The sun never sets.

"...Report the situation to Major General John...We must also be prepared for battle! We can't let the yellow monkey look down on us!"

Rear Admiral John Wilcox was one generation younger than Kato Kanji. He was promoted all the way after graduating from the Naval Academy in 1905. Because the U.S. Navy was almost annihilated before, there were a lot of "young people" among the generals of the U.S. Navy. If it were in the past, John Wilcox, who was only years old, would not have been able to become a rear admiral, and would have had to waste several years in the position of colonel.

But he caught up with the right time. After the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the US Navy had a fault line and had to vigorously promote new people. In addition, the US Navy built a large number of warships and needed more generals and officers.

As for sailors, people like John Wilcox who are professionally trained will definitely be given important positions.

Compared to the Allied Navy, American Navy commanders rose faster but had less experience.

Major General John thought he had been assigned a simple mission: conduct military exercises near the west coast of Australia, demarcate an exercise area, and prevent the Allied fleet from transporting troops and supplies to Australia.

He has ten battleships, while the Alliance's task force has only four. With a 10:4 advantage, shouldn't it be easy to intercept the enemy?

The US Army may not be able to defeat the People's Army, but the US Navy has always been strong. There are reasons for the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. The troops were exhausted from a long expedition and there were no ports to stop for supplies along the way. In addition, Britain secretly fueled the situation, which led to the biggest defeat of the US Navy in history.

It is not so much that the U.S. Navy was defeated by the Combined Fleet, but rather that it was defeated by politics and distance, and by the joint efforts of Britain and ASEAN.

The place where the two sides are confronting now is not the Leyte Gulf, and the US Navy can repair and resupply in Australian ports. Under such circumstances, how dare the task force of the People's Revolutionary League be so arrogant?

"Send out the reconnaissance plane and carefully search the southeastern sea area!"

"General John, are you worried that the enemy may have reinforcements?"

"We must be on guard."

John Wilcox had been in the Navy since he graduated from the Naval Academy, but he didn't have much combat experience. When the U.S. government joined the World War, the German High Seas Fleet was already blocked in the port and couldn't get out. All the U.S. Navy could do was send destroyers and cruisers to search for German submarines.

The Allied Task Force was ready for battle, but John Wilcox was not. He was only a major general, and he had no intention of provoking a war between the two countries. Seeing the collapse of the British Empire's colonial system, the US government focused on accepting the legacy of the previous world hegemony and did not want to get involved in a protracted war now.

The entire Pacific Ocean separates the Alliance and the United States, and neither can do anything to defeat the other. The best they can do is fight a proxy war, or launch a local war in a place like Australia. The United States certainly cannot defeat the Alliance in Asia, and the People's Revolutionary League cannot compete with the United States on the east coast of the Pacific.

If a full-scale war really breaks out, it will only benefit other powers.

The main reason is that the United States is lagging behind. The speed of the growth of the People's Revolutionary League's strength far exceeded the expectations of various countries, and the economic theories of European and American countries were rubbed on the ground a hundred times. The League used two five-year plans to increase steel production to 7000 million tons/year, which stopped the momentum of rapid development.

The alliance is not South American countries like Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. The US government can act tough in Latin America, but it cannot use those methods against the People's Revolutionary League.

"Report the situation to Washington immediately. Also, we must be prepared for battle!"

Chapter 755: A Critical Moment

"Jingle Bell--"

"Bang," the microphone was snatched up, "What? I got it, I'll go inform the President now!"

The President of the United States is discussing things with the Secretary of State and others. The civil war in Britain is still going on, and the United States has taken control of a lot of places in Africa. What should be done with those newly occupied territories? Should they be incorporated into the United States, or should they support a puppet government? This is a question.

National France and Germany are also expanding in Africa. How should the United States deal with the relationship with National France and Germany? While they were discussing, heavy and hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.

"boom!"

The heavy oak door was pushed open and the situation manager rushed in with an anxious look on his face.

"Luke, can't you see we're in a meeting?"

