I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 419 Doomsday
When the Goryeo Russian army began to counterattack, the Second Pacific Fleet, mainly composed of the Baltic Fleet, circled half of the world and finally arrived in East India.

The Second Pacific Fleet consists of a total of 38 warships, including the four latest "Borodino" class battleships in service.

Since the "Borodino" class battleship was unable to pass through the Suez Canal, the Second Fleet had to go around Africa, a journey of more than 3 kilometers.

The Second Fleet set out last October and took seven months to reach East India from St. Petersburg.

After such a long voyage, the fleet officers and soldiers were both physically and mentally exhausted and needed a period of rest before they could engage in combat.

Warships also need maintenance and upkeep to return to their best condition.

The shipyards in East India that can be used for the maintenance of "Borodino" class battleships are all in Coconut City. Kanunnikov hopes that the Second Fleet will go to Coconut City and continue northward after adequate rest.

Roger Stevensky did not dare to rest. The order given to him by Navy Minister Alexei was to go north to join the war as quickly as possible. George could not be allowed to enjoy the glory of defeating Japan alone.

If you don’t go to Coconut City, you can only go to Bataan, which is only half-built.

Last year, East India began to build a fort in Bataan, which was strongly opposed by the British.

Most of the warships of the Japanese Combined Fleet were built in the United Kingdom. If a Japanese torpedo boat suddenly jumped out when the Second Fleet was passing through the English Channel, the Second Fleet would definitely be severely damaged.

In the Battle of Vladivostok, the Combined Fleet did lose two armored cruisers.

The Russo-Japanese War was still ongoing, traffic between Amur and East India was interrupted, and the 305 train gun failed to arrive in time.

This is just British intimidation. Britain will definitely not go to war with the Russian Empire.

The Port of Bataan has only two berths suitable for "Borodino".

So after the Second Fleet left the Baltic Sea and entered the North Sea, there was a lot of noise, and the slightest disturbance was like a frightened bird.

In the early morning of October 10, when the Second Fleet passed the Dogger Coast of England, it mistakenly mistook a British fishing boat for a Japanese torpedo boat in the dark night and opened fire on it.

Although Beihai is far away from Japan, it is not impossible.

Roger Stuvinsky did not know enough about the situation in the Far East.

George ignored it and not only built a fort in Bataan, but also reserved gun positions for the 305mm train gun, with a range covering the entire Strait of Malacca.

The number of berths in Bataan Port is also insufficient, especially the "Borodino" class with a displacement of up to 1.35 tons, which can only enter the port in turns.

"General, your actions are completely under the control of the Japanese army. It is very dangerous to go north now——"

Although Britain did not participate in the war, it had a clear stance and would definitely pass on the information from the Second Fleet to Japan.

Kanunnikov did not want to see the tragedy of the Pacific Fleet repeated.

When the Second Fleet set off, rumors spread in St. Petersburg. Some even said that the Japanese Combined Fleet had appeared near the North Sea and would imitate Torpedo Night and wait for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack on the Second Fleet.

Roger Stevinsky only stayed in Bataan for three days. After replenishing his supplies, he was about to set off north.

“Didn’t the Siberian Fleet already defeat the Combined Fleet in Vladivostok?”

The shelling sank a British fishing boat and injured several other fishing boats.

When the Second Fleet arrived in East India, the British felt like they were facing a formidable enemy. There were warships cruising around Bataan Port at any time, monitoring every move of the Second Fleet.

The incident was later mediated by Germany and France and handed over to the International Court of Justice, but was eventually settled.

This incident triggered serious protests in the UK, which even claimed that it would invoke the provisions of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance to go to war with Russia.

But after the fall of Fortress Arthur, almost all the remaining battleships of the Pacific Fleet were captured by the Combined Fleet. Compared with the Battle of Vladivostok, the Combined Fleet's strength was once again strengthened.

The battleship "Letvizan", which was severely damaged in the torpedo night and was lagging behind in the breakout battle, was captured by the Japanese after the fall of Fortress Arthur. Now it was renamed "Hizen" and joined the combined fleet.

The "Peresvet" and the "Victory" sank after being bombarded by Japanese artillery in Arthur Military Port, and the wreckage was also captured by the Japanese.

The "Peresvet" suffered minor damage, and the Japanese army quickly repaired it. It was renamed "Sagami" and also joined the combined fleet.

The "Victory" was severely damaged and the repair work has not been completed, otherwise the difficulties faced by the Second Fleet will be even greater.

"I have made contact with the Siberian Fleet, and the Siberian Fleet will go south to assist."

Roger Stevinsky thought victory was within his grasp.

Kanunnikov was unable to stop it and could only watch as the Second Fleet set fire and weighed anchor.

Although the strength of the Combined Fleet has recovered, the strength of the Second Fleet plus the Siberian Fleet is still superior to that of the Combined Fleet.

But that’s not how the account is calculated.

Although the Second Fleet has four latest battleships, its strength is only half that of the Japanese "Shikishima" class.

The key point is that the Second Fleet and the Siberian Fleet are not together, one is in the south and the other is in the north, which leaves an opportunity for the Combined Fleet to take advantage of.

