Yan Guozhong was indeed in contact with the Navy Command, and it was not only a few of them who cared about Tan Renhao's state at this time. Gan Yongxing and Nie Renfeng both knew very well how big the blow to Tan Renhao was, so they were also very concerned about Tan Renhao's state, and even more concerned about whether he could command the fleet to fight.

When the news of Lei Shaoqing's injury reached the naval headquarters, Nie Renfeng, in addition to ordering the best surgeon to be sent to Guam, immediately asked Gan Yongxing to make a plan to replace Tan Renhao. Nie Renfeng is not worried about the affairs of the second task force, the injured battleship will definitely be repaired, and the second task force is returning to Guam, and Zheng Guanhua is still commanding the fleet. Nie Renfeng is most concerned about the upcoming battle in the Southwest Pacific Theater.

Gan Yongxing is very clear about the principal's intentions. If Tan Renhao is unable to command the fleet normally because he has been severely hit, then not only can he not be allowed to serve as the commander-in-chief of the fleet, but he will even have to be temporarily transferred from the position of commander of the first task force, even if Hao Dongjue is allowed to command the first task force (Gan Yongxing did not realize Hao Dongjue's feelings at this time). But the question is, who can replace Tan Renhao now? Frequently recommended new? He only commanded the Third Task Force, and if he did not participate in the decisive battle of the aircraft carrier, how could he command? Huang Xiaotian? Huang Xiaotian's qualifications are below Hao Dongjue's, and he has never commanded multiple task forces in battle. Hao Dongjue? He's just the chief of staff of Task Force 1, and he's in command of the other fleet commanders? Or is it Yan Guozhong?

This is even more unfeasible, Yan Guozhong is a Marine Corps general, and he is also the commander of the theater, and there are too many things that he needs to be responsible for. How can he have the energy, and how can he have the ability to command the fleet in battle?

Speaking of which, in the end, there is actually no one who can replace Tan Renhao. Even if you choose from the rear, you can't choose a suitable one. Jiang Zhongmin is impossible, he didn't talk about Renhao's prestige, and Hao Dongjue, Chang Jianxin will definitely not be convinced, do you want Gan Yongxing to go by himself? It can't be either. Gan Yongxing had no experience in commanding an aircraft carrier fleet. Anyway, under the circumstances at that time, Gan Yongxing really couldn't find a candidate who could replace Tan Renhao. Therefore, he didn't tell Yan Guozhong about it immediately, but wanted to take a look, anyway, the principal just asked him to prepare, and did not explicitly say that he wanted to replace Tan Renhao, so the principal should also know that no one can replace Tan Renhao at this time. If Tan Renhao's state recovers, then he is still the first choice.

32436D。

Yan Guozhong and Gan Yongxing talked on the phone for ten minutes (the submarine cable was laid in Lae on the 8th, just in time for use). After discussing it, the two felt that it would be more appropriate to still let Tan Renhao serve as the commander-in-chief of the fleet. And Gan Yongxing did not forget to leave a hand, that is, when necessary. Yan Guozhong could directly intervene in the combat operations of the fleet, and even let Huang Xiaotian replace Tan Renhao as the commander-in-chief of the fleet. In other words, if Tan Renhao is out of state. Then Yan Guozhong can remove him at any time.

After the discussion was settled, Yan Guozhong went out to call Tan Renhao and they came to the command center of the war zone. Along the way, the staff officers were all looking at Tan Renhao, and the news had spread, maybe many staff officers were doubting Tan Renhao's state at this time. Tan Renhao also noticed the gazes of these officers, but he didn't think much about it. When he walked into Yan Guozhong's office, he did have the idea of revenge for Lei Shaoqing, but when he walked out of Yan Guozhong's office, he had already figured it out. As a soldier, it is possible to die on the battlefield at any time, and there will be sacrifices in the war, and if everyone thinks about revenge, then the army will be completely chaotic and the war will be completely lost. As a high-ranking general, he must make it clear that he is fighting for the empire, for the nation, not for the individual, for his friends!

The ground staff officers in the war room of the theater were also very busy very quickly, and before deciding on the battle plan, Tan Renhao and the others had to first understand the current situation. In fact, most of the details of the campaign had been finalized in the previous few days, such as fleet communications and joint operations. And now, what needs to be determined will be the general policy of this campaign, that is, how to fight and where to fight!

