I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 407: Enemy or friend?

On February 1864, 2, the Confederate submarine "Henry" sank the Northern Union frigate Housatonic. The "Henry" itself also sank due to the vortex generated by the explosion.

In the next 40 years, submarines never achieved similar results, and all countries generally held doubts about the combat effectiveness of submarines.

George knew how great the war potential of submarines was, so Amur was on the right path from the beginning and unswervingly researched submarine-related technologies.

Now the harvest time has finally arrived.

The Amur submarine uses a dual propulsion system. It is driven by a diesel engine on the surface with a maximum speed of 15 knots and a range of 1000 nautical miles. It is driven by an electric motor underwater with a maximum speed of 8 knots and a range of 100 nautical miles. The armament system is two torpedo launch tubes that can carry 12 torpedo.

Unlike other countries that still install artillery on submarines, Amur submarines do not use artillery and only have torpedoes. Although this reduces the submarine's attack capability, it also reduces underwater resistance and improves the fastest underwater speed and endurance. .

After Japan's Sixty-sixth Fleet was formed, it announced its love to the world with great fanfare, lest others not know.

The Amur military had already obtained photos of Japan's main warships through different channels, and naval officers and soldiers were familiar with them. Therefore, Daniel directly locked the flagship of the combined fleet "Mikasa" and prepared to launch torpedoes at the "Mikasa".

Dongxiang is still very cautious. The "Mikasa" is at the center of the fleet and the entire fleet is always in motion, making it difficult to find a suitable attack angle.

After the establishment of the Siberian Fleet, Peter paid strict attention to training and spared no expense, breaking more than a dozen gun barrels every month.

The light cruiser of the Siberian Fleet has only two less secondary guns in its armament system than the "Kasuga", but its displacement is nearly 2000 tons smaller. The weight saved is all in the armor.

Daniel is not in a hurry. Submarine No. 104 is like a shark hiding under the sea, patiently waiting for the right opportunity.

After the Siberian Fleet light cruiser attacked, the Combined Fleet light cruiser fled in panic. The addition of "Kasuga" and "Nichijin" did not change this situation.

In just five minutes, the "Kasuga" was hit by at least 4 artillery shells. The main gun at the stern was damaged and could not be aimed; a large hole was broken in the middle and water began to enter; the bridge was also hit, and the captain Shizuki Nakamura Colonel Jia died on the spot.

The Siberian fleet also suffered losses.

The "Aceh", which was incorporated into the Siberian Fleet, was hit by a 203mm artillery shell from the "Rijin". The hull began to take in water and tilt, and was forced to withdraw from the battle.

The "Kasuga" class has a displacement of 7628 tons, 13500 horsepower, and a speed of 20 knots. Its armament system is slightly different. The front main gun of the "Kasuga" is a 254 mm high-elevation heavy gun, and the rear main gun is a twin 203 mm gun.

The performance of Amur warships also needs to be tested in actual combat.

The "Kasuga" class armored cruisers were urgently ordered by Japan from Italy before the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War. These two armored cruisers were originally ordered by Argentina from Italy, but the order was later canceled by Argentina and the Japanese took advantage of them.

The "Rijin" has twin 203mm main guns at the front and rear.

Peter had anticipated this situation.

During the second blockade operation, the "Kasuga" hit the "Yoshino" in the middle and sank it. It was repaired in a hurry and continued to be used. The traces of damage to the front part were obvious, so it became the target of the Vladivostok light patrol.

The "Koryeo" was damaged by a 152mm shell and its steering gear was unable to turn and move. It was concentrated fire by Japanese warships and the superstructure was almost wiped out.

Daniel saw the right opportunity and fired two torpedoes at the combined fleet flagship "Mikasa".

At 13:20, Peter personally led the main force of the Siberian fleet to attack, and the main force of the combined fleet led by Togo finally started to move.

The Vladivostok light cruiser has a full load displacement of 5700 tons and the same four 4 main guns.

The secondary batteries are all 14 single-barreled 152mm rapid-fire guns.

The Russian Empire has not participated in a large-scale war for nearly 30 years, especially naval battles. In the th Russo-Turkish War, the Russian Imperial Navy had almost no performance, so the Russian Imperial Navy lacked experienced officers and soldiers.

After all, training cannot replace actual combat.

Unlike the Japanese cruisers, the artillery of the Siberian fleet has been electricized, with a faster rate of fire and significantly higher efficiency.

Daniel had bad luck. Only one of the two torpedoes hit, and it missed the "Mikasa" and mistakenly hit the "Naniwa" next to the "Mikasa".

The displacement of the "Naniwa" was only 3700 tons. The huge power of the torpedo explosion completely tore the stern of the "Naniwa" apart. The sailors of the "Naniwa" had no time to close the watertight compartment.

With the influx of seawater, the bow of the "Naniwa" tilted up and the entire rear half sank into the water.

Togo, who was watching the battle on the "Mikasa", was stunned by the tragedy of the "Naniwa". He had no idea what happened.

In current naval battles, torpedoes are limited in range and can only be used at relatively close range.

The main ship of the Siberian Fleet had just left the port and had not yet entered combat range, so the torpedoes could not hit the combined fleet at all.

Dongxiang's experience was indeed very rich, and he soon realized that the Siberian fleet was equipped with submarines.

