Tan Renhao arrived at Iwo Jima on 2 April, and he first flew to Ryukyu Island, where the First Task Force was making its final rest, and then he would head south for the Nanyang region to support the army's combat operations in the Nanyang region. After learning that the Second Task Force led by Lei Shaoqing was rushing to Ryukyu Island to take over the patrol mission of the First Task Force in the western Pacific, he immediately boarded a plane and rushed to Iwo Jima.

Admiral Yan Guozhong had been waiting for Tan Renhao's arrival on Iwo Jima Island for a long time. In order to capture the Volcanic Islands and Ogasawara Islands, a total of five marine divisions were invested, which was 30,000 more than the three divisions previously planned. Iwo Jima was the first island to be occupied, and it was also the location of General Gan Guozhong's forward headquarters.

Tan Renhao's transport plane landed at the airport in the northeast corner of the island. When the plane landed, he saw that there were already three airports on Iwo Jima. The two airfields previously built by the Japanese army have extended their runways to support bomber operations, and the apron has been expanded, with two aircraft maintenance stations at each airport. The new airfield, on the other hand, is mainly used for fighter and patrol aircraft, and the runway is much shorter, and the other facilities are much worse.

"General Tan, I'm glad we met again!" …

Yan Guozhong is still that optimistic, probably he was not pessimistic when the battle was at its most intense.

"yes, it's only been a few months!"

Tan Renhao smiled and shook Yan Guozhong's hand.

Yan Guozhong smiled and nodded, he had long known about Tan Renhao's promotion, so he was not surprised by Tan Renhao's rank of major general. "Let's go, let's go to my headquarters first, and after dinner, we'll talk about other things!"

Tan Renhao did not refuse this invitation, although the conditions were simple the day before yesterday, as an imperial naval general, he also deserved to be treated at a higher level, and the predecessor of the Marine Corps was the best Imperial Forest Army in the empire. It has always been the elite troops of the empire, and naturally it will not treat itself as an army.

The dinner was very simple, three of the division commanders of the five marine divisions came, and the other two did not rush back because they were still on the front line, and other important staff officers also came, and a table of people was gathered, which could be regarded as a reception banquet arranged for Tan Renhao. Of course, these Marine Corps generals were very polite and polite to Ren Hao. The Marines were able to capture the Volcanic Islands and the Ogasawara Islands. Especially in the early days of the landing campaign, the support provided by the 1st Task Force under the command of Tan Renhao at that time was of decisive significance. Of course, it was the 1st Task Force that brought the prelude to the Empire's counterattack, giving the Marines a chance to exert their strength, and giving these generals a chance to gain honor and exploits.

After dinner, Yan Guozhong asked his men to go back first. Although the Japanese were wiped out on several of the main islands, there were still Japanese forces operating on the other minor islands. Japan's shore-based bombers and submarines are also constantly harassing the marines and transport fleets, and the combat operation is not officially over. Yan Guozhong was a traditional Marine Corps general who was very strict with his subordinates.

"Sit down. I heard that the marshal talked to you alone? ”

Tan Renhao smiled and nodded. It must have been Gan Yongxing who greeted Yan Guozhong in advance.

"To be honest, the Japanese are far more stubborn than we thought."

Yan Guozhong sighed, "We originally planned to take ten days to conquer Iwo Jima. As a result, we fought here for more than a month. And the entire combat operation took twice as long as expected. The Japanese are indeed stubborn, much more stubborn than they were in the last war. Remember, in the last war, as soon as the Imperial Marines set foot on the Japanese mainland, Japan announced its surrender, and now it seems that even if we enter the Japanese Imperial Palace, Japan will probably not surrender, and they will hide in Mt. Fuji to continue to resist! ”

"General, the matter is far less serious."

Tan Renhao also realized the stubbornness of the Japanese in this war. "In any case, the war is not entirely determined by the will of the soldiers, but more often reflected in the strength of the country. This time, I came to prepare for the deployment of bombers here to carry out a large-scale bombing of the Tokyo area of Japan. As long as we destroy the national infrastructure of the Japanese, leave them without guns to fight, and leave them without food to eat, when the time comes, what will Japan do to continue to resist? ”

"Let's hope so!"

