Republic of China game

Page 372

"How much time has passed?"

"50 minutes!" The staff officer replied after thinking about the departure time of the Changgu Detachment.

How much time has passed?Minai Mitsumasa felt his eyes go black for a while, how did the time pass so much slower than in the geisha hall when he was under the bomb!

……

Nanyang Fleet flagship Zhongshan aircraft carrier.

In the command center, Zhao Zheng, Meng Hailong, and German military adviser Lu Steyan sat around the chart table, anxiously waiting for the battle report from the front line. The shouts of the soldiers and the sound of the guns on the battlefield are transmitted here.

From the cheers of the pilots, Zhao Zheng and others knew that the two Japanese aircraft carriers had been hit by many bombs and torpedoes, but the problem was that Long Yuhui and Li Yong, who were in charge of the command, never reported the sinking of the aircraft carrier. Good news!Not even news of the big break came.

Zhao Zheng looked anxiously at the sea chart. The models of three heavy cruisers were placed on it, and the model that marked the First Air Fleet was getting closer and closer.Those were the three Japanese heavy cruisers Ashigara, Haguro, and Nachi. Among them, Ashigara and Haguro approached from the east, while Nachi left behind the dying light cruisers Fuzhou and Hangzhou. , came from the northeast, but their whereabouts were all discovered by seaplanes.

"How much time do we have?" Zhao Zheng turned his head and asked Meng Hailong.

"There is still an hour and a half! After recovering the plane, we have to leave quickly. They have three heavy cruisers, and they cannot be protected by the Selim Sultan."

Chapter 0595 war of aggression against Japan! ([-]) Being underestimated?

"The first attack wave has all been completed and started to return. It is confirmed that the aircraft carrier Akagi and Kaga were the primary targets. Among them, Akagi was hit by four bombs, three torpedoes were fired, the hull tilted, and the speed dropped; Kaga was hit by five bombs. Four torpedoes were fired, the bow of the ship sank significantly, and the speed dropped; in addition, it sank a Tama-class light cruiser, and lost six dive bombers and eight torpedo planes."

"Well, that's right. Nine bombs and seven torpedoes were hit in the first wave of attack. Such a result is not bad. After all, it's an actual combat. They did a good job! I will ask for credit for them when I go back." After listening to the staff officer Reporting, Zhao Zheng raised his hand. Although he was not very satisfied with the result of the battle in his heart, he still looked beaming on the surface.

"We still have one hour, two and ten minutes. Are we going to launch a second attack?" Meng Hailong frowned. He didn't know how powerful the Japanese surface ships were, but the results of the battle in front of him were a little bit less. Moreover, the two Japanese aircraft carriers have already been severely damaged. If there is another wave of attack, they are very likely to be sunk, but the Japanese heavy cruiser is almost here.

"Launch another wave...it's too late." Zhao Zheng glanced at the three heavy cruiser models on the chart and shook his head: "We should turn west now, or else..."

"Commander, the seaplane of the Nanchang light cruiser sent a telegram, and found a Japanese fleet, two battleships, one aircraft carrier, and two heavy cruisers. The bearing is XXX east longitude and XXX north latitude." The communication staff officer's report interrupted Zhao Right words.

"Then the Japanese fleet has already appeared." Zhao Zheng returned his gaze to the chart platform, and now all three Japanese fleets have been discovered, two in the waters south of Dongsha, one in the east of Dongsha, and Three heavy cruisers and several destroyers are approaching their first air fleet, and finally a heavy cruiser with a damaged rudder is sailing to the coast of French Indochina.

"Commander, the Japanese fleet seems to be concentrated in the northern part of the South China Sea, and the south is empty, why not..." Meng Hailong moved closer to Zhao Zheng and muttered in a low voice.

"Let's go to the south?" Zhao Zheng was surprised for a moment, and suddenly felt that his eyes suddenly opened up.The Japanese aircraft carrier is in the east, and the aircraft carrier commanded by Zhao Zheng is in the west. If Zhao Zheng chooses to retreat to the west... the Japanese aircraft carrier will soon leave the combat radius of A2A and Martin T4M, but it will be different if it turns to the south.

"Exactly." Meng Hailong smiled deeply: "The Japanese aircraft carrier is expected to retreat to the southeast. If the First Air Fleet commanded by Zhao Zheng retreats to the south and then turns to the east, there should be a chance to launch another wave. Even a few waves of bombing!"

"Of course, the Japanese will soon find our tracks. I guess they will follow us southward and bite us tightly... However, that also has an advantage, that is, if the Akagi and the Kaga are still missing If they are willing to sink, there will not be enough escort ships to escort them home. We can send submarines to wait for them in Bashi Strait and Luzon Strait."

"How much is the supply and fuel?" Zhao Zheng drew a circle along the South China Sea, the Java Sea, the Sulawesi Sea, the Pacific Ocean, and the East China Sea with his fingers, and said with a smile: "There is a range of [-] to [-] kilometers. Woolen cloth!"

"The supply and fuel are not too big of a problem." Meng Hailong paused, then suddenly smiled: "Actually, we can still do this..." He whispered a few words in Zhao Zheng's ear.

"Good! It's a good idea!" Zhao Zheng laughed and applauded.

"Order the Selim Sultan to lead the First Torpedo Boat Squadron to block three Japanese heavy cruisers."

"Order the main force of the First Air Fleet to turn south at full speed, and order Nanchang and Hefei to approach the main force of the fleet."

"Navigation, calculate the position of the fleet's main force heading south at full speed for an hour, and send it to the carrier-based aircraft that is returning."

After Zhao Zheng gave the order, he turned to Luo Youjun: "Let's prepare for the second wave of air strikes, which will start in two hours."

