afterglow

Chapter 610: The wife in a bad condition; amphibious assault ships and counter-landing operations

Zhou Changfeng didn't quite understand this kind of empty talk, but she was still angry and couldn't be persuaded.

As we all know, this land of China has always been unique, with imperial power supreme. It attaches great importance to all kinds of sects and does not tolerate any sand in it.

Historically, there have been many religious incidents during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Normally, bishops in Catholic dioceses around the world must be appointed and instructed by the Pope, but this rule obviously does not work here, contradictions emerge, and thus there is a "hundred-year ban on religion."

The emperor of the Celestial Empire actually had many titles, such as the reincarnation of Manjusri Bodhisattva and Khan, etc. However, because the title of emperor was unique and exclusive, and above all else, these additional titles were not well known.

For the convenience of management, the Chinese Diocese under the Meiji era became a separate sect, and even founded a localized universal sect, the Taiping Daoism Sect. From then on, it severed ties with the Roman Catholic Church and was governed and appointed by the emperor and the court.

All the scriptures of the Taiping Daoism sect were modified to be localized and could only be issued after being reviewed and proofread by the Ministry of Rites.

Zhu Lingjing did what she said and then actually issued an order to Patriarch Yingtian to excommunicate Prime Minister Winston.

According to this operation, wouldn't it be possible to excommunicate the Pope of Rome? Just like the Pope of Rome and the Patriarch of Constantinople excommunicated each other.

Zhu Lingjing has really let herself go and done whatever she wants since her father passed away.

Zhou Changfeng just felt very happy and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

In the last few days of February, the situation on the western, southern and eastern fronts was relatively calm.

On the Western Front, the troops maintaining the front were still mainly the Ming Army and the Southern Army. However, as more and more Japanese vassal troops arrived, the Ming Army began to send them to perform dangerous combat reconnaissance missions, commonly known as "meat scouts."

On the southern front, the two sides were still in a standoff, staring at each other. Both the Ming army and the US-Australian coalition forces lacked sufficient supplies to sustain a massive offensive, so they both chose to squat and confront each other.

On the eastern front, the Aleutian Campaign had just ended, but the air war of attrition over the Hawaiian Islands was still going on day after day and month after month. In order to reduce the loss of their own pilots, several North Korean air force units were stationed to participate in the war.

"This is also considered the loss of an aircraft carrier."

At noon, close to lunchtime, Zhou Changfeng saw the maintenance report on the Yinghuo.

Once the Lexington and now the Mars, this aircraft carrier is undoubtedly a thorn in the side of the US military and attracts a lot of hatred.

荷兰港之战期间，荧惑号总计被11枚500磅和1000磅重型航空炸弹的近失弹造成损伤，另有2枚500磅航弹和1枚1000磅穿甲航弹直接命中。

The latter smashed through the flight deck and hangar deck, penetrated into the No. 2 engine room and exploded, completely destroying the steam turbine inside.

The Lexington has two engine rooms, connected in series front and back, each with two steam turbines and generator sets.

After being towed back to the anchorage of Japan's Iturup Island for emergency repairs, the Yinghuo then returned to Shanghai under its own residual power.

However, she is in a very bad condition now. After inspection, the Jiangnan Naval Factory believed that her condition was too bad and not worth repairing, and recommended that she be decommissioned and used for exhibition.

The two steam turbines and the generator sets were so badly damaged that they could not be repaired unless they were opened up and replaced in a customized manner.

The near misses of a large number of heavy bombs also caused damage to the ship's structure. Considering that the ship had been severely damaged by bombs and torpedoes, as well as ravaged by typhoons, there are probably countless hidden injuries left inside that are impossible to completely repair.

Zhou Changfeng was deep in thought when suddenly an idea came to his mind and he called the Ministry of War.

When the Navy Department official learned that he had called for this matter, he replied with regret: "Even if it is repaired now, only half of the engine will be usable. It is estimated that it can only run at 20 knots, which is not enough to keep up with the fleet."

"Are you sure you don't want to be excommunicated?"

"Yes, it's more trouble than good to repair this boat."

"Okay, then... let the Marines use this ship. Ignore the engine. It doesn't matter if it's slow. Just fix the hole and then install the original guns back." Zhou Changfeng said.

Obviously, the person on the other end of the phone didn't understand and fell silent.

"Minister Zhou, what are you going to do?"

"Use it as an amphibious assault ship!"

Because both the Ming Dynasty and the German Society have made considerable achievements in helicopters recently, Zhou Changfeng is already considering modifying several light helicopter carriers for amphibious operations.

He was still hesitating whether to directly convert one or two escort aircraft carriers under construction, but the current anti-submarine pressure is too great, so he is afraid that this is not possible.

