The Marines quickly sent a reply, two days at most, and after the delivery of the Marines' artillery, armored vehicles, and the next batch of supplies (the largest batch, enough to support two Marine Divisions for half a month), the Marines were able to stabilize their foothold and gradually annihilate the recalcitrant American troops on the island.

The third telegram from the command of the Navy in three hours arrived at half past eight, and there was only one telegram with the content that the American fleet was preparing for departure (the boiler had been fired, which was the most obvious sign of preparation for departure) and that in addition to the eight battleships, more than twenty battleships would depart with it. Task Force 1 must shift its focus within three days and put the attack on the US fleet in the first place.

Tan Renhao has been preparing for this for a long time. The first task of the fleet is to take out the enemy's fleet and ensure that the sea control is in its own hands, and the secondary task is to "serve" the marines. Of course, before deciding on a specific tactical plan, Tan Renhao must also get more intelligence support.

Information is coming in one after another. On the afternoon of the 11th, the command of the Navy sent data intelligence on the performance of American battleships.

The eight battleships that were boiler-heated in Pearl Harbor were of four classes.

The USS Nevada and USS Oklahoma belong to the same class (the "Nevada" class) and both warships were commissioned in the latter part of World War I, and the USS Oklahoma also transported the President of the United States to Tehran to participate in armistice negotiations. Ships of this class had a very important place in the development of American battleships. Before the outbreak of World War I, the U.S. Navy conducted a test that proved that the medium-thick armor of the traditional protection system could not block the large-caliber armor-piercing shells of dreadnoughts. Therefore, when the "Nevada" class was designed, it adopted the controversial "key" protection design at that time (the Tang Imperial Navy also adopted this design at the same time), that is, the secondary parts of the battleship were reduced, or even no armor, and the key parts of the battleship, such as the turret and engine room. Places such as conning towers are reinforced with maximum armor. After the Tang Empire and the US Navy first (followed by the British) this design, the navies of other countries immediately followed suit. Because of the age of construction (by 24 years, both ships had been in service for nearly 26 years, and both had undergone mid-term improvements), its performance had been surpassed by many later ships. For example, the caliber of its guns is only 356 mm, the maximum speed is 20.5 knots (24 knots after the mid-term improvement), the armor is also slightly weak (especially the quality of the armor steel has fallen behind), the "Pennsylvania" and the "Arizona" belong to the same class ("Pennsylvania" class), and the two battleships were also in service in the late World War I (at that time, many people speculated that the United States would enter the war because the United States vigorously built capital ships, and it was the United States that built a large number of capital ships during the war. As a result, the Tang Empire had to accept the mediation of the United States) In fact, this class of battleships is an improvement of the "Nevada" class (the two battleships are in service almost at the same time), and its biggest improvement is that all of them are equipped with triple main guns (the "Nevada" class has two main gun turrets are twin-mounted) and all use steam turbines, so the "Pennsylvania" class also became the first battleships of the US Navy to be fueled entirely by oil (the "Oklahoma" site is a reciprocating steam engine, and it still burns coal), and both battleships have undergone mid-term improvements, The main thing is to strengthen protection, increase seaplanes, remove part of the secondary guns, etc. The main guns of the battleship were 356 mm caliber (twelve guns), the maximum speed was 21 knots (24 knots after the mid-term improvement), and the armor defense was increased compared to the "Nevada" class. Other than that. "Pennsylvania" is also the flagship of the US Pacific Fleet.

The "Tennessee" and the "California" belong to the same class ("Tennessee" class), which is an improvement of the "New Mexico" class battleships, and it is also the first class battleship built by the United States after the First World War (the "New Mexico" class battleships entered service at the end of the First World War), and the "Tennessee" class battleships were designed to draw on a lot of experience and lessons from the naval battles of the First World War. Like what. The battleship adopts a new rear keel design, which comprehensively strengthens underwater protection, and the interior is divided into multi-layer compartments to strengthen horizontal armor. In addition, each main gun and secondary gun have a fire control system, and a large mast is installed on the front and rear main masts to install vitality control facilities, the elevation angle of the main gun has been increased to 30 degrees (the previous battleship could only reach 15 degrees, but this improvement has increased the range of the main gun by five nautical miles) and the impact point can be measured by the carrying seaplane and the shelling can be corrected! The main guns of the battleship caliber 356 mm (12 guns) and the maximum speed of 21 knots (24 knots after the mid-term improvement) were much higher than those of the "Pennsylvania" class, thanks to the appearance of high-quality armored steel floors.

