Chapter 846: Fighting in the South Atlantic (Supplement)

After reading the map, Truman rubbed his head and asked: "Gentlemen, I don't understand the navy, but I want to ask a small question. Can we ignore the German troops on the British-Canada route and concentrate the northern and southern fleets? Gather the superior force of 7 aircraft carriers to try to eat up the German fleet hanging around Brazil first? Solve them one by one to give Congress and the people some confidence..."

Everyone listened in silence. After a long time, Li Hai said: "Your strategy is very good, but unfortunately it cannot be implemented at the moment."

"Why?"

"Now General Cunningham has two aircraft carriers and two battleships in his hands. If we don't care about the British-Canada route and the life and death of the British, I can't guarantee that he can fully obey the order. Maybe he will be halfway..." Li Hai made a turning gesture, suggesting that the Royal Navy might run away midway.

"Damn!" Truman reacted immediately and asked unwillingly, "What if Cunningham is replaced and someone else is replaced?"

"That must be at least an Englishman, and I don't think Prime Minister Churchill can agree." Li Hai explained, "The relationship between Cunningham and the Prime Minister has not been very good. The latter once had the idea of ​​​​removing him, but because the current situation in the UK is in danger, , Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, is also under great pressure. The removal of the order cannot pass the test of Marshal Pound, let alone the pressure from the government and the opposition.”

Truman nodded and understood: Now some people in the UK are accusing Churchill of being a scumbag of the United States and ruining the British Empire. If they push them, the British political situation will change, which will be really troublesome. Sinking a German squadron is inconsistent with the overall situation of the UK. Better than nothing - he had no idea that Churchill had arranged the coup.

However, he did not give up and asked: "If I can persuade Prime Minister Churchill to temporarily transfer the fleet to Brazil to fight, and then return to solve the problem of the British-Canadian route, how much time do you think it will be delayed in the meantime?"

"It takes at least 45 days for the fleet to go back and forth. The time to annihilate the enemy is not necessarily certain. If it is fast, it can be completed in one day. If it is slow, it can take a month. I think it will be at least no less than 2 months, and it may take 3 months."

"I understand, the British-Canada route needs to be prepared to be interrupted for at least three months." Truman thought for a while, "You continue to arrange General Spruance's attack. I will report to the president today to see if he can agree to my plan. Idea. If agreed, I plan to fly to London tomorrow to communicate with Prime Minister Churchill and Marshal Pound to try to get them to agree to this strategy! We cannot keep losing the war, we must bring hope and confidence to the people of the two countries.”

"If so, can I accompany you tomorrow?" Li Hai volunteered.

"That's the best. I don't understand many military issues, so I just want to ask for advice."

After Truman left, everyone in the Joint Chiefs of Staff nodded and thought that the Vice President was a good man, he was resolute in his work, he could listen to opinions, and what was rare was that he was willing to take responsibility.

Admiral Jin finally concluded: "If the British can really withstand three months, and we seize the opportunity to eat this squadron, maybe the overall situation will be reversed."

Roosevelt also believed that Truman's suggestion was feasible and explained: "You can also disclose the matter of the US$50 billion national debt to Prime Minister Churchill and win his support."

"So, your country hopes to fight a war near Brazil first?" Churchill was also surprised by the dazzling political struggle within the United States. Truman came with sincerity this time, and the ideas he proposed were also very constructive. He had some ideas. move.

What made him even more happy was that the United States not only promised to continue aiding Britain, but also proactively revealed that it would issue US$50 billion in special treasury bonds. This made him believe that the so-called "cutting off aid to Britain" was just Wallace's own idea and did not represent the mainstream opinion of the United States - —This would greatly reduce the political pressure he faces.

Marshal Pound is also a senior naval person, so he naturally knows the necessity of gathering to pursue and intercept the German fleet. Wasn't the German Graf Spey blocked in Uruguay and finally forced to sink it? He said: "I agree with this idea in principle, but 3 months is too long. If there was no interruption in the input of supplies caused by the Battle of Newfoundland, we could persist for 3 months, but now I am afraid we can only persist for 2 months."

After a night of bargaining, the two sides finally agreed that the maximum time for the Cunningham fleet to rescue the British-Canada route would not exceed 75 days, and that by then the United States would have to use the aircraft carriers Hancock and Bennington (both owned by Egypt) that were commissioned in May. Sykes class) have been put into the ranks of rescue operations.

Marshal Pound said: "By May, our army's Indefatigable (Revenge-class) will also be put into service, and the Lion (Lion-class) battleship is also expected to be put into service. Even if the Germans add 1-2 more battleships, the two The combined strength of the Chinese navy is still overwhelming. When the time comes, we will fight a decisive battle to lock the Germans on the European continent!"

Li Hai silently calculated. If this is the case, the British and American combined fleets will have 6 aircraft carriers and 5 battleships in June, which is a certain advantage compared to the German Navy's 4 aircraft carriers and 5 battleships (neither side counts Spurgeon). Runes and Crank's fleet), finally reached an agreement.

