Chapter 2598 The Fog Clears

"Haha, it looks like this is a good idea." Old Fletcher said with a smile. "At least it can make our sacrifice more valuable."

"The method is good, but it still needs good execution. I think we must gather all the elite destroyers now so that we can concentrate our strength to launch a fatal blow during wartime." said the chief of staff.

"Okay, let's start preparing. I don't know what General Pershing is doing now." Old Fletcher sent a report while mobilizing the fleet and looking at the transport fleet in the distance. It seems that General Pershing believed Old Fletcher's words. The warships that were anchored at anchor were preparing to lift anchor and set sail, and exhaust gas began to be discharged from the chimneys. Obviously, this was a sign that the boilers had been re-ignited and ready to set off, and far away At this point, some transport fleets that had already set sail began to move to the second preparation point. Suddenly, the originally silent night became noisy at this moment.

"Add a sentence after the telegram to Benson, saying, the whole world wants to know where you are now!" At this time, General Pershing, who was at his command post, was sending a telegram to Benson. He used an unprecedentedly harsh tone.

"Damn it, if there is such a large-scale naval and army battle in the future, our army will definitely take the lead." Per Xing secretly vowed. In fact, from a command level, Benson and Pershing are the same. They are both generals. However, Pershing is now a five-star general, so his status is higher than Benson. However, after all, they are not in the same army. In fact, before the war started, the status of the two sides had not been finalized. In principle, Pershing should be the largest, but in fact, Benson could veto Pershing's order on the pretext of the special nature of the navy. Just like the previous issue about the army's need for fire support against the navy.

Unless Pershing expresses his willingness to bear all the consequences of a certain order, Benson cannot be forced to surrender. After all, Pershing is not very good at the navy. Once serious consequences result from an order, his gains and losses are trivial. , the U.S. military will have to pay a huge price, which is why Pershing has never used this right until the war started!

But this time, under the persuasion of Old Fletcher, Pershing finally decided to use this right.

"It seems that we really have a problem this time?" When Benson received telegrams from Pershing and Old Fletcher at the same time, his previous deduction was completely shaken. What he is chasing is not the main force of the Japanese fleet, but a Japanese fleet that lures the enemy!

A moment later, what shocked and frightened him even more was when the destroyer approached again for reconnaissance and the intelligence sent clearly mentioned that this was not the Japanese fast battleship that Benson hoped for, but a pre-dreadnought. Benson's spirit almost collapsed at this moment! Not only was he worried about the terrible consequences of his actions, but at the same time, he felt that his IQ was also completely blown!

Of course, you are absolutely wrong to say that the U.S. fleet has been chasing for a long time without any effect at all. At least, the Sea Fog, which had been frantically testing on the verge of death, was still hit by a torpedo! And for a battleship from the pre-dreadnought era,

In this case, once it is hit by a torpedo, there is basically no way back. Whether it is American naval guns or destroyer torpedoes, it can be sent to the bottom of the sea in minutes!

"Turn the fleet! Prepare to return to defense immediately!" Benson, who was sweating profusely with fear, gave the order to return. Of course, before going back, he would definitely not let go of the mined Japanese warship. Before returning, under the cover of firepower from the main fleet, a destroyer squadron struck cleanly with a lightning strike, destroying the Japanese warship that had sacrificed its life to lure the enemy. The battleship was sunk.

"Send a telegram to Admiral Su Xiong, hoping that he can do his best to prevent the Japanese fleet's attack for the sake of the alliance between the two countries. After the battle, the United States of America will definitely give adequate compensation to the German Empire and the High Seas Fleet, and all war wounded and killed will be Get more than the usual compensation. That's it." At this time, Benson thought again of Su Xiong, who had been scolded by him all night. But this time, the telegram he sent to Su Xiong was extremely humble, hoping that the other party could stop the Japanese fleet, provided that Su Xiong's fleet still had combat effectiveness.

Now, the only thing Benson can rely on is the Su Xiong fleet that has become silent again, because on the road from Japan to the parking area of ​​the American transport fleet, only Old Fletcher's armored cruiser is left. It is obviously unrealistic for these warships to block the Japanese fleet.

Although Su Xiong's fleet disappeared, Benson quite trusted the Germans' combat effectiveness at this time. (Well, to a large extent, he was grasping at straws.) He believed that even if the German fleet was suddenly attacked, They will definitely preserve their strength, and if the Germans can survive their injuries and fight again, then at least they can share some artillery shells with the American transport fleet, right?

Well, how should I put it, now Benson hopes that the Germans are the Blüchers of the Battle of Waterloo in history! You can lead your troops back at the most critical moment of the battle!

As for letting Benson come to the rescue by himself? how to say? It is estimated that he cannot catch up. Now, his fleet is conservatively about 50 nautical miles away from the battle area, which is nearly 100 kilometers. According to the fleet's current maximum speed of about 18 knots per hour, it is estimated that it will take about 3 hours! Three hours! The day lily is already cold. Maybe after it passes, it will be too late to collect the bodies of the people who fell into the water in the U.S. Navy transport fleet! In fact, it is no longer possible for the entire U.S. main fleet to maintain a high speed of 18 knots. In other words, so far, the American transport fleet has to find a way to persist for at least 3 hours! 3 hours! This is really fatal!

To be honest, by now, the fog of the battlefield has almost been cleared. The American fleet knows the Japanese's ultimate goal and can guess the size of the Japanese fleet. And what about the Japanese? When others in Yamawu saw the Benson fleet turning around and evacuating, they also immediately sent a telegram to the Japanese Combined Fleet. As a result, Shimamura Hayao and others also knew that Benson's fleet had begun to turn around. Well, now there is only one force that has not appeared in the eyes of senior officials from the United States and Japan, and that is, what is the Su Xiong fleet doing after encountering the Japanese fleet before and then escaping? !

"Haha, do you know now? It's a pity that it's a bit late." At this time, Su Xiong, who was out of the range of Japanese electronic interference, finally received Benson's telegram, but as he said, looking at it now, it is indeed a bit late. ! Naturally, Su Xiong will not send a call back to Benson, because it has no meaning other than exposing himself. He knows that tonight's battle has just begun!

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