The Rise Of Australasia

```

With the strategic plan against the Island Nation finalized, all military forces in the Pacific swiftly sprang into action.

Since it was an amphibious assault, a direct confrontation with the Island Nation Army and their defensive lines was inevitable.

As such, the Philippines and Kalimantan forces became convenient cannon fodder, useful for probing the defenses of the Australasia Army.

On June 24, 100,000 Philippine soldiers, 150,000 from Kalimantan, and 50,000 from the Australasia Army gathered in Aparri, the northernmost city of the Philippines.

The sole objective of these 300,000 troops was to support the navy's northward advance, to land on the beaches of the Okinawa region, and, after seizing Okinawa, to use it as a springboard for the assault on the Island Nation.

The commander of this force was Commander Christie of the 9th Army, and the 50,000 Australasia troops were actually three infantry divisions and some artillery units from the 9th Army.

When Commander Christie first saw this operational plan, he was quite astonished.

Looking across the whole history of world wars, this military operation was truly unprecedented; if successful, it would be remembered throughout history.

Why did the Australasia forces only comprise 50,000 of the entire 300,000 troops?

Because the remaining 250,000 soldiers were just part of a feint. Whether their direct assault on the Island Nation Army was successful or not, it would have no effect on the war.

In reality, the decisive factor for victory in this battle would be those three divisions and the few artillery units of the Australasia Army.

The entire operational plan could be summarized in one sentence: feign an attack at the front, sneak attack from behind.

How to carry out a sneak attack? Of course, by using Australasia's most advanced military transport plane, the Sop-34.

The Sop-34 was designed specifically for special operations, with the purpose of deploying large numbers of paratroopers behind enemy lines to achieve a surprise assault.

To comply with such a purpose, the newly formed 9th Army under Commander Christie had included numerous airborne operations in its regular training curriculum.

Therefore, the battle plan was pretty clear. The Kalimantan and Philippines forces at the front would tie down the Island Nation Army's attention, while the Sop-34s, filled with Australasia troops and following the Air Force, would drop a massive number of paratroopers over key areas of Naha, such as urban centers, harbors, and strategic locations, and then swiftly secure these regions.

Bear in mind, the Sop-34 has a payload of 7.3 tons, and each soldier with their gear weighs only about 100 kg.

This means a single Sop-34 can transport 65 soldiers; ten planes can transport 650 soldiers, which can already play a critical role.

Moreover, this operation will certainly involve more than just ten planes. Because of Arthur's orders, the Domestic stockpiling of Sop-34s—such a crucial type of military transport—has been vast.

The current count of Sop-34s in the possession of Australasia has reached an astounding 157.

For this offensive against the Island Nation, more than 110 Sop-34 transport planes will coordinate with Commander Christie's actions, deploying 7,150 soldiers.

According to the intelligence, the Island Nation stationed in the Ryukyu region has approximately one division, about 25,000 troops.

Even if the Islanders reinforced the Ryukyu area, it would at most consist of forces equivalent to two divisions.

Australasia has deployed 300,000 troops, with the primary force of 50,000 Australasia soldiers, which is an overwhelming numerical superiority against the Islanders.

If Ryukyu can be quickly seized, Australasia will be able to use the military airports of Ryukyu to frequently bomb the Native Land's Urban Cities of the Island Nation, causing chaos within the nation.

Why is Ryukyu so critical?

The geographical position of Ryukyu is very close to the Island Nation, being only about 1,300 kilometers from its Capital City.

Even the furthest region in the north of the Island Nation is only about 2,200 kilometers away from Ryukyu, which is still within the range that can be bombed by bombers.

This signifies that, once Ryukyu is captured, the entire territory of the Island Nation will fall within the bombing range of Australasia, placing the Island Nation at a comprehensive disadvantage from the outset.

On June 25, protected by a fleet with 5 aircraft carriers and 2 battleships as its core, a large number of transport and landing ships set off from the Philippines, advancing towards the northern regions of the Island Nation.

Tens of kilometers away from this fleet, there was a supporting submarine group composed of 9 submarines, also a surprise that the navy had in store for the Islanders after an encounter.

Indeed, Australasia had no intention whatsoever of hiding the operation from the Islanders. In fact, it was entirely impossible to do so.

With the current state of radar technology, the powers are all equipped with a sufficient number of radars to detect any potential enemy attack.

Australasia's naval harbors have enough radars, and it is believed that the Island Nation's harbors are also equipped with radars.

As long as there is radar, the movements of the Australasia fleet can be detected, and any attack will not be kept secret from the Islanders.

However, with the navy already in a superior position, Australasia had no intent to keep the operations concealed anymore.

```

With a navy formation comprising 5 aircraft carriers and 2 battleships, as long as they did not encounter the full mobilization of the Island Royal Navy, achieving victory in naval combat would still be quite easy.

