This is the story of a German military strategist who travels back in time to 1942 during World War II in an attempt to save the Reich from the brink of disaster. Through a series of strategic adjustments and military reforms, the protagonist begins to turn the tide of the war. The work is characterized by its rigorous historical setting and detailed military descriptions, offering a glimpse into high-level decision-making and military operations in Germany during World War II.
Chapter 068: Dawn (11) The results reported by the reconnaissance plane were all normal, and Mashal and others finally relaxed. As soon as they thought that it was only mid October and there were only two weeks left until early November, they were extremely anxious and wished to let the second batch of reinforcements to Madao go faster and faster on the way. Hoffman's reinforcement of Ma Island this time was a real investment. On the one hand, he sent ground troops mainly consisting of the 7th Armored Division and the 92nd Infantry Division, who would form the South American Expeditionary Force (also known as the "Mandafel Campaign Group") together with the first two Marine brigades that had arrived. On the other hand, he also sent an entire aviation squadron. However, this time it was not an ordinary air squadron, but a unit that had been stationed in the Mediterranean and North Africa directions and had rich experience in sea attacks. Hoffman hoped to effectively play the role of Ma Island, an unsinkable aircraft carrier, and thus transferred it to the navy in an organized manner. After the completion of the series of actions, the Ma Island base will officially be put into operation, with a frighteningly large number - the German Empire South America South Atlantic Theater Joint Command, which sounds like it is on the same level as the Western Europe North Atlantic Theater Joint Command (in fact, the latter is the true Western Front Command of Germany, with General Rundstedt serving as the commander-in-chief). In reality, it only has a size of about the group army, with Ma Sha serving as the commander-in-chief. In addition to these two theaters, multiple joint commands have been established, including the North Sea Home Theater, Mediterranean Africa Theater, Eastern Europe Theater, Russia Theater, and Middle East Indian Ocean Theater. This is not Hoffman's scheming to play word games or make promises about the military system, but rather has profound intentions. Since the outbreak of the World War, Germany's battlefield control has become too extensive, far exceeding the dispatch capability of the General Staff and beyond the direct control of the Supreme Command. It is necessary to establish a theater system for division of labor and cooperation. As the war progresses, the coordination between the army, navy, and air force becomes increasingly important. The joint command form of the three armed forces in the theater system can better exert synergistic effects, especially in the peripheral theater areas where the strength is already weak. If there is further friction between the army, navy, and air force, the consequences will be unimaginable. The South America South Atlantic Theater Command, as a frontline theater of war against Britain and the United States, has a small but elite force. In addition to various commonly used aircraft, the aviation force also brought the latest Me-262 jet fighter. After several months of production adjustments, the production of Me-262 has been steadily increasing, and more and more excellent troops have begun to equip it. It has a more deterrent effect on the battlefield of the Falkland Islands and is also easier to stabilize the military morale of South American countries. After political turmoil in Argentina, Uruguay, and Bolivia, Paraguay finally experienced a military coup a few days ago. Coupled with Chile's ambiguous and wavering attitude, forces that are now approaching or showing goodwill towards the Axis powers have swept across nearly half of South America. Hoffman urgently needs to boost their confidence. Marshall did a great job of hanging the Brazilian Navy and forcing the US Navy to become a turtle, and now he has also done a good job of raiding Bermuda and deterring the East Coast - Hoffman still doesn't understand that Marshall is in trouble. However, the day when jet aircraft would dominate the world is still far away. Considering the pressure of P47/P51, Germany continues to make efforts in the field of traditional propeller aircraft. Dr. Tanker's Ta-152, which has been built for a long time, finally made significant progress - it was fully finalized in September. If trial production goes smoothly, the aircraft could start mass production in the spring of 1944-10 months faster than in history, and the production quantity would be even higher. As for the Do-412 (Zidian Gai), which has been struggling due to the engine, we finally hope for a glimmer of hope and have produced the first batch of 24 trial production models, which are undergoing rigorous testing and training. Everyone is optimistic;Although the Gale Improvement Project led by Jiro Horiuchi started the latest, it absorbed the lessons of many previous models and bypassed the engine pit, resulting in a relatively slow overall progress. The progress gap with Do-412 has narrowed to about four months. There are different opinions in the industry on which type of aircraft should be used for the next generation of carrier based aircraft. Zidian Gai has excellent interception ability and is relatively advantageous in air defense warfare;And the performance of Gale Modified is very balanced in all aspects, and it is expected to have outstanding performance in escort operations. Therefore, there are different opinions between the navy and the air force, but in any case, the high-level ideas are consistent. In the future, it is best for sea and air aircraft to be interchangeable, and the maximum number of main air superiority fighters should not exceed three models. When equipping, not only performance but also productivity should be considered. In the morning, the US Army Air Force once again dispatched numerous heavy bombers for reconnaissance. Although the Axis Fleet had left Bermuda, it was constrained by the Bermuda garrison and could not really go far, so the specific location was still detected - about 1270 kilometers away from