At a time when the Allies and the Central Powers were competing over Toulouse, and when China was thinking about how to make Britain unable to die and live badly, the contest between the Allies and the Allies in the South Atlantic had already entered a fever pitch, and the American fleet, which had arrived in the South Atlantic, was divided into two groups, one of which was a search-attrition fleet composed of four light aircraft carriers, whose task was to search for the German fleet and launch an attack at the right time to consume the combat strength of the German fleet. If it is found that the other side's air cruisers are not together, the Americans do not mind killing their opponents in a direct wave. The second fleet is the main aircraft carrier formation commanded by Fletcher, which is more combat-effective in terms of strength, with 2 fleet aircraft carriers and 1 light aircraft carrier. Originally, the plan was to have 1 fleet aircraft carrier and 2 light aircraft carriers, but later when the Americans found out that Austria-Hungary was also involved in the war, they decisively increased their forces.

Just when the Americans were sharpening their knives and preparing to wipe out the four aviation cruisers of Germany and Austria, the C fleet commanded by Raeder was also ready to go! Before leaving, the Germans also made a series of strategic feints. First of all, all the main forces of the High Seas Fleet returned to their base in the Eastern Mediterranean for maintenance and repair, and then took advantage of the night to sprint the fleet under Raeder's command to the Atlantic Ocean at top speed. And immediately after a short resupply of the original Gibraltar, it will enter the Atlantic, without any other supply ships other than those carried by the fleet itself, and will not converge with any camouflaged supply ships. Moreover, in order to prevent the telegraph from leaking its location, Raeder's fleet also implemented strict radio control, and most of the transmitter buttons were removed. They are just quiet listeners, feeling the changes in the outside world.

"From the current point of view, the Americans should have two detachments to fight at sea, and one of them is the same size as the fleet under your command, are you sure?" Before leaving, Count Luknar met Raeder for the last time at the Gibró Fortress.

"Pretty much. If I'm lucky, after defeating the American fleet, I'll probably spend some time in the South Atlantic. I will return to Portugal on the eve of the High Seas Fleet's westward exit of the Atlantic, and my detachment will complete its replenishment in Portugal and take part with the High Seas Fleet in a future naval battle greater than the Battle of Jutland. I hope to be able to prove with practical actions that we are not inferior to our predecessors. Raeder said calmly.

"Okay, I promise I'll pick you up on time. The Navy will also prepare everything your fleet needs in Portugal, whether it's dockyards, materials for repairing battleships, workers, or carrier-based aircraft units. I promise. Count Luknal said seriously.

With the escorted destroyers signaling that they were safe all the way, Fleet C, led by Raeder, finally entered the Atlantic. Heading into the depths of the ocean. Like assassins hiding in the woods, they search for targets worthy of their own efforts. This time he chose Fletcher!

And just as Raeder's fleet entered the Atlantic, Rank's life became more and more difficult. The Austro-Hungarian fleet finally joined up with the Kranker fleet, and when the two sides converged, Kranke felt that he was stronger than ever, and he had 4 air cruisers under his command, a total of more than 100 aircraft of all kinds, and 1 heavy cruiser and 2 destroyers to provide cover (two destroyers were forced to return due to malfunctions). But upon learning of the possibility that Austria-Hungary might join the effort to break diplomatic relations, the U.S. Navy also increased its presence in the South Atlantic, sending more escort carriers and submarines to the area. At the same time, the Americans also changed the escort system and rearranged the transportation routes, several transport fleets were concentrated, and there were about three escort aircraft carriers to provide escort. These escort carriers have already abandoned the attack. The fighters they carried on them were designed to stop the German fleet's air raids on the fleet.

