It was nearly 8 o'clock in the evening, and the Nimitz fleet was still frantically fleeing, and at the moment when the Cunningham fleet was dying, his fleet received the second wave of the return voyage, and everyone was exhausted and terrified of the ferocious volley of the Luftwaffe today. When www.biquge.info heard what happened to their own fleet, especially the British fleet, everyone was even more silent.

Originally, Nimitz still had an idea, whether he could turn back at night, close the distance between him and the Germans, and kill a wave early tomorrow morning. But the staff officers, after careful study, decided that this tactic was of little significance: the Germans would definitely pursue them overnight, so it would be difficult to achieve suddenness; Even if you can launch an attack wave first, the opponent's attack wave will definitely be released.

In other words, the best result is nothing more than sinking 1-2 aircraft carriers of the opposing side, but the aircraft carriers of the other side will also be destroyed. Considering that the other side has three aircraft carriers, after eliminating the interference of its own aircraft, it can continue to chase and kill calmly, and at that time, not only the Franklin, but even the two Iowa-class ships may not be able to keep it.

In the end, there are two factors that have to be considered: first, the morale of the pilots on this side is low and the fighting spirit is sluggish, and the German army happens to be like a rainbow, no matter how you look at it, they are not opponents; Second, the German army now has a total of 5-6 aircraft carriers, which can be supported even if 1-2 are lost, and the side does not have a single capital ship on the east coast now, so it must keep the fleet and sail back anyway, otherwise the east coast of the United States will be wide open.

"Sir, I understand your feelings, but we have two new aircraft carriers that will be commissioned at the end of May, and there will be a steady stream of aircraft carriers in service in the future, so please bear with me a little longer, and then avenge General Cunningham."

"I can wait, but the British Empire can't afford to wait......"

"This ......," everyone looked at each other, and finally persuaded, "let the president and the chairman of the United Nations in British affairs worry about it." ”

"Okay, go back as soon as possible, first north, then west, and pay attention to saving fuel."

Also at 8 o'clock, the Zeppelin, Hyuga, and Dunkirk were all lit up to illuminate the planes returning at night, and although all the results had been obtained from the telegram, it was only theoretical until the planes returned safely.

The planes came to a stop one after another according to the amount of fuel, and as soon as Sedritz got out of the cabin, he was hugged by Machar: "Well done! Hahahaha! ”

Then a crowd of staff officers gathered around him to listen to him tell about the final round of attacks, and to listen to him tell about the group of Royal Navy officers who sank with the ship on the last Hornet, and the crowd was silent.

"Who's in a wheelchair? Have you heard of a British general in a wheelchair? ”

All staff officers said they did not know.

Koch proposed: "Ask the captured pilots, they should know." ”

A few minutes later, a message came from a destroyer saying that one of the ship's captain-pilots confessed that it was Cunningham in a wheelchair.

"Royal Admiral Andrew Brown Cunningham? How did he break his leg? What did we do? "I had several encounters with him before the war, and he was a haughty and upright admiral, and what he is doing today is worthy of his honor and status." ”

Ozawa, Ito and the others seemed to have a thousand words in their hearts and didn't know where to start: the Royal Navy had always been the object and teacher of the Japanese Navy, and today they also felt empty in their hearts when they saw the last elite of this teacher being annihilated in the North Atlantic.

However, this melancholy was soon diluted by the joy of victory, and Machar stood in front of the loudspeaker with great interest and spoke to the officers and men of the ship: "Officers and men of the Imperial Navy! You're all good! You have created, annihilated the invincible Royal Navy, and washed away the shame of the German Navy since the 'Rainbow'! ”

Everyone applauded!

"Today's victory tells us that Germany is not only an invincible European hegemon on land, but also on the seas!"

"Wow!" The applause was even louder.

"Let's muster up the courage and make persistent efforts to send the nouveau riche of the New World to the sea tomorrow!"

"Hooray! Long live the Führer! Long live the Imperial Navy! ”

At 8:15 p.m. Azores time and 10:15 p.m. Berlin time, Field Marshal Dönitz, who was in charge of the day-to-day naval work, and Field Marshal Keitel, Chief of the General Staff of the Supreme High Command, stormed Hoffmann's office.

"Report to the Führer, I have great news to report to you."

