The fleet left the anchorage on the night of the 31st. The 1st Task Force set out four hours ahead and headed for the Saipan battlefield with the fastest cruising speed (18 knots). Four hours later, Task Force 2 also left the Iwo Jima anchorage, but their destination was not the Saipan battlefield, but another area of standby.

"New weather forecast."

Soon after the fleet left the fleet, a telegram came from Anatahan Island, and Hao Dongjue handed the telegram to Tan Renhao, who was standing outside the commander's cabin. "In the next five days, the weather conditions in the waters between Wake Island and the Mariana Islands will be bad, and there will be strong storms in some areas, and God will come to catch the excitement."

The Navy has a special weather forecasting department, and the weather has a very huge impact on naval warfare, especially on aircraft carrier operations. If the sea conditions exceed the fifth level, the aircraft carrier will have to return to the port for refuge, if it passes the fourth level, it will not be able to sail normally, and if it exceeds the third level, it will not be able to carry out combat missions. That is to say, the requirements of the aircraft carrier for the sea state are relatively high (under normal circumstances, the battleship can fight in the sea state of the fifth level, and at this time, the aircraft carrier can only hide back in the harbor) If the conditions are too bad, it is not beneficial to both warring parties.

"Perhaps, this is the Yankees' so-called bullshit God is manifesting!"

Tan Renhao sneered, "Pay close attention to the weather conditions, ask the meteorological department, as well as the reconnaissance aircraft unit of HNA, if you can let the reconnaissance plane fly as far away as possible." I don't want to fight in the dark. ”

Hao Dongjue immediately found a communications staff officer and asked him to send a telegram.

"When will the fleet arrive at the predetermined sea?"

Tan Renhao leaned on the railing, and he also felt that the wind was getting stronger and stronger (mostly an illusion, the aircraft carrier was adding) "Tomorrow evening, the morning after tomorrow can participate in the bombing operation." ”

The day after tomorrow is April 2, and if the U.S. fleet leaves Pearl Harbor on the 31st, and the two aircraft carriers that have arrived from the west coast of the United States also arrive on the 31st, and complete the replenishment in time, and then move all westward, then they should appear in the waters not far east of Wake Island on the 2nd.

"Let Hainan Airlines in about three days. Patrols in the eastern waters will be strengthened as much as possible. ”

Tan Renhao quickly made up his mind, "When will Luo Yunchong's reconnaissance plane be able to be sent?" ”

"Early tomorrow morning, Luo Yunchong has promised that if necessary, he can send bombers to support us!"

"There's no need for this for the time being, you know, the level of those bombers."

Tan Renhao laughed, "Okay." After the telegram, the fleet went into radio silence and prepared to meet the enemy! ”

The fleet is still adding, and the aircraft carrier is increased from 18 knots to 31 knots (limited by the degree of other warships, 31 knots is the fastest fleet degree, and now it is added, the main thing is to determine the state of the battleship after maintenance, if it is added again during the battle, and there is a problem, then there is no time to repair it) It will take about fifteen minutes. Look at the sea ahead. Tan Renhao's expression became extremely resolute. After discussing with Lei Shaoqing, Tan Renhao had already made a decision. Even if the first task force is sacrificed in exchange for victory, then there is also a second task force. The Imperial Navy still had three aircraft carriers to fight with, and at that time it would still hold sea supremacy. And the US Navy will lose the last fleet, lose the sea supremacy of the entire Pacific Ocean, and the situation will be more beneficial to the Empire!

Judging from the entire battle situation, even if the First Task Force is a bait, it is an extremely valuable bait, but Tan Renhao is still worried about one thing, that is, whether the Second Task Force has the ability to seize that fleeting opportunity. This can be said to be the most uncertain factor, and it is also the point that Tan Renhao is most worried about, he knows Lei Shaoqing too well. knows Lei Shaoqing's shortcomings, and also knows Lei Shaoqing's advantages!

