While Spruance was trying in every possible way to calculate the Third Fleet, he was talking about Ren's same thing, the difference was that Tan Renhao was calculating the US Atlantic Fleet!

After learning that Spruance had assumed the post of chief of staff of the US Atlantic Fleet, Tan Renhao immediately realized that it would not be long before he would meet this old adversary again. In early May, Tan Renhao sent the news to Huang Xiaotian. In fact, before that, Huang Xiaotian had received the same information, knowing that his old opponent had reappeared on the battlefield, and soon after, he led the Third Fleet back to Limon Bay to receive new aircraft. At that time, the Navy Command did not give Tan Renhao an order to annihilate the Atlantic Fleet, and it can even be said that the Imperial Navy Command did not take the US Atlantic Fleet as a matter at that time. However, Tan Renhao could not help but regard the Atlantic Fleet as the same thing, especially when Spruance commanded this fleet, which had been intensively trained for several months, Tan Renhao did not dare to underestimate the enemy in the slightest. At the same time, Tan Renhao also knows that if you want to defeat the United States, you must first defeat the US Navy, and if you want to defeat the US Navy, you must take out the Atlantic Fleet!

Throughout May, Tan Renhao was trying his best to get more information, and for this reason, Lei Shaoqing even arranged for several staff officers to return to the naval headquarters in several trips to bring back some important information and intelligence for Tan Renhao. Before receiving the departure order, Tan Renhao also asked Hao Dongjue and Zhu Rongzhe to be responsible for organizing two aircraft carrier task forces to conduct several simulated combat confrontation exercises. The actual combat readiness of the two task forces was inspected. The Third Task Force was also reorganized during this period, and more than a dozen officers with outstanding abilities were promoted to captains, and at the same time, Chang Jianxin invited the Mediterranean Fleet of the Persian Imperial Navy to conduct an artillery exercise similar to actual combat in early May to test the actual combat capability of the Third Fleet after it was expanded to six battleships.

In order to enhance the psychological state of the officers and men in preparing for war, Tan Renhao announced in early May that the next target of the First Fleet would be the US Atlantic Fleet, and he also "lied" that the Third Fleet was also trying to take out the last fleet of the US Navy. It is also quite possible that it will be the last opponent of the Imperial Navy. At this time, the morale of the officers and men of the fleet does not need to be considered, the officers and men of the First Fleet have long thought that the First Fleet is the number one fleet of the Imperial Navy, and they are the best officers and men of the Imperial Navy, so naturally they cannot lose to the No. 3 Fleet!

After strengthening the combat readiness of the fleet, and at the same time stimulating the fighting spirit of the officers and men of the fleet. Tan Renhao put more energy into analyzing the opponent. In fact, Tan Renhao did not need an in-depth analysis to grasp Spruance's command characteristics. But he couldn't be sure of one thing, that is, whether Spruance would change his command characteristics after being removed as commander of the Fifth Fleet and then taking a few months of inactivity. If so, then this opponent is even more difficult to deal with. If he was facing another opponent, Tan Renhao would not consider everything in a bad way, but when he fought against Spruance, Tan Renhao would definitely not dare to consider the things that he was not sure of in a good way. He had to be prepared to the best of his ability to truly defeat Spruance on the battlefield.

Then. Outside of the battle with Spruance in the Pacific, the only example worth learning from was the interception of the U.S. convoy. This has been confirmed by the intelligence services. By the time the U.S. convoy returned, the Atlantic Fleet had indeed left Norfolk Naval Harbor. And it must have been to pick up the convoy, and as for why the Atlantic Fleet did not appear in the reconnaissance range of the 1st Task Force, the intelligence services could not explain.

