Age of Rebirth

The interception and killing of the Third Squadron in the Banda Sea was just the beginning. In the next few days, in the Java Sea, Sulawesi Sea, Arafura Sea and other waters, the first batch of Japanese troops withdrawn to Australia Both the warship formation and its escort gunboat formation were intercepted and killed by several squadrons of the Grand Division Fleet.

Lieutenant General Tang Qiuquan, the commander of the fleet who received the report, had a rare smile on his face. According to the statistics, in just three or four days, several squadrons achieved a brilliant record of annihilating more than [-] Japanese troops. This is the Navy If such a large annihilation battle is fought on land, even if it is a complete victory, the casualties of the troops will not be high.

"Commander, the results of the three and four battles of the various squadrons of our First Fleet are more than the total battle results of several field regiments, and the loss is zero. If the commanders of several regiments know about it, they will be so angry that they will scold their mothers." ?” Rear Admiral Xin Xiguo, chief of staff of the fleet, said to Tang Qiuquan happily.

Tang Qiuquan was also quite happy, and said: "Look at you, according to the information from the intelligence department, the first batch of Japanese troops to withdraw to Australia has a strength of about 20 people. Now, more than two-thirds of them have been eaten by the fleet. I'm afraid, the devil who has suffered a lot will never send such fat meat to our mouths in the future!"

"Xiguo, order all the squadrons to actively look for fighters. Anyway, on the Southwest Pacific battlefield, except for the Australian battlefield, the Japanese army has no air power, let alone naval ships. Why don't you go to the Japanese army assembly points in various battlefields? A few shells are also effective, and in addition, report the results to the teacher to make the teacher happy, this is the effect of the teacher's interception tactics!"

In a word, it is to bully you devil. "Hahaha!" Xin Xiguo laughed happily. The commander, who was always calm and cautious, also started to get mad.

Trusan, Sumatra. ** Division refers to the location of the headquarters of the Corps directly under it, and the division refers to Chief of Staff Zhao Yu and Major General.Excitedly walked into Tang Qiuli's room, and shouted: "Master, just received a telegram from Commander Tang of the Fleet, your interception tactics have had a miraculous effect!"

"In three or four days, several squadrons successfully intercepted and killed the formation of Japanese troop carriers in the Java Sea, Sulawesi Sea, Banda Sea, Arafura Sea and other waters, and achieved a record of annihilating more than [-] Japanese troops! The first batch of soldiers from the Japanese army to Australia went to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish!"

Great news to hear.Tang Qiuli was also happy. His thoughts were the same as Tang Qiuquan's. If the battle to annihilate more than [-] Japanese troops was fought on land, the victory would be unquestionable. Quite powerful!

"Yuhe! This is indeed good news!" Tang Qiuli reported with a smile on his telegram: "Immediately report the achievements of the fleet to all participating troops. Such brilliant achievements should be shared by the entire army. In addition, under the guidance of the division In the name of the Navy, an order is issued to reward all the squadrons of the First Fleet of the Navy!"

After Zhao Yuhe extended the order.Said: "Master, apart from the Australian battlefield, the total Japanese army strength on various battlefields in the Southwest Pacific is about 60 people. Now, it has lost about one-third. The Japanese army was originally at a disadvantage. Now. It is even more difficult to support, your force on land is forced to compress. The tactics of intercepting and killing at sea must have killed the Japanese!"

"Don't put a high hat on me!" Tang Qiuli said jokingly: "It is necessary to remind the commanders of the various corps. Don't be stimulated by the record of the navy fleet to make your eyes turn red and lose your composure. , is still advancing steadily, pressing step by step, mainly oppressing the Japanese army.”

"Forcing the Japanese army to retreat in the second and third batches. Only by fighting in this way can we achieve the greatest results with the least casualties. Yuhe, the final decisive battle in the Southwest Pacific battlefield is in Australia!"

Zhao Yuhe was startled, and said, "Master, what do you think the Japanese army can do in Australia with the current strength? The fleet's several squadrons are stationed in various sea areas. The Japanese army retreating south to Australia cannot retreat. , and the total strength of the Japanese army in Australia is only more than 40 people, and Deputy Division Commander Tang's army has more than [-] people, and there is also a strong aviation force. The Japanese plan may come to nothing!"

"Australia is a place that the Japanese army must protect, and we will definitely not see it falling into our hands!" Tang Qiuli said with certainty: "As far as the current Southwest Pacific campaign is concerned, there is no doubt that we have the last hand, but But there are two uncertain factors that will affect the final result!"

"The first is the more than 160 million Japanese troops on the North American battlefield. The second is the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy. As far as our current naval power is concerned, it is not an opponent of the Japanese Navy. The Yamamoto 56 is even more of the Japanese Navy. The best of the generals, Yu He, does the Intelligence Department have any information on these two aspects?"

