Australian Storm 1876

   Chapter 882 Marching into North America

   Reached a tacit agreement with Crown Prince George on this issue. Li Fushou was in a good mood. He knew that feet were long and inches were short.

   The Brits are extremely gifted at intrigues and splits.

  It must be seen that the British descendants have the full control over the political and business circles of Citi, and their influence is far from that of German, French, and Italian immigrants, and they have thrown the Ocean Empire out of 18 streets.

   As long as the British are willing to take action, it will be more effective.

Li Fushou tacitly did not discuss the topic of inviting Germany, Russia and other countries to intervene in the current war. This was originally a pseudo-option. As long as the Ocean Empire did not want to break up its relationship with the United Kingdom and deliberately made the British crazy, they would not consider this possibility at all. .

   later

  Prince George talked about the Bosnian crisis that broke out in Europe, hoping to get the approval of the Oceanic Empire, so that the United Kingdom could be in a better position in the negotiations and put more pressure on the Austria-Hungary Empire.

  Li Fushou thought about it and still didn't agree. He was only willing to maintain a friendly and neutral position.

   The Bosnian Crisis was a crisis that erupted in the Balkans in 1908. Serbia was very dissatisfied with the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary, which hindered Serbian expansion there.

   It reflects the sharp contradictions between German, Austrian, Russian and other imperialists competing for the Balkans on the eve of the First World War. The provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose residents are mostly Serbs and Croats, want to merge into Serbia.

  The Treaty of Berlin of 1878 states:

   These two provinces were administered by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but still nominally belonged to the Ottoman Empire.

  At the beginning of the 20th century, the national liberation movement in the Balkans was surging, and the wave of national independence was unprecedentedly high. The European area under the jurisdiction of the decadent Austro-Hungarian Empire was the hardest hit area. Bulgaria, Greece, and Romania became independent, which greatly inspired other nations seeking independence.

   In 1908, a bourgeois revolution led by the Young Turks broke out in the Ottoman Empire, which had become a European capitalist power and was in a semi-colonial state, and overthrew the dictatorship of Abdulhamid II.

  The turmoil in the Ottoman Empire was totally unconcerned.

   This prompted the Austro-Hungarian Empire to take the opportunity to win over Russia to jointly carve up the Ottoman Empire's possessions in the northwestern part of the Balkan Peninsula. Russia suffered a tragic defeat in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, and the head of the encounter was broken, and the eastward policy was basically yellow.

   So he also wanted to take the opportunity to revise the system of the Black Sea Strait in order to implement its southward policy, and the two sides hit it off.

Who knew that in order to obtain a springboard as close as the Balkans, the Austria-Hungary Empire sent troops without martial arts and brought the two provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina under its command. This aroused strong protests from Serbia and also made Tsarist Russia lose face, so it threatened to use the two provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina Forced intervention.

  You send troops without authorization before the conditions have been negotiated. What kind of trouble is this?

The Austro-Hungarian Empire has the full support of the German Empire behind it, so its attitude is extremely tough, and Tsarist Russia signed a military alliance treaty with the United Kingdom in 1907. Once the two sides fought in the Balkans, the mutual defense clause would be triggered, resulting in the expansion of the war to the whole of Europe.

As a result, the Bosnian crisis arose, and in October 1908 it became even more fraught. European newspapers had already predicted the terrible consequences of the outbreak of war, which would lead to direct confrontation between the two major military groups, using millions of troops and bringing disaster. hundreds of millions of people.

   It can be said that the irrationality of any party will lead to catastrophic consequences, and Europe has already stood at the door of a total war.

Li Fushou's own troubles have not been resolved, and he doesn't want to get involved in these **** things in Europe. Europeans are watching the "wool war" from the other side, and he naturally stands by the troubles in Europe. In addition to calling on all parties concerned to solve the problem calmly and rationally, and then... …There's no after that.

  The secret meeting lasted an hour and a half

  Crown Prince George did not get an exact promise from Li Fushou, so he could only leave with a relaxed expression.

After he left, Li Fushou immediately came to the Dongji Temple, Prime Minister Fan Zhongzhai, Chairman of the House of Nobles Xin Changjun, Minister of Finance Zhang Li, Minister of the Ministry of War Admiral Mo Rufeng, Commander of the Royal Guards Admiral Li Shuanzhu, Deputy Minister of the Navy and concurrently Admiral Zhu Qingxi, commander of the Indian Ocean Fleet, and other core military and political officials have been waiting here for a long time.

