Tan Renhao returned to Guam on 18 July, and before he left Zhoushan, he first determined the basic strength of troops to participate in this campaign, and Gan Yongxing had already handed over the mobilization of other troops to Liao Hanxiang in charge of this campaign, and the Pacific Theater Command was still responsible for the unified command of this campaign.

The fleet participating in the campaign was determined first, or at all, because only the First Fleet could be drawn from the battlefield, and the Third Fleet continued to provide support to the Marines in the waters off the Hawaiian Islands. The three task forces of the First Fleet all began to rest in mid-June, and the Third Task Force returned last, and the battleships took about a month to maintain, mainly because the main guns on many battleships and cruisers were overused and had to be completely replaced, which took a lot of time. Task Force 1 was the first to regain combat effectiveness and was able to return to the port of Apra in mid-July. Task Force 2 will continue maintenance work until mid-July, and the time to return to Apra Port will definitely be late July. That is, by the end of July, all three task forces of the First Fleet will be ready for departure.

The arrangements for the Marine Corps are more complicated, and the Marines in the Southwest Pacific Theater are being transferred to the Pacific Theater, and at that time 12 Marine Divisions have already completed the transfer work, but most of the Marine Divisions need to rest and recuperate, and they must first consider replacing the units that are fighting on the front line. According to Liao Hanxiang's estimate, by the end of July, it would be possible to concentrate five divisions of marines to set off with the fleet, which was worse than Tan Renhao's requirements, and the second batch of marines would probably be able to assemble a month later.

At that time, the Marine Corps also had a question, that is, who would command this Marine Corps? The most ideal candidate is naturally Han Shaofeng, but now Han Shaofeng can't get out of the Hawaiian Islands, and after taking Kauai, he will have to march to Oahu, and the Marines will not be able to take Oahu in August, so Han Shaofeng has to stay on the front line. The best candidate other than Han Shaofeng is Yuan Ye, but now Yan Guozhong has been confirmed to be transferred back to serve as the commander of the Marine Corps. Yuan Ye became the supreme commander in the southwest Pacific, and the army left it alone, so Yuan Ye had to stay there to deal with the aftermath of Australia. The other candidates are Long Zhen and Fang Xiaoxian, Long Zhen's temper is too hot, it is not bad for him to attack the fortifications, but it is not suitable for this kind of long-distance raid. Fang Xiaoxian lacked experience and appeared a little weak when commanding troops to fight. It is also not suitable for this kind of logistical support is difficult, and it is easy to encounter unexpected troubles in combat operations.

This issue was put on hold for the time being, and Gan Yongxing was in charge of selecting the commander and did not let Tan Renhao worry about it. The landing fleet is deployed directly from the theater of operations, and the number of landing ships needed in the operation to attack Oahu can be much smaller than that in the attack on Kauai, so it can be directly deployed. The convoy was drawn from the Southwest Pacific, and after the completion of the transport of prisoners of war, the Southwest Pacific Theater would no longer need so many convoys. War materiel was delivered directly from the empire proper. These supplies will be temporarily stockpiled in Guam. As long as the specific combat operations are determined, the supplies will be transferred to Midway in accordance with the situation at that time. Or Kauai further ahead to shorten the supply line and reduce the supply pressure.

When they arrived in Guam, Hao Dongjue and Chang Zhixin were there, the two had been in Guam for a while, and it seemed that they had nothing to do all day.

"Renhao, you're finally here, we're bored to death these days. I'm looking forward to you every day. ”

"Looking forward to me?" Tan Renhao looked at his brother-in-law, "What if I come?" Playing mahjong is still missing one out of three, and you won't get bored anytime soon. ”

"Renhao, don't listen to him, no one has taken care of him during this time, except for whether he has gone to the kiln or not, this bastard has done all kinds of bad things."

"Boss, can you frame me, what bad things have I done?" Hao Dongjue almost jumped up.

Seeing Hao Dongjue's excited look. Chang Jianxin and Tan Renhao both laughed.

