afterglow

Chapter 459: He beats his, I beat mine; success!

Zhou Changfeng was in a very comfortable state during this period. After completing the daily work of sorting out military information, he could wander around and give advice as he pleased.

For example, go to the staff office of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion to talk in front of a group of senior staff officers, or go to the Ordnance Bureau of the Ministry of War to observe and comment on various weapons and equipment.

He had been very optimistic before, believing that before a large-scale naval and air battle similar to the Battle of Midway took place, the Americans would not take the initiative to counterattack, but would only defend passively.

After all, it is very risky to take the initiative to launch a counterattack when the naval forces of both sides are still tied.

If you are not careful, you may lose an entire army in vain, or even cause more losses due to Calabash Baby saving Grandpa.

However, the facts are unexpected. An unknown US military force has landed and occupied Guadalcanal.

"At eight o'clock, the General Staff Office of the Governor's Office has an urgent meeting to discuss. Please arrive on time."

"okay, I get it."

Zhou Changfeng put down the phone, then touched his chin and said "tsk".

Xia Xiaoshi, who was three steps away, asked softly: "Is there something urgent?"

"Yes, there is an emergency on the front line. I have to go to a meeting. Xiaoshi, please help me get my regular clothes..." Zhou Changfeng said while placing his hands on his hips and sighed: "That's strange. Is this a trap?"

More than three hours ago, when the TF-27 fleet arrived at the northern coast of Guadalcanal, a patrol boat belonging to the Tulagi Guard Camp discovered the fleet in the dark and quietly followed it.

On the eve of dawn, the Tulagi garrison launched two seaplanes and dropped flares to identify the situation, but they were driven away by U.S. fleet anti-aircraft fire.

When daybreak came, the reconnaissance aircraft finally identified the sudden appearance of the fleet and sent back specific reconnaissance results - three cruisers and more than 20 destroyers, and an unknown number of troops were coming ashore.

Apparently, the pilot mistook the destroyer transport (APD) for a normal destroyer.

Guadalcanal and Tulagi Island are only fifty kilometers apart. When they learned that US troops had landed on Guadalcanal, the Tulagi garrison camp was shocked and immediately entered a state of high alert.

The Ming army's control of these important islands and reefs was led by the navy and air force. The former was responsible for forming an independent marine garrison unit to manage seaplane units and coastal defense artillery units; the latter was responsible for managing airports and air force units.

Tulagi Island is currently garrisoned by the 14th Independent Marine Battalion, the Navy's 308th Coastal Defense Battalion, the Navy's 3rd Airship Detachment 1st Team, the Air Force's 178th Independent Air Defense Battalion, and the Korean Navy's 7th Water Reconnaissance Battalion. squadron.

Although the total number of people exceeds 2,000, the infantry unit only has 500 or 600 people.

Because Tulagi Island is too small, the Ming Dynasty Air Force has always hoped to build an airport on the opposite Guadalcanal island. The Navy agreed, but the construction machinery and engineering troops had to be transported from the mainland. They are still on the way. They just crossed it yesterday. equatorial.

Will the Americans attack Tulagi?

The garrison battalion looked at the sea to the south in anxiety, while the two dozen seaplanes immediately refueled and hurriedly took off to evacuate, so as not to stay here and be destroyed by the US fleet.

At the same time, Company A and Company B of the 5st Battalion of the th Marine Regiment, the first batch to land on the beach, did not encounter any resistance. The sporadic gunshots often scared everyone, but they were basically misidentification of the enemy.

There is no organized resistance here, not even a trace of Akito.

By daybreak, all three battalions of the 5th Marine Regiment had successfully landed.

The regiment leader, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Barrett, clenched his fists and said excitedly: "God bless us, the Marine Corps has excellent good luck."

The landing point was one mile away from the nearest village, Tenaru, and the cautious US military waited until the large forces landed before advancing towards the village.

They found some wooden boxes and oil drums with Chinese characters printed on them on the dock here. The local indigenous people confirmed that there was a small number of Ming troops here, and they had just left an hour ago, and they left in a hurry.

This so-called "Ming Army" is actually just a survey team sent by the Tulaji garrison to find a suitable place for airport construction and ship unloading.

After learning that there were no organized Ming troops on Guadalcanal, everyone in the 5th Marine Regiment breathed a sigh of relief, and their uneasiness disappeared.

The three lightly-armed battalions landed easily, but the follow-up weapons and equipment were quite troublesome.

Howitzers, anti-tank guns, off-road vehicles, trucks, half-tracks... How easy is it to move hundreds or thousands of kilograms of things from soft beaches to land?

