＜ Episode 200 >
Combined Fleet Commander Isoroku Yamamoto was listening to the report.
“Minister, this is a great victory!”
“If that’s the case……”
“Yes?”
The French army was weak in air defense. In fact, it was normal.
I didn’t even think that an aircraft would do any damage to the battleship. On the contrary, in order to procure weapons for the army – although it would not have been very helpful – some small-caliber anti-aircraft guns were removed from destroyers and provided to ground forces.
Thanks to this, in the face of an air attack by the Japanese naval air force, which amounted to hundreds of aircraft over the span, the French lost two battleships and one was rendered unnavigable.
The Japanese navy, who approached the French navy, who had become paralyzed in an instant, in the dark, threw oxygen torpedoes and the battleships launched a concentrated attack, and the French battleships and cruisers were dragged to the Dragon Palace one after another without screaming properly.
In just one decisive battle, the French navy in Indochina was annihilated, and the Vietnamese, who were already furious over the French conscription, conscription, and excessive taxation for financing, rose up to join the imperial cause.
The French, having already lost most of their territory, managed to keep only a few cities.
However, Yamamoto was dissatisfied with the situation itself.
‘Too much power is being put into Operation Southern. Moreover, it is said that the Pacific Fleet was paralyzed at Pearl Harbor and the Atlantic Fleet was also tied up for battle with Britain.
The British operational goal is to save Canada, and the American operational goal is a decisive battle with the British fleet that crosses the Atlantic Ocean to save Canada.
Since both sides clearly know each other’s goals, a decisive battle is inevitable in the near future. I don’t know exactly when or where.
“Tell the main headquarters to ask for a replacement of the Philippine operational commander. Damn, how much time is wasted because of the Philippines alone!”
If the U.S. Navy hits it during Operation Southern, the odds of winning are low. Operation Southern wasn’t a one-day operation, and it had to be done after calming the entire South and then waiting or advancing to Hawaii.
‘It would be possible to attack Hawaii from now on with support from Australia.’
However, the main office literally ignored Yamamoto’s words. In fact, from the perspective of the main headquarters, if they were going to attack Hawaii in the first place, they would have done it during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
There is only one reason why this is not so, because Hawaii is a strong enough fortress that the army alone can block the entire Japanese amphibious fleet, even if there are no US naval forces.
After the U.S. Navy occupied Hawaii with an offensive while fighting in the Atlantic Ocean, it supported South America to block the Panama Canal and negotiate favorable terms with the United States. Yamamoto believed that this was the only way to victory.
Operation Southern is something that should be done only when a long-term war is in mind, but if you can get everything from the negotiating table anyway, why waste your troops and time there?
However, the idiots of the main headquarters insisted that the decisive battle of the fleet through the diminishing interception operation after Operation Southern was the means of victory. Fleet Battle? I mean, why don’t you know that it’s better to avoid a fleet battle where the odds are not certain, if you can avoid it?
And waiting for the US attack to arrive is also a problem. The U.S. would definitely attack with the utmost preparation, so there is no chance of winning in the first place.
Even if the US enters into a decisive battle, there is little guarantee that they will follow the route they expected.
In other words, if there is no war at all, then why do the idiots at the main headquarters do not understand that the only way to do so is to occupy Hawaii and support South America through Australia to occupy Panama?
Panama is still doing well. The US and French combined forces are receiving supplies by sea, and the approaching Mexican and South American allied forces are defeating the approaching tribes.
So, unless you send a fleet to cut off supplies and directly attack Panama through the land squadron, those who don’t fit well with their hands and feet will die, and even if they wake up, they won’t be able to penetrate Panama.
‘Then there is no time to waste here! These idiots!’
Neither the United States nor Russia have a chance to win in a long-term battle. And if you can’t win a short-term decisive battle, you shouldn’t just start a war.
That’s why he was so against war.
But given the circumstances, all he could do was pray that the British Navy would win the battle of the fleet.
***
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Most of the wires went into a lull.
We started the total reorganization of the Southern and Central Front forces while pushing the enemy all the way to the front of the Alps. filled
In addition, some of the African Expeditionary Forces, who now had no opponents to fight, were reorganized in the direction of Persia with the pretext of defending the rear and stopping amphibious aircraft.
Once they have captured all of Iraq, they are still advancing, but it seems that the tanks are not using their strength because of the abundance of mountains in Persia.
In addition, the British army was gripping it and defending it. Now, if you take out the Bayern Pocket, the enemy left in the east of the Rhine and north of the Alps…
‘Rur.’
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More precisely, the Ripstadt bulge along the line connecting Koblenz, Marburg, Kassel, Göttingen, Braunschweig, Hanover and Bremen.
However, since most of the ruhrs belong here, it is not wrong to say that it is just a ruhr.
“The Ripstadt Overhang, the Rhineland and the Bavarian Pocket, Switzerland and parts of Ostmark.”
territories left to Germany.
