Iron Cross

"Sir, the base camp called back and agreed to our strategic adjustment, requiring us to quickly capture Ceylon Island and establish a reliable forward base." Caolu Renyi said nothing, but in his heart he was most afraid that the base camp would be stuck. After receiving the agreement, I was very happy to call him back, but at the same time, I secretly told myself that it was too far away from the vision and strategy of the commander, and that this chief of staff was not qualified.

The other generals were also overjoyed. Only Horikichi nodded slightly, as if he had everything under control, and asked calmly: "What troops will the Army send?"

"General Yamashita Tomon came to Ceylon as the commander of the Indian dispatched army. The first batch of troops consisted of 7 army divisions, including 4 ordinary infantry divisions, 1 tank division, and 2 flying divisions; the navy agreed to reinforce Four land-based aviation groups and 3,000 marines were mobilized from the direction of Tainan and Indochina; all fleets transporting the army departed from the Philippines. The Military Command ordered us to send a capable fleet to provide cover; after the army arrived on the island, we formed a coalition for the Indian campaign. The combat command, jointly participated by the army, navy and the German side, is temporarily under your full responsibility. All frontline combat orders are decided by this command. The base camp is not remotely controlled. The command structure will be adjusted when the second phase of the campaign against the Indian mainland is launched. ...Huh..." Kusaka Renichi was a little surprised at the end, "The person who signed the order from the Navy was not the chief of the Military Command Department, but the deputy commander, General Koga Mine."

Horikichi smiled coldly: "Minister Yamamoto sent me a telegram. Prince Fushimi Miyahiro Kyoto is ill and hospitalized. The deputy minister will perform his duties on his behalf."

Everyone immediately understood from his expression: something unknown must have happened to the top management in Tokyo. Since the base camp didn't tell them, they were happy to pretend to be confused. It would be best if no one pointed out anything.

"Strange, why can the Army dispatch so many divisions at once? Do they have so many ships?" Ryunosuke Kusaka asked.

"We don't need so many ships...the army divisions basically don't carry any heavy equipment except light weapons." Kusaka Renyi said with a smile, "The army has made a good calculation and uses the equipment we brought from Germany."

"Call back to the base camp. If starting from the Philippines, it is recommended that Mikawa Junichi's 8th Fleet escort to the vicinity of the Andaman Islands, and then our fleet will be responsible for the response." Horitiyoshi looked at the chart, "Go to Indochina, the South China Sea, and Singapore. Safety can be guaranteed, the focus is on anti-submarine warfare at night, and more escort aircraft carriers must be dispatched.”

"If the Philippine Army is used, it will take them at least 15 days to reach Ceylon. We still have enough time to fight. You can make the attack plan more detailed and specific, and set the time more generously. At the same time, this time it is Japan and Germany. There may be problems in coordination in joint operations. You must think more about the difficulties and not underestimate the enemy. "Don't think that it is easy for us to attack Madagascar and that it is equally easy to attack Ceylon." India has had a relatively complete defense system in Ceylon for many years, which is not comparable to that of a French colony like Madagascar, which took over midway.”

"A combat order is now issued: The artillery fleet, commanded by Lieutenant General Kondo Nobutake, will launch an artillery attack on Colombo on the morning of the 24th. The firepower will cover the landing of the German army. Pay attention to protecting the port facilities during the artillery attack. Our army will make use of it for subsequent landings; Tsukahara 24 The third Lieutenant General commanded the mobile fleet to be responsible for the central cover. At dawn on the 24th, he first attacked the British Army Airport on Ceylon Island to paralyze the enemy's counterattack capabilities and take into account sea defense; Lieutenant General Kurita Takeo commanded the escort fleet to protect the transport fleet not participating in the war. , continue to stay in the Maldives..." Caolu Renyi read out the combat order.

"Hai!" All the generals stood up together to accept the order.

"Before the battle begins, conduct reconnaissance work on the surrounding sea areas to be prepared for the sudden appearance of the enemy fleet. No matter which direction the enemy fleet appears, it will bring unnecessary losses to us." Hortiyoshi repeatedly warned, "Be prepared for the sudden appearance of the enemy fleet in Colombo and Trincomalee." The port must be closely monitored, and if an enemy warship is discovered, it must be sunk immediately and no one can escape.”

"I will obey your commander's instructions."

Horikichi had completely different considerations about the Indian attack. He was not as optimistic as the Military Command or the Army, believing that as soon as the army and navy were dispatched, the British would avalanche. He believed that there were three major problems in the Indian attack. Based on these variables, he determined the strategy of taking Ceylon first and then attacking India, and he did not hesitate to push it forward with this behavior that was almost "subjugating the top":

The first is the issue of the combat effectiveness of the British and Indian troops. It can be seen from the battle in the direction of Burma that when they first attacked Yangon, the British combat effectiveness was very poor. However, the closer they got to India, the longer the Japanese supply line was stretched, and the more difficult the battle became. For example, Rushing to attack Assam from the direction of Myanmar, the navy could not use its strength at all and was afraid of many problems, so he found another way. Instead of attacking from the direction of Myanmar, he chose to attack Ceylon first and advance from south to north to reduce the overall pressure;

The second is the issue of the US fleet. The scope of the Pacific Fleet's activities has always been on the Australian and New Zealand front lines. If they suddenly come when the fighting on the front is the most intense, even if they do not fight the main battle, they will be unbearable and destroy and cut off Japan's supply lines. Therefore, they must first Ceylon has stockpiled enough military supplies, and the fleet happens to have a huge transport fleet in hand. If they return to the mainland first and then attack India, the American fleet may be ambush in any corner;

The third issue is the entry of Chinese troops into India. The Army reported that there are at least 30 Chinese divisions in the direction of Yunnan, and there are Indian troops stationed in India. Although Sino-Japanese relations are now easing, he does not think that China will completely sit idly by and attack northern India first. (Towards Kolkata and Chittagong) will attract attacks from multiple parties. If we attack South India first, things will be much easier accordingly.