At this point, all aspects of the information have been basically confirmed, and a lot of it has been confirmed without any suspicion.

The first is the size of the U.S. fleet to the south, unless Nimitz refuses to send all the warships, otherwise, this is definitely certain. The US warships that arrived in the Southwest Pacific theater of operations included three fleet aircraft carriers, six small aircraft carriers, seven battleships, three large cruisers, as well as more than two dozen light and heavy cruisers, dozens of destroyers. It is very likely that these warships will be organized into three, or four task forces, of which there will be two or three aircraft carrier task forces as the main attackers, depending on how the US military arranges the six small aircraft carriers.

The size of the US ground forces, landing fleet, and transport fleet in the Southwest Pacific Theater has also been basically determined. MacArthur received at least thirty divisions of reinforcements, and about fifteen divisions could be used for counterattacks, excluding some of the holes in the previous defensive line and some of the reinforcements that had already been reinforced to Port Moresby. And the landing fleet of the US military concentrated in the southwest Pacific theater can transport at least three divisions of ground troops, which determines the scale of the US military to launch a landing campaign. Finally, the U.S. military has about five convoys in the southwest Pacific, which determines the number of front-line combat units that the U.S. military can put into combat (resupply determines input).

The size of the US military's air force in the Southwest Pacific Theater has also been basically determined, with about 3,500 combat planes and about 1,000 service planes (including about 700 transport planes). Of these combat aircraft, there are about 2,600 bombers (including about 800 heavy and medium bombers) and 900 fighters, not including the number of carrier-based aircraft. In fact, the size of the air force also determines the scale of the US military's counterattack, and in the absence of air support, it is very difficult to succeed in the counterattack by relying only on the support of the fleet.

In addition, the situation on the Midway side is basically clear. Although Midway is several thousand nautical miles away from the Southwest Pacific Theater, the battles there are closely related to the Southwest Pacific Theater, and at least now the US military still has three small aircraft carriers in the Central Pacific. As well as an aircraft carrier of the fleet whose injuries are not entirely clear, dozens of battleships. If these warships were to be transferred to the Southwest Pacific Theater, it would definitely be a huge threat. The convoy sent by Liao Hanxiang had arrived at Midway Island in the early morning of the 10th (that is, this day). About 30,000 ground troops and more than 50,000 tons of combat materials were sent to Han Shaofeng. More than 20,000 tons of living materials, as well as a large number of engineering equipment, materials and so on. Most importantly, the first shore-based tactical fighters (about 150) of the HNA also arrived at Midway with the fleet and will begin combat readiness patrols tomorrow. On the side of the U.S. military. Task Force 52 has left the waters near Lysan Island and its whereabouts are unknown. In addition, the convoy that Nimitz had originally sent to Midway Island had remained in the waters near Gardner Island and did not move on. As for whether the US military has a plan to land on Midway, it is still unclear, and even if it does, it is impossible for Nimitz to send Marines to land at Midway Island within five to ten days, because this is the shortest time to prepare for the landing operation and the landing fleet to sail from Pearl Harbor to Midway.

At last. That is, most importantly, the time of the arrival of the US fleet in the Southwest Pacific Theater and the ports of call have been determined. All three fleet aircraft carriers entered Port Vila.

And the other six small aircraft carriers all went to the port of Brisbane. The battleship formations that arrived earlier were also all in the port of Brisbane. Judging by the timing of the arrival of these fleets, it can be inferred that they must have sped up in the middle of the voyage, otherwise they would not have arrived two days earlier than expected. Secondly.

The U.S. forces are likely to attack as soon as the 12th, and if the port is not prepared in advance to meet the fleet, it will not take more than the 15th at the latest.

After the situation in all aspects has been determined, the combat operation has actually been determined.

