Another World: Naval Storm

On July 7, Japan announced the severance of diplomatic relations with the Russian Empire. After the Tsar learned the news, he ordered the Pacific Fleet Commander Stark not to fire the first shot and not to give the Japanese an excuse. The Tsar forgot that the Japanese were not trustworthy and liked to launch surprise attacks.

July 7, Imperial Household Agency, Imperial Conference.

"Take advantage of the Rakshasa Army's lack of preparation and its distance from the rear supply base, and first annihilate the Rakshasa Pacific Fleet with a surprise attack, seize the sea control of the Yellow Sea and the Japanese Sea, ensure the Imperial Army's landing in Goryeo and Liaodong Peninsula, and occupy Mashijin. Then concentrate the main force of the army and strive to annihilate the Rakshasa Army in Liaoyang and Fengtian before the Rakshasa reinforcements arrive in the Far East. Your Majesty, this is a plan decided by the army and navy after many consultations!" Army Chief of Staff Tamagone Kotaro introduced to Emperor Kikuchi who came to listen to the imperial meeting. This is a plan that emphasizes quick victory and offensive operations, and attaches importance to the struggle for sea control. This plan is strikingly similar to the Japanese battle plan at the beginning of the 1894 Xun-Wa War.

"Thank you for your hard work, Lord Dongping. You will lead the combined fleet this time. I am really worried about the others!" Emperor Kikuchi personally appointed the generals.

"Yes, I will do my best for the empire!" Dongping Xia Saburo quickly bowed in response.

"I hereby declare war on the Rakshasa Empire. All soldiers and generals on land and sea must engage in the battle with all their might; all officials must perform their duties diligently; and all the people of the country must perform their duties. We must be of one mind and fully mobilize the country's total strength to achieve the goal of the war." Emperor Kikuchi declared war on Rakshasa.

"Long live the emperor!" All the ministers present stood up and began to flatter him.

July 1904, 7, Sasebo Naval Port, Japan.

The huge Japanese Combined Fleet is parked here, and the commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Tohei Shimosaburo, is holding a swearing-in ceremony.

"His Majesty the Emperor has ordered a war against the Russians. The rise and fall of the empire depends on this one move. Let us all work together!" He then picked up the wine glass and drank it all.

"Hi! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empire!" The Japanese officers and soldiers in naval uniforms threw their wine glasses down after drinking and ran towards their warships in an orderly manner.

The Combined Fleet set sail from Sasebo and headed for the northern part of the Hwangsu Sea. On the 14th, the 4th Squadron, which was responsible for attacking Incheon Port, led by Rear Admiral Ueki Tokichi, left the main force of the Combined Fleet and headed for the Incheon waters. The 2200 army officers and soldiers scheduled to land in Incheon also went with the team on transport ships. The main force of the Combined Fleet continued to move towards Maseokjin and Bincheng.

At 7:14 on July 15, the Guess fleet encountered the Rakshasa cruisers "Korean" and "Viking" near the Palmido Lighthouse in Incheon. The Japanese ships immediately launched an attack, firing the first shot of the Romanian-Japanese War.

"The Japanese have declared war on us?" the captain of the Korean ship roared, and the battleship was surrounded by water columns and explosions caused by shells.

"This is a shameless sneak attack!"

"Report, the Japanese asked us to surrender and disarm, and they guarantee our safety!" an officer reported.

"Bullshit, I will never surrender, fight back!" The captains of the two warships chose to refuse to surrender and made their attitude clear with continuous firepower. It is worth noting that the news of the attack did not spread.

The counterattack was somewhat futile. The combined firepower of the two cruisers was no match for a Mikasa battleship of the 4th Squadron, let alone the entire th Squadron. The Koryo and Viking held out for a full hour under the fire of the th Squadron. The Koryo was hit by a shell in the ammunition depot, and then the whole ship was on fire. The Viking luckily escaped death with the help of fireworks rising into the sky.

An hour later, the 4th Squadron approached Incheon Port and began to cover the landing of the Japanese Army. The next day, the Japanese warships damaged the 6500-ton Rakshasas warship Varan and forced it to sink. This time, the Viking was no longer lucky and eventually exploded and sank. The Japanese Army thus obtained the conditions to establish a landing combat base on the west coast of Goryeo.

More than an hour after the Battle of Incheon, the Japanese Combined Fleet issued an order to attack Mashijin Port. Mashijin Port was originally the base of the Beiyang Navy of Xunyang. It was occupied by Japan after the Xunyang-Japan War. Later, the Xunyang government leased it to the Russian Empire. The Russian Navy expanded it and strengthened its coastal defense facilities. The main force of the Pacific Fleet was stationed there, making it the only ice-free port in the Far East of Russia. Before the war, the Russian Fleet lined up its main ships in Mashijin Port to prevent attacks from Japanese ships.

"Please, Asai-kun!" Tohei Shimosaburo said to Asai. "The visibility is poor at night, so you must aim for the biggest shot!"

The lax defense of the Rakshasa people gave the Japanese warships an opportunity to take advantage. The two sides had been at odds for a long time, but the Rakshasa warships in Mashijin Port were still "sleeping" peacefully. The 16 main warships were anchored in the port. The captains of each warship had just held a meeting around 23:00. The fleet commander, Vice Admiral Stark, insisted that the war would not start and ordered the ships not to hang anti-torpedo nets. Later, Vice Admiral Stark made another stupid move. He was worried about causing a collision between warships in the dark, so he ordered each warship to turn on the identification sidelights. In the Japanese sneak attack later, these warships became targets for Japanese destroyers.

"Closer, closer! Fire!" Asai prayed that the Russians would not discover them.

"what is that?"

The sentries on duty on the Pallas saw countless white lines rushing towards them.

At midnight, Asai led 10 destroyers to sneak into Mashijin Port and released torpedoes at the Rakshasa warships with identification lights on. The leading Japanese destroyer Baiyun released all the torpedoes and then escaped. The Rakshasa Empire's protected cruiser "Palas" became the first unlucky ghost. Two shots hit the hull and instantly stirred up a huge water column. The other 9 destroyers also dropped torpedoes and turned around to run away. After all, these Rakshasa Empire giant ships in front of them only need one shot to overturn their small boats. All they can do is to sneak attack as soon as possible and then take advantage of the chaos of the Rakshasa Navy to escape. The Japanese Navy's sneak attack ended quickly. In addition to the Pallas, the battleship Chasarevic and the cruiser Relvezan also took on serious water and were forced to run aground in the shallow water of the port. All three warships needed major repairs. During the retreat, two destroyers in the destroyer formation led by Asai were also injured. Losing three warships before the battle even started is not good news.

At noon on July 7, the main force led by Tohei Shimosaburo arrived at Majinkou.

"We must lure the Russians out. It is a foolish decision to use naval guns and coastal defense guns to bombard them!"