The shelling formation consisted of three large air defense cruisers, five heavy cruisers, as well as four destroyers. According to Tan Renhao's idea, although this was only a part of the warships of the First Task Force, it was necessary to make the Japanese troops on the island realize that they were hit by the main artillery fleet of the Tang Empire, so all kinds of warships should be complete and the artillery fire should be fierce. In this way, it is possible to create an illusion for the Japanese.

On the fifth day after the end of the Battle of Iwo Jima (the name given to the Battle of the Japanese First Air Fleet, and the broader term "Battle of Iwo Jima" included the latter part), the fleet turned around and headed for South Iwo Jima, about 45 nautical miles to the south. South Iwo Jim is the southernmost island of the Volcanic Archipelago, and further south is the Mariana Islands. It is an island with intense geological activity, and there are several active volcanoes on the seabed nearby, which can erupt at any time. Originally, it was a worthless island, but in the event of a war, South Iwo Jima was the southern gate of Iwo Jima. In order to ensure the safety of Iwo Jima, the Japanese army deployed a force of about 500 people to defend the island on South Iwo Jima. In addition to guarding the islands, the most important duty of this unit is to monitor the nearby seas.

In the morning, fleet aviation bombarded the Japanese camp on the island, as well as a number of coastal turrets, two anti-aircraft positions. Subsequently, the shelling fleet reached the sea 15 nautical miles west of the island in the afternoon. Three large anti-aircraft cruisers of the "Li Jing" class opened fire first, and then the main guns of the five heavy cruisers also opened fire. The destroyers did not take part in the shelling and kept patrolling the perimeter of the fleet to prevent the fleet from being attacked by Japanese submarines. After the sinking of the "Cheng Zhijie," the officers and men on the destroyer were also much nervous.

After the news of the bombardment came back, Tan Renhao first led the fleet to retreat to the west, and at the same time prepared the reconnaissance aircraft unit. If the Japanese Combined Fleet were to go south, it would also go south at night, not during the day. Therefore, to find the Japanese combined fleet, it was necessary to rely on seaplanes.

The news of the heavy bombing and shelling of South Iwo Jima quickly reached Yamamoto Sixty-Five. And the telegram he received was a little different from the actual situation, and it was this little difference that finally made Yamamoto 65 make a very important decision, a decision that decided the fate of the Japanese Combined Fleet, and also the Japanese Navy.

As early as the "Battle of the Ryukyu Basin", Yamaguchi reported to Yamamoto 65 that the 1st Task Force of the Tang Empire had at least five capital ships (at that time, Japanese pilots judged the tall "Li Jing"-class large cruisers to be capital ships). Sixty-five Yamamoto didn't believe it. Because it is simply impossible for the Tang Empire to have so many capital ships. The ships of the First Fleet were all sunk in the port of Naha, while the Third Fleet was completely destroyed, and only three of the capital ships of the Second Fleet escaped back, all of which were later consumed. Even if the Tang Empire had the largest shipbuilding industry in the world, it would be impossible to conjure up a few capital ships in a year! For this, Yamaguchi Wenta was also reprimanded, and Yamamoto Sixty-five thought that he was lying about the military situation, and for this reason, he was cleared of the charge of the fiasco of the First Air Fleet.

Then, in the battle five days earlier, the Japanese pilots reported again. The First Task Force of the Tang Empire had several large warships. And there are definitely capital ships in them. These pilots also regarded the tall "Li Jing"-class large cruisers as battleships or battle cruisers. However, there were not many Japanese pilots who were lucky enough to kill the Tang Imperial fleet and escape back safely. And the 1st Task Force was divided into two aircraft carrier strike groups, so it was not concentrated. Those pilots were extremely nervous when they were intercepted, and naturally they couldn't accurately judge whether there were any capital ships in the First Task Force. Even Mitsuo Fuchida was not able to give an accurate figure, and in his report to Yamamoto Sixty-Five, he only said that the Tang Imperial fleet had at least five or more capital ships, as well as more than a dozen heavy cruisers.

Two identical reports made Yamamoto hesitate. Japanese intelligence also submitted information to the Combined Fleet after the "Battle of the Ryukyu Basin", and the new battleships of the first class of the Tang Empire were nearing completion and would be commissioned in the near future. In addition, the Tang Imperial Navy, which had returned to Naha Port, was trying to salvage the battleships that had sunk in the harbor, and two warships had already been towed into the dock. Overhauls are underway.

