The Rise of the Empire - Chapter 2868
Whether it is the so-called Plan A or Plan B, even if it is completed, it is only half of the success of this operation. The most important thing is the next fleet battle. Only after a large-scale fleet battle has severely damaged the US Navy, Japan In order to fundamentally get some breathing time, after all, the losses caused by the break-up of the cross-traffic operations are not a pain to the United States, and even if maritime transportation is interrupted for a period of time due to maritime security issues, the Americans can also let them go. Let alone, after all, the Japanese fleet could not have been floating at sea…
“I think the position of the fleet should be in the South Pacific, for example, in the waters near Fiji or the Cook Islands, not in areas further north.” Betty said.
“I can understand what you mean. Are you saying that in the northern waters under the control of the Americans, they have the advantages of reconnaissance and intelligence, and it is closer to Pearl Harbor, will the US fleet be in good condition after sailing? But if we If we enter the South Pacific, what advantages can we gain?” Shimura Hayao asked.
“Hehe. I still want to get us.” Betty said in her heart. Although the British Empire has fallen, most of the islands in the southeast Pacific are still under the control of the British, and the British have been in a certain place before. Some facilities have been set up on these islands, such as telegraph stations. And some islands with larger area and better environment also have other facilities, such as small piers. Here you can park submarines or seaplanes. And if the British deploy some ships or seaplanes for reconnaissance here, it will naturally be useful for enhancing the battlefield perception of the Japanese navy. For this kind of help, the Japanese need it, but they don’t know the attitude of the British on this matter.
“Since we recommend that your country set the default battlefield in the southeast Pacific, we will naturally fulfill our obligation to be allies. We will arrange some reconnaissance forces on these islands, but the relevant equipment and personnel need to be provided by the Japanese army, because Your Excellency should be very clear that the naval and aviation forces of the British Empire are strictly limited, at least for now we do not have the ability to deploy a powerful combat-level reconnaissance force in the Pacific direction.” Betty said.
“No problem, we will arrange related matters as soon as possible. We can provide a batch of aircraft with your country’s paint on them, and we can also arrange some crew members to facilitate the communication between your country and us. As for submarines, we It can also be provided, but if you disguise a reconnaissance ship, your country will need to worry about it, because our current maritime transport capacity is a bit tight. Although the German submarine force has withdrawn from the battlefield, the losses they have caused us before are very serious. Big one,” said Hayao Shimamura.
It can only be said that the American pig operation really helped the Japanese a lot. In fact, in terms of tonnage alone, the total tonnage of ships sunk by Su Xiong and Raidel’s wise fleet is far less than that of the German submarine force in the Pacific. The regional attack on the Japanese transport fleet was just a day before the German government issued a withdrawal note to the US government. The German submarine force had sunk 400,000 tons of Japanese transport ships in the Pacific Ocean! The record of the German submarine force even exceeded that of the much larger American submarine force. When the German submarine force set foot on its way home, Major General Hull, who was in charge of the American submarine force, wrote a letter specifically asking the US government to find a way to retain the German submarine force, but the result was naturally unsuccessful.
But no matter what, the German submarine force has already made a deep hole in the Japanese maritime transportation line. What is the concept of this 400,000 tons? Since the war began, the addition of all newly built and purchased merchant ships by the Japanese has just made up for this gap, and the materials carried on these merchant ships have made the Japanese feel painful. And if you count the number of ships, then this data will be even more terrifying. A total of more than 200 ships of various kinds were sunk, that is to say, the average tonnage of each Japanese ship is less than 2,000 tons! As a result, many German submarine officers and soldiers complained that with the same torpedo, if they attacked British merchant ships, they could add at least 5,000 tons to their record, while if they attacked the Japanese, they might only have 1,500 tons! This input and output are not proportional at all!
“Well, we will arrange some camouflage reconnaissance ships, but the number will not be large, and one thing to note is that if these ships suffer losses during the battle, then we hope that your country can compensate for our losses.” Betty said .
“No problem, this is completely a reasonable request.” Shimura Hayao said.
“In addition, I want to ask your Excellency one thing.” At this moment, Betty said to Hayao Shimamura with a smile. “If our information is correct, then your country should also order a battleship in France? This battleship should be based on the Normandy-class battleship hull completed by the French and then converted into an aircraft carrier, right?”
“This…” Shimamura was immediately stunned after hearing this, because he didn’t expect Betty to know this! To be honest, if there is a choice, no one will hang on a tree! The same is true for the Japanese. In terms of aviation technology and navy, the Japanese chose to rely on Britain. In terms of army weapons including heavy artillery and armored units, the Japanese chose France. After all, the French had a well-deserved claim of the Second World Army during the war~www.mtlnovel.com~ But as the war continued and the supply problem in the United Kingdom was tight due to various reasons, the Japanese had to choose other Suppliers, such as the Caraggiono-class battleships and Pisa-class armored cruisers ordered by Japan from the Italians, and various destroyers. And the ordering of warships from Italy does not provoke the British, after all, there is no big hatred between the two countries. But ordering from the French is different. All British people will never forget that in the last moments of the war, the French exchanged the blood of the British for forgiveness from the Germans! Therefore, the Japanese did not disclose relevant information to the British on this issue.
“How do you say this question?” Shimura Hayao scratched his head. Feeling embarrassed. “We did order a battleship from France. There is no other way. After all, your country’s production capacity is limited, and what we are facing is a war concerning the survival of the empire, which means that we can only win. I hope you and your government can forgive me if I lose.”
“The British Empire government understands your approach, but I hope that there are some issues between the two countries to be more open and fair.” Betty did not unexpectedly do not entangle on this issue.
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