The Japanese army did not stand still because of its partial defeat in Luzon Island. In the early morning of January 29, the Japanese 6th and 26th Divisions captured Manila City. Two days later, the 48th and 10th Divisions of the Japanese Army captured the city of Manila.
The Fifth Division captured Corregidor Island at the southern tip of the Bataan Peninsula and won the Battle of Luzon.
During the period from late January to early February, the Japanese army continued to advance aggressively on all fronts in the Pacific.
After the Japanese Navy's 1st and 2nd Battle Fleets, 9th Cruiser Fleet, 1st and 3rd Destroyer Fleets and 2nd Aircraft Carrier Fleet covered the 16th Army of the Japanese Army and won the victory in landing on Oahu,
Quickly move south, waiting for an opportunity to find the remaining fleet of the US Navy for a decisive battle.
After the Navy gained sea control in the South Pacific, the New Britain Island attack was put on the Confederate Army's operational agenda.
Rabaul is located in Blanche Bay at the tip of the Gazelle Peninsula in the northeastern part of New Britain. Before the end of the last European War, it was the capital of German New Guinea. However, due to Germany's defeat, the Paris Peace Conference placed the island under Australian jurisdiction.
, became the capital of the Australian province of New Guinea.
The fleet carrying the Japanese 52nd Division departed from Guam on January 13 and took nine days to arrive on the east side of New Britain Island. The scheduled attack date was the early morning of the 23rd. That night
, the clouds were low, and the surroundings were dark, but the flames erupting from the active volcano "Hanabuki Mountain" on the British Isles were like a big lighthouse, illuminating the surroundings and indicating the direction of the landing boat.
Just after midnight, the Japanese troops, divided into six groups, all launched and rushed towards the port of Rabaul. The British Isles, with a total area of 37,000 square kilometers, was severely under-manned in terms of garrisoned Australian troops, and soon the Japanese army was under heavy attack.
Collapsed under attack.
After a night of beach landing operations, by the early morning of the next day, the main force of the 69th Japanese Infantry Regiment had entered the city of Rabaul. The remaining Australian army, led by Major General Bates as governor, had more than 1,700 people.
Withdrew to the primitive jungle of the Gazelle Peninsula. Among the dozens of islands from the Bismarck Archipelago to the Solomon Islands, the best harbor, Rabaul Port, fell into the hands of the Japanese very easily.
New Britain Island is as big as Shikoku Island. The Australian troops fled into the mountains, expecting their own reinforcements to counterattack. However, the 69th Regiment pursued them and dispersed into the forest to search for the Australian troops. On February 2, together with
The main force of the Australian army, including Major General Bates, was surrounded by Japanese troops and had to surrender sadly.
At the same time that the Rabaul landing was successful, the Japanese Marine Corps also landed on the southern coast of the island in the central part of the island. They laid a naval air base here and occupied the important port of New Ireland Island next to it.
Kavien, completed the arrangement of land-based airports used by naval aviation.
At this point, the first-line base used by the US-Australia coalition forces to defend Australia and counterattack the Japanese completely fell into the hands of the Japanese navy and army in accordance with the planned combat plan formulated by the Japanese base camp.
On the island of New Guinea, the resistance of the US-Australia coalition forces also completely collapsed.
On the day after the Pearl Harbor incident, the Japanese 17th, 18th, and 28th armies, with a total of nine divisions, plus three divisions directly under the control of the front army, crossed the border and launched an all-out attack on Australian New Guinea. Among them
, the 18th Army commanded by Lieutenant General Eki Anami is responsible for attacking the northern area of the Central Mountains and bringing ports such as Seldo and Lai into control; the 17th Army commanded by Lieutenant General Sawada Shigeru is under the jurisdiction of Lieutenant General Shozo Kawabe
The 28th Army is responsible for the strategy in the southern region.
At this time, the island of New Guinea was covered with forests, and the residents in most areas were in a primitive tribal state. Only a few coastal port towns had a certain industrial and commercial foundation. These tribes and port towns were connected by mud and stone roads.
In order to ensure the security of Australia, the US-Australian coalition has deployed defensive forces in Morehead and Ballymore City north of the Torres Strait and Kemari City in the north of the Gulf of Papua.
The well-prepared Japanese army was unstoppable along the way. The local indigenous people actively provided assistance to the Japanese army to fight against the Australian and American troops, and helped the Japanese army transport wounded soldiers. In just one month, most of Australian Papua
The area fell into the hands of the Japanese, and the U.S.-Australian coalition forces were forced to retreat to Port Moresby in the southeastern part of New Guinea.
