Empire Conquest
Chapter 125 - 121 Stubbornness

Chapter 125: Chapter 121 Stubbornness

After receiving the battle report sent back by Genda, the Mobile Fleet headquarter was thrown into complete disarray.

The fifty or so ship-borne aircraft of the first Plane Group had attacked a Fleet oiler, failing to find the carrier spotted by the reconnaissance aircraft.

At that moment, a staff officer suggested an immediate adjustment to the attack operation, calling for Major Yan Ben to command the return of the second Plane Group.

The reason was straightforward: the second Attack Aircraft Group included eight Zero Fighters, and with the first Attack Aircraft Group returning earlier, the Zero Fighters in charge of air defense would also be only eight.

Moreover, shortly after the second Attack Aircraft Group took off, all Zero Fighters were equipped with an auxiliary fuel tank, and could loiter near the Fleet until one o’clock in the afternoon. By that time, the escort fighters from the first wave of Attack Aircraft could take over the air defense duties.

Simply put, as long as the second Attack Aircraft Group returned in time, there would be enough air defense fighters available.

Unfortunately, Kitamura rejected the proposal.

Kitamura’s reason was that the third Aviation Mixed Fleet had evaded to the northeast after exposure, that is, dodged into Zu Island Strait, thus avoiding the first Attack Aircraft Group led by Genda. Therefore, by extending the search area northeast, they could locate and destroy the third Aviation Mixed Fleet.

Besides, the Mobile Fleet had been sailing eastward, so when the second Attack Aircraft Group departed, it was closer to the area where the third Aviation Mixed Fleet was located, shortening the combat radius by more than a hundred kilometers. There was no issue with the return flight being too far.

Kitamura suggested adjusting the course to head northeast, allowing the second Attack Aircraft Group to have more fuel for searching the third Aviation Mixed Fleet.

Lan Yun didn’t take Kitamura’s suggestion, nor did he order the second Attack Aircraft Group to return.

At such a critical juncture, Lan Yun did nothing!

The argument did not end there.

As previously arranged, all air defense fighters, that is, the eight Zero Fighters, had to return before ten o’clock to refuel before taking off again.

The "Feilong" was the main force of the second wave of attack, so it was up to the "Jiahe" to recover the air defense fighters.

But now, it was simply impossible!

It had nothing to do with Kitamura, but the ground crew on the "Jiahe" were too exhausted. A service member responsible for refueling fighters made a rookie mistake, forgetting to turn off the booster pump, resulting in damage to the valve of the pipeline and leakage of aviation fuel onto the flight deck.

Now, the entire flight deck had been cleared.

On the "Feilong’s" side, the ground crew was preparing to receive the returning first Attack Aircraft Group and temporarily couldn’t accept the air defense fighters. Since all Type-97 ship attack aircraft needed to be recovered, the "Feilong" also had to clear the front end of the flight deck.

That was why a staff officer proposed that the air defense fighters land on the "Feilong" first, and later the "Jiahe" would recover some torpedo bombers.

Unfortunately, it was still vetoed by Kitamura.

If they arranged it this way, the torpedo bombers that landed on the "Jiahe" wouldn’t be able to take off again and therefore couldn’t participate in the third wave of the attack.

Don’t forget, there was a hole in the front deck of the "Jiahe," and the wood planking used to cover the hole was not sturdy enough to withstand the heavy Type-97 ship attack aircraft.

Before, Genda had taken a motorboat to the "Feilong."

According to Kitamura’s plan, after the first wave of Attack Aircraft returned, they would let the air defense fighters land and refuel.

The reason was also simple: Genda’s Plane Group would return to the skies above the Mobile Fleet before eleven o’clock, and the fuel in the air defense fighters could last past eleven.

Moreover, by that time, the "Jiahe" would be able to recover fighters.

Not afraid of being attacked during this period?

A staff officer raised this question, but it was rebutted by Kitamura.

To quote Kitamura, "Where would any attack come from?"

The third Aviation Mixed Fleet?

That was clearly impossible.

If the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet had been within range to strike the Mobile Fleet, they would have been discovered by Genda’s Plane Group before nine o’clock.

There was ample reason to believe that the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet was beyond five hundred kilometers.

This estimation wasn’t completely right, but it wasn’t completely wrong either; the Mobile Fleet indeed wasn’t within the strike range of the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet.

The Mixed Fleet that had engaged the day before?

Obviously, if that Mixed Fleet had been close enough, made battle preparations overnight, and launched an immediate attack upon receiving the reconnaissance aircraft’s report, then the Attack Aircraft Group it sent would arrive by 9:30 at the latest. For this very reason, there were always four Zero Fighters patrolling to the west.

The enemy’s Attack Aircraft Group did not appear, proving that yesterday’s Mixed Fleet was not following behind them.

Perhaps they had not turned in time.

It could not be said that Kitamura was wrong. After all, all intelligence and discoveries indicated that the Reconnaissance Aircraft that spotted the Mobile Fleet after 7:30 might well have come from the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet. As for yesterday’s Mixed Fleet, even if they had headed south at night and turned in the latter half of the night, they definitely couldn’t catch up with the Mobile Fleet during the day, missing the chance to catch up with them in the Flame Sea.

With that in mind, was there a need to worry about being struck?

To use Kitamura’s words, if they were really going to be struck, even if the air defense fighters were ordered to refuel immediately, eight Zero Fighters would be of no avail.

If they missed the opportunity to launch an attack in the afternoon due to worries about being struck, who would take responsibility?

With this, a new problem arose.

Some staff advocated focusing on the west side, as the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet was certainly not in the north, so the west had to be defended strenuously.

Unsurprisingly, this suggestion was once again vetoed by Kitamura.

Following Kitamura’s arrangement, after 9:30, the four fighters that had been patrolling to the west of the Fleet shifted north to relieve the other four fighters.

The four Zero Fighters that had been patrolling the north went up to meet Genda’s Plane Group, then accompanied them back to the Fleet.

It wasn’t about giving Genda any special treatment, but because the Mobile Fleet had been maintaining radio silence, it wasn’t certain that the returning Plane Group could find the carrier promptly.

Since there wasn’t much fuel left, there could be no delay whatsoever.

In summary, Kitamura kept to his own views, rejecting all the suggestions from the staff, as if only by sticking to his own opinions could he prove his ability.

Perhaps, Kitamura’s unconventional actions were largely related to Tanimoto’s previous dominance.

However, Kitamura wasn’t stubborn or self-righteous.

After receiving Genda’s battle report, before 9:30, Kitamura issued an order for the accompanying Battleships and Heavy Cruisers to dispatch Seaplanes to search to the west.

Kitamura arranged this not out of fear of an attack from the west, but to prepare for the battle in the afternoon.

After successfully recovering the two waves of Attack Aircraft Group, the Mobile Fleet’s combat capability would be restored, and new attack actions would have to be rearranged.

Naturally, a target for the strike needed to be found.

If the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet had slipped away, catching the Mixed Fleet following behind would still count for something.

Conversely, if a threat from the west could be ruled out, they could concentrate all their strength on searching for and attacking the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet.

During this time, Lan Yun did not interfere at all.

Although Lan Yun appeared calm for over an hour, his mind was already a whirlpool of thoughts.

By the time Genda’s Plane Group sent back their battle report, Lan Yun knew that even if a devastating strike hadn’t happened yet, the Mobile Fleet couldn’t escape unscathed.

What awaited him was nothing less than catastrophic Destruction!