Tan Renhao's task is to come up with a way to retaliate, which must be feasible, and the method of using a small number of troops and not having a great impact on the overall battlefield must be achieved. Tan Renhao was not specifically responsible for this matter, Gan Yongxing had already arranged for relevant staff officers to discuss this action and worked out several sets of relevant plans. In fact, Tan Renhao's role is only to provide reference opinions.

Later in the afternoon, General Liao Hanxiang also arrived at the naval headquarters. As a matter of course, he lived in his son-in-law's house (in fact, he had his own villa, but it was empty all the time) Tan Renhao rushed to the airport to meet his father-in-law as soon as he received the call.

"Do you know the reason for coming back this time?". cn

Liao Hanxiang is still in that hot and fiery manner. After the climax of strategic bombing against Japan had passed, his main efforts were shifted to some future plans, such as the development of new bombers and the establishment of strategic strike forces.

"I've started talking to the Chief of Staff."

Tan Renhao didn't bring his adjutant, "The principal wants us to come up with a plan to retaliate against the United States, which is the prime minister's opinion, but the problem is that I haven't thought about this issue at all." ”

"There will be a way."

Liao Hanxiang laughed as he spoke.

Tan Renhao glanced at his father-in-law in surprise. "You know about this?"

"That's why I'm back."

Liao Hanxiang took out a cigarette, "There are so many things in the army now that I have to die, otherwise what will I do when I run back?" ”

Tan Renhao nodded, this is the case, Liao Hanxiang is also a busy man, what are you doing running to the headquarters if you have nothing to do?

"Don't go home yet, let's go to the headquarters, your office is cleaned up, right?"

"I've asked Duchenne to clean up, probably already done."

"Then go to you, let's have a good talk!"

Tan Renhao nodded, it was indeed a bit inappropriate to talk about the army at home. Liao Hanxiang is also the kind of person who has a clear distinction between public and private, and if he is not at home, he will not talk about things in the army at home.

Ten minutes later. The two entered Tan Renhao's small office. This is the office location of Tan Renhao and Hao Dongjue in the Navy Staff Headquarters, Gan Yongxing has always kept it for Tan Renhao, I don't know if he is still waiting for Tan Renhao to return to work in the General Staff. Duchenne also happened to clean up the place, and when he saw that the two generals had returned, he immediately made tea, and then made an excuse to leave.

"What do you think about the attack on Taiwan?"

Liao Hanxiang asked straight to the point.

"This ......"

Tan Renhao is not mentally ready. "I think this was probably an attack by Nimitz to distract us. There is not much heavy industry on the island of Taiwan, and the US military does not concentrate on bombing the most important city of Kaohsiung. It was not even known that we had an aircraft carrier repaired at the Kaohsiung shipyard. Therefore, I think that this bombing is of little military value, and the purpose of the US military is to make us abandon our attack on the Mariana Islands and shift our focus to the Caroline Islands, to delay our offensive and to give them a chance to breathe. ”

"It's the judgment of all of us."

Liao Hanxiang smiled and nodded, "The damage caused by a few hundred tons of bombs is simply not enough to threaten the security of the empire itself. Now we have figured out that these bombers took off from the islands of the Caroline archipelago. In order to avoid our sight, the bombers made a detour of 10,000 miles after departing from Guam. Landed several times along the way to refuel. It took more than twenty hours to transfer. Of course, we have to admire the physical strength of the American bomber pilots, who were able to launch a bombing campaign on the night of their arrival. And it flew back the next day, and we didn't even have a chance to retaliate. Why did Nimitz arrange such a bombing? As you analyzed, this is to give the U.S. military a chance to breathe. ”

"So, the headmaster is withstanding the pressure?"

"Yes, on the same day, the Prime Minister put pressure on the Navy and asked the Marshal why the Imperial Territory was bombed and where the Navy's fleet was."

Liao Hanxiang lit a cigarette, "We can also think of it." How much pressure the marshal was at that time. Then came the decisive battle between Task Force 3 and Fleet Z. Now, the situation on the side of the Mariana Islands is basically decided. I heard that Yan Guozhong had pledged to take Anatahan Island by the 25th and launch an attack on Saipan by the 20th of March. If we had shifted our focus to the Caroline Islands, we would have been planning a landing on Anatahan Island. ”

Tan Renhao took the cigarette. "So now we have to attack the Caroline?"

