Chapter 517 Public Opinion Offensive (Part 1)
On the morning of May 17, Hoffmann personally rushed to Italy to send the United Fleet back east.
The entire fleet was supposed to set off two days ago, but because Horikichi had made additional requirements - most of them were luxury goods or durable consumer goods, it was delayed for another two days. Speer was very curious about the request forwarded through Cole. He didn't understand why the Japanese general was not in a hurry to attack India. Instead, he was leisurely collecting European products, especially luxury goods. However, Hoffman did not care. With a stroke of a pen, he signed and sent the order to Rome - something the Italian leader was better at doing.
As a result, German cars, Italian high-end clothing, French perfumes and wines, and Swiss clocks flowed into Japanese pockets. Later, everyone finally figured out that except for a small part that was taken back as a souvenir to the royal family and dignitaries, most of the rest were rewards given by Horikichi to his subordinates - only the money came from Germany!
Horikichi really dares to ask for it, and the head of state really dares to give it to him. Everyone is at a loss for words. It’s not that he is reluctant to part with it. As the war continues, the price of luxury goods has been greatly reduced, and the value of art has continued to depreciate. Many things are hoarded and cannot be sold. , it is better to stimulate consumption, people just don’t understand the routine. Keitel is also confused. Shouldn't awards and commendations be a national function? Is this general afraid of being investigated after he returns home? Anyway, no German general would dare to do this! Even Cole, the Chiripai, was worried about Horikichi's behavior, but the latter didn't seem to care, and easily used the word "tradition" to excuse it.
Seeing the jubilation of the Japanese officers and soldiers, the German and Italian leaders were too lazy to pour cold water on them, because the battles in Panama and the Caribbean were fought extremely well. Even though there were no Italian warships except the Aquila, which was transferred to the German Navy, the Italian leaders still boasted about their greatness in the media. victory. The German Navy seized the rare opportunity to rest and held a grand awarding and promotion ceremony, which was brilliant from top to bottom.
According to the agreement between Japan and Germany, the war east of 70 degrees east longitude is handled by Japan, and the west is handled by Germany and Italy. Therefore, there are several small targets to deal with along the way - the Seychelles Islands under German jurisdiction, the Maldives under Japan and the British Indian Ocean. Territory, but these targets are a piece of cake for the mighty Japanese fleet returning eastward. The combined fleet tried their best to avoid these areas when they came. Of course, they will have to make a big splash when they return - Horikichi has promised to clear them along the way.
Two days before the departure of the Japanese main fleet, the Madagascar landing force successfully landed in Dar es Salaam. The poor British colonial army collapsed at the first touch. In less than half a day, they successfully occupied the port city. A large number of officers and soldiers continued to land ashore and Sweeping northward; before them, the transport fleet led by Takeo Kurita set off earlier and was already on standby near Socotra Island - it carried most of the materials and equipment harvested by Japan this time, with a total transportation tonnage of more than 1.5 million tons, the scene is spectacular.
"Looking forward to the good news about conquering India, I hope I can go to the American continent with the general again this autumn and winter to make earth-shaking changes..." At the grand expedition ceremony, Hoffman shook hands with Horikichi and said goodbye. Anyway, such a huge fleet mobilization cannot be hidden from others. After discussion, the three countries simply held a large-scale expedition ceremony to boost morale.
Horikichi smiled slightly: "There will be this opportunity. I look forward to fighting side by side with the German and Italian allies again..."
The news of the German landing in Dar es Salaam completely shocked Eisenhower. Even the dullest people now understand that the African Allied Forces have reached their most dangerous moment. If they do not retreat, there will be a real danger of the entire army being destroyed. Although the Joint Chiefs of Staff's clear instructions on retreat were issued ten days ago, the African theater organization's retreat was not fast. On the one hand, the limited number of aircraft fleets had to cover the troops, which took up flight time. On the other hand, the injured personnel had to be evacuated first. , in terms of the retreat of other troops, there is really no way to do it.
On May 15, the desperate Ike finally made up his mind and decided to give up all bombings against Germany and use all aircraft capacity for personnel evacuation. The ground troops without air cover were no match for the Germans. In addition, news spread that the Germans had landed on the flanks and were about to fully retreat from the theater. Morale plummeted, and the front that had been in a stalemate two days ago was suddenly lost.
On May 17, under the sharp attack of the German armored forces, the African theater lost two lines of defense outside Nairobi, and the last line of defense was also in danger. What's even worse is that observers found that Germany received a large number of advanced fighter jets. Not only did the losses of bombers or transport aircraft increase significantly, but the losses of escort fighter jets also increased rapidly. Compared with the Fw-190, the US military P-47 fighter jets did not occupy a significant position. Advantages, but the experience of German and Italian pilots is not comparable to that of the Americans, so this air escape channel has become less safe.
There was a complete commotion in the command post, with Americans, British, Australians, New Zealanders and even Canadians making a mess.
