Time soon came to the autumn of 1941, and the Republican Army finally freed up its hands from Japan and began a new round of offensive in the South Pacific.
In Europe, Hitler's armored corps routed millions of Soviet Red Army troops who were caught off guard, and advanced unstoppably on the plains of Ukraine and Belarus. It seemed that Russia's invasion would soon be over, and Germany's dream of establishing a European empire was very high.
It will be realized soon.
The unique and superior geographical location gave the United States enough time to prepare for war. As the eight "Essex-class" aviation warships started to be built at the end of 1938 and early 1939, they were put into service one after another. The U.S. Navy had 13 aviation warships.
Finally, it has the strength to compete with the Republic Navy, and by the end of the year, four aviation battleships of the same class will gradually join the U.S. Navy.
The 12 "Beihai-class" aircraft ships with a standard displacement of more than 45,000 tons, which the Republic Navy started building in 1939, will not be put into service until early 1942 due to their large hulls.
In this world, only super-industrial countries like the United States and the Republic of China can realize the standardization and mass construction of large warships. This undoubtedly greatly shortens the construction cycle of new warships. The United States has already put the "Essex-class" into
The construction cycle of aircraft ships has been shortened to less than 20 months, and Republic of China has also shortened the construction cycle of the standardized construction of "Beihai-class" aircraft ships to 24 months.
The other two hostile superpowers can also produce more than 2,000 tanks, 30,000 various transport vehicles, 2,000 combat aircraft and 600 transport aircraft every month, and more than 800,000 tons of transport ships every month.
Three new cruisers and more than 20 destroyers were launched.
The success or failure of this war has actually evolved into a contest of industrial capabilities between the two superpowers.
This is an era that belongs to the Pacific. Two big countries separated by thousands of sea miles are competing for dominance in the future world.
The Central Pacific Ocean in September is still hot and cháo, and above the sapphire-like sea, there is a blinding scorching sun. It is extremely hot on the warship, and most of the sailors operating in the bottom cabin are shirtless regardless of their morals.
, the officers turned a blind eye to this. In the 35-degree heat, they could not ask their men to still wear neat training uniforms.
The sea water reveals an unfathomable blue color under the sun. A fleet consisting of three aviation battleships, including two battleships, one heavy cruiser, six anti-aircraft cruisers and twelve destroyers is passing through Banda.
sea, heading to Darwin Port to rendezvous with the main force of the Nanyang Fleet.
After the Battle of Luzon, after more than a month of rest, in order to cooperate with the Republican Army's operations in Australia, the 7th Air Fleet consisting of "Shandong", "Chong Qing" and "Zhejiang" was transferred to the South Pacific.
, strengthened into the Nanyang Fleet.
Mayville Island, across the sea from Darwin Port, has become the most important naval base of the Republic Navy in Australia. In the calm Van Diemen's Bay anchorage, the entire main force of the South Sea Fleet is assembled.
Close to the inside of a breakwater built with cement caissons on Bathurst Island, on the eye-catching orange water drum, is the flagship of the Nanyang Fleet Commander General Chen Shiying. The "Hengshan" with a full load displacement of more than 56,000 tons is moored.
The battleship "Hengshan" was surrounded by the entire main force of the Nanyang Fleet, consisting of four heavy fleet aircraft, three battleships and sixteen cruisers.
The fleet is also stationed at the anchorage with aviation battleships as the center. Around each aviation battleship, large ships including battleships and large transport ships are moored to protect the aviation battleships from being attacked by aircraft or torpedoes.
Attack. Although there are three layers deployed in the harbor
Mine protection grilles and anti-submarine nets cannot guarantee that enemy submarines will be completely prevented from sneaking into the harbor. Especially in the case of a surprise attack, the ships stationed on both sides of the aviation battleship and around it can help the battleship withstand the attack.
torpedo attack and can form a dense air defense network.
