Chapter 626: Japanese Army Trapped in Australia

At this moment the Japanese Army's main land and sea forces have long been firmly held in check on the Australian battlefield, trapped with no room to advance or retreat, having completely lost any mobility for redeployment.

To fully seize Australia, cut off US‑Australian links, and dominate the Southwest Pacific hegemony.

The Japanese Headquarters had previously poured in heavy troops, drawing out the elite 2nd Division and 5th Division—its two premier army divisions—to cooperate with the Combined Fleet's main force and launch an Australian amphibious operation.

Originally the Japanese high command expected a swift, decisive victory, capturing the entire Australian continent in one blow and fully opening the Southwest Pacific front.

But the course of the battle unfolded entirely contrary to Japanese expectations. American veteran MacArthur, stationed in Brisbane, Australia, integrated the remnants of Australian and American forces into a solid depth defense, relying on Australia's complex jungle, swamp, and mountainous terrain to stubbornly hold back the Japanese elite offensive.

MacArthur had received an M1911 pistol from President Roosevelt before the war, and he knew clearly that he had no way to retreat.

It must be said, the American, Australian, and New Zealand forces combined displayed surprisingly tenacious combat power.

Of course, this also relied on the Americans' powerful artillery—105 mm howitzers, 155 mm howitzers—shells raining down on the Japanese as if they cost nothing.

Otherwise, relying only on this hastily assembled Allied force against two Japanese Class A Divisions, they would have collapsed long ago.

At the same time, American reinforcements—army and navy—kept streaming toward Australia.

Although the Japanese 2nd Division and 5th Division are formidable, they are mired in the Australian swampy battlefield, unable to move a step.

The humid jungle, rampant disease, and supply difficulties, combined with continuous American air bombardment and positional resistance, have left the two elite divisions unable to break through after prolonged attacks, plunging into a fierce war of attrition.

"The 2nd and 5th Divisions are now the Imperial Army's only remaining elite assault forces."

Shanben Wushiliu pointed at the sea chart and said in a low voice, "The two divisions are deep in the Australian interior alone, their logistical supply wholly dependent on the Combined Fleet's sea transport and escort."

"If at this moment I pull the fleet's main force south to Southeast Asia, abandoning the blockade and escort of Australian waters, the sea supply line would be cut instantly, and tens of thousands of elite ground troops would become completely isolated."

Shanben Wushiliu knew well that once the Combined Fleet withdrew, the troops that landed in Australia would not only face American bombing but also be sandwiched by the Nankai Fleet and the new Pacific Fleet formed by the United States.

Nan Yun Zhongyi's expression grew grim, and he asked in a low voice, "If we let Nanko seize the South Seas, the Empire will completely lose oil, rubber and all strategic resources, making the continuation of the war impossible; this stalemate is merely a slow death."

"I understand this better than anyone," Shanben Wushiliu sighed, his eyes full of resentment.

"But we have no choice. The American Army air‑ground units under MacArthur patrol the Australian near‑sea daily, with fighter formations on standby at any moment."

"The reason the Combined Fleet holds this position is twofold: to sustain the ground troops' supplies, and to tie down the American air main force."

"If the fleet's main force withdraws, losing sea‑surface containment, the American air‑ground units will bomb Japanese ground positions, supply depots, and marching routes without restraint, and the two mud‑stuck divisions will be annihilated."

The ominous news of the South Seas front collapsing kept reaching the Japanese front command. Terauchi Hisaichi, the Southern Army commander stationed in Southeast Asia, watched his troops suffer successive defeats and lose all territory, his heart burning with anxiety, and he could no longer sit idle.

As the highest commander of the South Seas theater, he knows better than anyone the strategic value of the Dongyindu qundao and Java Island to Japan's overall war layout.

The oil, rubber, tin mines and other strategic resources here are the lifeblood of Japan's domestic industry and the core of its sea‑and‑land forces; a total loss would cripple Japan's wartime system.

Conversely, the American forces, though appearing to be in a passive defensive stalemate on the Australian battlefield, have in fact played a crucial strategic role.

MacArthur's stubborn defense of Brisbane may not have yielded a decisive victory, but it precisely held back Japan's two most elite army divisions, locking down the Combined Fleet's entire mobility.

