"Order our fleet to prepare for battle. The German aircraft carriers were not attacked, which means their strength has not been weakened much. They could launch a counterattack against us at any time!" Admiral Andrew Cunningham said.
"Yes! The greater test lies ahead. Otherwise, we are certain to lose this naval battle," Admiral John Tovey said as well.
Both men were feeling deeply conflicted. Earlier, they had looked as though victory was already in their grasp, convinced that winning this naval battle was as certain as nails driven into a board. But now, the situation had taken a sudden turn for the worse. They were about to become losers instead of victors.
Although the carrier-based aircraft of the US and British Navy had inflicted devastating losses on the Capital Ships formation of the German Home Fleet, nearly wiping it out entirely, they were undoubtedly on the winning side if judged by those results alone. But once the German carrier-based aircraft group launched its attack, they might have to suffer even greater casualties.
When the order to prepare for battle reached every ship, the entire American and British fleets grew tense. Some of the lower-ranking sailors were utterly dumbfounded. Hadn't they said they were going to win this naval battle? How had it become a matter of life and death in the blink of an eye? The change had come far too fast, hadn't it?
However, accustomed to obeying orders, the sailors still rushed to their posts at once, preparing to face the powerful enemy.
One Anti-aircraft Gun after another was trained on the sky. The moment the German military's carrier-based aircraft appeared, they would immediately open fire.
On the four Independence-class aircraft carriers, every F4U fighter plane had completed its pre-takeoff preparations. The pilots had already entered their cockpits and