Chapter 99: Dilemma

The US military bombed Haoyang Port and Yuelong Air Force Base, which was equivalent to sounding the alarm bell for the task force.

On the morning of the 8th, Mu Haoyang sent another telegram to Gong Jifei to keep the fleet in the Bay of Bengal and stay in the north as much as possible, and operate under the cover of the air force at the shore base. Then, Mu Haoyang issued an order to his mother Qi Tie to strengthen the combat force in South Asia.

The problem is that the Air Force's strength has long been short of strength.

At that time, the Chinese Air Force had about 4,000 fighter jets and 600 bombers, of which 1,000 were deployed on the Middle East battlefield, 2,000 fighter jets and 500 bombers on the mainland battlefield, and 400 fighter jets and 100 bombers on the Western Pacific battlefield, and local air defense required at least 400 fighter jets. That is to say, only 200 fighter jets were deployed in South Asia, and there were no reinforcements.

Within the next twenty-four hours, the Air Force only dispatched 200 fighter jets to South Asia.

Affected by the deployment method, only about half of the 400 fighter jets can cover the task force, so less than fifty fighter jets patrol near the task force at any time. Obviously, this aerial cover is far from enough to ensure the safety of the task force.

Fortunately, Major General Gong Jifei meticulously executed Mu Haoyang's orders.

By the afternoon of the 8th, the task force had already penetrated into the Bay of Bengal, and the US fleet was still west of Australia, almost 3,000 kilometers away from the Bay of Bengal.

More importantly, the Air Force sent more than just fighter jets.

Although the number of fighter jets was limited, after Mu Haoyang and Qi Kaiwei reached a compromise, the Air Force drew about a hundred bombers from the mainland battlefield.

On the night of the eighth day, a group of Air Force bombers attacked air bases in western Australia.

This retaliatory air strike played a crucial role, because the US military will no longer dare to send bombers alone to attack the Chinese-American bases in the Indian Ocean, and can only turn its focus to Southeast Asia. Only in this way can US fighter jets deployed in Australia escort the bomber group.

The result is that the US fleet must first bomb China's military bases in the Andaman-Nicobar Islands, as well as Sri Lanka and the southern end of the Indian Peninsula, especially the air force bases, in order to open the door to the Bay of Bengal and fight the Chinese fleet.

The problem is that if the US fleet bombs China's military bases, it will also enter the strike range of shore-based fighter jets.

Even if French was full of confidence, he had to consider the consequences, that is, he was jointly attacked by the Chinese Navy and Air Force in the Bay of Bengal.

Judging from the situation at that time, as long as Gong Jifei was a little patient, French's attempt would be disappointed.

You should know that the task force has no worries in the Bay of Bengal. It not only has the full cover of the shore-based aviation force, but also can rely on Visakhapatnam and Jeddah Port. The US fleet is operating in East India, nearly 4,000 kilometers away from Perth Port.

More importantly, the US fleet is responsible for attack missions.

In this way, during combat, the US fleet will regularly replenish ammunition and fuel, and the task force has no such problem at all.

As long as it drags on for a while, French will retreat.

After making a more accurate judgment on the situation, Mu Haoyang issued an order to Gong Jifei on January 9 and 10, requiring the task force not to take the initiative to fight the US fleet, and if the US fleet enters the Bay of Bengal, it will launch an attack with the support of the Air Force.

The key is whether France has the courage to lead the fleet into the Bay of Bengal.

While Mu Haoyang was making arrangements, Zhou Yusheng also adjusted the combat operations of the submarine force and strengthened patrol efforts in the south of the Bay of Bengal.

In a few days, at least thirty Chinese submarines will arrive in the Bay of Bengal.

Before this, these submarines returned to the base or met with submarine support ships, replenished electricity and food, and could be active at sea for more than a month.

It can be said that Mu Haoyang's tactical intentions are very clear.

If the fleet's decisive battle cannot be avoided, the best conditions for decisive battle must be created.

According to the information disclosed after the war, Mu Haoyang even made the decision to fight to the death with the US military, that is, to use a task force to exchange the US fleet when conditions are ripe. Obviously, this is a very cost-effective deal, because it can change the comparison of troops between the two sides.

Judging from the situation at that time, if French led the US fleet into the Bay of Bengal, it would be very likely that both sides would suffer losses.

By January 10, French had realized that the decisive opportunity he expected no longer exists, and the Chinese fleet would not leave the Bay of Bengal rashly. More importantly, the US fleet did not have the ability to enter the Bay of Bengal for the time being, and there would be no chance to achieve a decisive victory without suffering heavy losses.

More importantly, it is the US Navy that cannot bear the major losses.

You should know that in 2053, the US Navy won at most three "U.S." class aircraft carriers, while the Chinese Navy is expected to obtain four "Tarzan" class aircraft carriers. In other words, if the US Navy suffers heavy losses again, even if it defeats the Chinese fleet in the naval battle, the situation will reverse.

