Yan Guozhong's problem is Lei Shaoqing's problem. At that time, Yan Guozhong had his own chief of staff, and in a strict sense, the Theater Fleet Command led by Lei Shaoqing was independent of the Theater Command, even if Lei Shaoqing was directly responsible to Yan Guozhong, these were two sets of teams. However, Yan Guozhong still solicited Lei Shaoqing's opinion, and it was very healthy to solicit Lei Shaoqing's opinion on the next move.

On 10 March, the day Yan Guozhong returned to Port Vila, he euphemistically asked Lei Shaoqing for suggestions on the direction of the next operation. At that time, Lei Shaoqing did not answer immediately, and he himself did not have much understanding of the next move, so it was impossible to put forward reasonable suggestions. Yan Guozhong didn't ask, but gave Lei Shaoqing a few days to learn more information. And Lei Shaoqing did spend a lot of time thinking about the next offensive action.

At that time, Task Force 2 and Task Force 4 had already left the war zone and were on their way back to the Imperial mainland. This is a direct order from the Navy Command, and both fleets will receive a new carrier battle group after returning to their home ports, expanding into a three-carrier task force. And only Li Wenlong's theater fleet remained in the Southwest Pacific theater. After the second or fourth task force returned to the Southwest Pacific Theater, the Theater Fleet would return to Lae to receive the four battleships newly commissioned, as well as a number of cruisers and destroyers. These warships were temporarily added to the Southwest Pacific Theater Fleet, and were not officially assigned to the Southwest Pacific Theater Fleet. The only thing that was not certain at the time was whether Task Force 2 or Task Force 4 would be sent to the Central Pacific, or whether Task Force 5, which had been fully replenished, would be deployed.

Lei Shaoqing received news on 11 November that the principal would transfer Jiang Zhongmin from the Indian Ocean back to Guangzhou, and arrangements had already been made for the reconstruction of the Fifth Task Force, and three of the newly commissioned aircraft carrier battle groups would certainly be assigned to the Fifth Task Force, and an artillery formation would also be provided for the Fifth Task Force. Judging from this situation, it is very likely that Task Force 5 will be sent to fight in the Pacific theater. Instead of going to the Indian Ocean to exchange the 1st Task Force back. Of course, these are Lei Shaoqing's speculations and inferences. The principal has not yet announced specific arrangements. And it is unlikely that the Headmaster will make an official announcement until Task Force 5 is back in combat.

Like Tan Renhao, Lei Shaoqing did not understand the principal's arrangement. In other words, it is very dissatisfied. This is not to say that Jiang Zhongmin's ability is problematic, Lei Shaoqing has been a classmate with Jiang Zhongmin for several years, and he still has some understanding of this alumnus who was very down-to-earth during his time in school, Jiang Zhongmin is by no means a person like Fan Peikun. But why does Jiang Zhongmin have to be taken care of everywhere? How to say, Lei Shaoqing is also a graduate of the 193rd class of the Naval Academy, and he also won the Sea Lion Medal. The merits established on the battlefield are no less than those of Jiang Zhongmin. And both of them belong to the kind of generals who lack luck, why does Lei Shaoqing have to sit on the cold bench, while Jiang Zhongmin should be reused?

Before returning to the Navy, Lei Shaoqing still wanted to go to the Fifth Task Force, but when he returned to the Navy Headquarters, he knew that his idea was very unrealistic. If the principal didn't pay attention to Jiang Zhongmin, as early as when the Fifth Task Force was established, he should have arranged for Hao Dongjue or Chang recommended a new commander to the Fifth Task Force as the commander. Instead of letting Jiang Zhongmin go to the Fifth Task Force. And now, the principal would not consider letting Lei Shaoqing go to the Fifth Task Force at all.

