Cross the Songhu battlefield and rise to become the most powerful warlord

618 Chasing North

Soon, the American colonel left.

Frank was not in a hurry and sent a telegram to their Pacific Fleet Command.

He had to wait until the American colonel had dealt with everything and made sure everything was foolproof before sending a telegram to the headquarters.

After the American colonel left, Frank immediately asked someone to contact Wang Chuying's fleet to confirm the results of the battle again.

The reply received was almost the same as the one Ye Qingshan sent.

"What a curious fleet."

At this moment, Frank was very interested in Ye Qingshan's escort fleet.

Then he suddenly changed his original plan and had the fleet return to ports in eastern Australia for rest and recuperation.

"Attention all ships, turn around immediately.

We are going to meet our friendly fleet."

Frank is going to meet Ye Qingshan's fleet. This is what they should do as an allied fleet.

Acting should be real and complete.

At the same time, Frank also wanted to go and see Ye Qingshan’s escort fleet in person.

Is it true, as Charles told him, that they are all made up of old ships from twenty or thirty years ago?

If that is the case, then this fleet has truly created a miracle.

Frank would definitely want to bring such a fleet to his camp.

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Just as Ye Qingshan, Frank and others were celebrating the great victory achieved by Wang Chu and his team.

The fleet commanded by Wang Chuying was also experiencing a huge crisis.

The Japanese carrier-based aircraft group immediately flew east after receiving guidance from the crew of the Shokaku aircraft carrier.

Searching for Wang Chuying and his fleet, vowing to avenge the sinking of the Shokaku.

However, after the Japanese carrier-based aircraft flew east for twenty minutes, they did not see any trace of a warship.

This made the Japanese navigator commander confused.

"Baga, why is there no American fleet?"

According to the speed of their fighter planes, they had flown hundreds of kilometers to the east in twenty minutes.

Such a long distance is enough for a warship to travel for two hours.

In addition, they are high above the ground and can see very far.

Logically speaking, the fleeing enemy fleet should have been discovered long ago.

But now, they found nothing.

Other Japanese pilots and officers nearby also flew over, made gestures, and put forward their own ideas.

Some people speculated that it was the US military's evacuating fleet that changed its sailing direction.

Otherwise, they would have caught up with us long ago.

This idea is almost the same as what the Japanese navigation commander thought.

So, now there is a huge problem facing the commander of the Japanese carrier-based aircraft group.

How to find an enemy fleet that has changed course.

This time, they had no one to show them the way.

In the vast ocean, no one knows in which direction this enemy fleet escaped.

South, north, southeast, northeast?

No one is sure.

I can only guess.

If they guessed correctly and caught up with the enemy fleet, they could destroy it.

It would be worth it to avenge the Shokaku and then they would be destroyed.

But what if we chase in the wrong direction and fail to find the enemy's withdrawing fleet?

That would be a terrible price to pay for these pilots.

At that time, not only would they be unable to protect themselves, but they would also be unable to destroy a single enemy warship, and dozens of their pilots and fighter planes would also be lost.

That would be a huge loss.

Moreover, the Japanese commander has always been reluctant about this suicide rescue order.

However, due to Takeo Takagi's death order, the Shokaku aircraft carrier must be saved.

They can only choose to execute orders.

But now, the Shokaku has been sunk and the rescue operation has failed.

Could it be that they had to take one last gamble, risking the lives of these pilots, and blindly guess the direction in which the enemy fleet would retreat?

The probability of losing is too high.

At this time, some Japanese pilots suggested that they could disperse and pursue.

But this proposal is also stupid, even if their carrier-based aircraft are dispersed to pursue.

There were indeed a few bombers that were chasing in the right direction.

However, their fighter planes had no radio communications, and even though a few of them found the enemy fleet, they were unable to notify the other fighter planes.

By then, how can we destroy an entire fleet with just a few bombers?

In the end, it is likely that all of their fighter planes and pilots will be lost, and at most some damage will be caused to the enemy fleet.

not worth it!

The commander of the Japanese aircraft group naturally didn't know that the ships in Wang Chuying's fleet were also scattered.

Even harder to find.

The commander of the Japanese carrier-based aircraft group was unwilling to die in battle.

He has a wife and children waiting for him to come home.

But not everyone has been brainwashed and is willing to sacrifice themselves for the war. There are only a few fanatics among the Japanese.

Especially for pilots like them, who are all educated, they are even more unwilling to die easily.

If, they gave up the search now, the enemy's fleeing fleet.

If you immediately fly your fighter plane north to Rabaul base.

With the fuel on their fighter planes, they might be able to fly back.

If they dropped all the bombs they were carrying, the probability of them flying back would be even greater.

After all, the maximum range of their bombers is nearly two thousand kilometers.

Even if they can't fly back, they can basically get close to the waters near their Rabaul base.

By then, the base's radar will be sufficient to detect them.

After they make an emergency landing in the sea, their base can basically send people to rescue them.

So, at this time, the Japanese pilot commander had made his decision.

Give up chasing Wang Chuying and his fleet and fly to their Rabaul base.

However, this Japanese officer is also very smart.

He was worried that if he gave the order to give up tracking the enemy ship, the other Japanese pilots under his command would be dissatisfied.

Moreover, if he really gave such an order.

After the war, there is a high probability that people will be held accountable.

After thinking for a moment, the Japanese carrier-based aircraft group commander came up with a solution.

That is to give the order to pursue the enemy ships northward.

Don't ask why. The reason is that he judged that the enemy fleet had the greatest probability of escaping to the north.

Just keep chasing north, you won’t go wrong.

Anyway, at this time, the Rabaul base to their north was almost in the north direction.

In this way, their carrier-based bombers can chase all the way to the Rabaul base.

When the plane ran out of fuel and made an emergency landing in the sea, and was rescued by people sent from the base, they were not responsible.

We have chased until the fighter plane ran out of fuel. We have done our best.

It’s a pity that I didn’t follow the right direction.

So, this group of Japanese carrier-based bombers turned north and chased.

However, there were a few Japanese pilots who did not understand their commander's intentions and raised objections.

The Japanese commander was unwilling to say more and told them to either obey orders or not.

Either find a direction and chase it yourself.

Good words cannot persuade a damned ghost. If someone insists on going to die, he will not bother to care.

However, in the end, these Japanese pilots chose to obey orders and follow the fleet to "pursue" northward.