The task of escorting the US and Philippine transport convoys evacuating from Luzon Island was successfully concluded, and the escort formation of the Southern Flying Group of the Independent Division did not lose a single one, and all the fighters and bombers participating in the escort returned safely to the base.

However, some people are very unhappy, it can be said that they are holding back the fire in their stomachs, but they did not vent it, this person is the air commander of the second escort echelon, Colonel Wu Zhenjiang, the commander of the Ninth Fighter Regiment.

What is the head of his own, the first time he escorted the British, commanded the first echelon, it was not bad, and he got a good fight, but this time, it was like an air trip, he went back and forth, and he didn't let go of a shot, and finally saw the little devil's carrier-based aircraft show up, and he fucking retracted, if he still commanded the first echelon, in the airspace of Manila, wouldn't there be a battle.

Why didn't he fight with the commander at the beginning, Wu Zhenjiang drooped his head and walked towards the rest area, and a staff officer stopped him, "Commander Wu, Commander Le is calling, let you rush to the command post in front of the empty finger immediately!" ”

Wu Zhenjiang did not dare to slack off, hurriedly jumped into the jeep, and arrived at the temporary office of the Air Command of the Southern Flying Group, the building of the Singapore Military Control Commission.

Le Yiqin could see at a glance that Wu Zhenjiang's love was not high, and he immediately became angry, his eyes widened, and he shouted: "What's the matter, Wu Zhenjiang." Hanging your head, as if you had lost a battle? ”

Wu Zhenjiang grinned, in front of the division commander, and was embarrassed to pour bitter water with the commander, if there were only two people, Le Yiqin and He Zhijun, he would have to complain.

Seeing that Wu Zhenjiang was silent, and Le Yiqin had to continue training, Tang Qiuli waved his hand, stopped him, and said with a smile: "Le Yiqin." It's really worthy of your soldiers, this is all learned from you, and they are out of the nest, except for the first echelon you commanded, which fought a battle. The rest of the echelons, there was no fighting. Captain Wu is not happy in his heart. Think about Le Yiqin, are you so virtuous! ”

Wu Zhenjiang and He Zhijun held back their laughter, Le Yiqin's eyes widened, and his face was unconvinced. said: "Teacher, don't say it, I have this problem, but I didn't let these guys follow suit!" ”

The crowd burst into laughter. Tang Qiuli shook his head helplessly, and said to Wu Zhenjiang: "Commander Wu, the division commander and the flight group have studied it and are ready to transfer you to another job!" ”

Wu Zhenjiang was shocked and hurriedly said, "Division commander, commander, I didn't make any mistakes?" Can't you transfer me out of the air force! ”

Wu Zhenjiang was really scared, he also thought that the last time he escorted the British, it was the reason why he was transferred out of the Southern Flight Group, for a pilot who loves the blue sky, leaving his beloved fighter plane is a loss of half his life!

Tang Qiuli laughed and said, "Wu Zhenjiang, do you think I'm going to punish you?" You're thinking wrong, you want you to take on more important responsibilities, Chief of Staff, announce it! ”

Zhao Yuhe took out a copy of the document and read: "The independent division refers to Order No. 7, and Wu Zhenjiang, the colonel of the Ninth Fighter Regiment of the Southern Flight Group of the Air Force, is appointed as the commander of the air patrol area in the southern Indian Ocean of the group.

Wu Zhenjiang didn't react for a while, looked at a few bigwigs blankly, and muttered in his heart, "What is this South Indian Ocean Air Patrol Area for?" ”

Tang Qiuli explained: "Wu Zhenjiang, your task is to provide land-based air fire support for the fleet aircraft carrier task force, the combat area includes the west coast of Australia, your troop establishment, but there are three fighter regiments, two bomber regiments, and the patrol area is stationed in the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean. ”

Wu Zhenjiang understood, and immediately lifted his spirits, "snapped" a straight upright, and shouted loudly: "Division commander, Wu Zhenjiang will live up to his mission and guarantee to complete the task!" ”

After Wu Zhenjiang left in good spirits, Tang Qiuli said to Le Yiqin: "Yiqin, Wu Zhenjiang's troops, must select the best pilots and the best aircraft from various fighter regiments and bomber regiments, for a long time in the future, only Wu Zhenjiang's troops will have combat missions every day, the Chagos Archipelago field airfield, is under intense construction, before the troops are stationed, after you return to the troops, you can organize targeted training, familiar with the airspace in that area!" ”

Le Yiqin nodded and agreed, in fact, before Wu Zhenjiang came, in the position of commander of the air patrol area in the South Indian Ocean, Le Yiqin had already strongly asked the division commander to take on the role, there was only one reason, there were battles every day, and for Le Yiqin, this was enough.

