Iron Cross

Nimitz's statement that the Pacific Fleet is confident of defeating the Combined Fleet is actually bragging: including the four King George V-class battleships, the Pacific Fleet currently has the same number of battleships as the Combined Fleet, and the average combat effectiveness of the ships is barely equal. The number of aircraft carriers is the same as that of the Combined Fleet, which is five, including three British Illustrious-class armored aircraft carriers, one American regular aircraft carrier Saratoga, and one escort carrier Bogue (the first Bogue-class escort carrier). Originally, the main fleet would not carry escort carriers in combat, but the United States had lost all its available aircraft carriers, and building new ones would not quench its thirst, so Nimitz had no choice but to pull out the Bogue - the crew of the ship is almost entirely composed of surviving crew members of the sunken Lexington and Yorktown, and their ship handling skills are not bad.

It seems that the Pacific Fleet with 4 regular aircraft carriers has an advantage over Japan, but a careful analysis shows that this is not necessarily the case: the Borg has 10 fewer aircraft than the Ryuho. The Ryuho can run at 26 knots, but the Borg can only run at 17 knots at its fastest, which greatly lags behind and is very fatal in formation operations; the United States also has no advantage in terms of the number of carrier-based aircraft. The total number of carrier-based aircraft of the Japanese fleet's aircraft carriers is 278, while the total number of carrier-based aircraft of the US fleet is only 243; in terms of pilot quality and fighter performance, the United States is still slightly inferior to Japan. Of course, the Pacific Fleet is not without any advantages. At least the three armored aircraft carriers have strong defense and good anti-sinking ability, which are of great value in the battle.

Whether it is quantity or combat effectiveness, there is only a capital for a battle when the two sides are relatively close, which does not mean that the weaker side cannot win, otherwise Japan would not have lost 4 aircraft carriers in Midway Island in one go. But it should be noted that the reasons for Japan's failure in the Battle of Midway were very complicated. In addition to the factor of intelligence leakage, attacking the island was also the main reason for the defeat. If there were no numerical advantage and reconnaissance capability of land-based aircraft in Midway, it would be difficult for the sea fleet to defeat the Americans with fewer troops (as can be seen in the Battle of the Coral Sea). Now the US fleet has to actively seek opportunities for attack, and the situation is reversed. They will face the threat of Japanese land-based aircraft. It is not certain who will win in a real aircraft carrier decisive battle.

However, Nimitz deeply understands the matter of "political correctness". Now the president is annoyed by the war situation in the Indian Ocean and the Middle East, and angry about the incompetence of the British. If he shows weakness again, the morale and fighting spirit will be completely gone - this is not in line with the American character! Of course, he is also very smooth. He only said that he was sure to deal with the Japanese Combined Fleet, but did not say that he was sure to deal with the Three Kingdoms Combined Fleet - this is not because he can't beat it with a few more German or Italian battleships. This is a euphemism to express that he disagrees with pulling the main force to the Indian Ocean. The reason is obvious - there is no Japanese fleet in the Pacific now, and it would be a fool not to take advantage of the ready-made advantage.

Sure enough, after hearing Nimitz's "sure" answer, Roosevelt looked much better and asked him in a friendly manner: "How is our war in the Pacific going?"

"Not very smoothly. The Japanese are still resisting stubbornly in Lae and Bougainville. General MacArthur believes that it will take at least ten days to completely capture Lae, and Bougainville may take another 3-4 weeks."

Nimitz's answer made Admiral King's brows relax immediately: this answer is very skillful. He did not boast about his achievements, but guided the president - suggesting that the progress of the Pacific operations was still good, and it would be better if he could work harder.

"According to this, it will take another month to reach Rabaul?"

Nimitz did not say anything, but just nodded silently and acknowledged this time.

Sure enough, President Roosevelt quickly took the bait: "Since the problems in the Indian Ocean cannot be solved for the time being, in order to effectively utilize the favorable opportunity of Japan's military shortage, should we consider sending more troops to Asia?"

"This..." Everyone didn't know what to say.

Admiral King immediately stood up to support. He was a member of the "Asia First" faction and firmly opposed wasting too many troops on the European battlefield. Although President Roosevelt determined the "Europe First" policy, he always thought that it was caused by the old bastard Churchill's deception with sweet words.

"Asia lacks powerful troops, and we just happen to have such a support force now. We can't let these troops continue to return to South Africa and do nothing, right? I agree with the president's strategy of sending them to Asia." Admiral King said, "Of course, we have another choice, that is, to do nothing: let Ike (Eisenhower)'s troops hide in the sun in South Africa, return the British ships to them, and the Pacific Fleet will withdraw to Pearl Harbor, wait for our shipyards to build ships, wait for the navy to train troops, and wait for the fleet to have an overwhelming advantage before pulling out..."

Everyone looked at me, I looked at you, and no one said much. Admiral King's words were very poisonous - these were correct from a military point of view, but they were completely wrong politically!

