Chapter 439 Fleet Commander (Part 2)

"What we have to do is to block the Japanese in advance, rather than waiting for the Japanese attack to catch up and retaliate." Fletcher said, "If the fleet is compared to a bullet, we must use our own bullets to block the enemy. bullets to prevent them from hitting our bodies first."

There is of course a chance to block bullets with bullets in theory, but in fact it has never been successful. When Ingersoll and Turner heard what Fletcher said, they couldn't help but frown. But one thing they admitted was that Fletcher was right. They couldn't wait for the Japanese raid to succeed before retaliating - that would be too cowardly and embarrassing. A once-in-a-lifetime incident like Pearl Harbor would be enough.

"Then what do you want to do?"

"Although it is difficult to block this bullet, I want to first find out where this bullet is and what its possible trajectory is." Fletcher picked up the pointer and clicked on the location of Bermuda. The east coast of North Carolina is about 1,100 kilometers, and there is an airport on it, which we should use effectively. "

Bermuda is now a British overseas territory, and Kindley Airport above is a very important air force base. Ingersoll immediately nodded subconsciously.

"Then, I want to place the main force of the fleet here..." Fletcher pointed with his pointer at a place about 900 kilometers northeast of Bermuda. "This is about 900 kilometers away from Rhode Island and about 800 kilometers away from Prince Edward Island in Canada. ”

Ingersoll was a little confused and didn't understand why Fletcher would place the main force of the fleet here, but Turner took a closer look and realized it: Prince Edward Island, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Bermuda, the fleet After several isolated points are connected together, the distance between them will be about 800-1000 kilometers. If reconnaissance aircraft are released to defend the air defense circle, overlapping coverage can basically be achieved. In a word, the entire northern section of the East Coast and the coastline north of North Carolina are covered by the reconnaissance field of view.

When Fletcher fully explained the combat strategy, Ingersoll finally understood: This is equivalent to drawing a large pentagon. As long as the Japanese fleet enters the range of the pentagon, there is a high probability of being exposed - I dare not Say 100%, but it's much better than finding a needle in a haystack.

"What about the defense south of North Carolina?" Outside this pentagon are the coastlines of South Carolina, Georgia, all of Florida, and most of North Carolina.

"We can only give up strategically."

"Give up?" Ingersoll frowned, this was not a good thing.

But Turner believes that this opinion is correct. The most important population centers, industrial belts, shipyards, political and economic centers in the United States are all included in the pentagon. Fletcher has protected the core areas to the maximum extent. Vigilance cannot require him to protect the entire coastline in every aspect - he only has one fleet, and the number of troops is slightly smaller than that of the enemy.

"I hope our radar soldiers and reconnaissance aircraft can detect the enemy earlier. It doesn't feel good to be forced by someone with a gun." The three discussed for most of the morning, and finally reached a consensus, and tasked Turner to formulate a rough combat plan in the afternoon. Later, he reported to the White House, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Navy Department that there were not so many plans to plan for this operation, and it relied entirely on the commander's ability to adapt to changes. The plan outlined by Fletcher was relatively intuitive and clearly solved the current urgent needs. Inge Thor couldn't help but take a high look at his abilities. He secretly thought: If Fletcher's strategy could succeed, he would resolutely keep him in the Atlantic Fleet, and it would be okay to let him take over from him in the future.

The plan reported by the Atlantic Fleet was quickly approved by Roosevelt, because after the Army Aviation, Army, and National Guard initially raised their combat readiness levels in the past two days, they found that many problems were exposed: except for a few large cities and major military bases, no formation of The radar network and military telephone network are connected nationwide, and the aviation command system is still isolated with the base as the center. There is no way to dispatch across bases. The Army's recruits are still queuing up and have no idea how to fight anti-landing operations. There are The local ammunition reserves and personnel reserves of the shore artillery are insufficient. The most ridiculous thing is that there are tens of thousands of anti-aircraft guns on the logistics department's books, and there is no shortage of artillery shells - but they have not been deployed at all, and there are not so many people who can operate the anti-aircraft guns, let alone form searchlights like Germany. , anti-aircraft guns, night fighters, radar stations and other integrated air defense systems. After hearing that the Axis Fleet was coming, everyone was in a panic.

After learning the full situation, General Marshall, who has always been gentle and elegant, couldn't help slamming the table at the Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting and scolding all the personnel: "I know you look down on the British and don't think the Germans are the best." How about it! But look at us, we look like a piece of stinky shit! We don’t have any defense system or air defense measures. If the enemy launches tens of thousands of air strikes against us every month from Canada or Mexico, I think now The country is about to collapse..."

