After receiving a telegram from the Joint Conference, MacArthur and Nimitz were also worried that the United States had been forced to a dead end, and if they were not careful, they would be completely over. In fact, MacArthur was not willing to accept the position of Chief of Staff of the Army at the beginning because he had already done this position, and he hoped to command the entire Pacific War Zone. But Truman sent him a telegram telling him that the overall situation was not good, and that he hoped that he would start with the most urgent needs of the country, and that the latter would agree to accept the appointment.

"How did William plan to use the escort aircraft carrier to attack the Japanese fleet more than 2,000 kilometers away from Hawaii?" Nimitz did not directly affirm or deny Halsey's offensive strategy, but asked, "The escort aircraft carrier cannot take off a heavy-load attack aircraft. Even if it goes back to use the sbd, it can only carry a 500-pound bomb, which is too small to kill."

"General Halsey noticed this difficulty, so his strategy was to carry all fighter jets on the escort aircraft carriers: 4u or 6, of which 4u were considering carrying a 500-pound bomb. The 14 escort aircraft carriers could mobilize a total of more than 400 fighters, of which 150 could carry a 500-pound bomb." Smith explained Halsey's strategy a very complex tactical system:

1. Tempting the enemy to attack first at long-distance contact positions: for example, appearing at 700-800 kilometers, luring the Kakuda fleet to attack. Halsey expects that the Japanese army can send up to 200 attack aircraft to attack (calculated based on 4 Japanese aircraft carriers). His plan to use fighters to consume and lose several escort aircraft carriers. It is more important to use ships to exchange Japanese aircraft and crew, because the shot down US pilots have opportunities to salvage and rescue, which can weaken the size of the Japanese aircraft group and even allow them to get closer to their own fleet;

2. Continue to approach, coordinated attacks between land and sea: Since the escort aircraft carriers cannot take off heavy-load attack aircraft, Halsey hopes that the Army Airlines will send heavy bombers to attack the enemy fleet, and the fleet will take off the carrier-based fighter jets in the middle of the fleet for escort. Some fighters will also hang 500-pound bombs to coordinated attacks, and continue to escort after dropping bombs, which will solve the problem of the Land Airlines bombers without escort.

3. If the first wave of joining the strategy of luring the enemy to attack first has not been realized, then close the distance again and prepare to attack forcibly.

"General Halsey plans to exchange the loss of 5-6 escort aircraft carriers on its own for the cost of sank of 150 aircraft units and 100 HNA units for the entire annihilation or severe damage to the enemy's fleet."

Nimitz sighed: "William's tactical theory is feasible, but there are many problems in reality."

"You tell me, I can forward these comments to Hawaii and Washington."

"First, who stipulates that the Japanese must fight? What should I do if the Japanese fleet finds that the Halsey fleet has left the port, turns around to avoid the battle and stretch the distance? I have made this mistake, and I hope he won't make it again."

Smith nodded. He knew that Nimitz was talking about the problems in the South Atlantic Battle. When he fought with Crank, he also made several plans, but he did not consider what to do if the other party avoided the battle and played hide-and-seek. Later, he was very passive. Halsey's situation was exactly the same as him.

"Second, this tactic requires too high coordination. What if the fleet and aircraft carrier fighter fleet are being formed and the Japanese attacking aircraft fleet is coming? Many times luck is very deadly. In the Battle of Midway, Japanese sailors told us that our army was replacing ammunition when they attacked. The deck was full of bombs, and the power of the explosion was very powerful. Half an hour earlier or half an hour later, this might not happen, but we were hit by the way." Nimitz sighed, "There is another point that the Japanese main fleet went unknown after taking French Polynesia. This is a very noteworthy focus."

"So my opinion is: wait patiently for the opportunity and don't attack for the moment." Nimitz thought for a while, "Let them find a way to figure out where the main force of the joint fleet is going. If you are sure that it is not near Polynesia, I can even take some risk and let the t48 fleet rush across the blockade line to Pearl Harbor!"

"Sir, this is too dangerous!" Smith exclaimed.

"There is one thing that can't be overcome. After we finish the rest in Melbourne, the Franklin can at least exert all its combat power and can also make up for the pilots; the Hornets' turbines can also improve."

Smith nodded: Australia's shipbuilding level is stronger than South Africa, and the Franklin is sure that it can be repaired. The Hornet can undergo partial repairs and restore the maximum speed to more than 24 knots. Australia currently has 6 escort aircraft carriers, and Nimitz drew some pilots and planes from it to the Franklin, and another 2 escort aircraft carriers were transferred to the T48.

In this way, the strength of t48 has been restored to the level of 2 fleet aircraft carriers (one of which cannot be fought) and 4 escort aircraft carriers. Although the pilot level is not as good as the South Atlantic era, it can at least be full.

