Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 2366 Unexpected Encounter

Patton wanted to go to North Africa with the Italian Navy after he was fully prepared, so as not to let the tragedy of the French Navy repeat itself.

The plan always failed to keep up with the changes. On July 7, a captain of the Italian Navy made a slip of the tongue after drinking, which attracted the attention of the Germans, and the plan had to be implemented ahead of schedule.

"The fleet is still in Cyprus, and it will arrive in Corsica in three days. Before that, the fleet cannot provide cover for the Italian navy." Mike Tolan was caught off guard, and he was not ready.

"The Germans may act at any time, and the time cannot be delayed any longer. The Italian navy must leave La Spezia as soon as possible, otherwise it will not be able to leave—" Alvin is responsible for the intelligence support of the operation, and he has nothing to do with the leak.

The collective action of dozens of warships involved tens of thousands of naval officers and soldiers, and the action took such a long time that it was difficult to keep it secret.

The Germans attach great importance to the Italian navy, but Admiral Bogamini still lacks control over the Italian navy. There are all kinds of birds in the forest, not to mention the naive Italians.

Inside the Italian Navy, there were still people who had hope for Germany and opposed going north.

Admiral Bogamini did not severely punish these people, but put them under house arrest. These are hidden dangers.

"We are coordinating with the British army and hope that the British navy can provide protection for the Italian navy. However, the British asking price is too high. General Cunningham hopes to get the 'Veneto' and 'Italy'—" Chief of Staff Oscar is in charge Coordinating with the Allied Forces, Cunningham also opened his mouth.

Of the three "Vittorio Veneto" ships of the Italian Navy, only the "Veneto" and the "Littorio" which was renamed "Italy" are really capable of combat. I never went to sea after that, and it is not clear whether I can fight.

"Heh, Cunningham had a good idea and told him that if the British army participated in the battle, then the 'Roma' could be handed over to him." Patton sneered. Become the closest Allied fleet to La Spezia.

To be honest, Patton didn't really trust the combat power of the Mediterranean Fleet. Although the Mediterranean Fleet had many battleships, the battleships were completely supporting roles in this operation.

If the Germans want to stop the Italian navy, they can only rely on the Air Force of Corsica. No matter how powerful the battleship is, it cannot prevent the air force from raiding.

But there is no way now, all the airports controlled by the Allied Forces are far away from La Spezia, beyond their reach.

"Marshal, now is not the time to bargain. We must help the Italian Navy out of danger as soon as possible. The issue of compensation can be discussed after the Italian Navy arrives in Algiers." pot.

"Send a telegram to General Bogamini, and the operation will start at 12 o'clock tomorrow night." Patton decided to advance, and now we will see who has the stronger execution ability.

As Patton's order was issued, all the troops involved in the operation took action one after another.

It will take three days for the main force of the Cyprus Squadron to arrive, and it will definitely not be able to catch up with the action.

Although the British Mediterranean Fleet agreed to participate in the operation and provide cover for the Italian Navy, it is still a question of how determined Cunningham is. The only thing Patton can trust is the southern African army.

Due to the lack of aircraft carrier support, Patton ordered the use of the Allied airfields in the Balearic Islands. The Southern African Air Force will take off from the airport in the port city of Mahon on the island of Menorca to attack the German airfield in Corsica and provide the Italian Navy with cover.

This task is very difficult. Corsica covers an area of ​​8680 square kilometers. Considering that the aircraft at this time do not have high requirements for the airport, there are many airports that the German army can use. Some airports are public, and some field airports are kept secret. However, there are dozens of airports available to the German army, and it is impossible to destroy them all.

Xiong Min, commander of the 19th Air Wing in Southern Africa, was in charge of commanding the air strike mission. His chief of staff, Silas, was from Kimberley.

"We can't cover the entire territory of Corsica, we can only carry out precision strikes on key areas. The biggest problem now is that Maun is more than 550 kilometers away from the north of Corsica. Our close-ground support aircraft have insufficient range, and fighter jets cannot fly over the target. If you stay too long, the accuracy of the strategic bomber will be insufficient, and if you lower the altitude, you will be in danger of being shot down by ground anti-aircraft fire." Silas is helpless, and the air force is not omnipotent.

The key is still too far away.

