After receiving Huang Xiaotian's telegram, Tan Renhao's feeling was that he was pleasantly surprised, and he did not calm down for many minutes.

What surprised Tan Renhao was that Huang Xiaotian would take such a bold action. You must know that after bombing the US airfields, the Third Fleet was only about 500 miles away from the US mainland before dawn, and even if the four airfields that posed the greatest threat to the Third Fleet had been blown up, there were still quite a few US airfields nearby, and if the US forces launched a retaliatory strike, the Third Fleet would suffer huge losses. At that time, Tan Renhao could only pray that the Third Fleet had not been discovered, and that the US military had to reorganize its reconnaissance force to find the Third Fleet, and that the Third Fleet could quickly leave the dangerous sea area and avoid retaliation by the US military. Of course, Huang Xiaotian must have known this, so when the bomber returned, he should have been maneuvering to evade, as long as his movements were fast enough, he should be sure to avoid the reconnaissance planes sent by the US military later, so as to avoid the US military's retaliatory strike.

To Tan Renhao's delight, the Third Fleet's actions actually touched the greatest threat to the First Fleet. Now that Spruance had withdrawn from the battlefield, and after knowing that the home airfield had been bombed, Spruance was even more afraid to stay and fight the First Fleet, and would even consider the approximate location of the Third Fleet, including the threat of the Third Fleet, so that Spruance's only option was to withdraw from the battlefield at full speed. At that time, the only countries that could pose a threat to the First Fleet were the two large US airfields in Cuba. A maximum of 150 heavy bombers could be deployed on these two airfields, and even if all of them were to attack together, the First Fleet would still have enough capability to intercept them and prevent the ships from being bombed.

After calming down, Tan Renhao immediately ordered the reconnaissance plane, which had returned to the fleet at about five o'clock, to take off again. This time, the task of these reconnaissance planes was not to look for the US fleet, but to carry out anti-aircraft alert missions in several main directions of the three task forces. The Recon Eagle's anti-aircraft search capabilities were put to good use. Then, he asked the four destroyers of the 1st Task Force to break away from the formation and go to the periphery to carry out air defense alert duties. At the same time, he also telegraphed the Second Task Force and the Third Task Force to adopt the same deployment, arranging for air defense alert warships to monitor the surrounding waters. By six o'clock, fighter planes on the six aircraft carriers of the First Fleet began to take off one after another. At least four of the squadrons will cover Task Force 3, which is most likely to be attacked, while the fighters of the other two squadrons will remain in Task Force 1 and Task Force 2, respectively. At about 6:20 a.m., the ground fighters of the two squadrons sent by Huang Xiaotian also reached the skies above the Second Task Force first, and the fighters of one of the squadrons were rushing towards the First Task Force. At this time, the First Task Force and the Second Task Force also had two squadrons of fighters to cover them, and the distance between the two task forces at that time was only about 70 nautical miles. That is, to concentrate four squadrons of fighters to intercept the bombers of the US army.

When the various deployments were in place one after another, Tan Renhao's mood gradually calmed down. Although at this time the threat to the fleet from the ground did not decrease, the air defense of the fleet had reached its peak. And the possibility of loss has been reduced to a minimum. According to Tan Renhao's estimate, even if the US military dispatched bombers. Even if escort fighters were arranged for these bombers, it was unlikely that they would break through the air defense interception network of the fleet. threatens the security of the fleet.

After calming down, Tan Renhao's thoughts gradually became clearer. In fact, when a person is in a state of tension, his mental agility will be greatly affected, and it will be difficult to make accurate and correct judgments. Before, Tan Renhao had always been a little nervous, especially when he had a sudden encounter with the Atlantic Fleet in the early hours of the morning. It's strange that he wasn't nervous, so he wasn't able to make a more thorough analysis and judgment of the battle situation. When he calmed down. Only then did he suddenly realize that he had not been able to accurately estimate the enemy's actions, but Huang Xiaotian's judgment was more accurate. Perhaps, this is precisely because Huang Xiaotian has been analyzing various situations from the perspective of an outsider, while Tan Renhao has to analyze the same phenomenon as an insider, and it is not surprising that the conclusions reached by the two are very different.

