Tan Renhao was not worried about being defeated by the British in a frontal encounter, in terms of strength, the strength of the two main fleets of the Imperial Navy now far exceeded that of the British home fleet, and the quality of officers and men, and the combat effectiveness of the fleet were above the enemy. And the biggest headache for Tan Renhao is intelligence, which is also a very stinging problem for the Imperial Navy fleet to fight in the Atlantic.

When fighting in the Pacific, Tan Renhao also complained about the problem of untimely intelligence, but on the whole, every move of the US military could be detected. The Imperial Navy had densely distributed bases in the Pacific Ocean and deployed a large number of reconnaissance planes and submarines, and whenever the American fleet was out of port, its whereabouts could always be found. On the Atlantic side, on the contrary, there were not enough bases for the Imperial Navy, and even the Imperial Army Aviation did not have enough airfields for the deployment of reconnaissance aircraft. The submarine forces of the Imperial Navy had not yet been deployed to the Strait of Gibraltar, and there were no submarines operating in the North Atlantic, making it difficult to provide intelligence support to the fleet. Therefore, if Tan Renhao wanted to know about the activities of the British fleet, he could only rely on the intelligence department.

It was not until the 20th that Tan Renhao received new information that the British home fleet had left Aberdeen the day before, and as for where it went, the intelligence department did not know, after all, it was impossible for those spies to go to sea with the fleet. Tan Renhao also immediately raised the battle alarm, the British must have come to them for a decisive battle, but which route will the British Navy take?

Entering the English Channel directly from the Strait of Dover is the closest sea route, but Tan Renhao feels that it is not very likely that the British Navy will take this route.

The Strait of Dover was very narrow, at its narrowest point only more than 30 kilometers wide, and the German Army's shore guns deployed on the eastern side of the channel were enough to force the British fleet commander to think twice. If it was in the past. The British fleet could also pass at night, and at most it would be able to engage in an artillery duel with the artillery of the German Army. But this time it was different. Thermoville must have been very conscious of the concealment of the fleet, if it was discovered while passing through the strait. That would be tantamount to exposing their whereabouts, and the fleet of the Tang Empire would stay somewhere in the south, waiting for it to take the initiative to come to the door and die.

There were many other factors that limited the passage of the British fleet from the Strait of Dover. For example, the British Navy was trying to prevent the Germans from landing on British soil. Tens of thousands of mines were laid in the strait, and even if they left a passage for the fleet to pass through when the mines were laid, it would be difficult for the warships to locate them at night. If the route deviates slightly, then it will hit the mines laid by itself, isn't that a big loss?

The German Navy also deployed a large number of patrol boats and torpedo boats in the port of Calais, and these small boats with a displacement of only a few dozen tons were certainly no match for warships on the sea, and even destroyers could easily kill these speedboats, but in the narrow strait. Large warships are difficult to turn and are simply no match for those nimble speedboats. If it were at night, it would be difficult for the radar on the battleship to detect these speedboats made of wood, let alone destroy them completely.

With the Luftwaffe's tight blockade, it was impossible for the British fleet to pass through the Strait of Dover during the day, and at night, the Luftwaffe also had quite a few night reconnaissance planes and ground radar stations on the east coast of the strait. As well as those reconnaissance aircraft equipped with radars. Even if the weather is bad, in the narrow strait. The British fleet is likely to be exposed! Moreover, it was impossible for the British fleet to leave the strike range of the German shore-based bombers at night, and as soon as it was dawn, the British fleet would be in a dangerous situation, which would affect Sarmoville's decision-making even more.

Taken together, it is likely that the British fleet will not take the Strait of Dover route, but will bypass the British mainland from the north and enter from the Atlantic, or from the direction of St. George's Strait. The route is a little farther away, but it's relatively safe and it's also relatively hidden. Moreover, with the greatest possibility of entering the Irish Sea.

The Irish Sea is an intercontinental sea, 210 km long from north to south, 240 km wide from east to west, with an average depth of 61 m. Tens of thousands of years ago, it was still a land, but it became an ocean due to geological movements. In addition, both sides of the Strait were under British control. Ireland was once the first British colony, having seceded from Britain under the Anglo-Irish Treaty after the First Global War, but did not formally become independent and remained within the British Commonwealth. The British Air Force deployed at nearby airfields could station thousands of combat aircraft, enough to provide cover for fleets operating in the Irish Sea.

