afterglow

Chapter 420 The firepower is not enough!Operation Void Dazzle
There is a lot to talk about when it comes to artillery. Coincidentally, the M7918 155mm howitzer equipped by the US military is also what the Ming army is currently considering.

Due to the expansion of the army, the Ming Army found that the number of existing field heavy artillery brigades was insufficient, and the required 144mm howitzers were also in short supply.

According to the establishment table of the 36th year of Zhichang, the field heavy artillery brigade has two 144-gun howitzer battalions and two [-]-gun cannon battalions. Although the Army's Type [-] [-]mm howitzer has excellent performance, its output is not counted. high.

Although leisurely manufacturing has completed the replacement of 17 standing field heavy artillery brigades during peacetime - a total of 612 guns, it may not be able to meet the needs of the subsequent army expansion.

It would be fine if it was just to meet the needs of the newly formed field heavy artillery brigade. Arsenals such as the Shenyang Army Artillery Factory are expected to reach an annual output of about [-] guns during wartime. If the production line is further expanded, it will not be nearly a thousand guns. thing.

However, the Ming Army is full of crazy ideas - the current firepower is not strong enough, and the infantry division cannot be without six-inch artillery!
Although the firepower of the Ming Army's [-]-year-old infantry divisions attached to the field heavy artillery brigades was not inferior to the infantry divisions of Western powers, the Army felt that it was not enough.

The Army hopes to add a twelve-gun 144mm howitzer battalion to each infantry division and add some truck formations to achieve an overwhelming advantage in division-level firepower.

However, the hundreds of 144mm howitzers required could not be generated out of thin air for a while, so the Ming Army focused on the old artillery in stock.

After the European War, the Ming Dynasty Military Observation Group requested the French Schneider Company to purchase a production license for the Mle-7917 155mm howitzer, and then finalized the production. This is the origin of the Type 144 [-]mm heavy mountain gun.

This was the result of a horizontal comparison of many similar artillery pieces from Austria, Britain, Germany and our own country at that time.

However, in order to encourage the country's military industry sector, the Ministry of War still ordered a batch of bidding plans for the Shenyang Army Artillery Factory, but it only took a few years to resell them to North Korea at a low price.

The Schneider Mle-7917 was originally designed for the Tsarist Russian army, but it was also adopted by the French army because of its high cost performance. Later, the US military also thought it was quite good and classified it as a standard artillery and copied it in large quantities.

China, France, Russia, the United States, Spain, Italy and other countries are all loyal users, which shows its excellent performance.

The total combat weight was only 3250kg, and the shell weight was also 43.5kg. The barrel was only 15 times the diameter but had a maximum range of 11.3km - the longest range at the time with the shortest barrel diameter among similar artillery.

Therefore, both the Ming Army and the U.S. Army have never forgotten it. The Ming Army plans to reuse these old and strong artillery, and the U.S. Army continues to mass-produce them after replacing them with new open-leg gun mounts.

However, the operation against Australia is imminent, and there is no time to form a new howitzer battalion at the moment. We can only wait until the rotation and rest in the future to make plans.

On September 39, [-] AD, after a total of fourteen meetings and refinements over the past few months, the General Staff Office of the Metropolitan Government finally finalized the battle plan for the expedition to Australia.

The operation number is "A/[-]/[-]/[-]", and the code name is "Xu Duan".

From a macro perspective, the entire combat plan is divided into two levels, one before and one after. They are roughly as follows:
First, capture Darwin, a small city in northwest Australia, and gain a foothold there.

Then, Darwin was used as a springboard to attack Papua New Guinea and seize Moresby, an important port city in the southern part of the peninsula.

After completing all this, hundreds of thousands of Ming troops set off through Moresby and landed in Cairns and Townsville in northeastern Australia. They successively delivered large forces ashore. After gathering, they attacked southward and swept across Australia.

This plan is based on Australia's topography and population distribution characteristics - the north has a savannah climate, the northeast has a tropical rainforest climate, and the east has a subtropical humid climate. The population distribution is extremely uneven, with most of the population concentrated in eastern cities.

The troops responsible for attacking Darwin and Moresby were still borne by the [-]st Marine Brigade. In the end, they still could not escape the important task of becoming the vanguard of the Ming army.

Zhu Lingjing naturally hoped that the success of the first battle could be handed over to her own confidants, and the military bosses were not stupid either - it was not a big deal, so just cater to the emperor's wishes.

What's more, those shrewd guys know very well that the first battle this time will never be as easy as before-invading the Australian gate, the morale and will of the Australian army will probably be quite amazing, this must be a tough battle.

