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High-Tech Warlord Volume 1 (738) Kurita Fleet Assault

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    The Surigao Strait, which connects the Mindanao Sea and Leyte Gulf, is actually a narrow waterway 30 nautical miles long. There are strong winds and high waves in the strait, and steep cliffs on both sides.  Under the bright moonlight, the scenery looks particularly beautiful and pleasant.

    Just after midnight, just as the moon was setting, the Japanese warships appeared.  The first thing the Chinese army went into battle was the torpedo boat.  These speedboats did not rush towards the Japanese at lightning speed as described in literary works. Instead, they approached the Japanese silently, and as soon as they fired the torpedoes, they galloped away and fled.  The speedboats of the Chinese army are all equipped with radars. Even if they are sailing on a rainy, stormy, dense and foggy night, they can spot the Japanese on the radar screen and launch an attack.  Unfortunately, that night, the fog dissipated, and the Japanese discovered these speedboats. Japanese warships of all sizes bombarded them, and destroyers pursued them.  At this time, the Chinese destroyer entered the battle and released a smoke screen.  Many speedboats had already launched torpedoes from favorable positions, but it was impossible to observe the effect of the attack at that time. They only knew that it disrupted the Japanese fleet's formation.

    The destroyers then attacked.  Like the speedboats, they were also equipped with radars, and at first they followed the direction of the shadows shown on the radar screens in the dark.  Japanese warships are also equipped with radar, but it is not as good as the Chinese one, but it is enough to detect the enemy within the torpedo range.  At 2:58, the first searchlight of the Japanese fleet came on. The Chinese destroyer fleet immediately turned its helm and released a smoke screen. The Japanese warships fired at the Chinese destroyer through the smoke screen.  Several groups of Chinese destroyers were tightly locked.  A small fleet of destroyers did not attack the Japanese fleet from the front, but rushed back and forth in the dark night.  Sometimes they attack, sometimes they flee, and they harass the Japanese over and over again.  The rumbling sound of artillery echoed in the canyon, and the cannonballs fell into the water one after another, stirring up layers of black waves on the sea, and streaks of fire pierced the night sky from time to time.  The captain of the Chinese destroyer "Tianjixing" is not standing on the bridge at this moment, but in the "combat command post" inside the cabin.  He wore headphones and stood by the 30-centimeter radar screen, observing the progress of the battle and commanding his warships.  3:51.  While the Chinese destroyers were engaged in fierce battle, Chinese battleships and cruisers also opened fire.  A group of artillery fired in volley, and countless shells formed into fire dragons and flew in the sky above the destroyer soldiers.  Officers watched the effects of their shots in front of magical fluorescent screens.  If a shadow disappears on the screen, people know that a Japanese ship has sunk.  The Japanese fleet was under heavy attack from artillery shells and torpedoes.  After the fleet passed by, it stirred up waves in the water, leaving behind a roiling track, which was immediately cut off by torpedoes.  Naturally, the Japanese fleet was not willing to be beaten, but their firepower was not strong and their shooting was not accurate.  The remnants of Nishimura's fleet fought and retreated.  Vice Admiral Shima's fleet, which came for reinforcements from the north, was also beaten to pieces after entering the Surigao Strait where there was a lot of killing.  At present, the remnants of the two fleets are running away, crowded and colliding with each other, in a state of confusion.

    At dawn, the entire Surigao Strait had been turned upside down by Chinese cruisers, torpedo boats and destroyers.  On the sea surface covered with layers of heavy oil, Japanese warships and countless wreckage fragments drifted like braziers, some of which were still on fire. The lifeboats were crowded with escaping Japanese sailors.  The commander ordered the rescue of the Japanese in distress.  The Chinese destroyer spread out the life net and threw the life buoy and cable to the Japanese who were covered in oil.  But most of these Japanese refused to be rescued by the Chinese, and even the Japanese who were hiding in the lifeboats saw a Chinese destroyer approaching.  Some actually turned around and jumped into the water.  There is currently only the heavy cruiser "Tottori" left in the Nishimura fleet, but it also caught fire and was later sunk by aircraft and torpedo boats.  Only one of the three cruisers of the Shima fleet escaped safely.

