If you want to talk about Ren Hao's evaluation, the Imperial Navy was the victor in the two naval battles on September 12, even if Huang Xiaotian and Hao Dongjue did not have merit, they would not have it.

Judging from the comparison of tactical losses, I am afraid that in addition to the fact that the number of casualties among the officers and men of the fleet is slightly higher than that of the US military, the US military has suffered more heavy losses in aircraft carriers, escort warships, combat aircraft, pilots, and so on. Therefore, tactically, the 2nd Task Force, the 4th Task Force, and the Theater Fleet are all victors.

Judging from the impact on the campaign, the Marine Corps basically no longer needs aviation support at this time, as long as the artillery fleet continues to provide support to the Marine Corps, it is enough to maintain the Marine Corps' offensive, and then rely on the "Xingkai Lake" aircraft carrier of the Second Task Force and the fighters on the upcoming escort aircraft carrier to confront the US shore-based air force on Kauai, at least to ensure air supremacy over the head of the Nihua Island Marine Corps. Because the Fifth Fleet has completely lost its combat capability, the Imperial Navy does not need to consider the threat of the Fifth Fleet in combat operations. Even if the "Bennington" aircraft carrier can be repaired by the end of the month, there will still be the 1st Task Force, and perhaps the two aircraft carriers of the 2nd Task Force that are not seriously damaged will have been repaired, and the Imperial Navy will still control the sea supremacy in the Pacific.

From a strategic point of view, Spruance's biggest loss was by no means those two aircraft carriers, but the two-thirds of the pilots he had worked so hard to train with combat experience. Even if the U.S. military gets more warships by the end of the year, in the absence of enough good pilots, Spruance's chances of turning the tables are even slimmer. And after this battle, the officers and men of the US fleet also suffered heavy losses, especially from the relative proportion, even if the US army has enough warships, it cannot find enough excellent fleet officers and men to use these warships! Therefore, the U.S. military actually no longer has the ability to continue to compete with the Tang Imperial Navy for sea supremacy in the Pacific, let alone defeat in the Pacific!

Tan Renhao's analysis is reasonable. If he was the commander of the navy, he would even award medals to Hao Dongjue and Huang Xiaotian, but he was not the commander of the navy, and it was not his purview to judge the victory or defeat of the battle. Of course, Tan Renhao also knows that deciding the outcome itself does not have much significance, and the final result of this battle is the most important. And the outcome of this battle was not the aircraft carrier of the 2nd Task Force, nor the escort aircraft carrier group that was about to arrive, but the 1st Task Force, which was still watching the fire from the other side of the Apra Harbor.

At this time, as long as the 1st Task Force is allowed to go to the battlefield, then the battle on Nihua Island will definitely be over quickly, and the problem of landing on Kauai Island in late September is not a big problem, so it can be said that the 1st Task Force will be a decisive force. But the problem is. To this day, the Navy still claims that the maintenance work of the First Task Force has not been completed, and therefore, the First Task Force cannot appear on the battlefield. As for why the First Task Force was allowed to watch the fire from across the shore, Tan Renhao knew very well in his heart, and he knew better. The Prime Minister's actions are about to take the second step.

Tan Renhao did not think about how the prime minister would use the current war situation to deal with those opposition, how to remove the justices of the Supreme Court, and his only concern was who would be the scapegoat. Therefore, when the accurate battle reports were transmitted back one after another at the front, and the intelligence department was also trying to obtain the specific situation of the US troops, Tan Renhao would go to Gan Yongxing several times a day, ostensibly to inquire about the progress of the battle, but in fact, he wanted to know from Gan Yongxing. How will the prime minister explain to the people about the local combat operations and who will come out to bear the blame?

"Ren Hao, I said it, I don't know these things!"

Tan Renhao stared at Gan Yongxing's eyes, and from Gan Yongxing's eyes, he knew that the chief of staff did not lie to him.

"I don't know more than you do. If I were you, I would try to keep an eye out for the newspaper reports during this time. ”

Tan Renhao frowned slightly.