"By the way, Renhao, there is a good thing." Chang Jianxin opened the door, first asked Tan Renhao to get into the car, and then got in, "Lao Lei will be there in two days." ”

"Shaoqing has been assigned?" Tan Renhao was shocked, this is indeed good news.

"Yes, now that the fighting in the southwest Pacific is basically over, and we have no plans to attack New Zealand, there is nothing to do while Lao Lei stays there." Hao Dongjue sat in the co-pilot's seat, "This time it was General Liao Hanxiang who took the initiative to ask Lao Lei to come over to assist him, and Huang Xiaotian also helped, don't you know about this personnel transfer?" ”

Tan Renhao shook his head. "During this time, the Navy Command has been busy with campaign planning, and the chief of staff has more things to do than me."

"It's okay now, when Lao Lei comes, you can put together a table of mahjong."

Tan Renhao patted Hao Dongjue's head. "I know how to play, now that we have a task, you don't have time to play if you want to."

"I know, if you don't have a mission, will you come back?" Hao Dongjue laughed cheekily, "Are you going to attack the Panama Canal?" ”

Tan Renhao nodded, this matter has not been made public.

"Chang, how about it, I'll just say that I guessed better than you, right?" Hao Dongjue immediately turned to Chang Jianxin, "Now we can have a free dinner, Ren Hao, what do you want to eat at night?" ”

"You two are betting?" Tan Renhao figured it out now.

Chang Jianxin sighed. "Yes, I made a bet with Dong Jue, just say whatever you want to eat at night, I'll treat you this time."

The three of them all laughed, and it was rare to invite a guest, Hao Dongjue and Tan Renhao naturally would not let go of this opportunity, and soon decided to go to the newly opened Navy Hotel to eat, and they really couldn't find a better restaurant in Apra Harbor. The sedan went to the theater headquarters first, Liao Hanxiang was not there, and after Tan Renhao left a message for Liao Hanxiang, he went to the entertainment area specially opened for naval soldiers with Hao Dongjue. At the beginning, Xue Xiyue tried his best to ban the service industry near the military base, but in less than a year, visits, theaters, and teahouses sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.

After ordering the food, Tan Renhao gave a general account of this combat operation. After the wine and food were served, Hao Dongjue asked the waiter to stay outside, and then went to close the door.

"It's really difficult." Chang Jianxin has been thinking, "According to your plan, it will be very difficult for us to completely capture the canal area and ensure that the canal will be navigable by the end of the year." ”

"If it's just to destroy the canal, or block the canal. It's a trivial matter, but it's not easy to occupy and make sure it's navigable. Hao Dongjue sat back, "However, let's eat first, everyone is hungry, and we talk while eating." ”

Tan Renhao only moved his chopsticks a few times, and then he lost his appetite. "I also think it's a tough mission. The main problem is not whether we can capture the canal zone, but whether the US military will take the initiative to destroy the infrastructure of the canal. ”

"The main thing is the locks!" Chang Jianxin immediately touched on the point. "There are four important locks in the Canal Zone. If we attack the Canal Zone, it is inevitable that the US military will jump over the wall in a hurry, and then they will only need to spend a few hundred kilograms of explosives. If we blow up these locks, we will have to repair them for months, if not more than a year. ”

Tan Renhao sighed, the locks are the most vulnerable part of the entire canal area. The Panama Canal is actually made up of two artificial canals, as well as Lake Gatun in the middle. The two artificial canals are actually divided into several sections. Because the water surface of the canal is different in the Gulf of Limon to the north, Lake Gatun in the middle, and the Gulf of Panama to the south, ships must rely on locks when crossing the canal. The locks are the most vulnerable part of the canal, and it is very easy to blow them up, but it is extremely difficult to repair them.

"And. We must prevent the American troops from sinking a few ships in the canal and clogging the canal! Hao Dongjue raised another difficult question.

This is also a very real problem, the water depth of the main channel of the canal is between 10 meters and 20 meters, and the water depth of the artificial canal section is almost 10 meters. In addition, the width of the artificial canal is quite narrow, and if you want to block the canal, you only need to find a few 10,000-ton ships, filled with cement or sediment. If you sink to the bottom of the canal, there will be no ships to pass through. And it takes a lot of effort to salvage the sunken freighter!