This time, when the garrison on South Iwo Jima sent the news again, Yamamoto Sixty-Five had to "believe" that the newly built battleships of the Tang Empire had been put into service ahead of schedule, and perhaps a few more battleships that had been salvaged and repaired had joined the fleet. Because, in that telegram, the Japanese garrison on South Iwo Jima said that they had seen three huge capital ships on the sea, and that the shells fired by those capital ships were obviously much more powerful than the main gun shells on the heavy cruisers, and they belonged to the main artillery shells of more than 200 mm caliber.

Sixty-five Yamamoto also knows. The Tang Empire was building a battlecruiser before the outbreak of the war (this is the Japanese classification based on the initial design parameters of the "Li Jing" class), and this battleship was to be armed with 280 mm guns (according to this standard, it can already be called a pocket battleship in the West) with a displacement of more than 20,000 tons. Of course, Yamamoto 65 did not know that the "Li Jing" class was modified when it was built, the caliber of the main gun was reduced to 240 mm, and the displacement was also reduced somewhat, and it became an air defense cruiser instead of the previously planned "super cruiser". Of course, in the eyes of Yamamoto Sixty-Five, this kind of large battleship capable of dealing with the Japanese Combined Fleet "King Kong" at a distance of 15,000 meters, the class battleship is the capital ship.

Yamamoto Sixty-Five is also a little unclear, at that time the Tang Empire had eight air defense cruisers (now seven, one sunk) and not five (Japanese intelligence did not know that three had just joined the 1st Task Force). As a result, when so much information was sent, Yamamoto Sixty-Five no longer had the slightest hesitation, and immediately led the combined fleet to go south at full speed from the sea west of the Sons-in-law archipelago to find the main ship of the Tang Imperial Navy!

Until this time, Yamamoto Sixty-Five still believed that battleships were the dominant force on the battlefield of naval warfare. He always believed that as long as he defeated the "main fleet" of the Tang Empire, he would gain sea supremacy!

The shelling continued into the evening, after which the shelling formation retreated at full speed and approached the aircraft carrier formation. During the retreat, the eight cruisers in the artillery formation sent their seaplanes out to search for the Japanese Combined Fleet in the vast sea. According to Tan Renhao's assumption, Yamamoto 65 would definitely approach South Iwo Jima at night to deal with the artillery formation. And the shelling formations will naturally not be stupid enough to continue to stay in the waters near South Iwo Jima. Waiting to be bombarded by the more than a ton of main gun shells on the "Yamato".

At 7:50, Tan Renhao received the first telegram. This was a submarine telegram forwarded by the command of the Navy. A submarine that had received the order to enter the waters northeast of the Volcanic Islands to search for a parachuted pilot had evaded several anti-submarine patrol planes and was pulling northwest when it encountered the Japanese Combined Fleet. Because there were several pilots on the submarine, and because the submarine had been engaged in a nearly month-long operation to break diplomatic relations in the waters of northeastern Japan, there were only two torpedoes left for self-defense (under normal circumstances, the submarine captain would leave two torpedoes behind when he returned). The submarine did not attack the Japanese Combined Fleet. Instead, he stayed quietly at the bottom of the sea, and it was not until the Japanese Combined Fleet went south that it surfaced and sent this important telegram. Without delay, the naval command forwarded the telegram to Task Force 1 within five minutes. At that time, the submarines of the Don Empire were also unable to communicate over long distances. This problem exists in the navy of practically any country.

"This is where the submarine is sent." According to the contents of the telegram, Lei Shaoqing first marked the specific location of the telegram on the chart, "The Japanese Combined Fleet passed through this sea area at 6:30 a.m., and it headed south at a speed of 24 knots. So. Between 10 and 11 o'clock, they will appear north of South Iwo Jima. ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly. He also calculated the time. If the Combined Fleet had been operating in the waters near the Tsukishima Islands, Yamamoto would have given the order to attack around four o'clock, and the shelling had been going on for about three hours. Meantime. Tan Renhao also realized that Yamamoto Sixty-Five was an old fox and was very difficult to deal with.

