The question of MacArthur's command in the battle of Port Moresby has been the focus of many studies since the war. And the key point is why MacArthur arranged for transport planes to transport reinforcements over the first night of the Tang Empire's attack on Port Moresby, instead of arranging bombers and fighters to go over, so as to ensure air supremacy in Port Moresby and at the same time strike at the Tang Empire's fleet.

Different people have different opinions on this issue. From a more orthodox point of view, MacArthur was actually a more traditional American general, although he was often arrogant, and liked to talk about it, always fighting for the sake of war (this is a later comment), but fundamentally MacArthur's command was still relatively conservative, which is the complete opposite of his eloquence.

Under the circumstances at that time, MacArthur probably thought that the US military had lost the ability to regain air supremacy in Port Moresby, and that the initiative in the battle was in the hands of the Tang Empire, which had a powerful air force, and even if it could reinforce more than 100 combat aircraft to Port Moresby that night, the effect would not be obvious, and it was even very likely to be destroyed again at dawn, and this was just a matter of losing a little more bombers by the Tang Imperial Air Force, and the final result would still not change at all. Therefore, the focus of the defense of the US military is actually on the ground, not in the sky.

In addition, the miscalculation of intelligence led MacArthur to believe that at least five divisions had attacked Port Moresby (and it did, and more than five) within a matter of days. The U.S. defenses in Port Moresby were severely undermanned, so replenishing ground forces was more important than fighting for air supremacy, which had little hope. In addition, at that time, the Tang Empire already had an aircraft carrier task force operating in the Solomon Sea, and this fleet could quickly enter the western waters of the Coral Sea, while the US Navy's task force was difficult to attack quickly.

Last, and most importantly. MacArthur did not anticipate a massive bombing at night by the bombers of the Don Empire, and therefore did not take into account the need to provide cover for the transport aircraft group (which was not actually possible), and did not take into account the fact that the airfields would be hit with a huge blow, as a result of which it was not the combatants who were replenished, but the wounded!

As for the correctness of MacArthur's arrangement, there is actually no need to argue, and it is obvious from MacArthur's command that this arrogance is arrogance. And the often bombastic and tactically conservative American generals are in fact out-and-out gamblers, and self-righteous gamblers. If the airlift on the first night goes smoothly, he will certainly arrange for more reinforcements to go to Port Moresby in the next few days. If he could really quickly strengthen the defense of Port Moresby, then the subsequent capture of Port Moresby would certainly be difficult. On the contrary, he failed, and the consequence of his failure was that instead of strengthening the defense of Port Moresby, it increased the burden on the US military in Port Moresby, which did not help!

No matter how in-depth these studies of later generations are, the situation on the battlefield at that time will not change. MacArthur's reinforcements failed completely. And the US military has lost air supremacy.

It has lost the right to control the sea, and it has lost the initiative in the campaign. MacArthur's attention was also drawn to Port Moresby, where he spent forces that were supposed to be used to strengthen the defenses of the Solomon Islands and the New Hebrides. Even a large number of transport aircraft were lost. This had an extremely far-reaching impact on the entire Southwest Pacific Theater and even on the subsequent actions of the US military in the Pacific theater.

The army of the Tang Empire is still continuing to attack, even if the attack on Port Moresby is just a feint, then it must be made of a show, otherwise how to attract the attention of the American army?

During the day on the 15th, the bombers of the Tang Empire continued to "visit" the US airfield in Port Moresby. The two airfields that were shelled had been badly damaged, so the naval air and fleet air forces focused on the inland airfield. In addition, heavy bombers of the Strategic Strike Force bombed the Port Moresby city that afternoon, and more than a dozen of the bombs were dropped into the US Defense Command, although several generals were not killed. But it also forced the U.S. Defense Command to move to a more inconspicuous location.

Task Force 1 rendezvoused with the supply fleet that afternoon and obtained much-needed ammunition, as well as morale-boosting beer, cola, and plenty of fresh fruit, many of which were tropical fruits that were hard to come by in the Empire. And the fleet also improved the food that night, anyway, it can improve the morale and fighting spirit of the officers and men, and Tan Renhao and Hao Dongjue will not be stingy with that little bit of investment.

The fleet returned to the battlefield again that night, after two hours of supplementary shelling of American airfields. The focus of the shelling shifted to the port, as well as to the defensive positions of the American troops outside the city. In order to cooperate with the artillery bombardment of the First Task Force, Huang Xiaotian even sent more than a dozen bombers with incendiary bombs to guide ground targets for the artillery fleet. And the seaplanes in the fleet also poured out of the nest, providing accurate shelling correction parameters for the battleship. The shelling lasted from eleven p.m. to half past five a.m., and the fleet withdrew from the battle before the first wave of HNA bombers arrived, returning to the supply area again to receive new supplies.

On the 16th, the intensity of the HNA bombing of Port Moresby was much reduced. Three U.S. airfields had been destroyed, and the value of bombing U.S. defensive positions was not high, and the biggest problem was that the aviation ammunition stockpiled in Lae had run out at that time, and the fleet carrying ammunition would not arrive until the 18th. The intensity of the bombardment of Port Moresby by the fleet aviation on that day was also not very high, and the main problem was that there were not many bombs left in the ammunition depots of the two aircraft carriers, and they could only get ammunition supplies on the night of the seventeenth.

That night, Task Force 1 continued its efforts, and when the daytime bombardment had received little effect, the guns on the battleships became the main striking tools. As a result, the shelling continued from 10 o'clock to 6 a.m. the next day, and almost all the battleships consumed at least eighty percent of their ammunition, and even the small-caliber anti-aircraft guns on some destroyers took part in the shelling operation, which were used to bombard American pillboxes, machine gun points and other not too strong fortifications on the beach positions.

