While Tan Renhao was trying to find a way to find the Fifth Fleet and kill the Fifth Fleet, the US military was also making corresponding adjustments and working towards victory.

Nimitz, who was in charge of theater command at Pearl Harbor, kept an eye on the fighting on the front lines. At first, he didn't believe that the Tang Imperial Navy would take it seriously, thinking that the bombardment of Leysan Island and Gardner Island by the First Task Force was just a feint to lure the Fifth Fleet to a decisive battle. It wasn't until the Tang Marines began to march toward Gardner Island, and there were more and more signs that the Tang Marines would land on Gardner Island, that Nimitz came to his senses. This is certainly not a feint, at least, in the Central Pacific theater, it will not be a feint!

Even if Nimitz did not believe that the Tang Empire was capable of attacking the Hawaiian Islands now, the forces required to invest far exceeded the forces that the Tang Empire's navy could invest, especially in terms of fleet, and preparation time, the opportunity to attack the Hawaiian Islands was not ripe. However, the problem is that the Tang Imperial Navy does not necessarily have to conquer the entire Hawaiian Islands, it can first occupy the bridgehead, gain a firm foothold, use the time to attack the southwest Pacific, consolidate the forward bases, bomb the US airfields on other islands in the Hawaiian Islands, gradually seize air supremacy, gradually concentrate forces, complete preparations for a large-scale attack, and finally launch a full-scale attack. Then, it is not difficult to explain why the Tang Imperial Navy attacked Gardner Island at this time, because this island is the bridgehead for the Tang Imperial Navy's advance into the Hawaiian Islands!

It was at this time that Nimitz adjusted the battle arrangements and issued an order to Spruance, asking the Fifth Fleet to assist in the defense of Gardner Island as much as possible, and strive to keep the Tang Empire Marines out of Gardner Island. If that doesn't work, we'll have to find a way to keep the defenders on Gardner Island longer.

After sending the telegram, Nimitz was also well aware. Spruance was unlikely to concentrate all his efforts on the Tang Empire's ground marines, after all, the Tang Empire's First Task Force was operating nearby. And it was used against the Fifth Fleet, and as long as Task Force 1 was nearby, Spruance would have to consider the threat of Task Force 1 first.

Therefore, Nimitz also carried out the second preparation, that is, to organize a group of troops as soon as possible. and war materials, and send them to Gardner Island, so that the defenders on Gardner Island can hold out until the Fifth Fleet wins, so that even if the Tang Imperial Marines land on Gardner Island, as long as the Fifth Fleet seizes sea supremacy, then the Tang Empire Navy's attack on Gardner Island will also fail.

It takes time to prepare transport fleets, reinforcements, as well as combat materiel. Although Nimitz had mobilized all the forces he could to complete the preparations, it was not until the 24th. The troops had just been assembled, and the supplies had been loaded onto twenty transport ships. But the problem is that Task Force 1 is still in action. And in the vicinity of Gardner Island, there has always been a powerful artillery fleet, and if the convoy goes to Gardner Island without any cover, then it will definitely be intercepted. And even the whole army was wiped out!

By the 25th, Nimitz had received news that a group of transport ships from Gardner Island were returning to Midway, apparently to transport war supplies from Midway to Gardner, and that within six days, the Tang Empire Marines on Gardner Island would have sufficient offensive strength. The transport he arranged for would have taken three days to reach Gardner Island from Pearl Harbor. What to do?

There was no time left for Nimitz to wait for the Fifth Fleet to seize sea supremacy, and he immediately arranged for the departure of this group of transports. That is, on the evening of the 25th, the ships left Pearl Harbor and headed for Gardner Island. At this time, Spruance was still planning a decisive battle with Task Force 1.

