As night fell, the Naval Resistance Army continued to soar northward.

Sailing at night is much less dangerous for the Naval Resistance Force than during the day. But for Li Guang, the biggest worry was that the route collided head-on with the Japanese fleet.

Although there is no accurate intelligence. However, there was no doubt that the Japanese fleet should be somewhere between the Naval Fleet and Saipan. Once the Japanese are withdrawn, if the target on the return trip is the Palau Islands, then there is a great chance that the two armies will collide head-on.

Therefore, even at night, the Maritime Resistance Forces still sent reconnaissance planes. However, after several days of non-stop flights, twenty-four reconnaissance aircraft, all the pilots were already in a state of extreme fatigue. The pilot of the reconnaissance plane, which at this time could not maintain his full state, only sent four reconnaissance planes to the sea. The reconnaissance radius has been greatly reduced, and the warning distance is only 80 kilometers.

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In the dark of night. The Japanese fleet was withdrawing westward, targeting the Philippines.

The commander of the Japanese army, Lieutenant General Jizaburo Ozawa, remained quite optimistic until the evening, despite a US air raid.

In that battle, which lasted only ten minutes, although the losses of the Japanese army were not light, they were nothing compared to the "brilliant results" achieved by the Japanese army.

The two modified aircraft carriers of the devil were scrapped and became two blazing torches on the ocean.

Although the only regular aircraft carrier, the Xianghe, also caught fire and burned, and although it lost its combat function as an aircraft carrier, the fire was quickly contained. The wound did not sink, and the timing was just right, and night fell, and he had been dragged by the Japanese cruiser on the way home.

The battleship Nagato was damaged, but it did not lose power, and its speed was only a little slow, and according to the damage condition, as long as it underwent some repairs after returning home, it would soon be able to regain its combat effectiveness.

The injuries are more serious. There was only one heavy cruiser. Due to the fact that the propeller was hit by a torpedo and the power was missing, even if it was towed back to the Japanese mainland, it would be difficult to recover combat effectiveness within a year.

Jizaburo Ozawa's optimism should be justified. After all, the losses of the Japanese army were indeed not heavy, at least compared to the losses of the American army.

However, although Ozawa Jizaburo is considered a famous general in the Japanese Navy, he is still limited by the traditional thinking of the Japanese army, and in his consciousness, the cost of ships comes first, which is naturally the most important. And the cost of the fighter is not high. Although the army was almost completely wiped out, it was still not a heavy loss. He did not realize that the greatest loss of the Japanese army in this battle was the hundreds of carrier-based pilots. The evacuated Japanese fleet, at this time the total number of carrier-based aircraft of all kinds was less than twenty, and the aviation power was almost exhausted. The loss of these hundreds of pilots accounted for only a fraction of the Japanese casualties in this battle. But for the comprehensive combat effectiveness of the Japanese Navy, it is crucial.

To know. The Japanese army in preparation for this battle. Almost all of the elite forces of the Navy were taken out, and in just two days of fighting, the combat effectiveness of the aircraft carrier tended to be in a state of zero.

Before this war, the combat strength of the Japanese Navy was still among the top in the world, ranking among the three strongest navies in the world. But after this battle, in the era when the aircraft carrier has clearly become the king of naval warfare. Don't look at the losses of the Japanese aircraft carrier battleships themselves, but such losses have caused the combat effectiveness of the Japanese Navy to quickly decline to a second-rate state. Maybe the ranking can still be called the top three, but it has already pulled away from the US Navy in first place and the British Navy in second place.

It's almost midnight. Jizaburo Ozawa's barely optimistic mood was completely driven into the abyss - the news of the death of Admiral Yamamoto 56 reached Ozawa's fleet after more than ten hours of chaos.

Jizaburo Ozawa was hit by the bad news like a thunderbolt on a sunny day, and he didn't say a word for half an hour, like a clay wood carving.

