While Wen Haomao was trying to save himself, Spruance was trying to escape

At that time, when the 558 submarine was rising to periscope depth and raising the periscope, there were several warships nearby, and the lookout on one of the cruisers was the first to spot the periscope on the surface of the sea. This can only be said that the luck of the 558 submarine is very bad, at night, the probability of the lookout finding the periscope will not exceed 1%, the track behind the mirror, and then the telescope saw the periscope sticking out of the sea, and then the anti-submarine alarm was sounded.

The cruiser had no anti-submarine weapons on board, and it must have been too late to raise the anti-submarine alarm by light signal, so the captain of the ship immediately ordered the two secondary guns to fire at the periscope before raising the alarm and contacting the surrounding destroyers. In fact, the sound of the cruiser's secondary guns was already an alarm, and soon three destroyers rushed over. At this time, the 558 submarine had already urgently dived.

At that time, there was no way to determine whether it was an enemy submarine or its own, but the enemy urgently dived, which proved that it must be an enemy submarine. Spruance was also taken aback when he received the news, and then he ordered the destroyers to encircle the enemy submarine with all his might, while the fleet turned northeast, that is, returned in its original course. This is a normal anti-submarine evasion, because there may be more than one enemy submarine in the vicinity, and if there are many more, then the fleet will be besieged by submarines if it continues south.

Spruance was not just thinking about anti-submarine evasion, but whether the submarine had reported back the whereabouts of the Atlantic Fleet. Wait until the fleet begins to turn. He questioned the staff officer in charge of monitoring radio activity, and received a negative answer, that is, the enemy submarine did not send a telegram until it was discovered. However, at that time, the submarine had already entered the inner layer of the fleet. If the submarine had been close to the aircraft carrier after infiltrating the fleet's anti-submarine network, it would have sent a telegram on the periphery, and the radio listening radio on the battleship had not necessarily intercepted the telegram sent by the submarine. Therefore, it is quite possible that the enemy submarine has already sent a telegram and then moved forward to carry out a sneak attack. This is also the standard tactical arrangement of the Tang Empire's submarines, if this submarine has received an order to search for the Atlantic Fleet before, it will definitely send a telegram first, and then attack the Atlantic Fleet.

It was with this in mind that Spruance began to suspect that his whereabouts had been exposed. And for the Atlantic Fleet. As long as the whereabouts are revealed, there is no reason to continue south.

In terms of strength, the Atlantic Fleet was no match for any of the main fleets of the Tang Empire's Navy. If the main fleet of the Tang Empire was operating in the waters of the Windward Strait and received a reconnaissance report from the submarine in time, it would immediately enter the waters of the Bahamas and then dispatch reconnaissance planes to find the Atlantic Fleet. At that time, Spruance will not have any chance to defeat his opponent. Equally. The opposing fleet can also try to blockade the waters near Costa Rica, and the Atlantic fleet will be detected as soon as it is close to Costa Rican waters.

It can be said that continuing to go south is tantamount to death, but at this time he cannot return to Norfolk, and if he returns to the military port because of an encounter with an enemy submarine, he will inevitably be condemned, and the president will not let him go back. What's next? Continue south, or do you choose another way out?

With the exception of the three destroyers who remained to encircle the submarine, the other warships began to sail northeastward. It was less than an hour before dawn. Spruance was also anxious. If the Tang Imperial Navy immediately dispatched long-range reconnaissance aircraft, it was quite possible to catch up with the Atlantic Fleet, and the carrier-based bombers of the Tang Imperial Fleet had a possible combat radius of up to 450 li, and if he did not urgently retreat, then he would be hit by the opposing bombers shortly after dawn. Therefore, Spruance at this time ordered the fleet to accelerate to 24 knots, and at the same time ordered the three ships in the rear to return to the fleet and not to entangle with enemy submarines. It was Spruance's order that saved the submarine, and the three destroyers had already discovered the 558 submarine, if there were a few more rounds of depth charges. I'm afraid that the 558 submarine will never be able to float.

