Another World: Naval Storm

On August 8, when the battle in the Far East was in full swing, Kaili Naval Port.

"General Piltz, I remember that your government promised four warships, but now there are only three, and one armored cruiser is missing. And where is the fleet commander you recommended?" Lieutenant General Makanov asked in confusion.

"Be patient, General. The commander of this fleet is the most outstanding officer of the Drake Empire. He has been waiting for you in the colony of Tanganyika with the cruiser Arminius!" Piltz continued, "You have to be careful this time. The reinforcements of the 2nd and 3rd Pacific Fleets are too slow. The Tsar ordered you to take the 4th Pacific Fleet to the Far East first. I leave these good guys to you. Please get them back. Please!"

"Don't worry, the 4th Fleet will definitely avoid a head-on confrontation with the main force of the Combined Fleet!" Makanov assured. He knew that the entire fleet was composed of Drake people, and the one who had the final say was Commander Drake.

Bidding farewell to Pilz, the 4th Fleet began its long journey. The warships were flying the Drake flag, and their supplies were much better than those of the 2nd Fleet, and their speed was also faster.

The Rakshasa Empire's Pacific Second Fleet was not so lucky. It could be said that it was extremely unlucky, and misfortunes never come singly. The long journey wore away the will of the officers and soldiers.

The Russian 2nd Pacific Fleet was originally scheduled to depart in mid-March 1905, but was repeatedly postponed due to lack of preparation. It was not until the Tsar shot five or six quartermasters that the Russians, led by Lieutenant General Rozhd-Jester, hurriedly set off in mid-October.

Some ships in the fleet had not yet been fully built, so soldiers became workers and installed them while sailing. The navy officers and soldiers were temporarily assembled from various naval bases, and some were even students who had not graduated from military academies. They had low tactical and technical levels and lacked basic training.

Because the Talen government declared neutrality, the fleet was not allowed to resupply in the colonies or pass through the Suez Canal. The plan of the Rakshasa fleet was to start from the Sarmatian Sea, pass the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, cross the Borneo Ocean, then cross the Strait of Malacca, and then along the South China Sea, East China Sea and Yellow Sea until Vladivostok. The estimated voyage was 3 kilometers.

In order to solve the problem of supply and fuel, the Russian Empire fleet had to refuel at sea, trying every means to load as much as possible, so that all the open spaces such as the deck, engine room, bathroom, officers' bedrooms were filled with coal.

Overweight not only affects safety, but also speed, work and hygiene. Especially when passing through the tropical waters of the equator, the warships are like coal dumps, the sailors are in great pain, and non-combat casualties are serious. Fleet Commander Rozh-Jester even wanted to commit suicide during the voyage, which shows how miserable the fleet was.

In the Fran colony, the supplies sent by the Frans were goose liver, cheese, and red wine, which boosted the morale of the fleet to an unprecedented level. In the Russian Empire, ordinary soldiers were not qualified to taste them. During the few days of rest in Promon, the wine in the Promon tavern was swept away by the Russians. The Russians would rather not have bread and bullets, but they absolutely cannot be without wine.

At the end of May 1905, Rozhdestvensky arrived at the coast of Madagascar and rested for a while. In mid-August 5, he continued to sail to the Far East. At this time, due to the long voyage, the bottom of the ship was covered with seaweed, and the fleet's speed dropped significantly.

Ma Shijin's Russians were also waiting for the support fleet to arrive, and Makarov was under great pressure.

"The Japanese want to trap the Pacific Fleet in Mashijin. We have been surrounded on land. If the sea is also blocked, Mashijin will be our grave!" Makarov immediately realized the seriousness of the problem.

"What should we do then?" asked Fleet Chief of Staff Tolia.

"It's better to hold on to the port! The Japanese won't be able to capture the Ma Shijin Fortress so easily!" Colonel Argyll, captain of the battleship Relvezan, was more inclined to hold on because his battleship was being repaired in the shipyard and was not suitable for sailing.

"No, we must find a way to get out. We can't just sit there and wait to die!" Makarov decided to give it a try.

There was a light fog on the day of the breakout. Two battleships that were still capable of fighting in the harbor led four cruisers to break out. The breakout fleet luckily passed through the minefield, but ran into an ambush circle of the Japanese fleet.

"Haha, the Rakshasa finally couldn't bear it anymore!" Dongping Xia Saburo laughed happily. He won this competition of patience!

"Fire at full force!" The sudden appearance of five Japanese battleships panicked the breakout fleet! Knowing that they were outnumbered, the breakout fleet had no choice but to turn around and flee to the safe Mashijin Port under the heavy bombardment.

The frightened breakout fleet was not seriously injured by the Japanese artillery fire, but was killed by a mine on the way back to the military port. The battleship Petropavlovsk, on which the fleet commander Makarov was riding, hit a mine and exploded and caught fire. It was located just under the fire of the Japanese naval guns and could not be rescued and finally sank. Another battleship, the Victory, also hit a mine, but fortunately it was not sunk and barely sailed back to Mashijin Port for overhaul. Even more fortunately, Makarov did not sink to the bottom of the sea with the battleship, so that the Tsar would not have to replace the commander of the Pacific Fleet again.

On October 10, a Japanese force attempted to land in the northeast of Mashijin Port, but was counterattacked by Makarov's troops. With the timely support of shore firepower, this Japanese force suffered heavy losses.

On October 10, the Japanese army basically cut off all land routes and connections of the Mashijin naval port. During this period, Tohei Shimosaburo continued to launch waves of small-scale attacks and arranged minelayers to continue laying mines in the waterway. In order to break out again, Makarov's Russian navy began to try to remove the mines outside the port, and both sides laid and removed mines in a cycle.

As the law of nature would have it, Japan got its comeuppance. On October 10, the Japanese battleships Hatsuze and Yashima collided with their own mines and sank.

"Your Majesty will be ashamed of us. A victory that the entire Pacific Fleet failed to achieve was won by Japan's own mines!" After escaping death, Makarov also learned to entertain himself.

On the other side, the Japanese fleet was in a state of despair. These were two battleships that they had obtained at a huge cost. If they failed to win, Tohei Shimosaburo would have no choice but to commit suicide.

By November, the Russian Navy had finally repaired the Tsarevich, the Lelvizan and the Pobedav. The Russian Navy was in urgent need of breaking out of the encirclement and escaping from this deadly place, and Vladivostok was ready to receive them.

On November 11, the entire Rakshasa Empire's Pacific Fleet took action, divided into two columns, and sailed out of the Lushun base.

Of course, Tohei Shimosaburo would be aware of such a big move, and he would not let the duck in his hand fly away.

"Order the fleet to follow closely, they can't get rid of us!" The Japanese fleet has the advantage of speed, and the Japanese fleet is sailing parallel to the Rakshasa fleet.