Iron Cross

The fuel oil that is very precious to the Axis Fleet may not be necessary for the French Guiana authorities, because not far from French Guiana is Venezuela. As the largest and most important oil producer in South America, Venezuela is not only rich in oil resources, And the price is extremely low - the country's oil is mainly viscous heavy oil, and the quality is far inferior to the light oil produced in Texas. It is not convenient to mine, extract, and refine. However, as heavy oil for ships, it is Not a bad goal.

In just one day and one night, all the fuel consumed by the Axis fleet making waves in the Brazilian waters was replenished, and now it is in a good state of preparation. The attack on Brazil was of great significance. Not only did it successfully attack the prestige of the United States and severely defeat Brazil, the biggest American dogleg, it also allowed the battleship force, including several newly formed Veneto battleships, to enjoy valuable live-fire target practice. The opportunity also allowed German and Italian carrier-based aircraft pilots to fully cooperate in actual combat, improving combat capabilities in all aspects and further enhancing Machar's confidence in preparing to fight the Americans.

The fleet losses were minimal. In addition to the losses of surface ships, a total of 31 aircraft were lost. This was quickly compensated for by backup aircraft. Most of the downed pilots were rescued. A total of 12 pilots (groups) were missing or killed. , which is insignificant compared to the carrier-based aircraft pilot force which is over 60% full.

"What to do now? A head-on fight with the Germans?" On board the USS New Jersey, the flagship of the Atlantic Fleet (Iowa has always been scheduled to be provided to the Pacific Fleet, so although it was formed earlier, it has never served as the flagship of the Atlantic Fleet) , Fleet Commander Admiral Ingersoll paced back and forth restlessly in the command tower.

Of course there is a reason why he is so agitated. The "Joint Elements" action plan has not yet been written, and the Axis Navy has completely disrupted the plans and steps. The idea of ​​​​taking French Guiana without any blood has become a failure, and the fleet is likely to have to face the German army. bump.

"Then let's have a fight. I don't think the Germans are that scary." Turner, who served as the chief of staff of the fleet, shrugged. "A fight near French Guiana is much more profitable than a fight near the Falklands. We can still count on it. Friendly assistance from Venezuela.”

Ingersoll shook his head: "You can't fight if you want. Why do the Germans want to start a war with us here?"

While he was talking, a confidential staff officer handed over the latest intelligence. Ingersoll turned green after reading it: the intelligence showed that German ground troops were landing in large numbers and there seemed to be an attempt to invade Dutch Guiana (today's Suriname).

Turner was angry: "Either the enemy doesn't know that we have rushed to the Caribbean, or he is so bold that he is emboldened. Do you really think that the U.S. Navy can't defeat him?"

Ingersoll was silent, now the Atlantic Fleet is in a very embarrassing position: on the one hand, it cannot divide its forces to attack French Guiana - what if the Axis Fleet suddenly appears and stabs the landing fleet? The landing fleet must You can only be sure to dispatch with the main fleet, which limits the fleet's maneuverability; on the other hand, the landing force cannot be too small. Intelligence shows that the number of German troops landing exceeds 2,000, including armored battalions. If the landing force does not come out, If you are strong enough, you will simply die.

Turner shook his head: "To successfully win a landing battle, you must first gain control of the sea. At present, the fleet cannot gain control of the sea while dragging the landing fleet. It must be divided into separate operations."

"There is no way to divide the troops. What if the main force is in vain and the enemy fleet attacks the landing fleet?" Ingersoll said with a sad look on his face, "Then how will we face the army in the future? As for covering the landing fleet, it is not good to advance one by one. There is no other way. This group of German lunatics can just make a false shot and go around South America to attack the mainland of the United States. How can the Germans ignore French Guiana? How can we just sit back and ignore the mainland? "

Now Turner had no choice: there are almost no powerful warships in the mainland. Last time, the Japanese fleet only dared to sneak up on New York at night. If the German and Italian fleets used naval guns to give the East Coast a bath, the consequences would be disastrous, let alone the British. General Gesol's big head can't bear it, and the president may be fired from office.

"Joint element operations must undergo major modifications..." Turner thought after thinking, "The original plan was to wait for the army to control the entire situation before using the navy to carry out the final blow, but now the situation has undergone major changes, and the navy must attack first before we can talk about it. Obviously, it is impossible to fight with the burden of a landing force. Moreover, the huge transportation force also slows down the marching speed. Otherwise, how can the enemy take the lead? "

"What are you going to do?"

"Split the troops! The landing force and the transport fleet will go to Port-au-Prince, Haiti to avoid the limelight. The main fleet will attack and clear out the enemy fleet first. Then it will not be difficult to deal with the enemy's remaining army forces. There is another possibility..." Turner revealed a hint Smiling, "The enemy may get the information that our army's transport troops are hiding in Port-au-Prince. They know it is a trap, but they may not be able to bear to swallow it because the bait is so fragrant. At that time..."

Ingersoll took a breath. Now he finally knew why Admiral King relied on Turner for strategic planning. This guy had a lot of money and didn't look like he had the rank of major general - he was planning to use three The army division, together with its command system, more than 60,000 people, nearly 400,000 tons of transport ships and supporting escort aircraft carriers were used as bait to lure the enemy to the bait.

"Do we need to communicate with the Army first?"

"Send it to General King. Let him communicate with General Marshall. This is beyond our scope of authority."

On October 8, the Joint Chiefs of Staff held an emergency meeting to discuss the first amendment to the joint element operation submitted by Turner. Admiral King certainly agreed with it. The army generals represented by Marshall were obviously a little nervous about being a bait: in Turner's plan, the army fleet only went to Port-au-Prince to avoid the limelight, and did not go ashore. If the German army attacked and the Atlantic Fleet failed to intercept them, they would be completely passive. Even if they did not care about the delay and let more than 60,000 people land first, the ships they were on could not land. As long as the German army sank these ships, the army's subsequent combat plan would be completely destroyed.

With this doubt, the army was hesitant to make up its mind, and Eisenhower proposed the second amendment: the landing fleet would not go to the dangerous Port-au-Prince, but turn around and go to Havana, Cuba to avoid the limelight. Admiral King did not say anything, but he was deeply contemptuous of the army's cowardice in his heart. In addition, this suggestion was made by the "runaway general" Eisenhower, and he was even more disgusted.

But the situation does not wait for anyone. At noon, a telegram came from the Dutch Guiana front: the German ground forces in French Guiana launched a massive attack. Our army was outnumbered and forced to retreat...