Out of courtesy, Vukinskaya was arranged to sit next to Lin Jun at the banquet, and Stalin was on the other side of Lin Jun. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoBecause of Berzin's news, the ongoing campaign in the distant Malay Peninsula became the talk of the banquet: the British were now allies anyway, and the strategic value of the Malay Peninsula was crucial to the whole war.

"Andrei Nikolayevich, half a month ago Gil told the Americans that the island fortress could withstand six months of encirclement by the Japanese army. Do you think they can only hold out for half a month at most? ”

Shaposhnikov on the other side had just heard Lin Jun's words about not being optimistic about Singapore's form, and he thought deeply about it for a while: it is also a good way to relax in some leisure time during the war to refer to the situation of others. If your mind is always spinning around the matter at hand, it won't be perfect - maybe this is one of the ways to broaden your horizons and mind.

"Yes, Boris Mikhailovich. The British Empire has been operating in Singapore for many years, and the Janggi Naval Base there is even more extraordinary. However, since the start of World War II, Britain has no longer been able to take care of that territory, and its deployment in Singapore has been reduced to a minimum. Although the British began to increase their forces in Malaya from the second half of last year, according to the British and my current conjecture, the British deployed a maximum of three or four divisions in Singapore, many of which were remnants of the Malay Peninsula. ”

Since the outbreak of the Soviet-German war, the possibility of the German army crossing the Strait to invade the British mainland will basically be zero, and the British who have replaced it has sent a limited garrison to the Malay Peninsula.

"The British commander, Lieutenant General Percival, may have at his disposal eighty or ninety thousand troops, but the morale and combat effectiveness are not at all comparable to the Japanese army, which is advancing on the same road. Moreover, the composition of the Singapore army is complicated, not only the British army, but also the Australian army, and of course, the Indian army, which has a negligible combat effectiveness. To effectively command such a hodgepodge, Percival did not have that ability, and he was not a good commander, God forbid not to make mistakes. ”

Does Parcival make mistakes? The answer is yes, and not just one! He did not even understand the direction of the main attack of the most important enemy army, deployed his main force in the wrong place, and did not listen to the correct opinions of the generals below, and insisted on going his own way.

Lin Jun put down the spoon: "We all know that the Malay Peninsula is the dividing line between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, and Singapore, known as "Far East Gibraltar", is the entrance and exit of the Strait of Malacca, the shipping artery between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. Once the Japanese start attacking Singapore, it will be the fiercest attack! ”

The brains of the Red Army discussed the ongoing war in the Pacific with the deputy commander-in-chief, which caused everyone in the banquet hall to stop their conversation and concentrate their attention.

Vukinskaya on the side knew that today's banquet would turn into a military seminar again, just a conversation while eating.

"Everyone continues to eat, and I'll tell the story, hehe." Lin Jun saw this situation and said to everyone easily. However, even Stalin and Kalinin stopped their meal plans, and it was obvious that "eating and talking here" had to be slowed down.

"For the Japanese, the actual strategic target of the Japanese army in launching the Pacific War was the oil-rich Dutch East Indies, and the attack on Pearl Harbor was only a strategic support mission in terms of practical purpose. To gain access to the Dutch East Indies, it was necessary to pass through the British Malay Peninsula. In the early battle, the Japanese attack on the Malay Peninsula was divided into two routes: one was the land route, which had entered the southern Indochina Guards Division before the outbreak of the Pacific War, entered Thailand by land, occupied Bangkok, and moved south along the Malay Peninsula; On the other hand, the 5th and 18th Divisions led by the fat man of Yamashita Fengfumi landed from the sea in batches and were covered by the Malay fleet sent south. And this will, Yamashita Fengwen can devote a total of three divisions to attack Singapore at most. ”

Since the topic has begun, Lin Jun has to give full play to his "strategic genius" and let the large group of military experts present listen to his arguments.

