Chapter 687 Dawn (17)
"I know that one of your regiments lost 80% and another lost half. General Arnold's Army Air Force lost more than 700 aircraft and nearly 300 pilots (crews). Add to that the casualties of the island garrison, and our overall casualties are several times more than the Germans. But you have to understand that the goal of evaluating a battle is definitely not just to look at casualties, but to see whether the combat objectives have been achieved as originally expected." Marshall said, "Can we not fight because of casualties? In this way, the United States does not need to declare war on Germany, because as long as there is a war, there will always be losses. Your losses are not small, but compared with the overall strategic situation, they are insignificant."
"In the hundred When the Muda Islands fell into enemy hands, and tens of millions of people on the east coast were threatened by German warships and aircraft, the 82nd Airborne Division fought bravely and recaptured the island, defeating the enemy's propaganda offensive. This is the first point. You rescued the friendly troops on the island who were forced to surrender and repelled the enemy's offensive attempt. This is the second point. You attacked from the air with inferior equipment, showing the indomitable spirit and courage of the American army, uniting and inspiring more American people. This is the third point... The president said that the entire battle should not only be seen in military significance, but also in political and social significance. "
Ridgway nodded without saying anything: Marshall and Roosevelt had already reached a conclusion, so of course he could only agree.
"You can take a look at the newspapers these days..." Marshall handed him newspapers published by mainstream media such as The Washington Post, The Christian Monitor, and The New York Times. Exaggerated headlines came into view:
"The Flying General Enters from the Sky - General Matthew Ridgway and the 82nd Airborne Division's Bloody Battle in Bermuda..."
"The creator of the great victory, the destroyer of the myth of the invincibility of the German army - the 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army and its outstanding commander General Matthew Ridgway..."
"America needs more Ridgway and the 82nd Airborne Division..."
"He single-handedly recaptured the Bermuda Islands and annihilated thousands of German troops... This newspaper believes This kind of record is by no means accidental, because the reporter interviewed an eyewitness by coincidence. For confidentiality reasons, his identity and name cannot be revealed. He was on duty outside the Pentagon a few days ago. One morning, he suddenly found someone fully armed falling from the sky and rushing straight to the Pentagon. The action was neat and tidy, without any delay. He thought it was enemy sabotage at first, but later he saw the military police to respond and realized that it was General Ridgway who received the combat mission overnight... If the head of a division and a general can also have superb combat skills like Mr. Ridgway, we believe that the combat effectiveness of this unit must be good..." Ridgway looked at this The report only smiled bitterly, "The reporters exaggerated and over-praised. I hope General Arnold and General Ingersoll will not blame me. Without their support and help, we would not have achieved this result." "They are all reasonable people and think you fully deserve these honors... Well, let's not talk about this. You should take a rest first, call your wife and family to let them know you are safe, and then prepare to meet the president in the evening. He cares about you very much and has been paying attention to your battle situation in Bermuda. If it weren't for his illness, he would have come to the dock to greet you in person today." Marshall was still not satisfied, "He plans to promote you to lieutenant general, and also It is suggested that the 101st Airborne Division should also be under your jurisdiction. I hope you can complete the reorganization of the 82nd Airborne Division as soon as possible, and then add some special service units and command organizations to form the 18th Airborne Army of the United States. He also hopes to see you lead the troops again in the future battle against the Azores. Your tasks will be very heavy during this period. On the one hand, you will be responsible for the replenishment and training of the troops, and on the other hand, you will pass on the experience and experience of fighting the German army to the entire army. "
Ridgway was stunned. When the war broke out in 1941, he was only a colonel. In two years, he jumped to brigadier general and major general. He was about to become a lieutenant general. Such a rocket speed made him feel a little dazed. What made him even more dizzy was that he had to fight the Azores. When he thought of the heavy casualties in Bermuda, he was still frightened. He didn't know how many people would die next time he went to fight the Azores.
Marshall saw his concerns and comforted him: "We will have a proper plan and sufficient support, and will not let the troops rush forward rashly. As for promotion, the Army system unanimously approved it, and no one expressed any objection. Admiral King also threatened me that if the Army did not promote you, he would let you go to the Marine Corps to lead an army! Humph, how can I let him do what he wants?"
"Thank you for your cultivation, sir."
Marshall nodded with relief. Ridgway was still capable and had achieved results. It was worth his painstaking cultivation when he transferred him to the Operations Planning Department of the Army General Staff and later recommended him to be the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division. This battle was also a major test for Marshall himself. If the generals he recommended always failed in battle, he believed that not only would the people lose confidence, but the president would also shake his trust in him. Ridgway fought hard at a critical moment, and he should be commended and rewarded vigorously. What was the rank of lieutenant general? If he continued to perform well in the future, the position of Chief of Staff could also be passed to him - Matthew Ridgway was only 48 years old!