Mahon is the northernmost airport of the Balearic Islands, a full 650 kilometers from La Spezia.

The northernmost airport in Corsica is only 120 kilometers away from La Spezia. The fastest "Falcon" fighter jet of the Fifth Air Force takes nearly 50 minutes to fly to La Spezia. It takes only 15 minutes to fly to La Spezia from the airport of Ka Island.

The strength of the 19th Air Wing is still very strong, with 110 of the latest model "Falcon" fighters and 270 "Cheetah" fighters, as well as nearly 300 ground support aircraft and bombers.

"The near-ground support aircraft can carry external fuel tanks. If it doesn't work, it can also reduce the amount of ammunition. The fighter jets try to seize the air supremacy of Corsica and make full use of our endurance. At least 100 fighters will stay in Corsica at any time. Above." Xiong Min's request was high, and Silas looked embarrassed.

"Sorry Bear, we can't do it at all, we don't have that many planes--" Silas asked the truth, the German fighter jets in Corsica are actually not many, only about 80 or so.

The problem is that the deployment of German fighter jets is not clear. Corsica is not a key area of ​​Allied intelligence work because of its remote location. British intelligence agencies know nothing about the situation in Corsica.

Brad's office is better, but not much better. There is only one intelligence team in the whole of Corsica, with only four members.

The area of ​​more than 8000 kilometers cannot be covered by four intelligence personnel at all, and they can only monitor key areas.

In Corsica, only the port is the key area, and the airport can't take care of it at all.

And the airport that the German army can use is not just Corsica.

"We don't need to worry about Sardinia. The British and Americans are responsible." Xiong Min can only pray that his allies will do their best.

Unlike the United Kingdom, the United States is not very enthusiastic about the Italian Navy. It is good to be able to share the soup, and it does not matter if it is not.

Both Eisenhower and Patton were U.S. Army generals with limited enthusiasm for naval ships.

After the battle of Sicily, Patton's enthusiasm remained undiminished, and he was formulating a new offensive plan, hoping to fight Rommel.

During the North African campaign, Rommel was transferred back to the country by Mustache to "recover from illness". Patton missed the opportunity to fight Rommel and always regretted it.

During the Battle of Sicily, Mustache once again used Rommel and appointed Rommel as the deputy commander of the German army on the southern front. Patton once again had the opportunity to fight Rommel.

This time Barton went all out and didn't want to leave any regrets.

During this period, the enthusiasm of the US military for the Italian navy declined rapidly, and "Vittorio Veneto" was no longer so attractive to Eisenhower.

Patton had submitted a plan for an attack on Rome, which Eisenhower supported, and now Patton was refining the plan for submission to the Combined Command.

When Xiong Min and Silas were trying to grasp the point, Mahon Airport was extremely busy.

Mahon is a natural high-quality port, but its status in the Balearic Islands is far inferior to that of Palma. Therefore, the size of Mahon Airport is not large, and it cannot accommodate all the fighters of the Fifth Air Force without expansion.

Fighter planes do not have high requirements for runways, and they can take off on any flat grass.

Bombers still have very high requirements for the runway, and there must be no bumps at all. Otherwise, if the bomb falls from the pylon when the bomber takes off, it will be a lot of fun.

Of course there are ways.

Mahon Airport has only one 1200-meter-long runway for fighter jets to take off.

One runway is far from enough for hundreds of aircraft. In order to improve the efficiency of the airport, Lieutenant Colonel Steve from Port Edward requisitioned the roads around the airport and transformed the roads into airport runways for use by near-ground support aircraft.

"All the houses in this area must be demolished. They may affect our aircraft. We don't have time to contact the relevant agencies. Do it immediately." Lieutenant Colonel Steve's khaki shirt was soaked with sweat. Maun in July, The weather is actually not hot.

"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel, I'll go and execute it right away." The adjutant led people to carry out the task. There should be no tall buildings around the airport, which is illegal.

However, this cannot be blamed on the local government of Maun.

After all, the airport had never been used before, and the Maun local government was not aware of this problem.

"The oil depot and the ammunition depot will be put into use immediately, how long will it take for the ships to transport the oil - the ground defense force will build up the antiaircraft artillery position as soon as possible, although we are far away from the enemy, we must also guard against possible attacks - tell the Maun city officials Call here, we need more support personnel, they can't be French—" Lieutenant Colonel Steve had a heavy task and kept giving orders.

