Chapter 262 Next, only we can provide weapons here! (First update!) Before this, Nagumo Chuichi was very anxious, staring at the map every day, and looking for ways to break the situation. The main reason is that the number of Allied warships far exceeds his imagination. Especially after learning about the strength of the Royal Home Fleet, I couldn't help but feel numb. Even if all the combined fleets before the Battle of Midway were transferred to the Mediterranean, they might not be able to resist the British Royal Fleet head-on. The main reason is that the strength gap between the two sides is too big. Fortunately, in the past few years, the German army relied on submarine forces to destroy many British warships. Otherwise, he would have thought of running away. Even so, the number of Allied warships that came for reinforcements far exceeded his imagination. According to intelligence, there are at least hundreds of warships, or even two hundred warships. Anyway, the quantity will only be more, not less.
This made Nanyun Zhong unable to sleep at night. He constantly calculated his fortune and thought how many warships would be needed to attack the Allied fleet head-on. The final conclusion is this. When it comes to the surface fleet alone, the gap in strength between the two sides is too great. Unless the German army is willing to send more submarine forces to the Mediterranean, the two sides may still have a fight. Not only that, the Air Force also had to mobilize a large number of fighter planes. But there is another problem, and that is the island of Malta. If the British troops on the island are not dealt with, then when they face off against the Allied fleet, the other side will send out fighter jets, which will cause huge losses to the naval fleets of the four countries. All these problems troubled Nagumo Chuichi. For the sake of the Shikoku Navy, Nagumo Chuichi really worked hard. As a result, no matter how he deduced it, the final outcome was a disastrous defeat for the navies of the four countries. Unless the speed of commercial ship transformation is accelerated. If ten modified aircraft carriers can join the battle, the outcome is unknown. Just when he was too worried to sleep. Who knows, there will be twists and turns. The canal was blocked, and nearly half of the Allied warships were blocked in the canal. This is a big surprise. This means that the number of Allied fleets that the four navies have to face has been reduced by half. The pressure suddenly eased a lot.
"I didn't expect the base camp to be so thoughtful and send cargo ships to block the canal. This way, Allied warships will not be able to pass through the canal, and our pressure will be reduced a lot." Nagumo Chuichi said excitedly. Hearing this, Major General Valerio looked at Chuichi Nagumo with a complicated expression. "Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, the canal not only blocks Allied warships, but also blocks our cargo ships. Without rubber, many of our industries will be affected." Doesn't this guy know that the canal is related to the industrial lifeline of the Axis powers? Originally, the resources they could receive were very few. Now that the canal was blocked, that meant they were receiving even less resources. This is not good news. "This is not something we need to consider, but now that the canal is blocked, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages for us, otherwise the Allied fleet will attack from the east and west, and our fleet will only lose." Nagumo Chuichi knew that the canal was blocked The impact of living. But what we have to face now are Allied warships, and other issues can be put aside for now. "What's more, without the canal, we can still find ways to transport resources through other routes." Nagumo Chuichi felt that the minds of these foreigners were simple. Before the canal appeared, didn't countries around the world communicate with each other? "You mean to transport those resources to the Arabian Peninsula and then transport them to the sea by land? This is really a waste of time." Major General Valerio was not a fool, and he immediately guessed the meaning of Nagumo Tadashi's words. . But he felt that this efficiency was too low. And the risks are simply too great. Those natives are not so easy to get along with. "That's not something I need to consider. Right now, we have a more important thing. Take the island of Malta before the Allied fleet arrives." Nagumo Chuichi didn't know that all the Axis officers were there. What are you thinking about? Why haven’t you thought about solving the problem on the island of Malta? Don’t you know that the British army’s occupation of the island of Malta means that a fish bone is stuck in your throat? Isn't it uncomfortable? "The island of Malta is not that easy to win." Major General Valerio shook his head and said. Do they really not know the status of the island of Malta? No! They know! But the reason why I couldn't win it was because it was too difficult to win. At the beginning of the war, Malta, located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, stood out and became an important hub on the communication line between the British mainland and Egypt and India. As long as Malta is in British hands, Britain will continue to obtain oil, soldiers and other resources from Egypt, India and other regions, and continue to confront the German army. The British ships and aircraft deployed in Malta seriously threaten the logistics supply lines of the German Afrika Korps and Italian troops in Africa across the Mediterranean. In order to seize control of the Mediterranean, starting in June 1940, the Italian army began bombing Malta. In January of the following year, the Luftwaffe began to intervene.
