In fact, after the Donghua Empire controlled the Strait of Magellan, and later signed a protection agreement with the Tingen Federation, and successfully penetrated its power into the Atlantic Ocean, it noticed the Malvinas Islands.
The location of this island is very special, similar to New Zealand, it also hangs there alone.
The Tingen Federation, the Great Empire, France, Spain, and the Netherlands all wanted to occupy this place.
But in the end, it was controlled by the Great Sea Empire, which had stronger maritime power.
The main function of this island in the past was as a resting place for whaling ships.
The wind on the island is very strong, and the average annual temperature is only seven or eight degrees, and this temperature remains almost all year round.
Obviously, this area is not suitable for agricultural production and only pasture can be built.
But there are a large number of seals and walruses living around the island.
The oils and skins of these animals have high economic value.
Even the whaling ships from North America would come here.
Donghua must be extremely interested in such an important place.
This archipelago consists of two main islands and more than 200 small islands.
The coast is tortuous and the terrain is complex. The northern part of the island is dominated by two east-west mountain ranges, with the highest peak reaching 705 meters. The island is hilly and the rivers are short and slow.
There are mountains running east-west in the north of the two main islands, and many drowned valleys along the coast form barrier harbors. Broad gorges covered with peat flow through many small rivers.
Those natural harbors are good anchoring places for ships.
The island's grasslands are suitable for grazing. Herders can use the peat in the valleys as fuel.
The island is rich in animal resources, not to mention hundreds of species of seabirds. There are also five or six species of penguins, and a large number of sea lions live on the south coast.
The animal and plant resources on the island are not bad, and Donghua Empire has no shortage of them, but the natural harbor here must be controlled by Donghua.
These seaports are perfect temporary anchorages.
Because it is less than 500 kilometers away from Donghua’s Dongmen Port in the eastern section of the Strait of Magellan.
Therefore, if the Donghua Empire wants to control the southwestern part of the Atlantic Ocean, it must control this island.
However, in the past few years, Donghua focused mainly on the war on land.
At sea, it mainly operates the Strait of Magellan, and it is only recently that it has extended its influence to the southeastern coast of the South Amelia continent.
Now the Donghua Navy's Atlantic Fleet has just been established. It is actually half of the force separated from the original navy.
Liu Zhongyun, the original captain of the "Fuyuan", is now in charge of the Atlantic Fleet, with two destroyers and four frigates under his command.
Du Jianyi, the former captain of the "Zhenyuan", was in charge of the Pacific Fleet, and the strength of his men was similar to that of Liu Zhongyun.
In addition, the Donghua Navy also has a maritime security area that specifically controls the Strait of Magellan, which is the torpedo boat detachment commanded by Fan Zihan.
In the complicated strait, no ship is more suitable for fighting here than the torpedo boat.
In addition, Donghua also has some coast guards composed of old warships.
Nie Dahua basically does not directly command operations on the fleet now.
He stayed at the Navy Headquarters for many years and took charge of the overall situation.
He has a goal that one day the Donghua Navy can go north to the Caribbean and compete with the navies of European countries there, so that the Donghua Navy can become a decisive force in the Atlantic waters.
In the second half of the fifth year of the Renaissance, the newly formed Donghua Empire's Atlantic Fleet sailed north to the Caribbean to launch an attack on the Da Ling Empire. This was Nie Dahua's attempt.
However, it didn't take long before the Donghua Navy withdrew.
Because in the Caribbean, the Great Empire, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal and other European countries all have their own power.
They were very repulsive to the arrival of the Donghua Navy.
Although the Donghua Navy does not target third countries, they refuse to provide supplies to Donghua and will also provide intelligence to the Yin Army.
Later, the Yin army dispatched a small armored fleet to the Caribbean.
He ambushed the Donghua Navy. In this battle, the Atlantic Fleet of the Donghua Navy suffered a lot. Even the flagship "Fuyuan" was injured. It took more than half a year to recuperate after returning.
After that, the Donghua Navy's Atlantic Fleet took root in the southwest Atlantic Ocean.
The Donghua Empire also built a homeport in the eastern coastal area of the Principality of Tehurche, which was entrusted by the empire, at the location that would later become the Santa Cruz Port of Grand Bay.
According to the agreement reached between the Donghua Empire and the Tehurche people, the empire could develop the port here.
These Yin Di'an tribes only herd cattle and did not care about these ports.