On the lawn not far away, a team of "Falcons" was landing. They came from Spain to support them.

On the lawn farther away, a team of "cheetahs" is taking off. They are going to fly to Corsica to carry out their mission, and the battle has already begun.

In Bastia, the northernmost tip of Corsica, six "Cheetahs" are flying in formation, looking for possible German fighter planes.

"Except for the clouds, I found nothing—" Second Lieutenant Hu Jun from the Transvaal couldn't help complaining that the Luftwaffe was hiding in mouse holes like mice, and they didn't dare to take off to fight.

The German fighter jets in Corsica are all BF109s produced in the early days, and their performance is far from that of the "Cheetah". Even the latest BF109 is at most equal to the "Cheetah".

Germany's latest BF109 is on the Russian battlefield, as well as in Germany. The BF109 in Corsica is mainly "D" type, and a small amount of "E" type Emil. Russia has already issued "K" type , this is also the last series of BF109, and the next is the jet.

"No, you missed the bird—" Wagner from Victoria added, and the pilots' laughter suddenly came from the earphones.

Wagner is talking about the birds that fly in the sky, don't get me wrong.

"Wow wow wow, look what I found, a 'Strong Wind' that can enter the museum, this kind of antique still exists, we can get one back for collection." Andy from Bechuanal shouted excitedly, "Strong Wind" is the first-generation fighter officially equipped by the Southern African Air Force, and it has been completely eliminated now.

At the beginning, the Southern African Air Force once flew "Strong Wind" across the English Channel, which shocked Europe.

That was already in 1909. Xu Xiu, the pilot who participated in the flight over the English Channel at that time, is now serving as the deputy commander of the Southern African Air Force.

"This is a civilian aircraft. It is not equipped with weapons, so there is no need to attack." Captain Chen Qi, the squadron leader, reminded the pilots that most of the "Strong Winds" were retired and sold to local aviation clubs in southern Africa for use as training aircraft. Some of the "Strong Winds" were sold It was given to European aviation clubs. During World War I, the French army was also equipped with "Strong Wind" fighter jets.

As long as the "Strong Wind" is not aggressive towards the "Cheetah", the "Cheetah" pilots don't have to overreact.

Even if there is, the "strong wind" can hardly threaten the "cheetah".

The "strong wind" in the early days of World War I may not even be able to penetrate the armored cockpit of the "Cheetah".

The appearance of "Cheetah" also scared the pilot of "Strong Wind".

The pilot of "Strong Wind" is actually a lady, her long flowing hair is very conspicuous.

When the "Cheetah" was discovered, the flight attitude of the "Strong Wind" became unstable in an instant, and it almost lost control.

After an initial moment of panic, the lady noticed the Southern African flag under the Cheetah's wing, which immediately aroused the Strong Wind, and she circled and increased horsepower, trying to catch up to the Cheetah.

"What is this guy going to do? Are you going to spit on us?" Andy had malicious intentions, and if "Strong Wind" continued to approach, Andy would teach him a lesson.

There is no need to fire. The powerful power of the "Cheetah" will cause severe airflow changes during flight. If the "strong wind" is too close, it may lose control. Accompanied flying is always very dangerous.

Chen Qi observed calmly, and found that the lady was anxiously gesturing to "Cheetah".

"Slow down, lower the altitude, and follow her—" Chen Qi became excited, the French were still very conscious.

It is not the French who are enlightened, but the Corsicans who are enlightened.

As the hometown of Napoleon, Corsica has always had a strong sense of resistance. Even the rule of the French government dared to resist, let alone the Germans.

"Strong Wind" took a turn and flew towards the mountains on the outskirts of Bastia.

After bypassing two mountain peaks and flying through a dense forest, what suddenly appeared in front of Chen Qi was a runway hidden in the forest.

"Attack, prepare to attack—"

Just when Chen Qi gave the order, the anti-aircraft gun hidden in the forest suddenly opened fire, and the "Cheetahs" who had already lined up to attack were safe and sound, but the "strong wind" with low height and slow speed was hit, and fell into the woods with black smoke Inside.

(End of this chapter)