afterglow

Chapter 434 Chapter [-] Is the conspiracy solved? If this continues, stop fighting.

It has been more than a month since the war broke out. Warships of various types reinforced from the Atlantic Fleet passed through the Panama Canal, and then arrived in Hawaii one after another after sailing across half of the Pacific.

Now, the assembled Pacific Fleet has a total of 12 battleships, 4 aircraft carriers, and 27 cruisers, which is extremely large.

With abundant troops, the matter before Admiral Hasband is to make strategic decisions.

For more than a month before today, the Pacific Fleet has been following the strategic principle of "not attacking to reinforce the Papua region."

Because everyone is worried that after the main force of the fleet heads to the South Pacific, the Ming army is likely to launch a rapid offensive in the Central Pacific, going straight to Midway Island or even Hawaii.

In that case, the main force of the fleet will have to rush back to defend and respond hastily. There may be problems of insufficient fuel and personnel exhaustion, and it will inevitably be at a disadvantage.

However, yesterday and today, the report submitted by the naval intelligence department's H station in Hawaii clearly stated that it can be basically concluded that the Ming army has no action plan targeting the Central Pacific.

The British MI[-] station in Colombo also collected a series of valuable intelligence, which also confirmed the conclusion of Station H.

"Currently, the enemy fleet is concentrated in the Western Pacific, and there is no sign of attacking eastward."

The change in intelligence finally allowed the cautious Pacific Fleet to take action. Now, Admiral Hasband could abandon his worries and take the initiative.

He and many of the generals present here knew very well that the Ming Dynasty fleet on standby in the Western Pacific was waiting to act according to the opportunity. If the US fleet rushed to help Papua, then the Ming Dynasty fleet would definitely attack in a large scale.

This must be the case strategically, but it is unclear how it will be deployed tactically.

This is a standard conspiracy - Americans are well aware of Mingren's calculations, but they still only have two choices.

Either send the Pacific Fleet south to intercept the Ming Army's attack on Papua as expected, and then engage in a battle with the Ming Army's main fleet, which is waiting for work.

Either they can stand still and continue to stay in Hawaii, staring at the Ming army fleet across half of the Pacific Ocean, but the Ming army will definitely attack Moresby and even Australia.

There really is no best of both worlds for Americans at this time. In particular, war is ultimately a continuation of politics, and in some cases it has to be done reluctantly.

Admiral Hasband has been under external pressure from both the military and political circles these days - this is the helpless situation that a senior general must face.

Darwin was captured by the Ming army, and the 6 Australian [-]th Infantry Division was wiped out. The division commander, Major General Richard, died in the battle. Now it is being widely publicized by the US, Australian and British media.

He was promoted to lieutenant general, and King George VI awarded him the Victoria Cross. The United States also awarded him the Distinguished Service Cross with great fanfare.

But such publicity seemed less important to Marshal Mai. Instead, he found it a bit annoying.

After he successfully escaped from Corogido Island by submarine, he transferred to Melbourne to serve as the commander of the Southwest Pacific Theater of the US-Australia coalition forces.

When he and his wife stepped off the train, they were quickly surrounded by dozens of reporters for interviews. He happened to be looking forward to such a scene, and then confidently and calmly delivered an impromptu speech.

The speech ended with "I shall return", which immediately aroused enthusiastic cheers from the people. The slogan quickly spread and was used as a slogan on walls and even printed on cigarette boxes and stamps.

However, Douglass knew very well that he could not win by just shouting slogans, and he could not persuade the Ming army to retreat with his sharp tongue.

Moresby was under an imminent threat. The new official took office with three goals. Douglas quickly implemented a series of measures with the intention of turning Moresby into a heavily guarded outpost sea and air base to resist the Ming army's attack on the Australian mainland. a stronghold.

A boss full of fighting spirit and enthusiasm can undoubtedly bring a positive atmosphere to his subordinates. The atmosphere of depression and panic since the fall of Darwin has gradually faded away, and the US-Australian coalition forces are quickly regaining confidence.

Relying on its own is bound to be insufficient, so Douglas has been constantly generating electricity to urge Washington from the first day he took office.

They want money, people, guns, cannons, ammunition, planes, tanks... they want everything. They also propose that the Pacific Fleet rush south to assist and eliminate the threat from the Ming army.

He agreed with some dignitaries that the retreat and retreat had come to an end, and all efforts must be made to defend Moresby.

But if there is no navy to help, the Ming army, which has control of the sea, can easily divide Papua and the Australian mainland, and the fall of Moresby is only a matter of time.

