Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Chapter 698
It turned out that since the start of the air strike, the Dragon Army has never figured out where the two aircraft carriers "White-Eyed Giant" and "Hermes" of the coalition fleet are.

Gao Zhihang replied: "Although I can't be sure, I think they are most likely training somewhere in the sea. At this time, the aircraft carrier has undoubtedly received the report of the air attack and will definitely come to look for our task force to wait for an opportunity." revenge."

Obviously, this terrible guess left a deep impression on Sa Zhenbing, and he was also deeply anxious about it. He asked the staff officer in charge of aviation affairs what he thought of this problem, but the staff officer replied relaxedly: "Let the enemy come Go ahead! If they come, we'll shoot down their planes."

Sa Zhenbing praised Gao Zhihang and let him go, and then discussed with his staff.

Lieutenant Colonel Yu Chongguang believed that if he attacked Mannar again before the whereabouts of the two enemy aircraft carriers were found out, he would definitely become a permanent laughing stock, so he urged the commander-in-chief: "Stay where you are for a few days and find the enemy take action after the aircraft carrier.” However, Lieutenant Commander Zhang Shaohui and Liu Deju both advocated that they could not return to the voyage and should continue to attack.

However, Fleet Commander Sa Zhenbing’s idea is: “End all this as soon as possible and go home. This time, I made the decision to attack Mannar at the risk of losing the entire Singapore Airlines Brigade. Now our main air force has no Getting hit hard, that's enough. I don't want to take that risk again."

"The purpose of this operation is to protect the flanks and rear wings of the task force. I did not expect the plan to go so smoothly." Yu Chongguang said, "Since the purpose has been basically achieved, I think we should cancel the next attack plan. Should or should not be obsessed with prolonging this venture indefinitely"

Although Yu Chongguang appreciated Gao Zhihang's strong desire to repeatedly attack the enemy, he also believed: "We have to calmly weigh the fighting enthusiasm and the enemy's combat effectiveness. At best, India would take a few broken ships. If it weren't for the British to help Let them show off, this sea battle does not need to take so many troubles, just take the warships to the east and west coasts of India. But the empire's ships are all treasures piled up with a lot of money, we can't afford to Put your own ships on the gambling table at will, and you can't take risks without knowing the size of the benefits."

The easy victory made Sa Zhenbing's combat decision-making thinking lose its focus.Before the battle, he had thought he would lose a third of the force of the task force, but now thanks to the victory of naval aviation, his warships were not damaged at all.Under such circumstances, he forgot the general rule of war that "only by destroying the enemy to the greatest extent can we preserve ourselves more effectively", and set the logical starting point for thinking about the problem at once as "how to minimize the loss of the task force." "superior.Therefore, he and Yu Chongguang agreed that the operation has achieved 80% success, and the other 20% is not worth taking any more risks.

Therefore, Sa Zhenbing made a decisive decision to return the task force.This decision of theirs disappointed many pilots. The young flight officers were very eager to attack the Mannar Naval Port again, and they wanted to inflict as much damage on the enemy as possible.They think that this is a rare opportunity in a lifetime, and they will regret it for the rest of their lives if they miss this opportunity.Of course, many pilots breathed a sigh of relief after causing heavy losses to the enemy, hoping to return home as soon as possible.These people think: "The losses we have caused to the enemy's battleships are quite satisfactory, and there is no need for us to carry out a second round of attacks. Therefore, the task force should not use elite aviation units to attack the military installations in the Mannar Naval Port, but We should recharge our batteries and prepare for a decisive battle with the enemy's aircraft carrier someday in the future."

At that time, Gao Zhihang was sitting in the command post on the flight deck, devouring his meal, when he suddenly heard an order to "cancel the attack preparation".At the same time, the Xiazi was seen hoisting a signal flag, instructing the rest of the task force to prepare for a northward retreat.Gao Zhihang threw down his chopsticks and rushed to find Sa Zhenbing angrily. Once he entered the door, he asked, "Why don't we attack again?"

Just as Sa Zhenbing opened his mouth to answer, Yu Chongguang rushed ahead and said: "The purpose of the Thang Long military operation has been achieved, and now we must prepare for future military operations."

Yu Chongguang's tone was so sure that Gao Zhihang was unable to refute. He tried his best to hold back his disappointment and anger, and walked out sad and angry.He was angry with himself for failing to dismiss the headquarters' claim, and he even believed that his calculations had tipped the scales in favor of caution.In fact, Sa Zhenbing had already decided to only carry out a one-time attack.Unaccounted for coalition aircraft carriers, the possibility of retaliation from enemy shore-based aircraft these factors only strengthened his already made decision.Yu Chongguang also believed that the attack should be as fast as lightning, and the evacuation should be as fast as a gust of wind.