Before George had time to "block the door," the Tsushima Strait was still under the control of the combined fleet.

Roger Stevensky contacted Peter to inform each other of their itineraries, hoping that Peter would lead the Siberian Fleet to meet the Second Fleet in the Tsushima Strait around the 28th.

Because the warships of the Second Fleet did not have time to maintain, the bottom of the warship was covered with algae, and the speed was seriously affected.

On the 26th, the Second Fleet arrived in the eastern waters of the Qing Empire. Roger Stevinsky discovered that he could not reach the Tsushima Strait at the agreed time, so he notified Peter to postpone the response time to the 29th.

At 27 a.m. on the 11th, the main force of the Second Fleet and the Combined Fleet encountered each other in the eastern waters of the Qing Empire. Roger Stevinsky contacted Peter urgently, hoping that the Siberian fleet would take immediate action.

Peter cursed after receiving the telegram.

Vladivostok is about 1000 kilometers away from the Tsushima Strait, and it will take nearly 15 hours for the fleet to reach the Tsushima Strait at the fastest speed of 30 knots.

Dongxiang only had 10 hours left for the Siberian fleet.

At 2:08 pm, the Russian ship opened fire first, and a naval battle broke out.

After many naval battles, the combined fleet was finally reborn. It completed the turn against the bombardment of the Second Fleet and occupied a favorable position.

The flagship of the Second Fleet "Prince Suvorov" was attacked by the combined fleet. The steering gear failed and tilted 8 degrees to the port side. Roger Stevinsky himself was also injured and fell into a coma.

The battle had just begun when the Second Fleet lost command.

At 3:10, the battleship "Osliavia" with a displacement of 1.27 tons was sunk by the combined fleet.

At this time, all the warships of the Second Fleet fled madly towards Vladivostok, and the United Fleet pursued them with all their strength.

At 6 p.m., the battleship "Alexander III" was sunk.

At 7 o'clock, the "Borodino", the first ship of the "Borodino" class that was put into service just last year, sank.

At 7:20, the "Prince Suvorov" sank.

At this time, night fell, Dongxiang ordered the battleships of the Combined Fleet to break away from the battle, and the torpedo boats continued to pursue the remaining battleships of the Second Fleet.

That night, the "Navarin", the "Admiral Nakhimov", and the "Great Sisoy" were sunk by Japanese torpedo boats. Lieutenant General Roger Stevinsky was captured by the Japanese. Of the 38 warships, 21 were sunk by the combined fleet.

The Siberian fleet rushed all the way and when it arrived at the Tsushima Strait, it only received the only protected cruiser "Emerald".

During its escape, the "Emerald" refused to flee to the Philippines and surrender to the Combined Fleet. Instead, it headed north and insisted on sailing to Vladivostok, becoming the only warship to reach Vladivostok.

The battle report of the annihilation of the Second Fleet was sent to George's headquarters at the same time as the battle report of the Goryeo Russian army's recapture of Jizhou.

George is neither sad nor happy. The fate of some people has been destined for a long time. Even if George goes against fate, he cannot change it.

"God, how could this happen? How could this happen--"

Milyujing burst into tears and could not accept this reality.

"The news is blocked and no one is allowed to discuss this matter."

George immediately ordered the news to be blocked.

In his previous life, George had abhorred the tendency to block news.

Now George finally understood that some news had to be blocked.

If this matter spreads, it will cause irreversible damage to the confidence of the Russian army on the front line.

After George came to Siping, the little military morale he had managed to gather with more than a dozen heads would be wiped out in an instant.

George couldn't let the Zasulichs die worthless.

Alexander's face was ashen. He never expected that the Second Fleet would lose so miserably.

Although the Pacific Fleet was completely wiped out, the result of the Battle of Vladivostok still injected a shot in the arm into St. Petersburg, making everyone more confident.

Now it's completely over. The three major fleets of the empire combined, only a few old, weak, sick and disabled ships of the Black Sea Fleet are left -

Fortunately, there is also a Siberian fleet!

But can the Siberian Fleet, which only has two battleships and two armored cruisers, withstand the combined fleet's strength, confidence, and combat effectiveness that have increased crazily after successively annihilating the Pacific Fleet and the Second Fleet?

Alexander had no confidence in this.

George is confident.

Even if the Siberian fleet cannot defeat the combined fleet.

Covered by the three-dimensional defense system of the Vladivostok fort, the combined fleet was helpless against the Siberian fleet.

When the dreadnoughts of the Siberian Fleet are completed, it will be the end of the Combined Fleet.

Of course, the most effective way is to block the door as early as possible.

What George didn't know was that after the Second Fleet was wiped out, St. Petersburg's attitude towards the war finally changed.

Until the Second Fleet was completely annihilated, everyone still firmly believed that although the Russian Empire performed poorly, the final victory would definitely belong to Russia.

After the Second Fleet was completely annihilated, the Russian Empire had completely lost the possibility of winning.

With the combined fleet controlling the Tsushima Strait, even if George defies fate and annihilates the Kwantung Russian army, the Russian Empire will not have the ability to counterattack the Japanese mainland. Japan is at least in an invincible position.

There is no point in persisting at this point.

(End of this chapter)