the mainland of the United States. But what surprised everyone in the fleet was that the US military did not launch a large-scale attack like yesterday after discovering the location of the fleet, which left several high-level officials puzzled. The answer was not revealed until 3 pm in the afternoon. After receiving the telegram, Mashal, Ozawa, and Krank knew that the fleet was in trouble and the situation was very difficult - if they didn't send carrier based aircraft to support, the Marine Corps would easily be stabilized by enemy airborne troops without air cover due to the lack of ground based aircraft for air control and fierce firepower;If we go to rescue, it will greatly consume carrier based aircraft. Although the fleet has many spare aircraft, the quantity is not unlimited. Any aircraft and ammunition must be used sparingly. If we run out of troops with the enemy's land fleet, what will happen when the US fleet comes up? At that time, the fleet cannot win, the Marine Corps cannot escape, and everyone can only be caught in one pot. This is the second major mistake made by Marshall, the first of which was not seizing the opportunity to devour the American vanguard in the Caribbean. He originally hoped to use the Marine Corps to force the US fleet and landing forces to appear first, and he could use planes to make a round. Now, the US has restrained his attempt with paratroopers, and the Axis side has become difficult to dismount. After pondering for a while to solve this difficulty, he said, "The fleet is temporarily unable to provide air support. I hope the Marine Corps can use armored forces to launch a counterattack after dark and drive the enemy into the sea Krank advised him, "If the American paratroopers can establish a foothold on Bermuda, they will send more paratroopers down tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. One day we will not be able to withstand it and we must think of a way to retreat Pull the main fleet over to receive it Using the darkness to pull the artillery fleet over and have the destroyers retrieve the Marines, Nuo, is the same way the Combined Fleet retreated from Guadalcanal, "Krank said with a bitter smile." As for the equipment, we have to give up. Saving lives is important Tokyo Express? "Mashal quickly understood. Ozawa nodded slightly in embarrassment, but his suggestion was different from that of Krank. He suggested giving up the three battalions of marines to attract the attention of the US army. The fleet turned to the northwest by night, and then tried to find a way to attack the US mainland by air. That was more shocking than saving people, and then turned back to South America. He thought that the strategy of luring the enemy north and forcing the US army to split up had been completed, and these battalions could be abandoned decisively. Marshall shook his head and said, "This won't work. It doesn't matter if we give up our equipment. We must rescue the people. Saving lives is of great significance. There are many heroes from the Battle of Holm inside. I can't easily leave them on Bermuda Island, otherwise I won't be able to explain to the army in the future. Once the enemy captures a large number of Marines, it will be a huge blow to our army Let's wait and see for another day. There are three battalions and armored forces on the island, and the enemy is about 3000 people. I think the Marine Corps has the strength to fight in the first battle, but we can consider preparing to take over tomorrow night. Today, we still need to shift our position to avoid being discovered by the enemy... "Krank suggested a compromise. This compromise opinion is certainly not ideal, it is nothing more than delaying the difficult situation for another day to see the situation. Mashal has a lucky mentality towards this and agrees to this approach. Although Ozawa had the intention to oppose it, he couldn't come up with a way to quickly escape without giving up on the Marine Corps, so he agreed to take another look at the situation. Maybe a miracle would happen - what if the Marine Corps wiped out the Americans at night? Suddenly, suddenly! "This is the roar of anti-aircraft fire. Screaming! "With such an unpleasant voice, it was clear that MG42 was firing. While the fleet was discussing countermeasures, the conflict on Bermuda Island had reached a white hot state. Although the Marine Corps described the situation as very serious in the telegram, they were not afraid to fight. Li Qiwei's 82nd Airborne Division suffered enough during the landing process: due to the small size of Bermuda Island, some troops were blown directly into the sea by the wind during the landing, and many people inexplicably died like this. The lucky ones who swam to the shore also lost almost half of their lives. The troops that successfully landed on land initially had no fighting ability because they did not receive the equipment, and were swept down by German firepower like autumn wind sweeping leaves. The biggest damage to them was not Germany's most famous 88mm anti-aircraft gun or No. 4 tank, but MG42 machine gun and anti-aircraft defense. The main equipment is the whirlwind self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. Especially for the latter, many paratroopers were directly hit in two by fierce 20mm shells in the air before landing, and the scene was extremely bloody. Although the German army also suffered heavy air raids, they stubbornly resisted the fierce artillery fire and were determined to eliminate all the American paratroopers. It was not until the equipment was obtained and the land planes fought desperately for cover that the airborne division established a foothold in the southern part of the island. When the muffled voice of Bazooka sounded, it often meant that the German armored forces were being blocked. The intensity of the battle greatly exceeded Li Qiwei's expectations, and the situation was several times worse than he had anticipated. In just one afternoon, he lost two battalion commanders and four company commanders, and the airdrop team of nearly 3000 people finally gathered together with less than 1500 people. The others either fell into the sea and died, were killed by the German army, or were hiding in some corner - fortunately, the island was inhabited by British and American residents, and the paratroopers alone could receive some treatment and cover.