As commander of the Pacific Fleet, French had to consider the result.

On the night of January 10, the US fleet tentatively bombed Haoyang Port. Because the fleet was about 2,400 kilometers away from Haoyang Port, the fighter planes carrying out attack missions refueled in the air when they returned. The attack strength was not strong and they failed to reap much results.

More importantly, this tentative attack did not lead the Chinese fleet out.

In the next two days, the US fleet continued to bomb Haoyang Port.

Although France strengthened its attack efforts, its performance was still not obvious. Not only did it fail to draw out the Chinese fleet, it also lost dozens of carrier-based fighter jets.

If you continue to fight, there will be no good results.

The question before French is: to continue to stay in the East Indian Ocean, or to take advantage of the opportunity that the fleet's aviation strike capabilities have not significantly decreased?

If the withdrawal is done, it will bring about a new problem, that is, the Chinese fleet is likely to take the opportunity to leave the Indian Ocean.

Just when France was indecisive, something big happened on the ground battlefield: the Russian army surrounded Tehran in the early morning of January 11.

Although strategically speaking, the Russian army did not achieve a decisive victory and was able to surround Tehran, mainly because the Iranian army and the Chinese team took the initiative to retreat, rather than the true manifestation of the Russian army's combat capabilities, politically, this is a very important matter.

On the same day, the Russian President personally announced that the Russian army had won a decisive victory on the battlefield of Iran.

There is no doubt that this is explosive news, even if it doesn't make much sense.

You should know that on the battlefield of Iran, not only did the 138th Army of the Chinese Army not suffer major losses, but the Iranian army has strong enough combat effectiveness. By the morning of January 11, the reduction rate of the 138th Army was only 5%, while the Iranian army had only lost less than 30,000 people. Interestingly, in order to attack Tehran, the Russian army had already paid a huge price of nearly 30,000 casualties on the battlefield of Iran.

What's even more terrible is that the Russian army's "victory" on the battlefield in Iran has no decisive impact on the overall situation.

In Siberia, the 38th Army and the 15th Airborne Army of the Chinese Army have defeated the Russian army's third strategic counterattack, encircled and annihilated the Russian Siberian Army near Jurga, killing, wounding and capturing nearly 100,000 Russian officers and soldiers, but their own losses are minimal.

After the battle in Jurga ended, the Russian army basically lost the ability to launch a strategic counterattack in Siberia.

On the Far East battlefield, the Chinese Army had swept the coastal Krai and most of the Khabarovsk Krai. The assault cluster heading north had reached Chumikan on the west coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. The 39th Army advancing west had captured Tengda. The assault cluster heading forward had reached near Taluma and Yerofei Pavlovich, while the main forces of the Russian army in the Far East had gone three times.

It can be seen from this that the Russian army's victory in Tehran is only temporary, or indeed only has propaganda value.

On the entire continental battlefield, the Russian army was in an extremely dangerous situation. As early as January 8, the Russian President ordered the mobilization of all human resources, formed local armed forces in Chita and Ulan Ude, forcibly recruited all citizens aged 18 to 42. Although the Russian authorities claimed that there were nearly 1.5 million local troops in Chita and Ulan Ude, no one would have much hope for the combat effectiveness. You should know that most local troops only have individual weapons and do not even have suitable anti-armor weapons.

In a sense, the victory of the Russian army in Tehran has exacerbated Russia's difficult situation.

On January 12, the Russian President forcibly ordered the Chief of Staff Brushilov, who had become the Field Marshal, to launch a strategic offensive in Iran, not only to capture Tehran, but also to push the front to the Persian Gulf, cut off the railway line from China to the Middle East, and control the maritime routes of the Persian Gulf.

The question is, does the Russian army have this strength?

According to the information disclosed after the war, Brushilov raised an objection at the time, believing that it would be difficult for the Russian army to achieve a decisive victory on the battlefield of Iran, but should send the main force to Siberia after occupying Tehran and concentrate superior forces to encircle and annihilate the Chinese team in the region.

Unfortunately, the Russian president does not think so.

Obviously, the two people have different perspectives on the problem. Brushilov values ​​military factors, while the Russian president values ​​political factors.

This is also related to the strategic guarantees made by the US president.

At that time, the US president had promised that as long as the Russian army could reach the Persian Gulf, the United States would send troops to Iran so that the Russian army could send its main force to Siberia. According to the information disclosed after the war, the US president promised to send at least five divisions of troops to Iran to replace about 200,000 Russian troops.

This creates a new question: Is it necessary for the US fleet to continue fighting in the Indian Ocean?

Although French did not believe that the Russian army could achieve a decisive victory on the Iranian battlefield, he certainly knew that if the Russian army could advance the front line to the Persian Gulf, then the US fleet would not need to stay in the Indian Ocean, nor would it be necessary to risk a decisive battle with the Chinese fleet.

Chapter 99: Dilemma

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