In the first six days of the war, the Imperial Army was still resolutely resisting, especially in the Nanyang region and on the Ryukyu Island, where all the Imperial soldiers were fighting with their lives and blood. However, on the seventh day of the outbreak of the war, the situation changed.

The last 5,000 defenders left in Miri surrendered their weapons to the Japanese army when they had used up their last bullets and all the senior officers were killed or retreated. It was also the first formed imperial army to surrender to Japan. On the same day, the port of Surabaya fell, and almost all of the more than 5,000 imperial soldiers defending the city were killed, and less than 100 were taken prisoner, and all of them were taken prisoner when they were seriously wounded and lost their combat effectiveness. That night, Palembang fell. There were less than 1,000 defenders here, nearly half of whom died in Japanese fire, and the rest were killed in the street fighting that night, and none of them surrendered or were captured.

On the eighth day of the war, the Japanese army occupied the Lion City without blood, and in addition to the imperial soldiers and civilians who had already evacuated to the Malay Peninsula, more than 50,000 residents who had not had time to evacuate were sent to concentration camps by the Japanese army. A Japanese fleet blockaded Malacca from the sea, while the Japanese began preparations to cross the Straits of Johor and land on the Malay Peninsula.

On the same day, the city of Manila was besieged, and more than 50,000 imperial soldiers fought a decisive battle with the attacking Japanese army, and the battle was very fierce, and the imperial army aviation even dispatched long-range bombers deployed on Taiwan Island and Hainan Island to support the defenders of Manila. However, the Japanese had already deployed fighter jets to Luzon, and as a result, the Army Air Corps lost a large number of long-range bombers, and eventually the Army Air Force had to stop bombing the Japanese near Manila.

On the same day, the Japanese entered Kadena Airport and engaged in a fierce battle with the Imperial forces defending the area. Major General Zhang Shouren was martyred that night, becoming the first general to be lost by the Imperial Army. However, the Imperial soldiers guarding Ryukyu Island did not surrender and continued to resist the Japanese attack.

On the ninth day of the war, Japanese bombers carried out concentrated bombing of Jeju Island, and on that day at least hundreds of bombers flew over Jeju Island, and poured thousands of tons of bombs on the military bases and ports of the imperial army on Jeju Island. The fighters of the Imperial Army Aviation deployed on Jeju Island, as well as the Korean Kingdom of Mokpo, intercepted the Japanese bomber group, engaged in a fierce air battle with the fighters escorted by the Japanese, and shot down more than twenty enemy aircraft. It was also the largest air victory of the Army Air Corps since the outbreak of the war.

On the same day, the islands of Java and Sumatra all fell, and Japan took control of the sea passage to the Indian Ocean. The army command made the decision to abandon the island of Bo Ni, retreating to Guda, and the ground forces began to retreat. The battle between Manila City and Ryukyu Island has entered a white-hot phase.

It was also on this day that Japanese bombers carried out their first bombing of Vladivostok in the central part of the Kingdom of Korea and in the northeastern part of the empire, and the fleet in the North Sea (Sea of Japan) region suffered heavy losses and lost the ability to operate at sea. The Japanese captured Ikki Island, and more than 2,000 defenders of the Korean Kingdom on the island surrendered without a fight.

The situation is deteriorating in general, and the Japanese army has taken control of two-thirds of the islands in the South Sea in less than ten days, and will certainly take full control of the South Sea region within the next month, occupy the Ryukyu Islands, and most likely launch a landing operation on Jeju Island.

Imperial naval vessels operating in the South China Sea had retreated to the Gulf of Tonkin to avoid Japanese bombers, while fleets operating in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea had retreated to the waters near the Zhoushan Islands. The situation of the war became more and more unfavorable for the empire, and there were even calls for Marshal Saditing to step down and apologize in the country. However, it was at this time that Tan Renhao saw hope, hope to turn the tide of the war.

"This is what our intelligence officers sent back yesterday." Lei Shaoqing is quite good at intelligence work, "Japan's troops stationed on Shikoku Island began to assemble in Matsuyama two days ago, and the reconnaissance planes of the Army Aviation Force confirmed this information. In addition, the landing transport fleet participating in the landing operations on Ryukyu Island has already begun to move north, and will reach Matsuyama tomorrow. The Southwest Combined Fleet is heading back to the port of Nagasaki, and if the Japanese are able to capture the entire Ryukyu Island in the next few days, the home fleet will then return to the port of Yokohama. If the Combined Fleet of the Southwest had supported the landing operation on Jeju Island, the Japanese army would have been able to attack Jeju Island in 10 days. If the home fleet were to be mobilized, the Japanese attack would be fifteen days later. ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly. "Well, we're going to make the Japanese move a little faster."

"If Japan's two main fleets go together, we won't be able to eat them in one bite, but as long as it's the Southwest Combined Fleet, then we have a great chance of victory!" Lei Shaoqing knew very well what he meant by talking about Renhao.

"The Yellow Sea and the East China Sea are too narrow, and it seems that we can only pick one opponent." Tan Renhao sneered, "Then we will let the transport fleet set off in ten days, and when the time comes, see what the Japanese will do." ”

"As long as the Southwest United Fleet dares to challenge, then we will let there be no return!"

Both laughed. From the very beginning, Tan Renhao locked on the Japanese Southwest Combined Fleet, as long as the Southwest Combined Fleet could be severely damaged, then the Imperial Navy would be able to gain the initiative in the war in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea. In other words, Tan Renhao did not take the Japanese home fleet seriously, he was worried about the Japanese aircraft carriers, not those battleships.

The tense situation does not allow Tan Renhao and them to delay any longer, especially after the wave of "rebellion" has appeared in the country, Tan Renhao must seize the time to launch this counterattack.

The essence of the wave of "toppling" was the need for someone to come forward and take responsibility for the heavy losses of the Imperial Navy. For this reason, the former chief of staff of the Navy, Admiral Guo Xianzhong, was dismissed, but as the situation of the war deteriorated, if the Imperial Navy did not do anything, then Marshal Sajting also fled south. Sajiting did not put pressure on Tan Renhao, but Tan Renhao knew very well that now Sajiting was the most important force supporting them, and if Sajiting fell and was replaced by an unfamiliar naval commander, then the Fifth Fleet and even his battle plan would be seriously affected. Even for the sake of personal interests, Tan Renhao knew that his efforts were the best way to keep Sajiting.

Click on the image link: