Chapter 1059 Soviet-Japanese Split

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..."

The Japanese Navy's Chief of Staff, Nagano Osami, looked at the Deputy Chief of Staff, Ito Seiichi, who was reporting to him, with some surprise.

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

Now that the First Mobile Fleet has begun bombing Midway Island, it may clash with the aircraft carriers of the US Pacific Fleet at any time, so Yamamoto Isoroku also personally took charge of the General Staff.

Unexpectedly, the US Pacific Fleet has not appeared yet, but the Soviet Pacific Fleet has appeared first, and it has also appeared near the Northern Kuril Islands.

And of course, their purpose of appearing there is only one, that is, to break through 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 small trouble to really let them break into the Pacific Ocean. In particular, the two Kronstadt-class battlecruisers they have built with the help of the Germans are built according to the standards of fast commerce destroyers. Strong firepower and artillery), fast speed (up to 32 knots), and very strong armor protection. If they were allowed to join forces with two American Independence-class aircraft carriers, they would be one or two powerful anti-ship formations!

In addition, the more than 100 submarines of the Soviet Pacific Fleet are also a big problem. If they were allowed to enter the waters of the Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Islands, Japan's already precarious sea transport lines would be further damaged.

"Baga, we can't let the Soviet fleet enter the Pacific Ocean!"

"We must destroy them!"

"But what can we use to destroy them? We have less than 100 planes in the Northern Kuril Islands, most of which are reconnaissance planes, and there are no large ships..."

"It's dark now, and it's almost night in the Northern Kuril Islands, right?"

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

Several colonels and lieutenant colonels of the Navy General Staff discussed it, but they couldn't come up with any countermeasures. Finally, everyone looked at Isoroku Yamamoto and Osami Nagano.

"Yamamoto-kun, look..." Osami Nagano couldn't make up his mind either. "Do you think we should order the planes to go out?"

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

After all, the navy is not an army idiot. It cannot arbitrarily start a war, otherwise it will not end well even if it wins.

"Oh, that's right." Nagano Osami pressed his forehead. He was a little anxious and confused. He forgot that Japan and the Soviet Union had not declared war yet!

"Yamamoto-kun," Nagano said, "declaring war is not that fast. We must hold an imperial meeting and then 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, "That may not be the case. As long as we can accurately calculate the direction 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 now fighting in the Central Pacific. But now the aircraft carriers of the US Pacific Fleet have not appeared, so it is not a bad idea to use 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 the battle of Midway is nothing more than the number of chips on the negotiation table between Japan and the United States.

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 US Pacific Fleet go...

And 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 has stood up and said to Nagano Osami: "Nagano-kun, the Prime Minister should convene a cabinet meeting soon, but whether to fight or make peace, we still have to listen to the opinions of the ministers. I want to discuss with His Majesty Fushimi, so I'll go first."

The so-called "opinions of the ministers" he said actually refers to the "myth" conveyed by the two ministers Fushimi and Kan'in. Now the Lord God probably doesn't know about the actions of the Soviet Pacific Fleet, so Yamamoto wants to meet Prince Fushimi immediately to report the situation in person and at the same time convey the Navy's intention: break with the Soviet Union in advance and give priority to annihilating the Soviet Pacific Fleet!