Less than 1 p.m., Bai Zhizhan gave the order to retreat.

Of course, not a direct retreat, but a phased, step-by-step retreat.

The retreat of the heavily damaged "Imperial Capital" was first covered by two destroyers, and at the same time the wounded of other battleships were taken away, especially the wounded pilots.

During this period, the "Companion Jing" was responsible for recovering the Shenpu aircraft group, and during the interval between the recovery of carrier-based aircraft, a group of fighters took off to strengthen the air defense network, replacing the fighters that had run out of fuel and ammunition in the noon air defense battle, so that the fleet's air defense network remained intact.

After that, reconnaissance aircraft were also sent to the east.

The two ocean-going cruisers were also to take back the seaplanes that had been released in the early morning during this period, and after replenishing them, to ensure that they could still fly, to the east, that is, the sea area where the Zhu Huasheng group would attack the Newland fleet.

There is only one mission, to find as many pilots as possible who have been shot down or forced to land in battle.

If you can, it's best to save it.

Of course, if the officers and men of the Nuland Navy who fell into the water are found, they must be rescued together.

It was not that the war was merciful, but that the war had just begun, and the Nuland prisoners of war would certainly be of great value in the future.

Aren't Niu Man and Zesan, who came forward to form the Western Sasayi regime, both prisoners of war?

After 15 o'clock in the afternoon, the "Zhucheng" and two destroyers sailed eastward to the sea area where the 41.2 Detachment had been attacked, rescued the officers and men who had fallen into the water overnight, and then returned to the west at full speed.

The main reason for postponing the departure time of the "Pearl City" to 15 o'clock was to avoid being hit.

Zhu Huasheng only attacked the "Hornet" aircraft carrier, not the "Endeavor," so the warships sailing east could still be bombed.

At the same time, the "Escort Jing" will return to the west accompanied by the "Port City".

Because the speed of the "Imperial Capital" is not fast, there are only two propulsion shafts, and the fastest speed that can be achieved is only 16 knots, and the two propulsion axes are on the same side, in order to sail in a straight line, the output power of the outer propulsion shaft has to be reduced, so the actual speed that can be achieved is only 14 knots.

In this way, the "Accompanying Beijing" was able to catch up with the "Imperial Capital" at night.

At that time, there was only one ocean-going cruiser covering the "Accompanying Beijing".

Even if it converged with the "Imperial Capital", it would provide cover for one cruiser and two destroyers, and even if it was dawn on the 13th, there would only be two cruisers and four destroyers, and it was not until the afternoon of the 13th that it was expected to meet the fast battleships of the 43rd Task Force.

Even by that time, the situation of Task Force 41 had not changed much.

However, if by tomorrow afternoon, there is still no attack, and the only ones to watch out for are those submarines that have come and gone without a trace.

The lack of escort warships was also the main reason why Bai Zhizhan gave up the pursuit.

By the end of the battle, the 41.1st detachment was covered only by two ocean-going cruisers, which were almost worthless in their firepower against the sea, and four even more insignificant destroyers. If you encounter a large battleship of the Newland Navy at night, even if it is a heavy cruiser, it will inevitably be more than lucky.

When it was first decided to take with the four heavy cruisers of the 41.2nd Detachment, Bai Zhizhan was still full of confidence.

It's also very simple, unless you encounter the battleships of the Nuland Navy, the four "Wuzhou" class of the 41.2 detachment are simply invincible.

Because the fast battleships of the Nuland Navy have not yet been built, even if they encounter, they can get rid of them with speed.

Who would have thought that the 41.2 detachment was completely wiped out in the daytime battle, and all four "Wuzhou" class ships were sunk!

As for the four ocean-going cruisers, Bai Zhizhan did not hold out much hope, after all, such "super-large artillery destroyers" were not born for sea operations.

In fact, no one is stupid enough to deal with a large battleship with a 130-mm anti-aircraft gun.

Nuland's Task Force 17 was relatively well organized.

Although the Hornet was devastated, and may have even sunk, the four heavy cruisers escorting the aircraft carrier were all present, and at least two were intact. According to Zhu Huasheng's report, the two ships covering the "Hornet" are actually not a big problem.

If these four heavy cruisers were encountered at night, even if the "Companion Beijing" could escape, the "Imperial Capital" would not be able to escape.

If the four "Wuzhou" class ships of the 41.2nd detachment were still there, Bai Zhizhan would order a full-speed pursuit at noon and organize an attack in the afternoon.

Even in terms of timing, the attack had to be postponed until the evening.

There are 4 "Wuzhou" class ships, and even if they meet the Nuland fleet, they can fight together.

It's a pity that all 4 "Wuzhou" class ships were sunk!

What about Task Force 43?

Let's not talk about whether the 43rd Task Force can be counted on, judging from the situation at the time, it was actually the 43rd Task Force that scared Spark away.

Although the Clark fleet was almost completely wiped out, the Dütt fleet fared much better, eventually returning to Task Force 17 in Newland, more than 40 of which were SBDs and TBDs. After completing the resupply operation, these carrier-based aircraft can be dispatched after 3 p.m.

Hurry up, Sp can actually attack again.

However, in order to attack Task Force 41, Task Force 17 could not continue to sail east, and would have to turn to sail west in the afternoon.

The reason is that the distance between the two sides has expanded to more than 500 kilometers.

If Task Force 41 turns back in the afternoon, Endeavour will have to turn westward to ensure that the carrier-based aircraft can return to the carrier after the attack.

In this way, it will definitely be necessary to wait until it is dark, after the attack aircraft group has been recovered, to be able to return to the east.

Here's the problem!

If Task Force 43 had moved south at full speed in the afternoon, the distance to Task Force 17 in Nuland would not have exceeded 100 kilometers in the evening.

Because Nuland's Task Force 17 returned east at night instead of south, it was possible that Task Force 43 would be overtaken by Task Force 43.

Just as the White Stop was afraid of the heavy cruisers in the hands of Sp, Sp was also afraid of the fast battleships of the 43rd Task Force.

As long as it encounters, even if all the escort warships of the 17th Task Force of Newland are killed, they may not be able to withstand the ferocious firepower of the four fast battleships.

Before carrier-based aviation became capable of night combat, fast battleships were the true kings of night warfare.

Li Jie, the commander of the 43rd Task Force, is a sworn friend of Bai Zhizhan and will definitely listen to Bai Zhizhan's command.

Die with the White War?

By the afternoon, the "Sarah", "York" and "Hornet" had been finished, the "Leke" had been severely damaged, and it was still unknown whether it could escape back.

If you really want to fight hard, before the noon battle begins, Nuland's Task Force 17 will not sail east, but should continue to sail west.

Whether or not Sp wanted to admit it, he backed down at noon, or rather made a choice.

Choosing to retreat after the battle is just a matter of following the trend.

This is not to say that Spu is less daring than White Stop.

Just as the White Stop War chose to retreat after the battle, what the two fleet commanders thought of was actually to preserve the already seriously insufficient forces, avoid unnecessary attrition, and ensure that when the next decisive battle came, they would have the advantage of troops or have troops available.

No matter how powerful the fleet commander is, he can only watch the excitement from the shore without a battleship in his hand.