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Text 97. Coral Sea (3)

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    The typhoon caused the Republican Army to postpone the landing operation in the Southern Solomon Islands that was originally scheduled to start at the end of October.

    On November 6, Admiral Chen Shiying convened a pre-war meeting with all participating commanders in Lae. The Battle of the Southern Solomon Islands was mainly carried out by the navy. At the same time, the Ninth Commander of the Army Air Force stationed in New Guinea and New Britain Island  The Ministry provides some air support.  The main participating forces include the 2nd and 3rd Navy and the main force of the 5th Fleet commanded by Fang Minghao, and the 5th Marine Corps commanded by Lieutenant General Saffoch (composed of the 5th, 13th, 15th and 18th and 19th Marine Divisions).  ), in addition to the 2nd and 3rd Naval Land-Based Aviation Wings.

    The generals have arrived in Lae one after another. The main force of the 5th Fleet commanded by Fang Minghao and the Italian fleet are currently based in Port Moresby. The main force of the Third Fleet commanded by Chen Shiying is in Lae, while the Second Fleet commanded by General Cheng Yaoheng is in Lae.  Rabaul.  The commanders of the fleet wore navy blue training uniforms, while the senior generals sitting at the base wore white navy uniforms. They were all seated in the conference room of the Commander-in-Chief of the Nanyang Fleet at the Laicheng Port Naval Base on a crimson-covered conference room.  Tablecloths lining the conference table.  This was the first time that Fang Minghao saw so many senior navy generals wearing gold star epaulettes gathered in a room. Since he spent most of his time in Europe, he didn't know about half of the people here.

    The chief of staff of Admiral Chen Shiying stood in front of a huge chart of the Southwest Pacific with a long pointer in his hand, explaining to the naval admirals present the upcoming battles in the Southern Solomon Islands, Santa Cruz Islands and  Essentials of the offensive launched by New Caledonia.  The main purpose of this campaign was to capture the Southern Solomon Islands and clear the way for the Republican Navy to advance in the Southwest Pacific.

    The enemy¡¯s main forces on this line include the U.S. 1st Marine Division and the Australian 9th Division.  It is mainly concentrated on Guadalcanal Island. According to the battle plan, it adopts the easy first and then the difficult method, first attacking Malaita Island and Florida Island where the enemy's defenses are weak.  General Chen Shiying commanded the main force of the Third Fleet to deal with the main force of the US Southwest Pacific Fleet based in Port Vila, while General Cheng Yaoheng's mission target was the main force of the US Central Pacific Fleet wandering between Santa Cruz and the Gilbert Islands. Fang Minghao  The mission is to command the main force of the Fifth Fleet and the Italian fleet to escort the 5th Marine Corps and provide fire support for the landing.

    General Chen Shiying went on to talk about some precautions for this operation. The Americans will definitely not give up the South Solomon Islands easily. If the South Solomon Islands are occupied by the Republican Army, the Republican Navy can threaten the security of Australia's maritime transportation lines at any time.  They will definitely fight back with all their strength.

    If this happens.  It is very likely to evolve into a decisive battle between the navies of both sides. If so, the opportunity to severely damage the U.S. fleet will arise. This is also the main reason why the Navy Department increased the main force of the Fifth Fleet to participate in this battle.  The Republican Army currently has 18 aircraft warships participating in this battle, while the United States has 22 aircraft ships, and 4 Japanese aircraft ships are also in this sea area. In comparison, although the number of enemies is large, but on the shipboard  In terms of number of machines, we have a quarter more than them.  We need to have a certain advantage.

    Subsequently, Chen Shiying read out the combat order issued by the General Staff Headquarters and the Naval Command.  Fang Minghao and the Fifth Fleet were ordered to cover and support the Second Army's landing.  Occupy all targets in the South Solomon Islands, and "be ready to reinforce the Second or Third Fleet at any time in an emergency so as to form an encirclement and annihilation force against the enemy's main fleet."