Yan Guozhong nodded. "If we don't have to land on Japanese soil, of course, it would be great, but if we really want to fight to the last step, even if we sacrifice more officers and soldiers, we will completely wipe out Japan!"

"This is also what all of us think, we have let Japan go many times, and if we don't completely kill Japan this time, then we will be sorry for our children and grandchildren!"

Tan Renhao said a big thing, he has no descendants. "General Yan, what's the situation here now?"

Yan Guozhong glanced at Tan Renhao and said, "General Liao Hanxiang sent someone over last month to guide us in building the airport. We remodeled the airport exactly to the new standards. As you can see, there are two airfields on Iwo Jima that can be used by bombers. In addition, two airports have been completed in the Ogasawara Islands, including Hajima, Chichijima, and Brother Island. The airfield for fighter and patrol aircraft will soon be completed. By mid-March at the latest, the bombers could be deployed. ”

"In that case, it couldn't be better!"

Tan Renhao was very satisfied with this result, at least the tens of thousands of Marine officers and soldiers did not enjoy the scenery of the Pacific Ocean after defeating the enemy. "Now, though, there's another problem."

"What's the problem?"

Yan Guozhong frowned.

"Previously, we planned to use the Army's long-range fighters to escort the bombers, but now it seems that if we use daytime bombing, then these long-range fighters will have no effect."

Tan Renhao took out a cigarette, "Now, HNA's new fighter jet has not yet come out, and it will probably wait until the middle term." Unless we are willing to make a request to the army aviation side, we can only use the 'Vulture' to escort the bombers, and the combat radius of the 'Vulture' is only about 300 nautical miles, and it is simply impossible to provide full escort for the bombers. ”

"You mean, to seize the advancing islands and provide a base for the fighters who escort the escort?"

Yan Guozhong quickly understood what Tan Renhao meant.

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, and then lit a cigarette. "There's no way around it. HNA fighters all have the problem of short legs, after all, aircraft carriers do not need fighters with too long range. In fact, the army aviation also did not have suitable long-range fighters, and those heavy fighters simply could not provide adequate cover for bombers. So, we have to find a new home for the escort fighters. ”

Yan Guozhong let out a sigh, and then walked to the sea map hanging on the wall. Tan Renhao also followed. He knew that if the Navy asked for it, then the Marine Corps would have to find a way to accomplish the task.

"If that's the case, then we'll have to consider Hachijojima in the Izu Islands."

Yan Guozhong picked up the wooden stick and nodded on Hachijo Island on the chart, "This is only more than 200 kilometers away from Tokyo, and if you calculate according to the 300 nautical mile combat radius of the 'Vulture', fighter jets will take off from here." It can cover almost the entire island of Honshu and provide full escort cover for bombers. ”

Tan Renhao smiled and nodded, of course, the problem is also obvious.

"But if we want to land on Hachijojima, we will have to think about facing the threat of Japanese shore-based bombers."

Yan Guozhong sighed, "I have relevant information here, when we captured the Ogasawara Islands, the Japanese side had strengthened the number of garrisons on Hachijo Island, and now there are at least more than 15,000 Japanese troops guarding this island. According to the situation at the time of the capture of Iwo Jima, we would need to commit at least four Marine Divisions and ensure that we have sufficient ground support. Especially air support! ”

"Fighters from the Ogasawara Islands can be used to help the Marine Corps."

Tan Renhao glanced at Yan Guozhong. Seeing that Yan Guozhong didn't speak, he continued, "Also. Task Force 2 can come at once. If necessary, we can request that Task Force 2 provide close support to the Marines. ”

"Even then, we won't be able to finish preparing for the attack before May."

Yan Guozhong turned around and returned to the sofa, "Not to mention anything else, just preparing war materials, mobilizing the landing fleet, and restoring the combat effectiveness of the marines will take at least more than a month, and it is impossible for us to launch a new offensive immediately." ”

"I understand that. I also know it's unlikely. ”

Tan Renhao smiled awkwardly, "The bombing will go according to plan, if the Marines can complete the operation to capture Hachijo Island before September, then we can intensify the bombing of the Japanese mainland in the next few months!" ”

Yan Guozhong nodded slightly. "Okay, then I'll immediately start planning for this, and strive to launch an attack on Hachijo Island in May."

