afterglow

Chapter 475: Operation Three-Jianlan; a person who can turn the tide

"...Since 7 a.m. local time, German paratroopers have been airborne in Barcelona. Anprat Airport has been captured; a fleet has also appeared outside the port, and it is suspected that it will begin to land."

A lieutenant colonel staff officer finished the report, and several attendants holding documents walked into the hall and began to distribute them one by one.

There was silence in the No. 1 meeting room of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion. Everyone present knew the general information on the way here, but they only learned the more detailed information now.

"The Germans took action after all."

"Is there news only from the south? What about the north?"

"It's been almost two hours. Is there any other news?"

On February 2, with the approval of the German Society War Committee, the "Three-Jianlan" operation was launched as scheduled.

Following the plans formulated by the Army General Staff, the Germans formed Army Group North and Army Group South, corresponding to the northern and southern lines of the Iberian Peninsula respectively.

Army Group North consists of 2 armored divisions, 2 motorized infantry divisions, 1 mountain division, and 7 infantry divisions.

南方集团军由1个装甲师、2个摩托化步兵师、3个山地师、5个步兵师、1个伞兵师组成。

The battle started first on the southern front, with the 7th Parachute Division responsible for capturing Barcelona Airport and disrupting the deployment of the Spanish defenders; shortly afterwards, the 66th Infantry Division, which had sailed across the Gulf of Leon, would land from the sea.

The German army has no maritime power in the Mediterranean, but after negotiation, some French surface ships provide escort and support in the nature of a volunteer corps.

The French's willingness to help the Germans was largely stimulated by Operation Longbow, especially since the French navy hated the British.

Several retired officers with high prestige formed the French Volunteer Corps, which attracted more than 10,000 volunteers of all kinds - active soldiers, retired soldiers, ordinary people, and many foreigners.

With the official half-support and half-tacit approval of the French Democratic Commune, the Legion was formalized, allowing it to raise funds and conduct other publicity activities openly.

In addition, more than a dozen warships such as the seaplane carrier Tester, the heavy cruiser Dupree, the destroyer Walkerland, etc. that survived Operation Longbow were also ordered to secretly join the volunteer corps.

The British did not expect this situation at all. MI6 mistakenly believed that this was just a loose civilian organization and could only be regarded as a mixed light infantry unit.

Therefore, when the fleet of the French Volunteer Corps escorted the German 66th Infantry Division to land in Barcelona, ​​the Royal Navy's Fleet H was still on standby, and the Alexandria Naval Base had no knowledge of this.

The situation on the northern line is different again.

The German 1st Mountain Division officially crossed the border later that day and advanced rapidly toward St. Bastien.

San Bastian is an important port city on the northern border of Spain, bordering the Bay of Biscay and only 20km away from the French border.

The 1st Mountain Division was supported by an armored battalion from the 4th Armored Division. The mountain infantry performed well under the cover of the Panzer IV tank. The Spanish border guards, who thought they were well prepared, were completely defeated in just two and a half hours of fighting. .

Some constraints are that the French Democratic Commune government has considerable differences on whether it should support the German troops in crossing the border, which is somewhat unacceptable in terms of national sentiment.

After many efforts to mediate, the Commune government finally issued an administrative order-allowing the German army to use designated railways and airports to maintain the logistics supply of the two major armies, but they were not allowed to operate on French territory without authorization.

This prevented the German troops from massing on the French-Spanish border. The 1st Mountain Division was already at its maximum capacity, and the remaining large forces could only be transported from the German-French border through military trains.

Berlin was very dissatisfied with this at first, but they soon figured out that this was not a bad thing.

As a result, the British were in a dilemma. Should they carry out air strikes?

If air strikes are carried out to bomb railways or airports in France, it will undoubtedly further intensify public opinion among the French. Because most of them felt that allowing the Germans to cross the border did not constitute a serious violation of neutrality, and it would be unreasonable for the British to dare to bomb.

This is a very typical nationalist mentality - what the country does is correct and reasonable as long as it is not too wrong.

"Based on everyone's opinions, if everything goes well, the Germans can advance to the Madrid line at the end of March and attack from both sides."

Two quarters of an hour passed in a flash, and in the No. 1 meeting room, a general analysis was made of the German army's route if the north and south advanced simultaneously, as well as the next strategic direction.

