After understanding the current situation of the 6th Army, Tan Renhao went on to make some understanding of the situation of the navy, after all, the main force in the Pacific theater is the navy, and the strength of the navy determines everything.

The situation in the Navy was no better than that of the 6 Army. At present, the navy has six aircraft carriers, four battleships, sixteen large air defense cruisers, thirty-four heavy cruisers, and more than 100 capital destroyers, which form three task forces and one reserve task force. In addition, the Navy has four aircraft carriers, four battleships, eight large air defense cruisers, eighteen heavy cruisers, and more than 40 capital destroyers under construction, which can be commissioned in the first half of 25 years. Comparatively, the US Navy now has only one aircraft carrier, four battleships, thirty-five cruisers, and more than two hundred destroyers (most of them old destroyers), and in the first half of 25, the US Navy had only five aircraft carriers at most, eight battleships (four newly built), more than sixty cruisers, and more than three hundred destroyers, and its total size was still below the Tang Imperial Navy.

The Imperial Navy's superiority in forces in the Pacific Ocean can be maintained at least until the end of 25, or even the beginning of 26, but the problem is that the superiority in strength does not mean that the Imperial Navy has gained the initiative on the battlefield. After the Battle of the Mariana Islands, the losses of the Imperial Navy were also extremely heavy, and in addition to the fleet, the losses of the 6 Sentai were very large. Judging from the information obtained by Tan Renhao, before the end of 25, the 6th team will put a maximum of 1o divisions on the front line, and it may reach 15 divisions, but this will be limited by transportation and delivery capabilities.

If the strength of 1o to 15 6 divisions is used for island attacks, it is not a big problem, after all, the island battlefield is relatively special, and the ground forces that both sides can invest are relatively limited, and the number of troops will bring trouble in logistics. But to attack Australia with this amount of troops, this is a whimsical thing. The U.S. military has at least 3o divisions on the ground in Australia, and can also reinforce 2o divisions by the end of the year. And Australia's local troops are a little less combat-ready, but they also have nearly 4o divisions. Even if it is not based on the fact that the offensive force should be twice as large as the defensive force, relying on aviation and the fire support provided by the fleet, then at least 100 divisions must be prepared to be sure of taking Australia.

It is impossible to rely on the 6th Sentai itself to form a 100 divisions, and the 6th Sentai originally took the route of elite soldiers, and it was mainly infantry. There are no armored corps and motorized infantry suitable for large-scale ground operations. In addition, the restrictions on attacking Australia were not only a matter of troops, but more importantly, the Tang Empire did not have enough projection forces at that time, even if it could send a hundred divisions of ground troops to the Australian Big 6, there was not enough strength to ensure that these ground troops obtained sufficient combat materials and could not guarantee their combat operations.

At that time, the Tang Empire's seaborne forces in the Pacific region could meet the needs of 20,000 ground troops for combat operations at most, not counting the supply forces needed by the fleet and shore-based aviation. It is necessary to ensure that 100 divisions of ground troops fight in Australia. It will take at least a year for the Don Empire to prepare. For example, boarding 6 ships, fast transport ships, merchant ships, and so on. These need to be built in a hurry. The construction of these ships would have to crowd out the resources of the land used to build warships. Slipways are available (large slipways are used to build warships), but the problem is that building these ships requires a lot of raw materials, such as steel, which inevitably weakens the investment in battleships.

Under the circumstances, if the scale of the Australian campaign had been controlled, a battle had not been sought, and some of the merchant ships that had been used to transport supplies to the German Empire and the Persian Empire had been transferred, it would have been possible to launch the campaign in Australia at the end of 24, but this would inevitably plunge the Australian 6 into a protracted war and a war of attrition. And that doesn't do the empire any good.

"It can be said that judging from the current situation of the Navy and the 6th Army, the possibility of us moving 6 Australian 6 combat operations before 25 years is almost zero."

