Age of Rebirth

Major General Yoshiyasu Araki, the commander of the Japanese Southeast Asia Expeditionary Force Araki Air Corps, just woke up. After washing up under the service of the orderly, he came to the yard as usual, brandished an ancestral sword, and slashed in a serious manner. Come to think of it, there is quite a bit of skill in every move and every move.

This is the habit that Major General Araki has maintained for many years. The Major General himself believes that in his bones, the blood of the pure warriors of the Great Japanese Empire flows. Yes, I met a talented and generous emperor, whose ambition to expand the territory and dominate the Quartet surpassed any emperor in the past.

As a soldier of the Great Japanese Empire, he was born in this era of making meritorious deeds with sabers. Naturally, there will be many opportunities to make contributions. The era of Araki family's glory again should be opened in his own hands, facing the rising dawn of the Southwest Pacific , Breathing the slightly salty morning breeze, after playing the knife technique once, Major General Araki was in good health, and the orderly handed him a snow-white towel, His Excellency the Major General was in a very happy mood.

On the table, the delicious breakfast aroused Major General Araki's appetite. Is it good to have a good appetite? Unfortunately, this happy mood was broken by a major staff officer who came in a hurry, "Your Excellency, Commander, just received Hao According to the report of the Wild Patrol Squadron, a large number of Chinese planes have appeared over Kalimantan Island, the exact number and purpose are unknown!"

"Haney!" Major General Araki put down a piece of cake brought to his mouth, exclaimed in disbelief, stood up abruptly, and knocked over the dining table. [

The major staff officer repeated what he said just now, no wonder Major General Araki was quite surprised.Since the outbreak of the Pacific War, any unit of the Imperial Japanese Army has tried to avoid any conflicts with the troops of Tang Qiuli of the United States in China. Even after losing Hong Kong and Singapore, the base camp has not issued any The order of the troops to fight, on the contrary, explicitly ordered the ministries not to have friction with the independent division troops.

Obviously, the imperial headquarters chose to forbear, before completely solving the Americans and British in the Southwest Pacific.He didn't want to go to war with a powerful enemy. As a senior general of the Imperial Army, Major General Araki understood the stakes. Although he often felt a sense of humiliation in his heart, now.The plane of the independent division came to the door.This is the inevitable war.

but.It takes courage to fight against the aviation unit of Le Yiqin's headquarters, known as the "butcher in the air," and has a great reputation. To be on the safe side, Major General Araki asked, "I'm sure. Is it the fleet of the Independent Division?"

The Major's staff replied affirmatively: "Your Excellency, Commander, I can confirm that after receiving the report, the combat department has ordered several other patrol squadrons to verify it. In the direction of their patrol, an independent division large aircraft group was also found. "

"To the west!" Major General Araki's eyes flashed fiercely, and ordered: "Immediately convey my order to all fighter wings, take off to fight immediately, and report the information to the Kuroda Air Force, Le Yiqin, don't think, The aviation armies of our Great Japanese Empire are afraid of you!"

The major staff officer replied loudly: "Yes, execute the commander's order immediately!" Just after taking a few steps, he was stopped by Major General Araki again.

"Wait a minute!" Major General Staff looked at his superior incomprehensibly, Major General Araki rolled his eyes a few times, and said again: "Order, all fighter wings, prepare for the battle in the air, and report this important situation immediately. Report to Commander Ito!"

Major General Kayasu Araki, with more foresight, found the fleet of the Independent Division in his own direction. Then, the Kuroda Yoshio Air Force stationed on Sumatra Island should also have discovered a similar situation. In terms of geographical location, The Kuroda Air Force should have discovered the independent division fleet earlier than themselves, but why didn't they notify themselves, there is a lot of articles in it?

Without the assistance of the Kuroda Air Force, the Araki Air Force would not be Le Yiqin's opponent in terms of the number of aircraft, and he could not command the Kuroda Air Force of the same level, so the dispatched army headquarters could only coordinate the matter, so , the report is absolutely correct!

Major General Araki Kayasu, although he was martial and warlike, was not impulsive. It was because of these considerations that he restrained his inner fighting spirit and adopted a more secure method.

General Ito, who had been drinking happily all night with Chief of Staff Kawashima, had just sent Major General Kawashima away for less than half an hour, and was about to rest for a while, when the communications officer hurried over with the wind on his feet, holding two telegram.

Two telegrams with almost the same content were placed in front of General Ito, reporting the same situation. Independent normal university fleets were found over Kalimantan, Sumatra, and in the Java Sea and airspace. What happened?

General Ito looked at the Chief of Staff Kawashima who had just returned to his resting place and was called back urgently before he could drink his saliva, "Kawashima-kun, what do you think of the sudden appearance of the China fleet? Which Chinese devil is it, is it going to attack us?" General Ito asked.