"Pay close attention. In my opinion, the day when the United States will go to war with Germany is not far away." A senior colonel said, stroking his beard.

"I think so too, I'm afraid... it's just these days." Cheng Han, who attended the meeting in person, also held the same view.

"The German army's march into Iberia is just an opportunity." Zhou Changfeng glanced at everyone present, and then said: "If you want to intervene, you have to find a stronghold to gain a foothold, and you can't just rely on the British Isles."

"I'm personally worried about another point." Lin Xi said with a serious expression: "Years ago, the whole world mistakenly thought that the Russians would be a great help to fight against the Germans, but everyone was wrong. Looking at it now, is there any The small possibility is that even the British and American parties working together could not force the Germans to surrender."

"Indeed." Cheng Han nodded, "If they send troops to the Folangji area and return with a huge defeat, they may be reluctant to abandon European interests."

"This..." an air force commodore next to him frowned when he heard this, "This situation is really bad. If you hit a wall in the west, come to the east to fight with us? If this is the case, then this war will not last two or three years. It can be done.”

"There is no need to think in such a bad direction." Zhou Changfeng waved his hand and said with a smile: "If you don't fight to the death in the west, will you fight to the east when you come to the east? If there is no feud, the country will not be destroyed."

He pondered for a while and then said: "Obviously it won't be like this. Military, political, and economic are linked. Our pressure will indeed increase, but profit is not worth risking everything. After Americans hit a wall at both ends, they may simply Dominate the American continent.”

Regardless of whether the federal government did it intentionally or unintentionally, the sinking of two U.S. merchant ships previously pushed public sentiment to a peak, but after this period of fermentation, it has now shown signs of weakness and the popularity is declining.

If the upper echelons of the United States have made up their minds to join the war, then now is a more appropriate time.

In addition, since many rare guests were present today, everyone was not in a hurry to leave the meeting, but continued to discuss a series of trends in the United States.

The defeat in the Battle of Tarawa undoubtedly disappointed the American people, and the haze that shrouded people's hearts became even thicker.

It is not advisable to change generals on the spot, but now that the war has come to an end, President Franklin issued an order without hesitation to remove General Hasband Kimmel from his post.

Perhaps Hasband did not make much omissions, but it is a pity that his ability is not enough to command the Pacific Fleet to defeat the weak, so he must leave the position of commander.

What is needed now is someone who can turn the tide! Someone who can crush the vast offensive of the Chinese!

Are there such wizards in the navy? No one could guarantee it, but President Franklin was certain he had identified an obscure figure among dozens of admirals.

In the mid-19th century, a German immigrant crossed the Atlantic to the American continent and settled in Texas.

His son Bernard suffered from lung disease and heart disease, which were terminal illnesses that people stayed away from in those days. However, Anna, the eldest daughter of a local butcher, still insisted on marrying Bernard, and their marriage was not favored from the beginning.

Tragically, Bernard died suddenly of illness less than six months after their wedding, leaving behind a young wife who was only twenty years old and pregnant. The following spring, Anna gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Chester William Nimitz.

As a child, Chester lived a poor life and often had to work in various places to support his family, mowing lawns, delivering meat, chopping firewood, etc.

One day when he was fifteen years old, two West Point Military Academy graduates stayed at the hotel where Chester was working. The crisp uniforms and neat demeanor were too attractive to the teenagers, so Chester wrote a letter to the Congress in his local constituency. Congressman, I hope he can recommend me to attend the military academy...

Forty years later, the young man who was lying on the wooden table with a quill and writing hopeful letters has now become a rear admiral and holds the important position of director of the navigation bureau. In the evening of March 3, a call from the Navy Department came to Chester Nimitz's home in San Francisco.

Secretary of the Navy Admiral Harold Stark said in a very strange tone: "The President has decided that you will go to Pearl Harbor and command the Pacific Fleet there."

"..." Chester, who was holding the microphone, was so shocked that he couldn't speak. The fatigue of being busy all day disappeared in an instant.

This is impossible! There are five, ten, or twenty admirals who are more senior than me!

Harold on the other end of the phone sighed softly. All of this was the result of the president's efforts against all opinions.

