Anti-Japanese War: Li Yunlong dared to attack Taiyuan

The two naval colonels looked at each other. They had rushed over because of urgent military information.

Seeing the navy and the army fighting at the imperial meeting, he couldn't help but join in. Unexpectedly, it became an excuse for the army to attack the navy.

It's no wonder the Army used this as an excuse to attack the Navy. The Imperial Conference was a place to discuss the Japanese national affairs and future strategic goals. Those who could attend the meeting were all core members of the Japanese ruling class. Many things couldn't be spread outside, and the presence of two colonels here was indeed inappropriate.

"What are you two doing here?" Shimada Shigetaro recognized that the two men were confidential staff officers of the Naval Headquarters. They must have come here for something important.

At this moment, the two colonels remembered the purpose of their visit and said in a panic, "Report, telegram from the Combined Fleet!"

"United Fleet?"

Shimada Shigetaro's eyes lit up when he heard this. Two days ago, they received a telegram from Yamamoto Shichibashi, commander of the Combined Fleet, stating that the Combined Fleet had found the location of the main US fleet and was preparing to launch an attack.

After hearing this news, Shimada Shigetaro had been keeping an eye on the situation. The battle was going well until he went to bed last night. Although two Japanese battleships were severely damaged, a heavy cruiser was sunk, and an aircraft carrier was sunk, the American navy suffered far greater losses than the Japanese, having sunk at least six aircraft carriers, as well as various other warships.

Shigetaro Shimada attended the Imperial Conference this morning, so he didn't pay attention to the affairs of the Combined Fleet.

But when Shimada Shigetaro looked at the two men's faces, he suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.

"Got it, I'll check it out after the meeting!"

After Shimada Shigetaro finished speaking, he waved his hand to signal the two colonels to leave first. Then he looked at Tian Huang and said, "Your Majesty, the Combined Fleet is fighting the Americans at sea. The military situation is urgent. These two are here to report the news. Please understand!"

Those who could attend the imperial meeting, whether they were from the Japanese navy or the army, were not stupid. They could clearly see that something was wrong with these two navy colonels, and it was definitely not good news.

So Private First Class Tojo immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the Combined Fleet is related to the fate of the Empire. Since they are here to report to the Imperial Council, there must be urgent military information. I think we should let them report directly to avoid missing the opportunity to fight!"

Hearing this, Shimada Shigetaro was about to refute a few words, but the devil Tianhuang interrupted Shimada Shigetaro: "Tojo is right, you should report directly to me!"

After hearing this, the two Japanese colonels turned to look at Shimada Shigetaro, sweat already appearing on their foreheads.

Report directly to Tianhuang? Report such an important matter directly to Tianhuang?

You have to know that in the past, if the navy or army had any important matters to report to Tianhuang, they would hold a meeting within the army or navy headquarters and report selectively. Sometimes, they would even report good news but not bad news.

"Your Majesty, I feel the military situation is urgent. Please let me handle it first."

Shimada Shigetaro stood up and said.

Private First Class Tojo would not miss this opportunity. He was certain that it was definitely not good news, otherwise the navy would not have stopped him. He snorted coldly.

"Shimada Shigetaro, is there something your navy is hiding from His Majesty, or the Empire? As Prime Minister, I demand you report it immediately!"

After hearing this, Shigetaro Shimada glared at Private First Class Tojo, but Tianhuang had already spoken, and Private First Class Tojo used his status to pressure him.

He took a deep breath, calmed himself down and said, "This is an internal matter of our navy."

"Baga, aren't you the navy His Majesty's army? Aren't you the navy loyal to His Majesty? Are you the navy planning a rebellion?"

After these words were spoken, Shimada Shigetaro had no way out and could only bow to the devil Tianhuang and say: "Your Majesty, our navy is forever loyal to Your Majesty. If Your Majesty wishes, our navy is willing to change its name to the Imperial Royal Navy!"

After saying that, he looked at Private First Class Tojo with a provocative look. As everyone knows, there is only the Royal Navy, but no Royal Army, and everyone understands the reason.

Private First Class Tojo understood the hidden meaning of Shimada Shigetaro, which was to use the incident between the Royal Navy and the Army of John Bull to imply that the Army was disloyal, but he had no intention of letting Shimada Shigetaro go.

"Your Majesty, Shimada Shigetaro is trying to change the subject. Our army is loyal to Your Majesty at all times, and we report directly to Your Majesty whenever we encounter any problem. The navy, however, is being secretive. I suspect the navy is up to something!"