To be honest, Chief of Staff Kawashima was also at a loss. He never knew why the independent division's fleet suddenly appeared in the above-mentioned airspace. However, it was unlikely that Tang Qiuli's troops were going to attack. Because, apart from the discovery of the independent division's fleet, there has been no sign of a large-scale attack by the independent division's ground troops and fleet. Sumatra and Singapore are separated by the Strait of Malacca. It is not difficult to monitor the movements of the independent division's troops. !

The Chinese devil suddenly came to such a trick, which is really confusing. At this time, the Araki Air Force and the Kuroda Air Force sent a second telegram, reporting the latest situation, "Invasion of Kalimantan Island And the fleet of the independent division above Sumatra Island is an aircraft carrier-based aircraft. It continues to fly to the southeast through the Java Sea and airspace. "

General Ito and Major General Kawashima rushed to the map at the same time, and carefully drew three red lines on the map. After a while, the two raised their heads at the same time, and their eyes collided. It was Major General Kawashima who spoke first, with a dry voice. Said: "The British-Australian troop transport fleet withdrawing to Australia!"

Admiral Ito nodded heavily, and he also came to the same conclusion. The independent division's carrier-based aircraft fleet over Kalimantan and Sumatra is not the main direction. The main direction is to continue to fly to the independent division in the direction of Australia. The land-based aircraft group, Tang Qiuli's intention is obvious, to escort the formation of British and Australian troop carriers.

The purpose of the appearance of his carrier-based aircraft fleet was to warn or deter Araki Air Force and Kuroda Air Force not to intercept them. Major General Kawashima asked, "Commander-in-Chief, what should we do?"

When encountering a similar situation, Major General Kawashima, who is quite wise, is obviously inferior to General Ito in terms of psychological quality and command experience. General Ito pondered for a while and said: "Mr. Kawashima, order the Araki Air Force and Kuroda Air Force, face the independent division's air fleet, order the Kashima Air Force to reinforce the naval fleet, and at the same time, report the situation to the naval fleet, we cannot let Tang Qiuli's air fleet destroy our plan!" [

Major General Kawashima understands that Commander-in-Chief Ito has made up his mind to fight a big battle with Tang Qiuli's air force. He also knows that in his heart, this boss still has the intention of avenging the Indochina Peninsula. What's more, Tang Qiuli's fleet has already hit the door, trying to avoid conflicts, which does not mean that the Imperial Army Aviation has no power to fight, but what about after the war?

As far as the record of the Air Force of the Independent Division is concerned, Le Yiqin, the number one air fighter under him, has already killed how many veteran air teams of the empire. The commander-in-chief and himself know it well. The daunting air force, the number of aircraft, even exceeds the sum of the three air teams of the dispatched army. After a big air battle, the air force of the dispatched army may be completely lost, but Tang Qiuli's air force can still maintain its capacity. Some combat power, this is definitely not a good thing for the dispatched army!

Perhaps, it will be a catastrophe. As the chief of staff, Major General Kawashima has to take this into consideration. Therefore, Chief of Staff Kawashima said: "General, please be careful. From the personal opinion of the department, the two air teams of Araki and Kuroda , it is not suitable for a decisive battle with the carrier-based aircraft group of the independent division, and the Kashima Air Force cannot all support the naval fleet, we should consider the situation after a major war!"

"If the air fleet of the dispatched army is severely damaged, it will definitely not be a good thing for us. Moreover, the navy has two fleets. The number of their carrier-based aircraft should be able to cope with the fleet of the independent division. After all, the navy Besides, does the navy like to see us intervene? At that time, your helping hand may become an excuse for the navy to fail, and I hope you think twice, general!"

Everyone has selfishness, and Admiral Ito is no exception. After calming down, he carefully recalled the words of Chief of Staff Kawashima, and had to admit that what this guy said made sense. The army is just a partial battle on the Southwest Pacific battlefield, and the victory or defeat has little impact on the overall battle situation.

Even if the [-] British and Australian troops return to Australia intact, General Ito is fully confident that they will be wiped out on the Australian mainland, and the air power of the dispatched army will suffer heavy losses. For the defense of the existing occupied area, It is absolutely unfavorable. Occupying and consolidating the entire southwest Pacific region is my goal and greatest interest, and it is also the original intention of His Majesty the Emperor and the base camp.

The rest are all secondary. If in a decisive battle with Tang Qiuli's air force, the loss is the air power of the dispatched army, the navy will not have the slightest thanks, and I will hold the credit in my arms without shame, then I will still work hard What the hell?

(To be continued) (To be continued.)