Chapter 2503 The Fleet Unfolds

"Your Excellency, Commander, the fleet has entered the predetermined sea area and is ready for battle at any time." Looking at the New Ireland Island that has appeared in the distance, a US military officer said.

"Order the aircraft carrier squadron and seaplane carrier to immediately take off reconnaissance aircraft to conduct reconnaissance in the waters near the landing site, especially to pay attention to the whereabouts of the Japanese fleet. That's it." After hesitating for a moment, Benson did not immediately deploy the fleet, but wanted to finally Check the situation of the surrounding sea area at once.

The American fleet did indeed land in the northeastern area of ​​New Ireland Island, because only here the terrain is relatively wide, which can facilitate the deployment of landing troops. Even before the fleet arrived, the U.S. submarine force had formed two huge cordons around the perimeter. Subsequently, the destroyer squadron responsible for peripheral security also arrived at the scheduled location last night. As of now, it is already 10 o'clock in the morning. The entire sea area is calm, and no trace of the Japanese navy has been found.

Earlier, the U.S. aircraft carrier detachment tried to conduct reconnaissance of Japanese military facilities on the island, but was intercepted by a superior number of Japanese fighter jets. After both sides threw away more than ten fighter jets, the reconnaissance plan failed, but the Americans still discovered that In the highland area in the northwest of the island, there are large-scale airports and aviation facilities. Although it was expected, after experiencing this indeterminate air battle this morning, Benson was still full of worries about his own aviation power.

The 22 battleships of the German-American Combined Fleet are divided into five independent battleship squadrons, of which the first and second battleship squadrons are super-dreadnought battleships. The 3rd battleship squadron was the German fleet commanded by Su Xiong, and the 4th and 5th battleship squadrons were the dreadnought squadrons. Fourteen pre-dreadnought and quasi-dreadnought battleships formed the sixth, seventh and eighth battleship squadrons. The 12 armored cruisers formed three armored cruiser detachments, each with 4 armored cruisers. The aircraft carrier naturally consists of two detachments. Three aircraft carriers per detachment. Seaplane carriers were dismantled and used to temporarily increase the aviation power of certain fleets.

Because the number of American destroyers is relatively sufficient, each battleship squadron is assigned an independent destroyer squadron. There are a total of 13 squadrons of battleships and cruisers, with a total of 60 destroyers! As for the remaining destroyer squadrons, they were organized into anti-submarine destroyer squadrons, reconnaissance destroyer squadrons and rescue squadrons as needed! That's right, it's rescue, ready to save people who fall into the water for various reasons.

"Can the aviation force ensure the safety of the fleet?" Benson asked after a moment.

"If it's just to ensure air superiority over the fleet and landing sites, the aviation force can definitely do it. Don't forget, we have 6 aircraft carriers and nearly 500 aircraft of various types. According to our estimates, the Japanese Navy's power on this island The total number of aircraft will not exceed 400," said the officer in charge of aviation.

"Use the aviation power in your hands carefully." Benson thought for a while and said. "As long as you can ensure that Japanese planes do not appear over the fleet, you don't have to do anything else.

I will leave the correction, patrol and reconnaissance missions to seaplanes. "

"Order, the fleet is deployed as planned!" Along with the transmission of radio waves and flags, Benson's order was passed to the entire American Expeditionary Fleet in a short time. The forward Dreadnoughts of the Sixth and Seventh Battleship Squadrons carried minesweepers. The ship and the attached destroyer were the first to go forward. Their mission was to clear a sea channel for the subsequent landing fleet and suppress the Japanese firepower on the shore. Then the first and second armored cruiser detachments lined up behind, preparing to suppress the second wave of landing points.

At the same time that the secondary capital ships began to move, the German fleet commanded by Su Xiong led the destroyers assigned to them to move southeast of the fleet. They would assume the security of the left wing of the fleet during the day. The four dreadnoughts of the Fifth Battleship Division, under the command of General Robert Kuntz, maneuvered to the southwest to serve as the right wing shield of the fleet. As for the remaining battleships, they are concentrated together, ready to deal with the possible appearance of the Japanese navy at any time. Although aerial reconnaissance has determined that there is not even a Japanese sampan within a radius of 100 kilometers! Even Pershing strongly requested that Benson's main fleet also launch fire support on the ground.

Of course, this request was rejected by Benson. He knew his own affairs. All 14-inch L50 naval guns in the U.S. Navy suffered serious ablation when used, and their lifespan and dispersion were not ideal. Benson did not want to use these U.S. Navy naval guns. The precious life of the most powerful artillery currently is used for ground support. You must know that once the life of the artillery reaches its limit, it is very troublesome to change the gun. Therefore, in the battle plan, Benson once wrote, "I must ensure that all 14-inch artillery fires no more than 200 times in the entire battle! Otherwise, once we engage the Japanese fleet, our firepower advantage may only be It exists on paper.”

"Let's start!" When the U.S. Navy's fire support fleet approached 10 kilometers from the beach, as the firing order was issued, dozens of six-inch or above artillery on the two battleship squadrons prepared to target the distant islands, huge The artillery shells and propellant packs were lifted out of the tightly protected ammunition compartment, and then loaded into the somewhat outdated artillery under the operation of servo equipment. Since the armed conflict between the U.S. and Japanese navies in the Bismarck Sea a few years ago, , the U.S. fleet finally returned to this place that once shamed the United States of America. Now, they are eager to use their own artillery shells to wash away the shame!

Along with huge flames spurting out from the thick and long muzzle, sharp cannonballs flew rapidly through the air, making a heart-stopping sound. Tens of seconds later, with the fire rising in the distance, the 45-minute fire suppression by the U.S. fleet finally began. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the subsequent U.S. Navy landing ships began to follow the channel cleared by the destroyer. During a landing operation, a large number of personnel transfer from a large transport ship to a landing ship or landing craft at a safe distance. In the process of preparing for the artillery fire, officers and soldiers of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps were ready to rush to the distant islands at any time!

"Okay, boys, we now need to use our own feet to complete the next journey. In the future, we will also use our own feet to measure the entire land of Guinea Island. Now, cheer up, let us use our own feet to complete the rest of the journey. Use the rifles and grenades in your hands to teach those hateful Japanese a lesson!" said a US military officer on the landing ship.

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