Chapter 709 Persecution

"General, it seems that the islanders are determined to avoid fighting us. I thought that this battle could be easily won. But now it seems that it is not so easy." On the flagship of the German Navy Expeditionary Fleet On the battlecruiser 'Mackenson', Rear Admiral Mao Fu, the chief of staff of the fleet, looked worried.

"Hmm! This doesn't look like the fighting style of the islanders! Originally, I thought that the navy of the islands would fight to the death just like their army. In that case, we could rely on our superiority in combat power to easily give them It’s resolved. Now, the islanders are avoiding the fight. In that case, we have no choice but to take extreme measures to force the islanders out to fight us!” Lieutenant General Spei said.

Although, Lieutenant General Spei was unwilling to give cold-blooded orders. But, for the good of the empire, for the sake of winning this battle, he had to do it. Everything is to blame only for the islanders to seek their own death. All this is of their own making.

"General, there is no way around it! His Majesty the Emperor hopes that we can win. At present, it is impossible for us to send troops to fight in Southeast Asia on a large scale, so we can only use this method to force the islanders and let them Spit out Southeast Asia." Major General Mao Fu said.

Lieutenant General Spei nodded: "For the sake of the empire, even if it means infamy, I will not hesitate!"

"Order the fleet. From now on, as long as they encounter island ships, whether they are warships or merchant ships, they will all be sunk without leaving a single one. Since they are hiding and dare not fight us, we will kill them until they have to go to sea and fight with us." Let's fight till the end!" Lieutenant General Spei ordered.

"Yes, General." Rear Admiral Maofu immediately conveyed Lieutenant General Spee's order to every warship.

The menacing German Navy Expeditionary Force rushed to the mainland of the island country.

The island country has always been well aware of the whereabouts of the German Navy's expeditionary fleet. Around the German Navy Expeditionary Force, there are always merchant ships from neutral countries. Although the expeditionary forces knew that these merchant ships were likely to reveal their whereabouts to the islanders, they had no choice. With Germany about to win the war, they couldn't just attack the merchant ships of neutral countries casually.

On the afternoon of August 4, the German naval expedition fleet had arrived in the waters east of Okinawa.

"Report to the general, destroyer V29, found an island merchant ship, about 30 kilometers away from us." Rear Admiral Maofu reported.

"Let destroyer V29 get rid of that merchant ship!" Lieutenant General Spei gave the order with a cold face.

"Yes, General." Major General Mao Fu nodded.

When the order was issued, the destroyer V29 did not hesitate, and three 88mm naval guns immediately attacked the merchant ships of the island country.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The three naval guns poured shells at the merchant ships of the island country at the maximum rate of fire, and the terrifying rain of bullets enveloped the merchant ships of the island country.

"Baga! The Germans opened fire. Damn it, we are a merchant ship! They dare to directly attack the merchant ship, it is really shameless!" On the merchant ship, an island nation cursed loudly.

"Sir, what should we do now?" The merchant ship was unarmed, and there was no way to fight back in front of the warship.

"Turn around immediately and report to the country the location of the German fleet!"

"Hi, sir!"

In fact, this is not a real merchant ship, but a reconnaissance ship disguised as a merchant ship. The purpose is to grasp the whereabouts of the German navy. But who knew, the German navy actually fired directly at these merchant ships.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Although the power of the 88mm shell is not very good, it still poses a deadly threat to the almost wooden merchant ship of the island country. The shell easily penetrated the bulkhead of the merchant ship and exploded. After the explosion, the merchant ship began to burn.

Just minutes later, the merchant ship was sunk by a destroyer of the German Navy.

In the next two days, the way the German naval expeditionary fleet dealt with the island country's merchant ships and fishing boats was still to sink them directly, without giving them any chance of survival. In this way, the intelligence personnel of the island country who attempted to investigate the situation by disguising themselves as merchant ships suffered heavy losses.

On the night of August 6, with the help of the cover of darkness, the German Navy Expeditionary Fleet conducted a replenishment. Each battleship is filled with fuel, shells, food and water to ensure that the battleship can fight continuously for several days.

When the replenishment was complete, Vice Admiral Spee ordered the supply fleet to evacuate. The fleet will soon enter the offshore waters of the island country, and the next battle will be very cruel. If the supply fleet follows, it will be very easy to encounter danger. After all, almost all of these supply ships were refitted from merchant ships, and they did not have strong combat effectiveness or even defensive capabilities. Once attacked in a naval battle, the consequences will be very serious.

In order to ensure the safety of the supply fleet, Lieutenant General Spee specially dispatched two light cruisers and six destroyers to protect the supply fleet. The safety of the supply fleet is directly related to the life and death of the fleet. Once the supply fleet is attacked, the other main warships will lose their supplies. In this case, they will not be able to survive back home just relying on the supplies on the battleship. At that time, the fleet will be doomed.

Lieutenant General Spee asked the supply fleet to cruise in the Pacific Ocean and wait for the flagship's order. After the flagship gave the order, he came to join the fleet and provide supplies for the fleet. Although such an arrangement cannot be said to be foolproof, the possibility of problems is undoubtedly very small. If under such circumstances, the supply fleet has been attacked, then it can only be said that the luck of the German Navy Expeditionary Fleet is too bad.

Of course, the two light cruisers and six destroyers that provide security for the supply fleet also have certain combat capabilities. As long as it is not besieged by the enemy's main fleet, it can still survive.

"May God bless them!" Watching the supply fleet leave, Lieutenant General Spei couldn't help but pray to God.

"General, although this is the east, God will still bless us. Tomorrow, we will enter the offshore waters of the island country. I believe that we will encounter many ships from the island country. At that time, we will attack these island country ships. We will definitely be able to force the navy of the island country to come out and fight us decisively." Major General Mao Fu seemed a little optimistic.

Lieutenant General Spei nodded: "If this can force the island nation's navy to come out for a decisive battle, that would be great. Otherwise, I can only order an attack on the island nation's coastal cities."