Chapter 108: Sino-American Naval Battle in the Aftermath
In the face of the wolf pack offensive of torpedo boats mobilized by the People's Liberation Army, despite the strong strength of a light cruiser, two destroyers and three escort destroyers, as well as the Americans with the cooperation of a light cruiser, two destroyers and a frigate of the British Navy , the tonnage of the ships far exceeded the force dispatched by the former Resistance Alliance Navy, which at this time was renamed the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, to escort the troops crossing the river. The force was mainly small ships.
But in this battle on the Yangtze River, the U.S. Navy not only did not gain any advantage, but suffered a big loss. Although it destroyed six torpedo boats, two coastal defense ships and a gunboat of the People's Liberation Army Navy, the U.S. Navy also had one The light cruiser, a destroyer, and an escorting destroyer were sunk by the powerful 610mm Japanese-made Type 93 torpedo launched by the wolf pack tactics torpedo boat.
Another of the two destroyers was captured because it was hit by a torpedo and was seriously injured in the tail. Another destroyer was captured because it ran aground on a sandbank in the middle of the river in a panic during the retreat. Only one escort destroyer took advantage of the darkness of the night. With the help of the cover and the advantages of its small tonnage and easy U-turn, the ship was riddled with holes all over its body and braved thick smoke to break through the obstruction of the shore artillery and barely escaped back to Shanghai.
As for the British Navy, which joined in the fun in order to show that the British Empire still had power, it was even worse. None of the four ships participating in the battle escaped. Two destroyers were sunk by torpedo boats on the river in Xiaguan, Nanjing. As the Far East Fleet The flagship light cruiser Amethyst was attacked by the People's Liberation Army's shore artillery fire and the two destroyers that followed, and was injured and stranded downstream of Nanjing. As for the frigate, after other ships were either sunk or stranded and captured, Then he raised his head and surrendered.
At the same time, some French warships anchored in Shanghai and Nanjing that were evacuating overseas Chinese were also involved. It consisted of a light cruiser, a destroyer and two frigates, and the Far East Squadron was deployed on the Nanjing river bank to rescue those who were beaten. The miserable American and British fleets fired recklessly and suffered a resolute attack from the People's Liberation Army.
When the U.S. and British navies had lost their combat effectiveness and the situation took a turn for the worse, the French Navy destroyer wanted to rely on its large tonnage and fierce firepower to escape. At that time, it was chased by a torpedo boat detachment of the People's Liberation Army Navy's southbound fleet. , sunk on the Zhenjiang River downstream of Nanjing.
The remaining French naval ships lost their determination to continue to resist because the river had been tightly blockaded, and the American and British ships accompanying them were sunk, injured, and stranded. After they stopped resisting, they were all detained in Nanjing. On the Yanziji River, all the crew members were pushed to Nanjing and imprisoned together with the captured crew members of the sunk American and British warships.
If it were not for the fact that most of the main ships of the People's Liberation Army Navy are still mothballed, the rest of the main ships are either escorting the convoys transporting supplies south along the coast of Shandong, or they are cutting off the retreat route of the defeated Kuomintang army to the outer sea in Fujian on the way south. The United States and Britain In addition to the fleet, plus the newly formed French Far East Fleet that was somehow involved, it is estimated that not a single warship can escape.
After the battle, eager for revenge after suffering heavy losses, and in response to the Kuomintang government's request to assist in the evacuation of the defenders from Shanghai, the Americans dispatched an aircraft carrier, three heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and seven more A huge force composed of destroyers, more than ten tanks and mechanized landing ships, as well as some minesweeping and anti-submarine ships rushed to Shanghai.
In the ensuing Battle of Shanghai, and after learning of the battle on the Yangtze River, the People's Liberation Army Navy and Air Force under the command of Yang Zhen, who personally rushed from Luoyang to the outskirts of Shanghai on orders from the Military Commission, had a large-scale naval battle. , and this time the Americans faced not only the People's Liberation Army's shore artillery firepower and light ships, but also a large number of aviation forces.
In this naval battle, although the Americans mobilized a large number of troops, they were not able to take advantage. Indeed, the total tonnage of all the PLA Navy ships heading south was not as large as the aircraft carrier dispatched by the Americans. But now The People's Liberation Army Navy, which already has strong air force cover, does not show any timidity when facing a powerful enemy.
In order to ensure the smooth progress of the Shanghai Battle and repel the threat of the U.S. Navy to ground forces, Yang Zhen mobilized a destroyer detachment that was originally blocking the southward retreat route of the Kuomintang Navy in the Zhoushan Sea, and quickly headed north along the Zhejiang coastline to participate in the war, as well as those currently on the Yangtze River in Nanjing There are two torpedo boat brigade operating on the river, one brigade each for frigates and coastal defense ships, a squadron of shallow water heavy gunboats, and a brigade of 200-ton gunboats.
In other words, in addition to leaving a mixed fleet of warships in the Taiwan Strait and Qiongzhou Strait, Yang Zhen transferred all the navy's ships heading south to the waters of Wusongkou, Shanghai. In order to strengthen the war, the gunboat itself was only 57 mm. , one thirty-seven millimeter single-barreled naval gun, and one quadruple-mounted 14.5 millimeter high-level and flat dual-purpose machine gun, which seems to have a somewhat weak firepower.
Through contact with the army outside Shanghai, Yang Zhen also equipped this escort boat squadron with an army fire squad equipped with a 57 recoilless rifle and two rocket launchers on each boat. If it weren't for the lack of time, it might be possible. Yang Zhen will also install a 107 multiple rocket launcher on each escort boat.