While lamenting that he could not catch the Atlantic Fleet, Tan Renhao also realized that Huang Xiaotian's bombing of the US mainland airfield not only reduced the threat to the First Fleet, but also inevitably posed a huge threat to the Atlantic Fleet's next move. Tan Renhao was also the first to discover the strategic significance of the Third Fleet's bombing operation. Arguably, the greatest impact of this bombing was the demonstration of the fleet's ability to strike targets on the continental United States, and even if the Atlantic Fleet had been active, as long as the main fleet of the Imperial Navy had not been defeated, the continental United States could be attacked by the fleet at any time. From this point of view, Spruance must have been much more affected than Tan Renhao and Huang Xiaotian.

Prior to this, the naval aviation of the Tang Empire, especially the strategic strike forces deployed in Central America, had carried out several sporadic strikes on the US mainland. At that time, mainly because there were not many airfields suitable for the deployment of heavy bombers in Central America, and the Navy's strategic strike force was being replaced with more advanced bombers, the number of heavy bombers that could be deployed in Central America was quite limited, so the scale of bombing on the US mainland was quite limited. The limited bombing was of a training and experimental nature, mainly to familiarize the pilots with their deployment in the Caribbean and Central America, to find out the route to the continental United States, and to lay the foundation for large-scale bombing in the future. Because of this, these bombings did not attract the attention of the Tang Empire and the United States, and there was not even much media coverage of these combat operations.

At that time, combat operations for large-scale strategic bombing of the continental United States were also not finalized. One of the most important prerequisites for using strategic bombing to destroy America's war potential is to obtain an forward base that is close to the continental United States and capable of deploying a large number of heavy bombers. Han Shaofeng's plan to attack the Greater Andrés Islands was actually a strategic bombardment

Foundation. In other words, before the Great Andrés Islands were conquered, that is, before the Bahamas, it was difficult for either the strategic strike force of the Imperial Navy or the strategic bomber force of the Imperial Army to carry out large-scale strategic bombing of the US mainland.

No one dares to doubt the power of strategic bombing, whether it was Japan, which was the first to be defeated by strategic bombing, or Germany and Britain, which suffered heavy losses as a result. This explains why the United States is desperate to defend Cuba and the Bahamas, and why it wants to ensure that the Atlantic Fleet is not wiped out. At that time, with the exception of Eisenhower, who resisted the attack of Gu Xunlei on the battlefield in Mexico, the only way to ensure that the US mainland was not subjected to large-scale strategic bombing was to hold the Greater Andrés Islands and the Bahamas, which relied on the Atlantic Fleet.

The actions of the Third Fleet demonstrated the fact that, in some exceptional circumstances, the fleet was also capable of carrying out large-scale bombing of the continental United States. Although these bombings are largely not part of the category of strategic bombing, they are mostly aimed at military targets rather than industrial targets. In addition, the ammunition delivery capabilities of any fleet cannot be compared with strategic bombers. However, the threat of the fleet is still quite obvious, at least the fleet does not need a fixed airfield as a support point, second, the fleet can move freely, and it is difficult for the US military to seize the opportunity to counterattack, and third, the fleet's strike is quite flexible, forcing the US military to strengthen the defense deployment on the east coast of the homeland. These. All of them will have a direct impact on the US defense strategy on the ground and territory, and will have a major impact on the overall strategy of the United States.

In Tan Renhao's view, the greatest significance of the Third Fleet's bombing campaign was not the destruction of four airfields, but the proof of a problem that the Americans had previously ignored, that is, if the Atlantic Fleet did not take substantive action and take the initiative to defeat the main fleet of the empire operating near the US mainland, then there would be no security in the east coast of the US mainland. The main fleet of the Imperial Land may appear at any time, and it can carry out large-scale bombing of important cities, industrial targets, and military targets on the east coast of the United States at any time, so that the United States will suffer huge war losses and even shake the morale of the American military and civilians.

