Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> 1908: Iron Ambition

Text Chapter 486 The Battle of the Philippines

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    :.

    "Have you not discovered their whereabouts yet?"

    Listening to the reports from his subordinates on the battle situation on the front line, Chen Shaokuan frowned and asked

    "Sorry, there is currently no information on the whereabouts of the Japanese fleet"

    In front of Chen Shaokuan, an officer lowered his head slightly and said

    At this time, the battle in the coastal waters of the Philippines had been going on for some time. Under the bombardment of the Philippine shore defense firepower, a part of the Marines had boarded the offshore beach in amphibious vehicles and landing craft, and the tanks in the amphibious combat vehicles and landing crafts  Under the cover of the Japanese defense line, a beach offensive was launched.

    It’s just that the offensive did not go smoothly. It encountered many obstacles during the attack, and the Japanese army was also very powerful. It can be seen that Japan was more determined to defend the Philippines than to defend Taiwan.

    But this is not surprising. Taiwan and China are very close. With the power of China today, it is absolutely impossible for China, let alone Japan, not even Germany or the United States, to hold Taiwan.

    Therefore, very early on, the Tojo government had been psychologically prepared for Japan to fall, and naturally it would not pay too much attention when defending.

    But the Philippines is different. The Philippines is a gateway to Southeast Asia.

    By capturing the Philippines, the National Socialist Government can go south to capture the Nanyang Islands, thereby posing a threat to Australia. The Japanese army must strictly guard against the Philippines.

    Therefore, the fighting on the coast was very fierce. The landing Marines launched many attacks, but in the end they were repelled by the Japanese army.

    On the other hand, the air battle over the landing fleet is also in progress

    Although the Type 3 fighters equipped by the Japanese Army Air Force have lagged behind the times to some extent, it is obvious that the performance of the Type 4 fighters equipped by it is still at the same level as the current mainstream fighters in various countries.

    On the other hand, although the performance of the jz10 carrier-based fighter equipped by the National Defense Navy is better than that of the Japanese Zero fighter, it cannot have the absolute advantage that the zd20 has over the Zero. Therefore, the air battle is fierce and so far it is still at a low level.  flat stage

    However, as the war progressed, the Japanese combined fleet, which Chen Shaokuan and others had always been concerned about, had never appeared. This made Chen Shaokuan somewhat anxious.

    After all, the enemy is in darkness and we are in the clear, so the situation will be somewhat unfavorable

    What’s more, although the fleet currently in Chen Shaokuan’s hands is not the entire navy, it can be regarded as most of it.

    Especially aircraft carriers. Excluding several earlier experimental aircraft carriers built in the 1920s and 1930s, the four aircraft carriers in Chen Shaokuan's hands today can be said to be all the main aircraft carriers. If all these aircraft carriers are lost here, the Navy wants to  To restore the original strength, I am afraid we will have to wait until the other two Lingbo-class aircraft carriers and several other Kunlun-class aircraft carriers are launched into service at the end of the year

    Of course, the same is true in Japan

    Although Japan has started building Yunlong-class aircraft carriers earlier, aircraft carriers cannot be produced casually. Therefore, even a conservative estimate would mean that the first few Yunlong-class aircraft carriers would not appear until 43 years

    And for some reason, Chen Shaokuan suddenly remembered the "Legend of a knife stabbing in the back" that was circulated in Germany at that time. Although the knife stabbed in the back was completely different from the current one, the existence of the combined fleet was like to Chen Shaokuan.  With a knife pressed against the back, no one knows when it will be stabbed down

    The so-called knife stabbed in the back refers to a rumor spread in Germany after World War I. It has the function of political propaganda. Since Germany was defeated, many German nationalists held a grudge and used this legend to condemn foreigners and non-nationalists.  betrayer of germany

    Most Germans supported or participated in the First World War or suffered as a result. From a German or more neutral perspective, it is generally believed that Russia used the Balkans issue to expand. Many Germans viewed the war as a permanent struggle against the "Eastern aggressors"  In addition to considering Pan-Slavism and Russia's expansion, France's revanchism due to the defeat of the Franco-Prussian War was also one of the important reasons for the war. For the Germans, Britain was also an opportunist because the rise of Germany destroyed Britain's trade.  Therefore, Britain was also seen as trying to dismember the power of the German Empire with the help of the Schlieffen Plan to support the neutral German army in Belgium.

