The Rise of the Third Reich

"Sir, it was the Atlanta, Savannah and Dale that were hit by mines! Oh, God, the Dale broke into two pieces..."

On the bridge of the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis, the flagship of the U.S. 51.7th Group, listening to the staff report, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Wright's face was ashen. I originally thought that the 51.7 Group, which had advanced radar and had an advantage in numbers, could teach the Japanese a lesson at Midway, but I didn't expect that not long after the war started, I had already lost two "flat decks" and a "Farragut". "Level. Moreover, the sunk "Dale" (Farragut-class) was broken into two parts from the middle... This means that the ship will sink quickly, and I am afraid that not a few of the 250 American naval officers and soldiers on board will be able to escape. What a heavy loss!

"Disband the formation!" After Major General Wright prayed for the 250 brave American sailors in his heart, he gathered his mind on the battlefield. "Order each ship to fight on its own... Be careful of Japanese torpedoes!"

The lesson taught to Wright in the last "Night Battle on the Sea of ​​Ice" was that it was easy to be struck by mines in formation operations, so after receiving a sap from the Japanese, Major General Wright immediately ordered the formation to be disbanded. But he had no intention of retreating.

Behind him is Midway Island. On the three coral reef islands with little shelter, there are more than 2,000 American engineers and a large number of "Caterpillar" bulldozers and motor graders. If it is bombarded by Japanese heavy cruisers, the work of repairing Midway Airport will be delayed - this matter is a top priority now!

Because Major General Wright and First Lieutenant General Mikawa both ordered the formation to be disbanded, the battle, known as the "First Battle of Midway" in later history, began to enter a thrilling night melee stage.

The Americans have powerful radars, and the Japanese have sharp torpedoes. This is really a match for the enemy.

After entering the "night melee" stage, the fighting distance between the two sides also quickly shortened, from more than 20,000 meters at the beginning of the exchange of fire to several thousand meters. At this distance, Japan's cat's-eye tactics also began to show their power. However, the American Mk11 torpedo can also exert its power.

The two Japanese heavy cruisers that were hit by bullets and caught fire in the previous battle became targets for attracting artillery shells. In particular, the Furutaka, which was relatively close to the US ship formation, was hit by eight 127mm shells in less than 5 minutes. Two of the three main gun emplacements were destroyed, and the entire ship was enveloped in fire. One artillery shell penetrated into the power compartment, blowing up two heavy oil-fired boilers and breaking a steam pipe, causing half of the power to be lost. Now this 8,700-ton heavy cruiser has no possibility of escaping from the battlefield!

At 10:45 p.m., the half-dead heavy cruiser Furutaka was hit by a Mk11 torpedo launched by a Farragut-class destroyer below the waterline on the starboard side. The torpedo opened a huge gap and began to surge in. Furutaka headed towards Severe tilt to the right.

Two minutes later, a torpedo launched by another American destroyer hit the Furutaka's starboard side again. The scarred heavy cruiser finally couldn't support it and rolled over and slowly sank into the sea.

However, the Japanese quickly returned the favor and avenged the unfortunate Furutaka. At 10:50 p.m., the radar of the U.S. heavy cruiser Quincy, which was firing hard shells at the Chokai, discovered that two ships of unknown origin appeared 23,000 meters away from the port side and moved at a speed of more than 40 knots. Approaching at high speed.

The captain of the heavy cruiser "Quincy" immediately realized that these were two Japanese destroyers, and he immediately ordered the artillery to turn and aim at the incoming enemy. However, the two Japanese destroyers ran too fast and their targets were too small. The Quincy's naval guns missed consecutively. It was not until 10 minutes later that the first shot was fired, and by this time the distance between the two sides had narrowed to about 10,000 meters. This distance was enough for the 16 93 oxygen bombs on the two Shimakaze-class destroyers that came from elsewhere to support. Torpedoes (there are a total of 30 torpedo tubes on the two Shimakaze-class ships. Theoretically, a salvo can fire 30 93 torpedoes. However, the destroyer's bomb load is limited. Even Japan, which attaches great importance to lightning strikes, can only give Shimakaze The level is equipped with 15 spare bombs, so you have to use them sparingly, and you can’t use them all at once) to become a formidable weapon!

At about 11:05 p.m., the heavy cruiser Quincy was hit on the port side by two powerful Japanese 93 torpedoes, which immediately opened two huge holes. The Quincy soon appeared at a large angle. Because the seawater poured in too fast and could not be blocked, the captain had to issue an order for everyone to leave the ship at 11:10. Less than 5 minutes later, the heavy cruiser USS Quincy, with a standard displacement of more than 10,000 tons, sank, and 215 of the 708 officers and soldiers on board did not have time to evacuate.

At the same time that the "Quincy" was sunk by a Japanese torpedo, the burning flagship Chokai heavy cruiser on which Mikawa Junichi was riding also became the prey of torpedoes launched by American destroyers. This heavy cruiser with a standard displacement of 13,400 tons is one of the four Kaohsiung-class ships and is also one of Japan's best heavy cruisers.