"Singapore has become an island, an island full of thorns. If it were replaced by our Red Army guarding Singapore, it might be a difficult task to hold on for half a year under the current situation, but it should be able to hold on for three months, but the British ......" Lin Jun paused, "It's okay for the old gentleman troops of the British Empire to fight a tailwind battle, if it is a battle with no hope of victory, surrender is probably a textbook choice for them." ”

"Comrades, I heard a joke. What was their choice to say that the British soldiers had only one bullet left in the trenches, and in the distance the enemy troops rushed up under the pressure of black pressure? ”

Lin Jun said a bit of abuse, which aroused everyone's curiosity, knowing that the young deputy commander was going to hurt people again! He put the gun down, then took out the last cigar in his pocket and lit it, and Meimei smoked it, and then surrendered very gentlemanly. Of course, after surrendering, you must also affirm your rights as a prisoner of war, and the Intra-Japanese Convention and so on are indispensable. British soldiers should have been trained to surrender and declared to their opponents after surrender that surrendering in a hopeless battle was the only and correct option for the civilized British Empire army. ”

This blackly humorous joke elicited a burst of laughter from almost everyone, and it's apt to think about it.

"They can't afford to lose, they don't understand what it means to fight for the motherland to the end, and they would rather be prisoners of war than think about what it means to kill one and earn one. But then again, even if British officers became prisoners of war, they would not have participated in labor, and the consumption of Japanese food in prisoner of war camps could also have brought down the food supply system of the Japanese Empire, which could also play a certain role in the war. ”

Lin Jun's expression was very interesting, and everyone on the earth knew about the clothes: "Everyone knows that little Japan is short of food." ”

Even Kalinin laughed out loud at this time, Lin Jun's words were really bad!

Everyone had laughed enough, and Lin Jun's tone returned to a serious state: "The British fought a little badly on the Malay Peninsula, the shadow of defeat will spread like a plague among the British army, and the retreat from Malaya will become uncontrollable once it starts!" The equipment of the British army would also fall into the hands of the Japanese army, and the Japanese air force could load British fuel on British airfields and drop British bombs on British positions; The Japanese infantry would ride Malaya's bicycles in close pursuit of the retreating British troops, presumably talking and laughing, as if they were watching a football match. ”

Lin Jun said it easily, just like seeing it with his own eyes. Others know that this is just speculation by the deputy commander-in-chief, but the truth is not far off, and there are many bicycles in Malaya.

"The city of Singapore, fourteen miles south of the causeway of the Strait that will be blown up, should be under frequent air raids, remember that there is a Johor Sultan's Palace on the north side of the channel, and when the British army retreats, do not forget to tear down the tall watchtower erected on it. Otherwise, Yamashita and his staff staff would probably be standing on that watchtower, peeking across the strait with high-powered field binoculars through the window of the view. The high terrain allowed the Japanese to indicate targets to the artillery, and the entire defense of Singapore was unobstructed. ”

No one asked Lin Jun how he even knew about the lookout, there was no need to ask, the deputy commander would know what he should know.

"Lieutenant General Percival, though he had 80,000 or 90,000 troops to hold his position, estimated that he would make the same mistake as MacArthur in the Philippines: he would concentrate all his forces on the shores of the strait."

"Also, the civilians of Singapore are expected to do the Japanese a favor to some extent, hindering the British in their war readiness. According to their customs and traditions, civilians would insist that the army obtain written permission from the competent authorities to dig trenches or cut down palm trees on the Gower Stadium. Pathetic, pathetic. ”

Lin Jun said as if someone else was in the Lion City, "As for the forts that the British have painstakingly operated for hundreds of years, they are just a group of furnishings, I don't know if they have noticed: these cannons cannot be effectively turned to the rear!" ”

The civilians of Singapore could not understand the cruelty of war, and the British did not seem to understand what military control was, and it was unbelievable in the Soviet Union that a "written permission" alone would be enough for them!

"The British have been boasting about the invulnerability of Singapore's coastal defense guns, which is a misstep." Egorov said, "The mistakes of the British high, the mistakes of the low." ”

"Yes, the only consolation function of those huge cannons is to deter the Japanese fleet from attacking from the sea, and the Japanese are probably forced to attack Singapore from the interior!"

Another great irony.

