"Lieutenant General, the airport on the island of New Caledonia is temporarily unusable, and 6 Catalina seaplanes were either destroyed in an air raid or lost contact in flight......"

In his commander's cabin, listening to his chief of staff, Major General Browning, report on the military situation, Lieutenant General Halsey waved his hand impatiently and said, "Major General, pick up the key points." Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo”

"Well, the point is that New Caledonia was blinded by the Japanese."

"It's just blind...... Don't log in? ”

"Not yet." Major General Browning replied.

Halsey picked up his coffee cup, took a sip, and thought about it: "There is no landing, which means that the Japanese fleet attacking New Caledonia did not carry a landing force." ”

Colonel Browning was a carrier-based aircraft pilot and an expert in the use of naval aviation, so he also considered the problem from the perspective of an aircraft carrier commander. He thought for a moment, and then said to Halsey: "Vice Admiral, there are two possibilities for the Japanese fleet not to carry the landing force, one is that the landing force is still on the way, and it will not launch the landing until the battleships and carrier-based aircraft completely suppress New Caledonia; The second possibility is ...... There is also a second Japanese fleet in the waters near New Caledonia, the Japanese air fleet! ”

"Japan's air fleet?" Halsey twirled his coffee cup slightly, "But submarine reconnaissance shows that Rabaul's main fleet is heading northwest...... It should be going to deal with our 3 broken fleets. ”

"Maybe the Japanese fleet going north doesn't have all of their large aircraft carriers!" Colonel Browning said that "the Japanese have a large number of aircraft carriers, perhaps more than 10 large aircraft carriers, and several light aircraft carriers." In terms of the use of aircraft carrier forces, they are very generous. ”

"There are already two 20,000-ton aircraft carriers near New Caledonia...... "Halsey said, crossing his fingers, "we have three broken aircraft carriers operating in the western Pacific, and if the Japanese want to ensure the safety of their two key routes, they will have to put at least two aircraft carriers on each of the two routes." So that the location of the 6 aircraft carriers can be confirmed. ”

"There are 5-6 aircraft carriers that are likely to be waiting for us in the Coral Sea!" Colonel Browning said, "Together with the two aircraft carriers accompanying the two Yamato, the Japanese have a maximum of eight aircraft carriers, and we have only four aircraft carriers." ”

"No, no." Halsey waved his hand, "Colonel, your algorithm is wrong. The Japanese had only 5-6 aircraft carriers available at most, because those 2 Yamato-class were too precious for the Japanese. If the Japanese used them as bait, they would definitely have a large number of Zero fighters on those two aircraft carriers. So in comparison of the number of aircraft carriers, we are 4 to 6 with the Japanese. Considering that our aircraft carriers can carry a relatively large number of carrier-based aircraft, we can basically be equal to the Japanese aircraft carrier formation in terms of the number of aircraft. ”

"We're not going to deal with those two Yamato-class ships of the Japanese?"

"No," Halsey shook his head, "where is this 70,000-ton and 80,000-ton battleship so easy to sink?" We ignored them and went to the aircraft carriers that the Japanese were ambushing us. It's also cost-effective to exchange one-to-one with the Japanese devils, and it's not a loss to exchange 4 ships for 3 of them! Because we are the US Navy with the most powerful industry in the world behind it, our Independence and Essex classes will soon begin to enter service in batches! ”

The lead ship of the Independence-class has already been commissioned, the lead ship of the Essex class will be commissioned in December, and by 43 years it will be a dumpling!

Not to mention 4 for 3, 4 for 2, or even 4 for 1, Halsey will be able to spell out Yamamoto's fifty-six old books sooner or later.

Colonel Browning thought for a moment, nodded and asked, "So...... And what if there was no Japanese aircraft carrier fleet ambushed north of the island of New Caledonia? ”

Halsey put down his coffee cup and spread his hands, "Don't we still have an army in the United States?" They have so many tanks, planes and artillery that they will definitely be able to keep Australia. ”

……

Nov. 5, 12:20 p.m.

Coral Sea, about 50 nautical miles off the island of New Caledonia, battleship Yamato.

Admiral Yamamoto stood on the bridge, listening to the thunderous roar coming from afar, which was the target of the battleships Kongo and Hiei shelling the island of New Caledonia.

Such shelling has been going on for several days, but there is not even a shadow of the American fleet. On the contrary, some destroyers of the Australian Navy did not dare to approach New Caledonia during the day, but quietly approached at night and then left in the early hours of the morning.

It is clear that this is the personnel on the retreat island! The Anglo-American Allies will soon be able to abandon New Caledonia......

Yamamoto fifty-six frowned, he didn't want to occupy New Caledonia at all. It's not that he doesn't know how important this island is, but he thinks that the Allies will defend the island to the death, and if they want to capture it, they will have to invest at least tens of thousands of army red deer. As a result, his fleet opened fire for several days, threw more than a hundred bombs, and the Allies seemed to have begun to retreat.

