afterglow

Chapter 609: Letter from Tarawa; Excommunication of the Fatty Pipe

Several patrol boats were patrolling and they let the incoming ships pass after confirming that they were from their own country.

Then a harbor tugboat came slowly, dropped and tied the cable, and towed Guyu B-7 towards the dock.

Guyu B-7 originally belonged to the Oriental Fleet, and her home port was not here, so this naval base was relatively unfamiliar to the submarine soldiers.

There was already a convoy waiting at the dock. Two trucks and more than twenty people had arrived an hour ago, specifically to receive the last letters from family carried by the submarine.

People brought up the three empty oil drums, which were filled with letters wrapped in oil paper.

The captain boarded the dock with the logbook, saluted the officers present and said, "Our fifth sortie mission has been completed. We sank two enemy merchant ships and an oil tanker by torpedoes, and sank an enemy armed fishing boat by artillery fire. We are returning to carry letters from all members of the Tarawa garrison, and all of them have been delivered."

The leading military official clasped his fists in return and said in a soothing tone, "You've worked hard. Go and rest."

The captain turned around and waved, "Disband! Everyone, be careful and don't have fun!"

Dozens of disheveled and extremely slovenly submarine soldiers cheered one after another, and then ran away impatiently to find a place to have fun and vent their emotions.

The submarine force no longer had it easy as before. In the first two years of the war, almost every attack was fruitful, and they would have been embarrassed to brag if they didn't sink six or seven ships.

Now, as the enemy's anti-submarine system becomes more complete and their experience grows, the risk of a submarine being sunk has doubled, but it has become increasingly difficult to achieve results.

Some people say that if this trend continues, it will be a victory if we can return home alive.

However, the submarine soldiers can't care about all these trivial things now. All distractions are thrown behind their minds. Everyone just wants to find a place with bright lights and wine to have a night of revelry and get drunk.

After returning to my hometown after being away for several months, every tree and blade of grass here feels familiar. To exaggerate, even the screaming female cats in heat do not feel annoying.

At the beginning of the war, brothels in Guangzhou, Qiongzhou, Dagu and other places colluded with each other to drive up the prices of spring products and rip off the officers and soldiers who returned to their homeland for vacation.

As the mobilization level increased and the rationing system was implemented, all aspects gradually tilted towards the war. The government responded to the soldiers' complaints and intervened forcibly to rectify the phenomenon, clearly stipulating that prices should not be raised arbitrarily without reason, and violators would be severely punished.

Let’s go! Find a pretty girl and have some fun!
While the submarine soldiers who had gone through hardships were relaxing, the three empty oil drums filled with letters were solemnly loaded onto trucks and transported to the train station under the escort of the military police and the Yian Army.

Two days later, all the letters were properly delivered to the Ministry of War.

The Minister of War Li Gangqiao attached great importance to this and ordered people to copy and backup these extremely meaningful last letters.

On that day, Zhou Changfeng encountered something unexpected - Zhu Lingjing vetoed the attack plan on Port Hedland.

No one expected this to happen. This was the first time that the emperor interfered with the decision-making of the Grand Council since the war began.

When some copied letters were presented to the emperor, she was arguing with Zhou about a decision.

"…This is not worth it, Your Majesty. The German oil fields were bombed. They can use trains to transport equipment for repairs, but we have to use ships to transport it. If this continues, the output of the Nanyang oil fields can only be maintained at 60% to 70%. " Zhou Changfeng was still trying to persuade her.

Zhu Lingjing simply refused again indifferently: "I know the pros and cons, and I have my own considerations."

Her eyes moved up and down, and after reading the letter in her hand, she looked at Zhou Changfeng, "Look at this, Shangguan Xun's last letter."

The latter, somewhat unhappy, took it and started browsing.

"Bai Sheng, my wife loves me:
Winter has gone and spring has come. I am very sorry that I cannot see you. I was ordered to defend Tarawa Island (Tarawa Atoll). The enemy's actions were tricky and the army was approaching suddenly. Most of my royal fleet was fighting in the far north. The battle was in full swing and there was no way to return to help.

I am now leading my troops to defend the country alone, fighting against the enemy with a small force, and determined to fight to the death to repay my country. There is no reason to retreat in a foreign war, and sacrifice is the most glorious. My two regrets are that Taishan passed away and I was unable to attend his funeral, and that I could not see my children Zhier and Yier (nicknames of my children) grow up.

You must take good care of yourself and take care of the children. Don't worry about money, the court will provide for you. I still have three passbooks in the Industrial Bank, totaling about 4,000 yuan. There are several IOUs on the second floor of the study cabinet. You can ask for them to be repaid. If the person is in a difficult situation, there is no need to force him to pay..."

Zhou Changfeng suddenly felt depressed and even breathing became difficult.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Zhu Lingjing handed him a letter from home and gave him a cold look that made him swallow his words.

