It had been 3 days and 72 hours since the German fleet disappeared from the Azorean air defense circle, and everyone did not know what the German army was doing: the reinforcement flotilla drawn from the Brazilian sea sent reconnaissance planes to search; The escort aircraft carrier group near Cape Verde sent reconnaissance planes to search, but found nothing. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 At the same time, the aircraft carrier fleet between Cape Verde and Bermuda, the Army Air Force on Bermuda and the Army Air Force on the East Coast also sent a large number of reconnaissance aircraft to search, but again, no German troops found anything.

As the minutes ticked by, the staff officers speculated that if the Germans intended to attack Bermuda, they would arrive in the early morning of November 28 (Washington time); If the Germans were going to attack Cape Verde, they would have arrived on the night of the 27th (London time), and now the main force of the aircraft carrier formation was between Bermuda and Cape Verde, and a decision had to be made on which direction to volley before the sun went down today, otherwise either the fleet would not be able to catch up when Bermuda was attacked, or the fleet would not be able to catch up when Cape Verde was attacked -- in other words, as long as it was wrong, the US forces would definitely suffer in one direction.

Regarding the next course of action of the German fleet, Cunningham and Spruance judged differently, the former believed that the direction of the German attack was Cape Verde, because the British and American fleets there were not strong after repeated setbacks, and the Germans were completely capable of winning the battle; The latter believed that the direction of the German offensive was the East Coast or Bermuda, citing the fact that the "Voice of Europe" repeatedly issued broadcasts warning the inhabitants of the East Coast of North America to retreat as soon as possible. Although public opinion in the United States has tried its best to smear and slander the "Voice of Europe," at the level of the top echelons of the fleet, which is really in contact with the war, it is easy for them to know that what the "Voice of Europe" is saying is basically the truth.

Of course, Spruance's judgment of the enemy's movements will not simply rely on the illusory logic of the Germans "telling the truth", his point of view is: if the Germans wanted to save Cape Verde, they could have come to the rescue a long time ago, and there was no need to wait for the time when the Cape Verde airport was destroyed, the air force was lost, and the army occupied the landing beachhead, so the direction of the German army would be the east coast or Bermuda, and the last time the German army threatened to attack the east coast, it was nothing more than because the 82nd Airborne Division and the army aviation fought bloodily to thwart the German attempt, If the Germans fail to do so again this time, their "prestige" in the United States will be greatly reduced.

Both of them had the support of some of their staff officers, and it was difficult to convince each other, but they were in good harmony with each other, and did not quarrel with each other—and to be honest, they were equally suspicious of the other's point of view.

They can't find Machar's fleet now, of course, the Axis fleet is northeast of Bermuda, nearly 1,400 kilometers from Bermuda and Newfoundland, and about 1,500 kilometers from Cunningham's troops, which is much more than the capabilities of the U.S. fleet's reconnaissance aircraft.

At 7 o'clock in the morning, according to Krank's arrangement, the Axis fleet quickly released 6 AR352 and 12 AR372 to carry out reconnaissance, especially making it clear that it would go to Bermuda to conduct reconnaissance, which was not particularly difficult for the AR-352, which had an ultra-long range of 5,000 kilometers.

At 11 o'clock in the afternoon, the atmosphere in the British and American fleets was tense and depressing, and the reconnaissance planes returning from all directions reported that they had found nothing, and at this moment there were only four hours left before Cunningham's decision, he walked out of the command tower uneasily, refused the kindness of the orderly to push him in a wheelchair, and walked laboriously on the deck with crutches and limps, leaving behind a bunch of bewildered staff officers.

Spruance stood silently in the distance, then turned back and told the crowd, "When the chief comes back from his walk, whatever he decides, I will support it." ”

Everyone nodded with heavy faces.

Half an hour later, Cunningham returned, calmly saying to Spruance, "I have decided to go to the aid of Cape Verde...... I believe that both the east coast and Bermuda are well prepared, and that the prepared ground air will help us to repel the German fleet, and if we are wrong, we can turn to the east coast again when the Brazilian support fleet arrives. ”

Spruance nodded: "Okay, until there is no updated information, I agree with your decision, and if there is a mistake, I am willing to bear it with you." ”

"No, you don't need to, it's my personal doing, if it's wrong, I'll bear it alone." Cunningham said, "I'm old, and I've broken my leg, it's time to go home and retire, and the future belongs to you young people." ”

Spruance laughed out loud: "I'm only 3 years younger than you, and Halsey is older than you......"

There was a circle of staff officers around, and they couldn't help but laugh.

"Report...... Bermuda caller ...... "The telecommunications staff officer ran at a speed of 100 meters.

There was a commotion around the staff, and the Germans attacked?

