The First Task Force of the Eastward Advance Fleet arrived at Guam on 4 July, and along the way, Hao Dongjue did not relax the training work of the fleet, and the pilots were also seizing the time to recover, and when the fleet arrived on Guam, the officers and men became excited. That night, after the fleet had finished refueling, it left the port of Apra before dawn and headed for battle.

"You're saying there's a good chance we'll face the carrier fleet commanded by Spruance this time?"

After listening to Tan Renhao's story, Hao Dongjue was also surprised.

Tan Renhao nodded slightly. "Although it is only three small aircraft carriers, in the hands of Spruance, these three small aircraft carriers are a huge threat. Three aircraft carriers can carry 135 combat aircraft. If Spruance knew we were going to attack Midway, he would have focused on bombers, not fighters. More than 90 bombers can be deployed on three aircraft carriers, which is enough for us to suffer heavy losses. ”

Hao Dongjue fell silent. The maximum number of aircraft in the Independence class is 45, while the standard configuration is 30 fighters and 15 bombers. If necessary, 30 bombers and 15 fighters could be deployed. In this way, the opponent has 90 bombers to use, and 90 bombers are enough to form a powerful attack wave, and judging from the current situation of the first task force, if you want to intercept so many bombers, the certainty is very small, and the aircraft carriers in the fleet will be very dangerous.

"What's even more troublesome is that now we don't even know who our opponent is." Tan Renhao glanced at the officers who were busy in the command cabin, and then called Hao Dongjue to come outside. "If these three small carriers are still in the Third Fleet, then it is possible that Halsey will be in command. If it has already been incorporated into the Fifth Fleet. It is possible that Spruance will be in command.

In addition, it is not yet possible to determine whether Spruance is the commander of the Fifth Fleet, if he has been removed. Then there is a possibility that a new land opponent will emerge. ”

"In other words, we can't figure out the characteristics of the opposing commander?"

Tan Renhao nodded. "This one is more important. Perhaps even more important than we know exactly where the US fleet is. If we do not understand the characteristics of the adversary, then how can we determine the operational deployment of the adversary? ”

"Then why don't you send Task Force 4 over? If there is a fourth task force, then even if the three small American aircraft carriers are near Midway, we have nothing to worry about. Hao Dongjue glanced at Tan Renhao a little puzzled.

"I'm not the commander of the Navy, so I'll just tune it when I say it?" Tan Renhao smiled bitterly. "I have also considered this question, and I have raised it with the Chief of Staff. But you should consider the current battle situation as a whole, the transfer of the Fourth Task Force is not very useful, and the significance of Huang Xiaotian's stay in the Southwest Pacific Theater is very obvious. ”

Hao Dongjue shrugged his shoulders, and he didn't say more.

Yan Guozhong is already planning a new offensive in the southwest Pacific, and the first one to be defeated is Port Moresby, and then he will send troops to the New Hebrides, trying to land in the New Hebrides before the end of July, and seize at least one bridgehead. This required the Marines to take Port Moresby within 10 to 15 days, as well as to advance into the New Hebrides. The support of the fleet is absolutely indispensable.

It was very difficult to take Port Moresby in fifteen days (starting on June 28). Troops can be transported by air, heavy equipment, and war materials must be transported by sea. Other than that. In the offensive, the support of the fleet aviation, and even the artillery warships in the fleet, is indispensable for the Marine Corps. And that's why Task Force 4 stayed in the Southwest Pacific theater of operations.

If the Marines want to enter the New Hebrides, they will need the support of Task Force 4.

Other than that. It is not yet certain that three small aircraft carriers of the US military have left the Coral Sea.

If the fleet of these three small carriers were still active in the Coral Sea, the deployment of Task Force 4 to the Midway battlefield would have led to a complete failure in the attack on Port Moresby. To put it bluntly, at this time, Huang Xiaotian's pressure is even greater than that of Tan Renhao. The 4th Task Force not only had to support the Marine Corps' attack in Port Moresby, but also had to guard against enemy sneak attacks, and with only two aircraft carriers, the combat difficulty was far higher than that of the 1st Task Force.

