Iron Cross

"Where are your officers?" Thomas looked at the hundreds of soldiers who had boarded the ship and found that there were no wounded, no officers, and not even a few sergeants. He couldn't help but be more confused.

"I am an officer!" A sergeant major holding a Thomson suddenly stood up and pointed his gun squarely at Thomas.

"Big guy, don't point the gun at me, be careful of misfire!"

"Hands up!"

"What did you say?"

"Hands up or I'll shoot..."

"Are you crazy? You're threatening a naval officer, I..."

"I'm counting 3-2-1..." Seeing that the other party had pressed his finger on the trigger, Thomas, who wanted to be a good man and not suffer the immediate consequences, could only raise his hand obediently.

"Do it!"

With a "crash", the numb-faced army officers and soldiers suddenly became agitated. They started to control Thomson and Garland one after another, and controlled all the navy officers and soldiers who had not yet reacted. Soon, the "White River" frigate was completely control.

"Send the signal!"

"The Second U.S. Division of the SS is here. All hands are raised to surrender..." Scenes like this were staged one after another on the naval ships responsible for the response. Although some naval officers and soldiers tried to resist, they could not beat the blood from the mountains of corpses. The army that just retreated from the sea? There is only one way to leave the corpse on the spot.

The officers hated the Navy for abandoning them, and directed all their anger at these light warships. A total of 11 frigates, 14 cargo ships or oil tankers, 31 torpedo boats, and more than 40 landing ships were all captured except for a few who escaped. Controlled by the Army's 3rd and 5th Divisions.

After daybreak, all American officers and soldiers knew what was in the distance on the sea: the German army mobilized overnight the battleship Richelieu, the heavy cruiser Hipper, four Utopia-class destroyers and a large number of S-boats gathered in the open sea, as well as the German Army Air Forces The planes were circling and monitoring. If they had not really planned to seize the ship and surrender last night but tried to use a delaying strategy to escape, what awaited them after dawn would be the end of being sunk.

"Change the flag!"

The U.S. military was very creative in this regard. They tore off the Stars and Stripes above their heads and hoisted the flags they had prepared overnight, most of which were hand-painted. Some were made of sheets, and some were made of white shirts with patterns on them. It’s also hilarious. There are also iron crosses and swastika flags. The most creative one is the "Broad" frigate. The raised flag depicts an American soldier raising his hand in salute, which amused the German navy watching from a distance. Laughed.

"Americans are a bit interesting. I like them very much. Although the British call them 'our Italians,' I think they are cuter than the Italians." Admiral Winnecke laughed, "Salute and welcome." The American SS Division joins our forces."

At about 9 o'clock in the morning, Turner received a telegram that burned him to the core. The news was sent by several destroyers responsible for supporting the army south of Cape Verde: "Our retreating fleet has not been seen, but it has been attacked by enemy aircraft. , our army resists bravely, long live America!”

McDonald and Hull hated the navy so much that they not only intercepted all light warships near Cape Verde, but also informed the Germans of the location of the destroyers south of Cape Verde that were responsible for responding to them. Of course, Ozawa was not polite about this. , directly using 24 He-218s to send all 6 Fletcher-class destroyers to the seabed. The process was as easy as target practice. Fortunately, Turner had a very clear mind yesterday and allowed the battleships and other main forces to retreat first, leaving only the destroyers to respond. Otherwise, the main force of the fleet would be wiped out - the German aircraft carriers also control nearly 150 carrier-based aircraft, and they are protected by army aviation. In this current state, whoever is beaten will die!

At this time, it was time for the game to run away. Ingersoll's fleet retreated to the southwest, all the way to the Brazilian waters. Cunningham's sense of smell became more sensitive, and he realized that the balance of power on the battlefield was reversed. After his side was at a serious disadvantage, he released it yesterday evening. After the last attack group, he immediately retreated without any delay. Ozawa led the fleet to chase for three days in a row, and frequently sent Ar-352 to perform long-distance tracking. Although the distance between them continued to shrink, Cunningham ran away early. One night, the distance between the two sides remained at more than 800 kilometers at the shortest time, exceeding the attack range of carrier-based aircraft. Finally, seeing the US fleet sailing into the Bermuda air defense circle, they had no choice but to give up.

This pursuit made the German Navy very happy. They always took it as their mission to break diplomatic relations. They often hid in Tibet under heavy encirclement and suppression by the British and American navies. When did they dare to chase the British and American main fleets so domineeringly? Although the pursuit battle did not achieve any results, it brought out the spirit of the German navy that had been suppressed for many years. Afterwards, some people thought that if they chased the American battleship force, they might catch up. However, Mashaal and others had worked with Ozawa for a long time and had a higher vision. He said: "Battleships are nothing. Our army's battleships are now better than those of Britain and the United States." It adds up to a lot, but the key is the aircraft carrier. As long as this last British and American aircraft carrier force is destroyed, the entire Atlantic Ocean can move sideways!"