    More than 7,000 Japanese soldiers died in the Surigao Strait.  The Chinese army lost 3 torpedo boats; 71 people were dead or missing, and 107 people were injured. Jin Yuqi led the escort aircraft carrier to always stay in front of Leyte Island. From midnight, Wu Qianlong led the mighty main fleet.  Including 6 fast battleships, 10 aircraft carriers, light and heavy cruisers, and destroyers, the entire team quickly headed north.  At about 2 o'clock in the morning, an aircraft from the "Snow Dragon" aircraft carrier discovered the Ozawa fleet.  Wu Qianlong made a prompt decision and first ordered the battleship and several cruisers and destroyers to take the lead in the battle.  Heading towards the Japanese at full speed.  According to his idea, the aircraft carrier then released its planes at dawn and rushed in front of the battleships to attack the Japanese first. Then the battleships arrived in time to deal with the Japanese.

    It was daybreak, the sun jumped above the horizon, and it was already 7:35 when the Ozawa fleet appeared.  This fleet has 2 battleships, 1 large aircraft carrier, 3 light aircraft carriers, 3 light cruisers and dozens of destroyers.  The Chinese army's Wu Qianlong fleet is better than it.  The first batch of Chinese pilots approaching the Japanese ship found that the deck of the Japanese aircraft carrier was empty, and there were not many Japanese aircraft in the air.  This made Wu Qianlong feel strange and even a little uneasy. He thought that the Japanese were engaging in some insidious tactical trick.  In fact, the answer is very simple. It was because there were almost no airplanes in Japan at that time.  The total number of aircraft owned by Ozawa is only equal to that of China.?1 aircraft carrier has the number of carrier-based aircraft.  Ozawa is acting as bait.  Since his fleet was unable to provide adequate air support for Admiral Kurita's fleet, he wanted to pin down as many Chinese aircraft carriers as possible to lure the Chinese army to attack him.  He intended to launch a pincer attack to relieve his colleagues.

    Many Chinese aircraft carrier aircraft, especially those of the "Xuanyuan", participated in this attack.  The Japanese fighter planes were few in number, but they fought tenaciously.  However, after they were repelled, Chinese pilots no longer saw Japanese aircraft coming to fight, only Japanese anti-aircraft guns blocking the attack.  Japanese anti-aircraft artillery firepower was fierce and fierce, no less than in previous battles, in an attempt to make up for its air superiority.  The ferocious artillery fire of the Japanese army built a palace of flames in the clear sky. The pillars of the palace were colorful and dazzling. The Japanese fleet sailing below had turned around and headed north in a dense formation.  After the plane dropped the bomb, the Japanese warships began to run around, and the formation was disrupted, but the anti-aircraft fire was as fierce as before.  During the day, 22 Chinese aircraft were shot down.  The first Japanese warship to bear the brunt was the "Izumo" light aircraft carrier.  He was hit and caught fire and died at the bottom of the sea shortly after.  The aircraft carrier "Ikoma" and other ships also received several bombs.

    Wu Qianlong ordered a task force consisting of fast battleships and three aircraft carriers with frigates to return home, organize air cover, and face the Kurita fleet.  The remaining aircraft carriers were handed over to Zhang Qifan's command and continued northward.  Wu Qianlong telegraphed this new arrangement to Jin Yuqi and Shen Honglie, who had been waiting for a call back.  In the telegram to Jin Yuqi, Wu Qianlong also added a sentence, saying that he might arrive after 8 o'clock the next morning.

    The former task force was separated and the warships that were preparing to go south were organized into a new fleet. This big change took a long time.  First, the aircraft of the escort task force must be recalled and returned to the deck, and the light warship must be refueled.  All these operations were not completed until around 16:00.  But at this time Wu Qianlong had an idea and decided to lead the two largest and fastest battleships "Fuxi" and "Chiyou", escorted by 3 light cruisers and 8 torpedo ships, to gallop south to search.

    "Xuanyuan" sailed in the ranks of aircraft carriers attacking north, and the crew could not see the battle scene at all.  Thin cumulus clouds drifted in the blue sky.  No Japanese planes in sight.  Chinese planes take off and land on aircraft carriers.  For the sailors of the Regulus, this battle was just like working in a factory. They occasionally listened to the news commented by the press officer and the conversations between the aircraft for entertainment.