As for why the principal reuses Jiang Zhongmin so much, Lei Shaoqing still has points in his heart. Tan Renhao almost single-handedly blocked the light of everyone from the First Task Force, and there needs to be balance within the navy, so the principal needs someone who can compete with Tan Renhao, and this person is Jiang Zhongmin. But Lei Shaoqing was still a little dissatisfied with the principal's arrangement, not to mention anything else, the first task force let go of the Japanese combined fleet because of strength problems, and later the second task force suffered a defeat, which caused an uproar, Tan Renhao was investigated by the government, and Lei Shaoqing was almost investigated. This time, the Fifth Task Force was almost completely wiped out, why wasn't Jiang Zhongmin investigated?

Lei Shaoqing's idea is really a bit extreme, this is because Lei Shaoqing's own experience and experience are determined. Of course, this did not affect Lei Shaoqing's performance in the position of commander of the theater fleet. After talking with Gan Yongxing, Lei Shaoqing obviously felt that Gan Yongxing should have known the principal's arrangement for a long time, and he was also a little dissatisfied with the principal's arrangement. Personally speaking, Gan Yongxing must have fully supported Tan Renhao and the generals who came out of the First Task Force. And this is also reflected in the matter of making Lei Shaoqing the commander of the theater fleet. In terms of the authority of the commander of the theater fleet, Gan Yongxing must have directly negotiated with Yan Guozhong, otherwise Yan Guozhong would not have let Lei Shaoqing establish a separate theater fleet command, and it would be independent of the theater command and become a command organization with some real power. Therefore, Gan Yongxing still values Lei Shaoqing, and based on this alone, Lei Shaoqing will not disappoint Gan Yongxing.

Regarding how to attack the Australian mainland, Lei Shaoqing actually didn't have much say, this was the task of the Marine Corps, and the fleet only played a supporting role, but since Yan Guozhong had euphemistically put forward this request, Lei Shaoqing still spent a lot of energy studying this issue. And this also reflects the gap between Lei Shaoqing and Tan Renhao, if Tan Renhao was here, he would definitely have taken all aspects of the situation into account a long time ago, and would take the initiative to make suggestions, rather than passively carry out work.

After spending a lot of effort to understand the defensive deployment of the US military on the Australian continent and the geographical situation in the southeast of the Australian mainland, as well as the deployment of the imperial army, Lei Shaoqing also had an intuitive understanding. His view is similar to the point that Tan Renhao mentioned to Chang Jianxin, that is, a direct attack on the port of Brisbane is not a good strategy.

"Specifically, the attack on the port of Brisbane is a bit uneconomical, and the number of troops invested will not be too small, and the first phase of the campaign, that is, the stage of controlling the beachhead, consolidating the landing ground, and expanding the scale of the landing, will certainly take a long time, and this is the most vulnerable stage of the landing operation, and it is also the stage most prone to failure. If we could not quickly take control of the port, and became entangled with the enemy on the beach, the result would have been unexpected. It is even possible to suffer defeat. Lei Shaoqing roughly expressed his point of view, "But the problem is that if Brisbane is abandoned, we will only have to choose a suitable landing site near Sydney, which will have problems such as too long logistics supply lines, too long maneuver time for the landing force, and we can only rely on the fleet to support the landing operation." Especially in terms of support forces, if the U.S. forces launch a counterattack at that time, the number of fleet forces we can put into it will be very limited. Even if the Fifth Task Force can be formed in time and the theater fleet can be replenished on a large scale, the landing operation will certainly be very difficult in the absence of shore-based air support from the sea and sea routes. ”

Yan Guozhong has been listening carefully. Finally, he laughed, "I'm also thinking about the aspects you mentioned. The U.S. forces in Brisbane are very strong, and from the information we have now, MacArthur also judged that we will land near Brisbane, and the primary purpose is to capture the port of Brisbane, so that our fleet can unload the cargo directly at the port. The Marine Corps will be able to provide timely material assistance. Moreover, as soon as we seize the port of Brisbane, the Army's participating units can be put into combat operations. Therefore, the U.S. military will definitely desperately strengthen the defense of the port of Brisbane, fight to block us here, and finally drive us off the Tasman Sea! ”

Lei Shaoqing nodded slightly, this is the biggest problem of landing directly at the port of Brisbane.

