When dealing with the British fleet, Jiang Zhongmin and Weng Yiming determined a basic tactic. That is, before the weather conditions deteriorated, the Fifth Task Force left Cape Town Port ahead of schedule, left the storm area, used the South Atlantic Fleet in Weng Yiming's hand as bait to lure the British to throw themselves into the net, and then immediately after the storm passed, the bombers of the Fifth Task Force were dispatched to destroy the British and French expeditionary fleets in one fell swoop.

The two men came up with this tactic after observing the actions of the British several times. The tactic itself was not much of a problem, and it was precisely the operation to seize the opportunity to take out the Anglo-French expeditionary fleet. However, there was a problem that was not easy to solve, that is, it was impossible for the Fifth Task Force to secretly leave the port of Cape Town, and as long as the whereabouts of the Fifth Task Force were exposed, it would easily arouse the suspicion of the British, and it would be easy for the enemy to plot against it.

In mid-December, the two men successfully carried out a similar combat operation, but at the last moment, the weather suddenly took a turn for the worse, and the Fifth Task Force did not have time to release the bombers, and the British slipped away. At this time, the problem of intelligence security had already been exposed, and Weng Yiming and Jiang Zhongmin had noticed this, and the news of the departure of the Fifth Task Force had been leaked, but the problem was that there was no suitable solution at that time.

Cape Town was the Empire's most important port in the South Atlantic, but it was also the largest city in southern Africa. At that time, there were three main types of citizens living in Cape Town. The majority were the local indigenous population, who had been assimilated into the empire. A secondary part is the immigrations of the Empire over the centuries. There is also a small number of Western immigrants, most of whom are mixed-race immigrants.

complex population structure, and hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. The opening of the port, all of which determined that the Imperial fleet, with Cape Town as its home port, was under the watchful eye of enemy spies. This is not the Empire itself, after all. And most of the mestizo immigrants had ties to the natives, and the empire was able to gain a foothold here. You can't offend the indigenous forces. It is precisely for this reason that even Weng Yiming ordered the blockade of the military port area, and assumed a barbed wire fence around the military port, set up a separation belt, and even arranged two regiments of marines to patrol in turn. However, it is also impossible to fundamentally eradicate the enemy's espionage activities.

At the beginning of January 26, Weng Yiming received information that the British and French expeditionary fleets were refueled and headed south again, and at this time it was the most violent storm activity in the South Atlantic, and the fierce easterly and southeasterly winds were almost uninterrupted, and even the planes could not take off for several days, let alone the carrier-based aircraft on the aircraft carrier. Obviously, the British saw the opportunity and knew that the aircraft carriers of the Fifth Task Force would not be able to play a role at this time, so they chose to go south at this time. Although the storm will also affect the battleship. But the problem is that the battleship is much better resistant to wind and waves than the aircraft carrier, and still has a certain combat effectiveness in the storm. Storms would also weaken the battleships of the South Atlantic Fleet. Therefore, the British will choose to go south at this time.

After receiving the news, Weng Yiming and Jiang Zhongmin both felt a little helpless, the Atlantic Ocean is not the Pacific Ocean. The harsh climatic conditions rendered the heroes of Task Force 5 useless. By the 8th, the whereabouts of the Anglo-French expeditionary fleet were largely determined, and by this time the storm had not abated, and there was not even the slightest sign of abating.

This is evidenced by several meteorological planes that barely took off. In desperation, the Fifth Task Force had no choice but to leave Cape Town Harbor in the face of the storm to avoid being besieged and killed in Cape Town by the British and French expeditionary fleets.

However, the situation at that time was very bad, even the shore-based long-range reconnaissance planes could not take off smoothly, and it was even more difficult to find the whereabouts of the British and French expeditionary fleets in the storm area. Task Force 5, then, did not know which direction to sail in at all, whether to take the initiative to meet it and intercept the British and French expeditionary fleets north of Cape Town, or to flee eastward?

On this issue, Jiang Zhongmin chose a conservative approach. After leaving the port of Cape Town, the Fifth Task Force headed east into the Indian Ocean, and on the morning of the 10th broke out of the storm zone, and then waited for Weng Yiming's exact news on the periphery of the storm zone and waited for the storm to pass.