"Yes!" Zhao Yuhe replied: "The Japanese army troops on the North American battlefield have not yet shown signs of concentrating on the west coast of the United States. They are only moving frequently within the range!"

"According to the information from the Intelligence Department, the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy left the west coast of the United States five years ago. Its course and destination are for the Southwest Pacific region. The position of the commander of the headquarters has changed, Yamamoto 56 was dismissed, and the former commander-in-chief of the Japanese attacking Australian army, Ito Genzaburo, took over his position!"

"It's still here, the combined fleet of Yamamoto 56 is an opponent that we can't trace the edge for the time being!" Tang Qiuli's tone was quite emotional, "Yuhe, immediately forward the information about the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy to Commander Tang of the navy, remind him to pay attention to this formidable opponent!"

There are some other words, just speculation. Tang Qiuli did not come out. The commander of the Japanese North American Combat Command has changed. It must be a sign that Japan will transfer troops from the North American battlefield to strengthen Australia's defense. The reason why it has not taken action yet is probably It was a negotiation with the Germans. If no agreement was reached, the Germans would not let the Japanese troops go.

Regarding the Japanese delegation's visit to Berlin for negotiations, the German head of state, Hitler, did not hide it from Tang Qiuli. He immediately notified the matter through a secret radio station, and Hitler also made a strong promise in the telegram , It is by no means easy to let a Japanese soldier leave the North American battlefield.

Hitler also explained the reason for doing this in the telegram, "My old friend, you know that I personally don't have the slightest favor for the Japanese. This is done entirely from the perspective of helping old friends. Add an unexpected difficulty factor to an old friend's ongoing Southwest Pacific campaign!

Tang Qiuli absolutely believed that Hitler's promise to himself was true and reliable, but he scoffed at Hitler's reason for not letting the Japanese soldiers leave the North American battlefield.

Why help yourself, bullshit!It must be the conditions put forward by the Japanese, which did not satisfy Hitler's appetite. Suppose, if the Japanese cede all the western and central regions of the United States to the Germans, and express their position that they will not participate in the post-war division of the interests of the war against the United States. Look at Hitler What will be done?

Not only will they immediately give way to more than 100 million Japanese troops, and provide convenience, but they will also do their best to help. The Japanese troops scattered in the central region of the United States will gather together, and will even send ships to help the Japanese return to Australia. The Japanese provided large quantities of sophisticated equipment.

Based on Tang Qiuli's understanding of Hitler, this guy will definitely do that. The United States has been beaten all over, and the Germans are fully capable of defeating the United States alone. At this time, they are about to pick the fruits of victory. There was one less teammate who shared the fruits, and this teammate still gave up on his own initiative. Hitler didn't beat the drums, and tried his best to send his teammates out of the orchard as soon as possible!

However, it is not easy for the Japanese to give up the interests of the war against the United States. With Hirohito's greed and ambition, how can he easily spit out the fat that has been eaten in his stomach? There will be no negotiations between Germany and Japan in a short time. As a result, the more than 160 million Japanese troops on the North American battlefield were temporarily unable to move.

Another factor is the question of how the Japanese should choose, whether to preserve Japan's vested interests in the North American battlefield, or to preserve the Australian mainland. In terms of Japan's current military strength, it can only choose one of the two, and there is no way to have both. possible.

From a strategic point of view, for the Japanese, the Australian mainland is obviously more important than the western part of the United States. Tang Qiuli believes that the Japanese will eventually choose to keep the Australian mainland, but an unexpected variable is needed to make the Japanese bear the pain Cutting flesh and giving up the interests of the war against the United States. Is this variable the Japanese Navy's combined fleet, which is heading to the Southwest Pacific battlefield?

Tang Qiuli shook his head. It couldn't be because of this factor. A fleet can't change the decline of the Japanese army in the southwest Pacific battlefield. After all, warships can't go ashore, so what is this factor?He has no idea yet.

Tang Qiuli's thinking has already jumped to the future battlefield pattern in the Southwest Pacific, while the chief of staff of the Japanese base camp in charge of the general retreat, General Mitsuko Minei, is worried about what happened in reality, and his heart is bleeding.

It's unbelievable. General Mineiguang couldn't believe it. This is the truth. Looking at the stack of telegrams in front of him, his eyes were straightened. In just three or four days, the first batch of imperial troops to withdraw to the Australian mainland, 20 18 people lost as many as [-] people, and the remaining [-] people also escaped from the guns of the China Fleet and fled back to the unsafe starting point. Not a single soldier landed in northern Australia. coast.

The loss was so heavy that Mi Neiguang woke up and realized that he had listened to that guy Zairen and ordered the retreat without a powerful warship escort. As a result, 18 imperial soldiers became the living target of the Chinese warship.

The retreat would not be possible without the help of the navy, Minai Koichi thought very embarrassingly.

(to be continued) to be continued

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