afterglow

Chapter 689: Doubt and Indecision; Battle of Queen Charlotte

The Ming army command would certainly not abandon the basic purpose of the atomic bomb - intimidation and deterrence, so after the nuclear attack on Canberra, it began to drop leaflets and conduct directional broadcasts to the enemy country.

The airdrop mission to the United States suffered heavy losses. The five heavy bombers carrying leaflets were intercepted by nearly a hundred fighter jets. None of them survived and all were shot down before they approached the coastline.

However, some leaflets that were blown into the city by the wind still had a significant impact, triggering more and more outrageous rumors. Citizens began to listen to the medium wave broadcasts of the Ming army in Dutch Harbor and Honolulu with half belief and half doubt.

The tight air defense system of the U.S. military made the Ming army command abandon the idea of ​​launching a nuclear attack on cities on the west coast, which was basically impossible to achieve militarily.

The Special Crop Research and Development Council, which was kept secret, had been reorganized and renamed the Second Institute of Physics, which was directly connected to the Ministry of War. They said that they would be able to prepare two more atomic bombs by the fall, and that starting in the winter, production could be increased to two per month.

But at least for now, the atomic bomb is still a precious national weapon and cannot be taken risks.

In the short term, the aircraft carrier task force will decide the outcome of the war, and the only atomic bomb must be used in a possible decisive battle.

In fact, there are many conservative people in the Ming Dynasty court. They think that the American upper echelons are just holding on and will soon be unable to hold on and will have to give in. Therefore, there is no need to take risks when the overall situation seems to be settled.

This view is convincing enough that even some former hawks have been swayed.

This is also the reason why Zhou Changfeng is eager to promote fighting to promote talks - there will always be people who are misled by appearances, and this group of people must not be allowed to expand.

The consequence of a passive response is to miss the strategic opportunity. We must be proactive!

In response to the sudden approach of the Ming fleet, the Pacific Fleet was on high alert. Chester Nimitz and the main staff of the headquarters returned to the San Diego Naval Base on a transport plane overnight.

To avoid possible catastrophic disaster, the main force of the Pacific Fleet is being dispersed along the west coast.

TF-58.1 was in Seattle, TF-58.2 was in San Francisco, TF-58.3 was in Los Angeles, and TF-58.4 was in San Diego. Faced with the sudden enemy situation, the task force had to set off urgently and assemble overnight.

As the situation of fighting on multiple fronts is not optimistic, people's doubts about this war are becoming louder and louder.

Polls show that President Franklin's approval rating has dropped significantly today, and the pain of war is causing people to forget his achievements in leading everyone out of the Great Depression.

Participating in this war has cost us a huge price in terms of material and lives, but what have we gained? This is what the public is reflecting on and questioning.

The Republicans took the opportunity to stir up trouble, trying their best to sing a different tune, and vigorously advocated the principle of non-interference, saying that the United States only needed to follow the Monroe Doctrine to maintain stability in North and South America.

Marches advocating an end to the war began to appear in major cities, and domestic instability led directly to a sharp drop in military morale.

Perhaps the United States can produce far more aircraft, tanks, and warships than any other country, but all vehicles require people to drive them, and the combat effectiveness displayed by a high-spirited pilot and a demoralized pilot is very different.

As the enemy approached the mainland, the belief in defending the homeland boosted morale slightly, but Raymond Spruance still reported pessimism.

The dark clouds of war drifted over North America, which had not been ravaged by war for many years.

With the approval of Chester Nimitz, the Pacific Fleet Commander issued an operational order to fight with all his strength.

(a) Although it is impossible to determine whether the enemy intends to land, coastal defense forces in all locations must be prepared.

(b) Task Forces 1 and 2 sortie into the Gulf of Alaska to patrol and strike exposed enemy positions.

(c) Task Group 3 maintains its relative position to the southwest, engaging the enemy on the flank.

(d) Task Group 4 maintains its relative position to the southeast as the operational mobile reserve.

(e) Air Forces based on Vancouver Island and Seattle should be available to provide air support at all times.

Excluding the Yorktown and Intrepid which were sunk in the last naval battle west of the Maury Fracture Zone, and the Bunker Hill which was sunk in the recent landing on Oahu, the US military has already sunk three Essex-class ships. But now, a total of eight Essex-class ships, including the Franklin, Ticonderoga, Randolph, Hancock, Bennington, Shangri-La, Bonhomme Richard, and Antietam, have been completed and delivered.

Except for the Bonhomme Richard (CV-31) and Antietam (CV-36) which have not yet completed training, all Essex-class ships delivered for service have joined the combat sequence of the 58th Carrier Task Force.

In addition, the USS Saratoga (CV-3), which was severely damaged during the Oahu landing, was still under repair and unable to participate in the war.

