Australian Storm 1876

   Chapter 876 Steady Victory

   two days later

   September 14, 1908

   More than 7 am in the morning

A mighty ship formation with the stars and stripes appeared at the end of the distant sky, one after another huge steel triangular masts emerged, and then the huge white-painted steel hull chopped the waves, and the thick chimney spit. Thick black smoke, rendering half of the sky, rushed towards the direction of Hawaii Island.

  This ship formation consists of 6 battleships, 9 cruisers (including ironclads) and 21 lightning strike ships (torpedo destroyers with a displacement of less than 1000 tons), escorting 41 merchant ships all the way.

Among them, there are 19 troop carriers of various sizes, carrying 3 active duty infantry regiments and 11 National Guard regiments, totaling 12,300 soldiers, and also transporting a large number of horses, including one artillery regiment. 4 ships, accompanied by a large amount of ammunition, carriages and hay, they will act as the firepower of the landing force, destroying all enemies.

  In Citiland, the army is based on regiments as a permanent establishment, with each infantry regiment ranging from 750 to more than 820 people, and the establishment is generally small, while the division level is a temporary establishment, which will be disbanded after the war.

   On the eve of the war

   The Citizens Army has 4 disgruntled divisions, a cavalry division and three infantry divisions, stationed in the states and existing in regiments.

   After the outbreak of the war, they were quickly called up and co-edited as divisions.

President Roosevelt introduced emergency bills and passed Congress, repealing the 9-month limit on National Guard soldiers, repealing the limit not to be used overseas, repealing the limit on mobilizing up to 12 infantry divisions for the next war Mobilization cleared the way.

  According to the requirements of the first step of war mobilization, the National Guard needs to prepare 12 infantry divisions, and the personnel are currently being assembled urgently. The soldiers who boarded the troop carrier of the Expeditionary Fleet this time are already the greatest strength that Citi's west coast can put out.

   Calculated, Citi will have 16 divisions that can be used for war.

   In June 1908, Congress asked the Secretary of the Army to submit a report on the state of military readiness. The Army War College produced a candid analysis that identified the weaknesses of the regular army;

   Insufficient troops.

   Lack of reserves of field guns, ammunition and other ordnance.

   The organization of the quarters and materiel departments is clumsy and incompetent.

  The state of the National Guard is terrible, the soldiers are poorly trained and physically weak,

  The troops are poorly equipped and poorly organized, and the professional quality of the officers is not high.

The    report summed up the situation in a brief conclusion; "It is clear that we are almost completely unprepared for war, the things we most need 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...."

   From the complete deterioration of the situation in Argentina to the outbreak of the war, it left only half a month before and after the decision of the Citizen government. It also includes the ultimatum that Ocean Empire likes to play, or it will be shorter.

From the time when the Army learned that the White House decided to fight the war, it took less than 9 days to add up to 12,300 soldiers. Fortunately, the four infantry regiments of the Texas National Guard are concentrating. Training, otherwise there will not be so many people together.

  Citiland has been involved in the war in a hurry. The Ocean Empire has been preparing for this for two years and nine months. The gap between the two sides is huge.

The   Monroe Doctrine, as the national policy of the United States, has been proposed and practiced for 85 years. The European powers have respected it and maintained it for nearly a hundred years without committing any crimes. Who would have thought that the Ocean Empire would dare to trample it openly?

   Even if you break your head, who can think of it?

   On the flagship battleship "Alabama", Rear Admiral Schroeder stood at the command tower with a grim expression.

   4th Squadron originally consisted of two 1901 Illinois class battleships and two 1900 Killsarge class battleships. Including the flagship "Alabama", "Illinois", "Kiersarge", "Kentucky".

   End of August 1908

The Huaqi Navy has 22 battleships, of which 18 are new ships built after 1900, all of which are former dreadnought battleships, unified with 305mm main guns and 203mm secondary main guns, with an average maximum speed of 18~20 knots .

   After the outbreak of the "Wool War", the Great White Fleet was reorganized, and the No. 4 Squadron was strengthened with the two battleships "Nebraska" and "Maine".

   Therefore, in the expeditionary fleet of Major General Schroeder, there is a strong lineup of 6 battleships and 9 cruisers in total, which is used to deal with the main lineup of only 4 cruisers at Pearl Harbor.

   In the mind of Major General Schroeder, he believed that this attack was inevitable.

