Great time travel

Chapter 131: The Birth of Panama Falls

US East Coast, Virginia, Norfolk Naval Station

In the wee hours of the morning when the lights on the shore were dim, a large-scale American fleet had completed its supply and preparation operations and was gaining momentum.

On paper, the fleet assembled at the Norfolk Naval Base seems to be a huge and spectacular lineup: one Montana-class battleship, one Iowa-class battleship, four Essex-class aircraft carriers Eight Casablanca-class escort aircraft carriers, three Des Moines-class heavy cruisers, three Baltimore-class heavy cruisers, nine Cleveland-class and Oakland-class light cruisers, Fletcher-class, Allen. Sumner-class and the latest There are a total of 28 Keeling-class destroyers. In addition, there are a large number of auxiliary ships, transport fleets, landing fleets, and submarines. Most of them are cutting-edge ships that have just been launched.In the process of lifting anchor and going south, this fleet will also meet some other ships at various ports along the way to further increase its size.

However, as the commander of this fleet, Admiral "Bull" Halsey, who is once again in battle, is very clear that the actual combat power of this huge fleet in front of him is probably far less impressive and shocking than it seems on paper. .

Because no matter how advanced and powerful a warship is, it needs qualified sailors to operate it in order to truly exert its combat effectiveness.

And after a series of devastating fiascos before and after millions of sailors were buried in the sea, Rao, with the huge comprehensive strength and human resource reserves of the United States, although it can continue to build ships like dumplings, but for a while There is not enough time to gather so many qualified and experienced sailors.

Before this, there have been many embarrassing incidents where many ships rushed to finish and launch, but they couldn't wait for anyone to receive them.Some unimportant or flawed ships have even been unmanned ghost ships in military ports or shipyards for several years...

More than half of the ships gathered in Norfolk are not fully staffed, and they are only enough to start the minimum standard for warships.Two-thirds of the sailors have not received complete training, and a quarter of the sailors have never seen the sea before coming to Norfolk, and they may not even be physically qualified.And even in order to make up such a lineup, the Pentagon has already dug three feet into the ground, grabbing strong men everywhere according to the roster, gathering a vote of 70-year-old retired sea dogs, and then recruiting students from major naval academies on the east coast. He and the teacher were all dragged out to serve as officers on various ships.

According to the Pentagon's statement to Admiral Halsey, this time he didn't stuff a bunch of beautiful chicks as sailors, which is already very interesting...

Obviously, this kind of crew is very problematic. First of all, the number is not enough. Many positions are not filled with people, and there are even no people at all. For example, the captains of several destroyers found that no one on board can send radios .Secondly, the professional skills of most sailors are seriously lacking, and their sailing experience is almost zero. How does a fireman who shovels coal in the field play with a set of marine diesel engines within 48 hours while reading the manual?
Therefore, the expeditionary fleet formed in an emergency under Halsey's command had not had time to anchor and set sail. In the process of replenishing the port, there were many bumps and bumps, and even a big accident for some reason. A small fire.This is still the situation in the port. If they are allowed to drive these ships out to sea based on their feelings, facing the gunfire and torpedoes of enemy ships, as well as the strafing and bombing of enemy planes, and then tremblingly looking at the manual to operate, towards the unknown Which direction fired the first cannonball in my life... God!That picture is too beautiful to dare to look at.

The quality of the sailors is so poor, and the level of the pilots on the aircraft carrier is equally hopeless.Due to the loss of more than 40 pilots in the previous war, and only a few veteran seeds had to be kept as instructors, and the qualified pilots trained had to be given priority to supply the front line in Hawaii, so the pilots that can be quickly recruited in the United States are now , are basically rookies who are still studying.On the four Essex-class carriers and eight Casablanca-class escort carriers currently allocated to Halsey, only about 20 percent of the pilots are able to successfully take off and land on the carrier deck.The remaining 60% of the pilots are barely able to take off from the aircraft carrier, and then land at the ground airport to serve as shore-based aviation.The last 20% of pilots simply can neither take off nor land on an aircraft carrier.They can only be allowed to stay in the back seat as passengers, be carried by others to the airport on the shore, and then used as substitutes-so these seemingly majestic aircraft carriers in the Halsey fleet actually have no battle with the enemy at all. The ability of sea and air battles can only be used as an "aircraft transport ship" to a large extent...

What makes General Halsey even more sad is that when his side is full of chicken feathers, the enemy is still advancing step by step.The evening before yesterday, Admiral Halsey, who was still urgently preparing for the expedition, received another bad news from the South American battlefield via wireless telegram: With the stabilization of the political situation in Peru, the original wandering in the Peruvian waters, assisting the new government to suppress the The combined Japanese naval fleet of the opponents once again marched northward, approaching Ecuador, a neighboring country to the north of Peru, and bombarded and bombed the country's Manta and Guayaquil ports.Under this overwhelming military pressure, a military coup broke out in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. With the guidance of the organization and the weapons airdropped by the Japanese naval aviation, Colombia's left-wing red armed forces also blossomed everywhere in an instant.Although it is temporarily unable to attack the capital Bogota, it is enough to paralyze the country.

