Iron Cross

On the way back to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Spruance remained silent, and finally said: "Turner finally suggested that the fleet be quickly pulled back to the West Coast. He believed that the current situation was very dangerous. There was also a Japanese fleet that had disappeared for several days. God knows where they are. If they also appear near TF50 and shoot without anyone noticing, it would be really finished. But he has no direct evidence, just personal feeling."

Nimitz sighed: "You know the situation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It is really difficult to explain if you return just because of worry, concern or catching wind and shadow... I have persuaded William to lead the fleet back, but he has concerns, and Li Hai also thinks it is inappropriate."

What are the specific concerns and inappropriateness? Even if Nimitz didn't say it, Spruance knew it. He silently echoed and cursed "this fucking system" in his heart and stopped talking.

At 2:45 a.m. on the 30th, Washington time, and 21:45 on the 29th, Hawaii time, Halsey called back: The reminder from the Joint Chiefs of Staff is very important, and the staff has been asked to conduct detailed deductions. The fleet is currently slowing down to 10 knots, and the route has been changed to due north, preparing to send reconnaissance aircraft to check the enemy situation early, and at the same time, take off anti-aircraft fighters at dawn.

Nimitz called back and reminded him to pay attention to searching the south after dawn - the Tsukahara fleet has disappeared for too long, which is really worrying!

At 11 o'clock in the evening, Tsukahara 243 led the main force of the 1st Carrier Battle (the three fleet aircraft carriers of Taiho, Shokaku, and Zuikaku) and 4 Myoho-class heavy cruisers and related destroyers) at a speed of 31 knots, and the battleship forces with Yamato, Shinano, Nagato, and Kirishima as the core rushed at a speed of 24 knots. The entire fleet gradually evolved into a situation where the aircraft carrier formation was in front and the bombardment fleet was behind.

Originally, Tsukahara informed Hori Teikichi that they should arrive at a position 900-1000 kilometers away from the US fleet in the early morning, but since Hori Teikichi changed the battle plan and issued a night attack order, other fleets would enter the attack position in the morning, and Tsukahara could not be too late, so he had to speed up. 900-1000 kilometers was still too far away, and it would be more appropriate to press it within 800 kilometers, so this night, Tsukahara commanded the main force of the Combined Fleet to start speeding.

The First Carrier has maintained a slow speed for the past two days. Doesn't Tsukahara really not understand the principle of speed?

Of course not! Tsukahara played the God's U-turn in the Caribbean and played the three-attack Panama trick two days ago. He has an instinctive sensitivity to judge the situation.

The reason why he can't drive fast is still one word-oil. Take the battleship Kirishima as an example. It can maintain a cruising range of more than 10,000 nautical miles at a speed of 14 knots. If the speed is increased to 18 knots, it will only have 5,400 nautical miles. If it speeds up at 24 knots for a long time, it may be difficult to maintain a cruising range of even 4,000 nautical miles.

Tsukahara 243 completed the last fuel replenishment in the direction of Panama and asked the tanker team to go south. From that position to the evening of the 29th, it has exceeded 3,500 nautical miles. Who knows how far it will go? So he must not rush to speed, otherwise he will become the second Kakuta.

Tsukahara knew very well the reason why Kakuta consumed so much fuel - it was consumed in the process of high-speed advancement and high-speed escape in Seattle. Otherwise, how could he be so embarrassed that he could hardly sustain it? He forced Hori Teikichi to deliver oil to him. It should be noted that when he did not know the news of Halsey's fleet heading north, it was agreed that Hori Teikichi would withdraw northward and the Second Air Fleet would actively approach him for supplies. Now the whole system is messed up.

But unlike Kusaka Ryunosuke, Tsukahara didn't want to blame Kakuda, because the Second Carrier Fighter had made great contributions: Kakuda's performance was very successful and devoted. He not only hit Boeing but also successfully lured TF50 to the north, which not only created conditions for the success of Z-1, but also laid the foundation for the implementation of Z-2.

It's just that Halsey's fleet's northward movement actually widened the distance between him and Tsukahara, but even so, Tsukahara still moved slowly northward without rushing. Hori Teikichi understood his actual difficulties and didn't rush him either.

Kakuda could still count on Hori Teikichi or Tsukahara to save him, but who could Tsukahara count on to save him? On the contrary, Tsukahara was still responsible for saving Kakuda in a sense - if the decoy fleet sent by Hori Teikichi was eaten by Halsey this afternoon, the heavy oil stored in several battleships in Tsukahara's hands would extend the life of the Second Carrier Fighter, so he had to control the fuel consumption very sparingly until he was sure that the four oil tankers in the decoy fleet were still alive before he could let go and race.

The disadvantage of doing so is that he arrived at the battlefield late, but the advantage is that he retained more fuel - currently, the ships of the First Carrier have at least 50% fuel, and the fuel retention rate of several aircraft carriers exceeds 65%, which lays a good foundation for the next victory in the operation.

According to Tsukahara's order, all pilots arranged to rest early. Five hours later, at 4 a.m., they will start to make final preparations before the attack.

Hori Teikichi led the Fifth Carrier and also stepped up. According to the requirements of the night attack, all the Night Clouds and Night Ruiyun have been released and began to rush to the sea area where the Chinese and American fleets are expected to appear. The Fifth Carrier will not be able to catch up with the night attack, but the second round of attacks in the early morning must be dispatched. Kakuda alone is not enough; the third round of attacks needs to wait for Tsukahara to be in place, and then the fourth and fifth rounds... Matsuda Chiaki believes that if the entire combined fleet is dispatched, TF50 can basically be completely destroyed after four rounds. For insurance purposes, the fifth round must be planned.

