vrcanaries Chapter 164 The Outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War
Chapter 164 The Outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War
Lushun Port was quiet at night. Most of the people had already gone to sleep, except for some taverns and dance halls in the port that were still brightly lit, with cheers and singing coming from time to time.
The most bustling place was the naval club in the port, where a large number of high-ranking naval officers were embracing scantily clad dancers and dancing to music.
The dozen or so warships docked in the harbor were also brightly lit, with officers and soldiers on board holding bottles of liquor, either talking loudly or drinking with each other.
At 10 p.m., while the Russian troops were completely drunk, a dozen or so dark figures quietly sneaked into Lushun Port.
Akiyama Saneyuki stood atop the torpedo boat, silently gazing ahead. As a senior advisor to Commander Togo Heihachiro, it was he who had proposed this surprise attack plan.
After receiving approval from the Combined Fleet, he personally led nine torpedo boats to participate in the operation.
As the torpedo boats smoothly and quietly entered the naval port, Akiyama Saneyuki wore a contemptuous smile. Just as he had guessed, the Russians had neither laid down anti-torpedo nets nor laid mines.
Nine torpedo boats slowly approached, and the massive battleship could already be seen in the distance.
Hundreds of meters away, the battleship, weighing over 10,000 tons, was brightly lit and exceptionally conspicuous on the sea at night.
"Send a signal to the other torpedo boats. Ignore the smaller ships and concentrate your fire on the three largest ones," Akiyama Masayuki ordered with a ferocious expression.
Just as the intelligence he had received indicated, the Russians were completely unprepared, and he was going to make them pay for their arrogance.
When the distance closed to 500 meters, Akiyama ordered a torpedo to be launched.
With a splash, a torpedo shot into the sea and quickly surfaced, leaving a white spray as it hurtled towards the battleship ahead.
One minute later, there was still no sound!
"It missed! Get closer and fire another one!" Akiyama Meiichi slammed his fist on the control panel.
After closing to within a few dozen meters, a second torpedo was launched into the sea. Just then, a bright light flashed to the right front, followed by a deafening explosion.
"Good! Well done!" Akiyama shouted. Before he finished speaking, a loud explosion rang out ahead. Their second torpedo had finally hit its target.
"Banzai!" The officers and soldiers on the boat cheered. Akiyama Naoki was also excited.
"Free fire!"
Immediately, the 75mm rapid-fire guns on the gunboat roared and swept a burst of fire at the Russian warships in sight.
With a deafening roar, the Russian battleship on the right was hit by a torpedo. Thus, all three of the largest Russian warships in Port Arthur had been hit by torpedoes. The Japanese had achieved all their strategic objectives.
After launching thousands of torpedoes, all the Japanese torpedo boats opened fire at full capacity, bombarding other small Russian warships and targets on shore.
Meanwhile, most of the Russian officers were loitering on shore, and for a time they were unable to organize a resistance. They could only watch helplessly as the nine Japanese torpedo boats rampaged through the naval port, causing the Russian troops to flee in all directions.
When the first explosion rang out, the officers at the naval club were stunned for a moment. Then two more violent explosions followed, sending chaos into the club.
The officers who were still sober hurriedly ran outside, while those who were completely drunk also struggled to their feet and staggered out.
"Oh shit! A sneak attack! The Japanese have ambushed us!" The officers ran outside and saw the towering fire and explosions in the naval port from afar.
The officers cursed and ran quickly toward the naval port, each heading toward their own warship.
The Japanese torpedo boats bombarded the area for half a day, almost exhausting their shells. Seeing that the enemy was beginning to retaliate, they reluctantly withdrew.
Shen Lian received news of the Japanese attack on the Russian Navy immediately. Thankfully, history hadn't changed, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Otherwise, his plans would have failed.
On February 9, 1904, the Russian government accused Japan of a surprise attack and declared war on the Japanese government.
On February 10, the Japanese government also officially declared war on the Russian government.
The Russo-Japanese War has broken out!
The world powers reacted differently to this, with most taking a neutral stance. Only the British secretly supported Japan, and the French supported Russia.
However, they almost all offered moral support, but in reality, they remained detached and indifferent.
As before, the Qing court issued a neutrality edict and demarcated the war zone between the two sides. Clearly, no one took the Qing court's words to heart.
Shen Lian then sent a telegram warning both sides not to harm Chinese civilians. He also announced that he would send a force of several thousand men to the Northeast to monitor the fighting between the two sides.
At the same time, Shen Lian began to communicate with the embassies of various countries and formed an observation group to go to the Northeast to observe the battle, which was also a previous practice.
In recent years, various countries have gained a lot of benefits from Shen Lian, so we should give him this much face.
Now that the railway from Shandong to Fengtian is open, Shen Lian has dispatched the 1st Infantry Division to accompany the observation group to the Northeast.
Unlike other countries, the major powers only sent a few military officers at random. Shen Lian, however, selected capable officers from various divisions, forming an officer observation group of fifty to sixty people, headed by Major General Han Yong, commander of the 2nd Infantry Division.
However, let them experience the atmosphere of a major battle and learn about their future opponents.
In fact, Shen Lian himself really wanted to observe it up close, but unfortunately he couldn't leave. He could only send his officers. He would study the information carefully once they brought it back.
Shen Lian's current task is to keep a close eye on the arsenal and increase production. They must produce enough firearms and artillery to arm 200,000 men by the end of the year, to equip the main force.
At the same time, he spent more time on military expansion and Tesla's laboratory.
New units are being quietly established, and the military strength must be maintained at over 300,000 by the end of the year.
To completely defeat the Japanese, the army alone is insufficient. We must defeat the Japanese navy.
At that time, the Japanese Navy was known as the strongest in Asia and the fifth strongest in the world. It was only slightly inferior to Britain, France, Germany, and Russia, and it had more than ten cruisers and battleships combined.
He currently only has seven or eight cruisers and two newly commissioned battleships in his navy. All his hopes are pinned on the two newly built dreadnoughts.
If its full combat power can be utilized, one dreadnought can easily take on two or three ordinary battleships.
The British sabotaged the project by withholding the most advanced fire control systems, hoping to limit the warships' combat effectiveness. Unfortunately for them, Shen Lian had already acquired such systems from modern times.
What he needs to do now is figure out how to get Tesla to get it done without arousing suspicion.
Shen Lian dared not underestimate a genius like Tesla. He was forced to learn all the current knowledge of electromagnetic technology.