Chapter 104: Aftermath: The Source of Yang Zhen's Courage
During World War II, after the Soviets' efforts to build several battleships were interrupted by the war, the Soviet commander repeatedly asked the Americans to provide large ships, but was always rejected by the Americans. Even the escort of converted merchant ships
The aircraft carriers refused to provide it.
The Americans provided the Soviets with a large number of light frigates, minesweepers, submarine hunters and other ships for offshore operations. As for ships above destroyers, they only provided the Soviets with one light cruiser, as well as the large-scale ships that the Soviets urgently needed after entering the counterattack stage.
Tanks as well as mechanized and infantry landing ships.
The Americans' control over naval equipment assistance is even greater than that of aviation technology. Of course, this situation occurs not only because of the two-front battle, but also because it needs to cross the Atlantic Ocean, which is densely populated with German submarines, to reach the main combat area. A huge transport fleet requires a large number of
Ship escort. One of the main battlefields is in the Pacific Ocean. It is facing the third largest naval power in the world, and the demand for ships is huge.
But it is not necessarily related to the usual thinking of Americans. The United States and its current main ally, the United Kingdom, are separated from the European continent by the English Channel and the entire Atlantic Ocean. If they want to threaten the United States and Britain, neither country can
It is almost impossible to build a strong navy.
As for the three current opponents of the Americans, except for the Japanese, which has a powerful navy. Neither the German nor the Italian navy, except for submarine warfare, are far from the Americans' opponents. The former lacks large surface ships and only has
Several battleships and battlecruisers could only adopt hit-and-run sneak attack tactics.
The latter can only be closed in the Mediterranean due to its geographical environment, and it seriously lacks support ships and sufficient fuel. If you do not count air threats and submarines, the British Royal Navy with twelve battleships alone is enough to deal with these two
The country's navy. On the Atlantic front, except for anti-submarine ships, the U.S. Navy does not need to invest too much force. This allows the U.S. Navy to focus its main energy on dealing with the war with the Japanese.
But the United States absolutely does not want another naval power that can threaten the security of the United States now or in the future. Even the Soviet Union, its current temporary ally, is the same. Therefore, when the Americans are assisting the Soviet Union, they cannot go to sea to land an army.
Equipment and motor vehicles were almost as close to meeting the requirements of the Soviets as possible.
However, naval ships are always controlled under a strict standard. Although the Americans built 22 fleet aircraft carriers alone during World War II, and more than 100 light and escort aircraft carriers. As for battleships,
The number of cruisers and other large warships is even more frightening.
One hundred and seventy-five Fletcher-class destroyers alone were built within three years. Various types of destroyers, together with frigates called escort destroyers, together produced hundreds of ships. And
Not counting the various so-called free ships used to transport supplies, the total number of warships built alone is as high as more than 1,500. The annual output of submarines is 74. This number is almost higher than that built by other countries during wartime.
The total number of ships is even greater.
Despite the huge output, the Americans were extremely cautious about the Soviet Union's repeated offers of ship assistance. In addition to ensuring port security, minesweepers, as well as light ships such as submarine hunting boats, escort boats, and torpedo boats, they tried their best to meet the needs of the Soviets.
In addition, large ships with a range that can reach the mainland of the United States will not be given.
Except for an old light cruiser, a small number of tanks and mechanized landing craft that were given to the Soviet Union to reflect the friendship between the United States and the Soviet Union, the rest of the ships above destroyers were not given to the Soviet Union. In the end, after repeated coordination, only 40 ships were given to the Soviet Union.
Three Tacoma-class frigates were mass-produced in the United States and specially used for escort purposes. The U.S. Navy did not like to use them, and they were used in offshore waters by the Soviet Navy, which had been severely weakened.
On the contrary, the British, in addition to providing a large number of submarine hunting and minesweeper ships, also provided more than 20 domestically produced River-class and Bay-class frigates at the request of the Soviet Navy. However, although these frigates provided by the British had good mechanical properties,
However, its tonnage was small and its firepower was poor. The anti-aircraft artillery equipped with it was unable to deal with German air attacks, so it suffered heavy losses during the war.
The Soviet Navy is far less complete and large in number than the British Navy. These light frigates only play the role of assisting various escort fleets in anti-submarine, air defense, and offshore patrols in the British Navy. However, these frigates are not used by the Soviet Navy.
However, they actually had to bear the main force. So after the war, there were very few left due to mines, submarines, air strikes and other reasons.
Even though this ship is second-hand, it is still called the best-performing light cruiser in the Soviet Navy. It was also transferred back from the Northern Fleet to the Baltic Fleet by Yang Zhen. Along with those with excellent performance,
When the war was about to end, a little more than half of the Tacoma-class frigates that the United States had only aided were returned.
Moreover, the Soviets, who had an extremely longing for large battleships even before the war, were paying close attention to the Pacific battlefield even at the height of the Soviet-German war. After careful observation, the Soviets had a strong desire for aircraft carriers.
Great interest. But the Americans are not even willing to give them cruisers, let alone aircraft carriers.
After trying to take advantage of its alliance with the United States and Britain during World War II and seeking help from the United States and Britain to build a strong navy, its hopes were shattered. With the heavy losses of its only three old battleships, there was a serious lack of large ships and a shipbuilding industrial base.
Basically, most of them were on the main battlefield, and the German Zeppelin aircraft carrier that the Soviets had already targeted after losing the embers was sunk by the Americans after an air strike.
Although the location of the sinking was in the Soviet-occupied area of Germany, the bombed aircraft carrier had no use value except for letting the Soviets harvest a pile of scrap metal. This made the Soviets rejoice in vain.
I can't say anything. After all, when this warship was sunk, it was still an enemy ship.