"Have you read today's paper?" Gan Yongxing shook his head and handed a copy of the "Imperial Times" sent by plane to Tan Renhao, "Look at it, pay attention to the editorial above, if the prime minister wants to do something, then the Propaganda Department will act first, this is the signal!" ”

Tan Renhao glanced at the headlines on the front page of the newspaper, and usually editorials written by the Propaganda Department would be placed on the front page.

"Also. This campaign actually exceeded all of our expectations. Gan Yongxing invited Tan Renhao to sit down, "I was still discussing with the principal last night." I think Hao Dongjue and Huang Xiaotian should be given a few medals, but you also know that in the current situation, it would be good if the two of them didn't carry the black pot, the medals, we can write them down first, as long as we have the opportunity next time, we can make up for them together, maybe, we can also give them a chance to be promoted. ”

"What about Liao Hanxiang?"

"Your father-in-law?" Gan Yongxing took out his cigarette, "I don't think you need to worry about this." ”

"Why? Isn't someone going to come out and carry the black pot? ”

"Ren Hao, you must understand one thing first, that is, it is not the prime minister who commands the battle, but the general." Gan Yongxing set up his legs, "No matter how the prime minister wants to use this battle, it is impossible for him to directly control the actions of the army, he can only roughly judge the result, and affect the outcome of the battle through some indirect methods." ”

"For example, let Task Force 1 remain in Apra Harbor until now."

Gan Yongxing smiled reluctantly. "So there will definitely be surprises, things that the Prime Minister didn't expect. All prime ministers will have several different scenarios in place for each possible outcome. Of course, the worst outcome is that if the battle fails, someone has to come out and take the blame, but now it is obviously impossible to have the worst outcome, even if we withdraw all the fleets now, the marines will be able to take Nihua Island, right? ”

"And what about landing on Kauai?"

"Landing on Kauai? Do you think that's easy? Gan Yongxing shook his head again, "Ren Hao, you must not have thought about it, you have been fighting on the front line for so many years, do you think that with our current preparation and investment, you can fight to Kauai Island?" ”

Tan Renhao was stunned for a moment, he didn't react at first, but then he understood the meaning of Gan Yongxing's words. Kauai is the second-largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago after Hawaii Island, which is basically the size of a small ground battlefield. The U.S. military on Kauai has more than 200,000 troops, nearly a dozen airfields, and four small docks. More than 2,000 combat aircraft are deployed. The U.S. military had been working there for decades, and even after the Mariana Islands were captured by the Imperial Navy, the U.S. military had two years, and two years was enough time to build the island into a real fortress. Therefore, if you want to conquer Kauai, it is not much easier than attacking Guadalcanal!

"The attack on Kauai was the real beginning of our attack on the Hawaiian Islands. The plan is just taken out for others to see, and we all know whether to implement it or not. So, there is no need for you to worry about Liao Hanxiang at all. ”

"But ......" Tan Renhao hesitated, "if we play well, what should the prime minister do?" ”

"You're worried about the prime minister too?"

"This ......" Tan Renhao smiled, he didn't mean that.

"Don't worry. The battle on Nihua Island will not end quickly, and as long as Task Force 1 does not participate in the battle, it is impossible for the Marines to quickly take Nihua Island. Liao Hanxiang is also very clear about this, he will not immediately increase troops to Nihua Island, as long as the battle drags on until the end of the month. Then there is a natural problem. ”

Tan Renhao glanced at Gan Yongxing and immediately asked, "Chief of Staff, you wouldn't know anything and didn't tell me, right?" ”

"As I said, I don't know more than you do."

Tan Renhao laughed. "No, otherwise how would you know that the battle on Nihua Island would drag on until the end of the month?"

"You calm down, and then think about it, and you should understand." Gan Yongxing also laughed, "If you care, you will be chaotic, you have been caring about the battle ahead during this time, how can you have time to calm down and think?" As a matter of fact. We can all guess what the prime minister will do, but you haven't been thinking about it, you're worrying about things that you can't change, and when you think about it, you must have seen it more thoroughly than I did. ”

Tan Renhao didn't ask any more. He did focus on the battle on the front line, but he didn't think that he couldn't change anything, if it wasn't for him reminding Huang Xiaotian and Hao Dongjue in time, I'm afraid the battle on the 12th would have been different.

