When the news reached the "Yamato Hotel" in Rabaul that the flotilla carrying the headquarters of the 17th Army, the headquarters of the 6th Division, and some of the officers and men of the 6th Division had been attacked by air raids and almost completely destroyed (only two special gunboats survived), Isoroku Yamamoto was holding a banquet for Lieutenant General Kuroda Shigetoku, Chief of the General Staff of the Southern Army, who had arrived from Singapore. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

The Southern Army is the so-called general army establishment, which is equivalent to the German Front Command or the Soviet Union's Direction Command, and the strength is very strong, and it currently has 4 front armies (9 armies), 3 directly administered armies, and 1 aviation army, with a total of 38 divisions, 1 tank division, 22 independent mixed brigades, 3 flying divisions, and 1 maritime mobile brigade, with about 720,000 officers and men.

At present, the Southern Army of the Japanese Empire is responsible for the navy, and the army is the responsibility of the Southern Army. The southward march to Australia was the ultimate battle for the Japanese Empire's southward march, and the operations on land were still under the command of the Southern Army.

Shigetoku Kuroda came to Rabaul from Singapore, where the headquarters of the Southern Army was located, in order to discuss with the commander of the Combined Fleet, Isoroku Yamamoto, in person the relocation of the Southern Army Command to Rabaul - the next focus of the Southern Army was undoubtedly Australia, so the commander of the Southern Army, Field Marshal Terauchi Toshiichi, believed that the headquarters should be moved to Rabaul, which was closer to the front and was also the anchorage of the Combined Fleet. This will not only make it easier to grasp the situation at the front, but also facilitate the confrontation with the shameless navy.

Although there has always been a relatively large contradiction between the Japanese Navy and the Army, the contradiction is not on the face, and Yamamoto Isoroku is also a relatively easy person to get along with. Therefore, he still gave the army deer Kuroda a high reception standard, and put a full set of French meals in the commander's hall, seafood soup, steak, lobster, foie gras, caviar, etc., and also opened Lafite for 82 years (it was 1882), which really gave Kuroda, a big deer with a deep brain, a deep understanding of how the shameless navy squandered public funds.

Just when the guests and hosts were pushing their glasses and changing glasses, and eating and drinking were in the mood, a staff officer pushed the door in a panic, and then leaned over the ear of the chief staff officer of the fleet, Kuroshima Kameto, and muttered a few words in a low voice, and then saw that Kuroshima's face suddenly changed greatly, and he opened his mouth wide, completely stunned.

After a while, I heard him ask in a loud voice, "Is this ...... Has this been confirmed? ”

Then the staff officer said: "It has been confirmed several times, and it is true......"

Yamamoto Fifty-six saw Kuroshima's gaffe, frowned and asked, "Kuroshima-kun, what's wrong?" ”

"Commander, the 17th ship transporting the 21st Army has been attacked by an air raid! Heavy losses! ”

"What? Kuroshima-kun, you say...... Air raid? ”

Yamamoto Fifty-six rubbed his eyes, and then stared at the black island turtle with a blue face, as if to make sure that the other party was drunk?

If Kuroshima had reported that the 17th ship transporting the 21st Army had been attacked by a submarine, Yamamoto Isoroku would not have felt that Kuroshima was drunk. But air strikes ...... How is this possible? The 21 ship is heading south from the mainland, taking the "safe route" of the mainland-Saipan-Rabaul. How could it be an air strike? Where did the plane come from?

"Commander, it's really an air raid!" Kuroshima Kameto said anxiously and quickly, "The Oyomaru and four other freighters of two or three thousand tons were all sunk, and only two special gunboats of several hundred tons survived...... Now the sea is full of officers and soldiers of the 17th Army and the 6th Division that have fallen into the water, there are thousands of them, and the two gunboats can't fit it at all! ”

"What? Thousands of people from the 17th Army and the 6th Division fell into the water? Kuroda Shigetoku couldn't sit still now, and thousands of people fell into the water...... 2 gunboats still can't fit, what does this mean? Do you want to drown them all? These are all soldiers of the Imperial Army! If it's a shameless navy, it's fine, but those people are all from the army, or the 6th Division, it's the elite of the imperial army!

"Have you figured out what kind of plane it is? Is it a seaplane? Yamamoto fifty-six hurriedly asked.

The reason why he asked this question was because the Japanese Navy was currently secretly pursuing an "underwater aircraft carrier program." Prepare to build a large submarine capable of carrying 2-3 seaplanes to attack the Panama Canal - bombs on water planes to bomb the canal locks, leaving the U.S. military out of use of the canal for months.

Since the Japanese Navy can open such a brain hole, it is entirely possible for the US imperialists, who are powerful in the shipbuilding industry, to build an "underwater aircraft carrier", maybe it has already been built! Most of the people who bombed the 21 ship were seaplanes sent by underwater aircraft carriers.

"It's not a seaplane...... It was an ordinary single-engine aircraft, 9 unknown dive bombers, and 9 were SBD dive bombers. ”

"What?" Yamamoto Fifty-six stood up abruptly, "Aircraft carrier!?" American aircraft carriers arrived near Saipan? How is this possible! ”

The Black Island Turtle Man shook his head, also looking confused. The American aircraft carriers unwittingly rushed into the backyard of the Japanese in the western Pacific to make a fuss.