After daybreak, Spruance first sent a telegram to Admiral King. A sudden encounter with an enemy submarine was reported, and Admiral King's opinion was sought on whether to continue southward or wait for renewed orders. Admiral Kim did not call back immediately, and Spruance could only arrange air defense fighters first, and send reconnaissance planes to fly in the direction of the Wind Strait, striving to be able to detect the Tang Empire's fleet in advance, so that there would be no way to fight back after being beaten.

After the air defense fighters rose into the air one after another, Spruance also gradually calmed down. There is no doubt that at this time, we can only consider the bad side, and if the whereabouts of the Atlantic Fleet are exposed, then the opponent will take corresponding countermeasures, adjust the deployment of the fleet, and encircle the Atlantic Fleet. So, what will the adversary choose to encircle the Atlantic Fleet?

Spruance marked several areas of the sea on the chart, and by the time he had calmed down, the situation became clear. There are only two ways for the adversary to encircle the Atlantic Fleet, one is to let the main fleet enter the waters south of the Bahamas and launch a sneak attack while the Atlantic Fleet is heading south, so that the Atlantic Fleet will not be able to reach the Mona Strait in Costa Rica at all, let alone threaten the landing fleet and marines of the Tang Empire. The second is to let the fleet hide near Haiti, send reconnaissance planes to search the waters near Costa Rica, and launch an attack as soon as the Atlantic fleet arrives. In addition, the opponent has two main fleets, and it is very likely that these two methods will be used at the same time, so that if one of the main fleets fails to intercept in time, the other will also be able to defeat the Atlantic fleet. In other words, it is very dangerous to go south or take a detour to the Mona Strait at this time.

Just when Spruance felt in danger, Admiral King sent a telegram back, and also sent him a letter of information by the way, the bombers of the Tang Empire had just attacked the US airfields in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, although the bombing intensity was not very large, but it damaged several airfields, and this was the first time since the 27th of last month that the bombers of the Tang Empire attacked the airfields in the district.

This letter directly proves Spruance's speculation that his whereabouts have been exposed, to both places

The purpose of the field is to avoid being harassed by the US military when dealing with the Atlantic Fleet, and at the same time to ensure that the fleet will not be discovered or attacked when it goes out, otherwise the adversary will have no reason to bomb airfields that are basically useless and have no combat aircraft deployed.

It's impossible to go south, and it's dangerous to go to Costa Rican waters, so what's next? Go back and enter the Florida Strait? This will take at least nearly two days, even if it passes through the northern part of the Bahamas, it will take more than a day, and in this day or so, if the opponent does not discover the Atlantic Fleet, he will definitely think that the Atlantic Fleet has gone to the Florida Strait, and then he will try to block the strait, and he will wait for death to go there. A return to Norfolk is even more impossible, Admiral King has already mentioned in the telegram that the Atlantic Fleet cannot return to the Norfolk military port until it has completed its combat mission. So, where exactly to go?

By noon, the Atlantic Fleet had sailed about 120 nautical miles to the northeast and was largely out of the dangerous sea. But Spruance still hasn't made a decision, whether it's going south or going to the Florida Strait, it's extremely dangerous. However, time was running out for him to make a decision. That afternoon, just as Spruance was preparing for his adventure, Admiral King sent a second telegram.

This is a piece of intelligence that US reconnaissance planes have spotted a large landing fleet heading towards Cienfuegos, and a large convoy of transport ships in the rear. Bradley has begun to adjust the defense of Cuba and prepare to strengthen Cienfuegos' forces. Other words. The Tang Imperial Navy was about to attack, and the landing time would not be more than three mornings at the latest, and perhaps in the evening of the same day, Cíenfuegos would be landed. The evening landing did not happen unprecedentedly, and in the Pacific theater, the Tang Imperial Marines chose to land in the afternoon several times.

