章節 1107: Chapter 1107: Crush from all directions!
In fact, the British government was well prepared for this life due to Xia Yu's early warning, compared to the disbelief after being attacked in the previous life.
For example, the British military has stockpiled a large amount of war supplies at the Ascension Island base, which is 5,600 kilometres from the Falkland Islands, and at the South Georgia Island military base, which is 1,300 kilometres from the Falkland Islands.
It can even be said that the British military has long since carried out countless simulations, waiting for Argentina to take action and preparing to seize this opportunity to show off Britain's muscles.
Trying to give a boost to Britain's declining influence around the world!
So after Argentina issued an announcement to the world, the British government responded extremely quickly.
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher held a grand press conference as soon as possible, personally announcing the severing of diplomatic relations with Argentina, while also forming a wartime cabinet and issuing a series of orders without the slightest bit of cover-up!
That afternoon, the Royal Navy, which no longer had any large aircraft carriers, formed a task force consisting of two small aircraft carriers, Invincible and Ark Royal, and set sail from Portsmouth harbour, carrying the anger and determination of the British people and charging towards the Atlantic.
The four nuclear submarines based on Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean also set sail for the Malvinas at full speed.
In addition, many British warships participating in NATO exercises in Gibraltar also set sail for the war zone. This formation would join the aircraft carrier formation in the Atlantic Ocean. After the rendezvous, there would be a total of 21 combat ships, 20 Harrier fighter jets, 58 helicopters of various types, and 3,500 marines.
On 3 April, before British troops had even arrived on the Falkland Islands, the British government issued a strong announcement to the world, declaring a 200-mile 'no-go zone' around the Islands, and that any Argentine warships and auxiliary vessels entering that zone would be subject to attack.
The British approach of warning Argentina in advance, even before the troops arrived in the war zone, was undoubtedly extremely arrogant and domineering, and completely ignored Argentina. This greatly irritated the Argentine President, Galterri, who was visiting the Falkland Islands and was being hailed as a 'national hero'.
Galterri also had a hot temper, and directly declared by telegram that Argentina was capable of defending the integrity of its national territory, and that any invaders would be defeated by the heroic and invincible Argentine soldiers!
In less than two days, without even a war of words, the conflict between the United Kingdom and Argentina broke out and the two countries embarked on the path to war.
The whole world was shocked and turned their attention to the small island in the South Atlantic.
Xia Yu, who was watching TV at home in London, couldn't help but smile in anticipation when he saw the news.
I wonder how many days it will take for the well-prepared United Kingdom to defeat Argentina in this life?
...
Next, public opinion in the whole of the United Kingdom was dominated by the news of the Falklands War.
The news from the various newspapers under Xia Yu's control, which were well-prepared, was the most timely and detailed.
At first, readers didn't notice, but after a few days of very timely news and a quality that was a cut above the rest, the British public began subscribing to the relevant newspapers in droves, causing sales of the newspapers controlled by the Bright Foundation to skyrocket.
Not only in the UK, but also in other European countries, newspapers controlled by the Bright Foundation were also competing for market share using the high-quality channel news from the Jiuding News Agency.
On April 5, the British nuclear submarine formation arrived in the war zone and began implementing the blockade.
On 6 April, British Harrier patrol aircraft arrived in the war zone and began patrolling.
On 9 April, the lead unit of the fully resupplied British fleet arrived in the war zone.
On 15 April, the British task force entered Falkland waters and began operations.
Because the Ascension and South Georgia bases were well stocked with war materiel, this saved a great deal of time in terms of resupply and base construction.
The deployment of sufficient air refuelling aircraft and sufficient fuel at the South Georgia base also allowed British combat aircraft to navigate in the Falkland Islands airspace for a long time.
In just 13 days!
The British army completed the deployment of a sea and air blockade of the Falkland Islands, which were thousands of miles away halfway around the world.
This speed shocked the eyes of all countries, and many countries reassessed the strength of the United Kingdom.
After World War II, the military strength of the British had been declining, but after decades, they still had such a strong ability to deliver operations over long distances, and they demonstrated such superb war mobilisation and deployment capabilities!
