Volume 15 The Jedi Strike Back Section 36 Reorganize the army and fight again

The search for the coast of Madagascar went on for several days, and on the 13th, Tan Renhao finally got the exact news that the enemy fleet had left the Mozambique Channel and disappeared into the Indian Ocean along the island of Madagascar, bypassing Cape Amber. But this information came too far, and these few days were enough time for the British and French expeditionary fleets to run thousands of nautical miles, and even if they were to move at cruising speed after getting out of danger, the British and French expeditionary fleets would definitely reach the southeast of Durban at this time, not too far from Cape Town.

This information was confirmed by many sources, and the water patrol aircraft found oil stains in several bays, which were heavy oil or lubricating oil leaked from enemy warships. The Marine Corps officers and men in charge of the search also found some waste abandoned by the enemy warship, including some broken spare parts from the battleship that had washed up on the beach. In addition, some indigenous fishing boats also spotted the Anglo-French expeditionary fleet, and reported it to the Imperial Marines. This information is beyond doubt, and it is also direct evidence confirming the escape route of the Anglo-French expeditionary fleet.

After a few days, Tan Renhao's mood completely calmed down. He was not surprised when he received reports from various quarters one after another. After all other possibilities have been ruled out, the rest is no longer credible, that is a fact. This is a bit like solving the case, and at that time, Tan Renhao asked people to look for clues, not to confirm that his inference was correct, but to connect the entire combat operation and "complete" this combat operation. Again, it helps him get to know his opponents. If this was Cunningham's planned operation, then it is enough to prove it. Cunningham was a commander who was able to make clear judgments and wise decisions in the face of danger, and a most difficult opponent to deal with!

At this point, Tan Renhao can be regarded as having a more comprehensive understanding of Cunningham. And he also contrasted Cunningham against another formidable opponent, Spruance.

For the most part, Cunningham wasn't Spruance's kind of trying to win. Commander of the fleet who is willing to take risks. This can be seen from the first encounter between the Anglo-French Combined Expeditionary Fleet and the Third Task Force, as well as the naval battle that broke out a few days ago. Even at the time. Cunningham was confident enough to take out Task Force 3, but instead of taking an aggressive offensive action, he chose to retreat. This may have something to do with Cunningham's characterization of the mission, and if Cunningham regarded Task Force 1 as the biggest threat, then he would not blindly waste his precious forces on Task Force 3. Fundamentally, Cunningham doesn't take risks blindly, even if he has the prospect of victory. But he couldn't be sure how big this hope was, or when it was relatively small, he would choose to retreat. If you look at this alone, then Cunningham belonged to a more conservative fleet commander, and this is probably a tradition of the British Navy.

But the problem is that if you really look at Cunningham that way, you are completely wrong. In fact, this is how Tan Renhao judged Cunningham's command characteristics before. He made this judgment from the results of the 3rd Task Force and the combined Anglo-French expeditionary fleet. And it was this judgment that led him to think that Cunningham would retreat south at full speed when he directly encountered the Anglo-French joint expeditionary fleet, so from the beginning, he let the bombers go directly south, without expecting it. Cunningham would choose the most dangerous route out of danger. Obviously, it was this realization that made Tan Renhao make a wrong judgment. At the same time, it also proves that Cunningham was not a conservative commander, and there were other factors restricting his activities, perhaps not his own at all, such as the supreme purpose of the mission, the orders of his superiors, the internal contradictions between the task forces of the two countries, and the state of the battleships. These will have an impact on the decisions of the fleet commander. Opposite. Cunningham should be a man with a lot of brains and still be able to stay calm in the face of danger. A good commander who seizes the slim chance to win, or a good commander who seizes the chance to escape!

Tan Renhao spent several days studying Cunningham carefully, and at the same time, he was also repeatedly studying the actions that had been maneuvering with Cunningham during this time. The more he studied, the more he discovered, and the more he paid attention to the British Naval Fleet Commander who had escaped through his fingers. And Tan Renhao also knows very well that it is not easy to get a new opportunity, if he can get another chance to defeat Cunningham, then he must learn a lesson and change his opinion of Cunningham, so that he can seize the opportunity and finally defeat Cunningham!

When Tan Renhao was doing these mental work, most of the other work was taken care of by Chang Jianxin and Jiang Zhongmin. The two of them didn't bother to talk about Renhao. After knowing that the British and French expeditionary fleet slipped out from under Tan Renhao's nose, they also knew that Tan Renhao was in a bad mood, and even Jiang Zhongmin put aside the competition between him and Tan Renhao at this time. To put it bluntly, these troubles were actually caused by the fiasco of Task Force 5. If Task Force 5 is not defeated, then Task Force 1 and Task Force 3 will not need to enter the Indian Ocean at all, and there will be no need for Tan Renhao to bear these troubles.

The last task of this combat operation is to make a campaign summary, to be precise, a phased campaign summary. On the evening of the thirteenth, Tan Renhao called Chang Jianxin and Jiang Zhongmin over. He first gave a detailed account of the combat operation from beginning to end, then he made a summary analysis of the campaign, and only at the end did he mention why this result occurred, why the enemy fleet was missed, and what needed to be improved and what needed to be strengthened.

"Renhao, you haven't had a good night's sleep for a few days, let's discuss these things tomorrow. Chang Jianxin was a little worried about Tan Renhao, and in the past few days, he has also been carefully watching Tan Renhao's every move.

"yes, we just received the final report today, and we'll talk about it tomorrow. Jiang Zhongmin sighed secretly, he felt that Tan Renhao was putting pressure on himself.

