Chapter 680 Dawn (10)

Ingersoll knew that Turner would definitely not let the sailors land, and even if the sailors were willing, he would not agree to do so. In a face-to-face battle between ground troops, not to mention the navy, even the U.S. Army was not sure of defeating its German counterparts; he knew that Turner The landing force will not be selected from China. Theoretically speaking, starting from the east coast, the sea route of more than 1,000 kilometers is almost a three-day voyage. Now it will take three days for the fleet to arrive in Bermuda. However, in view of the speed of assembly and loading of the landing force, Landing may not be possible even in a week, and of course this is not an option in a critical situation.

So he could only listen attentively to Turner's clever tricks. Although the chief of staff's strategies were often unreasonable, he had to admit that there were still some methods.

"Landing does not necessarily require ships or marines..." Turner pointed to the ceiling of the command tower, "it can also be done by air."

Ingersoll moved: "In the air? You said using airborne troops?"

Turner nodded: "The 82nd Airborne Division was originally the second batch of combat troops to go to South America. It has been basically assembled and can be dispatched within 24 hours. Bermuda is not far from the mainland, and a large number of transport aircraft can be used to transport them to the main island for landing. "This has always been the territory we control. The country must have complete terrain, climate, wind direction and other relevant information. The current weather is so-so, and the airborne landing will not be too difficult."

"The airborne landing itself is indeed not difficult, but how can we cover them?" Ingersoll's thinking was opened up by Turner. He initially thought that this was a good way and it was possible to win the landing battle, provided that the airborne troops could gain firepower advantage. ——If the airborne troops are really dispatched within 24 hours, the fleet will not be able to arrive to cover it.

"If you can't use the fleet to cover, you will fall into the enemy's trap. Think about it, once the fleet appears near the island, the enemy's aircraft carrier-based aircraft will be able to pounce on it very quickly. It is very dangerous for us. We must use other cover." means."

"Other means?" Ingersoll was confused, "For example?"

"Air cover, the P51 is a very good ground attack aircraft, and it can stay in the air for a long time."

"Didn't China Airlines say it could only stay over Bermuda for about 10 minutes?"

"That's because it needs to return. If it doesn't return, the P51 can stay in the air for at least 2 hours on the island." Turner made a suggestion, "When the fuel runs out, let the pilot parachute. Anyway, there are airborne troops on the ground to respond, and they don't do that." If we become prisoners quickly, we will lose P51s. We can drop a batch of P51s every 2 hours, and then cooperate with other light bombers. This will form a continuous air cover fire network on the island. I believe Republic Company or others The company must be happy to have someone place an order with them.”

"What a crazy idea, but I agree and send a telegram to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and General King immediately." Ingersoll shrugged. He was not stupid. He immediately understood the essence of Turner. The chief of staff was indeed a bit crazy. , but the idea is quite reliable. This will make the Germans very uncomfortable - the Bermuda Airport cannot be used at all now. If the Germans want to compete for air supremacy, they must dispatch precious carrier-based aircraft to fight with the US Army Air Force, no matter how much they lose. It will reduce the strength of the next fleet battle - even if the German carrier-based aircraft force can fight, it will not be able to afford the wheel battle with the army aviation.

At 2 o'clock in the morning, a rapid ringing of the phone woke up the sleeping commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, Matthew Ridgway. He answered the phone unhappily. Just after he said "hello", a familiar voice came from the receiver: "Matthew, I'm sorry to disturb you at this time, but there is an emergency and you need to carry out the task immediately. Are your people available?"

Hearing that Boss Marshall personally called him, Li Qiwei showed no anger at all and replied respectfully: "You can go out at any time."

"Very good. Inform the officers to gather the troops. You bring your main assistants and core staff to the Pentagon. The sooner the better. I hope to see you after dawn."

"clear!"

At 5:15 in the morning, Ridgway hurriedly arrived from Norfolk, fully armed with two melon grenades hanging on his chest, and swaggered into the Pentagon war room with his men. Everyone was attracted by his appearance. Looking sideways - just one mistake would have wiped out the entire command of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but Marshall, General King, Arnold and others turned a blind eye to this, and others did not dare to say anything.

Admiral King expressed curiosity that Ridgway came from Norfolk to report so quickly and was fully armed. "How did it come?"

"Take a plane and land in Washington." Ridgway answered.

Everyone gasped: This is also a madman, and it perfectly matches Turner's strategy!

However, this routine was very appreciated by Admiral Jin. He sincerely sighed: "Yes, very good. In critical moments, we need hard-blooded soldiers like you. How about it? Are you interested in developing a career in the navy? I will command an army of marines for you." ”

Hearing General Kim poaching, Marshall rolled his eyes and said angrily: "If the Marines are so capable, why did they call my best airborne commander here?"

