Iron Cross

Ps: This chapter has been greatly updated for the leader of the book "Gai Hong". Thank you readers for your support. Thank you.

"Can the introduction of 150,000 Red Army troops defeat the Germans?"

"This... is basically difficult." Faced with such a major strategic decision, several generals did not dare to deal with it casually. Marshall analyzed, "Theoretically, both the Red Army and the German Army can obtain supplies from their own countries and can fully support the war. If we go on, the outcome will not be quick, but the British may be driven out of the Middle East.”

The situation of the British army is the least ideal: although Britain now has the largest military force in the Middle East, with an army of 100,000 people, after losing its control of the Suez Canal and the Indian Ocean, it cannot even guarantee the safety of the route from India to Persia, and although India has Persia is bordered by land, but the road conditions are very poor and cannot support large-scale supplies at all. Therefore, the British Middle East troops will only fight one by one, and it is impossible to expect Stalin to send supplies to the British - the Russians themselves are still reaching out to the outside world. .

"I have to say that although I am very reluctant to extend the hand of the Russians so far, it is impossible not to introduce the Russians now." Smith-Tingson sighed, "We can only count on the Russians to hold back the Germans and give us Buy time so that Ike can have enough time to combine George's landing force, the British defeated troops who retreated from Egypt, the British troops in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, plus the three divisions we landed, and under suitable circumstances "We will form a pincer offensive against the Germans in Egypt from the east and south - I think this is the only key to turning defeat into victory in Africa and the Middle East."

"You mean fighting the Germans in Africa?"

"This is the only place that can directly threaten the German army at present - they will also be forced to project power across half of the Mediterranean Sea, which will invisibly lengthen the German front line and help contribute to their final defeat."

Hull interjected: "What if Türkiye gets involved?"

"Whether Turkey joins the axis or not depends not entirely on the Red Army's march south, but also on the prospects of the war and the display of German power. If we retreat steadily and hand over North Africa and the Middle East, the Turks will only accelerate the speed of joining the axis - this They are all a bunch of speculators." Marshall sighed, "But to fundamentally reverse the war situation in Africa and the Middle East, we must gain sea control in the Indian Ocean, otherwise we will not be able to maintain supplies in the China-India-Myanmar theater."

Roosevelt couldn't help but frowned: The Hump Route is now the only channel for supplying China, but these materials cannot be produced in India. They are all transported thousands of miles from the United States. As the Indian route is blocked for a long time, even if the Hump Route is not available, Even if it is cut off, it will be difficult to make a meal without rice.

"Is it possible to take advantage of the absence of the main force of the Japanese navy to force a landing on the coast of China to transport supplies?"

Admiral Jin exchanged glances with Nimitz, shook his head and said: "This is unlikely. All port cities along China's coast are controlled by Japan. Even if we have the ability to transport them up, they will still be taken away by the Japanese army when we get to the interior - -Unless two more American divisions are sent up, it will become an amphibious landing in China. Before the Southeast Asian islands have been cleared, it is too risky to directly land in China. "

Nimitz added: "Even if you have to take the risk, you should go to the Philippines first."

"I remember that the Essex aircraft carrier will be ready for service soon?" Roosevelt sighed and cast his hopeful eyes on Admiral King.

"Yes, you remember correctly, we have 2 days of construction time, and it will be officially put into service tomorrow. There will be a small handover ceremony."

"The ceremony should be as brief as possible, no more than half an hour, and every minute should be saved. I know that according to the Navy's practice, new capital ships have to go to Pisacek Bay for sea trials after being commissioned. The situation is urgent now, and we don't have that many Time, so I hope..." Roosevelt said in an unquestionable tone, "After completing the loading of the relevant carrier-based aircraft in early January, we will directly depart for Pearl Harbor. You are limited to one and a half months, that is, to arrive at Pearl Harbor before February 15th and After completing all the sea trial projects, we will take a moderate rest, replenish supplies, and maintain the ships at Pearl Harbor. I want to see him go into battle in the Pacific in late March. Can it be done? "

Although the president asked if he could, Nimitz knew that he must not say "no", so he gritted his teeth and agreed: "As you wish, there is no big surprise. You will see him confront the Japanese before March 25." Fire."

"Are the three more battleships that promised to support the British set off?"

"We officially set sail for South Africa the day before yesterday afternoon and brought a batch of supplies with us." Although Admiral Jin did not agree with investing too much force in Europe, he still supported the decision to maintain the war situation in East Africa.

"I don't believe that the Japanese leave their home base and stay in the Indian Ocean for a long time, so I decided to dispatch two more divisions from the mainland to the Pacific battlefield - this time taking the Pacific route, to recover as many islands as possible during this period. "Roosevelt gritted his teeth and said, "The fleet must make all preparations to defeat him as soon as the combined fleet comes back."

