Jiwan, the total personnel stationed here at this time include, on the American side: a task force, a Marine division, a land-based naval aviation wing and a mechanized air defense regiment; on the Japanese side: a destroyer fleet, a submarine fleet, and an army aviation group. Regiment and a brigade of the Army (including an armored regiment with considerable air defense capabilities). The coastal defense facilities include two high-power radar stations, three triple-mounted 240mm caliber fortress turrets, and two-mounted 88mm caliber forts. There are twenty-four air defense forts, and all these air defense and coastal defense facilities are controlled by the Japanese army.
The person responsible for commanding the Chinese Pacific Fleet's sneak attack on Jiwan was Huang Tianxun, who had made a splash in the Battle of Green Island.
At this time, in a sea area less than 500 kilometers away from Jiwan, Huang Tianxun and his officers and soldiers were fighting against a sudden heavy rain.
Just as Chen Ce feared, in this sneak attack on Jiwan, Huang Tianxun and the others' biggest enemy was not the enemy forces in Jiwan, but the unpredictable climate in the Pacific. Of course, from another perspective It is said that it is precisely because the recent period has been the most abnormal season in the Pacific Ocean that Huang Tianxun and others were able to use the cover of the weather to get close to Jiwan without anyone noticing, and gain the opportunity for a sneak attack.
The total distance from Guam to Jivan is about 2,000 kilometers. Huang Tianxun and the others set out three days ago. Fortunately, they set out three days ago. Otherwise, due to the sudden heavy rain, they would definitely not be able to Arrive at the waters near Jiwan at the agreed time.
Huang Tianxun's command ship is a torpedo speedboat numbered 00015. The storm was so severe that even though he was standing in the cabin, he still had to put on rain gear. In order to prevent the penetration of rainwater from causing the electronic instruments on the ship to malfunction. , at Huang Tianxun's request, the officers and soldiers of the sneak attack fleet took out all the raincloths and rain gear to cover all the electronic instruments and instruments on the ship.
From Huang Tianxun's perspective, the sky where they were was black and the surrounding area was gray, and the rain seemed to be falling from the sky, violently hitting the hull of the ship, making a "pop-pop" sound similar to a bullet hitting the hull. "Watch the course, never turn the ship's flanks toward the wind direction of the storm," he shouted into the microphone, while staring closely at the navigation radar, which only revealed a display screen.
The violent stormy weather reduced the visibility of this sea area to only about 50 meters, so for the sneak attack fleet, they not only had to fight against the harsh weather conditions, but also had to keep an eye on their surroundings to prevent a tragic collision with a friendly ship. happened, the sneak attack fleet was all composed of torpedo boats, missile boats and submarines. The submarines were okay, they were hidden underwater and could use the sea surface to fight the storm, but the torpedo boats and missile boats did not have this treatment. They could only rely on The hull is hard to carry, and the tonnage of torpedo boats and missile boats is limited, so only a low-power navigation radar is installed on Huang Tianxun's command ship. It is this radar that allows Huang Tianxun to monitor the torpedo boats and missile boats at all times. This allows him to control the overall situation and give early warning to avoid collisions.
The storm was unexpected, and it is not yet certain what negative impact it will have on this operation. The ships that Huang Tianxun and his team will fight this time, whether they are torpedo boats, missile boats or submarines, are all highly electronic. The most feared thing about the electronic system is that it will be penetrated by rainwater and cause failure. If this happens with a high probability, it is not impossible to attack the fleet and even lose its combat effectiveness.
Of course, everything has its disadvantages and advantages. This storm will certainly affect the performance of the sneak attack fleet and cause frequent failures, but it will also play a role in covering their actions. Therefore, although the storm shows no signs of stopping, Huang Tianxun still The fleet was required to continue moving toward the target sea area according to the established plan, with no intention of stopping to escape the storm.
After receiving the news that the attack fleet encountered a storm, Chen Ce and Bai Chongxi smiled bitterly at each other. Chen Ce said: "I am really a crow's mouth. I am afraid of whatever comes. Now I can only depend on my luck."
The air battle around the big island of the Palau Islands lasted for nearly half an hour and ended with the Chinese losing thirty-three and the Japanese and American forces losing twenty-four. At Sai Zhang Fei led the last batch of fighter units to break away from the battle and embark on the mission. On the way back, according to the plan that had been made, Chen Ce immediately ordered the second combat fleet to take off and attack the big island again. In order to prevent the location of his fleet from being detected and attacked in advance by the US-Japanese coalition forces, the second There were only thirty-six fighters that took off this time, and they were all Golden Eagle jet fighters. Obviously, after the sneak attack was discovered by the U.S.-Japanese joint fleet, the mission of this second combat aircraft group will no longer be to attack the United States. The landing craft of the Japanese combined fleet were instead used to disturb the enemy and divert their attention.
Compared with Chen Ce, who already seemed less confident, Bai Chongxi still had great confidence in the sneak attack on Jiwan. He said: "This heavy rain will certainly have an impact on the sneak attack fleet, but I don't think it will become a decisive factor. As long as the United States and Japan join forces The main force of the fleet is not aware that Huang Tianxun and the others have a very high probability of winning. Haha, I am now certain that Yamaguchi Bundo and Jin must be very happy that we sent fighter planes to support the troops defending the island, and they will definitely look forward to finding us. Location, hehe, now we have become a bait. I believe that with our bait here, Yamaguchi Wenduo and Jin will decide not to notice Huang Tianxun and the others,"
Bai Chongxi expected it to be true. Yamaguchi Wendao changed their minds after Ozawa Jisaburo sent out a sufficient reconnaissance force and found no abnormalities. At this time, fighter aircraft, especially carrier-based aircraft, did not have such long range as later generations. range, so it is certain that since Chinese fighter jets can appear in the Palau Islands, it means that the Chinese fleet is not too far from Palau. The Japanese and Americans have always wanted to directly have a decisive battle with the Chinese Pacific Fleet. Now Now that the Chinese fleet has come to our door, after discussing it with Yamaguchi Bunta and Ozawa Jisaburo, they felt that they should seize this opportunity and decide the outcome in a battle.
They immediately contacted Jin, and the two sides immediately held a telephone conference and reached a consensus that they should seize the opportunity that the Chinese took the initiative to come to their door, so that the Chinese Pacific Fleet would not be able to get back.
"After taking Palau, our target will definitely be Guam. Now that the Chinese have come out of Guam, I think that if we can seize this opportunity to defeat their main fleet, we can seize the opportunity to attack and take Guam in one fell swoop. opportunity," Yamaguchi said during the conference call.
By taking Guam, plus already gaining control of Midway and the Palau Islands, the Western Pacific would be completely under the control of the U.S.-Japanese combined fleet. Such a huge temptation, Jin simply couldn't refuse, and he raised his hand to express his approval. ,