Eisenhower was sitting in the middle, with an unshaven beard and a haggard face. He spoke with difficulty: "Everyone, we can't argue anymore. The situation is extremely dangerous now. If we continue to argue, everyone will die here. Some troops must retreat first."
"Where are the others?"
"This..." Eisenhower said with difficulty, "The German army has blocked our retreat south, making it even more difficult to go west. There is no other way but... only... honorable surrender!"
"We are still saying the same thing. If we want to leave, we will all leave together. If we want to die, we will die together. If we want to surrender, we will surrender together. We were sold once in Egypt. This time, we are not allowed to stay to break up the heir!" Two Australians and New Zealanders The teacher suddenly became angry.
"My troops will stay behind to cover the escape of you cowards." George Patton slapped his hand on the table and said angrily, "Get out of here before I change my mind!"
"George, you can't stay. You are the person named by the president to retreat. This combat experience is very important. The armored forces of the United States cannot be without you." Eisenhower said with a bitter smile, "I'd better stay. Anyway, someone has to take responsibility. ”
"No, the commander-in-chief of the theater cannot be treated as a prisoner!" Several American division commanders got mad and squirted at the British, "Damn it, you sons of bitches, I came all the way from the United States to rescue you. , is this how you repay us?"
"How about I stay?" Rear Admiral Hewitt smiled miserably, "Anyway, all the warships have been destroyed."
"No, you are a navy, you cannot surrender on behalf of the army." A circle of people expressed their opposition in unison.
"Listen to me..." Lumsden, who had been silent until now, spoke up, "I can stay and lead the troops to surrender, but I have a condition!"
"Tell me about it."
"Let the Australian and New Zealand troops be the first to retreat and the British troops to be the last."
"Why?" Everyone was stunned.
"The Australian and New Zealand Divisions were bought by General Montgomery with his life. I promised him to take good care of these two troops. As for the British Empire..." Ramsden said with a wry smile, "Both Kenya and Tanganyika have It is a colony of Great Britain, and we have the unshirkable responsibility to defend the territory..."
After saying this, everyone fell silent.
The Anzac troops were speechless, the British themselves were crestfallen, and the Americans were equally speechless. Although several American generals were dissatisfied with the second group's retreat, in full view of the public, no one was too embarrassed to express their dissent.
"Let's leave it to that for now." Eisenhower glanced around. "Today we will deploy a full retreat. The first batch of Australian and New Zealand troops will only transport people! We must move quickly! The blocking troops must grit their teeth and withstand it."
After everyone agreed, they left the conference room with heavy steps. Eisenhower did not know that retreat was not the most difficult choice, but the direction of domestic public opinion was the most embarrassing - all due to the eager attention caused by the "Voice of Europe":
"Good night, American listeners! We continue to cover the wars in Africa.
A few days ago, the heroic German Marines landed in Dar es Salaam and successfully flanked the British and American troops in Africa. About 60,000 British and American allied troops are still trapped near Nairobi, Kenya. There are no reinforcements outside and no supplies inside. There is only one road. The highly unreliable air supply line with a range of 4,000 kilometers not only faces severe weather disturbances, but also faces attack by our aviation forces throughout the entire journey.
After days of fierce fighting, our army destroyed two lines of defense outside Nairobi. It was found that the enemy's troops were shaken and panicked, and a large number of officers and soldiers surrendered. Our army seized a large amount of supplies and weapons and equipment, including tanks... machine guns... artillery... We once again found a large number of American officers and soldiers of German and Italian descent among the prisoners. Many of them were deceived and coerced into going to the battlefield.
A young man sadly told us that his father was detained in prison by the U.S. government for no reason just because he was a German immigrant. In order to save his father and prove his loyalty, he was forced to come and work as a soldier. Unfortunately, he is now a German immigrant. Captured.
We once again loudly call on Americans of continental European, African, and Indian descent to stop working for shameless politicians and Jewish financial oligarchs! This war has nothing to do with you! Resolutely refuse to pay taxes! Resolutely refuse to perform military service! If you are already in the military or are about to sacrifice your life for them, in order to save your life, we make the following suggestions:
1. Surrender immediately when encountering our troops on the battlefield, and we guarantee good treatment;
2. Learn commonly used German or Italian. If you are captured by our army, you will receive preferential treatment if you master German or Italian;
3. If you can’t learn it temporarily, please leave a note with you or keep the leaflet we distributed - "My father, mother, grandfather, grandmother are Germans and Italians. Please forgive me for their sakes." "Crime" we will treat with leniency...
All captured officers and soldiers with German and Italian ancestry have priority to return to the nationality of their country. As long as they sign the application document and swear allegiance, they will immediately be released from prisoner status and can freely settle in the two countries. If they do not want to apply for return, they will only need to sign that they do not want to continue to work with them. Documents from the two countries being enemies were among the first batch to be repatriated after the war..."