Iron Cross

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If Hoffman had been at the scene, he would have lamented that due to the impact of the times and the power of time travel, Japan's shipbuilding plan has a greater appetite than history - the fifth plan is just a plan for 13 Yunlong modifications and 5 Taiho modifications. It was still planned to be completed by 1950, but now regardless of the plan of Yamamoto Isoroku or Fushimi Miyahiro Prince, the aircraft carrier part alone has exceeded the original idea, and the plan has been accelerated to be realized by the end of 1948. It is simply progress overnight.

However, Japan has the capital to do this: after withdrawing from the quagmire of the Chinese battlefield, material supplies have improved greatly. In addition, all the manufacturing of army mechas has been stopped, and millions of tons of steel supplies have arrived. Japan has become fat overnight, and Germany It also promised to continue selling finished steel products to Japan, no less than 4 million tons per year - this figure accounts for half of Japan's production, but less than 3% of European steel production under German control. As long as Belgium, the Netherlands, France and other countries It is enough for the state to turn on its industrial machinery. Coupled with the extra 2 million tons of ship tonnage out of thin air, the Japanese Navy is like an oversupplied prime minister and urgently needs to show its existence.

As the war has developed to this day, even the stubborn fleet faction cannot help but recognize the core value and role of the aircraft carrier, and they dare not stop the construction of aircraft carriers to build battleships - the fleet faction cannot be a capitulation faction. Therefore, Fukurumushige's position is based on the need to make up for the larger losses of the battleship force, and it is well-founded - since the South Pacific Campaign, battleships, especially super battleships, have played a huge role.

Horikichi pondered for a moment and did not rush to express his position. Instead, he asked other questions: "How is the current situation of the slipway?"

"Repair operations are in full swing on the large slipway. Warships including the Musashi, Nagato, Shokaku, Kirishima, Kongo, and Bian are undergoing repairs, modifications, and maintenance. In addition, the Unryu class is under construction. Taiho and Shinano have already The construction of the Dafeng-class ship No. 2 will start next month, and the construction of the Yunlong-class ship No. 9 is expected to start in January next year. It will continue to occupy two large slipways, and the medium-sized slipway is ready to be transformed into a light and auxiliary aircraft carrier... "Inoue Narumi said, "It is expected that large berths will have more vacancies after the repair and renovation project is completed in February next year. Medium-sized berths will be basically full. Of course, there will be necessary spare berths to carry out repair and maintenance operations in an emergency. "

Everyone turned their attention to Horikichi, waiting for him to express his position. Although Kusaka Renichi had just spoken, he was interrupted impatiently by Prince Fushimi Miyahiro Kyouchi after only a few words. However, Horikichi was obviously not in a hurry to express his views, but asked the second question: "Apart from the battleships, are there any arguments for other ships?"

Prince Fushimi Miyahiro Kyo thought that he was completely pretentious. He must have communicated with Yamamoto a long time ago, and they basically had the same view. The reason why he didn't say it now was completely a conspiracy.

"Yes, there are different opinions on heavy cruisers, light cruisers and destroyers. There are also differences on handymen, special service ships, ad hoc ships, etc., but they are relatively small." Narumi Inoue looked at her face and her expression became more and more serious. The ugly Prince Fushimi Miyahiro Kyo smiled slightly and said, "Why don't you express your opinion on the construction of the battleship first? We can also make adjustments according to actual combat requirements."

Fushimiyama almost couldn't help but get angry on the spot, but he restrained himself completely: the double act of Inoue Narumi and Horikichi gave him goosebumps.

Horikichi took a deep breath, and everyone was shocked by what he said: "To be honest, I don't agree with both opinions! If we continue like this, we will have no other outcome except failure."

Everyone seemed to have been slapped with a slap in the face, and they were all dumbfounded.

Upon hearing this, Fushimi Miyahiro Prince was a little angry and quite angry; Yamamoto Isoroku still maintained a half-smiling attitude, with an unfathomable taste. However, given their status, it was impossible for the two of them to personally accuse Horikichi, but the vanguard of the two factions couldn't hold it any longer.

"Matsuda-kun, please express your opinion on my behalf."

Chiaki Matsuda, the current chief think tank of the Combined Fleet, immediately stood up and spoke: "The Combined Fleet believes that the Marushin Plan should completely stop the construction of all types of battleships and super armored cruisers, and fully focus on the construction of aircraft carriers; in addition to using the existing hulls to transform light, auxiliary In addition to aircraft carriers, the main construction is Yunlong-class medium-sized fleet aircraft carriers. The commander hopes to start construction of 10 Yunlong-class aircraft carriers every year. It would be better if one can be launched every month. At the same time, he hopes to compress the construction period to 18 months while ensuring quality; indeed There is still room for construction of another Daifeng-class ship, but only one ship is enough. Please note that the Kaiyunlong here has been strengthened in terms of tonnage, structure, and armament, and is 10-15% more tonnage than the existing warships. "

Everyone whispered: It’s understandable that Commander Horikichi doesn’t want a battleship, but why doesn’t he even want a Taiho class? This is the sturdiest and most difficult to sink aircraft carrier, and construction of one Yunlong class ship is started every month. This step seems to be too big. If we continue like this, regardless of whether the national power can bear it, there will be no room for the existence of the fleet faction. .