Even if they were to face the full mobilization of the Island Royal Navy, the fleet's equipped missiles and the large number of advanced performance aircraft on the aircraft carriers would give the Islanders' warships a hard time.

Moreover, once they received news of the full mobilization of the Island Royal Navy, another portion of the main Pacific Squadron would unceremoniously strike at the Islanders' harbors.

Australasia was now not afraid of the Islander's navy, but rather feared that their navy would hole up in their harbors and not engage at all.

"General Christie, my unit has arrived at the designated position and the battle plan can commence at any time,"

After nearly a day of sailing, the fleet finally reached a position not far from the southern region of the Ryukyu Islands.

"Very well, the paratroopers are ready. The battle plan begins now!" Commander Christie nodded with satisfaction and ordered.

Following the order, a large number of fighter aircraft and bombers quickly took off from the 5 aircraft carriers. They were to serve as the first phase of the battle plan, trying their best to destroy the enemy's defensive installations on the island and cause chaos amongst the enemy.

With the interference of a large number of bombers and fighter aircraft, the enemy would not have enough energy to prepare for the Australasian Army's landing.

At that moment, a large number of amphibious landing craft would quickly approach the shore; the Kalimantan and Philippines armies would fire the first shots of the entire campaign.

No sooner had the aircraft taken off than the Ryukyu Islands immediately received a radar alert.

The radar operator decisively sounded the air raid alarm, and the military forces on the islands immediately began preparing for the air strike.

As the news was conveyed one after another, several dozens of airplanes at a military airport several kilometers away from the radar station were slowly moving towards the runway, preparing to take off and confront the attacking enemy.

It was evident that the Island Nation Army was well-prepared for such an air strike. From the time the radar signal was received to the preparation for the planes to take off, it actually took less than 5 minutes.

However, due to certain limitations, the total number of planes on the Ryukyu Islands was actually only a little over 100.

Out of these 100-plus planes, the number of planes that were always armed with ammunition and ready to take off and face the enemy was only about 50 or so.

This was an unavoidable circumstance. The situation of the Island Nation at this time was far worse than in history, as they were almost cut off from outside supply lines by Australasia.

Furthermore, with the loss of the United States as a major exporter of supplies, the Industry Nation's industry and economy were much weaker than in history.

After the last failed attack, the Islanders inexplicably lost more than 200 airplanes, almost one-tenth of their total number of planes.

This had a significant impact on the Island Nation. Particularly since a considerable number of planes still needed to be deployed on the Asian Continent, and deducting the planes needed for native land defense as well as those on navy aircraft carriers, the number of planes the Island Nation had left to mobilize was a mere few hundred.

Of course, the gap in airplane numbers was no longer a concern for the Islanders.

To make up for the lack in planes, the Island Nation specifically increased their troops on important native southern islands such as the Ryukyu Islands following the failed attack.

Contrary to Australasia's intelligence, the actual number of Island Nation Army troops currently stationed on the Ryukyu Islands consisted of 1 Type A Division, 1 Type B Division, and 2 Type C Divisions.

The different categories of these three types of divisions clearly distinguish the differences in combat power and personnel numbers between them.

The Type A Division is the Island Nation's Regular Division forces, also the most elite military unit among all of the Island Nation Army. A Type A Division has a full strength of about 28,000 personnel, possessing the richest variety of weapons and equipment among all the military forces.

Type B Divisions are the second main force units formed upon mobilization. In all of the Island Nation's military, their combat power is second only to the Type A Divisions, with about 24,000 personnel.

Type C Divisions are actually the most common division seen in the Island Nation. It was mentioned before that the Island Nation underwent various disarmaments after World War I.

This resulted in the military forces' size reaching its nadir around 1930. Even the reserve forces were significantly reduced, which also affected the level of soldiers the Island Nation could mobilize now.

Most of the Type C Divisions are ordinary citizens who, after brief training and taking up arms, became seemingly qualified soldiers.

Such ordinary citizens were numerous, which is why the current number of Type C Divisions in the country is the highest, though their combat effectiveness cannot be guaranteed.

In history, the Island Nation also had a fourth-level force, the Type D Division. As the lowest rank in the military echelon, it was predestined for the Type D Divisions to have the weakest combat power, almost acting as bystanders in the war.

This was when the Island Nation, in utter desperation, massively mobilized child soldiers and the elderly, expanding original brigades into military forces.

Since the war has just erupted and the Island Nation has not yet reached the brink of desperation, they have yet to recklessly assemble a large number of child and elderly soldiers.

Currently, the Island Nation's main combat forces are still the Type A and Type B Divisions, with the Type C Divisions taking on more of a defensive role, and sometimes serving as a numerical supplement to the Type A and Type B Divisions.

Because it houses four divisions, the number of Island Nation Army troops on the Ryukyu Islands has approached 100,000, something the Australasia Army had not anticipated at all.

This also implies that wars often come with unexpected occurrences.