……

At 3 o'clock on March 18, in the waters south of the Dongsha Islands.

The bow of the Nagato plowed a snow-white spray, and the course was straight to the east.The sailors on the deck are already in their positions, all the anti-aircraft guns are pointing at the blue sky, and the watchmen on the lookout post are also nervously looking at the west sky with their binoculars.

Kanji Kato and Shintaro Shimada stood side by side on the bridge, looking at the blue and turbulent South China Sea in front of them. Several staff officers were reporting the latest battle report to them.

"Your Excellency, the Hase detachment (composed of three heavy cruisers, Nachi, Haguro, and Ashigara, and two destroyers) encountered the China fleet two hundred nautical miles west of the Dongsha Islands. China had a battlecruiser and six destroyers, but no aircraft carrier was found. .”

Speaking of not finding an aircraft carrier, the face of the combat staff was also full of frustration. He did not expect that the battlecruisers of the Chinese would actually form a formation with the aircraft carrier!With this big guy equipped with 10 280mm naval guns blocking it there, the Chinese aircraft carrier must have escaped without a trace.

Kanji Kato sighed lightly, shook his head, and remained silent, but Shimodaro Shimada pretended to be pleasantly surprised and said: "Your Excellency, it is a great victory to sink the only battlecruiser in China! The combined fleet can also blockade the South China Sea to force China to seek peace."

Kato Kanji smiled wryly, and nodded: "If you can't catch an aircraft carrier, it's good to catch a battle cruiser. Send an order to let the Zhenming go to reinforce. The first fleet will meet with the first air fleet first, and then prepare retreat."

"Retreat? But your Excellency, the Chinese aircraft carrier has not gone far, we still have a chance!"

"No, not anymore. Their seaplanes have spotted us, and these Chinese people actually ambushed the light cruiser to the south of us. It's really..."

"But how do we explain to His Majesty the Emperor and the people if we retreat like this?" Shigetaro Shimada exclaimed loudly.

This time the United Fleet launched a large-scale attack to rescue the Taiwan Army. Now the Taiwan Army is still dying, but the rescuer of the United Fleet ran away first. The crime of losing Taiwan will fall on the navy. Therefore, Shigetaro Shimada That's why I asked.

"Both the Akagi and the Kaga have been severely damaged. Now they need to be sent back for overhaul as soon as possible. The combined fleet needs to escort them through the Luzon Strait with the main force." Kato Kanji hesitated and gave his reasons.

Shimada knew that Kato was worried that China's submarines would block the Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel, blocking the United Fleet's retreat, especially the two aircraft carriers whose speed dropped after being severely damaged were the best targets for submarine sneak attacks.Only by escorting them back with the main force of the combined fleet can we ensure nothing goes wrong.Now that there is no chance to hit the sinking aircraft carrier, it is not worth letting the Kaga and Akagi take risks.He sighed, and just as he was about to arrange a retreat, the sound of hurried footsteps came from behind.

"Report, received an urgent message from the First Air Fleet, about a hundred Chinese planes are now rapidly approaching them!"

This news suddenly raised the atmosphere in the bridge. Kanji Kato hurriedly walked to the chart and asked, "Where is the First Air Fleet now? Where did the plane come from?"

"Here." The communications officer pointed to a certain position on the chart: "It's less than 100 nautical miles away from us. We are now at 25 knots, and we will be able to rendezvous with the First Air Fleet in four hours."

"In addition, according to reports from seaplanes, the attack wave of the Chinese aircraft came from the southwest! The Chinese aircraft carrier did not return, but went around to the southwest."

"southwest!"

Hearing these two words, let alone the staff officers of the United Fleet, even Kanji Kato felt his heart warm.

The plane is coming from the southwest, so the aircraft carrier is naturally also in that direction!In other words, the Japanese combined fleet still has a chance to destroy them. Of course, the prerequisite for destroying them is to block the return route of the Chinese aircraft carrier.

……

bang bang...

Clouds of explosion smoke exploded from a distance, as if forming a gray curtain in front of him, which made Long Yuhui frown. He didn't expect that the two heavily damaged Japanese aircraft carriers still had such powerful anti-aircraft firepower. It seems that this battle must have a few more brothers "go back to their hometown".

"Follow me, the dive bombers, at an altitude of 4000 meters." Long Yuhui pulled the joystick lightly after giving the order, and led the dive bombers to seize the attack position.

"Spread out, form four or four."

"Angle 120, low altitude!"

"1 to 5 groups of Kaga; 6 to 10 groups of Akagi, attacking from both wings!"

The commander-in-chief of the torpedo planes, Lieutenant Colonel Li Yong, also issued an order to attack. After receiving the order, the forty torpedo planes immediately dispersed into ten groups of four aircraft formations, each of them looked for the target and started another assault.

The huge fleet quickly dispersed into dozens of attack groups, either diving down and dropping bombs, or launching torpedo attacks.This tactic of diving bombs and torpedo attacks at the same time made the Japanese fleet's anti-aircraft artillery fire suddenly sparse.Because anti-aircraft artillery fire faces aircrafts that are constantly changing altitudes, it is necessary to adjust the angle in time and replace different fuzes, which inevitably reduces the speed of anti-aircraft artillery fire.

The sparse artillery fire naturally couldn't stop the surging aircraft, and the dive bombers were the first to attack.The three-aircraft formation dived and dropped bombs from three directions at the same time. One group completed the attack, and the other group followed immediately. Forty-two dive bombers formed fourteen groups, and each aircraft carrier spread out to seven groups, and 42 21-kilogram bombs roared down.

Boom boom boom...