Iron Cross

In the eyes of politicians, equipment and soldiers' lives are just cold numbers in the end. In order to achieve this strategic goal, they will never hesitate to squander, but the word "morale" is not something that can be consumed at will. As an elected president, he attaches great importance to this issue. Roosevelt pondered for a moment, and did not simply say whether he agreed or disagreed - this kind of decision should not be made by him, but only asked: "Will this change?"

Arnold shook his head: "In fact, not much. If it is changed to 20 times, the survival rate will be nearly 4%, but it will feel much better. Experts have calculated that if the loss rate is increased by 3 points, from 15% to 18% - that is, the loss number in the first week of this month, the final survival probability of performing 20 flight missions will be less than 2%."

Roosevelt was shocked: "This won't work. The sacrifice is too great. Do you have any good suggestions for this?"

"Three. The first is to suspend daytime bombing until an effective way to reduce losses is found; the second is to change the bombing area and shift the focus of bombing from Germany to Western Europe and Italy. direction; the third is to follow the Navy's example and introduce an escort mechanism, not a short-term escort but a full-time escort, and use stronger and more durable bombers. "

"The first one cannot be considered for the time being. If we stop bombing, it means that we have lost this battle and will give the enemy a chance to breathe; the second one can be considered. The attack on Western Europe needs further demonstration, but the Italian direction can be regarded as our focus in the next stage; I certainly agree with the third one, but can it be done now?"

When it comes to the last technical problem, Arnold's head hurts first:

The Army Air Force first proposed to use P-38 for escort, but the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom clearly opposed it - based on the experience of the Battle of Britain, twin-engine heavy fighters like Bf-110 and P-38 have poor maneuverability and are not suitable for escort fighters. They must use maneuverable and sensitive single-engine fighters; later, the Army Air Force selected the P-47. After adding auxiliary fuel tanks, the maximum range of the P-47 exceeded 2,500 kilometers, which could barely provide escort for bombers, but it was still out of reach for the German mainland, especially the core area targets. As for the new generation of bombers, the B-29, although it has been basically finalized, it still needs to go through final testing. As for production, it is even more troublesome. Boeing's factory in Kansas focuses on producing B-25 bombers, so the Army Air Force intends to transfer the production of B-29 to Boeing's Renton factory in Washington, but the factory was originally prepared to produce Boeing PBB-1 twin-engine sea patrol bombers for the Navy, so it is necessary to persuade the Navy to cancel the PBB-1 project and let the Renton factory switch to B-29 production. This kind of cross-service coordination is not so convenient, and it will take some time from production to a large scale to form an army. Therefore, Arnold estimated that if everything goes well, it will take at least until the end of 1943 before a large-scale B-29 fleet can be available. Of course, Arnold had his own selfish reasons for mentioning this matter in front of the president. The president had served as the Secretary of the Navy and had close relations with the top leaders of the Navy. Some things might not be convenient to say through the bureaucratic institution of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but working through the president might open up another way.

Speaking of cross-service exchanges, Roosevelt's eyes suddenly lit up: "If the Air Force planes don't work, why don't you try the Navy planes? - As far as I know, the Navy F4U carrier-based fighter has a range of more than 2,500 kilometers, and it has a solid structure and a low failure rate. When operating on an aircraft carrier, it always accompanies carrier-based bombers and torpedo attack aircraft and provides them with escort. If the landing facilities are removed and auxiliary fuel tanks are added, I believe the Army version of the F4U can easily break through the maximum range of 3,000 kilometers."

When Arnold heard that the Navy planes were used, his eyes became a little strange, but he finally agreed to understand and investigate, and if it was suitable, he would consider using it. Roosevelt knew that the planes between the Army and the Navy had never been universal, but this time the Army Aviation was actually prepared to consider it for the first time. It can be seen that the loss of the Eighth Air Force was indeed a bit scary, and it had hurt the bones of the Army Aviation senior management.

"As for the production of B-29, I will communicate with Admiral King and try to let you use the new bomber before this fall."

While they were talking, Hopkins, accompanied by Admiral King, Marshall and Stimson, knocked on the door and came in. Roosevelt saw that they all had gloomy faces and looked unhappy, and he immediately felt uneasy and asked Hopkins: "Harry, what happened?"

"Something big happened. The British messed it up again... The latest telegram from London said that the Germans suddenly landed at El Alamein and Matruh ports early this morning local time..."