"As far as I know, the Navy does not have this plan."

"Don't have this plan?"

Tan Renhao glanced at Liao Hanxiang in surprise.

"Yes, Gan Yongxing didn't mention similar plans, maybe they did have plans. However, there is no arrangement for the implementation of the plan. In fact, it is not a big question whether to fight the Caroline Islands or not. As long as we capture Saipan and sweep the Mariana Islands, the U.S. troops on the Caroline Islands will become a turtle in an urn, relying on blockade and siege, these U.S. troops will be finished. ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly. This is for sure, as long as the Mariana Islands are occupied, then the Caroline Islands will be completely blocked, and then the US military will also know the difficulties and retreat, but the problem is that the combat operation to attack the Mariana Islands is not very smooth, at least, until now, after more than a month of fighting, three fleets, thousands of warplanes, hundreds of thousands of troops, and no key victory has been obtained, which is indeed a bit disappointing.

"This retaliation will definitely be carried out, you should understand the reason, and I have brought a plan with me."

Liao Hanxiang hesitated slightly, "But I'm not sure if my plan can be taken seriously, Gan Yongxing himself arranged a staff team to be responsible for the planning of the retaliation operation, and I received some inside information." ”

"What's the news?"

Tan Renhao immediately became interested. After listening to Gan Yongxing's retaliation, he was thinking that if he had nothing to do with Task Force 1, he would not let him come back. Now, Liao Hanxiang has taken the initiative to mention this, and it is obviously very likely that it has something to do with the First Task Force.

"Most likely, let you take on this task!"

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, waiting for Liao Hanxiang to continue.

"I also heard about it from a familiar staff officer. This mission was arranged on the day the island of Taiwan was bombed, and the Navy General Staff came up with several sets of plans. These plans were all reviewed by Gan Yongxing and the marshal, and the decision was in the hands of the marshal. ”

Liao Hanxiang leaned back on the sofa, "And the most likely plan to be adopted is for Task Force 1 to attack Hawaii, or targets on the west coast of Ben's in the United States!" ”

"It's a joke, who came up with such a plan?"

Liao Hanxiang looked at Tan Renhao and laughed.

"This is simply the most fearless sacrifice to be made!"

Tan Renhao really couldn't control his temper a little, "There are at least hundreds of American patrol planes near the Hawaiian Islands. And there are thousands of bombers on the island. I'm afraid that the first task force was sent to the bottom of the sea by American bombers before it got close! In the past month or so, we have lost at least ten submarines near the archipelago, and the first task force is not a diving fleet, let alone attack, even if it is closer, it will be immediately hit by hundreds or thousands of bombers. What a fucking mess! ”

"Is this nonsense?"

Tan Renhao glanced at Liao Hanxiang in disbelief. "Isn't it? Now Task Force 1 is the only task force in the Navy. The four US aircraft carriers will be able to regain their combat effectiveness by the end of March, if anything goes wrong with Task Force 1. Then we will be in a weak position in the next few months, not to mention the battle of the Mariana Islands, I am afraid that we will be passive on the entire front! ”

"What if we could blow up those two aircraft carriers in Pearl Harbor, or those two aircraft carriers on the West Coast of the United States?"

"Joke, unless the first task force is Iron King Kong, there is no possibility at all, and the success rate is less than one in ten thousand!"

"Then do you know the attitude of the marshal?"

Hearing Liao Hanxiang say this, Tan Renhao forced himself to calm down. If that's really the most feasible plan. That means the principal agrees.

"I also think this is nonsense, but why would the marshal be more inclined to this plan? To put it bluntly, the marshal also has his own bitterness. ”

Liao Hanxiang sighed. "After the bombing of the island of Taiwan. Wei Boyu's bastard proposed to take over the air defense mission in the Pacific direction of the empire. And you know, this is a mission that belongs to the HNA and not to the land airline. The Prime Minister's attitude is also clear. If Hainan Airlines does not have this ability, then it will be up to the Army Airlines to do it. ”

"But revenge isn't a way to prove that HNA can defend the Empire's maritime frontiers, right?"