Nimitz wanted to express some dissent, but Admiral King used his eyes to signal him not to say more, so he finally held back.

"Agree to the Russians' conditions and ask them to send 150,000 troops into Persia to protect this vital area." Roosevelt spoke after careful consideration and said to Hull, "Everything is for the sake of winning. We will discuss the post-war matters later. , the Middle East cannot be occupied by the Germans even if it is occupied by the Russians. Please communicate with the British."

"It's not difficult for the British side. Prime Minister Churchill should be able to understand this, but as for supplies..."

"Give him the supplies as well." Roosevelt said through gritted teeth. "After the interruption of the Persian route, increase the transportation intensity on the North Atlantic and Pacific routes. Don't be afraid of losses. We can afford to lose half of it on the road."

The president is anxious! Everyone feels this way. This is not a matter of simply losing half. The domestic productivity of the United States is not endless. When foreign aid materials increase significantly, it will inevitably affect the speed of its own military preparations.

"Tell Turkey that if they can remain neutral in the war, they will gain the deep friendship of the US government - the United States will give them US$50 million in humanitarian aid and US$500 million in interest-free loans, which can be repaid after 30 years. ”

This is not a big deal: although there is a clause of repayment after 30 years, according to the historical depreciation rate of the US dollar, the purchasing power after 30 years will only be equivalent to one-tenth of the current level - this is tantamount to a disguised gift to the Turks $500 million.

Hull was also stunned. He hesitated and said: "This... this... can it be done without congressional review?"

"Throw it out first and see how the Turks react. Congress can do some work." Roosevelt explained, "If even this can't impress Turkey, I'm afraid the Russians' lower abdomen will be in danger - I don't mean the Turks' The neutrality is worth the price, but he is worth the price if he joins the axis.”

The attending generals felt a fever on their faces: the soldiers could not defeat the enemy on the battlefield, and the president was forced to use money to bribe enemies and even neutral countries. It was a great shame and humiliation.

"Finally, let me report to you about the equipment." Marshall took out the file and said, "As for the aircraft, after the Eighth Air Force tested and compared the P-47 and F4U, it is believed that the P-47 can effectively provide bombers with auxiliary fuel tanks. For protection, we are ready to increase the number of equipment. In addition, intelligence shows that the new heavy tank put into the battlefield by the Germans is the No. 6 tank, known internally as the 'Tiger'. It is currently equipped with only 4 battalions and is expected to be available every month starting from January. Equipped with 3 battalions. This tank outperforms all current models in service. It has a firepower of an 88mm anti-aircraft gun, the armor thickness is expected to be more than 100mm, and the weight is expected to be about 50 tons. Allied tanks cannot kill it frontally at a reasonable distance. There are two opinions on this. One is to develop and equip heavy tanks in a targeted manner, and the other is to increase the equipment of medium tanks (Sherman tanks)."

"What's your opinion?"

"I think there should be tit-for-tat." Marshall's position was very clear. "First of all, the exchange ratio between medium tanks and Tigers is too ugly. The Russians' T-34 exchange ratio is about 17:1, and our Sherman exchange ratio is about 13. :1 or so, which means that we need to produce 40 more battalions of equipment per month to be on par with the Germans, which is unacceptable - even if the output is okay, it is impossible to have so many vehicle groups; secondly, front-line soldiers There are too few heroes who are afraid of the Tiger, knowing that they can't defeat them but still charging forward. If this emotion persists, it will have a great impact on morale. Finally, it's not that we don't have heavy tanks, maybe our models are worse than the enemy's. A little, but at least it should be improved and improved on the battlefield. The German No. 4, the Russian T-34, and our Sherman are all making progress."

Marshall's words are not all bragging. The heavy tank developed by the U.S. Ordnance Committee, code-named T1E1 (coded as M6A2 after finalization), has relatively good performance. It has made a major breakthrough six months ago. It was originally planned to be put into production in November. The early models of M6 and M6A2 were given to the United States. use. However, General Jacob Danforth of the Armored Forces Command wrote to the Army Command, believing that the M6 ​​tank was too heavy and its power was not proportional to its huge size. He believed that instead of transporting one behemoth weighing 60 tons, it would be better to transport two. The 30-ton medium tank is more efficient in combat. This statement made sense in September, because Sherman could be considered a match when playing No. 4. However, in November and December, after Sherman was taught a tiger-style education, the Americans could no longer hold back. Of course, the M's gun had proven useless against the Tiger, so the Ordnance Committee's urgent report to Marshall was to prepare for the installation of a tank gun modified from a 90mm anti-aircraft gun, internally codenamed M6A3. In addition, projects for T25 and T26 heavy tanks are also being prepared.

At the end of the meeting, it was unanimously agreed to develop a new tank, hoping to see the finished product in three months. At the same time, it was decided to compress the M3 series of tanks and fully increase the production of new M4 models.