In addition to the three Yorktown-class aircraft carriers, Spruance lost three Essex-class aircraft carriers and one was wounded. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

However, the wounded nautical damage was not heavy. After a Ming fighter was damaged, the pilot piloted the fighter plane, which he could no longer return, and loaded it heavily on the aircraft carrier, and then ignited a fire on the deck. However, the fire was quickly brought under control.

Spruance did not let the carrier return to San Diego, and he ordered the carrier to go south to Kiribati. There is a repair shop that was taken from the hands of the Great Ming, and it can be restored to combat effectiveness by simply changing the deck.

Originally, Spruance had three Yorktown-class aircraft carriers and eight Essex-class aircraft carriers, a total of eleven ships. This is also the capital for him to dare to take the initiative to challenge the powerful First Air Fleet of the Ming Dynasty.

However, under Tong Haifeng's desperate revenge of fighting one to make money and two to earn, he lost six aircraft carriers in one go, and one temporarily lost its combat effectiveness.

Although Spruance still has four aircraft carriers in his hands at this time, the loss of carrier-based aircraft forces is not small, and its strength can no longer be compared with before.

Together with the two Lexington-class carriers and nine Essex-class carriers in Task Force 57 commanded by Halsey, this is all the air force that the U.S. Navy can use at this moment.

On the other hand, the Pacific Fleet of the Ming Navy has one aircraft carrier left in the First Air Fleet at the moment, and the Second and Third Air Fleets together have a total of sixteen aircraft carriers. Its strength is still stronger than that of the Americans.

Moreover, the Ming Navy can also draw a number of aircraft carriers from other fleets to support. But the Americans were left with only two old-fashioned Langley and Assault, which were used as training aircraft carriers.

The war has been fought for more than two years, and everyone knows that the quality of carrier-based aircraft pilots determines the combat effectiveness of aircraft carrier formations. Even if the current situation is not optimistic, it is impossible for the Americans to transfer those two old aircraft carriers all the way from the east coast.

After urgent consultations with the allies, the U.S. Navy mobilized its allies to contain the strength of the other fleets of the Ming Dynasty, making it impossible for the Ming Dynasty to continue to send troops to the Pacific to support for the time being. But the war now has to be continued by themselves.

Nimitz did not travel to Washington, and Spruance's battle with Halsey gave him room to turn around. Inside the United States began to hype up the battle to cover up the defeat of the Fletcher fleet. All kinds of newspapers and radio stations are reporting one after another, and their own losses have been greatly reduced, while the results of the war have been doubled.

For American politicians, it doesn't matter how much they lose, what matters is that they must take the Hawaiian Islands and thus take the initiative in the war into their own hands. This is far more important than the losses on the battlefield.

If the main energy of the Ming Dynasty cannot be contained in the Hawaiian Islands, it will not be long before the Ming Dynasty will launch a strong counterattack into the heart of Europe. If things get to that point, the collapse of Europe will be inevitable. Having lost their European allies, Americans will no longer be able to win this crucial war that will determine the fortunes of their country for the next century.

From the President of the United States to the Admiralty, Nimitz was given the most resolute orders, ordering him to seize the Hawaiian Islands whenever he wanted. For this reason, it doesn't matter if the fleet is all wiped out. Politicians need to think about strategy, and how to implement it is a matter for the military.

Feeling the pressure, Nimitz carefully considered and ordered the fleets to continue the battle instead of returning to rest and recuperate. After a long period of fighting and sailing, many warships continued to rest, but the Americans were thousands of miles away from the nearest base, and they could only continue to hold on.

For propaganda purposes, the Fletcher affair was covered up. The 59th Task Force, which had been raided in the midst of propaganda, became a decoy fleet, luring the main Ming army out of Hawaii, creating favorable conditions for Spruance and Halsey to inflict heavy losses on the Ming army. And Fletcher also became a meritorious person.

Upon learning that the Ming Second and Third Air Fleets had rapidly moved south to Johnston Atoll, Nimitz ordered the 59th Task Force, which was really on its way back, to turn around immediately and escort a landing fleet loaded with Marines and various military supplies to the Hawaiian Islands.

Even if you can't capture the entire archipelago, you can land on some of the islands and get a foothold. As long as you can get a foothold in the Hawaiian Islands, whether it is military, political, or even propaganda, you can be regarded as having an explanation.

Although the main force of the Pacific Fleet of the Ming Navy is not there, there are still many naval fighters deployed on the Hawaiian Islands. The remnants of Task Force 59, which had lost all air power, could only be used as an escort fleet, and it was unrealistic to rely on them for landing support.

