Iron Cross

But there was no way. The war was still going on, and the response could only be adjusted according to the current situation. The two of them bit the bullet and spoke first: "Political means can no longer change the situation in South America, especially Argentina. Is it still too late to use military means?"

Roosevelt immediately set his sights on General Kim. He clearly remembered that among the main officials, only General Kim took a clear stand against the Azores campaign. Now it seems that General Kim's judgment was still very prophetic.

Admiral Jin pondered for a moment and then said: "I have read the intelligence transmitted by Director Donovan. With the strength of the Axis Fleet, the main fleet must be dispatched to deal with it now."

Admiral Jin's words were very careful, but the logic was very clear: "The enemy's fleet has at least 4 aircraft carriers, 7 battleships/battle cruisers, 6-7 heavy cruisers, and 30-40 light warships. Now we have the Atlantic Ocean There are only 6 fleet aircraft carriers in the fleet - 2 Essex-class, 1 Unicorn-class, and 3 Independence-class. The Valiant was just commissioned two days ago. Considering the inferiority of the pilots, our aircraft carrier formation The strength is almost the same as that of the enemy, and at best it can only be said to have a slight advantage; the battleship fleet can currently use 6 core warships, 3 Iowa class, 2 George V and 1 West Virginia, and other warships such as the California , the Queen Elizabeth and other warships are either too slow or too weak. They can only escort transport troops and are of no great use..."

Everyone's brows began to frown. According to Admiral Jin, if there was a battle with the German and Italian navies of the Falklands, it seemed that there was no absolute certainty of victory under the premise that Britain and the United States were attacking the German and Italian defenses.

"Of course, attacking the Falklands will be much more certain than attacking the Azores, and the price paid will definitely be much smaller."

Roosevelt turned to Marshall: "Is the Army sure?"

Marshall's face was filled with a wry smile: "We only have three aviation bases and two army divisions in Brazil. Argentina is also a big country in South America. This amount of troops is simply not enough to deal with them."

Arnold added: "The straight-line distance between Brazil's nearest aviation base and the Falkland Islands is more than 3,500 kilometers. Even the latest B-29 bombers can only carry symbolic bombs to attack, not to mention that Brazil has no B-29 deployment at all. Therefore, the Army Aviation is completely powerless to bomb the Falklands. If we want to re-establish an air base in southern Brazil or occupy Argentine territory first and then attack the Falklands, it will take at least half a year and it will be too late. So I hope to think about Argentina’s neighbors. way."

The US military has three modern and large aviation bases in Natal, Recife and Belém in northeastern Brazil. The main focus at the beginning was to act in the direction of West Africa. Therefore, it is very close to West Africa, but relatively far from southern South America. farther.

"There is no good way." Shi Tingson shook his head, his face full of frustration. "There are 5 countries bordering Argentina, namely Chile, Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay clearly refused We intervened militarily, and Bolivia had an ambiguous attitude. However, the terrain there is dominated by plateaus, which is not an ideal place for an attack. Only Brazil clearly expressed its support and encouraged us to send more troops and supplies. However, I believe you all understand that the situation in Brazil is very complicated. Yes, this may not be their true intention..."

Brazil is a country where European immigrants mainly live. There are 1.5 million people of German descent in Brazil. If you add Italians and Japanese descendants, the pro-Axis Brazilian population is nearly 5 million. And these populations are not evenly distributed. Santa Catalina and Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil have a large number of German and Italian immigrants. At the same time, Brazil also has a pro-German national socialist organization-Brazilian Joint Action, with more than 500,000 people. members.

Brazil’s diplomatic system, represented by Foreign Minister Osvaldo Alanya, is pro-American; Brazil’s military system, represented by Army Chief of Staff General Montero, is pro-Axis. He has publicly announced that the United States is stationed in Brigadier General Lyman W. Miller, the chief representative of the Brazilian military mission, is "persona non grata." Brazilian President Vargas implemented a completely dictatorial rule. He came to power through a coup and banned parliamentary and political party activities-including the Brazilian Joint Action. This is a test that regards interests and power as the highest criteria and inherits the Latin American tradition. Character made by Diro.

The reason why Brazil joined the Alliance and declared war on the Axis was not because Vargas was politically or ideologically opposed to the Axis. He was purely speculative - on the one hand, the United States promised to aid Brazil, and on the other hand, he believed that the Axis was impossible to obtain. victory.

Stimson's so-called "complexity" clearly shows that inviting the US military to station and use force against Argentina is not the unanimous opinion of Brazil. It is probably just the idea of ​​the pro-US diplomatic system itself.

Roosevelt finally asked General King: "What adjustments do you have to Argentina's overall strategy?"

"My strategy is very simple. Stop the Azores combat plan, turn to the Falklands to use troops, and use both land and sea to settle the situation in Argentina as quickly as possible." Admiral Jin walked to the map and fully described the " "Joint Elements" program:

The first route is for the Army to land in Venezuela as originally planned, quickly bulldoze French Guiana, and then hand it over to the Free French;

The second line is also the army, landing in Brazil to strengthen Brazil's defense. Even if they don't attack Argentina, they can't let the Argentines or Germans come to the door;

The third route is the navy. The Atlantic Fleet, with the assistance of the Marine Corps or the Army, launches the landing campaign on Tsushima Island with 3-4 divisions...

“When will it work?”

"Today is September 23rd. The first and second routes can send troops as planned. The third route is expected to set off from the mainland at the end of October. It is estimated that the war against the Falklands can be launched before Christmas Eve. After all, it is a long distance from the mainland to the Falklands. , the most economical voyage is more than 13,000 kilometers - of course, compared to Germany coming from Europe, this distance is at least one-third shorter than the enemy. "

Hearing that it would take at least three months to be effective, Roosevelt frowned: "This is too long."

"This is the most ideal and quick tactic, and it must be based on the Atlantic Fleet being able to overwhelm the Axis Navy." Admiral Jin reminded, "We do not have an overwhelming advantage in the fleet, and the enemy can completely Let’s fight first.”

"I think we can make full use of the base in Brazil. The Germans can only use Madagascar at most, which is much farther away than us..." Secretary Hull suddenly thought, "Why can't we skip the Falklands and attack Madagascar directly?"

"Yes! Why not?" Admiral Jin said in a mocking tone, "Are you confident that we can defeat it? If it cannot be defeated, the Germans will set out from the Falklands to cut off the transportation lines of the attacking troops, and the Atlantic Fleet will directly Just surrender in Madagascar..."