Chapter 1008 The Second Battle of Midway (8)

The US military actually made careful preparations for the upcoming attack by the German army:

First, disperse the huge fleet, especially the numerous strategic transport aircraft with no combat power, all evacuated back to Venezuela or the Caribbean, and other combat aircraft were also deployed in a dispersed manner;

Second, prepare some night fighters equipped with radar for interception, let the radar station strengthen monitoring, and prevent the German army from launching night assaults - the Axis often plays this trick;

Third, the well-prepared anti-aircraft artillery units, all of them are on standby, ready to greet the arrival of enemy air strikes with artillery fire.

But the Germans, who did not play by the rules, suddenly changed their routines and tactics - directly used meteors to lead the way, the first missile exploded at the port dock, and then missiles flew down one after another.

At this time, the senior US military officials came to their senses and realized that this was not a pleasing meteor, but a rocket used by the Germans in London, which was breathtaking and undefended.

The 1-ton explosive warhead of a V2+ missile is equivalent to a super-heavy bomb or a 460-ton naval gun shell (purely comparing warheads), but the momentum when it lands is far greater, and the earth-shaking momentum is not at the same level as the above two - the falling speed of 4.8 Mach is far greater than the landing speed of bombs or shells, and the destructive power caused by it is also far greater.

Unlike ordinary heavy bombs or shells, before the missile lands, no one knows what the target is to be attacked. Military camps, ports, docks, airports, fortifications, residential areas, open spaces, hills and even forests are possible - the German army cannot control where the missile flies.

But overall, one-third of the 72 V2+ missiles caused damage, especially one that hit a fuel depot at the airport directly, triggering a chain explosion and forming a huge mushroom cloud.

A missile directly hit a radar station 30 meters away. The huge explosion force and shock wave washed away the radar station and all the officers and soldiers like blowing cards, and then left a large pit with a diameter of more than 100 meters on the ground.

This sudden meteor shower caused confusion among Brazilians and ordinary American soldiers. They ran away screaming "Judgment Day". This was not the end of the tragedy that night. On the contrary, it only opened the prelude to the German saturation attack.

The remaining radar stations that were not damaged reported that a large number of aircraft were coming quickly at a speed of up to 700 kilometers per hour. The well-prepared night fighter interceptors and other attack aircraft took off immediately, the former to deal with the enemy, and the latter to avoid being destroyed by the enemy on the ground.

The fighter pilots responsible for interception saw an unforgettable scene: one after another "small planes" with flames at the tail, rushed towards them at a speed of 700 kilometers per hour. The brave American pilots tried to intercept them head-on, but were shocked to find that the opponent was not afraid of the 12.7mm bullets used by their fighters, and even "disdained" to do evasive actions, and rushed in abruptly. Only a few lucky ones hit the V3 missile warhead with a 20mm Hispano cannon, and the opposite side "boomed" into a shock wave of explosion mixed with various debris.

The anti-aircraft gunners fired desperately at these targets in shock, but only achieved very few results.

On that day, the German army launched a total of 192 V3 cruise missiles in two batches, and nearly 92% of them successfully arrived over El Salvador. The rest flew to an unknown place. Three missiles were successfully intercepted by US aircraft, and six missiles were hit and exploded by ground anti-aircraft guns. The rest all successfully fell and caused explosions. The two submarines in the port provided the last relay guidance, correcting the flight errors of this batch of missiles, so the hit rate was much higher than that of V2+. Although the destructive power and momentum of a single missile were not as good as those of V2, there were more of them, and the distribution was more even and extensive, causing great panic.

The sky began to brighten, and the German attack group "arrived late".

After this night of tossing and turning, the US military was at a low ebb in terms of physical strength, energy, defense and reaction capabilities, and was caught off guard by the German army.

Ozawa pulled out 4 main aircraft carriers with a total of 251 attack aircraft in one breath, and the remaining 4 escort aircraft carriers took off more than 100 fighters to escort the remaining fleet. There were also 12 Ar-452s responsible for intelligence collection and went deep into the war zone to photograph the masterpieces formed by missiles.

Bf-319 and Do-412 began to imitate the Air Force this time, all carrying R4M rockets. When they saw the intercepted US aircraft, they greeted them with rockets without saying a word, or lowered their altitude to strafe the ground. Ju-198s all carried 3 250 kg bombs to carry out bombing missions.

At 7:45 in the morning, under the three saturation attacks of the German V2+ missiles, V3 missiles, and aircraft carrier strike groups, the US military cluster in El Salvador fell into chaos. The German army paralyzed almost all the enemy's airports with missiles worth 50 million marks, and shot down or destroyed more than 300 US aircraft in the air or on the ground, directly killing the large-scale counterattack capability of the US Army Aviation.

At the same time, the battleship force, which had been advancing at high speed last night, accelerated to approach the port. At 8 o'clock in the morning, it was less than 200 kilometers away from the port. In more than 3 hours, the 380mm naval gun shells would fall.