   On the one hand, as the first battle after the outbreak of the war, we must win the battle to boost the morale of the army. On the other hand, it focuses on training the team and enhancing the actual combat capability.

The Fourth Squadron has the most old ships in the entire Great White Fleet (specifically refers to the battleships built from 1900 to 1904), but the entire navy has sharply added 10 battleships in 2006 and 2007, requiring tens of thousands of naval officers and soldiers. A lot of blood was drawn on the old ship as much as 70%, and many newbies were added.

   After one or two years of training, these novices have gradually entered a good state. Instead, they are the most powerful squadrons in the entire Great White Fleet.

  Conquering Pearl Harbor was the best whetstone for these naval officers and men.

   Among them, the battleship "Maine" is especially worth mentioning. It was the first new battleship to be started after the Spanish-American War. The first ship was named after the sunken "Maine" battleship.

Citigroup has learned lessons from the experience of exporting the high-speed battleship "Letvizan" to Russia. The "Maine" class has changed the tradition of slow-speed heavy armor of Citigroup battleships, increasing the power of the main engine to 16,000 horsepower and increasing the speed. to the 18-knot level of the mainstream in Europe.

   This is Citi's first battleship to reach a speed of 18 knots. Three chimneys are its main feature, and the battleship "Maine" has a displacement of 12,846 tons.

The caliber of the main gun of the ship has been reduced from 330 mm (using black powder short-barreled main gun) to 305 mm, but the length of the barrel has been increased to 40 times the diameter, and the longest range is 14.6 kilometers. mm main guns, 8 203 mm secondary main guns, 16 152 mm single-barrel guns.

   Among the 6 battleships of the Fourth Squadron, the battleship Maine had the largest displacement, the most powerful firepower and the strongest combat effectiveness.

   "Navigation officer, report the position of our ship." Major General Schroeder ordered in a deep voice.

"Yes, Your Excellency Commander, my ship is now in the northeast direction of the Hawaiian Islands, with a speed of 11 knots and a distance of about..." The navigator hurriedly measured on the chart, paused for a while before answering; "75 nautical miles, estimated time of arrival 6 hours 040 minutes, about 2pm."

   2pm?

   Rear Admiral Schroeder nodded with satisfaction. He is a prudent general. After he has calculated that he has arrived at the predetermined sea area, he will have enough time to search for the surrounding enemy situation to ensure that the large fleet will not be attacked by the enemy.

   Even if there is a possibility, it should be ruled out.

   "Order Lightning Strike Destroyer No. 1 Squadron, and No. 2 Squadron to go out quickly, rush to the predetermined sea area in advance, investigate the surrounding enemy situation, and execute it immediately."

   "Yes, sir, Lightning Strike Destroyer 1st Squadron 2nd Squadron quickly moved forward and executed immediately." After repeating the order, the communications officer immediately got up and went to the telegraph room to issue the order.

   Thanks to the advancement of science and technology, the ships of the Great White Fleet are equipped with new radio stations, with a maximum communication distance of 30 kilometers, which can already meet the needs of the formation.

   But this kind of radio station made in Australia has a high failure rate and cannot be turned on for a long time. It can only be turned off after a short turn on for a limited communication period every day, otherwise it will burn expensive vacuum tubes.

  Recalling all his actions, Major General Schroeder did not find any flaws, so he took a few steps back and sat on the command chair, took a sip of coffee in a relaxed mood, and felt very good.

   After getting the news that the Ocean Empire officially declared war on the morning of September 11, the fleet that had been preparing for a week set off in the afternoon, with almost no delay.

  Today is September 14th, the 4th day after leaving the port of San Francisco. It is expected that there will be a half-day trip to reach the island of Hawaii, followed by a pleasant hunting process.

   If the bureaucrats in the Admiralty were not rigid and inflexible, Rear Admiral Schroeder wanted to set off a few days ago, but was stuck. The poor organization and low quality of officers in the report of the Ministry of the Army also exist in the Ministry of the Navy!

The long voyage was dull and boring. Seeing that General Schroeder was in a good mood, Captain Ike de Witt Wade came over and said with a smile; "Sir, I heard a long time ago that the Hawaiian Islands are like a paradise. Great place, unfortunately I have been serving on the east coast and never had the chance to experience it myself, I always feel like it's exaggerated!"

