.Chapter 27 Merchant ships make contributions

While the Second Fleet was sailing westward, the Japanese Indian Ocean Fleet was running eastward.

On the night of the 18th, the Japanese Indian Ocean Fleet carried out fuel supply operations with the oil tanker that was rushing to meet on the sea about 400 kilometers south of Sri Lanka.

For the Japanese fleet commander, the biggest problem is the endurance of the warship.

If you continue to sail at a speed of thirty knots, fuel supply will be required every two days. Even if you include three combat support ships, you can only last for up to eight days, with a total range of less than 6,000 nautical miles. Therefore, as long as you can contact the tanker, the Japanese commander will try to obtain fuel from the tanker as much as possible.

Even so, the fleet's endurance is still a big problem.

Troubled by this problem, the Japanese fleet commander must choose a route that can avoid China.

Like Mu Haoyang's judgment, the Japanese Indian Ocean fleet was sailing towards the Lombok Strait, preparing to pass through the Java Sea and the Banda Sea, enter the Philippine Sea from the Maluku Strait, then head north to return to the mainland, or sail eastward, meet with oil tankers on standby in the Pacific, and avoid the Chinese fleet operating in the Western Pacific.

The problem is, this wish is quickly shattered.

In the early morning of July 19th, before dawn, the commander of the Japanese Indian Ocean Fleet received the latest battle report from the country, and the Chinese fleet dispatched fighter jets to bomb Iwoyu Island. In addition, the Chinese landing fleet that arrived in Zhoushan on July 15th had already set anchors and was about to leave the naval base.

In other words, China is about to launch a ground attack.

Although even the staff of the Japanese Navy Command did not believe that China would directly attack Iwoo Island, there were enough signs that the Chinese Navy still placed the elimination of the Japanese fleet in the first place, otherwise it would not have dispatched carrier-based fighter jets to bomb Iwoo Island at this time.

More importantly, the Chinese Navy must have discovered that the joint fleet had lost its combat capability.

From this we can judge that the Chinese Navy is likely to leave only one fleet moving in the Western Pacific Ocean, and another fleet has already arrived or is rushing to the Indian Ocean. If the Chinese Navy divides its troops into the Indian Ocean after the particle storm arrives and sails at full speed, then a fleet has now entered the Indian Ocean. The most direct evidence is that China has kept India neutral through diplomatic efforts.

The problem is that the submarines deployed in the Strait of Malacca, Sunda Strait and Lombok Strait did not find Chinese fleets.

Combining this information, there is enough reason to believe that the Chinese fleet also headed south from the Maluku Strait and entered the Indian Ocean from the Timor Sea.

In other words, the Chinese Navy has blocked all waterways in Southeast Asia.

The commander of the Japanese fleet was not a fool, and then he thought of a factor that he had overlooked before, that is, the Japanese Indian Ocean Fleet did not pursue the Chinese Indian Ocean Fleet.

In this way, the Chinese fleet commander had reason to believe that the Japanese Indian Ocean fleet would return to its homeland.

Obviously, as long as the Chinese fleet commander has a little brain, he will stay in the south of Indonesia and wait for the Japanese Indian Ocean fleet to come to his door.

Even if you don't stay, you will expand the search and reconnaissance range as much as possible.

There is no doubt that the Chinese fleet did not return to its homeland, but directly entered the Indian Ocean, indicating that the Chinese fleet was not affected much in the particle storm and still had sufficient combat power.

This is also understandable that Chinese warships have the strongest electromagnetic protection capabilities and are therefore the weakest affected.

Then, continuing to move towards the Longmu Strait is equivalent to falling into the trap.

Where can I go if I don’t go to Longmu Strait?

If you travel to the Strait of Malacca and Sunda Strait, you will enter the strike areas of the Chinese Air Force and Navy shore-based aviation, or be ambushed by submarines.

There are only two routes to choose from the Japanese Indian Ocean Fleet.

First, sail southwest, enter the South Atlantic Ocean from the Cape of Good Hope, then enter the Southeast Pacific from the Magellan Strait, and finally cross the Pacific Ocean. This route is more than 20,000 nautical miles, which is equivalent to sailing around the earth for most of the time, and there are not many Japanese tankers along the way. If you sail at a speed of 18 knots, it will take at least fifty days to complete. Obviously, Japan may have been defeated in fifty days.

The second is to bypass Australia, go north from the Tasman Sea, and pass through many islands in the southwest Pacific. The total length of this route is about 14,000 nautical miles. There are many Japanese tankers along the way, which can ensure that the fleet can sail at a speed of 30 knots and return to the local area in about 14 days. According to information provided by the Navy Command, the joint fleet can only recover its combat effectiveness after fifteen days.

Judging from time, it just happened to catch up.

After thinking about it, the Japanese fleet commander issued a turn order.

At this time, the Japanese Indian Ocean Fleet had sailed about 500 kilometers eastward after replenishing fuel.