"Ha...hehe."

"The situation is this: last night, actually just a few hours ago, the German radio station issued a demagogic broadcast, saying that Bermuda was under their control, and that it would use it as a fulcrum to attack the east coast, asking us to be 'prepared' ..." Marshall emphasized the word "prepare", obviously extremely annoyed.

This was part of Machar's strategy. He was afraid that the U.S. fleet would lose Bermuda and focus on attacking the Falklands. Therefore, he immediately followed Horikichi's approach and tried to put pressure on the United States. In a democratic country, public opinion must not be violated. The problem is that Horikichi’s reputation is great, but Machar’s reputation is not enough, so he sent a telegram to the country overnight to ask for help, and the “Voice of Europe” immediately cooperated with the rolling broadcast:

"Warning to American citizens that our Axis Fleet has occupied the Bermuda Islands 1,000 kilometers away from the east coast and is about to launch a raid on the east coast. Please immediately move to a safe zone 300 kilometers inland to avoid accidental damage..."

"Warning to all American ships, our Axis Fleet is conducting combat readiness patrols on the east coast of the United States. All ships will be sunk immediately once discovered. To ensure safety, please do not leave the port..."

As soon as these two pieces of news were reported, even though it was late at night, everything was in chaos. Congressmen called the Joint Chiefs of Staff with a flood of calls to inquire about the details, and people called the newspaper offices, and then the streets were in panic. The middle class people fleeing in their cars... It's still late at night, who knows what will happen during the day tomorrow. It hasn't been long since the bombing of New York, and the memory is far from gone.

"No wonder all the cars I flew over were noisy and wanted to go west. The lights of the cars are still very clear at night..." Li Qiwei added casually.

"The situation is very bad. The people will fall into chaos. We must come up with a way. The navy will not arrive for at least three days, so the fleet hopes that the airborne division can be dispatched today to seize the Bermuda Islands."

"Just us?"

"Yes, only you are the fastest and can best meet the requirements."

To be honest, Marshall was reluctant when General King came to discuss Turner's proposal at first. He did not want to take risks with his ace division. But as soon as the "Voice of Europe" broadcast was broadcast, the situation worsened. While he asked the spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense to argue with the news media and appease people's hearts, he quickly made up his mind to adopt Turner's suggestion. As for General Arnold's Army Aviation, it has also begun preparations - isn't it just planning to lose more than 1,000 aircraft? , nothing extraordinary, just a few days’ output of the United States!

"How many enemies are there?"

"About 1,000-2,000 people."

"When will we dispatch?"

"Is it okay to airdrop a regiment before 2 o'clock this afternoon?

"Airborne landing is no problem, but can the army and aviation cover us? The navy can't arrive yet, so we must have air cover." Li Qiwei immediately grasped the key point.

Arnold promised on the spot: "I will do my best to cover you. The Army Air Force plane is not planning to return. It will parachute on the spot when it runs out of fuel. However, the airborne division must protect the parachuting pilots and not let them fall into the hands of the German devils and become prisoners."

"Okay, I will try my best."

"The preliminary plan is this: Army aviation will dispatch to clear the area around noon and control a relatively safe landing site for you. Then the airborne troops will land quickly. A steady stream of aircraft will continue to cover you until sunset. At night, you can only rely on you to hold on. Tomorrow morning, the Army Aviation will continue to send a second wave of aircraft to cover the air landing of the second batch of troops. After the entire division has gone up, you will find a way to control the entire island. "Eisenhower said sheepishly, "The time is very urgent and there is no time to formulate a particularly perfect plan. The operational plan and details are highly dependent on the commander's ability. I wonder which officer can lead the first wave of airborne troops to land? "

"I decided to lead the team myself, sir. I must go on such an important task by myself."

"Matthew!" Marshall stood up and patted him on the shoulder. He was not worried about the two melon grenades at all, and said movedly, "Everything depends on you. Pay attention to safety."

"I will come back alive. I haven't landed in Europe yet. I can't die before that." Li Qiwei saluted and left quickly.

Seeing Ridgway leaving, Marshall said with emotion: "It's a pity that there are too few such brave and steady senior officers in the United States Army."

"There will be more, right?" Admiral Jin said with a smile, "This is the beginning of our counterattack. The fleet will arrive in three days, and the airborne division will not be left to fight alone for too long."

The sun rose on October 15th. The German Marines on Bermuda were intensively deploying air defense facilities. The main force of the Axis fleet, which had completed unloading materials and replenishing fuel, had left the port a few hours ago and set off due north. Then they will turn due east, and Ozawa will send out a large number of reconnaissance planes, hoping to have a complete understanding of the surrounding waters...