Chapter 867 The Vast Ocean Is a Casino (Part 2)

The conclusion is unanimous: if Rio Grande do Sul really only has this amount of troops, it would be easy to take it, and Rommel doesn't even need to appear, just send a division commander to deal with it. The key issue is how to withstand the enemy's subsequent counterattack, because of the limited transportation force, the first wave of attack can only send 1 division and 1 brigade, even if the Marine Brigade in Argentina is added, it is 1 division and 2 brigades. Not counting the US forces in the mainland and Central America, there are 3 US divisions in Brazil alone, plus Brazil has more than 200,000 troops, the power comparison is still quite different. If Argentina and Uruguay do not directly participate in the war, even if they are inclined to the German army and provide some logistical support, the first batch of troops will still be under great pressure.

But after carefully looking at the map, Rommel thought that this battle was worth fighting, because the terrain there was too good, the west and north were all plateaus and hilly areas, infantry could pass, but it was difficult for mechanized troops to move, the east was the sea, and only the south bordering Uruguay was a plain. In other words, if Britain and the United States want to rely on their military superiority to push forward, they can either attack from the sea, or use Uruguay - that is to force Uruguayans and Argentines to stand on the side of Germany, or they can only use mountain infantry. The southern part of the state is a plain, and going to the mountains is equivalent to delivering food to the German armored divisions. Not to mention 1-2, 5-6 mountain divisions can also be swept away by the armored divisions.

Rommel believed that fighting in the local area also had a home advantage - 60% of the population was German or Italian, and with the assistance of the local national socialist forces, it would not be a problem to send 2,000 to 3,000 adult men. After a little organization and some weapons training, they would be a good reserve and logistics team, and at the very least, they could ensure that there would be no annoying security battles.

He even volunteered: "Führer, if you give me an armored division and a marine brigade, I can assure you that even if the enemy brings all the Brazilian forces (60,000 US troops + 200,000 Brazilian troops), I will hold on until the second batch of support troops arrive!"

Hoffman smiled and said: "Erwin, you don't understand what I mean. The battle in Brazil is fought by others, I just need you to show up and borrow your name; the battle in Iceland still needs you to fight, but temporarily use someone else's name."

"This..." Rommel was confused. What did the Führer mean by this? It was unbearable for German soldiers who regarded honor as their life to be named casually.

"You are the best amphibious landing commander in the empire, and the enemy knows this very well." Hoffman reminded, "Do you remember the time when I asked you to receive an American?"

"Joseph Kennedy?" Rommel blurted out, and then he figured it out and laughed, "Führer, I understand, I understand."

Everyone present knew about the American envoy's visit to the SEALs' training. At the beginning, Keitel, Jodl and others privately complained that the Führer should not have let the news out. Now it seems that it was a good move - the Führer has played all the tricks of both real and fake.

"You will have to work harder this time: first, go to Brazil with the troops to land, meet with the local German leaders, boost morale, and support the Germans in Brazil; then go to Argentina and Uruguay to visit the leaders of the two countries, show your face, report, unite the allies, and then take the warship back as quickly as possible."

"Got it! Happy to serve you."

"Everyone, do you think the action plan of withdrawing one armored division and one brigade to Brazil can be implemented now?" Hoffman smiled, "The enemy currently has only one aircraft carrier in the South Atlantic, let the guerrilla fleet Do you still think it is difficult to cover the fleet landing and pick up General Krank and his fleet back home? "

Dönitz calculated and found that there was basically no problem from the perspective of the navy: in terms of transportation capacity, more than 100 ships were seized in the last Newfoundland Campaign, and this time Krank took nearly 40 ships. The worst case scenario is that they will go to Brazil with the same number of ships, which can be transferred at any time; in terms of manpower, the guerrilla fleet of the navy has two aircraft carriers, Jean-Bart and King, and two battleships, Richelieu and Scharnhorst, accompanying them, and their strength is also not weak. What's more, the navy also used four Rhine-class escort aircraft carriers to carry out the Iceland landing battle, which is more than enough to deal with the US South Atlantic Squadron with only one aircraft carrier and one battleship - everyone didn't know that Spruance's TF44 fleet was about to set off for India.

The Rhein class was developed by Hoffman based on the experience of the United States in using escort aircraft carriers and the need for the ever-expanding sea areas controlled by the Axis. The main hull is the same as the Will, but the power is not the 9,500 horsepower diesel engine used by the Will, but a steam turbine with nearly 14,000 horsepower. The maximum speed can reach 21 knots, the flight deck is 142 meters long, and it can take off and land various types of carrier-based fighters and light-loaded attack aircraft (no more than 250 kg of bombs). If it is equipped with a combination of Bf-219C and He-218, the overall aircraft capacity is 32 regular + 4 spares. If it is equipped with a combination of Do-412 and Ju-198, the aircraft capacity is 30 regular + 4 spares (all with folding wings). The maximum range is 9,400 nautical miles at an economic speed of 18 knots, and the full load displacement is more than 12,000 tons.

