The fleet arrived at the scheduled sea area in the afternoon of the next day, Lei Shaoqing and the second task force under the new command of Chang Jian arrived four hours ahead of schedule, and the third task force commanded by Yan Shiqi and Gu Zhenyun had already passed through the rendezvous sea area more than 10 hours ago and was heading in the direction of Japan's Kyushu Island.

"This mission, the focus is on the 6th team to board the 6th near Fukuoka, and our task is to cover the 6th team ashore."

Hao Dongjue explained the key points of this operation to the fleet staff: "Starting tomorrow, bombers will be fully dispatched to bomb Japan's coastal defense positions. Judging from the information obtained so far, the coastal defense positions near Fukuoka are not strong, and it will not be difficult to climb the 6, so the bomber unit will be fully dispatched just in case. In addition, the Japanese aviation has already been destroyed by us, so the problems of air defense of the fleet are not serious, and part of the fighters will also perform ground strike missions. This is a good opportunity to adapt to the new fighters, guys, from now on, the fleet is in the highest state of combat readiness, and at 6:30 the turn begins, we sail in front of Task Force 2 and start the first round of bombing at dawn, is there a problem? ”

There were no staff officers to ask questions, and the meeting ended quickly. After the staff officer 6 continued to leave, Tan Renhao walked to the large chart on the wall. Hao Dongjue lit a cigarette and walked over. He didn't give Tan Renhao a cigarette, Tan Renhao didn't smoke in the past two days, it seems that he has quit smoking.

"What do you think of this operation?"

Tan Renhao glanced at his partner next to him.

"It's not a little difficult, it's about the same as training."

Hao Dongjue leaned on the table behind him, "The effect of the strategic bombing against Japan has been fully reflected, judging from the information provided by Luo Yunchong, in the past three months, there has been no activity of enemy aircraft in the skies over Japan. The difficulty of the 6th squadron to ascend to the 6th was almost zero, with close artillery support from the 3rd Task Force in front, air support from our two task forces in the back, shore-based fighters from the HNA and heavy bombers from the Strategic Strike Force. Even if the Japanese army was able to organize forces to resist. Nor can it pose much of a threat to the 6 team. ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, and the action of landing on Kyushu Island in Japan was directly proposed by the prime minister. From a purely military point of view, it is better to land on the 6 Kuril Islands than to land on the 6 Kuril Islands, and to establish a few field airfields there to completely blockade Japan. As long as Japan is completely blocked, even if it does not go to the mainland of Japan, and besieges Japan for 25 years, Japan will be completely finished. There is no need to board 6 on Japanese soil at all. This was clearly a politically motivated military operation. The whole Noboto 6 plan was to occupy the island of Kyushu and establish a Japanese puppet government here.

"Perhaps, the battle will only last two or three days, and this is just the right time for our pilots to familiarize themselves with the new fighters!"

Hao Dongjue slowly spit out a cigarette, "This time we should let the Second Task Force play an important role, and Lao Lei and they can also save a little face." ”

Tan Renhao let out a sigh. "I think so too, the result of the last naval battle was extremely unfavorable for them. Although on the whole, Shaoqing and they didn't make many mistakes, and under the circumstances at that time, maybe I couldn't have done better. But. The voices accusing them have come out. If Task Force 2 can perform well this time, then they will be able to gain new support. ”

Both of them smiled bitterly, the result of the "Second Battle of the Marianas" was both happy and sad for the Tang Empire. Gladly. The U.S. Pacific Fleet has completely lost its combat effectiveness, and it is no longer possible to challenge the Tang Imperial Navy and compete for sea supremacy in the waters of the Mariana Islands, which is of great help to the 6th Squadron in later capturing Saipan, Tinian Island, Rota Island, and now attacking Guam, and it can even be said to be of decisive significance. Sadly, the two most powerful task forces of the Tang Empire suffered heavy losses, and three aircraft carriers were sunk. Both ships suffered heavy losses and lost the opportunity to further expand the victory. For example, the planned capture of the Mariana Islands was cancelled at a later stage of the operation, but the plan to send troops to capture Wake Island was cancelled. On the whole, the "Second Battle of the Marianas" was favorable to the Tang Empire, at least it ensured that the Imperial 6 could quickly capture the last few important islands without interference, and finally forced the United States to abandon the Caroline Islands on its own initiative. The "Battle of the Mariana Islands", which lasted for several months, was also coming to an end, and the Tang Empire also successfully gained control of the Caroline Islands and leveled the front. Pushed the defensive ring to the east for thousands of nautical miles. The implications for the empire were enormous. At least the U.S. military no longer wants to threaten the empire itself, and the initiative on the battlefield has fallen to the side of the empire, and all that needs to be done now is to gather forces and decide the next direction of attack.