That being the case, why bother asking for trouble?Just wait for the [-]st Marine Brigade to solve it. We can wait until we land in Australia and follow the large army to pick up some small fruits.

Therefore, the sequence of the first echelon includes the 20st Marine Corps Brigade, the Army's No. 6000 Seventh Infantry Division, the Army's [-]st Attack Vehicle Battalion, the [-]th Engineering Brigade, the [-]rd Field Heavy Artillery Brigade, and the [-]nd Air Service Team. This advance team The total strength of the army is [-].

The subsequent large forces are the main force of the Australian corps such as the Fifth Army and the Sixth Army, but they will be on standby in Java and will not board the ship until Darwin and Moresby are captured.

In addition, there is a more isolated expeditionary force.

This force is mainly composed of the Third Marine Brigade, equipped with two medium-sized combat convoys and several support units, with a total strength of approximately 9000 people.

They will set off from Yokohama, Japan, and go straight south across thousands of kilometers of vast ocean to seize Guam and Saipan; and then continue south to seize the Truk Islands in Micronesia.

After achieving all this, we can then move further south to seize the Solomon Islands and build a field airport there. This will block the route from the United States to Australia and cut off the connection between the United States and Australia.

Throughout the operation, the air force units scheduled to participate in the battle were composed of the [-]rd Destroyer Detachment, the [-]th Destroyer Detachment, the [-]th Destroyer Detachment, the [-]rd Light Bombardment Detachment, the [-]th Light Bombardment Detachment, the [-]th Light Bombardment Detachment, the [-]st Dive Bombing Detachment, The second transportation detachment is formed.

Such a large aviation force was organized into the Second Air Force, containing a total of approximately [-] aircraft of various types.

At the last meeting of all generals, Cheng Han, the general manager of the General Staff Office, Song Zhongkai, the Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Department, and Lin Xi, the Minister of National Defense, were all present at the scene.

There has never been such a gathering of stars in the No. [-] Chamber of the Metropolitan Government. This is the first time since its completion.

In addition to the air force and navy generals, the army alone has more than 30 division and brigade-level military officers, adjutants, and military supervisors, not counting several senior staff officers in the governor's staff office.

"...Most of the BDA coalition fleet was destroyed, and only a few warships fled to Australia. Later, as the United States and Australia signed a defense agreement, in addition to two army divisions arriving in Australia to assist in defense, there was also a naval squadron, but there was no main force. ship."

"...Our army is approaching fiercely, and the enemy will not fight in the vast sea area, but will concentrate in small and complex places such as the Torres Strait or the Solomon Sea. Navy officers and subordinates must not underestimate the enemy, and aerial reconnaissance and destroyer sentinels are necessary Indispensable.”

[picture]

Zhou Changfeng is not interested in the actions of the Ming Navy. Our side has a crushing advantage in both quality and quantity. We can win even if we sprinkle rice on the keyboard and let chickens peck at the keyboard...

Ahem!Anyway, just don't really hit with your eyes closed.

What he was more concerned about was the landing operation. How to capture Darwin and Moresby at the minimum cost?
Papua New Guinea is the largest island in the South Pacific. The eastern peninsula is adjacent to the transportation lines of the United States and Australia to the east and Australia to the south.If you want to launch a large-scale attack on eastern Australia, then the Papua Peninsula is a bridgehead, which is of extremely high significance, and both sides are strategically determined to do it.

For the attacker, this island must be captured; for the defender, this island is also an outpost to defend the homeland.

The core of the Papua Peninsula is the port city of Moresby in the southeast—other places are mostly inaccessible primitive jungles.

The terrain of Papua New Guinea is very complex, covered with jungles and mountains, as well as a large number of valleys, ravines, streams, and swamps.In the center of the island are mountains running east-west. The towering Owen-Stanley Ridge has an average altitude of 3000 meters.

What's even worse is that the local weather is also changeable. Sometimes it's sunny, and sometimes there's lightning, thunder, and heavy rain.

Zhou Changfeng only knew that there was a battle around Moresby in history, but he didn't know the details.Perhaps it is because it is small in scale and has no highlights, so it is not famous enough.

This was the Battle of Papua - the most difficult battle of the early years of the war.

He asked: "I have been thinking about whether to add an auxiliary operation these days. While landing Moresby from the sea, can we also conduct a corresponding pincer attack from land?"

A colonel and senior counselor replied: "If you land in the northern part of the peninsula, you can try to climb over the Owen Stanley Mountains."

