China's South China Sea Fleet had just sworn to set off for the expedition, and over there, Koizumi Toshiichiro received relevant reports.
When the relevant information was delivered to him by the adjutant, Koizumi Minichiro was staring at a chart with great concentration. The chart contained a map of the sea areas around the Palau Islands. Except for the Palau Islands series of islands, it was surrounded by oceans on all sides. At that time, Koizumi Toshiichiro's eyes were staring at a fleet logo labeled "China Hanwu Aircraft Carrier Fleet." After the U.S. and Japanese navies established a joint fleet to provoke a new round of the Pacific War, the first target they attacked was Palau. Islands, in terms of quantity alone, the U.S.-Japan combined fleet, whether it is aircraft carriers, heavy cruisers, submarines, or marines, is far more numerous than the Chinese Pacific Fleet. However, because the Chinese navy adopted a sluggish tactics in the early stage, There is no decisive battle with the U.S.-Japanese combined fleet, so so far, the U.S.-Japanese combined fleet has not been able to achieve any substantial victory except for expanding its actual control of the sea area dozens of times.
The Chinese Navy avoided fighting, which once deeply encouraged the Americans and Japanese, thinking that the Chinese had been intimidated by them, "They knew they could not defeat us, so they shamefully chose to escape." However, as The battle to seize the island encountered a tenacious resistance from the Chinese Marine Corps. When the number of casualties rose to a certain number, the Americans lost their composure.
Due to historical reasons, the U.S.-Japan alliance cannot be as unbreakable as the U.S.-British alliance. Also because of this relationship, before the Pacific War was launched, the Americans pursued the "ugly words first" (in the final analysis, they still had extreme distrust of Japan), that is, early They would formulate a "spoils sharing clause" and use a treaty to stipulate the obligations and rewards that the United States and Japan can obtain in this battle. Even if they have reached this level, the Americans still remain deeply wary of the Japanese. Therefore, when attacking the Palau Islands, which the treaty stipulated would be exercised by the United States after the war, the Americans did not give the Japanese a chance to intervene, and were only willing to let their own Marine Corps take charge of the battle to seize the islands. Unfortunately, the U.S. Navy The Marine Corps failed to live up to expectations. They fought for a total of one and a half months and suffered nearly 5,000 casualties, but they were unable to establish even a beachhead. Finally, in the face of the cruel reality, Jin had to admit "Perhaps your army is more adaptable to a land war with the Chinese than us," and asked Japan to take over the battle to seize the island.
Before launching the Battle of Palau, the U.S. and Japanese intelligence agencies had clearly detected that the total number of Chinese defenders on the Palau Islands was one Marine Corps division. According to the deductions of the staff of the U.S.-Japan Combined Fleet Command, the Chinese navy did not dare to compete with the U.S. Navy. When the Japanese combined fleet engages in a decisive battle, even if the combined fleet only dispatches naval guns, it can destroy this division on the big island.
The Americans launched a war to seize the island with high spirits, but in the end they could only ask for help from the Japanese navy in disgrace. To this, Toshiichiro Koizumi was happy to see this, even if it was just out of personal vanity, and according to the alliance The deduction data provided by the Fleet Staff Department also believed that there were no variables in the battle to seize the Big Island, so when it was proposed that all supplies for the offensive forces would be provided by the United States, they readily agreed to take over the battle to seize the Big Island.
When the Japanese army took over the battle to seize the big island, it was at the beginning of the planning of the Malan Battle between China and Japan. What Koizumi Minichiro did not expect was that after the Malan Battle started, the Chinese Expeditionary Third Army unexpectedly captured Ganbang. The strategic location made the Battle of Malan possible to turn into a great victory in Kambang. Therefore, the Chinese Supreme Command changed its strategy and no longer regarded the Battle of Malan as a simple harassment war to contain the Japanese troops, but upgraded it to the key to determining the ownership of the Malay Peninsula. Since the Chinese Supreme Command hoped to achieve a breakthrough in the Malay Peninsula, it naturally could not allow the Japanese army to mobilize troops from other regions to return reinforcements. Therefore, the previously formulated Pacific War strategy had to change, from a sluggish operation to a proactive one. Challenge.
Koizumi Minichiro also made a mistake here, that is, he believed that the reason why the Chinese Pacific Fleet did not dare to fight against the U.S.-Japanese combined fleet was because it knew that its strength was inferior. This was not the case. The Chinese Pacific Fleet did not dare to fight against the U.S.-Japanese Combined Fleet at the beginning of the Second Pacific War. The reason for passively avoiding the war at the beginning was basically to follow the orders of the Chinese Supreme Command. The Chinese Pacific Fleet itself actually wanted to compete with the US-Japan combined fleet.
The top commander of China's Pacific Fleet at this time was Chen Ce, and the chief of staff was Bai Chongxi. It was a coincidence that these two people came together and became the brains of the Pacific Fleet. At that time, the United States and Japan had not yet joined forces to launch a new round of Pacific War. Ouyang Yun, who was eager to dig a hole in the backyard of the United States and drag down the U.S. military at home, transferred Chen Shichang to the Atlantic Ocean. Later, although the intention of the United States and Japan to join forces to launch a new round of Pacific War was clearly exposed, the situation in South America had already At a very delicate juncture, it was definitely an unwise choice to transfer Chen Shichang back. In desperation, Ouyang Yun could only entrust the second person in the Chinese Navy with important tasks. In order to make up for his lack of computing power, Ouyang Yun happened to The young Zhuge Bai Chongxi in Ryukyu was promoted as a "strong man" and entered the Pacific Fleet and served as the fleet's first think tank.
Although the appointments of Chen Ce and Bai Chongxi were somewhat dramatic, they themselves had no such thoughts. In Chen Ce's response to Ouyang Yun at the time: Since the junior officer still wants to use my old bones, don't worry, I will Will give the little devil another "sink it". As for Bai Chongxi, he suddenly jumped from the army to the navy. Not only did he not feel uncomfortable at all, on the contrary, he secretly rejoiced because he felt that he would definitely become a "new China" as an army general. The first person who can dominate the sea (from his diary)."
It can be said that Chen Ce and Bai Chongxi were full of ambitions after arriving at their new posts and wanted to do a good job. Therefore, when they received the order from the Supreme Command asking them to fight in a sluggish manner, you can imagine how they felt. How frustrating it is.
With this prospect in mind, when they suddenly received an order from the Supreme Command asking them to actively respond to the war, one can imagine how the two of them would feel. There is no doubt that they will feel that the opportunity they have longed for has come. I will definitely try my best to complete the new combat mission, hoping to turn it into the most shining experience in my military career.
Bai Chongxi was known for his wisdom when he was on land. Now at sea, although the fighting methods are different, there is not much difference in terms of tactics. With him as a little Zhuge, it is hard to say whether he will win or lose, but What is certain is that world military fans can already look forward to him dedicating a different kind of naval battle to world military history.