The British deployed their coastal defense guns in Singapore as formidable, even with their 15-inch (381 mm) giant shore defense guns, but they could not be effectively turned back, and when the battle for Singapore began, most of the time they became decorations as the only result.

The British Empire has been operating in Singapore for a hundred years, and as early as the thirties of the 19th century, there were already many forts throughout Singapore. By 1921, the British Imperial Defence Committee had decided to establish a naval base in Singapore (£60 million, 17 years to build) that could accommodate a large fleet against the growing Japanese navy.

In 1927, the British Engineer and Corps Department began to design and install modern batteries in Singapore, which withstood a lot of interference: at that time, the three branches of the British military were constantly in dispute, the air force advocated the theory of aircraft omnipotence, and the army and navy wanted to deal with the incoming fleet with heavy arms.

In February 1927, a team of three officers, consisting of Major General Weber Gilman, arrived in Singapore to decide on the location of the battery, the type of gun, and the caliber of the gun. The forts are located in Pasir Raba, Puona Vista, Tanjung Buliel, Burakomati, Blarni, Changi and Dekuang.

The deployment of the battery shore defense guns to cover the naval base and the port of Singapore, and the decision of the British military hierarchy that the old fort had to be renewed, and the addition of three 15-inch shore defense guns were completed in 1935.

So now, Singapore has a total of 1 large naval base, 4 airports: Sembawang Airport, Seletar Airport, Tengah Airport, Kallang Airport, and a bunch of shore defense batteries guarded by a bunch of coastal defense batteries: 2 6-inch guns in Pasir Raba in the west of Singapore Island, and 2 15-inch guns in Buona Vista in the southwest; On the south side of the island, Labrador had two 6-inch guns, Siloso had two 6-inch guns, Keno had three 9.2-inch guns, and Serafeng and Sirinzin each had two 6-inch guns.

Johor on the northeastern side of the island has three 15-inch guns, while Biting Kuxue and Changi each have two 6-inch guns. The outlying islands of Ubin Island and Dekko Island are equipped with 2 6-inch guns, and Dekko Island has 3 9.2-inch guns.

The British Empire built Singapore into a real island fortress: the original 6-inch and 9.2-inch guns were British standard shore defense guns, but the British were not satisfied, and in 1934 they tested the 15-inch giant shore defense guns! It's called "Monster Hug"!

The 15-inch shore defense gun could fire 1,500-pound shells and had a range of 21 kilometers, making it the second largest artillery gun in Britain at the time (there was a 460-mm cannon in the Strait of Dover, a monster developed in the late World War I, originally designed for battleships). These monsters are part of Singapore's 29 coastal defense artillery defense system: the 15-inch giant coastal defense guns of the British army are only equipped with 2 in Dover, and 5 of them are deployed in Singapore, which shows the importance that the British authorities attach to the Singapore fortress!

The British had two coastal defense artillery headquarters in Singapore: the Faber Command (7th Coastal Artillery Regiment) under the jurisdiction of Boona Vista Battery, Keno Battery, Basilaba Battery, Sisolo Battery, Labdo Battery, Serada Battery, and Sirinsin Battery, which was responsible for covering the approach route between the south and the west; The Changi Command (9th Coastal Bunch) is responsible for covering the enemy's approach route to the east and the naval base under the jurisdiction of the Johor Fort, the Dek Kwong Fort, the Spitix Fort, the Bengaran Fort, the Biting Kushet Fort, and the Changi Fort.

The command system is complete and the firepower is fierce! Among them, the 15-inch gun has a range of 369,000 yards, the 9.2-inch cannon has a range of 316,000 yards, and the 6-inch gun has a range of 17,000 to 21,700 yards.

But those giant artillery firing ranges were "pointing in the wrong direction" - only in the direction of the sea. The British Imperial Military Council had no doubt that the construction of the Singapore Fortress had been successful, but they had forgotten Admiral Jacory's admonition: "A fortress must have a strong fleet to be called a fortress!" ”

But even if Singapore had a fleet to support it, the fleet would have to be quite strong and have air cover. However, Singapore does not, and it has become a standard "empty shell" fortress!

