Chapter 466 Beach-grabbing landing

After a day and night of intense exercise, the General Staff of the Expeditionary Force finally came up with a preliminary battle plan at dawn the next day.

In the analysis of the battle situation of the expeditionary force headquarters, the four giants Yue Weihan, Stilwell, Wei Lihuang, and Deng Gong sat in the front row, and behind the four were the commanders-in-chief of the six major group armies, including Song Xilian, Huo Yuzhang, Liu Yi, Dai Anlan, Peng Bisheng, and Gao Shuxun, as well as their respective deputy commanders-in-chief and chief of staff.

On the rostrum, General Zuo, deputy chief of staff of the expeditionary force, was holding a command pole and talking eloquently against the map.

"Singapore is strategically located in the Straits of Malacca, which can be described as a battleground for soldiers, and the British have been operating here for hundreds of years since they took over Singapore from the Dutch in the last century, not only building a large number of solid steel and concrete fortifications on the main island of Singapore, but also equipped with dozens of fortress guns with a caliber of more than 300mm on the islands of Palm Leaf and Bagao."

"Singapore is known as the Verdun of the East because of its almost impregnable fortifications, which is why it is known as the Verdun of the East."

"However, in the 30-year war of the Republic of China, the so-called Oriental Verdun did not play its due role, and the Guards Division under the command of the Japanese army general Yamashita Fumi almost swept away the British defenders on the Malay Peninsula with a devastating momentum, and the 100,000 British troops who retreated to the main island of Singapore surrendered without any resistance."

"However, this does not mean that the fortifications built by the British army in Singapore are not good, and we cannot draw the wrong conclusion that the Verdun of the East is only in vain, in fact, the British army's fortifications in Singapore are still very strong, especially the more than 20 mén large-caliber fortress guns, which are enough to sink a 10,000-ton giant ship and lock the Strait of Malacca."

"The reason why the British army was about to collapse at the touch of a button two years ago, and the reason why the 100,000 British troops who retreated to Singapore surrendered without a fight was entirely because the British army had no intention of engaging in a strategic decisive battle with the Japanese army in Southeast Asia, and the strategic focus of the British was always in Europe, and in Asia, the only appeal of the British was to hold the crown jewel of India."

"For the former British Empire, Singapore is just a marginal interest, so you can give it up without hesitation, although the 100,000 British army is a lot, but it is just a mercenary formed by the natives of Australia, Burma, and India, not a jīng sharp army composed of British native soldiers, so the British government said to give up."

"However, for Xiǎo Japan, Singapore is the core interest, and Singapore's gains and losses are directly related to the supply of raw materials to Japan's local military industrial enterprises, so the Japanese army will definitely fight a decisive battle with our army in Singapore, and the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army is by no means comparable to that of the British mercenaries composed of the natives of Southeast Asia."

"It is foreseeable that there will be a fierce battle between our army and the Japanese army in Singapore"

"Since the outlying islands off the coast of Singapore are equipped with more than 20 mén large-caliber fortress guns, it is extremely unwise to directly land on the beach off the coast of Singapore or off the coast, otherwise, our transport ships and the allied warships responsible for covering will inevitably suffer heavy losses, and even if the landing is successful in the end, our army will lose the strength to continue the offensive."

"After repeated deductions, we believe that Shah Alan Beach is the most ideal landing place."

…………

Off the coast of Singapore, Lieutenant General Yamashita Fumi, commander of the 15th Army of the Japanese Southern Army, was patrolling north along the western coastline of the Malay Peninsula in a gunboat, accompanied by Lieutenant General Saburo Takehara, commander of the 5th Division of the Japanese Army garrisoning Singapore, and Lieutenant General Shihachi Katamura, commander of the 10th Division of the Japanese Army garrisoning the Malay Peninsula.

Yamashita Fumi's operation was undoubtedly quite risky, and it would be dangerous once it was discovered by Allied reconnaissance aircraft.

