Chapter 893 Accident (22,3600 Votes Plus Additional Update)

The sudden appearance of Spruance's fleet in the Indian Ocean certainly caught the Japanese army off guard, but the German army's unexpected landing in Uruguay on May 4 also caught the US off guard. After discovering that the German fleet passed the coast of West Africa, the US military stepped up its deployment of troops while trying hard to guess the true intentions of the German army.

Speculation that the German army would land in West Africa: shattered;

Speculation that the German army would attack Recife: wrong;

Speculation that the German army would attack Rio de Janeiro: did not happen;

Speculation that the German army would continue to reinforce the Falkland Islands: totally wrong!

No one guessed that the German army would actually land in Uruguay.

The Brazilian defenders were in a state of panic and the troops entered a state of war. The US military also deployed troops non-stop to try to prevent the situation from deteriorating, but the incident still happened: late at night on May 7, Fritz, the leader of the German-American political group in Brazil and the former leader of the Brazilian Integration Movement (National Socialism), announced independence from Brazil in Rio Grande do Sul, established the German American Republic and invited the German army to protect it. Half an hour later, two regiments of German troops immediately crossed the Uruguayan border into the "Republic of America" ​​and wiped out more than 2,000 Brazilian troops in the state at lightning speed.

To say it was a annihilation was almost the same as an armed parade. The bewildered Brazilian army was simply unable to compete with the German army. As soon as the cannons sounded, the planes bombed, and the tanks rushed, dozens of Brazilians died and declared surrender. Rommel showed his usual assault spirit and was too lazy to collect the prisoners. He led his troops directly into the city.

On May 8, the German army began to take over the key areas of the state. German residents sang and danced to welcome their own national army. When they heard that it was Marshal Rommel who led the army, they were even more excited. That night, the Constitutional Convention of the Republic of America passed a formal resolution to take the laws of the Third Reich as the laws of the country, elect Fritz as the head of the republic, invite Rommel to serve as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the republic and accept the protection of the Third Reich, and at the same time form a 5,000-man defense force.

In less than fifteen minutes, Rommel announced his acceptance of the appointment and read out the telegram that had been prepared long ago, announcing on behalf of the head of state that he agreed to protect the American Republic. On the one hand, the German army quickly deployed on the ground, and on the other hand, the main force landed in Porto Alegre, the most important port in the state. That afternoon, more than 20 Brazilian Air Force planes came to bomb, and were all shot down by German planes.

In just two days, all matters such as subversion, control, infiltration and independence were completed in one go, and the speed of progress was far faster than that of Colonel Donovan of the United States who had been engaged in the "liberation movement" in South America for many years.

All countries in the La Plata Group sent congratulatory telegrams. Of course, the establishment of diplomatic relations still had to continue negotiations, because since the American Republic was a protectorate, its foreign policy was under the management of Berlin. The republic in its infancy was still in a stage of excitement and confusion. In addition to clarifying German protection and military control, all governments and officials needed to be reappointed.

After the declaration of independence, many Brazilian residents fled, while others stayed to try and continue living. The German army was happy to see them go and stay, and they did not make it difficult. In addition, the German army had good military discipline and the state had a small population. A small number of gangsters who took advantage of the situation (regardless of their ethnicity) were directly ordered by Rommel to shoot, and order was restored.

What is even more shocking is that when some German motorized troops (less than a battalion) advanced towards the neighboring Brazilian state of Santa Catalina, nearly 5,000 Brazilian troops collapsed under the threat of bombers before they could fight, and the German-Italian descendants of the state also cheered and demanded to join the American Republic. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the La Plata Group secretly connected, and Peron placed two newly reorganized armored brigades on the border between Brazil and Argentina, using the excuse of preventing unrest in Brazil, but in fact coordinating positions with other countries to prepare to cut meat from Brazil.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Krank in Buenos Aires led the fleet that was ready to go out of the port and prepared to return to the Mediterranean immediately, but Rommel had to go to Uruguay and Argentina to show his face first, and carry the deception tactics to a higher level.

"Bang!" At the meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Truman slapped his hand heavily on the table, obviously very annoyed. He received the intelligence a few days ago, but he was even more angry when he saw the report today-Fritz and Rommel actually appeared in Montevideo and had a good talk with the heads of the La Plata Group countries, hoping that the countries would support the new American Republic and expressed their position that the American Republic applied to join the La Plata Group. The countries expressed their understanding of its "independence" cause and hoped that it would not "destroy" the stability and overall situation in South America.

"How is our troop deployment going?"

"General Patton has just led the first batch of troops of the South American Army Group to land in Venezuela, and the Army Aviation's reinforcement aircraft for Brazil basically arrived yesterday." Marshall sighed, "But the enemy is faster. Now the German army has controlled all the territories of the rebellious states and expelled non-German residents. The troops near Brazil are on the verge of collapse. We tried to launch an air strike, but the German army seemed to have a good air force. Both attacks were repelled, and our army lost more than 40 aircraft."

"How many troops does the German army have in the rebellious states?"

