The reaction speed of the Japanese army aviation was not slow, but the naval resistance fleet was ready for battle, and it did not wait for a stormy strike.

Beginning at 10 o'clock in the morning, Japanese fighters appeared one after another, but only a dozen or so fighters could hardly break through the defensive circle within a radius of 100 kilometers, and the Japanese pilots could not even see the warships of the Naval Resistance Army.

In the past six months, the First Task Force of the Naval Resistance Force has been busy with similar battles. For small-scale Japanese air strikes, the response methods are completely set and set, and although we dare not say that they are foolproof, we have a considerable degree of certainty in the air strikes of less than 30 planes.

Looking at the configuration of the two aircraft carriers of the Maritime Resistance Army, you can see why the Naval Resistance Army has extremely high confidence in such a battle. The aircraft carrier Liberty Dragon, the Maritime Resistance Force is equipped with 24 radar reconnaissance planes and 24 Wildcat fighters. On board the aircraft carrier Indian Ocean, the Maritime Resistance Force is equipped with 52 SBD dreadnought dive bombers and 52 Wildcat fighters. In other words, the number of fighters dispatched by the Naval Resistance Force this time accounted for half of them, totaling 76 planes. This proportional configuration of fighters is actually a manifestation of Li Guang's lack of seeking military merits and only seeking safety. You must know that the naval resistance army's landing in Burma also counted on this fleet to provide sea support. Not to mention sinking an aircraft carrier in battle, it is to injure an aircraft carrier, which has a huge impact on the landing battle.

On the other hand, the current pilots of the Naval Resistance Force have at least 500 hours of flight experience. Most of them are more than 1,000 hours of flying experience, and some of the best have more than 2,000 hours of flying experience. These battle-hardened pilots were the greatest support for the Naval Resistance Force.

After years of hard work, the Naval Resistance Force has finally established an elite naval aviation unit, which is the most combat-effective period in the history of the Naval Resistance Force's air force. Whether it is flight technology, combat experience, or morale, if there is any aviation force in the world that can compare with the state of the Naval Resistance Force at this time. I am afraid that the Luftwaffe, which was only 40 years old, can be compared with the Japanese carrier-based aircraft pilots at the beginning of the Pacific War. Li Guang, who had a deep understanding of the rapid decline of the Japanese Navy's combat effectiveness, knew that the Naval Resistance Army actually had the same flaw -- the pilots were excellent, but the number was too small. Therefore, it is impossible to be too careful.

However, this is also the reason why the Naval Resistance Force dares to go deep into dangerous places. The chances of victory of the Naval Resistance Force do not stop there, the advanced aircraft carrier, the perfection of the communication and command system, the advanced radar early warning, and the perfection of the small circle tactic. The improvement of the antiaircraft artillery command system and the overall proficiency of the crew have added a lot of combat strength to this fleet.

According to the experience of the Naval Resistance Army, under the guidance of radar, 76 fighters are enough to ensure 30 fighters. Even a group of forty Japanese aircraft could hardly break through the defense of the naval resistance forces within a radius of 100 kilometers. The facts also proved this experience, in a day of fighting. The naval resistance fleet withstood six Japanese air strikes. Shot down 46 Japanese fighters. The Navy, on the other hand, lost only five fighters and three pilots.

When night fell, the Maritime Resistance Army withdrew to the Banda Sea again.

However, this was only the beginning of the crackdown.

In the early morning of the next day, the naval resistance fleet again attacked the Baliban oil field. The devil never thought that it would be a night later. The Naval Resistance Army went so far as to attack the Bariban oil field again. Caught off guard, the Japanese fighters who had just been transferred to Bariban were destroyed on the ground before they could take off.

After a day of fighting, the Naval Resistance Army shot down 24 Japanese fighters, and the Naval Resistance Army achieved the best record of zero casualties. The Maritime Resistance Army fleet also withdrew again to the Banda Sea.

However, the attack of the Naval Resistance Army did not continue. The Naval Resistance Fleet did not just evacuate the Banda Sea. They even evacuated from the Indian Ocean, taking advantage of the excellent weather to make supplies on the sea. Then the supply cruiser Pingwa again rushed to the Australian port of Darwin for resupply.

There are many reasons why Li Guang arranged the battle in this way.

First, Nimitz was anxious for a decisive battle with the Japanese. Then a sneak attack on the Bariban oil field would be tantamount to cutting off the fuel supply to the Japanese army. There is no better poison than a starvation of food, and the supply of fuel to the Japanese army is by no means inferior to a starvation. As for the importance of fuel supply, because of the huge difference in the abundance of resources, it is inevitable that the generals of different countries will pay different attention to it. In this respect, it is obvious that Li Guang's understanding is closer to Yamamoto Isoroku. Therefore, the Bariban oil field was attacked continuously, and the heavy blow to the Japanese army was unimaginable. This was also a means for Li Guang to force the Japanese army to fight a decisive battle at an early date.

