"General, a message from the flagship. General Kimmel has already led the 1st Capital Ship Formation to our aid. At their current speed, they are expected to rendezvous with us in about an hour," a staff officer reported to Lieutenant General Ingersoll aboard the battleship Iowa.
Only then did Lieutenant General Ingersoll breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing the news.
Although they still faced the threat of fifteen German Navy Capital Ships, the six Iowa-class battleships could hold out for an hour without issue.
If the Capital Ships of both formations had not been damaged, and if they did not also need to guard against German Navy torpedo boats and submarines, they might have been able to rendezvous in only half an hour.
"General Kimmel chose to come to our rescue. Then all we can say to General Ingram is that we are sorry. May God bless them!" Lieutenant General Ingersoll said.
Indeed, when Rear Admiral Ingram, commander of the American fleet's 3rd Capital Ship Formation, learned that the 1st Capital Ship Formation had gone to rescue the 2nd Capital Ship Formation, his face darkened terribly. Clearly, the 3rd Capital Ship Formation had been abandoned.
"Order the fleet to continue northeast. No matter what choice General Kimmel has made, if we want to live, we must rendezvous with the main force! Otherwise, we will be walking into a dead end!" Rear Admiral Ingram ordered.
Although Rear Admiral Ingram felt utterly stifled inside, he knew that General Husband Kimmel had made the right choice. Compared with the 3rd Capital Ship Formation, the 2nd Capital Ship Formation was more important. Iowa-class battleships were inherently more powerful than South Dakota-class battleships, especially since the 2nd Capital Ship Formation had six Capital Ships while the 3rd had only four. If they could rescue