afterglow

Chapter 343 Fleet A; There is also an ace

"The 22nd Division fought well. The British and Indian troops were repulsed within a few hours, so we have to work harder."

In the Bank of Kota Bharu, Zhou Changfeng said with a smile after hearing the news.

It is now noon, and all the generals of the Ming Army on the Eastern Front are having lunch in the restaurant of this bank.

The fragrant garlic oysters are grilled to perfection, the braised prawns are oily in color and tender in texture. Most of the dishes are seafood, and they are paired with warm rice wine for a drink... moisturizing!
"However, they still took some risks. They marched with the lights on at night. Fortunately, they were lucky and met these inferior opponents." Deng Siquan commented.

Zhou Changfeng nodded: "That's right. Fighting can also be said to be based on which of the two sides makes fewer mistakes. Tactically, the one who makes fewer mistakes will have the advantage."

The losses of the Ming army in the Kota Bharu landing battle were extremely slight. The 30st Marine Brigade only had 129 casualties and 30 wounded, and the No. 200 [-]th Division suffered less than [-] casualties.

In addition, the total casualties of the 100th Engineering Brigade, Air Force fleet, and Navy fleet were less than [-].

According to rough estimates, the defeated British-Indian 8th Brigade lost at least 500 people, with more than 300 corpses left behind. The Ming army captured as many as 600 prisoners.

"The airport is expected to be back in use in two hours. Air Force planes will transfer over in the afternoon, and then their independent air defense battalion will probably arrive the day after tomorrow." said the chief of staff of the 38th Division.

The British-Indian 11th Infantry Division returned in defeat, declaring the Deerhound Project completely bankrupt.

This military operation, which had no problem with its original intention and planning but was completely negligent in its execution, led to serious consequences——

The British-Indian 11th Division was supposed to rely on the Perak River to block the Ming army in Alor Setar. However, it now suffered heavy losses due to taking the initiative to attack, and lost the advantage of waiting for work.

Next, the Ming army on the Western Front advanced with great success and overwhelming momentum. It was almost a certainty.

On the eastern front, Zhou Changfeng and Deng Siquan also finalized their subsequent offensive strategy.

The former planned to concentrate tanks, motorized infantry units, and collect available cars, organize a rapid assault group, and quickly break through southward along the relatively gentle east coast with its own air support.

But before that, it seems they have to wait for a while?Because the threat from the British Navy has not yet been completely eliminated.

The common understanding of the Royal Naval Command and the British Empire Cabinet is that Fleet Z is a deterrent fleet and is not used for a decisive battle with the Ming Army.

Since the Z fleet did not scare the Ming people, it should return to the homeland as soon as possible to guard against the Deshe Navy, because fighting the Ming Navy is a loss-making business anyway.

Therefore, on the evening of the 25th, the Singapore Fortress received an order from the local naval command, requiring Fleet Z to return immediately after replenishing fuel.

Traveling halfway across the world to the Far East, only to stay there for more than ten days and then go back without firing a single shot?

Vice Admiral Lancelot Holland, the commander of the fleet, was quite depressed. He knew that the best option now was indeed to return, but he felt that he was too unwilling to lead his army to the Far East and return without finding anything.

Vice Admiral Lancelot was historically the commander of the Hood when it sank, but at the age of 51, he now commands the Z Fleet.

The past two years have been smooth sailing for him. He was promoted to major general the year before last and to lieutenant general at the end of last year. He is a smart, taciturn person, but at the same time very ambitious. The career of this short general My long-cherished wish is to be the Chief of Staff of the Navy.

One can imagine how reluctant Lancelot was to part with this great opportunity - even a small victory would greatly speed up his promotion to admiral.

So he continued to try to communicate with the local naval command, hoping to get a chance to attack.

In London, the Lord of the Admiralty, the Commander of the Home Fleet, the Prime Minister and others were also divided on this.

From a purely military perspective, returning immediately is indeed the best option, but political issues must also be considered.

Australia has repeatedly requested to retain two or three battleships to assist in the defense of the Dutch East Indies and Australia.

Otherwise, the Dutch colonial fleet and the weak Australian navy alone would never be able to withstand the menacing Ming army.

In order to show that the UK will not easily abandon other Commonwealth members, it is necessary to make appropriate symbolic expressions.

At the same time, the defense of the Indus region is also crucial - the British Empire can live without Australia and New Zealand, but it cannot live without Indus!
After complex debates, and under pressure from the cabinet, the Naval Command made a decision after weighing the matter - the battleship Warrior, the battlecruiser Renown, the aircraft carrier Eagle, the light cruiser Grain Goddess and five destroyers were retained. The remaining battleships returned.

