News of the Battle of Liaotung raced around the world. Western Press painted it as a major victory against the forces of Communism - and public feeling in Europe and America turned decisively against the German - Russian alliance. French Press, in particular, adopted a sensationalist stance, painting the Japanese as avengers of the German-sunk liner
Lorraine.
Oh, how tables turn. Don't they, fromages?
And as February gave way to March, the underwater war raged on - only
twice as brutal. The Japanese struck at German coastal patrols, in their usual opening moves; the Germans, in return, struck an opportunistic blow and sank the destroyer
Isonami with all hands.
This made the Japanese submariners
mad.
While numbering less than half of their opponents' submarines, the Japanese Silent Service was operating the best boats in the world; and their submariners were hardened veterans. In a single month, the twenty-eight Japanese submarines sank more ships than the submarine fleets of Germany and Russia
combined (which were numbering more than
sixty boats). And the 'Maru boys' didn't fail to draw their pound of flesh from the inexperienced Germans.
On the 17th of March, when the two German destroyers S-20 and S-23 sailed to southern Korea on a shipping raid, the 'Maru boys' were waiting for them.
The Germans emerged out of the morning mists to find themselves in firing range of the
Cheng Hai, a 5k ton grain freighter, which they quickly engaged and sank. Unfortunately for the raiders, the
Cheng Hai got off a distress signal. A few miles away, little
Yaeyama and her destroyer squadron made their best speed to intercept.
They almost didn't make it in time for the party. In response to the
Cheng Hai's call,
seventeen Minesweepers and patrol boats rushed to the scene. The German destroyers tried to disengage, but the 'Maru boys' swarmed them like locusts and hung on to their prey like starving piranhas.
By the time
Yaeyama and her destroyers arrived, they could only give the
coup de grace to the German destroyers. The S-20 and S-23 had been hammered to near-Swiss-cheese levels by the 4- and 5-inch guns of the near-suicidal Japanese gunships.
Hilariously, some of the captured German officers protested quite vocally. Minesweepers weren't supposed to seek engagement with destroyers! The Japanese weren't playing fair,
verdammnt noch mal!.
Shortly after this engagement, the first
Sendais were commissioned. Unfortunately, mechanical problems limited the class to 30 knots, a considerable disappointment for the Admiralty. Thankfully, the engineering department would quickly diagnose the main issues; and a 1953 refit would make the
Sendais perform to the satisfaction of all.
In April, the Silent Service struck again, carving a massive chunk out of the DDR's merchant shipping. Unfortunately, the fleet also lost
Hakaze in a patrol off North Korea.
Not that this altered the overall situation in any way, of course. What was left of the German and Russian Navy cowered in their ports. And the Japanese Army was now advancing quickly in Korea and had landed in Sakhalin.
And, to top it all off, the
Unebi intercepted the German raider
Bremen in the Indian Ocean and drove her off, while, admittedly, suffering considerable damage herself. But, where
Unebi had friendly bases to retreat to,
Bremen was operating thousands of miles from the nearest friendly port.
Aha. AHAHAHA.
AHAHAHAHAHA.
Long live the Glorious Counter-Revolution!
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