After the sea breeze blew outside, Tan Renhao asked Hao Dongjue to rest first. The sky was already faintly bright, and the fleet was still telling the voyage. After Hao Dongjue left for a while, Tan Renhao returned to the command cabin. The staff officer was preparing for a shift change, and after he had someone go and get Duchenne, he climbed on the chart table and looked at it.

Although there are three small islands nearby, such as Kurey Island, Pearl-Hermis Reef, Liszonsky Island, and Lysan Island, not only can no airfields be built on these three islands, but it is also difficult to even deploy troops, and they are all desert islands without military guards. The closest island to Midway, with an airport, is Gardner Island, 20 degrees south-east of Midway, about 500 nautical miles away. There is a field airfield for the U.S. military on the island, where more than 100 aircraft are deployed. The threat of these tactical aircraft is not something to consider.

Geographical factors are more favorable to the attacker, and when Tan Renhao was thinking about how to attack, he first took into account the threat of the US fleet, and then how to blow up the US airfield on the island.

"General......

Hearing Du Xing's voice, Tan Renhao raised his head.

"What's the matter?" Duchenne looked sweating profusely and probably started exercising.

"Have you had dinner? Then go get me a boxed lunch, it's still the old rule. Tan Renhao nodded at Du Xing, "Did you bring some new tea this time?" Wait a minute, make me a drink, don't put too much, light it up. ”

Duchenne hurriedly agreed, and then left the command cabin. Tan Renhao continued to lower his head and looked at the sea chart and thought about it. He first had to find out who the commander of the opposing side was, and if he couldn't, then he would have to make a different analysis of the situation in which it was possible to command the admiral of the U.S. fleet.

If the Third Fleet were still in command of the three small aircraft carriers. Then Halsey must be the commander of the fleet, this can be confirmed. Halsey has returned to the Third Fleet, and Kincaid remains on as Fleet Chief of Staff. It was also responsible for providing cover for convoys carrying troops and supplies to Port Moresby and the New Hebrides. Halsey still commands the aircraft carrier fleet, and the previous bombing of Tagura's island was planned and directed by Halsey. Its adventurous approach to combat is also perfectly in line with Halsey's. Tan Renhao is not worried about fighting against Halsey, he has already fought Halsey once, and at the same time has read a lot of information about Halsey, so he knows this opponent well.

If three small aircraft carriers were incorporated into the Fifth Fleet, and Spruance remained commander of the Fifth Fleet. Then this time it is very likely that Spruance commanded these three small aircraft carriers to fight. Comparatively speaking, Tan Renhao felt that Spruance was a more difficult opponent to deal with. He could anticipate Halsey's deployment and arrangement, but he could barely grasp Spruance's pulse, let alone quickly judge Spruance's command and deployment. In two battles with Spruance, one was a slight defeat and one was a heavy victory. To put it bluntly, the two actually had a draw, and neither overwhelmed anyone. Therefore, Tan Renhao would prefer that Halsey take command of the American fleet, or that Spruance has been removed from the post of fleet commander.

If Spruance has already been removed. And if these three small aircraft carriers are still incorporated into the Fifth Fleet, then it is difficult to say who the commander of the US military will be. And among them, Turner may be a more ideal candidate. At least he had the 52nd Task Force under his command and escaped without being completely wiped out (which had a lot to do with Spruance's judgment), and he had the experience of commanding aircraft carriers in the field. Tan Renhao didn't know much about Rear Admiral Turner, and the Imperial Navy didn't have much information related to this rear admiral.

