"Has the result of the battle against Lagen Island come out?" At this time, on the flagship of the Japanese Joint Fleet, the Joint Fleet Commander Shigetaro Yoshimatsu also summoned senior Japanese naval leaders to discuss the outcome of the future war. He did not care about the losses of the oil fields, refining facilities and ports of the fight against Lagen Island. Because under the full attack of more than half a dozen battleships, all targets on the island within the range of artillery will not survive. Therefore, for Shigetaro Yoshimatsu and the Japanese Joint Fleet, how to fight the next war and make the US fleet pay a heavy price or even be completely wiped out is what he needs to consider.

"In this battle, two brand new battleships appeared in the US Navy. If nothing unexpected happens, it should be the first-class Colorado-class battleship built by the Americans with 16-inch naval guns. Judging from our current reconnaissance situation, the US Navy should have 11 battleships, one of which is the Bavarian-class battleship, and the others are standard battleships."

"However, in addition to battleships, the US Navy also has a large number of armored cruisers, of which at least 3 are new fast armored cruisers. We destroyed one, and the Americans have at least 2. In addition, they may have three other old armored cruisers. If we are considered warships above light cruisers, we have an advantage in quality, but we have no advantage in tonnage." Shimamura Soo said.

"How many American aircraft carriers are there? How many have we destroyed?" asked Shigetaro Yoshimatsu.

"The Americans dispersed their aircraft carriers, they had at least two aircraft carriers. What we found was an aircraft carrier detachment, which had three aircraft carriers. We destroyed two aircraft carriers, and the other injured one, and an aircraft carrier detachment was outside our reconnaissance range. We didn't know their location at the end of the battle, but we can be sure that there was a German aircraft carrier in this aircraft carrier detachment. According to what we estimated before, this undiscovered aircraft carrier detachment had about three aircraft carriers." Shimamura Soo said.

"In other words, in theory, the US Navy has four aircraft carriers, one of which is a German aircraft carrier? Unfortunately, even though we lost more than three-digit twin-engine bombers and fighters, it still did not allow us to gain the advantage of maritime aviation. What do you think? General Betty?" asked Shigetaro Yoshimatsu.

"It's very difficult. Even if we remove the injured aircraft carrier, we still have no advantage in air force. The Americans' aircraft carriers are generally larger, have stronger aviation capabilities, and they are rich and have a large number of spare aircraft reserved in parts on the aircraft carriers. In addition, at the end of the battle, they controlled the battlefield, so most of the pilots who fell into the water can be rescued. We have tried our best to bring the aviation power of both sides to a considerable level. So, if we want to win this battle, then prepare for close combat in the battleship fleet. This will be a very difficult battle. The Americans took out their most elite fleet and the best officers and soldiers, and we are the same." Betty sighed and said.

Although the Japanese tried their best to conduct reconnaissance, the Japanese Navy still misjudged the power of the US Navy for various reasons. The US Navy's previous action of placing two aircraft carriers outside the Japanese reconnaissance scope had unexpected results. If the Japanese discovered the full aviation strength of the US Navy, that is, only 5 aircraft carriers, and now only 2 are intact and one severely damaged, then the Japanese Navy, which gained the advantage of aviation, would definitely take the initiative to seek war. At this time, one aircraft carrier is the difference between heaven and hell. Fortunately, the Americans were clearly in hell, but the Japanese mistakenly thought they were in heaven!

"What about the auxiliary forces of the US fleet? For example, seaplane motherships, destroyers and other warships." Shigetaro Yoshimatsu continued to ask.

"The Americans have at least 4 seaplane motherships. As for destroyers? There are too many of them, and the battle scenes are very chaotic, so we don't have a exact number. However, according to our estimates, the Americans have at least 50 or more destroyers, all of which are ocean destroyers, with a displacement of at least 1,500 tons, which is not the same thing as our escort destroyers or large torpedo boats." Shimamura Soo said.

"In addition to having advantages in the main battleships, we are completely disadvantageous in armored cruisers and destroyers. We cannot even pull out an old-style armored cruiser now. The warships that participated in the battle of the war before are under maintenance. There are only two light cruisers accompanying the fleet. Our destroyer team cannot reopen the opponent's escort fleet, and it cannot stop the opponent's lightning strike." Suzuki Kantaro said.

"We have two more dreadnoughts, and we want to bring them with us?" said an officer.

"That would slow down our speed. These two warships have been too long and the maximum speed may not even reach 19 knots." Another officer said. Then, the entire venue fell into silence, and everyone weighed how to fight this battle.

The Japanese were hesitant because of some deviations in intelligence that they were hesitant. Fighting with the US fleet was necessary, but how to fight was a problem. After several large-scale naval battles, the naval battles had gradually formed a relatively fixed template. The aircraft carriers were responsible for reconnaissance, air defense and attacking all other warships except the main battleship. After gaining the advantage of aviation, the carrier-based aircraft was converted to cooperate with the battleships and the enemy's main fleet to fight, and the aircraft carrier became one of the prerequisites for victory.

Now, unless in the bad weather where aircraft carriers cannot be deployed, no one is willing to engage in a even-match battle with the opponent's main fleet when the opponent has an aviation advantage. The Americans chose to find a way to destroy the Japanese aircraft carrier before launching a fleet decisive battle after losing the Japanese aircraft carrier. The Japanese were the same, but because of the mistakes in judgment, the Japanese were undecided. Even the Japanese were worried that if the American fleet rushed out of the Sulawesi Sea immediately, then how would the Japanese fleet intercept it.

Interception means the collision of the main fleets of both sides. Before the battleships fight, the Japanese will suffer losses in the battle between the aircraft carriers of both sides. If the luck is worse, the US aircraft carrier will severely damage the Japanese aircraft carrier and still retain a certain combat effectiveness, the Japanese will have no choice but to give up this battle.

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