The three Revenge-class battleships with a maximum speed of only 21 knots are cumbersome, so it is better to go back.The remaining remaining warships were renamed Fleet A. The speed of these warships is relatively fast, and the slowest one can reach 24 knots.

Overjoyed, Lieutenant General Lancelot immediately began to formulate a battle plan. His original intention was to conduct a quick surprise attack, attack the landing Ming army, then run away, and then lead Fleet A to withdraw to Batavia.

Now that the Ming army has occupied Kota Bharu, most of the air supremacy has fallen into the hands of the enemy. The Far East Air Force only dares to operate in the southern part of the Malayan Peninsula and Singapore.

Lancelot planned to set sail on the evening of the 27th, use the cover of night to attack quietly, and launch a powerful shelling on the Ming army in the Kuala Terengganu area in the early morning, thus providing effective support to the ground troops.

Compared with Phillips, who historically dismissed the power of aviation and believed that aircraft could not pose a threat to battleships, Lancelot was more cautious, but only a little.

He felt that relying on the fleet's anti-aircraft firepower and the fighter squadron of the USS Eagle aircraft carrier to seek self-protection and complete protection was completely sufficient.

As a result, the British at the Singapore Naval Base began to be busy.

As for the Ming Dynasty Navy, Dong Yunzhang, the chief officer of the A-[-] Special Agent Fleet, longed for the Z Fleet.

In fact, not only him, but also the naval officers and soldiers of the entire fleet were extremely admiring and looking forward to it, and they were eager to compete with the British.

Empire on the Sun?
It’s time to “change the day and the month”!

Dong Yunzhang has very abundant troops. He is [-]% sure that he will send all the Z fleet to the bottom of the South China Sea - if the British dare to fight decisively.

I hope the British can stick to their so-called fine tradition of fighting every enemy they encounter this time.

The Ming army did not know that Fleet Z had been cancelled, and thought it was still the huge fleet with six battleships and one aircraft carrier. Little did they know that Fleet Z had become Fleet A with only two battleships and one aircraft carrier.

While the navy was still debating whether to continue cruising in the open sea or go directly to Singapore to block the door, the Ming army on the eastern front in Kota Bharu could no longer hold back.

"... It's not a big problem. We have air control. Even if the British fleet attacks, we will have enough time to hide, and they will only be blown away."

Zhou Changfeng was full of confidence in this. He felt that attacking as soon as possible was the best strategy, otherwise it would be more difficult for the British and Indian troops to consolidate their defenses.

Because the British deployment efficiency was relatively slow, many troops from the colonies had only arrived in the Malay Peninsula not long ago and were not fully prepared for battle. Some troops had not yet reached their defensive positions.

The other generals also held the same view. They believed that the best time was to attack during the landing and bombard the beachhead with massive bombardment. But now that they had all landed, there was no use in causing trouble again. The British would not take the risk.

Therefore, at 2:27 on February 7, the "pieced together" motorized battle group officially set off from Kota Bharu and headed south.Zhou Changfeng used the Army's 40nd Motorized Infantry Brigade as the backbone, and added the [-]st Attack Tank Battalion, the [-]st Marine Brigade Floating Tank Battalion, and the [-]st Marine Brigade's directly affiliated medium tank convoy.

In addition, the First Regiment of the [-]st Marine Brigade and the Mountain Artillery Regiment were also organized into the rapid assault group.

Relying on 8 trucks and 103 Bren machine gun carriers captured from the 14th British-Indian Infantry Brigade, as well as requisitioned civilian trucks, these troops of the [-]st Marine Brigade also became a temporary motorized force, able to keep up with tanks and The pace of the mobile infantry.

The so-called motorized infantry brigade is actually a motorized unit. The motorized infantry brigade of the Ming Dynasty Army has three motorized infantry battalions, a motorized artillery battalion, an armored vehicle battalion, a light tank team, a vehicle transport battalion and several support units. When fully loaded there were over 5000 people.

Including some units of the [-]st Marine Brigade, the total strength of this rapid assault group reached as many as [-] people, with numerous tanks and abundant firepower.

The rising sun rises in the east, and the red sun rises from the sea level in the east, spreading soft morning light to the world.

The straight-line distance from Kota Bharu to Kuala Terengganu is only 130 kilometers, but the actual distance is 10 kilometers due to the twists and turns of the road. In addition, because the terrain is slightly undulating, a [-]% terrain coefficient needs to be taken into account.

Zhou Changfeng led this motorized battle group to set off in the early morning of the 27th, marching at an average speed of 15km/h. During this period, they had a small rest and a large rest that doubled as lunch.

