Chapter 554: God Needs the Nankai Fleet

The disastrous defeat at the Midway Sea Battle forced the American forces to pay a heavy price; the Pacific Fleet's aircraft carriers were almost completely destroyed, and the only remaining carrier, the Saratoga, was still undergoing a major overhaul in a shipyard and could not be deployed in the short term.

To fill the carrier gap, the American forces urgently transferred the Atlantic Ocean Fleet's carrier Ranger to the Pacific and incorporated it into the Pacific Fleet's order of battle.

But everyone knew that the Ranger could not possibly shoulder the heavy responsibility of defending Australia.

It is essentially a training carrier, primarily used to train carrier crews and aircraft pilots, lacking combat capability; its weapons and protection are far inferior to those of a combat carrier, leaving it virtually powerless against the Japanese Army's main carrier force.

Even more despairing, the American‑built Essex carrier was still undergoing fitting‑out at the shipyard and, according to schedule, would not enter service until October.

That means that for the next several months the American forces will have no carrier in the South Pacific capable of real combat, unable to provide effective air cover for Australia or to halt the Japanese Army's further advance.

"Without a carrier we simply cannot stop the Japanese fleet; Australia is in mortal danger!" Admiral Nimitz of the Pacific Fleet said, his voice heavy as he stared at the map, his face full of helplessness.

His staff remained silent; they all understood that Nimitz was stating a fact—without carrier cover, the American battleships and destroyers could not survive Japanese carrier‑plane attacks, let alone protect Australia's coastline.

Someone suggested asking the United Kingdom for help, since Australia is a British dominion and the United Kingdom has an obligation to defend it. But that proposal was quickly rejected.

At that time the United Kingdom was already overwhelmed; the pressure on the European front was enormous, the German Army's offensive was fierce, and the British mainland faced the risk of invasion, with all forces concentrated in Europe and no spare troops to send to the South Pacific, let alone the capacity to defend Australia.

It should be noted that on the African front the British were still moving Australian troops for protection.

Now, however, Australia no longer wishes to dispatch forces to Africa, because the Japanese are already closing in on their doorstep.

Even though Australia is a British dominion, the great distance has loosened the once‑close blood ties between the two places.

MacArthur stood on Australia's defensive works, gazing at the distant sea, his heart full of anxiety and helplessness.

MacArthur's available forces were limited, his equipment was not top‑notch, and without carrier support, faced with the Japanese's relentless pressure, he could only adopt a passive defense.

MacArthur knew that once the Japanese broke through Port Moresby and continued toward Australia, it would not be long before Australia fell into Japanese hands, and the South Pacific situation would spiral out of control.

The fall of Port Moresby would serve as a signal, heralding the American forces' passive stance in the South Pacific, a condition unlikely to change in the short term.

The Japanese forces were pointing straight at Australia, while the American forces were powerless to counterattack, forced to wait in despair for the Essex carrier to enter service and for a turning point to appear.

A storm was brewing over the South Pacific Ocean, and a great battle that would decide Australia's fate and the direction of the Pacific war was about to begin, while the American forces could only stand firm in their helplessness.

News that the Nanhua Pacific Fleet had defeated the Japanese South Qian Fleet reached Australia and the United States mainland.

That news undoubtedly lifted the spirits of the Allied Forces mired in confusion.

It was like seeing a beacon of light in the darkness.

Stilwell immediately received a call from Huashengdun; the telegram was simple: request the Nankai Fleet to defend Australia.

The Americans knew that the Nankai Fleet possessed a battleship over fifty thousand tons, exactly the combat power they now needed,

and Huashengdun authorized Stilwell to provide the Nankai Fleet with a certain amount of funding; in effect the Americans were now willing to pay to hire the Nankai Fleet.

At this point, regardless of whether the Nankai Fleet's warships had been sold to them by the Americans, the primary mission was to defend Australia.

If Australia were lost, the next Japanese thrust would be toward the American mainland.

Stilwell came to see Jiang Anguo, and after Jiang Anguo understood Stilwell's purpose, he oddly retorted, "General, you are asking the Nankai Fleet to help you Americans defend Australia, but I am a Huaxia general; the Nankai Fleet does not fall under my command!"

Stilwell's mind was filled with a huge question mark, or perhaps it truly was so.

"Oh, sorry, Jiang, I must have been momentarily confused!" Stilwell didn't know why he rushed to Jiang Anguo at once.

Nevertheless, the loss of Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea had greatly rattled the Americans' nerves.

"Jiang, could you bring the Nankai Fleet's commander over? I have something very important to discuss with him." Stilwell's urgent look showed the Americans were truly anxious.

Jiang Anguo was curious, wondering whether the American officer in Australia was anxious, lest the Japanese attack Australia while that officer ran off to Antarctica to watch penguins.

MacArthur was certainly anxious; if Australia fell to Japan, the most embarrassing outcome would be for him.

MacArthur is a man who cares deeply about his own face.

Jiang Anguo sent guards to Yangon Port to summon Jiang Zhiyuan; the Nankai Fleet was docked for resupply, and a naval battle had caused the fleet's ammunition loss to be about seventy‑plus percent, so they needed to replenish ashore.

As for the shells, Jiang Anguo placed them directly in the port, but the crew had to handle the hoisting themselves; the port was essentially empty.

Even the crane was purchased by Jiang Anguo from the WarSystem.

Otherwise, a single A‑hua‑class 406 mm shell weighs nearly 0.86 tonnes, and an armor‑piercing round reaches 1.2 tonnes.

Lifting such heavy ammunition by hand onto a ship is simply terrifying!

This was the second time Stilwell met this young man, and like Jiang Anguo, he was extremely young for a naval admiral; even in the American forces, the youngest naval admirals are over fifty.

Yet the Nankai Fleet's admiral standing before Stilwell was as young as the Expeditionary Force Major General Jiang Anguo beside him.

They were probably not even thirty years old.

If it had been earlier, Stilwell would have thought it a joke that such a young naval admiral could command a sea battle.

But not long ago, the Nankai Fleet had defeated the Japanese South Qian Fleet in the waters off Myanmar.

Of course, that was a carrier‑less battle; both sides fielded only battleships, cruisers, and destroyers.

The released photos also show that the Japanese side had only one heavy cruiser.

Meanwhile, the Nankai Fleet possessed a fifty‑thousand‑ton battleship.