    The beginning of the war did indeed eliminate the divisions in German society at first. Catholics, Jews, Lutherans, socialists, right-wing forces, and liberals were all united by the war. However, as the war changed, the original divisions reappeared.  Enthusiasm for the war waned among Catholics, Social Democrats and Jews, putting their loyalty to the country into question. People who had profited from the war and workers on strike were also criticized. Friedrich Alfred Krupp was  Providing armaments to both warring parties and being criticized by others. Personal interests are often led by other industries. The German government set maximum price controls to intervene in the economy, while businessmen??Responded by shifting production targets, resulting in material shortages. The above situation caused social tension and disrupted the economic order. In 1917, there were 500 strikes in Germany alone, causing serious economic losses.

    On November 11, 1918, the World War finally ended, and Ludendorff's prophecy came true almost immediately. Although the war was over, Britain continued to blockade Europe for a year, leaving Germany with a shortage of supplies and people living in dire straits. Versailles signed by the Weimar Republic government  The treaty, considered extremely harsh, was not at all what the German people had originally expected.

    However, the Treaty of Versailles surprised the Germans: Germany had to cede about 10% of its territory, demilitarize the Rhineland, let France occupy the Saarland, and pay a large amount of reparations to repay its debt over seventy years until 1988).  The most important thing is the War Crimes Treaty: Germany must admit full responsibility for launching the war

    After Germany surrendered, the Allies never occupied German territory. At that time, the German troops on the Western Front were still in northern France. Moreover, at that time, Lenin negotiated peace with the German army. In March, Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and captured a large number of Russian  Territory and reparations in Eastern Europe represented Germany's defeat of Russia, and also meant that Germany still had a chance of victory at that time. Therefore, many Germans were convinced that the German army was invincible and had no chance of defeat. In other words, as long as government representatives did not "traitor their country and seek glory."  And the country did not collapse because of the revolution. The German army would definitely win. For some Germans, even if they had to sue for peace, they believed that the Allies would treat Germany leniently in accordance with the Fourteen Points of Peace Principle.

    Therefore, the treaty was regarded as a great shame and humiliation by the Germans

    As a result, Germany's conservative nationalists and former military leaders used this to blame others. The most famous scapegoats were the leaders of the Weimar Republic, socialists, revolutionaries and "international Jewry", also known as "international Jewry".  Jews and above who believed that they were "unkind for the sake of wealth" were all called "November criminals" and were accused of betraying the nation, including criticizing German nationalism, inciting rebellion, inciting strikes in the military industry and seeking huge profits. Most importantly, "  "November criminals" are accused of treason and violation of the so-called national justice

    In any case, the legend of the stabbing in the back spread widely after the war, and later allowed the extremely racist Nazi Party to gain public support. In 1919, the German Revolution continued. The Hammer and Sickle Party established the Bavarian Soviet Republic and was eventually eliminated.  The right-wing Freikorps suppressed and overthrew the Soviet. Since most of the leading members of this Soviet were Jews, anti-Semites labeled the Jews as "traitorous Hammer and Sickle Party members" when conducting propaganda.

    For Chen Shaokuan, the United Fleet is his serious concern

    ————————————————————

    Unlike Chen Shaokuan’s worries, Li Shijing was only paying attention to the battle taking place on the coast

    For Li Shijing, there will be tall people holding up the sky if it falls, so the threat from the Japanese combined fleet is not something he needs to consider at all. All he needs to consider is how to seize the Japanese beachhead at the minimum cost.

    In order to seize the Philippines this time, the National Socialist Government dispatched a total of 300,000 troops

    For an island country like the Philippines, 300,000 troops are already quite large.

    On the other hand, the Japanese army stationed in the Philippines only has more than 300,000 troops. As we all know, the National Defense Forces are obviously stronger than the Japanese army at a one-to-one ratio. Of course, quality is only one aspect, the most important thing is equipment.

    Compared with the shabby Japanese Army, the equipment of the National Defense Army can only be described as luxurious

    And even a newly mobilized reserve soldier, after being armed to the teeth, can exert a much stronger combat effectiveness than the Japanese soldiers——Of course, this is only in small-scale battles. Many times, personal  Quality is also a very important part of combat effectiveness. This quality is not only combat skills, but also the ability to execute in large battles.

