Where exactly is the White Stop?

There are a few people who are thinking about this.

Although he was not good at commanding fleets, as the first battle of the Guia Fleet when he came to Treasure Harbor, Nitsu did not dare to be careless at all.

Before receiving the telegram from Hwaseong, he also suspected that Bai Zhizhan had left the Liangxia Empire.

Also skeptical was his assistant, Major Foss.

What made the two suspicious was that they had never found the 41st Task Force.

In the pre-war deployment, the search and surveillance of Task Force 41 was a top priority.

The reason is also very simple, in the more than a dozen wargames conducted before, all the Liangxia fleets except for the 41st Task Force can be accurately and timely discovered, and the opportunity to launch a surprise attack can be obtained. There was no way to detect it in time, and only Task Force 41 was successfully annihilated.

To this end, Nitz asked Foss to make a special trip to Wai Island and Transit Island to investigate the situation in the two places, that is, whether more long-range patrol aircraft could be deployed.

If there is a problem, then what needs to be done in order to deploy more long-range patrol aircraft.

In late last month, the Guia Fleet deployed an additional squadron of long-range patrol aircraft to Koh Wai and Transit Island.

Among them, it was PBM that was sent to Koh Wai, not the much more productive PBY.

This patrol aircraft, nicknamed the "Sailor", has a longer range and greater speed. Taking off from Koh Wai, it covers the entire sea east of the volcanic archipelago. If you install a soft drop fuel tank in the cabin, you can even fly around the Northwest and Eastern Seas. Faster speed, shorter flight to the target sea area, longer search and patrol time, thereby improving the efficiency of reconnaissance and patrol tasks.

To say, that is, the number is too small.

There are only a dozen in total, all of which are deployed on the island of Wiai, so the PBY "Katerina" is still deployed on the transit island.

As a result, PBY departing from the transit islands could only search the southern and eastern seas of the Northwest and Eastern Seas, but could not search the western seas near the North Malaysia Islands.

Before dawn, patrol planes on the two islands were all dispatched

Actually, there was a round of sortie yesterday.

Since Task Force 41 was not found, Foss thought at one point that Task Force 41 might be hiding somewhere near the Volcanic Islands.

In addition to the patrol planes of Wai Island and Transit Island, carrier-based reconnaissance planes and seaplanes carried by escort warships of the task force were also used.

Up to this time, no information had been received indicating that the reconnaissance planes of the task force had not detected the 41st task force either.

Receiving the message from Hwaseong, Niz breathed a sigh of relief.

What worries him is that Lofus has decided to take the risk.

Although there is no evidence for the time being, there is reason to believe that Bai Zhizhan had already left the Liangxia Empire and returned to the 41st Task Force ahead of schedule.

Then, to still act according to the original plan is to send to death!

Even if you are prepared, it is not guaranteed.

The point is, there are three tactical objectives that must be achieved in this battle. The first is to annihilate the main force of the Liangxia Navy, that is, two task forces dominated by aircraft carriers. The second is to cover the transport fleet to go to the mainland, and at least ensure the safe arrival of nearly 100 ships of the two fleets behind. The third is to protect its main force, that is, the three aircraft carrier task forces, and the minimum requirement is to protect four of the fleet aircraft carriers.

That's right, three, not two!

In fact, this is also the most important adjustment to the establishment system of the Guia Fleet after the arrival of Niz.

According to his deployment, the 18th Task Force under the command of Frye had only one aircraft carrier, the "Sarah", which was transferred from the Sunset Ocean Fleet.

This aircraft carrier has not been in good condition, and last year it was in the Sunset Ocean Fleet, mainly responsible for training pilots of carrier-based aircraft.

Because of the tense situation on the Guia side, it was only transferred at the beginning of the year.

Sadly, there is no shipyard in Guia that can overhaul it, so there have been more and more problems in the past few months.

A lot of small problems become big problems because they are not properly addressed.

It was for this reason that Nitsu transferred the "Sarah" to form the 18th Task Force separately.

According to his arrangement, the 18th Task Force was to follow behind the two main task forces of the First Fleet, the 11th Task Force and the 12th Task Force. Of these, the 12th Task Force, with four battleships, rushed to the front, and the 11th Task Force, with six battleships, was slightly behind.

The point is that the "Sarah" carries more than 80 F4F fighters.

Its only task is to provide defense and control cover for the First Fleet.

The 16th Task Force under the command of Hal has two aircraft carriers, the "Leke" and the "York".

The 17th Task Force has two aircraft carriers, the "Endeavour" and the "Hornet".

The two task forces operated together, nominally under the command of Hal, but in reality they were not.

The real commander was the 17th Task Force, Spu, who was sponsored by Hal to Niz.

It's not that Nyz doesn't trust Hal, but last month, Hal fell seriously ill and spent most of the month in the Naval Hospital in Treasure Harbor, thus missing out on crucial pre-war planning. Before being hospitalized, he sponsored Spu to Niz.

In fact, Howl's illness is not yet complete.

Because the fleet was about to go on the expedition, and according to the planned combat operation, three commanders were indeed needed, so Hal could only be sent out with illness.

To be precise, he was about to be discharged from the hospital, and he almost punched and kicked him because the doctor refused to issue a discharge certificate.

In order to take care of his condition, Nitsu arranged for a doctor to go to the "Lek" to ensure that Hal could also be treated on the ship.

Nitsu is not familiar with the person of Sp, but he is not a stranger to it.

Before coming to Treasure Harbor, Nyze organized several war games through the Admiralty, and the hypothetical enemy was Spu, who was recommended by Howl.

The point is that the imaginary enemy mainly imitates the war in vain!

In Hal's words, in the entire Nuland Navy, no one knows more about the White Stop than Spu, so it is most appropriate for him to play the White Stop.

In addition, Sp has been serving on aircraft carriers and carrier task forces.

Although not as prominent as Hal, when it comes to the perception of aircraft carriers and naval aviation operations, Spark is by no means below Hal.

What he lacks is a chance to show his talent.

As for where the two task forces were, Nitsu didn't know.

Operations were planned and commanded by Sp, and the key link in this was the covert presence of Task Force 16 and Task Force 17.

It can be seen that the 16th Task Force and the 17th Task Force are the real main forces.

According to the battle plan, the 18th Task Force will attract firepower, and after finding the 41st Task Force, Hal and Sp will take action to ensure the annihilation of the two aircraft carrier task forces of the Liangxia Navy in one fell swoop. As long as you can win in one fell swoop, then the rest of the battle will be much easier.

For this, even the 18th Task Force could be sacrificed.

This is also the bottom line of the entire battle plan, that is, the loss of at most one fleet aircraft carrier.

It can be seen that the key is to find the 41st Task Force!

The extra day is definitely worth a lot.

In addition, no matter where the 41st Task Force is hiding, when Lofus issues an ultimatum, the Liangxia Navy will inevitably strengthen its defenses.

Then, Task Force 41 will be on the battlefield!

Will Spark be able to make the most of the day?