Port Moresby is the largest city in New Guinea. It is backed by the Owen Stanley Mountains and surrounded by water on two sides. One side is the natural harbor of Fairfax Bay, and the other side is the coral-covered sea. The US military has two
This airport is more than 700 kilometers away from the port of Rabaul, and B17 heavy bombers can move back and forth. After the Japanese army achieved successive victories in the Pacific War, the only US military base that can threaten Rabaul is Port Moresby.
On January 23, the day after Rabaul was captured, the Japanese base camp issued an order to capture Port Moresby with all its strength.
While the Japanese army launched a full-scale attack on the Australian New Guinea Island, the Japanese Army Air Force's fighter planes located at Merauke Air Force Base on New Guinea Island conducted reconnaissance of the port on the southern tip of New Guinea Island and bombed some US-Australian coalition bases.
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Since the Japanese army controlled the sea in the South Pacific, including the Coral Sea area, and the navy and army aviation had complete air supremacy over the island of New Guinea, the Japanese navy and army carried out leapfrog operations, frequently dispatching fleets, and the 10th Army on the southern front.
Troops from the Seventh Army and the Twenty-eighth Army were transported in batches to the vicinity of Port Moresby.
In the early morning of February 11, four Japanese divisions launched a general attack on Port Moresby from the north of the city.
At 6 pm on the 13th, after more than 60 hours of fierce fighting and the cost of more than 3,000 casualties, more than 11,000 American and Australian remnants stationed at the port surrendered to the Japanese army.
At this point, the island of New Guinea was completely under the control of the Japanese army.
...
Nanhua, Xinjing.
When the intelligence department received the news that the Japanese army had captured Port Moresby, it was already the morning of February 14th, the seventh day of the first lunar month in the Chinese lunar calendar, which was Valentine's Day in the West.
While Chiang Kai-shek and his wife were staying in Beijing, a sensational incident occurred in the Nanjing government - Wang Jingwei, the second most powerful figure in the Communist Party of China, and Chairman of the Central Political Council, suddenly disappeared while spending the Spring Festival in Shanghai with friends at home and abroad. Chiang Kai-shek disappeared
Worried about Wang Jingwei's conspiracy, he took a passenger plane sent by Nanhua yesterday and hurried back to Nanjing.
I don’t know if he was moved by Chiang Kai-shek’s sincerity. In the talks a few days ago, MacArthur, after obtaining the consent of the United States, agreed to transfer all the Far East Army and the withdrawn Philippine Army to the Chinese battlefield for use in the war against Japan.
This time, Chiang Kai-shek and his wife returned to Beijing, accompanied by MacArthur and the U.S. Commissioner for the Far East, Francis Sayre. The troops, led by U.S. generals such as Jonalin Wainwright, Jones, and Parker, took a month to complete the deployment of troops.
Xiaonanhai, Qinzheng Building, Zhizhengtang, An Yi's office.
An Yi yelled at the phone and lost his temper:
"Zhao Xiangyun, didn't I tell you repeatedly that you should pay attention to Wang Jingwei's every move and kill him immediately if something is wrong? Now that something like this has happened, what do you say?"
There was silence on the other side of the phone. After a long time, Zhao Rui's deep voice came: "I'm sorry, I was negligent. I ask for punishment from the organization!"
"Punishment?"
An Yi sneered: "Can punishment solve the problem? I dare say that Wang Jingwei must have fled to Japan. The second-in-command of the Nationalist Government defected to the enemy. What a bad impact it would have? Do you know how international public opinion will hype it?
This matter, eh!?"
There was silence again on the other side of the phone.
An Yi stabilized his mood a little, slowed down his voice, and said, "Tell me what's going on."
"Wang Jingwei's escape has actually been a sign for a long time, but he is the chairman of the Central Political Council and holds a high position of power. We have no way to restrict his actions. If he is punished without being taught, not only will our Fourth Hall be in trouble, but we may also cause trouble to the chairman.
You are causing trouble... In the past year, the work of the Fourth Department has been more difficult than before. The Central Command, the Military Command and the Military Police Headquarters have restricted it from many parties. Originally, this time we had already carried out an investigation on Wang Jingwei's residence in Shanghai.
Monitoring, but was disturbed by people from the Military Police Headquarters..."
Zhao Rui's voice was full of exhaustion. He paused and asked: "Chairman, I want to go back to Xinjing to report on my work and explain the matter clearly to you in person. Is that okay with you?"
Thinking of the fourth department led by Zhao Rui, which was rejected by Chiang Kai-shek and had difficulties in carrying out work, An Yi felt soft and said: "Okay, I will arrange a plane to pick you back! Xiangyun, I was a bit too tempered just now. We have been together for many years."
Brother, I hope you won’t take it to heart.”
Zhao Rui said with shame: "How can I do it! It's because I didn't do my job well..."
Shen Fengdao walked into the room and saw An Yi talking on the phone. He stood aside and said nothing.