However, it is now dead. Because it was hit by more than 20 203mm shells one after another, the Chokai has basically lost its combat effectiveness and its speed has dropped to less than 10 knots. He could only watch as two American destroyers fired torpedoes at him...

"Summon the Shimakaze over... now, abandon the Chokai!"

At 11:10, Commander Mikawa Junichi of Japan's 8th Fleet reluctantly issued an order to abandon the heavy cruiser "Chori Kai". Fifteen minutes later, the destroyer "Shimakaze" used a powerful 93 torpedo to end the heavy cruiser Chokai that had become scrap metal.

However, the shipwreck competition between the two sides did not end with the sinking of the "Chokai". At 11:15, the light cruiser USS Atlanta, which had previously been hit by a 93 torpedo, was hit again by a torpedo fired by the "Nadakaze". The nearly 10,000-ton large light cruiser suffered fatal injuries and sank after struggling at sea for more than ten minutes.

At 11:20, the Japanese heavy cruiser Aoba approached the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis, the flagship of the US 51.7th Group, and was hit one after another by the opponent's 203mm main gun while trying to launch 93 torpedoes. Although it did not explode the 93 torpedo, it knocked off a turret on the bow of the ship, caused a fire, and turned itself into an eye-catching target.

However, 5 minutes later, a 93 torpedo it launched hit the stern of the USS Indianapolis. Not only did it open a big hole in the butt of the American heavy cruiser, but it also caused the rudder to be damaged by something unknown. Something is stuck. As a result, this 10,000-ton treaty ship had to sail straight towards Midway Island. Later, with the help of a "flat deck" class, it ran aground near the sand island of Midway Island and turned into a "fixed turret".

Due to the profound lessons learned by the Chokai and Furutaka, the Aoba, which was hit by a bomb and caught fire, did not dare to fight and withdrew from the battlefield under the cover of its sister ship Kinugasa.

After the Aoba retreated and the Kinugasa temporarily left, Japan's only heavy cruiser on the sea near Midway Island was the Kako, while the United States also had the "Wichita", "Vincens" and "San Francisco" and three other heavy cruisers.

Of course, the Kako was no match for the three American heavy cruisers. In less than 10 minutes, it was beaten to a point of rage and hurriedly withdrew from the battlefield.

However, the three American heavy cruisers were not willing to let go of the "Kakko" and followed behind them while chasing. Just when the Kako was about to be crippled, the two Japanese fast destroyers Shimakaze and Nadakaze emerged from nowhere and launched 20 93 torpedoes in one go, two of which hit "Wen" respectively. Sens" and "San Francisco" caused these two American heavy cruisers to suffer heavy damage immediately. Later, like the "Indianapolis", they were stranded at Midway Island and used as turrets.

Seeing that two American heavy cruisers were severely damaged, the Wichita, with a standard displacement of more than 10,000 tons, did not dare to fight anymore, and retreated to Midway Island in dejection while guarding the two injured heavy cruisers.

At this time, most of the Japanese ships on the sea including Shimakaze and Nadakaze had fired all 93 torpedoes, and they lost the capital to fight again.

At 11:30, Commander Mikawa Junichi of the Japanese 8th Fleet issued an order for the entire fleet to retreat. At the same time, he used the radio on the Shimakaze to report the battle situation to the Combined Fleet Headquarters and Military Command, and requested punishment...

…

"The Chokai sank, the Furutaka sank, the Kako was severely damaged, the Aoba was severely damaged... Baga, the night battle actually ended like this, Mikawa Junichi, this big idiot, can commit seppuku!"

After receiving the report, Nagano Shushen went berserk on the spot. He lost two heavy cruisers at once and severely damaged two others. Moreover, this was the result of a night battle in which the Japanese Navy was "good at"!

If this continues, what will happen in the Battle of the Hawaiian Islands? How many heavy cruisers does the Japanese Empire have that can be used to fight like this?

This way of joining a boat...

"Nagano-kun," Yamamoto Isoroku spoke at this time. He said to Nagano Osamu: "Why don't you send three heavy cruisers, including Takao, Atago, and Maya, to Hawaii, and send 10 Yugumo-class destroyers to Hawaii? The two heavy torpedo-armed light cruisers Kitakami and Oi should also be dispatched in advance.”

Nagano Shushen was shocked when he heard what Yamamoto said. Not only was he not prepared to punish the defeated Mikawa Junichi and Kami Shigetoku, but he also affirmed their record at Midway Island and sent 10 soldiers. A precious Yugumo-class (with two 4-unit 610mm torpedo tubes) and two "heavy mine-armed light cruisers" to be used in the counterattack phase of the Jie-1 operation, Kitakami and Oi were transferred to the Mikawa Army one.

Yamamoto looked at Nagano who showed a surprised expression and said with a smile: "Nagano-kun, the night battle at Midway Island is just the beginning. Suffering some setbacks does not mean that Mikawa Junichi's tactics are wrong... and I have already seen it from the temporary defeat. The way to win, so now you can use the heavy thunder tactic!"