690 Battle of Augusta (1)

"Phew. 【 I want: super fast update ]"

Next to Ailan Lake, Wu Peifu licked his numb tongue, spat into the lake vigorously, and said with a smile: "The translation of this name is the same, but unfortunately it is far worse than our lake of the same name, so I can't drink it at all." ”

"Brother Yu, aren't you asking for hardship, I said that this is a salt-alkali lake, because it is lower than the sea level, and the sea water seeps into the ground, don't see it clearly, there is only a little water in this season in the four seasons of the year." Feng Guozhang smiled, handed him a kettle for him to rinse his mouth, straightened up and looked at this saline-alkali lake area, and his pride rose sharply: "Let's cross the ocean all the way here, and now we will look at the trembling in front of us." ”

"What, can't wait?!"

"It's a little, but it's not easy to fight." Feng Guozhang and Wu Peifu walked side by side towards the jeep, and continued as they walked: "In the past few days, the plane reconnaissance has come back and said that these guys have almost built Augusta Harbor into a fortress group, and there are fortifications made of stone and cement everywhere, and the Flinders Ridge behind has the advantage of high ground, and it is convenient to defend it condescendingly, not to mention that you just said that we haven't fought a few decent battles along the way, and the total number of killed and captured is only about 100,000, so it can be seen that they have been waiting for us here for a long time."

It's a pity that the entrance to the bay is blocked by mines, and it will take ten and a half days for the navy to clean it up, and the aircraft carrier planes can't come so far. ”

"This is not unusual, I will do the same in exchange, stretch the enemy's supply line, find a dangerous place to defend, and counterattack after exhausting the vitality, the abacus is good."

"Yes, but it's a pity that they miscalculated the terrain!" Feng Guozhang smiled slightly, pointed to a dry salt lake in the distance that was being cleaned up and said with a smile: "I just went to see, this lake bed is dry, harder than ash, as long as the stones and fine sand on it are cleaned up, it is a natural airfield, as long as the air force can help us clean up those strong fortifications, and give him millions of soldiers, 300 meters of high ground and mountains, dare to say that the moat, hum!" The old tank can just poke a hole. ”

Wu Peifu smiled slightly, Feng Guozhang's words are true, although Persia and Russia also have tanks, but at all, there are several armored regiments and infantry divisions filling the scene, only Australia has 3 real armored divisions, especially after each division has added 50 Siberian tigers, and the combat strength is on the next level.

Those who have not been in contact with it have no idea what a regular armored division is capable of, it is not just a few more tanks and armored vehicles, the entire division of 18,000 people is hiding behind thick leather armor, like heavy cavalry wrapped in a layer of armor, and when they are soaring, there is really nothing in front of them.

If it weren't for the fact that the supply line was too long, or if the armored division was placed in a place like France, maybe they would have been bulldozed in a month, why spend more than two years like Germany now, and still be squeezed back by others little by little.

"Now it's up to us to see if the supplies can be delivered in time." Wu Peifu said worriedly.

Seeing that he was worried, Feng Guozhang smiled and said: "Don't worry, Yu, the command has just sent a telegram, the Navy and the Marine Corps have taken Kenny Harbor ten days ago, where to come here by land is only 400 kilometers, and the truck will arrive 8 hours later, and this time Commander Zhao has personally collected 37 10,000-ton ships from Perth, as well as hundreds of fishing boats, and asked that 1,000 trucks and supplies be sent here within three days, and this time the General Staff also responded to our needs, Luzon also has a convoy of 200 freighters ready there, and they will leave as soon as we can take Adelaide. 【 I want: super fast update ]"

"200 ships!"

"Is it much?" Feng Guozhang smiled: "Let me tell you, this is only a part, there is still a fleet of about the same number in Guam, which is ready to cooperate with the landing in Dongao." ”

Hearing Feng Guozhang's words, Wu Peifu also gasped, standing in his position can still know some things, although China has begun to accelerate the construction of ocean-going freighters, but after so many years, there are only more than 1,000 ships, and nearly one-third of them are supported by this decisive battle, which shows that they are determined to solve Australia as soon as possible.

Not to mention 200 ships, even if there are 37 10,000-ton ships and hundreds of fishing boats that will arrive soon, that is at least 200,000 tons of supplies, excluding food and other things, at least 60,000 tons of ammunition and gasoline can be carried.

