The Rise Of Australasia

But Britain and France clearly lacked a figure like Arthur to coordinate and mobilize the nation's people and enterprises.

Even now, there was still a significant portion of the Dove faction's voice within Britain and France. If it wasn't for the actual outbreak of war with Germany and the shift of the populace towards the Faction of War Advocates, these Doves might have caused some instability in the country.

Turning back to the situation in Australasia.

More than 20 days have passed since the landing battle began on June 26.

One week after the beginning of the landing battle, which was July 3, the Philippines and Kalimantan military had finally withstood the pressure from the Island Nation Army, securing the beaches and advancing toward Naha, the largest urban city in the Ryukyu area.

In that week's time, the Philippines and Kalimantan military suffered heavy casualties, with deaths exceeding 70,000 and total casualties approaching 200,000.

However, it was noticeable that after going through the ordeal of war, the combat strength of both the Philippines and Kalimantan military had significantly increased.

If the current military were to conduct another landing battle now, the casualties would presumably be reduced, and the battle could be completed in less time.

Since the initial toughening of the troops was complete, Commander Christie naturally had no reason to delay any further.

On July 4, 1936, under the command of Commander Christie, the 9th Army, the Australasia Army officially commenced a full-scale assault on the Ryukyu Islands.

Although the aerial Bombing was more intense than before, the Islanders had become accustomed to it. After all, they were only facing the military forces of the Philippines and Kalimantan, so the pressure from ground forces was minimal.

What Commander Christie needed was precisely this complacency of the Islanders.

At 8 pm on July 4, over a hundred Sop-34 transport planes carried thousands of Australasia Soldiers towards Naha, an important urban city in the Ryukyu Islands, and the harbor just north of it.

After more than a week of warfare, Australasia had preliminarily figured out the deployment of the Island Nation Army on the Ryukyu Islands.

The two most crucial areas in the Ryukyu Islands were Naha and the harbor.

About two divisions' worth of troops were defending the main battlefield, with nearly half a division stationed near both Naha and the harbor.

Although the defense was fairly tight, the two divisions stationed at Naha and the harbor were actually Type C Divisions that lacked significant combat power.

The landing battle was what truly determined the fate of the Ryukyu Islands, and guarding against the Australasia Army during the landing were the two real combat savvy divisions: Type A Division and Type B Division.

In addition to transporting over 6,000 Soldiers, the air drop would also deliver a certain number of firearms and machine guns to help these Soldiers build defensive positions based on the terrain after successfully raiding the city and harbor.

The Philippine city of Aparri is 1,100 kilometers from the Ryukyu Islands. This means that a round trip for Sop-34 transport planes would take at least six hours.

In those six hours, the mission to attack the city and harbor and organize the defense line, holding the position, would be solely up to those 6,000 or so Soldiers.

Of course, if they managed to hold on, after more than six hours, the second batch of over 6,000 Soldiers would arrive safely, helping the first batch to reinforce the defensive positions or even repel the Islanders.

If they could successfully raid the cities and harbors of the Ryukyu Islands, the nearly 100,000 strong Island Nation Army stationed there would have no escape and would then be annihilated by the Australasia Army.

Although those two Type C Divisions were not very effective, the Ryukyu Islands still had a Type A Division and a Type B Division.

Destroying these two divisions would be a blow to the confidence of the Island Nation's army and would also effectively strike at the Island Nation's capacity for war.

Even if the Island Nation could mobilize more troops, their combat strength would inevitably be inferior compared to that of the Type A Division and Type B Division.