Chapter 915: Encirclement (7,5400 Votes Plus Additional Content)

When Marshal Dill told the Joint Chiefs of Staff through the confidential staff that "If you don't send me, I won't, either, or we will all die together." All the big guys slammed the table.

Marshall scolded: "Shameless!"

Li Hai scolded: "Asshole!"

Admiral Jin shouted angrily: "A bunch of ****!"

Truman didn't curse, but his face, which was darker than coal, fully demonstrated the uncontrollable anger in his heart - it was close to the breaking point.

He said coldly: "This is the British threatening us to surrender! I ordered that all aid supplies and channels to the British be stopped; General Patton is preparing to take over British Guiana; General Nimitz is preparing to take over other British territories in the Western Hemisphere, including Bermuda. islands; General Bradley is preparing to take over the defense of South Africa; the army aviation officers and soldiers in the direction of India are trying to find a way to retreat to the mainland of China; in addition..."

Nimitz interrupted him: "Your Excellency, please forgive me for interrupting, these don't matter, some are time-consuming, but you must consider other issues. After all, the 60,000 defenders of Iceland were attacked by the German superiority. They fought hard to the end and gritted their teeth. Let me tell you, there are still more than 100,000 American troops in the British mainland. What if the British surrender and betray us? "

"this……"

Everyone hesitated again, looking at each other and not knowing what to say: Iceland lost 60,000, Britain lost another 100,000, and a small 200,000 was gone in the blink of an eye. Even if the US defense strength is as high as 10 million, 200,000 is by no means a small number. Moreover, these 200,000 are still the main force of the army that has been formed very early. They are not comparable to the newly formed National Guard Division. They will not fight against 200,000 people. If the news of the rescue spreads, it would be outrageous if the "Voice of Europe" would exaggerate it, and it would not be in line with the principle of "political correctness".

Two SS divisions were enough to make things difficult. The Soviets had vigorously protested against this and slapped Washington in the face. What if the Germans organized another SS Army Group? That is really the biggest joke in the world!

Truman nodded slowly: "Your concerns are very reasonable. I am driven crazy by the British's bottomless attitude, this damn troublemaker!"

Now that Truman's attitude has slowed down, Nimitz cannot hold on to it. After all, rescuing Iceland is not only a military issue but also a political issue. Not long ago, the United States hoped that the United Kingdom would hold the Germans back until the end of the year. Give up because Germany is fighting Iceland? That's incredible.

"How do you think we should deal with the Iceland problem?"

Nimitz thought for a while and said: "First of all, from a purely military perspective, the British still have the strength to compete with the Germans. Although the Royal Navy cannot move, it is not difficult for the Royal Air Force to send hundreds or thousands of aircraft. Even if the British continue to There is a shortage of fuel. This fuel can always be squeezed out; secondly, the 80,000 defenders in Iceland have relatively sufficient military supplies. Although this part of the force does not have rich war experience, it is not useless. I think they have good The strength, confidence and lack of confidence in demonstrated combat effectiveness are two different things; in the end, I am willing to lead the naval fleet to rescue Iceland. I will not go head-to-head with the Germans, I will fight guerrilla warfare with them.”

“What are the odds of winning in Iceland?”

"If the British and we are willing to do whatever it takes, I think the probability of victory is more than 60%. The key is that no one can make this determination." Nimitz smiled bitterly at Truman, "Your concerns are justified."

Li Hai said angrily: "We should indeed support the UK. The key point is that the attitude of the British is too irritating - they should not have the attitude that if you don't come, we will find Hitler! This is not the idea of ​​a responsible politician, this is Whichever street gangster has the bigger fist follows the other’s routine.”

"I think Prime Minister Churchill still wants to resist, but there must be different voices in the British cabinet, just like we had different voices before." Nimitz suddenly thought of what Wallace, this poor man, said As long as he delayed it for a few more months, it would become "every sentence is the truth", but in the end he was forced to drink bullets from a Colt pistol. Thinking of this, he felt a little sympathy for the other party.

But Admiral King coughed at an inappropriate time. After two "cough cough" sounds, Nimitz was startled and immediately realized that he had gone too far. Standing opposite him was Truman - the vice president who had criticized Wallace.

Sure enough, Truman frowned slightly, but pretended not to hear the implication of Nimitz's words: He is a good general, and these are just emotions. His behavior is not as smooth as others - he is a pure soldier. !

"Now, because of our statement, we have been seized upon by wavering factions within the UK, so this kind of voice has emerged. I suggest that we should rescue them as much as possible." Nimitz said sincerely, "There are many British people in the Atlantic Fleet. Officers and soldiers serve our army. We hope that British scientists, engineers, shipbuilders and even British officers and soldiers will continue to serve us in the future, so we cannot be too harsh on the British authorities - after all, these are our comrades in the trenches. Materials and equipment are currently unavailable. Transport, but other aspects still need to be done.”

