After filling their stomachs, the two returned to the command cabin, and the staff officers of the fleet command also changed shifts. After Zheng Guanhua went to arrange the evening's work, he came to the chart table. Tan Renhao also sorted out his thoughts at this time, and then he told his judgment of the battlefield situation. When partnering with Hao Dongjue, this was to ask for the opinion of the chief of staff, and now, Tan Renhao did not mean to ask Zheng Guanhua's opinion, but asked Zheng Guanhua to give him a reference.

"That is, we still cannot determine the whereabouts of the joint Anglo-French expeditionary fleet." Zheng Guanhua's comprehension ability is not as good as Hao Dongjue, but it is not bad. "So, we can only find the enemy fleet by eliminating them one by one?"

Tan Renhao glanced at his partner. "As things stand, as long as Cunningham doesn't give up, he's going to take the initiative and he's going to try to get the most wins.

Previously, he was the one who took the initiative to attack, and we could use more forces against the Anglo-French expeditionary fleet, such as the water patrol planes arranged by Jiang Zhongmin, which actually limited Cunningham's range of activities. Now, the situation has reversed, we are the one who takes the initiative to attack, and those water patrol planes under Jiang Zhongmin are not of much help to us. Conversely, Cunningham has more power to draw on. In the past month or so, the British and French expeditionary forces must have established some minor positions in southern Africa, and there was enough time to transfer aircraft from the rear, and Cunningham even received more aid, such as troops to strengthen the defense of Cape Town, heavy artillery, and shore-based combat aircraft. These. These are all forces that Cunningham can rely on, and in order to win, he will not give up using these powers. Say. Cunningham's options are even greater, and his range of activities is greater. Contrarily. This is a lot more restrictive for us. ”

Zheng Guanhua pondered, what Tan Renhao said is actually one of the most common tactics in naval warfare, and this is also the biggest difference between naval warfare tactics and land warfare tactics. In naval warfare in the age of artillery, naval battles through active defense of the victorious ground accounted for more than half of all victorious naval battles. This is a direct manifestation of the comprehensive use of various forces in naval warfare, and at the same time. It is also a direct manifestation of the extremely unbalanced balance of forces between the offensive and defensive sides in naval warfare.

As in land warfare, passive defense can never defeat the enemy, but in land warfare, more attention is paid to aggressive attack, especially before the advent of automatic weapons, and after the advent of armored warfare, in land warfare, the advantage of actively attacking the side is very obvious. On the contrary, in the centuries-old history of naval warfare, until the appearance of aircraft carriers. Active defense is the most effective means of winning. Even after the appearance of aircraft carriers, as long as the defending side has enough mobile forces, and these forces are used reasonably. Active defense remains the most effective means of winning. For example, in the early days of the war, the Imperial Navy thwarted Japan's strategic offensive, relying almost always on active defensive tactics to achieve victory. Similarly, after the United States entered the war, the U.S. Navy achieved several notable victories through active defense. At least thwarted the Imperial naval attack.

It is the tactics of active defense that have been the most effective tactics in naval warfare for hundreds of years, so when any admiral considers combat operations, he will try his best to choose active defense, and there will be no absolutes, no easy attack, and no passive attack. It can be said that many examples of battles on the battlefield in the Pacific have proved the effectiveness of active defense tactics. Although in many times, the active defensive tactics are still offensive when they are implemented into specific actions, from the overall campaign level, the offensive at critical moments is the essence of active defensive tactics.

What Tan Renhao mentioned at this time is precisely the tactic that Cunningham will adopt active defensive tactics, rather than passive retreat tactics. Passive retreat can also be regarded as a passive defensive tactic. And if Cunningham wants to choose active defensive tactics, then he has to find an opportunity to attack, launch at a critical moment, a lethal offensive opportunity. And this is where the attacking side is most difficult to deal with in the operation.

Both of them fell silent, and when facing an enemy who adopted active defensive tactics, the most effective way was to think about defense while attacking, and even to retreat, and never fight against the enemy without certainty, because when the enemy chooses to attack, it is often the most beneficial to the enemy and the most unfavorable to himself at the same time. And when the attacking side chooses to attack, as long as the enemy thinks that there is no certainty of complete victory, he will often choose to retreat.

This is an experience that has been summed up a long time ago, and it is also an experience that Tan Renhao directly summed up in actual combat. After fighting Spruance so many times, Tan Renhao also concluded that Spruance is a master of active defensive tactics, and it can be said that in terms of active defensive tactics, almost no one can surpass Spruance. This is also the reason why it is difficult for Tan Renhao to take advantage of the confrontation with Spruance. Tan Renhao also realized that when facing a master of active defensive tactics, he must not be led by the nose by the enemy, and must force the enemy to fight a decisive battle with himself, and when it is most unfavorable to the enemy, force the enemy to fight against each other!

Cunningham is certainly a master of active defensive tactics like Spruance. Originally, the British Navy was a navy that excelled at defense, and this was reflected in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean. And the several battles commanded by Cunningham were able to surprise the enemy and deal a fatal blow. Its sneak attack on Alexandria can be said to be the pinnacle of active defensive tactics and a typical example of sneak attack. And active defense tactics are completely inseparable from sneak attack operations, because in active defense operations, sneak attacks are the most effective means of attack and the most effective means of defense!

Through his past experience, Tan Renhao summed up the response tactics this time very simply, in fact, it is to advance steadily, avoid being attacked by the enemy, and finally force the opponent into a corner, so that the opponent is forced to fight against him, or change tactics, turn to passive defense, or take the initiative to retreat.

Although this tactic may seem clumsy, it is the most effective, as if it were against a fast player. Respond to all changes with the same, and finally catch the opponent's fatal flaw, just like killing with one blow.

