Bradley's mobile unit arrived at Armidale at half past two in the morning, and it took him five days from Brisbane to reach Armidale, and he arrived that day with less than three divisions, each of which was part of six divisions, which Bradley had temporarily combined into three divisions, one of which was a tank division.

For Bradley, it took a lot of effort along the way, and what annoyed him the most was that the cover of the aviation was delayed. It was not until the 22nd that the aviation provided him with sufficient anti-aircraft cover, but this still could not stop the carrier-based bombers of the Tang Empire. At Tentfield and Grunnness, his mobile units were bombed most heavily, as if the carrier-based bombers of the Tang Empire did not know fatigue at all, and hundreds of bombers flew over the troops almost every day, dropping a large number of bombs.

When he left Brisbane, Bradley had two tank divisions armed with nearly 500 tanks, and now he has less than 240 tanks in the tank division he has put together. After a few days of bombing, not only tanks were lost, but a large number of trucks were blown up, resulting in the infantry becoming real "infantry" and could only advance on foot, which greatly limited the speed of movement of the troops. On the way to Armidale, Bradley had to let the infantry climb onto the tanks so that the troops could barely get on the road, and the trucks that survived were all used to carry ammunition and supplies, and there was no ability to carry troops. Of course, the problem can be solved, at least for Bradley, he can only move forward, not backward, and MacArthur will never allow him to retreat!

Bradley was surprised by the speed of the attack of the Tang Empire army, and on the day the Tang Empire marines landed, Tari fell. Judging from the feedback from the front-line troops, the Tang Empire invested a large number of armored troops, and the number of tanks was very large. Even without feedback from the front-line troops. Bradley also knew very well that if the landing force of the Tang Empire did not have a large number of tanks, it would be impossible to lay down the tower on the night of the landing site, and it would be difficult to tear apart the American defense line in the tower by relying only on infantry. And at this time, Bradley didn't know. It was not the marines of the Tang Empire who participated in the war, but the armored forces of the Tang Empire Army.

It was not until the 22nd, when Port Macquarie fell, that Bradley received definite news that the armored forces of the Tang Empire were formed into a battle. Instead of being scattered among infantry units, as in the past, on the island battlefield. At this point, Bradley was pretty much sure of one thing. That is, it is not the marines of the Tang Empire that are advancing to the north, but the regular armored forces of the Tang Empire Army, and this is for him. Definitely the worst news.

The troops of the Don Empire and the United States fought in the Southwest Pacific for two years, and during these two years. Both sides got to know each other. After two years of fighting, the US military discovered a tactical feature of the Tang Imperial Marine Corps, that is, the Tang Imperial Marine Corps did not actually have an organized armored unit, and most of the tanks and armored vehicles were attached to the infantry unit, and its main task was to cover the infantry in combat, rather than the infantry to cover the armored unit like the army. This is also a special phenomenon produced by the conditions of the battlefield, on the island battlefield. Because there is not enough depth, it is difficult for armored units to maneuver in a large area. There is also no need for large-scale investment. Therefore, using tanks and other armored vehicles as mobile ground fire points to deal with the US army's fortifications is one of the most effective means, so the Tang Empire's marines will directly attach tanks and other armored vehicles to infantry units, rather than forming independent armored units.

In fact, the tactics of the US military on the island battlefield are the same. When the Australian continent was not yet threatened, most of the tanks of the US army were also directly attached to the infantry units, which played the role of mobile fortresses. In many cases, the U.S. forces defending the islands would even bury their tanks half-buried in the sand, exposing only the turrets, which was a solid fixed point of fire. Therefore, for a long time, the US military did not form regular armored forces in Australia. It was not until the fall of the New Hebrides and the landing of the Tang Imperial Marines on the island of New Caledonia that the US military began to form a regular armored force, that is, shortly before Bradley came to the Australian battlefield, MacArthur adjusted the establishment of the US army, and concentrated the use of tanks and other armored weapons to adapt to future ground combat operations.

When he arrived at Armidale, Bradley had to bring his troops to a halt, as officers and men needed time to rest, and on the other hand, he needed to know the situation at the front and refuel the tanks. While waiting for news, Bradley had all the tanks hide in the woods outside the town, not wanting to lose another batch of tanks when the Tang Empire's carrier-based bombers arrived after dawn.

At that time, Bradley had a tank division in his hands, but in reality, there were only about two tank regiments. Each tank regiment has three tank battalions, while each tank battalion has 30 to 35 tanks. In other words, Bradley only has six tank battalions, one of which is equipped with M3 light tanks, and the other three tank battalions are equipped with M4 medium tanks, one of which is equipped with M4A3 medium tanks, which is one of the more powerful firepower in the M4 series of tanks. Two other tank battalions are armed with M26 heavy tanks, which are the most powerful tanks in Bradley's hands. In addition to these six tank battalions, Bradley has four motorized infantry battalions, each equipped with 12 M3 light tanks.

In addition to these tanks, Bradley had three artillery battalions at the time, equipped with a total of 90 self-propelled guns, or tank destroyers. About 40 of these tank destroyers were converted from M4 tanks. This is also the only fire support force in Bradley's hands.

According to the establishment, each infantry battalion of the US army has a separate mortar platoon, and each mortar platoon has three 81mm mortars. In addition, each infantry company has a mortar squad, each armed with three, or four 60-mm mortars. Therefore, the infantry units of the US army also have a lot of "artillery".

The reconnaissance news arrived just before dawn, and when Bradley learned that the Tang Empire's armored forces had left Port Macquarie and arrived at Volka, he immediately thought that it was the regular troops of the Tang Empire's army that had come to stop him. And the tank units of the Don Empire are definitely in Volka, what to do?

