Chapter 927 Turning Point (6)

"We have been ruthlessly abandoned by the gang of politicians in the country..." Lieutenant General Smith tore violently at the telegraph newspaper with one hand, stumbling on the ground while crying and cursing, "It's over... It's over... It's all over."

News of the Nimitz fleet's turnaround soon spread to Iceland. Although for various reasons, the Joint Chiefs of Staff's order for the Icelandic garrison had not yet been officially issued, he had learned about it through informal channels: Marshall sent him a The British also sent him a telegram, asking for his opinion and asking him whether the Icelandic defenders could still fight.

In fact, the American troops in Iceland could no longer fight. In three days, the troops commanded by Rommel chased them everywhere like ducks. The troop organization had long since fallen apart. There were only two guard troops following Smith. Battalion, although the telegrams between him and the headquarters of several other divisions were still connected, everyone said that they could no longer restrain the troops at all.

In the sky-wide pursuit battle, some American troops did resist organized at the company and battalion levels. However, this resistance was quickly defeated under the wanton bombing of the Luftwaffe and the fierce impact of the German armored forces. Smith’s words: Guns are inferior to people (STG43 vs M1 Garand), cannons are inferior to people (ship guns vs army guns), tanks are inferior to people (Tiger, Panther vs Sherman), and aircraft are inferior to people (more than 200 naval carrier-based aircraft + More than 300 air force planes support the Royal Air Force anytime and anywhere vs. the Royal Air Force (10 minutes over Iceland). What are you using to fight the Germans?

Killed in battle, wounded, surrendered, disbanded, fled... everything that a defeated army should have has been reflected in the US military. The only thing that can be said about it is that General Smith is usually kind to his subordinates and has a decent style in all aspects. People thought about shooting the commander with a black gun or simply tying him up and giving him as a greeting gift to the Germans.

But everyone's spirits could no longer hold up. Last night, in a temporary camp in the woods, four large German bombers flew over at low altitude, using loudspeakers to broadcast a letter urging surrender. The letter did not use the official German tone, but The voice of the US military (former US military):

"Brothers, turn your guns and join the SS, and go with us to the Eastern Front to fight Stalin..."

"Brothers, I am Tom from Texas. I originally served in the 3rd Division of the Army. Now I am a staff sergeant in the 2nd SS American Division. Last month, I was awarded the Iron Class II for my bravery in combat. The Cross... We are truly fighting to defend freedom and our leader!”

At the same time, there were people on the ground riding in German tanks or armored vehicles at night to persuade them to surrender:

"Brothers, surrender, don't run away, this time Marshal Rommel is here..."

"Brothers, I am George. We have been deceived by shameless politicians and capitalists. The navy is not coming, and the British don't care about us... Wuwu, I miss my mother..."

"Put down your weapons, surrender your guns and do not kill. Germany will treat prisoners preferentially! We can go home when the war is over!"

"Don't be stupid, your relatives at home and your girlfriends in Iceland don't want to see you die!"

Today, the tweeters were blasted directly within Smith's hearing - indicating that the Germans had almost surrounded the place.

"Sir, what should I do?"

Everyone looked at Smith, who was crying and cursing, and felt that his future was bleak and sad.

"Surrender... tell the Germans that I agree to surrender, but we can't take action until tomorrow. Brothers are tired from running. Have a good sleep tonight and don't disturb us!"

I heard that the Americans on the opposite side agreed to surrender but put forward such strange conditions. The officer in charge of the contact was also full of suspicion and was afraid of fraud. He reported it layer by layer until the armor instructor, Lieutenant General Fritz Bayerlein. .

Bayerlein followed Rommel and Guderian to fight in Africa. He made great contributions and was promoted to lieutenant general. When choosing who to serve as the commander of the Armored Instruction Division, people from all walks of life were eager to try. Bayerlein, who was jointly recommended by Marshals Guderian and Rommel, finally stood out and got the position. This time he was sent to serve as the main force for the implementation of the SEAL program. , which can be regarded as being in the limelight.

He has been fighting for many years, what kind of strange things have he not encountered in Africa? He waved his hand to express his agreement, and specifically added: "It's cold at night, and we still have some sleeping bags and cigarettes here. Do you want them?"

"Sir?"

"Give the Americans some face, they won't be able to escape overnight." Bayerlein laughed loudly. "Iceland is surrounded by sea. Even if they can escape, where can they go?"

In the end, the Americans did not ask for sleeping bags and only took away a few cartons of cigarettes. The Germans also kept their word. Not only did they not attack at night, they even stopped using cold guns and artillery, allowing these American officers and soldiers to have a good sleep.

Although he wanted to have a good rest, in the early hours of the morning, Smith ordered his subordinates to destroy relevant files and documents, and at the same time used the radio to send telegrams to various ministries: "Now that I am the highest military commander in Iceland, I hope that you will obey the order for the last time - give up resistance and surrender to the German army. Surrender and avoid unnecessary sacrifices! You have dedicated enough to the country for more than two years. You have not given up and you have not given up. So don’t feel guilty... If there are officers and soldiers who insist on fighting to the end, it is recommended that the remaining officers and soldiers hand over all weapons, ammunition and supplies to them."