After Tan Renhao figured out the situation, he first found Gan Yongxing and expressed his point of view, "It is best to delay the combat operation of attacking the Australian Big 6 until the end of 25 years, and the more feasible way now is to sweep the islands around the Australian Big 6 first, if you can capture the Bismarck Islands and the New Hebrides." In the case of the Loyal Islands and New Caledonia, we can try to blockade Australia as much as possible, so that even if we delay until the end of 25 years and then board the 6 Australian Big 6, we have enough chances to win. ”

"You mean, attack the outer islands first?"

Gan Yongxing glanced at Tan Renhao, and then took out a cigarette.

"It's the best we can do with the power we have now."

Tan Renhao spread the map on the coffee table, "First sweep the islands in the northeast and east of Australia, cut off Australia's contact with the outside world through a sea and air blockade, and besiege Australia, at least so that the United States cannot send additional troops to Australia, then, we can try to delay the attack on Australia's big 6 to the end of 25 years." Over the course of a year and a half, we have a lot to choose from. ”

"If we sweep the islands, how will the U.S. side react?"

Gan Yongxing's eyes also fell on the map.

"Very strong reaction."

Tan Renhao laughed, "As long as we go south, then the American side can easily guess our intentions and know what we are going to do next." In addition, the United States should have some understanding of the current strength of the Imperial Navy, and they also know that it will be difficult for us to climb the 6th Australian 6th in the short term, so they should not immediately support the Australian 6th, but will try to entangle with us on these islands, delay the pace of our offensive, and strive to delay the time until the end of the year, and wait for the navy to recover before fighting a decisive battle with us. ”

Gan Yongxing nodded slightly. "In this way, the situation on the battlefield will again be determined by the outcome of the naval battle."

"There's no way around it, at least we can't threaten the U.S. mainland right now."

Tan Renhao sighed, "The shipbuilding industry of the United States is almost all concentrated on its east coast and the Gulf of Mexico, not to mention here, we do not even have the ability to attack the west coast of the United States, and we cannot prevent the US Navy from recovering at all, so we can only pin our hopes on a decisive battle with the US Navy." ”

"How sure are you of victory?"

Gan Yongxing raised his head.

"At least, we now have six aircraft carriers, while the United States will have a maximum of five by the end of the year, and by the middle of next year, we will have at least ten aircraft carriers, and the United States may have eight aircraft carriers by the end of next year."

Tan Renhao shrugged his shoulders. "Our strength is stronger, and if we really fight, the benefits to us should be greater!"

"But this will inevitably affect our southward movement."

Gan Yongxing leaned against the sand.

"This is a problem that cannot be solved, and we can at least choose the battlefield."

Tan Renhao buried his body, pointed on the map, and said, "We are heading south at the same time, in order to distract the attention of the US military. It is possible to divide forces to capture Wake Island and Midway. Of course, it was more difficult to capture Midway, which was very close to the Hawaiian Islands, there were many American troops nearby, and the long-range bombers deployed in the western part of the Hawaiian Islands could fly directly into the airspace near Midway. If we can take Wake Island, it will lay the groundwork for future eastward expansion, and it will also cause the U.S. military to misjudge that our next main direction is the Hawaiian Islands, not the islands in the southwest Pacific. If the US naval fleet can be held back here, then the southward combat operation will be smoother. ”

Gan Yongxing nodded slightly. "If the main thing to go south is to conquer the islands. Then the requirements for the fleet are a little lower. We can use shore-based aviation as much as possible. At that time, only one aircraft carrier task force will need to cooperate with the third task force, which will be enough to assist the 6 squadrons in sweeping the islands. ”

"We have an extra aircraft carrier task force. And this fleet can operate in the waters near Wake Island and contain the main force of the US Navy. ”

Tan Renhao looked at the chief of staff, "Relying on the support of shore-based aviation on Wake Island, the task force can be well protected. The focus of the U.S. defense is definitely on the Hawaiian Islands, and as long as the Hawaiian Islands are still threatened, then the U.S. military will not transfer its main fleet to the Southwest Pacific theater. ”

"Then we will attack Wake Island first, and when the U.S. military judges that we will attack Midway Island next, we will immediately move south."