On March 26, Truman returned to Washington happily and said to the Joint Chiefs of Staff: "Gentlemen, I have communicated with the British side. They agreed to support independently for 75 days, starting from April 1. During this period General Cunningham will guarantee to cooperate with our army’s actions!”

Everyone applauded enthusiastically. April 1 was almost the day when two new warships could be put into service. If they could gather 7 aircraft carriers and 5 battleships in the South Atlantic, they believed that they would have a high chance of catching this bold German fleet.

"Where are the Germans now?"

"The specific location is not clear yet, but they attacked Rio de Janeiro yesterday..." Admiral Jin responded with a wry smile, "It was another night attack, and our army was unable to defend it. However, General Spruance's movements were very fast, and he probably The enemy fleet is about 1,000 kilometers away."

"Will he run to Argentina?"

"It's possible. I think the loading and unloading work on the Argentine side should have been completed. Unless he doesn't want these transport ships to return to the Mediterranean alone, otherwise he must go south to Buenos Aires. Spruance is on his only way south. Waiting... Normally, we will meet the enemy around March 28. "

"Very well, give the Germans some color. If you do too many bad things, you will be punished."

The estimate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is good. The current distance between the Spruance fleet and the Krank fleet is almost 1,100 kilometers. The former knows that the latter exists, but does not know its specific location, so it can only wait until the opponent returns to Argentina. They waited for the rabbit on the road, but the latter had no idea that the Americans were following them.

But the Americans never expected that the extremely audacious Krank would not retreat after making a profit as they thought. After bombing Rio de Janeiro, the whole army felt uncomfortable, and he planned to continue heading north with the fleet. Take a shot and see if you can break diplomatic relations in the Caribbean. If not, you might as well bomb a round of U.S. military aviation bases in three states in eastern Brazil. Manteuffel and Woller's analysis reminded him that the United States It is appropriate for people to add some obstruction.

As for the fuel consumption, he is not worried at all. The worst he can do is go to the French in Dakar, West Africa, to replenish some. After winning the last battle in Cape Verde, the French army has admired Germany to the fullest. The Pétain government has cooperated extremely well, and only a small amount of fuel is needed. Isn’t it already within reach? The head of state also fully considered the idea of ​​​​containing the British and American forces and sights in the South Atlantic, but Argentina was not particularly anxious to transport the supplies back to the country. As the German fleet continues to move north, the distance between him and the TF44 fleet continues to widen.

Just as Krank was stirring up the situation in South America, Chernyakhovsky in Transcaucasia was also stirring up the local situation. Taking advantage of the thawing of the Caspian Sea and the arrival of subsequent reinforcements, Malinovsky on the east coast continued to transport reinforcements to the west coast. By March 29, the total strength of the Red Army in the Transcaucasus had reached nearly 300,000. The offensive group used 80,000 troops to block the Iranian front line, and the remaining troops were swept away in the Transcaucasus. Before the battle, the Turks deployed a total of about 12 divisions and 4 brigades here, including two relatively valuable armored divisions, but after Under the merciless attack of the Red Army, 6 divisions suffered devastating blows, 3 divisions and 2 brigades collapsed, and only the other 3 divisions and 2 brigades suffered only slight losses and returned to the country.

Not only did Turkey lose nearly 150,000 troops and related materials, equipment, and supplies, but it also completely destroyed most of the Transcaucasian land it had occupied since sending troops. Even the Ardahan and Kars lines in the northeastern part of Turkey were severely attacked by the Red Army. After ruthlessly plundering and killing the red-eyed Red Army, they were extremely jealous when they met enemies on Turkish soil. They would snatch anything they saw and attack women whenever they saw them. How could there be any such word as discipline? I let out all the anger I had accumulated over the past few years. The political commissars either couldn't stop the rebels, or they simply didn't want to stop them and let the people below do whatever they wanted.

Chernyakhovsky himself was very sober: firstly, he did not attack Poti, Batumi and other Black Sea cities, where there are Axis naval forces, and the Romanian gunboats were no joke; secondly, he did not touch the Iranians. Strangely enough, the Red Army did not attack, and Iran and even the German army had no intention of attacking. The two sides maintained a sit-down war in the border area. As for the front line of the Caucasus Mountains, he did not rush to attack.

He thought very clearly that the German attack on Turkey was tacitly approved or even condoned by the Germans, so he turned a blind eye to his own actions. Even the bombers only dealt with the Red Army on the Caspian Sea and the east coast. They rarely came to Transcaucasia, but It is not an easy task to cross the Caucasus and attack the German army in the South Caucasus. He must first rest, replenish and gather strength before he can launch an attack with confidence. He believes that the ideal time to attack is at least after April 5.

Zhukov agreed with his idea and said that he would give him another 50,000 troops and the support of 2 tank brigades!