Traveling through the sword to engage in military industry.

Chapter 183: Great Changes in the Battle of Sishui
In Southeast Asia, the unprecedented defeat and losses suffered by the Japanese in the north on New Year's Eve did not yet affect their decision to launch a new round of attacks in the south.

This time, the Japanese aimed at Java to launch an attack. The 16th Army of the Japanese Army led by Hitoshi Imamura will land in western Java, and the th Division of the th Army will land in eastern Java. The Japanese Navy's South China Sea Second Fleet and Third Fleet will be responsible for providing cover and logistical transportation support for the army, while Vice Admiral Ozawa (Jisaburo) will lead the South China Sea First Fleet and wait for the opportunity to fight a decisive battle with the possible Allied (British, American, Australian and Dutch) mixed fleet.

The situation in Southeast Asia suddenly became delicate.

If it were in the original time and space, the Allied Navy in the South Pacific would have been extremely weak by this time. John Bull's Fleet Z, which was equipped with the latest battleship "Prince of Wales", the fast old battlecruiser "Repulse", the aircraft carrier "Dauntless", and the destroyers "Electra", "Express", "Jupiter" and "Encounter", was annihilated by the Japanese within two days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Allies lost the largest and strongest fleet in the South Pacific.

The two weaklings, the Tulip Fleet and the Kangaroo Fleet, which had been beaten and fled, were left to huddle together for warmth. Their surface combat ships consisted of only two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and nine old destroyers, plus the Langley aircraft carrier and the Whipple and Edsel destroyers of the Rogue Eagle's squadron in the South Seas.

Their opponent, the Japanese Navy fleet, can mobilize seven heavy cruisers, twenty-one destroyers, two light cruisers, one aircraft carrier and two seaplane carriers. It can be said that this wave of Japanese Navy has an overwhelming advantage.

If the main force of the Combined Fleet had not been still searching for the three aircraft carriers and four main battleships of the Pacific Fleet that had lost their trace at sea, the Nanyang Navy would have been even more powerful.

Even so, in the original historical time and space, the Xiaori Navy directly destroyed the remaining naval forces of the Allied Forces in the South Seas.

The USS Langley aircraft carrier sank after being surrounded and attacked, and the destroyers Whipple and Edsel were severely damaged. Then the Allied cruisers Exeter and De Ruyter were successively severely damaged. The entire fleet collapsed, and finally only a few destroyers withdrew from the brutal Battle of Surabaya with injuries.

However, in this time and space, Pearl Harbor has undergone some changes due to Ren Zhong's intrusion. The four new battleships of Rogue Eagle went south to Darwin, allowing Rogue Eagle to still maintain a secret and powerful fleet in the South Pacific.

When the Allies deciphered the Japanese telegram and learned of the Japanese plan to attack Java, they decided to concentrate their forces to form a mixed fleet to strike at the Japanese navy and stop them from continuing to capture cities in Southeast Asia.

At the same time, reduce the pressure on Luzon Island.

Now the defeat of the Rogue Eagles on Luzon Island is obvious. The Rogue Eagle garrison and the local Banana Man troops, who have not experienced brutal fighting, are no match for the battle-hardened elite opponents of the Japanese devils, and they urgently need reinforcements from the Air Force and Navy.

After the Allied mixed fleet concentrated an aircraft carrier, four battleships, four light and heavy cruisers and more than ten destroyers, its paper strength had surpassed that of the First Fleet heading south.

This time, the commander of the Allied mixed fleet is still Major General Charles, who is familiar with the Japanese fleet and has rich experience in beatings. Although Rogue Eagle is the strongest in the mixed fleet, most of their generals have no experience in fighting against the Japanese navy and have only heard of the beating at Pearl Harbor.

Completely unaware of the opponent's tactics, Rogue Eagle's Admiral Hart took the initiative to recommend Tulip, the only remaining Rear Admiral Charles Doleman. After all, in this time and space, the John Bull Far East Fleet had long been wiped out, and their remaining generals naturally did not have the face to compete for the position of commander of this mixed fleet.

On February 1942, 2, the Allied mixed fleet rushed into the Surabaya waters and encountered the main force of the escorting Ozawa Fleet. The two enemies were extremely jealous when they met, and started fighting without saying a word!

The Allied aircraft carriers and the Japanese aircraft carriers launched their fighter planes almost at the same time, rushing towards the enemy's warships, preparing to take the first victory.

However, to the surprise of the Japanese Ozawa, reconnaissance discovered that four big fish suddenly appeared in the Allied mixed fleet that was said to be old battleships!
This made the Japanese soldier Ozawa break out in a cold sweat on the spot!
4 unidentified battleships!
For the First Fleet, this was an almost impossible opponent to defeat. Upon hearing the news, Ozawa wished he could disembowel the naval reconnaissance and intelligence officers on the spot!

