In fact, the White Cease-War did not last long in Sri Lanka.

The day after his return to Colombo, on 24 September, Li Mingbo arrived with the 21st Task Force, which was now numbered the 11th Task Force.

In order to grab the number "Eleven", the fleet did not stop when it passed through the Shiquan Strait, and it also galloped for three days during the voyage.

As a result, it was only half a day ahead of the fleet led by Liu Xiangzhen through the Shiquan Strait and entered the Fanyan Ocean.

As the deep-water terminal in Trincomalee was not yet operational, Task Force 11 had to dock at Colombo.

Historically, Colombo has been a military port for the Imperial Navy.

At the beginning, when Chen Bingxun led the fleet to enter Fanyanyang, after forcing the defenders of Shiquan City to surrender, the first port he conquered was Colombo.

As mentioned earlier, the Royal Navy of Bran at that time had Trincomalee as its home port.

Avoiding Trincomalee and attacking Colombo was a way to avoid spending precious forces before a decisive victory.

After that, until the last war, Colombo was the base camp of the Imperial Navy in the Fanyan Ocean.

As arranged, Task Force 11 stayed in Colombo for three days.

During this period, the garrison organized and held an exchange party, arranged for local expatriates to meet with the officers and men of the fleet, and organized some officers and men of the fleet to go to the city for a visit.

On the night of 27 September, the fleet left Colombo.

At this time, the 12th Task Force had also arrived at Lion Springs to rest, waiting for the 11th Task Force in the southwest of Sri Lanka.

According to the latest arrangement, the two fleets jointly attacked Socotra Island to cover and support the landing of the marines.

If needed, consider heading north to Posha Bay to support the army's assault on Poi.

The Army has deployed a tactical aviation group in Gwadar with more than 500 combat aircraft, capable of providing cover for the convoy at all times.

The point is that Posha Bay is too narrow, and the Strait of Hormuz, which enters Posha Bay, is even narrower.

Even if the task force is sent over, it will not be of much use.

If anything, it is better to send a support fleet over.

In Posha Bay, the support fleet, which is dominated by fast battleships and heavy cruisers, can be more effective in exerting its combat effectiveness.

Of course, the Navy's number one task is to land and capture Socotra.

Before the departure of the fleet, the White Stop received a message from the command of the Navy.

In order to ensure that the "oil route" was unimpeded, Xue Yuanzheng had already approved the plan proposed by Liu Changxun to arrange for army aviation to bomb military airfields in the northwest of Austria. The Navy had to land and establish a base in Bali before that, so that Army Air could be deployed nearby.

It's just that before that, we can only rely on Lion Springs Airport.

That is, the "Condor" that will be delivered will first be used to bomb the northwestern part of Austria, and the operation to attack Socotra Island will have to rely on the fleet.

However, there is good news.

The Sixth Bureau has confirmed that the Royal Army of Bran had withdrawn its main forces deployed on Socotra last month, at the beginning of this month to be exact.

For the same reason, after the loss of the strategic counterattack capability of the Nuland Navy, Bran's army could not hold Socotra in any case.

Rather than leave your troops on this undefendable island, it is better to withdraw to the Kibu fortress.

In fact, there were not many Bran troops stationed on Socotra, less than 5,000 in total, and nearly half of them were colonists recruited after the outbreak of the war.

These improvised colonizers are at best militias.

Today, only a semi-military security force remains on Socotra, and it is to guard plantations that are private property.

In other words, there is nothing to worry about except the need to watch out for threats from the direction of the Kib Fortress.

Of course, the task of the fleet's trip was not only to attack the island of Socotra.

On 30 September, the two task forces carried out their first mission in the waters off the Maldives archipelago, sending more than 200 long-range fighter jets on board several islands large enough that military airfields had been built to strengthen air superiority in that direction.

These long-range fighters, which are subordinate to shore-based aviation, are all ejected from aircraft carriers in a light load mode.

If anything, only large aircraft carriers can do it.

Because the flight deck is spacious enough and equipped with catapults with more power, large aircraft carriers can carry and catapult twin-engine fighters.

It's just that there is no way to recover the twin-engine fighter for the time being.

It's not that the flight deck isn't long enough, it's that none of the twin-engine fighters are strong enough to withstand the impact of landing on an aircraft carrier.

Subsequently, both task forces were replenished with carrier-based aircraft.

On the same day, army aviation deployed in Gwadar dispatched more than 40 heavy bombers to bomb the Kibu fortress.

Thus began the assault on the Kib fortress and the march into Posha Bay.

The Army Aviation Corps took the lead in actually meeting the request of the first assistant, that is, to officially launch an offensive operation before the end of September.

In any case, neither task force could launch an attack on 30 September.

It was not until 4 October that two task forces arrived to the east of Socotra.

In the morning of the same day, Task Force 12 sent three groups to bomb the airfield and barracks on Socotra Island.

According to the arrangement, the 11th Task Force was on alert in the north-east direction and was responsible for dealing with the threat from the Kib fortress.

However, after waiting for a whole day, there was no attack.

In the evening, a message was received from the command of the Navy.

The Royal Navy's HMS Ark Royal is still in the vicinity of Malta, and Bran's army had stepped up its efforts in the Maltese direction a few days earlier.

It can be seen that the kingdom of Bran wants to conquer Malta as soon as possible.

It's also easy to understand.

Only by taking Malta in time can the Luxin sea route be opened, so as to increase troops to the Shifan Canal and strengthen the defense of the Kibu fortress.

Unable to take Malta, the Royal Navy of Bran could not hold the Kib Fortress in any case.

But the problem is, it's easier said than done.

Although the Raleigh Navy was once again a shrunken turtle, the Ranman Army was very strong, and the Ranman Air Force was as active and tenacious as ever.

In addition, the Imperial Expeditionary Air Brigade has also stepped up its investment.

It's just that instead of bombing the landing Bran army, transport planes were dispatched to airdrop ammunition and other war materials to the Manan army on the island.

The Fenman Air Force has been airdropping war materiel to Malta after the sea routes were cut off.

Due to the lack of reconnaissance means, the Yamaman Air Force never had the opportunity to strike at the Bran fleet, at most against ships transporting troops and materials to Malta.

According to the battle report provided by the Manman Air Force, more than a dozen large warships have been blown and sunk.

Of course, there is definitely moisture.

With the investment of the Royal Navy of Bran, not many battleships were sunk, but all kinds of small fast transport ships suffered heavy losses.

The point is that with the support of the airdrop, the morale of the Yamaman army has always been high, and the fighting spirit is also good, and there is no possibility of rapid collapse.

As long as the Men army was fighting, it was impossible for Bran's army to take Malta quickly.

If anything, this year is definitely hopeless.

The Royal Navy of Bran hasn't even managed Lu Xinhai, so what can it do to reinforce the Kibu Fortress?