The ship's overall combat capability is stronger than that of the US Borg class, and it has its own advantages over the Casablanca class - the Rhine class has a high cost (the Will itself is more expensive than the Victory), a fast speed, can carry more aircraft, has slightly stronger defense, and its flight deck is longer and wider than its counterparts; the Casablanca class has a long range, low cost, and can carry slightly fewer aircraft (28 aircraft).

If you compare the construction speed (the Casablanca class completes one vessel in an average of 15 weeks), the Rhine class construction speed is much slower. It takes 6 months to use the basic hull modification and about 220 days to start from scratch. The German army did not build the first ship until September 1943, and only completed a total of 4 ships by the end of that year. However, Speer's promise of 12 ships per year was basically progressing smoothly (the U.S. Casablanca class requires the completion of 40 ships a year, and it is actually expected to complete more than 50 ships. ).

The second-rate European maritime countries (referring to Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Belgium) first accumulated experience by building the Rhine class and then learned to build the Axis class. As for Italy, France, and the Netherlands, they have now directly begun to build the Axis class.

Army forces are also readily available. SEAL Army forces that have been trained in professional amphibious landing operations have been stockpiled in Italian ports and are ready to board the ship. Now that the order is given, boarding can begin in ten minutes.

Everyone discussed and discussed, and found that although there was no clear and complete plan to attack Brazil, there were no major unforeseen risks. Keitel now changed his position and came out to express his agreement: "The head of state has considered it very carefully. The war situation is changing rapidly. When opportunities arise, they must be seized immediately. How can we waste time by not having a complete plan? It is not like a maritime voyage does not have time to formulate more detailed plans. , If Marshal Rommel takes action personally, I believe it will be an immediate success!"

The others really couldn't find any opinions, and in the end they all agreed one by one. Rommel ordered soldiers from the Flying Fortress Armored Division and the Navy's Ceylon Brigade, preparing to take them on a mission to conquer Brazil. Air Force Chief of Staff General Jeshunek promised to deploy a wing to cooperate in the mission. At 4 o'clock, the combat order was issued on time, and the army began to board the ship. In order to keep it secret, they only knew that they were going to fight a landing battle, but they didn't know where exactly they were going. It is estimated that no one would guess that they were going to Brazil, which is a long way away. .

Hoffman concluded with a smile: "Actually, when I look at the current position of the U.S. fleet, I am reminded of the situation in the Fergana Basin - it seems very safe, but in fact, the enemy only needs to block the mouth and cannot get out without any effort. In Central Asia, Scheerner was blocked, and in the North Atlantic, we blocked the Americans. If we think about it more carefully, isn’t this a trick we have played 30 years ago?

Everyone laughed and thought this metaphor was too vivid.

After the meeting, Hoffmann returned to the Prime Minister's Office to handle other official business. Except for Rommel, who hurried to Italy to meet with the staff team to explain, the others continued to implement the meeting arrangements and combat plans - it would take several days to complete the boarding, and there was still a little more to do. It was time to formulate an emergency strategy, and several generals discussed in whispers: A seemingly incredible plan was actually passed after the head of state analyzed it. It seems that those three books need to be read again. There are great truths in the books. Several naval admirals in their 50s and 60s took advantage of the fact that the head of state was not around and laughed "wildly" - there is a fleet! This name sounds exciting, and the British Empire actually exists today!

Although it was determined to launch a South American offensive, air strikes against Britain would continue to confuse the enemy, but the pace slowed down. The first air battle over Britain lasted for half a year. The intensity of the attack in the first week alone was more than the last three months. Fatty Qiu had to take a breather, right?

Starting from April 11, although the German army still maintained a high frequency of dispatches, the pace slowed down significantly compared to the storms in the first stage. At least there were no more bombings by thousands of planes, and the number of lightning bombings by jets coming and going was also reduced. Now - many aircraft engines have reached the end of their life and need to be refurbished.

The British clearly felt that the rhythm was slowing down and adapted to this rhythm very quickly. They believed that although the German air attacks were far more violent than during the First Battle of Britain, they were not unbearable. In particular, the powerful and breathtaking rocket only appeared on the first day but never appeared later. It seems that Prime Minister Churchill's words are reasonable - Germany does not have many such advanced weapons, they are just used to scare people. , there is hope if you persist. And Nimitz led the fleet to arrive quickly, which also gave the cabinet reassurance. It seemed that the Americans were sincere in assisting us. With this strong backing, everyone felt a lot more at ease.

The originally noisy public opinion began to settle down tamely again, and the military also took the opportunity to rest and repair facilities-the airports, aircraft manufacturing companies, and air defense facilities in the south were severely damaged and needed urgent repairs.

Time flies so fast, a few days passed in the blink of an eye...