The fleet still left Naha Port at night, and after arranging the fleet's sailing, Tan Renhao came to the gangway outside the island. Although the sea breeze in July is no longer so biting, it carries a coolness. Tan Renhao looked at the island that was gradually disappearing behind him, and suddenly had a very melancholy feeling.

"Lao Lei, they passed through Naha Port the day before yesterday, the fleet did not enter the port, and it was a supply at the Kerama anchorage, I wanted to go to him, but then I still didn't go."

Hao Dongjue leaned on the fence next to him, "They'll be fine this time, right?" ”

Tan Renhao shook his head with a smile and said, "Shaoqing is also constantly learning and improving. A year ago, he was my chief of staff, and he did a great job, and although he made some low-level mistakes in the later battles, this could not hide his merits, let alone deny his ability to learn. Do you know what the one topic he and I argued about the most when I was at school? ”

"What?"

Hao Dongjue turned around and leaned against the fence.

"At that time, he always believed that battleships were more powerful than aircraft carriers, and he never believed that aircraft carriers, which did not even have medium-caliber naval guns, could control the seas, so he argued with me no less than ten times, and also did several war games......

"And he lost?"

Tan Renhao smiled. "The result does not matter, the subsequent brutal war proved that the aircraft carrier is the new hegemon of the seas, and even on some specific occasions, the battleship still has its irreplaceable position, but in a regular naval battle, the battleship is already outdated."

Hao Dongjue nodded slightly, he is a firm aircraft carrier officer, which has a lot to do with his aviation status.

Later, Shaoqing realized this, and unswervingly supported us, and is still working hard to learn aircraft carrier tactics, from Chengdu Flight Command College, to the Fifth Fleet, to the First Task Force. And then to the Second Task Force. ”

Tan Renhao also turned around, "We shouldn't just see his flaws, we should see more of his progress, right?" ”

"Renhao, if you are a marshal, then we are blessed."

Tan Renhao smiled and slapped his partner's fist. "So, I'm not worried about Shaoqing and them. With the lessons learned last time, they will definitely improve a lot this time. The Imperial Navy was built from scratch in terms of aircraft carrier tactics. From less to more, it was groped out step by step in the war. No one had a solid tactical foundation before the outbreak of war, and we all matured through the test of actual combat. In recent years, many outstanding officers have also been trained. By the way, that Huang Xiaotian was brought out by you, right? ”

Hao Dongjue nodded. "That kid called me when he went to Task Force 4 and said something thankful, I really don't know what he said."

"If it weren't for his several suggestions, Task Force 2 would have suffered even more losses, and would have missed the opportunity to take out Task Force 16. The Rector promoted him to the post of Chief of Staff of Task Force IV. And no new commander of the fleet was appointed. It seems that the principal is ready to focus on training him. ”

"But he's not a traditional naval officer, he's just like me. He also graduated from aviation school. ”

Hao Dongjue glanced at Tan Renhao with a little disbelief, in his opinion, it was difficult for those who were not from traditional naval officer backgrounds to get out in the navy.

"Then why did you become the chief of staff of the brigadier general?"

Tan Renhao patted his partner on the shoulder, "The principal is not the kind of person who is nepotistic. Liao Hanxiang, Wu Xianyu, and you, as well as the many young officers in the navy now, how many of them graduated from the Naval Officers Academy? As long as he is able, the principal will promote him. Don't worry, if Huang Xiaotian is really a good aircraft carrier commander. It is believed that it will not be long before he becomes the official commander of the fleet, and not the chief of staff of the fleet. ”

"Then I wasn't given by a latecomer?"

Hao Dongjue smiled bitterly, "However, I believe that if you follow you, sooner or later you will have a chance to get ahead." ”

Tan Renhao hugged his friend. "Boy, don't think about eating ready-made food for the rest of your life, sooner or later you will have to command the fleet alone, and when the time comes. It's up to you. ”

Both of them burst out laughing, and Hao Dongjue didn't know what choice he would make if one day there was a position of fleet commander in front of him.