The "Maryland" and the "West Virginia" belong to the same class ("Colorado" class), which are the last two battleships of the "Colorado" class, which were commissioned in 13 and 15 years (both in the Tang calendar), and their basic design inherits the "Tennessee" class, mainly improving firepower and protection. Later, after learning that the Tang Empire was developing a 380 mm caliber gun (which was actually a misinformation), the design was modified to replace the 12 356 mm guns with 8 406 mm guns, because speed had not yet been taken seriously by the navy at that time. Therefore, the output power of the powertrain was increased in the middle of the improvement. Originally, it was planned to build four warships of this class, but the construction of the fourth "Washington" was stopped due to the restrictions of the arms treaty, and only three were finally put into service. Its maximum speed is 24 knots, and the armor defense capability has been increased accordingly.

Relatively speaking, the eight battleships of these four classes were all built between the period between World War I and the Treaty of Songjiang, and their performance was significantly backward. Whether it is displacement, armor defense, speed, and firepower (the power of the US Navy's 356-mm guns is much worse than that of the new 360-mm guns of the Tang Empire, and the power of the initial 406-mm guns is only equal to the 360-mm guns of the Tang Empire) are worse than the "Dignity" class built by the Tang Empire during the treaty, and even less than the four "New Provincial Capital" class battleships that the Imperial Navy served after the outbreak of war (at that time, the "South Dakota" that could compete with the "New Provincial Capital" class was still under construction, and the "Iowa" The only advantage of the American fleet was its numbers, with eight battleships with a total of 84 guns, compared to 54 guns on the six battleships of the Third Task Force. Eight American battleships delivered more than 80 tons of ammunition per minute, while the six battleships of the Tang Empire delivered less than 60 tons of ammunition per minute. The gap is obvious, and the gap between the two sides is also evident in another area. At that time, the six battleships of the Third Task Force, as well as all the heavy cruisers, were equipped with radars (the Tang Empire was already mass-producing radars), while only two of the eight American battleships were equipped with radars, and none of the heavy cruisers escorting them had radars. This gap is not counted in terms of firepower, nor in terms of protection, but it can have a decisive impact on the battle.

On the same day and night, Task Force 3 received a new order. After continuing to provide fire support to the Marines for three days, they had to withdraw from the battle on the night of the 14th, resupply ammunition and fuel on the 15th, and then proceed to the predetermined sea area. Prepare to take on the American battlefleet.

Almost at the same time, the Marines received a new order from the Navy Command to complete the initial operations of the landing by dawn on the 15th, and to independently assume the responsibility of attacking the territory and to prepare for the capture of Agrihan Island without the support of the fleet. A rapid supply fleet carrying a large amount of war materiel has departed from the port of Naha on Ryukyu Island and will deliver the artillery, armored vehicles, and large quantities of war materiel needed by the marines on the 15th.

The Naval Shore-Based Fighter Command, which had already transferred its headquarters to Asunción, also received a new order a little later. From the 15th, air cover was provided for Task Force 3, and the Marines had to be provided with full air support and air cover after the 15th.

The First Army of Strategic Strike, commanded by Luo Yunchong, also received orders very quickly. From the twelfth. Temporarily suspend strategic bombing against Japan. Concentrate all your forces and bomb the U.S. airfield on the Mariana Islands by the 15th. Fighters escorting heavy bombers had to be transferred to Asunción on the 12th.

After this series of orders was issued, the Imperial Navy Command had actually focused the campaign on striking the American fleet. For this reason, the speed of the capture of the Mariana Islands was even reduced. Of course, it is the two fleets that play the main role, and seizing sea supremacy is the most basic mission of the fleet!

