Iron Cross

The sky gradually darkened, the battlefield changed from the windy and rough North Atlantic to the relatively calm Mid-Atlantic, and the daylight hours also lengthened.

In the evening, the German fleet calmly completed the last fuel replenishment before the war. High-speed tankers transferred a large amount of heavy oil and aviation gasoline to several battleships through oil pipes, replenishing the consumption after consecutive wars, and then separated from the fleet and retreated towards the Azores. . After several days of rest, the aircraft carrier-based pilots have also recovered from their physical and mental exhaustion and are full of desire for war again. However, due to the distance, neither the United States nor the United States can do anything about their opponents and can only wait patiently for the distance to get closer.

In the Zeppelin's war room, the fleet's senior management and all staff officers gathered together to discuss the next step of combat.

The combat situation is not very favorable for the German army. To the west is the Cunningham Fleet and to the southeast is the Ingersoll Fleet. Although the latter has suffered consecutive losses, it still has 11 escort carriers and 4 battleships, which cannot be underestimated. The power he underestimated, and Ozawa did not have a single battleship except for the two aircraft carriers Zeppelin and Harrier.

"The Italians backed down, thinking that our army was likely to be attacked by the enemy from both sides, and suggested retreat..." Krank said, "but I sternly rejected it."

"This concern is justified. The top priority is to converge with the break-up fleet as soon as possible. They have a battleship (Richelieu) and an aircraft carrier (Dunkirk). They are indispensable forces and must gather as soon as possible. Otherwise the fleet is completely at a disadvantage."

Ozawa shook his head gently: "We can't retreat. If we leave now, the fleet itself can be saved, but Sal Island will be lost. Not only the Cape Verde Islands, but also the Canary Islands, Madeira Islands or Dakar is in danger of being lost, the British-Canada route will be restored again, and the situation in the Atlantic will deteriorate overall..."

Machar remained silent: Retreating on the spot is obviously not in line with the Führer’s expectations and may also lead to the failure of the entire Atlantic Battle and cause a chain reaction. Ozawa's words are correct. If the fleet does not fight now, the next step for Britain and the United States will be much simpler: directly push the escort aircraft carrier force to the front line to attack, and the aircraft carrier formation will press behind. If the German fleet does not come, the attacking force will eat it up. For the island defenders, if the German fleet arrives, the aircraft carrier formation will fight together. He understood the situation very well: although the Cape Verde defense force was not comparable to that of the Azores, it was stronger than the Canary Islands, Madeira or Dakar. If the opponent could not be stopped in Cape Verde, several other Islands are harder to hold. As far as the current situation is concerned, it is better for both parties to lose than to preserve their own strength.

"Which end do you plan to eat first? Cape Verde or the US aircraft carrier fleet behind you?" Krank asked, "The positions of the three parties are generally clear now. After maneuvering overnight, the situation will become more complicated tomorrow, which needs to be considered. There are too many factors.”

Judging from the distribution position on the afternoon of December 7, the Cunningham Fleet is 1,200 kilometers to the west of the Ozawa Fleet, and the Ingersoll Fleet is 1,400 kilometers to the southeast. If it retreats to the northeast at this time, either of the two fleets will It is impossible to catch up with all the troops, and there is no problem in retreating safely; if you want to attack, staying where you are is not an option, you can either head west to narrow the gap with Cunningham's fleet, or head southeast to narrow the gap with Ingersoll's fleet. Since Cunningham was in hot pursuit, the staff unanimously estimated that the former would be able to engage in combat roughly after dawn, while the latter would not be able to enter the strike range until the afternoon.

Ozawa, who was thinking hard in front of the sand table, after playing with the ship model for a long time, squeezed out one sentence: "I want to attack the Cape Verde enemy first..."

Krank was stunned: "I thought you would choose to turn back and fight the enemy aircraft carrier formation first. After all, they are closer and faster..."

"Otherwise, the two enemy fleets are currently about 2,200 kilometers apart. Judging from this distance, the enemy fleets will not be able to exert synergy within 36 hours, or even within 60 hours..." Ozawa explained his reasons: If the US military The two formations are advancing in opposite directions at a combined speed of 32 knots and can cover each other in about 36 hours. However, the current main target of the Ingersoll fleet is the German forces on Sal Island. Once the fleet leaves, the U.S. ground forces on the island will face If the Germans counterattack, even if Ingersoll is willing to join up with Cunningham, they will only be able to escort aircraft carrier-based aircraft within a range of 500-600 kilometers at most.

Machar and others are veterans who have broken ties with each other over the years. They often slip in and out of the enemy's encircled formations. Of course, they understand that they cannot allow the two enemy formations to merge - once they merge, the Allies will have 5 ships. The super force composed of aircraft carriers and more than 10 escort aircraft carriers may collapse even if the German army merges.

Ozawa turned to Machar and asked: "Based on your experience, if you wanted to hit Cape Verde first, which route would you choose?"

