Iron Cross

Just when Stalin was hesitating about whether to make a big solution or a small solution, Admiral Ingersoll, 20,000 kilometers away, was also hesitant.

When the British and American fleets learned in early October that the German and Italian fleets were fighting on the Guyana front, they divided their forces for safety reasons. The landing force and most of the escort aircraft carriers retreated to Port-au-Prince, while the attack force's artillery formation and aircraft carrier formation stepped up to head towards Guyana. On October 9, after the vanguard of the British and American fleets was discovered by German reconnaissance aircraft, the atmosphere suddenly entered the most tense state. Ingersoll ordered the reconnaissance formation to pay attention to concealment and safety, and on the other hand, urged the aircraft carrier strike force to move forward quickly to prepare for a good fight with the main force of the German and Italian navies. On October 10, 11, and 12, the British and American navies not only conducted traditional surface ship visual searches, but also used carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft and heavy bombers deployed on surrounding bases to conduct detailed searches after the weather improved.

On October 13, the British and the Americans had turned this sea area upside down. The bombardment formation even appeared less than 100 kilometers from the coastline of French Guiana. The aircraft carrier formation commanded by Admiral Cunningham 300 kilometers behind them was also at a loss.

"Sir, the Dutch Guiana authorities sent us a telegram saying that the German fleet left four days ago and said it was going to attack British Guiana and Venezuela..."

"Damn it, we came from there, why didn't we see the Germans? And there was no news of enemy troops in the two places. Could it be that the Germans have invisibility?"

"They must be hiding in a place..." Turner thought hard, "We have to be careful that they don't attack Port-au-Prince."

"I accept attacking Port-au-Prince. At least I know where these sea rats are hiding."

"Or did they rush to Cape Verde or Dakar for replenishment and rest?" Cape Verde is an overseas island located on the coast of Africa. It originally belonged to Portugal. Later, together with the Azores, it became an overseas base of the German army. However, unlike the Azores, Germany did not drive out the local Portuguese authorities in Cape Verde, but only sent a small number of troops and aircraft to station there. As for Dakar in the western corner of Africa, it was originally a territory controlled by France. At the beginning, Britain and the United States fought here to seize French naval warships. Now it has also become an important base for the German army.

There are voices in the United States to attack Cape Verde or Dakar - although the Azores cannot be taken for a while, it is okay to attack Cape Verde or Dakar, right? Most of these requests were suppressed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff for two reasons:

First, both Portugal and France are in a neutral state with the United States, and there is an ambiguous relationship between them. If these two places are attacked, the two countries will be completely pushed into the arms of Germany. France is easy to deal with, as they have fought against it once before. Portugal currently has few troops except for the German navy and air force stationed there. Once Cape Verde is attacked, the Germans will quickly take advantage of the situation to deploy their army there, which will be unfavorable for the future counterattack on the European continent.

Second, before the threat of the Azores is eliminated, any attack on Cape Verde and Dakar will alert the enemy and seriously affect the German army's judgment of the situation in the Azores. The Joint Chiefs of Staff are already afraid of the highly armed Azores. If the German army strengthens its forces, it may not be able to attack the Azores in the fall, let alone next spring.

For the above reasons, Britain and the United States have given Cape Verde and Dakar a special leniency and ignored them, and even did not have the opportunity to send planes to bomb them. Anyway, these two places are nearly 3,500 kilometers away from the South American continent, and the Germans cannot interfere in anything in South America, so they have maintained a peaceful situation with each other.

Now that Turner reminded him of this, Ingersoll reacted a little and nodded subconsciously.

However, in the afternoon, as an astonishing telegram came, Ingersoll went completely crazy: ... The main force of the German fleet was found 300 nautical miles southeast of the Bermuda Islands, with about 7 battleships, 7-8 aircraft carriers (the reason for reporting this number is that it is difficult for pilots in high-altitude reconnaissance to distinguish between aircraft carriers and large tankers), and the remaining 45-60 light warships. The fleet is currently heading northwest at a speed of about 20 knots.

"What?" Turner was also stunned. The Germans were going to attack the Bermuda Islands? In an instant, he began to worry again: Now the main force of the fleet has been left behind by the German and Italian fleets, and the distance between them has reached more than 2,500 kilometers. In comparison, the search a few days ago was simply useless. When the Germans found that their fleet was coming, they were not prepared to fight at all, but slipped away. Now, if the carrier fleet was still in the direction of the Bahamas, it would only take one day and one night to change the route and intercept. In the current situation, it may not be able to catch up with the German and Italian fleets in three days, and three days are enough for a lot of things to happen.

