Age of Rebirth

After receiving the telegram from the division commander Tang Qiuli, the deputy division commander Tang Qiusheng was on his way to the army. After the chief of staff Yu Guanghan handed him the telegram, Tang Qiusheng looked at it carefully with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Yu Guanghan said: "Deputy Commander, why do you want us to go to Imphal instead of Central India? We missed the first stage of the East India Campaign, and we failed in the second stage! Just one of the besieged Imphal, do you still need to take command? Isn’t it okay to appoint any brigade commander to be in charge?”

Tang Qiusheng shook his head and said: "Guanghan, you haven't figured out the real intention of the commander. The purpose of surrounding Imphal without attacking is to catch the last strength of the British and Indian troops. They are all the same, they are all bait, it is a matter of simmering and careful operation, the five brigades in charge of the encirclement belong to two corps, no one is in the center to coordinate the command, if the steps are inconsistent, it is easy to destroy the division commander's plan."

"Don't be full of complaints. When the general attack on Imphal, you will fight! Send a telegram to several brigade commanders directly under the regiment, explaining the transfer of command, and order the No.11 brigade to divert To Imphal!"

In addition to Yu Guanghan, chief of staff of the Sulu Mobile Corps, who was full of discomfort because he hadn't fought a tough battle, there was another person who was also depressed and itchy, and went around in circles in the headquarters! [

Major General Le Yiqin, commander of the Southern Aviation Group of the Independent Division Aviation, made careful preparations for the East India Campaign. All the bombers and fighters participating in the battle were full of fuel.Stop on the runway.The pilots were resting on the side of the runway in a temporary shed, waiting for the front-line troops to call, soar into the air, and drop bombs on the heads of the British and Indian soldiers.

But after Liao Zhenbang's second brigade fired the first shot in the first battle, Le Yiqin's radio station was so silent that it drove him crazy. On the morning of May 21, the battle report from the division's staff office came.It was only then that Le Yiqin realized that the East India battlefield was already full of flowers, with more than a dozen brigades attacking everywhere.The fight was in full swing, but there was nothing wrong with the Southern Flying Group!

Le Yiqin wondered, don't these guys need air support, he couldn't sit still anymore, he called through the radio, and after a while he called Liu Hongzhang, commander of the first brigade directly under the regiment, "I said, old Liu, you guys Do you need me to send a plane to support? Don't be shy!"

After a while, he called Wang Yiwu, commander of the [-]th Brigade of the Sulu Mobile Corps. "Old Wang, are you fighting hard there? I remember that all the heavy equipment in your army has been left in Magao. If you need anything, just talk, a few bomber regiments are not a problem, old buddies for many years!"

In a short while, Le Yiqin greeted almost a dozen brigade commanders, but waited for the call back.The content is basically the same, "Thank you Commander Le for your kindness, the troops are progressing smoothly, the resistance of the British and Indian troops is weak, and the battle will be over soon. Don't dare to work on your master!"

Simply refuse, our infantry is fighting smoothly.Do what you should do, don't worry about it, Le Yiqin cursed angrily, "These guys who eat alone are not afraid to hold on!" Colonel Xu Zihan, Chief of Staff of the Flying Group explained, "The loneliness of not having an opponent , Commander wants to fight like crazy!"

Not bad. When the fifth and sixth brigades of the Sulu Mobile Corps attacked the Zhenhati British and Indian troops, they finally remembered the aviation. Le Yiqin was excited for a while, but he was soon discouraged. The fart is big, at best That is to use a bomber regiment, which is not enough, let alone lead the team into the air to fight.

For Le Yiqin, who wanted to fight a big battle, Zhenhati's bombing was not enough to plug his teeth. This mentality was directly reflected in Le Yiqin's telegram to his teacher Tang Qiuli, "Mr. All the combat troops of our group have made full preparations for the East India Campaign. However, until the end of the campaign, our troops have not yet had the opportunity to participate in the battle. The morale of the troops is high, and there has been no combat mission for a long time. I am afraid that the pilots will be dissatisfied. So much so that it affects the morale of the troops!"

Tang Qiuli, who had already arrived at the front line of China and India, read Le Yiqin's telegram, shook his head with a smile, and immediately called him back, "Le Yiqin, I'm afraid the ones who are dissatisfied are not the pilots, but you, Le Yiqin." It's just one person, I can't bear the crime of affecting the morale of your Le Yiqin flying unit, well, I will deploy elite troops to form a battle formation, stationed at the Yangon Navy and Air Force Base, and cooperate with Commander Tang of the fleet to participate in the capture of the islands in the East Indian Ocean Let's fight!"