The second point is that Li Guang is testing. Although the U.S. military judged that Yamamoto Isoroku had the intention of a decisive battle, this was only Nimitz's judgment. The Naval Resistance Army was used as cannon fodder by the US military, and Li Guang was willing to be cannon fodder. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately judge the intentions of the Japanese army. After two attacks on the Baliban oil field, Li Guang was convinced that the Japanese army was indeed preparing for a decisive battle. Otherwise, if the Naval Resistance Force took the initiative to go deep into the dangerous ground, the Japanese Navy would definitely not let go of the fat meat in its mouth if it did not have a big plan.

The third point is to continuously strike at the core areas controlled by Japan. The blow to the morale of the Japanese army was even more severe.

In addition, the Naval Resistance Force also came to a conclusion: Not only the combat effectiveness of the Japanese naval aviation is rapidly declining, but the combat effectiveness of the army aviation is weakening even faster. In Operation Dice, it took several months for the Naval Resistance Army to defeat the Japanese air power and retreat, and it took a lot of money to almost kill a Japanese flying division. Around Baribaban, the Japanese army had at least one flying division, with more than 300 fighters. In the first air raid on Bariban by the Naval Resistance Army, the quality of the Japanese pilots was still able to compete with the naval pilots, causing a little loss to the Naval Resistance Army. However, the next day, the Naval Resistance Army attacked again, and the Japanese army simply lost more than 20 fighters, but failed to cause any damage to the fighters of the Naval Resistance Army.

On September 4, at the urging of Nimitz, the Maritime Resistance Army sailed north again and entered the Banda Sea.

It has been more than 20 days since the US military attacked Saipan. As time went on, Nimitz became more and more anxious. If you look at the course of the US military's fighting in the past 20 days or so, you will know the reason.

The strength of three divisions of the U.S. Army stormed Saipan without a fight.

The anxious Nimitz directly ordered the battleships and cruisers to shell non-stop at a distance of less than four kilometers from the coastline of Saipan. Hundreds of warplanes dropped ammunition on Saipan almost day and night.

In just over 10 days, the US military consumed nearly 10,000 tons of ammunition.

Take a look at the two most extravagant battles in which the Naval Resistance Force used ammunition. In the Battle of Ceylon, the Naval Resistance Army used nearly 1,000 tons of ammunition when counterattacking, which was already a luxury extravagance. In the capture of Wake Island, the Maritime Resistance Army prepared 1,000 tons of ammunition, and finally used about 600 tons.

However, the amount of ammunition dropped by the US military on Saipan is simply jaw-dropping. Not to mention the Naval Resistance Army and the Chinese Army, even the Soviet Army, the German Army, and the British Army can only look at the ocean and sigh.

The U.S. military really made a big deal and forcibly blew up a death strip two or three kilometers wide and nearly 10 kilometers long on Saipan. Split the Saipan battlefield in half from the middle. And this amount of ammunition is enough to consume the ammunition of the Chinese army for a year.

The U.S. military is really extravagant. You must know that if a battleship's main gun is a fully charged shell, it can only shoot two or three thousand tons of shells, and even if it is fired at close range, one-third of the charge can hit a maximum of 10,000 tons of shells. This beating was almost equivalent to the destruction of an expensive battleship.

Under such firepower, it was not until early September that the US forces occupied half of Saipan.

Soldier casualties and the huge consumption of ammunition were a stress for Admiral Nimitz. And the mental pressure from the naval crew and officers made Nimitz even more exhausted.

During the attack on Saipan, the former enemy commander of the US Navy was Vice Admiral Spruance, an old acquaintance of Li Guang. Spruance has always been cautious, in order to avoid being kept track of the position of the fleet by the Japanese, the huge fleet of the US army has been heading west during the day, providing additional fire support and protection for the US Army on Saipan. At night, the U.S. fleet sailed eastward to avoid being attacked by small Japanese warships or submarines.

The seemingly simple command has caused the entire US fleet to be in a tense spirit. The U.S. military has a lot of advantages, but it lacks resilience and mental tolerance.

In recent days, quite a number of US officers and men have been unable to bear such mental tension, and some officers have asked for rotational rest.

The strength of the Japanese army is unclear, how Nimitz dared to reduce the number of troops, so Nimitz's anxiety has also reached its peak. (To be continued......)