Yamaguchi and Ozawa did not believe in Jin's judgment, so even though they were about to rendezvous with the US aircraft carrier fleet, their hearts were still full of despair. Unlike them, Li Mei agreed with Jin's judgment. Therefore, after experiencing the initial
After feeling hesitant and frustrated, he is now looking forward to the decisive battle that is just around the corner, believing that it will be a battle of revenge for the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
The exact time when the U.S. and Japanese fleets met was around 11:30 p.m. When the scarred warships of both sides slowly appeared in front of each other, even though both sides were mentally prepared, they were still stunned by the tragedy on the other side. The Japanese
Needless to say, all aircraft carriers suffered heavy damage and basically lost the ability to fly fighter planes. As for the Americans, the loss of aircraft carrier combat power was slightly less than that of the Japanese, but at the same time they lost more than a quarter of their escort ships.
, the extent of losses alone is still higher than that of the Japanese.
Before witnessing the tragic situation of the Americans with their own eyes, Yamaguchi and Ozawa still had some schadenfreude in their hearts because they felt that today's bad situation was caused by the Americans' disregard for the overall situation. But now, because they know the fate of the American and Japanese fleets
They are already closely connected. The decline of the Americans means the lower the chance of their breaking out, and the two people's mood becomes complicated.
Compared with Yamaguchi and Ozawa, Li Mei's mood was also very complicated. He suddenly thought of this question, that is, since the Chinese can calculate everything and seize the best opportunity to attack the US and Japanese fleets in one fell swoop, then they can not consider their own
Ammunition reserves? And if the Chinese fleet still has sufficient ammunition, where will they go next?
"It seems that the original division of troops was a mistake! Maybe we shouldn't hide our whereabouts from the Japanese. In that case..." These chaotic thoughts suddenly appeared in his mind, and Li Mei sighed heavily.
If possible, Chen Ce and Bai Chongxi would never give the U.S. and Japanese fleets a chance to reunite. However, now that the mistake has occurred, they will not regret themselves. In the air attack against the Japanese combined fleet last night, although the aviation force appeared to a certain extent
suffered losses, but did not hurt their bones. The results of the raid by the Sky Fortress Group and the Assault Fleet against the US aircraft carrier formation exceeded their expectations, which made them full of expectations for the next battle and full of hope for victory.
belief.
In the words of Chen Ce when he warned his captains: "...We have passed the most difficult period, and now it is the harvest season!"
Regarding the next movements of the US and Japanese fleets, Chen Ce and Bai Chongxi judged very accurately. In their view, because they have absolute air superiority, it is not a problem to prevent the US and Japanese fleets from retreating to the Philippines.
"What we need to pay attention to now is which route the U.S. and Japanese fleets will choose and at what time period they will try to break through our blockade and retreat to the Philippines. As far as I can judge, even if we don't take the initiative to launch an attack, the U.S. and Japanese fleets will try to break through our blockade in three days.
Tennei took the initiative to provoke the battle. The U.S. and Japanese fleets are now in this position. If they do not want to go far away, they will definitely choose the waters near the Palau Islands as a breakthrough point. So I suggest making the following adjustments... In addition, we must guard against the Japanese
Army aviation. The U.S. government and the Japanese headquarters in Southeast Asia will definitely not sit back and watch their fleets perish. They will definitely try every means to try to save the war situation. In this case, they cannot be ruled out concentrating their army aviation forces to cooperate with the battle..."
The above analysis comes from Bai Chongxi.
If many captains in the Pacific Fleet were not very convinced by Bai Chongxi, a maritime layman, after last night's series of battles, they now have only one feeling towards Bai Chongxi - that is, to hold your head high!
While China was thinking about how to block the retreat of the U.S. and Japanese fleets and how to gain the greatest results, Yamaguchi, Ozawa and Li Mei were sitting opposite each other on the USS Hornet aircraft carrier, and they were also discussing the next course of action.
.
Yamaguchi Wendo and Li Mei actually have a good overall view of the situation. Unfortunately, there is a small spring above Yamaguchi and a gold above Li Mei. So until now, they really have the power and opportunity to decide their own destiny.
.
The joint meeting was originally suggested by Li Mei, who also took the initiative to set up the venue on the Wujiu.
However, because Yamaguchi felt that the next breakthrough must rely on the remaining air power of the Americans, he lowered his stance, and after some humility, the meeting was finally held on the Hornet aircraft carrier.
Yamaguchi and Li Mei are both smart people. With both of them keeping their postures very low, the meeting went relatively harmoniously and smoothly. The two sides first exchanged information. Li Mei learned that the Japanese headquarters would not send Army aviation for support.
After receiving the news, he said: "The Chinese fleet is blocked to our north. It is obvious that they have seen our intentions. And given our current situation, a sudden advance to the Philippines is indeed the only option. In other words, this battle
We are bound to do it, and it will be a brutal fight with me invincible!"
"Your judgment is correct, so what are your specific plans?" Ozawa.
"Commander Jin previously judged that the material supply of the Chinese fleet may have this problem. After counting the ammunition consumption data of the Chinese fleet during this period, I feel that this judgment is based on facts. So I think, although for us,
It will definitely be a very difficult battle, but we are not without a chance of winning——"
Yamaguchi shook his head and interrupted him, saying: "General Li Mei, I don't agree with what you said. The current chief of staff of the China Fleet is Bai Chongxi. You may not know that in China, this person is called 'Little Zhuge'. Zhuge is
The surname of a wise general in ancient China, who was famous for his many plans and calculations. Since Bai Chongxi enjoys this reputation, I think it is impossible for him to ignore this factor. Therefore, I think that when calculating war factors, the basic condition of insufficient ammunition for the China fleet is
It can be ignored.”
"That's it! Listen to you, we don't calculate this factor -" Li Mei said, tapping the table with her right index finger and middle finger twice, paused and then said: "Compared to the Chinese fleet, I think our greatest chance of winning lies in the ship.
and the number of naval guns. This advantage of ours will play a decisive role in determining the outcome when the air power between the enemy and ours is equal. But now, it will be our main means of self-protection. Therefore, facing China
The fleet is definitely aerial attack and harassment, I thought we should launch an attack in a dense formation! The advantage of doing this is that it can maintain the density of air defense firepower, thereby curbing the Chinese fleet's air power to the greatest extent! For the same reason, we can
Launch the attack at night. At night, the vision of Chinese pilots will be affected, and their bomb-dropping accuracy will definitely decrease!"