Moreover, developing ports can also greatly promote the local economy.
It can improve the living standards of Tehurche people.
Dong Shutong named this port "Daxi Port".
However, there is only one naval base here now, and the empire has to slowly immigrate here before it can be built into a city.
Now that the Grand West Port has been built, the Malvinas Islands across the sea to the east can no longer be stolen by the Chinese.
Although Donghua had not done anything here before, he still conducted necessary investigations here.
Dong Shutong knew that the Yu people had established a settlement of about a thousand people on Dongdao.
Because of Donghua's threat, the number of troops on the island has also increased to one regiment.
It's not that the Chinese people don't want more people here, but it's just that this place is too remote.
If the Yan people stationed troops here, the consumption of supplies would be very large.
Relatively speaking, Donghua has many advantages. It only takes one day from Dongmen Port to the Malvinas Islands.
Dong Shutong presided over the discussion and saw that everyone had no objections to New Zealand's strategy.
So the next topic was raised: "Everyone, the situation on Malvinas Island has just been introduced to you. We had a battle plan here before, but because there are too many things, it has been delayed until now."
"The Chinese have now used this place as a springboard to enter the Pacific. They will definitely pay more attention to this place in the future. It is foreseeable that they will invest more troops here in the future. This place is really too close to our Dongmen Port.
You can only be a thief for a thousand days, but there is no reason to prevent a thief for a thousand days. So this place must be controlled in our hands."
This time it was Nie Dahua who spoke first.
The Malvinas Islands have a significant impact on the Donghua Navy's Atlantic strategy.
The Donghua Navy wants to dominate the southwest Atlantic region, but the Malvinas Islands are like a nail stuck here.
Compared with the Pacific Ocean, Nie Dahua paid more attention to the Atlantic Ocean.
Nie Dahua was born in the Fuxing Army and was transferred to the Donghua Navy midway.
He did not resent Dong Shuheng. Not only that, he was also grateful to Dong Shuheng for letting him come to Donghua.
Only in this way can he be able to stand alone and have a platform for a greater future.
He also vaguely regarded the Renaissance Army and Navy as his future competitive goal.
He knew that the core of the Renaissance Army was the Pacific Ocean.
In the Pacific Ocean, no matter how hard the Donghua Navy fights, it can only be the younger brother of the Renaissance Army.
Therefore, the stage of Donghua Navy has always been in the Atlantic Ocean.
At least now in the South Atlantic waters, the Donghua Navy has the potential to dominate.
The only competitor, Busi Navy, is still defeated by Donghua Navy. And Busi Navy only has two ironclad ships so far.
The ironclad ships they ordered from the Chinese have not yet been delivered because the Japanese cannot build their own warships.
It is based on this consideration that Nie Dahua said bluntly: "I think the battle against the Malvinas Islands should be given priority. Its location will have a huge impact on our east coast area and channel channels."
"With this archipelago in the hands of the Daxi people, our east coast fleet will always be pinned there and unable to go north. Moreover, we must also deploy more troops in Dongmen Port and Daxi Port. This will cause a lot of harm.
It’s a waste of troops.”
Tian Fang, who was on the side, frowned after hearing this and said, "The island here is so important, why didn't you take it down earlier?"
Nie Dahua knew that the two wars discussed today were all about the navy. Tian Fang, as the representative of the army, must be a little unhappy.
He was not offended, but sincerely admitted his mistake.
"This matter is indeed an oversight of our navy. However, there are also reasons why we have not taken the Malvinas Islands. One is that the Chinese people did not pay much attention to that island at that time, and it was just a controversial desert island. The other is that
At that time, the Tingen Federation also claimed that the island was theirs. We had not yet negotiated this matter with the Tingen people, so we did not act rashly."
"Third, our navy made a mistake at that time. It was eager to send the Atlantic Fleet north to the Caribbean to conduct a raid. It made the mistake of underestimating the enemy's aggressive advance."
Nie Dahua readily admitted that he had made a mistake in sending the fleet north.
On the contrary, it made everyone unable to say anything they were ready to question.
"So how many troops does the Navy think it will take to capture the Malvinas Islands? How much time will it take?" Tian Fang asked again, obviously not so opposed to this matter.
"Marquis Krug, after the Navy's Pacific Fleet escorts the army to New Zealand, it will continue to cooperate with the Army's operations in the northwest coastal areas. The Atlantic Fleet will go all out to fight the war in the Malvinas Islands."
