The phone rang and woke Tan Renhao out of the bed. He glanced at his fiancée next to him and got out of bed lightly. He picked it up when the phone rang for the fifth time.

"Renhao? I'm Gan Yongxing, I didn't disturb you sleeping, right? ”

Tan Renhao was stunned for a moment and immediately said, "You are back without a chief of staff?" ”

"Yes, I'll come back. You're going to head to the headquarters right now. ”

"Okay, I'll be there in ten minutes!" …

Tan Renhao didn't ask much, after putting down the phone, he first went to wake up Du Xing, who lived downstairs, and then got dressed and left his "home", and when he came to the outside of the Navy Headquarters building, Tan Renhao immediately saw that the lights were on in the marshal's office, and there were two people on the window, which was Gan Yongxing and Nie Renfeng. Tan Renhao asked Duchen to wait below, and then he went upstairs directly. Sure enough, as he expected, Gan Yongxing and Nie Renfeng were waiting for him, and Liao Hanxiang was still sitting on the sand smoking, and the atmosphere in the room was a little tense.

"Renhao hopes we didn't disturb your rest."

"Chief of Staff, you're too polite."

Tan Renhao smiled reluctantly, and then sat down next to Liao Hanxiang.

"We didn't want to call you so late, but we just received a battle report."

Nie Renfeng took a document from the desk and came over, "We've all seen it, you can take a look first!" ”

Tan Renhao glanced at the page of the document, which was the battle report of the 6th Army, and then he opened the document in reverse.

"In the afternoon, General Yan Guozhong sent a telegram and mentioned the matter of landing on 6 Hachijo Island, which you brought up, right?"

Gan Yongxing took out a cigarette as he spoke, and it seemed that he hadn't rested for a long time. The telegram did not mention a detailed plan, and General Yan Guozhong only said that he would try his best to complete the combat operation of landing on 6 Hachijo Island. If that's the case, then we'll have to do this battle of Deng 6! ”

Tan Renhao frowned slightly, and at this time he also saw the key part of the document. This is a battle report of the 6th Army's war situation on the Korean Peninsula. The Japanese launched a large-scale counterattack in the early morning of the 3rd, committing at least 100,000 ground troops. A full-scale counterattack was launched in five directions from Ulsan to Pusan-Masan, and the 6th Army had already retreated to the second line of defense on the 4th, and it was possible that it would be forced to retreat to the third line of defense. Although the 6th Army said in the battle report that there was nothing to worry about, and this time the 6th Army took the initiative to retreat in order to pull the Japanese out to fight, Tan Renhao saw at a glance that the 6th Army's combat operations on the Korean Peninsula were once again in a predicament. Requests for support are definitely already being made to the Navy.

"Marshal Yan Dingyu returned to the capital yesterday morning. Now that he has arrived in Pyongyang, he heard that he has removed the battlefield commander of the front and replaced another 6th Army general to command combat operations on the Korean Peninsula. ”

Although Nie Renfeng didn't have any inhibitions, he was a little excited. "At about eight o'clock, Marshal Yan Dingyu called me and asked the navy to do its best to support the 6th Army in holding back the Japanese counterattack. And the 6th Army is also ready to use this opportunity to annihilate the Japanese army on the Korean Peninsula......"

Tan Renhao raised his head, obviously Nie Renfeng's words had a lot of moisture. A small Korean peninsula has not been defeated for a year, and now the 6th Army is still in a passive situation. How can you say that the Japanese army was driven out of the Korean Peninsula?

"That's the problem."

Gan Yongxing sighed. "If the 6th Army really wants to end combat operations on the Korean Peninsula in these months, it will be inseparable from the support of the Navy. Marshal Yan Dingyu will return to the capital early tomorrow morning, and he will definitely propose to the Prime Minister the matter of the two armies joining forces of the six seas. Therefore. We have to come up with a plan first. ”

This is the reason why Tan Renhao was brought in, and when he heard this, he didn't have to look at the battle report of the 6th Army anymore.

"We all agreed that the best way to do that was to disperse the Japanese forces."

