Chapter 703 Atlantic Strangulation War (12)

Turner received the report of the night battle early the next morning, and he was so angry that he almost vomited blood: half of the 14 escort aircraft carriers were lost before they could fight. Although it was not a big deal, it was also the domestic production for one month. He had no choice but to issue a death order. Today's air strikes should carry out a comprehensive attack on key places such as Cape Verde warehouses, docks, and ships...

The US escort aircraft carrier formation now has only half of its aircraft, less than 200 aircraft, and only more than 140 aircraft can be used for ground attacks. The cautious Major General Bode left more than 50 aircraft to deal with emergencies, and sent a telegram to the rear, requesting the main force of the fleet to support. These 140 aircraft alone could not sweep away the German fortifications and positions in Cape Verde.

Although Cape Verde is not as fierce as the Azores in terms of air defense firepower, and has not deployed dense Phalanx or anti-aircraft rockets, it has a small air defense tower - a simplified version of the Berlin air defense tower. The overall size is one-eighth of that, and the defense strength is not as strong as the original version, but the twin 128mm electric anti-aircraft guns on it and the 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns around it always remind the enemy of its power. This is a version designed by the Armament Department specifically for overseas islands, the purpose is to speed up construction, and it can usually be completed in 5-6 months.

There are a total of 6 simplified air defense towers on the islands of the Azores, and a complete version of the air defense tower is under construction on the main island of Angra do Porto, which is expected to be completed in the spring of 1944. The relatively unimportant islands such as the Canary Islands, Madeira Islands, and Cape Verde basically have only 1-2 simplified versions. After taking over the Falkland Islands, the island's air defense tower was also built simultaneously. The one that Perón visited was one of the four.

The Argentine engineers who assisted in the construction envied their German counterparts' endless automated machinery. In their opinion, almost every engineering vehicle could be converted into a tank. Perón was also very curious. Could it be that Germany was so rich that it had endless tanks? In the end, it was Manteuffel who solved the mystery. He told him that these were all American Sherman tanks captured in the African campaign and converted into engineering vehicles by removing the turrets. In order to speed up the repair of the fortifications on the Falkland Islands, he brought at least half of them. This made Perón very satisfied, and at the same time he had a keen expectation for the arms that would soon arrive in Argentina. He used beef and agricultural products to exchange for a lot of cheap goods from the head of state. He got more than 120 T-34 tanks alone. In addition, a batch of armored vehicles and hunter assault guns and assault guns of the third type were added. The framework of two armored grenadier divisions could be set up immediately. He was determined to give it to his most trusted men to lead. In South America, the same technical weapons were far more useful for forming two armored grenadier divisions than one armored division.

The Azores air defense towers had already made British bombers suffer enough, and now it was the turn of the American air raiders to suffer. Yesterday, because there were still their own planes in the air, the German anti-aircraft artillery units were a little restrained in fighting. Today, there were only American planes, so they just fought freely. The effectiveness of the two rounds of air strikes in the afternoon and afternoon caused the already stretched US military to lose 17 planes.

The surface of Cape Verde was bombed very badly. Important places such as airports, docks, and dock warehouses were covered by US firepower, but the S-boats that were looking for were not found at all, as if they disappeared out of thin air. The losses suffered by the defenders were not great: the tall and sturdy air defense towers provided the main barrier, and the air raid shelters on the positions also provided good protection. The total number of casualties of the Marines on them was less than 300, which was completely within the tolerable range compared to the total force of nearly 6,000.

Rear Admiral Bode had no choice but to send a telegram to Turner, who was commanding behind, requesting the bombardment fleet to rush to support as soon as possible, otherwise it would be difficult to cause greater damage to the Cape Verde defenders relying solely on the escort aircraft carrier fleet.

"How far is Admiral Cunningham from Cape Verde?" Ingersoll asked.

"About 900 kilometers."

"Do we need him to withdraw two Independence-class light aircraft carriers to support the air strike fleet? I'm worried about the lack of ground support aircraft."

Turner thought for a moment and shook his head: "We can't weaken the strength of the main aircraft carrier force. If the German fleet breaks out, we will be passive. It's better to withdraw warships from the army escort formation in the direction of Brazil. There are 25 escort aircraft carriers there. It's no problem to withdraw 7-8 ships. They are not far from Cape Verde."

"It's not far, but it's not close. Even if you run at full speed, it will take more than 4 days to get there, and the landing campaign will be launched tomorrow." Admiral Ingersoll frowned and said, "Will you miss it?"

"4 days?" Turner smiled bitterly, "Don't say 4 days, I will be satisfied if I can take it in 8 days."

"What?" Ingersoll was shocked and looked at the staff around him, fearing that it would affect the generals. The general lowered his voice and asked, "You are so pessimistic about the army?"

Turner smiled bitterly and said, "In the Battle of Tarawa, the Pacific Fleet had sufficient firepower cover. The Marines fought for more than a week and suffered countless casualties before they occupied the island; in the Battle of Bermuda, the Army's elite 82nd Airborne Division had such a hard time fighting the German army of less than 2,000. Do you think the army troops assigned to us are so capable?"

