At noon on the same day, Yang Qinkai again led a group of planes to set off to carry out a supplementary bombing of the US airfield on Gardner Island. At four o'clock in the afternoon, the artillery formation reached the vicinity of Gardner Island, and first shelled the airfield, and then began shelling the coastal defense positions set up by the American troops. By evening, 31 fighters and 35 bombers sent by the HNA (all with large drop fuel tanks to increase range) had landed on the carrier. The search and rescue work was also completed at this time, and most of the pilots who fell into the water were rescued.

Throughout the night, artillery formations were operating in the waters near Gardner Island. According to Tan Renhao's original plan, the artillery formation should withdraw from the battle at about 2 a.m. and return to the fleet to avoid a surprise attack by the American forces.

But Tan Renhao revised the plan, and instead of letting the artillery formation return, he ordered it to return to the supply rendezvous point north of Lysan Island alone after dawn to obtain ammunition supplies from the rapid supply fleet. It then returned to Gardner Island during the night and continued shelling of American positions on the island.

This was done in the manner of a regular landing operation, and the landing operation on Gardner Island was not included in the plan this time.

"Yes, just follow this route." Tan Renhao glanced at the navigation staff, "The Fifth Fleet will arrive on the 22nd, and we must calculate the speed of the fleet's sailing and strive to drag out the battle until the 23rd." ”

, 23rd? The nautical staff officer frowned slightly.

"Yes, that way we'll have enough time to prepare and maneuver." Tan Renhao nodded, "You go and get busy, design the navigation parameters as soon as possible, and then let the fleet turn." ”

As soon as the navigation staff officer left, Hao Dongjue ran in quickly.

"You let the shelling formations continue to shell tonight?"

"Yes. And not only tonight, but tomorrow night will also go to shell Gardner Island. Tan Renhao looked at Hao Dongjue, who was a little excited, "What." Do you think there is a problem? ”

"There is a high probability that the Fifth Fleet will arrive tomorrow morning, if the shelling formations do not return. Then they're doomed. ”

"Do you think the Fifth Fleet will attack our artillery formations first?"

Hao Dongjue was stunned for a moment, his eyes fell on the chart, and then he raised his head and looked at Tan Renhao in surprise.

"If Spruance really arranges bombers to deal with our artillery formations, then I can't ask for it!" Tan Renhao laughed, "Isn't it time for me to have a supper today?"

Craving something? ”

"I'm not F4U."

"Then I'm F4U. What, you don't want to go? ”

"Forget it, let's go, today should be to supply glutinous rice balls, there are several kinds of filling, I don't know which one is delicious!"

When Tan Renhao and Hao Dongjue left the command cabin, the staff officer on duty laughed, usually the two fleet commanders are quite serious, but they all know that the commander and the chief of staff are not the kind of people who like to talk with a straight face.

"Have you ever thought about a question?" When eating supper. Tan Renhao said his thoughts, "If Spruance is not easily fooled, then what should he do?" ”

"What do you mean?" Hao Dongjue asked for a meat-filled rice ball. He doesn't have much interest in sweets.

"Until now, all the purpose of what we've done is to lure the Fifth Fleet over, right?"

Hao Dongjue nodded and stuffed the last rice ball into his mouth.

"But Spruance is not stupid. Do you think he'll believe it? ”

After swallowing the rice balls, Hao Dongjue said: "He will definitely not be easily fooled, otherwise, we would not have done so much preparations, put so many bait, false information, and even coaxed him to lead the fleet into battle." ”

"That's right, maybe Nimitz thinks about the entire theater of operations, and he has to let the Fifth Fleet fight, but after the Fifth Fleet leaves Pearl Harbor, do you think Spruance will still listen to Nimitz's command?"

Hao Dongjue stopped in mid-air with his cigarette hand. "You're saying that Spruance will go his own way and not do Nimitz's orders?"