"His Majesty……"

Seeing the two sides quarreling again, Guizi Tianhuang frowned and said, "That's enough, both of you, report immediately!"

Shimada Shigetaro saw that he had failed to divert the attention of the locusts, nor the army, and glanced at the two trembling colonels: "Your Majesty, the navy is loyal to you and will never hide anything from you!"

After saying this, he looked at the two colonels and signaled them to report to Tianhuang.

The two colonels looked at Shimada Shigetaro eagerly, wanting to exchange glances, but Tian Huang was already getting impatient: "Baga, what are you waiting for? Do you want me to send someone to search the Navy Headquarters?"

"Hai, Your Majesty, the Navy Headquarters has received a telegram from the Combined Fleet. The Combined Fleet was ambushed by an American squadron during their battle with the Americans, suffering heavy losses. They are withdrawing from the battlefield and request tactical guidance!"

"Nani?"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the naval generals exclaimed in surprise.

They could imagine that since two colonels came to report something, there must be important information, but they didn't expect it to be such important information.

Combined Fleet defeated? Suffering heavy losses? Requesting tactical guidance!

As soon as these words came out, the naval generals were stunned.

Then a naval commander immediately shouted angrily: "Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"The Imperial Combined Fleet clearly had the upper hand last night!"

"It must be fake news!"

The reason why these naval generals are so arrogant today is that they received intelligence from the Combined Fleet last night, saying that they had severely damaged the US Pacific Fleet and would soon achieve victory. But now they have received bad news. It was not the US Pacific Fleet that was defeated, but the Combined Fleet.

They simply couldn't accept the news and instinctively felt it was fake news.

But there was an immediate cry of surprise from the army, followed by whispers.

Shimada Shigetaro gritted his teeth, looked at the two colonels, and said, "Do you have a detailed battle report?"

"Hai!"

A colonel took out a telegram from his pocket and handed it over: "This is a telegram from the Combined Fleet!"

Shimada Shigetaro snatched the telegram and read it carefully.

However, after he finished reading the contents of the telegram, he suddenly became unsteady.

Chapter 662 Decisive Battle at Sea

Baker Island, a small island located in the central Pacific Ocean.

It is an uninhabited desert island not far from the Hawaiian Islands.

Two days ago, the Japanese reconnaissance plane discovered traces of the American Pacific Fleet near Baker Island.

After receiving the news, the Japanese Combined Fleet quickly rushed to Baker Island.

The commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet was Yamamoto Shichibashi. After taking over Odalia and Hawaii, the Japanese built a supply base here, expanding the range of activities of the Japanese Combined Fleet to the vicinity of the American mainland.

The Japanese Combined Fleet began searching for the newly formed Pacific Fleet of the United States a month ago.

However, there was no gain. The angry Yamamoto even sent a squadron to attack more than a dozen cities on the east coast of the United States, trying to force the American Pacific Fleet to come out for a decisive battle.

However, the American Pacific Fleet was not fooled and was not in a hurry to come out for a decisive battle with the Japanese Combined Fleet.

The Americans are well aware that although their Pacific Fleet is not much different from the Japanese Combined Fleet in terms of numbers, there is a huge gap in the strength and experience of the naval soldiers.

In the Battle of Midway, the United States lost a large number of elite naval forces, all of whom were experienced veterans.

The navy is different from the army. The army can narrow the gap between soldiers through high-intensity training and weapons and equipment, while the navy relies more on experience.

So after the Americans completed the formation of the new Pacific Fleet, they immediately mobilized a group of experienced naval soldiers from the Atlantic Fleet and began to recall previously retired naval soldiers to the army.

Thanks to the pirate skills passed down from the Anglo-Saxons' ancestors, many of them worked as sailors when they were young, and many of them have been on ships since childhood, so there is no shortage of experienced sailors.

After a little training, these people can become qualified naval soldiers.

So the American Pacific Fleet, led by Commander Nimitz, chose to avoid war.

After leaving the port, they headed to some sea areas with harsher environments to begin targeted training.

Including but not limited to carrier-based aircraft takeoff and landing in severe weather, torpedo plane dive bombing, etc.

Compared to the Japanese who were obsessed with big ships and big guns because of their own short size, the American Navy attached more importance to aircraft carriers and trained a lot of carrier-based aircraft in specific combat methods.