Nimitz reassigned his fleet. Spruance's Task Force 58 suffered heavy losses, but still retained some combat strength. Therefore, Nimitz ordered Spruance to take the 58th Task Force to resist the Ming Second and Third Air Fleets.

Of course, the so-called resistance is only to lure the enemy. Take the Ming fleet away from the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands as much as possible. If you really ask Spruance to fight, you are forcing him to die. Nimitz was not yet in a position to give such an order. Spruance needed to disguise himself as much as possible, dressing himself up as the size of two fleets together. Only in this way will it be possible to lure away the main forces of the Ming Navy.

Halsey received an order to quickly go north to attack the Hawaiian Islands and open a passage for the landing force. This battle plan was the best Nimitz could come up with at this point. Otherwise, he would now have to choose to withdraw the fleet.

And once you retreat, not to mention the huge impact on all aspects. This was a lose-lose campaign at best, a defeat for the Americans, who were unable to capture the strategically important Hawaiian Islands. The next time I want to come back, I don't know if I have to wait until the Year of the Monkey. A campaign of this magnitude is not something that can be started if you want to.

Nimitz's idea was very simple, first send the landing force and supplies. As for the ensuing naval battle, if they can seize the control of the sea, then everyone will be happy, and if the naval battle fails, then the landing force will be required to fight to the death!

The Ming Navy was fooled again. Because submarines reported that the remnants of the 59th Task Force were heading towards the west coast of the Americas, the Ming Navy judged that the 59th Task Force, which had lost its air power and had been heavily damaged, had left the battlefield. I didn't put too much energy into it.

And Spruance skillfully used the tactics of radio deception to successfully disguise himself as a powerful main fleet, seducing Lin Luo and Han Dongwen to go around in a circle in the vast sea.

It was not until the afternoon of November 7 that a long-range patrol plane taking off from Kauai discovered an unusually large U.S. fleet about 350 nautical miles southwest of Kauai. It was only at this time that the Ming Navy suddenly realized that it had been deceived by tactics again. The Americans quietly slaughtered under the noses of the Hawaiian Islands!

"Woo~~~" The terrible siren sounded in Pearl Harbor, and the officers and men of the First Air Fleet of the Ming Navy, who had just entered the port, looked around in surprise, not understanding why the alarm was suddenly sounded.

"It can already be confirmed that the 57th Task Force under the command of Halsey is following the First Air Fleet from the southwest." Li Ru, deputy chief of staff of the Pacific Fleet of the Ming Navy, said loudly with several documents in his hand.

"How do you know that?" Sitting in the first place, Yunmo, whose face was uncertain, glanced at Tong Haifeng, who had just entered the port a few hours ago, and asked in a deep voice.

This is no small matter. Now Halsey's fleet differed greatly from Spruance's fleet in strength. If it was Spruance who came, Yunmo still had the confidence to give a head-on blow. However, if Halsey, whose strength is basically intact and can be regarded as the last powerful fleet in the hands of the Americans at this time, then the Hawaiian Islands will be in danger.

You must know that the location of Daming Hainan Airlines' airports on the islands is fixed. Their coordinates and bearings are no secret to the Americans. And the fleet sailing on the ocean is strange and erratic. The initiative in the battlefield offensive is in the hands of those who have the ability to maneuver.

Although Daming Hainan Airlines has deployed a large number of fighters on various islands, it has also built strong hangars and other facilities. But if the runway is destroyed, the planes in the hangars will also be useless. Once the cover of the air force was lost, Pearl Harbor, which was now empty of air forces, was almost unable to resist Halsey's attack.

Since the Ming Navy seized Hawaii and built it into the most important overseas base, there has never been such a moment of crisis.

Although the Americans had killed them several times before, the main force of the naval fleet was at Pearl Harbor at that time, and the Americans were actually unable to really threaten this place. However, this time is clearly different.

"Comparison according to the drawings of reconnaissance aircraft." Li Ru said softly: "Actually, the most important thing is that the pilots have discovered at least seven or more flat-deck ships by sight. Spruance doesn't have that power right now. The only possibility left was Halsey. ”

"Lin Luo, when will they be able to rush back?" After a moment of silence, Yunmo raised his eyelids and looked at Li Ru and asked.

"If you don't count Spruance's containment and harassment, it will take at least forty-eight hours before you can enter the effective attack range." Li Ru responded: "If Spruance follows and harasses all the way, the time will inevitably be greatly extended." ”

You don't have to think much about it to know that Spruance will inevitably hang far away from Lin Luo and Han Dongwen's attack range. As soon as there is any slackness, he will pounce on it and bite hard. And if Lin Luo and the others reflexively pursued, they just fell into the hands of Spruance, he was going to drag the main fleet of the Ming Dynasty. (To be continued.) )