In addition, it has been secretly deployed at the mouth of the Yangtze River. It is the only submarine brigade of the People's Liberation Army. Although the tonnage of the ships is not large, Yang Zhen still has sufficient troops at hand. However, given that this is after the establishment of the People's Liberation Army Navy, In his first battle with the navy of a world power, Yang Zhen still adopted the tactics of coordinating large ships and speedboats, and speedboats and aviation.
Yang Zhen's command in this battle was very clear. The aircraft carriers and heavy cruisers were in charge of the 1st Naval Aviation Division and submarines that had been transferred from Liaodong and had been formed and trained. The light cruisers, destroyers and other attached ships were in charge of The Navy's Surface Ship Force is responsible.
As for the speedboat force, they used wolf pack tactics to disrupt the US ship formation and make it a single-ship operation as much as possible. At the same time, Yang Zhen mobilized a squadron of jammers and early warning aircraft from the northeast to specifically suppress electronic communications among the US fleet. equipment and radar.
During the battle, facing the powerful U.S. fleet, the PLA participating troops, which had completely completed the transformation from the army to the navy, showed extremely high military literacy and selfless spirit of sacrifice. All units cooperated closely during the battle, and the tactics Being flexible and changeable, although it cost a certain amount of losses, it also achieved huge results.
Especially the small ships and speedboats below the coastal defense ships that participated in the war, although their tonnage was small, they adopted the blind spot of the shooting angle of the U.S. Navy's large-caliber naval guns, adopted tactics of close combat or even close combat, and used their own guns with small caliber but fast firing rate. , its advantages of small tonnage but flexible maneuverability and fast speed have caused heavy damage to US warships that are much larger than its own.
During the naval battle, these crazy light ships not only made the crazy move of launching torpedoes from a distance of tens of meters regardless of whether they would be affected by the fish pond, they even directly approached them, grenades flew across, and small weapons Sweeps, bazookas, and recoilless gun salvos are not all tactics used by any navy.
Although most of the U.S. Navy officers and soldiers on these ships have participated in the Pacific War and can be said to have extremely rich actual combat experience, this is the first time they have seen the PLA Navy's life-threatening tactics. Everyone said that the Japanese Navy does not want lives. , but I didn’t expect that the People’s Liberation Army Navy would be even crazier. Although these small ships are not as powerful as a U.S. destroyer, they still caused considerable losses to the U.S. military after adopting wolf pack tactics and such a desperate style of play. .
Even the two U.S. Fletcher-class destroyers in the U.S. fleet that participated in the war were fooled by the People's Liberation Army Navy's desperate tactics. They were glued to the three coastal defense ships and used land warfare to fight naval warfare. Two minesweepers and three small gunboats used the ancient gang-hopping tactic to directly capture the prisoners.
In this sea-air battle that lasted for two days, although the Americans relied on the advantages of their aircraft carriers and the large-caliber artillery on the participating ships, they sank two destroyers, two frigates, and six coastal defense ships of the People's Liberation Army Navy that participated in the war. ship, as well as twelve torpedo boats, six gunboats, and more than seventy aircraft.
However, due to the People's Liberation Army's naval and air cooperation, flexibility, and desperate tactics, one aircraft carrier was seriously injured, carrier-based aircraft were shot down, more than 60 were lost, and one heavy cruiser was sunk. One ship was slightly damaged and one was seriously injured. Both light cruisers lost the ability to sail due to serious damage. One was scuttled by a torpedo launched by its own destroyer, and the other was captured.
Two destroyers were captured, one was seriously damaged, and two were sunk. The minesweepers and submarine hunters that participated in the war, as well as the landing ship originally intended to be used to evacuate the Kuomintang troops from Shanghai, were sunk at half the cost. If it were not for the fear of the Americans After the aircraft carrier was sunk, it would trigger a full-scale retaliation from the Americans. At this time, the Central Committee, which did not want a war with the Americans, consciously ordered Yang Zhen to release the US Navy.
After the naval battle was launched, all radio communications with the Okinawa base were cut off, and the U.S. Navy could only fight alone. At the same time, all radar equipment failed. I am afraid that the losses were more than that. At least it was not too much to sink the aircraft carrier. A big problem, faced with heavy losses, the Americans who could no longer fight had no choice but to evacuate Shanghai.
Although the Chinese and American militaries engaged in a war of words afterwards, considering that the situation in China was irreversible and the current domestic situation in the United States, the Chinese preemptively released all captured American naval officers and soldiers in Hong Kong and returned all capable After finding the bodies of dead American soldiers, the Americans finally gave up on sending their main fleet to China for large-scale revenge, and withdrew all warships deployed along the coast of China to various bases in Japan.
Although the People's Liberation Army Navy still appears to be quite weak in the eyes of the Americans and not worthy of fear, if they follow the People's Liberation Army's style of play, how many more ships will the Americans have to fill in to completely defeat the People's Liberation Army Navy? Although your ships are huge in number , there are many large ships, but they also have an air force that is now relatively powerful and has been tested by war.
As Western Europe and the North Pacific are still facing increasingly active Soviet forces, the Americans, who don't have much energy to focus on the Far East, do not want to provoke a Sino-US war at this time. The fleet they sent to China just wants to Teach and warn the CCP not to get too close to the Soviet Union.
Especially this time, the U.S. army was the first to fire. It was a mistake no matter what, and the Kuomintang army it wanted to support had already collapsed and lost its use value. Unless the United States plans to go to full-scale war with the CCP and re-mobilize the army to occupy all of China, otherwise If this stalemate continues, it will take too much energy from the United States.
Moreover, although the Chinese Communist Party has rejected the solicitation of the Americans, it has not completely moved towards the Soviet Union. Under such circumstances, after suffering heavy losses, the Americans, who do not want to completely fight with the Chinese Communist Party, finally decided to do so after many calculations. He gave up his determination to continue revenge and adopted a response strategy to avoid the situation from escalating.