Chapter 739 Atlantic Strangulation War (48)

"To be honest, I am not satisfied with the result of today's attack." At night, Ozawa complained to Machar when analyzing the enemy's situation with everyone in the war room. "Our army dispatched more than 200 aircraft and successfully found the opponent and discovered all The goal was to achieve only 4 light aircraft carriers and a few cruisers, which disappointed me. I originally thought that at least one Essex-class regular aircraft carrier should be killed, so that the threat to the fleet would be much smaller in the next step. "

Krank nodded subconsciously. He had the same feeling, but he said it tactfully: "The battlefield is changing rapidly, and the attack group commander can only choose the method he thinks is most appropriate. It may be that he does not know what is happening to the fleet behind him."

Machar held different opinions on this: "I asked Frank. He did not know about the attack on the carrier when he launched the attack, and the enemy cruiser's anti-aircraft firepower was very fierce. Combined with the aircraft carrier's anti-aircraft firepower, it made people feel like they were facing an enemy. Hedgehog, he estimated that the enemy was also equipped with anti-aircraft guns using proximity fuses. In order to maximize their strength and reduce losses, they chose a safe onion-peeling tactic... He also said that if he had known about the changes in the rear at that time, he might have chosen to be more radical. Some tactics. But I think we can’t rush for quick success for the time being. These pilots are the elites we have cultivated with great difficulty. The losses are too great to recover. As for the ship... the head of state and Minister Speer always have a way. It is said that there are 10 people lying on the dock now. "There are many aircraft carriers waiting to be commissioned. I think the biggest gap in the future is not the ships, but the sailors and pilots, so every outstanding officer and soldier must be preserved."

Ozawa nodded slightly and did not continue to discuss this matter. In this regard, he and the German generals had ideological differences: the Germans believed that they should first save themselves and then destroy the enemy. He believed that the enemy should be destroyed first and then save. Himself - this is also the thinking of most Japanese generals. However, this line of thinking has been criticized by Horikichi, who believed that it ignored the human factor, especially the insufficient reserve of outstanding pilots in the combined fleet. Ozawa accepted the criticism, but he believed that Germany did not have similar problems at all - the head of state is also the commander-in-chief of the three armed forces, and the air force can continuously provide pilots. In terms of abundant reserve power, there may be no naval country like Germany. However, he often couldn't understand what the Germans thought. Machar's attitude was not isolated. The head of state himself thought the same way. As an outsider, it was naturally inconvenient for him to point fingers.

Krank immediately changed the subject: "How will the war be arranged tomorrow? The break-up fleet has moved closer to us. Assuming that our army moves eastward as planned, it is expected that the gap between the fleet and the fleet will be narrowed to less than 400 kilometers early tomorrow morning. The aircraft carriers are also full after being replenished. In this way, we have 3 aircraft carriers, and the enemy also has 3 aircraft carriers. The enemy has land aviation, and we also have some land-based force support on Newfoundland. In addition, the quality of the pilots is better than that of the enemy. , I think it’s absolutely possible.”

"Where is the fleet escorting the captive freighter now?"

"It is about 1,300 kilometers away from the Azores. We will enter the Azores air defense circle tomorrow morning. It is relatively safe. If nothing happens, we will be able to reach the Azores in the evening of December 5."

"This saves one big trouble. The Hipper can be removed from the escort mission and join the escort of the break-up fleet. The Lützow, Oi, Kitakami and other warships can continue to escort the fleet." Ozawa looked at the chart and found that he was about 30 meters away from New York. He knocked at a place more than 400 kilometers southeast of the island of Finland, "I suggest that the main force of the fleet will leave the island of Newfoundland tomorrow and arrive there, and keep an appropriate distance from the US military. Except for the 4-engine heavy bombers, other attack aircraft cannot easily attack this position. Hit us."

Machar naturally agreed to continue the fight. He estimated that Cunningham's fleet had lost at least half of its aircraft - just having an aircraft carrier but no aircraft was an empty field. In fact, Cunningham lost more than 60% of its aircraft. Judging from his experience, the US military may not Knowing how to chase, he asked: "What if the Americans don't chase?"

"I got a lot of inspiration from the head of state's strategy this time... It's best if the enemy doesn't come. We took advantage of the situation to attack Cape Verde and take out all the battleships and escort carriers there - three fleet aircraft carriers were dispatched to deal with those ten The arrival of an escort aircraft carrier is fully guaranteed.”

Machar and Krank exchanged glances and agreed that Ozawa's suggestion was feasible. The staff and advisory groups also became active and began to make calculations: the first possibility is that the assault is successful, which can eliminate at least 70 Cape Verde enemy forces. % or more of the force; the second is that the enemy forces escape, which can at least relieve the siege of Cape Verde; the third is that Cunningham pursues and fights - at that time the battlefield will be far away from the North American continent, which means both sides have abandoned the mainland. Base aircraft support is a head-to-head battle, and everyone believes that the winning chance in 3vs3 is over 70%.

"This requires us to consider withdrawing the Marines..." Krank pondered, "Consider withdrawing the Skyhawk and the landing fleet together. Anyway, the speeds of both sides are about the same."