Truman sighed and nodded slightly: These are mature and prudent remarks. How can politics be as simple as gratification? Especially when he is facing an election, he cannot make decisions arbitrarily - he is also the vice president acting on his behalf. Although Nimitz's words just brought back some uncomfortable memories, they are not a vivid lesson. ?

Nimitz knew that the rift between Britain and the United States was getting larger and larger and was irreparable, but he still tried his best to postpone the final showdown. He suggested: "Let the two new aircraft carriers stay in the country for sea trials. I will lead the Franklin plus 6 escorts." I won't fight the Germans head-on when the aircraft carrier attacks, but at least it can divert the enemy's attention and destroy its supply lines, right? This is an encouragement to the British - just like the British knew that the situation in India was unstoppable and they sent two Just like division reinforcements, sometimes we can’t simply calculate success or failure in terms of gains and losses. You see..."

Truman did not express his position directly, but used his eyes to seek the opinions of others. Admiral King, Le Hai and Marshall all nodded slightly. Seeing that everyone was unanimous, he gave clear guidance: "Please ask General Nimitz to lead a suitable fleet to the North Atlantic to contain the German actions; please ask General Arnold to send Army aviation aircraft to support as scheduled; please ask General Smith to persist to the end, and we will strive to win the battle in Iceland." Destroy the enemy's spirit in battle!"

The decision-making reply quickly arrived in London. Pound nodded with satisfaction and said to Churchill: "Prime Minister, I don't want to offend you, but sometimes when dealing with Americans, we need to show our toughness at the right time, and we can't always be humble and beg the other side. Regardless of the British Empire, Success or failure, the position of a second-class power cannot be lost, but it is different with the United States. Hitler is better than them in this regard - why are the Germans polite to Pétain? Don't they just focus on world hegemony?

Churchill was choked and speechless.

Attlee frowned and said, "Since the Americans are willing to dispatch their fleet, should we also dispatch our navy to harass the Germans?"

Pound shook his head: "Except for submarines, other warships are not suitable, at least not before frustrating the German army. But we can send more planes to reinforce Iceland. The 300 fighter jets will be taken care of by the navy. In addition, I will find a way to collect a batch of them." Attack aircraft to attack the German fleet."

Porter also said that tomorrow he would send out as many planes as possible to fight the Germans to the end.

Seeing that Churchill was unhappy, Eden persuaded: "Prime Minister, haven't you achieved your goal now? We can continue to persevere. The British Empire will not end so easily. Negotiation is negotiation, and war is war. They are completely different things. Fighting can't be done. The better, the better for the negotiation!”

Churchill forced a smile: "I didn't think well, I..."

Seeing what he said, several military leaders hurriedly apologized: I was so emotional just now, please don't mind me, Prime Minister. The meeting finally passed with everyone laughing and laughing. Churchill left the meeting room full of thoughts. Several military leaders went to the headquarters to coordinate combat deployment...

In the early morning, the huge landing fleet arrived less than 800 kilometers away from Iceland, and the main fleet commanded by Machar even arrived less than 600 kilometers away. Ozawa ordered the landing fleet to turn to the northwest to put as much distance as possible from the British mainland. We will continue to advance rapidly and immediately launch the third round of air strikes on Iceland - which will also be the first round of air strikes on May 28.

In Scotland, in Northern Ireland, in Norway, in Denmark, in the Netherlands, in Belgium, in France, and in Germany itself, major airports are full of aviation troops waiting to attack. However, the attack goals of both sides are not consistent. The Axis aircraft fleet on the European continent will launch an unprecedented large-scale attack on southern England; the Norwegian Air Force will conduct raids on major aviation bases in northern England; German carrier aircraft will conduct another air attack on the Icelandic defenders; The target of the British fleet will be the German landing fleet more than 1,500 kilometers away.

While Europe and the North Atlantic were still in darkness, the rising sun was already shining more than 4,000 kilometers away from the west coast of Australia. The Tsunoda fleet and the TF44 fleet coincidentally launched reconnaissance aircraft at 2 a.m. GMT and 10 a.m. Singapore time. A Japanese Caiun Kai reconnaissance aircraft first discovered Spruance's fleet, which was 650 kilometers away from each other; 45 minutes later, the US fleet also discovered the Tsunoda fleet blocking them, and heard that Tsunoda blocking the fleet had a fleet. Spruance couldn't help but secretly groaned at the reports from the large aircraft carrier, 2 light aircraft carriers, and 2 battleships.

But there was no way out by turning and escaping. The Tsukahara fleet was still pursuing him 1,100 kilometers behind TF44. He gritted his teeth and issued the order to prepare the carrier-based aircraft, trying to fight a bloody way forward, and his The opponent, Kakuji Tsunoda, who had been waiting offshore for a long time, had already issued a similar order.

In the early morning of May 28, TF44 was officially surrounded by the main force of the combined fleet...