Because the western coast of the Malay Peninsula is only less than seven or eight hundred kilometers from Yangon, it is already within the combat radius of the Allied fighters, and at this time, although the two major flight groups of the Japanese Southern Army have recovered slightly, they are still not enough to compete with the flight groups of the US Navy and the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

When the gunboat approached Shahalan Beach, Saburo Takehara stepped forward again and dissuaded: "Your Excellency, Commander, it will be too dangerous to continue north, why don't you land here?" ”

"Your Excellency, Commander, please be sure to go ashore." Katamura said, "This place is already within the combat radius of the Allied Air Force, and Allied reconnaissance planes may appear at any time, and once our whereabouts are discovered by Allied reconnaissance planes, Allied bombers and fighters will swarm in less than two hours." ”

"Katamura-kun, Takehara-kun, you don't have to worry." Yamashita Fengwen waved his hand and said indifferently, "Gunboats are no better than battleships or air carriers, and the targets are too xiǎo, so how easy is it for the Allied reconnaissance planes to discover our whereabouts?" Moreover, I am worried that the Allies will soon land on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. ”

"Recently beached landing?" Katamura Shihachi was stunned and said, "Your Excellency Commander, the Southern Organ hasn't received any news?" ”

"Nan Agency?" Yamashita Fengwen pursed his lips and said abruptly, "Since the arrival of that NV person, when has the Southern Agency brought us really timely and useful information?" On the other hand, the Allies have cracked a lot of our top-secret information. ”

"Your Excellency the Commander's Meaning ......" Saburo Takehara said awe-inspiringly, "The head of the Nanzo Agency betrayed the Empire and His Majesty the Emperor?" ”

"I didn't say that." Yamashita Fengwen shook his head, and then said, "It shouldn't be possible to betray the empire and His Majesty the Emperor, but since being favored by the temple cabinet, it is certain that he will no longer be as enthusiastic about his work as before, in fact, this NV person should not have stayed in the position of the head of the agency for a long time, hum." ”

After saying this, Yamashita Fengwen said again: "Okay, don't talk about this." ”

Saburo Takehara took the opportunity to persuade again: "Your Excellency Commander, let's go ashore, I don't think that the Allied forces in Southeast Asia will take a major military action in the near future, let alone rush to land on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. ”

"The main island of Singapore?" Yamashita shook his head and said, "No, Takehara-kun, you're wrong. ”

Before the words fell, Yamashita Fengwen found the Shahran beach in front of him, and immediately asked Katamura Shihachi: "Katamura-kun, what kind of beach is that in front?" ”

Katamura said without thinking: "Shah Alan Beach. ”

Yamashita Fengwen nodded, and said, "How many fortifications have you built on this beach, and how many troops have you deployed?" ”

"This ......," Katamura Shihachi thought for a moment and replied, "There are always a dozen pillboxes and turrets, although the deployed troops are not many, only one infantry squadron, but this beach is only less than 50 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur, and if something happens, the motorized infantry brigade directly under our division can definitely rush to reinforcements within two hours." ”

…………

Yangon, Expeditionary Force Headquarters.

Mr. Zuo's voice fell, and Yue Weihan said lightly: "Let's talk about the reason for choosing Shah Alan Beach, judging from the map, Shah Lan Beach is less than 50 kilometers away from Kuala Lumpur, if I remember correctly, the division headquarters of the 10th Division of the Japanese Army should be in Kuala Lumpur, right?" ”

"The division headquarters of the 10th Division of the Japanese Army is indeed in Kuala Lumpur." Mr. Zuo smiled and said, "Shah Lan Beach is indeed less than 50 kilometers away from Kuala Lumpur, but there are two large highway bridges in the short distance of 50 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur to Shah Lan Beach, and only need to destroy these two bridges in advance, supplemented by airborne troops, which is enough to block enemy reinforcements."

After saying this, Mr. Zuo said: "The most important thing is that Shahran Beach is less than 50 kilometers away from the headquarters of the 10th Division of the Japanese Army, and tactically speaking, it is very unfavorable for the beach-grabbing landing, therefore, compared with other beaches, the Japanese garrison on Shahalan Beach should be relatively empty, and the probability of a successful beach-grabbing landing will be higher." ”

"Hmm." Yue Weihan said happily, "This can be regarded as a surprise attack." ”

Zong Zuo paused, and then said: "Next, I will introduce the specific combat plans of various arms and echelons, first of all, the tactical air force, which needs to clear the airspace over the Malay Peninsula two xiǎo hours before the start of the beach landing, and after half a xiǎo hour, the strategic air force will start bombing the roads and bridges between Kuala Lumpur and Shah Alan Beach......

…………

Shah Alan Beach.

Yamashita had already landed on the beach, surrounded by Katamura Shihachi, Saburo Takehara, and a large group of Japanese generals.

Looking at the sparse obstacles arranged on the beach, as well as the pillboxes and turrets scattered along the coastline, Yamashita Fengwen shook his head vigorously and said: "Katamura-kun, the defense here must be strengthened, the density of beach obstacles must be increased tenfold, don't be stingy with this bit of steel, now the empire is not short of inferior steel." ”

"The pillboxes and turrets along the coastline need to be reinforced, and bunkers must be built."

