When Tan Renhao returned to the position of Fleet Commander, the First Fleet was already sailing eastward, and the fleet had re-entered a state of radio silence. The Third Fleet left the engaged waters that morning and returned northwest to the waters of the Hawaiian Islands to continue to support the Marines in their attack on Oahu. Hao Dongjue was responsible for sending the battle report to the naval command, and Zhu Rongzhe did not rush to do it.

"This is a call back from the command of the Navy." Zhu Rongzhe has been holding out for more than a day, "The bombers and pilots who have added to us will go directly to Panama, and in addition, the Xindi battle plan will also be delivered at the same time, requiring us not to enter the Caribbean Sea immediately after arriving in Panama, and we should get in touch with Han Shaofeng as soon as possible."

"A Shindi mission?" Tan Renhao took the telegram, the fleet's ground battle plan had already been determined, and he didn't know what other new land tasks there were.

"There is no mention in the cable, just let us contact Han Shaofeng, and the Navy Command will send the next transport fleet to the ground."

"Okay, you go and rest first." Tan Renhao saw that Zhu Rongzhe was already very tired, "Go and sleep, I'll be on duty at night, just remember to come early tomorrow morning."

Zhu Rongzhe did not refuse, he did feel very tired, and in the past few months, he has also summed up a little experience, that is, try not to argue with the commander, the chief of staff is impossible to fight for the commander's land.

The night was quiet, except for the sound of the wind and the waves crashing on the battleship. The noise of the carrier's boilers and steam turbines could barely be heard in the command room. Tan Renhao stayed in the command cabin after dinner, the staff officer did not bother him, there was no need to do things, and the staff officer would not take the initiative to chat with the commander.

The overall goal of this fleet is to enter the Caribbean Sea as soon as possible, sweep the Caribbean region, and then advance northward. At the same time, the Second Fleet will also depart from Cape Town and continue north. The two fleets will eventually meet in the North Atlantic, join forces to cut off the North Atlantic route, first force Britain to surrender, then the Weng Yiming Land Marine Corps will occupy LinkedIn, and finally turn back to sweep the upper islands in the North Atlantic, establish an forward base near the east coast of the United States, and lay the foundation for the next bombing of the United States mainland.

This set of operational guidelines is not difficult to concretely combat operations by the front-line commander. That is to say, Tan Renhao and Jiang Zhongmin are respectively responsible for formulating, and the Navy Command is only responsible for coordinating combat operations in all directions, and does not directly interfere with the command work on the front line. Tan Renhao had already thought of a battle plan, and was ready to fight Hao Dongjue after arriving in Panama. Chang recommended the new, and is on the Isthmus of Central America to discuss with the U.S. military battlefield Han Shaofeng, if Han Shaofeng can divide a marine corps to accompany the fleet to fight. It would be easier to defeat the United States .

Tan Renhao just couldn't figure it out, why did the Navy Command revise the battle plan at this time?

Could it be that there is another problem on the side of the Second Fleet? This is Tan Renhaodi's first thought, Jiang Zhongmin has had problems several times, although each time there is a specific reason, and the responsibility is not on him, especially the last time he went north. The Germans are awkward, and this is where Jiang Zhongmin can't solve it. But if the Second Fleet goes wrong again, it's not necessarily a strange thing. This time into the North Atlantic, Tan Renhao did not think that the Second Fleet could play a big role, but he did not want to fight alone, after all, the main body of the British Navy is still there, and the US Navy has already obtained a batch of Xindi warships in the middle of the year, including six aircraft carriers, and several "Jumbo" class "Montana" class battleships, even if the excellent officers and men of the US Navy have long been defeated. But so many warships are not easy to deal with. It is necessary to unite the two fleets to go north at the same time, so that they can defeat the enemy in the shortest possible time and at the lowest possible cost, and control the North Atlantic.

If it wasn't the Second Fleet's problem, could it be Han Shaofeng's problem? Tan Renhao also considered this possibility. Jiang Zhongmin has already suffered a lot in the South Atlantic, and he should have accumulated a lot of experience. With the Imperial Navy occupying the Panama Canal, the U.S. fleet will not take the initiative to go to the South Atlantic to trouble Jiang Zhongmin. The British mainland is already in danger, and the British Navy will not abandon the English Channel and go to remote battlefields thousands of nautical miles away. Germany has already conceded and will not take the initiative to find trouble. So. It is very likely that there is a problem on Han Shaofeng's side, but. What went wrong with Han Shaofeng?