It is the American tenacious interdiction that trapped the Japanese fleet in Australian waters, preventing a southward move, and indirectly cleared the way for Nanko to sweep the Japanese in Southeast Asia and dominate the South Seas, creating a perfect opportunity.

Shanben Wushiliu stared at the retreating South Seas front on the chart, his heart filled with regret and helplessness.

He knows that Nanko, having seen through Japan's strategic deadlock, dared without hesitation to launch the Sumatra and Java series of campaigns, ruthlessly harvesting Japanese South Seas holdings.

All Japanese elite main forces are locked in the Australian quagmire, while the remaining garrisons in the South Seas are isolated without naval support, air cover, or logistical reinforcement, forced to passively endure attacks and await death.

"Send the order onward," Shanben Wushiliu said hoarsely, with endless despondency, "The Combined Fleet will intensify bombing of Brisbane. At each Southeast Asian outpost, ships shall hold their ground; if faced with a superior enemy, they may break out on their own. The Combined Fleet currently lacks the capacity to send reinforcements. All forces must hold the Australian waters, strictly guard against American raids, and must not independently move any ship or aircraft."

Shanben Wushiliu must concede that those ships in Southeast Asia have virtually no chance of surviving against the Nankai Fleet's aircraft carriers.

Therefore, Shanben Wushiliu could only issue this command, ensuring that the ships scattered across Southeast Asia could withdraw on their own without confronting Nankai's carriers directly.

Nan Yun Zhongyi bowed to receive the order, fully aware that it signified Japan's complete abandonment of the South Seas theater, tacitly acknowledging Nanko's rule over Southeast Asia.

The Japanese Combined Fleet, once roaming the South Seas invincibly, has now become a constrained passive force, powerless to launch any retaliatory strike against Nanko.

The stalemate on the Australian front has trapped Japan's final war capital and utterly doomed its last hope of controlling the South Seas, paving every road for Nanko to fully unify Southeast Asia.

Confronted with the dual crisis of the Southern Army's successive defeats in the South Seas and the protracted stalemate in Australia, the Japanese Headquarters did not choose to sit idle nor formally declare the Southern Army's defeat.

Knowing that a total collapse of the Southern front would strip the Empire of South Seas resources and the Australian strategic foothold, rendering any reversal impossible, the Headquarters swiftly finalized an emergency reinforcement plan, draining troops from major fronts to plug the gaps and keep the Southern front alive.

To fill the massive manpower gap between the Southeast Asian and Australian fronts, senior Japanese officers issued a strict order to select battle‑hardened veterans, core NCOs, and veteran elite regiments from the most stable and well‑stocked Kwantung Army and the elite units stationed in China, for cross‑theater redeployment and reorganization.

These transferred units are all direct‑line Japanese elite, forged through countless hard battles, possessing exceptionally high tactical proficiency and battlefield experience, far surpassing the hastily conscripted reservists.

The Headquarters centered on elite regiments to uniformly reorganize, constructing a brand‑new three‑regiment elite infantry division, discarding miscellaneous filler troops; all positions are filled, equipment complete, ammunition fully stocked.

Specifically adapted to jungle, island, and humid‑heat combat zones, it strengthens offensive breaching, defensive holding, and attrition capabilities.

The newly formed division eliminates unnecessary redundant structures, featuring a lean, highly mobile framework, representing Japan's last‑ditch elite force.

After the reorganization, the Japanese launched continuous day‑and‑night emergency movements, boarding transport ships and aircraft in batches heading south, racing day and night to the Southeast Asian fronts and the Australian stalemate battlefield.

The Japanese Headquarters' strategic intent is crystal clear: to dispatch the newly formed elite division to reinforce Terauchi Hisaichi's Southern Army, solidify the crumbling defenses of Dongyindu qundao and Java, and delay Nanko's advance.

Simultaneously reinforcing the Australian front, bolstering the 2nd and 5th Divisions, breaking the stalemate with MacArthur's forces, and firmly holding the Southwest Pacific strategic bulwark, hoping that a final wave of elite troops can reverse the overall collapse and give Japan a sliver of chance to recuperate and turn the tide.