Chapter 752 Atlantic Strangulation War (61)

The main force of the bombardment fleet was taken by Lieutenant General Bei. There were only a few warships bombarding Sal Island in the early morning, but among them were the powerful battleship Richelieu and the heavyweight Corbell, which also originally belonged to the French Navy. Cruisers, in addition to 4 Utopia-class destroyers.

These 3,100-ton destroyers have a design speed of 37 knots, but during actual trials, they were able to run an ultra-high speed of 40-42 knots, which is almost equivalent to torpedo boats from other countries. In addition to its extremely fast speed, this class of ship is also equipped with extremely powerful armaments (five 138mm main guns) and has a low silhouette. It can undoubtedly be ranked among the strongest destroyers in the world. Unfortunately, it is still based on the design concept of artillery engagement. It is a product that is somewhat inadequate in the face of air defense, but it is very practical in terms of breaking enemy lines, and it is also very useful in artillery attacks. Admiral Winnecke is one of the few artillery experts in the German Navy and has great experience in artillery support.

What makes people even more imaginative is that these warships are all part of the naval transactions between Germany and France. As long as the flag is changed, they can be regarded as the French fleet. In fact, the German Navy is also prepared in this way. In order to reduce the hostility of the French, all warships originally belonging to France will not change their names. They even have French flags specially prepared. They will fly the French flag when entering territories controlled by the French authorities and overseas ports. The band was even able to play "Marseillaise" skillfully, and Admiral Darlan even gracefully boarded a warship to "review" the French fleet, which currently does not belong to the Paris authorities.

In order to rebuild the French Navy, Pétain and Darlan have been active during this period. On the one hand, they were in contact with Germany about the construction of Axis-class aircraft carriers. On the other hand, they did not hesitate to put down their bodies and use part of their artillery and tank technology to exchange naval information from Japan. , each takes what he needs. A batch of French tanks that were originally sold to Japan by Germany also collected as many accessories as possible from France and sold them to the Japanese.

Hoffmann turned a blind eye to the actions of the Pétain government. The level of exchanges between France and Japan cannot be very high, and France's posture of rebuilding its fleet is conducive to suppressing the current dominance in the Mediterranean. Germany is naturally happy to see the success of the Italians, and not only France, but Spain is also looking for ways to expand its navy, and also hopes to get a share of the Mediterranean in the future.

Admiral Winnecke was determined to act as a decoy for the artillery unit. On the one hand, according to Ozawa's arrangement, 36 air defense fighters were deployed on the artillery unit for resistance. On the other hand, he was also fully prepared to withstand the air attack. The 128mm electric turret deployed on the rear half of the deck of the Richelieu quickly sprayed out anti-aircraft barrages, hoping to break up the US attack formation as soon as possible.

"Very good... let them fight!" Colonel Seydlitz, who was stationed on the Dunkirk nearly 300 kilometers northeast of the Richelieu, smiled. "The enemy began to take the bait and let the reconnaissance plane follow the enemy plane back. , find their exact location as soon as possible, and then the replenished fleet is ready to launch the second round of air strikes.”

"The enemy fleet has anti-aircraft fighters?" After hearing the report from the front, Spruance pondered and gave a judgment, "This means that the enemy fleet has an aircraft carrier within the range?"

"Let the attack force separate 12 planes to search, and be sure to find the enemy's position." Cunningham quickly made up his mind, "If the plane cannot return, let the pilot go to Sal Island to parachute, and the US ground troops will rescue him..."

The 3rd Army Division and the 5th Army Division were extremely unlucky. First, they were subjected to a fierce air attack by the Germans on the afternoon of the 8th, and then they were continuously bombarded by German warships in the early morning of the 9th. They had no solid fortifications to hide in and were faced with boarding the ship from a long distance. The cannon's killing force was completely incapable of parrying or hiding.

"Where is the navy? Where are the planes? Have we been abandoned by the United States? We have been dismissed from our posts, but we are not sinners. We are still fighting bloody battles with the Germans. Even if we are guilty, there are only two divisions of officers and soldiers who landed on the island. What sin does it deserve to be treated like this..." The telegram of just a few sentences hit Marshall's heart like a heavy hammer. He immediately stood up and blamed Admiral King, believing that the Navy's attitude and measures taken were "extremely unfair. appropriate!"

But the latter was shocked by the news that the entire fleet of 11 escort aircraft carriers had been destroyed, and retorted unceremoniously: "The navy has dispatched 8 battleships, more than 20 escort aircraft carriers, and 800 aircraft to cover the army's attack on Sal Island. Now we Half of the battleships, all escort aircraft carriers and aircraft were lost, and most of the naval gun shells were even fired. As a result, the two army infantry divisions have not been able to capture the Saar Island defended by only 5-6 thousand German defenders to this day. It is extremely inappropriate to drag the entire navy to death!”

Marshall wanted to say more, but found that none of his Army colleagues around him stood up to support him. Even Eisenhower, his usual confidant, huddled in the corner and remained silent, so he remained silent in frustration.