In the base conference room located on Bathurst Island, on both sides of a long table covered with light blue tablecloth, sat the commanders of each mobile fleet of the South Sea Fleet.
"The New Guinea campaign will start in mid-September, and the specific date will be slightly adjusted based on the actual situation. According to intelligence, during this landing operation, we are likely to be intercepted and attacked by the U.S. Pacific Fleet. This
This is the first time we have a head-to-head confrontation with the U.S. Navy since the declaration of war. Whether we can win or not is related to the future trend of the entire war.
, we cannot live up to the great trust placed in us by the country and the people!" At this point, Chen Shiying paused slightly, and the atmosphere in the conference room suddenly became tense, "Judging from the current situation, the command of Major General Fletcher
The USS Yorktown and USS Saratoga aircraft fleets are in Brisbane, while the USS Enterprise commanded by Admiral Halsey
The fleet is stationed in Pearl Harbor. According to reliable information, four newly commissioned 'Essex-class' aircraft ships have passed through the Panama Canal and strengthened into the US Pacific Fleet. The strength of the US Pacific Fleet has been greatly strengthened.
! Judging from past situations, the United States has acted very cautiously. When faced with a disadvantage, they would rather retreat than take risks.
We once wanted to induce them to provide reinforcements to the Philippines, but they have never done so. They would rather watch Luzon be occupied by us. This time, Fletcher will never take the risk without reinforcements from Pearl Harbor.
In a battle with us, if we find traces of the American fleet, it will never be as simple as one or two aircraft ships."
"Where is the Japanese fleet? They still have four aircraft ships." At this time, Lieutenant General Gao Guisheng, deputy chief of staff of the fleet, asked. In the Japanese naval battle, although the combined fleet was sunk in the attack, "
Canton" aviation battleship, but also lost the heavy-duty "Kaga" in the Republic Navy's counterattack
The aviation battleship "Akagi" was also severely damaged, and the United States also lost the "Lexington". In the case of surprise attacks and flanking attacks, the losses of both sides were greater on the United States and Japan. This reflects the two sides' aviation skills.
There is a certain gap between the performance of battleships and the performance of carrier-based aircraft.
After the Battle of Japan, the U.S. Navy began to develop and equip an updated level F6F "Hellcat" fighter. The performance gap between it and the "Saker" fighter equipped by the Republic Navy is no longer particularly obvious.
"The Japanese are currently covering the retreat of the Japanese troops in the Northeast and Hokkaido areas around the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin Islands. They cannot spare the power to get involved in the South Pacific. However, in Guinea, there are about five Japanese troops using American equipment.
The total enemy force of the Japanese army divisions is about 300,000. However, these are matters of concern to the army. We only need to ensure the safety and smoothness of the routes." General Chen Shiying said.
Generally speaking, the naval fleet will be under the command of the theater headquarters during operations, but the Pacific Theater is different. Due to the large number of islands, the navy has considerable autonomy during operations. In addition, the three Marine Divisions in Australia also
All are under the command of the Nanyang Fleet.
This was the case in the Guinea campaign. Almost all the landing operations were completed by the Nanyang Fleet alone. Only after completing the landing operations and conducting deep operations in the interior, the army began to take action.
Moreover, the Army Air Forces of the three armies preparing to land on the Guinea Peninsula, totaling more than a thousand land-based combat aircraft, were also unified under the unified command of the Nanyang Fleet before the battle began.
The Nanyang Fleet currently has about 5,000 shore-based combat aircraft, about half of which are performing patrol and escort missions on Southeast Asian islands. There are about 2,300 land-based combat aircraft in combat, plus the carrier-based aircraft on 7 aviation warships.
During this battle, the Republican Army is expected to invest approximately 4,500 combat aircraft, which is about one-third more than the number of fighter aircraft of the United States, Japan, and Australia coalition forces.
It always controls the air, which is one of the reasons why the Republican Army has always maintained the initiative on various battlefields.