1890 King of Southeast Asia

"Kongo-class battlecruisers, Fuso-class battleships..."

"A large fleet was found, with 15 large battleships, which are definitely the main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet."

Large battleships refer to battleships over 10,000 tons. Japan has quite a few of them, including old battleships and old armored cruisers.

If the channel is successfully opened, these old battleships will be active on the route to deal with the threat of the Chinese Navy. If they encounter Chinese battleships, this will also be a supplement to the combat power.

The Japanese idea is that if the quality is not enough, they will make up for it with quantity.

"Distance 19,000 kilometers, heading 12, speed between 8 and 10 knots." The fire control room calculated for a long time and gave the data.

"The Japanese are changing their formation. They must have discovered us."

"Strange, why are the Japanese battle lines not arranged in a straight line, but in an arc? What is the meaning of this formation?"

"I don't understand, but I still think it's better to be cautious. We are at an absolute disadvantage in terms of numbers."

"The Java-class main gun elevation has been strengthened. With the rangefinder, it can attack the enemy 15,000 kilometers away. We can attack from a long distance and respond if there is any change."

"What are you afraid of? The Japanese main guns are not enough to cause fatal damage to our core area. If we bring it closer to 12,000, the hit rate will increase by 1 times."

In the command bridge of the Java Island, the officers were discussing with different opinions.

"Commander, we only have one battleship. My opinion is that we should be conservative and attack from a long distance. After all, we only need to maintain the status quo to win. There is no need to take risks."

After listening, the captain did not agree with the radical battle plan.

"Our goal is not to defeat the Japanese Navy, or the Japanese Navy has already failed." Xu Sunming nodded in agreement.

"Our mission is not to fight, but to disrupt the actions of the Japanese Navy and prevent them from achieving any strategic goals."

"Is there any news about the mission objectives of the Japanese Combined Fleet?" Xu Sunming asked the head of the Communications Section.

"According to the intelligence provided by the intelligence department, the goal of the Japanese Combined Fleet is to open up the North Pacific route. As for why they came here, there is no definite news yet." The head of the Communications Section said.

The main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet was discovered by the Chinese as soon as it went out to sea, or in other words, when it was preparing to go out to sea, the Chinese Intelligence Department received the news that "the Combined Fleet is about to set sail."

After the main force of the Combined Fleet was dispatched and the submarine reported, the airship caught up and monitored the whole process.

According to the intelligence that "Japan intends to open up the North Pacific route", the Chinese Navy made a special response and assigned 3 cruisers and 3 ocean-going destroyers to the Hawaiian Fleet.

At the same time, when the Japanese Combined Fleet set out, the main battleships of the Chinese Navy assembled at the Ryukyu Naval Base, and the Java Island was transferred to this direction during the assembly.

Because the behavior of the Japanese army exceeded the expectations of the Chinese Navy General Staff, it was suspected that the Japanese deliberately released news to mislead the judgment of the Chinese Navy.

Therefore, the fast battleship Java Island, which was on the way to assemble, was assigned the task of a scout and came to close reconnaissance.

The battle formation of the Java Island battleship was not equipped with many warships because it had been performing ocean-going missions for a long time.

A large light cruiser of more than 7,000 tons, 4 ocean-going fast destroyers, 1 10,000-ton fuel supply ship, 1 comprehensive supply ship, plus the Java Island, a total of 8 warships.

This fleet with a not luxurious configuration has been active on the battlefield. The number may not be large, but they are all fine products.

The fuel supply ship and the comprehensive supply ship are both fast supply ships, which allows the maximum fleet speed of this fleet to reach 2+6 knots, which is faster than the maximum speed of all Japanese battleships.

The only things that the Japanese can catch up with are battlecruisers and destroyers. Since there are no ocean-going fast supply ships, the Japanese cannot fight this fleet in the ocean at all.

"Turn left two compass points, 1/4 power, start calibrating at 15,000 kilometers, aiming at the enemy's protruding warships." Xu Sunming habitually took over the command of the warship.

"Yes." The captain took on the task of the fleet chief of staff. As for the fleet chief of staff? The fleet chief of staff is at the Hawaiian naval base.

Wow~~

The Java Island, with a displacement of nearly 40,000 tons, smashed the water and slowly drew an arc on the sea, diagonally facing the Japanese fleet.

"Wind speed 4, humidity..."

"The distance is 14,800, the enemy's speed is 6 knots, my speed is 12 knots, the angle is 30 degrees, and all guns start calibrating."

In the fire control room, in front of several mechanical computers, more than a dozen artillery staff officers who are proficient in mathematics are ready.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Boom! Boom!

The No. 1 and No. 3 turrets began to fire half-volleys and calibrate the shooting, with the purpose of obtaining further design data.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

After turrets 1 and 3 are done, it is the turn of turret 2.

In fact, naval warfare is a very boring and exciting thing, especially in the era of super battleships.

