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#183 - The Battle of Surabaya

In Southeast Asia, the Japanese suffered an unprecedented defeat and loss in the North during the Lunar New Year. However, this has not yet affected their continued launch of a new round of attacks in the South.

This time, the Japanese targeted Java for invasion. The 16th Army, led by General Hitoshi Imamura, will land in western Java, while the 48th Division of the 14th Army will land in eastern Java. The Japanese Navy's Second and Third Southern Fleets will be responsible for providing cover and logistical support to the army. Vice Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa will lead the First Southern Fleet, awaiting an opportunity to engage in a decisive battle with any potential Allied (British, American, Australian, and Dutch) combined fleet.

The situation in Southeast Asia suddenly became delicate.

In the original timeline, by this point, the Allied navy in Southeast Asia was already extremely weak. The British Royal Navy deployed the new battleship "Prince of Wales," the fast but outdated battlecruiser "Repulse," the aircraft carrier "Indomitable," and the destroyers "Electra," "Express," "Jupiter," and "Encounter," forming Force Z. However, just days after the Pearl Harbor attack, it was annihilated by the Japanese, and the Allies lost their largest and strongest fleet in Southeast Asia.

What remained were the retreating Dutch fleet and the Australian fleet, two weaklings huddled together for warmth. Their surface combat vessels consisted of only two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and nine old destroyers, plus the U.S. Navy's Asiatic Fleet, including the seaplane tender "Langley" and the destroyers "Whipple" and "Edsall."

Their opponent, the Japanese Navy, could mobilize seven heavy cruisers, twenty-one destroyers, two light cruisers, one aircraft carrier, and two seaplane tenders. It can be said that the Japanese Navy had an overwhelming advantage in this wave.

If the main force of the Combined Fleet hadn't been at sea searching for the lost three aircraft carriers and four main battleships of the Pacific Fleet, the Japanese Navy in Southeast Asia would have been even stronger.

Even so, in the original historical timeline, the Japanese Navy directly destroyed the remaining Allied naval forces in Southeast Asia.

The seaplane tender "Langley" was sunk after being swarmed, and the destroyers "Whipple" and "Edsall" were severely damaged. Subsequently, the Allied cruisers HMS "Exeter" and HNLMS "De Ruyter" were heavily damaged, causing the entire fleet to collapse. In the end, only a few destroyers limped away from the brutal Battle of the Java Sea.

However, in this timeline, Ren Zhong's intervention caused slight changes at Pearl Harbor. The four new battleships of the U.S. Navy sailed south to Darwin, allowing the U.S. to maintain a secret and powerful fleet in Southeast Asia.

When the Allies deciphered the Japanese telegrams and learned of the Japanese plan to invade Java, they decided to concentrate their forces and form a combined fleet to strike the Japanese Navy, preventing the Japanese from continuously conquering territory in Southeast Asia.

The Allied and Japanese aircraft carriers simultaneously launched their aircraft, heading towards the opponent's warships, preparing to score the first victory.

However, to Ozawa's surprise, the Allied combined fleet, which reconnaissance had reported as old warships, suddenly revealed four big fish!

This scared Ozawa into a cold sweat on the spot!

Four unknown battleships!

For the First Fleet, this was an almost impossible object to defeat. When he heard the news, Ozawa wanted to have the naval reconnaissance and intelligence officers disemboweled on the spot!

He ordered the fleet to begin moving westward, preparing to fight and retreat, preferably into the Karimata Strait, to obtain the help of his own land-based aircraft.

How could Rear Admiral Charles give up such a good opportunity? He ordered the fast destroyers to move forward, with his two heavy cruisers following behind, preparing to entangle the opponent's cruisers, while his own battleships directly formed a group and rushed towards the Japanese First Fleet's aircraft carrier.

After launching its aircraft, the aircraft carrier was a pure target.