And it is precisely because of this arrangement that Cranke has a feeling that a tiger eats a hedgehog and has no way to eat! Afterwards, Cranke also described the situation in his recollections. "The Americans' national power is indeed beyond our imagination, can you imagine a transport fleet of 80 to 100 transport ships of all kinds? In these three-digit fleets, there are about 3 light aircraft carriers, and they have about 70 to 90 fighters. In addition to this, there are also merchant ships with catapults installed that can catapult fighters. And the maximum number of aircraft we flew at one time was only about 60! This number is not only fighters but also bombers, although the performance of the BF109 fighter is stronger than that of the F4F, but the other side has a numerical advantage. In the end, the number of attack planes that we were able to successfully launch an attack was no more than fifteen, and if we took into account the hit rate, the most we could do our best to attack was to sink 3 or 5 transport ships and change them to tonnage. Not even 40,000 tons! ”

This super-large huddle fleet greatly reduces the combat power of the aviation cruiser, and the ability of the aviation cruiser to break the diplomatic relationship is composed of naval guns and aircraft, although there are a certain number of aircraft, but the main role of these aircraft is reconnaissance, air defense, and dealing with high-threat targets. If you attack the transport fleet with aircraft, the efficiency is actually not high, and a wave of 15 aircraft averages up to 15 rounds of 250KG bombs. How much is this throw? It's nothing more than the amount of ammunition fired in two salvos of a 10-inch naval gun of a heavy cruiser! So according to the combat training of the German Navy. Aviation cruisers should use their limited aviation capabilities sparingly, and if conditions allow, attack the opposing transport fleet with naval guns! But now the situation has changed, and while the Germans are racking their brains to think about how to increase the power of breaking engagements with aviation capabilities, the Americans also let the escort carriers appear in advance! And the cost of production of escort aircraft carriers is simply too low!

In this case, congenitally deficient aviation cruisers are really not daring to be tough with each other. If Crank, regardless of the cost, was ready to throw away half of the planes and pilots directly, then it was also possible to inflict heavy damage on the escort aircraft carrier of an escort fleet. But in reality, Crank really didn't dare to do this, because shortly after the second meeting between the two sides, Cranker could feel more and more eyes staring at him! And the real killer is lurking somewhere! They waited for the time when the Krank's fleet weakened, and then delivered a fatal blow! If the breaking engagement and the anti-breaking engagement are compared to a game of police catching thieves, when the police get serious, the isolated thief can be described as walking on thin ice!

What's more, Colonel Cranke has a very important mission to perform, they are a decoy, luring the Americans to take the bait, and then let the Raeder fleet, which has already entered the Atlantic, give the opponent a hard blow. Cranker didn't know where Admiral Raeder's fleet was, he only knew that he needed to maneuver to the preset battlefield and constantly send out the enemy dynamics he had gathered. Then silently waited for Raeder's fleet to attack.

"I think I found them!" Captain Fenris, captain of the American Shark-class submarine Sardine, raised his periscope, and a high-speed fleet was passing quickly about 2 nautical miles in front of him, and they were maneuvering in a northwesterly direction at a speed of about 18 knots. At the forefront should have been the German air cruiser Emden. Although the ship in the back is very similar in appearance to the Germans, it seems to have the battle flag of the Austro-Hungarian Navy flying on it. A total of 3 huge figures appeared in the entire field of vision. With the turn of the periscope, Captain Fenris saw 2 more large battleships. There are 5 other sides in total, 4 aviation cruisers and 1 heavy cruiser are all here!

Soon, the Sardine submarine sent a telegram of what he saw to Rear Admiral John Leavis, who was commanding 4 Independence-class light aircraft carriers to hunt down his opponent. The Germans were being targeted without knowing it! At this time, Colonel Kracker commanded the fleet and prepared to rush to the next hunting ground, to see if he could achieve some results through a sneak attack before the opposing escort aircraft carrier reacted. What the Germans did not expect was that this time, Krake's fleet of air cruisers became the target of the Americans, and the four light cruisers led by the USS Independence themselves were cruising not too far from Krak, and the Americans gradually narrowed down the search area through surface and air reconnaissance. And the intelligence of the Sardine submarine exposed the Germans directly to Leavis' eyes!

