Chapter 975 Nimitz's Counterattack (8)

"No, I have to help George." After pacing back and forth four or five times and thinking for a long time, Nimitz finally made up his mind, "Helping George is also helping ourselves."

"Help? How?" Smith was stunned. Nimitz still had the power to interfere with the army's operations?

"Send a telegram to Admiral Kim and tell him that the German fleet is avoiding fighting now. I need an army unit to perform a landing mission and draw out the German fleet." Nimitz explained, "Equipment and supplies are limited. Of course, whoever can fight will fight first, and whoever has the strongest desire to fight will go first!"

"Are you really going to land?" Smith felt a little incredible. "If the Germans don't move, the navy can attack Rio City."

"You plan to use naval guns and aircraft to turn this city into ruins?" Nimitz shook his head, "This is not a wise choice, and there is a German air force in Rio, so that is not easy to handle."

"It is said that there are many German troops in Rio, and the landing may fail."

Nimitz pointed at the map: "There are more than 1,500 kilometers of coastline from Rio to Porto Alegre. Is it possible for the Germans to fortify everywhere? They have a total of 70,000 to 80,000 troops, and they can only guard a few This is a particularly important port city. Couldn't I put forward a posture of planning to attack Rio, attract German troops to Rio, and then make a false shot to land in Porto Alegre or Florianópolis in the rebel state? ? Is it possible that the German army without a fleet can keep up with our offensive? "

"That's impossible."

"That's right." Nimitz smiled, "The German fleet should show up at this time... Then we can deal with the German fleet."

"Okay, you convinced me, but you have to convince General Kim and the Joint Chiefs of Staff first."

"He'll understand."

After receiving Nimitz's telegram, General Jin couldn't help but frown: Nimitz conducted a lot of research on plans before demonstrating this battle, such as how to fight if the enemy discovers it first, and how to fight if the enemy discovers it first. , how to attack the enemy's decoy fleet first, how to attack the enemy's main fleet first, but there is only one thing left unsaid - after being discovered by the enemy, what should the enemy do if they neither attack nor retreat, but only focus on hide-and-seek?

After much deliberation, I decided to invite Turner in for discussion first.

"He wants to transfer George to fight... He has entrusted me to ask General Marshall." Turner said why Patton was still squatting in Venezuela, and then added in a subtle way, "But Hewitt didn't care about George." His impression is not very good. George caused endless trouble for him during Operation Torch, and he still feels bad about it."

"If George is really transferred, they will meet again this time!" Admiral Jin spread his hands, "What do you want me to do?"

"George can come here if he wants, or fight if he wants, but he has to agree in advance that he must obey Nimitz's command. In addition, this time the army is cooperating with the navy, so he needs to set his priorities straight."

"Can Marshall listen?"

"I will listen. I heard that his tone is not very strong. He needs a step down. How about I bring Ike for you? General Marshall listens to Ike the most. He can persuade him."

Everyone knows that there are only three people who can influence Marshall most within the U.S. Army. One is Eisenhower, who is currently the deputy chief of staff, Wedemeyer, the chief of staff of the Southeast Asian Theater, and Stilwell, the chief of staff of the China Theater. But now Wedemeyer Trapped in Pakistan, Stilwell was trapped in China, with only Eisenhower able to exert maximum influence.

"No, this matter cannot be conveyed through Ike. I have to tell him in person. Otherwise, if George's matter is not handled well, he will fight with me again in the future."

Marshall and General King had a fight at the Joint Chiefs of Staff over the two divisions of the Cape Verde Army. Now that the old conversation was brought up again, Turner couldn't help but smile, but he soon understood that General King's concerns were about of. With Patton's character, anyone else would have punished him long ago, but only Marshall could endure it over and over again. Not only did he endure it, but he also sometimes tried to find ways to excuse Patton. There is a sense of humanity and sophistication in this: Patton was Pershing's adjutant, and he also He almost married his sister to Pershing, and Marshall was single-handedly promoted by Pershing. Patton obviously helped during the promotion process, which is why Marshall wanted to take care of Patton.

And everyone knows that when Patton almost retired because he went too far during live-fire training, Marshall promoted Patton first and then transferred him to the reserve. In the end, President Roosevelt came to the rescue for Patton. Even so, after being promoted for one level, The order of the commander-in-chief has not been invalidated, otherwise Patton would still be a major general today. To take a step back, the great god Pershing is still alive. If the Navy accidentally kills Patton, how will Marshall explain to the old man? Why don't you get into trouble with General Jin then?