The consequences of the lack of training for amphibious landings were evident - chaos reigned on the scene.

More than 30 landing craft arrived at the same time, but only more than 100 people were unloading, and there was a serious shortage of manpower. As a result, before the equipment was ready, more than a dozen landing craft sailed over from the fleet, and mixed in with other landing craft at every opportunity. …

It can be said that the organization of the landing site was very poor. The service personnel were busy sweating on the beach, but the soldiers had nothing to do.

It is understandable that the infantry should be on alert, but the artillerymen also did nothing - some were lying on the ground sunbathing, and some carried rifles into the jungle to shoot birds.

Shortly afterwards, another patrol went awry.

They found footprints on a path, so they went over and took a closer look. They saw that the footprints were very clear, and the broken branches and leaves of nearby shrubs were also very fresh.

It was obvious that many people had passed by here not long ago.

Then they found several cans scattered on the ground more than 20 meters away, so a few marines walked over.

"It certainly doesn't belong to the Aboriginal people here."

"Look, these square characters, these are Chinese characters."

"Oh, okay, then we can try the Chinese canned food."

"Huh? Helmet?" A private saw a helmet next to the trail and reached out to pick it up.

As soon as he picked it up, the handle of a Type 19 grenade inside bounced off, instantly igniting the deferred message tube.

"Grass! Grenade!"

Hearing him yelling, the two Marines next to him looked over in surprise. When they turned around, they saw a grenade smoking on the ground.

"boom!"

This situation actually happened to the Ming Dynasty Marine Corps, but the environment at that time was a training ground.

Military exercises may not be able to practice 100% of the situations on the battlefield, but they can at least provide feedback on most situations.

When Lieutenant Colonel Charles Barrett angrily ordered all idle combatants to come over immediately to help the service personnel unload the cargo, a heated debate was also going on in the No. 2 meeting room of the Metropolitan Government House.

"... Let's not talk about it anymore. I still say the same thing. If you are unwilling to do this, let the army handle it. Just drive away those ships."

Army Commander Liu Kehuai had a bad temper. He acted vigorously and resolutely and could not tolerate Americans planting nails under their noses in broad daylight.

Lin Xi continued to persuade him with good words, "Yue Zheng, this is obviously a trap. Don't be impatient." Liu Kehuai believed that the navy only needed to send a random battleship to drive away the US fleet on Guadalcanal. The Ming Dynasty Air Force in Seoul and Moresby can also provide support throughout the entire process, which is an advantage that the US military does not have.

Then, the Army only needs to send two battalions - or at most one reinforced regiment to completely annihilate this desperate US military.

Song Zhongkai, the top leader of the navy, did not attend the meeting - coincidentally, he flew to Guam urgently last night to continue to sit in the Fleet Admiral's Mansion.

However, the Navy Department of the Governor's Office also clearly expressed its opposition because it is currently unclear what the intentions of the US military are.

Just yesterday, Ming army submarines and reconnaissance planes discovered that a huge US fleet containing four to five battleships was sailing northwest of Wake Island. The matter was so important that Song Zhongkai made an emergency return to Guam overnight.

The fleet must not attack easily before it is clear where the feint is.

Besides, what if they occupy the island? There isn't even an airport up there, so what role can it play?

There is no full picture of the war, and the current situation is indeed a bit bizarre for the decision-makers of the Ming Dynasty——

A few days ago, in the Southwest Pacific, a friendly submarine reported that a U.S. fleet heading to New Caledonia was sailing westward. However, the fleet was not discovered afterwards, and contact with the submarine was lost.

Yesterday, in the Central Pacific, our own aircraft discovered that a fleet including multiple battleships was sailing northwest of Wake Island. The purpose was unknown.

Today, in the Southwest Pacific, a fleet suddenly broke into the Solomon Islands and dropped an unknown number of ground troops on Guadalcanal.

What are the Americans' plans?

However, the Ming Army could not understand the navy's caution and felt that they were too conservative.

Liu Kehuai sneered and sneered in public: "We have to wait for this and that, so why fight? The Navy's most victories so far have all been won by the Marines. What credit do you have to take action? Catch them back. A ship is still a blessing from American stupidity."

This remark made the scene quite embarrassing. Zhou Changfeng originally planned to speak to explain his point of view, but as soon as he said this, it was inconvenient for him to do so.

The rank of the Navy's Chief of Staff was one level lower than Liu Kehuai's, but he retorted not to be outdone: "You can recruit more soldiers after you have exhausted them. After training for a few months, you can go into battle. There is an endless supply. Where are the ships?" ? How long does it take to build the ship? Is that the same? If the ship can be built in a month or two, the Navy will head towards the other side of the Pacific now."

