The battle unfolded beyond everyone's expectations. By the 24th (HNA completed the deployment of three fighter squadrons to Agrihan Island on the 23rd), HNA seized air supremacy over Pagan Island, and a large number of US fighters were forced to withdraw to Anatahan Island further south to organize a new defensive line. On the 25th, the second field airfield built by the 6th Squadron on Agrihan Island was preliminarily completed (the runway was paved, but other supporting facilities had not yet been completed, and it could only be used for fighter take-off and landing), and HNA immediately sent three additional squadrons of tactical bombers to Agrihan Island. On the 26th, the 6th Sentai dismantled the field airfield on Asunción Island (because of the use of a runway made of honeycomb steel plates, the laying and dismantling of the field airfield runway were very fast) and prepared to transport it to the south of Aramagan Island, where a field airfield was built.

Because the heavy bombers of the Tang Empire and the tactical bombers of the HNA have been making high-intensity sorties, and they can be covered by fighters taking off from Agrihan Island (more importantly, there are no American fighters on Pagan Island, and escort fighters can fly farther), and the range of bombers to get cover has expanded to about 1oo nautical miles to the south, so the American fleet does not dare to go north easily during the day, and can only rely on transporting troops and materials to Anatahan Island at night.

At that time, most of the tasks were in the hands of HNA. Luo Yunchong sent two regiments (including the one commanded by Jiang Shikuan himself) back to Ryukyu Island after three months of operation, and the bombers of the two regiments that should be supplemented are being overhauled, so there are only four regiments of bombers left on the front line, and one of them has to be put into the bombing of Japan (there are so many incendiary bombs on the island, how can you do it without light?). And the remaining three regiments took turns to rest (Luo Yunchong no longer wanted his men to die in the line of tactical missions), and only one regiment of bombers was dispatched at a time. As a result, most of the tasks were given to the tactical bombers of the HNA. Tactical bombers taking off from Agrihan Island are enough to bomb Anatahan Island, and it is enough for the Strategic Strike Force to drop a batch of bombs on Saipan and Guam every two days to make its presence a reality.

The campaign advanced to this point, and the command of the Navy also put the matter of dealing with the American fleet on the back burner. Team 6 has already made a guarantee. By the end of the month, the infrastructure on Aramagan Island will be improved, and the construction of at least two field airfields will be completed in preparation for the arrival of HNA Airlines. At that time, the Navy will have more options to attack Anatahan Island, or bypass Anatahan Island and attack Saipan directly south, which can be decided according to the actual situation. As a matter of fact. By this time the scale of the campaign had expanded.

Maybe a front-line commander like Tan Renhao can't think about it, and even if he does, he can't make a decision on the direction of the battle, but Gan Yongxing and Nie Renfeng in the rear have already seen this problem.

The victory in the Battle of Agrihan Island actually opened up the situation on the battlefield. Previously, both the Tang Army and the U.S. Army fought over sea and air supremacy in the northern and central parts of the archipelago, as well as the struggle for islands. Around the island of Agrihan, both sides invested a large number of troops, at their peak. Both sides put more than 45oo fighters on the ground. 2oo battleships (displacement of more than 2oo tons), 5oo ships, 6oo ships on board. The huge investment of more than 350,000 troops (all logistics, fleet officers and men are counted) is actually only for a small island!

The two sides also killed each other, and Agrihan Island was indeed important, but both sides were limited to the contention of this area at that time, and did not open their horizons. Agrihan Island aside, there's actually a lot more to fight for. For example, the Caroline Islands in the southwest of the Mariana Islands, the Hall Islands in the south, and the Marshall Islands in the southeast. These islands are actually all important. It's all a battleground for soldiers!

When the battle for Agrihan Island ended, Nie Renfeng first realized this problem. If you only fight around the Mariana Islands, you will fight a war of attrition with the United States, and the victory will be a disastrous victory, which will not make much sense. Is there a way to find a way to win faster? Gan Yongxing also realized this, and the two appeared almost at the same time, if the U.S. military concentrated its forces to defend the Mariana Islands and take down the Caroline Islands, the situation of the war would change significantly. The Tang army was no longer blindly attacking from north to south. The Caroline Islands could also be used to contain the Mariana Islands and force the U.S. military to disperse. At that time, whether the US military will fight from the north to the south or from the west to the east will depend on the defensive deployment of the US military.