    These cannot be compensated by equipment.

    Fortunately, China is one of the countries with the largest standing army, only slightly less than Russia, so it will not lose to Japan in terms of the number of elites.

    "However, if the execution of this campaign can be postponed, the campaign in the Philippines will probably go much smoother."

    Standing on the bridge of the landing ship, he watched the battle in the distance, and the fighter planes that would crash into the sea from time to time. Although the guns were shaking, and some bombs or torpedoes would fall around the landing ship from time to time, Li Shijing still  calm way

    Considering that China’s main future development area is the Southern Islands, not the cold Siberia

    Therefore, the National Socialist Government deliberately established the Marine Corps in the National Defense Forces, and due to certain expectations for the Marine Corps, although the Marine Corps does not have the same high status as the United States, it is also the only one in the U.S. military under the U.S. Constitution.  No need for CongressWith the approval of the President, the Marine Corps Commander is directly responsible only to the Secretary of Defense and the President.

    But the Marine Corps is also a branch of the military on par with the Air Force, Army and Navy.

    Not only does it have its own armed forces, its own flying force, but it also has a considerable number of amphibious ships. Of course, they are only amphibious ships. There are no other battleships. Otherwise, it would directly belong to the navy. Why bother building it?  What about a Marine?

    ??And if a military force not only has its own land and air force, but also ships for combat, wouldn't it eventually become a country within a country?  Even rebellion in the future is not impossible

    So although the Marine Corps is allowed to have its own ships, it is absolutely not allowed to have combat ships. It can only have amphibious ships such as landing ships. This is also a preventive measure.

    And this kind of measure also allows the army, navy and air force to balance a lot

    After all, no one wants to have a military branch that combines the characteristics of the three military services but has the same status as them.

    but…

    "If it can be postponed a little longer, the Snow and Wind class will almost be able to go to war together"

    Looking at the fierce battle on the beach in the distance, Li Shijing sighed

    As the fifth commander of the Marine Corps, Li Shijing didn’t have too many ideas, such as asking for too many rights, or wanting to be king and dominate.

    Of course, this does not mean that Li Shijing has not thought about it this way. After all, it is not illegal to think about it. Who has not thought about it like this?  It's a pity that if this idea was put forward 20 years ago, it might still have the possibility of success, but now

    Domestic political conditions do not allow it

    Therefore, Li Shijing was content with being the commander of the Marine Corps, and at most he was eyeing the position of Minister of Defense——As for the president and other matters, he had no hope of it.

    The reason why Li Shijing sighed was mainly because the Marine Corps used ordinary landing ships this time, and the Fengxue-class amphibious assault ship specially built for amphibious operations did not go into battle with them this time.

    The Fengxue-class amphibious landing ship has a standard displacement of 20,000 tons and a full load displacement of 30,000 tons. The deck length is 230 meters and the width is 40 meters. It can carry 50 fighters.

    To put it simply, although it is an amphibious assault ship with a dock, the Fengxue class is actually no different from an ordinary aircraft carrier. It is even much larger than most Japanese aircraft carriers.

    Of course, it’s okay if it’s just like this…

    Helicopter…

    Helicopters are a very practical piece of equipment for both the army and the navy. In fact, helicopters in the practical stage have appeared in Germany so far. Of course, they are still in their infancy.

    The current National Defense Force has also equipped several types of helicopters, but they are only in the experimental stage.

    After all, the requirements for helicopters are relatively high, but the current technical level cannot reach the level of building high-performance helicopters, so helicopters are still in their infancy.

    However, even so, the army and navy also recognized the huge role of helicopters

    What the Army is mainly interested in is the helicopter's vertical strike capability, its ability to take off and land on most terrains, and its ability to transport wounded people on the battlefield. Of course, it also has anti-tank capabilities. After all,  In later generations, armed helicopters have the title of tank killers.

    But what the Navy is interested in is the huge range of activities of the helicopter.

    Large warships in this era are basically equipped with some aircraft, such as battleships or heavy cruisers, and there will also be catapults specially designed to eject these aircraft on warships.

    However, doing so would be too troublesome after all.

