After the fleet completed the turn, Tan Renhao called Hao Dongjue to come to the gangway of the ship's island, and after letting the two staff officers pass, the two walked to the front of the bridge. The feeling of the sea breeze on the face is very comfortable, especially when the battleship is sailing high, and the sea breeze blowing makes people feel like they are about to fly.

"You're saying we're going back to the Pacific theater?" Hao Dongjue turned his back and lit a cigarette, "It seems that your father-in-law still takes good care of you, and he transferred you back so quickly." ”

Tan Renhao glared at his partner. "Do you think General Liao Hanxiang is the kind of person who talks about personal affairs? This operation is not a good errand, it is not a part-time job, and we are only supporting roles, Shaoqing and Lao Chang are the descendants. ”

"I don't think so, and it's more pleasant to be able to cooperate with Lao Lei and them." Hao Dongjue leaned against the fence, "Think about it, there are dozens of islands in the Marshall Islands, of which the area is relatively large, there are 14 islands where US troops are stationed, and there are airports, and only Kwajalein Atoll and Majuro Atoll are deployed with aviation. I looked at the chart, and the two atolls are separated by several hundred kilometers, and there are quite a few US warplanes on the island, so even if the second task force has a few more aircraft carriers, it may not be able to take care of them. We will definitely have to share half, or even more than half of the task, and when the time comes, it is uncertain who will be the main force. ”

Tan Renhao smiled and shook his head, Hao Dongjue is also a stubborn temper, in terms of combat exploits, he will not give in to anyone. However, Tan Renhao himself doesn't think so. According to the current formation, the location of the task force is very special. In the past, the task force was under the direct command of the naval command, but now the operational command is in the hands of the theater command, and the naval command is only responsible for the deployment of the task force. In other words, the task force is not actually fixed in one theater of operations, but operates in multiple theaters. Whichever theater of operations is fought, it will be commanded by that theater. This effectively increases the utilization of the fleet. In the past, the First Task Force would certainly not be able to be drawn from the Southwest Pacific Theater, and would not be able to participate in combat operations in the Pacific Theater. Now it is different, the fleet can be mobilized at any time, as long as the Pacific Theater needs it, and the Southwest Pacific Theater does not need the First Task Force for the time being, then it will be assigned. While increasing the utilization rate of the fleet. It also increased the combat intensity of the fleet, so that the officers and men were in a state of high tension, there were fewer opportunities to rest, and the repair and maintenance of warships was definitely a problem.

"I can't figure it out, I used to think that the second task force was a mobile unit, but now it seems to be the other way around, and we have become a mobile force." Hao Dongjue looked at his partner, "It stands to reason that the battle on the ground in the southwest Pacific is more important, so it should be the second task force that rushed to support." Now it's for us to support the Pacific Theater......"

"This operation in the Pacific theater is very important." Tan Renhao grabbed his partner's shoulder.

"Let's go in and see, you should understand the importance of capturing the Marshall Islands."

The two returned to the command cabin, as Tan Renhao walked towards the chart table. Hao Dongjue went to reprimand the staff officers who were lazy, and then walked to the chart table.

"You take a closer look at where the Marshall Islands are and the Gilbert Islands." Tan Renhao said as he went to pour himself a cup of tea. "Do you see what's wrong?"

Hao Dongjue looked at it for a while, but did not rush to speak.

"In fact, these two islands are directly related to the situation in the southwest Pacific." Tan Renhao placed the teacup on the table, and then used a pencil of several colors to mark a few routes and arcs on the mudflats. "The red line is the route of the U.S. Navy fleet from Hawaii, or from the mainland, to Australia. The blue arc is the search range of our long-range reconnaissance aircraft centered on several islands where aircraft can be deployed, and the yellow arc is the strike range of our bombers based on these islands. ”

Hao Dongjue nodded slightly, through these lines. He basically understood what Tan Renhao meant. After the occupation of the Marshall Islands and the Gilbert Islands, the reconnaissance planes and bombers deployed on these islands will completely cut off the sea routes from the mainland of the United States or Hawaii to Australia. Unless the U.S. Navy is sure enough to take the islands quickly, they will not dare to venture through the waters where the two islands are located.

