On the stone statue island, Li Guang received a report from Zheng Xuechang at the headquarters. It was also realized that it was difficult for the Baxia to pose a threat to the Chilean battleship with only one cannon, and that in order to prevent the battleship from continuing to approach the Stone Statue Island, it would have to rely on the artillery group defending the harbor and the weak air force. The power of the Air Force has been proven in previous battles. It can be said that the captured cruisers and the sinking of destroyers, the Air Force clearly played a decisive role.

Although the island is more than 160 square kilometers, the width of the southern tip of the island is only three or four kilometers, which is only the length of the runway of an airplane. The heavy artillery group said that it was a defensive port, but in fact it was only two kilometers away from the other end, and as long as it could turn around in time, it could still pose a certain threat to the warships. The staff headquarters of the Naval Resistance Army is not only on paper, but the positions arranged are quite scientific.

Li Guang was a little remorseful at this time, he had always been worried about the navy, and he had done a lot of defense work. But it is still careless, the 152mm cannon is a big reliance on the naval resistance army to defend the island, but there is an urgent shortage of armor-piercing shells. So far, the statue island has been able to make do with the production of 88mm anti-aircraft gun armor-piercing shells, but large-caliber armor-piercing shells have not been able to be made.

Large-caliber grenades are enough to deal with ordinary fortifications, and even more powerful against individual soldiers, but they are of little use against battleships with rough skin and thick flesh.

Latto. Rear Admiral Juan was repeatedly hit in just a few hours, and the Chilean Navy and Army dispatched five warships and a submarine, and the Army also dispatched a reinforced battalion of infantry. The lineup is not insignificant, especially the battleship Admiral La Torre, which served as the flagship. It is not an exaggeration to say that this battleship is a national treasure of Chile, you must know that among the top three in South America, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil are all battleships. Moreover, this Chilean ship still has the largest displacement and the largest caliber of main guns, especially since it spent a lot of money on a modernization a few years ago.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Brazil, the largest of China's land area, the top three South American powers, took the lead in purchasing a battleship, but the displacement was only about 20,000 tons. Subsequently, Argentina, the richest of the three South American powers, not to be outdone, also purchased a battleship with a larger displacement. Chile looks at it and sees that this is not possible. The honor of the Enterprising fleet could not be lost, so the Chilean political axe ordered the battleship before the First World War. It cost £2.5 million at the time. But as soon as the war began, the British decided to use it first. That's a lot of years. After the war, the British saw that there were still many problems with this battleship, its combat effectiveness was not ideal, and it was too heavy to raise an extra battleship when there was no war, so they gave Chile a million pounds sterling.

As a result, Chile has made a big gain. Of the top three in South America, this battleship was almost the best and the cheapest. In order for this national treasure to keep up with the times, in the mid-to-late twenties, the Chilean political axe spent a lot of money to carry out a modernization in the United Kingdom. The British are ruthless, and the cost of renovation and upgrading is a full million pounds. The Chilean political axe spent a lot of money on this battleship. However, in general, this battleship is still cheap enough, if you buy a battleship in 40 years, it will cost at least 8 million pounds, and the European war has begun, it is difficult to say whether you can buy it or not.

Latto. After a short battle, Juan also realized a flaw in the battleship, which had no fighters, not even reconnaissance aircraft. All the naval battles that Chile has experienced before have no shadow of warplanes. The use of warplanes at sea does not have this concept at all in the entire Chilean Navy.

Latto. Juan is now at a loss in his mind, he is now 60 years old, and he is also a famous general in the Chilean navy, and he has a high position. This time, because of the Chilean political axe, he got the benefit of himself and dispatched the fleet. Originally, this kind of mission was seen by the Chilean military as an ocean-going training. And the Chilean Navy used this national treasure in order to be fat in front of his friends.

In the half-day battle, although the national treasure was not lost, the frigate battleship was all finished. (There is also a destroyer far away on Robinson Island.) Lato. Juan's dazedness is understandable. At this time, the veteran's brain was like paste, and the powerful fleet was unexpectedly beaten by a few warplanes and two small ships. You must know that this is a head-on confrontation with real swords and guns, and this kind of result is beyond the common sense of veterans. At this time Lato. Juan almost thought it was like a nightmare.

But the fight continues, and he has to support it now. Chilean soldiers floating on the sea had to be rescued. At this moment, the chief of staff of the fleet under his command reminded: "Your Excellency, the airfield of the Chinese must be destroyed. ”

The advice of the chief of staff was very timely, to know the losses of the Chilean naval fleet, and the wave in the morning was a sneak attack. In the morning battle, if the Naval Resistance Force did not have fighters, it would be difficult for two small ships to seriously damage a cruiser and a destroyer in any case. The chief of staff really grasped the crux of the matter.

Latto. Although Juan was dizzy and dizzy by the three-plate axe of the Naval Resistance Army, he did not lose the basic quality of a general. Immediately asked: "Without intelligence, how can the location of the airport of the Chinese be judged?" ”

At this time, the accompanying Chilean Army Major Levardine pointed to the map and participated in the opinion: "Judging from the topography of Easter Island, the easiest location for building an airfield should be at the southern end of the island. ”

The heritage of a country is quite terrifying, and a small major, Levardine, can judge the location of the airport just by relying on an old map of the stone statue island, and he even delineates the direction of the airport runway on the map.

Latto. Juan was definitely not stupid to climb to such a high position. However, his thoughts at this time were quite different from those of his subordinates. He no longer thinks that this battle can be won, but what he cares about is also the fighters of the Naval Resistance Army. You must know that the speed of the accompanying troop carrier is only ten knots, and even tomorrow it will not be able to run much of the sea, and it will still be within the bombing range of the fighters. The reason why he wanted to bomb the airport on Statue Island was just to ensure that he would not be chased by fighters during the retreat. Battleships were not very afraid of fighters, but those merchant ships were not immune to fighters. And it is difficult for his battleship to take care of the three troop carriers in any case.

The chief of staff reminded on the side: "General, according to the rhythm of the previous two air strikes, we still have an hour. At this time, the fighters of the Naval Resistance Army had already dropped their bombs and all returned home. And the destroyer is now crippled, floating on the surface of the sea like a broken piece of wood, in the process of sinking.

At this time, the battleship Admiral Latore was only thirty nautical miles from the Stone Statue Island, and the calculations given by the staff officer were accurate, forty minutes later. The battleship Admiral La Torre was able to shell the island of Statues, and in fifty minutes the naval guns would cover the entire airfield area.

As a general, as the supreme commander of the Chilean navy and army, Lato. Juan had to think about not just the operation, not just the navy, but also the army that needed to be protected.

He turned his head to look at Army Major Levardine, the Chilean major was very decisive, and said: "I led the lifeboat to save people, and the rest of the troop carriers followed the battleship at full speed, trying to stay within the protection range of the ship's guns." ”

It can be said that the decision made by the Chilean Navy and Army at this moment is a gamble, and they are betting that they can blow up the airfield before the fighter planes take off.

;