"Gentlemen, we have to wake up. This is a world war! It is a fight against first-class military powers like Germany and Japan, which are armed to the teeth. It is not a fight against declining countries like Mexico and Spain."

After getting angry, Smith-Tingsheng, Marshall, Admiral King and other big shots discussed strengthening homeland defense together - after the Strait of Gibraltar was lost, theoretically, the Axis Navy could attack with or without the participation of the Japanese fleet. Come and run wild on the east coast. Although the German and Italian navies are relatively weak, the Atlantic Ocean is so big. Who knew that the Germans or Italians would go crazy and come to the east coast that day? Roosevelt fully agreed with this, but strengthening homeland defense was time-consuming and laborious. He demanded that the Axis fleet's invasion be repelled first.

On April 9, just the day before Ingersoll led the fleet to prepare to leave the port, they received secret information from the crow: a huge Axis fleet and Japanese ships were stationed in the Port of Heroes!

This news made everyone feel a little better, at least they knew where the enemy fleet was now.

"Let the British send out bombers to blow them up immediately, at all costs..."

"It's useless. To avoid air attacks, the Axis fleet came near dusk and left the port early the next morning... I guess they were replenishing fuel."

"How many warships are there?"

"More than 10 battleships, 4-5 aircraft carriers, the others can't be seen clearly, in short they are very huge..."

Ingersoll sighed: "Well, it's our turn to set off."

During this period, Crow was really willing to go out of his way to collect intelligence. He witnessed with his own eyes the severely damaged "Admiral Scheer" being towed back by the Germans and stranded in a hidden place to prepare for shore defense firepower. He immediately informed London of its location. The next day, Lancaster bombers rushed over and bombed the severely damaged pocket battleship. The superstructure, which was still intact, was blown into grotesque shapes, and the relevant anti-aircraft gun emplacements were blown into a pile of scrap metal. , the deck was stained with blood, and there were dead and injured German officers and soldiers everywhere. In the cabin, food, clothes, books, and photos were scattered everywhere, creating a miserable scene. But the most important turret withstood the test without being destroyed, and because the warship was supported by solid rocks below, it was impossible for the entire ship to be sunk.

The British destroyed the superstructure of the German ship at the expense of 24 Lancaster bombers, but failed to fundamentally eliminate the threat of those 283mm artillery pieces. What's more terrible is that the bombing operation woke up the German army—— They began to suspect that there were spies on the island. Otherwise, why would the warship be bombed as soon as it was dragged back?

"Tom, let's go together. We don't want this hotel anymore. Those guests can stay here as long as they like." On the dock, Tom's wife, with tears in her eyes, tried her best to persuade her husband to set off back to China with her. Although there are still a few guests in the hotel, they won't stay long. Everyone is waiting for their ferry tickets to leave.

After the British launched a large-scale air raid, Germany forcibly gathered all the residents of other islands to Port Heroes on the grounds of military control and air defense, turning other islands into complete military bases, while the homes of the indigenous people were allocated to newly landed residents. The island's engineering team is using it - they are working hard to build various facilities such as U-boat bases, air force airfields, radar stations, fortifications, and forts. Therefore, there are still a few people staying in Tom's hotel, and they are planning to return to Portugal when there is a suitable opportunity and a ferry ticket.

Tom knew that he could not go back. Not only could he not go back, but he might have to devote himself to intelligence work, so he sent his wife back to China. Facing the low cry of his unsuspecting wife, he could only comfort him: "My dear, you see you are still very nervous about the boat tickets. I only bought one. You go back first. I will be with you in a few days." Let’s meet. Our family has been running hotels for many years, and there has never been any precedent of leaving customers behind and running away. I can’t destroy this tradition..."

"Then take care of yourself. If you have nothing to do, don't go out and wander around. If there is an air raid, just hide in the cellar."

"Of course, of course."

"Build a good relationship with the Germans, especially the German soldiers, and don't mess with them. Who knows if they will go crazy..."

"I know, I know."

"Buy a boat ticket if you have the chance. If you can't buy it, go and clear the relationship. I know there are still a few bottles of old brandy in the cellar. Don't be reluctant to part with them. Take them out when it's time to buy them."

"I understand, I understand!"

"Ugh..." The ship blew its whistle. The passenger ship was about to leave, and Tom waved his hand desperately to say goodbye to his wife.

"Honey, wait for me!"

"Wait for me!"

The ship gradually disappeared from sight. Tom, who wiped away his tears, took out a piece of paper from his trouser pocket, looked at it carefully, tore it into pieces, threw it up casually, and the pieces were blown away by the wind and finally fell away. In the sea - Tom bought two tickets, one for his wife and the other exchanged with someone else's ticket for seven days later.

But now, he knows he doesn't need it anymore!