"Judging from the current situation, unless we find a way to bomb the Japanese Combined Fleet at night, otherwise, the Japanese Combined Fleet will definitely return before dawn, and we will find out that this is a trap we have designed!"

Lei Shaoqing said to the point. Even if the Japanese Combined Fleet arrives in the waters near South Iwo Jima at 11 p.m., and then conducts a four-hour patrol and search work. Heading north by three o'clock in the morning, the fleet will reach the strait between the Volcanic Islands and the Ogasawara Islands by daybreak. In this case. Unless there is a way to slow down the pace of the Japanese Combined Fleet, the only way to do this is to let the First Task Force venture north and deal with the Combined Fleet in the same way as the Japanese First Air Fleet.

Thinking of this, Tan Renhao hesitated a little. Sixty-five Yamamoto has been in the hands once, so he will definitely be prepared this time. Five days was enough time for the Japanese army to deploy hundreds of bombers and fighters on the nearby islands. When the time comes, there will definitely be groups of fighters escorting over the combined fleet. In addition, a large number of ground patrol aircraft patrolled the waters southwest of Iwo Jima. Putting aside whether the Combined Fleet can be killed for the time being, as long as Task Force 1 is exposed again. It will inevitably be besieged by hundreds of bombers, and it will be a question of whether the First Task Force will be able to get out of here alive!

"Why don't you think about night fighting?" Hao Dongjue spoke, "I'm talking about the night battle between fleets, not the night battle of the air force. As long as we can hold off the Japanese Combined Fleet for a few hours and keep them near South Iwo Jima, then we can bomb it at dawn! ”

Tan Renhao glanced at Hao Dongjue and didn't hurry to speak.

"Dongjue's words make sense." Chang Jianxin also spoke, "The range of the 'Li Jing' class main gun can reach 15 nautical miles, and at this distance, we can use radar to guide the shelling, instead of using a lookout to direct the shelling." As far as we know now, although the Japanese Combined Fleet is capable of fighting at night, it is not equipped with radar. In addition, the speed of the 'Yamato' was only 24 knots, and it could not catch up with the 'Li Jing' class cruisers at all. Even if you really can't beat it, you can still escape if you want to. ”

Tan Renhao glanced at Lei Shaoqing, Lei Shaoqing nodded slightly, and also expressed support for this opinion, after all, even if the artillery formation could not defeat the Japanese Combined Fleet, and if it was necessary to artillery routes, the Japanese battleships would not be able to catch up with the "Li Jing" class large cruisers with a maximum speed of 31 knots.

"Immediately ordered the shelling formations to turn and prepare for a night battle with the Japanese combined fleet. Fly by water to get in touch, don't use the radio, we still have a few hours to prepare. Tan Renhao glanced at Chang Jianxin, "Also, tell them not to fight hard with the Japanese, they only need to drag the Japanese Combined Fleet for half a night, and when it is dawn, I will immediately send bombers to kill the Japanese Combined Fleet!" ”

Chang Zhixin nodded, and immediately went to find someone to deliver the order. In the fleet, in addition to navigation, he was responsible for the command of artillery battles, which, of course, for the most part, did not have this opportunity.

"The fleet is ready to turn." Tan Renhao's gaze fell on the chart, "We have to choose a new position, we have to stay as far away from the island as possible, I don't want to be conspired by Japanese shore-based bombers when I am bombing the Japanese Combined Fleet with all my might." ”

"Then the fleet had better go south."

Tan Renhao nodded and pointed at the chart. "Right here. Let the pilots sleep well at night, and if they can't sleep, let the medical officer prescribe them two sedatives. Aviation service personnel work overnight shifts, and they have to make sure that every fighter plane is flying tomorrow, and there is no more lying on the ground. Dongjue, two hours before dawn, the bombing target will be specifically assigned, and I will ask Shaoqing to give you the specific target half an hour in advance. If all goes well, the bomber group departs an hour and a half before dawn. The fleet reserved two squadrons of fighters, and it was necessary to arrange a squadron of escort fighters for the bomber group to deal with the possible Japanese fighters. ”

The order was quickly passed on, and the fleet was busy. As in every battle, the night leading up to the war was definitely the busiest for the aviation crew, because they had to make sure that the pilots were able to fly the planes into the air! Sea Soul Volume 4 The Empire Strikes Back Section 41 Yamamoto's Judgment

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