After completing the task of bombing Task Force 1, Spruance needed nothing more than other supplies, but new combat aircraft, and heavy oil for warships! In particular, there was not much fuel left on most of the warships at that time, and there was not much ammunition left on the aircraft carriers for sea strikes, which meant that the Fifth Fleet had to be replenished as soon as possible. And he also sent the situation out on the night of the 25th through the radio station on Neck Island. Therefore, when Nimitz arranged the transport fleet, he also sent out fast combat support ships that would provide fuel and ammunition for the Fifth Fleet. On the afternoon of the 26th, Nimitz also began to mobilize the combat aircraft of the naval aviation on the island of Kauai, organizing all the fighters provided to the four aircraft carriers. In addition, he arranged a new batch of tactical bombers for Necke Island.

The relevant work was already in place by the evening of the 26th. Spruance also received news at this time that the fleet would rendezvous with the fast combat support ships in the waters near Nihua Island that night to receive ammunition and fuel replenishment, and the combat aircraft replenishing the Fifth Fleet would arrive on the morning of the 27th.

At the time of receiving these messages, Spruance also received a new order, that is, to cover the convoy to Gardner Island as much as possible, and to find a way to annihilate the artillery fleet of the Tang Empire Navy to prevent the Tang Empire's convoy from reaching Gardner Island. Actually, these are two missions, and Spruance knows that he only needs one task to complete. It was also this new mission that the Fifth Fleet's supply site was set in the waters near Nihua Island, instead of the temporary dock on Kauai Island envisioned by Spruance, and if the Fifth Fleet returned to Kauai Island for resupply, it would not be able to keep up with the transport fleet in time, and it would be difficult to stop the transport fleet of the Tang Imperial Marines in time.

This is where Spruance is extremely embarrassed, and what makes him even more headache is that he doesn't even know whether the First Task Force has withdrawn from the battlefield and how much combat power is left!

Spruance has always been skeptical about the strike report submitted by the pilots, although both groups of pilots confirmed that they each hit an aircraft carrier, and confirmed that the aircraft carrier was at least heavily damaged, but Spruance suffered a loss, and he knew very well how much difference there was between the remaining aircraft carrier of Task Force 1 and the remaining two aircraft carriers. Spruance would certainly not have anything to worry about if there was only one aircraft carrier, and his four aircraft carriers could carry nearly a hundred fighters. This is enough to protect the fleet. But the question is, if Task Force 1 still has two aircraft carriers to fight, then. The Fifth Fleet is still at a disadvantage, and it can't take down the First Task Force at all!

It's even more troublesome.

Where is Task Force 1 now? Moreover, is Tan Renhao ready to retreat, or is he ready to continue fighting? At the end of the day, Task Force 1 was heading northeast, judging by the situation at the time. Task Force 1 was supposed to be evading bombing, which was a tactical maneuver and therefore difficult to determine the final course of Task Force 1. Most of the ground staff members believed that Task Force 1 would retreat, and whether it was the loss of one or two aircraft carriers, Task Force 1 would have to ensure the safety of the remaining carriers first, and it would be impossible to raid the airfield on Necke Island, and it would be difficult to fight near Necke Island. Since the task force of Task Force 1 should be to support the Marines in the capture of Gardner Island, then Task Force 1 should now retreat to the waters near Gardner Island. Let the Fifth Fleet not dare to easily attack the Tang Empire's ground marines, so as to complete the campaign mission.

Initially, Spruance thought the same thing.

Now the Don Imperial Marines have landed on Gardner Island. Then the Don Army will definitely go all out to capture Gardner Island, which can be seen from the activities of its transport fleet. If Task Force 1 does not have the ability to quickly crush the Fifth Fleet, the Fifth Fleet could threaten Gardner Island from multiple directions. As a result, Task Force 1 had to return to Gardner Island.

To provide anti-aircraft cover for the marines, in the event of a failure in the landing operation, then the losses of the Don Army are incalculable. But soon, Spruance discovered a problem, and this problem was the problem of the Fifth Fleet itself.

The Fifth Fleet must have returned to Gardner Island after the 29th, and had to be resupplied by the new land in the evening. Task Force 1 should have been resupplied by the 24th, with plenty of ammunition and fuel, and there would be no need to go back to refuel. Then, the 1st Task Force could have been in the vicinity of Necker Island until the 27th, and if there was no gain, it would not be too late to return to Gardner Island. In other words, there was an overlap in the timing of the two sides, and from the night of the 26th to the evening of the 27th, there was a possibility that the 1st Task Force and the 5th Fleet would encounter.

