After the plane took off, Tan Renhao ate something casually, and then went to sleep When he woke up, the plane had already arrived in Guam. When it came time to land and refuel, two pilots were replaced, and then they took off again, and the next stop would be Oahu. When the plane rose to the cruising altitude, Tan Renhao had no intention of sleeping, and in desperation, he could only pick up the document sent to him by Gan Yongxing.

These are actually two documents, the first of which is a list of new warships acquired by the Navy at that time. By the beginning of 7, a total of 72 battleships, that is, aircraft carriers, cruisers, as well as destroyers, were in service. These warships are temporarily assigned to the reserve forces, mainly because the training of officers and men has not yet been fully completed, and at the same time, it has not been determined which fleets these warships will be integrated into. Gan Yongxing gave Tan Renhao this list, to put it bluntly, he asked Tan Renhao to choose first, and when he finished picking, he would choose for other fleets.

Another document was written by Gan Yongxing himself, and it was mainly a suggestion to Tan Renhao, including how to form a joint fleet, the issues to be paid attention to when establishing a combined fleet headquarters, and how to direct the fleet to fight after the establishment of the combined fleet. It can be said that this was specially prepared by Gan Yongxing for Tan Renhao. Before Gan Yongxing became chief of the general staff of the Imperial Navy, he had been a fleet commander for more than ten years, and he had extremely rich experience in commanding fleet operations, coupled with the experience he had accumulated in the naval headquarters in the past few years, it can be said that his suggestions were of great help to Tan Renhao. Perhaps, the only place that Gan Yongxing couldn't help at that time was how to arrange the new fleet tactics.

When he saw this document, Tan Renhao was also very moved. The chief of staff wrote this document specifically for him in the midst of his busy schedule, and his concern was fully expressed. Of course, Tan Renhao also attaches great importance to the several points mentioned by Gan Yongxing. In particular, how should the personnel rights of the Combined Fleet Command be arranged, and how should every subordinate be restrained through the personnel structure of the Combined Command, so as to ensure that every officer in the headquarters is accountable to him. and not to form small groups. This is something that Tan Renhao could not learn in the past. Later, when the Combined Fleet Command was formed, Tan Renhao used all the suggestions given to him by Gan Yongxing, which was of great help to him in managing and commanding the fleet.

When he was at the Navy Command, Tan Renhao thought more about the power struggle within the Navy, which was also an important issue that he could not avoid. However, on the way to the war zone, Tan Renhao had already begun to think about combat operations. For him, the war is not over. The enemy has not been completely defeated, so the war is still in the first place, and the defeat of the enemy is still the primary task, and as for the struggle for power, this must not appear in combat operations. However, at that time, Gan Yongxing did not give Tan Renhao great help in the combat operations of the Combined Fleet, after all, it had been several years since Gan Yongxing left the front-line troops, and his previous experience was outdated, but Tan Renhao had rich experience in actual combat command. This problem can only be solved by Tan Renhao himself.

Tactically speaking, the most significant effect of the establishment of the Combined Fleet is to change the basic tactics of the local navy formed by the main fleet and the task force in the past. On the surface, the Combined Fleet is only the main fleet that has expanded in size, but in reality, the United Fleet is fundamentally different from the main fleet.

According to Nie Renfeng's definition of the combined fleet at that time, the combined fleet is not only a huge fleet, but also the highest-level fleet in the corresponding theater. In other words, the Combined Fleet Command has to undertake the task of fleet operations in the entire theater of operations, and the Combined Fleet itself is an independent theater of operations for the Navy. It has the same status as a war zone based on the ground. This is by no means what the main fleet of the land had before. According to the previous command structure, both the task force and the main fleet are actually part of the theater of operations, and their status is below that of the theater. Under the direct command of the theater of operations, and thus subject to the constraints of the theater, even if the fleet can be transferred between multiple theaters, it is impossible to obtain the same status as the theater.

