Three days later, on 4 November, Task Force 11 reached the Gulf of Aden, and on the same day launched a sortie of carrier-based aircraft to bomb the Kib fortress.

The delay of 3 days is not a waste of time, but it is necessary to wait for the arrival of the landing ship and the minesweeper detachment.

In addition, the 12th Task Force was still on its way to the northeastern Fanyan Ocean.

Because it took a day and a half to replenish fuel and ammunition on the way, and to carry out necessary repairs to several warships that had been damaged in the battle but were able to continue fighting, the arrival of the 12th Task Force in the northeastern Fanyan Ocean was postponed from the original 4th to the 7th.

3 more days, equally beneficial.

In these three days, the engineering unit expanded two field airfields in Bali, and the army aviation subsequently deployed two tactical aviation detachments on the front line, adding more than 200 combat aircraft. The Navy's shore-based aviation units seized the time and dispatched patrol planes to search the entire Arafura Sea.

By 7 November, it was still the 11th Task Force that took the lead.

In the early morning of the same day, two carrier-based aviation wings went all out and launched three air strikes of more than 60 sorties in succession against the Kibu fortress.

This is also the ultimate sortie capability of a large aircraft carrier.

In the afternoon, the advancing support fleet rushed to the outside of the Kib fortress and shelled the Kib fortress.

This was the first time since the outbreak of the Great War that ships of the Imperial Navy shelled the Kib fortress and the first time that it had penetrated the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

It was this round of unexpected and ferocious shelling that announced the official start of the combat operation to storm the Kib fortress.

At this time, even if General Bran of the Kib Fortress was an idiot, he could have judged that there was a task force of the Imperial Navy in the Gulf of Aden.

If Bran's army had a few radio listening devices, they would have been able to detect that there were dozens of large landing ships just a few hundred kilometers east of the fortress. A comparison of radio signals leads to the conclusion that these landing ships were the ones that had been operating on the other side of Posha Bay.

So, will the Nuland Navy not know?

At dinner, Bai Zhizhan specially called the communications staff officer and asked if he had received any news from the 12th Task Force or the Northeast Fanyanyang.

In fact, he had asked more than ten times.

It is a pity that the answer given by the communications staff is still the same.

Not to mention Li Mingbo and Zhou Yongtao, even the other staff officers could see that Bai Zhizhan was worried all day, and his face was not good-looking.

The worries of the white stop war are not unreasonable.

As long as the commander of the Kib Fortress was not too bad, or the news of the attack was reported in time, then the Royal Navy of Bran would have been able to make an accurate judgment and tell the Nuland Navy the relevant information a few days before, and Sp would certainly not miss the opportunity.

In 3 days, I was able to do a lot of things!

If the Nuland fleet led by Spu was near Perth on November 4, the day the 11th Task Force began to bombard the Kib fortress, then he would have been able to maneuver at least 2,000 kilometers during these three days, and even to the west of Liu Xiangzhen.

Of course, the premise is that the whereabouts of the 12th Task Force must be known in advance.

Here's the key.

Although there is enough reason to believe that the whereabouts of the 12th Task Force have not been leaked, and the Navy Command has done a good job of secrecy, it is not difficult to speculate on the whereabouts of the 12th Task Force until now, especially after the appearance of the 11th Task Force.

If Spu had made an accurate judgment and taken bold action, the most likely time to launch a sneak attack would be today!

The reason for this is that it was only after several large-scale bombardments today that it was possible to conclude that the 11th Task Force was still in the Gulf of Aden.

A few days ago, because the bombing was not very heavy, it was impossible to determine whether the combat planes were from aircraft carriers or from Socotra.

Perhaps, this is the opportunity that Spu has been waiting for!

Probably because Bai Zhizhan was not in a good mood, the staff officers all quickened the speed of eating, and the chef in charge of the officer's cafeteria also specially made a few snacks that Bai Zhizhan liked to eat.

In fact, it was Li Mingbo who greeted him in advance, and the chef was prepared.

"Anyway, let's have something to eat."

"No appetite." As he said this, Bai Zhizhan picked up his coffee cup.

On this day, he didn't eat a few bites of food, but drank a lot of coffee.

"It's useless to worry now, and Liu Xiangzhen and Wei Jun are veterans, so they must be measured. Besides, there is no news now, which is actually the best news. ”

Bai Zhizhan smiled and raised his hand to look at his watch.

"I'm still on duty at night, if you ......"

"It should be past 8 o'clock in the evening."

Li Mingbo was stunned, and he didn't understand the meaning of stopping the war in vain.

"There is no news so far, so there is no news today." Bai Zhizhan let out a long breath. "Like you said, no news right now is the best news. It is better not to engage the Nuland fleet than to lose. To be honest, I didn't eat much that day, and I was a little hungry. ”

Li Mingbo was speechless, but immediately beckoned to the chef and asked the chef to hurry up and bring the prepared dinner.

After gobbling up dinner, Bai Zhizhan did not immediately go back to the cabin to rest, but went to the flight deck for a turn.

The last group of carrier-based aircraft to carry out the attack mission have returned, because they will be withdrawn at night for replenishment, so there is no need to arrange night patrols, and the aviation service personnel are busy cleaning the flight deck, removing the foreign objects generated by the fighters when taking off and landing, and discovering the existence of potential safety hazards.

Actually, it's a daily routine.

Even in wartime, unless the aircraft carrier has been severely damaged and has lost its combat capability, then no matter how hard the daytime battle is, or how important the operation tomorrow is, the flight deck must be completely cleaned after the day's aviation operations.

In addition, the work had to be carried out personally by the officers and men of the aviation department.

Even if you don't have enough manpower, you can at most ask the crew to help.

If anything, the Imperial Navy set this rule only after paying the price of blood and lives.

Before the outbreak of the Great War, one-third of the aviation safety accidents in the Imperial Navy were related to the presence of foreign objects or safety hazards on the flight deck.

Crucially, most of the accidents that occur during the landing phase will result in the destruction of the plane and the death of the person.

It can be seen that it is themselves, not the officers and men of the fleet, who are responsible for the safety of flights and the lives of aviation personnel, including pilots.

The integrity and cleanliness of the flight deck is the foundation of safety.

Walking around the flight deck, saying that exercising after meals helps digestion, is actually trying to calm down.

As Li Mingbo said, it's useless to worry.

Only when his mood calmed down did Bai Zhizhan return to the commander's cabin.

There is no need for special orders, Li Mingbo has always been on duty at night.

In fact, there is a special small cabin behind the commander's bridge, in which there are two single beds on the upper and lower levels, which are specially designed for the staff officer on duty to rest.

As long as he entered the combat state, Li Mingbo slept there, and he was specially given a cabin to the chief of staff of the fleet, which was often used as a warehouse.

The staff officer was also left on duty so that he could deal with the situation immediately in the event of an emergency.

This night, there was no emergency that needed to be dealt with by Li Mingbo.

In fact, in the next few days, there were no accidents.

It seems that the worries of the White Stop War are all superfluous, more like unfounded worries. 8)