After learning that the Third Task Force had no losses, Tan Renhao was relieved that Chang Jianxin was in charge of the pilot's affairs. At this time, the fleet was still sailing at high speed to the east. By about 12 o'clock in the afternoon, the Third Task Force was basically out of range of the US bombers, and the reconnaissance planes responsible for guarding the perimeter did not detect any other danger. Half an hour later, Tan Renhao recruited back the reconnaissance planes of the First Task Force, and soon after, Hao Dongjue also recruited the reconnaissance planes of the Second Task Force. In the evening of the same day, the three task forces met and broke away from the dangerous sea. Eight hours later, at about 2 a.m. on the 17th, the Third Fleet also rushed over, and the two main fleets rendezvous, and thus the combat operation was basically over.

Tan Renhao wrote the battle report in the evening. Comparatively speaking, in this combat operation, except for the Third Fleet taking the initiative to attack and bombing the airfields on the US mainland, the fleet did not make any major gains, and the successful interception of US bombers in defensive operations was not a valuable result. What Tan Renhao regrets the most is that he missed the opportunity to annihilate the US Atlantic Fleet, but there is no way to do it, unless Tan Renhao is willing to bear the huge casualties and losses caused by this, otherwise, it is impossible for him to catch the Atlantic Fleet.

Before eight o'clock in the evening of the same day, Tan Renhao asked the communications staff officer to send the battle report to Lei Shaoqing in the port of Cologne, and then the fleet resumed radio silence, and he also rushed to sleep for a few hours. It was the first sleep he slept in three days, and he slept until dawn. By the time he got up, Zhu Rongzhe had already gone to rest, and it was the navigation staff officer who was in charge of the command of the fleet. That morning, Tan Renhao sent several staff officers to contact the other task forces before lunch. Huang Xiaotian, Dong Jue, Chang Jianxin, Yan Yulong and Zheng Guanhua all rushed to the "Longganhu" aircraft carrier.

"Suffice it to say, we didn't have much to gain." Tan Renhao first summed up the combat operation, and then said, "But. The ground battle between us and the Atlantic Fleet does not end there, and it will not end until we completely annihilate the Atlantic Fleet. ”

"However, now that Han Shaofeng is already preparing to attack Jamaica, and we have not been able to annihilate the Atlantic Fleet as planned, we must now return to the Caribbean Sea as soon as possible. Cover the Marine Corps attack on Jamaica and Cuba. Do we still have time to deal with the Atlantic Fleet? Yan Yulong raised an unavoidable question.

The eyes of several other people also told Tan Renhao that they all held the same opinion.

"I know that very well. Although Han Shaofeng has not yet sent a telegram, it is certain that he has given up his plan to directly attack the Bahamas and is preparing to attack Jamaica, but we are precisely using this opportunity to deal with the Atlantic Fleet. Tan Renhao did not avoid this question, he was also answering the questions in other people's hearts. The Third Fleet's bombing of airfields on the U.S. mainland played a key role. Perhaps the tactical significance of this bombing campaign is more obvious, but let's not lose sight of the fact that this is the East Coast of the continental United States. It was even the first time that the continental United States was bombed on a large scale. Imagine how the President of the United States would react at this time. ”

"You're saying that the president of the United States will order Spruance to take the initiative to look for opportunities and take the initiative to come and fight us?" Huang Xiaotian immediately said that before Tan Renhao said this, he was also considering this possibility.

"Yes, that's my judgment." Tan Renhao nodded, "The bombing campaign of the Third Fleet proves one thing, and that is that as long as our main fleet is still active in the North Atlantic. Then there would be no safe place on the East Coast of the contiguous United States. You know, more than half of the population of the United States. Nearly 40 percent of industrial zones are on the eastern seaboard, and six of the 10 largest U.S. cities are on the eastern seaboard. The capital of the United States is also located on the eastern coast, and the only remaining shipyards in the United States capable of building large warships are also located in the coastal areas, and half of the factories in the United States that manufacture important military equipment such as aircraft and tanks are also located in the coastal areas. If the east coast of the US mainland is exposed to the range of the fleet's strikes, then the US military industry and basic industry will be seriously threatened, and even if we do not dispatch carrier-based bombers to bomb targets in the US mainland in the future, the US military will have to adjust its defense deployment at home, and this will inevitably have a tremendous and far-reaching impact on the overall US strategy. ”

"However, this does not necessarily make the President of the United States order the Atlantic Fleet to take the initiative, right?"

