The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1176 - 883: Full-scale Attack

Although the headquarters of these two Type C Divisions had a certain number of anti-aircraft weapons, the thought of shooting down Australasian's all-metal frame aircraft seemed almost like a pipe dream.

After some attempts, the Island Nation Army ultimately abandoned the idea of using anti-aircraft weapons to shoot down Australasian aircraft and instead chose to completely conceal their headquarters.

But the problem was, since the headquarters had already been exposed, hiding them again was fraught with difficulty.

To deliver a fatal blow to the Island Nation Army, the Australasian Air Force adopted the most aggressive tactic: carpet bombing.

The good news was that most of these fighter aircraft and bombers had taken off from aircraft carriers, and could naturally receive ammunition supplies from the carriers as well.

Although the aircraft carried on the aircraft carriers had limited ammunition, supporting this bombing operation was not a problem.

After resupplying ammunition for over an hour, the Australasian Air Force began the carpet bombing of the surrounding areas where the two Type C Division headquarters were located.

They didn't even care if they bombed Islander civilians now, for the Australasian Air Force had only one mission at that time, and that was to destroy the Island Nation Army's headquarters, leaving the already weak Type C Division like headless pigs, only able to sit and await their demise.

The bombing was very successful. The carpet bombing destroyed the two divisions' headquarters, and even killed the division commander of the division near the harbor, Mikuni, right in front of it.

Although the Australasian Air Force did not know exactly who they had bombed to death, the destruction of the two divisions' headquarters was still significant.

Without the timely command of the two divisions' headquarters, the infantry regiments of the divisions immediately fell into chaos.

Although there were infantry brigades above the regiments and each brigade had two regiments totaling over ten thousand soldiers, it was still difficult to issue orders promptly for the combat plans of so many soldiers.

The Air Force launched another air raid on the division, successfully disrupting the entire division's order, and even made some soldiers afraid to charge at the enemy, with the whole division showing signs of dissolving.

The Islanders indeed felt quite helpless. The threat of the Australasian Air Force was significant to them, even a deadly threat.

But the problem was, since their own Air Force had already been wiped out by Australasia beforehand, they had no means to counter when faced with attacks from the Australasian Air Force.

On the one hand, they had to charge at the enemy's defensive positions while also being wary of the threat from airplanes in the sky, which was simply too much for this Type C Division to cope with.

For the soldiers of this division, it was indeed a double torture. Charging forward, enemy firepower would shred them to pieces, and the bloody, mangled sight of their comrades filled them with fear.

If they didn't charge, the Island Nation Army's internal Gendarmerie was not to be trifled with. Although the Gendarmerie was small in number, they really did have the power to supervise battle in the field.

If there were soldiers in the Island Nation who hesitated or even deserted during battle, the Gendarmerie had the authority to execute them on the spot.

It was precisely because of the power of the Island Nation's Gendarmerie that these soldiers were quite fearful of them. With the Gendarmerie behind them, the soldiers were in a dire state, facing death if they advanced or retreated.

Australasia couldn't care less about the Island Nation Army's chaos.

Nearly three hours had passed since the offensive began, and the transport plane formation should be nearing the north of the Philippines.

This also meant that they just needed to hold out for over three more hours before they could expect another batch of over 6000 soldiers for reinforcement.

More importantly, Australasia never intended to rely solely on its own paratrooper forces. After the paratroopers gradually gained control of the situation, a new wave of landing operations would commence, further exhausting the Island Nation troops.

Sure enough, about ten minutes later, a new wave of landings by Filipino and Kalimantan forces had been launched.

The time was just past three in the morning, more than two hours before dawn.

In complete darkness, countless soldiers engaged in a fierce and cruel war, where the loser would fall forever into the abyss and the victor would face yet another gamble with fate.

Unlike the previous offensive, the earlier landing operations were clearly restrained, with Australasia's main goal being to train troops, not a swift breakthrough of the Ryukyu Islands.

But after deploying paratroopers, Australasia was evidently aiming to completely break through the Ryukyu Islands.

In addition to deploying the Air Force and Army, the Navy had also sent a grand fleet, including 6 aircraft carriers, 2 battleships, and 3 battlecruisers as the main fleet.

These navy ships were naturally tasked with using the powerful ship-borne guns to give the Islanders a baptism of fire.

As it was an all-out attack, the Navy didn't skimp, and a large amount of gunfire poured down on the Island Nation Army's military base like a particularly heavy downpour.

Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The continuous booms, like thunderclaps, and the ensuing flames of explosions on land and facilities, were like lightning delivering judgement.