"Anyway, don't worry, the current result is the best for us, Liao Hanxiang will have nothing to do, and I will record the medals and rewards that Huang Xiaotian and Hao Dongjue deserve on their heads. If you have time, read the newspapers, which are much more accurate than asking me for news. And much faster. ”

"Chief of Staff, then I'll take my leave first."

Gan Yongxing sent Tan Renhao to the door. "There is time. Contact your father-in-law, the current situation is in our favor, but it is not completely certain, if there is any bad change, then all our efforts will be in vain, so the most important thing is to grasp the balance now. ”

Tan Renhao nodded, at least Gan Yongxing gave him a reassurance, which was much better than his constant worry.

What happened next on the battlefield was not much different from what Gan Yongxing had expected. Task Force 1 was still resting in the port of Apra on the grounds that the ships had not been fully repaired. The 4th Task Force returned to Apra Harbor on the 19th, and the damage was that the battleships left Apra Harbor again after a simple repair, and went to Naha, mainly because the 1st Task Force had no ships occupying the dock, so the 4th Task Force had to return to Naha for repairs. Because of the accurate information received that the "Bennington" aircraft carrier would be repaired at the end of September at the earliest, and the US military would not immediately let the aircraft carrier go to Pearl Harbor, the second task force also returned to Apra Harbor, and after arriving on the 21st, the two aircraft carriers underwent three days of repairs, left Apra Harbor on 24 July, and returned to Songjiang, where they will be overhauled. The "Xingkai Lake" aircraft carrier battle group of the Second Task Force remained on Guam and began training newly recruited pilots, and incidentally is also training pilots for the Fourth Task Force.

The battle on Nihua Island was still going on, and by the 16th, Long Zhen had put the last of his divisions on the battlefield. At that time, the Marine Corps only received the support of the artillery fleet and the escort aircraft carrier group that arrived on the 15th, and the attack did not go well, and Liao Hanxiang did not let Long Zhen attack strongly. However, many times, Long Zhen did not listen to Liao Hanxiang's words, and as a result, by September 21, more than 1,200 Marine officers and soldiers had been killed.

On 22 September, Liao Hanxiang removed Long Zhen and replaced him with Fang Hsiao-hsien, commander of the 74th Division, who had been temporarily promoted to major general (no official title at that time), as the commander-in-chief of the front-line marines. Tan Renhao is not very familiar with this newly promoted Marine Division Commander, but he knows one thing that Liao Hanxiang removed Long Zhen because Long Zhen was too "obedient", and Fang Xiaoxian is a newly replaced commander, so he does not have much seniority, so he naturally does not have much confidence. In addition, he is also the place where Liao Hanxiang was promoted, so he will naturally strictly implement the orders given by Liao Hanxiang.

As a result, the battle was fought from the 22nd to the 29th, and the Marines and the supporting units used up tens of thousands of tons of artillery shells, and only advanced less than 200 meters, but the most important thing was that the casualties of the Marines were reduced, and in more than seven days of fighting, only more than 200 officers and soldiers were killed. On the 29th, Liao Hanxiang replaced the two marine divisions on the island with two other marine divisions. This is a normal change of guard, and Tan Renhao ignored a key point, that is, Liao Hanxiang replaced all newly organized troops, including the 74th Division under the direct command of Fang Xiaoxian, which was formed half a year ago and is some troops with no combat experience. Obviously, Liao Hanxiang has used Nihua Island as a training ground!

The battle on Nihua Island did not end, and in the next few days, artillery bombardment became the main mode of operation, and Liao Hanxiang submitted operational reports almost twice a day, and in each combat report, a key problem must be mentioned, that is, the front-line troops lack ammunition to continue the offensive, especially artillery shells, and other supplies are also in short supply!

At first, Tan Renhao really thought that it was the shortage of ammunition and materials, which caused the Marine Corps to be unable to quickly take Nihua Island, and he also called Liao Hanxiang several times about this matter, but did not get a clear answer. It wasn't until October 5, when Tan Renhao saw the headline on the front page of the "Imperial Times" that day when he was drinking his first cup of coffee in the morning, that he suddenly understood. What Liao Hanxiang lacks is not a cannonball, but a signal!