The most important thing is that because the Irish Sea is shielded by islands on both sides, there are no major winds and waves all year round, and the sea conditions are very suitable for aircraft carrier operations. In this way, the aircraft carrier can still send fighters to support and cover the battleship, and it will not be affected by the weather, and at the same time, it can get the cover of the surrounding shore-based fighters, which is a pretty good option. In addition, British Air Force fighter jets can intercept reconnaissance planes entering Ireland in the St. George's Channel, avoiding the exposure of aircraft carriers.

In this case, the home fleet led by Summerville would also enter the Irish Sea with the aircraft carriers, and enter the Celtic Sea through the St. George's Strait, and then enter the English Channel after bypassing Cape Lands, which could block the battleship fleet of the Tang Empire in the strait, and then defeat the opponent with the support of shore-based aviation. If the weather conditions were bad and the British Home Fleet was no match for the new and Gu Zhenyun, Summerville could also choose to go to the nearest military port of Portsmouth to avoid the enemy's pursuit. In this way, the British home fleet can attack and retreat, and Tan Renhao and they will fall into a very passive situation.

Through these analyses, Tan Renhao preliminarily judged that Summerville would not take risks easily and would take the safest route, but he could not be completely sure of his judgment, mainly because the weather was changing very rapidly, and he had never fought with Summerville before, let alone knew the situation on this side of the North Atlantic. The so-called strong dragon does not suppress the head snake, Tan Renhao is even a dragon, and Samoville is just a snake, but this is the sea area that Samoville is most familiar with, and it is the battlefield that Tan Renhao is most unfamiliar with.

In order to ensure victory to the greatest extent, Tan Renhao had to make a fuss about the battle arrangement, which can be seen from his actions in deploying several task forces.

If the weather is bad all the time, the fog at sea is relatively large, and the clouds are too low, then only the 3rd Task Force and the 6th Task Force will be able to fight. The two task forces had nine battleships, while Satsumville had only eight old battleships in his hands, and the other three "avant-garde" class were repaired in Aberdeen and could not be repaired within a few months. The contrast in strength is obvious, as long as Chang Jianxin and Gu Zhenyun are closely equipped and seize the opportunity, Samoville is not his opponent.

The biggest variable is the weather, as long as the weather improves and visibility improves, then the British Air Force will definitely be dispatched, and those fleet aircraft carriers will also be dispatched. Relatively speaking, Tan Renhao does not have much advantage in aviation, and even if all nine aircraft carriers are dispatched, they are not as good as the British Air Force. Of course, this is still a matter of timing, and the British Air Force will definitely concentrate its forces on the Third Task Force and the Sixth Task Force first, and Tan Renhao and the others will not only have to cover these two task forces, but also have to bomb British air bases, and in addition, they will have to find a way to find the British fleet aircraft carriers. With so many tasks to be carried out at the same time, the difficulty can be imagined.

"The latest intelligence." Zhu Rongzhe is also trying his best to help Tan Renhao share his work these days. "A returning German submarine spotted the British fleet near St. Kilda Island, confirming the presence of at least three aircraft carriers, perhaps four. The submarine fired a torpedo, but missed. ”

Tan Renhao immediately took the telegram, he first glanced at the time when the submarine discovered the British fleet, which was the night of the 21st, and the time of the report was the morning of the 22nd, which was delayed for several hours, that is, the submarine was besieged by the British warships after the attack and had to dive deep to evade. Then, Tan Renhao carefully read the contents of the telegram, and immediately only mentioned that there were at least three fleet aircraft carriers and more than a dozen escort warships. But there was no mention of whether there were battleships or not.

"If the British fleet had not changed course, they would have now entered the Irish Sea. And it's sailing south, and it will probably be deployed this evening. ”

Tan Renhao put down the message. "Only aircraft carriers. Where did those battleships go? Is there anything else to discover in Germany? (Fastest update n).

