When the news of the total annihilation of the supply fleet came, Spruance seemed to have been hit by a 500-kilogram aviation armor-piercing projectile, and by this time, he had also discovered that he did not have much choice in this battlefield.

At the time, Spruance's main concern was not tactical problems, but the problems that the Fifth Fleet would cause after the loss of the supply fleet. Nimitz had such a fleet in his hands that could provide rapid supplies for the aircraft carrier fleet, while the other supply ships were very slow and difficult to send in time. The most troublesome thing is that most of the battleships in the Fifth Fleet only have 50% fuel, and many light cruisers and destroyers have less than 50% fuel. That is, the Fifth Fleet actually did not complete the replenishment work, and the sustained combat capability was very poor.

According to Spruance's previous consideration, after this battle, he would once again rendezvous with the supply fleet, complete the supply work, and then go to the Gardner Island battlefield. But now, the supply fleet is finished first, and if he wants to reinforce Gardner Island, he must return to Pearl Harbor, and the Kauai side can only provide limited heavy fuel for the fleet, and there is not enough ammunition reserves, and the docks on Kauai Island are too small to dock large warships such as aircraft carriers, and the difficulty of replenishment is quite large. If the Fifth Fleet were to return to Pearl Harbor, it would have to be delayed for at least three days, even if the replenishment time was not counted. And after a delay of three days, a major turning point may have taken place on Gardner Island.

And that was just the trouble of the campaign as a whole, and Spruance then felt the danger. After the loss of the supply fleet, Tan Renhao would definitely be able to judge that the Fifth Fleet was near the supply fleet, and the fighters that intercepted the reconnaissance planes had actually exposed the whereabouts of the Fifth Fleet. Spruance doesn't underestimate Tan Renhao's ability to judge. Moreover, the proximity of the Fifth Fleet to the supply fleet is the most plausible inference. Then the reconnaissance planes of the 1st Task Force, and even the bombers, will definitely go immediately. Also, the Fifth Fleet should be closer to Task Force 1 (Spruance still thinks Task Force 1 is to the west or southwest of Nihua Island). So, there is a good chance that the Fifth Fleet will be bombed.

Now the Spruance's best option is to turn the fleet. Sail southeast to avoid the blows of the 1st Task Force for the time being, but the problem is that the 1st Task Force will definitely catch up, and it will not necessarily let go of the 5th Fleet. Then the Fifth Fleet will have to lose more time, and the purpose of the First Task Force will be achieved. Therefore, Spruance did not turn the fleet, but continued to sail eastward at full speed, which would not allow the first task force to be separated as quickly as possible, but would allow for the shortest possible return to Pearl Harbor. That is, at this point, Spruance had only one option, and that was to return to Pearl Harbor and get supplies at Pearl Harbor.

"General. A telegram came from Kauai that the convoy had arrived, asking when it would be possible to meet us. ”

"Rendezvous?" Spruance smiled wryly. "Leave it alone for now, it's a question of whether we can meet or not."

The staff officer hesitated, but left.

"Let all the fighters take off as soon as possible, when will our reconnaissance planes be able to send back a message?" Spruance stopped the staff officer.

"I don't know. In about half an hour, it is possible to spot Task Force 1. ”

"How much time will it take?" Spruance sighed secretly, if he could find Task Force 1, he would be more sure of his life.

"If it hasn't been found after an hour and a half, then Task Force 1 is out of our search."

Spruance nodded slightly, an hour and a half, too long, the carrier-based bombers of the Tang Empire could fly 300 nautical miles in an hour and a half.

"General, any other orders?"

"No, no, let all the fighters rise into the air as soon as possible, pay attention to the northwest direction of the fleet."

After the staff officer walked away, Spruance sat down. He forced himself to calm down, and quickly recalled the battle, especially what had happened in the hours around dawn, hoping to find a little flaw in Task Force 1.