    After a full hour's pause, the battle to attack Ozawa's fleet started again.  Zhang Qifan's order was still: "Kill the aircraft carrier." The Japanese fleet's anti-aircraft fire was still so fierce.  That afternoon, the Chinese pilots discovered that some strange rotating metal pieces came out of the still-unknown shells fired by the Japanese army, mixed with the flying bullets, and slowly scattered above the colorful smoke.  Faced with this unexpected situation, the Chinese pilots took it calmly.  They could imagine that it was a simple method that Japanese scientists worked hard to develop in the laboratory.  To replace aircraft that their country can no longer manufacture in large quantities.  Under their feet, the heavy aircraft carrier "Ikoma" moved slowly on the sea, and its rectangular deck was clearly visible.  The "Ikoma" is one of the "Unryu" class aircraft carriers built by Japan.  Like China's "Xuanyuan," it has participated in many important battles in the Pacific. But now the Japanese have brought this disarmed aircraft carrier here as a bait. In order to carry out this desperate battle  , a national flag with a diagonal angle of 15 meters was hoisted on the ship. The bomb penetrated the flight deck, the torpedo exploded the side of the ship, and huge fireballs with clouds of black smoke spewed from the ship one after another, 14  At about 30 hours, the port side of the "Ikoma" began to sink slowly. After the red sun on the huge flag shook on the water for a few times, the big ship finally completed its final mission and sank into the abyss of blue waves.

    Then, two more light aircraft carriers "Wufeng" and "An Yun" were also bombed and sunk.  When the "An Yun" was trailing alone behind the fleet and lingering, it was killed by a burst of shelling from a Chinese cruiser.  When the "An Yun" capsized, the Chinese sailors saw the Japanese on the ship climbing up the hull in groups.  The "Anyun" sank.  Chinese destroyers were not allowed to salvage Japanese who fell into the water.  Because one last attack had to be launched before dark, and Zhang Qifan did not want the escort barrier to leave the aircraft carrier while pursuing Ozawa's fleet.  The Ozawa fleet still has two 30,000-ton "modified" battleships, 3 cruisers and 8 destroyers.  96 dive bombers, torpedo planes, and fighter jets loaded with bombs took off from the aircraft carriers "Xuanyuan", "Longshan", "Longtian", and "Gonggong".  They braved Japanese artillery fire and dive-bombed repeatedly, concentrating their fire on the two battleships.  This was the fifth attack of the day.  According to the pilots' observations, the two battleships were hit by a total of thirty-seven bombs and torpedoes.  However they becameWithdrew from the battlefield.  and escaped back to the Japanese base.  Around 18:00, the Japanese fleet was completely defeated, stretching 45 nautical miles from end to end, and finally disappeared in the vast darkness.  After that, the Chinese cruiser sank the Japanese destroyer that was generally lagging behind. At 21:50, it turned around and sailed towards the aircraft carrier waiting in the south.  Chinese submarines lurking in Ozawa's fleet's retreat route sank ordinary Japanese light cruisers.

    At around 21:00, Ozawa received a telegram from the rearguard on the cruiser "Oyoto", reporting to him the establishment of each Chinese fleet.  Ozawa also had two battleships, one light cruiser and six destroyers.  Enough to deal with the Chinese fleet at sea in a night battle.  Ozawa ordered to turn the helm and sail southward. After two hours of sailing, there was no trace of the Chinese warship, so he turned back.  The next day, the Chinese army did not launch another attack.

    In the early morning of the 25th, after a night battle, the Nishimura fleet was defeated and fled. Almost the whole fleet of the Chinese Wu Qianlong fleet pursued and annihilated the remnants of the Nishimura fleet in the southern part of the Surigao Strait.  The northeast wind blows gently, the blue waves are rippling on the sea, and the blue sky is high and clear.  There are floating clouds in the distance, gathering and dispersing erratically, the air pressure is very low, and the weather is hot and humid.  The main force of the Wu Qianlong fleet pursued and annihilated the fleeing Japanese ships south of the Surigao Strait. Only a group of transport ships, small frigates and landing craft were left in Leyte Gulf, anchored on the coast.  The aircraft carrier spent the night flying east of Samar Island.  Under normal circumstances, aircraft carriers cannot gather in groups on the coast at night, because this is most likely to attract submarine attacks, so the aircraft carriers cruise after the cruise.  All returned to Leyte Gulf and were divided into three groups: North, Central and South.  The pilots who were not sent to pursue and destroy the enemy were ready to take off to cover the ground troops' attack.  Conduct anti-submarine alert patrols, protect the fleet and beachheads, and prevent possible air attacks at any time. These are general tasks without special surprises.