Are you looking for trouble here? ! Can the Navy's fault tolerance rate be comparable to that of the Army? !

The representatives of the army and navy started arguing again. Several people from the Air Force Department of the Governor's Office and the Air Force Department of the Ministry of War looked at each other and watched the show in silence.

Lin Xi coughed loudly a few times and said, "Calm down, military and national affairs must be treated with caution. In my opinion, the situation on Guadalcanal is indeed a minor matter and does not pose a threat for the time being."

After saying that, he glanced at Cheng Han diagonally opposite and winked.

The latter nodded and said calmly: "I have the same opinion. Maybe this is just a trick?"

Seeing that the atmosphere at the scene had eased, Zhou Changfeng also said: "Seniors, this kind of action with loud thunder and small raindrops will affect our judgment, but we cannot let the enemy lead us by the nose. If they hit theirs, we will hit ours. Seize the initiative firmly."

My mobility is stronger than yours, so I should keep attacking to take advantage of it.

After speaking, he added: "Guadalcanal has no airport and there is no threat for the time being, so let's ignore it for now. If there are changes in the future, it will not be too late to take it back. We don't need to care about the gains and losses of one or two islands."

These words... are quite right. Lin Xi asked with a smile on his face: "Yes, so what's Ke Xing's advice? Let's listen to it."

"Gilbert Islands, Tarawa Atoll." Zhou Changfeng replied word for word.

The Gilbert Islands are located in the southwest Pacific, straddling the equator, and consist of more than a dozen coral islands and reefs, including Tarawa and Butaritari.

They are right in the middle of the route connecting the United States and Australia, and crucially, the sandy quality of the Gilbert Islands is good, and most of the islands and reefs are suitable for building airports.

Controlling them has two major benefits. One is that it can better cut off the connection between the United States and Australia, and the other is that it can be used as a springboard to attack Hawaii.

If you take the central route to attack Hawaii, then Wake Island and Midway Island will be the gateway; if you take the southern route to attack Hawaii, then the Gilbert Islands will be the only way.

Once it is taken down, Americans will definitely be more anxious.

This is called expanding the initiative and leading the enemy by the nose.

Island hopping? You can jump on me, and I can jump on you. This should be regarded as the Pacific version of "The enemy can go, and I can go too."

Cheng Han pushed up his gold-rimmed square half-frame glasses and said slowly: "The Staff Office has a ready-made plan, which was just revised in October last year. It can be modified and applied directly."

Everyone was very enthusiastic about Zhou's proposal.

The navy also recognized such an action, as long as the main force of the fleet was not mobilized at will - what the Ming Dynasty's navy was most afraid of was the blind remote control of the court officials and random command.

After some discussion, Lin Xi asked Liu Kehuai with a smile, "I wonder what the governor thinks?"

The latter said "hmm", nodded and said: "That's fine."

In this way, the emergency meeting ended successfully.

The result of the decision was not only to ignore Guadalcanal, but also to move further towards the Gilbert Islands.

This task will be completed by the Second Marine Brigade, because the Third Marine Brigade suffered heavy losses when attacking Rabaul, New Britain Island, and also asked for trouble by going to the Snivet Mountains to clear out the remnants of the Australian troops fighting guerrillas there. So I am taking a rest now.

Zhou Changfeng was in a very happy mood after leaving the Governor's Mansion. He had just woken up when he was suddenly told that Americans had raided the Solomon Islands. He thought the situation was serious and was shocked.

He decided not to go to the on-site office today. After all, he had just finished a meeting, which could be considered as work off.

I can only trouble Luo Fu to do the work of two people again, and make up for it next time I treat him to dinner.

So Zhou Changfeng went straight into the imperial city and took the shuttle bus to the Qianqing Gate.

Today, Zhu Lingjing is still the same as before, doing everything calmly. She put down the phone and hung up the phone, and then asked without raising her head: "How did the urgent matter in the morning go? Is it important?"

Zhou Changfeng summarized the situation of the emergency meeting, and finally folded his hands and then spread his hands, "It's actually a bit of a fuss, but... let's just take it as a warning, lest everyone think that Americans will just be beaten stupidly."

"Hahaha——" Zhu Lingjing laughed with a relaxed expression, and then said leisurely: "Not only will they take the initiative, but they will also deliberately play tricks."

"Your Majesty? Is there any new news?"

"Over in the Western Ocean, the Federal Atlantic Shipping Company was sunk by German submarines today. Two ships were sunk. The casualties are probably over a hundred."

What? Is the porcelain successful?

(End of this chapter)