The Rise of the Third Reich

From July 10 to July 15, 1944, a dramatic change that shocked everyone took place in the Soviet Union and Russia.

The Empire of Japan's invasion of the Soviet Far East seemed to be the starting gun for drastic changes. The Soviet Union and the Russian Empire, two "brothers" who had been fighting to the death on the battlefield just now, reached a complex and constructive peace agreement almost overnight - the Soviet-Russian Civil War was originally thought to be endless. It actually gave up halfway, and it seems that the Soviet Union and Russia still want to unite to fight against Japan, the enemy of the Russian nation!

And this is not the only drastic change. Just as the Soviet Union and Russia shook hands and made peace, a reform that may be more far-reaching also kicked off in the Soviet Union (east of the Urals).

The Bolshevik Party, which lost one war and faced another difficult war, announced an important decision of the Soviet Bolshevik Party on July 15: The Soviet Union will begin a comprehensive economic reform! The original planned economy and public ownership lines will undergo major adjustments...

However, the information that the Soviet Union would carry out major reforms did not attract much attention from the people of the world, because the Imperial Japanese Base Camp released a shocking news on July 15th, Tokyo time, claiming that between July 12th and 15th, The main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet engaged in fierce battles with the United States-Soviet Combined Fleet in the waters near Midway Island in the central Pacific and the waters near the Aleutian Islands in the northern Pacific, and achieved a decisive victory!

In these two naval battles, the invincible Japanese navy fought vigorously, sinking 22 American aircraft carriers, 1 Soviet aircraft carrier, damaging 8 ships, shooting down more than 1,800 US and Soviet shore-based and carrier-based aircraft; sinking US and Soviet battleships/ 8 battlecruisers, 3 were damaged; 25 cruisers, destroyers and other small and medium-sized combat ships were sunk, 15 were damaged; 26 other auxiliary ships and landing ships were sunk, 18 were damaged; the United States and the Soviet Union were killed There are countless army officers and soldiers.

The Japanese Navy's own losses were very slight. None of the battleships were sunk; three aircraft carriers were sunk and five were wounded; a total of 12 light cruisers and destroyers were sunk and eight were wounded; five submarines were sunk; in addition, There are still 228 carrier-based aircraft that have not returned.

In short, the Japanese Navy has achieved a complete victory in the Midway-Aleutian Islands battle this time, and the U.S. Pacific Fleet has suffered a devastating blow!

When the news came back to Japan, the whole country immediately celebrated, and a massive victory parade was held on the streets of Tokyo. The whole of Japan is immersed in fanaticism. Everyone believes that the day when the Japanese Empire will dominate the Pacific and Asian continents has now arrived!

…

"Is this true? Did the Japanese really achieve such a victory?"

Berlin time, July 17, Imperial Marshal Hirschmann asked Admiral Oscar Kumetz, the commander of the German Naval Military Observation Group who had just returned from Japan, in the General Staff Conference Room in Zossen.

Sunk 22 aircraft carriers, 8 battleships/battlecruisers... and shot down 1,800 American aircraft!

Such a record is really amazing. If it is true, then the next Atlantic War will be much easier. Maybe... the Americans don't even have the determination to fight the European combined fleet, so they just spend money to save their lives.

"Marshal Imperial, in the Midway-Aleutian Islands battle, the main force of the Japanese combined fleet was divided into two parts." Admiral Oscar Kumetz replied, "In the direction of Midway Island, 15 aircraft carriers were the main force. A mobile fleet; and in the direction of the Aleutian Islands is the main force of the Combined Fleet, with 13 battleships and 4 large aircraft carriers. I myself followed the flagship of the Combined Fleet, the Yamato, and witnessed the battle in the direction of the Aleutian Islands. "

"How's it going?" Hersman asked.

"It can be confirmed that three Gangut-class battleships and the aircraft carrier Karl Marx were sunk." Admiral Kumetz said, "They were all sunk by Japanese carrier-based aircraft on the aircraft carrier."

"Not including the 2 Kronstadt class ships?"

The three Gangut-class ships and the old Karl Marx-class ship are not of much value, and they are far inferior to the two Kronshtadt-class battlecruisers.

"Not sure," General Kumetz replied. "Although the Japanese included these two battlecruisers in the list of sunk, they did not show photos of them sunk."

"It doesn't matter," Hersman shook his head. "It's unlikely that the two battlecruisers will come to the Atlantic. They probably just broke off the engagement in the Pacific and pose no threat to us."

He paused and glanced at the few young naval aviation officers sitting next to General Kumetz. One of them is Major Rudolf von Heinsberg-Hersmann, Hessmann's eldest son.

