Age of Rebirth

The total strength of the Japan-Australia Front on the center line, which suffered heavy losses after a bitter battle, would not exceed 8 even if it added more than 40 new troops. Feng Jiwu's Niangziguan Garrison Corps, the Japanese army still has the upper hand.

But now, General Ito Genzaburo is going to face the more than [-] independent divisions on the Western Front, and the hundreds of thousands of independent divisions that can go out of the McDonnell Mountains at any time and go north to attack again. The combined forces of the Rib Independent Division formed an absolute superior force against the Japanese army.

Therefore, after receiving the report, General Ito, who had not escaped from the disastrous defeat on the Western Front and lost more than 30 people, looked even more ugly. He was facing an unprecedented crisis. The independent divisions on the Western Front The intention of attacking is undisguised, moving north from Sanggu and Mandola.

In the area north of Sanggu and Mandola, the local garrison of the Australian Front Army is no more than 60 at best, and there is not even an organized division. Facing the attack of [-] to [-] independent divisions, General Ito I know, I don't even have the strength to parry.

And once the west coast line is lost, the independent division troops on the western front can attack eastward. On the central battlefield, the scene of the imperial army attacking the imperial army back and forth on the western front will be staged again. General Ito knows better. As a result, the Great Japanese Empire lost the entire Australian War.

The current situation on the Australian battlefield, for the Imperial Australian Front Army, is like a broken ship that is leaking everywhere and needs to be repaired everywhere.But there are not so many manpower, facing the crisis.General Ito was exhausted.

Almost all the troops of the empire on the North American battlefield were transferred to the Australian battlefield.Now there are only less than 20 people left, of which there are more than 6 people who are the chief of staff of the North American Combat Command of the former Empire, and the current commander is under the command of General Nanye. Only 13 people can continue to increase troops on the Australian battlefield. people around.

General Ito ordered the 10,000+ people on the North American battlefield to go to Australia as quickly as possible while thinking hard.How to deal with the current crisis, more than [-] troops seems to be a lot, but if the troops are divided into two directions, they will be at a disadvantage in terms of strength.

To make matters worse, the continuous failure of Australia's central and western battlefields, and the loss of more than 60 troops by the Australian Front Army, can no longer be hidden from the ears of the headquarters, it is said.His Majesty the Emperor was furious about this, and ordered the General Staff of the base camp to intervene in the Australian war, if necessary.Can replace the command of Genzaburo Ito, commander of the Australian Front.

Now, in front of General Ito, there is an order from the General Staff of the base camp. "Shocked to hear that the Imperial Army troops have been defeated one after another by the China Independent Division in the Australian battlefield. The loss of troops is serious, and His Majesty the Emperor is furious. Extremely disappointed!"

"Now the General Staff of the base camp has been authorized to intervene in the Australian war. However, after careful consideration by the Ministry of War and the General Staff, they will not directly intervene in the command of the Australian battlefield for the time being. The commander of the Australian Front Army, Ito Gensaburo, will change Australia within a month. On the battlefield, the passive situation of the Imperial Army troops!"

"There is still a third batch of Italian equipment in the base camp, which will arrive in Australia one after another to strengthen your department's strength. In addition, according to His Majesty's order, the base camp is already considering candidates for the new commander of the Imperial Australian Front Army!"

The edict came to an abrupt end here, but the meaning was very clear. General Ito was only given one month. By that time, the disadvantage of the imperial army in the Australian battlefield had not been changed. Sorry, the base camp will have to be replaced.

Facing such an aggressive edict from the headquarters, General Ito has no temper at all. He knows that his work is too poor. The empire spared no effort to purchase a large number of Italian heavy equipment, and even transferred all overseas troops to the Australian battlefield. , but failed one after another, losing more than 60 people. Facing reprimands, he was indisputable and had no face to defend himself.

General Ito, who was in a state of desperation, locked himself in the room, racked his brains for a day, but failed to come up with a charter. In desperation, he took the chief of staff of the headquarters, Major General Akutagawa, to pick a piece of paper from the desert. The deputy chief of staff, Major General Yoshitake Tohachiro, found his office to discuss countermeasures.

General Ito told the two chiefs of staff all about his anxiety about thinking hard, and both of them fell silent for a while, because the troops in their hands were insufficient, and even though they had thousands of clever plans in their minds, they were unable to use them.

Deputy Chief of Staff Ji Wu, who is still very weak, after all, he is a person who has led soldiers and suffered a lot in the hands of the independent division. Did he learn a lot of wisdom? He was calm and thought for a long time. Commander and Chief of Staff, according to the personal opinion of the department, for the current plan, only by changing the offensive posture to full-line defense, shrinking and concentrating troops, and sticking to the northern part of Australia will the war in Australia turn for the better!"

Both General Ito and Chief of Staff Akutagawa put down their airs and asked shamelessly, "Kun Yoshitake, tell me more specifically?"