Just after 10 o'clock, the U.S. military, which had regained its consciousness, assembled more than 100 aircraft to form an attack group to counterattack the German fleet. The officer leading the attack originally targeted the German aircraft carrier formation, but saw five majestic battleships attacking the air defense cruisers and destroyers. As they continued to approach the port, they broke into cold sweat. While notifying the rear to avoid, they turned around and attacked the German artillery formation.

Soon they were ruthlessly intercepted by German fighter jets covering the fleet. Except for a few near-misses and a few 1,000-pound bombs, several battleships were unscathed. However, they were accompanied by the Porcupine-class anti-aircraft cruisers and Hedgehogs. One destroyer each was bombed and sunk, and the US military's results were limited to this - they were shot down more than 60 aircraft by German fighter pilots who went on a killing spree.

"What, the German main fleet is bombarding El Salvador? Our army suffered heavy losses and was forced to retreat?" George Patton, who received the emergency telegram at noon, was shocked. "Don't El Salvador have nearly 700 aircraft? Why not attack the enemy fleet?" Are their bombs used as toys?"

"The enemy unexpectedly attacked our army with a large number of rockets last night, causing great confusion. This morning, we were attacked again by German attack aircraft, which caused great losses. The Army Aviation did organize an air attack on the German fleet, but the effect was not great. Instead, more than 70 aircraft were lost, and then nearly 200 more aircraft were lost due to German shelling and the second aircraft carrier attack... Currently, there are less than 100 aircraft available in El Salvador, and they are all at rear field airports. , lack of fuel, bombs and other facilities, basically unable to fight anymore. "

"Asshole! The Army Air Force is a bunch of losers!" Patton slammed his fist on the table. "Call the Recife Regional Aviation Force for reinforcements. They still have at least 400-500 aircraft."

"The call has been made, and it is said that the air strike will be organized as soon as possible, but I feel it will be effective. They are more than 700 kilometers away from El Salvador."

"Can General Hewitt be allowed to send naval aviation to help?" Patton asked Roosevelt Jr., "He still has at least 170 aircraft on hand."

"After asking, he said it was of no use. Most of the aircraft on this escort carrier are F6F fighters. There are less than 20 SBDs. The pilots are also very unskilled. Their ability to attack ships and ground is very poor. The only thing they can do is It’s defense!”

"well……"

"We should consider how to defend Port Seguru. I see that General Hewitt is uneasy and worried."

After the TF48 formation went to South Africa, Hewitt, who returned early, returned with nearly 20,000 people from the Roosevelt Strike Group. Patton insisted on landing at Port Seguru, but Hewitt couldn't resist him and agreed.

Judging from the situation at the time, landing in Port Seguro was a good move. The place is nearly 300 kilometers away from the German front line in Brazil and more than 400 kilometers away from El Salvador. It can be attacked or defended. Patton not only has a powerful armored group in his hands, but also has fighter cover provided by 6 escort aircraft carriers and Salvador's rear. Protected by Army Aviation, the location is very safe.

According to Patton's idea, if the German reinforcements dared to attack Port Seguru, he would fight a defensive battle: the escort aircraft carrier would provide theater air defense, and the Salvadoran Army Air Force would provide air cover. With the troops in his hand, he might not be able to defend it. , but after one night, everything changed.

Hewitt's trouble was that the transport fleet was supposed to return to the mainland after landing to continue carrying goods, but because the German main fleet was heading south, it had to wait in Seguroo Port to prevent a collision midway. It was better now that El Salvador in the north was taken away. During the period when the German main fleet was crossing the border, his fleet only had a large group of transport ships, destroyers and weak escort carriers, which was unable to cope with the wolf-like main force of the German army.

Shaoken, who led the troops stationed on the Victoria-Lignaris line, received an urgent telegram: "Marshal Rommel ordered us not to be afraid of the void in the rear and attack the U.S. military in Port Seguru with all our strength. He will fill up the defense line."

"good!"

"Marshal Rommel and Marshal Machar jointly sent a telegram, asking us to command the troops to attack and destroy the US fleet entrenched in Seguru Port!"

Krank was shocked: "I'm in Argentina. The fleet is scarred and cannot fight at all. How can I get to Saduru? Even if the fleet is intact, I can't make it."

Hinz smiled apologetically: "I'm sorry, I didn't make it clear. What the two marshals meant was for Rio's carrier-based aircraft to attack!"

"That's no problem. Let the Air Force have full command. I won't control it remotely!"

Rommel was waiting for Crank's words. He had actually informed the Brazilian aviation forces to prepare for attack, but Gauss reminded him that although HNA evolved from the air force, it was now a navy after all, and it would not be appropriate to bypass Crank. So there is this consultation telegram.

In the morning, Machar sent the front-line battle report in El Salvador to Rommel, who immediately keenly captured the murderous intent - the murderous intent that was forged by countless enemy troops in France, Poland, North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Iceland. .

"Tank, assault!"