Chapter 539: Myanmar Sea Battle (3)

Giant warship, big cannon!

A man's romance!

At this moment in Yangon port, Jiang Zhiyuan's Nankai Fleet was ready, slowly sailing out of the harbor toward the open sea, preparing to intercept Xiao Ze Zhi Sanlang's Southern Convoy Fleet.

The force composition of this Nankai Fleet was far stronger than Xiao Ze Zhi Sanlang's fleet.

Its core strength was one Zhenhai‑class battleship (original Iowa class), supported by one Dingyuan heavy cruiser (original Admiral Hipper class), and nine Binhai‑class destroyers (original Fletcher destroyers), forming a fully staffed, heavily armed fleet.

Jiang Anguo's newly acquired 5,000‑man organization was entirely exchanged for Navy personnel.

One must know that these eleven warships require at least over 6,000 people to support long‑range operations.

However, Jiang Anguo had no solution now; who could have expected the unit's rapid advance to seize Yangon as a temporary port.

Coincidentally, at this moment the Japanese Army's Southern Convoy Fleet was also moving north toward Yangon.

We have no choice but to press on bravely.

Even this Navy unit had no Navy ground crew.

In fact, 5,000 people could meet the combat needs, but Navy at‑sea operations usually last 30 or 60 days, with high‑intensity work daily, thus requiring enough personnel for shift changes.

That is why a Zhenhai‑class battleship needs 1,800 crew, yet the ship now only has 1,600 assigned.

On the Zhenhai battleship, the main gun turret turned slowly, the 406 mm main gun aimed toward the open sea, all anti‑aircraft guns were installed, the crew took their stations with solemn expressions, ready for battle.

Jiang Zhiyuan stood in the command cabin, watching the radar screen and closely monitoring the Japanese Army fleet's movements. In a firm tone he said, "All fleet, attention: maintain formation, keep full speed ahead, intercept the Japanese Army Southern Convoy Fleet! Upon spotting the target, let the destroyers probe first, Dingyuan will hold back the enemy heavy cruiser, Zhenhai's main guns prepare to deliver a fatal strike on the Japanese! Do not let the Japanese approach Yangon port; protect our hard‑won victory!"

On the sea surface, the Nankai Fleet's warships formed a tidy battle formation, racing toward the Japanese Army fleet; the engines' roar shattered the calm, steel leviathans cutting through the waves with overwhelming momentum.

Meanwhile, in the distance Xiao Ze Zhi Sanlang's fleet kept advancing, completely unaware that a deadly interception battle was about to erupt.

Jiang Anguo stood on the harbor bank, watching the Nankai Fleet fade into the distance; despite it being his first naval battle, he felt confident.

Of course, this all presupposes that the Japanese carrier is not in Southeast Asia; if a carrier appeared, Jiang Anguo would never send out a battleship—that would be handing a head to the Little Devil.

After all, once Yangon Airport is repaired, even if the Japanese carrier reaches Southeast Asia, Jiang Anguo would not have to worry.

Right now, the Nankai First Fleet under Jiang Zhiyuan far outmatches Xiao Ze Zhi Sanlang's Southern Convoy Fleet.

With the ace warship Zhenhai stationed and sound tactical deployment, they will surely crush Xiao Ze Zhi Sanlang's Southern Convoy Fleet, firmly secure Yangon's defense, and clear the sea obstacles for the Expeditionary Force's subsequent actions.

Ten years of army, a hundred years of navy.

That saying is indeed correct; Jiang Anguo now also laments, thinking that if the National Government had abandoned navy construction back then, concentrating all navy resources and funds into the army, perhaps things would be different.

At that time the navy's tonnage had reached 40,000 tons, which compared with Japan's 1.2 million tons was a huge gap.

In the end, the only option was to scuttle at Jiangyin, using warships to block Japanese navy vessels from entering the Yangtze River, ensuring the safety of the army defensive line on both banks.

Obviously, the wealth painstakingly saved over the golden ten years was overturned in an instant.

But if those warships were all replaced with 60 mm mortars, 80 mm mortars, and 75 mm infantry guns, equipped at the regiment‑brigade level,

then perhaps the National Government army's combat power would increase significantly.

Jiang Anguo also made a self‑deprecating remark, "All supplies need to be imported, and obviously so do shells."

Given the severe shortage of ammunition, even with more mortars there might still be insufficient shells in the end.

When poor, employ interleaved maneuvers; when rich, achieve fire‑coverage.

Artillery also needs shells to fire; during regular training the crews are reluctant to waste ammo, let alone when training with shells.

From this southern expedition, Jiang Anguo saw that even the elite 200th Division of the Expeditionary Force's artillery precision differed markedly from the artillery under his command.

Navy.

Jiang Anguo must admit that the Navy is a game for the wealthy; look at how many countries worldwide are or were colonies.

But how many nations can truly afford it?

Little Japan's Combined Fleet, placed in the Pacific, currently holds the top strength.

If Little Japan's Combined Fleet were moved into the Mediterranean, the British could simply pack up and flee to the colonies.

The British only bullied Germany for lacking a strong navy, but once faced a more powerful fleet, Britain's resources would also be insufficient.

Jiang Anguo looked at the over 43 million points stored in the system, then checked the price of an Aircraft Carrier: 900,000 points.

Not expensive.

Submarines 50,000 points, destroyers 100,000 points, cruisers 300,000 points, battleships 600,000 points.

A fleet with two Aircraft Carriers costs only three million points—enough!

But the current problem is that Jiang Anguo lacks that many Navy personnel.

The Navy is not like the army picking up weapons, firing a few rounds, getting familiar, then jumping straight into battle.

Put an ordinary person into the Navy, and they wouldn't even know how to start the warship; they'd just say, "Ah, this cannon is huge!"

And then?

They might not even know how to operate the ship's guns.

It requires a great deal of time to learn and accumulate.

The current issue is that Jiang Anguo can only use the system's limited personnel slots to complete the existing fleet's organization!

Why European nations became maritime powers is largely because many originated as pirates.

During the Age of Exploration, a huge number of pirates were cultivated.

Through more than three hundred years of evolution, they became today's navies.

The Navy Jiang Anguo has at his disposal was founded less than two days ago and must be thrown into battle immediately; Jiang Anguo trusts Jiang Zhiyuan and the Navy soldiers.

But there's no way around it; building a carrier‑centric Navy is still difficult for the current Nankai.

The only viable approach now is veteran‑to‑novice, letting elders train newcomers, who handle simple tasks.

Carrier pilots, however, are not lacking; under William and Song Yun's flight squadron, as long as they board carrier‑borne aircraft, they can take off and land on the carrier immediately.

He also controls a 50,000‑ton shipyard, and the Navy needs many workers; Jiang Anguo has no immediate solution for these shipbuilders.

For now, building warships oneself is less efficient than buying them directly within the WarSystem.