After the Imperial Admiralty in Beijing received the telegram of Sa Zhenbing's return, many staff members believed that this was a major wrong decision and hoped that the Singapore fleet would launch a second large-scale attack.But Lin Jianzhang knew that unless the conditions were perfect, Sa Zhenbing would not attack again.However, if the situation were perfect, there would be no need for another attack.Lin Jianzhang said with his usual smile: "Old Sa undoubtedly felt like a thief at this time. He was unusually brave before and during the crime; however, at this time all he considered was to escape with the prey."

At this time, Lin Jianzhang was shouldering the responsibility for a huge war plan, and the Rising Dragon plan was only a part of the whole plan, although it was a very important part.Had he commanded on the spot, he might have attacked again, but he would have been equally surprised and delighted that the fleet had returned intact.His consistent policy had been to leave the decision-making power to field commanders who knew the situation, and it was impossible for these Admiralty staff officers to know the details of the field.If he made a decision based on the opinions of the staff officers and ordered the Singapore Task Force to launch a second attack, it would make Sa Zhenbing lose face in front of his subordinates.For this reason, he flatly rejected the proposal of the staff officers.

Sa Zhenbing led the main force of the task force back to the Sumatra military port first, leaving a temporary formation led by Yu Chongguang to continue cruising on the Indian Ocean, looking for the two surviving aircraft carriers of the coalition forces: the Hundred-eyed Giant and the Hercules. Only by completely annihilating the battle cores of the two coalition forces can the officers and soldiers go home and sleep soundly.At the same time, Operation Rising Dragon dealt a heavy blow to the coalition fleet. Mountbatten felt that he had suffered an unprecedented humiliation. He was full of confidence in this battle to completely blow the arrogance of the Chinese Navy and revive the glory of the Royal Navy. He ordered the two aircraft carrier battle groups trained in the ocean to return to Mannar Naval Port to assemble immediately, and prepare to launch a full-scale counterattack against the Chinese navy in the Andaman Islands. What he wants now is not just a victory, but a revenge!
After receiving the commander-in-chief's order, the two aircraft carrier teams began to return.In the early morning of this day, the squadron leader Brian took off from the Hundred-Eyed Giant to conduct a routine patrol in the direction of the horizon.It was a perfect day, sunny.Brian knew that his superiors had repeatedly warned him to maintain a high degree of vigilance when patrolling, because many days of facts have proved that those damned Chinese warships and carrier-based aircraft may appear on the Indian Ocean at any time, and battles may occur at any time. A sea started.He reminded the crew: "Stay on your marks and stay on high alert." There was a sense of fatigue in Bryan's childish round face and his well-set lips with a sense of humor at the corners.This is quite understandable. Since his 44th Patrol Aircraft Squadron was stationed on the Hundred-Eyed Giant aircraft carrier, Brian's Sea Otter fighters have patrolled at least 12 hours a day. He made a little omission, but he couldn't, because in this military guarded sea area, even a small negligence could bring fatal consequences to the fleet.

While flying the plane, Brian observed the sky very carefully. The pilot's intuition told him that it is possible to find traces of the powerful Chinese navy today. At the same time, he also realized that his plane may be spotted by Chinese submarines cruising in the Indian Ocean at any time .In the previous battle, the anti-aircraft artillery installed by the Chinese submarine had severely damaged four Sea Otter surface reconnaissance aircraft, and Brian certainly did not want his aircraft to be the fifth.

At this time, his plane had been flying out of the mothership for 10 minutes, and was about to reach the end of the patrol area, but he still hadn't found the shadow of the Chinese reconnaissance plane, let alone the Chinese warship.From a professional soldier's point of view, Brian and his crew were feeling a little frustrated.

"Sir, can't we fly out for another 10 minutes?" Francis Mather, who was in charge of radio communications, asked, "We will definitely find the enemy plane."

Brian calculated the amount of fuel and was sure that there would be more than enough fuel to fly out for 20 to 40 minutes, so he agreed to Mather's request.So they flew forward for another 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, still no gains.He flew forward for another 10 minutes.When it was estimated that there would be no gain from flying forward, Brian began to turn, preparing to enter the route back to the mothership.At this moment, he suddenly found a few small black spots on the water antenna.At first, he thought it was a stain on the windshield, ignored it, and continued to fly forward.Immediately, he suddenly came to his senses, and shouted to the co-pilot, Lieutenant Harmand: "Oh, God! Look, the little black dot on the water antenna, isn't that an enemy ship? I think we are in luck."

Harmand grabbed the binoculars and took a closer look, and it turned out to be an enemy ship.A few seconds later, the second co-pilot and the nose shooter Ensign Gammel called out: "Directly ahead, at 25 to 30 nautical miles, an enemy ship is found!"

A few minutes later, Bryan sent a telegram: "The enemy's main fleet is found. Bearing 262, distance 700."

(End of this chapter)