Liao Hanxiang leaned on the sand: "On the battlefield on the Korean Peninsula, we can hardly play any role other than our bombers. And Japan will definitely do its best to drag the empire on the Korean Peninsula, which is the only way to ensure that the imperial ** team cannot land on Japanese soil. Therefore, the Japanese army will definitely concentrate all its forces. The best way to support the 6th Army is to open up a new theater of battle, one that is fully assumed by the Navy. ”

"Hachijojima?"

Tan Renhao completely understands now.

"To Hachijojima!"

Gan Yongxing smiled and nodded. "After Admiral Yan Guozhong sent the telegram back, we were thinking about this plan. Taking advantage of the fact that the Japanese army is now concentrating on attacking Korea, we will organize our troops to land on 6 Hachijo Island. If Hachijojima could be captured quickly, it would force the Japanese to disperse their forces to protect Tokyo. In the same way, we have gained a forward base. In the future, whether it is the bombing of Japan or the landing of 6 Japan's Hachijojima, we can use it as our main base. Therefore, the capture of Hachijo Island can be described as killing three birds with one stone. Not only can we meet the immediate requirements, but it is also a huge benefit for us. ”

"That would be the best. According to the advice of General Yan Guozhong, the combat operation to land on 6 Hachijo Island could only begin in May. Is this a little too late? ”

"We can bomb Hachijo Island first."

Liao Hanxiang took out a cigarette: "Now we can use the airfield on the Ogasawara Islands to deploy a group of medium-sized bombers to bomb Hachijo Island first." In mid-April, two regiments of heavy bombers were transferred to join the bombing of Hachijojima. And the bombing of Tokyo, Japan, was postponed until late April. The two 6th Divisions will arrive at Hachijo Island in late April, and the war materials will be sent to Hachijo Island before May. In this way, we can start the combat operation on 6 Hachijo Island in early May. ”

"But ......"

Tan Renhao frowned slightly: "Now the first task force is active in the South Seas, and only the second task force is active in the western Pacific, if the fleet support can't keep up, then it will be very difficult to attack Hachijo Island." Moreover, those fighters deployed on the Ogasawara Islands will not be able to provide enough cover for the 6th Sentai team, and we must have enough aircraft carriers and firepower to support the battleships! ”

Under Tan Renhao's inquiring gaze, Liao Hanxiang, Gan Yongxing and Nie Renfeng all laughed, and Tan Renhao felt a little like the second monk couldn't figure his head, isn't this a problem?

When Gan Yongxing handed a copy of the Imperial Navy's fleet information to Tan Renhao, Tan Renhao didn't believe his eyes a little.

At the end of last year, the 1st Task Force returned to Zhoushan. Within a few months of Tan Renhao's promotion to rear admiral and transfer to the Western Pacific Theater as chief of staff, the strength of the Imperial Navy was strengthened again, and not slightly.

After the reconquest of Ryukyu Island, the Imperial Navy wanted to abandon the salvage of the warships in Naha Port, after all, the cost of salvaging and repairing warships was often higher than building a new warship, and the performance of these old warships was much worse than that of new warships. In the end, the navy decided to selectively salvage the warships in Naha Port. Naturally, those warships that are not backward in performance and still have repair value were selected. The reason for this decision of the Navy is simple: all the shipyards of the Imperial Navy already have production tasks, and there is no way to arrange the construction of more warships. After the dockyard in Naha Port was repaired, there were not enough transport ships to transport materials for the construction of new warships, so it could not undertake the task of building new warships (in fact, Naha Port has always been not a shipbuilding port, but only a military port), and in order to improve the strength of the navy as soon as possible, it was necessary to make up my mind on the battleships that sank in the port.

Among the first salvaged battleships were the two battleships "Dignity" and "Fury". Among them, the "Dignity" has actually lost its restoration value, but the "Dignity" was the number one flagship of the Imperial Navy back then. If only the battleship could sail on the sea again. In addition, participating in the battle against the enemy will inevitably have irreplaceable political significance, and it can also play a role in inspiring the morale of the military. Therefore, the originally abandoned battleship was salvaged, and it took almost the cost of building a new battleship to repair the "Dignity". The "Fury" is the sister ship of the "Dignity", and the damage is much less. The "Fury" was originally the flagship of the Fourth Fleet, but before the outbreak of the war, in order to strengthen the naval power in the western Pacific, the "Fury" was transferred back and incorporated into the First Fleet, but was bombed by the Japanese in Naha Port.