   "You are wrong, Ike, this is the most beautiful archipelago I have ever seen, no one."

   "So amazing? You really piqued my curiosity."

"Let me tell you, Miami is a **** if you compare the seascape to the island of Hawaii. More than a decade ago, I served in Admiral Dewey's Far East Fleet, Samarinda in Borneo, Cebu in the Luzon Islands, I have been to Darwin, I have been to Sydney Bay, these places are beautiful places with the same level of scenery as Hawaii. It is said that Tasmania at the end of the world is even more breathtaking, but unfortunately I missed it. Experience." General Sroed smashed his mouth with regret, looking at the 37-year-old naval captain and officer in front of him, and said with unfinished thought; "The Ocean Empire is like a country rich man who hides a lot of good things at home. Originally you Had the opportunity to appreciate these invincible beauty, unfortunately interrupted by this **** war."

   "It's okay, sir, let's kick their **** and grab these goodies, oh... yes, including the island of Hawaii."

   "I hope so, they are not easy to deal with, but don't be careless."

   "Uh... Please forgive me sir, I still can't tell the difference between Oceania and Fuso people. Can you provide some valuable advice."

"Seriously speaking, in the classification of European scholars, the Ocean Empire belongs to white people, of course, they also have a lot of Asian ancestry, just like India, they are generally classified as white people. Compared with Fuso people, Oceania people are taller and have more skin. Fairer, richer, and stronger, after all, they are a nation that grew up eating beef and mutton, and their stature is not much different from that of Europeans."

   "Thank you sir for your valuable advice, I understand."

  The two were chatting casually when suddenly a sharp siren sounded from the ship, which changed their expressions, and immediately rushed to the tower to grab the telescope and start observing.

   "Report to the commander, finding an enemy reconnaissance plane."

   "Direction, location?"

   "Directly ahead at 10 o'clock, at an altitude of about 1400 meters, at a speed of about 75 to 80 knots."

  Major General Schroeder immediately raised his telescope to look over, and sure enough, a biplane in the distant sky was passing leisurely, and it seemed to be counting the type and number of his fleet, which made him very annoyed.

   But anger is anger, but there is no way to deal with it.

  In this day and age, there are no anti-aircraft machine guns and no anti-aircraft guns. The huge fleet has no way to deal with this fly, which really makes people angry.

   "Send my order; the course remains unchanged, the entire fleet accelerates to 14 knots, pay attention to maintaining formation, and report any situation quickly."

   "Understood, the heading remains the same, and the whole accelerates to 14 knots."

Major General Schroeder put down the binoculars in his hand. As the commander of the fleet, he is no stranger to such new things as aircraft. The aircraft in the sky can be seen as a reconnaissance aircraft taking off from Hawaii, because the three planes below the cabin. Only the wheels are very clear.

   Fortunately, it is not a seaplane, if it is a seaplane, it should be a floating bucket.

   In the vast Pacific Ocean, no matter how big the fleet is, it is a drop in the ocean. If you don't know the fleet's heading, speed and position parameters in advance, even God can't find a sneak attack fleet.

  Because of the curved surface of the earth, even if they walk towards each other, as long as they are separated by more than 20 nautical miles, they cannot find each other.

  The appearance of airplanes has changed all this. Nowadays, various airplane clubs have emerged one after another on the North American continent, and some airplane racing competitions are often reported in newspapers.

   There are even whimsical flying enthusiasts in Europe, who are preparing to hold a flight across France, and have offered a grand prize of 10,000 francs, which is equivalent to about 500 pounds.

The messy thoughts flashed through his mind. Major General Schroeder looked gloomily ahead, took out his pocket watch and checked the time. It was now around 9:50 in the morning, and the reconnaissance plane hovered above the fleet for a few minutes. After that, he shook his wings and walked away.

  It is estimated that the reconnaissance plane will send the news back, which is about half an hour at most.

   Now that the fleet is sailing at full speed, it takes about 4 and a half hours to reach the waters near Hawaii, which means that the other party has 4 hours of reaction time, which is basically within the acceptable range.

   The US has many eyes and ears on the island of Hawaii. The news about the garrison is generally clear, but the latest news is also from half a month ago.

  After the official declaration of war, the transoceanic telegraph communication between the two places was completely cut off, and information naturally could not be transmitted.

   (end of this chapter)