"One could say that just having the 'Longjiang' back in the lineup was quite an accomplishment.
While formulating the battle plan, Bai Zhizhan and Zhou Yongtao carried out several wargame simulations under different scenarios, and without exception, the results demonstrated that without the 'Longjiang', regardless of the tactics employed, victory was unattainable, and there would be heavy losses instead.
Even with the 'Longjiang', the probability of capturing Wei Island without losing any carriers was only about fifty percent.
Put simply, the entire military operation required the deployment of three carriers, of which two were needed just for the surprise attack on Wei Island. Before the 'Imperial Capital' could be repaired, counting even the poorly-conditioned 'Heng River', there were only three carriers in total, hence the 'Longjiang' absolutely could not be absent.