Jizaburo Ozawa came back to his senses and gave a series of orders inherently.

First of all, secrecy. Keep the news of the death of Chief Yamamoto secret from everyone in the fleet in case the morale of the army is shaken.

Secondly, the Japanese fleet was divided into three parts.

Nearly 100 warships of the main fleet began to retreat to the Philippines at full speed.

A fleet of light cruisers, destroyers, numbering up to twenty units, launched a suicidal attack in the direction of Saipan. This is Ozawa's act of revenge for the death of Admiral Yamamoto - he wants to avenge Chief Yamamoto.

The other part: the wounded battleship Nagato, the wounded heavy cruiser, the wounded aircraft carrier Shozuru, and two cruisers that towed the wounded battleship, a total of five battleships were thrown in the rear and evacuated at a rate of eleven or twelve knots. (Note: Due to the division of troops, Ozawa Jizaburo did not send enough escort destroyers.) ）

This order, after the end of the campaign, left Ozawa Jizaburo subjected to internal attacks by the Japanese army. You know, his order was in fact to abandon the wounded ship that was moving slowly. And the value of three of the capital ships was actually much greater than the two converted aircraft carriers that the Japanese had already lost in this battle, and the two battleships that served as decoys.

You must know that only one battleship Nagato, both in terms of cost and status in the eyes of the Japanese army, far exceeded the sum of the several battleships that had been lost. It was the capital ship that served as the flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet, and it was also the ship of Admiral Yamamoto's 56 major ships, and its status in the eyes of the Japanese Navy was quite "sacred."

However, Ozawa's order was not wrong. He learned of the death of Yamamoto Isoroku in battle, and at the same time learned that the aircraft carrier of the Naval Resistance Army (which the Japanese believed to be the American army) was heading north. In order to avoid the fleet from being attacked by the Naval Resistance Army, he can only learn the gecko and break his tail to survive. And without sending additional destroyers, according to the upcoming battle, it is difficult to say whether it was right or wrong.

According to Ozawa's memoirs, at this time, Ozawa did not even consider the possible attack from the US army or the naval resistance army. Perhaps he took it for granted that the Japanese aircraft carriers had lost their offensive capability, and the US aircraft carriers had also lost their offensive strength.

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Although Jizaburo Ozawa's idea was somewhat taken for granted, although the US military suffered heavy losses, it did not lose its combat effectiveness. However, it is a fact that the American fleet continued to move away from Saipan at night, remained maneuverable, and did not attack the Japanese fleet.

On this night, the command of the commander of the US army, Lieutenant General Spruance, was not wrong, but it was far from superb.

The reason why it is not wrong is that he still has the security of the US military in Saipan as his top priority. The fleet therefore did not go far from the waters of Saipan.

It can't be called superb, that's because Spruance was too deeply cultivated by the wealth and grandeur of the United States, and he didn't think of the huge fleet of the Japanese army at all. Four of the aircraft carriers are intact, but there are less than twenty fighters of various kinds, and the strength is unimaginably weak. He thought that the Japanese army still had the strength to fight a war, and he was worried that the pursuit would cause the US aircraft carrier battle group, which had already suffered considerable losses, to increase the damage. Therefore, the opportunity to completely annihilate the Japanese fleet was missed. That is, in essence, Spruance misjudged the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army.

Of course, the U.S. military can also find endless excuses for its tactical conservatism. For example, the U.S. military is now highly stressed. Accidental injuries occur from time to time. Another example is that more than half of the main aircraft carrier was damaged, and more than one-third of the carrier-based aircraft were lost.

As for the propaganda of war exploits, the US military is even less worried.

From the perspective of the US military, the US military has indeed won the war. First of all, the smooth progress of the offensive of the Saipan Army was ensured. Secondly, although the main warships of the US army suffered many injuries. But there are really not many of them.

