Imperial Elite

Chapter 176 Ron's Task Force

When he learned that the Shengyang people had launched a sneak attack, Old Joe was stunned for a long time.

Then Old Joe was overwhelmed with phone calls and visits from Citizens officers.

Many people called, and they called for all sorts of reasons: some wanted to discuss the situation with Old Joe, some wanted to get help from him, and some young rascals wanted to join the army.

The reason why those American officers came to the door was very simple.

Those damn Shengyang people are bullying us too much. We have to fight back. We've had a very pleasant time together, but now it's time for us to go back and fight for revenge.

Old Joe was completely bewildered by this event that had so drastically disrupted his plans.

On the bright side, Citibank certainly won't be entering the game at the last second like they did in the last major battle.

But on the other hand... it seems like there's no bad side to this whole thing.

In the past, only fanatical Americans entered the battlefield; now, there are fanatical and angry Americans entering the battlefield.

For a fleeting moment, deep down, Old Joe felt a tiny bit of relief.

Then Joe started working with volunteers and officers from Citizenship to compile a list of people to return to Citizenship. Joe even stated in Wagner that, given the current situation, he would allow experienced Citizenship Wagner veterans to return to Citizenship without having to leave Wagner.

They were able to retain Wagner's identity and equipment and join the American army to fight for the cause of justice.

Both the military observer group from Citizens and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army were very grateful for Old Joe's decision, feeling that Old Joe was a truly generous person.

Citibank then quickly submitted a list of employees returning to Citibank to Joe.

To Old Joe's surprise, the list included many combat heroes, including some of the original members of the American Army who were still alive and had even made a name for themselves among the Teutons.

However, many people chose to stay. According to these Citizen volunteers, they knew that Old Joe's condition was not very good, so they only selected the veterans and experienced officers to go back and teach the rookies how to fight, while the rest would continue to fight the Teutons here.

Meanwhile, Wagner's American members were selecting their own people to return home.

The United States was in uproar upon hearing that the Pacific Fleet had been nearly annihilated. All those who resembled Sun were attacked. The most staunch isolationists and pacifists in Congress were subjected to insults and attacks. Some even fled the Capitol building and hid in phone booths to await police assistance.

Meanwhile, the military was also in chaos. The surprise attack was so successful that the Pacific Fleet had almost no ships available for deployment.

The oil depots in the port are still burning, and the hospital ran out of medicines and supplies within two hours of the attack ending.

At the same time, the fleet's condition was also extremely bad. When the raid began at dawn, almost all the warships were anchored in the harbor, except for the carrier force that had just set off for training.

This resulted in a fatal attack on the Pacific Fleet's battleship formations, with almost all of the battleships suffering heavy damage in the first wave of attacks.

Following the attack, the carrier strike group, which was conducting training exercises, immediately switched to combat status and began preparing to counterattack the Rising Sun Fleet that had launched the surprise attack.

At the same time, the fighter jets that had taken off also began returning to port to prepare for a possible second wave of attacks by the Rising Sun People.

However, the second wave of attacks by the Rising Sun was still massive. Even during the lulls in the attacks, a few surviving fighters took off to prepare for combat, and fighter squadrons from the carrier battle group arrived to provide support.

They were still unable to stop the second wave of attacks from the Rising Sun fleet, which finished off the ships in the port and bombed the island's airfield and other facilities.

Just as the second wave of attacks occurred, reconnaissance aircraft dispatched by the Lexington discovered the location of the Rising Sun slow-speed battleship formation.

The carrier strike group then immediately launched a full-deck takeoff to attack the Rising Sun battleship group.

The effectiveness of this attack is difficult to assess, as the Rising Sun battleship fleet subsequently approached the port and began shelling.

After the Citizens' carrier strike group attacked the Rising Sun battleship group, the carrier strike group spotted the Rising Sun reconnaissance aircraft in the air, although the reconnaissance aircraft was almost immediately driven away by returning fighters.

