Chapter 581 You Know
"This arrangement is safe, but with only four Marine brigades..." Yamashita Fengwen was a little worried, "Will there not be enough troops?"
"Not four, two brigades are enough!" Sher raised two fingers confidently, "The other two will stay in Ceylon. If your army is not ready yet, send 1-2 battalions to participate. The Marine Corps also dispatched similar forces last time."
"1-2 battalions?" Suzuki Sosaku was shocked after hearing this, "This adds up to only more than 10,000 troops. Isn't it too weak for a large-scale landing battle?"
"The combat effectiveness of the British and Indian officers and soldiers is not that strong. It took only 6,000 people to defeat 50,000 enemy troops in the attack on Ceylon. The more people there are, the more difficult it is to command and coordinate the landing, and the more naval ships will be tied up." Sher explained patiently, "This is not to underestimate the enemy, but We have fully summarized the experience of the last battle and fully considered the current enemy situation. "
From the aerial reconnaissance and the confessions of the captured British and Indian officers and soldiers on Ceylon Island and the documents, materials, maps, etc. collected from the headquarters, Sher and others roughly figured out the distribution of Indian forces: in the northwest is General Wilson's 10th Army, which focuses on defending the Iranian front line, with a number of about 70,000 to 80,000 people; in the northeast is the main force of the Indian garrison, not only Lieutenant General Irwin's 14th Army, but also the Chinese Army in India, the US Army Air Force, etc., with a total force of nearly 300,000. The main forces confronting them are the four divisions of the Japanese Burma Front; in the south is Lieutenant General Giffard's 11th Army, half of which is deployed on Ceylon Island, which is also the headquarters of the 11th Army, and the other half is left in southern India.
Giffard originally arranged the two forces to support each other, but he did not expect that once the Ceylon Campaign began, in the face of the overwhelming naval and air power of the Combined Fleet, the southern Indian forces were unable to support Ceylon. If he had not been in southern India to inspect the relevant combat readiness, he would have been captured on the island.
Compared with the northeast, the south not only has fewer troops, but also the quality and strength of the army cannot be compared. However, there are fewer important cities in the south, and the remaining 50,000 to 60,000 people of the 11th Army are distributed around a few large cities and port areas. This is the main reason why Scheer decided to land with two brigades. If the enemy force was smaller, he would only plan to use one brigade - defending Ceylon is the top priority at present.
"It is not ruled out that the British side will send air force and other troops to reinforce the enemy in the south after the Ceylon landing, but this kind of reinforcement will not be much. It is already a great thing to increase 10,000 to 20,000 troops. If they are given enough time, the enemy is likely to get sufficient support, which will also increase the difficulty of our landing."
Yamashita Fengwen nodded: "I fully understand the difficulties of the navy. It is better to land earlier and start as soon as possible. Where does General Sher choose to land?"
Sher's plan is to land in Madras, the capital of Tamil Nadu (now known as Chennai, the fourth largest city in India). As for other troops, they will be the same as Ceylon Island, and will be transferred after taking control of the port.
Yamashita Tomoyuki had completely entered the role at this time. After pondering for a long time, he said: "If your army is confident, I fully agree with the above combat plan. The Indian Army will send two battalions to follow your army to experience different amphibious landing tactics - we will send a tank battalion and an infantry battalion."
Cole smiled and said: "That's great. We will land in Madras first and gain a foothold, and then wait for the combined fleet to take time in a few months. We can have another landing campaign."
"Let me guess, is it to land in Visakhapatnam?" Yamashita Tomoyuki glanced at the map and put forward a point of view.
"Yes, you think exactly the same as me. It is a rare deep-water port, only 600 kilometers away from Kolkata, which can effectively deter northeastern India. If you occupy this place and then fight south, almost half of the Indian subcontinent will be under control."
"Fight south? I thought you would fight north." Suzuki Sosaku was slightly surprised.
"It's closer to Calcutta and the core area of India to the north, but we have different demands..." At this point, Sher actually felt embarrassed.
"The headquarters hopes to open up the situation as soon as possible, so that there will be more troops, larger territories and stronger strength to invest in subsequent wars, and it can also give an account to all parties, especially to calm the resentment of the troops withdrawing from China." Kusaka Renyi thought for a while and added, "Other special missions are also very important. Chandra Bose will come to Ceylon soon. You know the importance of it..."
Although he didn't say it clearly, Yamashita Tomoyuki understood it completely: the navy meant to quickly let the army get the gold in place, and then let the joint fleet take it to Germany to repay the debt, and then exchange it for a bunch of equipment. The Indian government formed by Chandra Bose will use this to initiate "Indian independence" and fundamentally shake the colonial system of British India politically, forming a virtuous circle.
Yamashita Tomoyuki and other senior officers of the expeditionary army used to find this idea inconceivable, but after seeing the mountains of supplies and equipment, the impact of this overnight wealth was too great, and their ideas immediately changed. They all agreed and nodded repeatedly.
