Manila, Island Nation Southern Army Headquarters. General Hitoshi Anami summoned Lieutenant General Philippines Front Commander Shigeharu Matsumori, Lanyin Front Commander Lieutenant General Kawabe Masazō, 3rd Air Force Lieutenant General Commander Michiharu Sugawara, as well as Lieutenant General 14 Front Commander Masaharu Honma who only part of the troops arrived at Philippines.
"Gentlemen, we are now transporting a large number of troops to Philippine Islands through the transport fleet. However, due to the threat of German submarines and aircraft, our transportation speed is much slower than we expected. But if Germany people think that this can stop our attack, that is a big mistake!" General Hitoshi Anami said.
Several lieutenant generals had serious faces. They all knew that Island Nation's Army, although with the acquiescence of Americans, could use Philippine Islands to launch an attack on Dutch East Indies. However, Americans's patience is very limited. They hope that Island Nation's Army will launch an attack as soon as possible and can no longer waste time. Therefore, General Hitoshi Anami could not wait until all the troops of the Southern Army arrived, so he had to launch an attack in advance.
"Kawabe, are you ready Netherlands East Indies Expeditionary Army?" General Hitoshi Anami asked.
"Your Excellency Commander, the troops under the Netherlands East Indies Expeditionary Army are ready for battle, and we can launch an attack at any time!" Lieutenant General Kawabe Masazō replied. Although he knew that this time he was going to fight against the powerful German Army, it was still very difficult to say whether his troops could defeat the Germany people. However, Lieutenant General Kawabe Masazō is confident in fighting the next battle. soldiers of the Island Nation's Armys who are not afraid of death will use Bushido spirit to defeat all powerful enemies.
General Hitoshi Anami nodded with satisfaction. "Honma, 14th Area Army must gather faster. Once Netherlands East Indies Expeditionary Army successfully lands on Borneo, 14th Army Corps must quickly catch up and cooperate with the Netherlands East Indies Expeditionary Army to completely eliminate German 23rd Army Corps entrenched there!"
"Hi, Your Excellency Commander!" Lieutenant General No. 14 Front Commander Masaharu Honma replied.
14th Area Army is a very large front army, with 12 Infantry Division regiments, a tank division, three independent mixed brigades and other units, with a total strength of nearly 300,000 people. Therefore, General Hitoshi Anami also regards 14th Area Army as a main front force under the Southern Army, and hopes that they can play their due role in the war. However, it will take time to transport such a huge front army from Island Nation's Mainland to Philippines. Now only a small number of the 14th Area Army troops have arrived at Philippine Islands, and most of the other troops are still at sea or on the mainland waiting for shipment.
But this time Southern Army obviously will not wait until all 14th Area Army arrive at Philippine Islands before launching an attack.
"Sugawara-kun, if we want to land on Borneo, we will inevitably be intercepted by German Air Force fighter planes or naval ships. This requires Air Force to dispatch fighter planes to provide cover for our landing troops. I hope 3rd Air Force can seize the air superiority in the eastern airspace from the Sulu Sea to Borneo, ensuring that the landing troops can safely reach Borneo!" General Hitoshi Anami said.
"Your Excellency Commander, I will do my best in this humble position!" Lieutenant General Michiharu Sugawara replied.
3rd Air Force has three Flying Divisions under its jurisdiction, with two hundred fighter jets and a large number of Reconnaissance Aircrafts and Bombers. The overall strength is slightly weaker than 5th Air Group of German Air Force. However, the defense zone of 5th Air Group covers the entire South Seas, and the number of aircraft that can be deployed to Borneo is obviously not too many. And this undoubtedly gives the Island Nation's Army aviation unit a certain advantage.
Of course, in terms of fighter performance, Island Nation's Army may not be able to compete with German Air Force. The Type 1 fighter plane and Type 97 fighter plane they are equipped with are simply impossible to match the FW-190 fighter jets and BF-109 fighter jets of German Air Force. In terms of Bomber, the performance of Type 97 light bomber and Type 97 heavy bomber equipped with Island Nation's Army Air Corps cannot be compared with the Dive Bomber equipped with German Air Force and the ground attack Attacker. Once a war breaks out between the two sides, the situation on the battlefield will definitely be one-sided.
General Hitoshi Anami nodded, and then began to issue orders. "Sugawara-kun, 3rd Air Force will launch an attack from tomorrow to seize air supremacy! Three days later, Netherlands East Indies Expeditionary Army will launch a landing operation. We must successfully land Borneo!"
"Hi, Your Excellency Commander." Both Lieutenant General Michiharu Sugawara and Lieutenant General Kawabe Masazō replied.
Borneo east, Sennah Port. A large-scale air search Radar is at work. Radar was launched into the surrounding airspace, clearly monitoring the airspace within three hundred kilometers. This is the second generation large-scale air search Radar used by German Air Force. German homeland has now been replaced by the third-generation large-scale air search Radar, which is said to be able to detect airspace four hundred kilometers away.
Even if the detection distance is only three hundred kilometers, it is enough to clearly detect the entire eastern part of Borneo and Sulu Sea.
In order to prevent the Radar station from being destroyed, there is also an air search Radar at Kinabatangan in the west of Sennah Port. If the Radar of Sennah Port is destroyed, this Radar will be activated immediately to ensure the monitoring of the surrounding airspace.
At 9 a. m. on February 24, German Air Force's air search Radar found that hundreds of aircraft were flying towards Borneo from the east of the Sulu Sea.
The officer in charge of Radar station immediately called the airport.
Just two minutes later, a shrill air defense siren sounded at the airport east of Borneo.
The pilots of German military rushed to their planes one after another. With the help of the ground crew, they started the fighter planes and prepared to take off to meet the enemy.
In order to assist 23rd Army Group in resisting Island Nation's Army's attack, German Air Force 5th Air Group dispatched one Fighter Wing, two Fighter Group, two Dive Bomber brigades and an anti-ground Attacker brigade to the airport in the east of Borneo. It can be said that the main force of 5th Air Group is gathered in Borneo.
6th Air Group, who is far away in Australia, also said that he can dispatch fighter planes to Borneo at any time to assist 23rd Army Group. After all, once 23rd Army Group evacuates Borneo, the fall of the entire Dutch East Indies cannot be prevented. By then, Australia will also be threatened by the Island Nation's Army. If Island Nation's Army can be blocked from Borneo, that would undoubtedly be the best. Of course, everyone knows that it is undoubtedly very difficult. But even so, everyone still hopes to do their best to at least make the Island Nation people pay a heavy price in the battle.
Under the guidance of our own Radar, thirty-six FW-190 fighter jets from 5th Air Group 51st Fighter Wing 511th Fighter Group took off first, heading to the Sulu Sea to attack Island Nation's Army Air Corps.