Chapter 990 Nimitz's Counterattack (End)

ps: I have arrived in Foshan and saw a lot of big and small gods...

In the second attack wave, Nimitz arranged a total of 176 aircraft to attack, leaving 57 fighters for the fleet. Among the 176 aircraft that sortied, there were only 41 fighters, and the remaining 135 were all attack aircraft, both BTD and SBD.

Nimitz also tried to rotate some of the fighter pilots as much as possible, but most of the attack aircraft pilots could not be replaced. Many of them could only drag their exhausted bodies to fight again, and these pilots were the only ones left in the Atlantic Fleet. skilled pilot. Nimitz thought about giving up more than once, but after careful consideration, he still hardened his heart and issued this unkind order. Several pilots even comforted him while devouring hot dogs: "Sir, don't worry, we can do it! I will insist on completing the combat mission."

After witnessing the last plane leaving, Nimitz immediately issued an order: the fleet turned 105 degrees, took the southeast route, and prepared to turn into the South African waters.

After the deployment was completed, he covered his face and cried loudly - at most, half of the 176 planes could come back, and maybe not even half of them would come back. He was personally sending each of the young people in their prime to a dead end, but he Had to do it again.

Smith stood behind him with his staff, and everyone was as sad as Nimitz. This was the second time they had seen Nimitz lose his temper like this. The last time was when Cunningham led the fleet to serve as a magnet for fire and died generously. Since then, Nimitz has been planning revenge all the time, but fate has played a trick on people, and he did not expect it to turn into this situation.

The encounters of the Spruance fleet in the South Pacific in the final stage were reported to Washington via telegraph. Some senior officials admired the heroism and determination of the pilots in the "suicide attack" at the last moment and wanted to publicize it widely through the media, but Nimitz was unable to participate in the event. At the federation meeting, we argued vigorously and opposed such exaggeration with great fanfare.

"Human life is the most precious. We can ask our officers and soldiers to fight bravely, but we must not ask them to commit suicide or die together to achieve this goal. This is a shame for the United States and a shame for civilization. If we do this, and What is the difference between the Japanese’s suicide rockets and the free world’s opposition to Axis fascism and Japanese militarism?”

In response to his loud outcry, all fallen soldiers were commended, but the media only described their heroic feats and did not mention suicide attacks.

Truman was pleased with Nimitz's sober understanding. It was not easy to remain calm in the heat of war. Such incitement and calls would have to be paid politically in the future. Once the American people came to their senses, they would issue such an order. People were hanged on the pillar of shame.

Due to the lack of space on the German fleet's aircraft carriers, scheduling and turnover took a lot of time. Therefore, the German army was slower than the US military in this round of attacks. The time difference between the previous attack was narrowed again. In the end, all combat aircraft were released only 20 minutes earlier than the US military.

Before the attack group took off, Krank personally talked to the leader, asking him to grasp the rhythm of the attack, not to fight hard, and to retain the pilots to the maximum extent.

"So what if the Americans keep one aircraft carrier and flee back? Commander Machar still has four aircraft carriers in his hands, and there is a steady stream of new aircraft carriers on the slipway. In the foreseeable future, the South Atlantic will be our world!"

"Understood!"

Hintz expressed surprise that Krank seems to have placed too much emphasis on preserving lives recently, which is different from his previous style and may dampen morale.

Krank explained: "In the past, we were at a disadvantage, so we naturally had to use all means to fight. Starting from the Battle of the Azores, how could we not grit our teeth and fight? But it is different now. The European war has been won, and the war against the United States cannot be defeated. The United States is the premise, which is purely for the icing on the cake of Germany's world dominance. If the ship is gone, it can be rebuilt, but if the pilots are lost, they will no longer be able to survive. I will wait for the Americans to fight for us and watch Nimitz finish his future with these pilots. What to fight with! The head of state told me that it is never one or two advanced weapons that determine the success or failure of a war, but smart, capable, brave and fearless people!"

Hinz felt that Krank's words were inconsistent. He asked for his life to be saved, but he also said that he was brave and fearless.

"All the bravest are dead, will there be any warriors left? Americans lose half or more of their troops every time they attack. How long can this kind of morale be maintained? How did their strategic bombing fail?"

As the U.S. fleet turned around and headed southeast, the Germans spent an additional 10 minutes searching, and finally found the fleet, which had been greatly reduced in size.

17 destroyers tightly surrounded the aircraft carrier, forming a tight personal protection, and the only two remaining air defense cruisers sprayed maximum firepower. U.S. air defense fighters bravely jumped up to meet the challenge and fought with German fighter jets and attack aircraft.

"Cut in the left and right sides at the same time, use bombs to kill the cruiser first!"

Four groups of bombers immediately pounced down to drop bombs. Just after 5 o'clock, two outnumbered US air defense cruisers were sunk one after another, leaving only the two lonely aircraft carriers in the formation.