While Task Force 1 was galloping to the southeast, Task Force 2 was preparing to leave the Iwo Jima anchorage. This was the last docking and replenishment work of the 2nd Task Force before leaving the Tang Empire's sphere of influence, and according to the plan, after the fleet left the anchorage at Iwo Jima, the next replenishment was scheduled after the Battle of Wake Island Deng 6.

"The news from Team 6 that they will leave Saipan before dawn as planned, we have to get out as soon as possible."

Lei Shaoqing took the telegram, swept it quickly, and said, "Is the replenishment of the fleet completed?" ”

"Just done, now it's ready to go."

Chang Jianxin let out a sigh and wiped the sweat off his forehead. The tropical seas were very hot in the summer, and the officers and men of the battleships were shirtless.

The fleet soon left the Iwo Jima anchorage. According to naval regulations, the boilers of the battleships will not go out when the fleet is at anchorage for a short time. This short stay is mainly to replenish the battleship with fuel, as well as fresh water, food, etc., without the need to replenish ammunition. The entire replenishment process takes only a few hours, and after the replenishment is completed, the fleet will leave without making too many stops.

More than 30 warships6 sailed out of the anchorage, and after determining a new course, they headed in the direction of about 2o degrees south-east, and the second task force will undertake two main tasks, one is to bomb the US airfield on Wake Island before boarding the 6, seize air supremacy nearby, and clear the way for the 6th squadron to board the 6 warships. During the 6th squadron's boarding of the 6th squadron, the fleet will also assume the task of artillery support, so four more heavy cruisers and eight destroyers were assigned, plus several cruisers that originally belonged to the fleet, to form a separate artillery formation and go out to carry out the artillery mission.

The sea was calm, and the battleship sailed smoothly. The displacement of the "Hu" class aircraft carrier has increased by more than 10,000 tons compared with the "Yangtze River" class, and its seaworthiness is much better, and even when sailing at the fastest cruising degree of 18 knots, there will not be too many ups and downs. Perhaps, this is the most popular point among the officers and men of the fleet. After the navigation staff took over the navigation work of the fleet, Lei Shaoqing came to the gangway of the ship island.

"Why don't you go to rest yet?"

Chang Jianxin also quickly followed, and he was in charge of night duty.

"I'm not very tired yet."

Lei Shaoqing took out a cigarette as he spoke, "Chang." Do you think we'll have better luck this time? ”

Chang Jianxin smiled and said nothing, he knew very well what Lei Shaoqing was thinking now. Since the last naval battle, Lei Shaoqing's state has been very sluggish. The outcome of the "Second Battle of the Marianas" was nothing short of a disaster for Task Force 2. The losses of the 1st Task Force were not under the 2nd Task Force, but the 1st Task Force was originally a decoy, and it also seized the 17th Task Force of the US Army, launched a sharp attack, and judged that the attack of the 2nd Task Force had created an opportunity at a critical moment. Tan Renhao completed his task well. On the contrary, the second task force, as the main attacking force, although it seized the key offensive opportunity, made a fatal mistake in the later defense, burying two aircraft carriers for the sake of dozens of bombers! Someone must take this responsibility, and Lei Shaoqing has always wanted to take this responsibility, he is not the kind of person who will evade responsibility. In the end, the principal cited the overall victory in the naval battle, successfully achieved the strategic goal, and successfully covered the 6th Sentai battle on Saipan. The matter of pursuing the defeat of the Second Task Force in the operation was suppressed. Lei Shaoqing was not implicated as a result. Although he lost the opportunity to be promoted to vice admiral with Tan Renhao, he retained the position of the most important fleet commander. Lei Shaoqing and Chang Jianxin both understand that the principal is protecting them. And it gave them this chance now, the last chance.

"If we attack Wake Island, will the USS Enterprise come out to meet it?"

Lei Shaoqing turned around, handed a cigarette to his partner, and then lit it himself.

"Definitely."

