Le Yiqin looked down at the battlefield from the cockpit of the fighter plane, the sea of fire was still burning violently, and with a satisfied smile on his face, he pulled up the nose of the plane, and saw that the US and Philippine troop convoys had already left the port, and the task of covering the US military to block the boarding of the ship had been completed.

Le Yiqin ordered: "The first mixed aircraft formation, return immediately, replenish fuel and ammunition, the second fighter formation, enter the escort procedure, the third fighter formation, can take off, the fourth fighter formation, prepare for takeoff!" ”

For today's battle, Le Yiqin is very satisfied, according to his estimates, more than an hour of bombing, at least more than 10,000 little devils have been killed, although a large number of aerial bombs and napalm have been consumed, but it is worth it, if it is not for the order of the division commander, not to attack the deep small devil position, I am afraid that the results will be several times greater.

"Division headquarters, Le Yiqin, commander of the first echelon of the escort aircraft group, reported that our echelon has completed the task of covering the boarding of the US military blocking troops, the US and Philippine troop carrier formations have left the port, and the second fighter formation is escorting them, and the report is complete!"

In Singapore, in the office building of the Military Control Commission of the Independent Division, Tang Qiuli, who was sitting on a chair, said to Colonel He Zhijun, the new chief of staff and head of the Operations Department of the Southern Flight Group, with a smile: "Chief of Staff He, your Commander Le, must have fought a battle to take advantage, otherwise, his voice would not be so loud. ”

He Zhijun smiled and did not answer. In the face of such a chief boss of the independent division, he was not nervous, and He Zhijun had not yet reached the casual Cheng dù.

Tang Qiuli knew He Zhijun's thoughts, and asked again: "Chief of Staff He, there is no new news about the fleet's carrier-based aircraft group?" ”

He Zhijun immediately straightened up and replied: "Report to the division commander, I have just finished the phone call with the chief of staff of the fleet Xin Xiguo, and our carrier-based aircraft group is still cruising in the airspace around Kalimantan and Sumatra. No signs of Japanese fighters taking off were found! ”

Tang Qiuli nodded and said, "That's right, Ito Yanzaburo has the lesson of the last time, he doesn't dare to act rashly, escort the last pass of the group." It's the Second Fleet and the Fourth Fleet of the Japanese Navy, but. It is expected that they will not dare to act rashly. Last time, Wu Zhenjiang's group should have beaten them honestly! ”

In the Coral Sea, Vice Admiral Yoshitsu Shirakawa, commander of the Second Fleet of the Japanese Navy, had just finished several telegrams exchanged with Vice Admiral Masao Okamura, commander of the Fourth Fleet, and was in a rather depressed mood.

Both he and Lieutenant General Okamura received orders from Senior General Ito. It was this order that gave the order given by the commander-in-chief of the theater of operations that gave the commander-in-chief of the two fleets the feeling of being roasted on the fire. didn't dare not execute, and the result after the execution, both of them had no bottom in their hearts.

Just a few days ago, a sea and air battle in the Coral Sea almost destroyed most of the families of the Second and Fourth Fleets, and the losses of warships were not large, mainly carrier-based aircraft, because they have been active in this sea area, and the loss of carrier-based aircraft has not yet had time to replenish, and the carrier-based aircraft of the two fleets together are just a little more normal than the normal establishment of one fleet, how can this battle be fought?

The number of fighters and bombers dispatched by the devil of China, Vice Admiral Shirakawa and Vice Admiral Gangmura have seen it with their own eyes, and if they go into battle, I am afraid that the loss will not only be carrier-based aircraft, but also the entire fleet will be severely attacked, and the enemy is strong and weak, which is the biggest problem in front of the two of them.

And Admiral Ito has three air groups and more than 1,000 planes in his hands, and this cunning old guy is still like last time, his air power is still on hold, but he orders the naval fleet to meet the huge group of independent divisions alone, which cannot help but make Vice Admiral Shirakawa and Vice Admiral Okamura suspect Admiral Ito's motives and weaken the strength of the navy by the hand of the devil Tang Qiuli.

After making trouble last time, Shirakawa, Okamura and Admiral Ito completely tore their faces and didn't buy each other, but after all, Admiral Ito was the supreme commander of the theater of operations, nominally commanding all the army and navy forces in the theater, if the fleet did not move, it would be disobeying military orders and going to the base camp, and only Vice Admiral Shirakawa and Vice Admiral Okamura would suffer.

What kind of passive avoidance of war, fear of the enemy like a tiger, loss of the fighting spirit of the soldiers of the Great Japanese Empire, etc., Ito will definitely be mercilessly buckled on the heads of the two people, wouldn't it be a favorable excuse for the army guys to attack the navy, if Ito is a little more ruthless and raises this matter to the level of military law, although it will not lose his head, but it will be very easy to lose his official position and let the two of them get out of the navy in a gray manner.

This is not the most terrible, the most terrible thing is that the two of them have lost the face of the navy, those bigwigs of the Admiralty, under the annoyance and anger, will not spare the two embarrassed guys, the family law within the navy is even more chilling than military discipline.

