Faced with the dense firepower below and the several Essex-class ships in the center guarded by the main warship, Frank remembered Marshall's repeated admonitions, resisted the desire to lead the group to pounce directly, and concentrated on the work of "peeling onions", which he now has more and more experience. The pilots www.biquge.info also had great respect for him, knowing that the commander would not squander their lives blindly in pursuit of victory.

The first victim to suffer was the anti-aircraft cruiser USS Eureurus (Dedo class), which was sent directly to the bottom of the sea by 6 He-218s with 3 bombs; As soon as the regional firepower weakened, the second batch of He-218s quickly pounced in the air, this time targeting the San Jacinto light aircraft carrier (Independence class), which had just completed sea trials and rushed to support, and 9 He-218s directly pronounced its death sentence. As the attack unfolded, fighter jets from both sides fought violently, and the air was littered with bullets and shells, and occasionally planes were dropped into the sea.

After the two main warships on the left flank were knocked out, loopholes in the U.S. fleet began to appear, and the Ju-98s' torpedo arrays immediately seized the opportunity to attack, although the low-flying torpedo planes were shot down from time to time by enemy anti-aircraft fire, most of them successfully launched torpedoes, forcing the U.S. warships in the depths of the core to also turn to evade.

Looking at the irresistible performance of the fighters, Cunningham sighed: "I finally know why I couldn't complete the mission by using 100 planes to carry out offensive missions twice, and the combat effectiveness of the two sides is not at the same level at all." ”

"So I have repeatedly suggested that good pilots from the Royal Air Force be transferred to the HNA, just as the Germans did." Spruance said helplessly, "This account is easy to calculate, is it easy to wait for a HNA pilot to grow into an ace pilot, or is it easy for an ace Air Force pilot to master the take-off and landing of an aircraft carrier after changing jobs?" ”

"Why doesn't the U.S. Navy take personnel from the Army Aviation?"

"After continuous losses, the strength of the army aviation is very average, and the elite level is even inferior to that of the Hainan Airlines......"

"The strength of the Royal Air Force is also very average, coupled with the current fuel restrictions, it is extremely difficult to switch to the navy, and the deep relationship and struggle between the navy and air force is very complicated." Cunningham sighed, "It's not as good as a country like Germany that didn't have a navy before, and that's it for you to transfer directly from the Air Force in batches, we ......"

"I don't see it that way, it's a system problem, and I feel more and more ...... now," Spruance said indignantly, "and looking at the faces of some people in Congress and government affairs, I sometimes even feel the urge to send them to the front to see what's going on instead of sitting and talking...... Damn, Hitler, the Austrian corporal, knew more about war than all of our 100 MPs combined! ”

While the two were venting their dissatisfaction, a surprised voice suddenly came: "Sir, the reconnaissance plane has found the main force of the enemy aircraft carrier." ”

"What, where?" At the moment of fierce fighting, such exciting news suddenly came, and the unicorn operation command room was boiling.

"About 350 kilometers behind the side of that beveled aircraft carrier, about 700 kilometers from the fleet."

"So far? How did the Germans fly back? Cunningham pondered for a moment, and suddenly reacted, "I see! I know! ”

Spruance looked at the situation markings on the chart and reacted: "This batch of planes does not need to fly back to the original aircraft carrier, they can directly land on that oblique aircraft carrier!" ”

With a "boom", a high column of water flew up, "Brave, Brave has torpedoed!" A staff officer exclaimed.

"Damn it!" Cunningham cursed hatefully, the Brave had been torpedoed once in the Battle of Newfoundland, thanks to the sinking resistance of the Essex class, it barely recovered to normal after emergency repairs, but I didn't expect to be hit by a torpedo again this time, the disaster is not a single line, this time the mine part was less than 8 meters apart from the last time, and the powerful impact of the explosives immediately tore open the bulkhead, and even the bulkhead that was barely repaired last time was torn apart together, and the two huge cracks continued to devour the seawater, and the speed was so fast that it could not be increased.

Seeing that the ship was beginning to capsize at a speed visible to the naked eye, Spruance closed his eyes in pain, "Abandon the ship...... There is no help. ”

The mine in the Brave is far from over, 2 minutes later, in order to cover the Hornet (Essex class), the light cruiser Mauritius (Fiji class) resolutely used his body to push up, as a result, the starboard side was blown open a huge gap, the 8500-ton cruiser lost most of its power, but it could still float on the sea, seeing how Frank, who was empty of the enemy's defense, was willing to let go of such an opportunity, and immediately pressed down all the remaining He-218 and Ju-98 at hand to attack, The Hornet ate 3 bombs in 2 minutes, although the hull and power were not abnormal, but the deck and hangar were blown to pieces, fortunately, all its planes were released, and the loss was not large, but the combat effectiveness was completely lost. The Mauritius, which had a speed of only 14 knots, was not so capable, and was directly blown up and sunk.

