In the Pacific theater, the navy is the undisputed main force, but in the southwest Pacific theater, the navy alone is not enough. Especially on the Australian mainland, due to special geographical factors, it is difficult for the navy to undertake all combat missions, so the army has become the second main force here.

The issue of the distribution of tasks between the army and navy on the battlefield of the Australian continent has always been a headache, and even the Imperial Prime Minister has not made up his mind. The main problem is the proportional distribution of tasks between the army and the navy, according to the traditional principle, this is definitely the main battlefield of the navy, but after all, Australia is a continent, not an island, and the final place to decide the outcome is not the sea, but the land, so the army naturally accounts for a large proportion of the task, and the marine corps cannot replace the army. This becomes the focus of the question, whether it will be commanded by the army or by the navy?

This issue has been put on hold for the time being, and in the stage of landing operations, the navy is still the absolute main force, and according to the current situation, it is certainly the marines who are responsible for the beach-rushing landing, not the combat units of the army. Therefore, at this stage of combat operations, //. cN

After the completion of the landing operation, it will be transferred to the stage of ground operations, and because of the geographical factors of the Australian mainland, ground combat operations will be mainly concentrated in the southeast corner of the continent, which is the most densely populated, the flattest terrain, and the best natural environment. In addition, at present, the army has only decided to invest ground forces, and has not decided whether to send army aviation to the war, so in the ground combat phase, the navy will still take on most of the support tasks of the fleet. Shore-based aviation will be the main support force of the ground forces of the army. In addition, the Marine Corps will certainly take part in ground offensive operations. So, who is in charge of the campaign command at this stage?

Tan Renhao didn't think much about it. And what he has to do is to try to maintain good relations with the army. On the second day of the conversation with Gan Yongxing. He found Gu Xunlei. It has now been determined that Gu Xunlei will be in charge of the army's combat operations in the Pacific theater, and he is also the army's representative and has certain decision-making power.

"Renhao, you're doing this too much." Gu Xunlei thought less about it than talking about Renhao, "I said it before. If you were on the battlefield on the mainland, it wouldn't be your turn to consult with me, and I wouldn't discuss with you. Here, of course, you have the final say, and I don't have any problems trying to compete with you for command. ”

"The problem is, I'm not in charge of the command of this campaign." Tan Renhao also said directly, "I'm just here to discuss with you." According to our current plan, Admiral Yan Guozhong will still be the commander-in-chief, and I will at most be the commander-in-chief of the fleet, responsible for commanding the fleet. And you are the commander-in-chief of the army's combat units. So. The cooperation between the three of us is the most important, and we should all obey Yan Guozhong's orders. ”

Gu Xunlei frowned.

Now he didn't rush to speak. He has a very good personal relationship with Tan Renhao, and he has always admired Tan Renhao, but the problem is that he doesn't know much about Yan Guozhong. And to let him listen to the command of a Marine general, this obviously made him a little difficult.

"Let's talk about the specifics first." Tan Renhao also changed the topic, and he also knew that it was impossible for Gu Xunlei to accept the Navy's arrangement at once. He went and got the document of the army's participating troops that Gan Yongxing had given him. "This is a document issued by the Army Command to all the participating units, you should have read it, I want to know how strong the combat effectiveness of the troops sent by the Army this time is."

Gu Xunlei took the document, threw it aside without looking at it, and then laughed. Tan Renhao looked at his friend's actions in a little surprise, and then reacted.

"Let's be honest with you, the Army is not enthusiastic about attacking the Australian continent." Gu Xunlei said as he took out a cigarette, but he didn't find a match.

"Why?" Tan Renhao threw the match to Gu Xunlei.

"You should know something about the situation in Europe, right?"

Tan Renhao nodded, and when he negotiated with the Germans, he roughly understood the situation in Europe.