This letter was written by a regular soldier from the Navy's 109th Independent Coastal Artillery Battalion.

"…The fleet can't come, we can't break the siege, now we can only defend desperately, we will definitely die, don't expect to survive, I already have this thought, let him attack, fire hard, even if I die, I can still replace dozens of enemy soldiers.

Ling'er (wife), we haven't spent much time together since we got married. When our son turns one, we will give him to my cousin for adoption. Our friendship will be over. It's better for you to remarry to avoid the hardship of being single. My parents are taken care of by my elder and second brothers. You can take the other half of my money after my death so that others won't look down on you.

Now I am just thinking, if most of this fleet goes to the North Sea to fight, can they win? If they lose, it will be too infuriating, too infuriating. It is getting dark, the officer is urging me to collect this letter, I will not write any more, goodbye forever, never see you again. "

Ok……

These two letters left Zhou Changfeng speechless.

Zhu Lingjing stood up slowly, with one hand behind her back and the other holding a folding fan, and said leisurely: "We might as well try a different approach to the starting point (for the strategic bombing) west of Australia. We can mess things up and disrupt them first. The squadron must go to recover Tarawa."

She walked around Zhou Changfeng and said jokingly, "Aren't you Zhou Kexing full of ideas? Use your brain and think of a way, even an unconventional one will do."

The latter sighed lightly and nodded in agreement, "I'll think about it after I get back."

Zhu Lingjing said with satisfaction: "The deeds of the Tarawa defenders are magnificent and worth promoting. In addition to erecting a monument and writing an article to commemorate them, some people have suggested making a movie to show the deeds of the soldiers defending the island and inspire the soldiers and civilians across the country. I have approved it."

"Making a movie? That's great. Will the court provide funding for it?"

"It's only been a few days, and the donations from all walks of life have exceeded the fundraising amount. However, I have ordered that the donations be used as a special fund, and the money for the film will be allocated separately by the court."

After a short silence, Zhou Changfeng suddenly said, "The battle in the Aleutian Islands is almost over. The remaining enemies are not strong enough to cause any trouble. Let's announce the victory."

He then added in a deep voice: "'The news of victory flies like paper money', use this to comfort the officers and soldiers who died."

Zhu Lingjing agreed without hesitation, "Okay, let's tell the heroic spirit of this victory, and let him rest in peace."

Soon, the Ministry of War officially confirmed that the Battle of Dutch Harbor ended in victory.

Two days ago, Ming army dive bombers carried out a "heart-wrenching" air raid on a target suspected to be the US military headquarters, dropping multiple 1000 kg heavy bombs and 250 kg heavy oil incendiary bombs, which was later confirmed to be true.

As of two days ago, the U.S. troops stationed on Unalaska Island were no longer able to defend under unified command. Realizing that the Ming army began to send a large number of vassal troops to carry out point-taking and clearing operations, the morale of the U.S. military became even lower, and Washington finally agreed to the surrender request.

The Aleutian Expeditionary Force's headquarters estimated the results of the battle and reported that the two infantry divisions and seven independent battalion-level units of the US Army defending the island were completely wiped out, 2 enemies were killed, and 7 were wounded or captured.

明军地面部队阵亡、不治、失踪4005人，负伤1.28万人；空军永久损失机组成员166人；海军亡1885人、伤2020人。

The use of the vassal army to carry out dangerous and tedious point-capture operations yielded good results - the active attack on the well-fortified mountains carefully prepared by the US military resulted in a slightly lower number of casualties among the ground forces, as the casualties were basically caused by the fierce fighting in the early stages of the campaign.

In the subsequent mopping-up operations, the three volunteer regiments suffered a total of more than 4,000 casualties, and are still pursuing the remaining enemies in the snow and ice.

The losses of the naval fleet exceeded expectations. A total of 2 destroyers, 1 light cruiser, 1 frigate, and 7 landing ships were sunk, the USS Yinghuo was seriously damaged, the USS Chang Gung super-armored aircraft carrier was slightly damaged, and the battleship Yonghui was slightly damaged.

The shore-based aviation forces once again demonstrated their powerful suppression capability. They were able to carry bombs heavier than carrier-based aircraft and posed a great threat.

For example, the light cruiser Huangpujiang was attacked by more than a dozen 25-pound and 26-pound heavy bombs dropped by multiple B-1000 and B-2000 bombers. Although none of them hit directly, the power of the near-miss bombs still severely damaged and sank the light cruiser.

In addition, the icy waters of the Aleutian Islands caused heavy casualties to the Ming Navy. Sailors who fell into the water would often go into shock due to hypothermia within half a quarter of an hour and could die within more than a quarter of an hour.

Early in the morning and late in the evening of February 2, officials from both the United States and the United States officially announced the outcome of the Battle of Dutch Harbor.

