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At two o'clock in the afternoon local time, 500 nautical miles west of Guam, three aircraft carriers covered with lice, under the protection of two light cruisers and six destroyers, were receiving supplies from oil tankers. Thick leather pipes extend from the sides of the tanker with temporary supply locks to the two aircraft carriers, and the filtered light and heavy oil is injected into the tanks at a rate of hundreds of tons per hour. "Sir, I received a telegram from Agrihan Island saying that it was attacked by Japanese planes and that an army had landed on the island." In the aircraft carrier Anton, which received the resupply, the communications officer walked into the conference room and handed the two telegrams to Pan Duheng, who was presiding over the pre-war meeting: "This is a telegram from Guam, and they say that the field airfield can only guarantee the minimum required take-off and landing at present, mainly because of the lack of air crews and facilities. Also, this is their attack plan, which is scheduled to start at four o'clock tomorrow morning, and we hope that we can send planes to support. ”

Pan Duheng was originally the captain of the Tibet aircraft carrier of the Third Fleet (Indian Ocean Fleet), but because of his outstanding performance in the landing in the Persian Gulf campaign, he was promoted to brigadier general and transferred back to serve as the commander of the aircraft carrier Anton, and was appointed commander of the 211 aircraft carrier battle group four days ago. After reading it, his brows furrowed slightly, and he handed the telegram to the officer to circulate. Agrihan Island is not a big problem, there is only a temporary seaplane landing site, which is mainly used for the return refueling of seaplanes before the landing on Guam. Now that the port of Apra on Guam is in hand, the refueling ships have been evacuated, and there are only more than a thousand marines stationed there, it is of little value. If you can contain it, you can contain it, and if you can't contain it, it's nothing. But the fact that the Guam field airfield was not repaired made a little tricky for him.

Everyone knows that although the Anton is a fleet aircraft carrier that has not even completed sea trials, it is not well trained, and it is almost like being sent to death to confront four long-trained Japanese aircraft carriers head-on. Sun Bin and Bai Qi are escort aircraft carriers, although the modification uses large ro-ro wheels. The displacement is greater than that of the North Sea class aircraft carriers, but the speed is only 22 knots. Let's say it's miserable. Once attacked, even the evasive reaction must be three beats slower. With such a patchwork aircraft carrier battle group, he admits that he has little confidence. Therefore, the original plan was that he planned to use shore-based aircraft to cooperate with aircraft carriers, so when he set off, he not only brought the Fifth Air Group, but also the old pilots of the Twelfth Air Group of the Anton. As a result, the Anton, rated at 94 aircraft, was stuffed with 112 aircraft (38 Blitzkrieg, 42 Yaksha dives and 30 Osprey torpedoes, 2 liaison / torpedo aircraft), and the escort aircraft carrier rated at 60 aircraft was also equipped with 75 aircraft (24 Lightning, 30 dives, 20 torpedoes, 1 liaison / torpedo aircraft). Not only that, but each of the three aircraft carriers has 16 spare lightning fighters in their hangars, for a total of nearly four air groups. (No one understood at the time.) In fact, the optimal carrier aircraft of an aircraft carrier is about 90 aircraft, and too many will lead to a decrease in efficiency).

This was a lesson for the 23 Fleet, which had too few fighters in the face of several times the number of enemy planes, and was also preparing to send some fighters to Guam to flank the Japanese aircraft carriers. So before entering the war zone. He wanted to send 30 planes to the island, but now this road is not working, so he has to think of another way.

So he looked at the tanker in the porthole and first asked, "Did you find any Japanese carrier-based aircraft?" ”

The staff officer shook his head: "The marines can't tell the difference between carrier-based aircraft and shore-based aircraft, but according to what they said, the fighters are still dominated by 96 ship battles, and a few 99 ships have exploded. However, no 97 ship attack was found. ”

Pan Duheng nodded: "How long will it take to replenish?" ”

"About four and a half hours."

"Tell me as soon as the supplies are ready, tell the White Rise to prepare for the bombing of Guam, and take off another 12 fighter jets in an hour, it's still the same as before. Activities within a hundred kilometers centered on the fleet. After the telegram was circulated, Pan Duheng closed it and returned it to the staff officer, and his eyes stopped on the face of the flight officer Tan Zhen: "It seems that the plan is about to change, what do you think?" ”

Tan Zhen turned out to be the captain of the Tibet Aviation Brigade. He is also a new generation of aviation officers who was promoted after the Persian Gulf landing war, and is currently an aviation flight officer of the 211 aircraft carrier battle group. If Pan Duheng is the brain of the aircraft carrier battle group. Then he is the commander of the aviation operations of the battle group, controlling the aircraft scheduling and offensive arrangements of the entire battle group. "If there is no 97 ship attack, it should not be a carrier-based group, so the primary goal is to find the Japanese aircraft carrier." Seeing his gaze, Tan Zhen immediately walked to the chart: "Judging from the distance, Truk is closer than us, so I personally think that Long Xiang and Xiangfeng should already be somewhere east of Guam." "The 211 aircraft carrier battle group departed from Zhanjiang, more than 4,000 kilometers away from Guam, plus the maximum speed of the two escort aircraft carriers was only 22 knots, and they had to avoid Japanese reconnaissance planes and submarines from the Philippines along the way, so it was normal to be slower than the two Japanese aircraft carriers that departed later from the Truk base."

