In the evening, the German fleet calmly completed the last fuel replenishment before the war, and the high-speed tankers fed a large amount of heavy oil and aviation gasoline into several capital ships through the oil pipes to replenish the consumption after the successive battles, and then parted ways with the fleet and retreated in the direction of the Azores. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 After several days of rest, the pilots of the aircraft carrier also recovered from physical and mental exhaustion and were full of desire for war again, but because of the distance, now neither the United States nor Germany could help the opponent, so they could only wait patiently for the next day.

In the Zeppelin war room, the top of the fleet and all the staff officers gathered together to discuss the next operational ideas.

From the point of view of the combat situation, the German fleet was actually not very favorable, with Cunningham's troops to the west and Ingersoll's fleet to the southeast, although the latter suffered successive losses, at least 11 escort aircraft carriers and 4 battleships, which were still a force to be reckoned with, and Ozawa did not have a single battleship on hand except for the two aircraft carriers of the Zeppelin and the Harrier.

"The Italians retreated, believing that our troops were likely to be flanked by the enemy from both sides, and advised them to ......retreat," Cranc said, "but I sternly refused." ”

"Their concerns are justified, the priority is to join up with the broken fleet as soon as possible, they have 1 battleship (Richelieu) and 1 aircraft carrier (Dunkirk), which is an indispensable force for operations, otherwise the fleet is at a complete disadvantage compared to the enemy."

Ozawa shook his head lightly: "You can't retreat, if you leave, of course, the fleet itself can be saved, but Sal Island will be lost, not only the Cape Verde Islands, but also the Canary Islands, Madeira Islands or Dakar are in danger of being lost, and the Anglo-Canadian route will be restored again......"

Machar was silent: the retreat on the spot was clearly not in line with the Führer's expectations, and could also lead to the loss of the entire Atlantic campaign and cause a chain reaction. Ozawa's words are right, if the fleet does not fight now, the next Anglo-American action will be much simpler: directly push the escort aircraft carrier force to the front line to attack, the aircraft carrier formation will press the formation behind, if the German fleet does not come, the attacking force will eat the island defenders, and if the German fleet arrives, the aircraft carrier formation behind will fight together. He knew the situation better, and although Cape Verde could not be compared with the Azores, it was stronger than the Canary Islands, Madeira or Dakar, and that the other islands would be more difficult to hold if they could not hold off their opponents in Cape Verde. As things stand, a lose-lose outcome is better than a separate approach to preserving strength.

"Which one are you going to eat first?" Is it Cape Verdean enemy forces? Or the American aircraft carrier fleet behind us? "The position between the three parties is still largely clear now, but after a night of maneuvering, tomorrow will be complicated and there are too many factors to consider." ”

Judging from the distribution position on the afternoon of December 7, Ozawa's fleet is 1,200 kilometers west of the Cunningham fleet, and 1,400 kilometers to the southeast is the Ingersoll fleet, if it retreats to the northeast at this time, it is impossible for either of the two fleets to catch up, there is no problem in retreating, if you want to attack, you can't stay where you are, either go west to narrow the gap with Cunningham, or go southeast to narrow the gap with Ingersoll, because Cunningham itself is in hot pursuit, The staff officers unanimously estimated that the former would be ready for engagement roughly after dawn, while the latter would not be able to reach range until the afternoon.

Facing the sand table, Ozawa, who was thinking hard, squeezed out a sentence after fiddling with the ship model for a long time: "I want to fight the German army in Cape Verde first......"

Crane froze: "I thought you would choose to turn back and fight the enemy aircraft carrier formation first, after all, they are closer to us and faster......"

"At 3 o'clock this afternoon, the two enemy fleets were about 2,300 kilometers apart, and judging by this distance, the enemy fleet could not play a synergistic effect in 36 hours, and it can even be said that the enemy forces could not coordinate in 60 hours......"

This inference is reasonable, if the two US formations advance in the opposite direction at a combined speed of 32 knots, they can achieve mutual cover for about 36 hours, but at present, the main combat object of Ingersoll's fleet is the German army on Saar Island, once the fleet leaves, the US ground forces on the island will face a German counterattack, so even if Ingersoll is willing to join Cunningham, the distance is at most 500-600 kilometers from the escort aircraft carrier. Machar and others are veterans of breaking diplomatic relations in recent years, and they often drill in and out of the enemy's encirclement formation, and of course they understand the truth that the enemy's two formations cannot be allowed to converge: once they converge, the Allies will have a super force of 5 aircraft carriers and more than 10 escort aircraft carriers combined, and even if the German army also achieves a confluence, it is not a prey that can be simply gnawed.

Ozawa turned to Mashal and asked, "Based on your experience, if you want to fight Cape Verde first, what route would you choose?" ”

The task was a bit harsh, not only to complete it within the allotted time, but also to avoid being chased by the Cunningham fleet behind him, and to be able to ensure that the Ingersoll fleet was hit first, and there was not much room for choice, but after a moment of silence, Machar immediately drew a route with instinct, a route that was the culmination of 30 years of experience in the German Navy's professional diplomatic relations - not to the west, nor to Cape Verde in the standard southeast, but to the east-southeast......

