.“ Hey, cousin Werner, where did your squadron fly today? ”

The young non-commissioned officer, dressed in a bloated flight suit and a leather jacket, happily greeted the second lieutenant officer who happened to pass in front of him, and the relationship between the two was obvious from the salutation and tone.

The second lieutenant, who was almost in the same attire, stopped, but the expression on his face was not as bright as the former's.

"Well, it's classified! Also, I said that when outsiders were present, I called me Captain, Second Lieutenant Werner! ”

"Alright then, honorable Second Lieutenant Werner! Whether you're going to on the head of the Japanese emperor or bomb a Japanese port, I wish you the best of luck! In addition......" The non-commissioned officer leaned closer to the other party and lowered his voice, "I said cousin, can you say hello to Cousin Rona for me next time you write a letter?" ”

"Ahem, my sister wouldn't marry a sergeant!" The second lieutenant glared at his "ill-intentioned" cousin, then turned his head to look at his companion who was about to go away, sighed lightly, and said in a low voice: "We are going to bomb Yawata this time, you know, the anti-aircraft fire is even denser than Tokyo!" If...... If I can't come back, take good care of my sister for me, but you are not allowed to touch her until she is promoted to second lieutenant!" ”

"Cousin Werner......" Hearing this, the splendor and flattery on the young non-commissioned officer's face were suddenly swept away, and a real sadness was replaced by it. With the deepening of the strategic bombing against Japan, more and more German pilots spilled blood in the sky, and watching their companions leave one by one was a nightmare for everyone.

"Hah, it's nothing! The anti-aircraft artillery of the Japanese is also not so terrible, and our battle losses so far do not exceed ten percent, hahaha! The second lieutenant's laughter was sudden, but it was hard to hide the melancholy in his heart, considering that just three days earlier, two of his best comrades had been left in Japan forever with their Dornier III bombers at the Jihachiman Iron Works in Kitakyushu.

It is no exaggeration to say that the massive steel base of Hachiman was one of the core powerhouses of Japan's war machine. Destroying it would destroy more than half of Japan's war potential, and the Japanese knew that only Hachiman had the same level of air defense as Tokyo in the entire Japanese archipelago.

It was against this background that German bombers continued to take off from the two bases of Kuyo Island and Aoshima to Hachiman to bomb them. In the nearly six months from November 1928 to April 1929, the Luftwaffe flew more than 200,000 tons of bombs and incendiary bombs by Dornier II long-range bombers and Dornier III ultra-long-range bombers, nearly one-third of which were used to bomb Yawata. The incessant bombing caused incalculable damage to Japanese industries and cities, while the Germans themselves lost more than 700 bombers and thousands of pilots. In particular, after the Japanese army's new high-altitude interceptors and new large-caliber anti-aircraft guns were put into use in the spring of 1929, the loss rate of German bombers increased significantly.

"Cousin......" The young non-commissioned officer's eyes flashed something, although his squadron was mainly responsible for airlifting supplies from Qingdao, but the losses were not without it, and there would inevitably be some non-human mechanical losses in long-distance flights, once these bombers were wrecked in Japanese waters and German submarines could not arrive in time, the pilots would only have two ways to die and be captured by the Japanese, and there was no substantial difference between the two.

The second lieutenant patted the young non-commissioned officer on the shoulder, turned firmly, and hurried towards his companion.

Hunches aren't always right. But sometimes unfortunate things happen. On the day of April 1. A total of 81 Dornier II and 72 Dornier III took part in the bombing of the Yawata Steel Base, while the Japanese home air force dispatched 109 ** fighters to intercept them, and nearly 1,000 anti-aircraft guns on the ground also weaved a dense anti-aircraft fire network over the base. More than 2,000 bombs and incendiary bombs dropped by the Germans from high altitudes once again reduced the production of Yawata Steel, and it also lost 11 bombers, eight of which were Dornier II.

In the list of the dead that day, the names of Eras and Werner were listed.

