Chapter 131 Using Russia to Counter Russia (1)
First, the victory of the Battle of El Alamein boasted by the British was an outright hoax. The British 8th Army lost more than 50,000 people, 700-800 tanks and aircraft, more than 1,000 artillery pieces and a large amount of military supplies. Three of the four main armored divisions were defeated or severely damaged, and the infantry units of two divisions and two brigades were severely damaged or moderately damaged. There were more than 5,000 prisoners below the rank of brigadier general. The results they achieved were basically achieved against the Italians. Except for the three Italian infantry divisions that surrendered without a fight, the German losses were less than one-tenth of the British.
Secondly, the Germans did retreat to Tobruk for defense as the war report said, but their strength was growing rapidly. According to the report sent by the Tobruk intelligence personnel, Guderian received reinforcements from one armored division (the 4th Armored Division) and one armored brigade (the Flying Fortress Armored Brigade) from the country, as well as a large number of tanks and personnel. There were 20,000 to 30,000 tons of various fuels. The British base in Malta failed to intercept these fleets. Their bombers were hit hard by the escorting German fighter wing, losing more than 30 aircraft and only sinking and damaging one ship each. The damaged transport ship struggled to dock at the port of Tobruk.
Finally, although the number of tanks in the hands of the Germans was slightly inferior to that of the 8th Army, the quality was far superior. The newly added German tanks were all newly launched Type 4G. This new tank with a long barrel gun and thickened frontal armor was difficult to deal with. In addition, the Germans also invested in T-34 tanks captured from the Russian front, with a number of nearly 200. After analyzing the wreckage left by the German army on the battlefield in North Africa and combining it with the technical parameters obtained from Russia, the tanks currently owned by the US military - whether it is the M3 General Grant Lee or the M4 Sherman - are unlikely to pose a threat.
Considering that this report may be sent to naval officers who may not understand tanks, the campaign staff also attached a tank performance comparison analysis report:
The Sherman tank is equipped with a 75mmL/40 tank gun. In theory, the M72 armor-piercing projectile can penetrate a 60mm/30° steel plate at a distance of 914 meters. However, due to the special inclined shape of the T-34, the ricochet effect is particularly good. In fact, it can only be effectively killed within 600 meters. When facing the German army's thickened armored No. 4G type 80mm frontal armor, it can only be effectively penetrated at 100 meters - when the tank exchange distance generally remains at 800-1000 meters, this is almost a suicidal distance.
"Tom, does this mean that our tanks can't hit them, but they have no difficulty hitting us?"
The other party nodded and said in a worried tone: "That's about it. It's like we use destroyers to fight against other people's light cruisers. In theory, destroyers can kill or even sink cruisers at close range, but whoever tries it on the battlefield will die. Not to mention that the number of new tanks of the Germans accounts for 80% of their total possession."
Hewitt began to have a headache. He was not willing to use destroyers to fight against enemy cruisers.
So the reason for this quarrel is easy to understand. In addition to the meaningless verbal battle of accusing each other of concealing the situation (the British believed that the Americans concealed the defect of insufficient firepower of the Sherman tank), it was a quarrel about the time of action.
Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff who was responsible for the landing, proposed that since the Sherman tank had insufficient firepower, it could not be foolishly hit head-on, and rectification must be made first. Artillery experts have verified the situation and put forward rectification suggestions. The Sherman tank should be replaced with the M1 76mmL/52 gun. This tank gun has the ability to kill all German tanks when using the M62 capped armor-piercing projectile. The penetration of the vertical steel plate at 500 meters and 1000 meters is 11 respectively. The penetration of the 30° (normal angle) steel plate at 500 yards (457 meters) and 1000 yards (914 meters) is 11 respectively. The price is that the departure time needs to be postponed for 40 days, and the torch operation will be launched on Christmas Eve in 1942.
The British firmly disagreed with this request. They wanted to set off as early as possible, and even mocked the Americans for being greedy for life and afraid of death.