"Xiangyun, you must not have any psychological baggage. Wang Jingwei left as soon as he left. It's okay! He chose to walk on the single-plank bridge instead of the Sunshine Avenue. There will be times in the future when he regrets it!" An Yi finished consoling him and finally said: "
Okay, I have something to do here, so I won’t say more, and we’ll discuss it in detail when you come back!”
After saying that, An Yi hung up the phone and looked up at Lao Shen.
Shen Fengdao handed a telegram to An Yi and then said: "The results of the New Guinea battle are out. As expected, the Japanese army won a complete victory... At this time, the General Staff is convening an emergency meeting to discuss the battle situation.
, Yang Fei, Deng Bin and the others invite you to attend."
An Yi's eyes suddenly became sharp.
After reading the telegram carefully, pondering for a moment, An Yi nodded: "Okay, although we have previously judged that the Japanese army would attack Australia immediately after capturing New Guinea, New Britain and New Ireland, but where to start is still a question.
If you have any questions, it’s time to have a meeting to discuss it. Over the past month or so, the United States has been sending more troops to Australia, and it will surely be a battle between dragons and tigers."
...
UK, London.
In the conference room of the underground command center hidden in the ruins of Milton Keynes, a town on the northern outskirts of the city, British Prime Minister Churchill and Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax, Secretary of State for Colonial and Dominion Affairs Eden, and Defense Coordination Minister Lord Chat Field
, War Secretary Hall Belisha, Air Force Secretary Kingsley Wood, and First Sea Lord Admiral Dudley Pound are negotiating behind closed doors.
Due to the continuous bad news coming during this period, everyone's face is full of worry.
Lord Chatfield said: "With the fall of Port Moresby, Australia has been completely exposed to the superior strength of the Japanese army! If we don't find a way, this continent, which is very important to Britain, will fall to the Japanese army."
With our hands, the Allied Powers will suffer heavy losses again!"
Churchill smiled bitterly and said: "There is a need for troops everywhere in the mainland, Gibraltar, North Africa, and the Middle East. Where can we send troops to Australia? Moreover, even if we are desperate and send reinforcements from South Africa around the Cape of Good Hope and across the vast Indian Ocean to Australia, there will be no
We simply can’t do it in a month, and by then the war situation will have changed dramatically. At this time, we don’t dare to take this risk!”
As the top official of the army, Hall Belisha is full of helplessness:
"With Turkey's defection, the situation in the Middle East has rapidly deteriorated. The important Syrian cities of Hama and Homs have fallen into the hands of the Japanese-Turkish coalition. The two Mediterranean port cities of Latakia and Tertus have also been captured recently.
The Japanese-Turkish coalition forces have captured. Lebanon, Transjordan and Palestine are in danger. More than twenty divisions of German troops are being rapidly transferred to the Middle East via the Turkish railway. Britain has reached a critical moment of life and death!"
"Your Majesty Prime Minister!"
The Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax, suddenly said:
"At this time, we can no longer hesitate. I suggest that we immediately respond directly to South China's response and return all the Chinese cultural relics collected in the British Museum to the Chinese! Whether the US-Australia coalition can block the Japanese offensive in Australia, there is a huge problem
There is no doubt that once the Nazis occupy Australia and New Zealand, they can, through the mediation of Germany, return the stolen Chinese territory to China and seek the Chinese to join the Axis camp. By then, Europe and Asia will be integrated, and the Indian Ocean and
The Pacific becomes the internal sea of the Axis powers, and the United States may be shaken! At that time, where should we go?”
"this--"
Churchill hesitated, and after a while he said: "I'm worried that His Majesty will object. After all, those cultural relics are proof of Britain's glorious past!"
Secretary of State for Colonial and Dominion Affairs Eden said: "Now that we have reached this point, what are we doing with those useless gadgets? They can neither be eaten nor used to equip the troops. Instead, they require a lot of manpower and material resources to be preserved. Cultural relics and antiques can only be found in
Only peace and prosperity are valuable. If Britain no longer exists, does collecting them still have meaning for us?"
"Yes!"
Lord Halifax said: "President Roosevelt of the United States called us several times and asked us to properly handle this matter and never let the Germans take the upper hand! President Roosevelt said that now we must unite all forces that can be united and unite as one
It is only right to respond to the challenges of the axis countries! Mr. President is prepared to invite South China Chairman An Yi to visit the United States at the appropriate time, and then look for opportunities and alliances to jointly deal with the current crisis! At this time, we must not offend the Chinese!"
Churchill sighed, stood up and walked to the world map. Seeing that the former empire on which the sun never set had been squeezed into a very small area, he finally made up his mind:
"Okay, I'm going to see His Majesty George to finalize the return of the cultural relics as soon as possible! As long as Britain can win the war, everything can be undone, and then I will let the Chinese spit out these things obediently.