"The specific reasons are as follows: First of all, the number of battleships is expected to be 3 Yamato-class, 1 Nagato-class, and 2 Kongo-class. It is basically sufficient at present and there is no need to build more."

Everyone immediately started talking. It was not enough for the United Fleet to have more than ten battleships. Now it only has 6 battleships, one of which has not been officially completed. It is said that enough is enough. What kind of logic is this?

"Quiet, quiet, please continue speaking, Mr. Matsuda." Inoue Narumi had to stand up again to maintain order.

Yamamoto Isoroku remained calm, but Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi sneered: Go ahead and tell me how you can explain this.

"The total tonnage of our battleships is currently just over 300,000 tons. Let's assume 300,000 tons. According to the Washington Naval Treaty 20 years ago, we originally believed that having about 70% of the tonnage of the US battleships would ensure safety. Therefore, if the tonnage of the US battleships is within 430,000 tons, we will be relatively safe. To this day, due to the combined fleet's good operations, the US military actually has about 3-4 Iowa-class battleships, 2-3 South Dakota-class battleships, 1 Colorado-class (West Virginia), and 2-3 old battleships. The specific data of the Iowa class is unknown, and the tonnage is expected to be no more than 50,000 tons, and the South Dakota class is less than 40,000. Even if all are calculated at the upper limit, it is less than 400,000 tons - very safe.

Even if the current George V-class and Queen Elizabeth-class old battleships of the British Royal Navy are added, the total tonnage of British and American battleships is That is just over 500,000 tons. But don't forget that the German and Italian allies currently have 4 Veneto-class battleships, Tirpitz, Richelieu, 2 Scharnhorst-class battleships and a batch of old Italian battleships, with a total tonnage of more than 400,000 tons. Even if Britain and the United States continue to add 200,000-300,000 tons of battleships in the next 2-3 years, the overall number of both sides will be roughly the same, not to mention that the Axis parties still have a significant performance advantage.

The chief believes: Since we insisted on the 70% theory against the United States at the beginning, Britain and the United States now only have 70% of the overall combat power of the Axis, even if it takes another 2-3 years, it will be a tie at best. Isn't this a huge strategic advantage? So there is no need to waste energy and materials to build battleships. "

Matsuda Chiaki has a good eloquence, and coupled with his long-standing reputation as an American expert, his words are clear and logical, which makes everyone very convinced. After careful calculation, everyone found that it was indeed the case. The Combined Fleet and the Nanyang Island Defense Force used suicide weapons to kill many British and American battleships. Even after losing a batch of battleships, they were not at a disadvantage in terms of total tonnage. On the contrary, they were still slightly ahead of Britain and the United States. This was really heroic. Before the war, no one would have dared to think of such a wonderful result.

Ordinary officers were only intoxicated by the existing advantages of battleships, but Yamamoto Isoroku, who was familiar with the struggles among the high-level officials in the navy, cast a meaningful glance at Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi, who was about to stand up and get angry.

Chiaki Matsuda's words were apparently about battleships, but in fact they were trying to overturn the "Okaku Personnel Incident" 10 years ago. In Fushimi's eyes, mentioning the 70% theory of the United States in public was simply a loss of face for him, and it was an opportunity for Hori Teikichi to take revenge openly.

During the negotiations of the Washington Arms Treaty 20 years ago, there was a fierce debate within the Japanese Navy, with positions divided into the fleet faction and the treaty faction. The former insisted on 70% of the US, while the latter believed that 60% of the US was acceptable and should be compromised as much as possible to buy time. Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi was the general backer of the fleet faction, and he insisted on "70% of the US", otherwise he would rather the negotiations broke down. The debate lasted for 10 years, and the two sides were still arguing until 1933.

Osumi Tsuyoshi was the then Minister of the Navy. He was initially a treaty faction, but later turned to the fleet faction under pressure. But as the Minister of the Navy, he was extremely dissatisfied with the request of the leader of the fleet faction, Vice Admiral Takahashi Mikichi, the Deputy Chief of the Naval General Staff, to transfer part of the power of the Navy Ministry to the Naval General Staff during wartime and in peacetime. The negotiations between the Navy Ministry and the Naval General Staff started with verbal battles between section chiefs, then escalated to fierce arguments between the director-general and the vice-minister, then extended to arguments between the minister and the Naval General Staff, and finally evolved into a game between Osumi Tsuyoshi and Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi. In the end, Prince Fushimi used his royal family status and transcendent status to overwhelm Osumi Tsuyoshi.

That was not all. In order to completely defeat the treaty faction, Prince Fushimi also demanded that all generals who might hinder the future military expansion route be exiled. Osumi Tsuyoshi had to remove the backbone of the treaty faction, including Admirals Taniguchi Naomasa and Yamanashi Katsunoshin, as well as Ken Terajima, who had served as the vice minister of the navy and the director of the Military Affairs Bureau, Teikichi Hori, Vice Admiral Sakon Shisei, and Vice Admiral Sakano Tsuyoshi, who served as the director of the Military Affairs Bureau, and were all removed from their posts and transferred to the reserve. The only one missing was Yamamoto Isoroku, who was still a major general at the time (he was promoted to vice general after the personnel changes at Osumi).