Chapter 991 Strategic Defense (Part 1, Additional Chapters for 3,300 Votes)
ps: There have been quite a lot of opinions from readers in the past two days, so I will spend some time explaining it, and I will not reply to them one by one in the book review area:
1. The plane hit a torpedo. For those who have never seen it, please refer to the historical combat example of Taiho airman Komatsu Seki's commander Cao committing suicide and crashing a torpedo. But Baidu, you don't need to look at professional combat history;
2. Number of torpedoes. The second attack wave of the US military has 176 aircraft, 58% of which are attack aircraft, most of which are BTDs that can carry 2 torpedoes. The German army has 95 aircraft, 55% of which are attack aircraft, and only carry one torpedo. I am not very good at math, please help me count the number. How much difference.
3. Hit rate. If you don’t understand the lightning strike hit rate section, please imagine the scene of machine gun fire on infantry. Is it easier to hit a company-based cluster or a squad-based skirmisher? Is it easier to hit when there are more enemy ships or when there are fewer enemy ships? Is it easier to hit a faster warship or a slower one?
Krank had indeed arranged a submarine formation for Nimitz at night, but after hearing the pilot report that the Nimitz fleet's route had changed to the southeast, he suddenly understood his opponent's thoughts at that moment, but he finally understood that he had already He is completely powerless to stop it. Even if the US military attacks again during the day tomorrow, he will not even be able to send out a single plane.
But Nimitz could not muster the power to attack. Although he still instructed the warships to turn on the lights to guide the aircraft to land until about 8 o'clock in the evening, too few pilots returned in the end. The 176 attack aircraft finally left alive. The German fleet only had 82 aircraft. As night fell, the formations dispersed, and some aircraft were injured. In addition, the pilots had been fighting for a day, and their physical strength and energy had reached their limits. They were flying without knowing it. Where to go. In the end, only 54 aircraft returned to the USS Franklin. Together with the remaining fighters from the air defense operations, the entire fleet had 82 aircraft left.
After the ground crew pushed all damaged and unusable aircraft into the sea, the TF48 fleet was left with only 73 aircraft - before Nimitz set off, it had a full 3 fleet aircraft carriers and 6 escort aircraft carriers, with a total number of nearly 500 aircraft. In the end, only one-seventh of the huge system was left (the staff retention rate was one-fifth).
Smith was afraid that Nimitz would not be able to accept this reality, so he specifically told several adjutants and staff officers to pay close attention to the commander's movements to prevent him from getting distracted.
Although the German fleet was scarred, the German aircraft suffered little loss (although Krank also lamented the battle damage rate as high as 30%). Now it has hidden in the Rio land-based protection circle. TF48 has no ability or capital to fight again. If we force another attack tomorrow, the whole army will be destroyed.
"Sir, let's go."
"No, wait a little longer. Maybe there are still pilots who haven't come back. I said I would wait until the end."
Smith looked at the wall clock. It was already past 9 p.m. - it was almost impossible for the pilot to survive, but he couldn't tell directly, so he had to persuade: "We have to go, in case the German submarine comes up again..." "
Nimitz looked in the direction of the dark Brazil with infinite melancholy, sighed and gave the order to retreat, and then locked himself in the room without saying a word.
The adjutant winked at Smith, indicating that he had taken away all the bullets in Nimitz's gun, and even "dangerous items" such as ropes and fruit knives.
"You can find an excuse to go in every half an hour or an hour to see if there are any problems. If there are any problems, report them to me in time." Smith explained, "We cannot live without our commanders. Too many people have been sacrificed in the past two days. But we can’t sacrifice the commander as well.”
In the evening, the Joint Chiefs of Staff received detailed telegrams and battle history from the fleet. They heard about the destruction of five German aircraft carriers (the pilots believed that the Jean Bart was sinking, so it was counted as sunk), the heavy damage to all its battleships, Everyone was slightly relieved that they still had news of an aircraft carrier - this could still be considered a tragic victory, right?
Turner also reported: "General Nimitz expressed the hope to go to South Africa to rest and recuperate, and then return home via the Pacific route."
Truman didn't understand why he did this, but Li Hai figured it out immediately and pointed out: "There is a possibility of running into a German submarine array when returning home."
After discussion, the Joint Chiefs of Staff agreed to the request.
Truman believed that the Navy had done its best, and Marshall also admitted that if Nimitz had turned around and left only the transport fleet for the Germans, the Navy's three main aircraft carriers could have been retained.
"We must have positive propaganda to the people. Through hard work, the army and navy defeated the enemy's attempt to control Brazil. They severely damaged the enemy's fleet at a heavy cost and bought precious time for the United States to defend Central America." Truman considered, "We will send more troops to join our allies in defending the free world."
Marshall nodded. The president's meaning was very clear. Next, it mainly depends on the Army.
"The Army strength will be increased by 50,000, Army aviation will increase its combat aircraft to more than 3,000 aircraft, all important areas must be covered by aviation, and the Navy's transport fleet must hurry up to transport materials and supplies." Truman's order was very clear, " The United States' guidance on war has inevitably entered a phase of strategic contraction, and it is necessary to maximize its durable defense capabilities."
