The Rise of the Empire

"Damn it, we were caught up in the end! If Iowa didn't run too slowly, we could have waited until nightfall to avoid the opponent's attack!" Dewey sighed as he watched the gradually clear shadow of the ship in the distance. The arrival of Iowa is a great reinforcement for the US fleet, and it is also a burden. There is no other reason. The speed of this cargo is a bit slow, and it should pay 70% of the responsibility for being caught up this time!

But now is obviously not the time to study this. It is a historical necessity for the Japanese fleet to catch up with itself. The beating is about to begin!

Now that you can't run away, let's face it directly! Accompanied by the change of the signal flag on the mast of the battleship Iowa, the US and Russian fleets began to change course, heading towards the Japanese fleet with their backs against the sun! Both sides are in a desperate battle. The number of the US and Russian fleets is two more, while the quality of the Japanese fleet seems to be higher! This is really a battle of close strength! At least Americans think so.

The actions of the Americans also fell into the eyes of the Japanese, and the long-awaited battle officially began. From the front to the rear, the nine battleships of the Japanese fleet lined up in order, and the two second-class battleships at the beginning were Fuji and Yashimago , followed by the four armored cruisers that Japan obtained from the traversers, from front to back are Asama, Yakumo, Nisshin and Izumo, and then there are the first-class protected cruiser Kasuga and two second-class cruisers. Wait for the protected cruiser.

The formation of the Americans is similar to that of the Japanese, and the Americans also concentrated their most elite warships in front! The strongest is naturally the battleship USS Iowa, and then the armored cruiser USS Brooklyn. The only thing that has changed is the position of USS New York. This battleship is the weakest combat ship among the large warships of the US-Russian fleet, and because it carried captured Japanese and British prisoners of war, it was moved to the back, at the sixth battle position. Ma Jifen was temporarily assigned to the New York.

Behind Brooklyn were three Russian armored cruisers, Rurik, Bayan, and Parada. Behind is the New York, and at the end is Shelly's protected cruiser formation. The formation has not changed, followed by the Olympia, two Columbia-class protected cruisers, and two second-class protected cruisers.

"It is impossible for the main fleet in front to open up the situation in a short time. Our only chance is in the contest of protected cruisers. We have 5 battleships, and the opponent only has 3! The tonnage is also an absolute advantage. If you can Destroy the opponent's rearguard within an hour, then the battle will turn around!" Before going to the New York, Ma Jifen specially emphasized to Shelley that the reason is simple, because in the competition between the first-class warships of the two sides, the US fleet basically has It was suppressed!

Although Dewey, Shelley and others were somewhat dissatisfied with Magiffin's opinion, they all admitted that Magiffin, who had rich combat experience, had a very high tactical level! There is a reason why he repeatedly emphasized the influence of elite warships on the entire battle situation in naval battles.

In the Battle of Dadonggou in the Qing Dynasty, the biggest mistake of the Japanese tactics actually appeared at the very beginning. If Japan's most elite fast fleet entangled the most powerful Munich and the two Zhiyuan ships from the beginning, it would at least allow The fierce Munich could not easily kill the weak ships in the Japanese fleet. It is true that the Japanese fast fleet quickly dealt with battleships such as Chaoyong Yangwei, but at the same time it also lost relatively elite warships like the Sanjing Ship, which is not worth the loss in terms of exchange.

And now the biggest problem for the US fleet is that, apart from Iowa being able to suppress Fuji from attributes,

Brooklyn seems to be able to block Yashima, and the other 4 armored cruisers face 4 Nissin-class armored cruisers, which is completely useless! The two Munich-class ships will definitely not be able to beat their own upgraded version. It is only a matter of time before they lose. Essen thinks that the Rurik is not as good as Munich. It may kneel faster, let alone New York. There is no defense. , If you want firepower, you don't have firepower, if you want blood, you don't have blood volume.

In the face of a situation that is almost likely to be defeated in the future, all the Americans can do is to bring the New York and the Olympia closer, and if necessary, 2 against 1, barely keeping the tie. "If we are lucky enough, our armored fleet may hold each other for more than 2 hours. If it takes longer, I'm afraid it won't work. The only chance to break the game is the battle of the protected cruiser formation!" Dewey said in the tactical arrangement before the battle. Said so. In this case, the US fleet finally met its opponent!

"From a tactical point of view, the Americans did their best before joining the battle. Relatively speaking, the Japanese did not do very well. They used second-class capital ships to deal with the most fierce existence in the American fleet. Subsequent facts proved that the second-class battleship Fuji was indeed inferior to the American battleship Iowa, but it is a pity that the Americans and Russians did not seize this opportunity.” After the war, a British soldier who participated in the war The military officers commented on the deployment of the two sides before the battle.

Before the Japanese fleet finally arrived, the U.S. fleet completed the formation and course adjustments, and the warships of the two countries pulled out two battle lines, almost parallel to the south. This is a national war, and neither the Americans nor the Japanese Acting cautiously, the two sides approached slowly, and when the relative distance gradually approached from 5,000 meters to 4,000 meters, 3,500 meters to 3,000 meters, Fuji fired the first shot of the war!

The barrels of the twin 10-inch heavy guns at the front and rear of the Fuji shrank back suddenly. With the sound of the cannons, two huge fireballs burst out from the muzzle. Two 227KG artillery shells roared and flew towards the distant US fleet. A few seconds later, two huge water jets exploded only 20 meters away from the Iowa! Then, other Japanese battleships also opened fire one after another, balls of flames jumped on the side of the battleship, and tons of deadly shells roared towards their targets.

And the Americans were not to be outdone, and with violent vibrations, shells flew out of the muzzle. However, compared with the firepower of the Japanese, although the US fleet has a numerical advantage, its total firepower projection is at a disadvantage from the beginning. And the worse artillery skills of the Americans further expanded this disadvantage! But even so, the two sides were still inseparable from the beginning! For the two newly rising empires, both sides pulled out all the stops. Unless it is a last resort, you will never back down!

Thanks to the book friend Fangzhan 2004 for the reward~~~, and the monthly ticket support of the book friend Zeng Wan, Xiaodao Leng, qsefth11, youbo, and flydragon~~~!