While Tan Renhao was trying his best to deal with Fletcher, Lei Shaoqing was walking towards the abyss step by step. He had to deal with an American general better than Fletcher, Rear Admiral Halsey, commander of Task Force 16.

Because the "Enterprise" remained on the west coast of the United States in the early days of the war to "seek medical treatment," it did not catch up with the "Philippine Sea Battle," and when Halsey led the aircraft carrier "Enterprise" to Pearl Harbor, it was just in time for this campaign operation. Immediately, the aircraft carriers "Enterprise" and "Hornet" were reorganized into the 16th Task Force, with Halsey as the commander of the fleet. In order to get into the standby area as soon as possible, the grumpy and impulsive general led Task Force 16 out of Pearl Harbor and headed for battle before Task Force 17 was ready.

After Nimitz decided to counterattack Asunción and drive the Don Army out of the Mariana Islands, Task Force 16 immediately sailed westward and reached a sea area about 3oo nautical miles from the Ogasawara Islands and about 12o nautical miles from Minamitorishima (which was also originally a Japanese island, and the Don Army did not send troops to occupy it). In this counterattack campaign plan, the 16th Task Force is the absolute main force. According to the judgment of the US Pacific Command, in the waters north of the Mariana Islands, in addition to the third task force, there is also a task force of the Tang Empire on covert standby, and this is definitely the second task force. Therefore, the task force 16 is to stand by and take out the task force with three aircraft carriers.

Halsey didn't think that one less aircraft carrier could not win the victory, and he didn't know that in addition to the third task force in the Tang Empire, the first task force had also gone to war. He had only one goal, to find the Second Task Force of the Tang Empire and send it to the bottom of the sea. For this reason, Halsey gave a clear order when the fleet was out, and all pilots must be ready to go out at any time, and there must be no delay!

At this time. Task Force 2 is on standby less than 15o nautical miles from Asunción. While Task Force 3 supported the 6th Squadron to ascend to the 6th, Task Force 2 did not participate in the battle. Throughout the campaign, the task force of the Second Task Force was to deal with the American task force, and as the most powerful fleet of the Imperial Navy, the Second Task Force had to seize and secure sea supremacy.

Task Force 2 also had a new mission when the 6th Squadron consolidated the defense of Asunción Island (field airfields became operational) and the 3rd Task Force then maneuvered to the northeast of the Mariana Islands. That is to move forward to within 1oo to 15o nautical miles of the 3rd Task Force, to be ready to provide cover for the 3rd Task Force at any time, and to attack behind the current American fleet. This task may not seem too difficult, but in reality, it will put Task Force 2 in an extremely dangerous position.

The Second Task Force has three fighter squadrons, and in order to ensure the safety of the Third Task Force, at least two squadrons of fighters must be dispatched to cooperate with shore-based fighters. And in order to ensure that each batch of fighters can patrol the skies over Task Force 3 for at least one and a half hours (one hour for the return voyage, half an hour for combat fuel, and at least fifteen minutes for fuel for the return) during the day for twelve hours. One fighter would have to make two sorties (not taking into account the second task force's own air defense patrols). Task Force 2 is no more than 15o nautical miles away from Task Force 3 (this distance must be reduced to 1o nautical miles if Task Force 2's own air defense is to be ensured) Task Force 3 operates about 12o nautical miles southeast of the Maug Islands (a small archipelago of small islands and reefs north of the Mariana Islands). If you take the radius of 15o nautical miles. Then Task Force 2 would have to operate between Asunción and the Maug Islands, and even in the waters northeast of Asunción. In other words, Task Force 2 had to enter the waters east of the Mariana Islands in order to complete this new mission.

It is extremely likely that the US Navy will deploy a task force in the waters east of the Mariana Islands (at that time, the Tang Empire's radio listening stations on Iwo Jima, the Ogasawara Islands, and the newly established radio stations in Asunción were actually already in the waters east of the Mariana Islands, and there were now unidentified radio waves coming out of the waters east of the Mariana Islands, but the results were all judged to be telegrams from long-range maritime patrol planes of the US military).