News of the complete failure of the Newfoundland and Cape Verde campaigns reached Washington, causing a huge shock. The news that the 3rd Army Division and the 5th Army Division publicly revolted in front of the electrified formations and announced the formation of the Second American Division of the SS came out, no less Yu triggered a magnitude 12 earthquake in the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

At the closed-door meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, two veterans, Marshall and General King, not only talked but also took action on the issue of responsibility for the defeat of the war. They almost staged a full-scale military attack. In the end, they were forcefully separated by Eisenhower and Ingram. After being separated, the two They also blew each other's beards, stared at each other, pointed at each other's noses and cursed breathlessly.

"Enough!" General Li Hai, who arrived at the venue last, shouted angrily, and then burst into tears, "I have been to the hospital. The president was not in good health. The doctors and nurses have closed his sources. He is waiting for me with joy. Can bring good news and hear about the current progress of the war - I haven't dared to talk about the surrender of the two divisions. The president passed out without saying a word. The doctor issued a critical illness notice and thought that he could not perform normally. Duty. This matter can no longer be kept secret. After discussion, the cabinet decided to immediately notify the vice president to take over the power! "

"Ah!" Everyone was stunned.

Someone subconsciously asked: "Is this really good? Wallace doesn't understand military affairs at all, and his naivety and idealism have been criticized more than once. The president..."

"Idiot!" Li Hai yelled angrily, "The battle failed, the troops rebelled, and someone has to stand up. It's not the vice president. Can you withstand it? What's more, the constitutional system is here, do you want to overstep it?"

Everyone immediately stopped talking. Admiral King and Marshall raised their heads and looked at each other. They hesitated for a while, and then nodded knowingly. This was no ordinary nod, which meant that they quickly formed an agreement between the Army and Navy and the Vice President. consensus - this is much more important than arguing over who in the army and navy should be responsible for the failure of the campaign.

Late at night, Vice President Henry Wallace hurriedly held his first meeting after assuming the powers of the acting president. The situation was very difficult, but he had to stand up at this critical moment. Although Roosevelt did not appreciate him many times, He thought he was "bookish and idealistic", but after all, he was Roosevelt's hand-picked deputy and a civilian representative, so he thought he should play an active role.

"I only got the exact news about the progress of the war this afternoon. To my surprise, the situation we are facing is much worse than what was depicted in the newspapers and radio." Wallace looked at these things one by one, whether he was familiar with them or not. The bureaucrats - these are Roosevelt's people, he can't touch them. He is now only "acting" as president rather than succeeding. The top priority is to stabilize the situation and prevent the government from collapsing in front of Congress.

"The army and navy have initially come up with unanimous opinions, which mainly include the following:

1. Removing Admiral Ingersoll as Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet and replacing him with Admiral Nimitz, and Admiral Ingram as Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet;

2. In view of the fact that Admiral Cunningham made too many mistakes in the command of the aircraft carrier formation, it is recommended that he be removed from the position of commander and replaced by Vice Admiral Spruance;

3. In view of the problem of rebellion in the Army, it is recommended to carry out internal purges, remove unreliable and unsafe generals, remove General Devers, who has command responsibilities, and try in absentia the majors of the Army's 3rd and 5th Divisions and above for treason. officer;

4. Accelerate the construction of warships, replenish forces, and accumulate strength. The focus of operations is to defend the North American continent and the Caribbean region, and postpone the offensive campaigns on the Falkland Islands and Azores Islands;

5. It is recommended to allocate forces from the British and American Air Forces or Army Aviation to strengthen the carrier-based aircraft pilot team;

6. Develop more powerful technological weapons, including heavy tanks, cutting-edge aircraft, etc.;

7.…”

"Is this your consensus?"

"I have a different opinion." Nimitz suddenly stood up and spoke.

"Please tell me." The other people's expressions were very exciting. They secretly looked at Admiral Jin and Admiral Li Hai and found that their faces were calm.

"I do not agree with the idea of ​​removing General Cunningham from his position as commander of the aircraft carrier fleet. I hope that he will remain in office while keeping Spruance as chief of staff of the Pacific Fleet. As for General Turner, I think his strength is strategic." Planning, I hope he can play a greater role in the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”

"Tell me your reasons?"

Nimitz's reason is simple: in terms of numbers and record comparison, Cunningham's performance is not bad, and he is even the best among these generals. The losses of the aircraft carrier forces of both sides were approximately 5 aircraft carriers lost by the US military (4 Independence-class ships, USS Valiant), 2 severely damaged ships (USS Hornet, USS San Jacinto), and 3 aircraft carriers lost by the German army (USS Skyhawk, Harrier, and USS Elbe). Zhong Chuang\\Light Chuang has 2 ships (Dunkirk, Zeppelin). On the surface, there seems to be a big gap. However, Nimitz believed that 4 Independence-class ships can only be converted into 2 fleet aircraft carriers at best. Therefore, after conversion and loss reduction, the comparison is actually 3+1.5 (Allies) vs. 3+0.5 (Axis). The gap is very close. , considering the experience and technical advantages of German pilots, this ratio is completely normal.

Nimitz believed that what really widened the gap between Germany and the United States was the four battleships, more than 20 escort aircraft carriers, thousands of our own pilots, and the 5 million tons of supplies on Newfoundland that Ingersoll lost...