After receiving this telegram. Spruance was a little skeptical at first about the authenticity of his opponent's landing in Cienfuegos, but Bradley had already made his judgment, so he didn't have much to say, and he wasn't the ground commander anyway. At the same time, Spruance also thought of one point, that is, at the beginning of the landing operation, the main fleet of the Tang Empire would definitely have to support the Marine Corps, so it would not be able to deal with the Atlantic Fleet with all its might, and at most one main fleet could only be left to support the Atlantic Fleet. Then he came up with a solution. A solution he should have thought of a long time ago, but ignored.

If the Atlantic Fleet does not appear within a day or two, the adversary suspects that the Atlantic Fleet went to the Florida Strait after its whereabouts were revealed, preparing to strike at the landing force from the north. If there is a main fleet of the Tang Empire to support the landing operation, then at most only one main fleet can stay and continue to deal with the Atlantic Fleet, and the reconnaissance aircraft of this main fleet can only monitor the Florida Strait at most. And it is impossible to search the eastern seas. That is, the Atlantic Fleet only needs to remain in the waters east of the Bahamas. Wait patiently for a day or two, then head south at full speed, while the opponent is searching the Florida Strait with all his might, launch a sneak attack, crush the enemy in one fell swoop, and then withdraw from the battle, looking for the next opportunity to take out the opponent's other main fleet, or to attack the landing fleet and transport fleet at the landing site!

Having determined this, Spruance made his decision immediately. It was about half past four in the afternoon that day. He ordered the fleet to turn to 120 and move at a cruising speed of 16 knots, while focusing on strengthening anti-submarine patrols, in addition to allowing more destroyers to take on the perimeter anti-submarine search, he also sent personnel to contact the anti-submarine patrol aircraft unit deployed in the Bahamas, asking for all anti-submarine patrol support for the fleet.

The next thing Spruance has to do is wait patiently. The enemy was to land in Cuba by the third day at the latest, which meant that at least one main fleet would have to support the marines on the third day. Follow this pace. The Atlantic Fleet only needed to rush over in four days before it could sneak up on the other main fleet.

That same evening. Spruance also sent a senior staff officer back to Miami in a bomber to communicate his operational deployment to the local air commander, while at the same time making contact with Admiral King in Miami, hoping that Admiral King would be able to contact shore-based air forces to assist the fleet in operations. The main thing is that it is necessary to use shore-based reconnaissance aircraft to find the whereabouts of the main fleet of the Tang Empire, so that the Atlantic Fleet can reach the attack position in the shortest possible time, and then immediately send bombers, instead of sending reconnaissance planes to look for the enemy first.

That night, Spruance received a series of telegrams from Admiral King, as well as from the commander of the air forces in the Miami area. All long-range reconnaissance planes deployed in southern Florida will be dispatched to assist the Atlantic Fleet in searching for the whereabouts of enemy fleets. Admiral King also got in touch with Marshall, Arnold, and got the support of the two. In the eyes of most American generals, whether the Atlantic Fleet can defeat the main fleet of the Tang Empire is the key factor, and the most critical factor, whether it can hold Cuba.

It was only by this time that Spruance was largely back to normal. Compared to the previous frustration and panic, at least now Spruance has a clear goal of the fleet, not blindly sailing on the seas. In addition, his judgment was still very accurate, at least in terms of the ground information available to him at the time, Spruance made the most accurate judgment and took the best opportunity. But the question is, will Tan Renhao give him this opportunity? Also, is the information Spruance got completely correct?

In fact, on the evening of the second day, Tan Renhao began to wonder if Spruance had withdrawn from the battlefield or was taking another route. As for whether he went to the Florida Strait or continued to wander in the waters east of the Bahamas, Tan Renhao did not think about it in such detail, after all, he lacked enough information in his hands. But the most important point is that the Combined Fleet does not need to disperse its forces to support the landing of the Marines in Cuba, and Tan Renhao does not have that task until the Atlantic Fleet is eliminated. In other words, even after the Marine Corps went ashore, Tan Renhao could still use the two main fleets to deal with the Atlantic Fleet, which was unexpected by Spruance and the most serious mistake Spruance made at that time!