However, the supply is solved, it does not mean that the battle can be successfully won, if the time is enough, it is no problem, but the emperor is still so determined when he is about to start the war against the United States, and he has such a strong ocean-going navigation force, it can be seen that he does not want to be dragged into attrition, or asks for a quick victory.

In this way, the pressure on the front-line command is greater, you must know that there are not only dangers to defend on the opposite side, but also at least five or six hundred thousand troops, and hundreds of thousands of troops in the back who can take the train to support at any time.

After the two walked slowly into the division headquarters, Wu Peifu immediately walked to the map, looked at the Torrens Lake dozens of kilometers wide in front of him, and secretly said in his heart that it was a pity that if he waited until the Australian summer a few months later, this place would dry up, and there would be no trouble of being blocked by the road.

So can you get around Lake Torrens and behind Flinders Ridge?

Thinking of this, Wu Peifu's eyebrows jumped slightly, and his fingers slowly crossed along the north of Lake Torrens, and it was indeed not too difficult to go around the middle of Lake North Eyre and Lake Torrens, which was much better than the northwest, the only thing to consider was that this section of the road was 1200 kilometers, and from the perspective of aircraft reconnaissance, the Australian army was also ready to be detoured, so it was necessary to cross the defense line of at least 12 divisions from north to bottom!

This is not a joke, although the Australian Entente Army has different formations, each division is about 15,000 people, that is to say, not only to pass through the complex salt lake area, walk about 1,300 kilometers, but also to continuously pierce the interception of nearly 200,000 troops, but also must be completed before the other side reacts to reinforcements, according to the speed of the Entente, that is, it is necessary to cut off the railway line between Port Augusta and South Wales behind it in 3 days!

Can it be done?

Thinking of the thrilling and classic long-distance attack battle of the Flying Tigers in the Arabian Peninsula, Wu Peifu took a deep breath, turned his head and asked, "Brother Guozhang, when will the first batch of supplies arrive?" ”

The train rumbled, outside the window is the desolate Victoria Desert, although the railway line in South Australia has been damaged many times, but the Australian theater still overcame many difficulties, along the railway line to fight and rush, and then with 2 with the army to repair the railway experienced construction corps as the main force, while repairing and walking, so tenaciously extend the railway line to the east.

Although it is not possible to directly reach Dongao by train, it is everyone's efforts that make it possible for the follow-up main force to be continuously delivered to the front line by train, instead of walking nearly 2,000 kilometers by truck and foot.

In the carriage, Zhao Long lowered the curtains, handed the plan sent by Wu Peifu to Huang Fuqi, and asked, "How is it?" ”

"I think so." Huang Fuqi nodded and said, "Now our Western Route Army has advanced to Ailan Lake, one step away from Dongao.

The Northern Route Army has also entered Normanton, north of Queensland, 3 days ago, and 10 more days can cut off the Cape York Peninsula, and then go south along the railway line, the Central Route Army is a little slower, they have no railways on this way, and all have to rely on trucks and horses for supplies, but yesterday Gao Dingru sent me a telegram saying that he promised to enter the grain area of the Great Basin within 5 days, but it is also a place where the Entente troops are heavily guarded, and the Central Route Army lacks heavy firepower, so if you want to open up the situation, you must speed up the opening of Port Augusta to take Port Adelaide, The vital states of South Wales and Victoria are no longer at risk. ”

"Why, don't you think it's too risky? That's 1,200 kilometers! ”

"Hehe, it is said that it is 1,200 kilometers, but in fact, it is a large circle of extra roads, the radius of the troops has been maintained at about 500 kilometers, and now the front-line airfield is already under construction, and it can be used in 5 days later, when the air force can provide fire support throughout the process, as long as the air force opens the road, I think it can still be achieved."

Zhao Long nodded and took a deep breath: "It's a bit risky, but we don't have a choice, the emperor and the chief of staff have already ordered Guam's fleet to set off last night!" ”

"Shhhh......h Huang Fuqi gasped and said, "Numeia hasn't taken it yet, so it's in such a hurry?" ”

"Noumea can fight slowly, but the East Australia will be added anyway, and it will be September in a few days, and the First Fleet has been ordered to sweep and bomb the west coast of the United States from next month, and the United States and Canada have also arrived near Skagway and the Yukon River, and have exchanged fire with Japanese forces.

