afterglow

Chapter 437 Breaking through the Torres Strait; Lexington, full-deck attack!

November 13th, Beijing.

The soft sunshine shines on the earth, but the winter sun does not spread much warmth, and it is still cool even at noon.

The meeting lasted for more than two hours and all parties finally reached an agreement. There were not many participants, but they were all the core people of Ming Dynasty.

At first, Lin Xi, Xia Jinbo, Song Zhongkai and others did not agree with continuing to capture Cairns and Townsville, but the opponents finally relented.

If the Ming army achieves greater results in the next game at sea, they will take advantage of the situation and send troops to northeastern Australia.

Otherwise, it stops at Moresby.

The results are obvious. The strategies of both China and the United States will depend on the naval battle that may break out next.

After the meeting, Zhou Changfeng and Song Zhongkai walked together.

"The enemy's situation is unclear, and it is still unclear how the US fleet will be deployed, but they will either stand still or reinforce Papua." The latter is very confident in the conspiracy of the strategic deployment.

The Ming army also considered the situation where the US military would directly lift the table and take the initiative to attack in a roundabout way unexpectedly, so it deployed more than a dozen submarines along the North Pacific for staggered patrols.

The seaplane carrier Weishan Lake was also ordered to go to the front line of Wake Island to perform long-range security missions.

Zhou Changfeng pondered: "But considering that standing still is too passive, this possibility is very low, so... there is a high probability that the fleet will be sent to the Southwest Pacific."

"That's probably it. Just wait, there's no rush."

"The fleet to replenish troops and equipment will arrive in Australia in two days. It's almost time for me to leave."

A merchant fleet loaded with weapons, supplies, and new recruits set off from Fuzhou more than half a month ago. In a few days, it will arrive in Darwin to replenish the 1st Marine Brigade and the 27th Division.

If nothing else goes wrong, the second phase of the war will start as planned, on the first day of December.

He came in a hurry and left in a hurry. Although no one rushed him, Zhou Changfeng only stayed at home for two more days.

He found that he had become a little homesick without realizing it, but he really had no time to stay in the gentle hometown of his hometown.

These days, the Third Marine Brigade, which had rested on Truk Island, set off again and headed straight for New Britain and the Solomon Islands.

Under the cover of our own air force, the landing fleet passed through the Bismarck Sea, and then divided into two groups, heading straight to Rabaul, the port city of New Britain Island, and to Tulagi Island, which has an excellent anchorage in the Solomon Islands.

The Australian army stationed at Rabaul urgently mobilized two battalions of the 7th Infantry Brigade - the Stanley Regiment (Batalion) and the Lower Darling River Regiment (Batalion).

More than 1,100 Australian troops and more than 500 militiamen became the entire defense force of Rabaul. Only three days later, the Ming fleet appeared in the sea off Rabaul.

Although the preparation time was too short and they did not have time to build a complete defensive position system, they still resisted tenaciously.

Due to lagging intelligence, the Third Marine Brigade did not know that the Australian army had rushed a batch of troops to reinforce Rabaul, so they chose to divide their troops into two groups to save time.

Therefore, the actual participating troops of the Third Marine Brigade only have one regiment and other directly affiliated troops, and the strength advantage is not much.

Only after the battle started did the officers and soldiers realize that something was wrong - this was completely different from what the intelligence said, "There was a lack of guards and there was nothing to be afraid of"!

The two sides fought fiercely for two days and two nights, and the exhausted Marine officers and soldiers smashed most of the Australian army's positions.

In the end, the remaining more than 600 Australian troops and militiamen were forced to abandon Rabaul and retreat southwest into the Snivet Mountains...

News that the Ming army was advancing vigorously on all fronts was continuously sent back to the Pacific Fleet headquarters, and the staff seemed to be a little numb.

"This is not a good situation and we need a win, even a small tactical win."

General Hasband Kimmel was very worried about this. Even though everyone knew that the Ming army was now in a strategic offensive posture and it was normal to win repeated battles, people's confidence gradually decreased.

Ming Dynasty's strategic deployment is difficult to resolve, and the conspiracy makes Hasben sleepless and sleepless - the TF-12 fleet that settles for second best is inherently unreasonable. Knowing that there are tigers in the mountains, and going to the tiger mountains, it is likely to end up in the southwest Pacific. Fallen into the sand.

So what to do? It must meet both political needs and military needs.

Although the proposal for a long-range surprise attack was completely rejected, Hasband was still working within his own power these days to try to regain the initiative in the war.

"Our ships are not a fleet, they must move and go to the sea!"

Holding a slender stick in hand, Hasband showed off his latest idea to get the best of both worlds.