Nimitz was not a fool either, and as soon as he received the news of the complete defeat of Agrihan, he immediately convened a staff meeting. Nimitz then spent a few hours alone in his huge chart room. He also recognizes that the battle for the Northern Mariana Islands, and indeed for the Middle Mariana Islands, is largely over. If the Tang army wants to expand the offensive area, avoid a war of attrition, and win quickly, it can only choose another breakthrough point, instead of attacking Anatahan Island or Saipan Island closely. Then, Nimitz showed the loophole in the defense of the Caroline, when the US military deployed in the Caroline Islands with less than 3ooo troops, and scattered on more than a dozen islands, if the Tang Army mobilized a 6th Division, it could sweep the entire Caroline Islands within ten days. In this way, the southwestern gateway to the Southern Mariana Islands was opened to the Don Army.

The commanders of both sides recognized the important position of the Caroline Islands in this campaign, but at the same time, they both realized that if they wanted to open up a new battlefield, first, the troops were not sufficient, and second, it was difficult to guarantee sea supremacy. In the absence of sea supremacy, no one can help anyone. As a result, all the problems are focused on the issue of sea supremacy. The most direct way to seize sea supremacy is to take out the opponent's main fleet! If the Don Army wanted to have a further victory, it would have to take out the American fleet of eight battleships. Similarly, if the US military wanted to ensure that the Caroline Islands were not captured, it would have to take out the fleet of the Tang Empire.

By the 28th, neither side had made any big moves. The U.S. Navy's "Z Fleet" has not yet been fully repaired, and the Tang Army is busy expanding its forces on Aramagan and Agrihan Islands, adjusting the deployment of the 6th Squadron and the Navy's shore-based forces, and transporting supplies to the front line. More importantly, from the beginning of the month to the end of the month, the officers and men on both sides were extremely tired and needed time to rest and regain their mental and physical strength.

This temporary "truce" lasted until early February. Both sides are actively preparing for the war. Prepare for the next stage of combat operations.

Rear Admiral Yan Shiqi's Task Force 3 returned to the anchorage at Iwo Jima on 29 January. At the end of January, the 1st Task Force under the command of Tan Renhao returned to its anchorage in the Ogasawara Islands (the narrow waters between Chichijima and Majima), and the officers and men were specially allowed to go ashore for one day. This is also the first time in nearly a month that they have landed in six places since leaving Naha Port on Ryukyu Island. Many officers and soldiers have been on the battleship for too long, and as soon as they set foot on the ground, they have symptoms of "sickness 6"!

"To be honest, it's a shame this time!"

Hao Dongjue took the initiative to treat him this time and took Tan Renhao to the only private restaurant on the mother island (the boss is a military family) "Luo Yunchong went a little too far with that kid, and actually sent all the bombers out in one go. If only half of the bombers are sent, maybe the Yankees will actually go north in search of fighters, and Task Force 3 will be sure enough to take them out, and we can still make some gains. ”

"If you can't escape, you will never be able to escape, what are you anxious about? Are you afraid that the Yankees will scuttle those battleships themselves and not give us the opportunity to use bombs and torpedoes? ”

Tan Renhao picked up the beer bottle, "I think it's a good thing that I didn't fight this time, you also saw it at the beginning, fleet officers and soldiers." The pilots were exhausted. They need to rest. Look at yourself, you almost fell into the sea when you got off the ship, look at your dark circles. And the smell of your body, how long has it been since you bathed? ”

"What smell?"

Hao Dongjue immediately picked up the neckline and sniffed it, and then laughed, "Hey, you also saw that there are so many things in a day that you have to jot forward to go to the toilet, how can you have time to take a shower?" ”

Tan Renhao shook his head, the conditions on the battleship are difficult, and the supply of fresh water has always been limited, and he can be the chief of staff of the fleet. This is unrestricted, at least enough is guaranteed. Even if Tan Renhao is not very particular, he will take a bath at least once every three days, and now it seems that Hao Dongjue may not have taken a bath since he got on the ship!

