Iron Cross

"Believe him completely for the time being, unless there is contrary evidence." Churchill sighed, "I know it may be unfair to him, but I can't help it. I must be cautious in my position."

Looking at the exhausted Prime Minister, Menzies sighed secretly. Churchill has been under great pressure in recent times. Under the influence of a series of failures such as the annihilation of the entire army in North Africa, the loss of the Middle East, the failure of the North Sea, and the continuous attacks on vital shipping lines, both high-level officials and the public have increasingly criticized the war cabinet. many. Originally, Churchill's prestige reached a high level after leading Britain to win the Battle of Britain. Unexpectedly, it has deteriorated sharply in the past six months. Although the Prime Minister himself is still struggling to support, other cabinet members have timely shared the burden, and the United States has repeatedly promised to provide greater assistance, the lack of hope makes people extremely desperate.

"Does he have any news to report?"

"The two German aircraft carriers were unscathed, and the Tirpitz was almost intact. There were also 4 heavy cruisers and some light cruisers and small warships docked - possibly torpedo boats. This is consistent with the situation known to Portugal, except that There are also other reports that we don’t know.”

"For example?"

"The aircraft carrier is estimated to have 80-100 aircraft, and the land-based airport has been expanded. The army has about 1,200-2,000 people, 30-40 tanks and almost the same number of armored vehicles. No large-caliber artillery is seen, but the island The Portuguese coastal defense system has been fully taken over by Germany."

Thanks to the close observation in Port Heroes, Britain has finally figured out that another aircraft carrier was modified from the Europa fast cruise ship. Considering the displacement of nearly 50,000 tons, naval aviation experts estimate that its converted aircraft carrying capacity is 40- About 60 aircraft, including the Zeppelin carrier aircraft, the German fleet has at least 100-120 aircraft, which is consistent with the total number of German aircraft in the North Sea battle. Now intelligence agents report that there are 80-100 aircraft, which is very normal—— The German fleet should have suffered considerable losses while passing through the North Sea.

Of course, this judgment is not entirely correct: the two aircraft carriers only have 82+18 aircraft in total. In the Battle of the North Sea, they lost nearly 30 aircraft and 11 pilots (groups) were lost. After the Spanish transport fleet set off, these aircraft The losses were completely made up, and the pilots were also replenished.

After sending the telegram and reporting the intelligence, Tom, who was worried, hoped that the Royal Navy would quickly organize a fleet to attack. Just like when the Earl of Spey rushed into Argentina but was eventually surrounded and suppressed, the Royal Navy would use the same force as it did to destroy Bismarck. All power. But this time he was destined to be disappointed. Two days passed, three days passed, and five days passed. After Germany completed its occupation of Madeira Islands and settled in the Canary Islands, the Royal Navy he was looking forward to still did not appear. On the contrary But I saw the second batch of convoys docking, all flying French flags, including two oil tankers. He watched the German troops on the island change from two battalions to two regiments, and then a large number of tanks landed on the shore.

He guessed that in addition to Port Heroes, troops should be stationed on other islands, because the German army had issued an announcement that residents who were unwilling to return to the Portuguese mainland would all be concentrated on the island of Port Heroes.

This guess is correct. In addition to escorting another batch of supplies, the German troops arriving this time have added two more brigades - all troops used by Keitel to support Redel, and they will all be incorporated into the Marine Corps. Since the division level of the German Army is too large after its organizational adjustment, a brigade-level organization of about 5,000-6,000 people is more suitable for the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps had an establishment of 4 brigades in one fell swoop, but except for less than 1 brigade of personnel who were transferred from the original Navy guard units, the rest were all transferred from the Army's organic system.

After the Air Force successfully reached out to the Navy, the Army was unwilling to be left alone and took advantage of the Marine Corps' expansion to recruit people. Since only 4 Marine brigades will be formed in the short term, even if the mid- to long-term goal is to expand to more than 16, the Army will not be embarrassed to send a general like the Air Force. Instead, it will send Walther Weiss, a very low-key, A pragmatic general, the commander of the 27th Army was removed during the disarmament and division expansion operation. He was originally going to be the commander of the group army, but was temporarily recommended to be the commander of the Marine Corps.

Now the Navy not only has a fleet, but also aircraft, bases, and marines. It has completely turned into a "small Wehrmacht". All kinds of services are filling people in. Even Himmler wants to organize the Navy's Waffen SS, and his target is S The boat force was stopped by Hoffman. With the expansion of the navy's strength and the addition of two more marshals, many people are saying that Redel's power is gradually being evacuated: the submarine force listens to Dönitz, HNA is under the direct control of Richthofen, and the surface The naval force went to Machar and Krank, and the marines now had Weiss. However, Redl himself was more open-minded about this. He said to Frick more than once: "As long as the navy is internally cohesive, its strength is enhanced, and its status is improved, anyone can be the commander-in-chief of the navy. As long as the head of state orders it, I can retire tomorrow." …”

Now, the "Crow" finally believes that the German battle reports in the Battle of the North Sea are true and that the Royal Navy is bragging. The reason is simple. If the Royal Navy really suffered little losses, how could they allow the Germans to occupy the islands, consolidate defenses, and transport supplies leisurely? How can the French and Spanish transport fleets be allowed to transport supplies freely? We must know that every extra day of delay now will lead to a greater price for counterattack in the future.