In this case. The only option for the United States was for the Atlantic Fleet to take the initiative to find the main fleet of the Empire for a decisive battle, which was exactly what Spruance had been avoiding before. Tan Renhao also saw the hope of annihilating the Atlantic Fleet from then on. As long as Spruance takes the initiative to attack, the First Fleet and the Third Fleet can take the defense as the attack, take the initiative to choose a favorable place and time for the battle, and at the same time take advantage of the flaws exposed by the Atlantic Fleet when they take the initiative to attack and defeat it, which is more advantageous than Tan Renhao and Huang Xiaotian taking the initiative to find an opportunity for a decisive battle. On the surface, the First Fleet and the Third Fleet were fighting passively, but in fact, Tan Renhao and Huang Xiaotian could achieve the ultimate goal of defeating the Atlantic Fleet through active defense. Seize sea supremacy and eventually assist the Marines in laying a forward base.

But the problem is. Will Spruance take such a move? Also, how do you get the opportunity to defend actively? First of all. Tan Renhao was sure that Spruance would definitely take action, and after the bombing of the US mainland, I am afraid that it would not be Admiral Kim who would put pressure on Spruance, but the President of the United States who would directly put pressure on Spruance, and unless Spruance left the position of chief of staff of the Atlantic Fleet, he would have to carry out the president's direct orders. So, talk about the technical choice of Renhao and Huang Xiaotian to choose the decisive battle in the sea area. and the time of the decisive battle.

Through the actions of the past few days, Tan Renhao also realized. The waters of the Bahamas are not the most favorable sea for them, but the Caribbean Sea is the best sea for the decisive battle. Previously, Spruance was avoiding entering the Caribbean, and if the pressure of the US president forced him to go to the Caribbean, then the Caribbean Sea would be the most ideal battleground. In terms of the timing of the decisive battle, it is best before the Marines attack Jamaica, but the problem is that Spruance is likely to drag on for several days, and before the 20th, the Marines will attack the Jamaica Reinforcement Marines, and the First and Third Fleets must return by the 20th.= In other words, the decisive battle will most likely be during the Marines' attack on Jamaica.

After determining these two points, Tan Renhao also had a clear idea. By this time, the sky had gradually brightened. He first asked the communications staff officer to send a message to the Third Fleet, asking Huang Xiaotian to come and join the First Fleet as soon as possible, and then return to the Caribbean Sea with the two main fleets. Then, he asked the nautical staff to set the return route.

In less than ten minutes, the navigation staff found Tan Renhao. When setting the route of the return route, the navigation staff found a serious problem, that is, the fleet did not have much fuel left, and it had to be resupplied at the return point. At that time, the supply flotilla that supplied the fleet with fuel was docked in the port of Roseau in Dominica. In other words, it is better for the fleet to go to Rosso, or let the supply fleet go north to join the fleet on its own initiative, and then choose a more suitable sea area to replenish the fleet. In the end, Tan Renhao chose the latter, after all, if the fleet detoured to Dominica, it would take nearly two more days to sail, and letting the supply fleet go north to join the fleet would save at least one day, which was more important to support the Marines in attacking Jamaica.

The Third Fleet also sent a telegram back before seven o'clock, and Huang Xiaotian was preparing to receive the returning bomber group. During the entire bombing campaign, the Third Fleet lost only 8 combat aircraft, of which six bombers. Because these planes were all shot down over the continental United States, 10 of the 14 pilots parachuted, but they could not arrange for the planes to go to the rescue, so Huang Xiaotian had to give up the 10 pilots. The Third Fleet will also head south at full speed to rendezvous with the First Fleet after completing its work of receiving returning fighters.

At this point, Tan Renhao basically arranged all the things that should be arranged. The sky also brightened. Just when Tan Renhao was thinking about why the US bombers had not yet arrived, he received a message from the "Nanning" that the US bomber group was rapidly approaching the Third Task Force!