Task Force 2 made a nice inverted "J" turn and cut at a 75-degree angle towards the periphery of Den 6, southwest of Anatahan Island. At this time, the transport ships and the Deng-6 ships had already left the anchorage outside the Deng-6 field, and were heading north (these warships had also received the news and were fleeing for their lives) Kedeng-6 also hoarded a large number of combat materials and gathered thousands of officers and soldiers of the 6-Combat Brigade, among which there were many engineers (in the Deng-6 operation, the value of the engineering troops was not under that of other arms) In addition, there was a large field hospital that housed hundreds of wounded (the hospital ship that cooperated with the operation at that time could no longer accommodate more wounded) If you let "Z Fleet"If you kill it, then the 6 teams on the beach will be finished!

Originally, this interception mission should have been the responsibility of the Third Task Force, but in order to increase the interception distance, Yan Shiqi moved the position of the fleet to the south by dozens of nautical miles. Although Task Force 3 was approaching as fast as possible after receiving the news (two telegrams), there was no possibility of reaching Deng6 before the "Z Fleet". In other words, at most, the Third Task Force can only flank or flank the "Z Fleet" and cannot intercept the "Z Fleet" "Chief of Staff. ”

Chang Zhixin gritted his teeth, and when he gave the order to turn, he knew that this was simply using the flesh and blood of the second task force to block the enemy's edge, to be the shield of the 6th team, and to buy time for the third task force. But now, except for Task Force 2, there is no force that can stop in front of the "Z Fleet". Even if this is not the task assigned to Task Force 2, the battlefield is changing rapidly, and the commander must not stick to the plan and adjust the combat operations according to the changes.

"Chief of Staff!"

The guns and crews of the fleet were in a hurry.

"The fleet acted according to the order of the beginning, in addition, told ......"

Chang Jianxin slammed his fist on the chart table, and he was also cursing Yan Shiqi if the third task force stayed in its original position. There was no need for Task Force 2 to take the risk. "Don't talk so much, help me connect to the whole fleet's broadcast!"

The gunners stomped their feet hard, then stepped aside. The communications staff officer sighed secretly and helped Chang Jianxin connect to the fleet broadcast.

Chang recommended that the new dry cough twice and adjust the volume. "Comrades-in-arms, brothers, all the officers and men of the Second Task Force, I am Chang Jianxin, Chief of Staff of the Fleet. Right now. We have a new mission, one that may kill us, that may kill many of us, that may leave many of our brothers wounded and bleeding. We have to get ahead of the enemy to the south of the 6th field, and now that time is running out, we must seize every minute, every second. As emperors, as soldiers of the Imperial Navy, we must all understand one thing that the Imperial Navy will never retreat. The Imperial Navy never surrendered. The Imperial Navy never says never! Fight, the Imperial Navy will always fight to the end! ”

In terms of boosting the morale of the officers and men of the fleet, it is better to talk about Renhao and Lei Shaoqing. Because he is usually too withdrawn, too unsociable, and too serious. But his words have already resonated. For hundreds of years, the Imperial Navy has maintained an extremely glorious tradition of never retreating, never surrendering. Even in the most dangerous times, the officers and men on board the battleship would rather scuttle the battleship than let it fall into the hands of the enemy. Even if you know that you are going to die, you will never blink your eyes. This is the Imperial Navy that dominates the world's oceans, and this is the tenacious backbone that supports the Empire!

The battleship advanced at a high level. The battle order was quickly issued to the various posts, and all the officers and men on the battleship entered their positions. The cooks in the room also made some supper and sent them to various combat posts. Tension soon spread, with some whispering silently, others praying, some veterans chatting, and others laughing loudly. No one was afraid, and from the moment they boarded the battleship, these servicemen did not know what fear was. Their mission is to fight, for the Empire. Fight for their loved ones, for their families, for themselves, for all that they cherish, care about, and protect people, things, and things!

At 2:18 p.m., the radars on the "Gao Shilian" and several other battleships almost simultaneously showed that the distance of the "Z Fleet" in the southwest direction of the fleet was about 25 nautical miles, and the enemy's fleet was 24 knots.