"Now, look at these routes again." Tan Renhao marked several more routes on the chart, "After we complete the blockade, the US Navy can only go around to the South Pacific and send supplies and troops to Australia." The route has increased the ground range by at least 35oo nautical miles. This means that the fleet will have to sail for at least seven more days, and a transport ship will consume hundreds of tons of fuel more. Perhaps, these fuels are not important, but the extra seven days will have a great impact on the entire battle situation.

If the United States wants to maintain the degree of transportation of supplies to Australia, it must invest more fleets and arrange more escort warships, which effectively disperses the power of the American Navy and makes them have to build more transport ships instead of warships. “

"The U.S. Navy can also choose to counterattack, our focus is on the southwest Pacific, even if we occupy the Marshall Islands and Gilbert Islands, it is impossible to deploy many fleets here, they can completely fight these islands back."

"If the U.S. Navy chooses to launch a counterattack in the Central Pacific, then we can't ask for it." Tan Renhao immediately laughed, "If the US military wants to take back these islands, it must first seize air supremacy, which requires arranging aircraft carriers, and by the end of the year, they will have a maximum of four aircraft carriers." In addition, if you want to seize sea supremacy, you have to put in more other warships, and how many warships does the US Navy have now? In other words, if the U.S. Navy wants to fight back the Marshall Islands and Gilbert Islands, it will have to commit the vast majority of its Pacific Fleet, and what capabilities do they have to launch a counterattack in the southwest Pacific? When the time comes, we can use the reconnaissance planes and bombers on these islands to contain the US Navy fleet, and the battlefield conditions are more favorable to us, and we can also look for opportunities to annihilate the US Navy fleet, so that we can gain absolute sea supremacy here. In the southwest Pacific, the 6th Sentai can continue to sweep south with the support of the Third Task Force and shore-based fighters. And the U.S. Navy will not have new aircraft carriers and battleships into service until the middle of next year at the earliest, and by then, I am afraid that we will be ready to board the 6 Australian Big 6, and they will also start to lose this war from then on. ”

Hao Dongjue sighed. "You mean to say. By capturing the Marshall Islands and the Gilbert Islands, tearing a rift in the US military's Pacific defense line, the Yankees will be completely in a situation of being beaten passively? ”

"That's what the Principal and Chief of Staff thought of as well." Tan Renhao picked up the teacup, "Until now, we haven't really gained the initiative on the battlefield. The Battle of the Mariana Islands, and now the capture of Wake Island. There are also combat operations in the Southwest Pacific, which are actually leveling the battle lines and driving the U.S. military out of the periphery of the Empire, so that the U.S. military cannot pose a threat to the Reich, and the area around the Reich. That is, we are still trying to restore balance in the Pacific Ocean, and not to advance towards the United States. Ostensibly, the U.S. Navy suffered heavy losses and successive defeats, but the U.S. Navy still had its defenses thousands of nautical miles from its homeland. The retreat of the American army. It is only making partial concessions in preparation for future strategic counterattacks. If we want to change the situation in the Pacific theater, we must break the defensive circle of the US military. The attack on the Marshall Islands and the Gilbert Islands is the signal to begin! ”

"How many chips does General Liao Hanxiang have in his hand?"

"Two task forces, at least two divisions of the 6th Squadron, may also mobilize a group of long-range bombers to be deployed to Wake Island and Pohnpei Island as long-range support forces." Tan Renhao sighed, "This offensive force is indeed a little less, according to the information we have obtained now, the US military deployed in Kwajalein Atoll and Majuro Atoll are about 5ooo and 65oo respectively.

If you want to take these two islands quickly, it will depend on how much the task force can help. “

"Then we have to do our best."

