Empire Conquest

Chapter 621 - 617 Full Speed Assault

Just like in the last great war, at a critical moment, an ally posed a problem.

However, the difference was that the last war was due to defeat, while this one was due to victory.

Although the Newland Federation had not yet announced its surrender, given the current situation, after the Bulan Kingdom’s surrender, the Newland Authority had no other choice.

Of course, there was also the Luosha Federation.

According to the news brought by Zheng Jiangming, while discussing the surrender of the Bulan Kingdom, the Imperial Authority had already reached a preliminary agreement with the Tiaoman Empire.

Both sides would launch a strategic offensive on the continental battlefield after the arrival of summer.

According to preliminary consultation results, the Liangxia Empire guaranteed that no fewer than 4.5 million troops would be deployed on the Giant Continent battlefield, and the Tiaoman Empire guaranteed no fewer than 5.5 million troops on the eastern front of the West Continent. The key was that the final front line would determine the post-war controlled areas.

Simply put, the meeting place of both sides would become the boundary of the controlled area.

If the Luosha Federation surrendered before the meeting of both sides, the middle line of their front lines would be taken as the boundary.

Because this involved core interests of both sides, there was no question of unwillingness to exert effort.

In fact, through this agreement, it was ensured that when attacking the Luosha Federation, both the Liangxia Empire and the Tiaoman Empire would strive to do their best.

Here, involved a secret agreement that had existed for decades.

Long before the last great war broke out, at the time of the formal alliance treaty, the supreme commanders, the Emperors of the empires, had established this secret alliance.

After defeating their common enemy, which was at that time the Luosha Empire, and now the Luosha Federation, they would ensure through military occupation that this common enemy would no longer pose a threat.

In practical terms, this meant dismembering it into several smaller states.

Although the Consortium Group had not achieved final victory in the last great war, the main body of the alliance had not changed, so the treaty was still valid.

Obviously, after the end of the great war, the boundaries of the military controlled areas would become national borders.

The Tiaoman Empire had no further concerns, and the Liangxia Empire was even more poised and ready. Did the Luosha Federation still have a possibility to persist until the next spring?

Thus, the Newland Federation might announce its surrender within the year.

This was also the most crucial point.

As long as the Newland Authority announced its surrender, the Tiaoman Empire would accept it immediately, and the Liangxia Empire definitely could not continue the war alone.

With the current military strength of the empire, it was impossible to achieve a decisive victory within the year.

If they could capture the Howay Islands and gain a springboard to advance towards the Newland mainland, thus gaining some leverage in the subsequent surrender negotiations, that would be quite beneficial.

That is exactly why there was a need to accelerate the pace of the advance.

However, there was no talk of "speeding up."

In formulating plans, Bai Zhizhan had considered various situations, and all deployments were aimed at launching attacks promptly.

The so-called "acceleration" of progress was merely about making the fleet move faster.

Thankfully, there were no issues with supplies keeping up.

With the oil from the Boss Bay oil fields having been transported back to the imperial mainland at the beginning of the year, and oil production in the southeast regions being restored, the empire’s energy supply problems had been alleviated, or rather, no longer existed. During combat, fleet commanders no longer needed to worry about fuel supply.

By the end of the year, the empire’s stock of fuel had already run out.

At that time, to ensure logistical support for the Giant Continent battlefield, restrictions had been placed on the navy’s routine training to minimize unnecessary consumption.

Of course, this was also related to the supply stations along the way.

Although the Imperial Navy possessed hundreds of various types of oil ships and supply ships, it still established numerous bases in the East Ocean.

Departing from Nagiu Port and heading east, the fleet could first resupply at Liuhuang Island before reaching Transfer Island.

If necessary, they could also resupply mid-voyage.

At this time, the advantage of the Imperial Navy’s main battleships’ high cruising speed became apparent.

Actually, this was also a distinct feature of the Imperial Navy.

All main combat vessels and auxiliary ships had slightly higher cruising speeds compared to their counterparts, such as carriers cruising at speeds above 18 knots; the "Province" class even reached 20 knots. The next generation of carriers under construction would have a highest cruising speed of 22 knots.

Moreover, all main battleships built during the great war, which were included in the Special Mixed Fleet, had cruising speeds set to match contemporary carriers. For example, the "Nanzhu Sea" class and "Huai River" class both achieved cruising speeds of 20 knots, on par with large carriers.

A faster cruising speed meant they could reach the battlefield at the quickest speed without overloading the power system.

Actually, under non-combat conditions, the maximum speed of battleships was almost irrelevant.

To save time, Bai Zhizhan did not allow the fleet to stop at Liuhuang Island, but simply directed some of the ships, especially destroyers and cruisers with insufficient endurance, to go to Liuhuang Island in batches for fuel resupply before reaching Transfer Island.

This saved approximately three days.

On the morning of April 17, the leading 22nd Special Mixed Fleet arrived northwest of Leysan Island and launched an attack on several islands to the east with ship-borne aircraft.

The other three main Special Mixed Fleets were actually following right behind the 22nd Special Mixed Fleet.

According to the plan, after the existence of the 22nd Special Mixed Fleet was declared, they were to launch a strong attack immediately.

Of course, the first to act were the shore-based air forces deployed on Transfer Island and Leysan Island.

On the same day that the 22nd Special Mixed Fleet arrived, the Land Air Force and Sea Air collaborated to launch this year’s largest air raid on Treasure Harbor.

The Land Air Force deployed 450 heavy bombers in three batches.

Excluding 7 bombers that landed on Gardner Island due to malfunctions, a total of 443 bombers carried out the attack.

The escort was provided by 180 long-range fighters dispatched by the Navy’s shore-based air force.

To enhance the striking effect, the bombing was carried out in the evening.

A total of 414 bombers reached the sky above Treasure Harbor, dropping over 1400 tons of bombs, heavily targeting the harbor, warehouses, and airports.

This bombing was also intended for tactical deception.

Simply put, it was to make the Newland Army believe that the daytime attack launched by the Tactical Air Force was actually a cover for the evening’s bombing.

Don’t forget, all tactical aircraft deployed on Transfer Island were Navy ship-borne aircraft.

The shore-based air force’s bombing campaign concluded after sunset.

At night, the shore-based air force did not rest and continued to deploy long-range fighters venturing near Honu Island, intercepting Newland planes that took off for night patrols and reconnaissance.

These long-range fighters were actually night fighters, equipped with small search radars, possessing strong nighttime combat capabilities.

It was on this very night that the three Special Mixed Fleets, personally commanded by Bai Zhizhan, were advancing at full speed more than a thousand kilometers northwest of Honu Island.

If all went well, including the 22nd Special Mixed Fleet, all four main Special Mixed Fleets would arrive in the attack zone on the morning of the 18th. They would launch the first batch of ship-borne aircraft to strike before dawn; the operation to forcefully attack the Howay Islands would thus commence.

Although no longer a Fleet Commander of the Special Mixed Fleet, Bai Zhizhan was still at the forefront.

The "Qinling" was part of the 21st Special Mixed Fleet, directly protected by one heavy cruiser and one long-range cruiser.

This night was destined to be sleepless.