July 14, General Staff Headquarters, Peking.

"We have received more accurate information. The U.S. Pacific Fleet will officially launch the Battle of Okinawa two days later, on July 16!"

Jiang Dong felt that the dark aura of Song Li, the director of the Military Intelligence Bureau, was getting more and more serious. Maybe everyone who holds the position of the director of the Military Intelligence Bureau would undergo similar changes.

He didn't dwell on this issue, he just squinted his eyes and listened to Song Li continue.

"The Battle of Okinawa was personally arranged by General Nimitz, Commander of the Pacific Fleet, and General MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief of the US Far Eastern Forces. This military operation was officially named Operation Iceberg!"

"Okinawa was the last link in MacArthur and Nimitz's leap-frog strategy and was crucial to the situation of the entire Pacific War."

"Perhaps to frighten Japan and demonstrate force, MacArthur and Nimitz gathered a total of 550,000 Allied naval and land forces."

"Marine fire support will be provided by the U.S. Fifth Fleet of the Pacific Fleet and the British Pacific Fleet."

"The Fifth Fleet has seven task forces under its jurisdiction, and the British side has also dispatched all maritime forces in the Pacific."

Song Li paused slightly:

"Operation Iceberg, a total of 550,000 sea and land soldiers; the number of participating aircraft carriers will reach an astonishing 38, of which 36 will be ordinary aircraft carriers and two will be super aircraft carriers, namely the Lincoln and the newly joined USS Yorktown;"

"There are 22 battleships in total; 350 cruisers and destroyers of various types; and 1,200 other auxiliary ships of various types."

"At least 2,100 aircraft participated in the battle!"

After Song Li finished speaking, Xie Chengrui and Lu Zhuoran were slightly surprised. The latter frowned slightly and said:

"For the sake of a small Okinawa, is it necessary for the Allies to go to war in such a big way?"

Okinawa is less than 100 kilometers long from north to south and about 32 kilometers at its widest point. It is just a barren island.

The total number of people with guns in Okinawa will not exceed 150,000.

The Allied forces used their absolute sea, land and air superiority to capture Okinawa, but in the eyes of Lu Zhuoran, who didn't know much about military affairs, it was really a fuss.

Jiang Dong thought for a moment, quickly grasped the thoughts of MacArthur and Nimitz, and said:

"Okinawa is the last link in the leap-frog strategy. If the Allied forces capture Okinawa, they will have the land, sea and air bases to attack the Japanese mainland."

"Its strategic location is very critical, but this is only one of the reasons for the aggressive war."

"I think the more important reason may be the second reason:"

"The battles in the Philippine Islands, Saipan, and Iwo Jima made the Americans truly feel the madness of Japanese militarism at the last moment."

"The Japanese madness frightened MacArthur and Nimitz, and frightened ordinary soldiers."

"MacArthur, Nimitz and the strategic analysts in the White House all believe that Japan's '100 million pieces of jade' is not a simple slogan. Landing on the Japanese mainland will cause casualties ranging from six to seven hundred thousand to as many as one million!"

"Such a price is something the White House cannot bear!"

"That's why MacArthur and Nimitz joined forces with other countries to launch such a massive Operation Iceberg in Okinawa, the final stage of the island-hopping campaign."

"The simple Americans want to use an absolute display of sea, land and air firepower to scare away the Japanese government. They want to use this method to make the crazy Japanese soldiers and people give up their obsession to fight to the end for the emperor."

"It would be best to make Japan surrender out of fear and land on the mainland without any bloodshed."

Operation Iceberg mobilized three-quarters of the Allied military power in the Pacific, and MacArthur and Nimitz had high expectations for it.

What Jiangdong said was the plan of the two people and the White House.

No matter which side you land on the Japanese mainland, you must be cautious.

"This is indeed something Americans can do." Lu Zhuoran nodded and said.

"Ushijima is full of madness, I'm afraid he won't let the Allies occupy Okinawa easily." Xie Chengrui said:

"After many changes, the current situation of the Japanese cabinet is also very complicated. It is unlikely that it will surrender unconditionally."

“It feels like this time the Yankees’ wishful thinking is going to come to nothing!”

Throughout the war, the United States launched hundreds of aircraft carriers faster than dumplings.

Its industrial capabilities once again shocked the world.

It wasn't until China resurrected and super aircraft carriers dominated the oceans that the United States' naval strength gradually retreated to second place in the world.

Despite this, being able to mobilize 36 ordinary aircraft carriers and two super aircraft carriers to participate in the battle in one iceberg operation is very admirable and amazing.