However, there is still organized resistance on Unalaska, numbering in the thousands.

There are three or four larger groups of these remaining American troops. They are more persistent and stubborn, believing that the current situation does not meet the surrender conditions commonly adopted by Western armies, because there are a large number of supply stations and secret warehouses among the mountains and hills of Unalaska Island, which have stockpiled countless amounts of ammunition, food, and medicines, enough to support long-term combat.

The Ming army did not regard it as a threat, as they had their own vassal troops to search, pursue and clear it out.

As usual, the U.S. military blew up the port facilities in Dutch Harbor before retreating, destroying them beyond recognition and making them unusable for a short period of time.

As usual, the Ming army ordered American prisoners to carry out repairs, and groups of prisoners worked in the devastated port area under the heavy snow.

"So how do we attack Port Hedland? Send planes?"

In the morning at the General Staff Office of the Grand Marshal's Office, all the senior advisors were deep in thought.

Since the Emperor had vetoed the idea of ​​sending a detachment to destroy Port Hedland, and no one was willing to write a letter to object, they had no choice but to find another way.

"We have only built a few of those big bombers. They will be useless if we go there."

"It's good to scare them, it's just harassment anyway."

"No, the heavy bombardment has to wait until it is large enough to attack Putrajaya (Brisbane) and Sydney. It cannot be sent out now." An air force colonel staff officer waved his hands repeatedly.

"What else can we do? This won't work and that won't work. You're just a veto. Why don't you give me an idea?"

The senior advisors started arguing.

Zhou Changfeng, who was eating a sesame cake on the side, was wondering whether he could modify a few submarines, replace the deck guns with multiple rocket launchers, bombard the airport in Port Hedland after surfacing, and then dive and escape immediately after the launch.

Such attacks can occur at night and are difficult to guard against.

At this time, someone boldly suggested: "Don't the British like to send elite teams to quietly stay ashore to steal chickens and dogs? Let's try it too."

Over the past year, the British special forces have frequently launched attacks in both Europe and Asia, becoming famous. Although the results were not great, they caused chaos and made the German and Ming armies uneasy.

The Long Range Jungle Detachment in Asia blew up bridges, destroyed military trains, and launched surprise attacks on radar stations in Burma, Malaya, Sumatra and other places. Although their results were not as good as those of the air force, these elusive surprise attacks dealt a heavy blow to morale.

"Hey, we can really consider tit-for-tat." This proposal aroused Zhou Changfeng's interest and inspired him.

He pondered and said, "It is indeed feasible. Western Australia is vast and uninhabited. We can airdrop the Yiluansi team there and send submarines to pick them up. After a surprise attack on the airport, we can evacuate by submarine."

"Wonderful!"

"How to cause damage? Explosives?"

"Anti-tank guns are fine too. It's safer to stay farther away."

"If it doesn't work, it can be easily repaired by making a few holes."

"Then let's study the route and strategy." A brigadier general turned around and ordered, "Come here! Bring us the sand table and the aerial photos of Port Hedland. Send them all over."

As everyone was carefully studying the special forces surprise attack on Port Hedland...

It is inevitable to have actual examples as reference when making a movie. The Grand Governor-General's Office provided the telecommunications records of the Tarawa Defense Command, but the director and screenwriter felt that this was not enough.

They hope to have first-hand information, such as visiting Tarawa on-site or directly interviewing those who witnessed the battle.

The Ministry of Rites' Department of Foreign Affairs specifically notified the American Embassy and proposed exchanging captured American pilots for the captured Tarawa garrison.

Upon learning that there were sixteen people still alive, the Foreign Affairs Department expressed its willingness to exchange the sixteen pilots, but was rejected.

According to the Riverdale Cooperative Training Agreement, the United States can train 50,000 pilots each year, which is more than enough. Why would it look down on anyone with just 16 pilots?

Later, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs increased the bargaining chips again, even including general-level prisoners, but the talks still broke down - when the president learned that the enemy wanted to use this as a propaganda film, he immediately signed an order to reject it without reason.

The news spread quickly and was soon reported in many newspapers.

During a routine interview, a reporter mentioned this to Prime Minister Winston, to which the Prime Minister replied contemptuously: This is an unnecessary sacrifice forced upon them by their officials and the emperor, a group of poor young people!
Zhu Lingjing was extremely angry when she heard the news. She angrily made an intercontinental call to Buckingham Palace, asking George VI to control his prime minister and stop talking so much.

Zhou Changfeng, who was in a dilemma, covered his forehead and said, "Your Majesty, calm down. The King of England does not have the power to do so..."

"No, it's an attitude problem!" She still felt unhappy. She stood up, turned around, and took a deep breath. "I will punish that fat pipe-smoking guy who speaks without restraint!"

(End of this chapter)