiative to kneel down.

When people of later generations talk about the events of the end of the Tokugawa period, they often talk about the fighting between the Shinsengumi and the reformers, but they seldom think about it carefully. After the famous family, such as the descendants of the "Four Heavenly Kings of Tokugawa" back then, and even the head of the family branch with the surnames Tokugawa and Matsudaira, they knelt faster one by one when the building was about to collapse.Instead, the Shinsengumi, a group of "temporary workers" who had been recruited by the shogunate for a few years, fought to the last moment under the banner of the shogunate in the ice and snow of Hokkaido?
The reason is simple. When faced with adversity, the bones of those with vested interests are always the softest, even if they have taken advantage of the old system.In fact, it is precisely because they have too many things in their hands that they think that even if they change their dynasties, they will not lose everything, so they are always keen to exchange the fate and future of the country and the nation for their own interests, and even try to use the butcher's knife of the invaders to wipe out their own interests. Others of the same kind, let their power rise to a higher level.

The same is true today. After the Tokyo nuclear explosion, facing the American Halsey fleet that came across the ocean, there are indeed some Japanese cities that jumped out to resist the invasion of the US military, but not many. The total is Nagoya and Hiroshima. , Kyoto, etc., and to a large extent, they were all coerced by radical soldiers.The attitude of the local governments of most other counties and cities in Japan has so far been silent, so silent that it is frightening.

Even the will to fight of the native army seems suspicious.Before the Halsey fleet swept the major cities along the eastern coast of Japan, at most the Japanese anti-aircraft artillery units and aviation units on the ground would resist when the bombers approached, and they never organized a follow-up pursuit.

As for the Japanese submarines, torpedo boats, and destroyers scattered in various ports in the Northeast, they did not carry out any decent sneak attacks or counterattacks, and they did not even take the initiative to go to sea to break the war and attack the US military's maritime logistics transportation lines. They just rushed to the rear away from the US military. run wildly.

There are also wealthy chaebols such as Mitsubishi, Mitsui, and Sumitomo. The hundreds of thousands of Japanese Imperial Navy and Army soldiers in Hiroshima looked around with grief and anger, only to find that they were fighting the enemy as if they were in a foreign country instead of fighting the enemy in their own homeland.

There is no war of resistance by the whole people, let alone the destruction of the whole country, only the chaotic spontaneous resistance of a few soldiers.

Comparing it with history, it feels like hundreds of years ago after the fall of a certain prince during the Warring States Period in Japan, the remnants of the party either hibernated and waited and watched, or turned to surrender, or launched a campaign to avenge their family, while the vast majority of ordinary people stood Watching the excitement from the sidelines is basically the same.

"...According to what I heard, the situation in Nagoya and Kyoto is also very bad. A US Marine Corps has landed in Shizuoka City at the foot of Mount Fuji, and is about to attack the No.60 Fifth Division defending Nagoya Offensive. The Nagoya defenders rushed to repair the fortifications and asked for help everywhere, but all parts of the mainland were silent. In Kyoto, although Major General Masanobu Tsuji's bandit hunting army wanted to support them, they had only pulled up less than [-] troops these days. And there is nowhere to raise guns and ammunition. Major General Tsuji Masanobu flew to Hiroshima the day before yesterday, hoping to get relief from the Kwantung Army."

After being silent for a while, the captain of the Yukikaze, Masamichi Terauchi, added, "...It's a pity, seeing Hiroshima's current state of being bombed to pieces, regarding the request for help from Kyoto and the war in Nagoya, The Kwantung Army and the Korean Army are probably helpless as well."

"... Now that the location of the U.S. mobile fleet (that is, the aircraft carrier formation) is clear, can't we launch a wave of counterattack?"

A naval staff officer knocked on the table angrily, "...Although Wugang no longer has an aircraft carrier, there are still shore-based aviation with thousands of aircraft, and there is a refitted aircraft carrier Shenying in the Sasebo tutelary fortress! No matter what Have you been passively beaten?"

"...I'm afraid it will be difficult. After the air strike, the U.S. aircraft carrier mobile fleet retreated eastward one after another. The photos displayed on the screen just now were twelve hours ago. Now they should have reached the south of the Kii Peninsula, beyond The strike range of the Wugang Naval Air Force was also limited."

Wang Qiu shrugged and replied, "...Besides, with the number of aircraft and the density of air defense firepower of this American fleet, the bombers and torpedo planes sent from Wugang may not be able to break through the opponent's air defense circle at all. They will be beaten down by the Americans like a turkey."

"...It is true that the quality of the local pilots is simply not comparable to that of the Nanyang frontline. If a submarine was dispatched in advance to ambush, maybe there could be some gains, but Kurita did nothing... What's more, we probably didn't Command the navy, army and air forces here in Hiroshima."

Admiral Narumi Inoue said with a darker face, "... No matter from which point of view, they have no obligation to obey our command."

Then, Wang Qiu discovered a new enemy situation on the screen: "... Well, according to the newly taken satellite photos, the formation of B-29 'Super Sky Fortress' bombers deployed by the US military in Chiba County seems to be a few hours ago. They are dispatched together again! This time their bombing target is...Kyoto!"