Chapter 1391: Choice (3rd update, please subscribe)

"Hampton Roads, the mighty Great White Fleet, set out from here, returned here, and finally disappeared here. What disappeared was not only the fleet, but also the era of cannons and giant ships..."

History of the Great White Fleet

It should be remembered that even in the face of unfamiliar aerial attacks, the American Navy fought bravely, fighting back with their backward anti-aircraft guns during the heavy bombing, and brave American sailors on the sunken ships took advantage of the intervals between the fierce attacks of the air forces to try to fight back against the Imperial air forces with rifles and machine guns.

The first wave of attacks lasted about an hour. In the fierce artillery fire, the Empire lost up to six aircraft, of which three fighters were shot down by the dense fire of mast machine guns while dropping bombs at low altitude.

The loss is indeed heavy!

When the fleet began to return, Lü Deren flew around Hampton Roads again, scouted the results of the battle, and took a lot of aerial photos. At this time, the entire Hampton Roads was completely shrouded in thick smoke and flames everywhere. However, despite this, the results of today's battle can still be confirmed. Among the eleven dreadnought battleships of the US Navy in the anchorage, as many as five have definitely been sunk. The Rhode Island has already sunk into the sea due to the explosion of the ammunition depot, and the other five seem to have little value for repair. The other five pre-dreadnought battleships can also be judged to have suffered heavy damage.

This shows that, although the US Navy’s fleet in Hampton Roads cannot be described as no longer existing, it has at least completely lost its combat effectiveness!

After Lu Deren made a general judgment on the results of this operation in his mind, he ordered the pilot to turn the plane around and start returning to the west. The air force needed to fly over the ocean, then find the aircraft carrier on the sea, land, and then decide whether to launch a second wave of attack based on the situation.

In order to increase the first wave of strike force as much as possible, the fleet deployed 90% of its aircraft after the first wave of attack.

After the fighter plane completed the attack, it quickly returned.

In order to gather the fighter planes that might have lost their way, Lü Deren flew to the return assembly point after the reconnaissance. Here, he really encountered another fighter plane. In this era, it was very difficult for fighter pilots without positioning navigation to fly long distances using dead reckoning. Therefore, the return assembly point and return time were stipulated.

Lü Deren's commanding officer was the last group of fighters to return. At 9:53 a.m., after Lü Deren returned to the "Jingwei", he immediately rushed to the flight command post. In the command post, he listened to the reports of the various flight captains, and then compared and sorted out these situations with the results he had witnessed, and prepared to report to the fleet commander.

In order to expand the results of the repeated attacks on Hampton Roads, preparations for the second wave of attacks were being made on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier. Planes that had been refueled and loaded with bombs or torpedoes were continuously lifted up from the rear elevators and lined up on the take-off line again.

The pilots, who had just finished a five-hour flight and battle, ate beef and drank tea, ready to attack at any time.

"Captain, come to the bridge immediately!"

A shout came from the intercom from the bridge to the flight control post.

Lu Deren immediately ran to the bridge, saluted the captain, and prepared to report the combat situation to the commander through the captain.

At this time, Wu Anping asked directly:

"Captain Lu, thank you for your hard work. How are the results?"

The results of the battle, yes, this is the key to Chang Gong's next decision.

Captain Chen Antao gave Lu Deren a look and asked him to report directly to the fleet commander. Lu Deren turned around and looked at the headquarters staff gathered on the right side of the bridge. He immediately saw that they were arguing fiercely about whether it was necessary to launch repeated attacks on Hampton.

Staff Officer Qiu Zhenzhi's face showed obvious dissatisfaction. This scene made Lu Deren understand clearly.

"What we can confirm is that there were only eleven battleships in the anchorage when we arrived, and we sank six of them. One of them exploded, three capsized, and the other two did not capsize but had sunk to the bottom of the sea."

Lu Deren replied.

Wu Anping's eyes gleamed, and although he seemed very satisfied, his brows were furrowed as he said:

"Oh, so five is certain. Now, what about the other five?"

"Due to the short time, it is difficult to make an accurate judgment. It is estimated that three ships were severely damaged, and the other two were probably superficially damaged, but not too seriously."

Lu Deren continued to report.

"So, we have almost achieved the expected results!"

Lu Deren felt that the commander might mean to stop there. So he said:

"For now, the battleships are temporarily immobilized, but the damage is not complete. In addition, there are many pre-dreadnought battleships and cruisers in the harbor. Although they have also suffered some damage, I think it is necessary to launch a second attack."

At this time, Chief of Staff Sun Renhai interrupted and asked:

"You said there were only eleven ships, so what about the remaining two? Our intelligence shows that in addition to the two ships in the dock for repairs, there should be three more. Will they be at sea?"

"At sea..."

The chief of staff's words made Wu Anping frown, and he immediately turned his head and asked.

"Did aerial reconnaissance reveal anything unusual?"

“Not yet!”

"Continue scouting."

Afterwards, Wu Anping frowned, and now he was facing a choice - whether to launch a second attack.

In fact, what is the cruelest thing in war?

It’s a choice!

For generals, any choice they make may not only determine the fate of a country, but also the life and death of tens of thousands of people.

Just like now, the choice Wu Anping is facing is very difficult.

If the second wave of attacks was not launched, the US warships would only lose six, then they would still have ten. In this way, the Empire would need to retain at least ten warships in the Atlantic to maintain the balance.

Ten warships stay in the port all day long... How can the empire afford such a waste?

But if we launch a second wave of attack, the pilots will be very tired, so how much can we achieve?

What's more, there are still three battleships whose whereabouts are unknown. If they are nearby, or if they return quickly after learning the news, the mobile fleet with a maximum speed of only 13 knots will not be able to outrun them!

The escort ship can return at a speed of more than 20 knots, but what about the aircraft carrier? And the oil tanker, their speed is not fast, what if the US warships catch up.

By then, it will be really difficult to back down!

Wu Anping frowned, and for a moment, he was at a loss for words...

The old group is down, so I created a new book club group: 739209015. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.

(End of this chapter)