Therefore, Douglas strongly hopes that the Pacific Fleet will come for reinforcements, and it is best to fight the Ming fleet in the Coral Sea or Torres Strait to defeat the Ming army's strategic ambitions!

The multiple opinions from the military and political circles put a lot of pressure on General Hasband. The upright and strong commander was quite dissatisfied, so he sent a text message to the president to complain and clarify the current strategic situation.

"... Mr. President, I sincerely tell you something. The enemy's strategic deployment shows us two trails with traps. The only way to avoid being stepped on the trap is to open a third path... We should plan a A long-range surprise attack disrupts the enemy's deployment. - Hasband Kimmel"

Whether they stay put or go to reinforce, these two options will play into the Ming army's ambitions. The only way to defeat this conspiracy is to not follow the routine and find a third option.

The plan put forward by Hasband is to do the opposite and form a fast task force, with four aircraft carriers and one North Carolina-class battleship as the core, detouring through the North Pacific to the waters near Guam, and attacking the waters anchored in Guam. The Ming fleet on standby carried out a surprise air attack.

The construction progress of the Washington was slightly slower, so it would take a few days to be delivered to service; the North Carolina was completed earlier, but it was also rushed into service. The sailors flew her to Hawaii before they had time to get familiar with it.

However, battleships only play a role in suppressing the formation, and the main strike force still relies on the carrier-based aircraft brigade of the aircraft carrier.

It can be said that Hasband's idea is bold and fatal. Once successful, the Ming Navy will suffer heavy losses!

But the current situation is that the fear shown by the Australians has largely transformed into expectations and dependence on the Americans. This is a great opportunity to expand the influence of the United States.

Politicians generally believe that mainland Australia should be provided with firm and continuous assistance to win over people's hearts. There will undoubtedly be good returns in the long run.

Among the military circles, there are also many people who insist that the Pacific Fleet should be sent to Papua immediately.

As a skilled and excellent politician, President Franklin rarely interferes in professional affairs without authorization, but this is not the case this time. Political needs may dominate military operations.

What's more, although Admiral Hasband's predictions are very generous, the greater the benefits, the greater the risks. There is a high possibility of failure in this long-range surprise attack plan.

If the surprise attack failed, it would mean losing both the wife and the army - not reinforcing Papua but also losing the army and generals.

During the four days from November 11 to November 6, there was an extremely large amount of telegrams exchanged between Honolulu and Washington, and the two sides engaged in fierce debates over strategic decisions.

Admiral Hasband, who has an upright nature, sternly refused the request to rashly reinforce Papua - this approach of "knowing that there are tigers in the mountains and going to the tigers in the mountains" is simply a way to die! So he flew to the mainland overnight, first from Hawaii to San Francisco, and then from San Francisco to Washington.

The commander, who had not slept all night, rushed to the White House and had a loud argument with the president, the secretary of the navy, and the chief of staff of the army. The scene was very tense for a time.

Everyone took a step back and reluctantly reached a consensus. The final result was that the plan for a long-range surprise attack on Guam was too risky and was not approved. At the same time, the main force of the Pacific Fleet stayed in Hawaii and only sent a task force to reinforce it.

However, the president also reminded that if circumstances permit, the main fleet should also actively attack, and everything can be decided freely by the commander.

"God bless, at least...the main force of the fleet will not carry out this stupid action." The exhausted Admiral Hasband muttered to himself.

The situation was urgent and the Ming army's action could be launched at any time, so he immediately boarded the plane and returned to the Hawaii headquarters without stopping.

He slept on and off for a while on the plane, barely replenishing his energy.

As soon as he returned to headquarters, he immediately began to formulate a plan of action.

Hasband had plenty of troops at hand, and he began to carefully select warships and commanders to carry out this almost self-defeating operation.

Because it is not essentially about pursuing overwhelming superiority, the task force sequence drawn up by Hasband is only sufficient to "be able to compete with and repel the Ming army's landing fleet in Darwin."

It is known that Tianshi Youyuan was severely damaged and unable to participate in the battle, so the aircraft carriers deployed by the Ming army in Darwin should be Tianshi Zuoyuan and Fomalhaut? The only battleship is Longshuo?
  Therefore, he believed that only one aircraft carrier should be sent to cover the fleet, while two battleships should be used to counter the Long Shuo.

It is definitely impossible not to bring battleships, because there may be battles in complex sea areas such as the Solomon Sea or Torres Strait, and they may encounter them suddenly without paying attention. If the fleet containing only aircraft carriers is attacked by the Ming army's high-speed battleships, it will be called The sky and the earth should not work every day.