Now, when I feel sleepy, I’m given a pillow.

Compared with escort aircraft carriers with a displacement of only a few thousand tons, the Yinghuo is much larger and can be equipped with naval guns for shelling the opposite shore.

With the hangar space of Yinghuo, it is no problem to carry 25 to 30 helicopters. The wide flight deck can ensure the efficiency of take-off and landing operations, and quickly carry out vertical deployment of 500 to 600 people at a battalion level. The hangar openings on the left and right sides can also be used as landing craft hoisting sites.

Vertical mobile delivery from sea to land is difficult from a technical and tactical perspective, but it can be overcome. By investing in more walkie-talkies and improving communication efficiency, the problem can be improved to an acceptable level.

The ambitious Zhou Changfeng can't wait to apply more advanced tactics in the subsequent island-taking operations.

Give the US military a little shock with its three-dimensional deployment!

In addition, warned by the Battle of Tarawa, Zhou Changfeng realized that he had underestimated the enemy and did not expect the US military to have the courage to launch a local counterattack.

Therefore, he has recently been working hard to expand methods of anti-landing operations, one of which is counter-landing operations.

Counter-landing operations are also a component of anti-landing operations. It refers to sending a part of the troops to carry out a sudden landing on the flank or rear of the enemy forces during the counterattack phase, and cooperating with the frontal counterattack forces to attack from both sides.

Compared with normal landing operations, it is essentially an active defensive action aimed at annihilating the invading enemy; its force is also smaller, often at the battalion level; it is usually launched at a well-anticipated predetermined location, has a clearer understanding of the hydrological conditions, and is simpler to implement.

However, counter-landing operations also have their limitations.

It should not be launched when one's own side loses air superiority, otherwise it would be tantamount to seeking death. Moreover, small islands lacking depth are not suitable for counter-landing operations.

From the end of February to the beginning of March, when the Ming army special forces began to carry out the surprise attack on Port Hedland, Zhou Changfeng had been discussing with the senior advisors in the Grand Commandery to improve the guidance of the anti-landing operation. Cai Zhichen has always been proud of himself for always leading by example, and he has a lot of affection for the elite troops of the Yiluansi that he brought up.

Therefore, he decided without hesitation to lead the team again in the surprise attack on Port Hedland. However, the sudden onset of typhus overwhelmed him, and he could only recuperate unwillingly.

He had a high fever, a splitting headache, and bloodshot eyes. He said to Captain Hua Yao, who took over the command: "Be cautious when necessary and be bold when necessary. I trust you. Complete the mission and bring the brothers back intact."

Hua Yao stood up straight, clasped his fists and saluted, then said with a grin, "Don't worry, boss. Just lie down and recuperate. Wait for the good news that will shake the world!"

He was well-known throughout the Yiluansi for his extraordinary intelligence, but he was thin and initially could not meet the Yiluansi's strict requirements - he was so thin that he would starve to death after a few days in the extreme environment of the wild.

However, later on, relying on his extraordinary wisdom, he joined the Yiluansi, worked hard to exercise and eat a lot of meat, and finally became much stronger.

Cai Zhichen believed that someone like him, with his imaginative thinking, quick wit and decisiveness, was the perfect candidate to be the commander of the special forces.

The Grand Marshal's General Staff named the operation against Port Hedland "Fever Tide", and the code name of this operation was Fever Tide One.

The plan was to carry out a secret airborne landing using four Type 35 transport aircraft, deploying two assault teams and half a support team, a total of twenty-eight people.

In addition to basic weapons and equipment, twenty two-wheeled light motorcycles will be airdropped as evacuation vehicles.

The Lixia B No. 26 ocean-going submarine set out from the Surabaya base on Java Island to pick up the commando team.

Because the purpose was to cause as much damage as possible to the heavy bomber wing of the US-Australia coalition, the commandos carried a lot of explosive equipment. The support team of only six people actually carried a light mortar and two general-purpose machine guns.

The so-called self-modified rapid-fire machine gun was the product of the Ming army's special forces. The general-purpose machine gun developed by the Ming army's military industry department had not yet been finalized, and the previously imported German-made MG34 had reliability problems. Therefore, the Yiluansi found ways to get several MG40 general-purpose machine guns.

You should know that the Armament Bureau of the Ministry of War only purchased a dozen or so new German-made general-purpose machine guns for evaluation, and even the bullets were imported. One round less was one less, but it was actually rare that the Yiluansi managed to get them and put them in its pocket.

Each assault team has eleven people, each of whom is equipped with a Type 3 assault rifle and a Type 1 pistol, as well as three ordinary grenades, one smoke grenade, two thermite grenades, and two sticky blasting packs.