For the more than 50,000 German officers and men stationed on Kuye Island, the constant departure of their companions was not the most cruel thing; with the arrival of spring, the Japanese troops on the opposite side could not bear the anger that had been suppressed for a winter, and they had no intention of concealing their intention to launch a sea-crossing operation, and a large number of troops were continuously transferred from Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, and the transport ships and sailing ships used to carry the troops were basically in place. Two newly formed air corps were transferred to the front-line airfield in Hokkaido. All signs point to the imminence of a large-scale cross-sea campaign.

On April 10, the Japanese bomber group carried out an air attack on the strategic target in the south of Kuye Island under the cover of fighter planes, which was the first air attack on Kuye Island by the Japanese army since the defeat of a large-scale air battle in January, but although the Japanese army invested as many as 525 fighters and 247 bombers this time, the results of the air raid were still unsatisfactory - with the joint efforts of German fighters and ground anti-aircraft artillery, the Japanese lost 1/3 of the sortie aircraft, and many bomber pilots just dropped bombs at will and returned in a hurry. Fighter pilots also failed to surpass their predecessors.

On April 15, Emperor Showa personally visited Hokkaido to cheer up the troops that were about to depart. At this time, the Japanese army had assembled a huge strength of more than 500,000 men in 6,721 divisions and 9 independent brigades, and the number of landing ships, including a large number of civilian ships, had also reached an astonishing 3,900 ships.

Germany, Berlin, official meeting of the Supreme High Command.

"17,000 tons of various aerial bombs, 210,000 tons of incendiary bombs, 70 million liters of aviation fuel, 12 million liters of vehicle fuel, 330,000 tons of marine heavy fuel, and 1.2 million tons of various ammunition!" After reporting these data in a slow and cold tone, Max Hoffmann, the German Army General and First Quartermaster of the Army General Staff, swept his gaze over the faces of everyone present.

Chentian, who was sitting in the first place, didn't say anything, but had a thoughtful expression. Although all German long-range transport planes and a considerable number of bombers in the Far East were used to transport military supplies from Qingdao to Kuye Island, this was far from satisfying the needs of Kuye Island, and after entering April 1929, the reserves of strategic materials fell below the red line for the first time, and due to the continuous bombing of Japan, there was a shortage of aerial bombs, incendiary bombs, and fuel first. 17,000 tons of aerial bombs and 20,000 tons of incendiary bombs can only sustain a bomber group for a maximum of two weeks, and the reserves of aviation fuel are considerable. But it could only supply 1,000 Dornell III bombers to make two sorties, not to mention that 50 million liters of them were listed as special fuel for fighters and were strictly restricted, "Although our strategic bombing caused a double blow to the Japanese both materially and spiritually, it was not enough to force the Japanese to give up this war!" As things stand, the battle of Kuye is inevitable, how long will this battle last? One week? One month? Or a year? ”

Hoffman was responded to by continued silence.

"Although before the war, we had stockpiled as many strategic materials as possible in Kuye Island, Vladivostok and Qingdao, but in the case of consumption far greater than supply, it is inevitable that today's situation will arise!"

After saying a word that doesn't hurt. Hoffmann, in his capacity as the First Quartermaster General, that is, the deputy chief of the General Staff of the German Army, put forward his own proposal: "I propose that half of the bomber units deployed on Kuye Island be transferred to Qingdao and reduce the intensity of strategic bombing against Japan!" Although the supplies stockpiled on Kuye Island can last the garrison for three months of high-intensity fighting, we must send more supplies there as soon as possible! ”

Hoffman's speech ended without applause, no cheers, but no questioning.

Tatsuten raised his head, gave him an approving look, and then turned his gaze to Ollie, the most tactically gifted army commander in the room. The youngest non-lineage noble marshal and war minister in the history of the German Army.

"The information that General Hoffmann has just given us is very important. Although we have opened up the China-Myanmar communication line, the transportation of materials between Qingdao and Kuye Island still needs to be transported by air! The decision of the navy is to first move the periphery and then the inner line, and concentrate superior forces before fighting a decisive battle. I can't blame that, but it also means that we won't be able to open up sea lines of communication in the Tsushima Strait or the Chiba Islands anytime soon! Ollie stood up from his position and said as he slowly walked to the front desk with a large battle map.

