Iron Cross

Roosevelt emphasized: "Send a telegram to the front line. Ike, George and other major officers must withdraw. This defeat has nothing to do with them. We cannot lose this group of experienced officers who have fought against the German army. They are very important to us." Improving the combat effectiveness of domestic troops is of critical significance.”

Shi Tingsheng asked: "At the current speed, how many days will it take for the retreat to be completed?"

"We can only hold on for another five days at most." Arnold cried with a sad face. "I have mobilized all heavy bombers and transport aircraft in Africa to retreat, with a total of more than 1,200 aircraft. During this period, the number of newly produced B-29s and C-47s in China continued to increase. Supply to Kenya, but the losses are too great, the proportion even exceeds the number of strategic air strikes against Germany.”

In order to maintain this transportation and supply line, the United States stopped supplying aircraft to the United Kingdom at the beginning of the year to fully meet its needs. In the past few months, the total number of aircraft transferred in has reached more than 2,800 aircraft of various types, which is equivalent to stationing an Eighth Air Force in South Africa. . The problem is that this route is really far away. German interceptions, aircraft damage, equipment failure, pilot fatigue and bad weather are all killers of the high loss rate.

The forced transportation in the past two days in the flames of war was completely a waste of money: all aircraft no longer input supplies to the front line, and aircraft previously dedicated to oil transportation were also deployed to transport personnel. The oil inventory at the Zambia transit base was rapidly depleted. 5 The sky is almost the limit of transportation. Arnold did not dare to use it too harshly. After all, the air transport from Lusaka, Zambia to South Africa would have to be flown again. If the transport capacity was not enough, it would mean that the troops who had finally retreated would be stagnated in Zambia - nothing more than a different place to be captured. .

The doubling of the number of German fighter jets in a short period of time has also put unprecedented pressure on air transportation, causing a sharp increase in the loss rate of the US military, and the loss of the fleet far exceeds the rate of replenishment. After all, the U.S. Army Aviation is not composed of supermen. On the one hand, the heavy bomber group suffered a large number of losses in the United Kingdom, and on the other hand, it suffered a large number of losses in Africa. This is not a small number for the powerful Americans.

Even with this kind of rescue, almost all those rescued were unarmed soldiers - the British could only bring at least some machine guns and a small number of small-caliber artillery with them during the Dunkirk retreat. Now, in order to reduce the weight as much as possible, in addition to food and medicine Except for the rifles and portable rifles, all supplies and equipment were abandoned. It was so urgent that there was no time to destroy it. Only then did everyone regret not retreating in time - in order to maintain a decent front line, to account for the Indian Ocean war, to rescue the British troops retreating from Egypt, and not to be defeated in the first battle. South Africa, forcibly maintaining 100,000 troops in Kenya, unexpectedly still could not escape this fate.

"Just retreat to South Africa." Smith Tingson sighed. "There are enough supplies and equipment there, as well as relatively complete defense measures to re-arm the troops."

Everyone else shook their heads, obviously not optimistic about this: The fragile and long air channel does not know how many troops can be rescued in the end. These frightened soldiers will need at least several months of rest and replenishment before they can go to the battlefield again. The battle loss rate of each division Extraordinarily high, it is completely necessary to completely rebuild the rhythm.

"If...I mean if..." Roosevelt asked, "the enemy takes advantage of the situation to attack South Africa, can we hold it?"

Everyone quickly turned their attention to Generals Marshall and King. The two recently teamed up to organize Operation Fulcrum, which was launched around the goal of reinforcing South Africa: the Army dispatched a military force commanded by Omar Nelson Bradley. The 10th Army was preparing to hold on to the last Allied bridgehead in Africa, while the Navy's Southern Task Force, temporarily formed by Major General Turner, escorted the transport fleet. This campaign was proposed by the two men at a high-level meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after Roosevelt fell into a coma, and the plan was finalized as soon as the president returned to work.

This is undoubtedly a very risky operation. The escort fleet is under the full command of Major General Turner. Except for 6 escort aircraft carriers, the entire fleet does not have a single regular aircraft carrier. Even the battleships only have 2 old-fashioned Queen Elizabeth class, which is extremely weak. , vulnerable to a single blow when encountering the combined fleet. However, Turner gave full play to his bold and careful characteristics and believed that after the Caribbean and Panama campaigns, the Japanese and German navies, which had been fighting continuously, were in urgent need of rest and recuperation. At this time, there would be a relatively ideal window period for operations. Once this point is passed, unless the strength of the British and American navies recovers to completely overwhelm the axis, do not expect to send another large-scale troop increase to South Africa.

In his opinion, with the current speed of shipbuilding and training in the country, the fundamental change in the balance of naval power will not occur earlier than the spring of 1944 - he can afford to wait, but South Africa cannot afford to wait!