After determining the strategic policy of the landing campaign, Hori Teikichi arranged for Mikawa and Kakuta to lead the Indian Ocean Expeditionary Fleet to cooperate with the army, with Mikawa Gunichi as the fleet commander. For the convenience of coordination, Yamashita Tomoyuki readily gave the command to Scheer, indicating that the German side would have full command of this campaign, and the local troops would obey all arrangements and only observe and not interfere.
After the relevant generals withdrew from the meeting to discuss the landing separately, the combined fleet continued to study and make decisions about the Battle of Tarawa internally. The troops stationed in Tarawa are divided into the 6th Yokosuka Marines of Colonel Matsuo Nobuyoshi and the 7th Sasebo Marines of Lieutenant Commander Takeo Tubei. They are under the jurisdiction of the RB Navy's 3rd Special Base Force. To the combined fleet, they are all their own. The military headquarters issued an order for a must-rescue, and Kusaka Renichi carefully read the signature. This time it was the signature of Prince Fushimi Miyahiro.
"Sir, we can't drag a lot of transport ships into battle. That would be too dangerous and slow..." Kusuka Renyi reminded, "The U.S. military is coming fiercely, and they are targeting Tarawa, which is far away from us. We are afraid that the defenders will The army is in trouble."
Horikichi nodded: "How many days do you think the defenders can hold on?"
"Based on the defense capabilities of other islands, I estimate it will take 2-3 weeks?"
"This time the US military took the opportunity to launch an attack. It will not attack so slowly. I'm afraid it will be difficult to hold on for a week." Tsukahara 243 frowned and said, "There is currently no way to provide assistance to it - the nearest Marshall Islands has Thousands of kilometers.”
"Even without a transport fleet, it will take half a month for the fleet to reach Tarawa no matter how fast it is." Nobutake Kondo was very anxious. "It would be easy for them to rush over in such a big way and run into the US fleet waiting for work. By then they would We will face more difficulties in repairing the airport on the island. Once the Gilbert Islands fall, the Marshall Islands will be in danger. If it is lost again, the absolute defense circle will be destroyed, and there will be a major earthquake in Tokyo."
The generals were whispering to each other and discussing: They have seen the strength of the US military's engineering construction and airport repair capabilities. Several airports in the Caribbean were completely repaired in less than three days. If the US military captured Tarawa in one week, it would be two weeks later. As soon as the combined fleet arrives, the U.S. military will definitely have a land-based airport that can be used - it is likely to be a replica of the small-scale Battle of Midway.
"The troops are divided into two groups," Horikichi said. "The transport fleet and escort fleet go one way, and the combat fleet goes another way. They don't affect each other."
He had just said that it would be okay to divide the troops into two routes, and everyone generally held that intention, but when he pointed out the direction of the second route, everyone was surprised: the march route designated by Horikichi was for Kurita Takeo to lead the transport fleet back to Malacca On the mainland, he led the main force of the fleet southward in the Indian Ocean, preparing to attack around the west coast of Australia.
"There are two purposes: first, it is not clear whether the US military's siege of the Gilbert Islands really has the intention of occupying the island. If the enemy is just putting on a siege posture to lure us to rescue, it is suspected of encircling the point for reinforcements; second, attacking Australia is not trying to land or occupy Australia. What we want to do is to cut off Australia's supply lines and let the Americans and Australians taste the pain of oil cuts and poor supplies. Everyone, now it is our turn to break diplomatic relations..."
As soon as the word "broken friendship" was mentioned, everyone's eyes lit up as if they were possessed. The situation was not much better than when the army generals saw the equipment. The harvest of the Indian Ocean Campaign had made them have bad tastes. In the past, the Combined Fleet talked about fighting big wars and decisive battles every day, but now no one mentions these two ideas anymore. Instead, it proposed to engage in blockade, breaking of diplomatic relations, sabotage, and launching a landing battle, and a lot of people responded. Think about it, taking the Musashi How majestic it is to go and rob!
"We can fight in Perth in Western Australia, we should fight in Melbourne in South Australia, and we can also fight in XN and Brisbane in Eastern Australia. The Army has shipped so many naval gun shells and barrels. It would be a complete waste not to fight. I feel sorry for them." "What a painstaking effort!" Horikichi said with a smile, "The Americans have strong coastal defense capabilities. What can Australia have? If I cut off Australia's transportation lines and then pretend to land in New Zealand, they will be in a panic and urge the US Pacific Fleet to come back for rescue. , whether we fight or withdraw when the time comes, we can deal with it calmly... The most important thing is that by taking advantage of the main fleet's troubles, the transport fleet can return to the homeland relatively safely - this is what I am most concerned about. "
"But if we don't rescue Tarawa, the orders from the Military Command cannot be completed. What will those unlearned bureaucrats in Tokyo think?" Ryunosuke Kusaka reminded worriedly, "Should we send a small fleet to take care of it? ?”
"No! If you go there, you will die." Horikichi flatly refused, "I will handle the situation in Tokyo. You follow this strategy and make a plan quickly."
"Follow your commander's instructions!"