"Proceed at a safe pace tonight, save fuel, and move at a speed of more than 24 knots tomorrow morning, when sight is restored, whether or not detected by the enemy......

The staff officers immediately simulated it on the sand table according to Machar's request, and the result was quite strange: the Cunningham troops in the rear might be able to narrow the distance between them and the German fleet, but they could not calmly fly carrier-based aircraft to attack, and unless the German fleet in the southeast resolutely went north, the striking circles of the two sides would still not coincide before sunset, and there was a blank area of 200-300 kilometers in the middle -- which could not be attacked by normal reconnaissance.

"Clever!" A few staff officers had already applauded in low voices, and Marchar's strategy not only ensured that the two German fleets would converge first on 8 December, but at the same time the two sides would not engage in battle -- unless Ingersoll had a bad brain and had to use escort aircraft carriers to challenge the German fleet aircraft carriers, what put even more pressure on the US troops was that after a 24-hour voyage, the German fleet could run about 900 kilometers, and that night it could attack the US troops on Saar Island, which would make the Americans quite uncomfortable -- neither withdrawing nor defending!

But Ozawa seemed to be worried, and he gently swung the ship representing Ingersoll's fleet to the southwest and asked, "What if the German fleet evades and tries to reduce the distance between its aircraft carrier formation?" ”

"Then attack the U.S. Army on Sal Island. Oh...... No......" Machar hesitated, and he guessed what Ozawa's concern was: even if the fleet could calmly attack Sal, it would not be able to form an overwhelming advantage, because the defenders were currently only a quarter of the territory and weak, and even if there was air power, it would not be able to regain the upper hand, at most it would increase the casualties of the American troops and make them feel more uncomfortable.

"The key is whether the Americans are willing to let the army be bombed in vain to ensure the safety of the fleet...... "If it were Japan itself, Ozawa would have come to this conclusion without even thinking about it, which navy would worry about the army red deer?" But he really can't be sure of the mentality of the Americans.

"Suppose the U.S. military chooses to avoid it in order to ensure the safety of the fleet, how will you fight?" Machar kicked the ball back to Ozawa, wanting to hear his high opinion, and then they saw that the route drawn by the Japanese advisory group on the chart was a little strange, which was no different from Machar's consideration in the first half, but after entering the night, the fleet was divided into two again: the Broken Fleet deterred Saar Island, and the main force of the fleet, including the Zeppelin and the Harrier Eagle, continued to move northeast, and the distance remained at about 500 kilometers.

"Although the Dunkirk's carrier-based aircraft are full, will it not be enough to use it only to attack?"

"No...... Because, with the Dunkirk at the front, we can use cross-platform tactics to maintain continuous attack firepower. ”

The cross-platform out-of-range approach was the ingenuity of General Ozawa, which played a huge role in the Battle of Newfoundland, and it can still be used today - both to fight the enemy and to protect himself more effectively.

Cranke added, "In addition, the Night Stalkers have been used several times with good results, and if the opportunity is right, our army can use it to launch night raids." ”

Ozawa smiled: "That's better, act according to this plan first, and if the enemy situation changes, you can consider adjusting it again tomorrow morning." ”

While the Germans were discussing their next tactical move, Cunningham and Spruance were also leading their staff groups to discuss the upcoming battle.

"Now the situation is very clear, as long as the enemy forces do not turn around, taking into account their position, speed and attack ability, more than 80% of the probability that the enemy will attack the Cape Verdean fleet first." Cunningham frowned and said, "What does General Turner think?" ”

"He wanted to take the troops south to take refuge, but he was a little hesitant to take advantage of the land forces that had landed on the island."

Cunningham did not dare to express his position when confronted with the problem of coordination between the army and the navy, so he had to ask vaguely: "How will you deal with this situation in general?" Do you need us ......?"

"No need to ......" Spruance shook his head, "If it was someone else, he might hesitate, but who is Turner?" He is the maker of the C+ plan, and his writing shocked the Joint Council, what are the two divisions? For the sake of victory, 200,000 people may not frown at all! Don't worry, Admiral King's telegram will come in a few hours......"

As soon as the words fell, the voice of the staff officer sounded: "Admiral Jin called on behalf of the navy, hoping that we will strive for victory at all costs!" ”

The more shocking thing was still to come, and after three minutes, the staff officer handed Spruance another secret telegram: "Note: Burn immediately after reading, the recruitment of domestic soldiers is good, and the preparation of 6 million troops has been completed...... Ernest Joseph King. ”

This headless sentence cannot be seen in any environment, but in this specific environment, its intention is clearly revealed -- no wonder Admiral Kim not only secretly used a private telegram, but also came to "burn after reading."

Looking at the telegram copy quickly turned into ashes, everyone around was smiling bitterly, Admiral Kim was forced to be in a hurry, and he didn't even care about "political correctness......