Empire Conquest

Chapter 515 - 511 Critical Point

This time, Li Mingbo didn’t wait for Bai Zhizhan’s instructions and immediately called Zhou Yongtao, asking him to gather the main staff officers.

However, they still had to wait patiently.

The key issue was the seven-hour time difference between Transfer Island and the Joint Fleet’s location in the East Fan Flame Ocean.

In the morning, the Navy headquarters sent several telegrams in succession.

Some earlier speculations were confirmed.

In the Newland commerce raiding fleet, there were not only two "Beika" class fast battleships but also six "New Ao" class heavy cruisers and more than ten destroyers.

Fortunately, the Joint Fleet was not to be trifled with.

In addition to three fast battleships, the Joint Fleet also had three armored cruisers and eight destroyers.

Although the "Prime Minister" couldn’t participate in the long-range gun battle due to not being equipped with fire-control radar in time and could only watch, in the subsequent battle, the "Prime Minister" with its eight 380mm main guns and numerous secondary guns, severely punished the Newland heavy cruisers.

It was with the support of the "Prime Minister" that the three armored cruisers were able to withstand the assault of the six heavy cruisers.

Additionally, they could spare secondary guns to deal with the oncoming destroyers preparing to launch torpedo attacks.

In the main engagement, the Joint Fleet did not gain the upper hand.

The main issue was that the two "North River" class vessels equipped with 400mm naval guns had not been upgraded. They had short barrels, and their maximum elevation was only 32 degrees.

As a result, their maximum range was only 27 kilometers.

Moreover, their effective range was around 22 kilometers.

Shortly after engagement began, the commander of the Newland Fleet discovered this and thus, maintained a combat distance of about 25 kilometers.

To put it another way, this distance was also very far for the "Beika" class.

From this, it can be inferred that the Newland commander did not seem eager to end the battle at night.

Moreover, during the engagement, the two "North River" class ships tried several times to use their speed advantage to close in on the enemy and maximize the power of their 400mm armor-piercing bullets.

Relatively speaking, speed was the only advantage of the "North River" class.

The "Beika" class was designed with a cruising speed of 28 knots, but in reality could only achieve 27 knots, and even less in bad weather.

In comparison, the "North River" class could sustain 30 knots.

Unfortunately, they always encountered destroyers from the Newland Fleet.

During the battle, the Joint Fleet was essentially following the Newland Fleet southward, or more accurately, was being led by the nose by the Newland Fleet.

The main reason was that the commander of the Joint Fleet was too eager to win this battle.

Although no definitive news was received, according to the staff officers’ calculations, the Joint Fleet would sail at least 200 kilometers south during the night battle.

This meant they would exceed the maximum flying radius of shore-based fighters before dawn.

Even if they turned towards home immediately after daybreak, they would not receive cover from shore-based fighters until around noon.

The few hours in the morning were very critical.

If there were several carriers to the south of the battlefield, they could launch two strikes just in the morning.

In fact, after reaching this conclusion, around 11 a.m., Bai Zhizhan sent a telegram to the Navy headquarters, proposing that Liu Changxun directly order the Joint Fleet to immediately end the battle with the Newland commerce raiding fleet, turn around, and head north at full speed, aiming to return to the coverage area of shore-based fighters before dawn. Even if they were reluctant to let the Newland Fleet escape, they could send seaplanes to track and surveil.

Even if it was confirmed that there were no carriers within the Newland Fleet, the Joint Fleet could take advantage of their speed to pursue and annihilate them within a few days.

Furthermore, they would immediately arrange for long-range fighters stationed in Lion Spring City and Sri Lanka to take off.

Let’s not even discuss whether this telegram will receive the attention it deserves or whether the order issued by Liu Changxun will be effective. The problem was that the telegram was sent too late.

More than an hour later, which is past noon, a telegram arrived from the Navy Headquarters.

The Joint Fleet had been bombed!

At that time, it was just dawn over the East Fan Flame Ocean!

It was clear that the commander of the Newland Fleet hadn’t wasted a single moment.

Moreover, an hour earlier, the Joint Fleet had already made a turn and started retreating full speed to the north, with all battleships and cruisers entering anti-aircraft combat readiness.

Perhaps Bai Zhizhan’s warning had an effect, or perhaps Admiral Lutians had a sudden realization.

Though it was a bit late, it was still much better than continuing to sail south.

In addition to this, the shore-based air force stationed in Lion Spring City and Sri Lanka had been dispatched, including long-range fighters and dozens of heavy bombers.

Even if heavy bombers couldn’t pose a significant threat to carriers, they could still intimidate the Newland Fleet.

By this time, Bai Zhizhan had essentially concluded that it was Spur commanding the Newland Fleet, and that he definitely had two small carriers at his disposal.

If that were indeed the case, Spur might well cease his attacks after two waves.

The key point was that Spur couldn’t be sure whether the 11th Special Mixed Fleet was still operating in the Mua Sea or whether it was trailing behind the Joint Fleet.

Of course, this was also to preserve the fleet’s aerial combat capabilities.

Even though they were behind the continent of Aus, the difficulty of transportation would make it hard to replace the ship-borne aircraft lost in combat.

However, Bai Zhizhan also felt that Spur might risk everything.

Leaving other considerations aside, if he could annihilate the Joint Fleet in one fell swoop, then the Liangxia Navy would have no choice but to divert a Special Mixed Fleet from Transfer Island.

Then, Spur could easily take his fleet to the South Fan Flame Ocean or return to the Southwest East Ocean.

Conversely, the Liangxia Navy would be run ragged.

If in the end, the operations to advance into Boss Bay were affected and Transfer Island was not captured on time, the Liangxia Navy might well be forced to move into the Southwest East Ocean.

The reason was simple; Aus had become Newland Navy’s springboard into and out of the Fan Flame Ocean.

If they could not conquer Aus, the sea routes from the Liangxia homeland to Boss Bay would be threatened.

Once the Newland Navy had solved its maritime transportation issues and was able to bring more troops and supplies to the western ports of Aus, the Newland Fleet based there would inevitably become a significant concern for the Liangxia Navy in the direction of the Fan Flame Ocean. It would also pose a threat to the areas surrounding the Flame Sea.

Even if the threat wasn’t severe enough, it might still prompt the Imperial High Command to take drastic measures, shifting the focus from the Central East Ocean to the Southwest East Ocean.

Even after capturing Boss Bay, the Imperial High Command might likely require the Navy to move into the Southwest East Ocean first.

After all, this was what the Newland Navy had been working hard to accomplish.

From this perspective, one could totally understand why Spur would take two small carriers and two fast battleships to the Fan Flame Ocean.

Apart from other considerations, at least on the strategic level, Spur had grasped the essence.

On the front line established by the Liangxia Navy, stretching from the Mua Sea to the Central East Ocean, the only weak link was the East Fan Flame Ocean.

In this vulnerable spot, the most fragile and easiest to crush was the Joint Fleet and Spur had seized the critical point.

If he could crush this weak link, he would be able to disrupt the strategic deployment of the Liangxia Empire and shake up the whole situation, forcing the Liangxia Navy to make corresponding adjustments.

Bai Zhizhan had long had a clear understanding of this.

If he were Spur, he would do the same!

However, facing Spur’s challenge, Bai Zhizhan felt somewhat helpless or, to be more precise, temporarily unable to find an effective countermeasure.