The data of Operation Iceberg on paper are very scary.

After discussing for a while, Jiang Dong's mood gradually became lighter and he said:

"Let's just keep doing the same thing, continue to stand still and watch this big show seriously!"

"End the battle on Taiwan Island as soon as possible, and the four fleets will rest and replenish supplies."

"No matter what the outcome of the Okinawa battle is, the Navy has only one combat mission in the next phase.

Landing on the Japanese mainland!"

…………

Japan base camp.

"Your Majesty, the enemy has concentrated 40 aircraft carriers, thousands of aircraft and thousands of ships, and more than 500,000 ground troops are involved in the attack!"

Doihara Kenji had a worried look on his face and said:

"They want to occupy Okinawa and then threaten the empire. Their intentions are sinister!"

Emperor Hirohito rubbed his temples, looking worried.

The Americans laid their cards on the table, and Hirohito knew what the other side was up to.

But we all know that it is not that easy to respond.

Cabinet Prime Minister Suzuki Kantaro stood up to help the emperor solve the problem and said:

"Your Majesty, this move by the Allied forces is intended to force the Empire of Japan to surrender. The enemy's investment in troops and equipment in Okinawa exceeds the base camp's previous estimate. It is obvious that with such terrifying military strength, Okinawa will definitely not be able to defend it.

Live."

"Since we can't defend it, we should find ways to preserve the Yamato nation in advance."

Emperor Hirohito asked subconsciously:

"My dear, do you have any good ideas?"

Suzuki Kantaro feels that his opportunity has come.

Doihara Kenji, Itagaki Seishiro and others frowned.

Just listen to Kantaro Suzuki say:

"The Japanese Empire will never surrender to any force!"

What he said was firm and decisive.

But I never expected that Kantaro Suzuki would soon change the subject:

"However, we can take this opportunity to engage in peace negotiations with the other party. The enemy's main purpose of putting up such a large array is to intimidate the Empire of Japan. This just proves that MacArthur and Nimitz are still afraid of the empire!"

"If we make a request for peaceful negotiations at this time, they will definitely agree."

Several high-ranking officials from the peace-seeking faction came forward to agree.

Seeing that the emperor was showing signs of being persuaded, Seishiro Itagaki, the representative of the die-hard faction, snorted coldly, stood up and said:

"Your Majesty, I only agree with one sentence of His Excellency the Prime Minister, that is, the Allies still fear the might of the Imperial Army!"

"As for the theory of seeking peace, I think it is nonsense."

"In the announcement to Japan at the beginning of this year, the Allies made it clear that no allied country is allowed to make peace with the Empire alone. The Allies will only accept the unconditional surrender of the Empire of Japan!"

"Kodong of China is the mortal enemy of the Japanese Empire, and he will never negotiate peacefully with us!"

"Even if he agrees to negotiate, it must be a lie. After the imperial army lays down its weapons, it will only become a piece of fish on the chopping board."

"In this case, we might as well fight to the death!"

"Only by making the enemy truly fear us can the Yamato nation be saved!"

Sugiyama Yuan answered:

"Your Majesty, Itagaki-kun is right."

"General Mitsuru Ushijima is ready to defend Okinawa, and the navy's special attack ships are also ready to go."

"Although the enemy has invested more troops than we expected, as long as we are fully mentally prepared and about 1,000 Sakura fighter jets launch attacks at the same time as the navy, the situation will definitely change!"

"It's too early to give up now!"

Combined Fleet Commander Admiral Toyoda added:

"The enemy wants to use strong military coercion to force the Japanese Empire to surrender. This is absolutely impossible!"

"The battle of Okinawa has great stakes. It will be a big competition of national strength between the two sides!"

"The empire has devoted everything it has to severely inflicting heavy damage on the U.S. military in Okinawa, so that the U.S. military no longer dares to covet the empire's homeland."

"This is the future of the Japanese Empire!"

The die-hard generals agreed one after another, and their momentum soon overwhelmed the peace-seeking faction headed by the new Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki.

"The great competition of national strength..."

Emperor Hirohito murmured:

"What kind of national power does the Empire of Japan have?"

Some are just clear-headed men who are not afraid of sacrifice.

However, he also thinks that Sugiyama Yuan, Itagaki Seishiro and others are right!

Defending the enemy outside the country's borders is the first issue to be considered.

Hirohito raised his hand and Suzuki Kantaro, who wanted to speak, said:

"I have made up my mind to use all the power of the empire to defend the enemy from outside the country!"

The military and political officials in the audience stood up at the same time:
Chapter completed!