Taking advantage of the final results of the operation, combined with some actual conditions at that time, and after repeatedly analyzing the course of the operation, Tan Renhao made a general judgment on the actions of the Atlantic Fleet at that time and place. Spruance certainly did not follow the nearest route to meet the returning convoy, so the Atlantic Fleet was delayed on the way for a considerable time, perhaps a day. Or even two days. Finally, at the time of the First Fleet interception of the convoy of convoys. The Atlantic Fleet did not enter the reconnaissance strike range of the First Task Force, so it was not found by the reconnaissance planes sent out by Tan Renhao. This is the only plausible explanation, because the time of the departure of the Atlantic Fleet from Norfolk is certain, as is the time of return to Norfolk, and during this period the Atlantic Fleet did not operate in the shallow waters near the US mainland, and therefore certainly went deep into the Atlantic! So, what made Spruance change course instead of rendezvous with the convoy in the shortest possible time?

Tan Renhao first considered two possibilities. One is that Spruance already knew the whereabouts of the First Fleet, but he could not accurately grasp the position of the First Fleet, in order to avoid a sudden attack by the First Fleet, Spruance had to change the course and extend the sailing time, to put it bluntly, that is, Spruance deliberately did not meet the transport fleet. Another possibility is that Spruance knew that the Third Fleet had left the Caribbean Sea and was on its way to intercept the convoy, and mastered the accurate route of the Third Fleet, preparing to intercept the Third Fleet halfway, just because the First Fleet quickly intercepted the convoy, and as a result, the Third Fleet received the order to return before entering the strike range of the Atlantic Fleet, and then disengaged from the Atlantic Fleet, so that Spruance missed the opportunity to strike the Third Fleet.

Combining these two possibilities, Tan Renhao thought again, if Spruance mastered the whereabouts of the First Fleet and the Third Fleet at the same time, would he risk intercepting the Third Fleet, or the First Fleet? If so, which fleet would Spruance choose first? Also, did Spruance use the convoy as bait and set up an ambush with it, only to misjudge the arrival time of the First Fleet in the end, making the ambush impossible to succeed, and finally Spruance voluntarily abandoned the ambush?

These are the three most likely scenarios, but of course, if other factors are taken into account, there may be other scenarios. But in response to these three situations, Tan Renhao also had to sigh that Spruance was not affected by his dismissal and still had a good performance, and all he lacked was luck. If Spruance had better luck at the time, or had received more accurate information,

The First Fleet and the Third Fleet will once again taste the power of this opponent. ▋

In Tan Renhao's view, it was fortunate that he did not encounter the Atlantic Fleet in that operation in late April, but because of this, the reference significance of this combat operation is not great. Many of the results that Tan Renhao came up with at that time were analyzed by himself, and there were huge uncertainties, and there was no actual combat operation to corroborate them, which made it impossible for Tan Renhao to accurately judge Spruance's command characteristics. He still had to go back to the old ways and judge Spruance's possible combat actions by the example of previous battles in the Pacific.

In fact, Tan Renhao made a formal mistake at that time, and at the same time ignored a major feature of Spruance's command of the fleet to fight, or rather a common denominator between the two of them. That is, when the two of them command campaigns and tactical operations, they will first consider the strategic significance of the actions, and take the achievement of strategic objectives as the number one goal, and do not excessively pursue campaign and tactical objectives, and can even make tactical sacrifices to achieve strategic objectives. This is a commanding characteristic of Tan Renhao and Spruance, and it can be said that it is precisely this that laid the foundation for the two of them to be the number one admirals of the two countries.

The formalist mistake made by Tan Renhao was to pay too much attention to the examples of war, and at the same time to consider the problem from the perspective of the authorities, thus ignoring some factors that objectively exist and will inevitably have a major impact on the war action. Soon. Tan Renhao realized his mistake and realized the flaw in his judgment of Spruance. When he takes an objective stance, and takes into account that Spruance will always have a strategic purpose as the primary goal in any action, it is not difficult for him to make the right judgment.

It can be said that when Tan Renhao made a new analysis, his thinking was strikingly similar to that of Spruance and Nimitz when they discussed the way out of the US Navy. When Tan Renhao came up with the final analysis results, he was also stunned. On 18 May, Tan Renhao sent a telegram to Huang Xiaotian. Let Huang Xiaotian be vigilant and guard against a sneak attack by the US Atlantic Fleet, especially when he is on a combat mission, he must keep an extra hand, and Spruance is very likely to attack the Third Fleet at this time. When he received a call back from Huang Xiaotian and knew that Huang Xiaotian was also worried about the possible encounter with the US Atlantic Fleet in the future. Tan Renhao was a little relieved. Huang Xiaotian is a very cautious general, and he has suffered losses at the hands of Spruance, he will not repeat the mistakes of the past, and will naturally act with great caution, so if Spruance wants to ambush the Third Fleet, it will become even more difficult.