In these five days, Jiang Zhongmin received many telegrams from Weng Yiming, but there was no news of the British and French expeditionary fleets.

The storm did not depart, and reached its maximum intensity on the thirteenth, and even the most optimistic weather forecasts would not be until the twentieth before Task Force 5 could return to the vicinity of Cape Town. Beginning on 11 July, all shore-based long-range reconnaissance planes and long-range patrol planes stopped flying in the open sea, especially those long-range patrol planes (all seaplanes), because the structure was not very strong and their ability to resist wind was too poor, and all of them returned to the port on the afternoon of 10 July, and were even towed to the hangar on the wharf to avoid being damaged by the storm. The small stalwarts, which had been used to patrol outside the harbor (mainly against submarines and to prevent the enemy fleet from suddenly approaching the harbor), all returned to Cape Town on the night of the twelfth. The sea conditions have exceeded the sixth level, not to mention those small ships that are less than 1,000 tons, and even cruisers are difficult to withstand such a big wind and waves.

At that time, Weng Yiming had lost all means of reconnaissance, that is, all means of finding the Anglo-French expeditionary fleet. He is like a blind and deaf person, even if he has a powerful weapon in his hand, how can he deal with the enemy when he can't see it?

Perhaps, the only thing Weng Yiming and Jiang Zhongmin could count on at that time was that this powerful storm could also stop the British and French expeditionary fleets, so that the British could not reach Cape Town south. As long as the weather improves slightly, then the shore-based reconnaissance planes can be dispatched immediately, and even if the Fifth Task Force is still unable to return to the battlefield at that time, Weng Yiming will be prepared and will not be caught off guard by the enemy.

On the afternoon of the 15th, the weather began to improve, and the small ships could barely leave the port, and Weng Yiming also sent a message at this time, which was not good news. A dinghy responsible for patrolling southeast of Cape Town did not return to the port that night, but lost contact with the port. The problem is that there are many reasons why patrol boats have lost contact with the port. Maybe the patrol boat was on the ground radio malfunctioning, or the patrol boat was damaged by the storm, of course. It is also possible that the enemy battleship was met and sunk.

Weng Yiming did not ignore this detail. In the evening of the same day, a telegram was sent to Jiang Zhongmin, telling Jiang Zhongmin to be vigilant, and to continue to provide Jiang Zhongmin with weather forecasts, as soon as the weather improved, then the Fifth Task Force would immediately return to the waters near Cape Town. At the same time, preparations were made for the battle with the Anglo-French expeditionary fleet.

Jiang Zhongmin was not careless, and it didn't hurt to think about the situation worse on the battlefield.

However, the problem was that at that time, long-range reconnaissance planes were still unable to carry out reconnaissance missions in the open sea, so it was impossible to judge whether the British and French expeditionary fleets had reached the port of Cape Town.

Until the morning of the 16th, Jiang Zhongmin did not sleep all night, and an urgent battle report from Weng Yiming was sent at this time. The port of Cape Town was suddenly bombarded by the British and French expeditionary fleets, and although the South Atlantic Fleet was ready for battle, it could not break through and could only barely use the cover of shore artillery to maneuver with the British and French expeditionary fleets. In the afternoon of the same day. In the second battle report, all six battleships of the South Atlantic Fleet were wounded, and one was already sitting behind the harbor breakwater. In order to avoid sinking, the other ship took the initiative to rush into the shallow water and ran aground about 50 meters from the shore. The other four battleships also had different damage, but were not completely incapacitated.

And in the battle, at least two battleships of the opposing side were also damaged. And the shelling of the port of Cape Town was carried by at least six or more battleships, as well as a large number of cruisers. The losses of the South Atlantic Fleet were quite heavy.

Weng Yiming did not explicitly mention in the telegram that the Fifth Task Force should return to Cape Town, and the weather conditions were still not good enough for carrier-based bombers to be dispatched, and Jiang Zhongmin was the commander of the Fifth Task Force, and Weng Yiming also knew very well that Jiang Zhongmin would take action, so he did not ask Jiang Zhongmin to immediately lead the fleet back in the form of an order.

