Iron Cross

Under the overwhelming artillery fire, the British and American ground forces originally hidden in the fortifications also suffered a large number of casualties. The Sherman weighing more than 30 tons was directly reduced to parts after being hit by large-caliber naval gun fire. The lighter Greyhound armored vehicles were lifted high and then fell heavily, with broken limbs all around.

There were a total of 3 American divisions and some British garrisons around Mombasa, including the 1st Armored Division of the United States. The British garrison was fine, but the American troops were not prepared to arrive in Mombasa at all. Whether it was camping, stationing, or fortifications, they were all temporarily built. Many troops lived directly in houses not far from the port. It was originally hoped that the transport fleet departing from South Africa would bring these troops the long-awaited supplies and materials, but after the battle of the Mozambique Channel, this wish also became a bubble. Not only were the troops unable to build large-scale fortifications due to insufficient supplies and engineering equipment, but even if they could, the army fortifications could only deal with 150mm caliber artillery at most, and could not withstand 203mm or even 305mm caliber artillery. If it were not for the fact that the Japanese fleet did not bombard as much as it could due to a lack of ammunition reserves, none of these fortifications would have survived.

The underground fortifications where Eisenhower was located were the strongest and most concealed underground bunkers in the entire Mombasa. They had been built for more than ten years, but in the face of such a massive attack, people still felt very unsafe. There were deafening roars and heart-pounding vibrations coming from all directions. All the people hiding inside were pale and their hearts were in their throats, fearing that a shell would fall on their heads in the next second.

"I never thought that one day I would be hiding underground like a mole, shivering and waiting for the judgment of fate." Eisenhower said to everyone in a self-deprecating manner, "Fortunately, the shells don't recognize military ranks, otherwise I don't know how many generals would be killed by a shell now."

No one could laugh at such a cold joke as Ge Diao. Everyone couldn't help rolling their eyes and lamented in their hearts: "Where is our navy? Where is our fleet?"

"Did President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill just watch the Germans and Japanese slaughtering people in the Indian Ocean without doing anything?" Colonel White asked Eisenhower angrily, "If they don't want to invest in naval forces, why let the army come here to die? Is it just because we are not as noble as the navy?"

"It will come, just need to wait."

"Wait?" White was even more angry, "Is it a week? A month? Or a year? I don't want to stay even a minute longer "Go down..."

Eisenhower had no way to answer this question, because he knew that, let alone January, he probably couldn't count on reinforcements in the next three months - the Atlantic Fleet was weak, with only three old battleships at present. After the sinking of the Ranger, it didn't even have a regular aircraft carrier, and could only use those escort aircraft carriers with slow speed, few aircraft and weak defense to make up the numbers; and the Pacific Fleet was still fighting far away in Southeast Asia. The warships that were finally launched and put into battle, including the Essex aircraft carrier that entered service at the end of December last year, the Independence light aircraft carrier that entered service in early January, and the Iowa battleship that will be in service in late February, have all been reserved for the Pacific Fleet to replace the naval forces withdrawn by the United Kingdom. Only the Princeton aircraft carrier, the second ship of the Independence class, will be assigned to the Atlantic Fleet after entering service at the end of February. It will be at least April when they form combat effectiveness. It is a very happy thing to see the newly formed fleet come to reinforce in May.

The president kept saying "No. 1 in Europe", but the reality is that the Allied naval power in Europe is not strong, and it is unknown what guarantees the No. 1 in Europe? Eisenhower felt bitter in his heart, but it was inconvenient to show it in front of his subordinates, so he changed the subject and asked: "Is the observation post still in operation? Has the enemy started a large-scale landing?"

White was indignant and tried to shake his head helplessly after a long time. The line was not connected at all. In the end, he had no choice but to send a few smart soldiers to observe the situation on the ground.

Eisenhower guessed correctly that the German army was indeed preparing to land, using 5 battalions drawn from the African Army, including an armored battalion, an armored grenadier battalion, 2 infantry battalions and an artillery battalion, and also equipped with part of the navy. According to Keitel's plan, a Marine Brigade will be formed with them as the core in the future. But the place where they planned to land was not the port of Mombasa, but Pemba Island, more than 100 kilometers south of Mombasa, and Zanzibar Island, more than 200 kilometers away. These two islands were like two daggers, one against Kenya and the other against Tanganyika.

When Tanganyika was a German colony in East Africa, Zanzibar was a British occupation area used to closely monitor the actions of the German colonies. Now, taking advantage of the British Empire's power emptiness, Hoffman is ready to send a capable force to occupy it. The subsequent plan is to build a naval and air force base of a certain scale within 3-6 months, which will be used as a bridgehead for infiltration into South Africa and Central Africa.