The U.S. military deployment in Central America is not very large, probably less than 300,000 combined, only a small part of its huge land area, and these 300,000 U.S. troops are far away from the mainland, and there are no good military bases in Central America, so it is difficult to support the U.S. military's counterattack operations. More importantly, Han Shaofeng has received two batches of reinforcements, and the Imperial Marine Corps deployed in the Panama Canal Zone has reached 16 divisions with a total strength of nearly 300,000 troops. Han Shaofeng's task is not to move north quickly, his first task is to hold the Panama Canal and ensure the safety of the Panama Canal, and then to steadily advance northward. With Han Shao's ability to attack the ground, with the same number of troops, it is impossible for him to be defeated by the US military, right?

The more he thought about it, the more confused he became, Jiang Zhongmin and Han Shaofeng were not bad breeds, both of them had a lot of experience, and the battle situation was not fierce, what reason would there be for the Navy Command to temporarily change the battle plan? to later. Tan Renhao simply didn't think about it, in the second half of the night, he blew the sea breeze on the deck for a few hours, calmed himself down, and gradually calmed his mood, anyway, this time the Navy Command revised the battle plan purposefully.

The next morning, Chang Jian sent a new message that the work of salvaging the American drowning personnel had been completed, and the search and rescue ships of the Third Task Force had picked up a total of about 4,000 American officers and men, all of whom were concentrated on four cruisers and four de-approved parts, and they would be sent back to Kauai, and the eight battleships would accompany the next transport fleet to Panama to rendezvous with the Third Task Force.

The fleet continued to sail eastward, about 4,000 nautical miles from the warring sea to Panama City, and the fleet was able to sail about 400 nautical miles in a day, and ten days later, on December 7, the first task force first entered the Gulf of Panama, and in the evening of the same day. Panama City was in front of us, and after dark, three task forces arrived, the first and second task forces were stationed at Rodman Harbor, and the third task force was stationed in Balboa Harbor.

"The training mission still has to be arranged." Tan Renhao told Zhu Rongzhe before leaving the flagship, "Let everyone warm up, the carrier-based aircraft can be transferred to the shore base, but the training must not be stopped. You get in touch with the Marine Corps Command. Identify SHKP training sites. And then work with Task Force 2 to plan specific training arrangements, do you know what to do? ”

"Understood, I'll arrange it later. Tomorrow we will let the troops start their normal training."

Tan Renhao smiled and nodded, and then said goodbye to Zhu Rongzhe and left the "Longganhu" aircraft carrier. On the dock, ■ Dong Jue is already waiting for him. The two took a Marine speedboat to the port of Balboa, opposite. Chang Jianxin and Han Shaofeng are already waiting for them over there. The four of them walked directly to the headquarters of the Marine Corps in the harbor.

"The conditions here are limited, I didn't set up a reception banquet, and I ask the three of you to forgive me."

"Old Han, you're too polite, and we're not outsiders." Hao Dongjue put Han Shaofeng on the shoulder, looking very kind. And the Marines are doing a good job, and I heard that you have hired a group of local cooks. Isn't it? ”

Han Shaofeng laughed. Then you can try the Latin American flavor of the meal later. Let's talk about it first, I've already arranged the dinner place."

The four of them sat down, and when Han Shaofeng's adjutant came to ask what he needed to drink, Tan Renhao still asked for a cup of green tea.

"This is the outline of the operational plan sent by the Navy Command. Specifically, the battle plan will arrive with the next fleet, and we will receive it in about five days, and then you will have to send in the new fighters you need, as well as some maintenance equipment." Han Shaofeng sent several telegrams with the same content to Tan Renhao and them. Now the Navy Command has agreed to expand the capacity of the Rodman and Balboa ports. Engineering troops will soon arrive and this will be the base for the fleet's advance into the Caribbean. In addition, the port of Cologne, to the north of the canal, will be expanded, and if we are to attack the Caribbean in the future, the landing fleet will be mainly deployed there."

