"How much has our attack mission been completed?" Sims asked after snuffing out the cigar in his hand.

"It has been 70% completed," said a staff officer.

"Why are you so slow? Didn't you all 65% just now?" Sims frowned and said dissatisfied.

"General, you just asked ten minutes ago." The staff officer said in embarrassment.

"We have to speed up." Sims said, looking at the pocket watch in his hand.

"It's very difficult. We are now attacking targets with relatively long distances, and the accuracy has decreased. In addition, the island is already a sea of ​​fire and the smoke is too strong. Even if a seaplane provides agitated shooting, it is difficult to ensure efficiency. So if we want to complete today's mission, it may take a considerable time." An officer said.

"How much ammunition is left?" Sims said to Majiphin.

"The number of armor-piercing bombs used for naval combat is still sufficient, but the number of high-explosive bombs and incendiary bombs used to attack land is already very small, and it may be difficult for us to complete the previously scheduled tasks." Majifen said.

"Why is this happening?" Sims asked.

"We underestimated the impact of the smoke caused by the fire on shooting accuracy. From here you can see the thick smoke in the distance and the dark clouds formed after various fine powders were thrown into the air. It is also very difficult for seaplanes to find oil wells covered by smoke. We have now destroyed at least 70% of our targets. The Japanese refineries and ports were completely destroyed, and the oil wells were severely damaged. Before the end of the war, the oil field in Lagen Island could not play a role. I feel that we can choose to evacuate. After all, we are more than half an hour late." Majifen looked at the night in the distance with worry. This was the darkest time before dawn. After a while, the star of Qi will rise.

"70 points are unacceptable! Even if we cannot achieve perfection, we must at least get an excellent one! After destroying more than 85% of the target, we will evacuate immediately! At the same time, we will send a signal to the aircraft carrier team to extend the cover location of their fighters by 50 kilometers westward!" Sims thought for a while and said.

"We will be more than an hour later than the scheduled time, which means that by dawn, we will give the Japanese ground-based air force an additional hour of attack time." Majiphin said worriedly.

"Even if they are given an extra hour, it will be difficult for them to organize a second round of attack. Judging from the current situation, after dawn, we will probably need about 4 hours to withdraw from the attack range of Japanese land-based aviation forces. It is impossible for the Japanese to complete an attack within 4 hours and then conduct another attack." Sims said.

"Your calculations are not accurate. You should know that even if our fighter jets carry a secondary fuel tank, the air combat time will be up to 3 hours. Fierce pursuit and combat will increase fuel consumption. One more hour means that in the end, there may be no cover for fighters over our heads." Majifen said.

"Our aircraft carriers can launch the second batch of aircraft. That's it! There will be many crises on the way back. Many of us may never see Oahu anymore, so we must make the sacrifices of these people rewarded enough! What will happen in the next naval battle be a tactical issue. The key is to completely destroy this Japanese oil field. We have severely damaged the Japanese's war potential. As for warships? Even if we suffer heavy losses, both the German battleships and our South Dakota-class battleships can quickly make up for the loss of combat effectiveness." Sims' attitude was extremely firm.

"Okay, Mr. Commander, as you wish." Majiphin sighed, his face showing a sad look. He was really worried.

"General, why did you stop the shelling?" At this time, on the German battleship Mecklenburg, Nimitz asked, looking at the main gun that had stopped shooting on the front deck.

"We have finished all the land attack ammunition, and the rest will be used in naval battles." Redel said calmly.

"You mean, this time we can not only damage the Japanese's energy supply, but also the Japanese fleet?" Nimitz said with a smile.

"Haha, you are too optimistic. So far, our advantage period has passed, and we have achieved great results by using our mobility and strategic surprises. From now on, all of us, whether Germans or Americans, every warship, whether it is battleships, aircraft carriers or destroyers, must fight for our survival!" Redell.

"Do you know? Even when the high seas fleet was at its peak, Britain's maritime and aviation power had weakened to the extreme at the end of the war, we were in full awe of land-based anti-ship aviation power. Well, we are like this, let alone the US Navy?" Raidel said.

"What you said is a bit too much..." Nimitz frowned after hearing this. It was obvious that Redel's words just now had some meanings to belittle the US fleet. However, Nimitz wanted to refute it but couldn't talk about it, because the US Navy was indeed not as good as the German Navy, and the current Japanese land-based aviation force still has strong combat power. The US Navy has entered the opponent's attack range and will face the Japanese joint fleet in the next few days. This combat situation is indeed very bad!

"What should we do?" Nimitz did it in another way.

"Yes, we need to work with the frigate to keep us safe. But the key to fighting in a few hours is not us, but aircraft carriers. I hope Logan and the others are more powerful," Raidel said.

Although there were fighter jets sent by the aircraft carrier detachment to provide air venting, Sims still made full use of the fleet's air defense resources. The aircraft cups that performed night-time air venting combat missions were quickly recycled to the seaplane carrier, and replenished fuel and ammunition, and replaced them with new pilots to prepare for air venting after dawn. The destroyer detachment also sent some ships as sentinel ships for air venting. The anti-aircraft gun teams on all warships also stepped up preparations after the shelling was over. The entire fleet was doing its best to prepare.

At the same time, at sea more than 200 kilometers away from the Sims fleet, the US aircraft carrier detachment was also busy all night tonight, with a large number of aircraft being lifted to the deck and then refueling. However, because the Sims fleet was attacked by Japanese land-based aviation forces tonight, touching the sensitive nerves of the Americans, Fletcher temporarily adjusted the plan and increased the number of aircraft carriers responsible for providing cover for the Sims fleet from 2 to 3. The flagship Constellation also used the nighttime to join the First Aircraft Carrier Detachment, while the other two aircraft carrier assaulters and Zeppelin were located in the northeast of the First Aircraft Carrier Detachment.
Chapter completed!