In 1904, submarines were no longer a secret. As early as the s and s, Britain and France began to study submarines. French submarines even simulated sinking a British battleship in exercises.

Although all countries have expressed a certain degree of attention to submarines, since submarines have no actual results, the degree of attention is limited, and no weapons against submarines have been developed.

After realizing that the Siberian fleet had been equipped with submarines, Togo immediately ordered the fleet to evacuate.

But evacuation is not that easy.

Due to the use of new steam turbine units, the warships of the Siberian Fleet are generally two to three knots faster than the warships of the Combined Fleet.

The maximum speed of the "Kasuga" was originally only 20 knots. After a large amount of water was taken in, the speed became even slower, less than 10 knots, which severely hindered the retreat speed of the combined fleet. In order to prevent the Kasuga from being captured by the Siberian fleet, Togo ordered the Kasuga to be sunk.

The armored cruiser "Izumo" performed this mission.

Before sinking the "Kasuga", the officers and soldiers on the "Kasuga" must first be evacuated.

So the Chitose approached Kasuga and released the boat to pick up people from Kasuga.

Just when the "Izumo" was preparing to launch a torpedo at the "Kasuga".

Submarine No. 104 fired two torpedoes at the "Izumo" again.

This time, the god of luck did not favor the Combined Fleet. Not only did the two torpedoes hit them all, but they also caused the ammunition depot of the "Izumo" to explode, and a fire broke out in the boiler room. A minute later, the 9700-ton heavy armored cruiser Sunk quickly.

The "Chitose" was stunned by the tragedy of the "Izumo" and failed to care about rescuing the officers and soldiers of the "Kasuga" and fled the battlefield as quickly as possible.

As the sister ship of the "Yoshino", the "Chitose" has a maximum speed of only 23 knots, which is pitifully slow in front of the cruisers of the Siberian Fleet.

The "Chitose" was quickly overtaken by the cruisers of the Siberian Fleet.

After a shelling, the "Chitose" hung up the white flag and raised its hands to surrender.

The captain of the "Chitose" still had integrity. After hoisting the white flag and surrendering, he ordered the officers and soldiers to leave in a small boat, opened the underwater water gate and scuttled.

The "Kasuga" was not so lucky. Its underwater water gate had been submerged and could only be captured by the Siberian fleet.

Peter did not let go of the Combined Fleet. He led the main force of the Siberian Fleet and pursued the Combined Fleet to the Tsugaru Strait before giving up.

Unfortunately, Dongxiang did not give Peter a chance, and Peter failed to further expand his victory.

Even so, the outcome of the Battle of Vladivostok shocked the world.

In the naval battles before the Russo-Japanese War, whether it was the "Petropavlovsk", the "Yashima" and the "Hasuse", they were all struck by mines and sunk. The warships that were actually sunk in the naval battle, They are all smaller destroyers and offshore gunboats.

The "Izumo" was the first 10,000-ton warship to be truly sunk in a naval battle.

The Siberian Fleet did not sink the "Spring", but towed the "Spring" back to the Vladivostok naval port for repairs.

I don’t know whether it was intentional or unintentional, but the Siberian Fleet did not even lower the military flag hanging on the "Kasuga".

So "Haruhi" became the first Japanese warship to fly the Japanese naval flag and enter the Vladivostok naval port.

As more details of naval battles came out, the role of submarines really began to be taken seriously by various countries.

Peter became famous after this battle.

Dewey once again came to Vladivostok.

This time he came not to visit George, but to visit Peter.

In the Battle of Manila, the U.S. Asiatic Fleet led by Dewey spent a morning annihilating the entire Spanish fleet.

Dewey was not too proud of this achievement because the Spanish fleet was too weak. This result was normal and in line with everyone's expectations.

After the Russo-Japanese War broke out, it has given the world too many surprises.

The outcome of the Battle of Vladivostok was also unexpected by many people.

"In the Battle of Vladivostok, we won the war without the battleships of the Siberian Fleet firing a single shot. What kind of famous general am I?"

Peter was unhappy.

"Aren't you the commander-in-chief of the Siberian Fleet?"

Dewey's top hats are presented in piles one after another. In the past few days, European and American newspapers have directly praised Peter to the sky.

The positions of European and American countries in the Russo-Japanese War were very complicated. Although all countries remained neutral based on their own interests, they did not hesitate to praise Peter.

Amplifying the Russo-Japanese War, it was a war between ancient European empires and emerging Asian countries.

The Russian Empire's Pacific Fleet was blocked by the Japanese Combined Fleet in Port Arthur and could not get out. The old white Europeans did not look good, and their self-esteem was seriously damaged.

Therefore, the real attitude of European and American countries towards the Russo-Japanese War is that they hope that Russia will lose, but not in an ugly way.

It would be best to have a lose-lose situation, which would not only curb the expansion of the Russian Empire in the Far East, but also prevent Japan from benefiting too much, further increasing its strength, and continuing to maintain the previous situation of East Asia being poor and weak, and continuing to be plundered by European and American countries.

It is different from the European and American countries that praise Peter.

St. Petersburg was relatively ambiguous about the naval battle of Vladivostok, and the relevant news was not even reported, as if this naval battle had never happened.

(End of this chapter)