If he continued to advance, it would be almost impossible for his three divisions to break through the defensive positions of the three Tang Imperial Army Divisions, and the opponent had two tank divisions. Those hundreds of tanks alone were enough to take out the three U.S. divisions in Bradley. If he stopped, the carrier-based bombers of the Tang Empire would definitely concentrate on bombing his troops during the day, and it was still a question whether they could withstand the ground attack of the Tang Empire's bombers. Moreover, at this time, Bradley already knew that the first task force of the Tang Imperial Navy had been transferred. That is, now on the eastern seas, with the exception of the theater fleet. There were also hundreds of bombers of the 1st Task Force. Bradley knew the prestige of Task Force 1, and it was not easy to stop the bombers of Task Force 1.

After thinking about it again. Bradley made a decision that he had to let the troops stay. Wait for the main forces behind to arrive. Therefore, before daybreak, he had all the armoured units and transport vehicles leave Armidale and move into the forest outside the town, and contacted the main forces in the rear, so that the other divisions must reach Armidale in the afternoon, and try to reach Volka in the first half of the night, so that they can attack in the second half of the night. Avoid the strikes of the carrier-based bombers of the Don Empire.

It can be said that this is a last resort arrangement. Although MacArthur repeatedly asked Bradley to rush to Port Macquarie as quickly as possible, attack Tari from the north, and crush the landing force of the Tang Empire. And before that, Bradley had indeed advanced quickly regardless of losses, but now, Bradley had to let the troops stop. If he was hit by the superior forces of the Tang Empire, his actions to the south would lose all meaning, and the main forces following behind would simply not be able to break through the defense line of the Tang Imperial Army units without the cover of armored forces.

Bradley also overlooked the fact that Task Force 1 had deployed a fleet of seaplanes to Port Macquarie under the direct command of the Marines. And these seaplanes were dispatched in the second half of the night. Before dawn, several seaplanes arrived near Armidale, took pictures before the U.S. fighter jets arrived, and flew away just after the first rays of dawn appeared. Four hours later, the deployment adjustment of the US army was sent to Yuan Ye, and Yuan Ye immediately sent someone to send this information to Gu Xunlei. The deployment of the US military has actually been mastered by Gu Xunlei.

Of course, Bradley didn't know that while he was waiting for the main force, Gu Xunlei to the south was also waiting for his reserves. In addition, Gu Xunlei had already made arrangements, and several of his division commanders were not mediocre, and a delay of only half a day actually made Bradley lose all hope of reaching Port Macquarie.

At that time, the closest to the US army was Zhang Xiaolin's 1st Cavalry Division. In the morning, Zhang Xiaolin led his troops to the preset position. The 1st Infantry Division was still one step ahead of the rest and had already begun to build defensive positions. Moreover, the 1st Infantry Division also sent people over, hoping that the 1st Cavalry Division could help them build defensive positions. Zhang Xiaolin was not stingy at all, and he immediately arranged a tank battalion to assist the infantry in building defensive positions. The greatest merit of this tank battalion is that it can use tanks equipped with bulldozer blades to dig trenches for the infantry, instead of the infantry digging trenches with their own sapper shovels, which greatly improves the efficiency of building defensive positions. And those bulldozers are actually the standard equipment of the Marine Corps, and Gu Xunlei they just borrowed them.

Until noon, the reconnaissance unit sent by Zhang Xiaolin did not send a message, and it was obvious that the US troops were still in Armidale and did not go south in the morning. At this time, Zhang Xiaolin also received a new order from Gu Xunlei, asking him to extend the defense line to the northeast, and the US army is likely to move south in the first half of the night and launch an attack in the second half of the night, so the First Cavalry Division should seize this opportunity to adjust its deployment and launch a counterattack from the flank of the US army when the US army attacks the infantry position, and crush the US army.

This is Gu Xunlei's new deployment, and Zhang Xiaolin has followed Gu Xunlei to fight on the mainland battlefield for several years, he is quite clear about Gu Xunlei's tactical thinking, and after this adjustment, the First Cavalry Division will no longer assist the First Infantry Division to hold the defensive line, but act as a counterattack force in the campaign, otherwise, Gu Xunlei will not let the First Cavalry Division transfer its position to the northeast direction, and this happens to be the left flank of the US offensive direction.

After receiving the order, Zhang Xiaolin did not hesitate, immediately asked the troops to bring sufficient ammunition and fuel, and arranged for a baggage battalion to follow behind the tank troops, and in the afternoon of the same day, he moved his position to the forest northeast of Volka, about 40 kilometers from Armidale. Zhang Xiaolin didn't know that just 20 kilometers to the north, an armored unit of the US army was also hiding in the forest. At that time, the reconnaissance units of both sides were operating on the plains outside the forest, and as a result, they were unable to detect each other in time.

In the afternoon, Zhang Xiaolin also received more information: the armored unit of the US army has about 200 tanks, while the First Cavalry Division has nine tank battalions with nearly 300 tanks, and has also strengthened three artillery battalions and one baggage battalion. This can be regarded as a strengthened cavalry division, and its configuration is not standard, this can be regarded as a special arrangement of Gu Xunlei. According to the standard equipment of the Imperial Army, a cavalry division had six tank battalions, three artillery or destroyer tank battalions, three motorized infantry battalions, three baggage battalions, one reconnaissance battalion directly under the division, and a number of other directly subordinate units. In addition to strengthening the tank battalion, the 1st Cavalry Division abandoned all other units directly under the tank division, and even the motorized infantry battalion was assigned to the infantry division, and no separate motorized infantry battalion was formed.

The sky gradually darkened, and Zhang Xiaolin was also anxiously waiting for more news and orders, he had a hunch that this would be an unquiet night!

……