Switzerland and parts of Ostmark are difficult to attack because of the Alps.
“The top priority for the attack is the Ripstadt salient, then the Netherlands and the Rhineland. Annihilation for the Bayern Pocket is enough after that.”
In general, doing this is a strategic shovel that violates the basics of troop concentration, but we have an overwhelming number of troops anyway, right? This is enough.
Already, due to the fever of volunteers, the recruiting center is in a state of disrepair. It takes a little time to train and deploy troops, but enough to press the Bayern pocket and launch an offensive on the northern front.
“They can never provide meaningful support to the Bayern Pocket. We will be running out of ammunition, fuel, and food, so if we can succeed in a counterattack that will scare us, we should admit it.”
I pointed out a few areas.
“The primary target for replenishment of troops and supplies is Army Group North. Attack the Ruhr and the Netherlands as soon as the offensive is possible. I don’t know about other places, but in Ruhr, the first priority is to make a mugwort field.”
“If the Southern Front determines that the force has been sufficiently reinforced, attack the Bayern Pocket while minimizing damage as much as possible. However, do not attack the Alps by force. Some of the troops of the former Northern Front, who are proficient in mountain warfare, will be transferred to the Southern Front.”
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Mountain warfare is unfamiliar to the Russian army, as evidenced by the lack of strength of its allies in Persia. In a defensive battle, it can still be crushed by overwhelming bombardment, but in an offensive battle, losses must be forced.
The front line of the Russian Empire is Europe and the Far East, but basically the European front, especially Eastern Europe, is a plain.
You may ask if there are Anatolia, Georgia, or Azerbaijan, and in fact, the Anatolian Front, which has already been dismantled and put into the Persian front, is well-versed in mountain warfare.
However, it is also true that the Russian army, which boasts a strong tank power, cannot use its strength in mountain warfare.
The problem is that the infantry power of the Russian army is not outstanding enough to overwhelm other countries.
Of course, the infantry’s personal firepower is not lacking compared to other countries due to the introduction of multi-purpose machine guns and the provision of semi-automatic rifles and submachine guns.
not enough but not enough It’s not that I don’t care about the height ratio of assault rifles, but I’m making progress as to whether the assault rifle will come out before the end of the war due to a number of overlapping problems.
“And before the end of the month, let’s pick up a list of recipients of medals.”
This guy, Nikita, took a very incomparable picture.
Last time, he was ambushed with a company force and annihilated the enemy brigade with less than a single scream. This time, in a situation where the regimental commander was killed by the enemy attack, he ordered a counterattack to retrieve the remaining troops, unilaterally changing the enemy’s heavy tank battalion and sending it to the Frankfurt Defense Command. It is reported that he was active in advancing and killing an unknown high-ranking general by blowing up the vehicle he was riding with with a tank shell.
The highest medal award is already confirmed, and promotion to colonel is possible, but promotion to general is probably difficult because of status.
Isn’t it obvious that it wouldn’t be good for both the Crown Prince and the party concerned for his half-brother to rise to the forefront?
Even if I give a colonel, the general will have to blockade it at all. In the first place, the permission to enlist was given on the premise that he would be discharged after the war ended, but the general is a b*tch.
It was also time for me to slowly think about the succession structure.
***
Ivan Konev frowned at the order.
“Are you going to attack?”
“Yes that’s right.”
“Is it correct to report this situation properly?”
“You ordered the dismantling of the former Northern Front, attaching it to the Southern Front, and putting pressure on the Bavaria Pocket, and you promised the Central Front, which will be vacuumed to Ruhr, a large-scale replenishment force in addition to the North African Front.”
“… that’s not enough. Even if the forces of the Central Front were completely restored, the fortifications of the Ripstadt salient were so strong that I had to go to Moscow to specifically request reinforcements.”
It takes one year for the new tank to be deployed. So Konev was going to ask for the emergency deployment of heavy tanks at least in divisions.
However, the initial production of heavy tanks is currently being reorganized in Frankfurt. Of course, since the Guards Division originally belonged to the Central Front Army, it will return soon, but the absolute number of heavy tanks is still insufficient.
According to the doctrines of the Russian Empire, the task of heavy tanks is not only to destroy enemy tanks. Of course, it’s not uncommon for the doctrine to be used against enemy tanks, but its main task is to break through the enemy’s defenses.
“Under the current situation, it is absolutely impossible to advance. Maybe I should go to Moscow one more time.”
Well, even if it wasn’t this time, I had to go at least once. Rokosovsky received no punishment or reward in lieu of a class, and was instead given a six-month salary reduction.
Instead, he himself was supposed to be awarded the Order of Merit for saving the Southern Front, and he had to visit Moscow whether he liked it or not, as he would most likely receive it from the Kremlin.
“I’m tired, really.”
Konef sighed. His voice implied the fatigue accumulated throughout the war.