The Indian Ocean seems to be no different, except that it is hotter than the Pacific Ocean. Outside the port of Colombo, Ceylon, the generals were all in the conference room of the battleship Nagato, while Yang Wuwu, who was dressed in the uniform of a second lieutenant of the Chinese Naval Air Force and was temporarily the temporary adjutant of the captain of the ship, Rear Admiral Tan Gen, stood in the verandah of the battleship Nagato, looking at the entire fleet and at the same time inspecting this sea area that he had never been to before.

In addition to the routine matters of formation, operations, landing, and logistics, the biggest internal problem was that the Japanese Army also wanted to join the operation, and after a few days of trouble, General Terauchi Shoichi, Minister of War, finally coordinated the result that two divisions of the Japanese Army were temporarily added to the landing force, so that the number of landing troops instantly increased to more than 50,000.

In addition to the haste, another big problem was that Britain and France withdrew their previous commitments after sending troops to no longer agree to the use of the British Somali ports of Berbera and French Somalia Djibouti by the peacekeepers, because Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini claimed that if the Chinese and Japanese fleets were stationed in these two ports, the Italian army would have to invade both places to eliminate the evil yellow army.

In view of the current situation, it is extremely unsafe for the Italian Navy to rush into the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden under the condition that the Italian Navy is in full swing -- the narrow entrance to the Red Sea is only a short distance of more than 20 kilometers, and if the Italian Navy's torpedo boat unit sets up an ambush and launches a torpedo attack after the fleet enters, the losses will be unavoidable.

Thus, in the alternate plan drawn up by the staff officers, the generals agreed that the best landing place should be Mogadishu, Italian Somalia, and Kismayo, to the southwest. Although the landing from here is more than 1,400 kilometers from Aguiddis Ababa, the offensive axis can be carried out from Abyssinia through the two rivers of Shabelle and Juba in Mogadishu and Kimayo. Entering the territory of the Afghan State from Italian Somalia. The problem here, though, is that the Italian army and its mercenaries are unknown, if the enemy is numerous. Even with the support of fleet firepower, it is not a small pressure. Thus, prior to the landing in Mogadishu, there were constant meetings of the fleet command to discuss the situation of enemy forces in Mogadishu.

"According to the photographs, if our army can properly occupy Mogadishu, it will be possible to use the existing facilities of the Italian army to enter Abyssinia, which the Italians have already built for the invasion of Addis Ababa, although only to the border. In addition, the photographs also show that Mogadishu has a large amount of supplies for the Italian army, which, if properly captured, will be extremely important for our army's future operations. Lieutenant General Nene Gangmura, chief of the Second Section of the Japanese General Staff Headquarters and known as the Army's three-winged bird, made a new proposal with the newly sent aerial photographs. This is a photo taken a few days ago by the reconnaissance plane of the aircraft carrier Longxiang, which first went to Mogadishu for reconnaissance.

Tomorrow we will leave Colombo for Mogadishu, which may be the last meeting before landing, and the conference room is clearly filled with Chinese and Japanese generals, and the atmosphere is not very tense, it is a little depressing.

"It can only be as much as possible." Major General Hu Cheng, chief of staff of the Marine Corps, who was in charge of the frontal landing, replied. From his experience, beach-grabbing is the most dangerous time of landing, and it is already difficult for the Marines to break the blockade and occupy a certain beachhead, as well as to properly protect the facilities and supplies in Mogadishu. It's a fantasy.

"One of the most important tasks of our army is to occupy Mogadishu with minimal casualties, and the port on the Kimayo side is not enough to support a large force landing. As the main position of the landing, our side needed the maximum intensity of fire support, and only artillery fire completely destroyed the Italian beachhead. Landing will be smooth. Hu Cheng once again expressed his own views at the last meeting, and subconsciously did not agree with the roundabout landing strategy proposed by the Japanese side, after all, Mogadishu hastily built fortifications after learning that China and Japan had sent troops. The photographs now also show that there are no permanent fortifications and no fortified batteries.

"At this point, our side will strictly abide by the landing plan and provide artillery support for your army." The commander of the fleet, Admiral Nobumasa Sueji, nodded. At this moment, he had a rare lightness. After all, China and Japan are allies, not enemies, and this attack is still a white animal. "Lieutenant General Gangmura's opinion is actually to seize the resources of the Italian army. to reduce the pressure on our materials. He explained that he was afraid of discord between the two sides.