"We will not pay attention to TF-12 and let them go. Battleships and aircraft carriers of the Pacific Fleet form two task forces and head towards Wake Island to attract the enemy's attention."

"A fleet of seven to eight battleships will continue to operate in the waters off Wake Island, where enemy submarines and aircraft will surely detect it, which will allow their main fleet to remain on Guam."

"The fleet consisting of all three aircraft carriers also headed for Wake Island in the early stage. After its whereabouts were exposed, it immediately adjusted its course and passed southward through the Marshall Islands and stood by in the Gilbert Islands."

"The 5th and 7th Marine Regiments are already on standby in Hawaii. We have reason to believe that the enemy will try to capture the Gilbert Islands next, so it is necessary to deploy the Marines there."

Admiral Hasband believed that it should not be limited to pure defense, but must try certain counterattacks to disrupt the opponent's plan.

He adopted the proposal of several staff officers - under the cover of an aircraft carrier formation, transport marines to the Solomon Islands to recapture the important Tulagi Island.

Regardless of whether the operation of the TF-12 fleet goes smoothly, this counterattack will be carried out because the Ming army's landing task force here is not enough to counter a task force composed of three aircraft carriers.

However, if the main fleet of the Ming army sees through this false shot to lure the enemy and rushes to the southwest Pacific, then the counterattack will be cancelled.

The plan was approved a few days later as it did not violate the principles required by President Franklin.

From then until the end of the month, no large-scale conflicts occurred in the vast Pacific Ocean. Only submarines and seaplanes reported their respective results from time to time.

Throughout November, Ming submarines sank 26 U.S. and Australian merchant ships, and Ming seaplanes sank 2 submarines. U.S. submarines also sank 7 Ming, Lan, and North Korea merchant ships, and anti-submarine units sank 3 submarines.

In Darwin, the merchant fleet arriving at the port unloaded thousands of tons of supplies. The 1st Marine Brigade received 300 supplementary troops, and the 27th Division received 700 troops.

The Yangbai hospital ship accompanying the landing task force had previously been full of beds, but now many wounded are gradually recovering and returning to their respective units.

The 1st Marine Brigade has almost returned to full strength, but the 27th Division, which suffered heavy losses, is still far from recovering, and it is expected to take more than a month.

Therefore, the second phase of the operation was completed by the 12th Division and the 1st Marine Brigade. The 7th Division also set aside the 27th Infantry Regiment on standby, ready to take over the operation at any time. December , :, Darwin.

The day of setting sail arrived unknowingly. Those veterans who had been washed by the flames of war seemed to have forgotten the battle of blood and fire that would take place later. Most of them were playing cards, chatting, and bragging. Only the new recruits were still uneasy.

On the battleship Yuanfeng, which arrived not long ago and is now used as the flagship of the landing fleet, the generals were discussing the latest intelligence, and the atmosphere was a bit tense.

"...Notices sent from the mainland, a small part of the intercepted telegrams were interpreted, and there was not much useful information. Based on the report sent back by the submarine four days ago, it is clear that the enemy fleet is detouring from the south of the Papua Peninsula." An intelligence officer stated.

Zhou Changfeng stared at the map and asked: "Uh... it seems that they are indeed coming towards us. What is the fleet's plan?"

Liu Zaiyao, chief officer of the landing fleet and captain of the Yuanfeng, replied: "Most of the enemy's Pacific Fleet is still cruising near Wake Island. It is not clear whether it plans to attack the Mariana Islands. Xia Jinbo decided to wait and see for a while."

Zhou Changfeng hesitated for a few seconds, "Is it necessary to postpone the landing?"

"There is no need to be so cautious," Liu Zaiyao said without hesitation: "The enemy fleet is not large in size, and we have no disadvantage in either air warfare or surface warfare."

The Ming army already knew the size of the TF-12 fleet. Although it misjudged the model of the battleship, it was harmless.

After some weighing, everyone finally agreed to proceed.

Shortly after the fleet set sail, a Royal Australian Navy seaplane from Moresby discovered its whereabouts and immediately sent back a telegram.

Because they did not belong to the same sequence, the news was first conveyed to the Southwest Pacific Command and then reached the hands of Major General Frank Fletcher.

“在阿拉弗拉海，10节航速，大约20艘运输船、3艘巡洋舰、10艘驱逐舰、1艘航空母舰……长官，中國舰队会在51小时后穿过托雷斯海峡。”

In the Maryland's situation room, the staff leaned on the glass table of the chart table and calculated the future situation in a few clicks.

【Picture】

Should it be intercepted directly in the Strait, or should it be intercepted in the Gulf of Papua?