The two sides were deadlocked.
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Chapter 12 Hewitt's Troubles (1)
It was near the end of September, and the weather in Washington had already begun to cool, but the heart of U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Kent Hewitt was hot, or more precisely, it was because of anxiety.
He had received the mission to land in Northwest Africa a few months ago. This was the policy determined by the Allies at the Arcadia Conference on Christmas Day in 1941. Prime Minister Churchill specifically proposed the "Northwest Africa Plan" - codenamed "Sportsman", which planned to land in Algeria, Africa in order to gradually tighten the encirclement of Germany, and stated that if France agreed, the U.S. military would also land on the coast of Morocco. Although the Joint Chiefs of Staff were not interested in this plan, President Roosevelt himself agreed with it and repeatedly promoted it.
At the beginning, the plan was designed perfectly: wait for the British 8th Army to achieve a decisive victory in Cyrenaica, and then cooperate with the British and American Allied Forces to land in Northwest Africa to completely eliminate the North African Axis Army. But in June this year, not only did the expected victory not come, but the African Army, led by Rommel, even attacked the Jazzala Line first and caused the collapse of the British Army in North Africa. However, Churchill's enthusiasm for this plan continued unabated. He not only renamed it "Super Sportsman", but also advocated that the Allied forces land in Northwest Africa as soon as possible and advance to the border of the United States. The Joint Chiefs of Staff saw the plight of the British Army in North Africa and decided to help these "poor and pathetic Anglo-Saxons" - this was what Hewitt heard from General Marshall, and the original words made by Hopkins, the President's special envoy and close friend, in private. It is not known whether President Roosevelt meant it. The promised siege of the Axis forces ended up being a relief for the British Army, and he felt very irritated anyway. The date was set, but the United States suggested November 7. In the end, President Roosevelt compromised and required the landing date to be no later than October 30.
In July, the US-UK Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee held two more meetings in London. Finally, at Churchill's initiative, the operational plan was renamed "Torch" in the hope of inspiring people. It was also decided that American Lieutenant General Eisenhower would be the commander. However, apart from the agreement on the commander, the differences on time and location were even greater. In a hurry to relieve the North African troops, the British side suggested October 7 as the target date, while the American side suggested November 7. Finally, President Roosevelt compromised and required the landing date to be no later than October 30.
Finally, Eisenhower, the commander-in-chief of the operation, proposed a compromise plan: it was recommended to land simultaneously inside and outside the Mediterranean, but not to cross east of Algiers, because the German army might send aircraft from Sicily and Sardinia to carry out air strikes, and only a small-scale landing could be carried out in Bonnie to seize the airport. Unfortunately, the British side was not satisfied and insisted on a large-scale landing in Bonnie or a place further east. After more than half a month of quarrels, and in the countless telegrams between Roosevelt and Churchill, the two sides finally reached an agreement on September 15: November 8 was designated as the landing date, and the Algiers landing was included in the plan, but the US troops only landed in Casablanca, Morocco and Oran, Algeria, and the British troops landed in Algiers and further east.
Hewitt's order was to lead the US 34th Task Force, with 102 US warships (including 29 transport ships) and a total of more than 30,000 US troops from Hampton Roads, Virginia to Casablanca, Morocco, to carry out an expedition spanning 4,500 nautical miles. The task of capturing Oran was given to the Central Task Force, which had nearly 20,000 US troops, commanded by Major General Lloyd Fredendall and escorted by the British naval forces commanded by Commodore Thomas Trubridge - because these troops were transported to Scotland and Northern Ireland in early August, they had spent two months doing nothing in the countless quarrels between the top leaders of both sides.
I thought the plan was finalized, but only 10 days later, Hewitt was called to a meeting again. He heard a fierce argument before he even entered the room.
"The enemy situation has changed dramatically. We can't simply follow the original plan." An American staff officer said something with red ears, while the British liaison officer stationed at the Joint Chiefs of Staff had an indignant look on his face.