Shadow Spy

Chapter 452 Invited to join the battle

When there were only two of them left in the office, Li Junhao smiled and said: "Mr. General, you have a good chief of staff!"

"Haha!" Eisenhower knew what he meant and immediately laughed, "General Panson, Walter does have many shortcomings. He has a cold personality and can directly dismiss old friends without blinking an eye; he treats subordinates tough and rudely, and anyone, If the work cannot be completed for any reason, he will impose severe punishments, etc...

"But to be honest, he is the most competent chief steward of the headquarters. I had to beg General Marshall for a long time to get him!"

Hearing this, Li Junhao nodded. He knew that these were all true, but he remembered a rumor and said: "General, I heard that Lieutenant General Smith was afraid of going to the front line. He was scolded by General Patton for this. Yes. Really?"

"NO, NO..." Eisenhower heard this legend and said with a smile: "This is a rumor made up by those who were offended by Walter!

"In February last year, I asked Walter, who was working as a secretary to General Marshall at the time, to the North African theater to be my chief of staff. In early March, George Patton Jr. was transferred to North Africa to serve as the commander of the Second Army. ...Both of them were major generals at the time. Speaking of which, Walter was also Patton’s superior. How could he be scolded by Patton? However, the two had quarreled many times.”

Li Junhao also thinks this is the case. Both of them are masters with bad tempers. If there is a disagreement, it is normal to argue and quarrel. It is a bit too much to say that one party scolds the other party.

After chatting for a while, Li Junhao asked the main question: "Mr. General, is there any special reason why you asked me to attend the meeting at the Allied Expeditionary Force Headquarters?"

"Of course!" Eisenhower put down the tea cup in his hand, "Commander Panson, you should know that the next major operation of the Allied Expeditionary Force is to counterattack the European continent, so the landing operation is the first step...

"It turns out that the Third Amphibious Force of our Marine Corps cooperated with the Atlantic Fleet, but you transferred it back to China for training. This left our expeditionary force without a professional beach landing force...

"Of course, since you took office, the training of the troops has been very effective, which has indeed greatly enhanced the combat effectiveness of the land and sea forces. This can be clearly seen from the just-concluded Battle of the Mariana Islands!

"I think the current Marine Corps under your leadership is a truly professional landing force! "So, I invited you here to ask you to lead the land and sea forces to participate in the 'Overlord' combat plan and take on the responsibility for the first Responsibility for a wave of attacks and beach landings..."

This was consistent with Li Junhao's previous assumptions. He was not surprised. What was surprising was that the 54-year-old general actually used the word "please" to his 30-year-old lieutenant general! So he couldn't help but ask: "Mr. Admiral, you changed the date of landing just to wait for me?"

Eisenhower was not surprised at all by his sensitivity and well-informedness. After all, Lieutenant General Panson was not only the commander of the sea and land, but also the director of national intelligence and the director of the CIA! The admiral nodded and said: "Yes, the 'D-Day' was originally scheduled for June 6, but after I learned the details of the 'Food Recruiter' operation, I called it off! Because I wanted to Join us by land and sea, this will greatly reduce the casualties of the attacking troops!"

Li Junhao nodded to express his understanding. Official data from his previous life showed that the Allies were indeed victorious in the Normandy invasion, but suffered 12.2 casualties, including 7.3 US troops, a huge loss!

Understanding is understanding, but there are some things that must be said up front. Li Junhao said: "Commander-in-Chief Ike, since you understand the details of the 'Food Recruiter' operation, you should know that in this battle, I am responsible for the navy and land forces. The combat mission has clear requirements, and I also have absolute command of the first wave of attacks..."

In the previous Normandy landing battle, many serious shortcomings were exposed. The deployment of troops in the landing area was unreasonable. Some places were insufficient in strength, and some places were crowded and blocked. The on-site commanders made many mistakes in landing operations because they were not professional enough. made a low-level mistake, and later was too cautious, delaying the opportunity to fight...

There was even a key stronghold in Caen. According to the plan, the landing troops should capture it on the first day, but the Allies did not capture it until one month after the landing!

In Li Junhao's opinion, because of this series of mistakes in the implementation of the plan, the Normandy campaign plan was actually a failure!

The main reason why the Supervisory Army was victorious in the end was because the German army suffered too much losses on the Eastern Front and did not have enough troops to defend various possible landing areas. Coupled with the previous Allied tactical deception, the German army invested in the Normandy area. The number of troops was too small, which allowed the Allied forces to fully control the sea and air. They relied on the number of troops and dozens of times the firepower investment to win a tragic victory!

Post-war statistics show that despite having more than ten times more force than the other side, the Allies still suffered more casualties than the Germans (12.2 vs. 11.4). They also suffered losses due to mine strikes, submarine and aviation attacks, artillery fire, and other reasons. 1 battleship, 3 cruisers, 8 destroyers, 3 escorts and 48 small combat ships, merchant ships and auxiliary ships.

If it were not for the political significance of the successful Normandy landing, this battle would not be called a great victory! If you want to lead the land and sea troops in the first wave of landing operations, you must put an end to these mistakes and prevent your subordinates from making unnecessary sacrifices!
-

Eisenhower looked at the young lieutenant general in front of him and nodded solemnly!

In fact, not long ago, he returned to China specifically to report to President Roosevelt, White House Chief of Staff Leahy and Army Chief of Staff Marshall on why he had to postpone the counterattack on the European continent...

The three superiors were extremely satisfied with the current situation of the navy and land forces, and expressed their affirmation of Lieutenant General Panson's military talent and commanding ability. If it were not for his age of just 30 years old, he would have been promoted to general based on his military exploits after the "Food Recruiter" campaign. Military rank.

According to Eisenhower's understanding, this was mainly because he was worried about the taste of veterans like them! However, he now feels that he should be promoted, otherwise General Panson, who is too young, may not be able to control that group of British generals! ——

Later, after declining Eisenhower's dinner invitation, Li Junhao led his entourage to rest in the forest villa arranged for him by Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Smith - the military meeting will be held tomorrow afternoon, and he still has one night plus one morning to adjust to the time difference. .

(End of this chapter)