"We understand the importance of supplies." The commander of the Marine Corps, Lu Mengxiong, was still hanging, he took out his cigarette case and threw it to the Japanese on the opposite side one by one, and for the Japanese who were too far away on both sides, he directly took out another pack and let people pass it on. "But compared to materials, pensions are not cheap." He lit a cigarette and took a comfortable puff before saying: "I don't know how much your army is, but the bereavement pension of our army from senior to private is between 80 and 12, and the family members also have a subsidy ranging from 40 to 80 yuan per year. If there are too many people who die, they will always come to me for trouble, so it is not worth it to fight for the supplies of the Italian army, but it is worth it to fight for the port. ”

The dignified general actually talked about the pension at the meeting before the war, and used the pension to decide the landing plan, which made the Japanese army general frown a little, but Gangmura Ningji did not feel any discomfort, he looked at the last letter and then said: "We have once again confirmed that Mogadishu is not a natural port, the cargo can only be shortly barged in, the water depth of the anchorage is only two meters, the maximum is not more than 2.5 meters, and it rises 50 centimeters at high tide, and the landing boat needs to travel more than two kilometers under normal circumstances to carry out beach grabbing. The fleet must make every effort to suppress the enemy's beachhead fortifications......"

"It's all about the weather!" When it came to hydrology and climate, Major General Hu Cheng of the Marine Corps began to speak again. Although the Japanese navy is 'stronger' than the Chinese navy, it is also only active in the Pacific region, and little is known about the situation in East Africa. "June to August is the southwest monsoon season, and the landfall is likely to encounter strong winds and waves, and it really coincides with large waves, and the situation will be very unfavorable, so we will monitor and predict the weather tomorrow, if the wind and waves are too strong, the landfall can only be delayed."

"If your army is unwilling to land, then please allow our troops to land." It was the commander of the Ninth Division who spoke. At this time, the newly learned information had been reported, and the next thing was customary for the Japanese Army and the Chinese Marine Corps to quarrel over the priority of the landing. Since joining the fleet, Vice Admiral Yamagoka has wanted to land in Mogadishu by Japanese troops.

Seeing that the Japanese wanted to take their own lives again, Hu Cheng and Lu Mengxiong immediately smiled. Then he said to his own supreme commander, General Zhu Tiansen, who had not spoken: "Commander, we are done with our discussion. If nothing else, let's leave the meeting at that. ”

"I agree......" Zhu Tiansen glanced at the supreme governor of the Japanese side, General Nobumasa Sueji. Both sides nodded in unison, and the meeting of the generals came to an end. The next thing is for the staff officers to help each other.

"It's boring to wait outside, isn't it?" When he came out of the conference room and saw his temporary adjutant, Major General Tan Gen said with a smile - he had known Yang's useless identity for a long time, not to mention that he didn't use a pseudonym, but he used a pseudonym, just by that look like a pair of eyebrows, he could also recognize that this was the son of the Prime Minister.

"No, sir." Second Lieutenant Yang Wufu saluted, he could smell a lot of smoke from Major General Tan Gen. It seems that the meeting was extremely tangled, which he learned from his father's experience after the meeting as a child.

"The **** actually wants to steal the honor of the Marine Corps." Major General Tan Gen does not treat Second Lieutenant Yang as a subordinate, but directly treats him as a junior, so he will still reveal some things. But it was just a complaint, and soon he took Yang Wufu to the starboard side, the Nagato was where the fleet headquarters was located, and his chief's office was on the Changning aircraft carrier.

"Tomorrow, the intelligence says that no other airfields have been found in Mogadishu, maybe we can easily knock down all the Italian planes!" Back to the Changning. Major General Tan Gen also immediately called a meeting of his subordinates. "Don't forget, though, that the British and American navies are watching from the side, so it's best to stay out of the streets. If you see. Slow down and don't rush. ”

"Understood!" From the combat officer to the navigation officer, everyone seems to have forgotten that the Changning will sink in this strange sea. Laugh out loud - according to the intelligence service, the CR.32 arrow fighter of the Royal Italian Air Force is excellent. But after all, it is a biplane, and its horsepower and speed cannot be compared with the navy's single-wing Haidongqing fighter. If there are not enough of them, the outcome of the war is likely to be one-sided.