The anti-sinking ability of US warships, especially regular aircraft carriers, is indeed worth boasting. The ship-building technology coupled with the skillful management and damage control greatly guarantees the survivability of the aircraft carrier. The US Navy with deep pockets. Even after Pearl Harbor's fuel reserves were blown up, they did not fall into the same unrefined crude oil used by the Japanese army, and even if the ships were damaged, they were not easily destroyed by fire.

Of course, the sinking of several escort aircraft carriers is in the eyes of the US admirals with deep pockets. It's about the same as the loss of sinking a couple of merchant ships, and it's not worth mentioning at all.

Another reason why Spruance did not take advantage of the victory was the Naval Resistance Army. Using the naval resistance fleet as bait, there may be a little guilt in the hearts of the US Navy generals who have the support of the strong national power of the United States. But it is a matter of course. As for whether the bait is fair, it is not in the consideration of the US generals, even if the personal friendship between Lieutenant General Spruance and Li Guang is good.

Spruance misjudged the remaining combat effectiveness of the Japanese army, and naturally did not think that the Japanese army would retreat on its own initiative. In this way, he judged that the battle would continue, and the position of the Naval Resistance Army could be used as a decoy. With the existence of decoy, then in the next battle, the US military will naturally take the initiative on the battlefield and control the battlefield.

This is the sorrow of a weak country, even if it is used as a bait, it can only protest with lip service. And the powerful United States, the ideal state is just to affirm the sacrifices made by the Haitang Kingdom. Perhaps Roosevelt was in a better mood and gave a little dollar aid to Haitang.

As for the possible losses and casualties, in the eyes of the US government, they are nothing. There will even be a dark excitement in the heart, in short, it is not the American youth who dies, and it will not be the US Navy who breaks the muscles and bones.

Perhaps all these losses, or risks, can be understood as the price of Haitang's founding of the country. Perhaps it comes down to the fact that as a member of the Allied Forces, the Haitang State should naturally assume the obligation to resist Japan.

However, the Americans can arrogantly and comfortably use the main force of the Maritime Resistance Army as bait, but Li Guang cannot willingly work for the Americans.

After the battle, Li Guang learned that the US air raid on the Japanese fleet had ended on the evening of 8 July, but he had not even informed the naval resistance army of the battle situation.

In the previous stage of the campaign, the Naval Resistance Army acted as a decoy for the US military, and it should be said that the Naval Resistance Army recognized it to a certain extent. However, on the night of 8 July, the US air raid ended, and the naval resistance forces were still not announced, and their actions could be regarded as deliberately putting the naval resistance forces in an extremely dangerous situation, and the US forces clearly intended to consume the strength of the naval resistance forces.

This is not at all something that can be explained by the operational error of the liaison officer, and the US military is known for its organization and management, and there is not the slightest possibility of such a low-level mistake -- this is the act of stabbing in the back.

There is no eternal friendship between countries, and everyone has different interests. But he also belongs to the camp of allies, but he dares to go to the back, which has exceeded the bottom line - beyond Li Guang's bottom line.

It was this that really angered Li Guang.

Li Guang disdained to mention verbal protests, and how to use the advantage of foresight to yin the United States is Li Guang's specialty.

The United States has the strong advantage of the United States, but the Haitang State also has the weak resistance of the Haitang State. Returning the favor with a peach, the United States is playing yin, and Li Guang will not be polite.

This is a later story, but on this night, Li Guang was not clear about the changes in the battle situation, and still stuck to the command bridge of the Indian Ocean aircraft carrier, waiting for the battle. (To be continued......)

PS: I haven't logged in for a long time, and then I found out that the ban was lifted. However, due to some kind of limitation that you understand, the plot changes a bit later and needs to be adjusted. A big war was planned, which took place on the domestic battlefield. The Naval Resistance Army landed in Lianyungang and cut off the north-south communication of the Japanese army. The War of Resistance was won ahead of schedule. Now you need to revise the plan, and the update will be a little slower.