"It's just a guess, and I think there's a good chance it will be." Tan Renhao put down the spoon. "You recall that in previous combat operations, Spruance would have often attacked unexpectedly, and it is likely that this was not Nimitz's decision, but Spruance's own decision. Moreover, according to the command system of the U.S. military, after Nimitz asked Spruance to lead the fleet to set off, Spruance would have full command of the fleet to fight, and Nimitz would generally not interfere with Spruance's actions. ”

Hao Dongjue nodded slightly. "The last time they dealt with Task Force 2, Spruance sacrificed the convoy, and this was certainly not Nimitz's decision, and Nimitz would not sacrifice the convoy in exchange for Task Force 2. It is very likely that Spruance made a decision on his own, and in the end, his decision was proved to be correct. ”

"Here's the problem, if Spruance doesn't fall for it, he won't bite the hook!"

"And what are you going to do?" Hao Dongjue lit a cigarette at this time.

"The fake drama is really done, so that Spruance has to believe that we are going to attack Gardner Island." Tan Renhao sneered, "Even if Spruance still doesn't believe that our intention is to attack the Hawaiian Islands, Nimitz will order him to come to fight us, and when the time comes, I won't be afraid that Spruance will hide behind and not fight." ”

"So you let the shelling formations stay?"

"Rest assured, the shelling formations will not be threatened." Tan Renhao knocked on the table, "Spruance is not stupid, our three aircraft carriers are here, and the strike of the US shore-based air force has completely failed, do you think he will be stupid enough to move those cruisers and destroyers before he takes out our aircraft carriers?" ”

"Well, he's not stupid enough to trade his own aircraft carrier in exchange."

"So, let's maneuver the fleet in place first, and then we'll wait for Spruance to come over."

"But the question is, if he decides not to come, what else can you do?"

"Landing on Gardner Island!"

Hao Dongjue was taken aback, and then he understood what "fake drama really does" means. Tan Renhao had to do more than just shell Gardner Island, but mobilize the Marines to take Gardner Island. At the very least, let the Marines land on Gardner Island. If it was just the shelling of Gardner Island, no matter how realistic the scene was, it would have turned out to be fake. Spruance won't be fooled easily. But as long as the Marines landed on Gardner Island, Spruance had no choice.

Come to think of this. Hao Dongjue glanced at Tan Renhao in surprise, and he thought of another question.

"If necessary, we have to make sacrifices!" Tan Renhao said his other idea more vaguely.

"But Han Shaofeng, will Liao Hanxiang agree?"

"They won't disagree." Tan Renhao sighed secretly, "If the Fifth Fleet is exchanged in the end." And they'll say yes, and ......"

"And what?" Hao Dongjue still couldn't figure it out.

"If the fake drama turns out to be the real thing, maybe Liao Hanxiang will take the initiative to take Gardner Island and prepare for the future capture of the entire Hawaiian Islands, at least, it will take a long time to build a forward base here, and Liao Hanxiang can use the time we have to sweep the southwest Pacific to complete the preparations." Tan Renhao laughed, "Of course, this is just my speculation. As for whether Liao Hanxiang will make such a decision, it depends on how he is going to arrange the battle plan for the Pacific Theater. ”

Hao Dongjue nodded slightly and thought for a while. He said: "Then let's just come to the real scene and take Gardner Island in one go, which can not only force the US Fifth Fleet to come over and fight a decisive battle with us, but also lay the foundation for future attacks." ”

Tan Renhao didn't rush to speak. He was very clear about Hao Dongjue's purpose in saying this.

Hao Dongjue also laughed. "Dude, I'm serious. If you do let me go to Task Force 2, you'll have to leave me some favor, won't you? ”

"I knew you kid was playing with this idea!" Tan Renhao smiled and shook his head, "At least, in the short term, who stays in the Central Pacific region of the Second Task Force, if we fight this battle well, you will go to the Second Task Force nine times out of ten." Do a little more now to reduce the pressure in the future. ”

Hao Dongjue immediately laughed. "You're still upright, Renhao, I have to thank you."

"Without further ado, contact Han Shaofeng as soon as possible, let the landing fleet rush over around the 22nd, and make preparations for landing on Gardner Island after the 23rd." Tan Renhao stood up as he spoke, "You keep an eye on it at night, Spruance will probably observe for a few days, the fleet's reconnaissance mission must be arranged, just don't let us fall into Spruance's way!" ”

"No problem, you go and rest first, I'll be optimistic about the fleet!"