"Now the Germans are very hesitant on the issue of whether to cooperate with us to annihilate Russia first, even if an agreement has been reached with us, judging from the transfer of the German Army, the German Army will not make much move before we officially start building those warships." Gu Xunlei lit a cigarette, "In other words, we will definitely have a lot of trouble on the issue of war against Russia." ”

"Haven't these problems been solved?"

"Renhao, don't take this matter so simply." Gu Xunlei sighed, "This is a political struggle between two countries, do you know why Germany is dragging Russia not to fight?" ”

Tan Renhao shook his head and thought quickly at the same time.

"The reasons we know now are actually superficial, and the deeper reasons are not being brought up by anyone." Gu Xunlei laughed, "Actually, I just heard the news from a few old comrades-in-arms who were staff officers in the Army Headquarters. On the issue of war against Russia, our biggest disagreement with Germany is not the military aspect, but how to deal with Russia after the war. ”

Tan Renhao was secretly surprised, now he understood. Russia was sandwiched between the Reich and Germany, which was previously a buffer zone between the two powers, and at the same time the common enemy of the two powers, and now Russia's defeat is only a matter of time, and how to deal with Russia after the war is directly related to the fundamental interests of the Reich and Germany.

"According to our ideas, it is best to control Russia alone, to prop up a pro-Tang government in Russia, and to extend the depth of the empire's defense as a natural extension of the imperial border defense, and it is most advantageous for us to have a Russia that is not too weak, but which is inclined to the empire in policy. The problem is that Germany is thinking the same way. We all want to control Russia alone. Gu Xunlei slowly spit out the cigarette, "This is our fundamental contradiction, I heard that the prime minister arranged a special envoy to Berlin to discuss this matter with the German government, and Germany will definitely not rush to destroy Russia before this issue is resolved." This is also the reason why Germany proposed to deal with Italy first and then deal with Russia. ”

"But the problem is, it's impossible for either of us to get all the results."

"Yes. So most likely, Russia will be divided into several parts, by the empire. Germany, Persia and other countries occupied separately. Nominally. Russia will remain united and independent, while in fact, it will be controlled separately by us. This may be the best solution. However, these questions need to be resolved as to how to divide the occupied territories and how to determine the coming Russian government. Isn't it? ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly. "Well, so the question that comes with this is that the Army won't be able to put in the main forces in the Pacific?"

"If we talk about impact, it's the most direct impact on the Pacific theater."

Gu Xunlei hesitated for a moment, "I'm not afraid to tell you that judging from the opinions within the army, it is very likely that in the end we will divide the occupation zone in Russia with Germany according to the line of control where the two armies finally meet." The Army's opinion will certainly have a direct impact on the Prime Minister's decision, which is also a fairer approach, and Germany has no reason to reject it. Well, in order to control as much Russia as possible in the future.

We will certainly devote more troops to Russia and try to seize more occupied areas, so that we will have to keep more of the main forces on the mainland battlefield. Isn't it? ”

"Well, it looks like we've all ignored this before."

"Well, it doesn't matter, I heard that you've expanded your Marine Corps?"

Tan Renhao was stunned for a moment. Immediately laughed. "This is not my responsibility, the Marine Corps Command is in charge of the specific work. So according to what you mean, all the second-rate legions sent by the army this time are second-rate legions? ”

"If it's a second-rate legion, that's fine." Gu Xunlei smiled bitterly, "The marshal is also a little too picky, no matter how you say it, you have to give me a few main legions." I have seen the situation of those units, and in addition to those army units that have already been deployed to the Central Pacific Theater, at least 30 of the more than 30 divisions sent this time are newly formed divisions that have just completed their training work and do not have any combat experience, and those two armored divisions are only motorized infantry divisions, not tank divisions. I have a more detailed document with me, counting all the ground army units, out of the fifty divisions, there are thirty-four second-line infantry divisions, twelve reserve divisions that have not even completed basic training, and of the remaining four divisions, only two infantry divisions have a little combat experience and are troops withdrawn from North Africa to rest and recuperate, and the two motorized infantry divisions are all newly formed. ”

Tan Renhao was secretly surprised. "That is, this is all 'garbage' troops?"