After a long pause, he said again: "Go ahead and do your best. Don't have any worries. I will not evade the responsibilities I bear. I will communicate my intention to withdraw from the election with the senior leaders of the party today."
"Withdraw your election?" Everyone was shocked.
"Your Excellency?" Li Hai was not mentally prepared at all. He thought Truman would package this tragic victory.
Truman did think so at first, but then Kennedy reminded him that this was a very dangerous behavior. Once it was disclosed to the media and the families of the war dead by competitors, it would lead to unpredictable consequences, so now Truman's tone is much softer. .
Truman waved his hand: "Many people have communicated with me in private many times and put forward various explanations euphemistically, but the purpose is the same. I also understand everyone's wishes, but this wish is not in line with Mr. Roosevelt's ideals, nor in line with mine." The only thing I can do is shoulder the burden of responsibility for the disadvantages of the war. No matter how history evaluates it, I am at best a president who lost the war, not a president who led the American people to surrender.”
Everyone was speechless for a while.
Li Hai stood up and apologized: "President, I'm sorry, we..."
"The army and navy have tried their best. Now I hope you can do a good job in homeland defense. Through this war, I fully understand that if you do not retain strong national defense strength in peacetime, do not conduct in-depth research on various cutting-edge technologies, and do not train and cultivate high-quality Once we face a large-scale war, we will be in a hurry and unable to cope with it. The United States has the world's largest economic strength and industrial capabilities that far exceed those of other countries, but this potential has not been able to be turned into capabilities in a short period of time. This has created our current situation." Truman said slowly, "I think we still have hope if we continue to fight and persevere. Our exchange ratio with the Germans was worse in the past, but this time we at least severely damaged the enemy fleet. If you persist, there will be a turnaround, but people may not be willing to endure this turnaround.”
Everyone nodded: There are dozens of aircraft carriers and battleships, hundreds of cruisers and other auxiliary ships piled on the American slipway; there are a steady stream of tanks and aircraft in the factory, but they just can't find a way to win and seem confused.
"The people still have illusions, thinking that after the armistice with Germany we can gain a decent peace and live as freely as before. I want to say that these good days are gone forever..." Truman's voice was very sad and angry. , "In the future, our relationship with Germany will be a state of confrontation without war or peace. We will be restricted and excluded by them at every turn. The Germans did not choose to armistice with us because they sympathized with us. They did so because they were temporarily unable to eliminate and conquer us. A last resort choice. After the armistice, Hitler will continue to maintain a huge armament system to put pressure on us. On the other hand, he will openly and covertly support Japan to consume us. If he has more powerful and more ferocious weapons, he will not hesitate to launch an attack. World War III is coming to destroy us."
“So... this is not a real peace, it is just a short truce period like the last war, because freedom and totalitarianism, democracy and dictatorship are completely opposite in the final analysis, and there is no communion between us and National Socialism. Truman paused and said, "No matter who the president is in the future or which officers are in charge of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I hope that the top brass of the army and navy will always remain vigilant against Germany, always focus on improving military strength, and let the new leaders lead you to victory." This preparation for the next war starts from today!”
"We have entered into a strategic contraction in this war, but the prelude to the next war has just begun again. I believe that we will not be the losers in the Third World War!"
"Führer..." That night, Keitel and Dönitz reported on the war situation in South America. Hearing the news that Krank's fleet had been severely damaged, Hoffman also expressed deep regret. Fortunately, compared with the results of the battle, this loss was still bearable.
He nodded: "General Krank fought well. We successfully achieved the campaign goal of eliminating interference from the Atlantic Fleet. In the next few months, the U.S. Navy will no longer pose a threat to us."
"We discussed it, and in view of the changes in the war situation in South America, we decided to launch the troop reinforcements in advance." Dönitz said, "The navy is dying and must be assisted as soon as possible. General Machar agreed to set off from Europe for reinforcements one week in advance, on August 7. We still lack some army supplies and equipment.”
"How are the sea trials of the two British aircraft carriers going?"
"According to the schedule, everything is going well. There is no problem with the overall quality of the warships. Some sea trial projects have been adjusted to be carried out midway through the voyage." The main fleet to reinforce South America this time will include a huge cluster of 4 aircraft carriers, 5 battleships, and 8 escort aircraft carriers.
"Since you all think it's okay, I agree with your choice."
Marshal Keitel interjected: "It is not impossible to collect supplies from South America, but it will affect the preparations for operations in South Africa."
"The South African campaign will be postponed for another half month, and priority will be given to protecting the South American theater. How many troops do you plan to send this time?"
"2 heavy armored battalions, 2 panzergrenadier divisions, 1 ordinary infantry division, 1 mountain infantry division, 3 marine brigades, the total strength of the ground forces is about 120,000, with Marshal Rommel as the supreme commander "The Air Force has dispatched about 700 aircraft from three wings, and Lieutenant General Garland proposed that he lead the team there, and I intend to agree."
Hoffman asked strangely: "Not going to the Armored Division?"
"Not going for the time being. Shaoken sent a telegram saying that the terrain in northern South America is more complex and heavy armored divisions cannot be deployed temporarily. He needs more armored grenadier divisions and artillery."
"Add more troops, send 200 transport planes and the 1st Airborne Division."
"As you wish, Führer."