At 20:11 that night, the scout team directly under the Second Motorized Infantry Brigade, as the vanguard of the entire army, climbed onto a small hill. The city of Kuala Terengganu was brightly lit, and thousands of houses were brightly lit.

[The Ming Army is accustomed to calling its reconnaissance troops "scouts", but the navy and air force do not have this habit. 】

"Yes, we're here! In front of us is the Terengganu River, and on the east bank of the river is Kuala Terengganu."

"The lights on the other side of the river are bright and dense. They are the main city area, and our side is the suburbs."

Soon, the leading unit sent back a message - it had arrived near the target and no enemy troops had been found.

Among the large troops, Zhou Changfeng, sitting in an armored command vehicle, was writing a battle log.The car was rickety and undulating, making it difficult to write.

After learning about the situation, Zhou Changfeng immediately ordered: "There is a hilly area two miles ahead to the west. Go there and deploy. Build a camp and set up security. The Second Mobile Brigade will organize shallow and deep reconnaissance, and the First Marine Regiment will organize forward combat reconnaissance."

"Order!"

According to his order, the entire army quickly began to take action.

The advantages of using cars for transportation are also reflected - the officers and soldiers are spared from consuming physical energy and can now engage in reconnaissance operations in a relatively full state.

While building the camp, several field cooking teams of the large army also began to steam buns and make soup. However, the scouts who were ordered to perform reconnaissance missions could not eat hot meals. They hurriedly ate the field rations and set off.

"Your Excellency, Fleet A has set sail and will reach the sea off Kuala Terengganu tomorrow morning. If the Chinese attack, they will definitely regret it tomorrow."

At the headquarters of the British-Indian 9th Infantry Division, the cheerful adjutant reported the latest news to the division commander, Major General Ingram.

After the Battle of Kota Bharu, the self-aware British and Indian troops understood the huge gap between the two sides, so the 9th Division here directly abandoned the west bank of the Terengganu River.

The British-Indian 8th Brigade, which was previously defending in Kota Bharu, was part of the 9th Division. Now they have joined forces and deployed a defense line on the east bank, hoping to rely on the river to block the Ming army.

As for the west bank, they only left four warning positions. If they were attacked by a large scale, they should consider giving up wisely, retreat to the east bank and blast the bridges over the Terengganu River.

But if there is a suitable opportunity, it seems that it can be used as a basis to launch a counterattack?

This is the personal thought of Major General Ingram, because he still has an ace in his hand that he has high hopes for - the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment (Battalion).

After an hour and a half...

It was the end of the month, and the waning moon hanging high in the starry sky reflected only weak moonlight, which was better than nothing. The wilderness in the suburbs was pitch black.

In a defensive position west of the Pert Bridge, more than a dozen idle British and Indian soldiers were smoking cigarettes and playing cards.

The flame of the gas lamp was adjusted to a small setting, but it was still bright. Under the yellow light, the swirling cigarette smoke was clearly visible.

In their excitement, no one noticed the slight rustling movement until a smoking grenade clattered into the trench.

"Huh? What is that?"

"Be careful! Grenade!"

"boom!"

Before the roaring and screaming stopped, several figures deftly jumped into the trench.

Under the fire of submachine guns and automatic guns, the British and Indian soldiers who were caught off guard were shot to death one after another like prisoners.

An Indu soldier who had just picked up a gun was hit in the head by two 9.6mm pistol bullets. He knelt down on the spot and fell forward to the ground.

"Throw a thunder in there!"

"Boom!"

A grenade was thrown into the shelter, and there was a low sound of explosion in the canister.

The British noncommissioned officer inside was shouting "hostile incoming" sharply, but it suddenly stopped, leaving only moans.

"You will be punished for your own misfortune!" the second lieutenant leading the team couldn't help complaining: "This minefield is so sparse that even if you run around, you may not be able to hit it!"

The officers and soldiers of the Reconnaissance Platoon of the [-]st Marine Regiment did not expect to reach this point. They originally planned to conduct fire reconnaissance on the periphery, but unexpectedly they easily passed through the mine area and successfully penetrated under the nose of the enemy.

"The Chinese are coming! Chinese infantry are in our trenches!"

The shots of the frightened and confused British and Indian soldiers were ineffective. The infiltrating Ming army could always quickly kill the enemies who exposed themselves with precise short bursts of fire.

"Boom boom boom boom -" A Vickers heavy machine gun was also firing aimlessly, and the flares were belatedly launched into the air until now.

At this time, the roar of the engine was vaguely heard. Someone pointed to the middle of the Pert Bridge a hundred meters away and shouted in a deep voice: "Damn, the armored vehicle is coming!"

(End of this chapter)