"Do you have any other requests?"
"I personally have no requests." Ridgway shook his head, "but I hope the government and the military can provide generous compensation and commendations to the casualties and meritorious service in this battle. After all, the losses are too heavy."
"Of course, a press conference will be held in two days to announce the relevant decision. They are all American heroes. Will the president and the Joint Chiefs of Staff treat them unfairly?"
Regarding the outcome of the Battle of Bermuda, Germany and the United States engaged in a war of words. "Voice of Europe" laughed at the Americans' cheap victory: If the island of Bermuda, which was reduced to ruins and suffered casualties several times that of our army, can be called a victory, Then we don’t know how to describe failure...
CBS responded angrily: Didn’t you say you were going to invade the East Coast? Didn’t you say you were going to sink our ships leaving the harbor? Now that we are here, where is your fleet? Where is your plane? We are waiting for you to come! We will kill as many as you come!
However, Hoffman, who has always personally directed the work of "Voice of Europe", can no longer care about the war of words. He has received more disturbing news than the Battle of Bermuda.
"Rommel refused to hand over the transport aircraft force? He also asked for follow-up troops to be sent to him? Reinforce Central Asia's troops to 200,000?" After hearing this, Hoffman couldn't believe his ears and asked Keitel, "What is he doing? You mean? He’s going to China or India?”
"Of course it's not..." Keitel smiled awkwardly. He thought that the head of state had known the news for a long time, but he didn't expect that the latter had heard about it for the first time. This is a bit strange. As we all know, Rommel is the favorite general of the Führer, and there are almost no requests he makes that he is not satisfied with. How could it happen this time?
Little did he know that Hoffman had been emphasizing recently on strengthening institutional management, enhancing the authority of the Supreme Command and the Chief of General Staff, and strengthening the command authority of the Joint Theater Command, so as to avoid the previous situation where a single incident would directly hit Berlin - he It is true that he is the commander-in-chief of the army, but it does not mean that he has direct control over each group army. In that case, even with three heads and six arms, Rommel will not be able to take care of it. Therefore, Rommel understood and sent the report to the Supreme Command and the General Staff first.
"His reasons were two. First, he found that the Russians were mobilizing a large army to encircle and suppress him, and their supply lines were likely to be cut off soon. The transport aircraft troops could not leave at this critical moment; second, he hoped to be able to fight in the Central Asian theater Attract more enemy troops and add more support to the 'Dawn' campaign," Keitel said, "The General Staff also found that the situation was not quite right, and the enemy troop movements were extremely strange, so General Zeitzler gave other suggestions - —Let him turn south into Iran."
"Transfer to Iran?" Hoffman looked at the map carefully and asked, "What did he think about it?"
"It can be done by adding 100,000 troops, but the southern front campaign has not yet been launched. Our army must carry out personnel reinforcements and supplies through the Caspian Sea. It is not a problem to deploy another 100,000 troops, but it is very difficult to deploy another 100,000 troops; Secondly, what if the enemy continues to increase its troops after our army increases its troops? We cannot send troops to Central Asia without restrictions, but the enemy can continuously dispatch troops and generals. They give up the resistance in the scorched land area in the middle and free up a large number of troops. In terms of military strength, Central Asia is an internal battle for them, with close distance and convenient supplies. We do not have similar conditions; then, a big fight in Central Asia does not meet the current strategic intention. After the winter snow season, it will be very difficult for mechanized troops to move , only mountain infantry can do this. The largest number of mountain troops in our army are concentrated in Norway. Transferring them to the eastern front will not help. Finally, it is too late to retreat now, or in other words, the personnel may be able to retreat, but the equipment cannot be withdrawn - all aboard Transport aircraft leave, regardless of equipment."
Hoffman shook his head. It was obviously not a good idea to leave Central Asia as an unarmed soldier. He could afford to lose the equipment, and he couldn't afford to lose the face. The Central Asian countries had just declared independence and moved closer to the axis. If the German army was at this time because of the Soviet Union, The national regimes that the Central Asian countries have finally supported will soon be killed by the Soviets. This will have a great impact on morale, people's hearts, and Germany's prestige in front of the Allies. They were all major blows, and Rommel probably made the request to strengthen supplies and increase troops based on this.
Hoffman now faces two choices: First, according to Zeitzler's opinion, the Dawn Battle will continue as planned, and Rommel will move to Iran, and at worst, he will wait until next spring to fight back; second, according to Rommel's opinion, strengthen Central Asia's military strength And enhance supply capabilities. As for the Dawn Battle, due to the constraints of the war situation in Central Asia, so many supply forces may no longer be needed.
Both opinions have some truth, and Keitel can also scratch his head. The lawsuit has reached Berlin, and now it is Hoffmann's turn to have a headache over the choice...