Chapter 235 We must build an aircraft carrier! (Second update!) "Master Mai, these two hundred thousand natives, let you lead them to Imphal." Long Wenwen looked at Master Mai in front of him and said again. Hearing this, Master Mai’s expression froze. What does mean? Let him lead 200,000 natives? He has never commanded so many people in his entire life. For a moment, Master Mai was a little panicked. If something goes wrong with these 200,000 people, then he will definitely not be able to escape the blame. “Master Mai, you are the US military. If you lead the team, General Stilwell will definitely allocate weapons and equipment to us very simply.” Long Wenwen played the emotional card again. Start to talk about the benefits of being led by him.
I have to say that Master Mai did listen to the advice. But when I think about the burden of so many people, I can’t help but hesitate. "Master Mai, people will always die in wars. You should be more open-minded. They can only grow up after experiencing war." Long Wenwen advised again. Had it not been for the difficulty of obtaining the equipment of these 200,000 people, he would not have come up with this idea. Cun Yunsheng sent him a telegram, asking him to get the equipment as soon as possible. As for how to report the loss, that is Long Wenwen’s business. But there is only one requirement: equipment for no less than 30,000 people should be sent to Lashio as soon as possible. Therefore, what Long Wenwen faces is to send these 200,000 natives to Imphal as soon as possible. As for who will command them later, he has no interest at all. According to the previously formulated plan, these natives were all used for consumption. There is still half a million from Siam that is not enough. It is said that the Khmer region is also recruiting indigenous people, and it is estimated that 100,000 people should have no problem. The lack of troops that Stilwell was worried about was not a problem at all. Here in Indochina, as long as the weapons are sufficient, an army of millions can be easily mobilized. “Yes, I understand.” Master Mai nodded solemnly. After Master Mai left, Long Wenwen took out the telegram again, took a look at it, and sighed. “Recruit another 200,000 natives and go to Khmer to cooperate with the French army attacking Annan.” Including the 200,000 natives in Tianzhu, that means a total of 400,000 natives. As for how much he can come back, he doesn’t know. But these have nothing to do with him. All he has to do is complete the task assigned to him by Cun Yunsheng.
Fortunately, Stilwell is responsible for the military pay of these natives for the time being. But Long Wenzhang guessed that it won't be long before Stilwell may have to cut off his military pay. Before that, we need to get more weapons and equipment. “I hope Master Mai can be of some use.” Long Wenwen murmured. … Alexandria Port, after a period of cleaning, the port has restored a trace of its former scenery. At this moment, the commanders of the four naval fleets were discussing the next battle plan in a room. According to intelligence, the Allied forces are mobilizing their main fleet to rush to the Eastern Mediterranean. In other words, there is not much time left for them. They must come up with a new combat plan as soon as possible, otherwise, once the main fleets of the East and West Allied Forces arrive, they may be in trouble. “Our strength is still too weak. We only have one aircraft carrier, which is a light aircraft carrier, and the number of carrier-based aircraft it carries is still too few.” German commander Colonel Rutte said meaningfully. Yes! The combined fleet of the four navies has only one aircraft carrier, the Japanese Navy's Hunji. The French aircraft carrier is still on vacation in South America and will not come back at all. The German aircraft carrier is still under construction in the dock, and it is not yet known when it will be launched. The Italian Navy only had battleships. In other words, based on the overall strength comparison, they are no match for the Allies. Especially when comparing the number of aircraft carriers, the difference between the two sides is not one or two points. So, the most serious problem facing them now is how to get more aircraft carriers? In fact, both France and Italy can build aircraft carriers, but Italy believes that they do not need aircraft carriers. Having battleships is enough to overwhelm the Royal Fleet. The results of it? Being hammered to the ground by the Royal Fleet. What if this time, the German army hadn't sent hundreds of fighter planes to support. Sneak attack on Alexandria is not that easy. “Yes, our aircraft carriers are too few, but I have a question, why don’t you two countries build aircraft carriers?” “With your industrial level, you can definitely build an aircraft carrier.” Nagumo Chuichi asked in confusion. If we say Japan is a struggle between land and sea. Then the German army is naturally in conflict between the sea and the air.