  Li Fushou went straight to the throne, sat down, raised his hand and said, "No gift."

This time, Admiral He Fang, Minister of the Navy, personally led the main force of the Royal Fleet to the Hawaiian Islands, accompanied by hundreds of ships, carrying the Army's First Red Division, Armored Tiger Cavalry Division, Armored Wolf Cavalry Division, Qingdao Division and Beilun Division. A total of 5 Class A divisions, with more than 90,000 officers and soldiers, are ready to conduct adaptive training for one and a half months after arriving on the island of Hawaii, and choose an opportunity to land in North America.

The premise of    is to completely defeat or destroy the main ships of the US Navy and obtain sea dominance on the west coast of North America. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, it will be a complete disaster for the army landing force.

The   Shekang naval battle is a clear example. The fragile troop transport group has no resistance to the big ships and artillery.

   "Qingxi, where is my fleet?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, today, the Midway garrison sent an emergency telegram ahead of the military situation. The Imperial Fleet appeared in the waters near Midway Island at about 10:00 in the morning. As of the time of the report, 5 hours and 30 minutes had passed, and the huge fleet still showed no signs of ending. ."

   "Midway..."

  Li Fushou knew about this place. This is a Pacific island snatched from Citizens and will become an inseparable part of the empire since ancient times. It is 1,200 kilometers away from the Hawaiian Islands, about two and a half days' flight.

  After the arrival of the Imperial Grand Fleet, the temporary formation of the expeditionary strike formation will be cancelled, and it will be under the unified command of the Imperial Grand Fleet. With Pearl Harbor as its headquarters, it will launch a strike and blockade mission against the west coast of the United States, looking for a good opportunity for a decisive battle.

   Now, the Great White Fleet of Citi is like a frightened bird. Recently, it has all headed north, hid in the port of Seattle, and laid a large number of mines outside the port, blowing up 17 ships and blocking many channels.

  The Port of Seattle is very important. It is the capital city of Washington State and one of the three major cities on the West Coast of North America. Without him, the enemy basically controlled the northern part of the West Coast.

   Li Fushou can't say much about the battle plan of the Royal Navy. He firmly believes that Admiral He Fang, the experienced Navy Minister of the Empire, will personally take the lead and plan thousands of miles away, and will definitely win a complete victory.

This time, the island of Hawaii brought together all 12 battleships of the Empire, 4 heavy cruisers, 37 cruisers (including most of the "Flower Moon" class and "Brave" class battleships), and as many as 57 destroyers (including 39 "Cold Wind" ships. Class ocean-going general-purpose destroyers and some Seagull II-modified destroyers), as well as two captured US battleships, formed an unprecedentedly large lineup.

   At this time, ships from various countries in the Hawaiian waters gathered, and there were only more than 10 ships from the powers of Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, and Austria, which was very lively.

   After Li Fushou asked, he pondered for a while and said, "Have the submarines of the navy passed, and the naval air force?"

"If you go back to your Majesty, there are currently seven 1,300-ton submarines built, and five more in the dock. These seven submarines are scheduled to go to the front line of Hawaii in the near future, accompanied by support ships. The Naval Air Force has already carried freighters, and they will be with the big ship. The fleet arrived together. The first unit has a total of 65 aircraft, and the follow-up aircraft are being manufactured in large quantities. It is estimated that the monthly output will reach 130, and they will be delivered to the front line by sea one after another." Admiral Zhu Qingxi replied respectfully.

   "That's good, don't delay the big things ahead."

"Wei Chen understands that no one dares to be negligent in matters of military affairs with another 10,000 courage. The battleships "Nan'ao" and "North Australia" will be launched in the near future and are expected to be commissioned in March next year. It will further increase the strength of the Royal Navy."

   "The construction progress of the Somali-class battleships must be accelerated, and the quality must not be sloppy. This must be ensured."

   "Wei Chen reminds His Majesty to rest assured that the representatives of the Royal Navy stationed in the factory are all boarded and lodging in the shipyard. The workers work in shifts 24 hours a day, and the military representatives are watching in shifts 24 hours a day, and they dare not be slack."

   "How's the progress?"