Hoffman raised his eyebrows: "Mashal won?" ”

"Yes, an absolute big win! We did not lose any warships, but at a small cost of losing nearly 200 planes and 68 pilots, we annihilated two enemy aircraft carriers, two battleships, 12-14 cruisers, and a number of auxiliary ships, and shot down more than 140 enemy planes...... The enemy commander, Admiral Cunningham, and others sank with the ship! ”

"Cunningham is dead?" Hoffman stood up in shock, "Are all the battle information verified and accurate?" ”

"Yes, double-checked." Dönitz's eyes sparkled, and he stepped forward and complimented, "Führer, you have made history and annihilated the unbeatable Royal Navy that has been showing off its power for hundreds of years!" According to intelligence analysis and prisoners, they no longer have any capital ships except for the unfinished warships on the British mainland, and the Royal Navy has finally become the dust of history, and can only live in memory forever in the future. ”

"Führer, the solution of the question of Great Britain is just around the corner." Keitel flattered, "The ideal of a united Europe, the unfulfilled goal of the Emperor Napoleon, will become a reality in your hands, and you are the greatest conqueror of all time, and there is no one." ”

Flattery is always loved by everyone, and it is difficult for Keitel to say it so pleasantly, Hoffman also blushed and waved his hand: "There are only a few steps away from success, but we still have to go steadily, has the main fleet returned to port?" ”

"Not yet, they're going to pursue the American fleet - there's still 1 aircraft carrier and 2 battleships."

"Very good, congratulations to them for recalling!" Hoffman thought for a moment and said, "Tell Machar that when he returns from victory, I will promote him to the rank of Admiral, and General Ozawa's medal will be upgraded to another level, and the rest of the officers and men will be rewarded and promoted according to their merits." ”

"Thank you for your generosity, the Navy will definitely make persistent efforts to defeat the US Navy as soon as possible!"

Washington was two hours behind the Azores, and after receiving the war report from Nimitz, the Joint Chiefs of Staff fell silent and fell into a deathly silence.

Admiral King opened his mouth several times, not knowing how to speak, and finally Lehi said: "In this way, the situation in Europe will definitely deteriorate, and Great Britain will basically not be able to preserve." ”

The rest of the crowd nodded with a heavy heart.

Turner interjected: "Commander Nimitz must bring back the existing fleet, otherwise we will be defenseless in the North Atlantic." ”

Everyone nodded again, the shipyard still has 2 aircraft carriers that can be delivered next month, but after delivery, there will be sea trials, and after sea trials, it will take 2-3 months to form combat effectiveness, and Nimitz's fleet is almost the only hope.

"We should be on the defensive, and I think the plan to land in West Africa needs to be put on hold for the time being." Marshall hoarsely voiced, "How's the Spruance fleet doing?" ”

"It's normal, I'll be able to complete the task in no time."

"Evacuate immediately, and don't have anything to do with the British." Admiral Kim explained, "Not a single of the newly built warships can be given to the British, and as for other supplies, the Anglo-Canadian route will not be delivered anyway if the British-Canadian route is blocked." ”

"Do we need to bring back our personnel from the UK?"

Lehi shook his head: "Not yet, this will cause unnecessary panic and hasten the fall of Great Britain, it is best to let Great Britain hold on for a while longer, so that we can survive the weakest time of the navy." So it is still necessary to cheer them up, at least the TF44 fleet must complete the task, and if the German air raid is weakened, you can risk sending a little supplies and aircraft accessories with strategic transport, but in any case, the Meteor jets and the pilots cannot go, they must stay in North America to defend the free world, and they must be vigorously built, at least 500 more than 500 a month! ”

Arnold gritted his teeth and agreed—everything was negotiable, as long as his jet wasn't moved.

"Carrier-based aircraft have to be replaced." Turner emphasized, "Our planes are too bad, not to mention flying slowly, not to mention that their range is not as good as that of their opponents, and what is worse is that they cannot prevent the enemy from coming from a high altitude." Since the F4U has been improved to be competent for carrier-based operations and has good high-altitude capabilities, it is recommended that all the carrier-based aircraft of the main aircraft carrier be replaced with F4U, and as for the attack aircraft, experts say that the BTD has better performance, so it is better to let the troops try it. ”

Everyone nodded: TBF and SBD were both aircraft equipped with troops before the war, although they were changed and changed, and their performance was improved, but the attack planes of Japan and Germany have been changed twice, and the gap is getting bigger and bigger.

"We have to do it again, and send 30 ships to Stalin again." Lehi muttered, "Stalin is said to have fought well recently, and has counterattacked the Caucasus Plain, and needs to be given a little encouragement, at least he can still hold back millions of German troops." ”

"These must be moved, and the key now is ......" Admiral Jin looked embarrassed, as if something was difficult to say, and only let out a long sigh.

Both Marshall and Lehi looked at him, waiting for him to say the rest of the words, but Admiral King did not say anything, and finally it was Turner who said for him: "What do you mean, sir, do we need to adjust our position on the European issue and seek a political solution?" When Germany gets rid of the situation of being attacked on both sides, it will be our turn to be attacked on both sides, so ......"

Lehi nodded: "The European issue can indeed be put aside, and now that Germany is gaining momentum, we may have to lower the conditions." However, this has to be deployed by the president, we will not say it, the biggest task in the near future is to do a good job in the defense of the homeland, and now it is the peak of Mr. Truman's election campaign, and there must be no mistakes. ”

Everyone nodded.

That night, after listening to Lehi's report, Roosevelt was again seriously ill and hospitalized, and the presidency was entrusted to Vice President Truman......

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