The Rise of the Empire

The mobilization of the fleet does not happen overnight, especially large-scale mobilization will cause a lot of movement before the action. For example, in order to support the fleet to fight in the Far East, the port facilities in Manila must be expanded. At the same time, in order to support at least 5 large armored cruisers in combat, Spain must also hoard supplies, and as the best battleship coal, Welsh white coal has become the top priority. And the first movement of the Spanish fleet was discovered by the British!

The Spanish government purchased thousands of tons of Welsh white coal and shipped it to the Far East on British merchant ships. The British informed the Japanese of this news at the first time. The Spanish government ordered 11-inch shells from Germany. These shells will also be shipped to the Far East, and under the silver bullet offensive of the US embassy in Germany, Krupp also secretly leaked some information to the Americans! As a result, the Japanese and Americans knew the movements of the Spanish fleet almost at the same time!

And it is precisely because of this news that the plans of the United States and Japan have once again come to naught! For the United States and Japan, their enemies are likely to become 2! Whoever wants to occupy the Philippines will be attacked by the other two. This situation is very rare in the history of war. The three parties are enemies to each other!

Whoever strikes first is more likely to suffer losses. Whether it is the current Japanese fleet or the American fleet, they are not sure that they will fight the other two at the same time! Before that, both Japan and the United States had the idea of ​​acting first. The Japanese even planned to wait until the two battleships Nisshin and Izumo returned before preparing for action, while the Americans were planning to start in March 1898. Action, at that time, the rented Russian fleet should have been prepared in the French Concession in Shanghai, and when they headed to the territory of Kaiser Wilhelm, they could start!

The worst thing about formulating a strategy is uncertainty. Although both Japan and the United States know the actions of the Spaniards, they cannot be sure how much of the Spanish fleet can be transferred to the Far East in the next few months. And this issue is particularly important for the United States. If all the elite of the Spanish fleet are transferred to the Far East, it will be easier for the Americans. Let the other three battleships pack up and prepare to go around the Americas and head to the Far East! I have to say that the overall strength of the US fleet is still very strong at this time! After adding 3 battleships, the Americans think they are enough to crush the fleets of Spain and Japan!

"Actually, we don't need to worry about the plan. It is best to launch an offensive immediately when our combat effectiveness reaches its peak! After the Japanese fleet received two large armored cruisers, their combat effectiveness will not be greatly improved, while Spain It will take a long time for the Chinese to turn Manila Bay into a fortress and send their entire main fleet there, and when the Russian cruisers are in place, our strength will also stabilize. The meaning of three battleships coming is also very limited.”

"Judging from the time when the strength of the three fleets reached its peak, Japan was the first, then us, and finally the Spaniards. In this case, we should naturally proceed according to the original schedule. After all, the formation of battleships to the Far East itself is difficult to predict. How long will it take to go this way, and what will be the condition of the ship after the trip is all problems, so it is unrealistic to pin your hopes on the battleship force." Dewey is still somewhat advanced, and in a telegram he insisted on following the established plan Execution, when the reinforcement fleet of the United States and the Russian fleet arrive, launch an attack immediately, so as not to change!

And when this telegram was sent to the desktop of the high-level navy headed by Roosevelt, it really gave people a feeling of enlightenment! That's right! After the Russian fleet joined, the US Far East Fleet has 11 warships of various types! In addition to being unable to beat the British Far East Fleet at such a scale,

It's not a big problem to call any one! The Spanish fleet is full of about 5 armored cruisers, and Spain's only battleship is currently being repaired in France.

There are 8 warships in the US fleet over 6,000 tons! There are 11 ships in total. According to the war game deduction, there is no problem for the US Far East Fleet to defeat the Spaniards in one battle! In the Japanese fleet, there are only five warships with a tonnage of more than 7,000 tons. Even if the two large armored cruisers are powerful, the Americans think that the odds of winning are more than 70%. If they are conservative, they will destroy the Spanish fleet first, and then withdraw and repair it. Then cover the army's attack on Luzon Island.

"As long as the Japanese and the Spaniards don't join forces, we will definitely win this naval battle. General Dewey's opinion is feasible. When our strength reaches its peak, we will start quickly. We will first occupy Davao Bay in the southern Philippines as a Base, and then wait for an opportunity to go north, as long as we are well prepared, the Japanese fleet will have no chance. Our battle will not be more difficult than when we opened the door to Japan decades ago." Simpson said.

"What do you mean, Lieutenant Colonel Magiffin?" Roosevelt asked out of courtesy. Although Magiffin was the only general in the U.S. Navy with actual combat experience, the proud Americans looked down on the war in the Far East, especially as the U.S. White people themselves have an inexplicable sense of superiority over other people of color. Roosevelt didn't think that the Americans would lose in a real fight. Those Japanese dwarfs would fight naval battles? What a joke! The U.S. Navy fought the British back then! Although the naval base was burned, it has also achieved many victories!

"The tactical level of the Japanese Navy should not be underestimated. At least after I returned to the U.S. Navy, I think the U.S. Navy is not as good as the Japanese Navy in terms of gunnery. It is even worse than the Beiyang Navy." Ma Jifen's kind reminder did not get The high-level attention of the U.S. Navy, and the most direct result of this sentence is that this naval officer who had just returned to the United States from the Far East was once again kicked to the Far East, and he was assigned to Dewey as a staff officer.

In the end, the Americans made limited adjustments to their plan. In addition to completing the transfer of the naval fleet as soon as possible, they also increased the landing force. The plan to assemble in San Francisco, and together with the army to complete the assembly of troops as quickly as possible, and then rushed to the German Pacific colonies by ship, after the fleet launched an attack, the landing troops immediately followed, occupied important cities and then created an established fact.

Although Roosevelt considered the possible conflict between the United States and Japan, from the bottom of his heart, Roosevelt did not think that Japan dared to take action against the United States. After all, the U.S. Navy easily broke Japan's door decades ago. "With such a powerful fleet deployed in the Far East, the Japanese probably don't even have the guts to do it?" After the meeting ended, Roosevelt looked at the chart on the wall and said to himself.

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