With the exception of these two battleships, the other capital ships were either too badly damaged. Either the performance is too backward, so it is not arranged in the salvage plan. Of course, this only strengthened the navy, and the real change came from the newly built warships.

A batch of four "Guangzhou"-class battleships completed their perching and installation in early March, and at the end of the month, they completed sea trials and were officially incorporated into the Navy's combat sequence. At that time, among all the docks in the empire that could undertake the construction of large warships, there were only four docks that could build large warships with a displacement of more than 35ooo tons (the empty displacement of the aircraft carrier at that time was only about 25ooo tons, so there was no competition with the battleships), and these four capital ships were also stopped and built several times, and they were almost cut down. It took four years from laying the keel to launching it into service. This can be regarded as a record, it only took about two years to build a battleship in the Imperial Navy before the war, and it can be launched in almost a year during the war!

The four battleships, along with the salvaged and repaired "Dignity" and "Fury", were originally intended to be assigned to the two task forces, and were to be supplemented by the South Atlantic Theater Fleet. As a result, Nie Renfeng revised the plan again, and six battleships, plus eight "River"-class heavy cruisers newly commissioned and eight destroyers, were reorganized into the third task force.

Tan Renhao is not very clear why Nie Renfeng wants to independently form a new task force, but he knows one thing, that is, the emergence of this new task force will greatly change the balance of strength in the western Pacific, and it is of decisive significance for the 6th team to attack Hachizhang Island. The three aircraft carriers of the Second Task Force can provide strong enough anti-aircraft cover or strong enough fire support for the 6th Squadron, but the Second Task Force does not have a capital ship in the true sense. Although in naval battles, the battleship can only play a supporting role and provide cover for the aircraft carrier, but in the Deng-6 operation, the position of the shelling battleship is irreplaceable by the aircraft carrier. This was very evident in the Iwo Jima Deng-6 operation. It is impossible for aircraft carriers to provide fire support for the 6th Squadron anytime and anywhere, but the artillery bombardment battleships parked on the coast can do this, and can provide artillery support for the 6th Squadron 24 hours a day (to ensure that there is a sufficient supply of ammunition), so the battleship actually has a huge role in the 6th Battle.

"The Third Task Force will be formally formed on the 15th, and most of the officers and men will actually be veterans."

Gan Yongxing looked at Tan Renhao, and then laughed: "According to my idea, the second task force mainly provides daytime air defense cover for the 6th squadron and the third task force this time, and each aircraft carrier will bring an extra fighter squadron and leave the torpedo bomber squadron behind." In this way, the fleet will have at least more than 200 fighters, and if it is combined with the shore-based fighters of the HNA Navy, it will be enough to ensure air supremacy in the waters near Hachijojima. ”

"So how to distribute the specific command power?"

As soon as Tan Renhao saw this plan, he actually understood what Chief of Staff Gan Yongxing meant.

"The Deng 6 operation was under the full command of Admiral Yan Guozhong, and the task of the fleet was to cooperate with the 6 warbands. On the fleet side, Brigadier Lei Shaoqing is the commander-in-chief of the Third Task Force and cooperates with the Second Task Force. ”

Nie Renfeng spoke: "We must start the combat operation on 6 Hachizhang Island in early May. I will go to the capital the day after tomorrow, and I believe that the prime minister will have the same opinion. If we can successfully capture Hachijojima, then we will basically lock in the occupation, and the next step will depend on your performance. ”

Tan Renhao let out a sigh. "Then we will start a full-scale bombing of Tokyo, Japan, in mid-May, and complete the transfer of bomber units within this month."

"Ren Hao, I'll be responsible for these things."

Liao Hanxiang glanced at Nie Renfeng: "In the next few days, you first come up with a detailed plan to bomb Tokyo, and then we can make arrangements." ”

Tan Renhao was slightly surprised, these things have always been in charge of Luo Yunchong, and they have almost nothing to do with him. Then he understood what Liao Hanxiang meant, in fact, Liao Hanxiang "applied" him for a few days of leave, Luo Yunchong must have come up with a relevant battle plan, and he didn't need to worry about it at all.

"So be sure!"

Nie Renfeng stood up: "This month is very critical, whether we can shut up the 6th Army depends on what we can do this month!" ”