Meanwhile, with the airport destroyed, land-based fighters were unable to land on the aircraft carrier. A land-based fighter followed the retreating Rising Sun fleet after the attack and discovered the location of the Rising Sun carrier.

Before being shot down by carrier-based fighters, the nearly fuel-depleted fighter chose to dive directly and crash into the deck of an aircraft carrier.

Although the positions of both carrier strike groups had been exposed at this point, Admiral Kim, the fleet commander who was seriously damaged in the bombing, said that the situation was too bad and the remaining fleet could not be lost here. So he ordered the carrier strike groups to immediately withdraw to the west coast.

However, at this time, the formation of high-speed battleships and cruisers that the Rising Sun had already moved forward began to maneuver toward the US carrier group.

Although the carrier strike group received the order, it also prepared to launch one last attack on the Rising Sun Fleet before withdrawing, determined to break a few teeth of the Rising Sun Navy no matter what.

Immediately after the carrier-based aircraft force completed its preparations, it launched all its aircraft to attack the Rising Sun's carrier battle group.

Shortly after the carrier-based aircraft formation took off, the carrier group spotted the Rising Sun high-speed battleship and cruiser on its own course.

Faced with this situation, the Eighth Destroyer Group, which was escorting the carrier battle group, sent a message to the carrier saying, "Guys, see you later in San Francisco," and then turned around and launched an attack on the Rising Sun high-speed battleship and training group.

During the subsequent evacuation, almost all of the aircraft took off, and there were no destroyers escorting them.

The carrier strike group was attacked again by the Rising Sun naval forces. After the Lexington and Saratoga were severely damaged, the captains felt that they could not sail back to the west coast in their battleship condition. In addition, the bombardment had ended and the Rising Suns had not landed. Therefore, the Lexington and Saratoga decided to turn back to Pearl Harbor in the hope of saving the ships.

Of the Pacific Fleet's ships that survived the attack, only the USS Enterprise, which had been damaged by a bomb on its deck, was repaired and contained the returning fleet of aircraft.

The remaining ships were almost entirely rendered combat ineffective.

Both the Army Air Force and the Navy Air Force at Pearl Harbor suffered heavy losses. In the two days following the attack, Pearl Harbor, having completed repairs to its airfields and seaplanes, also conducted continuous search and rescue operations in the area where the Eighth Destroyer Fleet was stationed to cover the rear of the aircraft carriers, but they found not a single piece of wreckage.

It was as if this destroyer squadron had never existed.

At this point, the only remaining naval and air combat force in the Pacific region was the USS Enterprise, along with a few destroyers and submarines that had not been severely damaged in the attack.

Faced with this situation, the military was completely at a loss. In addition to urgently mobilizing forces from the East Coast and dispatching warships including the Hornet and Yorktown to the Pacific, they did nothing else.

This involved urgently mobilizing air force forces to the Pacific Ocean.

If we were to say which branch of the US military was in the most awkward position during the interwar period, it would undoubtedly be the Air Force.

In the past, when Steve Jobs came to Citibank to boast, he said that the Air Force had great potential and that, like the Navy, it was a branch of the military that only major powers could afford to play.

In addition, the inefficient combat methods of the Army Air Force and the Imperial Navy in the movie "Governors of the Planet of the Apes" made Americans feel that we absolutely cannot live like that.

Therefore, with the support of many people in the military, Citizens also established the Air Force as a branch of service.

The initial intention behind establishing the air force was to integrate the forces of the navy and air force, similar to how the Buntanian or Teutonic armies operated as an independent branch of service.

However, the US Army and Navy provided all support except assistance for the establishment of the new military branch.

The Navy stated that its aircraft are all specialized models, so this integration is unnecessary.
As for the army, my aircraft are not enough for frontline support and air interdiction, so this integration is unnecessary, right?
As a result, the Air Force was in a very awkward position and could only start designing things like heavy bombers and pure air superiority aircraft with no weight used for ground attack, while also training the pilots.

Is it appropriate? Is it reasonable for one of the five branches of the US Armed Forces to be reduced to a training institution?