Major General Jiwu was also not modest, saying: "All the troops on the eastern front will be withdrawn to the line from Townsville to Cloncurry, and the troops on the central battlefield will be shrunk to the line from Bradshaw to Walkop. In this way, they will be concentrated on the Australian battlefield." , The empire has more than one million troops, forming an arc-shaped defense line, conducting defense across the board, fighting against the independent division of China to consume, such a large-scale decisive battle in Australia, the Chinese will consume not only soldiers, but also a huge amount of logistics supplies!"

"Then, truthfully report the situation on the Australian battlefield to the base camp, and ask the base camp to issue an order to dispatch the joint fleet to quickly return to the northern waters of Australia to ensure the safety of our rear. Commander and chief of staff, don't forget, On Java Island and Irian Island opposite to the north of Australia, there are two field regiments of the China Independent Division, with a strength of more than [-] troops, once they cross the sea and go south, the consequences will be disastrous!"

The words of Deputy Chief of Staff Yoshitake made General Ito and Chief of Staff Akutagawa suddenly feel bright. Under the current crisis situation in the Australian battlefield, shrinking troops and conducting full-line defense is an appropriate countermeasure.

Chief of Staff Akutagawa seemed to have a flash of inspiration, and said: "By the way, Yoshitake-kun didn't mention the United Fleet, but I forgot that I had dealt with the Chief of Staff of the United Fleet, General Matsuda, before General Yamamoto took a leave of absence due to illness." , He revealed to me that General Yamamoto once made a plan to go west to the East Indian Ocean!"

"The core purpose of this plan is to use the powerful strength of the combined fleet to cut off the maritime logistics supply line of the Chinese Independent Division's troops on the Australian battlefield. This plan is successful, and for us, all stressful crises can be easily resolved!"

"Such a good plan, why didn't the United Fleet implement it?" Admiral Ito seemed to see the hope of reversing the situation in the Australian battlefield, his eyes lit up and he asked in puzzlement.

Chief of Staff Akutagawa smiled wryly, and explained: "After the plan was formulated, it happened that General Yamamoto returned home due to illness. General Nagumo, who took over as commander of the United Fleet, was not interested in this plan, so he shelved it!"

"It's that old bastard Nagumo Chuichi again!" Admiral Ito scolded through gritted teeth, "Akutagawa-kun, Yoshitake-kun, do you understand what the combined fleet is doing now?"

Akutagawa and Yoshitake looked at each other and shook their heads with wry smiles on their faces. General Ito sighed, not concealing his contempt for Nagumo Chuichi, and said, "Nagumo Chuichi is mediocre in talent and has no heart. It is even more intolerant, self-willed, rigid-minded, without a sense of the overall situation, and will definitely miss the combined fleet."

"Forget it, just as Yoshitake-kun said, send a telegram to the base camp! I, Gensaburo Ito, can't command Nagumo Chuichi, the base camp and the Navy Command should be able to command!"

Admiral Nagumo Tadashi, the commander of the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy, who was belittled to nothing by Admiral Ito, is currently commanding the main force of the combined fleet with great interest, entering the Banda Sea, preparing to pass through the Maluku Strait and enter the Pacific Ocean. In the waters of the archipelago, intercept and kill the independent division fleet that took advantage.

According to Admiral Nagumo Tadashi's plan, the Fifth and Sixth Fleets of the Combined Fleet will depart from the northern waters of Australia and head to the waters of the Solomon Islands, chasing after the independent division fleet returning north, commanding the main force of the Combined Fleet and intercepting them in front. After this battle, there will be no fleet for the Chinese!

Through this battle, firstly, you can avenge the Fourth Fleet and shut up the upper and lower mouths, and secondly, you can establish your own prestige. The shadow of General Yamamoto is everywhere in the United Fleet. This feeling, It made General Nan Yunzhong very uncomfortable.

The huge warship group of the Japanese Navy's joint fleet entered the Banda Sea, but could not escape the eyes of the independent division's reconnaissance plane. The commander of the Southern Flying Group, who set up a front-line headquarters in Sulawesi, received information from the reconnaissance plane. Afterwards, it was like seeing big pieces of fat floating in the sea, drooling wildly.

A few months ago, the fleet of the Southern Flying Group under the command of Le Yiqin and the carrier-based fleet of the United Fleet under the command of Yamamoto 56 fought for three days. In the inland sea of ​​the Pacific Islands, and within the combat radius of the field airport fleets of the Southern Flight Group, you know that the opportunity is coming!

"Okay! Nanyun Zhongyi, an old devil, hasn't suffered from our Southern Aviation Group yet, so he sent it to his door to beg for it! We don't take advantage of it, he's a fool, chief of staff, order the combat troops at the field airports to go to the airport immediately The field airports of Sulawesi and Kalimantan are assembled and ready for a big fight!" Le Yiqin rubbed her big hands, grinning from ear to ear, and said to Chief of Staff He Zhijun.

"Commander, this is the main force of two-thirds of the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy. How are you going to fight?" He Zhijun asked.

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