The Zeppelin aircraft carrier was so completely bombed, purely on purpose by the Americans. Otherwise, for an aircraft carrier that is not equipped with any carrier-based aircraft, not even artillery, and can only be used as a troop carrier, it is not enough
As for the Labor, U.S. and British forces, they each dispatched an aircraft carrier. Braving the mines that had not yet been cleared and the air strikes of the remaining German air forces, they dispatched a large number of carrier-based aircraft deep into the Baltic Sea and carried out repeated bombings on the aircraft carrier.
During the air raid, highly incendiary bombs specially developed for bombing ships were first used to burn them, and then bombs and torpedoes were used in turn. Until the German only aircraft carrier was completely blown into a pile of scrap metal and sank.
The Baltic Sea only withdrew its troops. Even after the aircraft carrier was sunk, they did not let go. They also sent divers to use underwater explosives to completely destroy the structure of the aircraft carrier.
The Americans did such a thorough job because they did not want this aircraft carrier, which still had use value, to fall into the hands of the Soviets. They did not even want the Soviets to learn from it. The Soviets invested huge sums of money to salvage it, except to recycle it.
Apart from contributing a little to the Soviet Union's steel production, it has no use whatsoever.
The Soviets were extremely eager for battleships and aircraft carriers, but because the country was unable to manufacture them, the two ships Yang Zhen handed over to the Soviets, especially the one, could be put into use only after undergoing repairs that the Soviets could fully afford.
The aircraft carriers used. For the only three battleships lost, two of them were basically scrapped. For the Soviets, who were eager for large ships, it was like a sudden drop of joy.
The Soviets are not stupid. Judging from the types of U.S. aid ships and the distribution of the remaining post-war ships from Germany and Italy, the Americans are determined not to hand over these two large ships, especially the aircraft carrier, to the Soviets
. They would rather blow them up directly than leave them to the Soviets. Therefore, the acquisition of these two ships at least satisfied the Soviets' desire for large ships.
After obtaining the two ships they dreamed of and the design drawings of a large number of large Japanese naval ships, the Soviets were overjoyed with what historians later called the largest robbery in the history of World War II and the most incredible robbery.
There was no need to stubbornly demand further investigation.
It was precisely because he had a confident grasp of this situation that Yang Zhen made a move that stunned the whole world. He half-cheated and half-robbed his allies to get a relatively powerful navy for the Anti-Japanese Alliance. At least in the future, New China
The navy commander went to sea without having to rent fishing boats from ordinary people. This kind of behavior has been ridiculed for decades.
In addition, the Anti-Japanese Alliance promised that within the next five years, they would pay a certain fee for these ships in exchange for grain and other agricultural products. They would also return some of the destroyers acquired from the Soviet Union to the Soviets. After receiving these promises
, although the Soviets still did not relent too much, their attitude was much softer.
In the end, as the two warships were handed over to the Soviets, the Soviet Union released all the detained international students and agreed to continue their studies as a sign. This action, which was later called the biggest scam in the history of World War II, was ultimately
It's settled.
After all, the ships that Yang Zhen robbed were old goods that had participated in World War II, and many of them were still damaged and had not been repaired. Compared with the ships that he could design and build by himself, the aircraft carrier and battleship that the Anti-Japanese Alliance handed over to the Soviet Navy were coveted.
, was even more important to the Soviets.
If Yang Zhen is driven to panic, and the Americans continue to seduce him, the Soviets will really get nothing. This guy can even steal other people's naval fleets during the war. He is so crazy.
Judging from his actions, he can definitely do such a thing.
The Soviet leaders knew even more clearly that it was impossible for the Soviet Union to afford another war now that the heavy industrial base in the west had been reduced to ruins, the country was in urgent need of restoring the national economy that had been almost destroyed by the war, and large tracts of cities destroyed by the war needed to be rebuilt.
Especially when the Americans stood aside and interfered intentionally or unintentionally, the Soviet Union did not have the strength to fight a life-and-death war. After escaping from the Anti-Japanese Alliance and abducting a Soviet warship, the actions of the Americans made the Soviets feel
It’s only when the Americans didn’t have a hand in this conspiracy that there really was something wrong.
Does Yang Zhen actually have the ability to encourage Americans to assist him? In this incident, the Americans actually cooperated passively in a muddle-headed way. Even many American naval bases did not know when they were refueling anti-alliance ships.
This is the navy from there. It’s just that the reason why the Americans assisted the Anti-Japanese Alliance in this operation is because they are optimistic about the success of all actions that weaken the Soviet Union’s post-war power.
What Yang Zhen used was just the rift between the Soviet Union and the United States due to Eastern European relations at the end of the war, and the current situation where Americans were worried about the Soviet Union's use of the development of the war to expand its own power. Especially for the Soviet Union at the end of the war.
, the developed huge armor strength just gives a creepy feeling.
Without foresight, accurate judgment and utilization of the international situation, and a thorough understanding of the rifts between the Soviet Union, the United States, and Britain at this time and the serious differences on Eastern European issues, Yang Zhen may not have dared to do such a thing. If there were not Americans secretly
Without assistance, it would be impossible for these ships to sail back to Port Arthur from the Baltic Sea, which is thousands of miles away.
At the very least, there is not even a necessary nautical chart, and only a world map can be used. The rookies of the Anti-Japanese Alliance, who do not even have the most basic voyage experience, may not even be able to get out of the Baltic Sea. Let alone have no experience along the way.
A naval base, not even a regular government, has no place to replenish supplies, fuel, and vital fresh water for these ships that have traveled thousands of miles.
The performance of the Anti-Japanese Alliance in the war has proven their combat effectiveness to the world. In addition, they believed that the Americans were destined to intervene, so the Soviets' posture could only be a scare. After repeated calculations, the Soviets finally