Gan Yongxing understood what Tan Renhao meant, "First sweep the Bismarck Islands and control New Guinea." Establish an advance base, and then continue to sweep the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, complete the outflanking of Australia's large 6 combat operations, and lay the foundation for the final landing of 6 Australia. ”

"The general strategic steps are more or less the same, but we have to take into account the course of the campaign, that is, the time it takes to fight."

Tan Renhao sighed, "I roughly estimated that it would take about a month to capture Wake Island. You don't need to invest too many troops, a task force and a 6 division are enough. The capture of the Bismarck Islands, as well as the capture of New Guinea, would take at least four to five months. When the time comes, the U.S. Navy will be rejuvenated, and the Southwest Pacific, or the waters off Wake Island, will be the site of our engagement. ”

"You're saying we should invest more in these two places?"

Tan Renhao nodded. "Just like the Battle of the Mariana Islands, perhaps in the middle of the battle we have to face the challenge of the US Navy, which has a great impact on the battle, and the outcome of the naval battle will be directly related to the situation of the entire battlefield.

Gan Yongxing's expression immediately sank, and Tan Renhao's words were by no means alarmist. The results of the naval battle directly determined the ownership of sea supremacy, which in turn directly affected the Deng 6 operation, which also affected the ground combat operations on the islands. Therefore, the next battle was still dominated by naval battles, which decided everything.

"The problem is obvious, but we don't have anything to worry about."

Tan Renhao noticed the change in the chief of staff's expression, "I suggest that it is best to establish the Fourth Task Force immediately, and the matter of training troops can be postponed for the time being, if we can control the initiative on the battlefield before the beginning of next year, then we can replace the two old aircraft carriers with newly built aircraft carriers in the middle of next year, but now, we must restore the combat effectiveness of these two aircraft carriers, at least before the end of the year, and they must be integrated into regular combat forces." ”

Gan Yongxing nodded slightly. "I'll report this to the principal, if the U.S. Navy has four new aircraft carriers in service by the end of the year, then we have to ensure numerical superiority."

"The construction of new warships will also be increased, and four new battleships of the US Navy will also be commissioned by the end of the year, and they will have at least four old battleships in the Atlantic, which may be sent to the Pacific theater at any time. Therefore, we will try to ensure that the second batch of four 'New Provincial Capital' class battleships is put into service before the end of the year. ”

Tan Renhao shrugged his shoulders, "Although I don't think that battleships are still the main force in naval warfare, but in a specific environment, the status of battleships is still irreplaceable by aircraft carriers, at least, now the first task force is unable to perform some tasks of the third task force, and in the Deng 6 operation, the artillery support of the third task force is still extremely critical." The dense islands and extremely complex environment in the southwest Pacific limit the use of aircraft carriers on the one hand, and provide an ideal place for the artillery fleet to operate, and I don't want to see the four battleships of the Third Task Force face the eight battleships of the US Navy, and this time my luck will certainly not be as good as the last time. ”

Gan Yongxing immediately laughed. "You don't need to worry about these things, the headmaster has long recognized this, if four new battleships are put into service, maybe the headmaster will consider forming a fifth task force."

Tan Renhao smiled bitterly and didn't say anything more. Originally, these four battleships were planned to be allocated to the South Atlantic Theater of Operations, and the two retired aircraft carriers should also be assigned to the South Atlantic Theater of Operations, and as it is now, I am afraid that by the end of 25 years, it will be impossible for the South Atlantic Theater to acquire new capital warships. However, the problem is that there are five task forces operating in the same theater of operations, which will probably make the command work extremely complicated. Perhaps, it should be suggested that the rector make a change in the formation of the fleet in order to command the fleet operations more effectively.

"Okay, you come up with a specific plan as soon as possible, the principal will probably go to the capital the day after tomorrow."

Tan Renhao immediately stood up, he had already taken out the first draft of the plan, and after getting the consent of the chief of staff, he only needed to make some detailed changes to the plan.