This view finally impressed Admiral Jin. It happened that the army and escort aircraft carriers were both ready-made - the forces originally prepared for the attack on the Azores. Anyway, there was no chance of Plan B being implemented in the short term. After thinking about it, Marshall also agreed with this idea. For safety reasons, the entire operation was divided into two stages: the fleet first arrived in Brazil, and then decided the next step according to the situation. After ensuring safety, it went from Brazil to South Africa. The troop deployment was also divided into several times, one Only drop one division. Judging from the current situation, after occupying Madagascar, the Axis' attention is still on Kenya. After the German Marines landed in Tanganyika, the possibility of landing operations in South Africa in the near future has further declined.

"Everything is going well so far. The fleet has just left the Brazilian port and will arrive in Cape Town in about 15-16 days. The journey has been peaceful. Based on today's intelligence analysis, I don't think we will encounter the main enemy force in the short term." Admiral Jin responded. expressed cautious optimism.

In fact, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are not without objections to the deployment of troops to South Africa. For example, the road is too far, the battlefield is not of decisive significance, and the naval strength has not yet been restored. But one thing is unanimously acknowledged by everyone: South Africa, this important bridgehead, must not be lost. Once lost, the United States will completely retreat to the American continent. This will not only mean a huge military defeat, but also bring political passivity - losing divisions and territory one after another, which will Do you still have the morale of the people to continue fighting?

"After all the 10th Army has landed and the personnel in the African theater have withdrawn, the South African Army has a relatively strong force. The total force is expected to reach 300,000 (including 200,000 South African local troops), and the material supply is relatively sufficient - this is to defend South Africa. "There are favorable conditions." Marshall analyzed the situation carefully, "After the war in Kenya, the enemy will have three routes to attack South Africa, including two land routes and one sea route."

"The first land route was to occupy Tanganyika and then go around the west side of Lake Malawi, enter Zambia, take Rhodesia, and then attack South Africa from the north. The overall distance of this road is more than 2,500 kilometers, with inconvenient transportation and supply difficulties. We believe that Germany People will not choose. At most, they will send a small number of troops to infiltrate and occupy Zambia;

The second land route is to go around the east side of Lake Malawi via Portuguese Mozambique, and then cross the entire Mozambique to attack northeastern South Africa. Regardless of whether the Portuguese agree to the German entry, judging from the distance, this route is almost 2,500 kilometers, and the only advantage is The most important thing is that supplies are relatively convenient. The Germans can use Mozambique ports to supply nearby. We think the possibility of this route being chosen is very small;

The third is the sea route. The enemy will use Madagascar as a base and land on the east coast of South Africa - for example, Durban is an ideal port. I think this is the most likely. But even on the east coast of South Africa, the distance from Madagascar is more than 1,500 kilometers. The enemy cannot count on the cover of land-based airports. All supplies and fleets must go through the Mozambique Channel or detour from the sea off Madagascar. I think this is beyond what the Germans are doing at this stage. Logistics support capabilities.

They have just occupied Madagascar, and they have insufficient reserves of materials and supplies. Most of them need to be transported from the mainland - the distance is more than 13,000 kilometers, which is equivalent to our transportation from the east coast to Cape Town. Based on past intelligence and the combination of German and Italian industry and logistics capabilities, Based on analysis, I don't think they have the supply capability to maintain more than 100,000 troops in the short term. The most critical point is that Africa is not the core battlefield of the Axis. Most of Germany's troops and supplies are deployed on the Russian front. It is impossible and disdainful for them to deploy too many troops in Africa-otherwise they will land in Tanganyika. It’s not just 20,000 people anymore. "

Marshall's words made Roosevelt confused, but he obviously understood the last sentence and asked: "Do you think it is impossible for the enemy to attack South Africa?"

Marshall pondered for a while and then said: "To be precise, we do not have offensive capabilities in the short term. It is difficult to say in the medium and long term, but we don't have to be afraid. The distance between the supply lines of both sides is roughly the same. Our transportation capacity is several times that of the Germans. We are completely unable to fight a war of attrition." We can afford it! Moreover, Germany still has a heavyweight opponent like Russia in the land war. We only need to distract part of the Pacific battlefield. The focus and strategic path choices of the two sides are completely different. I hope that the enemy can attack South Africa. That gives them a chance to hit them head-on.”

Admiral Jin added: "If the enemy wants to attack South Africa, the most likely way is to use 4-6 months to hoard supplies in Madagascar, and then use the island as a base to launch an attack. So I initially believe that the enemy will not attack on a large scale for the time being. South Africa, but there may not be many small-scale attacks and disturbances. The most extreme situation is at the junction of South Africa and Mozambique - which is closest to Madagascar. A small number of troops are used to establish a small area of ​​control, but the German army has always been more cautious. Judging from the attitude, this possibility is slim.”

Roosevelt nodded: "I am relieved that South Africa is not in danger in the short term. The troops retreating from Kenya still need to rely on this base for supplies and rest. However, we cannot remain indifferent to the situation where Germany and Japan have the upper hand in the Indian Ocean. We must find a way. weaken it."

But what Admiral Jin said next made him feel heartbroken again...