This problem is a bit demanding. We must complete the attack within the designated time, avoid being caught up by Cunningham's fleet, and ensure that we hit the Ingersoll fleet first. There is not much room for choice. Machar After pondering for a moment, he immediately used his instinct to draw a route, a route that was the culmination of 30 years of professional experience in breaking diplomatic ties with the German Navy - not to the west, nor to Cape Verde, which is the standard southeast, but to the east-southeast. go ahead.

"Tonight we will proceed steadily at a safe speed and save fuel. When sight is restored tomorrow morning, we will move at a speed of more than 24 knots. We will do this regardless of whether we are discovered by the enemy or not."

The staff immediately simulated on the sand table according to Marshall's request, and the result was quite strange: Cunningham's troops might be able to narrow the distance between them and the German fleet, but they could not calmly launch carrier-based aircraft to attack. Unless the US fleet in the southeast resolutely went north, the strike circles of the two sides could not overlap before sunset, and there was a blank area of ​​200-300 kilometers in the middle - they could detect normally but could not attack!

"Brilliant!" Several young staff members cheered in a low voice. Marshall's strategy not only ensured that the two German fleets would meet first on December 8, but also that the enemy and us would not engage in battle - unless Ingersoll was crazy and had to use escort aircraft carriers to challenge the German fleet aircraft carriers, the greater pressure on the US military was that the German fleet could run about 900 kilometers in 24 hours, and could directly form an attack posture against the US military on Sal Island that night, which would make the Americans very uncomfortable - neither retreat nor defend!

But Ozawa seemed to have other concerns. He gently swung the ship representing the Ingersoll fleet to the southwest and asked, "What if the US fleet evades and tries to narrow the distance with the aircraft carrier formation?"

"Then attack the US Army on Sal Island, oh... no..." Marshal hesitated. He guessed what Ozawa was worried about: even if the fleet could calmly attack Sal Island, it would not be able to form an overwhelming advantage, because the defenders currently only have core positions and are very weak. Even with the help of air power, it is not enough to regain the upper hand. At most, it will cause more casualties to the US military and improve some of the situation.

"The key lies in whether the Americans are willing to let the army be bombed in vain to ensure the safety of the fleet..." If it were Japan itself, Ozawa would come to this conclusion without thinking. Which navy would worry about the army? But he was really unsure of the American mentality.

"Suppose the U.S. military chooses to evade to ensure the safety of the fleet, how would you fight?" Marshal kicked the ball back to Ozawa, wanting to hear his opinion, and then saw that the route drawn by the Japanese advisory group on the nautical chart was a bit strange - the first half was the same as Marshal's, but after entering the night, the fleet was divided into two again: the commerce-breaking fleet deterred Sal Island, and the main fleet, including the two aircraft carriers Zeppelin and Harrier, continued to advance northeast, keeping a distance of about 500 kilometers.

"Although the Dunkirk's carrier-based aircraft is fully staffed, is it insufficient to use it alone for attack?"

"No... Dunkirk can use cross-platform tactics to maintain continuous attack firepower in the front."

Everyone's eyes lit up: the cross-platform out-of-range tactics were the original creation of General Ozawa, which played a huge role in the Battle of Newfoundland, and can still be used in this way now - both to attack the enemy and to protect themselves more effectively.

Crank added: "The Night Owl Squadron has been used several times with good results. If the opportunity is right, our army can also use it to launch a night attack."

Ozawa smiled and said: "That's even better. We will act according to the plan first. If the enemy situation changes, we can consider adjustments tomorrow morning."

Just as the German army was discussing the next tactical action, Cunningham and Spruance also led the staff to discuss the upcoming battle.

"The situation is very clear now. As long as the enemy does not turn around, considering their position, speed and attack capability, there is an 80% chance that the enemy will attack the Cape Verde fleet first." Cunningham frowned and asked, "What does General Turner think?"

"He wants to take his troops to the south to avoid it, but he is a little hesitant because of the army that has landed on the island."

When faced with the problem of coordination between the army and the navy, Cunningham did not dare to express his opinion, so he had to ask vaguely: "How do we usually deal with this situation? Do we need to..."

"No..." Spruance shook his head, "If it were someone else, they might hesitate, but who is Turner? He is the one who formulated the C+ plan. His hand shocked the Joint Chiefs of Staff. What is two divisions? What? For victory, he might not even frown at 200,000 people! Don't worry, Admiral King's telegram will come in a few hours..."

As soon as the voice fell, the voice of the staff officer rang: "Admiral King called on behalf of the Navy, hoping that we will do our best to win at all costs!"

The more shocking thing is still to come. Three minutes later, the staff officer handed over another secret telegram: "Attention: Burn after reading, the domestic recruitment situation is good, and the 6 million army has been prepared... Ernest Joseph King."

This sentence is incomprehensible in any environment, but the intention in this particular occasion is obvious. No wonder Admiral King not only secretly sent a private telegram, but also "burned after reading".

The telegram copy quickly turned into ashes, and everyone around smiled bitterly: Admiral King was desperate and didn't even care about "political correctness"...