Chapter 728 Atlantic Strangulation War (37)

Although the power of the American torpedo was not very good, it still opened a hole on the starboard side of Strasbourg. For Strasbourg, which was actually just a battle cruiser, the damage was not small. The crew members tried their best to block the gap, but the influx of seawater still caused the ship to tilt, and the speed was reduced to only 22 knots.

Misfortune never comes singly. Seeing that the Strasbourg was damaged and slowed down, other US military aircraft rushed over like crazy, and even horizontal bombers came over to join in the fun. Although the anti-aircraft fighters tried their best to resist, it was still difficult to protect it fully. Another 1,000-pound bomb was hit on the front and rear decks of the ship, and several near-misses were also hit, leaving scars all over the body.

"Sir, the Strasbourg is in big trouble. Although it won't sink, I'm afraid it needs to be repaired."

Vice Admiral Bei shook his head. The Strasbourg, whose speed had dropped to less than 18 knots, was obviously in a difficult situation, but it was not without its benefits. The ship attracted too many US military aircraft, and other warships suffered several near-misses. In the end, it was not greatly affected. The landing force lost 2 landing crafts. However, most of the army carried by the company were rescued, and the impact was not big. However, the P51s who strafed the ground caused a lot of trouble, but the Bf-219 He did not easily let go of these enemy planes that dared to pounce at low altitudes, but still beat them into the sea.

In the battle just now, the US military lost nearly 87 aircraft and the German army lost 25. Fortunately, most of the pilots successfully parachuted and the destroyers rescued them.

"Step up the landing and quickly control the landing site." Lieutenant General Bei said harshly, "The rest of the troops quickly escorted the US freighter to retreat. Those who delayed, hesitated, and resisted were all sunk. They are prisoners now, not the master!"

The news of the heavy damage to a battleship was quickly returned to Washington. Arnold was very happy, but after hearing that 107 sortie aircraft were lost (the rest were US military aircraft that parachuted to the Canadian-controlled area on Newfoundland), his face was very ugly. Now he is depressed. The Ning'an fleet had not yet arrived, and the airport on Corner Brook was destroyed, which meant that the Army Air Force could only continue to set off from Prince Edward Island to fight the Germans with more than half of the battle losses. This was really fatal.

Under Marshall's stern eyes, he could not say no, so he had to promise to attack again in the afternoon - using the more than 120 supplementary aircraft that flew from Maine to Prince Edward Island in the morning for reinforcements. Although the order was issued, everyone heard his whisper: "Isn't this just another fueling tactic in the Caribbean campaign?"

After hearing this, Admiral Jin could only pretend not to know. At least the heavy damage to one battleship finally relieved a lot of pressure - Cape Verde lost 4 ships in one go. Now he has to find a way to quickly close the loss gap. Only in this way can we explain to the outside world.

But soon, before 12 o'clock, the bosses of the Joint Chiefs of Staff received news that made them particularly unhappy: the German army successfully landed and took control of the dock area, and is currently advancing in depth. What is even more nerve-wracking is that, The Canadians reported that all the German troops dispatched were Tiger tanks. They could not resist it and called for air support.

This news is obviously a rumor. The German army does have Tiger tanks, but the number is only one company. There are only 14 tanks in total. The rest are all No. 4 or tank destroyers. However, these 14 Tiger tanks have caused huge damage to the Canadians. Under psychological pressure, the Canadians, who had no heavy artillery and no aerial firepower coordination, found that they could not attack the tanks on the opposite side. They could only scream tiger style at every tank they faced and then run away. In less than 3 hours, the two positions within 10 kilometers near the pier and the beach were completely destroyed.

"It's coming!" This was the first feeling of the German officers and soldiers after they came ashore. Although the floor near the dock was washed away by naval guns, there were still many good things hidden in those warehouses that were not damaged by luck, including all kinds of military supplies. They have everything from accommodation tents, various engineering equipment and tools, and even logistical military supplies. You can find camel cigarettes and a dazzling array of field rations, including a large amount of luncheon meat.

"Why don't you destroy these supplies?" Colonel Gott, the commander of the battle group who commanded the landing, curiously asked the Canadian prisoners. The news he got was shocking, "These are the supplies that the cargo owners have stored at the dock, and they are all going to be sold to the UK. Although the Americans have paid, they cannot get the shipping bill as long as the owner of the goods does not leave. It is still private... This, private property is sacred and inviolable!"

The people around him looked at the Canadian as if he were an idiot. They were dumbfounded. However, he did not lie: all the arms and firearms in the dock area had been moved or destroyed, and the gasoline stored inside was also blown up. For the most part, the only thing that couldn't be blown up was the heavy oil depot, and the defenders also opened the valves and tried their best to drain it into the sea. Now they finally understood where the black oil stains outside the beach came from.

"Order the Marines to advance quickly and defeat the Canadians before they recover..." Watching the 48 cross-platform combat aircraft successfully land on various ships, coupled with the news of the successful landing, Commander Machar He breathed a long sigh of relief and said, "Let the engineering troops quickly use the original airport runway to clear the passage."

"Führer, there is good news from Newfoundland. Not only did we successfully land, we destroyed nearly 200 enemy cargo ships and a group of escort warships, and also captured more than 100 cargo ships and millions of tons of supplies." Dönitz said with a smile on his face. Laughing, extremely excited, "On the one hand, the fleet is escorting these trophies back to China, and on the other hand, it is stepping up repairs to the runway to prepare for plane landing."

Everyone in the Supreme Command cheered. The results and spoils were beyond expectation. Everyone praised the Führer's wisdom from the bottom of their hearts, but Hoffman frowned: First, he had never expected so many captured Allied freighters; second, Cape Verde sent an urgent telegram saying that the US military had received new support and more aircraft...

"Did the enemy not get attracted by the battle in Newfoundland?"

Everyone looked at each other, wondering why the Führer said this.

"This should be impossible. Since they know that our army has landed, the US military will send their aircraft carrier formation to meet it anyway." Jodl analyzed, "In any case, Newfoundland is much more important than Cape Verde."

"So this matter is weird..." Hoffman sighed, "I originally planned to attract the British and American fleets to come back for help by hitting Newfoundland hard, and then our fleet quickly returned to either destroy it or relieve Cape Verde. Now it seems that we are in trouble..."