During the day, Fu Shaofeng sent battle reports to the fleet every hour, which helped Tan Renhao to judge the situation of the battle and whether there was a need to activate a backup plan to provide aviation support to the marines. In addition, Hao Dongjue arranged at least four rounds of reconnaissance operations during the day to comprehensively search the waters within a 300-nautical-mile radius around the fleet in search of the Fifth Fleet. As a result, by evening, the Marines had basically won the first phase of the landing operation, but the reconnaissance planes did not find anything, and there was no trace of American warships around the first task force.

"Perhaps, Spruance didn't come here at all, otherwise our reconnaissance plane would definitely have gained something." At dinner, Hao Dongjue said his thoughts.

Tan Renhao lowered his head and ate his meal, he did not immediately make a judgment or decision. The current situation was indeed a bit strange, and it stands to reason that if Spruance was aiming to hold Gardner Island, then bombers should have been dispatched while the Imperial Marines were ashore. Even if his goal is to take out Task Force 1 first, he should hurry up and complete this mission. But until now, the Fifth Fleet has not appeared, what is Spruance thinking, and what is he trying to do?

"Don't you think it's weird?" Hao Dongjue looked at his partner.

"Hurry up and eat, wait for the next shift staff officer to come, we can get out of the place after we finish eating."

Hao Dongjue shrugged his shoulders and wiped out his share of dinner with three strikes and five divisions. The two did not stay long in the dining room, but came to the flight deck of the aircraft carrier. The last reconnaissance planes are returning to the fleet one after another, and the sun has already set on the sea antenna to the west. It's getting dark. The aircraft carrier's ground aviation crews are busy, and they will not be able to rest until they have received the last batch of reconnaissance planes. Unlike pilots, these flight crews have to continue working at night. They had to hurry up and overhaul the planes to make sure that all the planes were able to fly during the battle. Other than that. You have to be ready for tomorrow's action. It can be said that among the more than 2,000 officers and men of the aircraft carrier, these hundreds of aviation service personnel are the hardest and busiest.

When he walked near the anti-aircraft gun turret behind the aircraft carrier island, Tan Renhao stopped. No one usually comes here. And the anti-aircraft gunners have already left. Hao Dongjue also stopped, and then quickly took out a cigarette. Under normal circumstances, the officers and men who want to smoke on the aircraft carrier will consciously go to the flight deck and will not smoke in the cabin. This is also a big advantage on aircraft carriers, at least on other warships there is no such a large empty deck.

"Dong Jue, you started to say, this battle situation is very strange?"

Hao Dongjue nodded. "It's strange indeed, no matter what Spruance is doing, he definitely has two goals. The first goal was to assist the U.S. forces on the island in holding Gardner Island, which was certainly Nimitz's mission. It is considered from the point of view of the entire theater of operations. The second task was to destroy Task Force 1, which was the goal that Spruance had set in his position as Fleet Commander. But the problem is that now the Fifth Fleet has not appeared at all. If time drags on, he's afraid he won't even be able to accomplish a single goal! ”

Hao Dongjue's words were to the point, based on the current speed of the Marine Corps' ground advance, as well as the strength of the American army on the island judged by Han Shaofeng. The operation to capture Gardner Island is much simpler than previously expected, perhaps in five days at most, or even less than five days, Han Shaofeng will complete the operation of occupying Gardner Island with the momentum of Mount Tai. By then, there would be tens of thousands of Imperial Marines on Gardner Island, and there would certainly be a large surplus of supplies. The landing fleet and convoy could be withdrawn to Midway, and the Marines would immediately repair the airfield so that HNA fighters could be stationed on Gardner Island.

