?

"His Excellency Commander, the fleet has entered the predetermined waters and can start the battle at any time." A US military officer said, looking at the New Ireland Island that had appeared in sight in the distance.

"Order the aircraft carrier team and the seaplane carrier to take off immediately to conduct reconnaissance aircraft in the waters near the landing ground, especially paying attention to the whereabouts of the Japanese fleet, and that's it." After hesitating for a moment, Benson did not immediately launch the fleet, but wanted to confirm the situation in the surrounding waters for the last time.

The US fleet did land in the northeastern part of New Ireland, because the terrain here is relatively wide, which makes it convenient for the landing troops to deploy. Before the fleet arrived, the US submarine forces had formed two huge cordons on the periphery. Subsequently, the destroyer team responsible for the periphery also arrived at the pre-determined location last night. By now, it was 10 a.m. The entire sea area was calm and no trace of the Japanese Navy was found.

Earlier, the US aircraft carrier detachment tried to reconnaise Japanese military facilities on the island, but was intercepted by an advantageous number of Japanese fighters. After both sides threw away more than ten fighters, the reconnaissance plan failed. However, the Americans still found that there were large airports and aviation facilities in the highlands in the northwest of the island. Although expected, after experiencing this morning's air battle, Benson was still full of worries about his own aviation power.

The 22 main battleships of the U.S.-German Fleet are divided into 5 independent battleship teams, of which the first and second battleship teams are super-dreadless battleships. The third battleship team is a German fleet commanded by Su Xiong, and the fourth and fifth battleship teams are a dreadful ship team. The 14 former fearless and quasi-dreadless battleships form the sixth, seventh and eighth third battleship teams. The 12 armored cruisers form three armored cruisers, each with 4 armored cruisers. The aircraft carrier naturally forms two teams. Each team has three aircraft carriers. The seaplane aircraft carrier is dismantled to temporarily increase the aviation power of certain fleets.

Because the number of American destroyers is relatively sufficient, each main ship detachment is equipped with an independent destroyer detachment, a total of 13 battleships and cruisers, and a total of 60 destroyers! As for the remaining destroyer detachments, they are formed as anti-submarine destroyer detachments, reconnaissance destroyer detachments and rescue detachments as needed! That's right, it's rescue, ready to rescue people who fell into the water for various reasons at any time.

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

"If we only ensure air supremacy over the fleet and landing field, the aviation force can do it. Don't forget that we have 6 aircraft carriers with nearly 500 aircraft of various types. According to our estimates, the total number of aircraft on this island by the Japanese Navy 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. "You can just ensure that the Japanese planes do not appear over the fleet. You can do anything else without doing. I will leave the agitating, patrol and reconnaissance missions to the seaplane."

"Command, the fleet will unfold as planned!" With the transmission of radio waves and flags, Benson's orders were transmitted to the entire U.S. Expeditionary Fleet in a short time. The sixth and seventh battleship teams, Fore Wuwu, took the minesweeper ship and the affiliated destroyers, first came forward. Their mission was to clear a sea passage for the subsequent landing fleet and suppress the Japanese firepower points on the shore. Then the first and second armored cruisers were lined up behind, preparing to suppress the second wave of landing sites.

Just as the second-hand main ship began to operate, the German fleet commanded by Su Xiong led the destroyers assigned to him to move southeast of the fleet. They will bear the safety of the left wing of the fleet during the day. The four dreadnoughts of the Fifth Battleship Detachment maneuvered southwest under the command of General Robert Kuntz, as the right wing of the fleet. As for the remaining main ships, they were gathered together and prepared to deal with the possible Japanese navy at any time. Although aviation reconnaissance has been determined, there is not even a Japanese sampan within a radius of 100 kilometers! Even Pershing strongly demanded that Benson's main fleet also launched firepower support to the ground.

Of course, this requirement was rejected by Benson. His own family knew his own affairs. All 14-inch L50 naval guns in the US Navy were seriously ablated when used, and their lifespan and dispersion were not ideal. Benson did not want to use the precious lifespan of these most powerful artillery in the US Navy to use for ground support. You must know that once the lifespan of the artillery reached its limit, it would be very troublesome to change the artillery. Therefore, in the combat plan, Benson once wrote, "I must ensure that all 14-inch artillery fired no more than 200 times in the entire battle! Otherwise, once we fight with the Japanese fleet, our firepower advantage may only exist on paper."

"Start!" When the US Navy's fire support fleet approached 10 kilometers from the beach, with the issuance of firing orders, dozens of six-inch guns on the two battleship squads prepared the distant islands. Huge shells and launching medicine packages were raised from the well-protected ammunition compartment, and then loaded into some obsolete artillery under the operation of servo equipment. Since the armed conflict between the US and Japan in the Bismarck Sea a few years ago, the US fleet has finally returned to this place that once shamed the United States of America. Now, they are eager to use their shells to clean up the shame of the past!

As huge flames spewed out from the thick and long gun mouths, sharp shells flew rapidly through the air, making a heart-wrenching sound. After a few dozen seconds, with the rising fire from afar, the US fleet's 45-minute fire suppression finally began. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the subsequent US Navy landing ship began to carry out landing operations along the channel cleared by the destroyer. A large number of people transferred from large transport ships to landing ships or landing crafts at a safe distance. During the preparation of artillery fire, the officers and soldiers of the US Army and Marine Corps were ready to go and were ready to rush to the distant island at any time!

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