Chapter 359: Philippine Campaign (VIII)
The Great Fleet was assembled and looked so spectacular that no one dared to invade it. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info, but in fact, it gives the enemy a great opportunity to gather and annihilate it.
The US Navy did not dare to attack the idea of a sneak attack on the Japanese Combined Fleet, but the Japanese, who had always dared to gamble even on the fortunes of their country, dared to break ground on the head of the US imperialists.
Although Japan's surprise attack on Subic Bay was a feint, the overwhelming array of Japanese fighters, attack planes, and bombers actually knocked out nearly one-third of the US Navy's capital ships in the Philippines.
It is precisely because of such a large-scale attack on Subic Bay that everyone thinks that the landing point of the Japanese army must be in the central or southern part of the Philippines, and the premise for the Japanese army to launch a landing operation is that the Japanese Navy defeats the Pacific Fleet of the United States Navy in a decisive battle.
No one would have imagined that the Japanese would dare to launch a landing operation while the main forces of the US Navy's Pacific Fleet were still alive.
As a result, the northern part of Luzon has become a hard-hit area for the debut battlefield.
Since all the capital ships of the US Navy's Pacific Fleet were pinned down by the Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet and did not dare to act rashly, this caused the Japanese Navy to cover the Japanese 14th Army from Taiwan with battleships, swaggering close to the Philippines with the dragon flag of the Donghua Empire, and then changing to the sun flag and easily landing on the western coast of Luzon.
In terms of not tiring deceit, the Japanese are indeed far more cunning than the Americans.
Moreover, the Japanese army's move also had the tactical intention of forcing the US Navy's Pacific Fleet and the Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet to fight a decisive battle in advance.
If the U.S. Navy did not move north, the Japanese could continue to deliver Army troops and military supplies from the landing ground on the north coast of Luzon.
However, once the US Navy came out of the nest, it was obvious that it had fallen for the Japanese Navy's trick to lure the snake out of its hole.
Faced with this situation, Nimitz had no choice but to hold his troops and pin his hopes on the heroic tenacity of the US Army.
In the eyes of most Japanese army generals, it has always been believed that the U.S. Army is certainly inferior to the British Army and the French Army. The Great Japanese Imperial Court could beat the British Army and the French Army to the ground, and it would certainly be a piece of cake to deal with the American Army.
In fact, however, the U.S. Army vividly taught the Japanese Army a good lesson on the battlefield. Every line of defense built by the US-Philippine coalition forces caused the Japanese troops who landed to fight in a bloody head.
This is also the result of the Japanese Army learning the essence of "modern warfare depends on firepower first" from the Royal Army of the Donghua Empire. If it had been according to the rigid and backward tactical thinking of the Japanese army, it might have been driven into the sea by the US military, which also believed in the supremacy of firepower.
It has to be said that the Japanese army, which obtained the true scriptures from the Donghua Empire, is now more "American imperialist" than the real American army.
In particular, in the field of battlefield application of helicopter and army aviation units, the Japanese army is now two blocks away from the US imperialists.
The Mi-4 is a piston-engine helicopter that Emperor Cheng can't look at, but for the Japanese and German armies in this era, it is definitely a battlefield weapon.
No, at this operational summary meeting, Masaharu Honma specifically raised the topic of developing more advanced helicopters.
The tremendous role of attack gunships and utility helicopters on the battlefield is now more thoroughly explored by Japan than by Germany.
The more it learned about the important use of helicopters in modern warfare, the more fearful Japan became of the Donghua Empire.
Because these senior generals of the Japanese Navy and Army know that the Mi-4 helicopter is just a phased product that the Donghua Empire can't get out of their wants, and the Mi-24 Hind, Mi-28 Apachesky, V22 Osprey and other turboshaft engine helicopters in service in the Donghua Empire are far more advanced than the Mi-4 piston engine helicopters.
In addition, the Donghua Empire is also more mature than Japan in the development of helicopter airborne weapons.
