Age of Rebirth

At noon on May 23, with the sound of long sirens, the British task force stationed in India slowly sailed out of Visakhapatnam Naval Port and headed for Sri Lanka. This time, the task force stationed in India was dispatched in full force , not only more than [-] warships all set out, but the only two marine brigades also set off at the same time.

So far, all the troops of the British army and navy stationed in India have been devoted to the battlefield against the independent division. The air force of the army stationed in India has not recovered from the last air battle in northern Myanmar. There are more than a dozen planes, not enough self-protection, and can't help at all, Le Yiqin doesn't bother them, it is God's special favor!

On the surface of the East Indian Ocean, the sea is still calm, the sea and the sky are the same color, the afternoon sun shines on the dark green sea water, dancing with golden light, revealing behind the clumps of coral reefs on the sea surface, the fleet of more than [-] warships quietly dropped anchor There, like a beast that could explode at any time, Lieutenant General Tang Qiuquan, the commander of the fleet, resolutely rejected the request of the ship-aircraft flight group to send fighter jets to the direction of Visakhapatnam for reconnaissance.

Qiu Quan is a man with a firm mind. Since it is an ambush at sea, he must hold his breath. The British are at a time when they are in a hurry, and any disturbance will have a negative impact on the ambush. On the sea, it is not easy to have an alternative ambush site, and it is a pity that it is easily exposed!

His order to the fleet was, "Wait, wait patiently, the entire fleet keeps the wires silent." Qiuquan believed in Tang Qiuli's judgment, and at the same time, he also believed in his own judgment. Han Tie's fight in Sri Lanka was turned upside down. , Beating the British so much that they complained so much, they didn't believe it, the British fleet.Can sit idly by, in this battle, can wipe out the task force stationed in India, in the East Indian Ocean.It is the world of your own fleet. [

At around [-]:[-] p.m., Colonel Xin Xiguo, chief of staff of the fleet, hurried into the combat command room of the flagship "Canglang" and said to Tang Qiuquan and Amosiyev: "Commander, deputy commander, radar report, stationed in India The Army Task Force is approaching the Jaffna coral reefs. It is still more than [-] nautical miles away from our ambush sea area."

Tang Qiuquan and Amosiyev looked at each other, and they both saw a trace of relief in each other's eyes. Tang Qiuquan asked: "Chief of Staff, can the radar identify the number and type of the British fleet? Also, they adopted What kind of flight formation is it?"

Xin Xiguo replied: "Yes, but. The British fleet is needed, and the distance should be closer to enter the best detection range of our radar. Within [-] nautical miles, at present, radar signals can only be roughly received."

Tang Qiuquan smiled and said, "It's not too late for a good meal, so let's wait and see. The deputy commander, let me see, it's time to inform the aviation commander Le Yiqin in Yangon."

Amosiyev nodded and said: "I agree, according to the sailing speed of the British fleet. When the aviation fleet arrived at the battle area, it happened to be when we started to attack. The number of British warships was ours. It is a pity that in the absence of aircraft carriers, the number of warships cannot make up for the lack of air power."

"Commander, I suggest that our tactics should be like this. We first fly the naval bombers, together with the aviation bombers, to carry out the first wave of strikes against the British fleet, trying to sink their main combat warships, and then , Our warships are outflanking from the left and right wings, trying to move the battlefield to the waters near Sri Lanka, in that case, our armed transport ships can also play a role, and it will also help us encircle on three sides!"

Tang Qiuquan nodded and said, "Okay, Xiguo, follow the tactics of the deputy commander. Also, when sending a report to Commander Le, use code words, be concise and clear, and shorten the sending time as much as possible!"

Rear Admiral Jeffrey Hill, commander of the British Task Force in India, is a proud man. In his bones, there are too many shadows of the most glorious era of the British Empire. The Task Force in India is well-deserved in the Indian Ocean. China's maritime overlord, the Japanese warships, have not yet sailed into the Bay of Bengal. From the Indian mainland to the west, there is a poor and backward Africa like primitive people.

Not to mention warships, there are not even a few mechanically powered ships. The British Empire began to dominate the world from the sea, relying on strong ships and guns, and created an empire on which the sun never sets. Since the day he joined the navy, Jeffrey Hill The major general has a passionate impulse, but unfortunately, in poor and backward Asia, except for the Japanese fleet, there is no sea power to compete with the British Empire fleet.

The attention of the Japanese is all on the Pacific Ocean, which is the sphere of influence of the US Navy. Therefore, Major General Jeffrey Hill has not fought a naval battle since he served as the commander of the task force of the Indian Army. It is not that he does not want to fight. , but there is no opponent to fight, which means that a master is lonely.

