This beautiful island has been part of Chinese territory since ancient times. Zhang Zuanxu, a Cantonese, once established a kingdom here. However, in 1889, civil strife broke out in the kingdom, and the Dutch colonists took the opportunity to annex the island. However, due to fear of the Qing Dynasty,
Intervention, the Dutch did not declare jurisdiction over the Natuna Islands until 1912. However, the Dutch never established official institutions or stationed troops on the islands.
Lin Shuo began to tighten control over Natuna Island after he took office as the Southeast Patrol Envoy in 1914, dispatching "civilian troops" to the island. In 1925, the Dutch wanted to send troops to occupy the island, but they were met with thousands of people on the island.
Encirclement and annihilation by the "civilian army". Immediately, the Republic declared its sovereignty over the islands, and then sent the navy to take over the Natuna Islands.
Off the coast of Southport, four Republic warships were in a tense confrontation with three Dutch warships.
On the Dutch flagship cruiser De Ruyter, Commander Helfrich of the Dutch Far East Fleet pursed his lips tightly and stared at the Republic of China Navy warship confronting him less than 1,000 yards ahead, "This is China's territorial waters, and I order you to immediately
Leave or you will be considered an intruder!"
On the large cruiser "Li Jing" of the Republic Navy, the sailor on the bridge issued a semaphore to warn the Dutch, and the signal light beside him also kept sending out threatening signals.
Helfrich sighed. The original "Sea Coachman" has now become a third-rate country. The 6,300-ton Druitt he is riding on is already the best cruiser in the hands of the original maritime overlord.
, but it seems too weak in front of the Chinese "heavy cruiser" with a displacement of more than 20,000 tons, even worse than the "Fujian-class" cruiser next to it.
"What benefits can be gained by confronting the Chinese? Maybe they will lose control of the entire East Indies. I really don't understand why those idiots in Amsterdam followed the British in this kind of business that is destined to lose money?!
Helfrich cursed secretly in his mind, and gave an order to the combat staff beside him: "Reverse slowly, let's return to Batavia!"
After slowly retreating, the Dutch turned around and left the bay. The Republican warships cheered, "Oh my god, are you giving up now? I really want to have a good fight!" "Li Jing" cruiser
On the bridge of the ship, Rear Admiral Wei Zihao, commander of the 3rd Cruiser Division of the Nanyang Fleet, turned to Chang Lin, the captain of the "Li Jing" beside him and said.
"The Dutch want to follow the British to make some money, but I'm afraid they made the wrong calculation this time." Chang Lin said with a smile.
"Left rudder 5, prepare to enter the port!"
As the order was issued, the slender cruiser drew a beautiful arc on the water and slowly sailed towards Southport.
As an important transit base in the South China Sea, Nangang's port facilities have gradually become complete. However, in order to avoid interference from Britain, the United States and other countries, no important defense measures such as fortresses and forts have been built here. As the British declared war on China, the port
The surrounding area began to become busy, and large-scale construction of fortifications began on the island.
A destroyer detachment of the Nanyang Fleet, including two destroyers and two frigates, has been stationed in Southport in rotation and is responsible for routine patrols and security missions in the waters near the archipelago.
Chang Lin, Zheng Wenlan and other commanders on a group of cruisers were making fun of You Ziyong and others. As one of the 53 graduates of the first batch of command department after the establishment of Fuzhou Naval Command College, You Ziyong was the worst one. Fuzhou
Graduates of the first four classes of the Naval Command College generally receive special care in the navy. Because Lin Shuo paid special attention to it, he even served as the "Party Representative" of the Naval Command College in person during the years from 1914 to 1917, and often gave lectures to these students.
When giving speeches, especially to students from the first and second batches of the command department, because there were only more than 160 students in the first two batches, Lin Shuo could even call everyone by name.
As "Emperor's disciples", the promotion of students in these two batches is naturally much smoother. Due to the rapid expansion of the Republic Navy, most of the students in "Fujian First Phase" have been promoted to major generals. Students who graduated from the third batch like Chang Lin have already
He was promoted to colonel cruise captain, while Comrade "Lao You" who graduated from the first batch is still a major destroyer captain. Fortunately, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel commander of this destroyer fleet just two days ago.
Of course these people want to celebrate "Laoyou".
In fact, every country's navy has guys like "Lao You" who "do not seek advancement". For example, the current commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet, Vice Admiral Cunningham, once stayed in the destroyer fleet for twelve years.
Most people like to go to big ships, but there are difficulties in staying on big ships. It might become the flagship of some fleet. There will be a group of commanders, staff officers and the like on the ship. There will definitely be no one in the captain's room.
It's my own share, and I might have to fight for a room with the torpedo commanders, gunnery commanders, etc. under my command.
After becoming the captain of the flagship, he was basically deprived of command rights on this warship.
There is a saying in official circles: Those who committed evil in the past life will be magistrates in this life.
There is also a saying in the navy: The sky has eyes, and it allocates flagships.
Since there is no freedom on the flagship, those naval commanders who are undisciplined by nature try to "save a grade" on the destroyer or frigate. Destroyers and frigates are dispatched much more frequently than large warships, and the navy has a hefty "sea special service allowance" every day when it goes to sea.
"This is also a big temptation for some captains who love the sea or come from poor backgrounds.
