"Report! News came from the army, the first wave of air raids by the Japanese army, was counterattacked! An American officer, standing behind Major General Fletcher, reported.

On the bridge of the USS Hornet, Fletcher looked at the chart in front of him and asked his assistant, "Haven't found the exact location of the Japanese Navy's aircraft carrier fleet?" ”

"Sir, it hasn't been found yet, our reconnaissance aircraft has identified two suspicious areas, and there are still three left that have not been ruled out." An officer hurriedly replied.

Fletcher shook his head, unable to determine the location of the Japanese Navy's aircraft carrier fleet, he could not launch a decent counterattack.

The P-40 fighters of the Army Aviation were barely able to intercept Japanese fighters, and it would be a joke to expect the Army Aviation to deal with the Navy.

Goering had promised that his air force could attack sea targets, and the result was the subsequent slap in the face from the Dunkirk miracle.

He is not Goering, and he does not think that army aviation, which is not trained in naval attacks on a daily basis, can play a role in attacking sea surface targets at critical moments.

Therefore, the army aviation on Midway is a shield and a decoy, and the 50 carrier-based attack aircraft in the hands of the Navy are the daggers of the US Navy's counterattack.

It is indeed a dagger, and compared with the combat effectiveness of the six aircraft carriers of the Japanese Navy and the combat effectiveness of hundreds of aircraft that can take off in a wave, the current counterattack force of the US Navy is really weak.

If the Japanese Navy's fleet attack power is a spear, the US Navy's counterattack force can only be regarded as a "dagger" at best.

"Let the reconnaissance planes continue to scout, and the destroyer fleet will search forward! At all costs, we will be the first to find the position of the Japanese fleet! Fletcher knew he didn't have much time left.

After the first attack, the Japanese fleet will definitely think of a better way to suppress the army aviation on Midway.

And the best way is to rely on the air superiority provided by the Zero fighter and use battleships to solve the problem.

"We have a large number of anti-aircraft guns deployed on Midway, and hundreds of aircraft! The Japanese army could not complete the suppression by relying on aviation. "Fletcher is well aware of the strength of his own defenses on the island.

That's why he was worried that the Japanese army would be eager to solve the problem: "If the Japanese army starts shelling, the airfield of the army aviation will have anti-aircraft guns, and it will not play any role!" ”

The basic tactic of the US Navy is to rely on Midway and its own fleet to act as horns for each other to make up for the lack of naval aviation.

Once Midway or the naval fleet were wiped out, the U.S. forces, which lacked another part of their combat effectiveness, would not be able to resist the Japanese navy's attack alone.

So, Fletcher wanted to keep the airfield of the Army Air Corps and find the location of the Japanese Navy aircraft carriers before the Japanese Navy covered Midway with heavy artillery.

As long as the Japanese Navy presses down on Midway and then pulls the battle back to the sea, it can continue to seize the initiative and put the Japanese in a dilemma.

……

"Still haven't been able to find the location of the American fleet!" The same thing happened on the bridge of the battleship Nagato of the Japanese Navy.

A Japanese officer bowed his head and reported to Yamamoto Isoroku on the latest reconnaissance plane reconnaissance results.

"The U.S. fleet has not appeared, and they are still using army aviation to tear ......apart our Zero fighters," the news from General Nagumo Tadaichi also corroborated this conclusion.

Yamamoto still didn't speak, he listened to the reports of his subordinates, and wondered in his heart whether the United States deliberately abandoned Midway, or whether the American fleet was so calm.

You know, in his calculations, the United States of Midway cannot give up. Once he occupied Midway, the initiative in the Pacific theater was in the hands of the Japanese Navy.

If this time the US Navy does not show up...... That's really Amaterasu blessing Japan......

After praying in his heart, Yamamoto Fifty-six was firm in his desire to press on his own fleet of battleships.

"Order the battleship squadron to continue to move closer to Midway, and let General Nagumo Tadaichi take off the carrier-based aircraft to cover the battleship to the designated position!" He looked at the charts and gave his orders.

The choice of the Japanese Navy was to continue its own operational arrangement, suppressing the US Army Aviation at Midway with naval guns.

In Yamamoto's calculations, as soon as his battleships began to bombard, the balance of victory and defeat in the battle would be tilted in favor of Japan.

Without the U.S. Air Force at Midway, the U.S. Navy was not strong enough to pose a threat to the Japanese fleet.

"Let the search fleet continue to work! The American fleet cannot be allowed to move around! Continue to send reconnaissance aircraft as planned! I'm going to make sure the US Navy fleet isn't around! On the other hand, Yamamoto still did not relax his search of the surrounding seas.

He knew that he had at least three times as many troops, and as long as he found the American fleet first, he would win the battle.

At the foot of Yamamoto Isoroku, the battleship Nagato was turning to accelerate. And following the battleship Nagato was the battleship Mutsu of the same class.

These two battleships used to be called the pride of the Japanese Navy, but now this pride has given way to the battleship Yamato, which is the flagship of the supply fleet.

Because he did not complete the training, most of the positions were still cadets of the naval academy, so although the battleship Yamato was dispatched this time, it was not allowed to join the front-line combat.

To put it bluntly, it's just here to learn and support a personal field. So when Yamamoto Fifty-six calculated his combat power, he didn't even count it.

If you count the battleship Yamato, then this time the Japanese fleet flew a total of seven battleships, not six.

Standing on the bridge, the captain of the battleship Nagato stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "Your Excellency General, for your safety, would you like to change the flagship and move to the air fleet to continue commanding the operation?" ”

"There's no need for that!" Waving his hand, Yamamoto Isoroku replied with a smile: "The enemy does not have any means that can threaten the battleship fleet, so why be so cautious?" ”

He glanced at the captain of the battleship Nagato and said word by word: "The battleship fleet fires, and we are almost half of the victory...... I'm going to stand here and watch your main guns attack the enemy! ”

"Hey!" The captain of the battleship Nagato was so encouraged that he bowed his head and said, "Please wait for the news of our victory!" ”