However, after being brutally trained by the division commander, he said that he had no concept of the overall situation, and his mind should be on the entire Southern Flying Group, and he should not lose his duties, although he was unwilling, he had to watch such a good errand fall on Wu Zhenjiang's head, and kept muttering in his heart, "Wu Zhenjiang, this kid, can be regarded as a big bargain!" ”

As a matter of fact, Tang Qiuli spent a lot of manpower, material, and financial resources to build a field airfield in the Chagos Archipelago, not only to provide land-based air support for the fleet's aircraft carrier task force, but more importantly, for the oil in the Middle East, the location of the Chagos Archipelago is an excellent advance base for the choke point of the Arabian Sea's southward march to the Indian Ocean and eastward into the Pacific Ocean.

This hand ahead of the layout, may not be seen for a long time, but with the passage of time, after oil has become a strategic reserve material for various countries, its importance will become increasingly prominent, and at the same time, this layout is also for the end of the post-war sea passage for the United States to the Middle East oil-producing areas.

Of course, this layout, similar to the flying son in Go, was made by Tang Qiuli based on the memories of his later generations, and he would not mention it to anyone, so as not to shock the world and be treated as a demon.

On the afternoon of 31 August, Tang Qiuli received a telegram of thanks from the new commander-in-chief of the Allied Southwest Pacific Theater, General Fernandez, a British, and Lieutenant General Jonathan, the new commander of the Southwest Pacific Theater of the US and Philippine forces.

Putting down the telegram, Tang Qiuli suddenly had a very relaxed feeling in his heart, the British and Australian armies and the U.S. and Philippine armies combined, with more than 350,000 troops, with Australia's vast strategic maneuver space, it should not be a problem to hold an Australia, and he didn't have to worry too much about Australia's affairs.

The main thing is that MacArthur is not in the command position, without this guy who has not succeeded enough and has more than enough to lose, and who has been conspiring and scheming all day long, the Americans and the British can cooperate sincerely and form a joint force, Ito Yanzaburo can't bargain too much, the Allied Australian command system will have a new look, this is a situation that he is happy to see, and with the reinforcements of the West Indies one after another, the situation will be even better!

The equipment of the five infantry divisions of the Anglo-Indian Army in West India has begun to be delivered one after another, and the efficiency of the logistics department is still very high, which is also normal.

In the Southwest Pacific Theater, the Independent Division was unable to intervene for a long time, and it was finally safe to return to the north, Tang Qiuli thought with a smile.

However, Tang Qiuli was obviously overly optimistic about the unity within the allies.

100,000 British and Australian soldiers, returning to Australia, enabled Admiral Fernandez to establish several blocking lines in central Australia, temporarily blocking the fierce offensive of the Japanese army, stabilizing the battle situation, and also making him in the mood to hold a simple but representative welcome banquet for the commander of the American and Philippine forces from afar, Lieutenant General Jonathan and his subordinates.

At the beginning of the banquet, the atmosphere was harmonious and warm, whether it was General Fernandez, or other senior British officers, they all had a great welcome attitude towards the arrival of the US army, and hundreds of thousands of American and Philippine soldiers entered Australia, which was tantamount to sending charcoal in the snow and helping the British and Australian troops who were fighting hard with the Japanese army and were at a disadvantage.

For Lieutenant General Jonathan and other senior officers of the US and Philippine armies, it was unexpected for them to receive such a sincere and warm welcome from Luzon, the land of death, and to the unfamiliar Australian mainland.

Britain and the United States are of the same language and species, and there is no obstacle to communication at all, and the senior officers of both sides get together and talk happily, they are all soldiers, and the topic is naturally inseparable from the current war, about the Luzon battlefield, the Australian battlefield, exchanging experiences with each other, discussing gains and losses, Admiral Fernandez and Lieutenant General Jonathan, sitting with their respective chiefs of staff, the topic of the four of them is naturally at a higher level.

The two of them were even happier that the fact that the senior officers of the two sides were able to have such harmonious and frank exchanges also meant that in the future coordinated operations, as long as there were not too many differences, there would be no problems that neither side wanted to see, and this also indicated that the two countries and the Quartet had achieved a preliminary agreement in resisting the Japanese army, a common enemy.

Lieutenant General Jonathan's posture was quite well grasped, and he said that the US and Philippine troops were completely under the command of the Allied headquarters, and General Fernandez was very happy in his heart, but his happy mood and the pleasant scene of the welcome banquet were ruined by one person.

(To be continued) (To be continued.) )