"What do we do next?"

"Rest."

Tan Renhao put down his chopsticks, "Eat your stomach, then take a hot bath and sleep well!" ”

"I mean the next ...... of the fleet"

Hao Dongjue kept his mouth shut. Glancing around, there were not many guests, and the boss and the proprietress were standing far away, so he lowered his voice and said, "Are we just here to watch others fight, waiting for the news of victory to come?" ”

"If you have the energy, then I advise you to go back to sleep first, and don't forget to take a shower before going to bed!"

Tan Renhao picked up his hat and stood up, "As for other things, I'll think about it when I'm rested!" ”

"Renhao, you must know something, don't you?"

Hao Dongjue immediately threw the money on the table, and then quickly caught up with his partner. "Did you get any message?"

"You've been staring at the communications officer all day, what's the news, you should know before me, right?"

Tan Renhao shook his head with a smile, and then quickened his pace.

"yes, there's no news these days, it's not right......"

Hao Dongjue reacted immediately, "Have you contacted the chief of staff alone?" ”

"You think I'll have nothing to do?"

Tan Renhao jumped into the jeep.

"And what did you guess?"

"Hey, are you kid overpowered?"

Tan Renhao glanced at his partner, and then moved the jeep, "Do you see the boss's daughter?" The posture is not bad, if you still have enough energy, you can go and communicate with her alone, how about it? I'm giving you a holiday, so you don't have to go back to sleep tonight! ”

Hao Dongjue didn't pay attention to his partner's jokes at all, and still kept asking. In the end, Tan Renhao didn't bother to speak, he just wanted to sleep peacefully, this was a rare opportunity!

"What, you're going to squeeze a bed with me?"

After Tan Renhao entered his cabin, Hao Dongjue followed.

"I know what you're hiding from me, if you don't say it today, I won't leave!"

Hao Dongjue took a stance, dragged the chair over, and did it by the door. "Anyway, I have good energy, if you want to sleep peacefully, then tell me what you know!"

"Then you can consume it!"

Tan Renhao was also a little annoyed, "I'm going to take a bath, do you want to come along?" ”

"You pervert!"

Hao Dongjue rolled his eyes, and then took out a cigarette. He hadn't been to a public bathhouse since he left the aviation academy.

Fifteen minutes later, when Tan Renhao walked out of the bathroom in a nightgown (pajamas are not allowed on battleships, except when battleships are not docked in combat), the room was now full of smoke, and Hao Dongjue was still sitting by the door, smoking one cigarette after another.

"Damn, don't you kid have a little mercy?"

Tan Renhao waved his hand to disperse the smoke in front of him, "Sooner or later, you will be sick." Okay, now I'm sleeping, you can watch it first! ”

"Renhao, are we brothers?"

Tan Renhao was stunned for a moment, and immediately raised the alarm in his heart, Hao Dongjue This kid has never been on the Three Treasures Hall for nothing, and now when he asks this, there must be some trick.

"Can you bear to watch your brother suffer?"

"You're thick-skinned anyway!"

Tan Renhao climbed onto the widest single bed on the battleship.

"Hey, you're still not a buddy?"

Hao Dongjue immediately walked over, "Can you bear to see your brother suffer?" ”

"That's what you did for yourself!"

Tan Renhao lay down, Hao Dongjue this kid's skin is really thick enough.

"Okay, then I'll wait here!"

Hao Dongjue really played.

After turning over in bed for a few minutes, Tan Renhao really couldn't sleep well, he sighed secretly, turned around and said to his partner: "Okay, I'll just say a little, and then you go to rest immediately!" ”

Hao Dongjue immediately laughed, and his head lit up like a chicken pecking rice.

"In two days, you will go to the communications department to guard it, arrange for the officers and men to return to the fleet in 6 times, and be ready to go out at any time."

Tan Renhao didn't say it thoroughly, "In addition, the supply work must be completed within these two days. Alright, now go and rest! ”

Hao Dongjue was stunned for a moment, then stood up, and then trotted away. Hearing the door slam shut, Tan Renhao laughed, I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing to have such a living treasure partner!