Finally, he sent a telegram to Washington: "...I understand the position and motivation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in making the relevant decision. I hope you can also understand the motivation of the frontline officers and soldiers who chose to lay down their weapons. If there is a need for trial in the future, I will not evade my responsibility." Responsibility!”

In the early morning of June 1, when a new sun rose, Lieutenant General Wolfe-Smith and his men surrendered to the Germans, and the U.S. troops trapped in various places in the encirclement also surrendered.

In less than five days of fighting, the US military suffered nearly 20,000 casualties (more than 7,000 were killed on the spot or seriously injured). The remaining soldiers and wounded surrendered one after another during the battle, including nearly 25,000 after Smith sent the surrender message. I heard that the US military had surrendered, and the British army also announced its surrender in the afternoon.

By the evening of that day, except for sporadic fighting and the sound of gunfire in some places, the entire Icelandic campaign was declared over. The action was so fast that all parties could not believe it. The second batch of two marine brigades led by Krank reinforced The troops had even just finished embarking!

Hoffmann sent enthusiastic telegrams to Machal and Rommel, and accepted congratulations from everyone in the high command. He excitedly pointed out: "The victory in the Icelandic Battle means that we have nailed a heavy nail on the British Empire." The coffin board is close to finally solving the problem of Great Britain... The British may still be able to fight to the death, but the more they struggle, the tighter the coffin board will be! "

Everyone nodded in agreement, and they also knew that the British had sent news yesterday that they hoped to start "armistice negotiations." Hoffman graciously accepted it, and said that in the next few days, the air strikes against Britain would be reduced or even gradually stopped-continuously. The high-intensity sorties made the Air Force feel a lot of pressure, so they just took the opportunity to take a breather!

News of the surrender of the Icelandic garrison reached Washington, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff were stunned: Although everyone had psychologically expected the final outcome, such a quick surrender was still unexpected - there were a total of 80,000 British and American officers and soldiers in Iceland. Even if the Germans let the Germans catch 80,000 pigs, they would not be able to catch them all in just a few days!

Now he actually surrendered voluntarily, which shows how low the army has no fighting spirit!

Truman also had a gloomy face, but he knew that this was an unchangeable fact, and the outcome was doomed when he ordered Nimitz to return.

But he still had something more troublesome and difficult to deal with: Army Chief of Staff General Marshall asked him to resign from all posts on the grounds of heavy responsibility. The army was defeated twice because the navy was unable to rescue the army. Marshall, the head of the army, found it difficult to explain from any aspect. Resigning was his best choice.

Seeing Marshall hunched over when he submitted his resignation, as if he had aged 20 years overnight, Truman could only feel sad: Now that Roosevelt was hospitalized, General King was hospitalized, and Marshall was leaving again, he felt that his whole spirit was going to be gone. collapsed.

The curse of misfortune never comes singly came true once again. After surrendering in the direction of Iceland, the Brazilian 1st Expeditionary Division, which was surrounded by German forces on the border of the American Republic, began to surrender one after another in despair - at least the American tank battalions assigned to the Brazilian army, The tank destroyer battalion has surrendered. Yesterday evening, the state of Santa Catarina sent out a power call, declaring independence and merging with the German American Republic. The population of the American Republic instantly tripled and its area expanded by half. There is even news that the La Plata Group is holding an emergency meeting to discuss jointly declaring war on Brazil and sending troops. Troops from various countries have now been mobilized to the border with Brazil, just waiting for the firing of the starting gun. Go over and beat up the drowned dog.

What's even more terrible is that on June 5, **** will have a public debate on situation and policies with Dewey as a presidential candidate. He doesn't know how he can cope with it, let alone what kind of outcome he will have in the end. At that moment, he had the urge to give up the campaign and withdraw from the political stage, but when he thought of the party and the frightened and helpless people in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he felt that he could not fall yet.

"We can be defeated, but we cannot be overthrown." He looked at Marshall with sharp eyes. "General Marshall, our military presence on the east coast of the Atlantic is basically over. Now we have to defend the west coast and resist the aggressive attacks from Germany. Attack, for the sake of millions of troops and more than 100 million Americans, please don’t make this request. I need you, America needs you..."

"But, Your Excellency..."

"I know, that's not your fault, that's my fault!" Truman gritted his teeth, "But I won't make this kind of mistake again. We can't lose and we can't afford to lose again. I don't agree with your resignation request. "At this critical moment, everyone has a responsibility to make sacrifices for the country - including you."

"Oh well."

Now, it was Ribbentrop's turn to proudly teach Molotov a lesson with the telegram announcing the successful conclusion of the Battle of Iceland...