Under such circumstances, it will be very difficult for the US military to return Gardner Island, and even the Fifth Fleet will not dare to get too close to Gardner Island. As a result, the door to the Hawaiian Islands was wide open, and Nimitz probably had to consider whether to retreat to the west coast of the United States to command the Pacific Theater and the Pacific Fleet. In addition, as long as the Marines captured Gardner Island, the First Task Force could completely retreat, ignoring the Fifth Fleet at all, and directly attacking the Southwest Pacific Theater, supporting the Fourth Task Force, and assisting Yan Guozhong in completing offensive operations in the Southwest Pacific Theater. When the time comes, the two task forces will operate in the Southwest Pacific Theater, and even if the Fifth Fleet rushes over, it will lose more than win.

In other words, if Spruance does not seize the opportunity in front of him, the US military will be completely defeated in both the Central Pacific and the Southwest Pacific. And the best opportunity has been missed, now that the Marines have come ashore, the Fifth Fleet, even if it destroys the landing fleet, will not be able to stop the offensive actions of the Marines.

Thinking of this, Tan Renhao suddenly understood that Spruance had not put Gardner Island in the first place from the beginning, and his purpose must have been to annihilate the First Task Force. But then, Tan Renhao had a new question, according to the speed of the Fifth Fleet, this morning, it was completely possible to maneuver in place, and the best time to strike at the First Task Force was when it was supporting the landing of the Marines, at that time, the First Task Force could only organize a counterattack with half of its strength at most, while Spruance could concentrate on attacking the First Task Force with all his strength, and the hope of victory was much greater. But this most dangerous time has passed, and the Fifth Fleet still hasn't appeared, so what the hell is Spruance thinking?

"Perhaps, Spruance is planning a perfect attack."

"What do you mean?" Tan Renhao looked at his partner.

"I'm also thinking that if he sent bombers this morning, I wouldn't be surprised, after all, we were the most vulnerable at that time, but the problem is that we have a strong enough counterattack force even when we are the most vulnerable, and the reconnaissance operation must be deployed in place, if the Fifth Fleet wants to attack us, it will have to enter the patrol area of the reconnaissance aircraft, and the Fifth Fleet will inevitably be exposed to our noses, and the result is that when he sends the bombers, our bombers are also on the road." Hao Dongjue leaned on the base of the turret, "Even if we only have half of the bombers that can be dispatched, we are absolutely sure to take out the Fifth Fleet." Spruance would have thought of this as well. That's why he didn't dare to attack us this morning.

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, this possibility is very big. In addition, Spruance's ultimate goal must be to hold Gardner Island.

The defeat of Task Force 1 was only the first step in defending Gardner Island, and then he had to seize sea supremacy. If the Fifth Fleet and the First Task Force were to fight each other. Even if the First Task Force was finished, the Fifth Fleet would also be finished, and Spruance would lose the ability to support Gardner Island. And in the event of an emergency, the Imperial Navy is likely to organize an artillery fleet, or simply send the recovering Second Task Force to the theater of operations. Then Spruance will not be able to accomplish the most important task. As a result, Spruance was not only thinking about defeating Task Force 1, but also Task Force 1 without paying a heavy price on his own.

"I don't know if my judgment is justified, but judging from the current situation, I can only think so."

"It's very likely, maybe the Fifth Fleet is still maneuvering." Tan Renhao patted his partner on the shoulder, "Let's go to the command cabin and take a good look at what Spruance should do if he wants to get a perfect victory." If we can feel his pulse, then we have a chance. ”

The two immediately returned to the command cabin, and the staff officer had already completed the shift change. Officers on duty at night are busy with some basic business. Hao Dongjue went to arrange some simple work and came to the chart table, while Tan Renhao was already lying on the chart table and thinking.

The Hawaiian Islands are an isolated archipelago in the Central Pacific Ocean, although they are not low in density and are similar to the Mariana Islands. But it's a relatively open archipelago. There are hardly any large islands near the Hawaiian Islands, Midway is more than 1,000 nautical miles from Oahu, Johnston Island is also hundreds of nautical miles away, and the core islands of the Hawaiian Islands are concentrated in the east, and the western islands are not only scattered, but also not very large. As a result, the geography of the Hawaiian Islands is very different from that of the Southwest Pacific Ocean. From a purely military point of view, the Hawaiian Islands are easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the total area of its main islands is more than 15,000 square kilometers, which is sufficient to deploy a large number of ground defense forces. From the point of view of naval operations, it is quite difficult to launch a landing operation here, and moreover, this is a natural sea area suitable for fleet operations. That is, there is enough space for the fleet to maneuver and for the fleet to look for suitable positions for attack, without fear of being affected by the surrounding islands.