"Ren Hao, don't be so harsh in your words, there are no garbage troops in the army." Gu Xunlei glanced at Tan Renhao, "However, I agree with you, compared to our troops fighting on the front line, or even the troops stationed in the Empire, these are indeed 'garbage' troops, and their combat effectiveness must be frighteningly low." ”

Tan Renhao was silent, this is not good news.

"I have already contacted the Army Command, hoping to transfer a few main divisions, even the main infantry divisions. The reply was that all the main divisions of the Army were now sent to the front lines, and that those troops stationed in the Empire itself could not be mobilized without the permission of the Prime Minister. If there is to be a transfer, the only way to do so is to recuperate the troops. Gu Xunlei sighed, "I will find a way to solve this problem, I have already contacted a few old comrades-in-arms, as well as old superiors, hoping to transfer some veterans from their troops, and these veterans will form a backbone, I hope this can be of some use." In addition, General Shi Naixing has also gone to the marshal, hoping to provide us with a batch of new equipment. If these soldiers and equipment arrive, then the combat effectiveness of this batch of army units should be much improved. ”

"And training." Tan Renhao added.

"Yes, there's also training, and I'm in charge of that." Gu Xunlei nodded, "This batch of troops is already heading to the Southwest Pacific Theater one after another, and I have already found a way to get a few old subordinates over, and let them go to Lae a few days ago." The training has been scheduled, we still have more than three months to go, so hopefully that will help. ”

"That's good, I will contact General Yan Guozhong directly, and the Marine Corps will arrange a group of instructors to be responsible for assisting you, and provide you with enough military camps, which should help."

"It must help, if you don't mention it, I'll bring it up."

Tan Renhao nodded. "Well, the question now is that this combat operation will be in charge of the Navy, and you won't have any objections, right?"

Gu Xunlei laughed. "Ren Hao, you've made such a big detour, I'm afraid you want to ask this question, right?"

Tan Renhao also laughed. "To be honest, this is not an issue that we can decide, and I just want to make sure that you, as the supreme commander of the Army in the Pacific theater, will cooperate with us fully."

"This question doesn't need to be considered at all." Gu Xunlei's answer was very decisive, "As an Imperial soldier, I am loyal to the Empire, not a certain legion. This is also the fundamental duty of the Imperial soldiers, and hasn't the Prime Minister already made arrangements? Then I'm sure I'm not going to get into trouble, we all have the same goal, which is to defeat the enemy, and to defeat the enemy, the navy is indispensable, and the army is also indispensable, isn't it? ”

"It seems that my worries are unfounded."

"Renhao, I didn't say you, you don't need to this hollow at all. We've known each other for a while, right? You should know very well who my Gu Xunlei is, and I also know who you are. Like you, on the battlefield, I will not bow to the enemy, and off the battlefield, we are still Imperial soldiers, and we are all well aware of what we do, as well as our duties and obligations. Gu Xunlei said as he stood up, "Regarding the problem of the army, you don't have to worry about it at all, even if there is pressure on it, I will carry it myself."

I was able to come and cooperate with you this time, although I have less opportunity to command the armored corps, but I am still very happy, to be honest, in the navy, I admire you alone! ”

Tan Renhao smiled and shook Gu Xunlei's outstretched right hand. "It seems that I am really worrying too much. I will convey your intentions to Marshal Nie Renfeng and Chief of General Staff Gan Yongxing. In a few days, Yan Guozhong and Liao Hanxiang will return to the Navy Headquarters, and at that time, we will hold a campaign preparation meeting, and you are the head of the army, so you should also prepare. ”

Gu Xunlei smiled and nodded, he smiled sincerely, this is also what Tan Renhao likes most about this army general.