The outcome of the contest between the naval forces of both sides was both what Tsukahara 243 expected and beyond his expectations. He knew that his naval forces would lose, but he did not expect that they would lose so miserably and the losses would be so great. A one-sided air battle? Even if Tsukahara is unwilling to admit it, in the face of the cruel facts, he can only hold his nose and accept it. In naval battles where aircraft carriers are the main force, the importance of naval forces is self-evident. As for the Chinese sturgeon's anti-ship combat capabilities, Tsukahara Two, four, and three are no strangers. Since the naval aviation force on our side was defeated, he issued a number of targeted orders early on. It was under his control that the main force of the Wuwei aircraft carrier fleet began to transform into a hedgehog formation to deal with the defeat. The counterattack of the HNA force of the Huangdi aircraft carrier fleet.
The destroyers are in the outermost ring, then the cruisers, and behind the cruisers are the aircraft carriers. If the Japanese naval officers still had some doubts when Yamamoto Isoroku first proposed the theory of aircraft carrier victory, after frequent naval battles during this period, they have already They fully realize that modern naval warfare is a contest between aircraft carriers. Based on this, the Japanese attach great importance to aircraft carriers and will put the safety of aircraft carriers first in every war. In this naval battle, the Wuwei aircraft carrier fleet In fact, they were the ones forced to fight. However, because everyone in the Combined Fleet held the idea of the humiliation of the defeat in the Timor Sea battle, and they were always thinking about "defeating the Pacific Fleet and avenging the Yamato aircraft carrier fleet," Tsukahara II Only Four Thirds will organize a raid at all costs, and then organize an absolute defense circle at all costs, hoping to preserve their own aircraft carriers as much as possible.
Under Wang Hai's dispatch, the HNA force of the Huangdi aircraft carrier fleet launched an attack on the Wuwei aircraft carrier fleet. The Chinese's attack methods were very shameless - at least, that's what Tsukahara 243 thought. Often, they always start first Use a fighter plane to stimulate the Japanese air defense firepower, and then gather superior fighter planes to take advantage of the loopholes in the air defense firepower to launch a surprise attack on the Wuwei aircraft carrier fleet. In the contest between spears and shields, spears are destined to have an innate advantage. Even if Tsukahara 24 Three was able to see through the conspiracy in time and make tactical adjustments, but was still unable to form an effective sniper attack. One destroyer after another and one cruiser after another turned into a sea of fire under such attacks, and then burned to the ground.
Every time a battleship was damaged, Tsukahara 243 would feel heartache. Every time another battleship was lost, it meant that his military achievements would be weakened by one point, and it also meant that his future career would suffer. With more ups and downs, how could he still maintain a normal mind? The more powerful the counterattack of the Xuebing Army and the Naval Forces became, the more determined Tsukahara became. The Akiyama Heroes' troops had indeed inflicted heavy losses on the Chinese people. At this time, he could have lost less. , that’s a huge military achievement! He didn’t realize at all that the “China Navy Air Force” was now vigorously conducting air strikes just to hold them back.
It cannot be said that Tsukahara 243 was short-sighted and did not realize the threat of submarines. It was Xu Kai and the others who hid it too deeply. The Pacific Fleet has been established for some time, and aircraft carriers, battleships, missile speedboats, etc. have all passed The battle has shown its own value. However, Xu Kai and the others have not performed very well so far. And the little devil's own application of submarine forces is limited to special attack tactics forces. Therefore, Tsukahara 243 basically There is no such concept: submarine tactics will be a threat.
When the last few golden eagles and Chinese sturgeons disappeared from Tsukahara No. 243, the old Japanese laughed and said to the left and right: "It seems that Mr. Akiyama has lived up to my expectations."
Previously, the counterattack by the naval forces of the Huangdi aircraft carrier fleet was very fierce in Tsukahara 243's view. Based on this, he concluded that this was an act of venting anger by the Chinese people, which also meant that the Akiyama hero's troops It did severely damage the Huangdi aircraft carrier fleet. "It's a wave! Maybe the Chinese are struggling at sea and calling for help?" He thought this way, in a good mood, and loudly ordered: "Now I order everyone to retreat!" As long as they can sink a few A Chinese aircraft carrier, in Tsukahara’s view, this Guadalcanal battle can be considered a victory. Next, even if Guadalcanal is captured by the Chinese, it will only take a while for the Wuwei aircraft carrier fleet to be replenished. After completing the air force, they can easily take it back.
Just after Tsukahara's order to retreat was conveyed, a cry came out from the headset in front of him: "Alert! Alert! An unidentified submarine was found in a certain location! Alert! Alert! It's not just one submarine, it's a group of them!"
Tsukahara's memory was not bad, and he immediately thought of the submarine force that Akiyama reported to him before. He was not nervous at all, but laughed loudly: "Now I can confirm that Akiyama-kun and the others did inflict heavy damage on the Chinese people. Look. Look, the Chinese people are so incompetent now that they have even sent out submarines. Gentlemen, listen to me, the Chinese people are simply willing to die, so we will satisfy them!"
Tsukahara boasted that he had the Toshiko 03 special attack submarine close by, so when he thought about it, if there was a submarine battle, the Chinese would die, so he was not worried at all. Under his command, about ten submarines rushed forward, It includes about ten special attack tactical submarines.
Almost at the same time, Xu Kai issued the order to submerge. In just five minutes after he issued this order, all the submarines dived into the water one after another, and then began to enter the attack state. Active sonar and passive sonar were activated one after another, and the sonar soldiers They listened intently to the sound coming from the earphones. At the same time, the torpedo soldiers were ready for battle and only received an order.
The submarines, destroyers and cruisers of the USS Wuwei aircraft carrier fleet began to take the initiative to attack according to the instructions of the sonar troops. As soon as they showed a tendency to break away from the main force of the fleet, the golden eagles and Chinese sturgeons patrolling in the sky roared down. Tsukahara 24 Seeing this, San couldn't help but sneer and said: "It seems that the Chinese people really take submarine tactics seriously, ha! Could it be that all the Chinese aircraft carriers were really sunk by Akiyama Heroes and the others?"
No wonder Tsukahara 243 was biased against submarine tactics. After Germany's wolf pack tactics were defeated by the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, the Japanese summarized the pros and cons of submarine tactics and concluded that submarine tactics were not suitable for large-scale naval battles. Tsukahara originally thought , while our own side is well prepared, if the enemy launches submarine tactics, it will be like letting sheep join the lions, and there will be no chance of winning.
What does it mean to launch a surprise attack despite knowing that there is no chance of winning? Either the commander is stupid, or it is because the commander received some major stimulus. Are the Chinese stupid? With the Timor Sea battle ahead, Tsukahara is sure I don’t think so. Then only the latter reason can explain it.