Presidential Chief of Staff Li Hai said with a gloomy face, "The Battle of Cape Verde has entered a critical period. Who should bear the responsibility for the battle will naturally be determined afterwards. Now is not the time for you to fight over each other and shirk responsibility. The President is still lying in the hospital." What will he think if he sees you like this? No one can escape the parliamentary inquiry. You must cheer up and try your best to achieve a decent result. "

At this point in the battle, the situation has become obvious. With the army on Cape Verde Island, it is basically impossible to take over the island. The German defenders did not surrender despite the shaky situation of no supplies inside and no reinforcements outside. , it is definitely unrealistic to expect them to give up now. Today, the German army is shelling and bombing, which has brought urgent support to the defenders. Sal Island is definitely not something that can be taken off in the short term. The only way to solve the problem is to hope that the Cunningham fleet will win. Not only a victory, but also a big victory - severely damaging or repelling the German fleet, but how easy is it?

"Latest battle report, carrier-based aircraft attacked the enemy's artillery force, damaging the battleship Richelieu, severely damaging a heavy cruiser, forcing it to beach and run aground..." The mood of everyone in the conference room had just soothed, and the second telegram came 20 minutes later. Come on, this will be a battle report from the Army, "What the hell is the Navy doing? There are twice as many planes as ours. Not only did they shoot down more than 40 planes, but the ship bombing also only destroyed half of the enemy ship. Now the warships on the beach are firing at us at close range, and those 8-inch guns can't stop them! People are dying every moment. This is not a war, this is a massacre!"

This was almost a break-the-pot attitude. Everyone was speechless for a long time, but they couldn't be wrong. After the grounding, the Korbel was no longer at risk of sinking, and the close-range firepower deterrence was greatly increased, and there were Link's troops at the front. It provides artillery sighting and sighting, so you can shoot wherever you want!

"Sir, the enemy aircraft carrier has been found..." Spruance said excitedly, "The fleet sent a report that an enemy aircraft carrier was found more than 300 kilometers northeast of Sal Island. It seems to be on the British-Canadian route. That weird aircraft carrier that broke the relationship!”

"Why is there only one aircraft carrier?" Cunningham felt strange. "Judging from the way they cleanly swept away Turner's 11 escort aircraft carriers, they are at least the size of three aircraft carriers. Where are the other two?"

"It's probably hiding in a dark corner and planning to give us a fatal blow."

"This will be difficult to fight." Cunningham sighed, "Prepare 100 aircraft to attack this fleet, and the remaining forces will complete combat readiness and prepare to attack the other two aircraft carriers."

Spruance could only shake his head in silence. Now that the Japanese fleet has dispersed, it has become much more difficult to fight. The fleet is forced to deploy troops in batches to attack, while leaving a backhand to attack the opponent's main force. What he hopes most now is to assemble it by himself. If the strength of the five aircraft carriers and the opponent's three aircraft carriers are completely eliminated, then the chance of victory will be much greater, but it is a pity...

"Sir, the reconnaissance plane has discovered the US fleet. They are more than 400 kilometers west-northwest of Cape Verde and nearly 650 kilometers away from the Dunkirk. The distance between the two sides is still continuing to close, but the Dunkirk has also been The enemy discovered..."

Ozawa nodded: "It will take at least 2 hours from the time they complete combat preparations to launch the assault. Let the Dunkirk move towards the flagship and extend the enemy's attack distance! This time is enough for us to use!"

Immediately, a series of dizzying instructions were issued:

1. The Dakar land-based fighter jets and artillery fleet cover aircraft will be rotated as soon as possible;

2. The bombardment fleet's direct cover aircraft landed on the Dunkirk and completed the replenishment, and coordinated defense with the ship's direct cover aircraft;

3. The Zeppelin and Harrier attack groups took off at full speed, went to the Dunkirk at maximum speed for refueling and supplies, and formed an attack wave with some attack aircraft on the Dunkirk...

According to Ozawa's control requirements, all actions must be completed within 90 minutes, and no mistakes can be made in the steps - once a mistake is made, not only will the aircraft carrier deck be clogged, but the attack group and the cover group will also have a full-scale fight.

Machar couldn't help but sigh: "A mere aircraft carrier that breaks the relationship can actually do so many tricks under Commander Ozawa!"

Ozawa sighed helplessly: "Who wants to play tricks? Isn't it because of the small number of aircraft carriers? If the main force of the combined fleet is here now, the Axis Navy doesn't have to work hard at all, just assemble a wave and pounce on it, let alone those few An aircraft carrier, even the battleship that escaped last night, I can kill them..."

As time passed by, the Dunkirk was like a wind-up alarm clock, running at full speed in an orderly manner, and the moment of decisive battle finally began.

At the same time, the five aircraft carriers in the Cunningham fleet were also quickly releasing their attack fleets. In order to ensure a smooth attack, Spruance used a powerful combination of 34 F6Fs, 39 SBDs and 26 TBFs. The fleet's air defense fighters and more than 50 aircraft returned home, with nearly 100 aircraft remaining behind...