This is also the change in tactics of Tan Renhao himself. In the past, he himself was known for his speed. He often delivers lethal blows to his opponents with lightning speed, and he can win against average opponents, or opponents who are equally known for their speed, such as against Fletcher. He felt that it was easy, and he did not suffer much loss when fighting against Halsey, and finally sent Halsey into the arms of God at a faster pace. However, when facing an opponent who is calm, observant, quick to react, and accurate in counter-attacking, like Spruance, Tan Renhao's speed is no longer an advantage. Rather, it is a flaw, one might even say a fatal flaw.

After suffering losses at the hands of Spruance, Tan Renhao has changed a lot. He also recognizes that speed alone is not enough. When necessary, he had to learn to imitate Spruance's tactics against opponents who were also known for their speed, and this was the most effective way to deal with opponents like Spruance.

These metaphors may be a bit abstract, but if they translate to actual naval warfare. To make a simple summary, taking risks is not the best way to win, and in a broader sense, being steadfast is the best way to win. And this is where Tan Renhao transformed, he did not lose the courage to take risks, but he learned how to defeat the enemy with steady methods and win with practical actions. It can be said that it was this change that made him have a qualitative change in the role of fleet commander, and this is also the necessary basis for him to obtain more military exploits and create more brilliant victories!

"Looks like that's all we can do!" After thinking for a while, Zheng Guanhua broke the silence.

"According to this tactic, the combat operation will take more time, but we are more certain. Step by step, we pushed south, carefully searching every area of the sea near the fleet, and closely monitoring the surrounding situation, so as not to give Cunningham any chance to sneak attack.

And as the fleet advances south, Cunningham will have less and less room to maneuver, and he will have fewer and fewer ambush locations to choose from, and finally, force Cunningham to fight a face-to-face decisive battle with us, if he doesn't have the guts, then he can only choose to flee back to the Gold Coast, and we don't need to continue the pursuit at all, turn around and take Cape Town, and when the time comes, see what he can do to threaten us! Tan Renhao smashed his fist on the chart, "When going south, there are three important points. The first is reconnaissance and search, especially aerial reconnaissance. The second is the change in the weather, which will directly affect the actions of the fleet. The third is logistical support and supply. Acting according to this plan, our biggest enemy is not Cunningham, but the weather, and whether the logistical supply can keep up with the needs of the fleet! ”

Zheng Guanhua has been listening with an open mind, this is an experience that cannot be learned anywhere else.

"Wait for the senior staff meeting to be held later, and we will finalize the specific battle plan in the evening, and then notify the third task force." Tan Renhao smiled at Zheng Guanhua, "Don't be so nervous, Cunningham is just an ordinary person, no matter how powerful he is, he can't conjure dozens of warships, right?" ”

Zheng Guanhua immediately laughed, he didn't waste much time, and immediately sent someone to inform those senior staff officers who were resting in shifts to prepare to go to the conference room to hold an operational meeting.

Tan Renhao carefully considered the battle arrangement again. It can be said that this attack was completely different in nature from the attacks he had commanded in the past. His previous attacks were based on surprise strikes such as surprise attacks, sneak attacks, and rush attacks. And this time, he completely abandoned the assault tactics, and instead built the offense on strength. With the powerful striking force of the 1st Task Force and the 3rd Task Force, he didn't need to think about any assault methods at all, and a direct attack was the most effective, the most stable, and the most able way to avoid being attacked by the enemy!

In the evening of the same day, at the operational meeting, Tan Renhao made specific arrangements for the campaign. The battle plan was also taken out in the second half of the night, and he immediately sent a seaplane to send a copy of the battle plan to the Third Task Force, so that the Third Task Force could act according to his plan.

Tan Renhao was busy until dawn before arranging the specific work, and Zheng Guanhua was also busy all night, as the chief of staff in charge of the fleet's aviation operations, Zheng Guanhua was mainly responsible for reconnaissance and aviation strikes. After arranging the last few things, Tan Renhao went to sleep, and Zheng Guanhua had to hold on until the afternoon, and he could not rest after Tan Renhao came to change shifts.

On the morning of the same day, Chang Jianxin sent people over the specific plan of action of the Third Task Force, that is, the specific arrangements made by the Third Task Force to cooperate with the actions of the First Task Force.

The two task forces are still sailing south in the Mozambique Channel, and according to Tan Renhao's plan, the fleet will be in operational condition from the next day.

Because this time it was a completely unfamiliar tactic, and there was no previous tactical characteristics of Tan Renhao, not to mention that Chang Jianxin was a little surprised by this, and even Tan Renhao himself felt a little unfamiliar, and he was not so sure about the operation of the new tactics, and he himself needed time to adapt to the new tactics.

When the fleet went south, the pressure on Tan Renhao was also quite great. It can be said that all aspects of the situation made him feel pressure. He even felt that this combat operation was somewhat similar to the last confrontation with Spruance in the waters of the Hawaiian Islands. Even if Cunningham hasn't shown as good as Spruance until now, he is still an opponent to be reckoned with!

"General Tan, the 3rd Task Force has sent a message that they have left the search range of the shore-based patrol aircraft. According to the plan, after dark, they will start the radar. ”

Tan Renhao turned around. "According to the plan, the morning after tomorrow, we will reach the waters northeast of Durban, and tomorrow we will arrange a reconnaissance plane to determine the situation in Durban first, and if it is found that the British and French expeditionary forces have indeed established a stronghold there, we will carry out the bombing operation according to the plan."

Zheng Guanhua nodded, he hesitated for a moment, and then said goodbye and left.

Tan Renhao turned to look at the sea to the west, the sun was slowly setting, night was coming, and when the sun rose again, the fleet would enter a new sea area, and it could encounter the huge fleet commanded by Cunningham at any time.