"The garrison also needs to be strengthened, but only one squadron of garrisons has been deployed along the coastline of more than ten kilometers, and on average there are less than twenty imperial soldiers guarding the coastline per kilometer, how can this be done? No matter how brave and good the imperial soldiers are, it is impossible to block a hundred with one, Katamura-kun, this is no longer the era of cold weapons that advocate individual martial arts. ”

"Hello." Katamura Shihachi suddenly bowed his head and said, "Mine immediately strengthen the defense." ”

"Alright, that's all for today." Yamashita Fengwen said that he went straight to the armored car parked on the beach, Yamashita Fengfu had already inspected hundreds of kilometers of coastline all day today, and he was indeed a little tired, but the results of the inspection made him very dissatisfied, the 10th Division obviously only focused on land defense, but the sea defense was very loose.

So in the past few days, Yamashita Fengwen wants to stay in Kuala Lumpur and personally urge Katamura 48 to strengthen coastal defense.

…………

Hawaii, Command of the Pacific Fleet of the US Navy.

The battle plan of the Chinese Expeditionary Force has been distributed to all arms and group armies, and Admiral Nimitz, commander of the US Navy's Pacific Fleet, has also received the relevant parts of the entire battle plan from Stilwell.

After more than two years of war, the strength of the US Navy has long since changed.

With the support of a strong industry, the US Navy's two oceanic fleets now have more than 80 aircraft carriers, more than 30,000 combat aircraft of various types, and more than 2,000 strategic aircraft.

Of course, most of the U.S. Navy and Air Force have been transferred to Europe, and only some remain in the Pacific.

However, even if the remaining US naval and air forces are only a part of the fleet, the Pacific Fleet still has 15 aircraft carriers and more than 2,000 combat aircraft, and this strength still has a considerable advantage in the face of the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy in its heyday, not to mention the current Japanese coast guard.

If it weren't for the endurance and supply restrictions, the U.S. Navy would have gone to Tokyo Bay several times.

Before receiving the battle plan of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, the staff of the Pacific Fleet of the US Navy had actually drawn up a battle plan aimed at dismembering and eventually destroying Japan, and coincidentally, the Americans proposed the same "leapfrog" tactic, except that the Chinese proposed to jump from west to east, while the Americans proposed to jump from south to north.

In the plan of the US Navy, the first step should be to seize Port Moresby, then use Port Moresby as a springboard to directly seize Saipan and Guam in the north, then use Saipan and Guam as a springboard to seize the Ryukyu Islands, and finally use the Ryukyu Islands as a springboard to attack the Japanese mainland in the north, and finally land in Tokyo.

This plan is almost a microcosm of the US military in the Asian theater in history, but MacArthur seized Luzon Island in order to wash away his shame, but in this world, not only MacArthur was transferred to Europe, but dozens of Marine divisions of the US Navy were also transferred to the Mediterranean theater, and the Pacific Fleet no longer had the ability to land on the beach.

If the Pacific Fleet wants to realize its operational intentions, it must have the cooperation of the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

Now, the Chinese Expeditionary Force is the first to put forward its own leapfrog plan, which means that the plan of the Pacific Fleet is likely to be stillborn.

Nimitz and the generals of the Pacific Fleet did not mind helping the Chinese Expeditionary Force, not to mention the public opinion in the United States, the love for Yue Weihan and the officers and men of the Chinese Expeditionary Force had reached an unsurpassed level, and Nimitz and the vast majority of American generals were actually full of good feelings towards Yue Weihan and the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

However, when it comes to the national interests of the United States, the Nimitz they must think carefully.

If the plan of the Chinese Expeditionary Force is carried out and Japan is defeated, then the Chinese Expeditionary Force will be in the dominant position without any suspense, and a series of affairs such as the Japanese garrison after the war, the division of power in Asia, etc., will have the final say on the Chinese, but if the plan of the US Navy is carried out and Japan is finally defeated, then the situation is completely reversed.

Whether to agree to the plan of the Chinese Expeditionary Force and cooperate with it fully, or to seek the cooperation of the Chinese Expeditionary Force from scratch, is indeed a question, Nimitz has already filled his pipe with half a bag of cigarettes, or has not made up his mind, and the commanders of the various detachments are mostly hesitant and only care about the silent chōu smoke.