Empire Conquest

Chapter 563 - 559: Other Arrangements

Although the electric order had been received last night, it wasn’t until the following morning that Bai Zhizhan convened the staff officers to announce the new mission assigned by the Navy headquarters.

Head to the Northeast Fan Flame Ocean to assist the Army Air Force in suppressing and striking Newland’s Air Force in the Northwest of Aus.

Put simply, it’s about bombing the airports in the Northwest of Aus.

The operation would involve not just two Special Mixed Fleets but four. In addition to the Eleventh and Twelfth Special Mixed Fleets, there were also the Twenty-First and Forty-First Special Mixed Fleets from the East Ocean. The former’s main force consisted of those three fleet carriers, while the latter was led by the second batch of four smaller carriers recently put into service, along with several fast escort aircraft carriers also recently deployed.

Also, there were Land Air Force troops that had been stationed on Bali Island this month.

Sadly, due to the local military airports still under construction, field airports were being used, so only Tactical Air Forces could be deployed.

That meant the main task for the Land Air Force was to provide aerial cover for the fleet, with the fleet taking on the offensive role.

According to the Navy headquarters’ battle plan, the Eleventh and Twelfth Special Mixed Fleets would form the second echelon, acting as the campaign reserve team.

Simply put, the initial attack would be launched by the Twenty-First and Forty-First Special Mixed Fleets.

Only if the predetermined strike mission was not completed would the Eleventh and Twelfth Special Mixed Fleets be brought into action.

Prior to this, the primary task of the two Special Mixed Fleets was actually to deter the enemy, keeping Newland’s Fleets stationed in Aus from daring to join the battle.

The reason was simple: Spur was still in the Southwest East Ocean.

According to intelligence from the Sixth Bureau, Newland’s Navy’s "Independent" small carrier had sailed out in mid-September and had not reappeared ever since.

That meant this carrier was very likely also in the Southwest East Ocean.

This was understandable.

Reliance on just one small carrier could not secure sea control, let alone counterattack Transfer Island or significantly aid the defense of the Howay Islands.

In the Southwest East Ocean, however, it had a greater role to play.

With three small carriers, at least a sizeable attack could be launched.

If used for commerce raiding, over fifty ship-borne aircraft could be deployed in a single wave, allowing for two consecutive strikes and avoiding a grueling battle with an escort fleet.

Do not forget, most escort fleets contain escort carriers.

Additionally, the escort fleets could rely on the support of shore-based air forces.

Indeed, engaging in a prolonged fight with an escort fleet, if the commerce-raiding fleet lacks strength, it might not come out on top and could even suffer humiliation.

To ensure the fleet’s combat effectiveness, Newland’s Navy had dispatched four self-propelled floating docks to Aus, bringing in a large quantity of equipment for repairing large warships.

There is sufficient reason to believe that the two carriers under Spur’s command need not return to the homeland; maintenance could be performed right within Aus’s ports.

As for ship-borne aircraft, that was even less of an issue.

Following the end of the Galapagos Sea Battle, the Newland Federation had been consistently reinforcing Aus with more Tactical Air Forces.

Had the conditions allowed, the Newland Federation would have even built an aircraft manufacturing factory in Aus.

Key to note is that almost all the aircraft deployed in Aus were ship-borne.

This setup, primarily for the purpose of saving transport capacity, meant that escort carriers would leave behind two-thirds of their ship-borne aircraft on the return trip.

It was still intelligence provided by the Sixth Bureau that the number of tactical aircraft stationed in Aus had surpassed 2,500, and it was still increasing at an approximate rate of 500 per month. Apart from a number of older aircraft with outdated performance, the majority were advanced cutting-edge fighters.

Not to mention anything else, just the F6F itself exceeded 400.

One must admit that the military industrial power of the Newland Federation was indeed very formidable, by no means inferior to that of the Empire.

Although the F6F currently in production were initial models, that is, pre-production types, equipped with downgraded 1600 horsepower engines, using only small numbers of 1800 horsepower engines, and the accompanying 2000 horsepower engines were not yet mass-produced, these fighters, after shedding some unnecessary weights, especially the cockpit armor, and removing 2 internal fuel tanks, still reached a top speed of up to 600 kilometers per hour.

If anything were to be said, the F6F is to date the only fighter on oceanic battlefields that can contend with the "Xiaotian".

As for the Royal Bulan Navy’s "Sea Fire" model, it was at least an initial version, and not as formidable as the legends suggested, still beset with many defects.

The key point is that the production volume of the "Sea Fire" was pitifully small, and it was mainly used in the direction of Land Heart Sea.

However, what truly needed worrying about wasn’t the shore-based air force.

Although there were more than 2,000 tactical planes, most were deployed in the Southwest of Aus, with less than 500 tactical aircraft stationed in the Northwest.

It wasn’t the lack of airfields, but the lack of a sufficiently strong logistical support capability.

Fuel and ammunition couldn’t be transported there, so no matter how many combat aircraft were deployed, they were just for show.

If anything were to be said, even transporting living supplies to the Northwest of Aus was troublesome, and this directly limited the total number of forces that could be deployed in that region.

What really needed concern was, in fact, Spur’s "little Fleet".

Because the Imperial Navy had already taken control of Bali Island and strengthened its presence in the North of Aus, in the direction of the Alaphra Sea, Spur would definitely not go north through the Coral Sea, entering the Fan Flame Ocean from the north of the Aus continent, they’d only be able to detour from the south, operating in the Warton Sea Basin area.

Actually, this was also the key reason why the Navy headquarter sent two Special Mixed Fleets over.

As planned, both the 11th and 12th Special Mixed Fleets were on standby north of the Warton Sea Basin, waiting for Spur to come and meet their demise.

If Spur dared to come, they must seize the opportunity to annihilate the last carrier fleet of the Newland Navy.

If anything were to be said, if they could achieve a victorious start, perhaps it would be possible to return to East Ocean around New Year’s Day and re-launch the operation to advance into the Howay Islands.

Of course, assuming that the combat operations in Boss Bay went smoothly.

As usual, Bai Zhizhan gave the staff officers plenty of opportunities to shine.

The discussion lasted all morning, not concluding until almost noon, yet failing to produce a definitive result.

The reason was simple: half the staff believed that Spur wouldn’t be foolish enough to court death. At most, they would maneuver to the Southwest maritime area of the Aus continent, linger near Perth, posing a limited threat to the Imperial Navy, preventing them from rashly dispatching the Marine Corps to land in Aus.

To put it simply, they aimed to block the advance of the Imperial Army into Aus through deterrence.

Here, lay a very critical issue.

Only by finding a way to make the Imperial Army directly attack the Southeast region of Aus could Aus be turned into a quagmire, draining the Empire’s war potential.

On the other end of the continent, this purpose could simply not be achieved.

In addition, the Liangxia Empire would definitely not cross the entire continent to advance towards Melbourne and Sydney because the difficulty and cost of advancing thousands of kilometers through desert wastelands were far greater than capturing control of the sea in the Coral Sea and organizing a Landing Fleet to land in the Southeast of Aus.

Just the time cost alone was enough to deter the Imperial Authority.

However, landing in the Northwest of Aus had immense political significance.

Actually, this was what the Newland Authority was most worried about.

Since it was impossible to ascertain the movements of the Newland Fleet in advance, there was no opportunity for a rapid attack, nor reason to risk for 3 small carriers.