Nimitz walked to the chart and said, "Originally, the route was to New Zealand and then go around the South Pacific. The speed was too slow. My idea was that after the fleet left Melbourne, it advanced in the northeast direction and stood by in the waters between New Caledonia and Fiji. If you are sure that the main force of the joint fleet is not in Polynesia, you will continue to move northeast, and strive to pass through the overlapping part of the air defense patrol ring between the Marshall Islands and Christmas Island at night, and then you can break into the air defense circle of Pearl Harbor. Even if you were discovered by enemy reconnaissance planes the next morning, with the combination of one fleet aircraft carrier and four escort aircraft carriers in our army, you still have sufficient self-defense capabilities." This overall itinerary is about 6,000 nautical miles, which is half the savings than detouring the South Pacific to return to the mainland."

"The only downside is..." Nimitz walked up to MacArthur and said in a very sorry tone, "I want to risk you and us through the blockade line."

"Haha, this is nothing, you are not afraid of it, of course I am fine." MacArthur waved his arm, "The President said that at this point, no one in America cannot be sacrificed. We old men who have been fighting all their lives should set an example for the people below to know our confidence and courage."

The problem in Hawaii was solved very well: after Nimitz's counter-suggestion was sent back, not only Li Hai, Turner, Mitchell and others in the Joint Conference agreed, but Ingram and Halsey of the Pacific Fleet also agreed. If the Pacific Fleet restored to two regular aircraft carriers + 18 escort aircraft carrier combinations, the battle could still be fought.

But the Army problem is very difficult. After careful consideration, MacArthur gave completely different suggestions:

"Although I have been serving in the Pacific War Zone and have basically never fought with the German army, this also means that I can evaluate from a relatively independent and unbiased standpoint. Judging from the series of war processes in the past two years, I believe that there must be a clear position on the combat effectiveness of both sides... I agree with General Clark's point of view: under the premise that the US Army does not have firepower advantages and air superiority, at least three times the force and rely on a favorable defense system to resist the German attack; in the case where neither side has air superiority, at least two times the force is needed to be equal to the enemy; only under the premise of mastering firepower and air superiority, the US Army with the same force can perform better. This conclusion is cruel, but it must be faced with it.

Specifically, the information received so far in South America, I think it is necessary to look at it in two: After the enemy landed in Alakalu, Patton's troops faced an unfavorable situation where there were obstacles in front and pursuers in the back, which was basically equivalent to being surrounded. Now he still has about 70,000 troops under his command, who were exhausted, scarred, and scattered in fighting spirit and organization. It is impossible to expect them to fight a path of blood. I don't agree with the view that some staff members have put forward, letting Clark's troops go south to support him, which will only cause more troops to be involved and end.

According to the investigation, they faced three enemy forces. The first one was the intercepted enemy who had just landed in front of him, about 20,000 (actually less than 14,000); the second one was the pursued enemy who was chasing him behind him, about 30,000 (actually 17,000); the third one was the German army heading north from the east coast of Brazil, about 80,000 (actually more than 60,000). As long as the first one successfully blocked Patton's troops for more than 3 days, they would fall into a lot of siege and eventually be wiped out.

Therefore, I suggest that Patton's troops immediately find a place with favorable terrain nearby to guard the danger, and at the same time, they try every means to build an airport, and the land aviation transport planes will cover the retreat of the troops, imitate the retreat method of the African battle, all materials and equipment will be abandoned, as long as people! Consider retreating to Guyana or Venezuela to regroup.

To avoid causing chaos and to avoid the various criticism and morale collapse caused by inadequate preparations during the retreat of the African battle, it is recommended that the officers explain to all soldiers, encourage them to fight for the country to the end and cover up the determination and courage of other companions to retreat first, I hope to give priority to the withdrawal of most officers, some officers with a spirit of self-sacrifice may need to stay to inspire morale.

While the Patton Cluster is strategically retreating, the Clark Cluster must stick to the Recife area and build the first line of defense that blocks the German army's advancement to the mainland. The army and the land aviation must send more forces to South America to coordinate the defense. I suggest sending additional airborne troops to South America to strengthen their strength. In addition, considering that General Clark intends to return to China to serve as Vice Chief of Staff, I hope that the President can promote General Matthew Lichwei as the supreme commander of the Recife cluster. His courage and tenacity are enough to help us win the defensive battle..."

Eisenhower carefully read the long message from MacArthur from Australia:

Truman quickly understood what MacArthur meant:

First, the Patton cluster is basically done, so how much can it be saved?

Second, the Recife cluster cannot retreat. Once it is withdrawn, not only the Caribbean Sea and the soft lower abdomen of the United States will be directly exposed to the attack of Germany, which is very dangerous;

Third, MacArthur hinted that Clark's overall view and strategy were OK, but it was not suitable to lead troops on the front line (it was exactly the opposite of Patton), and it was not enough to undertake the defensive task of Recife, so Li Qiwei must be replaced.

Everyone quickly discussed the opinion...
Chapter completed!