What the commander of the Japanese fleet did not know was that just about three hours before he issued the steering order, two and a half hours before dawn, a reconnaissance plane taking off from the Yangtze River flew to about four hundred kilometers east of it. Because it had reached the maximum reconnaissance radius, it immediately turned back.

In other words, the First Fleet was two thousand kilometers east of the Japanese Indian Ocean Fleet.

Two thousand kilometers are not far, but unfortunately both sides missed this opportunity.

It must be admitted that the Japanese Indian Ocean Fleet is very lucky. If it were not a j-25m flying in that direction at that time, but a carrier-based early warning aircraft, the results would be completely different.

Unfortunately, the God of Luck has not always favored the Japanese Indian Ocean Fleet.

At around 5 p.m. on the 19th, an accidental incident changed the fate of the Japanese Indian Ocean Fleet.

At that time, a Chinese freighter appeared on the route of the Japanese Indian Ocean Fleet by accident, and sailed opposite it. The captain of the freighter was a retired naval officer. Because the Japanese Indian Ocean Fleet did not start the radar and did not dispatch reconnaissance aircraft, the freighter was not discovered in time. When the lookout on the mast saw the freighter, the crew on the freighter also saw the oncoming warship, and the captain of the freighter immediately recognized that it was a Japanese warship. Before being attacked, the freighter sent a telegram. Although the telegram was not sent out due to the particle storm, the lookout on the Japanese warship did not immediately determine that it was a Chinese freighter. About half an hour later, the Japanese warship made an accurate judgment and then bombarded the freighter with a ship gun.

At about five o'clock, the freighter exploded and caught fire.

Before sinking, the captain let all the crew board the lifeboat, and he stayed in the telegraph room, sending a crucial telegraph at dusk.

Now, the Japanese Indian Ocean fleet has nowhere to hide.

According to the news released by the Chinese Ministry of Defense, the 50,000-ton ocean-going bulk cargo ship named "Jiaolong" arrived in Perth, Australia on July 14. On July 7, the "Jiaolong" set out from Mumbai and then turned to Australia in order to avoid being attacked by the Japanese fleet. It was not until India announced that the captain of the "Jiaolong" decided to try his luck and left Perth on the night of the 18th. At that time, the ship was carrying Indian tropical fruits, and because it had been delayed for several days, the captain was also eager to return.

If he delays for a few more days, the whole ship of fruits will deteriorate and he will suffer a huge loss.

During the publicity, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Defense highly praised the captain's fearless spirit and emphasized his identity as a retired soldier.

In fact, when leaving Perth, the captain didn't think about anything else, just wanted to return to Guangzhou early.

As for his performance after encountering the Japanese fleet, the captain was indeed very brave and showed the qualities that a retired Chinese Navy officer should have.

After the war, at Mu Haoyang's request, the Navy distributed death pensions to the four crew members who died on the "Fight Long".

This makes sense, because the Ministry of National Defense has issued a mobilization order for retired soldiers, and all four retired soldiers on the "Xiaolong" have been restored to military status.

It was around six o'clock, shortly after the radio communication was restored, Mu Haoyang received the message.

The message sent directly by the General Staff was that because of the civil communication channel used by the "Xiaolong" the telegram was first intercepted by the Indonesian branch of the Chinese shipping company, and then sent it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the embassy, ​​and then transferred to the Ministry of National Defense without going through the Navy Command.

"The telegram only mentioned the direction, not the speed, but it is certain that the speed will not be slower." Zhou Yusheng had the most experience in sailing, so he was responsible for analyzing the intelligence value of the telegram. "Of course, we must make an assumption about the route of the Japanese fleet. After arriving near the Sunda Strait, the Japanese fleet turned westward and chased the Indian Ocean fleet heading to Pakistan. After India declared neutrality, it turned eastward and then found that we had entered the Indian Ocean, so it turned to Australia. According to this calculation, the speed of the Japanese Indian Ocean fleet will not be lower than twenty-four knots. If it is confirmed that we have entered the Indian Ocean, the speed should be around thirty knots. After being discovered by the "Joinlong", it will sail south as fast as possible."

"So, we can't catch up."

"Turn directly southward, and it will take about two days to catch up, and the premise is that the Japanese fleet will not enter the Australian port before this." Zhou Yusheng paused for a moment and said, "Of course, it may not take two days, because if the Japanese fleet sails at full speed, it will take two days to recharge fuel every day. If fuel is recharged the day before being discovered, then we will catch up after about forty hours."

"Is there any news from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"

Ma Mingtao shook his head and said, "Not yet, but since this is a message from the General Staff, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will definitely take action to prevent the Japanese fleet from entering the Australian port."

"I think it's better to intercept the Japanese fleet than to pursue the Japanese fleet."

"How to intercept?" Mu Haoyang looked at Zhou Yusheng.

"The Japanese fleet cannot enter the Australian port, and will definitely bypass Australia and head north from the southwest Pacific, while we can directly enter the southwest Pacific from the north of Australia, waiting for the Japanese fleet to come to the door in the Coral Sea, without having to follow behind."

Mu Haoyang's brows jumped a few times, then nodded with a smile.
Chapter completed!