Zhu Rongzhe shook his head. "This is still the place where the expeditionary force sent us, they intercepted this telegram from the German submarine, I don't know how the expeditionary force got the communication code of the German naval submarine."

"The Germans did not take the initiative to contact us?"

"I'm afraid it won't be until tomorrow that the Germans will send us this news."

Tan Renhao smiled bitterly. "Come on. Now we have finally found those British aircraft carriers, and there should be no major problems with our previous judgment. It is still uncertain whether the home fleet of Summerville followed the carrier into the Irish Sea, or whether it took a different route. ”

"Maybe Samoville will come straight over."

"Take the channel route?"

Zhu Rongzhe nodded slightly. "It's possible. If he wasn't with the aircraft carrier fleet, then where is he now? ”

"It's unlikely, if Summerville had gone this route, then he would have been exposed a long time ago."

"But will the Germans actively cooperate with us?"

Tan Renhao immediately looked at Zhu Rongzhe. If the Germans turn a blind eye, it will be as if the British aircraft carrier was discovered this time, even if the whereabouts of Sarmoville are discovered. It is also very likely that it will not be released. This may definitely be true, but the big question is, does Summerville have the guts to take the Channel route? It is impossible for him to know about the contradictions between the Tang Empire and Germany, unless someone provides him with information, or the British government has sensed the contradictions between the Tang Empire and Germany.

"Do you want to contact the Second Task Force and let General Hao Dongjue arrange a few more reconnaissance planes on the other side of the strait?"

"Task Force 2 is not an easy task, and they are also responsible for monitoring the British air base on local soil." Tan Renhao touched his chin. "We can't say for sure where Samoville is at this point, and Task Force 3 is operating together with Task Force 6. There's nothing to worry about for the time being. ”

"But ......"

"Well, you go and send a new telegram to Chang Recommended." Tan Renhao decided to wait a little longer, "Let him get closer to the Sixth Task Force, preferably within a two-hour voyage, and in addition, the Sixth Task Force will closely monitor the situation on the east side of the Strait, and the Third Task Force will monitor the situation on the west side of the Strait, if Satsumville really dares to take the risk, then he will collide with both task forces at the same time." ”

Zhu Rongzhe did not argue, after all, he only had the right to provide advice.

"Also, tomorrow's reconnaissance mission will be revised." Tan Renhao walked to the chart table, "The British fleet aircraft carriers will definitely be deployed in the area of Cardigan Bay, and the British Air Force will send a large number of ground fighters to patrol the skies over the St. George Strait. Our reconnaissance planes cannot enter directly over the strait, they must bypass the British fighters, and those 'Spitfires' and the 'Mustangs' provided by the United States are not easy to mess with. ”

"Straight over the island?" Zhu Rongzhe drew a rough reconnaissance route on the chart, which passed over the southern part of the island of Ireland.

Tan Renhao pondered for a moment. "Almost, in addition, a group of reconnaissance planes will be arranged to bypass this side of Bristol Bay. Cardigan Bay is not a large area, and the weather conditions there should be ideal, the search mission is not complicated, as long as we can have a few reconnaissance planes flying in, we should be sure to find the British aircraft carrier. ”

"Okay, I'll adjust it now."

"Also, the fleet bombers will be combat-ready this evening." Tan Renhao stopped Zhu Rongzhe, "The British are menacing, they won't delay time, maybe they will be in trouble tonight." ”

"Then do we need to raise the battle alarm?"

Tan Renhao hesitated for a moment, then nodded, it was almost time to blow the military trumpet.

The telegram was sent out quickly, and Zhu Rongzhe adjusted his reconnaissance plan in the afternoon of the same day. By the time Tan Renhao issued the battle order, the Third Task Force had already been the first to enter the combat situation, and Chang Jianxin had received a telegram from the European Expeditionary Force at the same time, and the Sixth Task Force was also ready for battle. By the afternoon of the same day, the Second Task Force and the Fifth Task Force had entered a combat state, and Hao Dongjue had also shifted the standby position to the south more than 50 nautical miles to avoid being attacked by the enemy. Near the English Channel, five large task forces are all on the lookout!