One of them did not carry explosives, but instead carried a Type 37 bazooka and several rocket-propelled grenades.

It is not easy to completely destroy a huge heavy bomber. The strength of the aluminum alloy frame and skin is not low. A hole in the fuselage can be easily repaired, and a damaged engine can be replaced with a new one.

Historically, the Yilie Airborne Team had specifically thought about this problem. They developed a rope-shaped strip of explosives with a firing tube on one end and a lead weight on the other. When using it, the weight would be thrown forcefully to the opposite side of the aircraft fuselage. In this way, the entire strip of explosives would be hung on the fuselage, which could be blown into two pieces in one go, making it impossible to repair.

【Picture】

During the Battle of Okinawa, this unit carried out a not-so-successful airdrop raid - several transport planes got lost, four were shot down by anti-aircraft guns, and only one successfully landed.

Because they were caught off guard and the airport ground crew lacked combat training, the 11 remaining paratroopers achieved good results, destroying 38 US aircraft and igniting 7 gallons of aviation gasoline.

In general, it is entirely feasible for special forces to launch a surprise attack on an airport, especially when there is no precedent, and the unprepared enemy is likely to suffer a heavy loss.

At noon on March 3, Shengye, formerly known as Darwin, was a scene of peace and tranquility.

The imperial court intended to build it into a stable transit base. After the port facilities were repaired, tens of thousands of immigrants moved here one after another. The ruined city area changed its appearance, and new dormitories were gradually built.

The US-Australian coalition forces rarely carried out air strikes here, and the limited aviation gasoline and bombs were concentrated on operations against the Old Port and Balikpapan oil fields.

Four transport planes took off on time and flew southwards...

After about six hours of flight, the sky gradually darkened and through the square window on the right side of the cabin, we could see the setting sun already touching the sea level.

Hua Yao turned his head to gaze at the sunset and said, "Australia is a land of great feng shui, with gold and silver everywhere. It is truly an overseas fairyland. However, there are too many deserts, and not many places suitable for living."

Zhu Rensi, the adjutant of this operation, said while checking the parachute bag: "I see that the newspapers always say that our country is short of iron ore, so we must hold on to Australia tightly and move tens of millions of people here when the time comes."

Someone asked in surprise: "Hundreds of millions? Isn't it said that the land here is barren? Can it support people?"

"What are you afraid of? At worst, we can just ship in the food. This isn't ancient times."

"Right."

The geological conditions in Western Australia are very interesting. The stromatolites here have a long history of three billion years, making it a paradise for the mining industry.

Later generations discovered that the world's iron ore reserves are 1800 billion tons, of which 500 billion tons are in western Australia, accounting for as much as 29%. Moreover, the iron ore is concentrated, the mining difficulty is low, and the iron ore grade is relatively high. Port Hedland will be the world's eighth largest port in the future, exporting massive amounts of iron ore.

More than 20 Ming army commandos parachuted into the sky at sunset. In order to prevent excessive dispersion, they adopted the method of jumping from a relatively low altitude and opening the parachutes.

Someone's main parachute failed to open, but fortunately the reserve parachute was opened in time. The white parachute flowers were dyed pink by the sunset, and a few minutes later, all the personnel and equipment landed smoothly.

The officers and soldiers of the Yiluansi only put on the Type 6.5 individual protective gear after landing. They hated the heavy 3.5mm surface-hardened steel inserts (2.5kg) and only accepted the thin inserts with a thickness of 1.4mm (kg).

The moonless night provided excellent natural conditions for the surprise attack, but it also made collecting the airdropped equipment a hassle. It took three full hours to find 80% of the equipment.

Fortunately, there were 20 spare light motorcycles dropped from the air. Although two were damaged and three were not found, the remaining 15 were enough.

"At midnight, the snake came out of its hole, ready to move forward."

The commando sent a telegram, then rode quietly towards Port Hedland, ten kilometers away, without turning on the lights...

Port Hedland actually has only about two thousand permanent residents, making it a small town at most. The number of US-Australian coalition forces that have successively entered the port far exceeds the local civilian population.

The airport in the eastern suburbs was named Cleveland Airport by the US military in memory of a fallen Australian second lieutenant pilot. It is located on a plain not far from the city, the same as the one taken in the photos by aerial reconnaissance.

Hua Yao led the commando team to hide in a small hill about one kilometer away from the airport, eating field rations while discussing countermeasures.

"It's easy to get in, but hard to get out. We can't just rush in on a bike, right?" Zhu Rensi looked at the map and suggested to Hua Yao, "Let's find a way to get two trucks."

(End of this chapter)