“…… Fortunately, the Reich has now developed a turbojet engine with completely independent intellectual property rights, and according to our scientists, the turbojet engine has been successfully developed, then the turboshaft engine and the turboprop engine are not a problem.
Here, on behalf of the soldiers of the Imperial Empire who fought bloodily on the front line, I solemnly implore the military department to develop a turboshaft helicopter as soon as possible, which will be an important weapon for the Imperial Army to conquer the world! ”
After Masaharu Honma finished speaking, he solemnly bowed to Shouichi Terauchi, who was sitting on the main seat, and then sat down.
"Lieutenant General Honma's request, I will convey it to the country as soon as possible." Terauchi Shouichi nodded quietly and said slowly: "The Imperial Army has never been weaponist, I need to know now, when can our army take Manila and force the people of the United States to sign the defeat agreement?" ”
"Your Excellency General, the combat effectiveness of the United States army is much stronger than we estimated before the war." Honma Masaharu got up again and replied very seriously: "According to my analysis, the reason why the people of the United States chose to fight with our Japanese Empire in the Philippines is only because the Philippines is the only overseas colony of the United States, and they are not willing to give up as easily as the British and French. The key to victory in the Philippine campaign was not the Imperial Army, but the Imperial Navy! ”
"The decisive naval battle is related to the national fortunes of the empire, and there is no room for the slightest mistake." Ozawa Chizaburo got up solemnly and said: "The Seventh Task Force of the Donghua Royal Navy in the South China Sea does not leave for a day, not only do we dare not talk about the decisive battle at sea, but even the US Navy does not dare to take this strange risk!" ”
"Damn the East Chinese!" Shouichi Terauchi couldn't help but grit his teeth and said, "Why does this country always like to go against the Japanese Empire!?" ”
Tomozaburo Ozawa, Tamon Yamaguchi, Yamashita Bongfumi, Honma Masaharu and others all chose to remain silent. Only those Japanese soldiers who have really stayed in the Donghua Empire and have an in-depth understanding of the military strength of the Donghua Empire can deeply appreciate how powerful the Donghua Empire is today.
The Great Japanese Empire could defeat any country in the world, but it could not defeat the Donghua Empire, a mountain that weighed on Japan's head.
……
Donghua Empire, Heavenly State, Imperial Palace.
In the reception hall, Cheng Gong was dressed in a set of casual clothes at home and was talking cordially with George Catlett Marshall, chief of the US Army General Staff and special envoy of US President Hoover.
In the face of the Americans' request for assistance, Cheng Gong neither agreed nor explicitly refused. But it continues to expound on the importance of the Philippines to the United States.
"The United States has officially declared war on Japan, and if the United States does not want to draw the flames of war to the west coast of the United States, it can only turn the Philippines into the main battlefield of the war between the United States and Japan." Cheng Gong said: "I think that your interference with our Seventh Task Force of the Donghua Royal Navy is completely unnecessary.
Our navy is only an escort for the transport merchant ships of various countries in the South China Sea, and will definitely not participate in this war between the United States and Japan. General Marshall, as you know, now Chairman Chiang of the Huaxia government has been persuaded by you to declare war on Japan.
Even if China and Japan are now declaring no war, in order to ensure the safety of China's investment in China and the safety of the personal and property of Chinese businessmen, our navy must do its duty to maintain the maritime security of the South China Sea. Therefore, my Seventh Task Force will definitely not leave the South China Sea!
The Japanese have sent people to consult me on this issue before you, and my reply is that I have always promised to do what I promised. As for what kind of pledge I want to write, it is an insult to my personality! ”
Whoever really believes in you will have a ghost! Marshall couldn't help but muttered to himself.
Didn't you, the great emperor of the Donghua Empire, also promise to sell aircraft carriers and jet carrier-based aircraft to the Japanese? But the result? It's not like you have to go back on it!
(To be continued.) )