When Nie Dahua said this, he actually reminded Tian Fang that in previous battles, our navy had always been cooperating with your army.
This is a rare opportunity for your army to cooperate with your navy. This is all for the great cause of expanding the living space of the Donghua Empire. Please stop beeping.
"If the fleet and the army cooperate, we will only need one division at most to capture the Malvinas Islands within a week. Then all we need is a garrison regiment to station on the island," Nie Dahua said.
At this time, Ma Chun interjected: "I also learned some about the situation on the Malvinas Islands. When the time comes, we can build a large-scale royal ranch on it. The temperature here is low, which is very suitable for raising sheep and goats."
We can build camels and build a whaling company. In recent years, the oil we export has been in short supply."
Nowadays, whale oil and seal oil are still the most important lubricants. With the development of Fuxing Army's domestic tractor and automobile industries, the demand for lubricants is increasing, which has also promoted the development of this industry.
Ma Chun's words told everyone that this war was definitely profitable. This dispelled many people's doubts.
I see that everyone has expressed their opinions.
Dong Shutong then said: "I think this battle must be fought. According to what General Nie said, it is easy to fight. However, after we defeat it, will the Japanese people give up?"
Seeing Dong Shutong's question, Nie Dahua quickly explained: "The ruling party is right. The Koreans now have only this transit base in the South Atlantic, and they will definitely not give up easily. So if we want to defeat it, we must also be able to defend it."
live."
"However, everyone knows that the distance between the Chinese people and the archipelago is dozens of times that of ours. If they want to take back the archipelago, the resources they will invest will be many times that of ours."
"Besides, we are already at war with the Great Empire. It would be much more advantageous to fight them in the Malvinas Islands than to fight them on the northern border, isn't it?"
Dong Shutong gently tapped the armrest on the side of the chair with one hand, and then said solemnly: "Commander Nie is right, it will be more beneficial to us if the Great Empire fights us in the Malvinas Islands. I see this
The matter is settled like this, and we will proceed on both sides at the same time. The troops on the northern front will temporarily switch to a defensive state, and it should not be difficult to block the enemy's attack."
Immediately, he turned to Tian Fang's direction and asked, "Marquis Kru, are there any other problems with the army?"
"No problem, King Ruling, our army guarantees to complete the mission." Tian Fang stood up and said seriously.
Everything had been discussed and everyone stood up to leave.
At this moment, an official from the palace hurriedly ran in.
Coming here to pass the news during such an important meeting, there must be very important news coming.
Everyone turned their attention to this somewhat reckless general manager.
"Queen, King in Charge, gentlemen, what a great news. The telegram just came from Beijing. The combined fleet of the Renaissance Army defeated the Great White Fleet of the Japanese Army near the island of Ceylon in the Indian Ocean. The main force of the Japanese Army was almost completely destroyed."
This general manager was very sensible and did not show off in front of these big shots. Instead, he directly told this very explosive news in one breath.
"Okay, great, now we don't have to worry about anything in this battle."
Everyone looked happy, as if this great victory belonged to them, Donghua.
In fact, this war of the Great Empire was not limited to the East, but was divided into the Indian Ocean battlefield and the Atlantic battlefield.
The Indian Ocean battlefield is naturally the main battlefield, but Donghua on the Atlantic side has indeed restrained the energy of many Chinese people.
Now that the sea in the Indian Ocean has been defeated, this means that the war on the Indian Ocean battlefield will soon end.
The era when the Great Empire dominated the Indian Ocean is about to pass. The empire on which the sun never sets will soon become unworthy of its name.
Just now everyone was discussing the strategy for New Zealand.
Now it seems that this war against New Zealand has been regarded as the last legacy left by the carving up of the Great Empire in the Pacific Ocean.
From this point of view, the decision they just made was a wise one.
And now that the Malvinas Islands are occupied, there is no need to worry about large-scale retaliation from the Great Empire.
The Donghua Empire can breathe a sigh of relief for a long time to come.
What Ma Chun was thinking was that the war was about to end and the country was about to enter a period of major construction.
What Nie Dahua thought was that the navy's sphere of influence in the Atlantic could be moved a little further north.
Tian Fang was wondering whether he could take advantage of the defeat of the Yin army to continue advancing the northern front to the north.