Lu Han looked up at the big wall clock on the wall, the hour hand was pointing to 6 p.m., and it was already 8 p.m. in Brisbane, Australia...... This Yankee Edward? Abel is still quite aggressive, yesterday the US home fleet attacked in all directions in the Caribbean Sea, and today he went to sea overnight, which one is this to play!

Chen Ming was naturally thinking about the same question, and at this moment the staff officers on the side had already begun to plot the possible range of activities of the US fleet on the large hanging chart, and each concentric circle expanding outward with Brisbane as the origin meant the extent of China's territorial waters that the US fleet might reach every day in the future......

Within 30 hours, the U.S. fleet could reach the Solomon Sea, and Port Moresby, New Guinea, could be hit...... But this seems to be of no strategic significance, although there are only hundreds of regular army and police forces in the long hilly area, but to land and complete the occupation, it is estimated that it will take more than a month to fight the Chinese defense forces retreating to the mountains, and these trading ports also lack strategic value!

Solomon Islands to the northeast...... As a Commonwealth colony, it has limited value, especially for the US Pacific Fleet, which needs a lot of supplies, except for being able to replenish fresh water, food and coal, the practical significance is limited!

Or crossing the Arafora Sea to the south of New Guinea, which is almost the best option for self-exposure, and China's reconnaissance planes on the western side of New Guinea and North Australia can find the whereabouts of the American fleet almost effortlessly, in that case, what is the point of attacking at night?

"Yankees ready to roll back to the West Coast?" A staff officer on the side muttered in a low voice.

This was immediately rejected by another staff officer, "That's just a very small possibility, in that case." The first squadron under the command of Liuhetu attacked from Hawaii. You can easily wait for work and the Americans on the bar...... I'm familiar with this Yankee, Albert. This guy is an absolute veteran in the US Navy, and he shouldn't make such a low-level mistake! ”

"It's really not necessary to go into the South Pacific and scare Chileans and Peruvians! But...... Will the Yankees go to support the war in Panama? Or ......" Chen Ming also expressed his opinion at this time, he came to the front of the map and drew a big question mark on two locations! ――

Vice Admiral Abel is one of the few senior officers in the U.S. Navy with experience in commanding sail-to-dreadnought ships, and, moreover, during the Florida Strait conflict. This high-ranking Navy officer was engaged in the study of naval guns at the Washington Navy Yard, and the report of the Chinese battle patrol beating the US home fleet on the east coast gave him a great impact.

During his tenure as Admiral Buck's deputy to the last US Atlantic Fleet, he vigorously promoted the concept of learning from the Royal Navy and the Chinese Navy; because the Chinese side has not opened up its core naval technology to the West at all, especially the sophisticated system of shooting command, the US Navy has turned to Britain and Germany to seek naval fire control technology since the conflict in the Florida Strait.

In the end, the U.S. Navy also completed the fire control transformation of old battleships such as the Maine class, and included fire control technology in the core scope of the Navy's modern warship construction. And obtained the authorization of the Demerrick calculation clock, and introduced it into the United States to imitate the Drake fire control system. This series of U.S. Navy modernization processes has made the U.S. military top brass, represented by Vice Admiral Eber, see the huge technological generation gap between the Chinese Navy.

So, despite the integration of the U.S. First and Second Fleets in the Pacific and the near-formidable armament on paper, the shrewd Edward? Vice Admiral Eber has always been reluctant to assemble a large fleet, but has continued to use the earlier navigation permits of the two countries to enter the neighboring North Australia, the South Sea, and the western Pacific region, and Eber's intention is naturally to conduct reconnaissance to make up for the shortcomings of the US military in this regard.

Although the U.S. Navy tradition is not short, for a long time since the Cuban crisis, the U.S. Navy was virtually incapable of penetrating the vast Pacific Ocean controlled by China, and the U.S. Navy's previous focus has always been on the perilous Atlantic, a shift that only changed after President Roosevelt took office, but it was obviously not enough to challenge the powerful Chinese Navy.

Now, if the British had not taken the initiative to pull the United States into the chariot, Vice Admiral Abel would never have tried at such a moment, you know, even with the long coastline and abundant supply ports on the west coast, and the absolute support of the Royal Navy and the Australian Navy, but to challenge the Chinese Navy, especially after two previous encounters, any disregard would be a fatal mistake.

The build-up of the U.S. Pacific Fleet was clearly a tactic to deal with the Panamanian crisis, but with the official declaration of war between the two countries, although the Pacific Ocean is vast enough, war between the two sides is unavoidable...... Since it is inevitable, you can only go all out to seek fighters!

When he was first informed of the possibility of war, Vice Admiral Abel had ordered the scattered warships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet to assemble and replan according to the original tactical arrangement. Rear Admiral Robinson is responsible for defending the fleet and defending the most important Australian coastline in the Pacific, especially Brisbane.