"Dongjue, do you think it's better for us to go east or south?"

Tan Renhao thought of this, so he asked.

"What do you mean?"

Hao Dongjue didn't react for a moment.

"After conquering the Mariana Islands, should we take the opportunity to push eastward, or should we take advantage of the lack of U.S. naval forces to move south?"

Tan Renhao marked two huge arrows on the chart, one pointing to the Hawaiian Islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and the other pointing to the Australian Big 6 in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

"It's all good choices."

Hao Dongjue tightened his eyebrows, looked at the map and pondered for a while, and said, "If we go east, we can pull out the most important US naval base in the Pacific Ocean and kick open the door of the United States." As long as we occupy the Hawaiian Islands, then we can go all the way and threaten the continental United States. The problem is that it won't be easy to conquer the Hawaiian Islands. The Mariana Islands can only be regarded as a forward base for the United States in the Pacific Ocean, and it took us half a year to attack this archipelago alone. U.S. forces are deployed on the Hawaiian Islands more than twice as many as in the Mariana Islands, and they are closer to the U.S. mainland and have easier access to rear support. And if we want to attack the Hawaiian Islands, we need to invest at least fifteen 6-Sentai divisions and thousands of warships. This will take at least half a year to prepare, and when the time comes, the US Navy will obtain a new aircraft carrier fleet, and the difficulty of attacking the Hawaiian Islands will increase dramatically, and the key is still in sea supremacy, whether it can defeat the US Pacific Fleet again, this has become the key issue of the later operation, and none of us dare to pack a ticket! ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, although the Hawaiian Islands are just an archipelago, but if it really starts, the troops that the Tang Empire needs to invest will be far greater than the battle of the Mariana Islands, and it will need more time to prepare. In addition, if you want to attack the Hawaiian Islands, you must first attack Wake Island and Midway Island, establish forward bases, and it will take at least two or three months to attack these two islands, and then organize a new offensive operation, then the attack on the Hawaiian Islands will be delayed until the end of the year, and then the US Navy will recover its strength. The two sides will start a new naval battle around sea supremacy, and the outcome of the naval battle will directly determine the outcome of the battle.

"If we go south, then we will have to give up going east, and we will have to focus on the Australian Big 6 for at least two or three years."

Hao Dongjue pointed on the chart, "Australia is only the strongest offshore territory of the United States, and it is also the closest forward fortress of the United States to the imperial mainland. To attack Australia, the strength of the navy alone is not enough, and the 6th Army must be involved. And that's not all, if the fight starts here, the war will drag on for years. Our advantages are clear. But the disadvantages are also obvious. If, after the US military is fully prepared, we go to 6 Australia again, it will be much more difficult. Opposite. If we can get 6 points in time and get 6 points, then in the future, we will focus on ground battles, which will be of great benefit to us. ”

"Are you in favor of going south first?"

Tan Renhao glanced at his partner.

"If we abandon the prejudice of the two armies of the Navy and the 6th Army, then I think the success of the southward movement is more certain."