Frank hadn't noticed the Bunker Hill and the Unicorn hiding under the cumulonimbus clouds, but even if he did, there was nothing he could do, he had used up all the attack planes and was ready to retreat.

In this round of attack, the German army confronted more than 60 US fighters with an attack aircraft group composed of 141 aircraft, and achieved the result of sinking 2 aircraft carriers and seriously damaging 1, but it also paid the price of losing 38 aircraft.

"Use 2 aircraft carriers to release all the attack aircraft, the fleet ...... Prepare to ......" Cunningham choked up and looked at the battlefield and uttered his most painful words, "Retreat!" ”

"Sir! What about Cape Verde? ”

"Give up, we can't beat it......," Cunningham explained, "we still have 2 intact aircraft carriers left, no more than 130 aircraft, and the enemy still has 3 aircraft carriers, and some naval support, and is already stronger than us, and now it is imperative to launch a final attack and bring back the wounded battleships...... If they were all left here, a German aircraft carrier would be able to show off its might in the Atlantic. ”

As for the recovery of the planes, he adopted Spruance's suggested policy of preparing to let the pilots parachute into the designated sea area, and then let the destroyers recover -- this is of course a very euphemistic statement, but in fact the two men think that the 91 planes will come back alive and probably not more than 40.

In response to this almost desperate attack, Cunningham gave the pilots the freedom to decide that they would not be reluctant to attack if they were not willing to attack, but no one wavered or withdrew, and everyone silently dressed themselves in life jackets and boarded the plane with resolute courage.

At 4:15 p.m., witnessing the last plane leaving the runway, all the ground crew and command officers could no longer suppress their feelings and cried loudly.

"Retreat ......"

Ingersoll was shocked and at a loss: "What should I do?" There are more than 10,000 people on Sal Island...... Didn't he send out the last wave of attack? ”

"Retreat, you can't beat it." Turner sighed, "Even if we can sink 1-2 aircraft carriers of the other side, our army only has 1 aircraft carrier left, and all the planes are lost, but the enemy still has land-based aircraft to rely on, and the strength of the fleet is bombarded by round shelling, the enemy still has 6 powerful battleships, and we only have 4 scarred warships, whether it is an air battle or an artillery battle, it is over, and there is no second batch of reinforcements in the country, take advantage of now, retreat." ”

"Okay, retreat, but what about the Army?"

"Don't they have some light warships, torpedo boats, and landing ships on hand, let them retreat quickly, and we will send 4 destroyers to meet them."

At 5:15, the telegram finally reached the command of the American army on the island of Sal, followed by a roar that the sky was falling apart: "We have been betrayed, we have been shamefully betrayed, the Navy has left us alone!" I'm looking for Marshall! I want to see Roosevelt! I have done this to the United Nations, I have shed my blood for America, you cannot do this to me, you cannot do this to me! ”

Hull, the commander of the 3rd Division of the Army, had just finished roaring, but saw the commander of the 5th Division, MacDonald, take out his pistol without saying a word and prepare to walk out of the semi-basement headquarters.

"Where are you going? With so many people, so many enemy warships and planes, can you run away with just a few small gunboats and frigates? ”

"Run? Why run? Dog mongrels only run! MacDonald turned around and sneered, "Haven't you seen it through?" ”

"I ......," Hull asked, bewildered, "seeing through what?" ”

"Ever since the dismissal order was issued and the order was given to allow us to make meritorious contributions, I have seen it through." MacDonald held up his gun and laughed wildly, "Okay, you don't want me, you can, I'll go to the Führer!" Fuck, Lao Tzu is a standard Dutch descendant, and when it comes to blood, he is also a well-known Germanic! What about you, are you Anglo-Saxon? ”

"I ......" Hull was at a loss, "you want to surrender, I ......"

"Want to shoot me? Or tell me? Hahahaha, what do you think is waiting for you to go back? I must be making you a scapegoat, and turn back and put the responsibility for losing the battle on our heads......" He stabbed and tore open his stained uniform, "Come on, shoot, shoot here!" I have the ability to fight my own people, but I don't have the ability to fight the Germans! ”

"What the hell do you want to do?" Hull suddenly lowered his voice and said, "I'm not Anglo-Saxon, I'm of Swedish descent, what good way out do you have?" ”

"Are you still going to work for the Jewish group?"

"No, I don't want to!"

"Then listen to me!" MacDonald whispered his thoughts into the other's ear, "How about that?" ”

Hull thought painfully for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth and said, "Let's try it, it's desperate anyway." ”