Although there were some setbacks and considerable losses, on the whole, the combat operation of attacking the transit island was expected.

If anything, it can even be considered smooth.

This is also what worries Bai Zhizhan the most.

In the whole five days from June 28 to July 3, the largest warship of the Nuland Navy was 2 heavy cruisers!

Where did those 2 small aircraft carriers go, and those 2 fast battleships that had long since left the ports on the west coast of Newland.

In addition, at least 6 heavy cruisers are unknown!

These warships are enough to form a large task force.

Although the combat capability of aviation is somewhat inferior, it is not weak in other aspects, especially the ability to fight at night, which surpasses that of the 21st Task Force.

As long as they can seize the opportunity, this fleet will definitely be able to deal a heavy blow to Task Force 21.

What's more, it is the 22nd Task Force that is now on top.

Of course, this was also the key to the decision of the White Stop War to exchange with Task Force 22 before the landing operation began.

When it comes to commanding night artillery warfare, there are three of the most famous in the Imperial Navy, one of which is the interim commander of the 22nd Task Force.

As early as the beginning of the war, the Wei Army took 4 "Wuzhou" class ships to the Shuangche Strait to block the Saji Fleet and challenge the battleships of the Sagai Navy at night!

According to the speculation of the White Stop, if the Nuland Navy wants to launch a counterattack, it will make full use of the cover of night.

If it were during the day, the Nuland Navy's chances of victory would be almost zero.

Only at night will there be a chance to save your main battleship with heavy damage to your opponent.

It was for this reason that the White Armistice decided to postpone the launch of the landing operation by three days.

In these three days, Task Force 21 was able to replenish ammunition and fuel, as well as replenish the carrier-based aircraft lost in the battle.

Because the combat losses had long been taken into account, when making arrangements, the supply ship was equipped with dozens of spare aircraft.

The main thing is that it is too far from the rear, exceeding the maximum flight distance of carrier-based aircraft, and it is necessary to assemble spare aircraft on the front line to supplement the losses.

It's just that the main reason for Bai Zhizhan to make such an arrangement is to see the reaction of the Nuland Navy.

The Imperial Navy was menacing, and the suddenness of the battle was achieved, and the Newland Navy may not be able to react in time, and may not have come to its senses yet.

Most importantly, before the arrival of the landing fleet, it is possible that the Nuland Navy will consider this a feint.

All in all, the Nuland Navy will have to spend some time preparing to confirm the true intentions of the Liang Xia Navy.

The resupply operation began on the morning of July 4.

Because battleships and cruisers had to replenish artillery shells, and aircraft carriers had to be replenished, the entire replenishment operation took at least 48 hours.

If the weather is bad, I'm afraid it will be delayed for more than ten hours.

The point is that ammunition replenishment is too cumbersome.

The Imperial Navy has always attached great importance to combat replenishment, but until now, it has not found a way to improve the efficiency of ammunition replenishment.

The only way was to get the ship to anchor and transport the ammunition from the supply ship to the battleship by crane through the Kaobang.

Not to mention the safety issue, but the operation efficiency is frighteningly low.

Even if all goes well, it will take a day to replenish a battleship with 150 tons of ammunition!

In general, because it is impossible to do everything smoothly, there will always be all sorts of problems that will pop up, so it often takes two days to replenish ammunition for battleships.

In addition, there is the issue of security.

Because of the lack of effective anti-submarine means, or the inability of submarines to defend themselves, it is necessary to constantly change the anchorage location when carrying out combat replenishment.

According to the regulations of the Imperial Navy, the time of anchoring in each sea area shall not exceed 12 hours, and the distance between two anchors shall not be less than 20 nautical miles.

It is precisely for this reason that in actual combat, it is necessary to avoid replenishing ammunition on the battlefield as much as possible.

If you can, it's better to go back to port, or an anchorage protected by anti-submarine nets.

In past few battles, the Imperial Navy has set up anchorages not far from the battlefield or captured a port to solve the supply problem so that the ships would not risk anchoring in the open sea after running out of ammunition. For example, when attacking Sai Island, he captured Atta Island in the north, and when he attacked Lion Spring City, he obtained Songkhla of the Daiman Kingdom and Saigon in the Nam Toe region.

Only this time, apparently, it is impossible.

To say, the Navy is also prepared.

According to the plan, after the start of the landing operation, an anchorage will be set up near the landing site for the landing ships and transport ships to berth, and a safe anchorage area will be provided for the warships and supply ships, so that the warships supporting the landing operation can replenish ammunition on the front line.

It's just that now you have to resupply your ammunition ahead of schedule.

It's really troublesome, but there's no way around it.

Considering the ensuing fierce battle, Bai Zhizhan did not dare to be careless.

It was during this period, July 6 to be precise, that a telegram was received from the command of the Navy, a piece of information that had not been confirmed for the time being.

On the night of July 5, a submarine operating near the Gilbert Islands spotted a fleet.

The point is that the captain reported that 1 aircraft carrier was observed through the periscope!

Unfortunately, the encounter was at night.

Of course, only at night did the submarine dare to float up and observe with a periscope.

If it was during the day, I would not dare to do it.

As a result, the feasibility of the report is very questionable.

In fact, even the captain who sent the report felt that it was not necessarily an aircraft carrier, but perhaps it was just a fast freighter in a fast transport fleet.

Between Nuland mainland and Austria, there are many fleets of fast transport vessels.

The main thing is that there are a lot of military supplies to be delivered, and ordinary fleets are not only vulnerable to submarine ambushes, but also inefficient.

In order to increase the speed of transportation, the Nuland Federation has specially formed a fleet of fast transport ships.

Under normal circumstances, fast fleets can reach speeds of up to 20 knots, about 10 knots higher than ordinary fleets, and can shorten the operating time of a cycle by more than 40%.

Crucially, fast transport fleets can rely on their speed to reduce the probability of being attacked by submarines.

In fact, unless you are particularly lucky, the submarines lying in ambush near the route will basically not get the opportunity to fire on the fast fleet.

Although the transportation cost of the fast fleet is much higher, the combined cost is cheaper when the losses are counted.

If nothing else, just a two-thirds reduction in escort warships would save a lot of money.

If the contribution of escort warships in other directions is taken into account, then the comprehensive benefits of forming a fast transport fleet will far exceed that of ordinary fleets.

In fact, it was on the Guia side of the Southwest that the Nuland Federation increased its order for fast freighters, preparing to form a fast fleet on the North Sunset Ocean.

The key to this report being able to attract the attention of the Navy Command and forward it to the White Stop War is one point.

The telegram mentions that there are capital ships in that fleet whose tonnage far exceeds that of fast ships, and the captain suspects that they are fast battleships.

The reason is also sufficient, the fast battleship has a pronounced characteristic noise, which no other ship can imitate.

If there really are two fast battleships, it will definitely be the main fleet of the Nuland Navy, and there is a high probability that there will be 2 small aircraft carriers in it.

But the question is, what did the Nuland Navy do when it sent aircraft carriers and fast battleships to the Southwest and Eastern Seas?