Age of Rebirth

The content of the telegram is very simple, but the identity of the person who sent the telegram is extremely important. The Minister of the Navy, Admiral Nagano Shuzan, the well-deserved head of the Imperial Navy, is in charge. The content of the telegram is, "Yamamoto-kun, in recent days , the China Division troops launched a fierce communist offensive on various island battlefields in the Southwest Pacific, and more than [-] Imperial Army soldiers are at stake, so there is no need to talk about the stakes during the period!"

"Yamamoto-kun is a smart man who knows what to do. Please remember that His Majesty the Emperor is very concerned about this matter. In the future, the navy will dominate the Southwest Pacific battlefield, and even the Australian battlefield, and it is more likely to be Yamamoto-kun!"

After reading the telegram, General Yamamoto's pupils shrank into a needle-like shape. This simple telegram revealed too much information. On the battlefields of the islands in the Southwest Pacific, the Imperial Army is about to face annihilation. His Majesty the Emperor very much Concerned, no, it should be said to be very worried.

In this way, the United Fleet joined the Southwest Pacific battlefield at the right time, not only to escort the retreating army, but it is very likely to change the form of the imperial army that is now in danger. With the power of the navy, it will not only rescue the army, but also change the situation on the battlefield. All of this, It will be seen in the eyes of His Majesty the Emperor who is paying attention to the battle situation.

Your Excellency Nagano’s action can be called ingenious. More importantly, the information revealed in the telegram is in charge of the Southwest Pacific battlefield, and even the overall situation of the Australian battlefield. Doesn’t it mean that he is very likely to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Empire’s Southwest Pacific battlefield in the future? Commander's Possibility!

General Yamamoto knew that the center of gravity of the empire's strategy would shift to the Australian continent, and that the Australian continent would become a place where the empire would gather a large number of troops. The only way to draw troops from the North American battlefield was to draw them from the North American battlefield.Doesn't that mean that the troops that he commanded before belong to him again.That Yanzaburo Ito, who stared at the throne of the commander of the Imperial North American Combat Command, was salivating and impatient.The military power has shrunk greatly, and it has become an empty shelf!

If we say, who is the general that General Yamamoto hates the most in the imperial world, General Ito Yanzaburo has become the No. 1 choice without hesitation. General Yamamoto will never forget it.Every time I recall it, I feel sad and grit my teeth.

Ito Yansaburo thought that after winning the throne of the commander of the Empire's North American operations, he would have the military power in his hands. Who knows that Feng Shui will turn around. In the end, the number of troops that that bastard Ito can command is only 30 to [-], maybe even less .

General Yamamoto was so happy that he almost sang the folk songs of his hometown for the imperial army troops evacuated to Australia.The mood of the escort is more urgent than ever, that is the army that I will command!

General Yamamoto was full of Tongtai.Said to Vice Admiral Matsuda, chief of staff of the fleet: "Matsuda-kun, order the fleet to sail at full speed to the waters of the Banda Sea, the Java Sea, and the Arafura Sea. At the same time, notify the army units on each island that they can board the ship and evacuate immediately!"

However, Lieutenant General Matsuda was not as relaxed as he was. He reminded: "Commander, the fleet has rushed to the escort waters. It will take two days at the fastest. If the army troop carrier forms up, it will be intercepted by the Chinese fleet again. All the responsibilities. But you have to bear it all!"

"The Chinese fleet probably fled after hearing the news!" Admiral Yamamoto said contemptuously: "Besides, I hope that the commander of the Chinese fleet will be more greedy and miss the chance of this attack, which is also their last chance. For this reason, even if the army pays some price, it is worth it, and the problem can be solved once and for all!"

Lieutenant General Matsuda couldn't help shivering. After following General Yamamoto for many years, he immediately understood the commander's intentions. On the Southwest Pacific battlefield, the army troop carrier formations eager to withdraw to Australia were only very good bait. Fleet, regard it as the target of interception, and the combined fleet will arrive immediately, and then there will be an asymmetrical naval battle. With the powerful force of the combined fleet, the entire Chinese fleet will definitely be wiped out.

However, the price of this bait is too high. At least there will be more than 18 Imperial Army soldiers who will pay the price with their lives. Some time ago, more than [-] Imperial Army soldiers were buried in the sea. A living example, the troop carrier formation without warship escort is a living target in front of the Chinese warship!

Lieutenant General Matsuda knew that once General Yamamoto made a decision, he could rarely change it. He moved his lips a few times, and swallowed the words that came to his lips. However, within the scope of his authority, he still did it. With the utmost effort, in the telegrams to the army units on each island, the boarding time was stipulated, which was delayed by 36 hours, which is a day and a half.

The combined fleet of the Japanese Navy, with hundreds of warships, sailed away from the Honiara base in a mighty manner, and headed straight to various waters of the Southwest Pacific battlefield with a murderous look.

In the waters of the Java Sea, an aircraft carrier directly under the division fleet and more than ten warships were sailing on the sea. The commander, Lieutenant General Tang Qiuquan, slowly put down the telegram from the division and began to meditate.