He himself personally led the First Squadron quietly out of Brisbane in the night, and the First Squadron was undoubtedly the trump card in the hands of Ebel, including the flagship battleship USS Utah, 4 dreadnoughts, and 6 modernized former dreadnoughts, plus 16 destroyers and 4 supply ships, forming a powerful maritime force that would amaze most industrial powers of the era.

After leaving the port, Vice Admiral Abel, who was well aware of the frequent aerial reconnaissance of the Chinese side, chose a completely different route and continued to sail eastward for 10 hours in the dark night, and before dawn, the fleet had sailed more than 300 kilometers from the port and entered the southwest sea of British New Caledonia.

At 7 o'clock in the morning of the 20th, the main guns in front of the battleship Utah slowly rotated, and a British-made Blackburn water reconnaissance plane was hoisted on the water, and 20 minutes later, the small reconnaissance plane weighing 1.2 tons accelerated and took off in the gentle Pacific Ocean......

"Fly a reconnaissance plane every 3 hours to make sure there are no hostile ships within 60 nautical miles around! Including merchant ships, once discovered, let the destroyer detachment drive them away! If necessary, it can be sunk! Lieutenant General Abel held a telescope in his hand to watch the reconnaissance plane go away, and then gave a very decisive order that the fighter plane would only be created by himself, and it was impossible to wait for the Chinese to send it.

The West Coast, with its poor industrial capacity, is obviously not enough to support the United States of America's claim to the rights and interests of the Pacific Ocean, and the loss of the Panama Canal Dominance makes him feel the danger of China even more! Therefore, even with a huge Pacific Fleet, fighting in the Pacific Ocean that the Chinese have actually controlled for nearly 20 years, the US Navy obviously does not have any home field advantage, and Abel is sure that even if it gathers enough strength, it still needs absolutely perfect tactics!

Exactly 18 hours after the Abel fleet disappeared from the Australian Coral Seas, there was still no definite news to the South China Theater Command, and in the next 10 hours, the waters would be shrouded in darkness again, which means that the chances of tracking the Americans are extremely slim...... And in the middle of the night on the 20th, a telegram from Beijing was sent urgently, bringing another expected bad news!

On the night of the 20th, British Prime Minister Esquith sent a note to Wang Li, the Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom, announcing that Britain would fulfill its military agreement with the United States, and if China and the United States could not reach an armistice agreement within the next 24 hours, Britain would be forced to abrogate the Sino-British peace treaty and formally declare war on China...... And the war between China and the United States has already started in the Caribbean, and there is no possibility of an immediate truce, which means that in 24 hours, the British Navy from the Indian Ocean to Australia will likely take military action.

In the South China Theater Command, which is always bright all night, the sound of ticking telegrams and the constant footsteps reveal to everyone the tension of the battle situation, and the theater staff is undoubtedly the operator of this big game of chess, so Chen Ming, who is the chief of staff, is obviously a little busier than Lu Han, the commander of the military region......

At this time, a staff officer reported loudly at the door, "General, Commander Tang Zhen called back and will complete the preparation of the fleet for attack no later than midnight, but he called back to suggest that the base in Lae City, New Guinea continue to reconfront the Solomon Islands, and General Tang believes that the Americans want to penetrate deep into the North Pacific, and the Solomon Islands are the most likely intermediate supply point." ”

On the day China and the United States declared war, the Second South China Fleet stationed on Guam was ready to go, and Vice Admiral Tang Zhen, commander of the fleet, was very clear about the purpose of sitting on Guam, that is, to keep an eye on the Yankees and prevent any intention of the opponent to enter the defense zone in the eastern Pacific!

Of course, from a strategic point of view, although the United States has assembled a powerful Pacific Fleet in Brisbane, Australia, and is assisted by the Indian Ocean Squadron under the command of Lord Dyst of the Royal Navy, it is not very likely that the Americans will bypass the defense zones of North Australia and New Guinea and enter the hinterland of South China to fight, after all, the South China Theater has complete road defense and maritime countermeasures in North Australia, Java, Sulawesi, and Luzon.

In the waters around South China, although there are not too many restrictions on the activities of the huge fleet, they are equally suitable for the activities of destroyers and submarines of the Chinese Navy, and once the other side is damaged in these waters, it means that it will be difficult to get out of the continuous attack of the Chinese Navy, and the battle damage is very likely, and once it is besieged by the Chinese Navy, the Americans will encounter the worst situation -- the Chinese Grand Fleet will choose the best opportunity to deal a severe blow.

Tang Zhen, who was at the forefront of the battle line, naturally realized another great possibility, the Yankees were coming for him...... As a squadron commander, he naturally carefully considered this possibility, and then came to his own opinion - very likely!

As a countermeasure, Tang Zhen was naturally faced with two choices, continue to garrison Guam, take Guam's sea and land defense forces as the core, and wait for the Yankees at ease! Or, take the initiative and pursue the Yankees on the vast sea!

Attack! Or prepare for war! (To be continued.) )