Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 177 The Yamato of men is about to sink (Second update, please subscribe)
  April is the season when cherry blossoms are in full bloom in the Japanese archipelago and the atmosphere is full of spring. From Hokkaido to Kyushu, from the foot of Mount Fuji to the Imperial Palace, there are butterflies and bees everywhere, full of life.

In the midst of this spring, Japan is coming to its end. Also coming to an end is the United Fleet. After the Great Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Combined Fleet actually ceased to exist. Only after returning to the mainland for repairs, the Yamato, which has been anchored at Tokuyama Anchorage in the western Seto Inland Sea, silently told the world that the Combined Fleet had once brilliant.

In view of the U.S. military landing on Okinawa. On April 4, the Japanese Combined Fleet decided to implement the "Operation Ten" plan - a maritime special attack fleet composed of the battleship "Yamato", the cruiser "Yagi" and 5 destroyers, carrying only one-way fuel for a suicide attack. Head to Okinawa to counterattack the U.S. military's landing in an attempt to fight to the death with the U.S. fleet.

From a distance, the Yamato moored at sea looks like a hill. Compared with it, the surrounding warships are as pitiful as children's dolls.

On the morning of April 4, facing the bright spring sunshine, a traffic boat docked on the Yamato. After the traffic boat docked, Vice Admiral Kusuka, the chief of staff of the Combined Fleet commanded by the Military Command, boarded the Yamato. On the ship, he came here to convey the orders of Admiral Toyota, Commander of the Combined Fleet, to Lieutenant General Ito Seiichi, Commander of the Second Fleet. The battle order of "Operation Tenha" was issued to the only remaining main fleet of the small combined fleet of Japan's Second Fleet.

"It has been decided to only provide one-way fuel to your team, and please understand that this is a special attack operation. The Second Fleet should rush into the enemy ship anchorage in the sea of ​​​​Okinawa at dawn on the 9th and annihilate it. After annihilating the enemy, rush into the enemy base and carry out the Gun fire, and landing.”

When Lieutenant General Kusaka was holding the order book and relaying it, a murmur was heard in the Yamato officers' conference room. Ito Zhengyi never said a word, but looked straight at him expressionlessly. From the moment the US military landed on Amami Oshima, he knew that this day would come and the final order to attack would definitely be issued, but at this time this order It was obviously beyond his expectation.

After Lieutenant General Caolu gave up the order, he asked what he was most concerned about.

"How many planes can be dispatched for cover!"

"Not a single one!"

"Without even a single covering aircraft, can such an operation be successful?"

Looking closely at the grass deer in front of him, Ito asked.

"You should know what special attack operations are!"

Lieutenant General Caolu suppressed the sadness and anger in his heart.

"I understand!"

After hearing this sentence, Ito understood everything - special attack operations, to put it bluntly, are to die. Since it is to die, it does not make any difference whether there is an airplane or not.

He nodded heavily, and the last thing he wanted to see finally happened.

In the afternoon, Ito boarded the super battleship named after the Yamato nation. In the conference room of the "Yamato", he met with all the commanders:

"The fate of the Empire is indeed at stake here. I have called upon you to organize a sea special attack force and rush into battle with unparalleled heroism. This will in one fell swoop boost the prestige of our Imperial Navy, carry forward the glorious tradition of the Imperial Navy's sea battles, and glorify future generations. Everyone. Troops, whether special attack units or not, must be determined to fight to the death to completely destroy the enemy fleet and lay an eternal foundation for the empire.”

Ito Zhengyi knew very well what fate would happen to the warship without aircraft cover. He also knew that the possibility of success was very high, but he knew that he could only execute it.

After the order book was read out, the officers in the combat conference room were still sitting upright. Everyone sat quietly on their chairs without saying a word. The entire conference room was in a strange silence.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Ito said.

"The Yamato represents hundreds of millions of Yamato people, so it should be the pioneer of the [-] million Yamato people! We just chose the occasion for its death! It is an honor for us Imperial Japanese Navy soldiers to coexist and die with the "Yamato" !”

With his words, the atmosphere in the entire combat meeting room became solemn.

"Sail out! Tomorrow at 6 o'clock! Everyone, prepare to attack immediately!"

"return!"

The order to attack Okinawa was issued before dinner. As soon as the order was issued, the thousands of sailors on the "Yamato" immediately became busy. When they heard from the radio that the US military had landed in Okinawa, they knew that the order would be issued sooner or later. The command.

Because I was prepared, there weren’t many surprises. It's just a fight anyway.

"Unload flammable items and move all excess supplies ashore!"