"It is important to remember that no matter how strong a defense is, it is passive, and there are certainly many loopholes in passive defense, and it is impossible to win the final victory in the war." Tan Renhao shook his head at Zheng Guanhua, "The most effective way to defend is to take the initiative and attack actively. The best way to ensure the security of the eastern coast of the homeland is to defeat us in a naval battle, defeating all our fleets. This is the only option for the Americans, and in this way, will the President of the United States still let Spruance act at will? ”

The room fell silent, and Tan Renhao's words got to the point.

"Then, we should adopt active defensive tactics against Spruance." Chang Jiexin broke the silence.

"It's in our best interest for us to choose the place and time of the decisive battle." Hao Dongjue also immediately chimed in.

"We can choose the location of the decisive battle, but we may not be able to choose the time of the decisive battle, after all, when Spruance will attack, we can't accurately judge it now." Tan Renhao stood up, "Relatively speaking, the Caribbean Sea is more advantageous to us, on this side, the fleet is not fighting alone, it can get the support and cover of the nearby shore-based aviation, and it can also arrange submarines to provide reconnaissance assistance for the fleet. When the time comes, we can attack and retreat. If Spruance had to take the initiative to find us to fight, I think it would be better to introduce it to the Caribbean. ”

"Yes, but the question is, how can we be sure that Spruance will go to the Caribbean? And, how do we know when it enters the Caribbean? Huang Xiaotian raised a key question.

"That's what we're going to do now. Perhaps, now that the President of the United States has given Spruance the order to take the initiative to attack, Spruance is looking for an opportunity. Tan Renhao sat down, "The orders of the President of the United States will directly affect Spruance's decision-making, but in the same way, Spruance will find some reason to give him time to adjust the state of the fleet and wait for the moment to be favorable to him." Such reasons are not uncommon, than

There must have been some ships in the Atlantic Fleet that needed to be refueled, and the ships that went out needed to be repaired, so it was likely that Spruance would first choose to go to a port for a short rest and wait for an opportunity in the meantime. ”

"So, what kind of opportunity does he need?" Zheng Guanhua asked again.

"Well, I think everyone knows very well." Tan Renhao laughed and didn't continue.

"Spruance will definitely be there when we attack Jamaica." Yan Yulong added Tan Renhao's words, "This is the only opportunity he can get in the short term. Relatively speaking, the aviation forces deployed on the front line at this time are not very strong, and as long as the US military is well organized, it is certain that it will first destroy the airfield on Grand Cayman Island so that our front-line aviation units cannot attack, and then take advantage of the opportunity that we must support the Marine Corps to attack Jamaica, and the Atlantic Fleet will quickly attack, attack our fleet, and finally seize sea supremacy. If we defeat Jamaica, the strength of the front-line air force will be greatly enhanced, and at that time, it will be difficult for the US military to gain air superiority in the Caribbean, and it will be difficult for the Atlantic Fleet to operate in the Caribbean. What's more, it will take a certain amount of time to attack Jamaica, and Spruance cannot not take action for a long time, as long as the pressure from the President of the United States is strong enough, then Spruance has to say something as soon as possible, so Spruance can only choose this time! ”

Tan Renhao smiled and nodded, Yan Yulong's analysis was not much different from what he thought.

"It seems. We have to get in touch with Han Shaofeng again, and in order to ensure that the Marine Corps successfully defeats Jamaica, Han Shaofeng will definitely cooperate with our operation. Huang Xiaotian took out a cigarette. In addition, we also have to complete the deployment as soon as possible, taking advantage of the fact that Spruance has not yet reached the battlefield. Or the opportunity to go and recuperate, maneuver in place, take control of the situation on the main battlefield, and wait for Spruance to come and fight us. ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, and at the same time asked for the opinions of others with his eyes, and only after no one put forward other ideas did he say: "The fleet will not go to Rosso Port, I have already sent a telegram to Lei Shaoqing." The supply fleet will head north to join us, and the now determined rendezvous area is near St. Kitts, where we will try to arrive by night, then replenish fuel and ammunition and enter the Caribbean before dawn. In this way, we will probably be able to reach the operational sea area for the bombing of Jamaica Island on the night of the 18th. Bombing of Jamaica Island, as well as U.S. airfields on other nearby islands, began on the 19th. Provide the Marine Corps with at least two days of pre-fire readiness. If Han Shaofeng agrees to delay the landing time, we will have more time to complete the preliminary firepower preparations. ”