"From the Army's point of view, the best way to resolve the crisis on Kuyo is to establish a land line of communication from Europe to the Far East! If Berlin could be connected with Lazarev in the Far East by a railway line, everything would be solved! As soon as Ollie pulled the rope at the front desk, a large map of Russia appeared in front of everyone's eyes, which had been pre-marked in various colors, and the large blue arrow pointing from Belarus to the Far East was particularly eye-catching, and in addition to the gray German-controlled Belarus and Ukraine, Russia's vast territory was currently occupied by three colors—red occupied half of the southwest, southeast, and south. It was the sphere of influence of the Soviet Revolutionary Government, the yellow occupied the Far East, which was the territory of the Russian puppet democratic government, and the remaining green areas were the democratic governments left over from Tsarist Russia.

At the very end of the blue arrow is a small seaside town called Lazarev, which is the closest place on the mainland to Kuye Island, and is also the narrowest and shallowest point in the Tatar Strait.

"There are two ways to build this long overland line of communication. One is politics, the other is military! In the previous months, we had engaged in Lend-Lease negotiations with the Russian Revolutionary Government, the Russian Democratic Government, and the Russian Far East Government, but as we all know, the negotiations failed! We do not deny that with this line of communication we can easily control the whole of Russia, so the refusal of the Russians is not surprising! Then next, we either choose to use force or choose to give up! ”

"First of all, I want to say that the Imperial Army is fully capable of opening up this Eurasian road!" "But according to our conservative estimates, at least 150 divisions would need to be invested to fight such a battle, and even if we win, at least 60 divisions would be needed to maintain this road, which means that eighty percent of the Imperial Army's troops would be deployed overseas, that is, the Americas, Southeast Asia, and Russia!" ”

While Ollie paused, some of the generals below began to talk in whispers, although the cost of stationing troops overseas was high, the Empire's abundant finances could still cope with it.

"The above is just a military calculation, as for the political impact, I don't think you may be clear! Let me tell you, then, that as soon as the Imperial Army enters the Russian hinterland again, the war between the revolutionary and democratic governments will cease at once, and the common interests will bring them together to fight! ”

Seeing everyone's surprised eyes, Ollie disagreed, "Everyone may still think that we were allies with the Russian Revolutionary Government not long ago, and our soldiers still fought together against the Tsarist army, but these are a thing of the past!" In previous negotiations, the Russians have made it clear that they have paid the price for Belarus and Ukraine, the Caucasus, so that no one will be allowed to take away every inch of land left in any form! ”

"Unite the democratic government of Russia to fight with them!" Someone below suggested it.

Ollie shook his head, "Sokolov is not stupid, once the revolutionary government is taken out by us, his democratic government will lose its best barrier!" What's more, they are also not willing to take a huge risk to lease the railway arteries to us for use! To be honest, if we really control this Eurasian railway, and when Japan is cleaned up, it is impossible for us not to fight Russia's idea! ”

Having said that, no one among the generals raised any objections, and many people seemed to have begun to think about what role they would play in the next military operation.

"So, we're going to abandon this path!"

This sentence was absolutely unexpected to say at this time, not to mention that the speaker was Chentian, who had not spoken before.

"Your Majesty......"

With the exception of Ollie, most of the generals seemed puzzled. Although the German Navy has poured out, the main force of the German Army is still at home, and as Ollie just said, winning this battle is not a problem.

"Russia at this time is like a huge quagmire, we should let them fight!" Chen Tian pointed to the three colors on the map and said, "They are intriguing with each other, and we have a chance to take advantage of it!" ”

"So Kuye Island......"

"Either give up, or have a decisive battle at sea in advance!" Chen Tian gave two simple options, and he quickly saw the answer in everyone's eyes, not everyone was so resolute, but at least no one was going to choose the first option in this situation.

After exchanging a tacit glance with Ollie, Chen Tian announced:

"In addition, we will also implement the 'Gray Forest' operation ahead of schedule!"