This winter is particularly cold, and the ice-free period in Vladivostok this year came very early. In late November, continental edge ice began to appear, that is, it began to freeze close to the coastline, but it was still barely possible for large ships to enter and exit. By October
In early February, the entire bay was completely frozen.
On the night of December 5th, a large cargo ship took a chance and tried to break through the ice and enter the port on its own. The propeller was damaged by broken ice. Then the captain did not dare to take risks and ordered to stop, preparing to ask him to come out.
It was towed into the port. But during such a delay, the entire ship was frozen and unable to move. By the next morning, the unlucky cargo ship became a target for the Ming army's aircraft, and a bomb sank it.
In the bay.
The so-called "continental edge ice" is actually not the freezing of sea water, but the freezing of fresh water. Freshwater rivers on land inject large amounts of ice and cold fresh water into the sea, causing a large amount of floating ice to accumulate and gradually move along the edge of the land.
It has formed an ice shell. Seawater is difficult to freeze because the salt content is too high. The current continental edge ice in Vladivostok is the Razdolinaya River. The surface of the Razdolinaya River is frozen, but the ice
Underneath the layer, there is still a large amount of fresh water flowing, continuously pouring into the bay.
At this time, the plan to pollute the water source had to be suspended. The floating corpses on the dam were frozen there. Not only were they unable to contact the flowing river water below, but they were also frozen in the refrigerator and would not rot in a few months.
So, the Ming army knocked down all the corpses on the blockade and buried them.
Winter has both advantages and disadvantages for Vladivostok. The advantage is that the surface of the river is frozen, and the Ming army was forced to stop polluting the river water. Drinking water in Vladivostok is no longer a problem. The disadvantage is that the severe cold in winter intensifies Vladivostok's "
"Calorie" requirements.
On the one hand, there was a shortage of food and fuel in the besieged city, which made it even more difficult in the cold days. In November, people in Vladivostok died of cold and hunger every day, and even though the Soviet officers and soldiers did not have enough to eat or wear, they
No one froze to death and starved to death. All supplies in Vladivostok were given priority to protect the army. On the other hand, the ice in the bay caused almost no supply at sea, exacerbating the lack of supplies. Regardless of the military or civilians in Vladivostok, all the minds
Anyone who is sober understands that if this continues, it is only a matter of time before Vladivostok falls.
As the Ming army liberated a large number of submarines from the Sea of Japan, the blockade of the Japanese archipelago itself also entered its peak period. In more than a month from November to early December, 40 new submarines left the factory and entered the navy.
The submarine force is in service. Now, the total number of submarines in the Ming Navy has reached 156, and the number of submarines that can maintain regular operations at sea has reached about 60. In the month from mid-November to early December, cargo ships and oil tankers
The total amount sunk reached 258,645 tons.
At the end of 1937, Japan finally felt unprecedented pressure. Someone in the cabinet began to propose reducing the construction plan of large ships and using limited resources to build more cargo ships and transport more goods to offset the attack.
The amount of sunk cargo ships and cargo. More destroyers must be built to escort the fleet and maintain Japan's fragile war blood vessels. However, even such a sober proposal has been opposed by the military, and many people
The siege. They say this is cowardice, cowardice, and conservatism. They say that once it embarks on this purely "defensive" path, Japan will always be in a passive position of being beaten.
The main argument of the Japanese military today is still the "Decisive Battle of the Fleet", emphasizing the use of giant ships and cannons to engage in decisive naval battles with the Ming fleet, and the "Decisive Battle of the Sea" like the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, and "World War I"
The model of "determining the fate of the country" was copied to the Japan-Ming War. The "tonnage war", a long-term, step-by-step approach of competing against each other, was neither in line with Japan's spirit nor in line with the appetite of the top military officials.
To be honest, in addition to the role of blood and adrenaline, this view of the upper echelons of the Japanese military is indeed quite reasonable and in line with Japan's national conditions. This is because Japan today is different from Britain during World War I.
First, Japan's industrial base and output are not as good as those of the United Kingdom. Second, and more importantly, although the United Kingdom is small, it has large overseas colonies to support it, and its war potential is not small, and it also has the United States to do it.
Its material backing was open to the supply of war materials. In other words, Britain had colonies all over the world to provide raw materials, and factories in the United States to provide industrial products. Later, the United States even went to war naked and directly participated in the war, and only then won the tonnage war with Germany.
But now Japan is fighting alone. The largest "shipper", the United States, is now tightly closed to Japan. There are not many countries that can do business with Japan. Moreover, among these limited countries, there are not many countries that can do business with the United States.
There is no such large supply of war materials. On the contrary, the Ming Dynasty has a vast land, rich products, and strong industry. After unification, it even used the industrial power of the Northern Qing Dynasty for its own use. Internationally, Japan can buy
The Ming Dynasty can buy things, and the Ming Dynasty can also buy things that cannot be bought in Japan. Moreover, when it comes to money, the Ming Dynasty is richer than Japan. Whether it is self-produced or purchased, Japan cannot compete with the Ming Dynasty.
country.
In any case, it is completely impossible to engage in a long-term tonnage war with the Ming Dynasty and try to win this tonnage war with Japan's weak national strength. Once it embarks on this path, Japan will definitely lose. As for the decisive battle with the fleet, now
The Japanese navy is still in a superior position, but on the contrary, it has a great chance of winning.
Therefore, Japanese high-level officials rejected the idea of saving resources for large ships and using them to build cargo ships and destroyers. The two giant ships, Yamato and Musashi, were built as usual. They had to be built even if they tightened their belts. In the eyes of the Japanese, this
Once the two "invincible giant ships" were put into service, the Ming Navy would definitely lose.
But in Nanjing, the Ming Army Headquarters had another plan. Many generals of the General Staff still wanted to have a decisive battle with the Japanese fleet. Just like the Battle of Jutland, the steel behemoths formed a battle fleet and puffed out black smoke.
Chopping through the waves, firing thousands of cannons at each other... What a majestic and romantic scene it was.
Many of the generals of the Ming Navy have longed for this situation in their childhood. The passion of youth in their veins has boiled countless times. When they grew up, they applied for the naval school and got to where they are today. This generation grew up in the era of battleships.
Deep down, I hope that I will have such an opportunity in my life to command a giant steel ship in a decisive battle at sea, and my life will not be wasted. This kind of complex is beyond the control of reason. Even Xiang Xiaoqiang himself has this kind of complex.
But after all, this is a matter related to the fate of the country and the lives of many people. The navy is a "sane" branch, and the Ming Dynasty is not like the country that is crazy like Japan. In the General Staff of the Ming Dynasty, at least Xiong Dingming is on Xiang Xiaoqiang's side. He has already
I have seen the power of submarine warfare, and at the same time I am also very clear about the comparison of national power between the two countries tomorrow. And compared to the decisive battle of fleets, the casualties in submarine warfare are much less. It can be said that if a submarine is sunk, it may not be as good as a battleship being shot to death.
There are many people.
Therefore, he advocated that the Ming fleet should not take the initiative to seek a decisive battle with the Japanese fleet. Instead, the main force should be placed on guarding offshore sea control and protecting Ming's own maritime transportation lines. In fighting Japanese warships, we should try our best to ensure that we use more to defeat fewer.
Defeat the weak with the strong to ensure that they will not suffer heavy losses. The Ming army also sent some fast cruisers, one alone or two together, to wander deep into Japan's controlled area in the Western Pacific, serving as ocean-going raiders, waiting for opportunities to attack Japanese merchant ships.