"Commander, if the intelligence is true, it must be the Americans who broke the engagement with aircraft carriers." The reaction of the golden-faced Ugaki was very fast, and he immediately thought of the aircraft carrier breaking the diplomatic relationship - such a thing has not happened before, the Germans played it in 39 years, but it was not very successful.

"Damn, there's an American aircraft carrier in the Western Pacific!" Yamamoto Fifty-six gritted his teeth and sneered, "But the Navy will definitely let it have no return!" ”

As soon as his words fell, there was a rush of footsteps, and then he saw another staff officer rushing in.

"Your Excellency Commander, the 22nd ship bound for Hawaii reported that it was attacked by US aircraft!"

"What!?" Yamamoto Fifty-six's eyes widened, ヒ22 is a group of ships carrying fuel and ammunition to Hawaii! At present, the transport ship groups that sail from Japan to overseas are called "ヒ boat groups", in which the "boat groups" that transport troops are numbered in singular numbers, and the "boat groups" that transport supplies are numbered in an even number. ヒ22 ship is to Hawaii to transport supplies of the ship, one of which is a 19,000 tons displacement of the whaling mother ship second Tu Nan Maru is the treasure of the Japanese Navy - the Japanese like to eat whale meat, so the whaling industry has always been very developed, in World War II Japan's largest oil tanker is this kind of whaling mother ship, because the whaling mother ship has a tank to store whale oil, a little modification is a tanker.

Because the second Tonan Maru sailed from Japan, it was filled with fuel for ships and aircraft! If it is sunk by a US military plane, the losses will be heavy.

"Yes...... How many enemy aircraft are there? What are the models? The Black Island Turtle Man immediately asked.

"12 SBD dive bombers, 12 unknown torpedo bombers, and 6 F4F escorts."

The staff officer's answer was very specific, because the destroyer of the Navy for the 22 ship had a "cat's eye warrior" on it, and of course it would not be mistaken for an aircraft.

"2 aircraft carriers!" Yamamoto Fifty-six's teeth were about to be snapped, because he knew that the Second Tunan Maru would definitely not be able to escape! If the 12 dive bombers and 12 torpedo bombers had not sunk a whaling ship, the American pilots would have committed suicide by seppuku.

"They must not be allowed to escape!" Yamamoto roared.

"Teng Teng Teng ......"

The sound of hurried footsteps sounded again!

"Your Excellency, the Izumo coastal defense ship of Yokosuka Castle was bombed by American carrier-based aircraft while patrolling 150 nautical miles south of the Boso Peninsula, and was hit by one torpedo and two bombs, completely incapacitating combat effectiveness......"

The 3rd aircraft carrier!?

"Baga!" Yamamoto fifty-six is about to jump up, and the Americans are also bullying, you can't play like this if you have money and steel, smash out three aircraft carriers at once......

"Unforgivable!" Yamamoto Fifty-six roared, "Sink them no matter what!" ”

Teng Teng Teng ......

The footsteps sounded again, and now all eyes were on Yamamoto, and there was a faint sense of complaining - can't you say a few words less? All of them have recruited American aircraft carriers!

"Your Excellency, Commander!" This time it was the communications staff officer of the fleet who came in, and with a beaming face, he first gave a military salute to the frightened Commander Yamamoto, and then said slowly: "Your Excellency, Commander, a telegram from the 4th Division, Port Moresby has just been captured by our invincible Imperial Japanese Army. ”

The 4th and 6th Divisions both belonged to the invincible 17th Army of the Imperial Japanese Army, that is, the army where Tanisoo Omara was the commander. Although His Excellency the Commander was most likely drowning, the victory in Port Moresby was his...... The history of the war can probably be written as follows: His Excellency the General, when he became a god, still commanded the invincible Fourth Division in a bloody battle with the enemy and captured Port Moresby.

"So fast?" Yamamoto Fifty-six breathed a sigh of relief, but then he felt that something was wrong. The ground assault on Port Moresby only began in the early hours of yesterday morning, why did it come down at noon today?

"Well, it's really the Fourth Division of the Invincible Imperial Army! Good job! At this time, Kuroda Shigetoku shouted loudly as if he was demonstrating.

Then he said to Yamamoto Fifty-six: "Admiral Yamamoto, since Port Moresby has arrived, then the Australian strategy war can start immediately, right?" To start attacking Australia as soon as possible was also the meaning of the Earl Marshal. ”

The earl marshal is Terauchi Shouichi, he is the second generation of officials, and his father is the son of the "monster prime minister" Terauchi Masayi (who is said to be a monster because of his ugliness) who has been the prime minister. The commander of the Southern Army is a famous general who is shoulder-to-shoulder with Yamamoto Fifty-six in Japan at the moment (Yamamoto is also about to become the commander), but his credit is always a bit false - after all, the Nanyang strategy is fought on the basis of a great naval victory. So he set his sights on Australia and wanted to personally direct this unprecedented victory. (To be continued.) )