Just when the Joint Staff Association was gearing up and preparing to let Halsey swallow the Japanese fleet in one bite, in the war room of the Katsuragi aircraft carrier, Horiyoshi was also listening to the summary of intelligence from all sides and discussing the next countermeasures:

"A telegram was sent from the Second Air Warfare, and at 5:15 p.m. this afternoon, the US fleet was found in the southeast direction, heading 295 degrees and sailing at a speed of 17 knots, suspected to be the main force of the enemy's Pacific Fleet, about 1,100 kilometers away from the Tsunoda fleet. The other two air battles informed them that they had limited fuel and did not dare to use the fastest speed, so they only used economic speed, and they were expected to rush to the designated rendezvous point to meet our department in 72 hours. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo”

Chiaki Matsuda signaled to the staff officer to mark the location of the Halsey fleet, and at the same time reported the news of the Tsukahara fleet: "Chief Tsukahara commanded the main force of the First Naval Campaign to arrive in the east of Hawaii, which is basically at the same latitude as Hawaii Island, 2,600 kilometers away from Hawaii, about 1,700 kilometers away from Los Angeles, and 1,900 kilometers away from the US fleet, and has not been discovered by US reconnaissance planes. ”

"The U.S. fleet is surrounded on three sides by our army?" Horikichi looked at the charts and laughed, "This American fleet is 2,000 kilometers away from me, 1,100 kilometers from Kakuda, and 1,900 kilometers from Tsukahara...... It's so much fun! ”

"The strength of this fleet is not weak, it has 2-3 fleet carriers, more than 12 escort carriers, and it seems that there are 2 battleships!"

Horiyoshi nodded: The Halsey fleet can fight any of its own fleets, but it is not easy to retreat unharmed after the battle, and he asked the staff officers to deduce the four fleets of the enemy and us according to the current course and speed and mark the possible positions tomorrow morning.

"At 7 o'clock in the morning of October 27, our unit was 1,500 kilometers away from the Tsunoda fleet, 1,800 kilometers away from the U.S. fleet, and about 800 kilometers from the U.S. fleet."

Looking at the situation after the deduction, he thought for a moment and asked Chiaki Matsuda: "You say, has the enemy judged that our army is about to converge?" ”

Chiaki Matsuda thought about it carefully and nodded slowly: "Although the U.S. military didn't know about the lack of fuel in the Second Air War, it was a fact that he fought Seattle and we fought Pearl Harbor, and both fleets suffered losses to varying degrees, so I guess that these two enemy forces will converge ......."

"So the course is now towards our rendezvous."

"But it doesn't make sense......" Chiaki Matsuda was confused, "First, the U.S. military doesn't know where our side is converging, and second, in the era of aircraft carrier operations, the two fleets don't have to converge at a visual distance to exert their combat effectiveness, and they can cooperate with each other at a suitable distance. The headquarters believed that the most likely possibility for the enemy to come and attack one part of our army, and then attack the other fleet with the threat of victory. The reason why he went to the meeting point was because he hadn't decided which one to hit first, or which part he could hit first. ”

Horiyoshi nodded: "There is a factor that you can't ignore, Pearl Harbor will definitely send reconnaissance planes again after sunrise tomorrow, and it will be easier for them to find our army, unless I adjust the course drastically now......"

"You want to?"

"If the fleet withdraws in the direction of Midway now, the U.S. military will most likely not be able to find us." Horikichi smiled, "But it's impossible, if I retreat there, the second air battle without fuel will be entangled and killed, and even Tsukahara can't save him." ”

Chiaki Matsuda was so angry that his teeth itched: "Tsunoda, this guy, in the end, the chief has to save him." ”

"The U.S. military is not trying to close the distance with this fleet at the moment, because the distance is too far now, and it is too late for him to chase it, but it is a bit intriguing that he is gradually getting closer to the meeting point of our army - the opponent's judgment is quite accurate!" Hori Yoshichi sighed, "The commander of the US military is not weak, we must be careful." ”

The TF50's forward course was determined after many discussions between Halsey, McCain and others, and although Halsey wanted to rush over immediately and kill Horikikishi's troops, after listening to Spruance's opinion, he took cautious countermeasures, and maintained the 295-degree course for three reasons:

First, the Horiyoshi fleet had a clear course for its east-northerly retreat north of Hawaii, as confirmed by the Pearl Harbor reconnaissance aircraft.

Second, Tsunoda's final course after breaking away from the West Coast surveillance was to move south-west, and it was also clear that he believed that the final position of the two was the most likely direction of convergence of the Japanese forces, after a simple line of connection;

Third, even if the Japanese did not converge in this way, the TF50 would at least be able to stop the Tsunoda fleet and avoid being overtaken by the Tsukahara fleet behind it, although Halsey did not know where the Tsukahara fleet was at the moment.

