The typhoon delayed the Republican landing in the South Solomon Islands, which was originally scheduled to begin at the end of October.
On November 6, Navy General Chen Shiying convened all the commanders of the participating troops in Lai City for a pre-war meeting. The Battle of the Southern Solomon Islands was mainly carried out by the Navy, and the Ninth Commander of the Army Air Force stationed in New Guinea and New Britain.
The main forces involved in the war include the second, third and main force of the Fifth Fleet commanded by Fang Minghao, the 5th Marine Corps commanded by Lieutenant General Saffroth (5, 13, 15, and
The 18th and 19th Divisions were composed), and the 2nd and 3rd Regiments of the Navy and Land-Based Air Forces were also formed.
The generals arrived in Laicheng one after another. The main force of the 5th Fleet commanded by Fang Minghao and the Italian Fleet are currently based on Port Moresby as the advancement base. Chen Shiying's third Fleet is in Laicheng, and the second Fleet commanded by General Cheng Yao Hengda is in
The commanders of the fleet were wearing navy training uniforms, while the senior generals at the base were wearing white naval dresses. Everyone sat in the conference room of the commander-in-chief of the Nanyang Fleet at Laichenggang Naval Base.
On both sides of the congress table covered with a crimson tablecloth. This is the first time Fang Minghao has seen so many senior naval generals wearing Venus epaulettes gather in a room. Since he spent most of his time in Europe, about half of them were here.
He doesn't know anyone.
General Chen Shiying's chief of staff held a long teaching stick in his hand and stood in front of a huge chart of the Southwest Pacific Ocean, explaining to the seated admirals about the upcoming Solomon Islands, Santa Cruz Islands and
The main purpose of this offensive launched by New Caledonia. The main purpose of this battle was to capture the Southern Solomon Islands and clear obstacles for the Republican Navy's advance in the Southwest Pacific.
The enemy's main forces on this line include the 1st US Marine Division and the 9th Australian Division. They are mainly concentrated on Guadacanal Island. According to the battle plan, they adopt the easy first and then difficult method to first attack the enemy's weaker defense.
Tower Island and Florida Island. General Chen Shiying directed the main force of the Third Fleet to deal with the main force of the US Southwest Pacific Fleet with the base in Port Vila, while General Cheng Yao Hengda's mission is to wander between the United States and China, which is wandering between Santa Cruz and the Gilbert Islands.
The main force of the Pacific Fleet, Fang Minghao's mission is to command the main force of the Fifth Fleet and the Italian Fleet to escort the 5th Marine Corps and provide firepower support for landing.
General Chen Shiying continued to talk about some precautions for this operation. Americans will definitely not give up the Southern Solomon Islands easily. If the Southern Solomon Islands are occupied by the Republican Army, the Republican Navy will threaten the security of Australia's maritime transportation lines at any time.
They will definitely go all out to fight back.
If this is the case, it is likely to evolve into a decisive battle between the navies of both sides. If so, then the opportunity to severely damage the US fleet will appear, which is also the main reason why the Navy Department has added the main force of the Fifth Fleet to participate in this battle.
Currently, 18 aviation warships have been concentrated to participate in the battle, and the United States has 22 aviation ships. In addition, four aviation ships of the Japanese fleet are also in this sea area. In comparison, although there are many enemies, the number of carrier-based aircraft is in the number of aircraft.
We have a quarter more than them. We have to have a certain advantage.
Later, Chen Shiying read out the combat orders issued by the General Staff and Naval Command. Fang Minghao and the Fifth Fleet received the orders to cover and support the landing of the Army 2. Occupy all targets on the Southern Solomon Islands, "Emergency
Now we are ready to reinforce the second or third fleet at any time to form a force of encirclement and annihilation to the enemy's main fleet."
After the meeting, Fang Minghao and the Chief of Staff returned to Port Moresby by plane and informed General Aquino of the upcoming battle plan to be held in three days.
The Italian Admiral seemed a little absent-minded. It turned out that one of his sons was currently in the Russian Italian expeditionary force. With the arrival of winter, the German army's combat situation on the Volga front line was indeed the same as the analysis result of Fang Minghao's explanation for him. The Russians
In Juyashviligre, a tenacious street battle with the German army. Paulus's 6th Army had more than 300,000 people, and they were indeed trapped in this Russian city that was not very meaningful and had been razed into ruins.
Zhukov carefully arranged a trap here, but sent reinforcements to Zhuashviligler bit by bit, making Hitler feel that it is possible to capture the city at any time, and drag Paulus's legion here to carry out
The consumption of more than one million Soviet Red Army has now gathered on the flanks and will break through the German flank defense line at any time. Paulus is surrounded and annihilated here. Marshal Manstein, who is on the Rostov line, noticed the danger here, and
He warned Hitler to withdraw his troops, but was stubbornly rejected by the increasingly arrogant German head of state.
Admiral Aquino was indeed increasingly worried about the safety of being the second son of the captain in the 8th Army.
"Don't worry, if Hitler can't support it anymore. We will provide reinforcements to the Black Sea at any time. General Messe and General Zhang Yian will provide reinforcements there at any time. Our reinforcements are gathering on the front line of Cyprus." Fang Minghao comforted,
But if Hitler did not speak out on his own initiative, the Republican Army would not have entered the Black Sea.
Admiral Aquino commanded the Italian fleet to participate in the largest naval battle in human history with some uneasiness.
On November 9, Fang Minghao led the main force of the Fifth Fleet and the Italian fleet to leave Port Moresby. The fleet in his hands was reinforcing it in China, with four "North Sea-class" heavy aviation ships and
Ten battleships. At the same time, the Second Fleet and the Third Fleet also escorted the fleets carrying the 5th and 13th Divisions that landed in advance from Laicheng and Rabaul respectively. The fleet led by Fang Minghao will
Take over the escort mission of the transport fleet in the New Georgia area.
The fleet sailed on the Coral Sea. It was rainy season. Will there be a shower on the entire sea? Most of the time, the sky was gray and covered with thick clouds. Near Tagura Island, the fleet
I also encountered a storm. The wind was strong and the waves were surging. The fleet crossed the entire Coral Sea against the wind and waves and sailed towards the Solomon Islands.
Even if a giant warship like the Himalaya with a full load displacement of over 70,000 tons still sways back and forth in the storm, when the bow passes through the waves, the surging sea water can rush to the front deck more than ten meters high.
The front main guns that suddenly descended seemed to be submerged among the rolling waves.
The destroyer who was responsible for the fleet escort mission was even more difficult. He struggled in the storm, and his hull was hidden from time to time in the huge black waves caused by the storm, rising and falling in the waves like a small boat.
After fighting the storm for nearly three hours, the fleet left the storm area, and in the dark horizon after the rain, pieces of blue sky began to appear.
At 3 pm on November 10, Fang Minghao received a telegram:
Recipient: Third Fleet Command
From: No. 4519
Content: The enemy's main fleet, including 6 aviation warships, were tracked at the locations e166’1 and s15’3.
1942/11/10
Send time: 2:48
"It's finally started!" Fang Minghao breathed a long mail. The encrypted telegram was sent to Chen Shiying by the submarine force, and the location was around Malekula Island, which shows that the enemy already knew the movements of the Republican Army.
Reinforcements were sent. Fang Minghao roughly calculated on the chart. Within about two days, both sides will enter the battle distance. To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (.) to recommend it.
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