The First Task Force first bombed the airfields on the islands of Necker and Nihua, which was Tan Renhao's first step, and Spruance also figured out that when the Fifth Fleet was discovered by reconnaissance planes, those bombers of the First Task Force had already dropped bombs on the two islands, and they were carrying high-explosive bombs and incendiary bombs for ground strikes, rather than armor-piercing shells and torpedoes for sea attacks. Therefore, Tan Renhao did not let the bombers bomb Nihua Island to deal with the Fifth Fleet. Tan Renhao's purpose in taking this step is very clear, that is, to cut off the wings of the Fifth Fleet, so that US shore-based fighters will not be able to support the Fifth Fleet, nor will they be able to cooperate with the Fifth Fleet in combat, thus posing a threat to the First Task Force.

This was a very ingenious step, and then, Tan Renhao arranged a reconnaissance plane to continue to track the whereabouts of the Fifth Fleet, and he definitely judged that the Fifth Fleet would sail eastward, so the first thing to find was not the Fifth Fleet, but the supply fleet that was fleeing eastward. But why did Tan Renhao use precious bombers to deal with the supply fleet? Spruance would not believe that Tan Renhao would make striking the supply fleet a priority, and that made no sense. This can only show one point, the reconnaissance plane of the First Task Force made a wrong judgment, and did not recognize that it was a supply fleet at all, and it escaped quickly after being intercepted by fighters, so Tan Renhao thought that the supply fleet was the Fifth Fleet, so he immediately sent bombers.

But there is another point, did Tan Renhao send the bomber after the reconnaissance plane sent back the report? Obviously not, if it were, those bombers arrived too quickly, so that the First Task Force could only be south of Nihua Island, only 100 nautical miles away from the supply fleet, and this was the sea area where the Fifth Fleet was active before, even if the Fifth Fleet had left, there was no reason for the reconnaissance planes of the First Task Force not to fly a few dozen nautical miles south to find the Fifth Fleet after finding the supply fleet. Therefore, it was not possible for Task Force 1 to be south of Nihua Island. In other words, Tan Renhao let the bomber set off before the reconnaissance plane had any gains. This is also the reason why Task Force 1 emits radio signals.

Therefore, it is very likely that Task Force 1 is more than 250 nautical miles away from the supply fleet. The sea area where the radio signal was sent was northwest of Nihua Island, and if the First Task Force had gone south, it would have been west of Nihua Island, or even southwest of Nihua Island. This is also the reason why Spruance platoon reconnaissance aircraft searched in this direction in the first place. But there is still a problem, if the first task force is not going south. Is it possible to sail eastward from the north of Nihua Island?

Thinking of this, Spruance worried, this may definitely be there, and it is not small.

After the First Task Force discovered the supply fleet and misjudged it to be the Fifth Fleet, Tan Renhao was sure that Tiger was preparing the second batch of bombers, and at this time, in order to shorten the attack distance, he did not let the supply fleet leave the strike range. Then the fleet should sail to the east, and not to the south. As for after it was established that it was the supply fleet, and not the Fifth Fleet. Spruance didn't know in which direction Task Force 1 would sail, but he was sure of one thing, and that was in the hour or so before. It is quite possible that Task Force 1 is heading east.

At this time, the reconnaissance planes on Nihua Island and Necke Island, which had avoided bombing, had made a forced landing on the islands and could not take off at all, and the long-range reconnaissance planes departing from Kauai Island could not reach the waters near Nihua Island until after 11 o'clock. In other words, to the north of Nihua Island, as well as to the northeast, there is no activity of US reconnaissance planes at all, and no one knows whether there will be a strong fleet over there.

"Immediately prepare 12 reconnaissance planes as quickly as possible, and the reconnaissance planes probably won't be ready to leave?" Spruance didn't dare to delay any longer.

The staff officer first looked suspiciously at the fleet commander who had suddenly come over, and then immediately picked up the telephone. Spruance glanced at his watch, it was already half past ten, and he spent half an hour thinking about what to do next, which was the most important half hour.

"General, the reconnaissance plane is being prepared, and it will be ready to take off in ten minutes."

"Let them search the sea." Spruance circled a large area of sea on the north and northeast sides of Nihua Island on the chart, "Go to the aviation staff officer, let the reconnaissance planes search this sea area with all their might, and report it as soon as they find it." ”

"However, there is a part of the sea area here that is outside the patrol range of the reconnaissance aircraft......"

