Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 2244 Z Fleet
Like Saigon, the Lion City is also known as the spy capital of the Far East.

No way, almost all European colonies in the Far East are too complicated. Every important city has the possibility of becoming a spy capital. The more prosperous the city, the more whites settle there, and the whites in the Far East are stateless. They come to The purpose of going to the Far East is to escape the ongoing war in Europe. Those who come to become a master don't even want their own motherland, so naturally they don't care who they are loyal to.

Based on Southern Africa's interests in the Far East, the Far East has naturally become the focus of the work of Brad's office. The behavior of Brad Hannan has long been known by Brad's office, but the British have not been informed.

This is really not meant to be a joke about the British.

Intelligence work is very complicated. The Japanese intelligence agency paid a huge price for instigating Baitrihannan. Baitrihannan's secrecy level is very high. If the situation of Baitrihannan is reported to the British, then Brad's office will The domestic intelligence network in Japan is in danger of being exposed, and Brad's office will not help MI.

Things are different now than before.

In the past, British Malaya refused the troops from southern Africa to get involved, and there was no possibility of cooperation between the armies of the two sides. Even if Bai Cuihannan leaked the intelligence of the British army to the Japanese, it would not pose too much threat to southern Africa.

Now that the southern African army and the British army have begun to cooperate, if Bai Cuihannan is kept, it may cause serious losses to the operations of the southern African army, so this nail must be pulled out.

Bai Cuihannan was not the only one in the British army who was bought by the Japanese, and more than ten people were arrested at the same time.

This is definitely not all. It is estimated that there are still fish that have slipped through the net. The intelligence work has a long way to go, and Brad's office has to continue to work hard.

While Lion City and Changi Naval Base jointly operated, the rout of the British forces on the frontline continued.

Penang Island, located in the northwest of British Malaya, has been bombed by the Japanese Air Force every day since December 12.

The British air force deployed in Malaya was wiped out within the first week of the war, and Penang was forced to abandon it on December 12.

The British were extremely embarrassed when they retreated, and they didn't even have time to fortify the wall and clear the field. They left a large amount of weapons, ammunition and strategic materials to the Japanese, including a usable radio station.

This situation is extremely serious, the radio station doesn’t matter, the key is the code book, and the results of the Battle of Britain show how important the code is. If the Japanese army cracked the Allied code, then the Allied forces’ actions would have no secrets for the Japanese army. .

Although this situation has not been confirmed, An Qi immediately ordered to change the password, leaving no chance for the Japanese.

In terms of solid walls and clear fields, the gap between the British and the Russians is too great.

When the Russians retreated, they resolutely carried out a thorough fortification and clearance, leaving no usable materials for the Germans.

As early as the beginning of the outbreak of the Malay War, An Qi reminded Percival that in the war against Japan, strict fortification and clearing should be implemented, and the Japanese should not be left with the opportunity to support war with war.

Parcival did this as well, ordering the British army to destroy as much as possible all weapons and equipment that could not be taken away when retreating.

But when it came time to execute, the British army didn't care about it when they were defeated. The officers and soldiers were so busy fleeing for their lives that they had no time to wreak havoc.

On December 12, Parcival ordered the Indian 18th Infantry Division to organize a defense line in Bataan to prevent the Japanese attack.

This Bataan is a small town in Bataan on the Malay Peninsula, not the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines.

The commander of the 11th Division, David Lyon, was ordered in danger, but the 11th Infantry Division could not undertake such a heavy responsibility.

On the 20th, the Japanese forward arrived in Bataan and immediately launched an attack on the position of the 11th Division.

The Indian soldiers of the 11th Division had no will to resist, and the battle ended in just half an hour. Only 27 soldiers of the Japanese army were injured, and none of them were killed. The 11th Division killed 177 people, but more than 7000 soldiers put down Arms surrender.

This result is simply disappointing.

In order to save face, Admiral Tom Phillips, commander of Fleet Z, who had just arrived in the Far East for less than half a month, proposed a battle plan, hoping that the Indian Ocean Fleet and Fleet Z would launch a joint operation to attack Kota Bharu and cut off the The sea transportation line of the Japanese army.

At this time, Japan's main fleet had just completed its attack on Pearl Harbor and had not yet gone south. Tom Phillips hoped to make a time difference to prove the strength of the Royal Navy.

During the outbreak of the war, the British Far East Fleet had only a few old and broken ships, and it had been reduced to an existing fleet.