    At 6:47, an aircraft carrier in the squadron received a telegram from an aircraft: "I was bombarded by a Japanese fleet." At 6:53, another aircraft carrier received a more detailed telegram: "  The Japanese fleet, equipped with battleships, cruisers, and torpedo boats, was discovered at 340¡ã northwest, 20 nautical miles away." That is to say, in the north direction of the Hoku group aircraft carrier.  As soon as they heard about "battleship", the officers escorting the aircraft carrier suddenly felt like they had been hit in the head.  Everyone thinks that the aircraft carrier may be attacked by the battleship, but I hope this is not the case.  On the bridge, all telescopes were turned to the north.  At 6:35, the aviation tower appeared in the sky.  The warships of large Japanese warships indeed look like the tops of stacked towers.  Seeing these tower-like warships suddenly appear in the telescope, getting bigger and bigger, becoming more and more clear, even the bravest soldiers can't help but be shocked.  The officers lowered their binoculars.  Watch the telegram sent by Rear Admiral Fang Xianying, the commander of the Southern Group: Turn the rudder and march eastward.  Fly the plane immediately.  Full speed ahead.  "

    At 6:58, a bright light flashed from under the largest tower-type ship building.  The 510mm main gun of the 160,000-ton "Yamato" battleship fired at a distance of 30,000 meters, and flames appeared under the Japanese ship's building.

    ?? Dense pink lights rushed out from the middle of the Chinese fleet.  The second row of shells landed on the water 200 meters away from the escort aircraft carrier "Guiyang".  The third row of shells exploded around the "Guiyang" with colorful beams.  On the ship, the soldiers were thrown to the floor one by one.  One plane seemed to be swept off the flight deck by an invisible hand, and other planes took off in a hurry.  It turned out that the shells exploded around after falling into the water, shaking the "Guiyang" like a sampan, damaging the engine, and thick smoke began to spew out from the chimney.  The Japanese fleet thought it had hit the target, so it turned its guns and fired at the "Nanning".

    At 17:24, Jin Yuqi received a telegram from Major General Fang Xianying, who commanded three groups of escort aircraft carriers, on a transport ship docked on the shore of Leyte Island, reporting the news of the Japanese warship's firing and Fang Xianying's countermeasures.  A quarter of an hour later, Jin Yuqi sent three telegrams to Wu Qianlong, requesting immediate reinforcements.  At the same time, he also ordered all fleet aircraft in the air or preparing to take off to interrupt all activities and immediately launch an attack on the Japanese fleet.

    In order to clear the air, the mothership had to turn to the east. This made it more difficult for them to escape the attack of the Japanese fleet coming from the north.  The distance was getting closer and closer, and the smoke screen could not stop the fierce bombardment of the Japanese ships.  After a while, maybe half an hour later, the Northern Group aircraft carrier will be destroyed.  At 7:21, a heavy rain shrouded the Northern Group in rain and fog, cutting off the Japanese's sight.  The officers and soldiers showed great respect for the dark clouds and heavy rain.

    Here, the Japanese fleet is waiting for the rain to pass and the sky to clear up.  This Japanese fleet has a total of 4 battleships including the super battleship "Yamato", 6 heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and 12 destroyers.  This is the Kurita fleet.  Kurita's goal is to first destroy all the Chinese warships, and then we can enter the bay.  "

    At 7:35, the North Group aircraft carrier emerged from the heavy rain.  The Japanese battleships and cruisers were spitting out flames again.  The Japanese were getting closer.  Japanese battleships were frantically bombarding the aircraft carrierThe ship sailed smoothly towards Leyte Gulf.  In order to ensure that the Chinese aircraft carrier was not allowed to escape, a group of heavy cruisers rushed out from the left wing of the Japanese fleet like a predatory prawn claw.  At 7:40, Major General Fang Xianying instructed the nine warships responsible for the escort to counterattack with torpedoes, and three light cruisers and six destroyers immediately launched a charge.

    ps: Three pieces of news this past weekend: 1. Sister Sora Aoi said she is still a virgin; 2. PetroChina said the Pengzhou project can improve Chengdu¡¯s air quality; 3. West China Metropolis Daily reported that the emergency drills over the past two days have received support from the general public.  .

    Asking for a monthly ticket!
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