As a result, a group of commanders who "do not seek advancement" will emerge.
The stainless steel water glasses collided, and beer foam splashed everywhere. Although drinking was strictly prohibited when the fleet was dispatched, the restrictions on beer were relatively loose, so beer became a must-have "drink" at naval gatherings. They were already resting at the port.
For two days, the officers and soldiers were relaxing their tense nerves without any worries. Since Britain declared war on China, the navy has been raised to a level one combat readiness state. All officers and soldiers have ended their vacation and returned to their bases or warships.
After Britain and France declared war, more than a year has passed and no war has occurred as expected. The British and French are busy putting together an "expeditionary force". Who knows when they will be able to gather the number of people and rush to the Far East?
After the confrontation with the Dutch was over, Wei Zihao ordered the cruisers to take turns to go ashore and relax. The only regret in Nangang was that there were too few women, almost all of whom were men.
"Woo..." A piercing siren suddenly sounded from the flagship, and the officers and sailors on the shore ran to the dock one after another. While running, they looked at the sea outside the port. It was calm there, and the patrol boats on guard duty were still calmly patrolling.
Swimming back and forth on the water.
War sirens rang over the ports. In fact, all ports in the Republic sounded war sirens this evening, symbolizing the outbreak of war.
"...causing two of our destroyers to sink, one cruiser to be severely damaged, one cruiser to run aground, and port facilities to be damaged. Their sneak attack in the waters of the Yangtze River suffered a shameful failure. My heroic Republican Army soldiers
During the counterattack, two Japanese destroyers were sunk, and at least three Japanese warships were severely damaged... July 7, 1937 is a day worth remembering by every citizen of the Republic. On this day, the Japanese imperialist army used despicable means to
Shamelessly attacked two of our important naval bases, causing casualties in our country and great damage to our ships and port facilities. I am only authorized by Congress to declare here that from now on, the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan are at war.
, all the islands belonging to the Japanese Empire and the surrounding 200 nautical miles of sea area belong to the warring area. Neutral ships should try to stay away from the warring sea area to avoid accidental attacks. Our powerful people's army has the ability to defend the country's territory and the lives and property of citizens from aggression.
All invaders will suffer a shameful defeat. The Republican Army has the ability to defeat all powerful enemies! All invaders will pay a heavy price for their actions! The Republic will last forever, the people will last forever, and the Republican Army will last forever!"
The officers and soldiers of each ship lined up on the deck in the night, listening to the national address delivered by the President of the Republic on the radio. The Japanese took advantage of dusk to launch sneak attacks at four naval bases in Qinhuangdao, Qingdao, Chongming Island, and Luoyuan Bay two hours ago.
, and later declared war on the Republic on the grounds of the Anglo-Japanese alliance.
The Japanese military operations in Shanghai and Luoyuan failed due to the tight defense of the Republican Navy, but they succeeded in sneak attacks on the naval bases in Qingdao and Qinhuangdao. Since Qingdao is a commercial port, the project to rebuild the naval fortress has been criticized by the United States, Britain, France and Japan.
The situation at Qinhuangdao Port was similar. Due to the coal terminal provided by the British Kaiping Coal Mine, the defense of the military port was also very weak. In this sneak attack, the Beiyang Fleet lost a total of three destroyers and two frigates, and Qingdao's
Both cruisers were damaged by torpedoes, and the severely damaged "Tianjin" could only rush to the shore and let the warship sit on the bottom to serve as a shore fort.
The port and shipyard facilities at the two bases also suffered a certain degree of damage.
During the counterattack, three Japanese destroyers and five torpedo boats were sunk by the Republican Navy.
The reason why the Japanese chose to launch a sneak attack at dusk was obviously because they were afraid of being attacked by aviation land-based fighters. This was different from their usual tactics of launching sneak attacks at dawn. The development of weapons also determined the change in tactics.
With the rapid development of the aviation industry, navies of various countries have now clearly felt the threat from the air.
After the sneak attack, the Japanese were able to escape the counterattack from the aviation force under the cover of night.
Wei Zihao stood on the bridge, using the dim light to read the secret message from the Nanyang Fleet headquarters handed over by the combat staff: There will be a storm in the Ceylon waters tonight.
If the British intercepted this message, they would definitely think that the Republican Navy would launch an attack on its Far East Fleet. In fact, that is not the case at all. Japan is a country with very poor resources and relies heavily on imports of various strategic materials to support its modern operations. China
The number one enemy of the navy is Japan. In the navy's war plan against Japan, cutting off Japan's sea transportation is naturally an extremely important link.
The Naval Staff has formulated several detailed operational plans for attacking sea transportation lines in southern Japan, and has organized several simulation exercises.
The "Ceylon Storm" was actually a combat plan drawn up by the Nanyang Fleet aimed at disrupting Japan's Nanyang and Australian routes.
A full moon hung high in the sky. On the calm sea, three Republican Navy cruisers slowly left Natuna South Port after emergency replenishment and sailed into the deep and vast sea in the night.
At dawn on the third day, the attack fleet commanded by Wei Zihao had entered the Sulawesi waters. Since the Japanese fleet had been notified before the outbreak of the war, they avoided the originally busy South China Sea route and diverted
Then take the Makassar-Maluku Sea Route and turn to the Oceania Sea Route.