As the range of artillery is getting longer and longer, the sighting equipment is becoming more and more precise and reliable, and the distance of engagement is getting longer and longer, the hits are relatively less and less.

In the past, there were many hits, especially in the era of old battleships, because there were countless secondary guns on the battleships, and these secondary guns would also participate in the battle.

Secondary guns generally cannot cause fatal damage to large battleships, and are mainly used to wash the deck. Without secondary guns, that kind of passion is much less.

Now, the role of secondary guns has been weakened, but the power of main guns has become stronger and stronger, and it is a big deal to be hit by one shot.

The Java fired 9 and a half salvos, and finally fired a cross-fire at an old armored cruiser of the Japanese Combined Fleet.

This is how naval battles work. In addition to the quality of soldiers, the technical content and reliability of equipment, and the power of weapons, luck also plays a big role in determining victory or defeat.

After all, in an era without guidance, a shell weighing hundreds of kilograms was thrown more than ten kilometers away, and the target was a "small boat" that was no more than two hundred meters long and 230 meters wide.

Without the favor of the goddess of luck, it was really difficult to hit.

"Start calibrating the fire, and pay attention to the ammunition inventory." The captain gave the order calmly.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

...

Every gunshot was so deafening, accompanied by thick gunpowder smoke, three batches of a total of nine 356mm shells flew out of the barrel and flew far away to the Japanese Combined Fleet.

"Eight water columns? Duds?" The captain silently counted the number of water columns. The position of these water columns was one of the most important data.

"Hit! Hit!" A young officer slapped the windowsill excitedly.

Hearing this, Xu Sunming took out a telescope and looked over.

The distance was too far, even if the weather was clear, it might not be clear, not to mention that the ship was hidden behind the smoke.

The smoke was very thick, proving the origin of the explosion. Even if Xu Sunming was more than ten kilometers away, he could see the sudden rise of the smoke column.

"Keep shooting." Xu Sunming nodded with relief.

…………

"Commander, the Tsushima has exploded!" Staff officer Akashi looked at the clock tremblingly.

In the command bridge, a group of Japanese naval officers were silent.

"Twenty minutes, from the time the enemy's warship opened fire to the time the Tsushima was hit and exploded, it only took twenty minutes."

"Which warship is this? Judging from the height of the water column, it should be equipped with a 356mm cannon. What are its parameters? Why don't we have any information?"

Yamamoto asked in confusion.

His colleague gently poked him. Knowing that he had said something wrong, Yamamoto 7x8 was silent for a moment and looked at the fleet commander again.

"Commander, this tactic will only cause unnecessary sacrifices."

"I suggest that the fleet collectively turn left and move closer to the enemy. If the enemy turns at the same time, release smoke and retreat. If the enemy does not turn, it is worth eating it at a certain price."

Yamamoto 7x8's words annoyed the supporters of the circular plan.

"You are just a student. You dare to point fingers at the fleet just because you know nothing. You should graduate from the Naval Academy as soon as possible."

"That's right, the circular formation can maximize the overall firepower and increase the density of firepower. Only in this way can we compete with the Chinese and make them retreat when they know the difficulty."

Several staff officers chattered, never mentioning the explosion of the Tsushima.

"Yes, I haven't graduated yet, but I also know that the enemy is 15,000 kilometers away from us, beyond our range."

"It's true that the circular formation can increase the density of firepower, but the premise is that the two sides are not far apart, at least the artillery can hit each other."

"And the shooting data shows that at a distance of 15,000 kilometers, the main guns of our 305mm caliber new battleships have a dispersion of more than 600 meters. The 343mm guns are better, but there are no close-range bullets."

"And those old battleships have weak armor, slow speed, and short shooting distance, and they can't play the role of circular formations at all."

Yamamoto 7x8 was still a junior military academy student at the Japanese Naval Academy at this time. Because the navy soldiers were not replenished in time, the navy simply pulled in a batch of fresh graduates.

It can not only solve the problems of insufficient manpower and lack of professionalism in warships, but also solve employment problems.

"Do as he says, turn." The commander thought about it and said indifferently.

"Commander!"

"Your Excellency! If the distance is too close, even the Hyuga cannot withstand the attack of the enemy's 356mm main gun."

"Commander, we..."

The staff officers were surprised to oppose the plan of the commander of the Combined Fleet.

After many failures, or repeated defeats, the Japanese Navy did not say it, but was still very afraid of the Chinese Navy.

"Do it!" The commander's face was dark and he gave the order coldly.

...

Tsushima is a large armored cruiser developed by the Japanese Navy and the first large cruiser produced independently by Japan.

Compared with the armored cruisers of the same period, its feature is that it carries two 305mm main guns, and its firepower directly reaches the battleship level.

Its maneuverability is higher than that of battleships, and its lethality is higher than that of ordinary cruisers or large armored cruisers.

After the battlecruisers appeared on the sea, Japan added the Tsushima class to the list of battlecruisers, calling it the first battlecruisers.