Iron Cross

On the turbulent sea, the German aircraft carrier formation was approaching south-southeast at a leisurely pace. Lieutenant General Bei had fully informed the mobile troops about the accident on Newfoundland Island and the subsequent retreat arrangements. Machar immediately said Although Ozawa was unwilling to admit it, he had to admit that after the U.S. airborne troops landed and the Army aviation strengthened, it would be impossible to continue to use the Marine Corps, the artillery fleet and the land-based aircraft that had traveled long distances over the Azores in the early 2000s. In reality, it is likely to lead to the destruction of the entire fleet.

This is not alarmist, but a situation that is very likely to happen: now the aircraft carrier fleet has lost 40% of its strength, one battleship has been lost, the rest of the ships have been injured, and the light and heavy cruisers have also suffered heavy losses, although the losses are compared to those of the United Kingdom and the United States. A small witch may seem a big witch, but the naval strength of Britain and the United States is not comparable to that of the Third Reich. Before the westward march of the combined fleet is temporarily unclear, they cannot use their only fleet strength to fight hard.

"Lieutenant General Bei made a prompt decision. We made some mistakes in this battle." Krank said to smooth things over. "The Führer sent a message stating that he takes all responsibility for this..."

Ozawa thought hard: "Now that the battle has started, what is the problem?"

"The problem is that the more than 100 ships and 1.4 million tons of supplies seized there have made us lose our way." In the office, Hoffman calmly told Keitel, Dönitz, Jodl and other confidants. , "Our original purpose was to destroy Newfoundland's supplies, disrupt the British-Canada route, and if possible, destroy the enemy fleet. The previous operations were all successful, but the bad thing was that we captured more than 1 million tons of supplies. If we had forced We decided to blow up these supplies and ships. We didn’t have to work so hard. We could just hit and run away. However, in order to save these 3 billion US dollars of supplies, not only did the Marines go ashore, but the artillery fleet was also forced to stay near Newfoundland. Attracting firepower, the aircraft carrier formation was also pinned nearby to provide cover. We gained supplies and lost flexibility and maneuverability. In other words, most of the losses of the artillery fleet were actually due to our greed..."

Everyone sighed. They are all military and political leaders in high positions. They will not be unable to open their eyes or take steps because of ordinary things. The US$2.5-3 billion is really too tempting.

"The supplies will arrive in the Azores today, and we have saved 90% of them. It is not without gain. As for the loss of warships..." Keitel persuaded, "The enemy's losses were much greater. I don't think you need to be upset. Huai, if the loss is serious, we can continue to build it - now there is no shortage of materials and workers, we can completely lean more towards the navy, and the materials can be converted into military expenses and returned to the navy. "

Although Keitel is a field marshal, firstly, his position is related to the chief of staff of the three armed forces. Secondly, he was originally from the Marine Corps and has a special affection for the navy.

Dönitz's face was normal and his mind was calm: "Führer, at least this time we had a head-to-head confrontation with Britain and the United States to train our team. They are not as scary as we thought... The two strategic locations of the Azores and the Falklands were also saved. , As for the direction of Cape Verde, the main force of our aircraft carrier formation is still there, and it is not yet known who will win!"

"I hope General Ozawa can give us a surprise." Hoffman turned to Speer and said, "We must hurry up in the subsequent construction of aircraft carriers. In addition, the Air Force and Hainan Airlines have reported that the new aircraft are good. Although all are currently lost, their performance in actual combat Remarkably, Hainan Airlines has proposed to replace the original equipment with Do-412 and Ju-198, at least half of the carrier-based aircraft must be replaced.”

"As you wish, my head of state." Speer originally complained about the loss of warships, but considering the 1.4 million tons of supplies and nearly 100 cargo ships, he did not want to pursue the matter.

Hoffman turned to Jeshunek and said: "This time Hainan Airlines has suffered a lot of losses. At present, more than 100 people in the front-line pilot (group) company have been killed, injured, or missing. The Air Force must find a way to help Hainan Airlines make up for this loss. From the Air Force Each wing will deploy 150 people (groups), and we need excellent volunteers - don't be reluctant! Without HNA on the front line, the British and American bombings on the Western Front will not be small either!"

Faced with this request, what else could Jeshunek say, he could only express his agreement. He had heard that Hartmann, who had previously had a mediocre career in the Air Force, had become a great success in Hainan Airlines. In this battle, he not only tied with Marr Saiyou's record of shooting down 17 aircraft in a single day also created a crazy record of shooting down 43 aircraft in five consecutive days. Not only was he rewarded with a promotion to the military rank, he was also awarded the Knight's Cross. The head of state has expressed his intention to meet him in person. He also arranged a grand investiture ceremony. Many of Hartmann's comrades and superiors who served in the JG52 Wing now call him "Sir" because his promotion speed is incredible. In the past, Marcelo was called the youngest captain in the Air Force. This title is now It fell to Hartman, who was only 22 years old.