"The Akagi and Kaga departed two days later than us, and based on the intelligence that the Japanese Fifth Fleet in Saipan was already assembling just now, it should have arrived. Adding all of this together, I think the Japanese Navy has set a trap that once our planes support Guam, the Japanese planes may find our position by tracking the fighters! Tan Zhen's movements were fast, and within a while, three scarlet lines appeared on the chart. They extend from Saipan, east of Guam and northeast of Saipan. Looking at the three attack arrows, Pan Duheng frowned. In his eyes, the current Guam is like a hornet's nest, and as long as he rushes into it, he will be caught by the joint attack of Saipan and the four aircraft carriers.

"Originally, our plan was to let the planes use the nearest airport on the island to provide support, but now it seems that it will definitely not work. So my suggestion is to let the White Rise continue eastward, stay with us for 70 nautical miles, and then do a synchronous maneuver. At the same time, let the water reconnaissance planes and submarines of the 213 heavy patrol battle group search in the northeast two directions to find the Japanese aircraft carrier as soon as possible. Tan Zhen's pen kept going back and forth on the chart, and quickly drew a schematic diagram of the fighter plane's attack: "On the whole, the situation is still favorable to us, because Guam is a place that must be saved every day. If we didn't go ashore, forget it, now that we have gone ashore, the total strength is still higher than that of the Japanese troops stationed on the island, so they must fight! This gives us a good opportunity to annihilate! The Japanese Fifth Fleet in Saipan consisted only four light cruisers, Nagara, Yura, Tenryu, and Tatsuda, as well as thirteen destroyers and five special cruisers. Now they are running to Agrihan Island to land again, probably to let the 213 heavy patrol formation divide the troops, and at the same time seduce us to strike first. But an insignificant island of Agrihan is certainly not enough, so I expect the Japanese to send a second reinforcement to Guam in the near future. In that case, I suggest that it is better to count on the bill. Let the White Rise go 60 nautical miles to the east, and then do a synchronous maneuver. We have done a detailed study and found that the visual distance of the high-altitude reconnaissance plane is ideally only about 35 nautical miles, so that even if the Japanese planes discover the Baiqi supporting Guam and carry out an attack, they will not be able to see us and can quickly launch a counterattack. ”

"Also, I don't recommend that the White Rise support due west of Guam. Because we are now occupying the North Island, we will definitely think that the support will come from the two directions due south and southwest, so it will be easy to be detected by reconnaissance aircraft. It is best to maneuver to the north to Agrihan Island. Support was launched from the northwest of Guam. This position could both threaten the islands of Agrihan and Pagan, as well as avoid the main search zone of the Japanese reconnaissance aircraft. ”

"Agrihan Island is not important, but there is a Japanese airfield on Pagan Island next to it." A staff officer reminded.

"That's the problem. With care, the White Rise is perfectly capable of dealing with enemy aircraft on Saipan. Therefore, it would be better to have a fleet in front of us, in a posture of relieving the siege of Agrihan or attacking Pagan. In this way, it is certainly not enough to rely on the Japanese Fifth Fleet and enemy planes on Saipan. It is necessary to call in aircraft carriers and main support. As soon as the Japanese carrier-based aircraft appeared, I was sure to find out the exact location of the aircraft carrier. ”

On the vast sea, it is very difficult to find a few aircraft carriers, and if there is no general direction, Tan Zhen can't do anything. Therefore, he hoped to use the Baiqi and other fleets to induce the Japanese aircraft carriers to take the initiative to attack, so as to judge their approximate position. However, there are currently only three heavy cruisers and one light cruiser of the 213 Heavy Patrol Battle Group near Guam, and they must first ensure the safety of Guam. If a few small warships are sent, I am afraid that the Japanese will not be fooled.

