The Island Nation's transport fleet consisted of over a hundred transport ships and merchant vessels. Packed aboard were soldiers of four Island Nation's Army divisions and their equipment. But under an ambush by the German submarine force, nearly thirty transport ships and merchant vessels were sunk. Such losses were undoubtedly devastating for the Island Nation's Army's 28th Army and 33rd Army.
Although, after the German submarines withdrew, the Island Nation's Army transport fleet and naval warships urgently rescued the soldiers who had fallen into the water, the final count showed that more than ten thousand soldiers were missing. In addition, a considerable amount of equipment had been lost, which would undoubtedly create enormous difficulties for the Island Nation's Army's upcoming landing operation.
"Damn it! The losses are actually this severe. If we want to successfully land on Borneo next, I'm afraid we'll have to suffer even greater losses!" Lieutenant General Sakurai Shōzō's face darkened.
"Sakurai, this is unavoidable. In fact, Kawabe made it very clear: this operation is about filling the gap with human lives! Our two armies have deployed more than eighty thousand men this time. Once the fighting ends, who knows how many will still remain?" Lieutenant General Honda Masanori seemed to have seen through it all long ago.
With no way to seize air superiority and time pressing urgently, the Island Nation's Army high command could only treat the soldiers' lives as insignificant. They intended to achieve success through such tactics. Of course, if they succeeded, the losses certainly would not be small. But at least they would be worth it. If they failed, however, those losses would have been in vain.
Yet such decisions were not theirs to make. Even though they were lieutenant generals and commanders of Infantry Corps, barely qualifying as high-ranking officers, before