The Rise of the Empire

Not only that, but before leaving the UK, the British also installed a very fresh gadget on the two Japanese armored cruisers, which is radio equipment. This thing is still rare in this era, at least one of the Far East fleets of Britain, Russia and Germany Didn't pretend... Moreover, the radio equipment of Japanese warships can be perfectly connected with the radio equipment deployed by the British in Hong Kong and other places!

With the sudden change of the situation, the Japanese's action plan still made some adjustments. Considering that the Americans are now gathering in the German colonies, if they want to go to the Philippines, they will not be able to come here in one go. After all, the distance is there, so the idea of ​​the Japanese is that after the official outbreak of war in the West, when the Spanish fleet went south to deal with the Americans, Japan stabbed in the back and landed directly on Luzon Island, and then the Philippine guerrillas responded. Occupy some areas.

The landing force will be covered by old-fashioned warships, because fortresses like Manila Bay were not among the initial options. At the same time, it was only after the Spanish fleet went south that it began to act, so the force responsible for covering was not very strong. Of course, the Japanese main fleet will not stand idly by. They will wait for the other two armored cruisers in the Bashi Strait while providing cover for the landing force.

On January 15, 1898, a regiment of Japanese troops and their equipment and horses had been transported to Tainan by transport ships, while the main force of the combined fleet was stationed in the Ryukyu Islands. The Asama and Yakumo entered the port of Mumbai under the cover of night on this night. Then complete the last coaling before entering the Strait of Malacca. It is expected that three days later, the two warships will enter Singapore to complete the last maintenance before entering the war.

One day later, three Spanish armored cruisers, led by Sevilla, entered Manila. A lamb stumbled into a deadly trap, and the two packs of wolves in the north and south were already sharpening their knives. At that time, Severa only thought of the Americans in the south, but ignored the Japanese in the north. Of course, he was also ignorant of the situation of the American fleet, and the British had no intention of telling Sevilla the specific information. In Sevilla's impression, the current US fleet should be about the same as it was a few months ago, right?

At this time, the US-Russian fleet is also undergoing final maintenance work. The Germans provided the Americans with relatively high-quality coal and added fresh water and food. Speaking of coal, Scheer and others were surprised to find that the U.S.-Russian fleet can really load it. During this period of time, the entire fleet has installed nearly 10,000 tons of coal! It is said that more than two-thirds of the coal reserves of the German Navy in Dagua were directly removed! An armored cruiser in Rurik alone bought 1,500 tons of coal from the Germans! Of course, the price given by the Americans is still very fair, fully considering the cost of purchasing and transporting coal.

The American fleet was prepared a long time ago, but the first batch of landing troops of about 3,000 people had just set off, so they did not launch an attack early, and the United States and the West had not yet declared war. On this issue, the Americans are better than Japan People still have integrity, and they will not do things without declaring war. And for this reason, the Americans gave the Japanese time to concentrate their fleet.

Whether it is the possible PK between the United States and the West that everyone knows, or the upcoming PK between the United States and Japan that only some major powers know, it is an extremely rare model for the navies of all countries! Although the Sino-Japanese War of Sino-Japanese War created a precedent for the fight between armored steam warships. However, the size of the fleet is too small, and the level of warships participating in the battle is also uneven. For the major powers with iron ships, there is little reference value.

But this time is different! This is a PK between big countries, and the equipment is concentrated on the top warships of Britain, Germany, the United States, and Russia! British battleship Centurion, German super armored cruiser,

The latest battleships and armored cruisers of the Americans, and the largest and most suitable armored cruisers of the Russians, so many masters gathered together for a melee, it is exciting to think about it!

The British Far East Fleet first organized a visiting group, and a group of people headed by the commander of the British Far East Fleet, Fremantle, boarded the largest and most tasteless protected cruiser in the British Empire, the Strong! Up to 3,000 tons of coal reserves are enough for the British to watch the whole process! It can be called the most luxurious existence among all spectator ships. The German onlookers are naturally Earl Spey's Hamburg, and they will follow the US and Russian fleets for 24-hour "interviews and reports".

The French and even the Italians also dispatched notification ships to step up patrols in the Far East waters. They belonged to the kind that although they didn't know what was going on, they felt murderous. In any case, the attitude of seeing first and then talking finally prevailed. The actors are already in place, and the audience has already entered the arena, so now it's time to wait for the opening of the show.

On February 14, 1898, the American ironclad USS Maine forcibly broke into Havana Harbor without notifying Spain. Unlike history, on the same day, a Japanese merchant ship also entered Manila Bay. The roulette wheel of fate has started to spin, and all parties involved in this national fortune gambling are in place. Everyone has pushed their chips onto the gambling table, and then began this fateful fight!

On February 15th, with a loud bang in Havana harbor, the USS Maine was blown up into a pile of wreckage. In this explosion, the US Navy suffered heavy casualties, and the major newspapers in the United States had extremely fanatical reports on the next day. Attitude reported this matter, and unlike in history, the Americans didn't even bother arguing this time, and directly announced that the Maine sank because of a mine, and the Spaniards were responsible! And asked Spain to stop the suppression of the Cuban insurgents, while disarming in the West Indies.

On February 17, the U.S. fleet sailed from the east coast of the United States to the West Indies under the leadership of three battleships. This time the Americans did not wrestle with the Spaniards for two months before going to war. On February 20, the United States and the West officially declared war on each other, and on February 19, three major events also happened in the Far East!

At noon on February 19, Commodore Dewey, commander of the US Far East Fleet, received an order from Washington to start the war. Then the general set off for the Philippines with a huge fleet consisting of 11 warships and 8 transport ships. On the night of February 19th, the Japanese merchant ship Awa Maru anchored in Manila Harbor accidentally exploded and sank. On the second day, the Japanese government asked the Spanish government in the Philippines to allow the Japanese navy to enter Manila Bay to investigate the situation! And almost at the same time that the Awa Maru exploded, the Asama and the Yakumo had left Hong Kong and headed for Bashi Channel! The magnificent Philippine naval battle is about to kick off!

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