After a moment of thinking, Major General Frank said loudly: "Drive them back right there (in the strait)."

Marshal Mai in Melbourne was very excited and claimed that anything that can fly should participate in the air raids.

依照他的指示，西南太平洋司令部大致拟订了空袭计划，并电告弗兰克少将——12月3日下午将派出15~20架B-17和B-18轰炸机对试图通过托雷斯海峡的明军舰队实施打击。

Two days and two nights passed quietly unknowingly, and at 12:3 on December 14, the weather was fine.

On the flight deck of the Tianshi Zuoyuan aircraft carrier, six Type 37 carrier-based fighter jets and four Type 37 carrier-based dive bombers performing reconnaissance missions were ready to take off.

When performing search and attack missions, the carrier-based dive bomber will only carry one 250kg aerial bomb, which reduces weight and increases range.

The Third Marine Brigade captured Rabaul after a bitter battle, and the airport there has been repaired. The reconnaissance aircraft taking off from there were enough to cover the entire New Guinea and the Gulf of Papua, but Zhu Yuanwei, the captain of the Tianshi Zuoyuan, decided to release his reconnaissance force.

Four dive bombers were ordered to search within a range of approximately 300 kilometers from northeast to due east; six fighter jets circled over the fleet to perform air defense warning missions.

Shortly afterwards, the light cruisers Qiantangjiang and Xiangjiang also ejected a seaplane each.

At 15:38 that day, an aircraft belonging to the "Nanhai" torpedo fleet of the Tianshi Zuoyuan discovered eight warships on the sea in the southeast direction of the Gulf of Papua.

"The coordinates are 10°6' south latitude and 146°2' east longitude. The enemy's invading fleet has been confirmed. The enemy fleet includes two battleships and one heavy cruiser. The speed is 2 knots and the heading is 1 degrees."

Captain Zhu Yuanwei was very excited after learning about it, and immediately called Liu Zaiyao to ask.

The two have the same military rank and similar qualifications, but the latter is the chief officer of the fleet, and the former does not dare to speak for himself.

Letting the battleship captain serve as the commander also shows that the nature of this fleet is not centered on aircraft carrier strikes. The mission of the Tianshi Zuoyuan is only to hold up an air defense umbrella for the fleet.

The enemy discovered it first. What a good opportunity. Should we directly launch an air strike?

"No!" Liu Zaiyao simply rejected the request for an attack. "I haven't even seen the aircraft carrier. What's the rush?"

The TF-12.1 fleet with the Lexington as its core was now farther east and had not been discovered by the Ming army aircraft.

A quarter of an hour later, the US-Australian coalition aviation force taking off from Moresby flew over the Ming Army's landing fleet, trying to bomb the invading enemies who were about to cross the strait.

However, the six carrier-based fighter jets of the Tianshi Zuoyuan were able to disperse the formation of these bombers. The fleet was also full of firepower. The sky was instantly covered by artillery fire, and the white clouds seemed to be contaminated by black and gray smoke. .

As the aerial bombs fell, towering water columns splashed up, but the sporadic horizontal bombing had no accuracy at all.

Looking down from the sky, you can see that Ming warships are making large maneuvers, and dozens of snake-shaped tracks are drawn on the sea.

"Report! The freighter Ningchen was hit by a bullet and caught fire in the rear section. The fire is controllable..."

The damage caused by the attack by the land-based aviation force was very slight. Just as the adjutant was reporting, suddenly a soldier shouted loudly: "Zuo Yuan sent a message saying that an enemy aircraft carrier was found, which is another enemy fleet!"

At the same time, 147km east of the Torres Strait...

It was discovered that a Type 12.1 carrier-based dive bomber of the TF-4 fleet was accelerating away. It discovered the fleet and tried to follow it quietly, but was discovered by two patrolling FF Wildcat fighters.

At this time, Captain Frederick Sherman, the captain of the Lexington, ordered the entire ship to turn to the windward direction and release all torpedo planes and dive bombers on the deck.

"Now it's time! Let's go, guys!"

【Picture】

The pilots who were gearing up and eager to try cheered and closed their canopies, waiting patiently for the huge aircraft carrier to change course.

Two minutes later, the eight F4F fighters at the front accelerated to take off one after another, followed by twenty-one SB1000U Vindicator dive bombers carrying 2 pounds of aerial bombs.

Finally it was the turn of the sixteen TBD Devastator torpedo bombers - they were bulky and needed as long a rolling distance as possible.

A standard full-deck attack was completed like clouds and flowing water. The formation of more than 40 carrier-based aircraft just headed towards the west sky, and time disappeared from sight...

(End of this chapter)