Chapter 1148: Strategic Priorities
Chapter 1126 – Strategic Prioritization
The vast and boundless azure ocean, a wave kept coming and crashed into the warship, sending out a heavenly roar and spewing out waves that were several meters high.
Under the impact of the waves, the warships all began to shake, and the people on the plywood were already unsteady on their feet. If it wasn’t for everyone’s experience, I’m afraid that they would have already gone down to the sea to feed the fish at this moment.
Inside the command room, Admiral Ito Yuken calmly sipped his coffee, as if the outside world’s wind and waves were as if they didn’t exist.
For those who have been at sea for years, wind and waves have become a part of everyone’s life, as long as they don’t threaten the safety of the fleet, it’s not a big deal to make a fuss.
Staff officer Akiyama Mayuki: “Your Excellency Commander, the British have sent an urgent telegram, please take a look at it.”
While speaking, he respectfully handed over the document, displaying the rules of etiquette flawlessly.
Putting down the coffee in his hand, he casually received the document, and after roughly scanning through it, Admiral Ito Yuken closed his eyes and muttered, “What’s coming is still coming.
Then he asked, “What position are we at now?”
Sailing on the sea, it was also a learning curve to determine the position. In this era where there was no GPS positioning, relying on traditional tools to guide the direction could not be done at all without rich sailing experience.
Especially since they were still sneaking around quietly this time, they had to avoid the ears and eyes of the enemy, and the traditional routes simply couldn’t be taken, making it even more difficult.
Akiyama Mayuki replied, “Almost to the vicinity of the Anambas Islands, not far from the location of the rendezvous with the British.”
After a little thought, Admiral Ito Yuken commanded, “The enemy is attacking Singapore, the time for the decisive battle will be advanced. Pass the word down and order the fleet to accelerate.”
Taking a man’s hand is short, eating a man’s mouth is soft. After so many years of mixing behind the British boss, it was now time to sell out.
Of course, the most important thing was being forced. Russia and Austria were traditional allies, which doomed Japan, which was at war with the Russian Empire, to lean over.
In a sense, Japan’s fate had long been bound to the British. Though it could not be done with one honor, it could still be done with one loss.
In case of the unfortunate defeat of the British, even if the government in Vienna did not liquidate, Japan, without the support of the Great Powers, would not be able to defeat the Russians.
This time, the Japanese Navy was not only fighting for the British, but also for the Japanese Empire, so it could not even think of not selling out now.
It has to be admitted that the Japanese do have a talent for sneak attacks. The fleet had all entered the Southern Ocean and had not yet been discovered by the Continental Alliance.
In comparison, the British were much worse in this regard. The Far East fleet had just departed shortly after the news leaked out, or the Battle of Singapore would not have broken out so coincidentally.
Of course, not being taken seriously was also an important factor. After all, the British Far East Fleet was watched at all times, while the Japanese Navy was not taken seriously at all.
Luck always runs out, the South Seas region is, after all, the sphere of influence of the Continental Union, and you can’t hide from the first day of the month.
Just as the Japanese Navy accelerated forward, Hans, who was piloting a reconnaissance plane, directly exploded, “God, look what we found?”
The exaggerated expression scared Reo in the co-pilot’s seat into a cold sweat: “Calm down man, don’t forget you’re piloting an airplane!”
Looking at his nervous companion, the reactive Hans said calmly, “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. We’re flying at sea, not in the mountains, it’s okay to get distracted once in a while.
If we want to blame it, we can only blame the Japanese below, if they hadn’t run away, would I be so surprised?”
To his nervous companion, Leo was completely out of temper. Now he finally understood why Hans, who had bullish driving skills, had been kicked out of the main force.
Pilots needed to be calm and collected, and the nervous Hans was clearly not suitable for this profession. If he hadn’t caught up with this war, plus his piloting skills were really good, he would probably have been sent home by now.
Unable to continue his theory, Leo was already tapping away on the telegraph. Something as big as the Japanese Navy entering the Southern Ocean had to be reported immediately.
As for how to deal with it later, that was a matter for the bigwigs to think about, not for them to worry about.
……
The invention of radio is definitely the greatest revolution in the history of military information.
The news that the reconnaissance plane had discovered the Japanese naval trail reached Admiral Arest outside Singapore harbor in less than half an hour, illustrating in practical terms what efficiency was.
Anyone with a little bit of military common sense was able to see that the Japanese Navy sneaking south this time was clearly aimed at the Shinra Navy.
To continue with the original plan or not, this was a nagging question. According to the original plan, only the Far East Fleet needed to be dealt with, and the chances of winning were as high as ninety-nine percent.
Now that there was an additional Japanese navy, the situation was very different. How much power the carrier fleet could bring to bear remained an unanswered question.
The reinforcement of the air force is also not unlimited. After all, this was the South Seas not the mainland, and to be able to mobilize an air force division for the war was already very difficult.
Theoretically, a full air force division has 288 fighters, a number that is already quite a lot.
The problem is that the air force division is not only full of bombers, there are also fighters, reconnaissance planes, early warning planes, transport planes ……
Of course, it’s not like these planes can’t be used as bombers, except that the results would be very touching.
Arest had reason to believe that victory would be his own. But this battle was not only about defeating the enemy, but more importantly, it was also about heavily damaging, or even annihilating, the enemy’s main fleet.
The enemy wasn’t a fool, and if they really realized that there was an enemy overhead that they couldn’t handle, they would definitely choose to run away.
After all, poorly conceived tactics could only be played once, and if they couldn’t hit the enemy hard this time, it would be impossible to play like that the next time.
After hesitating for more than a few moments of effort, Arest still decided to gamble. It wasn’t easy to lure the enemy to his doorstep, and if he missed this opportunity, he didn’t know when he would have to wait for the next time.
Even if he couldn’t leave the enemy behind, as long as he took out a few of the enemy’s battleships, or settled those two dreadnoughts of the British, it all counted as accomplishing the goal.
As long as the enemy’s vitality is hurt, the fleet of the Spaniards and the Dutch will be assembled behind them, and even without the help of the air force, they will not fall into a disadvantage against the British-Japanese alliance.
As long as this step is achieved, the Continental Union can not only choke off the Malacca route, but also from time to time to send a fleet to the Indian Ocean to slip around.
The latter battle, can be completely handed over to the army, as long as the navy can guarantee the supply of logistical supplies, from the Malay Peninsula all the way to kill the past on the line.
Although in this way, the glory that belongs to oneself is less; but as a senior admiral, one must think strategically.
(End of chapter)