When carrying out a series of island-grabbing operation plans, the Supreme Command, including the Navy, had debates, believing that it was very dangerous to set up so many bases far away from the European continent, which was equivalent to being isolated and attacked overseas. Once the British and American navies work together, these islands will be captured soon, and their fate will repeat the mistake of the overseas colonies being fully occupied by the enemy in World War I. But Hoffman insisted on promoting this expansion policy despite all objections. His reason was simple:

"Now is the weak period of the British and American navies. They not only have to deal with the Japanese navy in the Pacific, but also have to protect the Atlantic transportation lines and carry out offensive missions in the Indian Ocean - this is far beyond their capabilities. We must seize this favorable period to expand our power. No matter what these islands and bases will be in the future, at least for now they will be our bridgeheads to penetrate the ocean. If they want to seize them, they must pay a high price for it, and it can also greatly delay their attack on the European continent - do you want them to release their offensive power first on the periphery or in our core?"

Such a question does not need to be answered. After the strategic bombing of the United States based in the United Kingdom is greatly curbed, if Speer can gain another year to one and a half years, he will have sufficient confidence to complete the integration of the production capacity of major European industrial countries, at least the integration of Germany and the German-Italian axis can definitely be completed, which can lay the foundation for continuous operations and final victory.

As for the possibility that Britain and the United States will ignore the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and first attack the Indian Ocean, although there is a possibility, Hoffman believes that it is not very likely, because the German Navy will soon launch a massive Atlantic commerce-breaking war. Unless Britain and the United States are able to completely settle the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean will always be the second direction. Without the Indian Ocean route, Britain may lose the materials of the colonies, but without the supply of the Atlantic route, Britain will lose the hope of victory and may not even be able to hold on for 3 months. Apart from other things, the shortage of oil alone will kill Britain. The sooner the deployment of defense in the Indian Ocean is implemented, the more solid barriers can be built, and the greater the price Britain and the United States will pay in the future. Now the British and American navies are at a low ebb before the outbreak, while the control of the Axis Combined Fleet in the Indian Ocean has reached its peak. With the help of this wave of offensives, the bases established will have a very optimistic prospect as long as they have 3-6 months of development time.

According to this plan, the mission and responsibilities of the German Mediterranean Fleet were determined. The Mediterranean Fleet will be upgraded to the Southern Fleet at an appropriate time, with Alexandria, Egypt as its base, and Aden, Djibouti, Abbas, Port Sudan, Socotra, Zanzibar and Pemba as important bases. The short-term goal is to ensure maritime security in the Middle East and North Africa, ensure the smooth transportation route from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea, and find ways to cut off the British and American transportation routes in the Indian Ocean. The medium- and long-term strategic goals are firmly locked on South Africa.

For this goal, Keitel had to agree to continue to coordinate the transfer of air force forces by the Supreme Command and allocate funds to build a new defense system on the island.

In the evening, Eisenhower did not wait for the news of the German landing, but received the news that Pemba and Zanzibar were lost one after another. Everyone was as pale as death. After controlling the two islands, the Allied forces in the direction of Mombasa could not expect to have transport ships docking before they had sufficient air and sea control. The nearest Madagascar Island is more than 1,300 kilometers away. Will all supplies in the future have to rely on transport planes?

Eisenhower forced himself to cheer up and said to his men, even though he didn't quite believe it: "The Germans and Japanese are not strong enough, so they dare not land in Mombasa now. We still have some time. We must believe that London and Washington will not abandon us..."

Someone stuttered and asked, "Sir, we can still hold on, but what about General Patton?"

"Let them march normally, and be careful to stay away from the attack range of naval guns and enemy aircraft..." Eisenhower sighed, "First, survive, this is more important than any counterattack."

Just as the Mombasa command was immersed in a cloud of sorrow, there was no joy after the victory in the command tower of the Musashi. The atmosphere was also very serious. Most officers received a piece of news like a bolt from the blue: Last night, nearly 7,000 defenders on Bougainville Island were all killed, and the island was lost!

"Sir..."

"Sir!" Everyone cast their eyes on Hori Teikichi's back, who was staring out the window for a long time, hoping to get a different answer from him - return home immediately to fight Britain and the United States!

But Hori Teikichi turned around and put away his sad eyes, and said in a firm tone: "Go to Italy for supplies and maintenance as planned. I hope everyone will remember the sacrifices of the defenders of the South Pacific Islands. We will have a chance to avenge them. Musashi fires another round of salvos to see off the warriors!"

"Boom!"