The Rise of the Third Reich

1944, July 8.

In the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, near the Kamchatka Peninsula, a huge fleet quickly moved south along the coastline.

2 Langkstadt-class battlecruisers, 3 Gangut-class battleships, 2 Kirov-class heavy cruisers, 4 Mark Gorky-class heavy cruisers, 6 Leningrad-class destroyers, 1 Tashkent-class destroyer , 11 Firepower-class destroyers, 4 Dzerzhinsky-class destroyers, 4 Karl Liebknecht-class destroyers, 5 Artem-class destroyers, 2 Kalinin-class destroyers, 1 Sverdlov There are 1 Frunze-class destroyer, one Frunze-class destroyer, and the only old-fashioned "Karl Marx" class aircraft carrier of the Soviet Red Navy (a product of the Soviet-German honeymoon period joint construction).

A total of 47 warships were followed by a large number of minelayers, minesweepers, oilers and supply ships. The billowing smoke almost obscured the sky, and several F6F fighter jets assisted by the United States were circling and covering the sky. Such a spectacular scene made the sailors on the deck excited. In addition, Bulganin, the political commissar of the Red Navy who was riding on the Langkstadt, had already announced the destination before the fleet set off - the United States, the happy country in the world second only to the Soviet Union (before the start of the Great Patriotic War) , the best place in the world after the Soviet Union is Germany), so comrades are in a good mood and are optimistic about the prospects of victory in the second civil revolutionary war (the Great Patriotic War has now become the second civil revolutionary war) Full of confidence. Many people are even looking forward to a decisive battle in the Pacific with the Nazi German fleet supporting the Belarusian reactionaries!

However, in the flagship battlecruiser Kronstadt, Political Commissar Bulganin and Commander Kuznetsov were not as optimistic as the soldiers. The two people staying in the political commissar's cabin were even a little restless.

Because they both know that it is impossible for their fleet to fight a decisive battle with the European Combined Fleet in the Pacific, but there is a high probability of encountering the main force of the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet!

To be honest, the two of them simply forced themselves to lead the fleet from Vladivostok. But they also know that this decision is completely correct, because the Pacific Fleet is waiting to die in Vladivostok. Whenever the Japanese think they can start a war, they will send a few aircraft carriers over and bomb them for a few rounds and then they will be gone.

Therefore, Bulganin and Kuznetsov have been waiting for the opportunity, but the main force of the Japanese combined fleet has stayed in Danguan Bay, the anchorage of the Southern Kuril Islands, for several months. Although there have been several large-scale dispatches, they have never been all out. There is always a part of the fleet left behind.

Moreover, at that time, the Far East was still in the snowmelt season, which was not suitable for sending troops to fight, so the risk of the Soviet Pacific Fleet staying in Vladivostok was not great. But after June, the land in the Far East was dry, and the Soviet Union was facing collapse on the Western Front battlefield. The capital Moscow was under tight siege. There was also a lot of intelligence indicating that the Japanese army was sending a large number of troops to Manchuria!

This shows that Japan's invasion of the Far East is imminent, and the Soviet Pacific Fleet may be raided by the Japanese army at any time!

So as soon as Bulganin and Kuznetsov got the opportunity (the combined fleet was dispatched in full force), they bit the bullet and led the Pacific Fleet to attack.

However, even if the Japanese combined fleet was deployed in full force, they still did not dare to take it lightly. Not only did they carefully formulate a confusing route, but they also chose the time to break through the North Kuril Islands chain at night.

In addition, more than a dozen submarines were dispatched from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (the naval port of the Soviet Pacific Fleet) near the Northern Kuril Islands to repeatedly patrol the waters near the Northern Kuril Islands.

But the two of them still felt a strong sense of uneasiness in their hearts!

"Did the U.S. Pacific Fleet and the Japanese fleet exchange fire?" Bulganin turned around and asked Kuznetsov. The Soviet Pacific Fleet is currently implementing radio restrictions and cannot send telegrams, but it can still receive telegrams. The U.S. Pacific Fleet Command notified the Soviet Pacific Fleet of the latest military information every two hours through the telegraph station in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Bulganin counted the time and felt that it was almost time again, so he asked this question.

Kuznetsov replied: "There has been an exchange of fire. According to the telegram an hour and a half ago, Midway Island has been attacked by Japanese aircraft. This shows that the Japanese aircraft carriers are near Midway Island, so they are very far away from us." "

The Great Battle of Midway has now begun!

However, the Americans did not reveal much information in their last radio communication. They only said that Midway Island was attacked by more than 100 Japanese carrier-based aircraft. The P47s and P51s on the island took off to fight and shot down 21 enemy aircraft. Lost 6 aircraft...

Commissar Bulganin's eyes returned to the chart. The Kuril Islands seemed like an iron chain thrown from the Japanese archipelago, extending to the sea less than 6 nautical miles away from the Kamchatka Peninsula.

And the Soviet Pacific Fleet will pass there in a few hours...still under the muzzle of Japanese coastal defense artillery!