At the time, the result of Tan Renhao's analysis was what Spruance was doing. After warning Huang Xiaotian, Tan Renhao began to think about countermeasures. It is clear that Spruance will not take the initiative to challenge the First Fleet, and will even take the initiative to avoid the First Fleet's ground edge. To preserve the Third Fleet. At the very least, if the Third Fleet is to take out the Atlantic Fleet when it is attacked, the First Fleet must take the initiative. Look for the Atlantic Fleet decisive battle. At this time, Tan Renhao was faced with a two-choice question.

If Spruance is targeting the Third Fleet. Then Tan Renhao could completely let the Third Fleet be used as a decoy, and the First Fleet would set up an ambush to launch an attack when the US Atlantic Fleet attacked the Third Fleet, and take out the Atlantic Fleet in one fell swoop. At that time, the Third Fleet is likely to suffer heavy losses or even be routed, but as long as the Atlantic Fleet is eliminated, the US Navy will not be able to pose a threat to the Imperial Navy. In the future, the First Fleet will be able to dominate offensive operations in the Atlantic, and more new warships will be commissioned. The Third Fleet will also soon return to combat effectiveness. But in this way, at least hundreds of naval officers and soldiers will face the danger of being "betrayed", and Huang Xiaotian may not agree with this plan, which will make Tan Renhao unable to pass his own level. In the past, the Third Fleet has played a supporting role in the First Fleet many times, is it necessary to sacrifice the Third Fleet this time to achieve the prestige of the First Fleet?

In addition to the above option, Tan Renhao can only choose to take the initiative to attack and take the initiative to find a decisive battle for the Atlantic Fleet. The problem was that if Spruance wanted to avoid the First Fleet, he would try to stay in the cover area of shore-based fighters and try to conceal their whereabouts. In this way, it is unlikely that even the whereabouts of the Atlantic Fleet will be found, let alone attacking the Atlantic Fleet. When the time comes, the First Fleet will not say anything about its own risk, and it will even make the adventure worthless. In the end, if the First Fleet separates from the Third Fleet because it takes the initiative to attack, resulting in the Third Fleet being left alone, then when the Third Fleet is attacked, the First Fleet may not be able to help, and when the Third Fleet is defeated, the Atlantic Fleet will retreat in its entirety, and even the First Fleet will be attacked by US shore-based bombers, and it will be even more than worth the loss.

These two choices gave Tan Renhao a headache, but soon, he had to let go of this problem and deal with new things. On 19 May, the day after Tan Renhao had warned Huang Xiaotian, the Navy Command issued a new order that the First Fleet should not leave the Gibraltar fortress before midnight on 20 May at the latest, and go to the Caribbean theater to rendezvous with the Third Fleet and prepare for the attack on the Greater Andres Islands.

On the same day, all the officers and men of the fleet who had rested in Ceuta and Tangier returned to the fleet, and the three task forces also began to replenish fuel, ammunition, spare parts, fresh water, food, and other supplies in Algeciras Bay. The next morning, the battleship was lit up and began to preheat the boilers. By eight o'clock in the evening, the 1st Task Force was the first to lift anchor. By midnight, all three task forces had left the bay and had passed through the Strait of Gibraltar before dawn into the Atlantic Ocean.

Before dawn on 21 July, Tan Renhao received a telegram from Lei Shaoqing, and the Third Fleet also received a new order from the Navy Command on the morning of 20 June local time in Panama. In addition, Lei Shaoqing also received an order from Gan Yongxing, asking him to hand over the work at hand to the deputy commander of the fortress as soon as possible, and then go to Panama City to report and prepare to take over the work there. Obviously, in order to successfully conquer the Greater Andres Islands, Gan Yongxing also transferred Lei Shaoqing, a capable logistics organizer.