"You're right" Cao Han's out-of-the-box voice came out of the intercom

In order to minimize the danger, even if the Kirov airship has a strong ability to resist attacks and storms, Meng Xiang still does not dare to let these people be carried in an airship

As a result, the three Kirov airships, which could carry 300 people at a time, carried only forty or fifty passengers each

Moreover, in order to observe from multiple angles, the distance between the three airships is large, but relying on the most advanced radio communication of this era carried on the airships, the sound is transmitted synchronously, and the naval elites on the three airships can still discuss together

Just like when Wang Xiu explained this time, everyone on the Zhang Liang airship where Cao Han was in the distance was also listening

Although Wang Xiu is biased towards the aircraft carrier faction, and Cao Han is a supporter of the famous giant ship cannon in the navy, Cao Han still secretly praises Wang Xiu's analysis

Beneath the large clouds projected by the Zhang Liang, the main Japanese fleet was sailing through Coffs Harbour and heading straight for Sydney

The Japanese had little interest in occupying Fiji and the Kermadec Islands, and their ultimate goal was the Australian mainland

After an unsuccessful initial search at sea, Yamamoto Isoroku categorically decided that the fleet would go straight to Sydney, knock on Sydney's door with a giant cannon first, and let the Americans run on their own

"Sealand is still the territory of the British, in order to resist the ambitions of the Americans, until the critical moment, the British will not give up Sealand, of course, they gave up the Fiji Islands, let the Americans on the front line, moreover, the Americans are still always embankment to deter the Vichy French army in the South Pacific, will not give them a knife from behind, at a critical time, so the Americans who rely on the base in East Samoa will attack in the direction of this attack will be from Fiji and Samoa," Yamato 56 personally sat down, At this time, he was standing in front of the map tiled in the command room, and together with Nan Yunzhong beside him,

"Norfolk Island is still in the hands of the British, it will be difficult for us to capture it in a short time, and smoothly control the whereabouts of the American fleet, and the time for the army to attack Sydney is approaching, and we need our support."

Yamamoto Fifty-six sighed slightly in his heart as he spoke, to be honest, the navy and the army were competing for the huge interests of Sydney, and the navy needed to go over and determine the ownership of the wealth there

Although the entire Australian continent is vast, the accumulated wealth is mainly concentrated in the southwest region, and Sydney, which is about to be captured, is a pearl of the wealth of the southwest

Yamamoto Fifty-six also has the meaning of going to support his waist

"No matter how many ways he comes, I'll just go all the way" Yamamoto subconsciously found a reason for his whereabouts, and couldn't help but groan, "As long as we go and capture Sydney in advance, we can cut off the support channel of the Americans, and this move will definitely force the Americans to come to the rescue in advance, and even have no time to get supplies from Sealand, and we can take advantage of this to give them a fatal blow when we are tired from afar."

If the Japanese really occupied Sydney, relying on Sydney as a supply base, and moving around, not to mention whether the remaining land in Australia will be captured soon, but it is difficult for the Americans to pass through this blockade line if they go around the Indian Ocean, the surge in costs and the expansion of the scope of German submarine activities in the Atlantic Ocean will give the Americans a headache

If we want to keep Australia, the springboard of Asia, the Americans must come to save Sydney, which is also the main evidence that Wang Xiu said that the battlefield is near Sydney

At this time, the American fleet below them also headed straight for Sydney

Although they passed west of Norfolk Island, they did not dock at Sealand, and the large number of supply ships and merchant ships that accompanied them gave them sufficient supplies

The news of Sydney's danger made Nimitz sense a glimmer of opportunity in danger, and he wanted to rush to Sydney to lay out, but when they sailed southwest of Lord Howe Island, the Japanese main fleet had already rushed ahead of them

During the time that the two Montana-class battleships were waiting, the American fleet did not move much

Without enough carrier-based aircraft, without skillful control of the fighters, encountering the Japanese again in zero battle, I am afraid that it will be another heavy casualty

The U.S. fleet needed class warships to calm the morale of the military, but they had been delayed for a long time waiting for two class ships

And the Japanese dispatched the main warships to come a little faster than them, if it weren't for the delay in the supply of oil and other logistical materials, I am afraid they would have been a little faster

The Japanese went south to obtain a lot of oil, but the oil refining equipment had already been destroyed by Britain and the United States, and the Japanese occupied a large number of Nanyang oil wells, but could not refine gasoline and diesel nearby, even if it was repaired and transported from the mainland, it took time to build a factory, during this time, the crude oil could only be sent to the island by oil tankers, and then loaded from the island to supply the consumption of the front