Jiang Zhongmin did realize the danger of the situation. The main force of the Anglo-French expeditionary fleet was just outside the port of Cape Town, and the port of Cape Town had been blocked, and the South Atlantic Fleet was in a situation of passive attack, and as long as it lasted for another day, the South Atlantic Fleet could be completely annihilated. But the problem is that the Fifth Task Force is not able to use it now. The fleet can return to cover the waters of Cape Town Harbor within 20 hours, but the bad weather conditions make it impossible for the bombers on the aircraft carrier to be dispatched at all, especially the two small aircraft carriers, which cannot be used in this situation at all!

What to do? Jiang Zhongmin is in a dilemma, it can be said that he has lost ground. In the second half of the night, Jiang Zhongmin received a telegram from Weng Yiming again. The Anglo-French expeditionary fleet continued to shell the port of Cape Town and the South Atlantic Fleet during the night, and although the South Atlantic Fleet returned heavy fire with shore artillery, it was unable to repel the British and French expeditionary fleet. Most of the port infrastructure has been severely damaged, and the South Atlantic Fleet is also in danger, and I am afraid that it will not last until the second night.

At this time, Jiang Zhongmin made a rational decision, the fleet followed the edge of the storm area, as close as possible to the port of Cape Town, and forcibly took off several reconnaissance planes after dawn to find out the direction of the storm's movement and determine whether the weather would improve as soon as possible. By the afternoon of the same day, Weng Yiming's fourth battle report had been sent, and the South Atlantic Fleet had only its last breath left, and the Imperial Marines in Cape Town were already preparing for an anti-landing operation. At the same time, the weather forecast has also come to fruition, and at noon on the 18th, there is a 50% chance that the weather will improve.

Now, a new problem arises. Is it going in or out? If the weather improves, then it should be advanced, and it is quite possible to seize the Anglo-French expeditionary fleet, and the hundreds of bombers in Task Force 5 will turn the tide of the war once and for all. But the problem is that if the weather doesn't improve, Task Force 5 sailing west will be sending people to their deaths, or at least it won't turn the tide of the war. Any fleet commander will hesitate in this reciprocal gamble, not to fight the enemy, but to God, the fate of the fleet is not in the hands of the fleet commander, but in the hands of God.

Jiang Zhongmin did not hesitate, if the South Atlantic Fleet was routed and Cape Town was occupied by the British and French Expeditionary Forces, the Fifth Task Force would have to retreat to the Indian Ocean defense line, and it would be even more difficult to defeat the British and French Expeditionary Fleet. He can only see this one, and gamble his luck with God once!

On the night of the 17th, the fleet began to sail westward, and the weather did begin to improve, and by the second half of the night the wind had weakened considerably. According to the report of the weather forecaster, the bombers on the "Qiandao Lake" should be able to take off before noon on the 18th, and by about two o'clock in the afternoon, the bombers on the two small aircraft carriers should also be able to take off. In other words, if the Anglo-French fleet had been found in the afternoon, then Task Force 5 would have at least one chance to bomb before dark, and even a round of supplementary bombing in the evening, except that the returning bombers would land at night.

Perhaps, Jiang Zhongmin thought that his good fortune had come at this time, but he didn't know that the Fifth Task Force was sailing for failure. He was not only tricked by God, but also fooled by the enemy. At that time, the siege of Cape Town Harbor was carried by the capital ships of the British and French expeditionary fleets with a speed of less than 30 knots, and several capital ships with a speed of more than 30 knots did not participate in combat operations, but remained in the southwest of Cape Town Harbor, where they guarded the Fifth Task Force!

It was precisely because of the weather that Jiang Zhongmin did not let the first batch of reconnaissance planes forcibly take off until half past ten in the morning, and all of them were carrier-based reconnaissance planes on the aircraft carrier, most of the seaplanes on the cruiser were damaged, and the remaining few could not take off at this time. At this time, the Fifth Task Force had already crashed headlong into the British submarine cordon, and it can be said that the luck of the Fifth Task Force was also extremely bad, and it happened to be discovered by a British submarine. And the fast battleships and battlecruisers of the Anglo-French expeditionary fleet were less than 50 nautical miles behind the submarine cordon, and less than 30 nautical miles from the Fifth Task Force when the reconnaissance planes of the Fifth Task Force took off!

This is already a fatal distance, and by the time Jiang Zhongmin receives the reconnaissance report, it is already too late, and the fate of the Fifth Task Force can be imagined!