Lei Shaoqing was also very annoyed by this order, and what made him even more annoyed was that Tan Renhao actually persuaded the chief of staff of the navy. Task Force 1 moved south for a guess, and was therefore unable to support Task Force 2. It stands to reason that the first task force should be undertaken by the first task force, and the second task force should be hidden. However, the first task force was not in the nearby waters at all, and the task ahead could only be undertaken by the second task force.

In desperation, Lei Shaoqing could only choose a compromise solution. The 2nd Task Force did not go directly east, but made a circle, following the route of the 3rd Task Force, and went north first. Bypass the Maug Islands and then appear behind the ass of Task Force 3. This allows you to complete new tasks without taking too many risks. Of course, the prerequisite is that the US fleet is in the eastern waters of the Mariana Islands, and its mission is to cover Guam, Saipan, Tinian, Rota and other important islands in the southern part of the archipelago, and not to take the initiative to attack. Obviously, this judgment is wrong.

The main task of the 16th Task Force is not to protect the US forces on the islands, but to find the aircraft carrier task force of the Tang Empire for a decisive battle. At least that's what Halsey himself thought, and when he put the task of annihilating the Tang Empire's aircraft carrier task force in place, I'm afraid that even Nimitz couldn't make him change this decision. Task Force 16 patrols the sea area not east of the archipelago, but to the northeast, and is only about 25o nautical miles from the Maug Islands.

From this position, it can be seen that Halsey is taking the 16th Task Force on an adventure, and the purpose of the adventure is to take out the Second Task Force of the Tang Empire. Halsey knew very well that the Tang Empire's aircraft carrier task force would definitely return to joint operations with the third task force, and after the third task force arrived in the waters east of the archipelago, then the second task force would not be far away. In addition, he also had a judgment, that is, the Tang Empire's aircraft carrier task force would not venture through the straits north and south of Asunción Island, because there were always US fighter activities in the vicinity, and the fleet was very easy to expose. Then, Task Force 2 would be the route north of the Maug Islands. And the ambush sea he chose was aimed at this!

When Task Force 3 bypassed the Maug Islands, reconnaissance planes sent out by Halsey appeared in Task Force 3. In the face of six battleships, almost all of the staff officers suggested an immediate attack to take out the largest fleet of the Tang Empire (in terms of tonnage, the third task force was indeed the largest fleet of the Tang Empire) Halsey was not moved, and still clung to the carrier-based aircraft of the two brigades. His aim was not to strike at Task Force 3 (which would certainly expose Task Force 16 when the time came.) Instead of a second task force, the Tang Empire's bombers deployed on the Ogasawara Islands and Iwo Jima could send the 16th task force to the bottom of the sea) and waited for larger prey.

In order to avoid the reconnaissance planes of the Tang Empire (in fact, with the start of the attack on Agrihan Island, most of the bombers of the Tang Empire were engaged in the bombing of American bases on the Mariana Islands, and there were not many bombers on reconnaissance missions) Task Force 16 has maintained radio silence (Halsey even ordered that if the reconnaissance aircraft does not have an existing aircraft carrier, they cannot telegraph, and report back on the reconnaissance situation after returning to the fleet) and has been sailing under the cumulonimbus cloud (for this reason). Task Force 16 changed course several times, and its trajectory was very chaotic) Anyway, Halsey decided a little. The second task force will pass under his nose, and all he has to do is to seize that only one chance (this is very similar to Tan Renhao) He even ignored Nimitz's telegrams many times, and threw aside the orders of his superiors (extremely personal) When the 17th task force went north (the night of the 3rd) Halsey received a telegram from the Pacific Fleet Command, knowing that the 6th squadron would launch a counterattack on Asunción Island on the 7th, and the task force of the two task forces was to annihilate the task force of the Tang Empire before that, To cover the counterattack of the 6th Sentai Squadron, the 17th Task Force is heading all north to cooperate with the 16th Task Force. This order was completely different from the one when leaving Pearl Harbor. As required by the order. Task Force 16 was to immediately head south and join Task Force 17 on the 4th. Halsey once again ignored the orders of his superiors and decided to continue standing still. He even kicked out all the staff officers who raised objections, and no one could change Halsey's decision.