    And it’s a little bit dangerous to do this

    ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????…

    On the other hand, helicopters, although they are still in the toy stage, occupy a small area and can take off and land very flexibly, which is very convenient for the navy. Even smaller warships can carry helicopters.

    Most importantly, helicopters are very useful for anti-submarine warfare and can also expand the navy's reconnaissance range

    For amphibious ships, helicopters play a greater role

    In later generations, there is a saying of vertical strike. This vertical is the helicopter carrying soldiers for combat. Therefore, an amphibious ship without a helicopter is like having its martial arts skills abolished.

      However, this statement is not valid for the current amphibious landing ship, because the amphibious landing ship at this time can completely use carrier-based aircraft to conduct operations.

    Although these carrier-based aircraft are definitely unable to carry combatants and conduct vertical landings on the islands that need to be attacked, if they only provide fire support, these carrier-based aircraft may actually do a better job than helicopters.

    Just like now, if there is a Fengxue class, then the more than 50 carrier-based aircraft carried on the Fengxue class can be used to attack the Japanese troops on the coast. The ones above are dealing with naval carrier-based aircraft.  The Japanese fighters and bombers can also be completely left to the Marine Corps' own flying units.

    To be honest, as the commander of the Marine Corps, Li Shijing himself is quite envious of the existence of Fengxue class, because it means that the landing force can truly control its own flying force, rather than the original seaplanes and so on

    ————————————————————

    While Li Shijing was still imagining what would happen if there was a Fengxue class, the Japanese army on the beach had already lost many positions.

    After seizing several beachheads, the Marine Corps, which had successfully seized the beachhead, continued to advance.

    In this battle, the amphibious combat vehicles equipped by the Marine Corps played a big role, but the biggest role was a bomber group consisting of hundreds of bombers that had just flown to the Philippines.

    The huge bomber group carried a huge number of napalm bombs, and then dropped them all on the heads of the Japanese troops on the beach.

    More than a thousand tons of napalm bombs burned almost the entire beach to red ground

    And those Marines who are on the beach with orange smoke grenades to indicate their position often just need to rush up to receive them. If there are still some who are not dead, let the flamethrowers come up.

    Anyway, it is the task of the flamethrowers to deal with the enemies huddled in the fortifications.

    However, basically no one can enter the fortifications that have been dealt with by the fire-breathing soldiers. There is no way. After all, not many people are willing to enter the kind of fortifications that smell of barbecue.

    Of course, if it’s just barbecue, it’s fine. The key is that it’s all human flesh…

    "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

    A fire-breathing soldier stood at the entrance and exit of a fortification and sprayed deadly flames at the entrance and exit of the fortification. Soon, an unbearable howl came from inside.

    Although the miserable howls from the fortifications continued to be heard, the fire-breathing soldiers showed no unbearable expression at all, and they continued until there was no sound inside. The fire-breathing soldiers stopped spraying.

    The psychological quality of a flamethrower is often even better than that of a sniper

    Although the work of a sniper is extremely hard, many times in order to snipe a target, you have to stay in one position for several hours or even several days, which is not impossible. Therefore, the requirements for psychological quality are extremely strong.

    But Pyro…

    Unlike snipers, the situation of flamethrowers is completely different

    As a flamethrower, you not only have to endure the inner criticism, but also the fear that you are likely to be burned to ashes by the weapons you carry - you must know that what they are carrying on their backs is  It's an extremely scary thing. Although the safety of this thing is still guaranteed, just because it's guaranteed doesn't mean there's no need to worry.

    Because it’s like flying on a plane and worrying about a plane crash

    On the other hand, training these fire-breathing soldiers actually costs a lot of money, not only in other aspects, but also in psychological training.

    Unlike using guns to kill people, flamethrowers use their weapons to burn people alive, which is very demanding psychologically. You have to make sure they will do this on the battlefield.

    Therefore, during training, the troops usually arrange some living animals as targets, and let these fire-breathing soldiers train while listening to the wailing of the target - of course the target cannot be a human being, just some purchased objects.  Pigs, cows, sheep, etc.

    But even so, the effect is much better. At least for these fire-breathing soldiers, the enemies in the fortifications are no different from pigs, cattle and sheep

    ————————————————————

    "Your Excellency, aren't we going to attack yet?"