The finalized Task Force 12 (TF-12) sequence is quite streamlined - there are few main ships and many screen guard ships, divided into two detachments.

TF-12.1 fleet: aircraft carrier USS Lexington, heavy cruiser USS Northampton, light cruiser USS Honolulu, and 4 destroyers.

TF-12.2 fleet: battleship USS Maryland, battleship USS West Virginia, light cruiser USS Phoenix, and 5 destroyers.

However, intelligence during the war could not be completely accurate. Many times it was delayed and half-truths.

The Tianshi Youyuan was indeed seriously damaged, and this information was generally correct.

Fomalhaut and Longshuo have been transferred to the northern route. They left Darwin a few days ago and are now sailing to Guam. This information is completely wrong.

As a replacement, the two old Yuanshui-class ships were transferred to Darwin, namely Yuan Fenghao and Yuanding Hao. The U.S. military knew nothing about this information.

With the Pacific Fleet deployed in this way, the A-[-] Fleet is naturally ready and ready to go.

On the first day of mid-November of the [-]th year of Zhichang, Zhou Changfeng, who was ordered to return to Beijing to report on his duties, did not return directly to Beijing. Instead, he stopped in Guangzhou and Nanchang and drove around before finally arriving at Yingtianfu, the capital.

Various shops are open as always, with leather, shoes, silk, milk, lard and most other commodities available, with only a few out of stock due to trade interruptions.

Small shops selling rock sugar, white sugar, and brown sugar are still supplying them in unlimited quantities. Upon inquiry, the wholesaler had never heard that the government would implement limited rationing.

The same is true at gas stations, where leisurely staff read newspapers while adjusting the pressure of the fuel pump. The prices of 56-, 66-, and 70-octane gasoline indicated on public notice boards were even lower than before the war.

Later, outside a fireworks alley in Xicheng District, Nanchang Prefecture, Zhou Changfeng couldn't help being slightly speechless.

The beginning of winter has passed, and female courtesans in thin clothes and heavy makeup are standing in the house in twos and threes. The charcoal stove is burning red, and you can feel the warmth inside through the glass doors and windows.

Pointed-toe high-heeled shoes, wedge-heeled embroidered shoes... these are fine and can be ignored, except for the black nylon stockings that are soft and close to the skin...

"No, if the situation remains like this, there is no need to fight this battle."

The shocked Zhou Changfeng took a deep breath, shook his head slightly, and then turned around and left.

That afternoon, his plane landed slowly on the runway of Gaoqiao Airport.

About an hour later, the Forbidden City.

"...The results of breaking the engagement have been quite fruitful. As of today, the total harvest has exceeded [-] metric tons. The Yongyuan and Yuanxing ships have made the British even more worried."

"...the Telecommunications Monitoring Team of the Intelligence Division of the Governor's Office reported that the telecommunications exchanges from Hawaii to the United States have been very frequent in the past five days, more than twice the normal rate. This can be regarded as a sign of planning or action."

Luo Fuzai reported the latest military situation to the emperor as always.

Because the Royal Navy had no time to take care of Indu, the aircraft carriers were urgently transferred to the Atlantic to encircle and suppress the raging Workers' Navy's break-up fleet, so the Ming Navy tried to deploy two Yongyuan-class battlecruisers to the Indo Ocean to perform the task of breaking up the treaty.

In general, the results of the battle were not bad. The British were frightened for a while, but because they were always attacked by land-based aviation, they were still in danger. The Yongyuan's bow deck was blasted with a big hole by aerial bombs.

"Zhou Daizhao has been waiting for a long time, come in."

"okay."

Zhou Changfeng, who was deep in thought, came to his senses, then stepped over the threshold and walked in.

We haven't seen her for many days, but Zhu Lingjing looks good. Her coat and skirt are both cherry red, and she looks very festive. It is estimated that these days have been a happy spring for her.

She looked at Mr. Zhou and asked in confusion: "You don't look like you are returning victoriously."

"Your Majesty, I was quite happy when I set off..." Zhou Changfeng, who looked helpless, bowed and saluted, "But I got curious on the way, so I landed in Nanchang, Guangzhou and wandered around for a while, and I found that you didn't look like a general war at all. It’s a complete celebration of singing and dancing.”

Zhou Changfeng had not paid much attention to civil mobilization before. A long time ago, the Ming Dynasty began to increase taxes and control on aluminum, an important light metal - that is, aluminum rates.

So he always thought that the government and the opposition parties understood the importance of mobilizing and implementing a rationing system to save resources, but now it seems that is not the case.

(End of this chapter)