Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 300 The Anglo-French Allied Forces Arrive
Half a month after King Zheng Guohui of Chu inspected Cavite and Corregidor Fortress, the British-French Allied Forces' task force arrived in the sea near Singapore in a mighty and spectacular manner.

September 28th, 2025

On the sea near the entrance to the Strait of Johor, Vice Admiral Calvin Phillips, the ambitious commander-in-chief of the Anglo-French Allied Forces, stood on the broad stern deck of the 3215-ton armored flagship "Pearl of Calcutta", surrounded by dozens of senior officers from the British and French armies.

This includes the deputy commander-in-chief, Major General Courbet, who was urgently promoted from the French Saigon Governor-General's Office. He will command the 8300 French troops hastily assembled, including the first batch of more than French Foreign Legion reinforcements.

The French had no mercy on these mercenaries. After traveling thousands of miles to arrive at the port of Chennai in British India, they only rested for eight days, leaving behind some seriously ill soldiers who could not withstand the long-distance sea transportation, and then set sail again for the rest.

After more than ten days of sailing, they arrived in Kuala Lumpur. Only two days later, they were pulled onto the sea by the fleet to prepare for the upcoming landing operation.

Standing next to Vice Admiral Phillips is Major General Cameron Boggs of the British Indian Army, who is now the deputy commander-in-chief of the Anglo-French Allied Forces and is responsible for commanding the British Indian Army of more than 3.2 people.

That’s right, considering the strong fortress defense facilities of fallen Singapore, the British and French expeditionary forces all increased their troops.

The British Indian Army increased from the originally planned 1.2 to 3.2, and the French increased from the original 8000 to more than 2.2. Moreover, this time they were all white troops, with no indigenous people mixed in, and no intention of slacking off.

The French are eager to avenge their humiliation, and the French commander's greatest wish now is to teach the Chu army a severe lesson.

"Well... that is to say, our people have not actually landed on Singapore Island yet, and know nothing about the situation in that tropical jungle." Vice Admiral Phillips asked with dissatisfaction.

The British and French Expeditionary Force was delayed for more than a month than originally planned, mainly because of the unexpected events of the fall of Singapore and the bloodbath in Saigon, France, which forced the Allied forces to adjust their deployment.

On the one hand, they had to wait for reinforcements from mainland France, and on the other hand, the expanded British and Indian Corps required more time for preparation.

After all this time, you can't even do intelligence work?

The person being questioned was Lieutenant Colonel Walker-Taylor, who was in charge of military intelligence. He was also one of the senior staff officers of the Anglo-French Allied Forces Command and had long been in charge of military intelligence and logistics in the British Straits Settlements.

When Singapore fell, this man happened to be in Palembang, Sumatra, observing an interesting conquest battle of the Dutch army, and happened to escape the disaster.

Lieutenant Colonel Walker-Taylor, with a look of resignation on his face, saluted and replied, "Though my military honor makes me reluctant to admit it, the truth is this. Our small infiltration force is now unable to reach Singapore Island. We have tried nine times, with over a hundred casualties, but each time no one has managed to escape the island intact, let alone pass on a single message."

"Shit, you said no one could escape intact. How is that possible?"

"Indeed, sir. We've found bodies and debris floating in the strait, but no one shows any signs of life. Singapore Island is now a demonic forbidden place. Sending a small reconnaissance team into the morning would be a one-way ticket with no return."

Lieutenant Colonel Taylor's answer made the British and French allied officers look at each other in disbelief. They couldn't believe that Singapore had been controlled by the Chu army to this extent?

Neither a needle nor water can be poured in, and no news can be transmitted.

Deputy Commander-in-Chief Major General Courbet looked at Lieutenant Colonel Taylor with a gloomy face, cursing in his heart, "Stupid British guy", if you can't get up from the Johor Strait, don't you know to change another place?
It is unnecessary to say all this now. Major General Courbet can't wait to lead his troops to Singapore and engage in a bloody battle with the Chu army.

So he took the initiative and said;

“Your Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, gentlemen;
We have opened up a sufficiently wide landing area on the Malay Peninsula side, accumulated a large amount of combat supplies, and prepared more than 60 small boats, which is more than enough.

I recommend

The main landing force can go to the island to rest and recuperate, and after preparations are completed, launch a sea-wide attack on Singapore.

Under the cover of the powerful fleet's firepower, no force can stop the coalition's landing operation. This is just a somewhat tedious march, not a very difficult one. "

Vice Admiral Phillips, the commander of the allied forces, consulted Major General Cameron Boggs with his eyes, then nodded and said, "Okay, let's get started."

Give an order

The British and French allied forces' troop transport ships moved towards the Malay Peninsula side of the Johor Strait. More than sixty small boats came to guide them, and the officers and soldiers carried on the large sailing ships were brought ashore by boat, completing the first step of the landing operation.

The British and French forces acted very cautiously. On the Malay Peninsula side of the Johor Strait, a large open space has been opened up, and felled trees have piled up into mountains. Many trees are also densely arranged along the coast, forming an extra-large wooden fence camp with a width of about 1300 meters.