"There's no need, let's make it clear today, so everyone can get a good night's sleep. Tan Renhao smiled reluctantly. Then he continued, focusing on his analysis of the battle and his new understanding of Cunningham's opponent. In the end, he said: "The biggest problem is that we miscalculated the ability and courage of our opponents. It's not the first time we've made such a mistake, but it's definitely the last. Perhaps, it will be difficult for us to get new opportunities. But we have to deal with the policy, when the opportunity for the new earth comes. We must not make the same mistake again, and we must not allow the combined Anglo-French expeditionary fleet to slip through our fingers again! ”

Chang Jianxin and Jiang Zhongmin glanced at each other, and then they both fell silent. The two of them have been busy dealing with all aspects of trivial affairs in the past two days, so they have not reflected on this combat operation as comprehensively as Tan Renhao. Now that Tan Renhao has mentioned the issue of "underestimating the enemy," they have all realized that in combat operations, in fact, everyone has committed the mistake of underestimating the enemy. From the beginning. They don't know enough about Cunningham, and they don't see this opponent as a serious threat!

"Judging from the current situation, the Anglo-French joint expeditionary fleet must have returned to Cape Town. Tan Renhao sat down, "This can be seen from the clues we have obtained. The escaped British and French battleships were not damaged in the battle, but there were oil spills and damaged spare parts, which must have been caused by the storm. If before that, the Anglo-French joint expeditionary fleet had not returned to Cape Town. Then they have been in the storm zone for at least a month, and it is impossible for any warship to be free of any damage. Cunningham's sneak attack has been a complete failure, and we have raised our vigilance, and it is absolutely impossible to continue the sneak attack. Therefore, Cunningham had no choice. He had to get back to Cape Town before the ship could sail and the fuel ran out. ”

"If they return to Cape Town after they have left the battle, then within five days the Anglo-French expeditionary fleet will be in Cape Town, and our spies there should have made new discoveries. ”

"Don't get too much hope out of the intelligence sent back by the spies. Tan Renhao glanced at Jiang Zhongmin, "If we can catch the British and French spies, then our spies in Cape Town must be in danger now." And before that, we had received a false piece of information. The result almost caused us to crash headlong into Cunningham's ambush circle. And this information was sent back by the spies in Cape Town. So, now there is a good chance that our spies in Cape Town have been controlled. The fact that the intelligence services have changed the cipher proves that even if new intelligence is sent out of Cape Town, it has no credible value, at least not at all! ”

Jiang Zhongmin nodded slightly, he was already dizzy from being busy.

"If the combined Anglo-French fleet returns to Cape Town, we may consider continuing our assault on Cape Town. Chang Jianxin changed the topic, and talked about Renhao too directly, which made Jiang Zhongmin feel a little embarrassed.

"I'm also thinking about this problem, if I attack Cape Town now, it is not very likely that I will be ambushed by the Anglo-French Combined Expeditionary Fleet, but the problem is that it is difficult for the First Task Force to participate in the battle at this time, and the three battleships in the Third Task Force are all damaged, even if it is not a major damage, it will take time to maintain. Tan Renhao paused slightly, "Bad weather is still our worst enemy. According to the latest weather forecast, the weather will gradually improve by the end of the month, and the storm will move south, and it is likely to leave the sea near the Cape of Good Hope by mid-April. And by this time, the conditions are ripe for our assault. So, I think, we should stay in Moroni and wait for the weather to improve. ”

After speaking, Tan Renhao looked at Chang Jianxin and Jiang Zhongmin, waiting for them to reply.

"If the weather doesn't get better, we really should stay here. Not only the ships of Task Force 3 need to be maintained, but also the ships of Task Force 1. ”

Chang Jianxin nodded. "Then do it, tomorrow I will arrange the maintenance of the battleship, and those engineering ships will come in handy now. ”

"We also have to deal with some complicated details during this time. Tan Renhao sighed. "Lao Chang, you are mainly responsible for the maintenance of the battleship, I will arrange a few staff officers to assist you in the maintenance of the aircraft carrier, you also know the aircraft carrier very well, although the damage to the battleship is not large, but many subtleties must be checked, otherwise if the problem is exposed during the operation, it will be a big trouble." ”

In the past few days, he has also been to see some of the warships in the fleet, and there are no major problems, but there are many small problems, especially the battleships in the third task force, most of which have some minor problems. Fortunately, these problems are not serious, and maintenance work can be carried out by relying on engineering vessels without having to return to a port with professional maintenance facilities.

"Zhongmin, you are still in charge of the supply mission, and in addition, you must send the prisoners back to Colombo as soon as possible and hand them over to the military police over there. The wounded should also be taken care of. Tan Renhao looked at Jiang Zhongmin, "In addition, we must pay close attention to the establishment of a seaplane base on the island of Madagascar, and when the storm moves south, we must try to expand the search range of patrol planes, and we can let Colombo provide another batch of patrol planes, and if there are not enough personnel, we must also arrange them as soon as possible." ”

Jiang Zhongmin also agreed, and these were originally his jobs.

"I'll take care of the rest. Tan Renhao let out a sigh and felt a lot more relaxed. "This combat operation was full of twists and turns, and many unexpected things happened. Perhaps, we will never get a better opportunity, but we can't just give up, if there is no opportunity, then we have to create the opportunity ourselves, and do all the preparations, we can seize the opportunity, and we can create better opportunities! ”

The eyes of the three of them have become more determined, it is not easy to defeat the enemy, but it is even more difficult to defeat a strange and powerful enemy. But this is not an easy and difficult thing, as soldiers, they can only face difficulties, not retreat!

The room was quiet, and the mood of the three of them was a little complicated. Suddenly, all three of them laughed, and the atmosphere relaxed. Tan Renhao stretched out his hand first, then Chang Jianxin put his hand up, Jiang Zhongmin also put his hand up, and the three hands were held together. Now, what they lack is not confidence and patience, but an opportunity!