By the morning of 17 July, a convoy carrying a landing fleet of two Marine Divisions and a large number of Marine Corps combat supplies had arrived at the anchorage of Basilaki Island. The landing time has been set on the morning of the 18th. First of all, the fleet will provide fire support for the marines during the landing, and the heavy bombers of the Strategic Strike Force will focus on bombing the troop concentration sites behind the US defense line in the morning to prevent the US troops from moving towards the landing ground, and the HNA will participate in the battle in the afternoon (ammunition will not be delivered to the HNA until that time).

"We're under a lot of pressure." Hao Dongjue looked a little depressed, "I just asked Huang Xiaotian, their ammunition supply can be completed tonight, but they are mainly responsible for in-depth strikes, and the task of close support still has to be completed by us." ”

Yan Guozhong also sent a message. The Marines had to receive at least adequate fire support during the day, otherwise it would be difficult to establish a landing site. Tan Renhao was also a little depressed, "Forget it, I'll arrange the shelling mission, let everyone rest tonight, let the Yankees take a breath, let the navigation staff design the navigation route, the fleet will enter the shelling sea area at about four o'clock tomorrow morning, and the suppressive shelling will begin at half past four." Also, before the departure of the supply fleet. Let them bring beer. Coke is all left. The officers and men were tired from fighting for so many days, especially the gunners. Let them get a good night's sleep, and there is no limit to the availability of beer, except that they don't get drunk and get drunk. Of course, you'll have to say hello to the officers and get them all to keep an eye on them. ”

"No problem, do you want to say hello to the guy?"

"Of course, how can you drink without food?" Tan Renhao laughed, "Also, the anti-submarine patrol at night must be arranged, and the officers and men on the destroyer will work hard." Tell them that after this battle, when they return to Lae, there will be a chance for them to rest. ”

The order was quickly given, and the morale of the fleet was quickly raised. Veterans who have served in Task Force 1 for more than a year know that their commander is a very good man. As long as they do not mess around and do not delay combat operations, then the commander's requirements for them are very lenient. Last time, the officers who committed the discipline problem were not all the commanders who helped to find a way to deal with the problem. Therefore, even Tan Renhao did not limit the supply of beer. Many officers and men consciously did not drink much, and went to rest after eating a full meal.

The 1st Task Force also left the anchorage at about 10 o'clock, two hours ahead of the landing fleet, and then rushed to the battlefield at a speed of 18 knots. Tan Renhao handed over the work of the fleet ferry to Hao Dongjue to be in charge, and by the way, asked the navigation staff to pay attention to the situation of the fleet, and then went back to the cabin to sleep.

"Chief of Staff, did you say that the commander has reached menopause?"

"Menopause?" In Tan Renhao's absence, Hao Dongjue often joked with the officers of the General Staff, and most of them were jokes about the commander.

"I heard that women can't sleep when they reach menopause, and men who reach menopause know how to sleep well, and now that the battle is so intense, the commander can still go to sleep, don't you say?" The Navigation Staff Officer laughed as he spoke.

"How can there be such a thing, don't talk nonsense, what can't sleep and can't sleep, the commander is very calm, very calm, the kind of person who is in control of the overall situation, you have a bad quality in your heart, naturally you can't sleep, otherwise you will be the commander." Hao Dongjue still often helps Tan Renhao to say good things, "Don't talk about this, tell me, why do we want to make the route a little southerly?" ”

"As I said yesterday, the north is a shallow area, and if the route is too far north, it is easy to run aground, which is very dangerous, and these factors must be taken into account when designing the route."

"So, we have to consider several aspects at the same time, and then design a reasonable route?"

"Yes, the speed and direction of the current, the magnitude of the wind, the direction of the wind, and even the high tide and low tide have to be taken into account."

Although it was quiet on the battleship, most of the officers and men did not fall asleep, especially those who were newly transferred to serve in the fleet. For veterans who have participated in many battles, they can sleep peacefully even under the sound of artillery fire, and they have no sense of surprise in the battle. Many recruits will have a very mysterious sense of naval warfare when they arrive at the fleet, and in fact, many officers and soldiers who join the navy wear sea soul shirts for this reason. It was because of this that Tan Renhao entered the Naval Academy.

As a matter of fact, in a battle at sea, it is impossible for ordinary officers and men to see the thrilling and tense scenes of a naval battle. For example, the boiler crew on a battleship may have to stay in the boiler room for the entire battle, dealing with the instruments and fixing minor glitches if necessary. And the gunners of the main guns can only see the battleship in the distance from the observation hole at best, and when the radar directs the shelling, there is not even a chance to see the low. The damage management team members could only stay in a certain passage of the battleship, waiting for the moment when the battleship was shot, so that they could rush over to extinguish the fire as soon as possible, rush to repair the battleship, and rescue the wounded officers and men. And the officers on the battleship, as well as the staff of the fleet, were mostly passing orders. Perhaps, the only thing to envy on a battleship is the lookout on the top of the mast.

One significant difference between naval warfare and land warfare is that naval warfare is a group of people working together, with thousands of officers and men on large warships and dozens of officers and men on small warships. When fighting, these teams of dozens to thousands of people are just a part of a fighting machine. Even the commander of the fleet is nothing more than the control center of this machine. And in this machine, the role played by each person is limited, and only when the power of all people is concentrated together can it bring power.

The fleet sailed quickly on the calm sea, and if each battleship was a fighting machine, then each battleship was just a part of the fleet's larger fighting machine. And the fleet is just a part of the Navy's huge fighting machine. This is the Navy, this is the Naval Fleet. The entire navy is a complex fighting machine, and whoever it is is just a small part of this huge fighting machine!