"Tell us about the war in the direction of Midway." Hessman ordered.

"Rudolph, you go ahead." Kumetz asked Hessmann's son to be the first to report.

"Yes, General." Rudolf stood up, gave a military salute, and then said, "Report to the Imperial Marshal that in the direction of Midway Island, the Japanese Navy has adopted a method of dispersed deployment of aircraft carrier battle groups. The 15 aircraft carriers are divided into 15 battle groups. , each team has only 1 aircraft carrier and 4-6 escort ships.”

"So scattered?" Hessman knew a little bit about naval warfare. "Is this to avoid attacks from American aircraft?"

"I think so." Rudolph said, "But we don't have 15 naval aviation observers to assign, so we only arranged one each on the Taiho, Akagi, Kaga, Flying Eagle, and Hayabusa. Observer and 3 assistants. What I boarded was Taiho, the flagship of the First Mobile Fleet."

The observers sent by the German Navy were officers, and the assistants were soldiers, responsible for taking pictures and sending reports.

"The Big Phoenix?" Hersman asked. "Is it still there?"

"No more," Rudolf said, "It was sunk...it was sunk by torpedoes launched by American TBF torpedo bombers. A total of 4 aviation torpedoes and 1 submarine launched torpedo hit it. This aircraft carrier Although it is equipped with 10 twin 40mm anti-aircraft guns, Japan's own 25mm cannons have not been replaced by 20mm cannons, so the close-in firepower is still insufficient. Moreover, their 100mm anti-aircraft guns do not have radio proximity fuses, and their lethality is also low. Not enough. So it is very dangerous when encountering torpedoes and dive bombers at the same time.

At that time, the Taiho was attacked by more than 120 American aircraft in three waves. Five 500-pound bombs were hit on the flight deck, but there were no fatal injuries. However, the Taiho's mine resistance performance seemed to be poor. Four aviation torpedoes caused heavy damage to it, and it was ambushed by an American submarine on its way out of the battlefield.

In addition to Taiho, Akagi and Kaga were also besieged by hundreds of American aircraft, suffered heavy damage, and were abandoned on July 13 and 14. "

"Have these three aircraft carriers achieved results?" Hersman asked.

"All achieved results." Rudolph replied, "At least three large American aircraft carriers were severely damaged. The Japanese said they were sunk, but they can't tell from the photos."

"That's not bad." Hessman smiled, "Their Zero fighter planes are already a bit outdated. It must be difficult to fight an aviation battle, right?"

"In fact, the Japanese did not send Zero fighter jets to escort the attack formation." Rudolph said, "The Japanese adopted a new unescorted attack tactic in this battle, and also used the latest 'Meteor' ship-borne torpedo Bomber... This is a very good fighter. Not only is it fast and has a long range, but it can also undertake both dive bombing and torpedo attack missions. Maybe we can consider introducing this kind of aircraft from Japan.”

Hessman listened to his son's suggestion and just nodded slightly without comment. The lack of viable carrier-based dive/torpedo bombers has always been a worry for the German naval aviation. However, Hessmann still will not introduce Japanese "Meteor" for the German naval aviation, because the German naval aviation now has "missiles" available and does not need carrier-based torpedo bombers!

"Apart from one large aircraft carrier, do the Japanese have any confirmable record at Midway?" Hersman asked.

"There are still 2-3 large aircraft carriers that have been severely damaged. Because most of the large aircraft carriers in the United States are Essex class and have similar appearances, it is difficult to distinguish them from photos. It can be determined that 3-4 large aircraft carriers have been severely damaged. "Yes." Rudolph replied, "In addition, 6-8 small and medium-sized aircraft carriers were severely damaged, and 3-4 battleships were severely damaged... These are all documented by photos."

"Oh?" Hessman suddenly became interested. "You also severely damaged 3-4 battleships? That's not bad! Was it also sunk by Meteor torpedo bombers?"

"No," Kumetz said, "he was wounded by the Japanese artillery batteries on Oahu. After the Battle of Midway-Aleutian Islands, the Americans began bombarding Oahu with battleships, and seemed to be preparing for a landing battle. , as a result, they were counterattacked by the Japanese fort on Oahu, and 3-4 old battleships suffered serious damage."

"What?" Hessman was stunned. "The Americans are still attacking Oahu? Did they win in the Battle of Midway-Aleutian Islands?" He said this and shook his head again, "If they really If we win, we should return to the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean, so why attack Oahu?”

General Kumets, who was sitting across from Hessmann's desk, smiled and said: "Maybe Roman Caesar has succeeded in the United States, and the Americans...are ready to pay, so that they don't have to fight us to the death in the Atlantic Ocean. "