In fact, this is why Spruance chose to return to Kauai to refuel in the first place, and it is possible that Task Force 1 will continue to stay in the waters near Necker Island, or even expand the search area, and if it comes to Nihua Island, then the Fifth Fleet will be under the guns of Task Force 1. It was impossible for Task Force 1 to get to the side of Kauai, and even without the threat of hundreds of bombers on Kauai, Task Force 1 would not have enough time to run that far east.

Combined with a variety of intelligence, Spruance did not believe that Task Force 1 would continue to advance eastward, after all, the shore-based bombers and reconnaissance planes on Nihua Island were not good-looking. But the problem is that the fighters replenished to the Fifth Fleet will not arrive until the morning of the 27th, and there is no definite time. These fighters from Kauai must have arrived in batches, and after flying over, there will not be much fuel left, so it will take a lot of time for the fleet to receive these fighters. If the fleet is exposed at this time, and the first task force is nearby, then the fifth fleet is completely finished!

This possibility is quite small, unless the first task force can block the bombers on Nihua Island, judging from the results of fleet statistics, the remaining fighters of the first task force should be less than two squadrons, and I am afraid that there are only more than 50 fighters in addition to some damaged fighters, and it will be very difficult for these more than 50 fighters to complete the escort and air defense tasks at the same time. But Spruance also had to guard against it, if he really let the First Task Force catch him, then he wouldn't be able to escape even if he had wings!

So, that night, Spruance sent a seaplane to Necke Island to get the word out, and he chose the supply area about 70 nautical miles southeast of Nihua Island, and asked the combat planes to replenish the Fifth Fleet to try to arrive within an hour after dawn.

At the same time, Spruance also asked the fleet's aviation crews to step up their preparations for the replenishment of fighters. That night, he also called back more than 20 carrier-based fighters that had landed on Necker Island, and let them land on the aircraft carrier at night. Counting the air defense fighters left behind during the day, Spruance had more than 40 fighters in his hands. He didn't let the bombers who landed on Necke Island return to the fleet, after all, landing at night is a very dangerous thing, and at the same time, he also had to consider whether the first task force would approach at night and arrange night reconnaissance planes, so the fleet could not be allowed to turn on the landing guide lights for a long time, so as not to expose the fleet at night.

After arranging these tasks, Spruance sent the fleet in the direction of Nihua Island. There was only so much he could do. At least he believed that Tan Renhao would not dare to come to the south of Necke Island, but would continue to stay in the waters north of Necker Island and wait for an opportunity. Otherwise, he would not have chosen the supply location of the fleet in the waters south of Nihua Island, so that he could stay away from the dangerous sea as much as possible and be a little safer.

It can be said that Spruance took everything he could into account at that time. If he had thought of it, the fleet should have returned directly to Pearl Harbor, which must have been the safest, and then returned to Gardner Island the following month. At that time, even if Gardner Island was captured by the Tang Empire Marines, Nimitz would be able to use the Marines who were ready to attack Midway Island to bring Gardner Island back, instead of fighting with Task Force 1 now. But the problem is that he can't do this, Nimitz's orders are very clear, and as a soldier, he can understand the orders given by his superiors, but he cannot disobey the orders given by his superiors.

The night air cooled down, and Spruance gradually calmed down. The daytime battle made him feel deeply, and what made him most difficult to forget was the powerful air defense of the Tang Imperial fleet.

In the early days of the United States' participation in the war, the gap in the quality of the pilots of the two sides was not very large, and with the spirit of bravery, the US fighters could also confront the fighters of the Tang Empire. However, after more than a year of fighting, the gap between the two sides is getting wider and wider. The Tang Imperial Navy has hundreds of ace pilots, and those who can hold on are the best, on the contrary, the US Navy has lost its troops, and a large number of pilots have died on the battlefield, perhaps, this will eventually affect the situation in the Pacific!