All the combat supplies originally transported ashore were stored in the wooden fence camp.

Inside the wooden fence camp, there are hanging buckets, lookout towers and patrol trails, and soldiers are on duty 24 hours a day.

This made the Chu State Singapore Expeditionary Force's attempt to burn supplies many times more difficult and even impossible.

After half a day, densely packed and neatly arranged tents were set up in the camp. Several large kitchens began to cook soup together to prepare food for the hungry officers and soldiers who came from afar. The rich smell of curry came from afar.

In the British Indian Corps, all soldiers and low-level officers were Indians, with white people serving as officers above the platoon level. There were only more than 30 white people in an infantry regiment.

These white British officers will not treat themselves badly. They are fighting for their country and have reason to eat better.

These white officers enjoyed a separate luxury meal, sitting at a wooden table covered with a white tablecloth and decorated with flowers, and were served a carefully cooked veal chops and cheese bean soup, accompanied by pan-fried salmon fillets, and French red wine.

The pride of the British Empire cannot be let down no matter where it is.

After unloading the soldiers, the troop transports left the narrow Johor Strait and returned in groups.

The total number of British and French allied officers and soldiers who arrived at the landing site on the Malay Peninsula was about 18700. Except for more than French troops, the rest were from the British Indian Corps.

The main force of the British Indian Corps is still in Kuala Lumpur and will be gradually deployed to the Singapore battlefield according to the progress of the war, rather than all at once.

In the evening
A total of 1.87 British and French troops had landed, and a large amount of supplies were also transported to the beach camp. They were piled up in piles on the open ground, and the camp could not accommodate them all.

In the afternoon, the first high-level military meeting of the Anglo-French Allied Forces was held in the officers' mess hall of the flagship "Pearl of Calcutta".

The meeting unanimously decided

Two days later, a sea-to-sea landing operation against Singapore will be launched. The French army will send 3000 troops and the British Indian Corps will send 5000 troops. They will take joint action to land in one fell swoop and establish a solid landing site.

What secrets does the island of Singapore hold? Why is it so impenetrable? What kind of defenses are deployed? What is its true combat capability?
There is no point in playing tricks. The senior officers of the British and French forces are full of confidence that the answer will be revealed soon.

Lieutenant Colonel Walker-Taylor also landed with the main force. When the sky was filled with sunset glow, the Johor Strait, which had been noisy all day, became quiet, and more than 60 small boats all returned to the port.

The departure of a large number of troop transport ships reduced the number of sails that originally covered the sea like a forest to a small number. There were also some ships transporting supplies, but these supplies would not be unloaded on the Malay Peninsula.

The rest were warships of the British and French combined fleet, of which there were only three small French sailing frigates, which were Da Nang patrol boats under the jurisdiction of the French Saigon Governor-General's Office. Each sailing frigate had only 5 to 7 guns, which was considered a shoddy operation.

The proud French would never allow the French warships to be absent, even if they could only piece together a few small fish and shrimps, they had to show their presence.

Lieutenant Colonel Walker-Taylor curled his lips in disdain, and was extremely disdainful of the French's stubborn pursuit of face and pretending to be big shots. He was full of respect for the strength of the British Royal Navy fleet, which made him unconsciously straighten his back again.

Lieutenant Colonel Taylor looked across the Strait of Johor, where large tracts of mangroves grew densely all the way to the shallows of the coast. Countless shrimps and crabs lived there, attracting large flocks of seabirds for food.

When the tide recedes

Large areas of soft mud and sand are exposed in the shallows of the coast, as well as some fish and shrimp that do not have time to return to the sea. That is the carnival moment for seabirds.

This is the main reason why we did not land directly on the Singapore side.

Without a wide enough landing area, the British and French soldiers who landed on the shore were vulnerable to concentrated fire from enemy soldiers hiding in the tropical jungle, and this was their most vulnerable time.

The original landing site of the Chu army was just a small beach, and then there was a road that went deep into the tropical jungle, which should lead to the remote mountain village.

In order to guard against traps, the British and French forces planned to land at three locations at the same time, and then study how to proceed next based on the specific situation.

Following the already opened forest roads is undoubtedly the most labor-saving and worry-free way.

However, unlike the Chu army, the British and French expeditionary forces would inevitably be attacked by the enemy when they landed, either during landing or while passing through the tropical jungle roads.

Based on the knowledge of the British and French allied officers on the brutality of the Chu army;
These Orientals will not miss any opportunity to attack the coalition forces, so be extra cautious to avoid unnecessary losses.

The landing troops will carry a large number of tools and plan to open a new road in the dense forest, which is estimated to take 2 to 3 days. The specific situation will be seen after landing.

If the Eastern army's attacks are frequent and delay the process of opening up jungle roads, it is very likely that it will be delayed for a few days.

The British and French forces were fully prepared for this.

Lieutenant Colonel Taylor was also very curious about what these Oriental troops were hiding.
(End of this chapter)