Vice Admiral Shirakawa and Vice Admiral Gangmura finally realized that people are under the eaves and have to bow their heads, and if they go to war, they will definitely suffer losses, the fleet has suffered too much losses, and those bigwigs in the Admiralty also can't spare two people, and whether to fight or not to fight is an extremely headache, and the US and Philippine troop carrier formations that have withdrawn from Luzon Island have approached the Coral Sea, but Shirakawa and Gangcun still haven't come up with a proper solution.

Shirakawa and Okamura do not lack the belligerent factor of Japanese soldiers in their bones, if their strength allows, even if General Ito does not give an order, the two will not hesitate to attack, and at the same time kill the US and Philippine troop carrier formations, they will give the aviation of the independent division a lesson that will never be forgotten, but reality is stronger than people, and with the lesson of the last time, it is enough to calm the minds of the two people to the freezing point.

In Vice Admiral Shirakawa's own words, "We are admirals of the Imperial Japanese Navy, commanders of a fleet, not impulsive and reckless reckless, responsible for the entire fleet and the Imperial Navy. Moreover, this battle is not inevitable. ”

A piece of information sent by a carrier-based reconnaissance plane was in the hands of Vice Admiral Shirakawa, "The reconnaissance squadron reports that the troop transport fleet of the US and Philippine troops withdrawn from Luzon Island is now approaching the waters of the Coral Sea, and the China Air Force is escorting it, and the number of China aircraft groups currently observed by the reconnaissance planes is about 400 planes!" ”

Vice Admiral Shirakawa knew in his heart that this was just Tang Qiuli's first wave of escort aircraft, and there would definitely be several waves to follow, and the number of fighters of the independent division observed had already exceeded the number of carrier-based aircraft of the Second Fleet by nearly double, Vice Admiral Shirakawa couldn't help but smile bitterly and ordered the staff officer: "Inform the information to Commander Gangcun immediately!" ”

At the same time, Colonel Wu Zhenjiang, the commander of the second echelon of the air, also received a report from the avant-garde fighter group, "Echelon commander, I am the avant-garde fighter group, the radar found that about sixty kilometers ahead of us, three Japanese reconnaissance planes were found, whether they were shot down or not, please instruct!" ”

Wu Zhenjiang smiled sarcastically and replied: "Ignore him, the avant-garde aircraft group will fly according to the normal state, the alert aircraft group, immediately climb, and the warning range will be expanded to two hundred kilometers away!" ”

Wu Zhenjiang very much hopes that the carrier-based aircraft of the little devil will appear, this time, the aircraft group under his command is all fighters, and the number is one and a half more than the last time, more than a hundred fighters, if the fight starts, the results will definitely be greater than the last time!

Vice Admiral Shirakawa and Vice Admiral Gangmura telegraphed again, the target was already approaching in front of them, and there was no more action, neither to the old guy Ito nor to the Admiralty, but both of them also had an extra heart, and reported Ito's order, the current situation of the fleet, the situation of the troop transport fleet of the US and Philippine armies, and the escort aircraft group of the independent division to the Admiralty, asking for instructions on whether to intercept and kill.

The Admiralty's reply was very fast, and there were only a few words, "Limited sorties, the specific situation is in the hands of the two of you!" ”

Vice Admiral Shirakawa and Vice Admiral Okamura, who received a call back from the Admiralty, greatly admired the wisdom of the bigwigs of the Admiralty, and actually came up with this clever plan, our naval fleet launched an attack, you Ito can't find fault with it, as for whether or not you can win, that is, the actual situation on the battlefield decides, and the limited attack is to imply that you must not fight hard, of course, if there is a advantage to take advantage of, then let go of your hands and feet.

After solving the biggest problem of the heart, Vice Admiral Shirakawa immediately ordered: "Order the 1st and 2nd carrier-based aircraft wings to attack the US and Philippine troop carrier formations immediately, and remind them to pay attention to the fact that once the independent division escorts the aircraft group and launches an attack on us, they will immediately return to the ship, and they must not fall in love with the war!" ”

At the same time, the Japanese Navy's Fourth Fleet, fleet commander Vice Admiral Okamura, gave the same order, however, Okamura was more cautious than Shirakawa, and he sent only one carrier-based air wing.

This is a very interesting air battle, perhaps, it should not be called an air battle, after the carrier-based aircraft of the three wings of the Japanese army took off, they were immediately captured by the radar of the alert aircraft group of the Wu Zhenjiang echelon, and the commander of the echelon, Wu Zhenjiang, was in great spirits and issued a combat order to the echelon.

After the Japanese carrier-based aircraft group appeared in the field of vision, more than 300 fighters, divided into two formations, fiercely pounced on it, and no one expected that when they had not yet reached the distance of attacking each other, the Japanese carrier-based aircraft group collectively made a 180-degree turn, turned the nose of the plane, and returned to the original route.

Seeing this, Wu Zhenjiang sighed that he was unlucky, and he could only give up the pursuit, because he did not dare to neglect the main task of escorting the US and Philippine troop transport ships because of the momentary pleasure.

At midnight on 30 August, the US and Philippine troops began to disembark at the ports on the east coast of Australia, and the escort mission of the Southern Flying Group was successfully concluded.

(To be continued) (To be continued.) )