" Intelligence shows that they have deployed at least one armored division, and there is also a Marine brigade in Buenos Aires and Montevideo respectively, with a total strength of 30,000 to 35,000 troops, and the aviation force may be between 100 and 150 aircraft. "

In fact, Marshall's estimate of the army's strength was accurate, but the estimate of the aviation force was slightly problematic. The German aviation force initially relied mainly on carrier-based aircraft. It took these two days to control the situation and quickly deploy and staff land-based airports, while speeding up the construction of radar systems. It would take 10-15 days to complete it.

"The *** has warned Argentina and Uruguay about their violation of neutrality, but if the warning is effective, the world will not need troops." Truman looked grim, "The war against Argentina and Uruguay will still be discussed for the time being, but There is no need to delay the suppression of the rebellious states. Gentlemen, the existence of the United States in America has never been more humiliating."

"If the intelligence is correct, this division is the famous 'Flying Fortress' armored division. General Patton and I have both fought against this unit. It is very difficult to mess with." Eisenhower explained, "Now that Rommel is leading the unit again, I think The situation is not optimistic. Let alone 10,000 to 20,000 Brazilian troops, even if all the Brazilian troops are deployed, they will not be able to defeat it. "

"The Brazilians are so weak in combat effectiveness?" Truman asked in astonishment, "What are such a lousy ally doing?"

"No, the key is that the terrain of the rebel state is very troublesome." Eisenhower knew that the vice president could not understand the contour map, so he simply pulled him to the sand table, which made it look more intuitive. "Look, the north and west of this state are They are all mountainous, which is not conducive to the movement of large forces. If you want to attack, you must either launch a landing battle from the east, or land in Uruguay and outflank it from the rear. "

You know from Uruguay’s outflanking of Truman that you don’t have to think about it. Uruguayans and Germans obviously wear the same pair of trousers. How could it be possible for U.S. troops to cross the border? There is no shortcut to attacking Uruguay. Not to mention that declaring war requires authorization from Congress and passing relevant bills. Even if you are really determined to fight, it is not easy. Although Uruguay is small, the entire La Plata Group is standing behind it. The Germans may even be eager for the US military to attack these South American countries. As long as the US military dares to take action, tomorrow the entire La Plata Group will defect to the axis, making it politically impossible to choose.

Then there is only one way - to land in the rebel states, even if they want to attack Uruguay, they have to land.

"Our army does not have enough troops to land." Turner said helplessly, "The German army has deployed 2 regular aircraft carriers and 4 light aircraft carriers in the rebel states. Our army currently only has 6 escort aircraft carriers, which can only cover the transport fleet from the United States to the mainland. South America is completely unable to carry out landing operations, let alone engage in naval battles with the enemy.”

"Then we just have to watch the Germans continue to make trouble in South America?" Truman was unwilling to do so and knocked on the table. "Gentlemen, we need to think of more ways. South America is the core interest of the United States and cannot be allowed to be destroyed by the enemy!"

"The initial idea is that the Army will first complete the deployment of 100,000 troops and then wait for the Navy to form an army." Admiral Kim told Truman the results of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's deliberations. "The two aircraft carriers will be ready for service in late May, and then we will have a relatively sufficient supply." The troops are expected to launch a counterattack in the direction of Brazil in mid-June. We are currently using land aviation as much as possible to weaken the enemy while controlling the situation in other states to prevent the rebellion from spreading. "

"Brazil has made a request for assistance to us, initially involving the army, aviation, navy and other aspects. Will it consider expanding the application of the Lend-Lease Act in Brazil?" Li Hai added, "I think this will help strengthen our layout in Brazil and "It's important to change the perception of Brazilians."

A few years ago, the United States negotiated repeatedly and reached an agreement with Brazil to provide three old destroyers to the Brazilian Navy. However, the deal was eventually canceled by Congress. Later, the Brazilian government purchased the destroyers from Krupp before the outbreak of the European War. Purchased $55 million worth of infantry weapons and artillery. After Brazil joined the Allied camp, the United States provided nearly 300 million US dollars in aid as a reward, but it was basically relatively backward or unsaleable weapons and equipment in the United States. Not to mention that it could not be compared with the United Kingdom, it was not even as good as the Soviet Union—— At least the latter also had Sherman tanks and modern anti-aircraft guns.

Truman pondered for a moment and said: "Okay, prepare two old cruisers and four destroyers for the Brazilians to help them gradually restore their naval strength. In addition, we will allocate a batch of materials from the suspension of aid to Britain and China to the Brazilians, with an amount of More than ever, we want the Brazilians to feel our sincerity. As for the counterattack, since the army and navy have a clear plan, I will not interfere and wait for your good news."

News that German troops had landed in Brazil and were supporting the establishment of an American republic also reached England.

"Ha! The Germans turned out to be a cover-up. We were all deceived. Their real purpose was to land in Brazil and open up a second battlefield." After receiving the news, Churchill seemed to have been given another shot in the arm. "The British Empire has not yet Finished, we must persevere and prepare the two aircraft carriers for service as soon as possible!”

Everyone looked at each other.

PS: I am on a business trip to Qingdao today, so the second update is probably a little late...