By noon yesterday, Admiral Halsey, who was in a state of distress, received another bad news: the newly formed Atlantic Fleet of the Soviet Red Navy had managed to cross the vast Atlantic Ocean and arrived in South America without knowing when it was hidden from the eyes of US spies. At present, it has been stationed in the port of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. Its specific strength is not clear for the time being, but it has been confirmed that there are at least six battleships and four aircraft carriers...

In contrast, the U.S. Navy, which is understretched, has only deployed two very old New Mexico-class battleships and a few escort aircraft carriers in Brazilian waters.As for the Brazilian Navy, there are only two old dreadnought ships built before World War I, the Minas Gerais and the Sao Paulo.Moreover, even these two grandpa-class Brazilian battleships are now paralyzed in the military port and no one is starting them-many Brazilian naval officers and soldiers have also joined the previous rebellion and are still locked up in a prisoner-of-war camp.Even the remaining Brazilian navy personnel are in a state of detention and review, and they dare not put them on the warship.And no matter how streamlined the posts are on a battleship, it will take thousands of people to run.

In this way, not only the South Pacific was completely reduced to the hunting ground of the Japanese fleet, but even the control of the sea in the South Atlantic has been declared to have changed hands.

After reading the above battle report, Admiral Halsey's heart became more and more heavy: The Soviet and Japanese troops' attack, offensive and rapid progress this time far exceeded his worst imagination before, but since The enemy's muzzle is already on the chest, and the United States can no longer continue to avoid the war.Otherwise, once South America falls completely, the United States will single out the whole world with the power of one country, and the end will only be more tragic.

——The United States of America is already standing on the edge of a cliff. If you don't fight to the death, then you can only sit and wait for death!
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In short, in any case, with anxiety, grief and pain, Admiral Halsey once again boarded his flagship USS Enterprise and sounded the siren of the expedition... When heading south at full speed, I happened to meet an escort fleet preparing to cross the Atlantic to Africa.As both sides were in radio silence, the convoy headed for Africa sent a light signal to Halsey's fleet.

Among the flickering lights, the naval staff officers on the Enterprise quickly recognized the information and read it out word by word:
"...God bless! General Halsey with victory! General, this light signal is for you!"

"...Really? Then let's use the light to give them a signal back." General Halsey rubbed his forehead and said listlessly.

"...Respond to what? General." The naval staff officer who came to report immediately took out a pencil and a small notebook, ready to record.

"...just go back...well...the United States expects everyone to do their duty!" General Halsey said lightly with a tired face.

However, no matter how conscientious and resourceful Admiral Halsey is, or how his rookie sailors perform at a super level.It's already irreversible - because his fleet has been unable to enter the Pacific Ocean, and it has started a contest with the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy over there...

72 hours later, in the southwestern Caribbean Sea, outside the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal, Admiral Halsey on the bridge of the USS Enterprise was furious for a while looking at the photos of the canal taken by the carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft, but then he stopped. His face was as black as the bottom of a pot...

——The U.S. Navy can think of dispatching ships from the east coast through the Panama Canal to countries on the Pacific coast of South America.And the Japanese and the Soviets wanted that too.Therefore, immediately after the Peruvian coup, the Soviet Union transferred a group of strategic long-range bombers as quickly as possible, and brought in atomic bombs, and then set off from the Peruvian Air Force Airport to launch a nuclear attack on the newly repaired Panama Canal. Blast blow...

Although after the last sneak attack, the air defense forces along the Panama Canal have been strengthened a lot.But in the face of the overwhelming high-altitude carpet-style strategic bombing, there is still no good and absolutely reliable solution-so the Soviets dropped four consecutive atomic bombs, and the Panama Canal leads from the central part to the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. The lock was wiped out.Gatun Lake, 26 meters above sea level, is pouring crazily towards the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, forming two huge waterfalls.And if you want to pass such a waterfall and drive a boat from one end of the canal to the other, I am afraid that such a ship must have the jumping ability of the mythical carp jumping over the dragon's gate! ! !
Of course, Halsey doesn't have such a special ship for jumping, not even the whole world... So, he can only choose to give up the mission.

"...Turn around and head back! Oh, God! It's too late! I hope there will be good news from Hawaii!"

He spat hard on the floor, "... Bah! If you can't beat the Japanese devils this time, go to Argentina to deal with the Russians next time!"