The Secretary of State said in dissatisfaction: "At least you should knock before coming in!"

Intelligence chief Luke ignored the Secretary of State's complaint. He hurried to the President's side and whispered something. The President seemed a little careless at first, but he sat up straight after listening. "Is it true?"

After seeing Luke's eyes, the President knew that it must be true. He asked the question subconsciously just because he was too surprised. "Gentlemen, please leave for a moment. I have some urgent matters to deal with."

All the participants put away their documents, pushed back their chairs, and walked out the door. Only the Secretary of State was left behind.

"Okay, Luke, tell our Secretary of State about this."

Luke then said: "The Seventh Fleet led by Rear Admiral John encountered the Alliance Task Force near the west coast of Australia, and the other side issued a war warning!"

While Luke was describing the emergency in detail—which was not really an emergency—the President called someone through an internal phone to call in the senior officials of the Navy. Near the Timor Sea, the Allied Navy and the US Navy were pointing their guns at each other, and a fight might break out in the next second.

The US Navy may remain restrained, but the crazy people in the alliance may not. When in the Philippines, the overall strength of the Japanese Navy was less than half of that of the US Navy, but they brazenly fired at US warships, thus provoking the US-Japan War and then dragging the entire ASEAN into it.

How similar is the current situation to that of 20 years ago? The US Navy's Seventh Fleet is strong and powerful, and its paper strength is more than twice that of the other side.

, but the damn yellow monkey just put on an attitude of fearlessness and threatened the Seventh Fleet, "If you don't give way, we will start a war!"

This is really unreasonable!

"Mr. President, you must make a decision immediately. According to the information from the Seventh Fleet, we will be in combat distance in twenty minutes at most!"

"Luke, if a fight really breaks out, is the Seventh Fleet confident that it can annihilate the People's Revolutionary League's task force?"

"this........."

The US Navy has a large number of warships, but as we all know, the US military technology level is still a long way from the world's advanced level. Whether it is the Alliance or the United Kingdom and Germany, they are unwilling to sell the most advanced technology to the United States. The US government does not have much money to invest in research and development, which has led to the United States being very large, but the level of military technology has always been behind the first echelon.

Although the Seventh Fleet was strong and equipped with a large number of 15-inch cannons and 533mm heavy torpedoes, due to technical reasons, the US Navy's 15-inch cannons had a lot of problems and the armor penetration depth was not as expected;

As for the 533mm heavy torpedo, it is even more difficult to describe. During the exercise, two out of three times the torpedo hit the target ship were duds. The 533mm heavy torpedo is very powerful and can cause fatal damage to the super dreadnought battleship, but duds are definitely not acceptable. In addition, the torpedo has a short range and is in an awkward position in naval battles.

The effective range of a 15-inch naval gun is 20000 meters, and the maximum range of a torpedo is only about meters. Except for melee and night battles, torpedoes are useless most of the time, and they are also very expensive.

Seeing the intelligence chief's embarrassment, the president changed the question, "Can we sink the battleship of the Alliance Task Force? We don't need to annihilate the enemy completely, as long as we can sink two battleships, it will be enough!"

Luke frowned and thought for a moment. "If that task force fights to the death, it is possible to sink several capital ships." He looked up at the President of the United States. "Sir, you are not really planning to go to war with the Alliance, are you?"

"We can also learn the tricks of the Orientals and fight him without declaring war." The president shook his big head and said proudly: "As long as we don't declare war, we won't enter a state of total war."

Luke's face showed a look of shock. "Attacking the Alliance's task force is equivalent to declaring war! Mr. President, you should know this!"

He turned to look at the Secretary of State. The President was unreliable, so the Secretary of State couldn't follow suit, right? The Secretary of State's face was also full of shock and confusion. When he met Luke's inquiring eyes, he could only smile bitterly and shook his head.

While waiting for the senior members of the Navy to arrive, there were some new changes in the situation in the waters off western Australia.