Tan Renhao glanced at his partner, then shook his head with a smile before leaving the officer's cafeteria.

The proposal for an official landing on Gardner Island was quickly sent to Midway Island, and Han Shaofeng did not have the right to make this decision, after all, he was only a front-line commander, and whether to land on Gardner Island or not should be decided by the theater commander. Therefore, after Han Shaofeng received the proposal from Tan Renhao, he immediately sent a telegram to Liao Hanxiang.

In fact, Liao Hanxiang did not have the right to make this decision, after all, the attack on Gardner Island was directly related to the entire Central Pacific region, and even the entire Pacific theater, and this would inevitably affect the strength of providing military and material support to the Southwest Pacific Theater, so this should be decided by the Navy Command. As a result, Liao Hanxiang directly talked to Gan Yongxing on the phone and reported Tan Renhao's plan to land on Gardner Island.

Now, it's Gan Yongxing's turn to have a headache. He was woken up from bed in the middle of the night by Liao Hanxiang's phone. He thought about it for a while, and then decided to talk to the headmaster about it. Because the battle situation on the front line was urgent, Gan Yongxing couldn't care what time it was, and came to the door directly in the middle of the night.

"You mean, Tan Renhao proposed that we land on Gardner Island?" Nie Renfeng came to the study in his pajamas.

"Yes, it was Liao Hanxiang who called me personally." Gan Yongxing took out a stack of papers, "This is the specific situation on Gardner Island. Judging from the situation reported by Liao Hanxiang, Tan Renhao's intention was to use the capture of Gardner Island to force the Fifth Fleet to fight him in a decisive battle. In addition, if we attack the Hawaiian Islands in the future, then Gardner Island is a springboard into the Hawaiian Islands, and from Liao Hanxiang's meaning, if we want to attack the Hawaiian Islands, we need Gardner Island as an advance base, and it will take a lot of time to prepare for the attack. ”

Nie Renfeng nodded slightly. "So, how many troops does Liao Hanxiang need to take Gardner Island, and will this affect the operation to capture Wake Island?"

"We don't know this very well, but judging from the current situation, if we can take Gardner Island, and the First Task Force can defeat the Fifth Fleet, then we can use the First Task Force to destroy the American air force on Wake Island, and there is no need to attack Wake Island again."

"What if Task Force 1 doesn't defeat the Fifth Fleet, or if the Fifth Fleet isn't completely annihilated?"

"This ......," Gan Yongxing didn't know how to answer.

"We have to think about the situation as a whole." Nie Renfeng crossed his hands, "However, Tan Renhao's proposal is very valuable, sooner or later we will attack the Hawaiian Islands, and it is very likely that we will launch an attack on the Hawaiian Islands before or when we land in Australia, so as to contain the US military."

If you can lay down Gardner Island in advance and give Liao Hanxiang enough time to prepare, this is a good choice. The point is, how sure is the First Task Force that the Fifth Fleet will be annihilated? ”

"Perhaps, only Tan Renhao himself knows." Gan Yongxing shrugged his shoulders, it was not that he didn't believe Tan Renhao, but he also knew that Spruance was a difficult opponent to beat.

"Since we have already trusted Tan Renhao many times, and his performance has always satisfied us, why can't we trust him again?" Nie Renfeng stood up, "Contact Liao Hanxiang and ask him to plan an attack on Gardner Island, and fully cooperate with Tan Renhao to annihilate the Fifth Fleet." If Tan Renhao succeeds, then first take Gardner Island, as for whether it is necessary to attack Wake Island in the future, let Liao Hanxiang get a detailed analysis report when the time comes. ”

After getting the principal's approval, Gan Yongxing immediately contacted Liao Hanxiang and asked Liao Hanxiang to plan an attack on Gardner Island with all his might. The problem fell into the hands of Liao Hanxiang, which was a very heavy task.

It takes a lot of time to plan and prepare for any landing campaign, and now Liao Hanxiang is only given a maximum of two days, and it is certainly not easy to complete the preparations for the attack on Gardner Island in two days!