It was not until after 1:00 in the middle of the night that the submarine sonar soldiers could monitor the traces of the enemy fleet, and a large number of enemies passed through the waterway about 4 nautical miles away. Due to the strict light control of the Japanese army, the enemy ships could not be seen in the periscope, and occasionally the enemy could be seen sending flashing light signals when contacting.

"How many enemies are there?" Qin Haiming said.

"The sound should be around twenty ships, sir, but the specific number cannot be judged." The sonar soldier in charge of the echo detector replied.

Now the submarine No. 1026 is sank in the sludge at the bottom of the sea and does not dare to turn on the radar at all. If the enemy catches their position with radar waves, it will be really dead. Now it is only possible to rely on sonar soldiers to judge the size and number of enemy ships based on experience. The ventilation device on the submarine has been turned off, and the inside of the boat looks more dull, and the outside sounds are even louder: the sound of the sonar's ping-ping sound and the sound of the propeller rotating in the water is now obvious, and the sound comes from the front.

The enemy fleet rumbled through the front channel, with about 22 warships, but the sonar soldiers reported that there were another sound of high-speed propellers coming from behind.

About half an hour later, another group of enemies passed by, and this time there were about 18 warships.

The submarine No. 1026 was lurking. At about 3:10, another group of enemies passed by. This time there were about 30 ships, half of which were the sound of low-speed propellers, and they should be the enemy's transport fleet.

At 3:40, the sonar soldiers reported that no trace of the enemy was found again.

"Okay, now the negative trough is drained and we start to float up. Let's go back to the channel!" Qin Haiming issued a new combat order, and his hull began to shake. He slowly floated out of the sludge, but he was always working with a static navigation motor and slowly heading towards the channel.

"Turn left 35, the host starts!"

The diesel engine on the submarine was activated, and the familiar noise of the crew sounded in the cabin. The submarine headed to the opposite direction to the enemy and began to sail towards the Java Sea at full speed.

"Send a report to the fleet: At 1:23, the first enemy fleet was found, about 22 warships sailing south across the Krakato Channel; at 1:55, the second enemy fleet was found, about 18 warships sailing south across the Krakato Channel; at 3:02, the third enemy fleet was found, about 32 ships sailing south across the Krakato Channel, including about 15 transport ships. Report it again after 10 minutes, and continue to report it once in half an hour!" Qin Haiming said that unless in an emergency, the reconnaissance report of the submarine force will generally be repeated three times.

The movements of the Japanese fleet were actually discovered by the Axis submarine forces that were monitored after leaving the port. They have reported to the fleet. However, the report of the submarine No. 1026 can confirm that the Japanese army is sending reinforcements to the attacked Mingguru.

At this time, the Japanese army had clearly known the location of the Axis fleet that was landing in Bingguru and the German fleet that provided firepower support for it, and they would definitely think that there might be reinforcements behind this fleet, but the problem that troubled Nagayun was that he had no way of knowing the size and specific location of the Axis fleet.

The reason why Nagashi was hesitant was that the strength of the mobile fleet in his hand was weakened. The USS Ruihe, the strongest 5th Air Force in the Japanese Navy, was slightly injured at the Changi Naval Base in Singapore due to bombing by Axis bombers, but it did not hinder the operation. However, the Navy Command ordered the transfer of the 5th Air Force back to the local area for maintenance. This greatly weakened the aviation power in Nagashi.

At 3:20 am on July 7, the loudspeaker on Lieutenant General Nagamo's flagship "Akagi" announced that the pilots who were performing the air strike mission were ready to be dispatched. The ground crew on the aircraft carrier's flight deck had already begun to prepare for flight. The aircraft's engine started and a deafening roar of motors sounded.

Now Nanyun needs to make a decision, whether to attack the enemy's landing fleet first or attack the fleet that escorts the landing fleet? The landing forces of the Axis powers began to land from Bingguru yesterday afternoon, and only one brigade was in charge of the Japanese army, which was in garrison mission, kept asking for reinforcements. By the evening, the army's communication had been interrupted and no news was received. It is estimated that the brigade had been "shattered".

Now the air force is about to take off and attack, and Lieutenant General Nagamo still knows nothing about the movements of the enemy fleet. The enemy has a landing fleet and an escort fleet, but it is not clear whether there is a reinforcement fleet behind the opponent. He made a wrong judgment on the enemy situation: the enemy has not yet noticed his intentions, nor has he found that the mobile troops have been dispatched.

Therefore, Nagamo decided to conduct air strikes on the landing fleet of the Axis powers first to support the army's counterattack operations, and then make every effort to deal with the escort Axis powers fleet.

This decision ultimately ruined all the main forces of the Japanese Navy's mobile forces.

July 7th, this is a very special day, which is the fourth anniversary of Japan's full-scale war of aggression against China. In the darkness before dawn, in waters about 40 nautical miles southeast of Ngano Island, the first attack wave is preparing to take off from the aircraft carrier of the Nagyun troops to air strike the Axis fleet that landed in Bingguru.

At 4:30 a.m., although there were large clouds in the sky, the southeast wind and calm sea surface provided ideal conditions for the plane to take off. The sky to the east was slightly white and the water antenna was vaguely visible. About forty minutes before sunrise, five aircraft carriers including Akagi, Kaga, Feilong, Aolong and Xiangfeng began to turn in the wind. The engine of the plane started, and blue-white gas was sprayed out from the aircraft's exhaust pipe. On the flight deck, there was a deafening noise.

The "Zero" fighter jets led by the leader increased their horsepower and took off from the aircraft carrier amid cheers of the crew on the deck of the "Akagi". With the roar of engines, fighter jets continued to rise to the dark sky, and then all eighteen dive bombers quickly took off. Over the Japanese fleet, red and blue lights were neatly arranged, indicating that the "Zero" fighter jets had been formed.

At 4:55, the first batch of 108 aircraft that completed the formation flew towards the northwest horizon after completing the formation.

At the same time, Admiral Wilhem Marshall, who was responsible for attracting enemy attacks, also ordered two waves to be sent to the Sunda Strait to send 16 combat reconnaissance aircraft.

The flight decks of the four German aircraft carriers were filled with combat-ready fighters, while the dive bombers and torpedoes were still in the hangar and were not prepared for attack.

The tactics used by the Axis Navy are very simple, which is to use several aircraft carriers to attract the enemy's attack and use carrier-based fighter jets to intercept and defend with all their strength. At the same time, another ambush aviation fleet will first launch an attack, and then the aviation fleet in the open will start a counterattack.

This tactic can only be established when its strength exceeds the opponent. If it is similar, of course it is necessary to start the first attack on the opponent with all its strength, and try to severely damage the opponent's aviation fleet first.

Admiral Marshall seemed very sure. The four aircraft carriers of the German Airlines Fleet in his hand had a total of 10 fighter squadrons and nearly 200 fighters, which were fully capable of intercepting most Japanese bombers. This was the result of calculating the Japanese strongest fifth aviation team "Shoka" and "Ruihe". Surprisingly, the Japanese Navy actually weakened the strength of their mobile troops before the battle.
Chapter completed!