It can be seen that another purpose of Nie Renfeng's establishment of the United Fleet is to improve the status of the naval fleet. After the establishment of the Joint Theater Command, even if the admiral held several important positions, in essence, the main body of the Joint Theater Command was the ground forces, and it was certainly the Army, not the Marine Corps. In this case. In order to ensure the status of the navy, it is necessary to improve the status of the fleet and give it greater autonomy and flexibility. From this point of view, Nie Renfeng can indeed be regarded as a scheming man, and his understanding of the power struggle within the army and his ability to apply it have reached the point of perfection.

It was only after the meeting that it was decided that the Combined Fleet would have the same status as the Theater Command. This made him admire the principal's skill even more, and it also made him feel that he was too far behind the principal in terms of power struggles within the army. The principal's move can be described as killing three birds with one stone. And Yan Dingyu can't cope with it at all, after all. This is an internal matter of the Navy!

These are all fundamental issues related to the navy and the imperial military system, and Tan Renhao has no room for interference, but after the establishment of the combined fleet, how can the combat effectiveness of the fleet be thoroughly brought into play, so as to finally defeat the enemy? This is the problem that Tan Renhao has to deal with.

After all, only by placing the fleet under unified command can the fleet's combat effectiveness be enhanced, and as in the past, the fleet commander will command the fleet through coordination, and even if Tan Renhao is still the actual commander, he will still have a cooperative relationship with other fleet commanders, not a subordinate relationship, and his command will not be so flexible. For example, when he went to the Bahamas to fight, it was because Tan Renhao considered that he had a strong relationship with Huang Xiaotian, so he had no way to mobilize the Third Fleet, which led to a lot of missed opportunities and made his battle plan imperfect. If Tan Renhao had been able to command the Third Fleet in the same way that he commanded the First Fleet, perhaps the US Atlantic Fleet would have been finished long ago.

From this point of view, Nie Renfeng's strong advocacy for the establishment of a joint fleet probably hoped to solve the problems between fleet commanders through this method, replace the unclear cooperative relationship with a clear relationship between superiors and subordinates, and resolve the contradictions in command. As for whether Nie Renfeng mainly took this into account, it is unknown.

After reading it, Gan Yongxing gave it to him

Later, Tan Renhao was thinking about how to improve the tactics of the fleet along the way, and before he had a complete idea, the plane arrived on Oahu. As in Guam, the plane landed for refueling with a new team of pilots. The difference this time is that the ground crew needs to check the engines of the aircraft, as well as some key equipment, and also arrange fighter jets for Tan Renhao to escort. Therefore, Tan Renhao was delayed for several hours on Oahu, and the local base commander invited him to lunch, and in the afternoon, Tan Renhao fell asleep on a bed that did not bum, and by the time he woke up in the evening, the plane was ready to depart. The next stop will be San Pedro Sula, who will be in Panama City on the afternoon of the 13th.

Because after sleeping at the airport for a few hours, after the plane took off again, Tan Renhao was still very energetic, and he was still thinking about the problem of fleet operations. At that time, he mainly had two choices, one was to refine the command of the task force, or even the aircraft carrier battle group, by establishing more command channels, to command smaller forces, so as to achieve the purpose of precise command. Another option is to decentralize power and establish a vertical command system from the commander of the aircraft carrier battle group, the commander of the task force, the commander of the fleet, and then the commander of the combined fleet, so as to reduce the command pressure on Tan Renhao, so that more people have the opportunity to play, and at the same time, let the lower-level troops have more flexibility.

Figuratively speaking, the former belongs to a horizontal command structure, that is, there are few command links, from the supreme commander to the grass-roots units, there is none, or there is only one intermediate command unit. The latter is a vertical command structure, that is, there are many command links. There are several levels, from the supreme commander, to the sub-commander, to the subordinate commander, and finally to the combat unit. If we use the technology of several decades later, the former is naturally better, but at that time, due to the limitations of technical conditions, the two command structures were good and bad, and no one could determine which command structure was more suitable for the operation of the troops.