"And mines!" Chang Jianxin took out a cigarette, which is the third problem.

There are many ways to block the canal, and if the fleet is prevented from entering the canal, the US military can lay mines on the canal channel, and the sea water in the canal is relatively turbid, and it is not easy to find the sunken mines. These mines can even be detonated by remote control, which makes them even more difficult to remove. On the contrary, the U.S. military knew where the mines were laid, and as long as they repelled the fleet of the Tang Empire, they could remove the mines and make the canal quickly navigable.

"Anyway, there are a lot of problems, and it's not easy." Hao Dongjue took the cigarette from Chang Recommend, "As long as the Yankees are relentless, then we don't want to successfully obtain the navigation rights of the Panama Canal." At that time, even if we conquer the canal zone, we will only occupy a piece of land, and the fleet will still have to stay on this side of the Pacific. ”

"There's always a way to solve these problems, right?" Tan Renhao looked at the two brothers, "Now that I have taken over this task, and I have made a promise in front of the prime minister, it is too late to retreat." ”

"You gave the Prime Minister a guarantee?" Chang Jianxin glanced at Tan Renhao in surprise, and then shook his head.

"Is your brain watering?" Hao Dongjue's ha was more direct, "Brother, you have always been shrewd, how could you make such a guarantee?" Isn't this asking for trouble for yourself? ”

"Somebody has to do it."

"But what if we can't get the job done? I, Hao Dongjue, don't have any ambitions anyway, so it's okay to carry the black cauldron, but what about you? If someone uses this against you, you're done with it! Hao Dongjue became excited.

Tan Renhao didn't blame Hao Dongjue, he knew that Hao Dongjue was doing it for his own good.

"Dongjue, you can't say that." Chang Jianxin immediately stopped Hao Dongjue, "Ren Hao is right, it's too late to regret it now, we'd better think of a way." ”

Hao Dongjue still looked a little excited, he didn't believe that Tan Renhao would take the initiative to take on such a task.

"Renhao, do you have any solution?" The new recommendation changed the subject.

"No, I haven't had time to think about it yet." Tan Renhao sighed, "No matter who it is, someone has to complete this task." A lot of the reason, I can't say here, I just hope you can support me. ”

Chang Jianxin grabbed Tan Renhao's shoulder. "If we don't support it, who will support you, Dongjue, don't you say?"

Hao Dongjue sighed and grabbed Tan Renhao's shoulder. "Brother, you can't make a big decision next time, you can't be so hasty, our brothers will definitely support you, but not every time you can save the day."

Tan Renhao laughed. "With your words, I am satisfied. As for the problem that you mentioned at the beginning, it is really tricky, but I think there must be a way to solve it, but we haven't thought of it yet. ”

"When Lao Lei arrives, we will discuss with him, he should have a lot of gains over there in the southwest Pacific."

Tan Renhao nodded, he also felt that he could discuss it with Lei Shaoqing. This time, Liao Hanxiang asked Lei Shaoqing over, and he must have asked Lei Shaoqing to be responsible for assisting in the combat operation of the attack on the Panama Canal and assuming the role of commander-in-chief of logistics.

"By the way, who is the commander of the Marine Corps?" Hao Dongjue asked a new question.

"I don't know, it's not settled yet." Tan Renhao leaned back in his chair, "I want Han Shaofeng, but he can't be transferred, and the other generals can't be drawn out." Now Chief of Staff Gan Yongxing is arranging this matter, and the candidate will probably be determined in the next two days. ”

"You have to rush this matter, with the capabilities of the fleet alone, we cannot capture the Panama Canal, and the performance of the Marine Corps is crucial."

Tan Renhao nodded. "I will contact the chief of staff tomorrow to determine the candidates and troops as soon as possible."

The three of them discussed for a while, and finally felt that the details of the campaign could not be determined at all before Lei Shaoqing arrived and the commander of the Marine Corps was not determined. As a result, the three of them did not continue to discuss in depth, and decided to wait until the basic command personnel were determined before completing the details of the battle.