For these three possible scenarios. Tan Renhao had to prepare three sets of tactics. It's a hassle. Throughout the day, Tan Renhao was in the command cabin thinking about the fleet's operations, and he barely interfered in the fleet's navigation work, which was all in charge of the navigation staff. The officers of the First Task Force Command are all veterans, and at least they have been working with Tan Renhao for more than a year, and they know the situation of this fleet commander very well, and everyone clearly knows what they are doing when they are changing, and they don't need to let the fleet commander worry about it. In addition, most of the captains in the fleet are veterans of the First Task Force, some have been serving as captains, and some have been promoted from the positions of first mate, chief navigator, chief gunner, or chief engineer, and they are all very aware of their duties.

By the time Hao Dongjue came to change shifts in the afternoon, Tan Renhao was still thinking about the tactical arrangement this time.

The two were not in a hurry to go to the officers' cafeteria for dinner. Tan Renhao went outside to breathe in a burst of fresh air, and his mind was much clearer, but he still didn't have a full certainty.

"Still worried about the war?" Hao Dongjue's words were equivalent to not asking.

"yes, the most troublesome thing is that I don't even know who my opponent is now." Tan Renhao shook his head and looked at the sunset that had already set on the sea to the west. "It could be Halsey, it could be Spruance, it could even be Turner, or maybe it was some other American general. If we don't even know who our opponent is, how can we fight? ”

"Then leave aside the situation of the adversary for the time being, and first determine where the American fleet is most likely to appear."

"It's even more troublesome." Tan Renhao glanced at his partner, and then sighed, "We don't know when those three aircraft carriers left the Coral Sea, and we don't even know if these three aircraft carriers left the Coral Sea, don't know their course, and don't know their approximate location." It was as if the three aircraft carriers had sunk to the bottom of the sea, and no one knew where they were. And how can we judge the possible direction of these three aircraft carriers? If the U.S. fleet had set off early, it would have been entirely possible to appear north of Midway, or even in the waters to the northwest. If you depart late, you may be in the sea south of Midway, or at most southeast. And in such a vast sea area, even if we have 36 reconnaissance planes and dozens of seaplanes, it is still very difficult to find traces of the US fleet. ”

Hao Dongjue also sighed. The biggest difficulty of this operation is that there is so little intelligence, so little that they have almost no capital to launch a campaign. The first element of the aircraft carrier fleet's combat is intelligence, and the lack of intelligence means that the enemy cannot be found, which means that it is very likely that the enemy will be found first, and the result will be that the enemy will be bombed first, and even when it is bombed, it will not know the enemy's location, then it will be in a completely passive situation, and it will not even have the strength to fight back.

"However, I don't want to do so much, now our eyes are dark, no matter how we guess, it's all in vain." Tan Renhao laughed, "Perhaps, the American general in the east is also having the same headache, I'm afraid they don't even know when we will attack Midway." If it does turn out to be an encounter, we will still have a big advantage. ”

"If it becomes a war of attrition, then we have no advantage to speak of."

"You crow's mouth, can't you say something nice?" Tan Renhao glared at his partner fiercely, "What I need now is support and trust, damn, you, who are the chief of staff, are the first to hit my confidence!" ”

"Will you still be hit by someone else?" Hao Dongjue laughed strangely, "As far as I know, you are the person who is not afraid of blows, so far, the commander of the fleet of yours in the Imperial Navy has been seriously injured twice, and you have climbed up both times, you are the first iron man in the Imperial Navy!" ”

Tan Renhao also laughed, he had to admire his luck. Jiang Zhongmin was injured once, lay in the hospital for several months, and almost lost his job. Yan Shiqi was injured once and became disabled, and Ji Xiaobin ...... Thinking of this, Tan Renhao didn't think about it, good luck is an important factor in winning, but the problem is that luck is fair to both parties, if you really want to try luck this time......

"What, do you think of anything?" Hao Dongjue also noticed the change in Tan Renhao's expression, and he immediately became serious.

Tan Renhao pressed his hand, and then laughed, if you really want to fight luck, then fight and see whose luck is good.