Empire Conquest

Chapter 507 - 503 Harassment Attack

On the evening of the 29th, more precisely at dawn on the 30th, the 21st Special Mixed Fleet indeed came under attack by Newland torpedo boats.

However, the situation remained within controllable limits.

Thanks to prior preparations, which involved sending out heavy cruisers equipped with radar along with destroyers to patrol 100 kilometers ahead of the main fleet, the torpedo boats were intercepted by the cruisers and destroyers as soon as they attacked, and none managed to break through.

For dealing with torpedo boats, which were the size of mosquitos, high-altitude guns were sufficient.

Of course, in the destroyers of the frontline special mixed fleets, which all entered service after the outbreak of the major conflict, the main guns were 130-millimeter high-altitude guns.

It could be said that the 80-millimeter high-altitude guns installed on heavy cruisers, as well as quad-mounted 40-millimeter machine guns, were the most efficient in combating the torpedo fast boats.

The following morning, the Newland authorities announced that they had sunk one carrier, three cruisers, and several destroyers in the battle the previous night.

In fact, the only loss for the Imperial Navy in that night’s battle was a main gun on a destroyer that had burst, causing serious injuries to three gunners, one of whom died a few days later due to ineffective medical treatment, and this destroyer continued to fight after its naval gun was repaired, until the landing fleet arrived. Thereafter, it exchanged places with a destroyer from the landing fleet and followed the transport convoys back home.

This battle indicated that the Newland Navy still did not have a clear idea of the exact position of the 21st Special Mixed Fleet, but only knew the general direction.

Of course, this also showed that the Newland Navy still possessed strong combat capabilities, with morale and fighting spirit certainly not in question.

According to the report from the Commander of the cruiser squadron, not one of the more than ten torpedo boats turned away to retreat after being intercepted.

In fact, most of the Newland officers and men aboard those torpedo boats believed they had discovered Liangxia Navy carriers, and surmised they were just behind the cruisers.

As it turned out, the numerous torpedo boats plunged into the fire net created by cruisers and destroyers one after another, like moths to a flame.

Until the end of the battle, not a single torpedo boat opened fire on the cruisers!

Perhaps, the officers and men on the torpedo boats thought that if they managed to break through the cruiser’s interception, they could use their heavy torpedoes to sink the Liangxia carriers.

Otherwise, there would certainly have been cruisers or destroyers damaged.

By the next day, the fighting spirit of the Newland Navy had shown a more perfect display.

On the 30th, during the day, in order to enhance the bombing effect and to exert pressure on the Newland Navy, aiming to defeat the Newland Navy before the landing fleet arrived, the 21st Special Mixed Fleet sailed more than 200 kilometers eastward, arriving north of Transfer Island, where it rendezvoused with the ongoing "Qinling."

With the "Qinling," Bai Zhizhan could more conveniently direct the battle.

The urgent task was to force the Newland Fleet to come for a decisive battle.

Even after removing two small carriers, the Newland Navy still had two fast battleships, dozens of cruisers, and at least two hundred destroyers.

These warships, if they were fully deployed and launched a night attack, could pose a significant threat to the landing fleet.

The battle lasted for two days, with the Newland Navy deploying only torpedo boats.

Bai Zhizhan had to believe that the Newland Navy was deliberately conserving their strength, preparing to launch an attack on the landing fleet upon their arrival.

If they could defeat, or even severely damage, the landing fleet, they stood a better chance of defending Transfer Island.

At least, the Imperial Navy could not occupy Transfer Island simply by bombing.

No matter how much Transfer Island was bombed, it would ultimately require sending troops to seize and transform it into a springboard for attacking the Howay Islands.

To achieve this objective, Bai Zhizhan also dispatched four heavy cruisers, forming a temporary formation with four destroyers to carry out a preliminary bombardment of Transfer Island.

Yes, they were acting as a fire support fleet.

After several engagements, the Newland Navy had long grasped the Imperial Navy’s tactics of conducting preliminary artillery preparation by the fire support fleet before landing.

Of course, this was only after the Special Mixed Fleet had secured maritime and air supremacy.

Moreover, preliminary artillery preparation generally lasted about 5 days, never less than 3 days.

Based on this timing, artillery preparation began on the night of the 30th; thus, by July 4th, when the Landing Fleet arrived, a landing operation could be launched.

Clearly, this had enough deceptive potential.

As a result, the second naval battle erupted that very evening.

Strictly speaking, this was the true sense of a naval battle.

The Newland Navy deployed two Heavy Cruisers to cover the 12 Destroyers that were divided into two squads, launching an assault on the twenty-first Special Mixed Fleet from both the northeast and southeast directions simultaneously.

The gun battle lasted from 2 a.m. until after 3 a.m.

Although the Newland battleships fought fiercely, and the two Heavy Cruisers were equipped with naval gun radars, effectively utilizing the power of the Main Guns, they were completely negligible compared to their opponents, the two "Nanzhu Sea" class Fast Battleships.

Speaking of which, the "Nanzhu Sea" and the "Muddy Sea" played a role akin to the "Ocean Stabilizer."

At a distance of 25 kilometers, the two Battleships announced their presence with their 400mm naval guns and successfully halted the advance of the Newland Cruisers.

At such a long range, the two Heavy Cruisers of the Newland Navy were merely wasting ammunition.

As for the attacking Destroyers, they encountered resistance from the escort squadron led by four Long-range Cruisers.

Although the Main Guns of the Long-range Cruisers were similar to those of the Destroyers, their advantage lay in their numbers and the ability to enhance firing efficiency with search radars.

During this hour-long battle, five Newland Destroyers were sunk, and three were severely damaged, all of which sank on their own after daybreak.

As for the twenty-first Special Mixed Fleet, only a few Long-range Cruisers sustained hits from artillery, but their combat effectiveness was not affected.

This battle indicated that the Newland Navy had not given up on Transfer Island.

Moreover, the main forces of the twenty-first Special Mixed Fleet were finally discovered by the Newland Navy.

Directly consequential, shortly after dawn, a group of bombers composed of more than a hundred B-17 and B-24s headed straight for the twenty-first Special Mixed Fleet.

Despite their full efforts, these heavy bombers still failed to get close to the carriers.

In contrast, more than 40 bombers were shot down, setting the highest single-day loss record for the Newland Land Air Force on the East Ocean battlefield since the war began.

Afterward, on the morning and afternoon of July 1st, the Newland Army deployed bombers to attack the twenty-first Special Mixed Fleet.

If anything, it was merely harassment.

To enhance air defense, on the afternoon of July 1st, the twenty-first Special Mixed Fleet exchanged four squadrons of ship-borne aircraft with the twenty-second Special Mixed Fleet, trading "Thunderbolt" for "Xiaotian".

In the following days, the Newland Army persistently "harassed" the twenty-first Special Mixed Fleet using various methods.

During this period, they almost discovered the twenty-second Special Mixed Fleet.

However, this tactic of arranging battleships at night and deploying bombers during the day did not pose a substantive threat to the twenty-first Special Mixed Fleet.

At most, it merely depleted the continuous combat capability of the twenty-first Special Mixed Fleet.

This directly resulted in the postponement of the landing date by three days, from July 4th to July 7th.

Moreover, on July 3rd, the day before the Landing Fleet arrived, the twenty-first Special Mixed Fleet exchanged positions with the twenty-second Special Mixed Fleet.