At ten o'clock in the morning of the 16th, half an hour after the bombing of Wake Island, while Sprujines was arranging the next round of training for the fleet, he received a call from Nimitz, and rushed to Nimitz's headquarters. Nimitz received a telegram from Wake Island ten minutes ago, learning that the Tang Empire's bombers were wreaking havoc over Wake Island, and at that time, the first round of bombing had just ended, and Huang Xiaotian was ordering the second batch of bombers to take off.

"The bombers of Wake Island were all tactical bombers, and although it was impossible to tell whether it was a carrier-based bomber by sighting, there was no island within a 350-nautical-mile radius of Wake Island that had an airfield of the Tang Empire. It is only possible that these bombers took off from aircraft carriers, judging them to be carrier-based bombers. In addition......"

Spruance glanced at the major staff officer who was giving a briefing, and then walked quickly to Nimitz's side.

"I just received a telegram that Wake Island had been bombed." Nimitz took a few steps back, then lowered his voice and said, "This is completely consistent with the news we received a few days ago, it was the Tang Empire's aircraft carrier task force that left Apra Harbor, according to the fleet's cruising speed, this fleet probably arrived in the waters near Wake Island last night, and bombed Wake Island more than half an hour ago, and now the battle is not over, there is probably a second round of bombers will appear over Wake Island, we are waiting for more news." ”

"Did you shoot down the opposing bombers?" Spruance furrowed his eyebrows slightly.

"No relevant reports have been received, but judging from the current situation, our air defense forces will not have much gain, and even if those bombers are shot down, they will try to make a forced landing in the open sea. And it will definitely be rescued by the seaplanes of the fleet, and it will be difficult for the troops guarding Wake Island to capture the opposing pilots. ”

Spruance sighed secretly, he didn't even know which fleet was bombing Wake Island now, and it was a headache for him.

Nimitz glanced at his subordinates next to him. He also knew what Spruance was thinking. "However, judging from the current situation, the quality of the pilots of these bombers is very good, and it is very likely that they are the bombers of the First Task Force."

"It's also possible that the bombers of Task Force 4 are also available. It may even be the bombers of Task Force 2, at least judging from the news that Mike has sent now, the pilots of Task Force 2 are already quite good. ”

Nimitz smiled and shook his head, even if he never showed it, but in his heart, he was really a little envious of the Tang Imperial Navy that could have so many excellent pilots.

"So what do we do now?"

Nimitz didn't immediately answer Spruance's question, he glanced at the staff officers. Then he called Spruance into his office. Spruance also knew that the sudden bombing of Wake Island by the Tang Imperial fleet had a great impact on the morale of the military. This will even cause some staff officers to feel defeated and war-weary, and Nimitz must not want to see the ground.

"Redmond, do you think the Tang Imperial Navy will attack Wake Island now?" After closing the door, Nimitz asked directly.

"The main thing is to look at the purpose of attacking Wake Island, and the significance of conquering Wake Island." Spruance looked hesitant. He even forgot to sit down.

"Sit down, what do you want to drink?"

Spruance was taken aback, then said, "Whatever." But I always thought it was a little strange. ”

Nimitz poured Spruance a cup of coffee from the coffee pot on the cupboard, and invited Spruance to sit down while he sat down on the couch across from Spruance.

"Judging from the recent news from the Southwest Pacific Theater, the purpose of the Tang Imperial Navy is still to attack the Australian mainland, and it is very likely that four fleets are operating in the Tasman Sea and the Coral Sea. But the biggest problem is that we still don't know if Task Force 1 has appeared in the Southwest Pacific theater, if at all. Then we have much less trouble, if not. Then we have to prepare for the worst. ”

Nimitz nodded slightly, he had urged the intelligence department countless times to find out the whereabouts of the First Task Force of the Tang Imperial Navy as soon as possible, but so far, there was still no reliable information about the actions of the First Task Force, and its latest news was that at the end of May, the First Task Force was in Guangzhou, and now the First Task Force may appear in any sea area.

"If the Tang Empire has two task forces operating in the Central Pacific, then we have to give up preparations for a counterattack, and we have to try to ensure the safety of Wake Island, if Wake Island is captured, then we will turn all passive. But this is not very likely, at least judging from the news sent by Mike, the Tang Imperial Navy will concentrate all its forces to attack Australia, and it is likely that there is only one task force that can be sent to the Central Pacific. ”

"If that's the case, then we'll have to think about holding Wake Island as well." Nimitz's expression was calm, but his heart was churning.

"I don't think it's necessary." Spruance put down the coffee cup in his hand.

"Why?" Seeing Spruance's hesitant look, Nimitz simply asked directly.

"If the Tang Empire only arranges a task force to operate in the Central Pacific, it proves that they will adopt a strategic defensive posture in the Central Pacific and will not devote too much force to this side." Spruance didn't speak very quickly, "It's not easy to attack Australia, at least so far, we haven't received any intelligence that the Tang Imperial Army has the ability to participate in landing operations, that is to say, if you want to successfully land in Australia and ensure that Brisbane or any other important port is captured in the short term, then the Tang Imperial Navy must deploy the main forces of its Marine Corps in the Southwest Pacific Theater to participate in the combat operations of attacking Australia." At this time, the number of Marines that can be deployed to the Central Pacific Theater is definitely limited. If the Imperial Tang Navy adopts a strategic defensive posture in the Central Pacific, then their main task is to strengthen the defenses of Midway, Leysan, and Gardner, to delay our offensive as much as possible in the first line of defense, while also taking care of the Marshall Islands. Gilbert Islands. If they had a long-term plan, or if the Tang Imperial Navy did not have much confidence in attacking the Australian mainland, believing that it would take several months to capture the port, then they would even have to strengthen the defense of the Mariana Islands and the eastern islands of the Garro Islands. And in this case. How many forces could the Tang Imperial Navy concentrate to attack Wake Island? ”

Nimitz nodded slightly, this analysis is still in place.