The TF50 fleet, which had 2 battleships, 2-3 fleet carriers, and about 12 escort carriers, made Horikichi think that it would be difficult to deal with it on his own, and that he must cooperate with Tsunoda to fight - whether he sends oil to Tsunoda or not, he must converge, otherwise there is a possibility that he will be broken by the American forces. So he smiled and said, "Don't blame Tsunoda, it was my order to lure the enemy, and he did the job brilliantly." At present, the US Pacific Fleet has such strength, if he is at Pearl Harbor during the day today, we will not be able to move at all! ”

Chiaki Matsuda and Ichichi both nodded: If the TF50 fleet was at Pearl Harbor, the US military would have 550 new combat aircraft today; If the first and second attack waves attacked the U.S. fleet first, it would certainly have achieved heavy casualties, but the support fleet would have suffered heavy losses in the subsequent counterattack by the U.S. Army Fleet. If the first two attack waves still only attack Pearl Harbor, the counterattack launched by the TF50 fleet will be too much for Horikichi to bear; If the third attack wave had been sent out in the first place, both the fleet and the aircraft would have suffered even heavier losses.

In the final analysis: If the Halsey fleet was at Pearl Harbor, Hori would not be able to gnaw at Pearl Harbor at all, and it was only after Halsey left the port that the preconditions were provided for the two dozen Pearl Harbors and the destruction of US fuel oil.

Chiaki Matsuda is also in trouble, tomorrow morning, the Pearl Harbor reconnaissance plane will definitely come again to look for the fleet, if it does not change course, it is very likely to be tracked; If you retreat in the direction of Midway instead, then Tsunoda will be finished; If the northeast side accelerates the convergence, it will coincide with the advance course of the Halsey fleet, and the distance between them will shrink rapidly, and the Americans may hit themselves in the evening...... It doesn't seem like a choice.

Horikichi was obviously more calm than him: "Keep the speed and course of the fleet unchanged, and let the Americans come......"

"What do you mean?"

"Inform Tsunoda that the meeting point has been changed to 2,500 kilometers north of Pearl Harbor, so that he can adjust his course; In addition, it is hoped that he will send a reconnaissance plane as soon as possible to maintain a contact distance of 900-1,000 kilometers with the US military as much as possible, so that the enemy can see it, but not be hit by the enemy. ”

"See if you don't hit it? I'm afraid it's not easy. "Chiaki Matsuda Khan, how can there be such a strategy?

"Easy!" Horiyoshi is confident.

"You made me think about it." Matsuda Chiaki's mind was spinning rapidly, and several staff officers were also thinking hard about what Horiyoshi meant by "I can see that I can't fight"? However, just 1,100 kilometers away, the US military has a whole day, and with a little effort, it can reduce the distance to within 800 kilometers and release carrier-based aircraft to attack.

Chiaki Matsuda thought about it for a full 5 minutes, but finally he was still not sure, and only asked a word in confusion: "Speed?" ”

Horikichi nodded: "Yes, it's speed!" The Tsunoda fleet can actually run 27 knots, and now it runs 16 knots just to save fuel, and the U.S. fleet can only run 18.5 knots at the earliest. Now that the two armies are 1,100 kilometers apart, assuming that both sides follow the same course, what do you think will happen? ”

The staff officers suddenly realized: the fastest speed of the Halsey fleet is 18.5 knots, and the Tsunoda fleet is 16 knots, and if the situation is parallel in the same direction, it means that it can only be shortened by 2-3 knots per hour, and a day is shortened by 30-40 nautical miles at best, and the distance is now 1,100 kilometers.

"At present, the overall direction of the US military is to the north, whether it is northwest or due north, as long as Tsunoda changes the route from south to north, the Americans will not be able to catch him for a while and a half."

"But what if the other party speeds up? Although Tsunoda can also run 27 knots, if he really runs at this speed, he will run out of gas on the third day. ”

"Americans can't run so fast, 18.5 knots is their limit."

"It is true that the Casablanca-class can only run 18.5 knots, but the Essex class can run more than 30 knots, and the other two battleships should also be able to run more than 30 knots, and the US military can organize a fast formation to pursue it alone!"

Due to the capture of many American officers and soldiers, the Japanese knew the performance of the Essex class and Casablanca class well, so Horiyoshi was sure that the American formation could only run at that speed, and he responded to Chiaki Matsuda's question:

"The way you said exists, so that the other side has to make a tactical choice, choosing one of the two options:

First, no matter how we go, he will continue to press all his troops, maintain a speed of 18.5 knots and slowly come, even if his two fleets converge, he will kill all the warships in a state of convergence.

Second, he made a bet with us to pull out the fast formation alone and speed up to catch up with the Tsunoda fleet. ”

Horiyoshi smiled: "I don't care about the first option, he shortens more than 100 kilometers a day, just 400 kilometers in 3 days, and when he can hit us, Tsunoda should have joined our army, everyone has a full set of men and horses, and they will fight step by step; If the enemy commander were to make the second option, the American fleet would be split into two parts, and the two echelons would be more and more spaced apart. In this way, after forcing the enemy to divide his troops, I will have an opportunity. ”

"It's not easy, is it?" Chiaki Matsuda asked suspiciously, "The Americans have 2 Essex-class, which is equivalent to 3 Yunlong-class in terms of combat effectiveness, and the second air battle is only 2 Yunlong-class and is not satisfied, once they are caught up, even if they don't consider the fuel factor, they may not be able to beat it." ”

"I can't beat Tsunoda alone, but I still have a way to ......"