After the outbreak of the war, the United Kingdom dispatched warship reinforcements from the Home Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet respectively. This fleet was named "Z Fleet", and Tom Phillips was appointed as the fleet commander.

During his tenure as the captain of the aircraft carrier HMS Elizabeth of the Royal Navy, Thumbs had a lot of dealings with the southern African navy. During the maiden voyage of the "Madagascar" to visit the UK, Tom Phillips participated in the reception work, and he has a great understanding of the strength of the southern African navy. Awareness.

The strength of the Z fleet is still good, consisting of the "Indomitable" aircraft carrier, the battleship Prince of Wales, the battlecruiser Retaliation, and four other destroyers.

However, the "Indomitable" aircraft carrier hit the rocks in the West Indies in November, and has not been repaired until now, and cannot join the Z Fleet, so the Z Fleet lacks the most critical air power.

The Z Fleet arrived in the Far East on December 12. At this time, the war had already broken out, and Phillips didn't even have time to rest. The situation was very serious.

"Japan has signed a friendly agreement with Thailand to form a military alliance, so whether to cut off the Japanese army's sea transportation line will not change the direction of the war." An Qi directly refused. Taking the initiative to attack is not a good idea. The cost of defeating the combined Japanese fleet.

The main force of the United Fleet is not in Kota Bharu. Even if Kota Bharu is destroyed, the Japanese troops landing on the Malay Peninsula can still supply by land. This action is meaningless.

After severely injuring the Pacific Fleet, the morale of the United Fleet is strong, and the target will definitely be transferred to the Changi Naval Base next. An Qi is concentrating on preparing for a decisive battle with the United Fleet, and everything else must be put aside.

"Ann, the Royal Navy gave Changi Naval Base to Southern Africa, not for you to watch the show when the war comes." Thumb was very angry. In his opinion, Angie was clearly avoiding the war.

"General, it's not a gift, it's a sale!" Angie was not angry. The Royal Navy has been obsessed with the Changi Naval Base all these years, and it is almost obsessed.

Of course, there is a reason for Thumbs to be angry.

The Indian Ocean theater is powerful, and the troops that An Qi can command, plus the total strength of the East Indian servant army exceeds one million, but the Japanese army is allowed to rush forward in the Malay Peninsula without any action. Any British would be very angry.

However, being angry and angry does not change the fact that the British army has suffered a crushing defeat on the front line.

Therefore, if you want to gain the respect of others, you must first strengthen yourself. This is the same in terms of national relations or interpersonal communication.

"Well, I will prove to you that even without your assistance, the Royal Navy can still defeat the Japanese." Thumbs up was confident, but it was a pity that he ignored the relationship between the whole and the part.

The overall strength of the British Royal Navy is indeed stronger than that of the Japanese Combined Fleet.

In terms of naval construction, Japan was once a student of the UK. Without the help of the British, Japan probably would not have won the Battle of Tsushima, or even the Sino-Japanese War.

There is a saying that blue comes from blue and is better than blue. The former students now have hard wings and start to challenge their teachers. The tragedy of the US Pacific Fleet did not make Thumb up vigilant.

The U.S. Navy was once a student of the United Kingdom.

So one student defeating another student does not prove that the student has the strength to challenge the teacher.

At least Tom Phillips thinks so.

"General, I have to remind you that without the cover of aviation, it would be very dangerous to attack." An Qi also did not want the British army to suffer unnecessary losses, as they were allies after all.

Although the Z Fleet's paper data is not bad, the problem is actually very serious when you look closely.

Tom Phillips' flagship "Prince of Wales" battleship once participated in the siege of the "Bismarck", which was also the first stop of the "Prince of Wales".

When the "Bismarck" was surrounded, the "Prince of Wales" performed poorly, and the "Hood" was also sunk in that naval battle.

The "Prince of Wales" is at least a cutting-edge warship built just last year.

The battlecruiser "Counterattack" was built in 1915. Although it has undergone two large-scale modernizations, its performance is still far behind the times.

The "Counterattack" also participated in the encirclement and annihilation of "Bismarck", but unfortunately, it didn't even get the chance to participate in the war.

Angie's attitude is also obvious.

If Z-Fleet insists on attacking, then don't expect the protection of the Southern African Air Force.

The current Japanese Navy has begun a large-scale refit of the "Zero".