Also hurrying on was the Second Air Battle where Tsunoda was located. Originally, according to Arima Masafumi's plan, the Second Air Battle was not going to release the first attack group until early in the morning, so Kakuharu Tsunoda initially planned to meet the decoy fleet at a speed of 27 knots. But after nightfall, Horikichi temporarily arranged a night attack mission based on Halsey's response. He had to speed up again, so he led two Unryu-class and three Kaohsiung-class heavy cruisers to attack at a speed of 32 knots, allowing Nishimura Shoji to lead Musashi and Kongo. and other warships are rushing at 27 knots, so that the aircraft carrier can replenish fuel at least one hour in advance. In order to save time, Masafumi Arima believes that the refueling operation does not need to be completely filled, and two-thirds of the fuel is enough, which can save at least half Hour.

Here, they are racing against time. Over there, Halsey led the TF50 slowly northward. Due to the change in course, the distance between him and the Tsunoda fleet and the Yano fleet not only did not shrink, but continued to expand at a speed of 8 kilometers per hour. Before the inquiry telegram was sent, the distance between TF50 and the Japanese fleet had shrunk to about 850 kilometers. However, after adjusting the course, the gap widened again to 880 kilometers in the early morning. The staff agreed that maintaining a distance of 900-950 kilometers was more appropriate - " A good place to be seen and not get beaten.”

At 1:04, the first Ye Caiyun began to search for its sector. The search method still used the two-stage search commonly used by the Japanese army - forming a sector area every 14 degrees, with one Ye Caiyun and one Ye Ruiyun responsible for the two sectors. In this search, colorful clouds come forward and Ruiyun sweeps away to prevent omissions.

At 1:19, all night reconnaissance aircraft of the Japanese army launched a detailed search of their respective sectors in the sea area of ​​​​400-600 kilometers.

At 1:40, the radar of the leading destroyer of the Tsunoda fleet discovered the target and reported that "there are a large number of warships traveling 70 kilometers away, heading 45 degrees, speed 16 knots..."

"Confirm whether it is Yano-kun's fleet!"

"Hurry, the second aviation battle is about to arrive, be ready to refuel immediately!" Hero Yano waved his fist and shouted excitedly. Originally, he took up the post of commander of the decoy fleet with a certain death mentality, but now it seems that he basically does not need to die, and the whole army is also There was a burst of cheers - although everyone was not afraid of death, they still didn't want to die if they could.

At 2:49, the sailors set up the pipeline as quickly as possible, and the gurgling heavy oil was immediately pumped out from the escort aircraft carrier to replenish the two aircraft carriers. In order to speed up, a 2-to-1 refueling method was adopted - one Yunlong for every two escort aircraft carriers. Level supply, Tsunoda Kakuji felt his palms were all sweaty. The most dangerous moment was for the warships stationed at anchor to refuel. As long as an American submarine came over, the stationary warships would be doomed.

In addition, 3:45 is the time when the night attack group is expected to take off. Whether time is tight or not, all pilots stand on the deck and silently encourage and pray for their companions.

After refueling, the fleet has to increase its speed before releasing the attack group, so it must maintain at least 15 minutes of lead time. Everyone's heart was in their throats. Fortunately, no accident occurred. At 3:29, the scheduled refueling operation ended. The two main aircraft carriers of the Second Air War began to resume speed. 48 night commandos were ready and waiting for the reconnaissance aircraft. Sent accurate information.

The refueling operation finally came to the turn of the three heavy cruisers and the Musashi formation that was about to arrive.

When Tsunoda was refueling just now, Nishimura Shoji, who was rushing behind him, was even more uncomfortable, and his heart was about to jump out: 5 minutes ago, the chief engineer told him that Musashi only had the last 50 tons of heavy oil left. If he still rushed the ship at such a fast speed, If you can't get fuel replenishment after an hour, you will be paralyzed at sea due to lack of oil. In the end, nearly 20 tons of heavy oil will be difficult to pump up because the liquid level is too low.

Nishimura Shoji thought painfully for 10 seconds, and finally shouted: "Keep the route and speed unchanged, and rush forward. I will definitely get the fuel!"

"Onboard!"

"Onboard!"

At 3:41, seeing that the oil supply ship was close at hand, all the officers and soldiers on the Musashi and Kongo started shouting wildly.

Now it is Tsunoda's turn to sweat. After nearly 2 and a half hours of searching, 24 reconnaissance planes have even expanded the detection range to 700 kilometers. Still no news has been sent. When I called to inquire, I got the same report—— "No enemy fleet found in this sector!"

Without clear direction instructions, the attack group cannot attack. Everyone is waiting anxiously - now the oil is available, but the combat target is gone!

"Peripheral warships strengthen sea surface surveillance to prevent the US surface fleet and submarines from causing trouble." Kakuji Tsunoda asked Masafumi Arima, "Is it possible that the sector does not cover enough angles? The enemy is in other directions?"

Masafumi Arima nodded: "Order each group of aircraft to expand the search angle by 3 degrees to 17 degrees, and search again for a sector of 10 to 180 degrees!"