"I have consulted a lot of information, but none of it is detailed enough." Zhou Changfeng said with some helplessness: "The Australian army's defense in Moresby is still very tight. To be honest, I am a little worried that the landing losses will be very heavy."

"I know there is a road that can pass." At this time, an elderly German man said, "Land ashore in the northeast of the peninsula. There is a narrow path called 'Kokoda', which can go directly through the mountains. Moresby.”

After he finished speaking, he added, "But I don't recommend considering that damn place. It's narrow, bumpy, and full of mosquito miasma."

The old man's name is long, but the key is August-Muller-zu-Sauerbrunn. He was a serious old nobleman of Imperial Germany, and his ancestral fiefdom was in Sauerbrunn. This place is Erbrunn.

The main reason why he hurriedly brought his family to the Ming Dynasty was that he tried every possible means to oppose Deshe, and it had reached the point of completely breaking up with him, so he wanted to run as far away as possible.

Britain, France, and Russia seemed to be too close, so they came to the other end of the continent - ruthless, ruthless, and really afraid of death.

In short, August had served in the German colony of New Guinea for a period of time, and he loved exploring—because there was nothing else to do.This is why he knows a lot about Papua, Solomon and other places.

"It is indeed very difficult." Zhou Changfeng thought for a few seconds and said, "But this is just for coordination, to disrupt the enemy's determination and deployment."

August breathed a sigh of relief, "I thought you had some crazy idea, which is equivalent to suicide."

"Everyone, given that the combat conditions over mountains and ridges in jungle areas are extremely special, I think we might as well deploy some Guangxi troops... and if possible, combine them with some Annan troops, a total of more than 1000 people will be enough." Zhou Changfeng elaborated.

"In other words, one battalion each? Hmm..." Cheng Han pondered for a few seconds, "Yes, the staff office will discuss with Zhou Daizhao to draw up a draft strategy, and then inform Annan."

The generals of the army, navy and air force present did not care. Such small changes that did not affect the overall deployment were fine.

"This shows the advantage of a vast land with abundant resources and a large number of people. You can find similar terrain and climate." Zhou Changfeng smiled at August.

The latter always had a straight face and replied: "I am skeptical about the combat effectiveness of the Annan Royal Army."

[Picture: Similar battles in history]

When the Ming Dynasty's war machine was making final warm-ups for the upcoming huge battle, the plans of the federal government of the United States failed.

Near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, while the US destroyer was running out of supplies and was preparing to rotate with another upcoming patrol fleet, the Franz successfully escaped under the superb command of Rear Admiral Hubert.

She plunged into the hurricane waters with howling winds and rough waves. The USS Cincinnati light cruiser and several destroyers that were following her were forced to stop chasing and could only watch the "wind" and sigh.

In Reykjavik, Iceland, the battlecruiser Theodor has reached the final moment.

After learning that the damaged Theodor had fled to Reykjavik, the Royal Navy took action and blocked the waters off the port city with a fleet headed by Nelson and Rodney.

For Icelanders, this is undoubtedly a frightening day. How could the war in Europe reach such a remote place?

At first, Colonel Heinrich hoped to seize the time to repair the warship, and then leave the port before the British could react.

However, the Icelanders did not dare to break neutrality at all and rejected the Germans' request for the shipyard to help with repairs. The Theodor's own damage control personnel alone were unable to repair the huge hole caused by the Firefly.

A few hours ago, the British fleet had issued an ultimatum. If they did not surrender, they would launch an attack in twelve hours.

Colonel Heinrich knew that it was impossible to break out of the tight blockade of the British army. The result of a forced breakout would be the destruction of the ship and the death of people.

Therefore, the only option left is to scuttle the warship. No matter what, we cannot let the warship of the great motherland fall into the hands of the enemy. That is a shame that can never be washed away.

Berlin's instructions were also to scuttle, and medals were awarded to all officers and men on the ship. The reason was that the Franz's single-ship heavy damage to the HX fleet also belonged to the Teodor.

At 9:14 pm on September 13, the Teodor re-hoisted a Workers' Navy flag.The sailors placed explosives in key parts such as the engine room, main gun breech, and ammunition magazine, and then all personnel left the ship.

Half an hour later, the leisurely British officers were enjoying afternoon tea...

suddenly! A loud "rumbling" sound came from a distance, and a dazzling flash of light burst out.

Many people were startled, spilling warm black tea all over themselves, and then saw the mushroom cloud mixed with flames rising straight into the sky.

(End of this chapter)