To put it bluntly, this is an extremely ideal battlefield that is "set up" specifically for aircraft carriers. Spruance has plenty of room to maneuver, and he now has enough time to maneuver the fleet to the ideal position, and it is even possible to appear in any direction of Task Force 1 and then take advantage of Task Force 1's unpreparedness to launch a swift and powerful strike to destroy Task Force 1.

Now, Tan Renhao also has a bit of a headache. If Spruance had arrived on the afternoon of the 21st, it would have taken a day and a half to maneuver the fleet, while the Fifth Fleet could sail 500 to 900 nautical miles in a day and a half. If he was still maneuvering, Spruance might even be able to sail the fleet to the vicinity of Midway by tomorrow morning. That is, the Fifth Fleet could be anywhere in the vicinity.

To make matters worse, there are no night reconnaissance aircraft in the fleet, there are no reconnaissance aircraft equipped with airborne radars that can search for warships on the sea at night, that is, it is difficult for the fleet to find the enemy at night. If Spruance had maneuvered in the evening, he had a night's time to switch positions. Even if he couldn't accurately determine the location of Task Force 1, it would be very likely that he would encounter Task Force 1 by mistake tomorrow morning, and as a result, both sides would be unprepared for an encounter. This is only the best result, if the first task force has been exposed, then Tan Renhao can almost guarantee that at dawn, US bombers will appear over the fleet.

"Can we arrange a night reconnaissance operation?" Tan Renhao looked at Hao Dongjue.

"It's hard, and it's definitely going to weaken the reconnaissance force we've arranged during the day tomorrow." Hao Dongjue sighed, "The effect of night reconnaissance will never be much better, and many pilots have carried out at least two flight missions today, if they don't have enough rest, maybe they won't be able to perform the mission normally tomorrow." ”

Tan Renhao also sighed. "Looks like we're going to have to get the fleet out of the waters off Gardner Island."

The nautical staff officer immediately approached when he saw the fleet commander waving to him.

"The fleet headed south at night at a cruising speed of 18 knots and reached this area an hour and a half before dawn." Tan Renhao circled a sea area on the chart, "You go and design the route, and then let the fleet turn." ”

After the navigation staff left, Hao Dongjue walked over. "The fleet is heading south?"

Tan Renhao nodded. "Can't get too close to Gardner Island, Spruance must be guessing where we are, and sooner or later he'll think we're staying near Gardner Island, and maybe that's where he's going to focus on scouting tomorrow. We're heading south now, and if Spruance is to our south, maybe our first reconnaissance planes tomorrow will be able to find him. ”

"Then I'll arrange a new reconnaissance route."

"If needed, use a fleet of bombers to carry out reconnaissance missions tomorrow." Tan Renhao stopped Hao Dongjue, "The 250 nautical miles around the fleet are all key surveillance areas, and the maximum reconnaissance radius is still set at 300 nautical miles, pay attention to the departure time of the reconnaissance plane, if the Spruance is too close to us, I don't want the reconnaissance plane to fly over their heads before dawn, but there is no discovery." ”

"Don't worry, I know how to arrange it."

After Hao Dongjue went out, Tan Renhao's eyes returned to the chart, his only concern was that Spruance would appear on the north side of Gardner Island, but this possibility was the least.

If this happens, then Spruance is likely to bomb the Marines on Gardner Island tomorrow, as well as the landing fleet and convoy that have not yet had time to withdraw, and then they will have to fight a pursuit battle with the Fifth Fleet!