Type Zero started research and development in 37, and lasted four years. It started mass production after finalizing last year. This is a fighter with quite good performance. Under limited conditions, Japanese designers have brought the Japanese perseverance to the extreme. For For Japan, this fighter is perfect.

Certainly not for Southern Africa.

Japan lacks aviation fuel. In order to pursue performance, it can only greatly reduce the weight of the fuselage. The price is to sacrifice the survivability of Type Zero. In order to reduce weight, even self-sealing fuel tanks and automatic fire extinguishing devices are not installed, and the pilot has no armor protection. A surface hit could set the plane on fire.

Aiming at the performance flaws of Type Zero, the Southern African Air Force has plenty of ways to deal with Type Zero.

The engineers of the aircraft factory in Southern Africa are not idle either. The "Goshawk" II, which the Navy just started to equip last year, is enough to form an overwhelming advantage over the Zero's performance.

Relatively speaking, Britain's emphasis on the Air Force is seriously insufficient.

Especially here is the Far East. Even if the UK has relatively advanced fighter jets, it will first change gears with the local air force. If the Far East Air Force wants to change gears, it can wait in line slowly.

"Even if there is no air protection, the Royal Navy has the ability to destroy the Japanese army's transportation lines." Thumb is full of confidence.

Thumb's confidence lies in the fact that the main force of the United Fleet is not in Kota Bharu.

Otherwise, if you give Thumb a little more courage, Thumb won't make such a mistake.

"Well, I will report our conversation today to Pretoria exactly." Angie has no control over Tom Phillips, and the report is not a complaint, but a routine report.

"You'd better report it in a few days. At that time, you can add the information that the Japanese army's transportation line has been destroyed." Tom Phillips is not afraid to sue, and Pretoria has no control over the Z Fleet. If Angie goes London sued, maybe Tom Phillips could be a little more scruples.

Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, if you are willing to die, I am also willing to bury you.

Tom Phillips was indeed eager to fight, and ordered the Z fleet to raise fire and anchor the next day, and left the Lion City and went straight to Kota Bharu.

That's right, after all, soldiers are expensive and fast.

An Qi did what she said, and she would not send aviation assistance if she said she would not send it, let alone send warships to cooperate.

Of course Angie did not forget to send a telegram to Pretoria.

After the Moscow Conference, the Allied Forces established the Allied General Command in London to unify the command of operations.

At this time, the focus of the Allied Forces was still on Russia, and the status of the Far East battlefield was not as good as that of North Africa.

After receiving Angie's telegram, Pretoria immediately forwarded it to Allied Command in London.

Even if it is done immediately, telegram forwarding always takes time, and the necessary procedures must be followed.

So by the time the British War Office learned that Tom Phillips had taken the initiative to attack without aviation protection, the Z fleet had already arrived in Kota Bharu.

The British intelligence department is still very powerful at certain times. The main force of the United Fleet is indeed not in Kota Bharu, and Kota Bharu does not have a field airport, so naturally no fighter planes can be stationed there.

The crux of the matter is that Japan has an airport in Saigon.

Not long after the Z fleet left the port, it was spotted by a Japanese reconnaissance plane.

At 22 am on the 11nd, the "Prince of Wales" first shelled Kota Bharu.

At 11:15, 9 Japanese aircraft appeared over the Z Fleet, and the first wave of attacks focused on the "Counterattack".

The Repulse dodged most of the bombs, but one penetrated the catapult deck of the carrier's aircraft and exploded in a hangar below the deck.

The second wave of attack was composed of torpedo planes. The "Counterattack" resisted tenaciously. After shooting down 4 Japanese torpedo planes, it was hit by 13 torpedo planes and sank at 14:3.

The "Prince of Wales" was not able to escape bad luck. It was besieged by dozens of Japanese torpedo planes. First, the tail was hit by a torpedo, the propeller was blown off, and it lost its ability to move. Then the "Prince of Wales" became a Japanese bomber and torpedo. machine target.

The last telegram sent by Tom Phillips was to Angie, hoping that Angie would send a warship to drag the "Prince of Wales" back to the Lion City.

The Japanese army did not give the "Prince of Wales" a chance to escape. After being hit by the sixth torpedo, Tom Phillips finally ordered the crew to inflate the life jackets.

At [-]:[-] in the afternoon, the "Prince of Wales" sank, and Admiral Tom Phillips and Captain Rich of the "Prince of Wales" were killed along with the ship.

(End of this chapter)