Here's what makes a horizontal command structure. Tan Renhao can directly command the front-line troops, flexibly mobilize combat troops, and accurately allocate troops, so as to give full play to the combat effectiveness of the troops to the greatest extent. But the drawbacks are also extremely obvious, first of all, the command channel will be beyond his control, and second, he is commanding in the rear, and he may not be able to grasp the situation on the frontline battlefield, and he may not be able to make correct judgments and give correct orders. The latter point is even more important. It is no longer possible for Tan Renhao to take the lead in commanding the fleet on the front line as he did in the past, so he will definitely not be able to make an accurate judgment of the battlefield situation, and if he makes a wrong decision, then the consequences will be unimaginable.

The result of vertical command is exactly to solve the problem of the former, there are few command channels, and in many cases, the decision is made by the front-line commander, so that accurate judgments can be made according to the actual situation on the battlefield. However, the problem of a vertical command structure is equally prominent. The first is that Tan Renhao has to allocate troops before the battle begins, and at the same time assign tasks. As a result, front-line commanders cannot play flexibly. Second, there are limitations in the movement of various units, and it is difficult for troops to be mobilized according to the situation on the battlefield, so as to give full play to their combat effectiveness. The most important thing is that the quality of the front-line commander is often more important than the ability of the rear commander, and the mistake of a certain front-line commander is likely to affect the entire campaign operation in the end. It even led to the failure of the entire campaign operation! In this case, it is almost impossible for Tan Renhao to detect it in advance, but to fix the problem after it has arisen, rather than to make adjustments before the problem arises to avoid loopholes.

After comprehensively considering various factors, Tan Renhao had to admit that the latter was more suitable for the actual situation at that time. But as a general who has fought on the battlefield for several years, Tan Renhao definitely doesn't want to immediately delegate all operational command to front-line commanders, therefore. His decision to adopt a vertical command structure was accompanied by a decision to establish more lines of command and to establish direct contact with every front-line commander, at least the commander of the task force. In this way, as long as there is an unexpected situation, he can adjust and make up for it in time, instead of discovering the root cause of the problem after receiving the news of failure. So there is no chance to make amends.

With this idea, there's a lot of practical work to be done. On the go. Tan Renhao first identified some important issues that must be solved first, and prepared to deal with them first after arriving at the fleet. For example, if you set up a Combined Fleet flagship, the little space on the aircraft carrier will definitely not be able to accommodate the Combined Fleet Command. Second, how many local communication channels need to be set up, and how many communications officers need to be deployed. The composition of the Combined Fleet Command, as well as the staff officers he was familiar with, should be transferred and which should remain in Task Force 1.

After listing these questions, Tan Renhao didn't think about it anymore. By this time, the plane had taken off from Oahu for more than four hours, and in a few hours it would arrive at the airport on the American continent. Tan Renhao also seized the time to rest for a while. But he didn't fall asleep, he just lay on the bed and continued to think about the problem.

Shortly after dawn, the American continent appeared ahead, and by this time the escort fighters had already arrived. The "peregrine falcons" of this squad all took off from the mainland airport and rushed to meet the transporters. Tan Renhao also got up at this time. A little more than an hour later, the transport plane landed at the airport in San Pedro Sula. After a two-hour stay here, the transport plane took off again and flew to the last stop, Panama City. At about two o'clock in the afternoon, the plane arrived in Panama City.

There are many people who came to greet Tan Renhao, in addition to Lei Shaoqing, Chang Jianxin, Hao Dongjue's three friends, Luo Yunchong and Huang Xiaotian also came, only Gu Xunlei and Han Shaofeng did not come to greet Tan Renhao because they were commanding troops on the front line. At this time, Tan Renhao's status is the same as Luo Yunchong's, so he has been treated so highly.

After getting off the plane, when Tan Renhao noticed the expressions of these people, he already realized that the situation on the front line may not be as ideal as he expected before, and there must be many problems waiting for him to solve!