"return!"

Mattresses and flammable materials were removed one by one by the sailors and stacked in piles before being transported out of the "Yamato". The vacated cabins were labeled "Wartime Corpse Settlement House" and "Wartime Corpse Settlement House". With signs like "Rescue Station", the anti-aircraft gunners installed protective sandbags on the terrace-type quadruple 25mm anti-aircraft guns to protect their bodies.

Near evening, the sailors and officers who had completed the pre-war preparations gathered on the deck of the "Yamato". The left and right decks to the ship were filled with sailors. Ito stood on the wooden platform holding an order from Admiral Toyoda of the United Fleet. Preaching loudly.

"We hereby order a special attack team to be formed against the enemy to carry out special attacks at all costs. In this way, we will promote the glorious tradition of the Imperial Navy and pass on this unparalleled glory to future generations. The fate of the Japanese Empire will be determined here. , each team must keep in mind the special attack mission, fight bravely, completely annihilate the enemy fleet, and let the world know that the Imperial Japanese Navy is invincible. Above! Salute!" Ito Zhengyi put away the order book and at the same time, he saluted the officers and soldiers in front of him. The military salute was performed, and the atmosphere on the Yamato changed accordingly.

Afterwards, thousands of people raised their arms and shouted "Japanese Empire Banzai!", raising their arms again and again.

For a moment, loud shouts merged over the anchorage. At this time, the sun set in the west, and the fiery red sunset dyed the sea surface and the "Yamato" red, which seemed to be ominous!

Everyone understands that this will be a fight with no return.

After dinner, large and small farewell banquets filled the Second Fleet's battleship "Yamato" and nine other warships with a lively atmosphere. Singing continued to come from the officers' banquet hall, and almost all the officers were furious and noisy there. Living, venting.

Each warship had just enough fuel for a one-way voyage, and the officers knew they would die if they sailed there. This gave them no worries. There is no need to worry about military discipline or anything else, just singing, venting and roaring there.

Listening to the singing and shouting coming from the officers' mess, the escort fleet commander Rear Admiral Furumura Keizo and the former captain of "Yagi" left them and took a look around the ship at will.

In the navy cabin, Gucun saw the young sailors sleeping peacefully in the hammocks. Some of them had tears on their faces and talked in their sleep from time to time. The voices of mothers and the like were squeaking in the cabin. This scene Gucun's heart sank, but he continued to walk.

When he walked to the engine room with a heavy heart, he saw another scene. In the engine room, an engineer soldier was sweating profusely and inspecting the motor with a serious and solemn expression. It usually only takes thirty minutes to inspect the motor, but standing there Gu Cun stood at the hatch for a long time. The serious engineer soldier was still checking the motor and mumbling something from time to time.

I don't know how long it took, but the engineer soldier finally stood up. When he saw the commander standing at the hatch, he quickly stood at attention and gave a military salute.

"Commander!"

"Take a break!"

Entering the engine room, Gu Cun looked at the sweaty engine soldier.

"Why does it take so long to check!"

"Report to Commander, I will absolutely ensure that there will be no power failure after arriving in Okinawa."

"Yangxi!"

The engineer soldier's words moved Gu Cun, who was originally in a heavy mood. He gently patted the engineer soldier's shoulder, turned around and exited the engine room without saying anything. As he went up the stairs, tears flowed down involuntarily.

His tears were shed for everyone, because he knew very well that they had no chance of rushing to Okinawa.

At the same time, at the deck gangway of the "Yamato", the officer cadets were pushing and pulling with the sailors on duty. The cadets grabbed the ship's railing and cried loudly. After the excess supplies were unloaded from the warship, the sick and the cadets who had not yet graduated from Etajima were forced to leave the ship according to the order.

"We are willing to die with the Yamato!"

A midshipman cried to the officer behind the sailors on duty, begging, who is willing to leave the ship at this time?

Not many people were willing to leave the ship. In their view, performing such a special attack mission was the most glorious thing in life, but now they were driven away.

"Bagga!"

The officer scolded angrily, stepped forward and slapped the candidate twice, then grabbed his collar and glared at him.

"You must live! Do you understand?"

"I want to die together with you, we are also Yamato men!"

The candidate cried loudly. Looking at the stubborn candidates, the officer suddenly hugged the candidate who couldn't stop crying.

"You are all Yamato men. But because of this, you must live. In the future... you are the hope of the Japanese Empire to rebuild its navy, do you understand?"

The officer with tears on his face suddenly yelled as he pushed the candidate out violently.

"Drive them off the ship! Quickly..."

(End of this chapter)