"We can consider using the Skyhawk as bait, with shore-based aviation as the escort, to swarm enemy attack aircraft and annihilate them. The key tomorrow will be reconnaissance. Whoever discovers it first will be more advantageous..." There is the second batch of people who arrived today. The arrival of Azores reinforcement aircraft, especially the arrival of 48 Fw-190A8s specially equipped with extra large transition fuel tanks at the request of the fleet, gave Ozawa a lot of confidence.

In order to strengthen the combat power in the direction of Newfoundland, after Hainan Airlines put the pre-production Do-412 into front-line use, the Air Force also worked hard and sent the first batch of 8 Ta-152s newly off the production line to Newfoundland, hoping to Test the results in actual combat. The range of the Ta-152 is basically the same as that of the Do-412, and it can be easily transferred after attaching auxiliary fuel tanks.

After 2 hours of discussion, the fleet reached a consensus and sent the results to Berlin.

After hearing the news that four light aircraft carriers and six light cruisers had been lost in one day, everyone in the War Room of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington also took a breath of air: the main force of Cunningham's fleet was basically still there, but the losses of other warships were so serious that It is now difficult to set up a complete wheel-shaped air defense array. If the second aircraft carrier formation is not sent out for reinforcements, no one is optimistic about the prospects of this battle.

Admiral Jin and Ingram sighed repeatedly: Although there are still more than 20 Cleveland-class cruisers lying on the slipway waiting to be completed and launched, although they are used as anti-aircraft cruisers, they are destined to be violently attacked by the enemy, although so many warships and even battleships have been lost. It was almost numbing, but the loss rate of 6 ships a day still made them shake their heads.

Admiral Jin said in a hoarse voice: "Let the injured Bataan and the two light cruisers be withdrawn as soon as possible. In addition, the Navy may need additional budget to build more Cleveland-class cruisers, at least 1 dozen..."

"The budget is easy to say. As long as we can win, it won't be a problem." Marshall asked hesitantly, "The question now is how to fight next?"

"Are Matthew's airborne troops ready?"

A staff officer answered: "Everything will be in place before this evening and ready for action at any time."

Ingram nodded in approval: "I suggest retaking Newfoundland first. Should we airborne first tomorrow, use army aviation and ground forces to exterminate the German Marines and entangle the Germans..."

After hearing the Navy's suggestion not to open fire directly the next day, Eisenhower raised his head in surprise: "Then the German fleet just ran away?"

"Believe me, they can't run so fast unless they don't plan to take back those thousands of marines and landing transport fleets. Without the cover of an aircraft carrier formation or a battleship formation, it is impossible for them to survive, and..." Ying Gram emphasized, "There is still a distance between the reinforcement fleet and Cunningham's fleet. Tomorrow morning the two sides will not be able to form a joint force or exert the maximum effect. It is more beneficial to us to delay for 1-2 days. Once the army establishes a stable control area, it means that The landing aircraft will be able to reopen the Newfoundland Island Airport - the offensive and defensive momentum will be reversed immediately!"

Arnold nodded: "Yes, if Newfoundland is used as a base, Army Aviation will be able to perform better."

Marshall's face darkened, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Let Matthew fight. The Canadians fought so shamelessly. I feel embarrassed for them. The impact of Newfoundland being controlled by the Germans was too bad, and it must be recaptured as soon as possible."

At 2 o'clock in the morning, the roar of engines resounded all over the Maine Air Base. Lieutenant General Matthew Ridgway and the officers and soldiers of the three main regiments of the 101st Airborne Division boarded the transport plane one after another. Although Marshall made it clear that Ridgway was not required to commit any further crimes. Despite the danger, the latter still insisted on going - the chief must be with his boys! Seeing Li Qiwei and Major General William C. Lee taking the lead in fully armed boarding the transport plane (not the same one to prevent an accident), all the officers and soldiers of the 101st Division cheered. Even the ground staff and other officers and soldiers of the Army Aviation also cheered. The troops immediately The backbone has been strengthened and morale has been greatly boosted!

The bosses of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were fed up with the poor performance of the Canadians and were very angry: Newfoundland had a total of 2 Canadian infantry divisions with complete armor and artillery, but they were defeated by the German troops who were far smaller than them. Defeat and retreat. So far, the Canadians have not only given up the entire St. John's port, numerous airports, material distribution centers, and a 40-kilometer-deep zone to the Germans, but have also suffered more than 6,000 casualties themselves, desperately sending telegrams to Washington begging for reinforcements. .

This incident also indirectly affected the senior management's perception of Eisenhower. They believed that Ike had boasted that the Canadians had good combat effectiveness in Africa and resolutely gave up the opportunity for the US troops to withdraw and let the Canadians withdraw first. Unexpectedly, such a group of soft Crab, if I had known this, it would be better to let Patton's troops retreat more, and the pressure from domestic public opinion faced by the Army would not be so great.

In fact, Eisenhower felt that he was wronged: Canada did not have many troops in total. The two best divisions were old and powerful forces that existed before the war. They were all sent to Africa to participate in the war. The inferior troops were arranged by the Canadians for domestic defense and were placed in the country. Newfoundland is already a third-rate force. How can their performance be used to measure the combat effectiveness of the Canadian forces in the African campaign? This is obviously not the same thing!