After receiving the domestic order to reinforce Sri Lanka, Major General Jeffrey Hill was very excited for a while, and finally had the opportunity to fight. The Chinese, do the Chinese have warships?Why haven't I heard of it? It shouldn't be the commander of the defensive zone, Major General John Pukins, who was so frightened that he lied about the military situation, right?

According to Major General Jeffrey Hill's own judgment, the Chinese do not have warships, and there should be quite a few armed civilian ships. John Pukins is very likely to regard armed civilian ships as warships. Among the senior officers of the army, who doesn't know that the guy is notoriously neurotic.

At around 45 minutes, the British task force stationed in India sailed into an area more than [-] nautical miles away from the Jaffna coral reefs. The chief of staff of the fleet looked at the chart and said to Major General Jeffrey Hill: "Your Excellency, Commander. , the fleet is about to pass through the waters of the Jaffna coral reefs, and according to the report of Major General John Pukins, the commander of the defense zone, the Chinese have dozens of warships."

Looking at the indifferent commander, the chief of staff said more and more cautiously: "I suggest that the fleet's sea formation be changed from a single line to a two-way column, a wedge-shaped formation, and two corners forming horns. Put the transport ships that transport the two marine brigades in the middle, and if the Chinese warships have any conspiracy, we can also go into battle as quickly as possible."

Major General Jeffrey Hill snorted, and said disdainfully: "My Chief of Staff, have you heard that the Chinese have warships? You can believe what Pukins said, it's too I am naive, my mission is to sink all the ships and armed civilian ships transporting Chinese infantry on the bottom of the Indian Ocean, cutting off the Chinese's retreat."

"As for how to fight on land, I don't care, but I will give an order that two brigades of marines will land at the landing field in the middle of the Chinese soldiers, chase after the Chinese army, and together with the defenders on the island, wipe them all out. On the island of Sri Lanka, the current sailing formation can ensure that all warships will reach their targets in the first time without any changes!"

The chief of staff swallowed hard, full of suggestions, and was pushed back alive by a few harsh words from the commander. The chief of staff was thinking out of a soldier's intuition, so be careful!

In the entire task force stationed in India, no one knows how powerful the independent division's fleet is, and they don't even know whether the Chinese army has warships, nor does the chief of staff know. What I got in return was a naive sentence, since your commander is like this, why should I come here, pretending to be a wolf with a big tail is thankless, isn't it!The chief of staff thought angrily.

Xin Xiguo, Chief of Staff Xin Xiguo in the war room of the flagship "Canglang" of the independent division fleet, said to Commander Tang Qiuquan: "Commander, the radar has confirmed that the British task force has entered the Jaffna coral reefs at 64 nautical miles away. They took a parallel formation, with a total of [-] large and small warships, and behind the warships, there were dozens of transport ships, which were preliminarily estimated to transport reinforcements to the army troops on the island of Sri Lanka.”[

Rear Admiral Amosiyev put his hand on his forehead, moaned like a toothache, and said: "My God! Yi Yiping, I really doubt whether the British who commanded this fleet was a naval officer. How could he make such a move?" With such a tactical arrangement, Commander, we won this battle, there is no suspense, the British put on a posture of being beaten, I think we can start attacking!"

The warships of the fleet that implemented wire silence turned on their radios one after another to receive the flagship's orders. On the sea that was still silent just now, radio waves invisible to the naked eye crisscrossed in the air.

The communication officer of the task force stationed in the Indian Army anxiously reported to the commander, Major General Jeffrey Hill, "Your Excellency, just now, our monitoring radio station found a large number of radio signals in the sea area of ​​the Jaffna coral reefs. According to preliminary estimates, more than [-] units are receiving and sending messages at the same time, and it is likely to be a fleet, which is active there!"

Rear Admiral Jeffrey Hill trembled when he heard it. He has been in the navy for more than 20 years, but he still doesn't know what this means. It means that there is a considerable fleet waiting for him in the waters of the coral reefs of Jaffna. , It's not an encounter, but the other party came prepared, it can only be a Chinese warship, God!When did the Chinese have more than [-] warships?

Rear Admiral Jeffrey Hill, ignoring the jaw that was about to drop in surprise, issued a series of orders, "Order the fleet, immediately switch to a three-way column, light fast destroyers, go out of the fleet, take the lead in attacking, transport fleet, Immediately leave the battlefield and sail to Sri Lanka at full speed, be quick!"

Major General Jeffrey Hill, I'm really anxious. The fleet's sailing formation was adopted when there was no battle. Now, the Chinese warships suddenly appeared. No matter how many ships there are, the formation is not good for you. , I only hope that there is still time to save it!

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