Although the Japanese Combined Fleet Commander Yamamoto Shichihachi also wanted to vigorously develop aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft, there were many supporters of naval guns within the navy, and Yamamoto Shichihachi's current influence had not yet made these people compromise.

During this month, the Japanese navy had not been able to find any trace of the American navy and could only go to some ports to vent their emotions.

The American Air Force also carried out interception, but the effect was not good. The fighter planes were no match for the Zero fighters. It took several planes to replace one Zero carrier-based aircraft. Even if some bombers were able to break through the fire blockade of the Japanese escort carrier-based aircraft, the damage caused to the Japanese warships was not great.

Just as the Japanese were rejoicing over their victory, the number of carrier-based aircraft on the aircraft carrier was decreasing little by little.

The Americans were fighting over their own country, and as long as their planes were not blown up in mid-air, the pilots could parachute. Most of these pilots flying old planes were new recruits of the American Air Force.

But after experiencing several battles, they gradually began to transform into veterans.

Moreover, although the American combat losses have always been higher than those of the Japanese, the Americans can immediately replenish ten air force planes when they lose one. Students from aviation schools in various regions continue to join the air force and then fight against the Japanese elite pilots.

The ones who survived were the veteran pilots.

In just one month, although the Japanese navy shot down more than 300 American aircraft, it also lost more than 80 carrier-based aircraft.

The Japanese aircraft carrier had less than 400 carrier-based aircraft, plus some damaged carrier-based aircraft that needed repair and maintenance.

The number of carrier-based aircraft that the Japanese can mobilize is less than 250.

In addition, dozens of elite pilots were lost.

The Japanese Navy can transport carrier-based aircraft to the Pearl Harbor Naval Base, but it takes time to train elite pilots.

In a month, the Americans used this method to continuously narrow the gap between the Pacific Fleet and the Japanese Combined Fleet.

At the same time, the Americans secretly mobilized some personnel from the Atlantic Fleet and the Royal Navy of John Bull to the Maple Leaf Country to form a new fleet. The fleet was not large, consisting of twelve escort aircraft carriers, two heavy cruisers, and some destroyers and frigates.

The Japanese were unaware of this fleet, and they were concentrating on searching for the American Pacific Fleet.

After a month of unsuccessful searching, the Japanese Combined Fleet began to return, preparing to return to the Pearl Harbor area to rest and replenish fuel, ammunition, carrier-based aircraft and other supplies.

But just as the Japanese Combined Fleet was about to return to Pearl Harbor, the Japanese Navy at Pearl Harbor discovered the traces of the American Pacific Fleet.

At the same time, the Japanese accidentally intercepted a telegram from the American fleet. The order they received was not to engage in a decisive battle with the Japanese Combined Fleet, but to go to the vicinity of the Odalia area, cut off the Japanese navy's supply of materials, and avoid a decisive battle as much as possible.

Originally, when Yamamoto Nanabi received the telegram and discovered the location of the American Pacific Fleet, he had no intention of engaging in a decisive battle with the American Pacific Fleet.

Because Yamamoto Shichiba was also very clear that the combat effectiveness of the current Combined Fleet had declined, the number of carrier-based aircraft was too small, and some ammunition had also been consumed when bombing the east coast of the United States.

Now is not a good time for a decisive battle. The correct choice is to go to Pearl Harbor to replenish ammunition and carrier-based aircraft, and then have a decisive battle with the Americans.

But after seeing this telegram, Yamamoto Shichibashi became a little uneasy.

Every day, a large number of ships from Odalia transport various materials back to the Japanese homeland, including steel, wool, grain, etc. The Japanese domestic economy is now in a mess. If the Odalia supply line is cut off by the Americans again, the domestic situation may continue to deteriorate.

In addition, the Navy Headquarters kept sending telegrams urging a decisive battle.

So Yamamoto's 7x8 finally chose to have a decisive battle with the American Pacific Fleet near Baker Island.

In addition to the previous reasons, there is another reason. If we miss this opportunity, we don’t know when we will be able to catch the American Pacific Fleet in the Pacific next time.

In addition, there is a more important reason. Yamamoto Nanaichirohachi felt that the Combined Fleet would not be defeated.

Although the Combined Fleet did not have enough carrier-based aircraft, the Japanese carrier-based aircraft were stronger than the American aircraft. They could achieve a loss ratio of 1 to 67 when fighting against the US Air Force. It would be easier for them to deal with carrier-based aircraft and achieve a more exaggerated loss ratio.