"How can we help?"

Tan Renhao looked at Yan Guozhong.

"Of course, if the support of the fleet can be timely and strong enough, I believe we can complete the operation to capture Hachijo Island by September."

"Then I'll return to Zhoushan in two days."

Tan Renhao also made a decision immediately. "Try to get as much support as possible from the fleet. As long as Hachijo Island can be captured, Japan will be even closer to the end! ”

Within two days, Tan Renhao went to Mother Island, Father Island, and Brother Island to inspect the situation on the island. The engineers of the Marine Corps are all renovating and building new airfields in accordance with Liao Hanxiang's requirements. The runways at these airports are all above 1,500 meters long and have been strengthened. In order to quickly repair the runway, the Marine Corps used simple field runway equipment for the first time. In fact, this kind of field runway is connected by honeycomb-shaped steel plates. The engineers first sorted out a piece of flat land, and then laid these steel plates, connected them with a little nails, and formed a whole runway, which can be used by aircraft to take off and land, and this is much faster than laying a runway with cement. In addition, if the runway is damaged, the damaged parts can be replaced directly, so that the runway can be repaired quickly.

The facilities are almost complete, and a large amount of supplies are being delivered to the island. On the day Tan Renhao arrived on Chichijima, a transport fleet sent a batch of spare parts for bombers and tens of thousands of tons of aviation fuel. And before that, two more flotillas arrived. And the hangar, the tarmac, the bomber repair station, etc., have been completed, and now the only thing waiting is the bomber.

Early in the morning of April 5, Tan Renhao returned to Ryukyu Island (at that time, the imperial transport planes could not directly send him back to Zhoushan), and that evening, he arrived at the Zhoushan Naval Headquarters. And the first person he saw was not General Gan Yongxing, nor an officer of the Navy Command, but his fiancée Liao Yingyu.

"Yingyu, why are you here?"

Tan Renhao was naturally surprised.

"Don't you want me?"

Liao Yingyu ran up with a smile and hugged Tan Renhao's neck, "You have no conscience, if it wasn't for my father's reminder last time, you would definitely not write to me!" ”

"Conscience of heaven and earth, when will I dare to forget you, you see how happy I am!"

Tan Renhao immediately laughed, "Okay, don't make trouble, everyone else is watching!" ”

"Afraid of what? I'm not afraid, just let them watch, they'll be envious to death! ”

Liao Yingyu is not the kind of shy person, "This time, as soon as I heard that you were coming back, I made a special trip over, I asked the hospital for a few days off, let's go to Songjiang to play for a few days!" ”

"This ......"

Tan Renhao was a little painful, and he also wanted to compensate his fiancée to relax, but now that he had to do something, he couldn't leave at all.

"Don't do this and that, if you don't speak well, I'll go to General Gan Yongxing, I don't believe it, you can't have your own life if you are a soldier?"

As soon as Liao Yingyu's eldest lady got her temper, everyone had to let her have a few points. "Anyway, I made an appointment with you first, don't try to use other reasons to perfunctory me when the time comes!"

"Well, if we have time, let's go to Songjiang for a few days. Provided, of course, that I don't have any other tasks! ”

Tan Renhao laughed, "Now I'll go to General Gan first, and then come back to you in the evening, how about it?" ”

"General Gan went to the Lion City yesterday and heard that something happened over there."

Liao Yingyu took Tan Renhao's arm and walked towards the outside of the airport, "If you don't rest, others will have to rest." It's already the middle of the night, and you're going to disturb the marshal's rest? ”

Tan Renhao smiled and shook his head, he couldn't say anything more. As a result, he didn't want to disappoint his fiancée again, and that night, the two went to Zhoushan City and had a fairly hearty dinner, and then returned to Tan Renhao's general's villa. By the time they returned, it was already midnight.