Published at 13th of February 2023 06:53:26 AM

"Your Excellency, Commander, good morning! Just give me a call if you have anything to do. I'm sorry to trouble you to come here from Manila!" Lieutenant General Nagumo Tadaichi said with a smile on his face when he met General Nishio Hisao. Lots of smiles.

Although, the two belong to different military branches. But Hisao Nishio is one level higher in military rank after all.

"Nagumo-kun, Manila is not far from Subic Bay. Although I am a general of the army, I am very relieved to see that the Imperial Navy is still very strong!" Admiral Nishio Hiszo said.

"Your Excellency, the Imperial Navy cannot do without the support of the Army!" Lieutenant Admiral Nagumo Chuichi replied.

Admiral Hisao Nishio nodded: "Although the army and the navy had great differences before. However, we are still the military power of the empire, and we should fight for the strength of the empire. Especially when facing a strong enemy, we are more The United Kingdom joins hands. Only in this way can we win the victory for the empire. And the war that is going on right now is even more related to the future of the empire. Therefore, we must win!"

Lieutenant General Chuichi Nagumo knew what General Hisao Nishio meant and did not refute.

"Mr. Nagumo, you must know that the army's offensive in Borneo was not smooth. The German army's firepower is very strong, and the gap between us and the German army is very obvious. Now all the troops have suffered heavy losses. If we can't defeat them in one fell swoop For the German 23rd Army, it is simply impossible for us to occupy Borneo. Let alone attack the Indochina Peninsula and Australia. The resources in these places will be very important to the future of the empire. Therefore, we We must do our best to defeat the Germans. This time, we need the support of the navy." General Hisao Nishio put forward his request after making some preparations.

"Your Excellency, the Navy is very willing to support the Army." Lieutenant General Chuichi Nagumo also expressed his opinion.

Now the fate of the island country is at stake. No matter how much hatred the army and navy had before, it is now time to let go of prejudice and join hands to win this war. Therefore, it is reasonable for the navy of the island country to provide support to the army.

"Nagumo-kun, that would be great. Now the Imperial Army's 18th Front has suffered heavy losses in its attack. If the navy can help the army tear through the German defense line, the army will be grateful. In the future, we will occupy the Nanyang and Australia, after obtaining the resources here, the navy will definitely be able to develop even stronger!" Said Admiral Nishio Hiszo.

"Your Excellency, Commander, the navy will set off immediately to provide support to the army!" Lieutenant Admiral Nagumo Chuichi said.

The navies of the island countries naturally hope that the army can occupy Southeast Asia and Australia. They are also salivating over the resources of Southeast Asia and Australia. If the resources here can be obtained, the development of the navy of the island country can also be accelerated. Many warships in the plan can start construction. By then, the island nation's navy will become even stronger.

Admiral Hisao Nishio got the result he was satisfied with. He didn't stay in Subic Bay for long. He left here soon and returned to Manila. He believed that since Lieutenant General Nagumo Chuichi had agreed to provide support to the army. Then, it will definitely do what it says. Don't worry that Nanyun Zhongyi Middle School will be perfunctory. After all, this is a matter of cooperation between the army and navy of Guam Island.

Lieutenant Admiral Nagumo Tadaichi sent away Admiral Nishio Hiszo, and immediately asked Major Admiral Kusakaka Ryunosuke to issue an order for the fleet to prepare to go to sea.

In Subic Bay, the island navy has a large fleet, which is equivalent to the current main force of the United Fleet. All four aircraft carriers of the First Aircraft Carrier Squadron are here. Although in the last naval battle, they lost almost all carrier-based aircraft and pilots. But now it's all added. However, there is a certain gap between the quality of these new pilots and the previous veterans. This also made Lieutenant General Nagumo Chuichi feel a little worried. In the case that the performance of the carrier-based aircraft is much lower than that of the German Navy's carrier-based aircraft, the quality of the pilots has further declined, which may further widen the gap in strength between them and the German Navy's carrier-based aircraft.

In addition to the four aircraft carriers, there are also four capital ships. Including two "Kii-class" battleships, namely the "Suruga" battleship and the "Omi" battleship that survived the last naval battle. In addition, there is the second ship "Mutsu" among the "Nagato-class" battleships, and the first ship "Ise" of the "Ise-class" battleships. Except for the battleship "Yamashiro" staying in the country, the battleship "Kaga" and the battlecruiser "Takao" that are already being repaired at the shipyard, and the battleship "Yamato" that has not yet been completed, all the battleships of the island navy It's all here. This is also the largest main fleet that the combined fleet of the island nation's navy can currently dispatch.

In terms of cruisers, there are four "Miao Advanced" heavy cruisers and four "Mayclass" heavy cruisers, which are almost the last heavy cruisers of the island navy. In the shipyard of the navy of the island country, the "Suzuyclass" heavy cruiser is being intensively built, but it will take some time before it enters service. In addition, the navy of the island country also plans to urgently increase the construction of a number of cruisers. This batch of cruisers was refitted from the 'Mayclass' heavy cruisers, so it was tentatively named the 'Changed Mayclass' heavy cruisers. In addition, there are a large number of redesigned heavy cruisers, which will also start construction one after another. In the case of the heavy losses of the island nation's navy, in order to allow the island nation's navy to continue fighting, the United States also provided them with a large amount of resources at any cost. In March alone, the United States provided the island navy with a full 200,000 tons of naval steel, which allowed the island navy to build the warships it wanted.

As for light cruisers, there are five "Kumclass" light cruisers, six "Narclass" light cruisers, four "Anogclass" light cruisers and two "Oyodo-class" light cruisers. This is almost the last light cruiser of the island navy. Although there are also many light cruisers under construction in the shipyard of the navy of the island country, it will take a lot of time to enter service.

In terms of destroyers, there are a total of twenty second-generation "Fubuki-class" destroyers, four "Changed Fubuki-class" destroyers, four "Chuchun-class" destroyers, and two "Changed Chuchun-class" destroyers. On destroyers, the Japanese navy still has a lot to spare.

On the afternoon of April 14, the island nation naval task force left Subic Bay and sailed into the South China Sea.