"Then you should ask for more troops. If one division is not enough, you can ask for two. If two divisions are not enough, you can ask for three." Ingersoll complained about his conservatism. "It has been fought like this. We have to pile up people."

"Cape Verde is so big. One division at a time is the limit. Any more is a complete waste."

"Then we have to prepare more. We can also use it in a rotation war. The army has so many troops - millions! They are not useful here, and they are unwilling to use them there. They are all rotting in the country."

"I actually never thought about attacking Cape Verde. This was originally just a strategy to lure the German fleet to dispatch." Turner sighed repeatedly, "Who knew that the lie became true now, and our army was unable to dismount, and then the German army increased its troops in the Falkland direction, where You can’t fight either…”

Ingersoll was speechless: Halfway through Operation Joint Elements, he found that the situation had changed drastically and it was unfeasible. Halfway through Operation Mousetrap, he encountered practical difficulties, which made people feel uncomfortable. But he was very clear on one thing. Although the attitude of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was ambiguous, there were still tendencies: attacking the Falkland Islands was not possible, and opening up the British-Canada route was not necessary. Taking Cape Verde would explain all aspects - no matter what the initial Whether it is a real fight or a fake fight, we must fight now, otherwise it will be difficult to explain to the relevant parties.

"Since the Army will not be able to attack the Falkland Islands for a while, we might as well deploy another division to attack Cape Verde. At least we have to express this attitude, unless the Army is super confident." Ingersoll said, "Attack Cape Verde. You can only succeed, not fail.”

When he learned that there were two less escort carriers and that the front-line naval generals had requested an additional division and eight escort carriers, Marshall couldn't sit still and asked in surprise: "Have the German troops increased on the island?"

"No, it's still 5,000-6,000 people."

"Then why do we need to increase the number of troops? The Army's 5th Division has a large strength of 15,000 people."

Eisenhower sighed: "The Navy is probably afraid that we can't defeat it."

"I..." Marshall was a well-educated senior officer after all. He didn't curse the next words, but said angrily, "We have air superiority, firepower superiority, and troop superiority, but we can't defeat 5,000 or 6,000 German troops? But the 5th Division has that?" A long-established team with glorious tradition! ”

Eisenhower didn't say a word, and several of his close confidants didn't say a word either. It was obvious that everyone was not very confident.

"Okay, then add the Army's 3rd Division! Anyway, they haven't reached the landing point yet." Marshall was upset by his subordinates, but he couldn't lose face. "The Navy should just send 10 escort aircraft carriers and use them as quickly as possible. Covering the arrival of the second wave of attack troops, the first wave of troops must be launched on time tomorrow afternoon. The president is worried about the frontline war in the hospital and calls me every night. I can't let him down!"

The next morning, Hoffman received an urgent report: the US artillery formation had entered visual range, and the landing was expected to begin soon.

"Führer, do you need General Machar to bring the fleet for reinforcements? Your feint of letting the fleet move westward does not seem to have mobilized the US military."

Hoffman shook his head again: "Tell Machar to prepare to leave the Azores air defense circle and continue to move nearly 1,000-1,200 kilometers to the southwest. Don't be afraid of being discovered by the enemy."

"You plan to coerce the enemy to come back to rescue Bermuda? But this may not be effective. The enemy's main aircraft carrier formation has not yet appeared, and they will try to intercept our fleet."

"But at least the enemy battleship force will not be at the interception site." Hoffman said with a smile, "What we are competing for now is patience. Our army can lose Cape Verde, but the US military cannot afford to lose Bermuda."

Dönitz wanted to persuade him again, but Jodel winked at him, saying he should say no more. After the two of them exited, Dönitz asked strangely: "Why did you stop me just now? Our army may not be able to Bermuda was taken, but Cape Verde was defeated.”

"Not necessarily..." Yodel shook his head.

"Do you think the defenders can hold on?"

“You can’t keep it if you keep it, but you can’t throw it away if you throw it away.”

"What does this mean?"

"You can get it back if you lose it." Yoder sneered, "Starting from the Azores or Canary Islands, our army can arrive to attack in 4-5 days. Unless the US military can stay in Cape Verde, it will definitely It will be captured by our army. As for the US military staying in Cape Verde, I don't think there is much possibility. With the US military's huge material supply needs, Cape Verde will not be able to provide the tower after the fierce battle. Lava? As soon as Nimitz's fleet withdrew, the American troops on Tarawa were demoralized and surrendered. "

Dönitz understood but didn't dare to believe it completely. He just nodded doubtfully.

Although they were worried about the situation in Cape Verde, Ingersoll and Turner on the front line in Cape Verde were also worried because Cape Verde was more difficult to chew than they expected. When the shelling started in the morning, they He received a slap in the head:

Although the three sets of twin-mounted 356mm naval guns dismantled from the Ise were old, they were not weak in power. They showed no mercy when faced with the firing of dozens of large-caliber naval guns from the US military. After more than ten rounds of firing, one group The battery successfully straddled the Elizabeth.