The US Navy's Seventh Fleet launched a reconnaissance plane to search the nearby sea area at high altitude to prevent another coalition fleet from ambushing nearby. The US reconnaissance plane was soon discovered by the task force's injured lookouts. The well-trained guys ate fish liver every day and had extremely good eyesight, and could see the stars in broad daylight.

"Lieutenant General Kato, an American reconnaissance plane has been spotted in the sky in the southwest!"

Kato Kanji's expression was very serious. "Well, have our destroyers and submarines discovered the main fleet of the US military?"

"not yet."

"Where's the reconnaissance plane? Did it find anything?"

"nor!"

"Keep searching, the Seventh Fleet's battleship formation must be nearby!"

Battleships are the core force of a fleet. Battlecruisers, light cruisers and destroyers are all built around battleships. According to intelligence, the Seventh Fleet should have ten battleships, but only four super-dreadnought battleships are worth paying attention to. Although dreadnoughts are also battleships, they are no longer the main force in naval battles. Although they are not reduced to playing a supporting role, they are definitely not comparable to super-dreadnought battleships.

"Should we release our carrier-based aircraft......"

Before he finished speaking, the signalman rushed in, "Your Excellency Lieutenant General, this is the latest instruction from the Navy Department!"

Kato Kanji took the telegram and took a glance at it, then a look of joy appeared on his face. "Great! The Navy Department lets us do what we want!"

"How far are we from the American light cruiser?"

"Reach 15000 meters in two minutes!"

"Have the Qingdao battlecruiser fire a warning shot! Then send a clear message. If they still don't clear the channel after the warning, it will be considered that the two countries have gone to war!"

"Give the order to the Shandong aircraft carrier, reload and refuel the fighters, and prepare to launch all fighters!"

Chapter 756: A Critical Moment

Kato Kanji is a big ship and big gun faction, and doesn't think those small planes can play any role in naval battles. Oh, not completely useless, in good weather, they are more convenient for reconnaissance than cruisers and destroyers. The premise is that the radio on the plane does not malfunction.

Although the electronic technology of the Human Innovation Alliance is at the forefront of the world, it has not been able to solve the frequent radio failures for the time being. However, compared with the radios on American aircraft, it is still better.

The aircraft on the aircraft carrier can only pose a certain threat to the destroyer except for reconnaissance. Kato Kanji did not count on those fast-flying toys. His biggest reliance was the four super-dreadnought battleships in his hands.

The Allied Navy adopted a strategy of small steps and fast progress

, building a battleship every year and applying mature technologies to battleships as much as possible. In recent years, the battleships built by the Alliance have not made much progress in firepower, armor and maneuverability. The only epoch-making technology is "shipborne radar".

With radar, the distance, direction and speed of enemy ships can be calculated more quickly and accurately, which can greatly enhance the efficiency of the warship's firepower output.

Judging from the data on paper, the firepower of the Alliance Task Force is only half of that of the US Seventh Fleet, but because of radar and carrier-based aircraft, Kato Kanji believes that the advantage is on the Alliance side.

"boom!"

The Qingdao battleship fired a shot at the distant sea. With a loud bang, the more than 200-kilogram shell drew a long arc in the air and landed hundreds of meters away from the American battleship. Amid the explosion, a column of water shot up into the sky.

Even at a distance of hundreds of meters, the sailors on the US light cruiser could still feel the vibration caused by the explosion.

"The enemy is firing at us!"

"No...it was a warning shot."

"What should we do now? Should we go to war or......"

"What is Major General John's order? What? No reply yet? Let him make a decision quickly!"

"Plane, the Alliance Task Force has launched a reconnaissance plane!"

Twenty thousand meters away, in the command room of the super dreadnought battleship, the combat staff nervously reported the distance between their fast fleet and the US fleet, "13500 meters!"

Kato Kanji's expression became more serious. 13500 meters was already within the engagement distance. The Americans had little time left, and neither did he. He could not allow the fleet to enter the torpedo range of the US Seventh Fleet. Before that, Kato Kanji would order the task force to fire at the targets they had organized.

"American battleship formation spotted!"