Chang Jianxin also lit a cigarette, "According to the plan, the Southwest Pacific Theater will not attack until we have achieved a key victory. Now, the news of the departure of our two task forces from the naval base has definitely spread, and the American side will not be unaware. From the movement and assembly of the 6th Sentai in the Mariana Islands, the US military can clearly judge. Our offensive targets are either Wake Island or the Marshall Islands. Maybe they will tolerate our capture of the Marshall Islands, but they will not tolerate our capture of Wake Island. In order to defend Wake Island, then they will definitely dispatch the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier battle group to seize the opportunity to take out us, at least depriving us of the ability to land on 6 Wake Island. ”

Lei Shaoqing nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then walked into the command cabin. Chang Jianxin also immediately followed, and the two soon came to the chart table.

"This is our line of attack."

Lei Shaoqing marked the route of the fleet on the chart, "Our goal is to attack Wake Island. In order to avoid being attacked by U.S. bombers deployed on the Marshall Islands, the fleet was able to enter from the northwest of Wake Island, not too far south and not too far east. ”

Chang Jianxin lay down, this line is dead, the south will face the bombers on the Marshall Islands, and the east will face the US long-range bombers on Midway.

"We have very limited space for activities."

Lei Shaoqing drew the general scope of activities of the fleet on the chart, and in terms of cartography, any officer from the Naval Officers Academy has a solid foundation. "Well, if the U.S. military judges that our target is Wake Island, they can roughly judge our range of activities. Although they are also worried that the 1st Task Force will participate in combat operations here, the 1st Task Force will enter the patrol range of the US reconnaissance planes on the Bismarck Islands in three days, and it is very likely that it will be exposed in advance. Then, the US military can know very clearly that we only have one task force operating here, and there are only two aircraft carriers, and although they only have one aircraft carrier, it is enough to pose a mortal threat to us. ”

"If this is the case, there is a high probability that the US military will attack."

"And if the U.S. military knows that we only have one task force to participate in the war, then they will definitely be able to judge that our target is not the Marshall Islands, but Wake Island!"

Lei Shaoqing clicked on the location of Wake Island on the chart, "If the US military chooses to send the 'Enterprise' aircraft carrier battle group to attack, where is the best interception position?" ”

Chang Jianxin looked carefully at the chart for a while, and then circled a sea area with a pencil. "It must be in the northeast of Wake Island, so that they can intercept us and, if the interception is successful, force our 6th Fleet to stay away from Wake Island and abandon the 6th Wake Island."

"Yes, this is it!"

Lei Shaoqing laughed, "And the US fleet can also get the support of long-range reconnaissance planes on Midway Island when it operates in this sea area, so that the 'Enterprise' aircraft carrier can carry as many bombers as possible instead of reconnaissance planes." ”

"Then, we have to choose a better position, and if the American fleet attacks, then we have to kill them first, and then deal with the airfield on Wake Island."

Lei Shaoqing leaned back in the chair, held his chin and thought for a while, and said, "It seems that we have to take a bold action according to Ren Hao's combat thinking." Is there any latest intelligence from the US Navy that has changed their carrier-based aircraft? ”

"The fighter is still the F4u, but the dive bomber should be replaced with a better sBd."

"Is there any detailed data on such American bombers?"

Lei Shaoqing glanced at his partner.

Chang Jianxin shook his head, it is not easy to figure out the enemy's new bomber, and it is even more difficult to figure out the performance of the enemy's new bomber.

"Then, we estimate that the maximum strike radius of the US aircraft carrier-based aircraft has been extended to 3oo nautical miles, and the maximum strike radius of our bombers has reached 35o nautical miles."

Lei Shaoqing picked up the scale and compared it on the chart for a while, "It seems that we have to prepare for two aspects." ”

Chang Jianxin saw the lines and arcs drawn by Lei Shaoqing on the chart, and immediately understood what Lei Shaoqing meant. If the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier battle group really goes into battle, then the task force of the second task force this time will be mainly to attack the US Navy fleet, and after this mission is completed, it will bomb Wake Island!