However, the unhappy mood lasted for less than half a minute and disappeared. The German HNA was established entirely by relying on the Air Force. Not only was the mentality and culture completely consistent with the Air Force, but the atmosphere and collaborative operations were also the same as the Air Force. This made In addition to the familiarity felt by the Air Force, it can also strengthen the value recognition of National Socialism within the Navy. Jeshunek bets that with the excitement of quick promotion and many honors, and with Hartman as a ready-made role model, there must be many people who want to switch jobs to HNA. Instead of blocking or blocking people from leaving, it would be better to The air force personnel were generously used to take away the official hat of HNA.

"Now let us look forward to whether the fleet can eat up the pursuing British and American aircraft carrier formations or the US military fleet in Cape Verde..." Hoffman is more optimistic about the development of the subsequent war, "I think our army still has a larger share of the battle. Big advantage.”

News of the discovery of the German aircraft carrier formation was also sent to Cunningham immediately. He still set his flagship on the Unicorn. This method of handling allowed him to luckily escape during the Battle of Newfoundland. After the reinforcements from two aircraft carriers, their confidence was further enhanced and they were determined to capture the German fleet that had slipped through the net and completely reversed the situation in the Atlantic.

"After occupying Cape Verde and capturing the German fleet, the situation in the Atlantic will undergo major changes. Not only will the Anglo-Canadian route be restored, but the Azores, Canary Islands, and Dakar in West Africa will all be under the deterrence of our army. If the army If we can be more powerful and send a large army to land in West Africa and continue to advance towards North Africa, we can completely use this as a base to launch a strategic counterattack - as long as the Middle East oil tanker transportation line in the Mediterranean is cut off, Hitler's war machine will run out of oil. Those awesome Tiger tanks are just a pile of scrap metal.”

Spruance didn't want to pour cold water on him, but he still had to say something: "You can't expect too much from the U.S. Army. The Army's 3rd and 5th Divisions have been crippled, and the Germans on Sal Island have still not been captured. Although Ridgway led the 101st Airborne Division to regain the island of Newfoundland, it was said that they suffered heavy losses and were forced to rest and recuperate...As for the land battle, it was only for a short time...ah...how should I put it..."

Cunningham choked on this sentence and didn't know how to answer it for a long time: I heard that there are 30,000 German troops and 10,000 Argentinians on the Falklands. The United States believes that 4 divisions are absolutely unable to defeat them, and at least 6-7 must be prepared. , but Spruance privately believed that 8-10 divisions might be needed, so the joint element action plan suddenly became a castle in the air that could not be pushed forward. Now no one mentions the Falklands strategy anymore. As for stronger defenses and stronger troops, In the Azores, where the German army was more prepared and more prepared, the staff were speculating that General Turner would formulate plan D or E, because plan C+ was simply impossible to win. What is even more embarrassing is that the M6 ​​heavy tank, which the US military had high hopes for before the war, was beaten to a crawl on Sal Island and was no match for the Tiger. For the subject of land warfare, especially armored warfare, the United States still has to pay tuition for at least three years.

"Have courage, we still have time." Cunningham ordered, "Course 115 degrees, advance at a speed of 24 knots, and strive to intercept the German fleet as soon as possible.

December 4th was over, December 5th was over, and due to bad weather, neither side was able to take off reconnaissance aircraft on the 6th. In the end, it was also over peacefully. The two aircraft carrier formations in the depths of the ocean were rapidly advancing in the same direction. Everyone knew that the other party might be close at hand, but no one noticed the other party. The focus of the Axis and the Alliance was all concentrated on Sal Island.

Just as Spruance predicted: 48 hours or even 48 more hours will not be enough to capture the German troops defending the island. Although the US ground forces have compressed the German troops to less than a quarter of the island, as the US military As the siege deepened, the German defense line continued to shorten, and it still persisted in resisting the opponent's attacks in turn. Turner and British Saul were extremely anxious: According to the staff's inference, if the German aircraft carrier formation rushed towards Cape Verde, it would be there tomorrow afternoon. With Cape Verde included in the core attack zone, if you don't win and take down your opponent today, you may be forced to leave in despair tomorrow. Although Admiral Cunningham vowed to protect the safety of the fleet, he was still more than 1,500 kilometers away from the fleet. How could he catch up in time?

At 3 pm on December 7, shocking news came from a fleet: a German fleet appeared 1,400 kilometers northwest of Cape Verde, including 3-4 aircraft carriers.

At the same time, the German side also received news from Ar-352 that the US fleet was due west of the fleet, 1,200 kilometers away.

A smile appeared on Ozawa's lips: "Very good, it seems that the Americans have caught up. Don't worry about them for now. Let's continue our attack on Cape Verde!"

"Forward!" Cunningham issued the command from his wheelchair, looking forward to the beginning of the second contest...

The tactics of both sides are basically the same: prepare the fleet at night, prepare to fly reconnaissance planes as soon as possible after dawn to determine the opponent's position, and then launch a full-deck attack. The question depends on who is lucky!