He never expected that the Royal Navy would not only be defeated, but also completely defeated. Not to mention that the crucial Azores Islands were difficult to recover quickly, even Jan Mayen Island, which was occupied by Marshal at first and located north of Iceland, was now not dared to be taken, because the German army had increased its strength to 1 battalion, with 20 S-boats and more than 80 aircraft, including the Joint Strike Fighter, which had a particularly wide coverage and was included in the standard equipment of the Axis. The aircraft was improved based on the Italian SM-79 bomber. After the BWM-801 engine was modified, the maximum speed could reach 530 kilometers per hour, and the range without auxiliary fuel tanks exceeded 2,000 kilometers.

The most terrifying thing about the Joint Strike Fighter is not its speed or range, but its ability to carry ammunition: at the limit, it can carry 4 500 kg bombs or two ordinary aerial torpedoes. After the success of the newly developed G9s aerial oxygen torpedo in Germany, the Joint Strike Fighter was directly equipped with new equipment. The new torpedo has a diameter of 483mm (19 inches, submarines are generally 21 inches, G9a and Long Lance are both 24 inches), weighs 1275kg, is 6.2 meters long, has an ammunition capacity of 330kg, and has a maximum range of over 6500 meters at a maximum speed of 54 knots.

After Germany obtained Japanese technology and broke through the oxygen torpedo, more and better torpedo equipment emerged at once. Not only is the explosive power far superior to the original Japanese goods, but the reliability is also much improved. The Navy has conducted experiments and found that the G9S air-launched oxygen torpedo is extremely powerful. In theory, no matter what type of 10,000-ton ship, as long as it hits the waterline, it will sink in one tube. The only drawback is that it cannot be used in shallow waters. Of course, the weight and take-off distance of the Joint Strike Fighter are destined to be used only on land, and it cannot be carried on ships, and the Ju-98 carrier-based aircraft cannot tow such a huge monster as the G9s.

The British side has inferred from aerial reconnaissance that if TF27 formation launched a landing battle to capture Jan Mayen Island alone, it would have to pay the price of 1 battleship or 2-3 10,000-ton cruisers, 40-50 aircraft, and 2,000-3,000 casualties, which is something the Royal Navy cannot afford at present. If they knew about the existence of G9s, the estimate of ship losses would at least double. Moreover, the focus of the British attention now is the Azores, and Jan Mayen Island is just a minor issue.

On February 25, Churchill received three crucial intelligences from "Crow":

First, except for the torpedo boats, the main forces of the German fleet were all out and their whereabouts were unknown;

Second, a large number of aircraft took off and landed in recent days, and it was estimated that there were no less than 150 land-based aircraft, one-third of which were fighters, the rest were bombers or attack aircraft, and some seaplanes were reconnaissance aircraft;

Third, the German army was building a radar station and coastal defense fortifications, which were strictly guarded and could not be observed in detail.

The news that Germany continuously deployed the army and reinforcements shocked both sides of the Atlantic, and London, Washington, and Ottawa were in chaos. Obviously, the German army's entry into the North Sea and occupation of the Azores was not an accessory to breaking the trade, but a complete plan that had been prepared long ago. Judging from the fact that the German army quickly mobilized transport fleets from France and Spain to transport supplies, the Germans had been planning for this day for a long time.

Due to the sharp increase in the number of garrisons and armaments in the Azores, a squadron like TF27 alone cannot deal with it. It would be useless if they went there. Only a large fleet and landing forces in the tens of thousands would be effective. Considering the number of aircraft on the island and the main force of the German fleet in the Atlantic, a large fleet that assembled the main naval forces of Britain and the United States in the Atlantic must be used.

Therefore, the British fleet, which had just returned from the Far East, including two King George V-class battleships and two Illustrious-class aircraft carriers, did not return to the British mainland directly as originally planned after replenishment on the 25th. The Joint Chiefs of Staff believed that these warships alone had no obvious advantage over the German Navy and required them to stay on the East Coast, accept the command of the United States and join the large fleet that was about to set out.

After learning that the main force of the German fleet had left the port and its whereabouts were unknown, not only Roosevelt, but also the usually cold Admiral King began to worry. On the one hand, he ordered the Atlantic Fleet to quickly formulate a combat plan, and on the other hand, he urged all ships to speed up supplies and complete combat preparations. He wanted to assemble all the battleships to attack the Azores.

Britain and the United States quickly reached a consensus that the Norwegian offensive, the North African landing, the Kenyan counterattack, and the defense of Gibraltar should all be put aside, and the Azores offensive must be organized as soon as possible to retake this crucial stronghold.