No one would underestimate the power of the ship-borne guns, even the ones on battleships considered outdated two decades ago.

You should know that the ship-borne main guns of that era had extremely exaggerated calibers of over 300 millimeters.

Using such firearms to bomb land armies was like using cannons to squash mosquitoes, one could only describe it as overwhelmingly destructive.

Even the defensive positions built by the Island Nation Army relying on terrain, such as artillery emplacements, would be as fragile as tofu when faced with such large-caliber bombardment.

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More critically, the width of the Ryukyu Islands was not vast, meaning that essentially the entire archipelago fell within the navy's bombing range.

For the Island Nation Army stationed on the Ryukyu Islands, from this moment on, they faced their most lethal and agonizing trial.

Perhaps the two Type C Divisions stationed near the urban city and harbor should feel fortunate because the Australasia Army, already engaging them in close combat, had not included their locations on the navy's bombing list.

Otherwise, what the ship-borne guns would have destroyed wouldn't have been their faith, but the very spirit they had been maintaining on the battlefield all along.

When the spirit is broken, that is when they transform from normal people into madmen and lunatics.

There are indeed such examples. Due to the excessive brutality of war, many new recruits, originally just ordinary farmers, even if they survived the battlefield by chance, would suffer from post-war syndromes and other related diseases.

Those with lighter symptoms experience anxiety, inattention, and difficulty sleeping in their daily lives, while the more severe cases turn outright insane, tormented day and night by the horrific scenes of the battlefield.

It's clear that the psychological resilience of ordinary people has its limits. Even soldiers trained to endure stress can have their strong minds shaken when suddenly faced with even more horrific scenarios.

Of course, in the areas bombarded by ship-borne guns, it's highly improbable to see phenomena such as legs and arms being blown off.

A firearm of this caliber could easily sink battleships clad entirely in steel armor, let alone human beings of mere flesh and blood.

In general, nothing would be left after being bombarded by this kind of ship-borne guns, except for a few scraps of clothing.

"Charge! The General said, anyone who breaks into Naha today gets to eat fresh steak! The first infantry squad to step into Naha gets a reward!" Commanders from the Philippines and Kalimantan yelled frantically.

For these Filipinos and Kalimantan natives, only two things were attractive: delicious food and generous rewards.

Food could fill their bellies, and rewards could be taken home to improve the lives of their families.

After all, the economies of the Philippines and Kalimantan were not doing very well during that time, naturally making the living conditions for Filipinos and Kalimantan natives not very good.

Joining the Australasia Army meant enough meat to eat, and better lives for their families; these were the reasons they were willing to die for Australasia.

Of course, Australasia's control over their governments at all levels was one of the reasons they had no choice but to fight for the Australasian Army.

Especially in the Philippines, where education levels were higher, the war had been propagated as a life and death struggle between the Island Nation and the Philippines.

With Australasia already in control of Philippine public opinion, the media there depicted the war's significance to the Philippines and emphasized how the Island Nation was a cruel country.

In other words, for these Filipinos, they were not fighting for Australasia but defending their own country.

Moreover, participating in this war had tangible benefits. Once they achieved merits, their children could secure opportunities to study abroad in Australasia, ascending to become the elite of the Philippines.

After several years of development, Australasia's grip on the Philippines had become very tight.

Every year, those few Filipinos who successfully graduated from Australasian universities and returned home were, without a doubt, high-class individuals with higher status and regard.

It's precisely this significant elevation in status and identity that filled many natives with hopeful anticipation for studying in Australasia, even dreaming of it for their entire lives.

Unfortunately, aspirations to study in Australasia were difficult to fulfill.

Apart from the limited quotas that Australasia annually offered to high-ranking Filipino officials, ordinary Filipinos wishing to study in Australasia had to either bear significant expenses or possess talents far surpassing the average, being a genius.

This made study opportunities in Australasia very popular in the Philippines, even amongst Filipinos of Spanish descent who generally hoped to study there.

In Australasia, they could access the top academic environment and educational resources of Oceania and Asia, and it wouldn't be an overstatement to call it world-class.

Besides a few older and more prestigious universities in Europe, Australasian universities could claim to be second to none.

For Arthur, if a certain number of study-abroad spots could secure the loyalty of the Philippine military, it was more than a fair deal.

These spots cost Arthur little, especially since Filipino tycoons also provided substantial funds to Australasian universities every year.

And the students cultivated through these study spots, if they demonstrated outstanding abilities, would be encouraged to remain in the native land.

In other words, this action would not only be free from being a financial burden on Australasia but would also attract more people to it, essentially ensuring a foolproof profit.