According to the results of everyone's vote for "the most capable commander", Halsey ranked first, Ingersoll came second, and Chester Nimitz was not popular at all.

"Are you ready? The president hopes you will take office as soon as possible. The Chinese will not wait for us." Harold asked.

"Of course, Mr. Minister!"

After hanging up the phone, Chester stared at his wife, Catherine, who was buttering the bread. He hesitated for a few seconds before speaking, "I have to go to Hawaii."

The acquaintance of Catherine and Chester was very dramatic. At that time, Chester originally went on a date with Catherine's sister, but the sister was absent due to something, so the temporary supporter sister met and married Chester.

"Hawaii? What happened?" she asked in surprise.

"I'm going to become the commander of the Pacific Fleet." Chester replied with some distress.

He was a little embarrassed at the thought of replacing his hapless old friend Hasband Kimmel.

Catherine looked worried and whispered: "But we lost the last battle..."

"Failure is only temporary and I will try my best."

"When can you come back?"

Chester shook his head and said: "I don't know, maybe only God knows."

Unlike my wife's worries, the children were happy - my dad is the commander of the Pacific Fleet, which is enough to make him look proud among his friends.

Chester called his assistant and subordinates to explain the matters that needed to be handled by the Navigation Bureau, and then drove straight to the airport.

That night, a B-17 bomber took off in the dark and soon disappeared into the western night...

This is bound to be a sleepless night.

The failure of the Battle of Tarawa meant that it was impossible to stop the Ming army beyond the Gilbert Islands, and the best route between the United States and Australia was cut off.

Next, if you want to get from Hawaii to Australia, you have to go around Fiji and Samoa and pass north of New Zealand. A section of the voyage is in the rough westerly winds, which is a big trouble for merchant ships. It is time-consuming, labor-intensive and even more dangerous.

The United States does not want to give up on Australia. The Battle of Keynes gave everyone a glimmer of hope, so the intensity of military aid to Australia has only increased.

The Big Red Division, the 1st Infantry Division, embarked and shipped out in San Francisco. They will become the third US division-level unit to be deployed to Australia.

On the morning of March 3, when the Pacific Fleet Command welcomed a new commander...

In the Kandavu Strait south of the Fiji Islands, the ocean-going submarine Lisha Jia-2 is sailing slowly at periscope depth and adjusting its ambush position.

Captain Ling Su leaned in front of the periscope and kept giving instructions.

"Definitely."

"Okay...stop the car!"

"Qin Zixiao!"

"Yes!" a shirtless second lieutenant responded loudly.

"Water listening conditions."

"The bearing is 45 degrees, the propeller noise is slight."

Lisha Jia-2 was ordered to perform a reconnaissance mission this time, and came to explore the enemy's situation in places such as Fiji and Samoa.

As a result, after wandering around for a few times and preparing to return, he discovered that a large merchant fleet was heading here.

After weighing the situation, everyone decided to launch an ambush, and to be honest, it was a bit regretful to go back empty-handed.

So they surfaced at night and sailed with diesel engines, seizing a favorable ambush position and waiting for the merchant fleet, which was unaware of the approaching murderous intent, to fall into their trap.

This merchant fleet, numbered LS-16, has a total of 13 merchant ships and 4 destroyers, fully loaded with important strategic materials such as aircraft, aluminum, steel, aviation radial engines, cutting machine tools, gasoline, etc.

The Battle of Tarawa had not yet begun when they set sail from Los Angeles, so they could only temporarily change their route and take a long way to Sydney.

At 7:29 in the morning, the crew of the cargo ship Atwood discovered four unidentified white tracks on the sea on the right.

"what is that?"

"Oh shit! Torpedoes!"

"Captain! Torpedoes! To our right!"

Because they were in a hurry and were quite far away from the dangerous sea areas marked on the charts for Ming submarine activities, the LS-16 fleet did not use a zigzag sailing method to increase the difficulty of submarine attacks.

The cargo ship Atwood, with a registered tonnage of 8,000 tons, turned awkwardly to the left. The crew's eyes widened and their hearts were in their throats.

The first track passed the front of the ship, and so did the second, but then...

"Boom!!!"

A flash of light burst out underwater, followed by a water column rising dozens of meters high.

Just five seconds later, a second explosion followed.

(End of this chapter)