"This is the situation. The fleet is in trouble, and the Germans are avoiding fighting. We need the cooperation of the army to inflict pain on the German defenders and force the enemy navy to show up as soon as possible." Admiral King said to Marshall, "We think General Patton can The best person to complete this task, so I came directly to you for help. ”

"No wonder Turner came to ask, and so do you." After hearing General Jin's purpose, Marshall sighed, "Of course I know that George can fight, and it's true that he is a good general, but I have so many troops under my command. I can't always accommodate him."

"The problem is that no one except George is willing to carry out the difficult landing mission behind enemy lines." Admiral King complained, "Nimitz asked Clark yesterday, and no one volunteered."

Marshall smiled bitterly: expecting Clark, who is as smart as a monkey, to fight such a tough battle deep behind enemy lines and volunteer himself is probably as bad as the sun rising from the west.

"That's it," Admiral King said strangely, "You don't use those who are willing to fight, and you pile up those who are unwilling to fight on the front line. How can this go on? Brother, we have to be responsible for history. The presidential election is getting closer and closer. If there is no result, we can't explain to the president."

When Marshall thought of the election, he nodded with a heavy face.

A week ago, the two presidential candidates Truman and Dewey had a second debate on domestic issues. Unlike the last debate, this time Dewey won an overwhelming victory in the public opinion poll, with a support rate of 64%, only 29% supported Truman, and the remaining 5% did not indicate their attitude or were neutral.

It was said to be a debate on domestic issues, but in fact it was a reflection of the international situation and the war situation: as the Soviet Union and Britain entered the armistice stage, the situation faced by the United States became increasingly unfavorable, and it was almost single-handedly supporting the entire Axis camp. The balance of power in politics, military and economy was unfavorable - in fact, after stopping aid to Britain and the Soviet Union, the United States still saved resources, but the people did not know this. They only thought that the Axis powers were aggressive and they were fighting alone.

That's not all. What caused the most uproar among the public and the people was the failure of the Iceland campaign and the official involvement of the United States in the British coup. No matter how Hoover controlled public opinion and suppressed different voices, at least they could not shut down the Voice of Europe. The public generally knew three situations:

First, whether intentionally or accidentally, the head of the Royal Navy, Marshal Pound, died at the hands of the American task force;

Second, after the surrender of the US army in Iceland, Germany announced the formation of the third SS American Division, and stated that it would also form a fourth American Division and a separate SS American Army in the future;

Third, two SS American Divisions participated in the battle with Stalin on the Eastern Front, performed bravely and performed outstanding deeds, and were deeply "loved" by the people and "respected" by their European counterparts. A large number of officers and soldiers were awarded medals, which fully expressed their irreconcilable attitude with the Bolshevik tyranny.

The impact of the third piece of news was particularly severe. Some people began to form such a concept: it is not our army that is not good, but our upper-level politicians and senior generals are not good, and it may be better to change a group of people.

When this opinion poll was passed to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, everyone's face turned ugly. Now that Admiral King mentioned the election, Marshall's face immediately changed - he and Admiral King were on the same boat. If Truman could not continue to run the White House, they would both have to step down, and they might even be used as scapegoats for the defeat.

"I agree to transfer George to carry out the landing campaign, but you must ensure his safety."

"Of course, I will let Nimitz take care of him. How about letting Hewitt stay with him on the New Jersey? This is our most powerful battleship at present, and it is guaranteed to be safe."

"Okay, I will issue the transfer order and appointment letter today."

On July 22, after the Navy and the Army reached an agreement, the appointment letter and transfer order that George Patton had been waiting for for a long time were finally issued.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff asked him to select the powerful troops of the First Infantry Division and the First Cavalry Division of the US Army to cooperate with the Navy to carry out the landing mission behind enemy lines, and at the same time let him serve as the commander of the newly formed Fifth Army Group, responsible for commanding all ground forces in South America. At the same time, the Joint Chiefs of Staff issued an order to formally establish the South American Allied Command (theoretically including the United States, Britain, Free France, the Dutch government in exile, the Brazilian government, Venezuela and Colombia), with Nimitz serving as the supreme commander and Clark as the deputy commander.

This means that Nimitz and Clark can legitimately manage Patton.

However, Patton himself did not care about this. What he cared about was that he finally got rid of the idle situation and could fight the Germans happily. As soon as he received the telegram, he shouted in the office: "Brothers, get ready quickly, there is something to do!"

"Sir, please take me with you!" Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, the deputy commander of the Big Red 1st Division and the eldest son of US President Theodore Roosevelt, volunteered, "Our division can take the lead!"

Roosevelt Jr. never dreamed that according to the course of history, he should have died of a heart attack at this time, even earlier than his cousin President Roosevelt, but he has been recuperating in Venezuela for more than half a year, and his health is still good, and he is still alive and kicking.

"Okay, I'll take you there!" Patton grinned, "But I can't just take your division. I have to take part of the 1st Cavalry Division as well. You can each go with two regiments!"