He ordered the fleet to begin moving westward, preparing to fight and retreat at the same time, preferably entering the Karimata Strait to obtain help from his own ground-based fighters.

How could Rear Admiral Charles give up such a good opportunity? He ordered the fast destroyers to move forward, and his two heavy cruisers also rushed forward to entangle the enemy's cruisers, while his battleships formed a group to attack the aircraft carrier of the Japanese First Fleet. After releasing the fighter planes, the aircraft carrier was a pure target.

The mixed fleet left behind two light cruisers and four destroyers to surround the USS Langley aircraft carrier and act as sword-wielding guards. The entire fleet charged forward towards the Japanese First Fleet!

It has to be said that Major General Charles understood the Japanese well. With his combined attack, the Japanese aircraft carriers could not escape, and the heavy cruisers had to go around the destroyers and desperately attack the battleships of the Allied mixed fleet.

Destroyers rushed forward one after another and attempted to launch torpedo attacks on the battleships. Under the sea, the few torpedo submarines were also fighting desperately.

But in this sea area, only the heavy artillery of the battleships is the truth.

As for the air, the Zero carrier-based fighter and the F4F Wildcat carrier-based fighter met over the sea. The F4F was like a short, fat Garfield cat. Whether in speed, climbing or hovering performance, it was no match for the Zero carrier-based fighter. In addition, the pilots had almost no combat experience. Facing the well-trained elite of the Japanese, the Wildcats were shot down one after another, and the balance of the fierce air battle tipped to the Japanese side.

However, on the sea, the four battleships had fierce firepower. They dealt with the harassment of the Japanese heavy cruisers and destroyers with hundreds of 4mm naval guns, while continuously bombarding the Japanese aircraft carriers with their ship-borne 127mm main guns or 406mm main guns, and soon achieved results.

Several 406mm heavy shells landed on the flight deck of the Japanese aircraft carrier, piercing the deck and igniting a raging fire!
Then Major General Charles also held on to the four Japanese cruisers. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the Japanese Ozawa reluctantly abandoned the aircraft carrier which could not be saved and ordered the entire fleet to take turns to cover the retreat!

Using destroyers to block the routes of artillery shells and Allied cruisers, the seven Japanese cruisers forcibly began to retreat westward.

Seeing that the outcome was decided, Major General Charles was determined to expand the victory. He ordered that, except for the cruisers and destroyers protecting the aircraft carrier, all other warships should hold on to Ozawa's First Fleet. He left two destroyers on the aircraft carrier that the Japanese had abandoned, ready to destroy it with torpedoes!
The chase and escape lasted for two days and two nights. After sinking two cruisers of Ozawa's fleet and seriously damaging four, Rear Admiral Charles ordered his troops to withdraw as the Japanese ground-based fighters were about to arrive. As for the Japanese destroyers, almost all of them were lost in this battle.

On the way back, the mixed fleet carried out a round of artillery bombardment on the Japanese army that landed in Java. One wave of artillery bombardment killed one-third of a Japanese division, which was a way to vent the anger they had suffered since the war in Southeast Asia broke out.

However, after such a battle, the carrier-based aircraft of the USS Langley suffered heavy casualties and almost lost two-thirds of its carrier-based aircraft.

Taking into account the subsequent southward movement of the Japanese Combined Fleet.

The mixed fleet decided to retreat to Darwin port for repairs.

In this battle, Rear Admiral Charles' command was remarkable. In order to win the battle, he commanded the heavy cruisers and destroyers to entangle the cruiser fleet of Ozawa's fleet, causing the mixed fleet to lose a heavy cruiser and 8 destroyers. The remaining heavy cruiser was also covered with wounds and had to be towed back in the end.

However, the results of this battle were the most brilliant since the war began. It destroyed the Japanese's first fleet heading south in one battle, which made Yamamoto furious. He personally led 6 aircraft carriers south to Java. In addition, Nanyun's mixed fleet also headed towards the Kangaroo Sea, preparing to launch a devastating blow to the Allied mixed fleet that emerged.

The South Pacific War gradually turned into a bloody stranglehold!
However, for Ren Zhong, this victory of the Allied forces could not be considered a benefit to the border region.

The Japanese headquarters, which had suffered a series of heavy blows, decided to carry out a comprehensive purge in North China. They transferred two divisions and three puppet Manchukuo mixed brigades from the Kwantung Army to the south to join the Operation No. 2 plan. The original target was Central Hebei, which had been expanded to include the two major bases of Taihang and Taiyue!
Second update
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(End of this chapter)