While Zhang Chi was busy carrying out military reforms and training in the Northeast, the largest naval battle in history...the Battle of Lyte Bay kicked off.

The strategy set by Mijiro Umezu and other senior Japanese troops was obviously a bit exaggerated... Masato Toyota knew that it would be impossible to achieve the strategic purpose of Mijiro Umezu in this battle, that is, to defeat the US fleet and force them to return to the negotiating table. Not to mention that the Japanese Joint Fleet had no air supremacy at this time, and even if it was lucky enough to defeat the US military... The Americans' powerful industrial capabilities would soon produce another fleet and appear in front of the Joint Fleet.

But since the combat order has been issued, Toyota Juntake has to take it seriously, after all, this is the last little capital of the Japanese Joint Fleet.

Toyota Junta discussed with several naval generals for a long time and finally formulated a feasible combat plan.

"Jie 1" combat plan.

The "Jet 1" combat plan is one of the few more successful combat plans formulated by the Japanese army... It is different from Mijiro Umezu. Its main purpose is not to defeat the US fleet, but to severely damage the US escort aircraft carriers and logistics supply fleets.

This combat plan is very simple. It is to use the Japanese aircraft carrier formation as bait to transfer the main force of the US aircraft carrier from Leight Bay, and then the Japanese army will attack the escort aircraft carrier formations and supply formations that have lost the protection of the main aircraft carrier with battleships, destroyers, etc.

This plan can be very targeted, and the bait is also very attractive... Those are five aircraft carriers, including the main aircraft carrier of the "Ruihe". What can be predicted is that... the US military cannot stop this temptation at all.

This is true. Halsey took the bait without much consideration and sent almost all the main aircraft carriers to pursue the Japanese aircraft carrier formation.

Afterwards, Halsey's decision was questioned by many people. His main point of view was that... the Japanese aviation army had basically been defeated by the US military. Even if the Japanese army had aircraft carriers, they did not need to send so many US aircraft carriers to pursue them. Halsey could completely divide the main aircraft carrier into two parts, one part used to pursue the Japanese aircraft carrier formation, and the other part used to protect Leyte Bay.

But objectively speaking, this statement is more about "hindsight"... It is true that the US military defeated the Japanese aviation army in the Mariana Naval Battle, but Japan still has industrial capabilities. Before that, Japan was constantly mobilizing fighter jets in the direction of the Philippines, and the number of fighter jets increased sharply from about 100 to 300.

Who can guarantee that there are no carrier-based aircraft in these 300 fighter jets?

Who is convinced that half of the aircraft carrier formation can defeat the aircraft carrier formation that will then defeat the Japanese army?

Halsey was a little eager to win, but his eagerness to win was right to some extent. Although in fact he was deceived by the Japanese, the US military's escort aircraft carrier formation and supply formation were in danger, which almost caused heavy losses and seriously affected the entire battle.

But the problem is...

Naval warfare mainly targets aircraft carriers. Once the entire Japanese aircraft carrier formation can be wiped out, the island country of Japan will almost have to sit and wait for death. The US military can safely launch a blockade and attack on Japan's mainland without worrying about the sudden attack of the Japanese Navy.

Simply put, this means "as long as you win or lose, you have decided."

Then, anyone in this situation may make a choice like Halsey: first, guarantee that you can win!

Therefore, the Japanese army's "Jie 1" combat plan was implemented very successfully.

But in the end, this "Jet No. 1" failed to deal a heavy blow to the US military...

The reason is that Lieutenant General Kurita Keno took battleships such as Yamato and Musashi to sneak attack the US escort aircraft carrier formation and supply formation.

Keno Kurita was a lieutenant general who had not entered the Naval War Academy. He was considered an uneducated naval general by his Japanese colleagues.

The Battle of Wright Bay seemed to verify this statement... Keno Kurita originally had a good opportunity: the battleships he led with giant ships and cannons suddenly appeared in front of the US escort aircraft carrier formation and supply formation.

It is true that the US escort aircraft carriers have fighter jets and bombers, but it is obvious that escort aircraft carriers are more suitable for long-range combat... Fighters have a longer range.

However, if you fight at close range, the fighter jets do not have time to take off in large quantities, and the first thing is that they cannot sink battleships with extremely thick armor in half. What's more, these escort aircraft carriers are all modified from merchant ships and have poor anti-sinking properties. The battleships can only fire a few shots at them, which can prevent them from taking off and landing normally and even sinking on the spot.

In other words, what is placed in front of Keno Kurita is a god-given opportunity... To be precise, it was an opportunity that Ozawa Shisaburo received at the expense of the entire Japanese aircraft carrier fleet.

But Keno Kurita did not seize this opportunity.

The reason is... When Keno Kurita saw the US escort aircraft carriers and the US fighter planes flying in the air, he was shocked. The powerful combat capabilities of US fighter jets and bombers made him mistakenly think that the one in front of him was not the American escort aircraft carrier formation, but the main aircraft carrier formation of the US military.

This is also because the Japanese army's communication is not good enough that Ozawa Shisaburo successfully lured out the main aircraft carrier formation of the US military, but did not inform Keno Kurita, which caused Keno Kurita to seriously misjudgment of the situation and ordered a retreat.

This made the US military, who was shocked when they saw the Japanese battleship, feel a little confused.

So the "Jie 1" combat plan that could have been successfully implemented ended with the Japanese defeat... The Japanese army lost five aircraft carriers, including the "Ruihe", three battleships, including the "Musashai", as well as cruisers, and destroyers in total.

The US military only lost 7 ships of all sizes.

This loss is almost insignificant to the US Navy, and the Japanese Joint Fleet... except for a few ships escaping, it can almost be said that it was wiped out.

After the war, Jisaburo Ozawa sighed: "After this battle, Japan's sea-surface forces became an absolute auxiliary force. Except for some special ships, it is useless to send warships on the sea-surface."

Toyota Juntake could only shake his head helplessly at the ending...

If the US escort aircraft carrier formation and supply formation can be successfully attacked, the US military will soon have supply problems. Although this is unable to change anything, it can at least buy more time for Japan.

But now, the plan has not only failed to succeed but has brought the entire joint fleet into it.
Chapter completed!