Iron Cross

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As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a bomb dropped into the venue, causing chaos in the world. Although not much was known to the outside world about the Eighth Air Force's air raids, they generally knew that the fighting was very difficult, but no matter how difficult it was, they never expected that there would be an 80% loss rate.

The atmosphere at the scene was confused, and no one was pointing fingers at who was responsible - the commander who was responsible has disappeared. Besides, is there any use in holding people accountable? It’s not like the congressmen haven’t conducted inquiries. They removed Spruance and replaced Fletcher with leading the team. The result was even worse. Who dares to guarantee that someone else will be better?

In the midst of all the commotion, Hoover suddenly got a piece of paper. After reading it, he did not dare to neglect it and immediately whispered a few words in Roosevelt's ear. The latter's brows were frowned tightly at first, and his face was very ugly, but after a moment he gave instructions: "Get in and let them listen..."

Soon, the venue broadcast suddenly rang, and all the congressmen were stunned: What happened today? The broadcast was broadcast during the secret meeting? Congressional staff don’t want to hang out anymore? But soon everyone stopped laughing.

"Dear American listeners, hello... I am William and I am Anna. We are broadcasting for you in Europe. According to the request of the head of state, in order to let the American people know the truth and cruelty of the war and urgently understand the war, we will publish in English Regarding war updates... To accommodate your schedule, the radio broadcasting hours are mainly at 6 am, 6 pm and 12 pm Washington time, so please listen!”

The male voice claiming to be William said: "Today we will first broadcast the latest list of American dead soldiers. The number is relatively large, more than 2,400 in total. It is the statistics of those killed in the last three days. In order to take care of the general audience, we will repeat the broadcast for three days and broadcast it three days later. A new list will be released, and the number of prisoners is still being counted, which will be reported at that time.”

A female voice calling herself Anna said: "During the broadcast, we will report from an objective and fair standpoint. All information on the dead list will be read based on the identity card of the officers and soldiers. If there are any errors or omissions, they are unintentional. Please forgive me."

"The following is a list of those killed in the air raid on Berlin. The total number is 964. The specific list will be arranged by military rank."

"Curtis LeMay, Army Brigadier General, 37 years old, blood type O, service number: 00776141..."

"Anderson Kanai, Army Lieutenant Colonel, 39 years old, AB blood type, service number:..."

"John Christopher, Army Major, 34 years old, blood type A, service number:..."

…

Listening to the names being read out one after another, many people suddenly changed their minds. There were a few names that they had heard of before, and were even acquaintances. For Arnold, the first bolt from the blue was that Li Mei was killed in battle!

"It's 9:30 pm Washington time, and we have two temporary war news breaks.

News from Berlin: The head of state inspected the site of the air raid in Berlin. The overall damage was minimal and the people's mood was stable. However, the Berlin Cathedral was severely damaged. The head of state issued instructions at the site of the air raid, pointing out that the bombing was part of the conspiracy of the international Jewish group, regardless of whether the United States Both the people and the German people believe in Christ and will not attack the Berlin Cathedral, a world-famous religious building. But this is not the case for the Jewish blasphemers and pagans. In history, they were able to betray Jesus, but now they have no shame. ... He hoped that the American people would recognize the truth and not be deceived. At the same time, he instructed HNA commander Marshal Richthofen to launch a retaliatory air strike against Washington as soon as possible. Berlin must not be humiliated!

Madagascar News: The Axis forces achieved a major victory in the attack on the island of Madagascar! Major General Terry, commander of the British garrison on the island, has led his troops to lay down their weapons and surrender. More than 3,000 surrendered officers and soldiers are still there. Some defenders are still using the terrain to resist. It is expected that the remaining enemies will be completely eliminated within three days. This operation was the first joint operation of land, sea and air forces in the Three Kingdoms Axis, and was a great success. A large number of heroes emerged during the battle. Corporal Jean Pasteur, a volunteer from the Champagne region of France, killed two British officers and captured an infantry squad alone. He was personally awarded the first class by the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces and the commander-in-chief of the Italian Navy, Admiral Iagenso. Iron Cross and took a group photo..."

"The news report is over. Here is the list of those killed in the African campaign: a total of 1,473 people. The specific list is as follows..."

Army Aviation Commander-in-Chief Arnold had cold sweat all over his back: Just now he was hesitant to whitewash the losses in the Berlin air raid, but unexpectedly Roosevelt revealed it directly. He couldn't help but sweat for the president - this kind of tragedy The loss would definitely be held accountable by the congressmen, but after listening to the radio broadcast, he came to his senses. Fortunately, the president made the announcement immediately and put the main responsibility on the spies first. Otherwise, these congressmen would explode when they knew the truth. of.