Sure enough, Roosevelt put on an extremely serious expression: "I will never allow such thoughts, and I will never guide strategy according to this policy - this is cunning and clever, and it is a manifestation of cowardice, timidity and fear! How will the American people see us? How will the Allies see us? Although the British are cowardly, at least they have been fighting the Germans. Winning or losing is one thing, and whether to fight or not is another. We have finally gotten rid of isolationism, and shrinking back is another version of isolationism!"

"The question is, how to solve the situation in the Middle East, India, and East Africa?" Secretary Hull asked, "Stalin sent a telegram, very concerned about the situation in the Middle East, and very worried about their fragile and unreliable material channels in Persia. I hope we can find a way Coping - He is extremely disappointed with the British at the moment."

Everyone looked at each other: Now that the Axis controls the northern Indian Ocean, what else can they do? Is it true that the fleet was withdrawn for a decisive battle as Churchill suggested? It's okay to win, but what if you lose? At that time, not only the Indian Ocean, but also the Pacific Ocean was finished.

Marshall's expression was ugly: "I can no longer let our precious troops go to East Africa, Egypt, and the Middle East to fill holes for the British. I would even rather send supplies to support the Chinese battlefield - the main force of the Japanese navy is not here anyway."

"London hopes that the fleet will return to South Africa first and wait for the right time before landing in Egypt. Rear Admiral Hewitt has led the fleet to turn around, but General Eisenhower has different opinions. He thinks this is too negative and it is dangerous to pin hopes on a decisive battle with the fleet. , To say the least, even if we really want to fight a decisive battle with the fleet, we should first settle the army. "

"Would Churchill still be thinking about dragging these troops to defend India? I've had enough! We are the army of the United States, not mercenaries from the colonies of the British Empire!"

"It would be better to stay in Madagascar than to go to South Africa and do nothing."

A bunch of people expressed their opinions in different voices. Although the words were different, the meaning was the same: they were firmly opposed to the troops returning to South Africa and hiding there with nothing to do. The army must attack, either to fight the Germans or the Japanese. , and then decided not to go to India.

At the end of the debate, everyone's attitude gradually became clear, and now there are only two ways in front of them:

The first one is to agree with the British idea, withdraw the Pacific Fleet and add the Atlantic Fleet to the three-nation axis navies for a decisive battle. After winning the battle, the Indian Ocean sea control and the Middle East issues can be solved in one fell swoop;

Article 2: Agree with the intention of the Pacific Theater and strengthen their forces so that they can gain more advantages before the Japanese fleet returns to support. Not only must they completely occupy the Solomon Islands and New Guinea Islands, but they must also capture Gilbert and Marshall. Islands, we need to push the front towards the Philippines.

While not everyone agrees with the second path, almost no one agrees with choosing one. Roosevelt sat in his wheelchair and thought silently for a few minutes. After careful consideration, he spoke: "Since everyone is basically in agreement, let's consider increasing strength in the Pacific theater. Of course, we cannot ignore African affairs at all. If the British completely Breaking the peace with the Germans is too great a threat to us - Churchill is still firmly on our side no matter what, but it won't be possible if someone else becomes prime minister."

This shocked everyone. It was still necessary to win over Britain as an ally. If Germany's strategy of unifying Europe and the United States was completely over, not to mention that now even the axis countries can cooperate closely, and the Anglo-speaking countries have the same culture and race. What reason did the Saxons have for not cooperating seriously? The British are a bit bad, but Germany is sparing no effort to support the Italians, who are even worse. The British have to jump into this big hole with tears in their eyes.

Marshall, who understood what Roosevelt meant, immediately followed this idea and proposed a compromise plan: During Operation Torch, the United States sent a total of 2 armored divisions (1st and 2nd Armored Divisions) and 4 infantry divisions (1st, 3rd, 9th, and 34th Infantry). Division), preparing to transfer the 3rd and 34th Infantry Divisions to Australia to assist in the Pacific Theater. The remaining troops were considered to be taken by Eisenhower to land in Kenya, and then break into Ethiopia and Somalia. On the one hand, they would connect with the lost 2nd Armored Division and the British 78th Infantry Division. , on the other hand, strive to establish an East African defense line and deter Egypt. If the time is right, they can consider counterattacking Egypt.

Nimitz asked anxiously: "What about the British requesting warships?"

Roosevelt thought for a while and said: "They should politely refuse - the Pacific Campaign is currently going on intensely, and there is really no way to escape. As compensation, we will send them the Arkansas and two New Mexico-class ships of the Atlantic Fleet, and then escort four more The aircraft carrier is used to protect the Atlantic and Indian Ocean routes, and these British warships will be replaced after a large number of Essex and Iowa classes are put into service. This is the price they have to pay to land in Africa and save the situation in the Middle East.”

Everyone thought about it and thought the plan was sound.

On the evening of December 23, 1942, the Slow Column received clear instructions and divided its forces: Eisenhower led the 1st Armored Division and the 1st and 9th Infantry Divisions to land in Kenya along the coast, escorted by 2 battleships and 2 fleet aircraft carriers. Try to find a way to rescue the 2nd Armored Division and the British 78th Infantry Division; at the same time, the remaining two infantry divisions turned to the Western Australian city of Perth, preparing to join the Pacific Theater.