A loud and surprised voice sounded in the command room, "Six dreadnoughts, four super dreadnoughts...75 degrees north by west...speed..."

Kato Kanji was relieved. The battlefield was always full of fog of war, especially in naval battles. What he was most worried about was that the US Navy's Seventh Fleet adopted a feint to the east and attacked in the west strategy, using some light ships to hold back the task force, and then sending the main force to hunt down the alliance's transport ships.

Those transport ships are slow and have basically no ability to fight back. Just sending a few warships over can sink the transport ships loaded with army troops and weapons and equipment.

Fortunately, the worst situation did not occur. After discovering the main force of the US Navy's Seventh Fleet, Kato Kanji was not completely relieved. "Continue the search and send reconnaissance planes in all directions."

“12000 meters!”

The operations staff will use a push rod to move the flags representing the warships of both sides and report the distance again. 10000 meters is the final bottom line. Before approaching this bottom line, Kato Kanji will order an attack.

"Order the Shandong aircraft carrier to launch all carrier-based aircraft!"

"Yes!"

On the flagship "Washington" of the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet, Rear Admiral John Wilcox learned of the Allied Task Force's launch of carrier-based aircraft. He was not worried about those small wooden toys. The U.S. Navy had already moved the planes on board the battleships, and during the exercises, the planes posed no threat to the battleships.

However, launching carrier-based aircraft showed the other side's willingness to fight. Now both sides have entered the effective range of the other side. If a fight breaks out, both sides will surely suffer losses.

John Wilcox's palms were covered with cold sweat. Should he clear the passage or fight to the death with the Alliance's task force? If the United States went to war with the People's Revolutionary League, the war would continue and the situation in the world would change.

His decision is likely to rewrite history, and the major general felt heavy pressure at this moment. "11000 meters! Major general, we are almost within the torpedo range!"

"General, a decision must be made immediately!"

"Go to war, or retreat?"

John Wilcox swallowed and made up his mind, "I order..."

"boom!"

The signalman rushed in, "The latest order from Washington, the Seventh Fleet withdraws to Melbourne!"

John Wilcox's body relaxed, his muscles no longer tense as before. "Send a telegram to the other side, our fleet will return to Melbourne soon. Use clear code!"

The Allied Task Force had already launched its carrier-based aircraft and formed a formation in the air. It looked like a naval battle was about to break out, but at the last moment, the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet retreated.

After receiving the message from the Seventh Fleet, Kato Kanji sighed. He was relieved that there was no fighting. It was a bit difficult to fight ten battleships with four battleships. Even if he had a weapon like shipborne radar, he might not be able to gain much advantage. His main task was to send the army to Carnarvon, not to fight the US Navy.

But at the same time, Kato Kanji had some regrets. As the commander of the task force, he really wanted to weigh the weight of the U.S. Navy and see if those Americans had made any progress in the past twenty years.

The Seventh Fleet retreated, but Kato Kanji did not dare to let down his guard for a while. Before the US Navy fleet really left, he would keep the fleet on alert to prevent this from being a conspiracy by the Americans.

But there was no conspiracy.

There was no trick, the US Navy's Seventh Fleet really withdrew, and the road to Carnarvon was clear. Australia's navy was insignificant, without even a super-dreadnought battleship, and it was impossible to pose a threat to the Alliance's task force.

Since the Seventh Fleet had really left, Kato Kanji ordered the fighter jets to return to the aircraft carrier and sent a telegram to the transport fleet, ordering them to return as soon as possible.

The Australian troops were having a hard time, facing an enemy siege that was nearly ten times their size. They had suffered heavy casualties in the previous few days of fierce fighting, and reinforcements had to be sent as soon as possible. The Australians lacked heavy artillery and tanks, but they had a lot of aircraft and infantry, as well as a large number of weapons such as 75mm howitzers and Chauchat light machine guns.

Although some of the Australian weapons were very poor, they were still cannons and machine guns that could kill people.

Chapter 757: Counterattack

"Boom!" "Boom!"

"Da da da da da!"