"Let the air forces on the Bermuda Islands and Puerto Rico find a way to attack the enemy fleet. The first target is the enemy carrier fleet. At the same time, report the situation we are facing to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and wait for the next combat instructions. My personal suggestion is that while the German and Italian fleets are heading north, our naval fleet will quickly go south to complete the joint element combat operation."

"This is unlikely. There are no other naval forces along the coast of the United States. It is completely undefended. I am afraid..." Turner didn't say the second half of the sentence, but only suggested, "Should we let the troops hiding in Port-au-Prince quickly land in Venezuela and French Guiana?"

Ingersoll nodded: "It's a good idea. Report to Admiral King immediately."

"It's a pity that we were exposed..." Just when the British and American fleets were stunned by the sudden change of voyage and goal, Krank on the Zeppelin was also sighing, "If we are not discovered, we can sneak over and touch it at night. ”

"It's okay if we find out, and the time is just right. Let's see how the Americans choose." Ozawa Jizaburo didn't take it seriously, and even looked relatively relaxed. After the explanation of the staff team, several senior officials understood Ozawa's thoughts:

1. It is now 16:33 in the afternoon, and there are still a little more than 2 hours before night falls. According to the dispatch efficiency and speed of British and American bombers, it will be almost dark when they hang up their bombs and fly over the fleet. In this way, the bombing will only It's hard work, but what's even more beneficial is that if the US military insists on bombing, the airport must have lights on when they return - just in time to facilitate the aircraft carrier's aircraft group to break in and find their bearings;

2. Assuming that the US military does not attack, with the advantage of a fast battleship with a distance of about 500 kilometers and a bombardment formation with a maximum speed of more than 30 knots, it is completely possible to launch a bombardment at dawn tomorrow. In a place as big as Bermuda, it is almost impossible. Once the rounds of artillery shells hit the airport and fortifications, it's over, and then they can attack as many times as they want;

3. Moreover, the mobile fleet will soon enter the strike circle, and it is expected to launch an attack on the Bermuda Islands after nightfall - German naval aviation pilots are also capable of night combat. It is not easy to find moving warships at night, but it is not easy to find Bermudas that cannot move. Isn’t it easy in the islands?

Before 5 o'clock, the news that the German army was about to attack the Bermuda Islands had spread throughout the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The senior generals of the army and navy looked grim and worried: Bermuda is about 1,000 kilometers away from the closest point to the United States, and the threat is greater than Bezore. Judging from the number, location and even speed of the existing German fleet, it would be easy for them to attack and capture the Bermuda Islands. Once this place is lost, the East Coast will be unimaginable - the Germans can attack wherever they want. If there is another situation like the bombing of New York, it will really lose all face.

"How does the fleet indicate when they can return for rescue?"

"Admiral Ingersoll sent a report on behalf of the fleet. He has mobilized the army in Port-au-Prince to land in Venezuela and French Guiana. He hopes to obtain authorization to attack the Falkland Islands southward and quickly complete the joint element operation."

"Nonsense! Doesn't he know that the east coast is facing the threat of the enemy fleet? Doesn't he know which is more important, the Falkland Islands or the mainland?" Marshall was a little angry and even used words like "nonsense". The opponent is a real navy. Admiral.

"The fleet stated that since we have vigorously built a homeland defense system and invested tens of billions of dollars in strengthening defense capabilities within a few months, now is a rare opportunity to test it through actual combat. If the United States can even If he has to rely on the navy, he will permanently lose his offensive capabilities..."

"This..." The top army officials were refuted and were speechless. Only General Jin smiled calmly: The subtext of the second half of the sentence means that the army is a waste. It can't attack and it can't defend. This is obviously not British. Admiral Saul's tone is that he is a person with strong "political correctness" principles, so he can rise to the rank of general step by step in peacetime. Only a prick like Turner would express his position like this, but he likes—— The Navy is not a follower of the Army!

Marshall was at his wits end. In front of so many big guys inside and outside the military, he couldn't personally admit that homeland defense was not working, could he? Although tens of billions of dollars have been invested, the East Coast is so large and has so many places that need to be defended that it cannot be taken care of at all. Even if there are some aircraft and anti-aircraft guns, they may not be able to have a big effect. He knows very well that some The facilities and equipment are just decorations. They can only comfort the people and have no actual effect at all. If they are really "tested" by the German attack, the anger of the people will explode like a tsunami. At that time, it was no longer passive and ugly. Someone had to go out and take responsibility - even if it was lower than the rank of lieutenant general, it would not work...

He turned his attention to Admiral Jin for help. The latter cleverly avoided the question of whether the fleet should come back, and only asked: "What if... the German fleet feints and retreats to the Azores, should we push back the 'union'" Elements' action?"

This sentence made everyone at the scene fall into deep thought.