    After the meeting, Fang Minghao and the chief of staff flew back to Port Moresby and informed General Aquino of the upcoming campaign plan in three days.

    The Italian admiral seemed a little absent-minded. It turned out that one of his sons was currently in the Italian Expeditionary Force in Russia. With the arrival of winter, the German army's combat situation on the Volga River was exactly as Fang Minghao analyzed it for him. The Russians  A tenacious street battle began with the Germans in Zhuyashviligrad.  As expected, more than 300,000 people in Paulus's 6th Army were trapped in this Russian city, which was of little significance and had been reduced to ruins.

    Zhukov carefully laid a trap here, and just sent reinforcements to Zhuyashviligrad bit by bit, making Hitler feel that he might capture the city at any time, and drag Paulus's army here.  Attrition, more than one million Soviet Red Army troops have now gathered on the flanks and will break through the German flank defenses at any time.  Surround Paulus here.  Marshal Manstein, who was on the front line in Rostov, was aware of the danger here and warned Hitler several times to withdraw his troops, but he was stubbornly refused by the increasingly conceited German head of state.

    Gen. Aquino is indeed increasingly worried about the safety of his second son, who is a captain in the 8th Army.

    "Don't worry, if Hitler can't support it anymore. We will send reinforcements to the Black Sea at any time. General Messe and General Zhang Ngian will quickly send reinforcements there at any time. Our reinforcements are on the way to Cyprus."Assemble on the front line.  "Fang Minghao said with relief, but if Hitler did not take the initiative to speak, the Republican Army would not enter the Black Sea.

    In this way, Admiral Aquino commanded the Italian fleet with some uneasiness to participate in the largest naval battle in human history.

    On November 9, Fang Minghao led the main force of the Fifth Fleet to leave Port Moresby together with the Italian fleet. The fleet in his hands has been strengthened again domestically, with four "Beihai-class" heavy aircraft ships, and has  Ten battleships.  At the same time, the Second Fleet and the Third Fleet also escorted the fleets carrying the 5th and 13th Marine Divisions that had landed in advance from Lae and Rabaul respectively. The fleet led by Fang Minghao will be in the New Georgia Islands.  The area will then take over the escort mission of the transport fleet.

    The fleet is sailing on the Coral Sea. It is the rainy season at this time. Will it rain for a while on the entire sea? Most of the time, the sky is gray and covered with thick clouds.  Near Tagula Island, the fleet also encountered a storm. The wind on the sea was very strong and the waves were rough. The fleet faced the wind and waves across the entire Coral Sea and sailed to the Solomon Islands.

    Even a giant warship like the "Himalaya" with a full load displacement of over 70,000 tons is still rocking back and forth in the storm. When the bow of the ship passes through the waves, the turbulent water can hit the front deck more than ten meters high.  The sudden descent of the front main gun seemed to be submerged in the rolling waves.

    The destroyer tasked with escorting the fleet was even more difficult. It was struggling in the storm. From time to time, the ship's hull was hidden in the huge black waves raised by the storm, and it was like a flat boat rising and falling in the waves.

    After fighting the storm for nearly three hours, the fleet left the storm area. In the dark sky after the rain, patches of blue sky began to appear.

    At 3 pm on November 10, Fang Minghao received a telegram:

    Recipient: Third Fleet Headquarters

    Sent from: No. 4519

    Content: Found the enemy¡¯s main fleet, including 6 aviation warships, with position e166¡¯1, s15¡¯3, and are tracking.

    1942/11/10

    Reporting time: 2:48

    "It's finally begun!" Fang Minghao took a long breath. This encrypted telegram was sent to Chen Shiying by the submarine force. The location was around Malekula Island. This showed that the enemy already knew the movements of the Republican Army, and  Reinforcements were sent.  Fang Minghao probably calculated on the chart that the two sides would be within combat distance in about two days.  To be continued.  If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (.) to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation.  )
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