Judging by the meaning, all you need to do is use Rabaul to bring some troops over, and you can take New Caledonia without bloodshed.

But...... Where are the American aircraft carriers? Is it really not in the South Pacific?

"Is there a briefing on the situation in the Atlantic?" Fifty-six Yamamoto suddenly turned around and asked.

"Oh, there are some." Ugaki replied, "Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union formed the Allied Combined Fleet, with Admiral Ingersoll as the commander of the US Atlantic Fleet, and Bulganin, deputy chairman of the People's Commissars of the USSR and governor of the National Bank, as military commissar......"

"The Governor of the National Bank? Military commissar? Yamamoto Fifty-six was stunned, what is going on?

"This combined fleet is very powerful, and it has opened the Arctic Circle route and escorted a group of American troops to the northern part of the British-controlled island of Ireland," Ugaki added. ”

"What?" Yamamoto fifty-six glared.

"General," Ugaki smiled, "it seems that the Germans really can't control the sea power in the Atlantic without our help." They're in a bit of trouble, and maybe there's going to be a fierce fight on the island of Ireland. ”

Yamamoto Fifty-six frowned and was noncommittal: "So...... Is there any news of the activity of American aircraft carriers in the Atlantic? ”

"No," Ugaki said, "the Germans are currently attacking the Azores, and the American forces defending the Azores are also resisting so little that they seem to be outcasts." ”

Having lost sea power in the Atlantic, the Azores have been semi-surrounded since the spring of '42. The convoy of transports of the Americans simply could not get close and could only be supplied in small batches with submarines and destroyers. Therefore, the island's defense force has been insufficient, and it is impossible to carry out effective defense, so it is reasonable to become an outcast.

"Even the Azores have become outcasts?" Yamamoto Fifty-six shook his head, "The Americans' aircraft carriers must still be in the Pacific Ocean." "If they're still in the Pacific, they're either following the big group of transports heading for Australia, or they're near us!" ”

"Commander, it's unlikely to be nearby, right?" Ugaki grinned, "If they're nearby, they should attack us." ”

Yamamoto's 1st Fleet (the flagship is the Musashi) is actually a decoy, so the two Eagle-class aircraft carriers each have 24 Zeros (commonly used) and 6 Comets (commonly used), and the air defense force is relatively strong. In addition, all ships, including the two Yamato, have been refitted for the purpose of strengthening air defense in the past 10 months. Therefore, even if it is attacked by the planes sent by the four large aircraft carriers of the Americans, most of them will be able to withstand it.

And as long as the American aircraft carrier is attracted over, then it is only a matter of time before the location is exposed, and the 1st Air Fleet of Nagumo Tadaichi, which is lurking, will have a chance to attack.

But even if the American aircraft carrier was nearby, it was clear that it did not take the bait.

"No, they're probably nearby, and even if they're not, we're going to treat them as if they're there." Yamamoto Fifty-six paused, and then said, "Send out all the comets and Zero water scouts!" Search carefully and don't miss every inch of the Coral Sea! ”

……

East of mainland Australia, the Coral Sea.

The flagship of the U.S. Task Force 1, the USS Lexington.

Standing in the command center of the headquarters on the second floor of the island, after seeing the two SBDs that had been reconnoitred and landed smoothly, Halsey retracted his gaze: "Haven't you found the Japanese aircraft carrier yet?" ”

"Nope." Rear Admiral Browning shook his head, "The seaplanes sent by the cruiser and the Catalina seaplanes that took off from the east coast of Australia have searched most of the Coral Sea, and they have not found the shadow of the main force of the Japanese aircraft carrier force, will it be ......?"

"Keep searching!" Halsey smiled, "Be patient." By the way, those battleships of the Japanese ......"

"Also shelling targets on the island with artillery fire near the island of New Caledonia."

"Hehe, then the main force of their aircraft carrier force must be in the Coral Sea!" Halsey gritted his teeth, "Let's spread out the formation now." Let Rear Admiral Fletcher command a 2nd Sentai with the USS Enterprise and USS Yorktown as the core, and keep us at a distance of 100 nautical miles. ”

"Scattered?" Major General Browning was stunned, "If you disperse, it will not be easy to defend against air attacks." ”

"But it's not going to be wiped out by the Japanese," Halsey frowned, "and now it's a question of who finds the opponent first...... We must always maintain the strength of the counterattack, Major General, and I have a hunch that we will not be unscathed in the upcoming battle. However, we will also be bound to make the Japanese pay a heavy price! ”

As soon as his words fell, a fleet staff officer shouted excitedly: "Sir, there may be a discovery!" One hour earlier, Katarina's seaplane dispatched by Bondburg spotted an unidentified vessel in the waters east of the Coral Sea archipelago and lost contact. (To be continued.) )