"Go and arrange for the officers and men to rotate and rest, and a specific battle plan will be sent tomorrow." Tan Renhao took a sip of tea and moistened his throat. "Let the officers and men recuperate as soon as possible, before arriving at the war zone, we should make a resupply, and then get in touch with General Liao Hanxiang and the second task force as soon as possible. When the time comes, we will draw up a concrete battle plan. In these two days, the fleet did not have many tasks, so let the officers and men rest and relieve the combat state. ”

The next day. A long-range water patrol plane that took off from Guam sent over information about Tan Renhao's battle plan, supply locations, and the communications channel of the New Earth fleet.

The battle plan was drawn up by Liao Hanxiang, in order to capture Kwajalein Atoll and Majuro Atoll, Liao Hanxiang prepared two 6th Divisions, one at a time to project the strength of the 6th Division, and the other 6th Division as a reserve. The Kwajalein Atoll will be the first to be supported by Task Force 2, and more than 100 long-range bombers deployed on Pohnpei and Wake Islands will also participate in the bombing operation.

The time for the 6th squadron to ascend the 6th Kwajalein Atoll was tentatively scheduled for the 18th, and the two task forces had to bombard the Kwajalein Atoll and Majuro Atoll simultaneously on the morning of the 14th. Prior to this, the fleet would enter a state of radio silence on the 11th, covertly approaching the two islands. When the 6th Squadron attacks Kwajalein Atoll, Task Force 1 will be responsible for suppressing the US airfield on Majuro Atoll, and Liao Hanxiang plans to occupy Kwajalein Atoll in 10 days, and then spend 5 days to adjust its deployment in an effort to land on 6 Majura Atoll on 5 September and complete the combat operation to capture Majuro Atoll in mid-September. After completing the task of occupying Kwajalein Atoll, Task Force 2 will move south to cooperate with Task Force 1 to bomb Majuro Atoll, and the HNA bombers deployed to Kwajalein Atoll will also participate in the bombing operation of Majuro Atoll, so the time to capture Majuro Atoll should be shorter.

"The difficulty of the entire combat operation is the replenishment of the fleet." After soliciting the opinions of some senior staff officers, Hao Dongjue summed up these opinions and reflected them to Tan Renhao, "Because only one of our fleets performs the suppression task, and the fleet's ammunition insists on using it for four days at most, but the fleet fights alone for more than 15 days, that is to say, during this period, the fleet needs to obtain at least four ammunition replenishments, and each ammunition replenishment time takes at least one day. It is very likely that the US military will repair the airfield within this day, and then we will be threatened. ”

"This problem is easy to solve, shorten the interval between supplies to two days, bombers are responsible for bombing during the day, and organize artillery fleets to be responsible for shelling US airfields at night, so that the time for each replenishment can be shortened to 12 hours, and the time of rotation resting places can be used to complete the replenishment." Tan Renhao immediately solved the problem, "What's more troublesome is that we have to approach Majuro Atoll in a covert way. The U.S. military has deployed long-range reconnaissance planes and tactical bombers in Nauru and Tawara, and it is impossible for us to enter directly from the southwest, so we must go around to Pohnpei Island and then sail eastward. This necessitates the passage of several islands east of the Majuro Atoll at night, and the first bombing of the Majuro Atoll at the same time as the bombing of the surrounding islands of the U.S. seaplane bases, which would distract our forces and increase the danger of the fleet being revealed. If we can't make a surprise attack, and the US bombers take off before dawn, I'm afraid we will be beaten! ”

"Then you can only pass at night high, if you really can't do it, you will blow up the US seaplane facilities on these islands first!"

Tan Renhao nodded slightly. "Arrange the supplies first, in addition, try to gather intelligence, there are still a few days of sailing and preparation, and then we will make a decision."

"Then I'll contact the Guam base right now, maybe they can provide some help."

Liao Hanxiang soon called back, and Tan Renhao's request for a supply every two days was approved, but the supply sea area could only be close to the war zone, not in the rear. Liao Hanxiang also promised to provide as much information as possible, and as for the specific combat operations, the theater command will make final adjustments after summing up the plans put forward by the two task forces. In other words, Tan Renhao and the others will have to wait a few days to receive a concrete battle plan.