The combined fleet of the Japanese Navy is not good at coming. Qiuquan knows himself. With the current strength of the fleet, he is not the opponent of Yamamoto 56 at all. To put it bluntly, if it is a naval battle with a head-to-head battle, I am afraid that even one round will be defeated. I can't stand it anymore, I don't have the capital to fight head-to-head with the Japanese Navy.

Although the current position of the fleet is very favorable, it just strangles the main throats of the Japanese troops withdrawing to Australia. The main reason is that the Japanese troop carriers dare to appear on the sea everywhere. .

If you give up, according to the order of the division, avoid the edge for the time being, Qiuquan is reluctant to give up, but still makes a decision, and said to the fleet chief of staff, Rear Admiral Xin Xiguo: "Xiguo, as ordered by the fleet headquarters, all squadrons , Immediately stop the action of intercepting and killing the Japanese troop carrier formation, quickly gather at the Phnom Penh base in the Gulf of Thailand, and emphasize that the commanders of each squadron must not indulge in war for various reasons, and must unconditionally implement the orders of the headquarters!"

After thinking for a while, Xin Xiguo suggested: "Commander, it is necessary for the fleet to temporarily evade the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy. However, can you consider that each squadron will move two days later? Fighting opportunities are rare!"

Seeing Tang Qiuquan's silence, Xin Xiguo went on to say: "In terms of the time it takes for the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy to leave the Honiara base in the Solomon Islands, it will take more than two days to reach its escorting waters at the fastest. On the battlefields of various islands, we The attacking corps is very fierce, and the Japanese army can't hold on. Within these two days, there will definitely be a large number of Japanese troops, regardless of our interception and killing at sea, and begin to retreat!"

"The reason is very simple. The news that the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy is coming, on the one hand, will give the Japanese troops retreating with considerable confidence. On the other hand, if the Japanese army sticks to the current assembly point, the end result can only be annihilation of the entire army. , if we start to retreat, there may be a glimmer of life, and there is nothing better than drinking poison to quench thirst!"

After Xin Xiguo finished his well-founded words, a trace of hesitation and reluctance flashed in Tang Qiuquan's eyes, and then he shook his head and said, "Xiguo, your analysis is very reasonable, but we can't pin our hopes on Possibly above!"

"In the order, the division commander repeatedly emphasized that avoiding the edge may be because he is worried about us and cannot let go of the favorable position in front of him, but have you ever thought about it? Once our fleet is entangled by the Japanese Navy's joint fleet, what will happen? The whole army will be wiped out Ah, we didn't take the navy that the division commander had accumulated so hard to risk, so don't hesitate to issue orders to the squadrons immediately!"

Xin Xiguo sighed regretfully, and muttered as he walked, "What a pity, what a great opportunity!"

The order of the Division Fleet Headquarters was too sudden and incomprehensible to the commanders of the various squadrons. Colonel Tu Guoxi, the commander of the third squadron, raised the telegram in his hand suspiciously, stared at the director of communications and said: " Are you sure, this is an order from the Fleet Headquarters? Could it be that your communications department made a mistake? How can there be any reason for a good fight to be suddenly assembled at the Phnom Penh base? Where are the little devils?"

The Director of Communications was very aggrieved, "Commander, you don't have to say that, the order of the Fleet Command, do I dare to make a mistake?"

"Ah!" Tu Guoxi stomped his feet heavily, and said to the chief of staff: "Order, the fleet will immediately assemble at the Phnom Penh base in the Gulf of Thailand!"

The Chief of Staff of the Third Squadron, when he left the command cabin, he heard Tu Guoxi muttering, "It's a pity, where else can I find thousands of opportunities to kill the little devils?"

Tang Qiuquan's decision was rational and correct. If the fleet was greedy for the opportunity of a large number of ferocious Japanese troops, according to the report of Lieutenant Admiral Matsuda, Chief of Staff of the Joint Fleet of the Japanese Navy, the Japanese troops struggling to support and guard the boarding points on the various islands would It took a day and a half before they boarded the ship and retreated, and it took about half a day before they reached the sea area where the various squadrons of the fleet were intercepted.

At that time, the joint fleet of Yamamoto 56 had already arrived. If the sub-fleets of the division fleet wanted to evacuate, it would not be so easy. In front of the huge fleet of more than a dozen Japanese aircraft carriers and hundreds of warships, the division The fleet, which consisted of more than ten warships, was surrounded and wiped out in minutes.

On the land battlefields of various islands, the news that the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy has joined the battlefield and escorted the retreating Japanese army quickly spread among the desperate Japanese troops, giving Japanese troops and soldiers everywhere a great deal of support. Encouragement, the resistance became more and more fierce.

The battle became extremely fierce, and the attacking corps began to suffer heavy casualties. However, the stubborn resistance of the Japanese soldiers had not yet reached the level of changing the situation on the battlefield. , the Sumatra battlefield, is the first area to achieve the purpose of the campaign.

(to be continued) (to be continued)

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