This is also one of the key reasons why Harrison and his ilk were able to secure the budget and begin assembling the Future Legion; the Air Force truly needed a better aerial toy.

Therefore, with the army and navy in the Pacific suffering heavy losses, the air force has become the most reliable force for the military.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the attack, the most pressing matter for the Citibank is to launch a counterattack, an attack on the Sun's homeland.

They wanted to use this attack to dampen the arrogance of the Rising Sun people and boost the morale of their homeland.

At this time, Ron Harrison, Citizen's most famous pilot, one of the first Air Force pilots, and the Air Force's chief test pilot, proposed a plan to his superiors.

That is, is it possible for them to use bombers to launch an attack on Tokyo?
Based on Ron's experience of flying all kinds of aircraft, they happen to have a medium bomber that, theoretically, can take off from an aircraft carrier deck and, if they manage to stay within its maximum range, can fly to the People's Revolutionary Alliance after bombing the Rising Sun.

Although the People's Revolutionary Alliance had recently signed a non-aggression pact with the Rising Sun, considering that they had just fought a war with the Rising Sun, and that Ron was also a Harrison, Ron thought this approach was feasible.

Even if the People's Revolutionary Alliance doesn't care about its own reputation, it still has to give Old Joe some face.

I happen to have some experience with round-the-world flights. As long as I refuel at the People's Revolutionary Alliance, I can fly west from Alaska back, or go east and bomb Germania once before flying back. The plan works perfectly!

Regarding Ron's proposal, from the military to the president, the US government couldn't be said to be tempted; they were practically ready to lift Ron up and praise him, saying, "You're a genius!"
However, although they appreciated and were prepared to adopt Ron's plan, they were not prepared to have Ron carry it out.

After all, Ron was Citizen's most famous pilot, and he was also a Harrison. If something happened to him, things would be very complicated. Not to mention the blow to morale, the economic impact would be unbearable.

As a renowned pilot, Ron excels in recruiting pilots and handling bond shipments.

When his superiors refused, Ron, unusually, did not lose his temper. Instead, he counted on his fingers, reciting names they were all familiar with.

After reading it, Ron looked at his superior, whose eyes were as red as his own, and said, "Among these people are my students and friends, as well as your students and friends. Now they are all soaking in the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean."

Come on, tell me again, I'm going to stay here and watch my other students and friends fight for their lives. Come on, say it again.

After Ron finally reached the Citizens' president with his finger, he stopped counting on his fingers and said, "My brother, the most famous Harrison, still personally commands the battle on the front lines. He's not afraid, so what do I have that I don't? Besides, you won't find anyone in the entire Citizens more suitable to carry out this mission than me."

After being promoted to lieutenant colonel, Ron was then authorized to organize a task force for the bombing of Tokyo.

Just as Ron began assembling the task force, the Lucia military government finally took action after the frost healed.

However, contrary to everyone's expectations, the first achievement of the Lucia military government was not a breakthrough on the front lines.

Instead, they sent paratroopers to occupy Old Joe's Paradise Island.

Although as early as the Sudetenland campaign, Old Joe had moved all the facilities on Paradise Island to Prag in order to concentrate his forces.

On Paradise Island, those wearing Wagner signs were all ordinary civilian staff. As the risk of war increased and the number of tourists decreased, Paradise Island eventually ceased operations.

However, Old Joe was still furious and cursed at the Lucia military government's move to use Paradise Island as a sacrifice.

Then, while Old Joe was cursing and swearing in anger, the Lucia military government and the Teutonic Expeditionary Force launched a large-scale offensive against the People's Revolutionary Union on the vast land of the Caucasus.

Having learned from the lessons of the Warsaw Pact, the Lucian military government and the Teutonic Expeditionary Force did not form a large armored group for a decisive battle, but instead split into several operational groups and crashed into the People's Revolutionary Union's long steel defense line.

Meanwhile, the People's Revolutionary Alliance, which was well-prepared, immediately activated its counterattack plan.

The two sides clashed fiercely on the plains of the Caucasus.

(End of this chapter)