Roosevelt had a crush on El Alamein He had little impression of Matruh, but had no impression of him at all. However, Admiral King's further explanation poured cold water on him: "Matruh is less than 200 miles from Alexandria and only 250 miles from Cairo. The Germans may have deployed a complete armored division, and the British currently have less than 30,000 troops stationed in Egypt. Their main forces are all around Tobruk and are tightly entangled by the German African Army."

"What..." Roosevelt opened his mouth wide, shocked and unable to say a word. He didn't hold the cup he just raised firmly, and almost spilled all the coffee. It was Arnold who quickly helped him hold it.

"When exactly did it happen?"

"It's less than 7 a.m. local time, about midnight Washington time." Marshall took out his telegram and reported, "Judging from the battle situation in the past eight hours, the situation is very bad. The British side launched several counterattacks in the air and on the ground, but They were all defeated by the Germans, and now they can only rely on their Alexandria fleet - but since the Germans have obtained the main force of the French fleet, the British fleet may not necessarily have the upper hand. "

Admiral Jin sarcastically said: "The British have always been like this. They only think of notifying us when the situation deteriorates to the point where it is out of control..."

"The most dangerous thing now is that the British Eighth Army's logistics supply line near Tobruk has been completely cut off by the Germans. If nearly 300,000 troops lose supplies in the desert, they will almost be annihilated." Army Minister Shi Ting Sheng said worriedly, "And if the army fails, the British army in Egypt will inevitably fail. By then the Germans can effortlessly sweep across Egypt and control the Suez Canal - that will be too harmful to us."

"We must not let this happen!" Roosevelt knocked on the table bitterly. It was obvious that he was very resentful towards the British, but he did not want to show this emotion in front of several high-level officials - it was not conducive to unity. .

At this moment, Churchill's autographed telegram also arrived. This time it seemed that the British side was really anxious. The beginning of the telegram did not appear to be confusing, but straight to the point:

...Dear President, Great Britain's defense in Egypt has been fiercely attacked by the German army and is on the verge of total defeat. I implore you and the United States to use all means to save the current precarious situation. This is not only related to the gains and losses of Egypt and the Suez Canal, but also to the entire country. The final victory of the common cause of the Allies against fascism.

“What suggestions or solutions did they come up with?”

"They want the landing force originally scheduled to set off this afternoon to speed up..." Marshall, "According to the original schedule, the landing force in the entire Torch Plan will arrive in Egypt around January 1, 1943, and now the British want us to Use high-speed warships and transport ships to take the lead in transporting 2-3 divisions to Egypt to assist in the defense, including all British troops, and hope that at least one American division will arrive in Egypt before December 20.”

"Is it technically feasible?"

"It's barely feasible. If we only deploy 2-3 divisions to accelerate forward on high-speed ships, assuming an average speed of 20 knots and advancing 480 nautical miles a day, we can barely reach our destination on the night of the 20th."

"Then how are they going to survive these 10 days?"

"They will try their best to shrink the defense and ensure the safety of the canal, Alexandria and Cairo. At the same time, the Eighth Army will mobilize troops to return reinforcements at all costs and strive to block the advancement route of the German landing troops as soon as possible." Marshall added, "Of course, there are also One way is that we don't have to worry about whether the British can hold Egypt. We still prepare for the landing at our own pace. If the British lose Egypt, we will take it back from Germany. "

"I'm afraid this will be difficult..." Roosevelt pondered for a moment, "I think we can agree to the British request and send 2-3 divisions to quickly support - we will send 1 armored division, and the other troops will follow, and we will still follow the original There is a schedule. In addition, Eisenhower must be informed to pay close attention to the dynamics of the battlefield. If the British fail before they arrive, then don’t rush in. Preserving ourselves is the most important thing.”

Everyone nodded, not optimistic about the prospect of Britain holding on to Egypt for 10 days.

"As for the landing force..." Roosevelt thought about it, "I plan to use the Second Armored Division and let Patton lead them."

"This...should we consider changing to another one?" Smith-Tingsheng said in embarrassment, "He had a very unhappy relationship with the British over the last landing."

"No! His personality is suitable for this kind of hard task. Give him more tanks and cover aircraft." Roosevelt made the final decision.

"Guys, we have something to do... The guys in Washington told us to speed up and rescue the British guys in Egypt - they are getting their asses kicked by the Germans!" Patton kept complaining that the top brass was too aggressive about changing the location of Operation Torch. Be cautious, this time he was caught and had an outlet to vent.

"Hahahaha!" Everyone around laughed.