"Okay, if you want to go ashore tonight, go ashore, but remember to be sure to return that night!" There seemed to be nothing to say, and Admiral Tan Gen explained the matter in a few words. According to the information sent by the Persians, after learning that China and Japan were going to send troops to East Africa, Mogadishu contacted Mogadishu to reinforce Mogadishu from other places within two months, and the number of troops added may be the main point, but more important is the time for the Italians to increase their troops -- before Britain and France refused to allow the peacekeepers to use the ports of Berbera and Djibouti, they transferred troops from Eritrea to Mogadishu. Apparently, the Italians knew, and even persuaded Britain and France, to refuse to surrender their ports to their own use.

The situation in East Africa was already unfamiliar, and Britain and France were stumbling up, which made the chief of staff of the Marine Corps, Major General Hu Cheng, very worried. As Lu Mengxiong was thinking about the map, he pointed to the black-shirted master on the intelligence and asked, "What does this black-shirted master do?" ”

"Report sir, this is ......" The staff officer understood what the blackshirt division meant, but he couldn't find the right words to express it for a while, and after a while he said: "Report sir, similar to the German SS, many of them are veterans of the First World War. ”

"How many people are there? How's the firepower? Hu Cheng asked.

"The number of people is unknown for the time being, but it is estimated from the mule horses that its number should be less than that of a normal infantry division." The Persians could not figure out the Italian formation, but they could count mules and trucks, and the blackshirt division had only 1,600 mules and eighty trucks, which was half less than the 3,000 mules of the infantry division, and only twenty more trucks, judging from this, the blackshirt division either had fewer people or fewer cannons.

"If the firepower is normal, it should be 75mm mountain guns, and each regiment has fifty-four guns." The staff officer replied. After he said that, he took out a photo taken by the Japanese and said, "Judging from the fortifications, no large-caliber howitzers have been found." ”

"How can the photos be taken seriously." Hu Cheng smiled slightly, and immediately let the staff officer out.

"With the Nagato pressing the formation, the Italian Navy will not dare to sail out of the Red Sea rashly no matter how stupid its brains are, and the most likely thing for them is to increase their troops to hold the beachhead, give us a large number of casualties and then fight and retreat, fight to the north, and then join the Italian army on the northern front in Addis Ababa." Hu Cheng said his judgment, and then looked at Lu Mengxiong, who was still smoking, and he said: "Old Lu, what do you say the General Staff is trying to send troops this time?" I don't understand it since I received the order! ”

"What else can I do? Defend world peace. Lu Mengxiong said, saying a reason for the propaganda in the newspaper and then laughed and scolded, "It******'s really funny, we were bullied by others more than 20 years ago, and now we are starting to act chivalrous!" ”

"...... are you" Seeing Lu Mengxiong laughing without liver or lungs, Hu Cheng couldn't figure out what his attitude was.

"I'm fine." Lu Mengxiong touched his face, "If you say hit that, we'll fight that." According to the new statement, it is the Inspectorate that commands the gun, not the gun. He said that Hu Cheng was still confused, and he couldn't help but say: "The east has been very unquiet recently, and the second naval bill has been passed, 1.6 billion US dollars, how many aircraft carriers can be built." ”

The second US naval bill has long been reported in the newspapers, and the bill is actually implemented depending on the results of the London naval negotiations, and if the countries sign a treaty, then the bill will be revoked, but if the countries do not sign a treaty, not only will it not be revoked, but it is said that there will be a third naval bill next year. This posture is obviously to oppress people with power. It is for this reason that Japan finally agreed to send troops to defend 'world peace'.

The international situation has evolved like this, even if Hu Cheng is a staff officer, he is a little confused, and he is still puzzled: "Then what are we going to do in East Africa?" Now the League of Nations can't restrain Italy, so can it restrain the United States in the future? He never said that he was a member of the League of Nations, and the billion military dollars sent to the army were used to build aircraft carriers, which was not a lot. ”

"And then the third U.S. Navy bill approves another three billion dollars to build ships?" Lu Mengxiong said, "In the end, it's like the shipbuilding competition between Britain and Germany, when you can't hold on and don't have money, everyone declares war on each other?" Don't think about this mess, what do you think is the above thing, let's take Mogadishu first, I can guarantee that this battle is by no means so easy to fight! ”

Lu Mengxiong is a famous crow's mouth in the army, and he concluded that this battle was not easy to fight, and Hu Cheng couldn't help but get nervous. In fact, in the past, accurate information could always be obtained from the enemy, but now it is a bit embarrassing to even guess how many Italians are in Mogadishu. (To be continued.) )