Lei Shaoqing's biggest flaw and advantage is his stability. In terms of personality, Lei Shaoqing is by no means the kind of person who is steady, but when he commands the battle, he is extremely steady. This is just the opposite of Tan Renhao, usually, Tan Renhao is very steady, but when directing battles, he is more adventurous. Steadiness is a good thing. It's also a bad thing. In the position of chief of staff, Lei Shaoqing's steadfastness made up for the defects of Tan Renhao's adventurous spirit to a large extent, which is also one of the reasons why the two cooperated so perfectly. But now, Lei Shaoqing is in the position of commander of the fleet, and his chief of staff Chang Zhixin is more stable than him. This is not necessarily a good thing when two stable people are paired (similarly, Hao Dongjue is also an adventurous person, and his partner with Tan Renhao is not perfect) Tan Renhao is worried about this. From the "Battle of the Philippines" to the "First Battle of the Marianas", Lei Shaoqing actually missed two opportunities, in the final analysis, he was too steady and lacked the spirit of innovation and adventure. If he could spread the search range of the fleet a little more and let the fleet move a little southeast during the "Battle of the Philippine Sea", it would be very likely that he would catch the American fleet and kill an aircraft carrier (for the later ground war situation, if the US Navy had one less aircraft carrier, then the whole situation would have almost completely changed) and when the second chance came, Lei Shaoqing still did not realize this, Acting in strict accordance with the orders of the Navy Command (which was actually the main reason for his exoneration), he missed the opportunity to appear first to the 16th Task Force, and instead of taking out Halsey, he suffered heavy losses.

From Tan Renhao's standpoint, he didn't have much affection for the steady commander. This was not a problem of Lei Shaoqing alone, but a common problem in the Imperial Navy at that time. Not to mention those veterans, even young generals like Yan Shiqi are very conservative (the "Night Battle of Anatahan Island" shows Yan Shiqi's conservatism very thoroughly), and the education of the Imperial Naval Officers Academy is also very conservative, and the young officers who have been cultivated are no exception. It can only be said that Tan Renhao is an outlier, and Hao Dongjue is not from the orthodox background of the navy, and he has not been greatly affected (since the establishment of the aviation force, with the leader Liao Hanxiang, it is synonymous with radicalism) Lei Shaoqing and Chang Jianxin are both from the Naval Officer Academy, and it is not surprising that the two are conservative in their combat thinking.

Thinking of what he talked to Lei Shaoqing in the afternoon, Tan Renhao couldn't help laughing. The difference between aircraft carrier operations and previous fleet operations is too great, and if the thinking is too conservative, it will not do any good. The focus of aircraft carriers was on offense, while the previous fleet operations focused on defense, by taking a favorable position, forming a strong defensive line, and finally crushing the attacking enemy. This fundamental difference actually determines the difference in operations, and it is all the more necessary for commanders to change their thinking. In order to let Lei Shaoqing understand this truth, Tan Renhao gave a large number of examples. From the "Battle of Jutland" to the "Battle of Hachijojima" to several large-scale naval battles in recent years, these naval battles have all illustrated one point, that is, with the emergence of new warships, the tactics of the navy have undergone a radical change, and it is necessary to abandon the old ideas and use new tactics to defeat the enemy!

"Renhao, I've been contacted. Both the HNA and the meteorological department will do their best to help us. ”

After Hao Dongjue was busy, he came to the outside of the bridge again, "Why don't you go to eat yet?" ”

"I don't have much of an appetite."

Tan Renhao turned around, "You say, Shaoqing, can they seize the opportunity this time?" ”

Hao Dongjue frowned slightly, and when Tan Renhao used battle examples to explain that the basic tactics of naval warfare had undergone great changes, he and Chang Jianxin were present. Hao Dongjue is not a stupid person, Tan Renhao has spent so much tongue and so much energy, and it is not only the change in naval warfare tactics that he wants to explain. He also wants to make Lei Shaoqing and the new students who are often recommended change.

"It's hard to say. However, I believe in Lao Lei and Lao Chang. ”

Hao Dongjue sighed, "What do you say?" The four of us are iron buddies, closer than brothers. Now, the two of us have gone to the front to block the bullets, and for this reason, they have to do their best, and they can't let us die in vain, right? ”

"Who will sacrifice? It's not clear who will eat it! ”

Both laughed. The two men had few common interests and hobbies, but on the issue of warfare, their views were the most consistent and similar.

The fleet is still moving fast, at the time of passing through the Maug Islands. It's getting dark. Tan Renhao went to rest first, and Hao Dongjue went to rest after arranging the staff officer on duty. The main task of this fleet was not to support the 6th Sentai in battle, but to wait for the arrival of the American fleet and fight a decisive battle with the American task force.