If it weren't for the support of oil supplies such as umbrella companies, the momentum of the Japanese offensive would have been sharply reduced with the reduction of refined oil products

Even so, the Japanese Navy, which had suffered modest losses, had previously cooperated with the army in capturing Coffs Harbour, and now it had pointed the finger at Sydney in advance

……

"Damn, it's the Japanese" An old W-class destroyer of the Australian Navy cruising near Sydney first spotted the 97 reconnaissance plane in the air

The reconnaissance plane flew by quickly, and when Captain Wilson was hesitating how to report it so as not to become a frightened bird, four Japanese fighters flew again in the distance

"Type 99 dive bomber?" Wilson's face changed

Before World War II, Australia only had 2 heavy cruisers, 4 light cruisers and 5 destroyers, but with the entry of the British, the main force of the Australian Navy was also transferred to the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and even the Atlantic, until Japan went south, the Australian Navy suffered heavy losses before the angry Curtin government was forcefully recalled

For the safety of Australia, the British also gave away several warships, including the old destroyer of World War I where Wilson sitted

As the Japanese pressed into the Tasman Sea, the old destroyer was deployed to defend the Sydney Sea

Although the four 102-mm single-mounted main guns and the two triple-mounted 533-mm torpedoes still had some deterrent power, it was probably impossible to hold back the Japanese dive bombardment with only one 76-mm anti-aircraft gun and three 12.7-mm anti-aircraft machine guns that were later installed

"Be prepared for air defense" is better than nothing, he still shouted, and then ordered again, "Immediately report to the command that we have encountered the attack of the Japanese Type 99 carrier-based dive bombers fast"

Less than 5 meters from the side of the "boom" boat, a column of water interrupted his urging

Fearing the bombardment of anti-aircraft artillery, the bomb dropped a little off a little by the 99 ship's bombardment, but the huge explosion of the 250-kilogram bomb in the nearby water still tore the thin armor on one side

But then the roar of 2 anti-aircraft machine guns, which was the first to sound, excited the Japanese, who had tested that the anti-aircraft fire of this battleship was very average

Two 99 ships swooped down on their heels, and this time, they almost rushed directly to the deck of the old W-class destroyer

"Boom" The 76-mm anti-aircraft gun that was originally equipped with the army on the small platform behind the stubby rear chimney finally rang out in time

The 99 shipburst in front of them paid the price for their arrogance, and a burst of black mist directly surrounded it, and then a fireball erupted from it, and a piece of the still intact wing of the plane was thrown out, and it continued to fall

"Oh" A few Australian sailors on the deck who had been dodging in a hurry just now couldn't help but stand up and cheer

But they were apparently overjoyed, and the next 99 bomb had already burst out of the smoke, and a 250-kilogram aerial bomb passed through the black smoke rising from the chimney and fell directly on the deck of the old W-class destroyer

"Booming" one such heavy bomb was enough to stop Wilson's thinking

……

"This is a Japanese carrier-based aircraft, is there a Japanese aircraft carrier nearby?" The news quickly reached the ears of MacArthur, who was always vigilant in the direction of Sydney, and MacArthur couldn't help but be surprised

MacArthur's defeat in Southeast Asia made MacArthur need to bear some responsibility, and although he was not held accountable for the game at the top of the United States, he also made him stay in Australia because of the loss of face because of his escape, and he never forgot to shout a word or two to counterattack Southeast Asia

As Australia fell to the United States, he took on the responsibility of defending Australia on behalf of the U.S. team

However, Washington's policy of putting Europe before Asia and the successive defeats of the Allied forces in Australia made him very angry and embarrassed at this time

Messages requesting reinforcements were sent almost daily, but after the Battle of Fiji, there were few responses to them

It wasn't until Nimitz got the news that a large fleet was coming to Sydney, and he hurried from Canberra, where the war was raging, to Sydney

But who knew that after he waited for a day, he received the news that the Japanese battleship was coming

"Gotta tell Chester the news, it seems his fleet is going to be a little faster," MacArthur said anxiously

……

"Take off, go and beat those dwarfs" Nimitz, who received the news from MacArthur, soon received a report from the reconnaissance plane that went to investigate, and the main fleet of the Japanese did not hide it at all, and rushed directly to Sydney