    Just when Li Shijing was progressing smoothly, on the combined fleet flagship hundreds of kilometers away, an adjunct officer asked Yamamoto Isoroku next to him.

    Battle reports from the front line are being continuously transmitted here, allowing Yamamoto Isoroku and others to understand the situation on the front line. To be honest, the current situation of the Japanese troops on the front line is indeed not very good. During the bombingUnder the repeated bombings of the ? groups, the defense force on the coast is being continuously weakened.

    On the other hand, although many landing ships were sunk by Army Aviation bombers with aerial bombs or torpedoes, the Marines of the National Defense Force continued to land on the coast of the Philippines.

    And the air battle over the landing fleet is about to decide the winner

    Although the Japanese army has advanced fighters like the Type 4, the JZ20 of the National Defense Force is not bad after all. It is at least much better than the Type 3 fighter. In addition, the number of carrier-based aircraft in Chen Shaokuan's fleet is not inferior to the number of fighters of the Army Airlines.  , at this time, the Japanese fighter planes had begun to fall into a disadvantage

    However, Yamamoto Isoroku shook his head

    "No, if we attack rashly without finding out the location of the Chinese fleet, we will easily suffer a fatal blow."

    This is why the United Fleet has not appeared until now, and the location of the Ocean Fleet has not been found.

    Yamamoto Isoroku knows very well that the Combined Fleet can be said to be the core of the Japanese Navy. If the Combined Fleet is completely annihilated, then Japan’s future will be completely hopeless.

    And as long as the combined fleet is there, as long as it can consolidate its rule in Southeast Asia and Australia, Japan will have the capital to confront the United States and China.

    So unless traces of the Ocean Fleet are discovered, even if the Philippines is captured, Yamamoto Isoroku will never attack

    Although several generals on the other side were also anxious, they knew that Yamamoto Isoroku was right, so they had no choice but to sit there and wait quietly.

    At this moment, an officer suddenly ran in

    "Your Excellency, the whereabouts of the Chinese fleet have been discovered"

    "oh?"

    It was a Japanese submarine that discovered the whereabouts of the Ocean Fleet

    The submarine was hundreds of kilometers away from the coast of the Philippines and discovered the Ocean Fleet sailing there. After discovering the fleet, the submarine launched multiple torpedoes at the aircraft carrier Lingbo in the center, and at the same time, it also hit the Ocean Fleet.  The fleet's position was reported back.

    Of course, there will definitely be great risks in doing so, but on the other hand, since Yamamoto Isoroku had given instructions before the war, the Japanese officers and soldiers in the submarine were not afraid of death.

    It can only be said that luck indeed took care of the Japanese. The early warning aircraft in the sky did not discover the whereabouts of Yamamoto Isoroku. Instead, the small submarine discovered the whereabouts of the Ocean Fleet.

    However, none of the multiple torpedoes launched by the submarine hit the Lingbo aircraft carrier

    This was of course because the Lingbo was in high sailing condition at the time, but the most important thing was because there was a destroyer that blocked the Lingbo

    At that time, a torpedo was about to hit the Lingbo, but the Lingbo was unable to dodge at this time. However, at this moment, a destroyer rushed up and blocked the torpedo for the Lingbo.

    The cost of blocking the torpedo was huge. The torpedo blew the destroyer into two pieces at the time. The officers and soldiers in the destroyer also suffered heavy casualties. However, in the end, the Lingbo was safely stored. As for the exposed Lingbo  No. 1, the submarine that also exposed its position was smashed to pieces by several surrounding cruisers and battleships with naval guns. Even the prisoners above did not think of saving them.

    After sinking the submarine, one cruiser began to carry out rescue operations, while the other was responsible for guarding

    Looking at the destroyer gradually sinking into the sea, no one said anything, because this is the mission of the escort ship - to protect the aircraft carrier at the core, even if it means using one's own life to protect

    on the other hand…

    "It seems that our position was exposed first"

    Looking at the thick smoke caused by the explosion of the destroyer in the sky in the distance, Chen Shaokuan said calmly.

    "Ah, it seems like this"

    Shen Honglie also stood up straight and said: To be continued)

    {Piaotia Literature www.piaotia.net thanks all book friends for their support, your support is our greatest motivation}
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report