"Torpedo attack!" The German army has learned from experience in many battles that it is difficult to sink the Essex class with 400 kilogram bombs alone, and emphasizes the use of torpedoes to solve opponents.

More than 20 Ju-198s quickly pounced down and released torpedoes, leaving traces one after another on the sea.

"Defend the flagship!" All the destroyer captains shouted, desperately building a solid defense line for the aircraft carrier.

The destroyers were too shallow to block the aircraft carrier's guns, so they concentrated on the torpedo path. While intercepting the torpedoes with intensive firepower, they also used a method to deal with submarines to release a large number of hedgehog bombs - this method was accidentally found last night when dealing with submarine attacks. Yes, it was discovered that hedgehog bombs had a certain detonating effect on torpedoes. Today the destroyers tried their best.

But today is obviously not as effective as yesterday - yesterday many of them were oxygen torpedoes, which are relatively easier to explode, but 5-6 torpedoes were still detonated, and some were intercepted with 20mm Oerlikon cannons. The Franklin and Bennington The captain of the USS used all his strength to race the ship at a speed of 33 knots, twisting and turning on the sea. As a result, more than 20 torpedoes only hit the Bennington, and the Franklin was miraculously unscathed.

There was originally a torpedo heading straight towards the Franklin. The ship had just avoided three torpedoes and was already unable to avoid the last one. At the critical moment, an F6F at low altitude dived without hesitation and used its own body. The torpedo was detonated, and the pilot and the entire aircraft were no longer alive. All the American officers and soldiers on the ship were moved and paid tribute to this unknown hero.

"It seems we have to continue using dive bombing to slow down the enemy ship first."

At the same time that it was attacked by the US aircraft carrier, the German fleet also ushered in the last wave of attacks by the US military.

These brave and fearless pilots ignored the oncoming German fighter jets and the blazing artillery fire in the center of the formation, headed by Richelieu and including Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. The last two aircraft carriers of the quasi-German army.

At 17:13, after paying the price of more than 20 aircraft being sunk, the US military used 5 bombs to sink L12. At the same time, 16 more aircraft used German anti-aircraft firepower to concentrate on high-altitude gaps to release torpedoes. Although 7 One aircraft was blown up on the spot during the bombing process, but the other nine successfully launched torpedoes.

The entire German formation suddenly changed direction to avoid the main fan-shaped plane. Two torpedoes penetrated the entire formation and headed straight for Jean-Bart. Considering that another change of formation would easily cause chaos, Jean-de-Viere obtained from France The light cruiser Na bravely rushed forward to block the two torpedoes for the flagship, but the light cruiser was quickly sunk by the torpedoes.

So far, all six La Garissonnier-class ships built by France that year have been sunk in the war. The Hipper, which was damaged in the first stage, quickly took its place - this is Germany's only remaining heavy cruiser. .

"Have the results of the battle with General Nimitz come out?" Truman wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked Turner. 20 minutes ago, the transport fleet had entered the protection scope of the army's aircraft fleet, but the main Atlantic fleet was in a very dangerous situation. .

"Not yet, the two sides are fighting fiercely..."

"May God bless America!"

"The latest battle situation..."

At 18:19, in the afterglow of the setting sun, the German attack group was the first to end the battle and return home. The attack group, consisting of a total of 95 aircraft, sank 2 US anti-aircraft cruisers and 3 destroyers at the cost of losing 23 aircraft, and severely damaged them with torpedoes. Before that, the ship had been hit by no less than 5 aerial bombs and was already scarred. Shortly after the Germans left, the aircraft carrier, which had been flooded with too much water, finally abandoned the ship due to excessive injuries. The Franklin only suffered one bomb, and in the non-core area, it still had the ability to take off and land after emergency rescue, but its top speed dropped by 2 knots.

Fifteen minutes later, the few remaining US military attack aircraft also began to return.

In Nimitz's desperate attack, the US military sank the aircraft carrier L12 and severely damaged the Jean-Bart - the latter received a full 6 1,000-pound bombs and 2 torpedoes, and the entire deck was blown open. The hangar was blown to pieces, and more than 5,000 tons of water entered the ship's hull. However, the solid defense of the Richelieu-class battleship saved him, and he remained stubbornly afloat on the sea, and finally sailed slowly at a speed of 8 knots.

In addition to the light cruiser Jean-de-Vienne, the Germans also lost an additional cruiser - the Italian light cruiser Daosta, which protected Jean-Bart from mines, the Richelieu and Scharnhorst The three battleships Gneisenau and Gneisenau all received at least one torpedo and were hit by 1-2 bombs respectively. All the battleships in the entire fleet were scarred, but they struggled to stay afloat on the sea.

"Sir, the enemy plane has retreated."

Krank sighed: "The losses were a bit heavy, but we finally repelled the enemy and allowed the returning fleet to land in Rio. For the time being, we can only go to Rio for emergency maintenance."

This world-famous counterattack ended with both sides losing...