"It seems that the Germans did not yet know that we had come. They also seem to want to get some benefit from the TS18 transport fleet! Levis said with some smugness after seeing the information sent by the Sardine submarine. The Germans are like greedy rats, a piece of cheese can make them forget everything, and we have an absolute advantage in this sea! ”

Although they took the lead, the Americans were clearly still very calm. 4 light aircraft carriers should be stronger than 4 light cruisers, but the strength is limited, and it belongs to the kind where two people are shirtless and slash with kitchen knives. Leavis carefully arranged the battle plan, the four light cruisers were to rush to the target area at once, and at the same time he also sent a message to General Fletcher, telling him to take the main fleet and be ready to intercept at any time. After some hesitation, Leavis also sent a telegram to the TS18 transport fleet, giving them a wake-up call and suggesting that they could consume as much German air power as possible to lay the groundwork for the encirclement and annihilation.

The Americans consider themselves to have taken everything into account. Two powerful fleets were converging on the German fleet. When the Sardine discovered the Cranker fleet, one of the largest naval engagements between the Allies and the Allies began. The area where the two sides fought was exactly 500 nautical miles northeast of the Falkland Islands, where the Earl of Spee was once lost. And in this plane, under the inconsistencies. Once again, the German fleet was engaged in a big battle with each other. Invisibly, Colonel Cranke is already like a turtle in an urn, in a gradually tightening encirclement!

"Compile all the recent information and give it to me." Raeder rubbed his somewhat wooden temples and said, just outside of the Americans' field of vision, Raeder's fleet was also moving towards the Falkland Islands, and not just because it was before. Colonel Crank had already informed Raeder of the plan of the operation, and even more so because after a long period of hide-and-seek, Raeder had discovered the American fleet commanded by Rear Admiral Leavis. Faced with this goal, he was a little hesitant. The 4 light aircraft carriers belong to a small fleet, and Raeder can eat it if he wants to, but at the same time he is afraid that the Americans will have other fleets around. According to intelligence provided by the Admiralty, there were some changes in the number of American aircraft carrier formations, part of which disappeared from the German field of view. This made Raeder very hesitant, God knows if there is a fleet of regular American aircraft carriers around him.

Coincidentally, when the American submarine discovered the Cranke fleet, the German submarine U420 also discovered Levi's hunting fleet, and just ten minutes earlier, Raeder had received the exact location of Levi's fleet. They seem to have spotted the Krankk fleet and are heading to the battlefield. At the same time, according to the intelligence of the submarine, Raeder also discovered that the radio communications of the American fleet were unusually busy. Now Redder is in a dilemma, he can tell Cranke about the current situation, and tell the latter that if he continues to attack the TS18 transport fleet, then what awaits him will be the result of a two-sided attack. With just one telegram, he could free the entire fleet. It can even easily smash Levi's fleet to pieces. But at the same time, another voice kept reminding Raeder that there were other forces in the sea. In the eyes of ordinary people, this choice is a good decision, after all, the benefits of choosing to help Clark are obvious, save a fleet, kill a fleet, and maybe kill the TS18 transport fleet. How do you look at this and how to make money! You know, the total number of available aircraft for two armored aircraft carriers and one aviation cruiser is up to about 240 units! A wave of attacks can go out about 100 planes! And the FW190T fighter can throw BF109TF a few streets whether it is air combat or ground attack! The combat effectiveness has directly increased several times, and the TS18 simply can't withstand it!

But Raeder doesn't think so, as a military man, he will set the worst-case scenario before the start, and then seek a solution based on it, and he will imagine what would happen if there was an American fleet around! It was still five hours before dark, and the two sides were far apart and had not yet reached the range of the carrier-based aircraft. Ideally, around 9 a.m. tomorrow, Raeder's C fleet will once again determine the position of Levi's fleet, and then the reconnaissance opportunity will guide the attack aircraft to attack, and the fleet will inevitably break the radio silence during the attack, so that the other side can determine its position by radio sideways.

Thank you for the reward of 2588 of Fengyu 15~~~, thank you! It's been a long time since I've seen such a high tip~~~. Thank you for the reward of the book friend Baby Panda ~~~ and the monthly pass support of the book friend anhei016 ~~~. (To be continued.) )