"What's the Shindi battle plan?" Tan Renhao asked bluntly.

"Go north and attack Central America." Han Shaofeng said it very briefly this time.

The room was quiet, and Tan Renhao and the three of them didn't look very good. The fleet's mission was to enter the Atlantic, and now the commander of the Navy suddenly ordered an attack on Central America, which was completely different from the previous battle plan.

"Need our help?" After a while, Chang Jianxin asked.

"There is no fleet to assist. We can't quickly take over Central America." Han Shaofeng said and went to get the map.

"General Han, we won't discuss the detailed battle plan for the time being." Tan Renhao stopped Han Shaofeng. Is this really an order of the command of the Navy? Also, what is the ultimate goal of this campaign? ”

"It was clearly written on the telegram." Han Shaofeng walked back, "The ultimate goal is to capture the entire Central American region and advance the front to the southern part of Mexico. In other words, we want to annihilate all the American forces in Central America and eventually occupy Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Belize."

The room fell silent again, meaning that the fleet had to assist the Marines in this mission before they could sweep the Caribbean.

"So, what's the time limit?" Tan Renhao felt a little headache, it seems that there was some reason why the Navy Command had to revise the battle plan.

"Three months, up to four months. The time begins on the first day of this month." Han Shaofeng took out a cigarette, "Our troops are advancing northward, but the terrain of Central America is quite unfavorable for ground operations, and it is difficult to enter the mountainous areas in the north. Last month, we lost three transport units near Mount Baru."

"Guerrillas?" Hao Dongjue asked anxiously.

"There are guerrillas, and there are small infiltration units formed by the US military." Han Shaofeng gave the cigarette to Dongjue and Chang Jianxin, and then lit it, "These Central American countries don't have much affection for us, and the U.S. military is very familiar with the terrain here. Judging from the situation in the places where the prisoners confessed, the US military has specially organized a mountain infantry unit, which is probably preparing to deal with our land here."

"In other words, if we advance by land, we will not be able to complete the combat mission in these months, right?" I often ask the key question.

"Yes, it is difficult for us to take down Central America in the short term by relying only on the ground offensive, and the terrain here makes it difficult for the Marines to have an advantage in small firefights, and it is difficult for our artillery and bombers to provide fire support for small groups of Marines." Han Shaofeng sighed, "I'm already organizing people to study Xindi tactics, and the front-line troops have also summed up some more useful tactics. A few days ago, we also organized a group of mountain troops to deal with the enemy's small infiltration troops, but the effect was not very good. If we're going to make a Central American dialect in the short term, there's only one way to do it......"

"Landing behind enemy lines?" Tan Renhao asked another important point.

Han Shaofeng nodded slightly. Only landings were carried out behind enemy lines and direct attacks on the rear of the American lines. We should not fight mountain warfare with the US military, so that we can give full play to the superiority of the Marine Corps, as well as our ground fleet and air force. This also requires the support of the fleet, and without the support of the fleet, we cannot fight such a battle."

"What about the landing fleet with the territorial support fleet?" Hao Dongjue obviously didn't want to carry out such a task either.

"I won't be able to arrive until the beginning of the year at the earliest, this is Liao Hanxiang's reply, before we conquer Oahu and capture the Hawaiian Islands, General Liao Hanxiang will not send me to support the fleet. And the support fleet can only go up after seizing sea and air supremacy. And if you want to seize air supremacy, you must rely on the main fleet."

At this point, Tan Renhao also roughly understood the meaning of Han Shaofeng, or the meaning of the naval headquarters.

"Talking about the general, this combat operation must be of great significance, the specific orders of the naval command, as well as the detailed battle plan will be sent soon, if you have any questions, you can also contact the command, if ......"

"It's okay, let's just relax for a while." Tan Renhao stopped Han Shaofeng's words, "In the past few days, let's take a rest first, and when the naval command orders arrive, we will discuss the detailed battle plan, how about it?" ”

Han Shaofeng didn't say anything, now that the Marine Corps is in trouble, it's not easy for him to say that Tan Renhao's attitude is not positive. After all, the fleet didn't mean to come to support the Marines.