"The reconnaissance plane does not need to return to the fleet and go to Nihua Island to make a forced landing!" Spruance hesitated, "If we can't find Task Force 1 this time, then we can escape safely, and we can replenish new fighters when we get back." If it is found, it will be worth losing even a few reconnaissance aircraft. Let the reconnaissance plane set off as soon as possible, don't care about the fuel, and tell the pilots that they just need to stay and return to Nihua Island for fuel. ”

At this point, Spruance also realized that whether or not they could escape the attack of the First Task Force and whether they could fight back depended on whether this batch of reconnaissance planes had gained anything. Maybe it's a little too late, but it's the best Spruance can do. He hadn't closed his eyes for two days and two nights, and it was a miracle that an uncle in his fifties was able to persevere like a young man.

On the aircraft carrier "Xingkaihu", the flagship of the First Task Force, Tan Renhao was also anxiously waiting for news.

"Yang Qinkai's fleet will return in about half an hour, and they don't have much fuel left, should we let the Qiu Geng Bodi fleet take off first?"

Tan Renhao hesitated. "When will our reconnaissance plane be discovered?"

"After half an hour, if nothing is found after another hour, then the Fifth Fleet is not within the search range of the reconnaissance aircraft."

At this time, Tan Renhao had an even more headache, and he also understood the reason why Hao Dongjue asked him if he wanted to let Qiu Gengbo's fleet take off first. It will take at least 20 minutes to half an hour for Qiu Gengbo's fleet to leave the aircraft carrier. After Yang Qinkai's group returned to the fleet, it would take nearly half an hour to land, and these bombers did not have enough fuel to hover over the fleet, so they had to land immediately.

If the Fifth Fleet had been discovered at this time, it would have been delayed for half an hour, and it would have been difficult for two groups of bombers to depart in succession. But the problem is that if the Fifth Fleet is on the maximum strike radius of the bombers, and Qiu Gengbo's group takes off half an hour earlier, then those bombers will not be able to fly back at all. What to do?

Tan Renhao hesitated and did not make a decision immediately, and he could not make a decision immediately. Now the fleet has two bomber groups, and in order to ensure the destruction of the Fifth Fleet, then these two aircraft groups must be used in full, and there can be no mistakes in the slightest, that is, he cannot afford to lose any aircraft group at all.

"Otherwise, let's wait a little longer!" Hao Dongjue also saw the difficulty of his partner.

"Okay, then wait a little longer." Tan Renhao sighed, "Fill all the bombers in the Qiu Gengbo group with fuel and hang up ammunition." In addition, bring back Yao Boyan's batch of fighters and stand by on the aircraft carrier. If we can't find the Fifth Fleet this time, then let's retreat, it's too dangerous here. ”

Hao Dongjue sighed secretly, and then went to arrange the relevant work.

So far, Tan Renhao is worried not only about the Fifth Fleet, but also about the long-range bombers of the US military on Kauai. Kauai is a large island with an area of 10,000 square kilometers, and there are several regular airfields of the US military on the island, hundreds of long-range bombers are stationed, and hundreds of long-range bombers can be dispatched from those islands to the west. Although these long-range bombers do not pose a great threat to the fleet, the remaining fighters of the First Task Force are now very limited, and if they are attacked by the concentrated attacks of the US heavy bombers, who can guarantee that the aircraft carriers of the First Task Force will not be hit by a few bombs? In addition, the US long-range reconnaissance planes on Kauai Island must have already departed, and the First Task Force is within the patrol range of these US long-range reconnaissance planes, and the fleet may be exposed at any time.

If the Fifth Fleet is in any direction that has not been taken into account, then the bombers of the Fifth Fleet pose a greater threat to the 1st Task Force.

In fact, as early as yesterday afternoon, Tan Renhao thought of this, if the Fifth Fleet could not be solved on the morning of the 27th, then the First Task Force would have to flee for its life, and the faster it escaped, the better, it was too dangerous here!