The only problem is that Air Marshal Göring stated that all flying toys will be under the command of the Air Force. This also means that even if the navy builds an aircraft carrier, it will not have carrier-based aircraft that can take off. So, Colonel Rutte didn’t know how to answer Nagumo Chuichi’s words. As for Italy's immediate failure, they don't need an aircraft carrier. But now after being taught a lesson by the Royal Fleet, they also realize the importance of aircraft carriers. As for France? It’s not that I don’t have an aircraft carrier! But my aircraft carrier has escaped! I won’t come back immediately! What can they do? Seeing that Colonel Rutte and Major General Valerio Borghese were both silent, Nagumo Chuichi probably guessed something. Sighed simply, and then suggested. “The problem before us now is that the Allied main fleet will arrive soon, and there are only two ways we can do it.” "The first is to speed up the construction of aircraft carriers. Instead of heavy aircraft carriers, we should focus on light aircraft carriers. I believe that with the shipbuilding levels of the two countries, it shouldn't be a problem to launch one in a month or two, right?" Nagumo Chuichi said and looked at Fayi. representatives of both countries. “As long as we have three or five aircraft carriers and cooperate with the army’s fighter planes, there will be absolutely no problem in defending the Eastern Mediterranean.” Hearing this, Admiral Laborde thought for a while and felt that what the other party said made sense. More importantly, of the four navies currently present, only Nagumo Chuichi has experience in commanding aircraft carrier operations. The other three countries don’t understand aircraft carriers at all. "France can give it a try. According to our current shipbuilding speed, there should be no problem in producing a light aircraft carrier in one or two months. Of course, the speed can also be accelerated, but it requires the integration of industry." Admiral Laborde pondered for a while The attack on the British fleet in Alexandria meant that the French navy had no way of turning back. So, the current French navy can only go to the dark side. In fact, according to France's industrial strength, there is no problem in starting to build five or six light aircraft carriers at the same time. But it needs to be integrated! Seeing that the French Navy had expressed its stance, Chuichi Nagumo looked at Major General Valerio standing aside. “This, I need to write a written report to the Naval Command, there should be no problem.” Rear Admiral Borghese pondered for a while, knowing the importance of the aircraft carrier, and said that he would try his best to fight for it. Major General Valerio's family is a very noble family. The family has produced one pope, three cardinals, and Napoleon's sister, Pauline Bonaparte, is their ancestor, Prince Camillo of Rossano. Princess of Borghese. Therefore, Admiral Arturo Ricciati of the Naval Command will never sit idly by and ignore his opinion. Seeing that the naval commanders of France and Italy had expressed their opinions, Nagumo Chuichi looked at Colonel Rutte who was standing aside. The meaning is obvious. The other two countries have expressed their stance, but what about Germany?
You can’t have no attitude at all, right? “We can build aircraft carriers, but we don’t have carrier-based aircraft and pilots. All our flying toys are under the command of the Air Force.” Colonel Rutte had no choice but to make his family ugly. There is nothing he can do! This action is enough to prove the importance of aircraft carriers. Hearing this, Nan Yunzhong was stunned for a moment. Thinking of the conflicts between his own land and sea, he was not qualified to blame others. Finally let out a sigh. Suddenly I thought of something. “If we can provide carrier-based aircraft and pilots, can you provide aircraft carriers?” Nagumo Chuichi had an idea. In the Battle of Midway, although the Japanese navy suffered heavy losses, it also lost its strategic initiative and air superiority. But essentially, they still have the strength to continue fighting. It was not until the Battle of Guadalcanal began that the Japanese army completely lost its strategic advantage. In other words, they can still provide some carrier-based aircraft pilots. Although most of them are novices, they can grow quickly after a few actual battles. More importantly, Nagumo took a look at the German Stuka bombers. It’s not that the Japanese army couldn’t build Stuka bombers. But the navy is a steel behemoth, and they can no longer spare more steel to make aircraft. If a batch of Stuka bombers can be purchased directly from the German army and used in the Battle of Guadalcanal, it will definitely cause a huge blow to the US military. Because the . military would have never imagined that the Japanese army would secretly equip a group of Stuka bombers. Thinking of this, Nagumo Chuichi felt more and more that this plan could be implemented. Compared with slowly waiting for the navy to be built, wouldn't it be faster to buy directly? And with the industrial strength of the German army, dozens or hundreds of fighter jets should be easily available. Colonel Rutte would definitely roll his eyes if he knew what he was thinking. Can you take it out easily? Haven’t you seen that the North African Army doesn’t have many fighter jets? If it weren't for the raid on Alexandria this time, it would be absolutely impossible to reinforce hundreds of fighter jets at once. Regarding Nagumo Chuichi's proposal, Colonel Lutte thought for a while, and then said bitterly. "I'm sorry, I can't give a definite answer for the time being, but I can report your proposal to Marshal Dönitz, and I believe he should be able to give an answer."