Cunningham was in a calm mood and waved his hand, "Read!" ”

"At about 12 o'clock this morning, two German reconnaissance planes flew into the island's air defense circle and discovered and pursued the patrol planes...... It is a pity that the enemy plane fled too quickly, and according to the pilot's judgment, it was a new type of carrier-based reconnaissance plane of the enemy, and our army has sent a heavy reconnaissance plane to search for ......."

"Good!" Everyone cheered: although the position of the German troops was not yet known, at least one thing was clear: the enemy had sent a fleet and reconnaissance aircraft in the direction of the east coast - the enemy's attack was not focused on Cape Verde.

"You see, I'm getting old, and I'm wrong in judgment."

"Nope." Spruance put his arm around Cunningham, "I'm sure you'll lead us to a crucial victory." ”

At 13 o'clock on November 26, the British and American fleets turned to Bermuda and marched, preparing to intercept the German fleet that was coming to attack.

At the same time, the news also reached the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the tension of everyone was greatly eased: more than 200 planes have been stationed on Bermuda Island, and all of them are the latest P51 and sea attack aircraft, and Arnold's Luhan has mobilized more than 500 aircraft of various types near North Carolina, which is closest to Bermuda on the east coast, and the aviation force is very sufficient; At the same time, two regiments of the 82nd Airborne Division led by Taylor also arrived at Bermuda by plane and stepped up the construction of fortifications, this time in addition to the airborne troops, there were more than 40 tanks and two battalions of howitzers on the island, Marshall was deeply afraid that there would not be enough heavy weapons, and sent enough anti-tank firepower for the two battalions through transport planes, and on the east coast, two regiments of the 101st Airborne Division led by Ridgway were also making intense preparations, planning to put in support in case of fierce fighting.

All in all, the U.S. military was fully prepared to meet the German fleet, whether it was a land, air or naval battle, it had mobilized a good amount of strength, and planned to give the axis a head-on attack, Marshall, Admiral King and Arnold jointly sat in command, intending to dedicate a long-awaited victory to Roosevelt, who was hospitalized again due to deterioration of his condition, and Admiral King also sent a telegram to Turner, who was in command at the front, asking him to hurry up and take Cape Verde down and strive for a "double cannon" victory!

"Sir, the reconnaissance plane went around Bermuda according to your request, and also had substantial contact with the enemy, but it was very dangerous at that time, and the reconnaissance plane could not penetrate deep into the sky over Bermuda, and was bumped into by patrolling US planes on the periphery, and escaped after a hard pursuit......

Mashal nodded: "Good, so it's perfect and realistic." ”

"Now wait for the American reconnaissance plane to come to the door." Cranke laughed, "Hopefully they'll be able to find us before dark." ”

Everyone laughed, Ozawa ordered the air defense fighters to take to the air, while continuing to keep the course due west, he looked at the time, and said: "There are still 5 hours until dark, and if the enemy reacts quickly, I think they should come into contact with our troops in 3 hours." ”

Bermuda Continental Airlines had already taken off 24 SBDs and 12 reconnaissance planes converted from B-24 to search for them, and time passed minute by minute, and all sides reported that no enemy fleet had been found - this is very obvious, the Axis Fleet was still more than 1,100 kilometers away from Bermuda at this time, exceeding the maximum range of the SBD, so naturally it could only return to the sea in a huff, while the B-24 had an outstanding range, but the cruising speed was less than 300 kilometers, and this 1,100 kilometers took it four hours.

Not only the army aviation officers on the island and the supreme commander of the defending forces, Major General Taylor, were anxious, but even the giants of the Joint Staff Committee in Washington were also restless, sending telegrams almost every hour to inquire about the situation, and the news they received was still "no ......." As for the reconnaissance plane taking off from the east coast, it was also reported that "there was no ......."

Just as everyone was on pins and needles, the mighty Axis fleet finally let a B-24 catch it, and the excited pilots immediately climbed up after witnessing the long line - the observers not only noticed the movement on the sea, but also saw the German fighters rushing in from a distance.

Masal and the others below naturally saw the US plane, and when they looked at the time, it was already 16:43, and it was basically impossible for the US troops to attack again, and Kränc seriously explained to the pilot who went to intercept it: "This ...... Be careful when you fight, don't knock him down all at once, let the family calmly send out the report, and then talk about it......"

"The report found that the main force of the Axis Fleet, the target position is located 1000 km east-northeast of Bermuda, with 5 regular aircraft carriers, suspected battleships: 7, 6-8 medium warships; More than 30 light warships of various types ......"

"Tubu!" Although the B-24 has raised the altitude to 7,000 meters, the German fighters still pounced unrelentingly, and the rear-seat machine gunners also returned fire with 12.7mm machine gun fire, but the enemy who came to intercept today was probably a novice, and after fighting for a long time, the machine gun shells floated past both sides of the B-24, and none of them hit the plane, and finally the B-24 successfully broke away...... (To be continued.) )