The combined fleet left two light cruisers and four destroyers to surround the seaplane tender "Langley", serving as bodyguards. The entire fleet charged forward towards the Japanese First Fleet!

It must be said that Rear Admiral Charles understood the Japanese. With his combination of punches, the Japanese aircraft carrier could not escape, and the heavy cruisers had to desperately pounce on the Allied combined fleet's battleships, circling around the destroyers.

The destroyers rushed forward one after another, attempting to launch torpedo attacks on the battleships. Under the sea, the few torpedo submarines were also desperately trying.

However, in this sea area, only the battleships' heavy guns were the truth.

As for the air, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter met the Grumman F4F Wildcat fighter over the sea. The F4F was like a short, chubby Garfield cat, completely inferior to the Zero in terms of speed, climb rate, and maneuverability. In addition, the pilots' combat experience was almost zero. Faced with the well-trained Japanese elite, the Wildcats were shot down one after another, tilting the balance of aerial combat towards the Japanese side.

But on the sea, the four battleships' fierce firepower, while dealing with the harassment of the Japanese heavy cruisers and destroyers, used hundreds of 127mm naval guns to counterattack, while continuously bombarding the Japanese aircraft carrier with their 406mm or 356mm main guns, and soon achieved results.

Several 406mm heavy shells landed on the Japanese aircraft carrier's flight deck, piercing the deck and igniting a raging fire!

Immediately afterwards, Rear Admiral Charles also closely pursued the four Japanese cruisers. Seeing that things could not be done, Ozawa painfully abandoned the aircraft carrier, which he could not save, and ordered the entire fleet to retreat with alternating cover!

With the destroyers blocking the shells and the Allied cruisers' path, the seven Japanese cruisers forcibly began to retreat westward.

Seeing that the overall situation was set, Rear Admiral Charles decided to expand the victory, ordering all warships except the cruisers and destroyers protecting the aircraft carrier to bite on to Ozawa's First Fleet. Two destroyers were left to destroy the abandoned Japanese aircraft carrier with torpedoes!

This chase and escape, one battle lasted for two days and two nights. After sinking two Japanese cruisers and severely damaging four, seeing that the Japanese land-based fighters were about to arrive, Rear Admiral Charles ordered the troops to withdraw. As for the Japanese destroyers, they were almost completely lost in this battle.

On the way back, the combined fleet incidentally carried out a round of artillery bombardment on the Japanese army landing on Java, and a wave of artillery fire took away one-third of a Japanese division, which was considered a vent for the pent-up anger since the start of the war in Southeast Asia.

However, after this battle, the seaplane tender "Langley's" carrier-based aircraft suffered heavy casualties, losing almost two-thirds of its carrier-based aircraft.

Considering the subsequent southward advance of the Japanese Combined Fleet.

The combined fleet decided to retreat to Darwin Harbor for repairs.

In this battle, Rear Admiral Charles's command was remarkable. In order to achieve victory, he commanded the heavy cruisers and destroyers to entangle Ozawa's cruiser fleet, resulting in the combined fleet also losing a heavy cruiser and eight destroyers. The remaining heavy cruiser was also covered in injuries and eventually had to be towed back.

However, the results of this battle were the most brilliant since the start of the war. The Japanese First Southern Fleet was destroyed in one battle, which infuriated Yamamoto, who personally led the Combined Fleet of Wow, and Nagumo's combined fleet also sailed towards the Australian sea area, preparing to inflict a devastating blow on this emerging Allied combined fleet.

The South Pacific War is gradually entering a bloody war of attrition!

However, for Ren Zhong, this Allied victory cannot be said to be beneficial to the Border Region.

The Japanese base camp, which had suffered heavy blows one after another, decided to carry out a comprehensive purge in North China, drawing two divisions and three puppet Manchukuo mixed brigades from the Kwantung Army to the south to join this Operation No. 3. The original target of central Hebei had been expanded to include the Taihang and Taiyue base areas!

Second Update