Speaking of spies, he became suspicious again. Is this true? Berlin's air defense system is very strict and he is fully aware of it. During the report to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he said that the loss from the air strike may exceed one-fifth or even close to one-fourth, but the president still said that it must be carried out - this is a political mission! However, the 80% loss rate was much higher than expected. More than 800 air defense fighters were not carefully deployed and coordinated in advance. Just putting them into the battlefield would cause chaos. Even if the radar detected and warned in advance, there would not be much time to fully deploy. Is it really like this? As Fohe President speculated, a spy leaked the information and made the Germans carefully prepared?

He carefully recalled the whole process after making the decision to retaliate: except for the senior officials of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the confidential staff and telecommunications officers of the Army Aviation Command, only the senior officials of the Eighth Air Force knew about the action plan. Which link might have problems?

Admiral Jin remained silent. Outsiders do not know how powerful it is. He knows too well the power of these two news: the first one about the Jewish conspiracy group is just for hearing. This argument can only deceive ordinary people who do not know the truth. The real senior officials will not take it seriously. This is German propaganda, but the other party's clamor to bomb Washington makes him very worried.

The Army Aviation must invest heavily in defense, but this is not necessarily safe. After a long time, if the enemy does not come, it will definitely relax - because it is impossible to keep the strings tight forever. The Atlantic Ocean facing the East Coast is so vast that it is impossible to set up defenses everywhere. Who knows when the enemy aircraft carrier formation will come again? Once Washington is bombed, the Army Aviation and the Navy Aviation will lose face. How can they survive in the future?

The second is a huge trouble. After the German army occupied Madagascar, the African theater of operations was completely isolated and helpless. If the enemy army with an advantage landed again in southern Kenya and cooperated with Guderian in front of him to launch a pincer attack, Eisenhower, who had retreated to Nairobi, would be attacked from both sides. Judging from the combat effectiveness shown by the German army, Ike's troops would probably be finished in a month. Even if the Joint Chiefs of Staff made a correct judgment, what would happen? The mainland had no way to replenish troops and equipment for Africa, and the troops had no way to retreat now. They could only watch them die or surrender - without sea support and land channels, Kenya was simply a dead end.

It is worth noting that after the Axis controlled Madagascar, it was only 1,000 nautical miles away from South Africa. With the current joint combat capabilities and determination of the three-nation Axis, if an amphibious landing operation was launched against South Africa, it was estimated that two German armored divisions would be enough for the South Africans to surrender. In addition, the Germans have been making every effort to win over the Boers. What if another Boer in South Africa turned against them? If the Germans had been quicker, they could have launched an attack on South Africa in July. Would the British and American navies have pulled out these newly formed fleets to fight? If they won, it would be fine. If they lost, they would not be able to recover until Christmas. Admiral King was not optimistic about these novice troops.

"Turn off the radio." Roosevelt showed a tired face, with a deep sense of powerlessness in his heart: the Germans launched a political offensive and desperately attacked the soft underbelly of the United States. The American people were most afraid of casualties, but the Germans announced the list of the dead. In this way, I am afraid that every night there will be worried people gathering around the radio to listen, and then the Germans will take the opportunity to insert news to brainwash the people. It is estimated that in a few months, the American people will have other ideas.

Can their radios be confiscated? Obviously not, this is absolutely a violation of human rights! Can they be stopped from listening to this program? I am afraid not! The people are eager to know the situation. The speed of the Germans publishing the list of the dead is much faster than the logistics department issuing the death notice. Who would not worry about their loved ones?

Marshall, who was in charge of the overall command and coordination of the war, had a headache: In the past, only the family members were notified of the death notice, and no one except the immediate family would have a comprehensive list. But now that the Germans have announced it, the whole United States knows about it. When the public knows that 2,400 people were killed in three days, will they still have the courage to fight this war? Interfere with German radio? Doesn't that prove that what Germany said is the truth? It's just a rumor. Why should we be afraid of the enemy's announcement? For a moment, he couldn't think of a better way to crack it.

"We should also broadcast the German radio, broadcast the list of German deaths, and let them overthrow Hitler!" A congressman shouted loudly.

Hoover smiled bitterly and said, "It's useless."

"Why?"

"Because the penetration rate of radios in German households is not as high as ours. More importantly, the ownership of radios by civilians is strictly controlled in Germany. It is not allowed without a certain level of status. Listening to enemy radio stations is even more treasonous. The Gestapo will keep an eye on you, and your neighbors will also keep an eye on you..." Hoover said, "The Nazis openly set up a propaganda department and implemented a strict news control system. The dictatorship system determines that their information dissemination is completely different from ours."

"How do Germans get information besides newspapers?"

"They use the city's loudspeakers, cable radio and mobile radio vehicles for broadcasting. The Nazi authorities only let the public see and hear the news that the government agrees to release. The German population is about two-thirds of the United States, and the area is only one-eighteenth of ours, so they can adopt this broadcasting method, but we cannot follow suit."