The fierce fighting on Saipan continues. Yan Guozhong also received the news that the US Pacific Fleet had gone to sea. It can be killed at any time. Although both task forces have now arrived, no one can guarantee the final outcome of the naval battle. Yan Guozhong will not pin his hopes on the fleet. After receiving the news, Yan Guozhong urgently transferred the reserves of two regiments and strengthened the offensive. In addition, the 6th Sentai also had a new mission, which was to temporarily abandon the attack on Tapocho Mountain and switch to sweeping the field airfield to the north. As long as the airfield can be taken, then the fighters of the HNA can be deployed, which can provide nearby support for the 6th Squadron, and second, it can assist the fleet in annihilating the US fleet.

The 6th Sentai began on the 28th with all its might to attack the field airfield in the north of Saipan. It quickly became a focal point of contention between the two sides. At its peak, the two sides invested a total of more than 20,000 troops, and the battle was extremely fierce. Both warring sides knew that this airfield was a key point on the entire battlefield.

Unlike the battle for the airfield on Anatahan Island, the artillery deployed by the US troops on Mount Tapocho was not completely wiped out, and the 6th Sentai attacked under the fire of the US troops. In addition, the 6th Sentai did not have the support of the artillery fleet, so it could only rely on its own artillery, HNA bombers, and those few fire support ships to attack. The battle continued until the night of April 1, when the airfield was still under the control of the American forces, and the 6th Sentai only advanced to the perimeter of the airfield.

On the morning of the 2nd, Task Force 1 carried out two rounds of bombing of Saipan, each with one squadron of bombers. This strength was actually insignificant, and by that time the HNA had concentrated at least fifteen bomber squadrons (some of which were fighter-bomber squadrons) on Anatahan Island to provide aviation fire support to the 6 squadrons. The 6th Sentai also did not expect strong support from the 1st Task Force, which has more important tasks!

"The second group of bombers will return at about one o'clock."

It is still Hao Dongjue who arranges the aviation operation, "When will the fleet turn?" ”

"Half past one, in addition, let the pilot hurry up and rest."

Tan Renhao is not very concerned about aviation operations, which is Hao Dongjue's strong point. "Have all the reconnaissance work been arranged?"

"All arrangements have already been made, and there are still three staff officers in charge of this matter, so we will come up with detailed arrangements tonight, and we will send a reconnaissance plane early tomorrow morning."

Tan Renhao nodded, and then let Hao Dongjue get busy. According to his estimates, the American fleet will appear between the 3rd and 5th, and although it is unlikely that it will appear on the 3rd, who can guarantee that the American fleet will not come by surprise? It is impossible to guarantee the safety of the fleet if we rely only on the reconnaissance planes of the HNA and the Strategic Strike Force, so Tan Renhao relies more on the reconnaissance planes of the fleet.

After looking at the chart for a while, Tan Renhao was not relaxed at all. Task Force 2 was ambushed to the northwest of them, standing by in the strait between Aramagan and Guam. It's safe enough, there are nearly ten squadrons of shore-based fighters of the HNA nearby, and no U.S. military aircraft can fly here. In addition, HNA has deployed dozens of long-range antisubmarine patrol planes on the island of Aramagan Island, and unless the US submarine can hold its way under the surface of the sea all the time, it will not be possible to kill them. The problem was that Task Force 2 was positioned a little too far back.

Thinking of this, Tan Renhao was a little big. Lei Shaoqing is still very conservative, which can be seen from his choice of the standby sea area of the Second Task Force. However, this problem is not serious, and if Task Force 2 can receive the news in time and kill it immediately, then there is still a good chance of victory.

After thinking about it for a while, Tan Renhao didn't think about it anymore. The crux of the matter is still on the enemy, who now knows very little about the situation with the American fleet, and even its size is not clear, and it is even more difficult to grasp its exact whereabouts. It is impossible to find a concrete response without making clear the whereabouts of the enemy.

At this time, the aircraft carrier began to turn, the returning bombers had already reached the sky over the fleet, and the aircraft carrier began to sail against the wind, preparing for the bombers to land on the deck. Tan Renhao walked to the porthole, the fleet was ready for a decisive battle, but the question was, can it have the last laugh?