Hearing this, Nagumo Chuichi was a little disappointed, but he was not discouraged. Then he took a deep breath and continued. “The second is the sunken warships in the port. According to repeated confirmations during this period, except for the warships that were blown into two pieces, other warships can be salvaged, repaired for a period of time, and can continue to be used.” “But it will take a long time, at least three to six months, and it may delay a lot of things.” Hearing that the warship could be salvaged, the navies commanders of the other three countries suddenly brightened up. This was good news. But considering the relatively long repair time, the need for cleaning, and the caliber of the artillery shells, etc., I finally lost interest. "So, based on the current situation, we can only block the incoming Allied fleet by integrating our mutual resources. Otherwise, we will be the ones who are sunk next time." Nan Yunzhong said with helpless hands. said. Although the performance is brilliant, the background is too poor. Compared with the Allied warships, they are not inferior by one or two points. But they still have a chance, which is to integrate resources. Now it depends on the attitude of Germany, Italy and France. If they refuse, then Nagumo Chuichi can consider going back. Instead of staying here and waiting for death, it is better to go back and fight to the death with the Mihu Fleet, and maybe there is still a glimmer of hope. Hearing this, the naval commanders of the other three countries looked at each other. “We need a lot of rubber resources.” Colonel Rutte spoke first. Due to the seizure of Alexander's supplies, there is a lot of oil here, so it can be sustained for a while. But rubber resources have indeed reached their limits. Whether it is an airplane, a truck, a cannon, etc., it all needs rubber. "Two 30,000-ton cargo ships are on their way to transport rubber. In addition to rubber, there are also some tungsten ore and other scarce resources." After Nagumo Tadashi captured Alexandria, he discussed it with Navy Minister Nagano Shushen. . They think they can use certain resources in exchange for some German technology and even weapons and equipment. For example, the navy is currently in urgent need of fighter jets. Although the German army did not have carrier-based aircraft, the Stuka's performance deeply shocked Nagumo Chuichi. In the past, he had only heard of the other party's name. After seeing it with his own eyes this time, he felt that the navy should equip some land-based bombers, which could cause a huge blow to the Japanese fleet if necessary. It is not surprising for the Japanese Navy that the Navy has land-based fighters. Hearing these resources, Colonel Rutte's eyes instantly lit up. These are urgently needed resources. Especially tungsten ore can be used to make armor-piercing projectiles! This is a powerful weapon against armored troops. "What do we need to pay?" Colonel Rutte knew that the other party would not ask these things for no reason. "We need a group of Stuka bombers, at least a hundred." Chuichi Nagumo stated his purpose. “Is it for your army equipment? Your Zero fighter is not weak.” Colonel Rutte asked doubtfully.
"No, it is our navy that needs these fighters. Although we can produce them, we don't have so much time now." Nagumo Chuichi shook his head and said. In fact, the most important problem is that there is no steel. The navy suffered such heavy losses that all the steel was put into building warships. There is so much steel to continue producing aircraft. "I need to report this to Marshal Dönitz. After all, these all belong to the Air Force." Colonel Rutte thought for a while and continued. “Can you transfer your hydrogen hydroxide torpedo technology?” This technology has made Colonel Rutte coveted for a long time. Although it is unstable, it doesn't matter. I believe the German engineers can definitely solve these problems. “Okay, we need steel, the more the better.” Nanyun Zhongyi thought for a while and then agreed to the other party’s request. Compared to Japan's several million tons of steel production, Europe's steel production is more than 20 million tons. So, Nagumo Chuichi’s next goal is steel. (End of this chapter)