In the following more than two years, Malta withstood fierce naval and air attacks and blockades by German and Italian troops. The British army also attached great importance to Malta and made every effort to deliver weapons and supplies to the island. It also used Malta as a base to attack the German and Italian military forces in the Mediterranean. Around Malta, many fierce confrontations broke out between the two sides. "That's because the British navy in Alexandria is supporting us from behind. Now that Admiral Cunningham's Mediterranean fleet is gone, the British army on the island of Malta is also in an isolated and helpless situation. This is our best chance to seize the island of Malta. "Nanyun Zhongyi shook his head and said. Before the Mediterranean fleet is destroyed, it is indeed impossible to completely capture the island of Malta with the naval power of Germany and Italy. But it's different now. They could have taken the island of Malta. Pull out this fishbone completely. Originally, Nagumo Chuichi thought of taking the island of Malta, but then the Allied fleet was coming from the canal. If the island of Malta cannot be captured as soon as possible, the navies of the four countries will be attacked in the belly. Now that the canal is blocked, it means that they can free up their hands to deal with the British army on the island of Malta. After hearing this, Major General Valerio said again. "You mean, send a fleet to support?" "Yes, all the warships gathered on Malta Island. I don't believe that in the face of such a powerful fleet, the defenders of Malta Island can continue to persevere?" Nagumo Chuichi said confidently. It must be said that the success of this plan is quite high. Previously, the navy was not strong enough, and it was simply unrealistic to capture the island of Malta solely by paratroopers and air force. But it's different now. With the blessing of the navy, it should be easy to capture the island of Malta. Thinking of this, Major General Valerio continued. "You are right, but this plan requires the support of the German High Command. Without their air force, I am afraid that we will have to pay a heavy price to capture the island of Malta alone." The island of Malta has been fighting for two years. What is the situation on both sides? He is naturally clear. Without the support of the German Air Force, it would be really difficult to capture the island of Malta just by relying on them. Don't forget! There are also British Hurricane fighter jets on the island. It must be suppressed by German fighter planes so that their naval guns can bomb without restraint. "Then let's sort out our plan and have Colonel Rutte report it to their high command." Nagumo Chuichi urged. … On the other side, the Japanese base camp received a letter of praise from Chuichi Nagumo, looking confused.
When did they send people to block the canal? After being confused, he immediately sent someone to investigate. The result was that the five cargo ships indeed departed from Xiangjiang. But the shareholders behind the cargo ship have British influence. "It was really our people who did it?" Tojo Hideki looked at the Army Minister Hyōtaro Kimura in front of him with suspicion. Don't blame him for that suspicious look. Because the Japanese army likes to walk alone. Therefore, battles often break out, and the base camp only learns about the results afterwards. For example, the recent incident with the Fourth Division has left the base camp even more confused. "Probably not, but we can't find out who it is. The main reason is that the situation of these five cargo ships is too complicated." Kimura Hyōtaro said helplessly. The crew of Tianzhu, whose shareholders are British, fly the American flag. The starting point is still Xiangjiang. Baga Ya Road, who are you checking? "Stop investigating. Since others did this, they probably don't want us to find out. Even if they are found out, the rice beasts will only think that we did it." Tojo Hideki saw it thoroughly. What if we find out? Things happened. The canal is blocked. Navigation will be unavailable for a while. This means that many supplies will be disrupted. For the Japanese army, this was a very good opportunity. That is to completely capture Tianzhu. Compared with the price paid on the Chinese battlefield, Tianzhu's was really costless. Those natives are so well-behaved. Resistance rarely occurs, and basically a small team can occupy a large area of territory. So Hideki Tojo began to make moves. I feel that I can draw more troops from the Chinese battlefield to Tianzhu. There had been worries about the British army sending reinforcements. Now the canal is blocked.
