Chapter 749 Atlantic Strangulation War (58)

It was around 10 a.m. on December 8, 1943, Cape Verde time.

None of the reconnaissance aircraft dispatched by the fleets of all parties found anything. Cunningham and Ingersoll's fleets had a reconnaissance field of view of 600 kilometers, while the German fleet benefited from the excellent performance of the Ar-352 and Ar-372, and the reconnaissance field of view reached nearly 900 kilometers. kilometers, a much larger range than the US military. In fact, if Ozawa is willing, it is also feasible to extend the field of view to more than 900 kilometers, but this does not have much practical significance-it basically exceeds the combat range of conventional carrier-based aircraft.

The investigation results supported the confirmation of a presupposed judgment: the US fleet evaded and gave up support for the US ground forces on Sal Island.

"Very good, we can implement the next step." Starting from 10:15, the German fleet began to operate according to the preset plan: Ozawa led the main fleet to gradually advance east-north, while the break-up fleet moved to Paul Wen. Under the leadership of Admiral Necker, they advanced to the east-south direction. The trajectories of the two fleets became more and more divergent, and the distance became farther and farther. At the same time, the ground crew was prepared and planned to launch an air attack on Sal Island in the afternoon. Possibly providing support to the Marine garrison. What makes the fleet even more happy is that news came from the direction of Dakar that some aircraft of the Air Force bomber KG-48 Wing have arrived in Dakar and will be under the command of the Navy and coordinate in combat.

Although Germany has won the African campaign and successfully established the German West African Territory, compared with North Africa and German East Africa, German West Africa is quite lacking in strength and poor in various conditions. There is less than one division of ordinary infantry units in total, which is far away. Not as good as Dakar, which has been operated by France for many years. Although there was an agreement between France and Germany, the German army could use relevant French military bases. The French colonies in North Africa generally followed this strategy. The German army still has considerable troops stationed in Casablanca and Algiers. But even so, Casablanca and Algiers were too far away from Dakar, and the German army was simply beyond their reach.

Driven by Hoffmann's policy of Franco-German reconciliation and economic cooperation, France became increasingly close to the Axis and declared war on Britain in a low-key manner. However, the Pétain government was always unwilling to declare war on the United States, and the Dakar garrison Regarding the independence of Paris, it is simply wishful thinking for them to engage in war against the United States. The United States has always adopted a deceptive attitude towards the French army: telling the French that it will not move Dakar, and hoping that they will not provide convenience to the German army, otherwise the status of Dakar will be uncertain in the future, which intensifies the wait-and-see attitude of the French side and accepts it. S-boat supply is an exception.

However, this neutral and ambiguous attitude could not be maintained soon, because the French defenders intercepted the Free French representatives who came to subvert and act as internal agents. This made the French authorities anxious: The Americans themselves stated that they would not stand still in Dakar, which does not mean that the British Human or free France cannot touch Dakar. In fact, this can be seen in the case of French Guiana: the German army entered French Guiana as a "courtesy" visit, but after the US military took control of French Guiana, it replaced the local authority with Becoming Free French personnel, this had to keep Pétain and Darlan vigilant to prevent another "peaceful evolution" by the Americans.

What finally overcame the judgment of the French authorities was the result of the interrogation of the Free French representative. The other party frankly "admitted" the US military's next military action plan for Dakar - it would use the British army and the Free French as a reason to occupy Dakar! In fact, this was just a way for the representative to put money on his face in order to attract attention. Not to mention his level, even de Gaulle himself did not know the next move plan of the US military. The bosses of the Joint Chiefs of Staff simply scorned the Free France. In other words, the intention to act as a "road leader" is entirely a result of Free France's efforts to shoulder the burden, and it is an unwarranted speculation. Although it is not far from the truth, it can only be a disservice to the Americans when it is exposed now.

This key telegram immediately aroused Darlan's old and new grudges: Due to the British treacherous attack during Operation Ballista, the French Navy lost nearly half of its naval vessels, including the most powerful Richelieu anchored in Dakar. The battleship was also attacked and almost lost its combat effectiveness. He persuaded Petain and suggested that Germany should be invited to send its air force but not ground troops on the grounds of enhancing its defense capabilities. The KG-48 wing, which happened to be drawn from along the Mediterranean, was also ready, so 48 Ju-188s were deployed on the 24th Fw Under the escort of -190, after 4 consecutive transitions, it was difficult to deploy from the Atlantic coast to Dakar.

By 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the fleet of aircraft painted with the Iron Cross logo finally began to attack Sal Island again.

"Sir, reinforcements are coming! Here!" the telecommunications staff told Sal Island garrison commander Link excitedly, "They are navy and air force planes. They will arrive at the island soon..."

"Very well, let them explode to their heart's content."

"They asked us to report the current position of the troops and indicate the attack target to avoid accidental damage."

"No need, we are all hiding underground, and there are enemy troops in all directions." Link sneered, "Tell the pilots not to worry about us, the harder the explosion, the better."

Half an hour later, the Germans on the island learned what had happened: including the planes that took off from Dakar, a total of more than 240 planes attacked Sal Island. The US fleet that had been showing off its might some time ago disappeared. The fleet recklessly dropped nearly 1,500 incendiary bombs and more than 100 bombs, covering the small area of ​​Sal Island and quickly igniting a raging fire. Although the attacking aircraft had deliberately avoided the air defense tower in the center of the island when dropping bombs, and although the German defenders hid underground and covered up various gaps, they could still feel the layers of heat waves coming from outside, as if the fire of hell was burning.

Soon the German soldiers found that the stunned American soldiers were dazed and rushed to the core position, and then they knocked them all down with MG42 without hesitation. Even so, many American soldiers were in a panic and moved to the area they thought was safe - in fact, it was a dead end.

Listening to the muffled explosions that continued to ring in their ears - this was the sound of ammunition exploding, coupled with the heart-wrenching sound of the US military, all the Germans felt refreshed, and the depression of suffering from the bombing in the past few days was swept away.

The two brothers, the 3rd Army Division and the 5th Army Division, knew that the German army might bomb today, not only established air defense positions, but also urgently built some air defense shelters, hoping to withstand this bombing. At the same time, they deployed some ships in the distance to attract the German bombing. Unexpectedly, the Germans were relentless and did not even look at the leftovers in the open sea, and poured all their energy on the island...