故而TF-58特遣舰队当前的规模为11艘舰队航母、3艘轻型航母、5艘高速战列舰、4艘老式低速战列舰、1艘大型巡洋舰、6艘重型巡洋舰、10艘轻型（防空）巡洋舰、63艘驱逐舰、12艘油船。

In addition to surface ship forces, the US military has about 880 fighters and 1200 bombers available for attack at more than a dozen air force bases in Vancouver Island, Seattle, and Portland; the Royal Canadian Air Force has also deployed dozens of fighters and bombers.

The US military hopes to repel the invading enemy by coordinating the fleet and shore-based aviation.

The Ming army fleet that came from afar via the Aleutian Islands is still numbered as the A-120 Special Fleet, but its size has expanded a lot compared to last year.

Except for the eighth ship of the Gouchen class, the Sifu, which has not yet formed combat effectiveness, the other three newly built Beidou-class and five Gouchen-class ships have all been incorporated into the combat sequence.

明军舰队总计14艘舰队航母、1艘轻型航母、3艘水机母舰、4艘高速战列舰、2艘低速战列舰、2艘战列巡洋舰、2艘袖珍战列舰、3艘重型巡洋舰、15艘轻型（防空）巡洋舰、64艘驱逐舰、17艘油船。

At first glance, their side seemed powerful and their military might was overwhelming, so many people inevitably became arrogant and looked down on others. Cheng Jian criticized several people by name during the pre-war meeting.

Because his qualifications and prestige were far inferior to Ouyang Zhanghua's, yet he was given the important task of commanding the entire fleet, some generals were dissatisfied.

On the evening of June 6, the submarine USS Flounder (SS-22) discovered a Ming army detachment, but it was soon damaged by Ming army carrier-based aircraft and was forced to surface and abandon the ship.

On the morning of June 6, a PBY Catalina seaplane discovered the Ming fleet. Shortly afterwards, the USS Finback (SS-23) submarine cruising nearby tried to fire a salvo of torpedoes at a very long distance, but none of them hit.

At noon on June 6, the Ming fleet launched two waves of devastating air strikes on Juneau, totaling about 24 sorties, destroying most military facilities with bombs and rockets, shooting down and bombing 200 US aircraft, and dropping a number of aerial delay bombs to paralyze the Juneau Army Airport.

In this way, before the decisive battle began, sporadic encounters had already taken place.

Zhou Changfeng didn't want to miss this sea and air battle, so he went into battle personally. His mission this time was to lead the landing fleet to capture Juno.

The two low-speed battleships Zhenguan and Yonghui, plus the Yinghuo, formed the core of the landing fleet. There were not many landing troops on board, only the Second Marine Regiment, the Brigade's Beaching Elite Battalion, and the Brigade's Floating Chariot Battalion. Juneau was not strictly a coastal city. To its west were the many large and small islands of the Alexander Archipelago, with crisscrossing straits and very complex waterways.

The US military has laid countless mines of various types, including new types such as magnetic mines, sonic induction mines, and water pressure induction mines.

After entering the Chatham Strait, the Ming army's minesweeping units were extremely busy, and the landing troops were in high spirits and eager to fight. They volunteered to go ashore directly on the nearby islands and attack lightly by land.

This detachment was composed of the 1100st Battalion of the 3nd Marine Regiment and the 112st and nd Squadrons of the Beachcombat Elite Battalion, led by deputy regiment commander Zhu Lin, with a total of about people. In addition to mortars and recoilless guns, it only carried three mm infantry guns.

They trekked through this sparsely populated mountainous area, climbing over mountains, passing through forests, and crossing rivers.

With beautiful scenery around, delicious salmon and moose become delicacies in your stomach.

The straight-line distance of more than 80 kilometers took three days and two nights to walk. After crossing Taku Bay under the cover of night, there were only a dozen kilometers of mountains blocking Juneau.

Obviously, no one expected the Ming army to launch a surprise attack in this form, because the Ming army's landing fleet was blocked by mines and was still far away.

The American troops stationed in Juneau actually did not have many regular field troops, most of them were service units. Faced with the approaching Ming army, they had no intention of resisting at all. The order issued by their superiors only required them to transfer and hide the gold mined locally.

Because Juno is located in a remote area with no roads, it can only communicate with the outside world by ships and planes, so the gold can only be hidden in the deep mountains and forests for the time being.

This may be the last group charge in the Pacific battlefield. At dawn, the first ray of sunlight shone through the forest branches and leaves, casting mottled shadows on the ground. Nearly a thousand Ming army infantrymen rushed out from the rear in dense formation.