"That's not the problem."

Liao Hanxiang glanced at Tan Renhao, "You have been on a mission outside for more than a month, so you must not know much about the changes within the empire, right?" ”

Tan Renhao sighed, this is the disadvantage of being a front-line commander. At the time of the Navy Staff. He could keep up to date with what was happening in the Empire, and he couldn't have known so much while commanding fleets to fight at the front.

"The Army has turned the tide on the northwestern battlefield at the end of last month, and has made a 150-kilometer assault in five days, and is now advancing towards Volgograd, and will probably be able to complete the first round of offensive tasks by the end of this month."

Liao Hanxiang gave a simple explanation. "It was the Army's Panzers who served as the Assault Knife, and now there are two German military advisers who are helping the Army with the tactics of the Panzer Corps in the Northwest Theater. The Germans are also strengthening their presence in the eastern theater. The Army has made plans and will do so in April. That is, when the weather warms up, a larger-scale offensive will be launched, and at that time, the German army will launch an offensive on the Eastern Front at the same time to contain the Russian army on the Western Front. The Persian army also launched an offensive in the direction of the Caucasus at the same time. Attacking simultaneously on three fronts, the Russian army had little hope of holding it. If all goes well, we have a good chance of ending this year. Advance to Moscow at the latest early next year and defeat Russia! ”

"So fast?"

This shock is really not small, the army climbed from the trough to the top so quickly.

"It's really fast, and there's a lot of hope for success. Now, the army has committed at least 300 divisions in the northwestern theater, and the strength is still increasing. By the end of this year, the army will have more than 8,000 tanks and self-propelled guns, 20,000 artillery pieces, and tens of thousands of ground combat aircraft. Almost half of the Empire's arms production this year! ”

Liao Hanxiang didn't mean to joke at all, "And now, the army has proposed to launch a southward combat operation in the middle of this year. ”

"This is impossible, where does the army have so many troops?"

"Strength is not a problem, after two years of reserve and mobilization of the Army, the strength of the army is by no means a problem. The problem is on our side. In fact, the Army is putting pressure on us. ”

Liao Hanxiang sighed, "Let's put it this way, the Battle of the Mariana Islands will definitely last until April, or even May, and it is impossible for us to achieve a complete victory." At that time, the main forces of the Navy were still concentrated in the Western Pacific, not in the South Pacific. If the army wants to go south, it cannot do without our support, at least it needs the transport ships and landing ships we provide. Now, it is obvious that we can't take it out, so the army has proposed to form a separate transport fleet, as well as a landing fleet, and the army will be solely responsible for the combat mission to the south! ”

"Damn, this is stealing our jobs!"

Tan Renhao immediately became excited.

"The point is here, if the prime minister approves this plan, maybe the army will propose to take over the fleet, and it will make a lot of fame anyway. Now you know why the marshal had to make this decision, right? ”

Tan Renhao gritted his teeth. The Rector asked the Navy to complete the retaliatory operation, in effect, to prove to the Prime Minister that the Navy had enough strength to defend the security of the empire, and that it was not the Army's turn to intervene in the affairs of the Navy. And then use this to prove that the combat mission to the south should be undertaken by the navy, not the army. If even this small task cannot be completed, then how can the prime minister support the navy?

"Don't worry, the First Task Force will not be used as a political victim!"

Liao Hanxiang stood up from the sofa for a thousand years, "The marshal is not a person who doesn't know the importance of the matter, now the First Task Force is the pillar of the entire Navy, even if he sacrifices the Navy Command, he will not sacrifice the First Task Force." Moreover, I rushed back this time only after receiving a call from the marshal. ”

"What's your plan?"

Tan Renhao reacted immediately.

"You'll find out tomorrow!"

Liao Hanxiang smiled mysteriously, "By the way, Gu Xunlei is an important commander of this army assault campaign, and the tank division under his command was the first to break through the Russian defense line and open the door to victory." You're all young generals, don't fall behind his ass! ”

Tan Renhao laughed, he knew that Gu Xunlei was not a thing in the pool, and now it finally broke out.