Still worried about a hammer? Directly increase reinforcements and completely occupy Tianzhu. "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, what do you mean?" Kimura Hyōtaro didn't quite understand what Tojo Hideki meant. "Abandon the pursuit and mobilize all soldiers from the Chinese battlefield to support Tianzhu. If necessary, you can abandon some lines of defense." Tojo weighed it up and found that the cost of occupying China was too high. There are guerrilla harassment everywhere, and countless soldiers die in sneak attacks every year. More importantly, the return rate brought by the Chinese battlefield is really too low. How could Tianzhu be so comfortable? The natives did not resist at all and even helped them fight the British army. Not only that but also providing logistical support. This is much more comfortable than the Chinese battlefield. The rate of return is very high. In just such a period of time, the Army brought back more than 100,000 tons of steel. The Army even came up with a plan to produce new fighter jets. In addition, there are countless resources such as oil. This made Tojo Hideki feel that occupying China would be better than occupying Tianzhu. "Yes." Kimura Hyōtaro responded quickly. … The last person to get the news should be Cun Yunsheng, and this was what Li Si sent to him after he landed ashore. Otherwise, it will take at least a long time for him to find out. "Is it really blocked?" Cun Yunsheng received the news with excitement on his face. He really didn't expect that this plan would actually succeed. This plan came to him accidentally. The reason for using five cargo ships is that one cargo ship is not safe. If there are five ships, one of them will definitely succeed. Who knew that all five ships would succeed and actually block the canal. "Is it really blocked? Not even left alive?" Meng Fanglia couldn't help but clicked his tongue when he heard the news. At the same time, I didn't expect that Li Si was so reliable that he didn't even leave him alive. "No one will be left alive. It seems that Li Si will be put to good use in the future." Cun Yunsheng said with a smile. "Young Master, I don't understand. Is blocking the canal really that important to us? Why do I feel like it's not a good thing?" Meng Fan looked confused. "During this period, the Kunming Station of the Military Command sent me a lot of telegrams, meaning that we should continue to restore the supply of weapons. Although those beautiful weapons and equipment are easy to use, they consume ammunition too fast. Many troops are out of ammunition. Bottomed out.”
"Not only that, the US military in the mountain city has also stopped supplying weapons. Now the prices of fine art equipment on the black market are rising steadily. They believe that this is the time to ship in large quantities and they can definitely make a lot of money." "Let's put aside the military commander's request for now. We don't have that many weapons to supply them at the moment. These people are dishonest. Why don't they say anything? They have regained a lot of lost ground recently. The Japanese army voluntarily gave up many positions." Cun Yunsheng sneered. "That's one of the benefits." Hearing this, Meng Fan was stunned. Seeing Meng Fanglia's confused expression, Cun Yunsheng sighed softly and then explained. "The canal is blocked, which means that the British reinforcements cannot reach Tianzhu. So as long as the Japanese army is not a fool, they will definitely increase their troops in Tianzhu and completely occupy Tianzhu before the British army repairs the canal." "But Japan is a small country with limited resources and population. What can the recruits who have just joined the army know? They don't even know about weapons. So if they want to quickly occupy Tianzhu, they must mobilize elite troops from China." "Without the garrison of these elite troops, wouldn't it be easy to regain the lost territory?" "Is that why the prices of fine art equipment are so high during this period?" Meng Fanlia suddenly became enlightened. "Yes, this is just one of the benefits." Cun Yunsheng nodded and then continued. "The second thing is that Stilwell, who was originally suspicious of us, must rely on us next." "Because the supplies he can distribute have become less, no, they are even gone." "So if you want to take advantage of us easily, it won't be that easy." "As for other benefits, there are many more." Hearing this, Meng Fangliao became even more curious. "For example, Persia and other colonies of the British Empire may take advantage of this opportunity to fight for national independence, so it will be the British's turn to have a headache next." Cun Yunsheng chuckled. "Next, we have to urge Major Fertig to speed up production." "Now in Southeast Asia, we are the only ones who can provide a large number of weapons." (End of chapter)