Through the numerous landing operations launched in the Pacific, the Marine Corps has summed up several experiences in landing operations, and the most important of these is the number of troops that the attacking side needs to invest in the landing operation. This is because most of the previous landing operations were carried out on islands, which is very different from landing operations facing the mainland. The only thing worth comparing is the landing operation at Port Moresby, and the operation to capture Port Moresby was the longest-lasting, most involved, and most fiercely contested landing operation in the southwest Pacific other than the battle for Kuah Island. In the Port Moresby operation, Yan Guozhong invested more than 120,000 troops, while the total strength of the US defense was more than 60,000, which is not counting the additional troops of the US army in the later period. If this were to be used as a reference to actually land Brisbane, the Marines would have to be more than two and a half times the strength of the U.S. defense. The U.S. military defended Brisbane and nearby areas with 150,000 troops, and even after deducting some of the troops that could not participate in the war, there were 100,000 troops that could be mobilized. According to the minimum ratio, the offensive force that needs to be invested must be 250,000, which is about 13 marine divisions, or 20 army divisions. The strength itself is not a problem, the problem is that it is hardly possible to provide sufficient logistical support for so many troops until the port of Brisbane is captured!

"If you abandon Brisbane and land somewhere else, the best choice is near Sydney, and the most suitable landing place is in the northern area of Sydney, where there are relatively few defensive forces, and the landing operation is easy to succeed, and you can quickly concentrate your forces to attack Sydney and seize Sydney Harbor, so that there is not much problem with the logistics support of the combat troops." Yan Guozhong hesitated slightly, "And the problem is just as you mentioned, this place is far away from the combat range of our shore-based aircraft, including shore-based heavy bombers, if the counterattack of the US military at that time contains our main fleet, relying only on the support of the fleet is not enough to allow the marines to go ashore smoothly." Therefore, we have to think about solutions. ”

"If we can, we should lay down a few forward bases and even completely change the offensive strategy."

Yan Guozhong laughed. "We've already discussed this, there are several small islands in the Tasman Sea, and from the photos taken by the submarines, Lord Howe Island and Borspiramid Island have suitable bases for field airfields, and can also be used to hoard war materiel and gather offensive troops. In addition, there were not many defensive forces on these two islands, and with the support of the fleet, it was not very difficult to attack. The main problem is that if we attack these two islands, then our intentions will be completely exposed, and if MacArthur judges that the target of our attack is Sydney, not Brisbane, then he will definitely adjust the defensive deployment, and even if we use these two islands as our forward base, the number of ground troops invested in the first few batches will not be very large, not to mention that MacArthur will transfer the main force, even if he arranges a few more divisions of reserves here to act as mobile defense forces, the landing operation will encounter huge trouble! ”

"That is, we must try to trick MacArthur into believing that we are still going to land in Brisbane, and that our attack on the two islands to the south is just a campaign deception?"

Yan Guozhong frowned slightly, and suddenly laughed. Lei Shaoqing looked at Yan Guozhong, not knowing if he had said the wrong thing.

"Xiao Lei, what you said really reminded me." Yan Guozhong pondered for a while, and immediately said, "Why didn't I think about the problem the other way around before? We were worried that MacArthur would see through our plans, so we created the illusion that MacArthur was thinking that our actions in the Tasman Sea were merely a feint, and that we were only preparing for the landing in Brisbane. If that is achieved, then MacArthur will leave the main forces in Brisbane, and it will be too late for him to react by the time we have landed. ”

Lei Shaoqing hadn't thought about it so deeply, and after Yan Guozhong said it, he also thought about it. Disguising the direction of the main attack as a feint, then even if MacArthur is suspicious, he will not be able to make an accurate judgment, as long as the deception has an effect, then the operation of landing in Australia will be twice the result with half the effort!

"I'll find someone to plan this first, and when the time comes, I will definitely need the assistance of the fleet."

"Then I'll also prepare first, where the fleet contributes, we will do our best to assist!"

The two of them just agreed, and Lei Shaoqing immediately said goodbye to Yan Guozhong, but what method to take to confuse the US military, Lei Shaoqing did not expect it, and Yan Guozhong did not expect it, this is a new task for staff officers.

……