Empire Conquest
Chapter 366 - 362 End of the Battle

Chapter 366: Chapter 362 End of the Battle

Just before 1 PM, Bai Zhizhan issued the order to retreat.

However, it was not a direct withdrawal but a phased, step-by-step retreat.

First, two destroyers were to cover the heavily damaged "Imperial Capital" as it retreated, taking along the wounded from other warships, especially the injured pilots.

During this period, the "Peijing" was responsible for retrieving the Shen Pu Plane Group and, in the intervals of recovering ship-borne aircraft, launch a batch of fighters to strengthen the air defense network, replacing those that had exhausted their fuel and ammunition in the noon air defense battle to maintain the integrity of the fleet’s air defense.

Afterward, reconnaissance aircraft must be dispatched to fly east.

Two long-range cruisers were also to retrieve the seaplanes launched in the early morning, refueling them and ensuring they were fit to fly, to head to the east, specifically the area where Zhu Huasheng’s Plane Group had attacked the Newland special mixed fleet.

Their sole mission was to locate as many of those pilots who had been shot down or forced to land during the battle as possible.

If possible, it would be ideal to rescue them.

Of course, if any Newland navy officers and soldiers were found in the water, they should be rescued as well.

This wasn’t simply Bai Zhizhan being merciful, but rather because the war had just begun, and Newland prisoners of war would undoubtedly be of great value in the future.

Aren’t Niu Man and Sawa from the West Saiyi Regime both former prisoners of war?

After 3 PM, the "Zhucheng" along with two destroyers would head east to the area where the 41.2 Subsquad was attacked, rescue the drowned officers and soldiers overnight, and then head back west at full speed.

Delaying the "Zhucheng’s" departure time to 3 PM was mainly to avoid being attacked.

Although Zhu Huasheng only attacked the "Wasp" carrier and not the "Fenjin," the warships heading east could still potentially be bombed.

At the same time, the "Peijing" was to return west escorted by the "Harbor City".

Since the "Imperial Capital" was slow, with only two propeller shafts making its maximum speed just 16 knots, and with both shafts on the same side which required reducing the output power of the outer shaft for straight-line navigation, its actual speed was only 14 knots.

This allowed the "Peijing" to catch up with the "Imperial Capital" during the night.

By then, only one long-range cruiser was protecting the "Peijing".

Even after meeting with the "Imperial Capital", only one cruiser and two destroyers would be providing cover, and come daylight on the 13th, only two cruisers and four destroyers would be present, hoping to rendezvous with the 43rd special mixed fleet’s Fast Battleship in the afternoon.

Even then, the 41st special mixed fleet’s situation wouldn’t have improved much.

However, if they had not been attacked by tomorrow afternoon, they would only need to be wary of the elusive submarines.

Insufficient escort battleships were the main reason Bai Zhizhan gave up the pursuit.

At the end of the battle, only two long-range cruisers with negligible anti-ship capability and four even less significant destroyers protected the 41.1 Subsquad. If they encountered any large Newland navy warships at night, even a heavy cruiser, disaster was almost certain.

When Bai Zhizhan initially decided to include four heavy cruisers from the 41.2 Subsquad, he was fully confident.

It was simple, unless they encountered Newland navy battleships, the 41.2 Subsquad’s four "Wuzhou" class was practically invincible.

Since Newland’s Fast Battleship had not yet been commissioned, they could even manage an escape with speed should they encounter one.

Little did he expect, the entire 41.2 Subsquad was annihilated in the day’s battle, all four "Wuzhou" class sunk!

As for those four long-range cruisers, Bai Zhizhan had little hope as these "Super Large Gun Destroyers" were not designed for naval battles.

Indeed, no one would foolishly use 130mm high-altitude guns against large warships.

The Newland 17th Special Mixed Fleet had a relatively complete formation.

Although the "Wasp" had suffered a devastating attack and might have even sunk, the four heavy cruisers escorting the carrier were all present, with at least two of them undamaged. According to Zhu Huasheng’s report, the two protecting the "Wasp" were also not severely damaged.

If encountering these four heavy cruisers at night, even if the "Peijing" could escape, the "Imperial Capital" would not be able to.

If the four "Wuzhou" class ships from the 41.2 Subsquad were still around, Bai Zhizhan would have ordered a full-speed pursuit at noon and organized an attack in the afternoon.

Even though from a timing perspective, the attack would need to be delayed until evening.

With 4 "Wuzhou" class ships, they could have taken on the Newland Fleet.

Unfortunately, all 4 "Wuzhou" class ships had sunk!

What about the 43rd Special Mixed Fleet?

Not to mention whether the 43rd Special Mixed Fleet could be relied upon, at that time, it was actually the 43rd Special Mixed Fleet that scared off Spur.

Although Clark’s Plane Group was almost entirely wiped out, Dutte’s Plane Group fared much better, eventually returning more than 50 ship-borne aircraft to the Newland 17th Special Mixed Fleet, including over 40 SBDs and TBDs. After completing resupply operations, these aircraft could be deployed after 3 PM.

Spur could actually launch another attack if he acted quickly.

However, to attack the 41st Special Mixed Fleet, the 17th Special Mixed Fleet could not continue heading east but needed to turn west in the afternoon.

The reason was that the distance between them had grown to over 500 kilometers.

If the 41st Special Mixed Fleet turned to return home in the afternoon, then the "Fenjin" would have to turn west to ensure that the aircraft could return to the carrier after the attack.

In this case, they would have to wait until dark after retrieving the Attack Aircraft Group before they could head back east.

That’s where the problem lies!

If the 43rd Special Mixed Fleet sped south in the afternoon, by evening, its distance to the Newland 17th Special Mixed Fleet would not exceed 100 kilometers.

Since the Newland 17th Special Mixed Fleet would head back east at night instead of heading south, the 43rd Special Mixed Fleet could potentially catch up.

Just like Bai Zhizhan feared Spur’s heavy cruisers, Spur also dreaded the Fast Battleships of the 43rd Special Mixed Fleet.

Even if all the escort battleships of the Newland 17th Special Mixed Fleet came out, it might not be enough to withstand the fierce firepower of 4 Fast Battleships.

Before shipborne air forces had the capability for night operations, Fast Battleships were the true kings of night battles.

The commander of the 43rd Special Mixed Fleet, Li Jie, who was a close ally of Bai Zhizhan, would certainly follow Bai Zhizhan’s orders.

To go down together with Bai Zhizhan?

By the afternoon, the "Sara," "York," and "Wasp" were finished, and the "Lek" had suffered heavy damage. It was still uncertain if it could escape back. Taking down the "Fenjin" would mean that, before the "Ethe" was completed, the Newland Navy would have no fleet carriers left!

To truly fight to the death, the Newland 17th Special Mixed Fleet would not have headed east at noon but should have continued westward.

Regardless of whether Spur wanted to admit it, he had already sounded the retreat by noon, or rather, had made his choice.

Choosing to retreat after the battle was just going with the situation.

This was not to say that Spur was less courageous than Bai Zhizhan.

Just like Bai Zhizhan chose to retreat after the battle, both fleet commanders actually thought about conserving their severely depleted forces to avoid unnecessary loss and to ensure they had the upper hand or available forces when the next decisive battle came.

Even the most formidable fleet commander could only spectate from the shore without battleships at his disposal.

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