By the 13th, Tan Renhao had received another extremely important piece of information from the Navy Command, the intelligence of the US fleet that was rushing to the Pacific Theater.

With the paralysis of the 16th and 17th task forces, the strength of the US Navy in the Pacific has been greatly reduced, and although the battleships are no longer the absolute main force in naval warfare, they can still be regarded as the main warships. With no way to provide aircraft carriers for the Pacific theater of operations, and the British and French navies still controlled the North Atlantic in the Atlantic theater, the only option for the United States was to transfer the battleships originally deployed in the Atlantic Ocean to be used against the German and Persian navies to the Pacific theater.

The fleet passed through the Panama Canal on the 12th. Imperial spies spotted four battleships in the fleet at close range, and accurately determined the types of four battleships, namely three "New Mexico" class and one "Colorado" class. In addition to these four battleships, there were more than two dozen other battleships, as well as several transport ships.

"This fleet will be on the battlefield at the end of the month at most."

Hao Dongjue also felt a headache after reading the telegram, "This is not counting the time for him to rest and replenish the ground in the middle of the way." Even if we can arrive at the end of the month, it will be a tired army, and we will wait for work. Still afraid you can't beat it? ”

"The trouble is that now the American fleet has not left Pearl Harbor."

Tan Renhao sighed secretly, "If the two fleets meet, the Yankees will have 12 battleships in their hands by then, which is twice the size of the third task force, and we can't have more battleships, and the three aircraft carriers of the second task force will not be repaired at the end of the month (the spare parts of the 'Yangtze River' class aircraft carriers are almost all used up, so it will take a lot of time to repair the three damaged aircraft carriers, and there will be no second miracle) At that time, our trouble will be even greater." ”

"Will the Yankees wait until the end of the month? I don't think it's likely, unless they don't want the Mariana Islands anymore! ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly. "It depends on the progress of the Marine Corps. By the way, how much time does the Marine Corps plan to take to complete the capture of Agrihan? ”

"The plan is to be completed before the 20th, and I estimate that it will probably have to be delayed until the 25th, and maybe until the end of the month!"

"That's the problem!"

Tan Renhao stood up and took a few steps back and forth in the room, "If the battle on Agrihan Island is going to drag on until the end of the month, then the American side can wait until the end of the month and concentrate the strength of twelve battleships to launch a counterattack, so that they have a greater certainty!" ”

Hao Dongjue glanced at Tan Renhao and immediately stood up. "Then, we must force the enemy to fight early!"

"But what can be done to force the enemy to go to battle early?"

Tan Renhao smiled bitterly, "Now our forces are all laid out, unless the Marine Corps can build an airfield on Agrihan Island, let the tactical bombers of the HNA deploy it, and then bomb Saipan, Tinian Island, and Guam with all their might." And strive to destroy the US air forces on these islands in a very short time, so that even if the US fleet arrives, it will not be able to get effective air cover, then they will have to counterattack in advance! ”

"Then why don't you just land on these three islands?"

Hao Dongjue's brain is also very flexible, and his thinking is deviant many times. "Even if we don't capture these three islands, we won't have to waste time with the American army on Agrihan Island!"

"What do you mean?"

Tan Renhao glanced at Hao Dongjue.

"I mean, why can't we avoid the biggest?"

Hao Dongjue quickly pulled out a nautical chart, "You see, the US military's current defense is concentrated on Agrihan Island, and the southern islands of Pagan, Aramagan Island, Guguam, Sarigan Island, and Anatahan Island can build field airfields and deploy tactical bombers." Among these islands, the only ones that the U.S. military focuses on defending are Phagan Island and Anatahan Island. Why don't we capture the islands where there are few American troops, avoid the islands that the enemy is focused on, and then build airfields on these islands to seize air supremacy in the southern part of the archipelago! ”

Tan Renhao's gaze stayed on the chart for a few seconds, and he suddenly burst into laughter. Hao Dongjue was a little surprised at first, but as soon as he saw Tan Renhao's expression, he immediately laughed.