"More importantly, what's the point of attacking Wake Island? If it is only to level the front, then it is better to invest troops on several other important islands. This would also force us to focus on a few islands such as Midway in the early stages of the counterattack, rather than immediately threatening the Mariana Islands. Spruance's train of thought was also relaxed, "In addition, even with the support of one, or even two task forces, and the concentration of several marine divisions, we want to take Wake Island." It will also take a while, maybe half a month, maybe a month. Anyway, it's impossible to take Wake Island in a few days. Wake Island is a lonely island, and there are no other islands in the hundreds of seas around it that are suitable for building an airfield, whether it is to attack or defend Wake Island. The key is to look at the actions of the fleet. Therefore, when the Tang Imperial Navy attacked Wake Island, it must take into account the threat to the fleet. If they only had one task force, they wouldn't have enough confidence to defeat the Fifth Fleet, and if they couldn't, would they dare to attack Wake Island? ”

"Redmond, it seems that you still know a lot about your opponent, so what should we do now?" This time it was Nimitz's turn to ask the question.

Spruance pondered for a moment. Only then did he say: "If I can, I will bring forward the start of the next round of training of the Fifth Fleet to tomorrow." When the time comes. When we see the reaction of the Tang Imperial fleet, we should know its specific operational intentions. ”

Nimitz smiled and nodded. "Then, the Fifth Fleet will leave Pearl Harbor early tomorrow morning, of course, this time it must bring sufficient ammunition and fuel, if the purpose of the Tang Imperial Navy is to attack Wake Island, then the Fifth Fleet does not need to return to Pearl Harbor to replenish fuel and ammunition."

"Then I'll go and prepare now!"

After leaving the theater command, Spruance went straight back to the Fifth Fleet's new flagship, the USS Hancock, and ordered all the officers and men who were resting on the shore to return to the fleet at noon, and at the same time contacted the carrier-based aviation deployed at the airfield to let the combat planes return to the fleet tomorrow morning.

After lunch, Turner, who had been hospitalized in the hospital, returned to the fleet, because of acute enteritis, Turner went to the hospital for a week, and now he is basically recovering.

"Early tomorrow morning, you will first lead the 52nd Task Force to set off, and according to the plan, be on standby south of Pearl Harbor, and pay attention to anti-submarine patrols." Spruance assigned the task to his partner, "I then set off with the 51st Task Force, the training time was advanced, but the training plan has not changed, this time it will be a confrontational training by our two task forces." ”

"We're not going to Wake Island?" Turner also received the message.

"No, it's not the time yet, at least we'll stay for two more days." Spruance hesitated, "If there's anything going on, I'll let you know right away, so let's follow the training plan first." ”

Turner didn't say anything, and then returned to his 52nd task force's flagship aircraft carrier "Good Man Richard", he was a little puzzled by Spruance's arrangement, at least in his opinion, the fleet should immediately go to the battlefield after months of training, and fight to the death with the task force of the Tang Imperial Navy, instead of waiting here for the news of the fall of Wake Island, of course, this is where he is inferior to Spruance.

As in the past, the Fifth Fleet was divided into two task forces, and the command system of the US fleet was no better than that of the Tang Imperial Navy, so at most three fleet aircraft carriers could be arranged in a task force to form three aircraft carrier battle groups. Spruance still has direct command of Task Force 51 and is responsible for the coordination and command of both task forces. Nominally, Turner was the commander of Task Force 52, but in combat operations, Task Force 52 had to obey Spruance's indirect command, and Turner did not have the power to make decisions on his own unless there were special circumstances, and this special situation meant that Spruance lost command ability, or lost contact with Task Force 51.

Spruance doesn't have many complaints about Turner's partner, and he doesn't have time to think about Turner. Immediately after Turner's departure, he got in touch with Mitchell and arranged for the fleet to be restocked. That night, the power systems on the ships of both task forces were activated, and the boilers needed several hours to warm up before they were optimal.

When arranging the work related to the departure of the fleet, Spruance was also considering the current situation0 Fundamentally, he did not believe that the Tang Imperial Navy would attack Wake Island at this time. Judging from the overall battle situation, the Tang Imperial Navy has no reason to attack an island that has little meaning when it is about to land on the Australian mainland, at least compared to the Australian mainland, Wake Island is of little value, and investing a few marine divisions here is obviously contrary to the overall strategy of the Tang Imperial Navy for more than two years, and this is exactly the mistake that the Tang Imperial Navy is avoiding making.

Similarly, Spruance did not believe that the Tang Imperial Navy would put the two most powerful task forces in the Central Pacific, and at most deploy the first task force or the fourth task force in the Central Pacific, while all the other fleets would be concentrated in the Tasman Sea or the Coral Sea to support the landing of marines in Australia.

It was from these judgments that Spruance believed that the purpose of the sudden bombardment of Wake Island by the Tang Imperial fleet was not to capture Wake Island, but to force the Fifth Fleet into battle. No matter if the ultimate goal is to annihilate the Fifth Fleet, or if you want to play any tricks in other directions, as long as the Fifth Fleet appears, then you will fall for the opponent. This is the main reason why Spruance recommends observing for a few days before making a decision.

At this point, Spruance was not able to determine the cause of the bombing of Wake Island, but he saw the crux of the problem and knew what to do about it!