On the night of the third day, Nimitz sent another telegram demanding that Halsey must go south to join Task Force 17 (if Task Force 16 had gone south at that time, it would have reached the waters near Saipan at most when Task Force 17 was finished). There is no chance to cover the 17th Task Force) to concentrate the forces of four aircraft carriers to annihilate the two task forces of the Tang Empire. Halsey immediately tore the telegram to shreds and cursed it, but he still did not go south, and continued to let the fleet wander under the cumulonimbus clouds.

Half an hour before dawn on the 4th, Halsey sent out all the reconnaissance planes that could be assembled (including the reconnaissance planes on the aircraft carrier and the seaplanes carried by the escort warships) to search the waters between the Maug Islands and South Iwo Jima in a dragnet search. Two hours later, when Task Force 17 sent its carrier-based aircraft back to Guam, a third telegram arrived from Nimitz. In addition to asking why Task Force 17 had been delayed in moving south, Nimitz also ordered Halsey, in the name of the commander of the Pacific Fleet, to immediately lead Task Force 17 southward and rendezvous with Task Force 17 by the evening of the 4th.

At this point, Halsey was a little shaken. This telegram was no longer an opinion or suggestion, but a direct order. If a soldier disobeys the orders of his superiors, the lightest punishment will be brought to court-martial. And Halsey was well aware that when Nimitz used the word "command" in his telegram, it meant that his patience had reached the limit. If Task Force 16 had not gone south, Halsey would have been relieved of his duties as Fleet Commander and more likely sent to military prison for the least punishment he had received.

Halsey did not lose confidence, he still firmly believed that the Tang Empire's Second Task Force was right behind the Third Task Force and would soon appear within his strike range. But he could not continue to disobey orders. He didn't hesitate for long, five minutes after receiving the telegram from Nimitz, Halsey issued an order, the fleet was in a state of combat readiness, the bombers parked in the hangar were ready, if the reconnaissance planes still did not have the aircraft carrier task force of the Tang Empire before returning, immediately go south to meet the 17th task force, and if there was an appearance, then immediately attack! Halsey did not give up his last effort (which is exactly why he was not pushed to court-martial, but became a hero) and he postponed the fleet's southward march for another four hours. According to Halsey's idea, even if there was no current Task Force 2 and it was four hours late to go south, as long as it was fully advanced, it would still be able to rendezvous with the 17th Task Force after dark, and it did not violate Nimitz's orders.

Halsey's decision was crucial, and the four hours decided not only his fate, but also the fate of the Tang Empire's Second Task Force. At that time, Halsey sent a total of 28 reconnaissance planes, and these 28 reconnaissance planes searched in a fan-shaped southwest direction, and each reconnaissance plane was responsible for a three-degree search range, covering a total of 84 degrees southwest of the 16th Task Force, and this included a section of the route of the Second Task Force.

Lei Shaoqing never received any warning, and the Navy Command still judged in a telegram from the Navy Command on the night of the 3rd (that is, when the Second Task Force arrived in the waters northwest of the Maug Islands) that the US fleet should be in the waters east of the Mariana Islands, not in the northeast seas. Therefore, Lei Shaoqing did not know that the danger was imminent, and the second task force was not fully prepared for battle because of this (the fleet only entered the combat state, but did not make any preparations for the attack) and even sent two squadrons of fighters to provide air defense cover for the third task force 15o nautical miles ahead, and Lei Shaoqing left only two squadrons of air defense fighters for himself, instead of the standard three squadrons!