The British colonial authorities in India, in accordance with the requirements of Lieutenant General Chelsea, the commander of the Eastward Army, dispatched all the reserves and gathered them on the front line of Central India in an attempt to open a passage for the Eastward Army to retreat to the Indian inland. The fighter planes of the islands in the East Indian Ocean have already appeared.

On the night of May 22, Tang Qiuli in Zhenhati City, Central India, gave the fleet an order to start operations. An hour later, the fleet commander Lieutenant General Tang Qiuquan led two aircraft carriers as the core and more than [-] large and small warships. , A task force composed of more than a hundred armed transport ships quietly left the Yangon Navy and Air Force Base and disappeared into the vast East Indian Ocean.

In the East Indian Ocean in May, the southwest monsoon set off turbulent waves, turbulent waves, huge waves like hills, slammed on the deck of the bow of the warship, and broke into thousands of snow-white waves. On the fleet flagship "Canglang" , Fleet Commander Tang Qiuquan is holding a military meeting attended by the captains of each ship, the head of the aircraft carrier regiment, Han Tie, the commander of the Marine Corps, and the brigade commanders of the marine brigades.

Colonel Xin Xiguo, the chief of staff of the fleet, after reading out the combat order of the division commander Tang Qiuli, looked at the participants and said calmly: "Everyone, everyone understands the contents of the division commander's order. The victory is over, and the second phase that is about to begin is mainly to annihilate the reserve forces of the British and Indian troops."

"The reserve forces of the British and Indian troops are all assembled on the front line of China and India. That is to say, when we execute the combat orders of the division headquarters, there will be no troops other than the existing British and Indian troops defending the islands." Any unit of the British and Indian Army interferes with our operations, and the division commander has given our fleet the best chance to destroy the enemy."

"Our task is very clear, and the director of the intelligence department has provided the fleet with detailed information, including the basic situation of the British and Indian garrison forces and firepower on the islands in the East Indian Ocean. The content of today's meeting is how to To complete the combat mission assigned by the division headquarters, if you have any opinions and suggestions, you may wish to share them and discuss them!"

Rear Admiral Amosiyev, the first deputy commander of the fleet, was the first to stand up, walked to the large Indian Ocean chart, and said in proficient Chinese: "Commander Tang, all officers, based on the current battle situation on land, As far as the British are concerned, the defeat of the British is only a matter of time, and the series of battles launched by the division commander in the East India have created the best opportunity for us."

"Similarly, at sea, with the current strength of our fleet, it is not a problem to seize any island. We must clarify where to start, but I want to remind everyone, no, ignore this point," said, Amosiyev's fist hit a place fiercely, and he continued, "It's in Visakhapatnam Port on the east coast of the Indian mainland."

Since Amosiyev was rescued from the Kwantung Army prisoner-of-war camp by Tang Qiuli in Vladivostok, during his several years of working in the fleet, with his superb command art and sophisticated strategic vision, he loved the fleet His professionalism and dedication have won the respect and admiration of all officers and men of the fleet. In the fleet, he is a well-deserved handsome talent.

When it comes to commanding naval battles, Fleet Commander Tang Qiuquan thinks he is inferior. Such a heavyweight will never target what he says, and the attention of all officers is attracted. [

Amosiyev continued: "Vishakhapatnam Port is the largest naval base of the British Army in India, and the entire fleet of the British Army in India is parked there. Although this fleet does not have an aircraft carrier, it has six sizes. There are more than ten warships, among which there are eight cruisers and battleships with a displacement of more than [-] tons, which is a threat that cannot be ignored."

"In our battle to seize the island, because there are many attack targets, the warships in the fleet will inevitably be scattered in different directions in order to provide fire support for the Marine Corps to land on the island. The scattered ships will inevitably be attacked by the British. Commander Tang’s words just now have loopholes in the attack of the fleet stationed in India, and I express my strong opposition to it. The threat to hinder us from carrying out the island campaign does not come from land, but from the sea, from the British fleet.”

"Therefore, I think that the focus of this campaign is not to seize the island, but to annihilate the British fleet, so that we can start the campaign without any worries!" I finished my words!

This is the character of Amosiyev. When it comes to battle command issues, he never hides his head and tail, and no matter who you are, if you make a mistake, he will point it out unceremoniously, including the fleet commander Tang Qiuquan, is also like this.

The officers who participated in the meeting were already used to it, and Tang Qiuquan didn't care. The two had been partners for several years. This kind of thing is not uncommon. Tang Qiuquan took the conversation and said: "The words of Deputy Commander Amosiyev are very reasonable. I was negligent, it seems that we must make major adjustments in the direction of our operations, based on the opinions of the deputy commander."

Major General Han Tie, the commander of the Marine Corps, stood up and said: "Let me talk about our Marine Corps' views. Can the battle to seize the island in the East Indian Ocean be carried out with such tactics?"

(to be continued) (to be continued...)