Hao Dongjue shrugged his shoulders, "Actually, this war is not just a war for the navy, but a war for the entire empire, and we can't leave the 6th Army aside." Even if we choose to go east, sooner or later we will land on the American mainland. Can you still expect Team 6 to fight like they did on the island? Sooner or later, we will have to cooperate with the 6th Army, and the 6th Army is well aware of this, and in the Pacific theater, if there is no navy, the 6th Army will not be able to do anything. If the two armies of the Navy and the 6th can go hand in hand, then attacking Australia and sweeping the southwest Pacific region first is the most realistic arrangement! ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly and pondered for a while. said: "I see it that way, too. If we go eastward, even if we occupy the Hawaiian Islands, it will be impossible to land on the US mainland for a while, and this will not be able to block the sea passage between the US mainland and Australia. At that time, the U.S. military can launch a counterattack in the southwest Pacific and threaten the South China Sea region and the islands in the western Pacific, and our flank will be very vulnerable. In addition, Australia's resources, as well as the significance of sweeping the southwest Pacific region to the empire, were enough for the prime minister to decide to go south first and temporarily abandon the plan to go east. ”

"Do you have plans for this?"

Hao Dongjue glanced at his partner in surprise, he felt that Tan Renhao was too amazing, and now the empire has not yet made the next strategic plan.

"No, it's just my guess."

Tan Renhao leaned on the table and looked at the sea map on the wall, "But, now, let's settle the Japanese problem first, and then think about how to fight next, and this doesn't seem to be something we should worry about!" ”

Both of them laughed, strategic arrangement was not something that they fleet commanders needed to think about, they just needed to command every battle according to the above meaning.

That night, Task Force 3, which had been the first to come out, carried out an artillery bombardment of Noboru 6 near Fukuoka. The entire shelling lasted from the night of 13 to the morning of 14 July, and more than 20 warships of the 3rd Task Force poured a total of 10,000 shells on the 6 Deng, and ploughed the entire 6 field several times with shells.

The night bombers of the Hainan Airlines and the night bombers of the Strategic Strike Force also carried out three waves of bombing in depth in the 6th Field, and more than 1,000 bombers dropped thousands of tons of bombs around the 6th Bomb. The bombing continued until dawn, when the bombers left the skies over Japan.

The bombers of Task Force 1 began to take off at about half past five and arrived over the 6th field at about 7 o'clock, where they began dropping bombs on the Japanese coastal fortifications provided by the reconnaissance planes. The bomber group of the 2nd Task Force arrived half an hour late. Before the bomber groups of the two task forces had left, the daytime bomber groups of the HNA rushed over, followed by the heavy bombers of the Strategic Strike Force. The shelling of the 3rd Task Force began again before eight o'clock. At eight o'clock, the fire attack reached its peak, and the 6th Sentai and 6 boats also rushed towards the beach at this time, and the combat operation on the Japanese mainland began on time at 8 o'clock on June 14.

The first two regiments of the 6 Squadron to go ashore did not encounter any resistance, and before these officers and men of the 6 Squadron came ashore, they had already been repeatedly attacked by thousands of tons of ammunition on the 6 Field, and the Japanese troops had long been frightened. By noon, the officers and men of the 6th Sentai had already landed on the beach of the Japanese island of Kyushu, and by the evening, the 6th Sentai had reached the strength of three divisions, and two other 6th Divisions of the Kingdom of Korea and one 6th Brigade of the Kingdom of Thailand had landed on the beach.

The whole operation went unexpectedly smoothly, but it was only the first day. The next day, the two 6th Divisions began to advance towards Fukuoka City, preparing to occupy the port of Fukuoka in order to welcome more troops, as well as a large amount of heavy equipment, ammunition, etc. But when Sentai 6 stormed into the defenseless city of Fukuoka, it was a ghost town, with starving corpses lining the streets, wild dogs with green eyes in their eyes, and rats scurrying around the ruins. This is no longer a city, but a large tomb where hundreds of thousands of Japanese are buried.

When the Tang army occupied Fukuoka, the Japanese, who were hiding outside the city, did not resist, but took the initiative to flock to the camp of the Tang army, they only wanted food, they just wanted a chance to survive. This brought a new problem, the 6 clans of the Tang Empire didn't bring much food at all!

This is the trouble of the 6 Sentai team, not the trouble of the fleet. Sentai 6 was both an occupation force and an army that housed Japanese refugees. This time, the Imperial 6 Sentai is not here to kill, but to save the Japanese, to be precise, to help those Japanese who oppose the Tojo government to establish a puppet government. They had to rescue the Japanese who had already half their feet in the grave!