Cai Ye has also made efforts in Panama, and he has promised the emperor that he will definitely take the canal before the end of the year, so the United States must have already known that we are preparing to attack their homeland, and the more we continue to delay, the more disadvantageous it will be, so I estimate that after the end of the New Year, the order for the war against the United States will be fully issued, and there really cannot be any more delay here. ”

Huang Fuqi sat down slowly, Zhao Long said well, as of now, there are as many as 1.2 million troops on Australia's side, it is easy to do just to contain the troops, the empire is not short of excellent soldiers, but the problem is that there are not only soldiers here, 2 construction corps that came with the army to repair the railway, and more than 100,000 captured Entente soldiers, all of which add up to nearly 2 million mouths to eat and drink every day, plus Western Australia and Northern Australia are not grain-producing areas, so half of them need to rely on domestic supplies, Even if you arrive here from near Luzon, there are still 3,000 kilometers by sea, and it is really difficult to replenish supplies.

This is also the main reason why, knowing that there is no railway, most of them have to travel through the desert, and the transportation is extremely inconvenient, it is necessary to let the special middle route army enter the Great Artesian Basin, because it is a large grain-producing area in Australia.

Ordinary people don't know, but he, the commander of the theater of operations, knows very well that in fact, the most expensive for the empire is the northwest and Australia, which together consumed 70% of the materials in this battle, and also contained nearly half of the navy.

If it weren't for the containment of these two theaters, it is estimated that as soon as the war starts, the emperor will directly enter the United States, and the United States will not be given the slightest chance.

The main force of the North African campaign that has just begun is the Ottomans, for the empire to take Djibouti, take the Sinai Peninsula, block the Entente from Egypt to support the army in the direction of Damascus by land, close the Suez Canal, and not go deep into Cairo completely depends on the mood, so it is not too much consumption, as for the landing in Ceylon, the Indian Grand Fleet is now blocked at home by the first task force and more than 20 submarines, and it is very difficult to get out, so the navy only needs to send five or six divisions to do the sample and control Colombo, If it weren't for India's large population, it would be too troublesome to control and consume too many resources, and maybe it would have been a long time ago.

Don't look at the empire's sudden attack on all fronts during this time, it is actually preparing for contraction, because it is not a joke to fight the United States, the depth of the territory is about the same as Australia, but the population is 30 times larger, and the industrial and mobilization capabilities are not comparable, and if the 1.2 million army does not take into account logistics and distance, it is no problem to level Australia with a population of only 3.5 million, but if you want to hurt the United States, it needs to increase at least several times.

Don't look at how many US ships have been sunk by the left and right sides of the navy, it is not a nerve-wracking thing for the United States, the only thing that can make him afraid and frightened is to land on the mainland, completely breaking the illusion in people's hearts that the United States has a good geographical environment and no natural enemies around!

Therefore, solving the problem of Australia has become an important part of shrinking the force, and how long the main battle can be resolved will become the main signal for deciding whether to take action against the United States, so the emperor did not hesitate to send the battleship to Japan and North Korea in exchange for 600,000 troops, and did not hesitate to send a landing fleet in advance to land in Dongao as soon as possible and open up a second battlefield.

"Report, a telegram from the Air Force."

"What's the matter?"

"Commander Xue Muhua told you that 78 Kunpeng bombers will arrive in Darwin from Rabaul this afternoon, and he said that if all goes well, they will arrive at Lake Ailan in the afternoon of the day after tomorrow, and ask us to add airstrip construction work."

"78!"

"Great!" Hearing the news, regardless of the commander still being around, Huang Fuqi jumped up, this is a new force, if this batch of bombers can arrive, then plus the early stage, the Air Third Division stationed in Australia will have 250 Kunpeng, 600 Tempest, and 450 Mustangs.

That's enough to change a lot of things!

"Order Feng Guozhang to completely repair the airport within 2 days, build a simple hangar, and order the Perth side to immediately transport all the stored napalm to Ailan Lake by sea to stand by."

"Tell Wu Peifu that the first batch of supplies will arrive tomorrow night, and he has five days!"

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