Chapter 2696： Bottom card (1/2)
With the island of New Guinea as a base, there are too many islands in the northwest that can be used as an offensive point. It is impossible for Japan to deploy forces on every island in the Dutch East Indies known as Ten Thousand Islands. You don’t have such a strong strength, and Even if deployed, it is just a drop in the bucket. The island of Guinea is the key to the Japanese colonial system. Therefore, in order to ensure that this key will not be taken away, the entire Japanese defense force must rely on a relatively wide depth to form a whole. ”Betty said.
”Aren’t we doing exactly this? The main force of the joint fleet is deployed in Davao, the southernmost tip of the Philippines, while the general rear of the Japanese navy and army’s air force is on Kalimantan, these two areas and the island of New Guinea. A triangle is formed, Guinea is the battlefield, and the other two islands are the rear.”
”In order to ensure the smooth communication between the two bases in the rear and the front, we have also deployed a large number of military stations, transit air stations and reconnaissance forces on the island chain between the Philippines and Guinea. We use submarines, surface vessels and long-range The patrol aircraft patrolled between the Talau Islands and Hamahera, ensuring that our ships and fleet can sail freely in the Sulawesi Sea to the west.”
”This is the cordon we have established over a year. Although it cannot completely lock the German submarine, if the US fleet moves in this direction, we can definitely find out and provide the time through the warning. , We can mobilize the aviation forces in the Philippines, Sulawesi and even Kalimantan to the front line, and then block the enemy with the combined fleet.” said Yasuo Shimura.
”As an early warning line is ok, but as a front line is too thin. You need to deploy more aircraft groups on these islands, build more infrastructure, and deploy defense forces,” Betty shook his head and said.
If you want to carry the fleet arriving from the rear, you must first have enough ground facilities and ground crews. Unfortunately, the cordon line drawn by the Japanese just now lacks the basic conditions to support large-scale fleet operations. It is the early warning that the Americans can easily break through this island, and then they have two options, one is to go north to deal with the Japanese Joint Fleet Headquarters in Davao, and the other is to cross the Sulawesi Sea to Kalimantan. Attacks on important ports and facilities on Mandan Island have split the entire Japanese defense system!
”So, what do you mean is that we should hurry up and perfect this cordon into a front line? But now, how much time do we have?” Shimamura asked.
”There is at most one year, nine months is still more possible.” Betty thought for a while and said.
”In other words, the fate of the future empire will be revealed in about one and a half years? So are we still holding enough cards in our hands?” Shimamura asked.
”Alright, let’s take a look at our trump cards now. The two Nagato-class battleships are newly in service. In the future, in the best case, after the Battle of Guinea, you can still get at least two 15-inch ships. The battleship of the gun, that is, the Fury-class battleship we sold to you and the Caraggiono-class battleship sold to you by the Italians, that is to say, the number of first-line battleships in the future can reach 15.” said here, Betty smiled, and Hayao Shimamura also smiled. After all, the Japanese combined fleet has never been so powerful!
”However, in a regular battle line battle, you have no chance at all!” Betty's next sentence changed Shimamura's ambition! ”The Americans purchased four fast battleships from Germany and Austria in one go. The first batch of the newly built South Dakota-class battleships is about to be completed. The three 16-inch battleships of the Colorado class are also in service. One year later, the United States and Japan The difference between the fleet will be longer than before the war! With the Germans, how can you defeat your opponent in a regular battle line battle?”