And the worst thing is the lack of high-explosive shells in Singapore's batteries! How many armor-piercing and high-explosive shells were equipped with the British batteries in Singapore?

The 15-inch guns of the Boona Vista battery were equipped with 250 armor-piercing shells, but they were not equipped with high-explosive shells; The 9.2-inch guns of the Keno battery were equipped with 250 armor-piercing shells and 30 high-explosive shells; The 6-inch guns of the Basilaba, Sisoro, Rabrado, Serada and Sirinsin batteries were equipped with 500 armor-piercing shells and 50 high-explosive shells each.

The 15-inch guns of the Johor battery were equipped with 250 armor-piercing shells and were not equipped with high-explosive shells; The 9.2-inch gun of the Deguang Fort is equipped with 250 armor-piercing shells and 30 high-explosive shells; The 6-inch guns of the Spinix Battery, the Bengaran Battery, the Biting Kuxue Battery, and the Changi Battery are equipped with 600 armor-piercing shells and 50 high-explosive shells each.

However, it was also said that the cannons could be turned to the rear, and with the exception of one 15-inch gun in Changi, which had a 180-degree firing range towards the sea, the other four 15-inch guns could be turned at a wide angle: perhaps the gunners would knock out some of the concrete bunkers in order to get a better firing range. This allowed Changi's other 2 15-inch guns to turn 290 degrees, but they still lacked the all-important high-explosive shells against ground targets!

Armor-piercing rounds can explode, but they don't work until they are deep enough into the ground - the dirt they kick up will be spectacular, but not very effective.

In any case, the cannon at least deterred the Japanese fleet from attacking from the sea, and "it has already played a role."

Regarding the strategy of Malaya, the British Ministry of Defense estimated that if Singapore was attacked, the navy would need six months to reinforce, but it did not expect the Japanese offensive to be so fast.

"Half a month, at most half a month, Singapore will fall. As soon as Singapore fell, the Malay Peninsula was completely under the control of the Japanese army, and the door to the Dutch East Indies was half open. The other half is the Philippines on the island of Luzon, where MacArthur is stationed, but soon. ”

……

Tomorrow Sergei will leave for Gorky, and Kozhdub and Pokryshkin will immediately return to Minsk, and Lin Jun will stay in Moscow. After the banquet, he briefly handed over the work of Belarus with Yegorov, talked about his ideas for the next possible battle of the mechanized corps in Belarus, and then ended the trip in the Kremlin.

Stalin drank two more sips of Georgian wine at the banquet and had already gone to rest. When Lin Jun left the conference room, he saw Vukinskaya waiting for him in the lounge, and his heart warmed.

"Go home, tired."

Lin Jun was really tired, he only slept for three or four hours for several nights in a row, if he hadn't slept on the plane for a while today, he wouldn't have talked about the situation in the Pacific Ocean during the banquet, and it would be good not to fall asleep at the dining table.

As soon as I got into my "Mercedes-Benz 770K Boorman" bulletproof car, this sleepy bug swept in, and I probably went home to relax my spirits all of a sudden.

I was woken up in a daze, and I didn't pay attention to how I went upstairs and entered my house, but I didn't forget to let the attachés go to rest, and then I fell asleep on the bedroom bed after a daze.

Landeskoch asked Vukinskaya what time the chief would go to the Kremlin tomorrow.

"It's 9 o'clock. You should also go to rest early, Pauckel came to me today, and he said that he will arrange a rotation for you to take a break from the day after tomorrow. ”

They are all people with families, and the attachés, like the deputy commanders, are not iron-clad machines.

Back in the bedroom, Vuginskaya looked at her husband who was sleeping on the bed and didn't know what to say: she was a doctor and knew how much damage it could take to her body if she didn't rest. But his identity is also destined to be impossible to work like an ordinary person, let alone in times of war - a little distressed as a wife.

I helped organize my husband's things, and after being busy for a while, I lay down next to my husband and fell asleep quietly.

…… (To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to the www.qidian.com, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) (To be continued.) )