Chapter 1615: Prelude to Overlord (Part 1)

Not all bright sunshine can make people feel happy. Even the warm sunshine at noon in the gentle spring day may make people feel dazzling and hot. This is not to say that the sunshine itself is like this, but that the people who feel the sunshine are not in a good mood. At least the American general sitting at the office desk holding a new telegram in his hand has a depressed face.

"You look very bad, General."

The person who spoke on the side was Colonel Max, who was responsible for delivering the telegram and reporting on the relevant situation. He was also the chief adjutant in charge of handling daily affairs. Basically, he was the kind of person who looked for things to do when he had nothing to do and took care of everything when there was something to do. A general who could sit in a high position must have such a person around him.

"I've always been worried that Washington would send me a telegram like this. To be honest, I even worry about this in my dreams. But this world is often so wonderful and indescribable. Sometimes the more you worry about something, the faster it will come, just like this telegram."

Colonel Max had no right to know what was in this top-secret telegram. From the moment the telegram arrived, it had been sealed until it was opened in front of his direct superior.

So even if Colonel Max had already guessed something, he could only ask in a tentative tone.

"Is it from the President? Is he urging us to take action as soon as possible?"

The man sitting behind the desk put the telegram in his hand into the drawer of the desk without making a sound. He stood up and walked to the window and gently lifted a corner of the curtain. He looked at the bright and warm midday sun outside the window with complicated eyes and deep meaning. Then he spoke to Colonel Max behind him without looking back.

"It is indeed a very suitable day to launch an attack, but our troops are not ready at this time."

Although the general's words did not give a direct answer, they actually confirmed that Colonel Max's guess was correct. The content of the telegram was indeed as close as he thought.

As the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces appointed by Roosevelt himself, Eisenhower, who was standing in front of the window at this moment, had too much anxiety in his heart.

Most of the participating troops planned to participate in this unprecedented large-scale amphibious landing operation have now arrived. However, there is another key issue that cannot be ignored in front of Eisenhower: the number of ships participating in this landing operation is far from enough, at least it is far from the total number of ships required by the headquarters at the beginning.

All kinds of large, medium and small combat ships are relatively easy to talk to. British Prime Minister Mr. Churchill, who came from the navy, is quite easy to talk to. He promised Eisenhower personally that all the large, medium and small combat ships needed to participate in the war would arrive in full, even if you Americans don't have enough warships, our Royal Navy will share the burden for you.

After all, the current British Royal Navy has not yet reached the level of being unbearable to look at in the 21st century. The pot-bellied Churchill has no other confidence, and there are still as many large, medium and small combat ships with various calibers as needed.

Except for the 460 cannons like the Japanese monkeys, we don't have any of the remaining warships, whether it is Nelson, Lao Luo, or the maid head reputation, you can choose any of your wives, as long as they are not indispensable positions, I will transfer them to you.

The idea is good, with the support of the British Royal Navy, it seems that all problems can be solved.

Eisenhower thought so at first, but when the actual preparation plan was coming to an end and approaching the later stage, Eisenhower and his headquarters members began to pay more and more attention to an increasingly serious problem: the assembly speed and existing number of landing ships were far from the expectations of the plan.

The scale of this unprecedented amphibious landing operation was so large that the number of landing ships required was also frightening.

Eisenhower realized that if he continued at this speed, things would definitely go wrong. He did not sit still and wait for death. He immediately went to find the man who promised to take care of everything for him: Prime Minister Churchill, hoping to get the help he needed from him.

"If you want battleships, the Royal Navy has as many as you want. We have the most powerful fleet of battleships in the world."

"But now you ask me for those mobile bathtubs floating in the Atlantic with their bellies exposed? Oh my God, at this time, where can I find landing ships that can transport tens of thousands of people, thousands of trucks and tanks across the channel? We created a world miracle on the beachhead of Dunkirk, but even a world miracle could not transport all your troops at once."

"President Roosevelt told me that your navy has more sophisticated amphibious landing combat experience, and there are many landing ships specially tailored for this purpose. You Americans have started preparing these a long time ago. I heard that it was prepared to beat up those Japanese monkeys? Anyway, it doesn't matter. Let's use it to beat up the Germans first, just to test your equipment."

Churchill, known as the "politician with a thousand faces", kicked the ball back to Eisenhower calmly. Eisenhower was really too lazy to talk nonsense with this John Bull politician leader, so he could only look helpless and spread his hands.

“But it will take time, it will take longer.”

"If we wait until all the landing ships are assembled at the current speed, the operation will have to wait until at least June. Our current plan is for early May. Today is April 27th, and there are only a few days left, Mr. Prime Minister. You know what I mean, right?"

Don't blame me for not reminding you if the battle starts late. You politicians always treat the soldiers as brothers when you are stewing the meat, but when you take it out of the pot and eat it, you kick us aside as if you have nothing to do with us. If the meat is stewed and not tasty, you have to find fault with us cooks. If it is stewed well, it is your recipe that you have contributed. How can there be such a good thing in the world?

Want to kick the ball to us?

Sorry, I, Eisenhower, don't buy it.

Originally, Churchill planned to nominate a British soldier as the commander-in-chief of the Allied forces. After all, the starting point of this unprecedented amphibious landing war was in their own country.

But the situation was stronger than people. The Americans were more willing to contribute money, effort and troops than their brothers. In addition, Roosevelt had his own ideas and pushed Eisenhower to be the commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces. Churchill could only compromise and nod his head for the sake of the overall situation.

But now, Eisenhower actually played a soft nail to himself, and for a moment he even choked himself, which made Churchill, who had already held back some opinions, very unhappy.