Just as the Combined Fleet was gearing up and preparing for a big fight, the two theaters of the United States, the Southwest Pacific and the Pacific, were holding a joint military meeting. The meeting was chaired by Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Theater Nimitz. Although he did not participate in the Joint Chiefs of Staff held just two days ago, meeting, but General Kim telegraphed the key points of the meeting and asked him to immediately deploy follow-up operations.

In the division of the U.S. military system, the Far East is mainly divided into four theaters: the first is the China Theater; the second is the China-Burma-India Theater (in the direction of Yunnan, China, Myanmar, and India); the third is the Pacific Theater, which is responsible for the central and northern lines of the Pacific; the fourth is the China-Burma-India Theater. The Southwest Pacific Theater is responsible for the central and southern lines of the Pacific (including Australia and New Zealand). The operations of the two Pacific Theaters overlap in scope, and the army and navy forces that can be mobilized are actually the same system, so it is completely acceptable to regard them as one theater. It was just that neither the army nor the navy wanted the other general to serve as commander-in-chief and he was relegated to the deputy position. Two theaters were deliberately drawn up, one headed by Nimitz and the other headed by MacArthur.

This situation also exists in the China-Burma-India Theater. This theater is also affiliated with the Southeast Asia Theater. Mountbatten serves as the commander-in-chief. He claims to be guided by China-Burma-India, but in fact he does his own thing. Even Stilwell has a deep headache for the British. Not to mention the Chinese military.

"Gentlemen, I have two pieces of news for you, one good news and one bad news."

"Let me tell you the good news first, to boost morale." Halsey spoke first.

"The good news is that Washington has decided to send us an additional Independence-class light aircraft carrier and several auxiliary warships to strengthen the fleet. The warships are scheduled to set off in three days; the bad news is that the Japanese fleet has returned to the Far East. Washington infers that we will have a big battle in the future. trouble……"

"We already know the bad news." Halsey sighed. "The British informed: The Japanese have occupied the Maldives. In order to avoid a head-on collision with them, I sent the ship responsible for transporting aircraft and other supplies to India. The team is hiding in Trincomalee Harbor on the Island of Ceylon, waiting for these locusts to pass through before we come out.”

"Will they attack Australia?" MacArthur asked, holding his pipe in his mouth. "If so, Washington will have to ask for a few more army divisions and some army aviation units."

"The Army and Army Aviation should be adding reinforcements later, but the Joint Chiefs of Staff judged that they should not attack Australia and New Zealand. They may attack India." Nimitz paused, "It may also be a counterattack in the direction of Solomon. Islands, such as Guadalcanal, Munda, Bougainville, etc.”

"Let them come, I am confident to hold them." MacArthur was very confident.

But Major General Richard Sutherland, Chief of Staff of the Southwest Pacific Theater, heard a different logic: "Are they crazy? They are stuck in the quagmire on the Chinese battlefield, and they have to mobilize troops to attack India. How many troops does Japan have? "

"You are right. But the Japanese are not crazy. They have shrunk on the Chinese battlefield. According to the observed intelligence, Japan has withdrawn from at least 300,000 square kilometers of land in China and freed up 100,000-150,000 troops." Nimi Ci said worriedly, "These troops will soon become the vanguard of the attack on India."

Major General George Churchill Kenny, commander of the Army Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific Theater, suddenly realized: "No wonder General Arnold kept asking us to replenish aircraft on the hump route some time ago, even at the expense of Australia's demand. It turns out that this is what happened."

"How much did you make up?"

"Thirty-four C-47s, 16 C-86s converted from B-24s, and nine C-46s filled the Borg, some of which had to be kept in parts. We only got 24 ourselves. The B-29 bomber is newly produced by Boeing, but the aircraft is very good, better than the B-17, and the boys of the 5th Air Force like it very much.”

"You may not have to worry about the B-29 in the future. The president has decided to let Boeing focus on supplying the Australian and New Zealand theaters." Nimitz looked sad when he said this.

"What's wrong? You sound unhappy? Besides, shouldn't this first ensure the needs of the 8th Air Force?"

"No need." Nimitz shook his head. "Last time I had a meeting in Washington, I learned that the Germans dispatched jet fighters, and the losses increased sharply. In retaliation for the attack on New York, the 8th Air Force organized an attack on Berlin. The loss rate was as high as 85%, and the president was forced to stop the strategic bombing of Germany. "

Kenny said in surprise: "85%? Did you say the opposite? 15% of the planes failed to return?"

"I'm not saying the opposite." Nimitz shook his head. "Only 15% of the planes returned, and many of them were injured."

MacArthur was so shocked that he almost dropped his pipe, and the venue was deathly silent...