"Keeping this course, can we go a little faster?"

Chang Jianxin is a nautical expert himself, and when it comes to sailing, no one in Task Force 2 is better than him.

"It can reach 31.5 knots in a short time, and maybe 34 knots, but it is very likely to cause serious failure of the power system!"

The engineer staff officer did not forget to remind the chief of staff.

Chang Jianxin hesitated for a moment and said: "Try to increase the degree, strive for the 32nd section, we must get here before the enemy, and then quickly unfold!" ”

The chief engineer looked at the red line drawn by the chief of staff on the chart, and then immediately went to give the order. This red line is only about 15 nautical miles away from the 6th field, and if the US fleet breaches this red line, those huge bombs weighing 1 ton will fall on the 6th field. And now the U.S. fleet is about 35 minutes away from the second task force on this red line, and within 35 minutes, the "Z fleet" has already gone 13 nautical miles north, and the distance is only 17 nautical miles, which is exactly within the range of the American battleship's giant guns!

After the order was delivered, Chang Zhixin took out a cigarette, his hands shaking slightly. After lighting his cigarette, he looked up at the marine clock, and it was two o'clock. A telegram had been received five minutes earlier, and Task Force 3 could only arrive at 3:30 p.m. at the earliest. The time of the encounter between the 2nd Task Force and the "Z Fleet" was about 3:20. There was a difference of ten minutes, and if Task Force 3 were to maneuver to the optimum position, it would take at least five or even ten minutes. Chang Zhixin knows Yan Shiqi very well, Yan Shiqi will definitely let the fleet enter the best position first, and wait for the fleet to be fully deployed before firing, so that the second task force will have to hold out alone for twenty minutes. But is it possible for Task Force 2 to hold out alone for twenty minutes?

Chang Zhixin smiled bitterly and beckoned the communications staff officer over. "The group asks if the destroyer formation can advance at 35 knots."

The communications staff officer hesitated for a moment, and then went to make a phone call.

Chang Jianxin walked to the chart table and climbed on it to think.

"Chief of Staff, the destroyer formation can advance in 36 knots in a short time. Just ......"

"Nothing more than that, get them ready for lightning strikes right away."

Chang Jianxin drew a forbidden color line on the chart, "The destroyer formation immediately added and advanced alone." Arrive here before 3:20. We will try to entangle the main American warships. When the time comes, the enemy, in order to prevent us from breaking away again, will send destroyers and cruisers to entangle us. And their task is to kill from here immediately, to strike lightning on the American fleet, to be fast. Decisive! ”

"But then we will have no cover from destroyers!"

"How can you think about all of this?"

Chang Jianxin glanced at the communications staff officer, "Hurry up and convey the order, and in addition, tell Major House Xiao that whether we can hold out until the arrival of the third task force depends on whether their lightning strike is successful." I will give the order at the right time, and if I still do not receive my order after ten minutes of engagement, I will immediately strike with lightning. There must be no delay! ”

The communications staff officer sighed secretly. Immediately went to the telegram. Although he was not an operational staff officer, he could see that the chief of staff had sent the destroyer formation to the northwest to attack alone. There's no way around it. If the U.S. destroyers were to strike with lightning, it would be difficult for the Second Task Force to successfully intercept the enemy's destroyers without the cover of the destroyers, and without the secondary guns that the heavy cruisers and the Grand Patrol were equipped with in the past (the 155 mm secondary guns are now only 12o mm high-level guns at most, and the power and range of the 12o guns are far inferior to the 155 guns in sea battles).

Chang Jiexin also knew the danger of doing so, but he had no choice. It is necessary to hold out until Task Force 3 arrives!

Thirty minutes later, the fleet reached the predetermined sea area. The engineer set a new record. The fastest degree of the fleet reached 32.5 knots, which is 1.5 knots faster than the maximum 31 knots of the "Li Jing" class design! In other words, it bought the fleet an extremely valuable two minutes.