"Judging from the information we have obtained now, all the main warships of the US military are concentrated in the Coral Sea." Tan Renhao gave a speech on the campaign, "Maybe Halsey was going to organize three aircraft carrier task forces before, but judging from the current trend of US aircraft carriers, it is very likely that he will only form two aircraft carrier task forces, and those battleships will form one battleship task force." This can also be judged from the number of commanders of the US Navy this time. Halsey, Mitchell is in charge of the carrier task force, which we have tentatively codenamed Task Force 31 and Task Force 32. Kincaid continued to command the battleship task force, which we tentatively codenamed Task Force 33. Ladies and gentlemen, do you have any different opinions, or opinions? ”

The three fleet generals all shook their heads, and Yan Guozhong also kept his mouth shut, he didn't have much say when discussing fleet operations. Tan Renhao's analysis is reasonable, the 52nd Task Force only has three small aircraft carriers, and as a result, it does not dare to strike at the Second Task Force when it has the opportunity to strike. Obviously, the combat effectiveness of three small aircraft carriers is a little too weak before the powerful fleet carriers. Therefore, it is very likely that Halsey will organize the six small aircraft carriers into a task force, and each two small aircraft carriers will form an aircraft carrier battle group and command them in a unified manner, so as to reduce some of the command burdens.

"Judging from the fact that the U.S. fleet aircraft carrier remains in Port Vila, Halsey's primary counterattack target is not Port Moresby, but the Solomon Islands!" Tan Renhao tapped on the Solomon Islands on the sand table with a long wooden stick, "After my preliminary analysis, it is very likely that the 31st Task Force will appear in the eastern waters of the Coral Sea, and will stay within the cover range of the shore-based aircraft in the New Hebrides and New Caledonia before the engagement, and will at least stay within the patrol radius of its shore-based long-range reconnaissance aircraft, and try to use the shore-based reconnaissance aircraft to find us and reduce the reconnaissance burden of the fleet." ”

"And where will Task Force 32 be?"

"Central, the central part of the Coral Sea." Tan Renhao tapped on the central part of the Coral Sea with a wooden stick, "Before our main fleet goes into battle, in addition to luring us into a decisive battle, Task Force 32 will also cover Task Force 33 to go to Port Moresby, or the Solomon Islands, and provide cover for the landing fleet heading north. In fact, in the entire combat operation, the 31st Task Force was the main force, while the 32nd Task Force belonged to the second-line troops, and the main task of the 33rd Task Force was to support the landing of US Marines. ”

Huang Xiaotian, who began to ask questions, nodded slightly. The western part of the Coral Sea is too narrow for the aircraft carrier task force to maneuver, so naval battles will definitely break out in the central part of the Coral Sea, as well as in the eastern seas, which is why the U.S. military has placed its fleet here.

"Based on this situation, I made an initial deployment." Tan Renhao glanced at everyone, "The Fourth Task Force has moved south from the Solomon Sea and is operating within about 120 to 150 nautical miles south of Tagura Island, and the shore-based reconnaissance planes and shore-based fighters on Tagura Island will try their best to provide cover for the fleet. The 3rd Task Force is on standby in the waters south of the Solomon Sea, and its main task is to prevent the US landing fleet and the 33rd Task Force from heading north to defend the difficult gates of the Solomon Islands. Task Force 1 will be treated in the waters off Rennell Island, and the distance from Task Force 4 will be about 150 to 200 nautical miles. ”

When the staff officer put the models representing different fleets on the sand table according to Tan Renhao's explanation, everyone's eyes were focused on the sand table.

"If the U.S. military reinforces in the direction of Port Moresby, the Fourth Task Force will intercept the 32nd Task Force first, it will not be very difficult, Huang Xiaotian, are you confident?"

Huang Xiaotian smiled and shook his head.

"If the U.S. military focuses on attacking the Solomon Islands, Task Force 1 will be responsible for the eastern seas, while Task Force 4 will monitor the central waters of the Coral Sea. The 3rd Task Force was to immediately maneuver to the waters near Rennell Island. Tan Renhao put down the long wooden stick, "How to fight it specifically, we can't be sure yet." Fleet communications are as slow as possible by water planes, but not easily detected. If it is urgent, you can choose a station on a nearby island, or use the radio station of the fleet directly, is there a problem? ”

Huang Xiaotian and Chang Jianxin both shook their heads, in terms of battle deployment, they were much worse than Tan Renhao.

"Then we will stop here for the time being, and return to our respective fleets tomorrow, and before the twelfth, the fleets must be in place." Tan Renhao glanced at a few people again, "The specific battle plan will be sent down tomorrow morning, this is just a general battle plan, not a final battle plan!" ”