At this time, the communications staff officer turned back and handed over a telegram again: "Sir, it's a telegram from Commander Bing. He told us to maneuver north as quickly as possible. Cover the battleships for the shelling of the islands of Agrihan and Pagan. ”

Pan Duheng was slightly surprised, picked up the telegram and laughed after reading it: "Look, the commander and we thought together." ”

"That's great! Two battleships and two heavy cruisers, no matter how much blood will be shed. Several of the officers cheered. Represented by 211 Battle Group. The main force of the Japanese navy will definitely not be able to sit still. So Pan Duheng immediately said: "You see if this will work, Bai Qihao will follow Lieutenant Colonel Tan's suggestion." The eastward maneuver is specifically responsible for supporting Guam. At the same time, after Anton and Sun Bin distanced themselves from it, Sun Bin was responsible for the air defense of the 211 battle group. ”

"Yes, but." Tan Zhen was a little worried: "We are now a pair of chopsticks and two pots, and no one knows if the four Japanese aircraft carriers are together." If it is best together, if it is not there, Anton and Sun Bin can only launch two waves of attacks on one target. Therefore, I put forward three suggestions: First, the torpedo planes of the Bai Qi and Sun Bin should be left behind and not participate in the operation to support Guam, and the two ships should each leave eight fighters to ensure that there are enough reserve fighters. In this way, as soon as we find an enemy ship, we can immediately organize two waves of attacks. Second, since Guam has said that the field airfield is already capable of taking off and landing, it might as well contact Taiwan and ask them to transport a batch of aviation armor-piercing bombs and aircrew equipment tonight. This will not only allow the dive bombers to load directly on the island, shorten the time for the third wave of attack, but also launch an attack on another target if the Japanese aircraft carriers are not together. ”――

At the Saipan anchorage, 2,000 soldiers of the Japanese 55th Division carried heavy bags and loaded army guns and ammunition onto destroyers and special cruisers. Since the transport ship was targeted by the submarine for the first reinforcement and suffered heavy losses due to its speed, the Japanese Navy decided to use the fast warship as the transport ship.

Nobutake Kondo led the officers to inspect the preparations, his face solemn.

Saipan is not Guam, and during the European war, in the name of dealing with the German Navy's Far East Fleet, Northern Marianas, Micronesia, Rabaul New Guinea and the Marshall Islands outside Guam were acquired one after another. At that time, the main target of the Japanese navy was the United States, and the so-called nine-stage battle plan was formulated. Therefore, a large number of troops were hoarded on Saipan, which is the main defense island chain, and fortifications such as shore-based torpedoes and heavy shore defense artillery were built, and the total defense force here has exceeded 20,000 today, and it is also the home port of the Fifth Fleet. It was precisely because they thought that Saipan had a strong enough force that the Japanese navy was not enthusiastic about strengthening Guam, so the harbor changed hands after the sneak attack, and Kondo Nobutake was pushed to the edge of the cliff.

Now Guam had a squadron of three heavy cruisers and a full-fledged Marine Division, so he had to immediately send the second batch of reinforcements to the island as soon as possible.

"Report, Daying Emergency Electricity."

"Read it."

"Three hours ago, at least forty Chinese transport ships passed through the Bass Strait, and ten destroyers were found in the fleet, which are expected to arrive in five days."

Forty?! As soon as the second lieutenant finished speaking, the faces of the officers around him became even more solemn. Nobutake Kondo was also taken aback, and hurriedly asked, "Nishimura-kun, haven't you found any traces of the battleship and aircraft carrier in Shina?" ”

The officer named was named Nishimura Shoji, who was Kondo's favorite general, and when he heard this, he immediately took two steps forward: "I have asked the reconnaissance plane to expand the search area, and they will definitely be found!" Rest assured that His Excellency Hideyoshi Katagiri and Shoho are already 200 nautical miles east of Guam, and General Ozawa has arrived northeast of Pagan Island, and he has sent the heavy cruisers Suzuya and Kumano to support us, and we will be able to rendezvous at Rota Island in three hours. As long as we lure out the main force of Shina, they can attack immediately! ”

When Kondo Nobutake heard the deployment, his face still didn't stretch: "What about the three heavy cruisers in Shina?" ”

"Reconnaissance aircraft have spotted that two of the ships are speeding northwest and have also overheard their radio communications with Agrihan Island."

"Really?" Nobutake Kondo stared at the general twice, but he didn't believe his words in his heart. If the Chinese heavy cruiser was so easy to transfer, it would not be attacked by others. But he didn't say it because he didn't want to break morale. The most important thing now is to keep Guam and ensure the safety of the north-south shipping lane. So he raised his head and returned to his usual confident expression: "Inform the ships that dinner is an hour earlier." All of them were rationed according to the first class, and the observers all rested after eating and went to work at ten o'clock. Then ask the cook to make more supper and send it to the warship, which is also first-class, and we will be very busy tonight. With that, he himself was the first to board the light cruiser Nagara, which was completed in 1922