"Jingle Bell……"

A red telephone suddenly came to mind. Kuznetsov immediately picked up the phone receiver, listened for a while, and then said to Bulganin solemnly: "Comrade Political Commissar, a Japanese patrol ship appeared 28,000 meters directly in front of us... Our whereabouts have been exposed. !”

…

"What? About seventy or eighty Soviet ships appeared in the waters near Kamchatka Peninsula and are approaching the Northern Kuril Islands!? This is the main force of the Soviet Pacific Fleet..."

Japanese Navy Commander Nagano Shushen looked with some surprise at the Deputy Commander Ito Seiichi who reported to him.

"The Soviet Pacific Fleet wants to run away!" Yamamoto Isoroku, who was sitting next to him, reacted immediately. "They actually seized a good opportunity!"

Now the First Mobile Fleet has begun bombing Midway Island and may confront the aircraft carriers of the U.S. Pacific Fleet at any time, so Yamamoto Isoroku also personally sat in the military headquarters.

Unexpectedly, before the U.S. Pacific Fleet showed up, the Soviet Pacific Fleet took the lead and even appeared near the Northern Kuril Islands.

Of course, they have only one purpose for appearing there, which is to break out of the island chain and escape into the Pacific Ocean.

Although the strength of the Soviet Pacific Fleet is not worth mentioning compared to the Japanese Combined Fleet, it is not a big trouble for them to break into the Pacific. In particular, the two Kronshtadt-class battlecruisers they owned were built with the help of the Germans and were built according to the standards of fast destroyers. It has powerful guns), fast speed (up to 32 knots), and very strong armor protection. If they are allowed to merge with two American "Independence" class aircraft carriers, they will be one or two break-up formations with quite powerful firepower!

In addition, the more than 100 submarines of the Soviet Pacific Fleet are also a big trouble. If they are allowed to enter the waters of the Pacific and Southeast Asian islands, Japan's already precarious maritime transportation lines will be even worse.

"Baga, the Soviet fleet cannot be allowed to enter the Pacific!"

"They must be destroyed!"

"But how to destroy them? We have less than 100 aircraft in the Northern Kuril Islands, most of them are reconnaissance aircraft, and there are no big ships..."

"It's getting dark now, and it's almost nighttime over in the Northern Thousand Islands, right?"

"Your Majesty the two marshals, what should we do?"

Several senior lieutenants and lieutenants from the Navy Command Department started discussing, but they could not come up with any countermeasures. In the end, everyone turned their attention to Yamamoto Isoroku and Nagano Shushen.

"Yamamoto-kun, look..." Nagano Shushen was also undecided. "Do you think we should order the plane to dispatch?"

Yamamoto Isoroku shook his head and said: "Nagano-kun, the empire has not yet started a war with the Soviet Union! Our navy cannot provoke a war without authorization!"

After all, the Navy is not the Army. It cannot start a war without permission, otherwise it will not end well even if it wins.

"Oh, that's right." Nagano Shushen pressed his forehead. He was a little anxious and confused, forgetting that Japan and the Soviet Union hadn't declared war yet!

"Yamamoto-kun," Nagano said, "declaring war cannot be done so quickly. We must hold an imperial meeting and ask His Majesty the Emperor for instructions. It seems that the Soviet Pacific Fleet cannot be stopped no matter what..."

Yamamoto Isoroku smiled faintly and said: "This is not necessarily the case. As long as we can accurately calculate the whereabouts of the Soviet fleet, we can still use the main force of the Combined Fleet and the First Mobile Fleet to intercept it."

Nagano nodded, although the main force of the combined fleet and the first mobile fleet are currently fighting in the central Pacific. But now the aircraft carriers of the U.S. Pacific Fleet have not shown up, so there is nothing wrong with using them to deal with the Soviet Pacific Fleet first.

After all, the war between Japan and the United States has reached its final stage - winning or losing at Midway is nothing more than the number of chips on the Japan-US negotiation table.

At worst, Japan will give up the Hawaiian Islands and let the United States fight the Germans to the death. And for Japan, as long as it can deal with Germany, there is nothing wrong with letting the main force of the U.S. Pacific Fleet go...

The war between Japan and the Soviet Union has just begun. This war is related to the hegemony of the East Asian continent, and Japan cannot afford to lose.

Yamamoto Isoroku had already stood up and said to Nagano Shushen: "Nagano-kun, the Prime Minister should convene a cabinet meeting soon. But whether it is war or peace, we still have to listen to the opinions of the ministers. I want to go to Fushimi Palace. Let’s discuss it and take the first step.”

The so-called "opinions of important ministers" he mentioned actually refer to the "myths" passed down by two important ministers, Fushimi Palace and Kanin Palace. And now the living god should not know about the actions of the Soviet Pacific Fleet, so Yamamoto wants to go to Fushimi Palace immediately to report the situation in person, and at the same time convey the navy's intention: to break with the Soviet Union in advance and give priority to annihilating the Soviet Pacific Fleet!