Compared to the shock simply felt by the United States, France, West Germany, island countries, and other countries, Argentina's shock was different, and it was not an exaggeration to say that they were in a state of panic!
The Argentine military government was under enormous pressure, but in the face of the turbulent national situation, Galtieri did not flinch and remained strong in front of the media.
Unfortunately, the British army did not give Galterri any face.
On 16 April, the war finally began.
Nine British strategic bomber groups flew over the Malvinas at 4:30 am, dropping 150 bombs weighing 1,000 pounds each. They comprehensively bombed the two airports that Argentina had urgently built on the island, as well as mines and buildings. All the buildings were destroyed, and when the morning sun hit the island, all that was visible to satellites was a wasteland.
All the military buildings on the island of the Falkland Islands were destroyed, and the army deployed on the island was also cut off from supplies. It was only then that the engineer commander Galtieri, who had never been in battle, and the president woke up,
but the Argentine military, which had already lost air supremacy, did not give up the struggle. The main battle aircraft took off from the land airfields 740 kilometers away from the Falkland Islands.
However, these Argentine fighter planes did not have a long endurance, and they could only maintain air supremacy in the airspace of the Falkland Islands for less than 20 minutes, which greatly reduced the actual combat effectiveness.
However, the Argentine Air Force was made up of elite pilots with excellent combat skills, and the standard equipment of the Argentine Air Force was also made in France and was not inferior to that of the British.
The Argentine Navy also went into action on a large scale, rushing to the Falkland Islands with supplies and engaging the British Navy in battle at sea.
Galtieri did not forget to ask for help either. He frantically called the United States, hoping to get their support, but all his calls went unanswered.
What Galtieri did not know was that Margaret Thatcher had already spoken to Ronald Reagan on the phone. The Atlantic synchronous satellites of the United States transmitted intelligence about Argentina and the Falkland Islands to the British fleet every day.
Margaret Thatcher received information from the battlefield and learned that Argentina was relying on legal equipment to fight the British army. She immediately sent a telegram to the leaders of European countries that sold arms to Argentina.
Early in the morning of April 17, France 'cut off food' to Argentina and announced that the arms export project signed previously was suspended.
Subsequently, West Germany, the Netherlands and other countries also issued statements, suspending all transactions of strategic equipment and materials with Argentina.
Argentina was faced with an unprecedented challenge to its military equipment and ammunition stockpiles. Galterri was forced to make a national address, accusing the developed countries of jointly imposing sanctions on Argentina, and then ordering all factories in the country to be temporarily converted into military factories to produce all military supplies and equipment. Workers were required to fulfil their duties and contribute to the country.
Argentine nationals, who had been excited about regaining sovereignty over the Falkland Islands half a month earlier, finally realised the severity of the situation.
Unfortunately, at this time, the British intelligence system had already begun to manipulate within Argentina, causing numerous riots within the country.
For a time, Argentina was plagued by internal and external crises!
The balance of victory was rapidly tipping in favour of the British army!
Xia Yu, who had been following the latest situation from London, was very pleased.
The more efficient the British army was, the sooner the war would end, and the better it would be for him!
...
Xia Yu had not been idle during his two weeks in the UK.
He had reviewed his assets in the UK and made a number of adjustments, strengthening his control and influence over companies in various fields.
In his spare time, he also visited Warwick Castle, which he had bought from the Cavendish family, and arranged for renovations and repairs to be carried out according to his own ideas.
Afterwards, he made a special trip to the Cavendish family to visit the Duke of Devonshire, Philip, and took the opportunity to deepen their relationship by bringing some Romanee-Conti and Latour as a gift.
Of course, if he gave gifts to the Duke of Devonshire, there was no reason to neglect the Duke of Kater Howard, Prince Philip and the Duke of Ian Campbell. In the face of friendship, what did a few expensive bottles of wine count for?
Besides, if it was rumoured that these bigwigs liked Romanee Conti and Latour, it would definitely greatly enhance the reputation of Romanee Conti and Latour in the UK. Xia Yu would also make a fortune!
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