"Chief of Staff, the enemy's fleet is about 19 nautical miles away from us, and it is advancing at a high level, about 24 knots!"

Chang Jianxin nodded, then took a deep breath and said, "The fleet is ready to fight, and I hope the enemy will draw closer to fight." We fire at the maximum distance, heavy cruisers don't rush to fire! ”

The gunners glanced at the chief of staff, immediately picked up the telephone and conveyed the order.

Two nautical miles, for a fleet of 24 knots, it only took about the second task force to be lined up, the three large cruisers all aimed at the port side to the south, the main gun muzzles on the battleships were facing south, the barrels were raised, and to reach the maximum range, it was necessary to fire at the maximum elevation angle (4o degrees)!

Chang Jianxin silently calculated the time in his heart, and after four minutes, he asked loudly, "Has the enemy fleet turned?" ”

"No, it's still moving forward, and the degree remains the same."

The staff officer hesitated, "Chief of Staff, are we going to open fire?" ”

"Hit as you started!"

Chang Jianxin nodded slightly, now he was a little confused.

The range of the main guns on the American battleships could reach 18 nautical miles, and they could fire at the maximum distance, so why not immediately turn around, turn the siding, and keep moving forward? Do you use a battleship as a destroyer?

Less than a minute later, the main guns on three large cruisers fired the first row of shells. At the same time, Kimmel was waiting for the time for the fleet to turn.

"Sir, look!"

The flash of fire from the main guns of the Don battleship was clear in the night sky, although it was only a sudden flash, but it already indicated that the enemy had already begun shelling, and it was a salvo of three battleships.

"Sir, are we going to turn?"

"No, move on, the fleet is separated!"

Kimmel looked serious.

He had already obtained the information on the new battleships of the Tang Empire, not to mention the "New Provincial Capital" class that had just been commissioned, and even the armor of the "Dignity" class was much thicker than the eight battleships under his command, which could block 356 mm armor-piercing shells fired from 12 nautical miles away. And 4o6 mm armor-piercing shells could only threaten the battleships of the Tang Empire at a distance of 15 nautical miles at most. If the distance is not pulled to 15 nautical miles (or even 12 nautical miles), then their shelling will not be able to pose a threat to the Don warships at all. Now, the battleships of the Don Army are relatively stationary, and this is a good opportunity to close the distance. The salvo density of the three battleships is not large, and the threat is not great, if you can fight for the opportunity and close the distance, then the eight will fight three ships, and you will win!

This is what Kimmel thinks, and he is sure enough that he can turn defeat into victory in just a few minutes to withstand the shelling of the first few minutes, even if he sacrifices two or three battleships for this, he still has an advantage! Thinking of this, Kimmel laughed, as if he had seen the dawn of victory.

Two minutes later, the first shells fell, all 27 shells missed, and all of them were far away, and the accuracy of the 24o mm running at the maximum range can be described as terrible. Then, the shells fell in two batches per minute, and it was not until the fifth round of shelling that one shell landed on the port side of the "Maryland" at the front, only a near-miss, and the shrapnel from the explosion under the surface of the sea was blocked by the thick armor of the battleship.

In the eight minutes that the American fleet continued to advance, the three Grand Cruisers fired seventeen volleys, and in the last three minutes, five heavy cruisers joined the artillery bombardment. However, the accuracy of this kind of long-range shelling is very low, and the lighter shells will be disturbed a lot when flying, and it is normal for the accuracy to not improve.

"Chief of Staff, the enemy fleet is starting to turn left!"

Chang Jiexin immediately glanced south, but couldn't see anything. Just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly saw a few fires flashing on the southern sea.

"The first round of shelling by enemy battleships is expected to arrive in 9o seconds!"

"The fleet course deviates from the fourth battleship!"

According to intelligence, the position of the flagship in the US fleet is generally in the middle, either the fourth or the fifth, and the fourth ship is the most likely!

The armor-piercing shells fired by the Grand Patrol and the Heavy Cruiser could not penetrate the armor of the American battleships, but it was still possible to sweep away the exposed parts of the American battleships with high-explosive shells!