"It is also necessary to consider the replacement of lost combat aircraft." Huang Xiaotian mentioned that he was most concerned about the fact that the Third Fleet had lost more than 60 planes in combat operations in the past few days

"I have already arranged this, and Lei Shaoqing will arrange supplementary combat planes for us, which will arrive on the afternoon of the 18th."

"Then how do we contact Han Shaofeng, and how do we explain it to Han Shaofeng?" Hao Dongjue raised another issue.

"I will personally go and explain to Han Shaofeng." Tan Renhao glanced at Hao Dongjue, and then looked at Huang Xiaotian. "On the eighteenth, after the fleet entered the Caribbean. I will return to Limon Bay and go to Han Shaofeng to discuss the next step of the combat operation, Huang Xiaotian will temporarily take command of the two fleets in my place, and the ground operations of the First Fleet will be temporarily in charge of Chang Jianxin. The bombing operation in the early stage was planned by Dongjue, and if everyone has no other opinions, it will be arranged as such. ”

No one objected, and this was the most reasonable arrangement after Tan Renhao left.

"Then, we will be here for the time being, and the fleet must make preparations to receive supplies before arriving at the rendezvous area, and try to shorten the supply time. Meantime. Arrange for officers and men to take turns to rest and recover their energy as soon as possible. Tan Renhao said. He stood up, "I will arrange the relevant matters as soon as possible, and distribute the relevant tasks to you before dawn tomorrow." Alright, I wanted to leave you for dinner, but now that time is running out for us, I'll set the table again after we've defeated the Atlantic Fleet, and I'll give you a good meal! ”

After the meeting was dismissed, several other generals quickly left the "Longganhu" aircraft carrier and returned to their flagship. Zhu Rongzhe also returned to his position at this time. Tan Renhao first explained to Zhu Rongzhe about the First Task Force, and asked Zhu Rongzhe to be responsible for commanding the First Task Force after he left the fleet, and obeyed the orders of Chang Jie Xindi. Subsequently, Tan Renhao rushed to arrange the relevant tasks.

That evening, the fleet arrived an hour ahead of schedule to the sea area where it met the supply flotilla. At half past eleven, the supply fleet arrived, and more than fifty supply ships carrying fuel and ammunition began to supply the warships of the two main fleets. In order to speed up the refueling, each refueling ship refueled three ships at the same time, while the ammunition resupply ship refueled two ships at the same time. The entire resupply operation lasted for six hours, and ended at about half past five in the morning of the 18th. Tan Renhao also sent someone to send the relevant orders to the commanders of the task forces at this time.

After breakfast, the plane that will send Tan Renhao back to Limon Bay is ready to take off on the aircraft carrier. This is a "Falcon" bomber, and there is also a small team of "Peregrine Falcons" to escort it. These planes will fly directly to Cologne without any stopovers.

"That's probably the case, there is no need for it, you don't want to contact me, just obey the command of the new general, of course, if there is anything that can't be done, you can also ask Hao Dongjue to help you deal with it." Tan Renhao gave Zhu Rongzhe his final instructions. "Also, you have to have confidence in yourself, in fact, you are already capable of commanding the fleet independently!"

Zhu Rongzhe nodded, he didn't feel nervous, before that, Tan Renhao was not in the fleet many times, and he was in charge of the fleet's affairs alone, but this time he was carrying out combat operations, not resting in the rear. Tan Renhao was not wordy, after saying goodbye to Zhu Rongzhe and chatting with Duchen, who would stay in the fleet, he got on the plane, and at this time, the sky was already slightly bright. Unbeknownst to Tan Renhao, a major and decisive operation had already begun the night before, and this would directly affect the fleet's subsequent actions.