Amid the thunderous shouts, the shining bayonets reflected the dazzling light, mortar shells whistled towards the US military positions, and violent explosions continued.

The U.S. troops were caught off guard and had no time to organize effective resistance, and were quickly dispersed and defeated.

Only a few people persisted in resisting, but such unorganized and independent fighting had little significance. They were like a small stone in a flood, which was soon washed away by the rapids without a trace.

In addition to the political impact, the biggest gain from the capture of Juneau was an unexpected surprise - nearly 40,000 ounces of gold were captured, equivalent to more than 2,200 kilograms, in addition to a large amount of roughly refined quartz gold ore.

"Who would complain about having too much gold? Load it all onto the ship and take it away!" Zhou Changfeng immediately gave instructions.

He actually did not plan to stay here for a long time, but the court instructed him to stay there and maintain a military presence.

Juneau is 1400 km away from Seattle, which is at the limit of the combat radius of medium bombers. Therefore, the US military only sent B-17 and B-24 heavy bombers to carry out air strikes these days, dropping a total of 1230 tons of bombs.

The Ming army's ground forces suffered minimal losses, with only 106 casualties in combat; the naval forces were plagued by tricky mines, and air strikes also caused certain losses, with a total of 3 minesweepers and 1 freighter being sunk, with a total of about 400 casualties.

Little did they know that Chester Nimitz had already issued a combat order in an attempt to lure the Ming aircraft carrier fleet to attack first.

(a) TF 4 must complete refueling at sea by 6:29 on 18 June and maneuver northward to seek opportunities to attack the enemy fleet in the Queen Charlotte Islands.

(b) Task Groups 1 and 2 were prepared to attack the exposed enemy carrier force.

The current situation is that both sides are roughly aware of each other's existence, but neither dares to let the aircraft carrier fleet act rashly.

Compared with the poor visual search efficiency of both sides at the beginning of the war, earth-shaking changes have taken place in just a few years.

Following the commander's instructions, the U.S. battleship fleet quickly completed refueling at sea and then headed north at high speed.

In the second half of the night, a large Ming army seaplane equipped with search radar discovered this fleet that seemed to be heading north rashly and placed it under close surveillance.

Cheng Jian roughly guessed the opponent's intention. He did not plan to send an aircraft carrier to launch an attack, but instead ordered the First Bombardment Fleet to fight back.

Soon, the two fleets were ready to engage in battle.

Generally speaking, a battleship decisive battle will not happen as long as one side is unwilling to fight, but now both the Ming and American armies are very eager to fight.

After nightfall, a thin mist spread over the sea and visibility decreased, which greatly encouraged the American sailors. Admiral Willis Lee was determined to use his radar fire control advantage to severely damage the Ming army.

The main combat forces of the US military are one Iowa-class, two Washington-class, two South Dakota-class, and one Alaska-class large cruiser.

The main combat force of the Ming army was 2 Yongle-class, 1 Longshuo-class, 1 Kaihuang-class, and 2 Yongyuan-class battlecruisers.

Commanders on both sides could not resist the temptation to incorporate battlecruisers or large cruisers into the battle line, after all, their firepower was considerable.

The sea was pitch black and the mist seemed to be thicker. If you threw a can into the sea, it would be swallowed up by the endless darkness in an instant.

7月1日凌晨3：15，海战以宣德号打出的第一轮半齐射拉开了序幕，这时双方相距28㎞之遥。

A large number of Ming army warships were modified during maintenance and preparation, with new electronic equipment added. Several battleships also added dual-purpose radars for sea search and fire control.

This radar has a wavelength of 32cm, a ranging accuracy of 60m, an azimuth accuracy of 0.2°, a maximum detection distance of 30km, and is equipped with a PPI flat-panel display. It is a decimeter wave radar and its overall performance is better than some of the others.

The azimuth accuracy of the U.S. military's Mk8 fire control radar can reach 0.03°, while the azimuth accuracy of the Japanese Army's No. 22 modified four-shot radar in the same period of history was 0.5°. This shows the huge technological gap between the two sides in history.

Although the fire control radar of the Ming army's battleships is not cutting-edge, the gap in actual combat is already very small, mainly because the degree of automation is much inferior.

The fierce night artillery battle intensified, and the originally quiet sea was shattered in an instant.

The sea seemed to be covered with burning floating bonfires, flickering constantly and illuminating the vast night sky.

The North Carolina was the first to be hit hard, with most of the shells hitting her coming from the Yongle and Xuande. The first direct hit tore a hole in the funnel, but it went through and landed in the sea behind.

Such good luck only lasted for a brief moment, and then two giant armor-piercing shells weighing more than one ton used raw brute force to smash through the thick high-quality armor steel plates, exploding violently inside!

(End of this chapter)