"The construction progress of the No. 1 ship Somalia and No. 3 ship "Central Kalimantan" has reached 60%. It is expected to be launched between January and February next year, and it will be commissioned no later than June. No. 2 The 4th ship "South Kalimantan" was built 20%, and the 5th ship "Xixiang" was only 10%. It is expected to be launched from August to October next year for outfitting, around the end of 1910. Enlisted."

   "Yes." Li Fushou answered noncommittally.

   Don't look at Citi's maddened push of all civilian ships under construction out of the dock, freeing up a large dock to build 13 battleships at one time, that thing is actually useless.

  If the Royal Navy fleet wiped out the U.S. Great White Fleet on the west coast, the next step would be to go south to Argentina and go around the Cape Horn Bay to the east coast of North America.

   Even if the enemy fleet cannot be eliminated within half a year, a force will be sent to the west coast to carry out coastal strike missions.

  At that time, under the fire of the fleet, these chicks that have not hatched will all be finished.

   Under the cover of the nest, how can there be a complete egg?

   There is no strong protection force at sea, even if the warship is built for 10 billion US dollars now, can there be a bird?

In the Great Battle of Hawaii, the U.S. Navy lost more than 7,200 elite naval officers and men in World War I. The Great White Fleet still has 12 new battleships born after 00 (referring to entering service after 1900), an old-fashioned battleship. These officers and soldiers are more than hastily pieced together. The Russian Navy's Baltic Fleet is not much stronger, and the longest training time with head and tail is not more than three years, and the shortest is only a few months.

Comparison

   The Ocean Empire Navy has at least a third-grade sergeant major with more than 12 years of experience in manipulating the main gun, and the longest experience is even more than 20 years. The second sergeant with at least 9 years of commander in charge of the secondary artillery, ship, marine, engine, damage control, and communication departments are a large group of veterans, and the two are not on the same level at all.

   Fusang lost a lot of blood after the Battle of Mugang, and had to spend a lot of its national power to feed a group of elite officers and soldiers with a lot of artillery shells, but the time left for Citi was too short.

  The navy is playing a ship with a thousand people, and there are a few technical elites that don’t work at all.

   At this time, it reflects the profound naval heritage.

  Any experienced deputy gunner in the Royal Navy can control the main gun like an arm commander when he arrives on a new ship. This is all due to the accumulation of many years. Specializing in artillery, he can always find the best time to fire on the ups and downs of the battleship, and the shooting accuracy is much higher than that of the rookie.

  This thing can't be seen or touched. It depends entirely on experience, and it can be fired by the feeling of hanging and hanging. The results are very different a few seconds earlier and a few seconds later.

   Submarines and aviation units were sent to the front just to give commanders more options.

  Professional things still need professional people to do. Li Fushou does not feel that he is stronger than generals in military capabilities, so he will not point fingers, but choose to trust the generals ahead.

   After a simple understanding

  Li Fushou turned his face to look at the group of senior army generals, tapped the table lightly with his slender fingers for a while, and asked, "How...decided, who will be in command this time?"

Admiral Mo Rufeng, Minister of the Ministry of War, saluted respectfully and said, "Report to Your Majesty, after careful consideration, the Army General Staff Headquarters has decided that General Li Shuanzhu, Commander of the Royal Guards, will be the head coach, Deputy Chief of Staff General Li Shan, and Commander of the Southern Corps, Huo Xiaohu. General, Lieutenant General Duan Qirui, commander of the advance army, will lead the army to the expedition."

As the biggest army chief of the Ministry of the Army, Admiral Mo Rufeng will definitely sit in the mainland of the empire. The founding father, Admiral Konrad-Adenauer, is already very old. Admiral Yuchi Shouzhuo retired a few years ago and entered the Imperial Noble House , the elderly Lieutenant General Fritz has passed away.

   In today's War Department (including the quite independent Royal Guard), General Li Shuanzhu, who is less than 50 years old, can be said to be an extremely experienced commander. With several other veteran generals, it can be said to be the best choice.

  Li Fushou considered the candidates and nodded in response; "Yes, Admiral Li Shuanzhu will be awarded the title of Deputy Chief of Staff Street, Master of Wu Yingdian, and commander-in-chief of the expeditionary army, and the order will be issued later."

   "The minister leads the order, and thank you for the emperor's kindness." General Li Shuanzhu bowed respectfully to the ground.

  Li Fushou nodded and accepted the worship calmly. After seeing General Li Shuanzhu stand up, he asked directly, "How are you going to fight this battle?"

   Admiral Li Shuanzhu has been preparing for this for nearly three years, and he knows about 10 combat plans.

   "Return to Your Majesty;

  Wechen plans to use the 100,000 troops in his hand to sweep the west coast of North America, and choose two key targets for operations, the first is Washington State and the second is California.

   To this end, the Imperial Expeditionary Force was divided into the Northern Corps and the Southern Corps.

The Northern Corps is commanded by Lieutenant General Duan Qirui, under the jurisdiction of the Army Honorary Dahong First Division Armored Forces, the Royal Guards Third Division, with a total strength of 39,400 people, equipped with 3,700 various trucks, hundreds of tanks, 5,000 The remaining horses can implement large-scale mechanical maneuvers for all members, and have strong attacking ability. The combat goals include conquering important cities in the north, such as Newport, Salem, Portland, and Seattle, and fully controlling the northern states of Oregon and Washington.

The battle plan is expected to land at Eugene Beach. The shallow-water barges specially built for this purpose have already traveled to the Hawaiian Islands with the large fleet. The initial plan is to use 7 to 10 days to transport the northern army ashore, and then occupy the nearby Newport. The port, as the logistical support port of the Northern Corps, receives a steady stream of logistical materials.

As the main corps, the Southern Corps has jurisdiction over the Armored Dragoon Division and the Armored Wolf Cavalry Division, as well as two army brigades in Qingdao and Beilun, with a total of 76,200 people. It will be commanded by myself and several deputy commanders. After the successful landing of the Northern Corps, Choose an opportunity to land on the coast of California, including frontal and defensive attacks from the side and rear, and fully occupy important areas of the state.

  California, as an important economic center in North America and the western terminus of the Pacific Railroad that runs through the United States, has a strong shock to occupy the state and can cause huge shocks to the society of Citi.

   is not to be considered;

   Controlling these two key areas on the West Coast basically completely controls the core of the lifeline of the West Coast, which is enough to cause a strong shock to the confidence of Citi Cowboys.

on the basis of

   By cutting off the Pacific Railway, the entire west coast of North America is separated from the east coast and the inaccessible central region, relying on the mountain terrain to build a defensive fortress, implement a long-term occupation plan, and eliminate a large number of enemy forces with the defense and reform, waiting for an opportunity to move. "

   "What about Argentina, what did you think about it?" Li Fushou asked indifferently.

   Admiral Li Shuanzhu replied;

"I am going to send an expeditionary task force to act with the naval fleet, take the lead in occupying Tierra del Fuego as an advance base, and then choose an opportunity to capture Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. The specific time will be between May and June next year. , that is, after the war in North America has stabilized."

   "How many troops are planned to be used?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I plan to use Admiral Huo Xiaohu as the commander of the expedition task force, and assign an Armored Leopard Cavalry Division, a tank regiment of the Fourth Division of the Royal Guards, and a Melbourne Infantry Division with a total of 47,000 people to carry out this expedition mission. "

   "Yes, the battle order needs to be adjusted." Li Fushou agreed after a little consideration, and then said to the core ministers;

   "Don't be in a hurry to land in North America, order the Hawaiian Frontline Fleet to pull out an expeditionary strike fleet, let me destroy the Citigroup fleet gathered in Argentina, and send army troops to land in the country first, and severely punish the rampant Argentines.

  This war has two purposes;

   First, completely cut off the connection between the east and west coasts of the Americas, making them unable to care for each other, destroying the delusion of the Citizen Navy reinforcements, and deterring the enemy.

Second, they responded swiftly and fiercely to Argentina's persecution of Chinese nationals. They spit out what they ate, and made up for what they took from me. Those who dared to stretch out their hands broke their hands, those who dared to stretch their feet to break their feet, and those who dared to speak up. Hanging out of disrespect, this country needs a bloodbath to sober up. "

   Li Fushou's stern voice blew through the hall like a cold wind. He said this more out of political considerations, hitting the Argentines who were mad and shouting hard to shock the enemy.

   Admiral Li Shuanzhu took his orders in awe, and after communicating with the navy, he selected the army to go out to the expedition immediately.

   (end of this chapter)