In fact, everyone also expressed their surprise about the reaction of the American army some time ago: when the left-wing cluster of Sauken was passing through northern Brazil, the Ridgway unit entrenched in Recife did not hinder the passage of the German army in the slightest. The Germans were estimated to have less than 60,000 troops (the 30,000 Brazilian Germans were never counted), and the U.S. forces were at least 200,000 in the Recife area.

Everyone felt that the U.S. military was so aggressive at the beginning, and now that Ridgway's department is unusually so conservative. Rommel did initially have the idea of ambushing the American troops in Recife, arranging for the Mandol Field's headquarters to be transferred from the Falklands on the right flank, but the American troops were crouching in the shell of the turtle and did not move, forcing him to finally give up.

After handing over part of the Brazilian territory to the Brazilian army to guard, Rommel reorganized the South American Army Group and restored the field corps posture, with two heavy armored battalions, one armored division, one panzergrenadier division and one infantry division each on the left and right clusters, and Rommel's command also had the strength of one heavy armored battalion and three marine brigades, with a total number of about 40,000 people, which constituted the offensive echelon of the South American army.

40,000 people look at the strength is not much, but after many replenishment of mechanized equipment is as much as a cow's hair, the 120,000 troops have a total of 1,138 tanks of various colors, most of them are strong combat effectiveness of tigers, leopards, Tiger 2, 3 and 4 H type each more than 200 vehicles, in addition, also has a large number of self-propelled artillery and armored vehicles, except for heavy large-caliber howitzers (referring to the 203mm level of army towed howitzers) is not as good, the rest of the equipment standards far exceed the heyday of the African Army, Even the 4 armies did not have so many tanks and armored vehicles at the beginning, and in terms of the per capita ownership rate of armored vehicles, except for Thor's hammer, it was the South American army.

This is also where Rommel expressed satisfaction that the Supreme High Command had given only 120,000 men, but no matter how much it was, it really could not be maintained.

In order to cooperate with the offensive operations of the South American Army, the Air Force also increased its troops in four times, sending a total of more than 1,600 planes to South America, in addition to nearly 200 ground attack aircraft directly attached, at least 900 of the other 1,400 can support Rommel at any time, in order to protect the huge airport, aircraft group and material routes, the South American Army also has 60,000 garrison troops, and they will be responsible for stationing Gauss together with the Brazilian Army. The South American Army Group had as many U.S. forces in Recife combined.

Germany did not know that the "Clark formula" was currently circulating in the United States, not to mention that the 60,000 defensive echelon and the 30,000 Brazilian troops and the US military did not dare to ignore it, that is, the 120,000 field offensive echelon, according to the standards of the US military at that time, had to prepare 360,000 troops (now it is 480,000) to fight, even if Ridgway and Stilwell did not believe in evil, they did not dare to try easily.

In addition, about 140,000 troops will be deployed on the long line of defense from Argentina to the Republic of the Americas to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, ready to be handed over to Paulus for unified command, and the supply priority and mobility are far inferior to the South American Army Group, but for Paulus, who is about to take office, these 140,000 troops are extremely valuable This is not a random number of troops,

It was all elite front-line, and many of the headquarters of the 6th Army, which he had led in Stalingrad, were very familiar and handy in command.

The 140,000 troops would form the basis of the armed forces of the American Republics, maintain the Argentine and Brazilian lines, and provide flank support for Rommel, and the Axis would have the means to deal with Rommel in spite of the sudden attack on the soft underbelly of the German army.

Even if the direction of South America has been full of elite soldiers and fierce generals, Guderian, who can't be idle, still wants to "grab business" in the Americas, hoping to use Thor's hammer army and blitzkrieg 0 tactics to deal with Ridgway's more than 200,000 troops, and strive to train the rapid reaction force routines more "familiarly", anyway, after the South African campaign, Thor's hammer army is idle, but after repeated assessments by the army general staff, it is believed that before April, Germany will not be able to pull out enough supply and transportation capacity for the transfer of the army.

Thanks to the effective logistical support on the Eastern Front, the former chief adjutant of the Führer, Schunt, has been promoted to general, and just a few days ago he was promoted from the chief of munitions of the Eastern Front to the deputy chief of the general staff in charge of the army's quartermasters. He believes that South Africa has mobilized two months of transportation capacity and is very close to the oil production area, and if it is to be shipped to the Americas, it will take at least three months to prepare, which is not realistic in the short term.

If you really want to tire Cife, it is better to use this capacity to double Rommel and let him directly command the plan, this tone was also recognized by General Zeitzler, and after winning the Eastern Front, a large number of meritorious generals were promoted, but it did not meet Hoffmann's appetite.

In Hoffman's vision, the U.S. military in Recife could still catch a fish for the Americans, and what if the U.S. troops retreated to the U.S. country and became a turtle with a shrunken head? So he's going to put it in for now.

However, he can't really ignore this heavy army group, so he also has to consider a systematic solution, so Guderian got a guarantee from the Führer: if he wants to fight Ridgway in the future, he Guderian must be the first choice! This verbal assurance, more effective than any document, Goodry went on a satisfying vacation to the country by the way, summing up the lessons of the South African campaign.

As for Manstein, Zeitzler, Jodl, and others, Hoffmann could not let them sit idle and be prone to problems; on the one hand, he asked them to consider the overall deployment and response plan of the EU's military forces, and on the other hand, at the strategic meeting, he instructed them to step up the formulation of a grand operational plan for landing in the Americas, and to consider conquering North America with 300,400 Axis troops.

The idea is intriguing, but the name of the plan makes everyone scratch their heads!

When Hoffmann solemnly proposed the name, everyone was black-lined and a little messy: the original battle plan was either named after a color or after an important figure in German history (such as Barbarossa), and everyone thought that there would be a resounding title for such a grand plan as the conquest of North America, and everyone was still guessing which celebrity would be in the Führer's eyes, but the Führer had drawn up such a strange name. Fortunately, Keitel reacted quickly, and was stunned for only 3 seconds before answering: "The name of the Gaobao Qiren is good, it sounds a bit whimsical, and at a glance you know that it is the strategic trick of the Führer, and it is appropriate to reveal some rumors, and it can scare the Americans when it is released!" ”

Hoffman sincerely expressed his appreciation for the quick wit and dog-like spirit of understanding of Mr. Chief of the General Staff of the Supreme Command: "Gentlemen, although the probability of implementation of this plan is less than 1%, there must be one, let the Americans see our determination, don't think that the empire can't do anything with them, force me to be anxious, I don't mind carving up the United States!" Germany can't occupy it, so let the entire axis divide up the head office, right? ”

Yodel's eyes lit up: "Is the Führer trying to restore North America to its original state?" For example, the British govern the 13 states of New England, the French govern Louisiana, and the Spaniards govern Florida? ”

"The main territory of Spain will be changed to Italy, and the west coast will be ceded to the Japanese, and then we will also get a better territory, and support a National Socialist Republic of America in the interior, as a buffer between us and Japan, and we can send the SS American Army Group to serve! If Stalin is willing to send troops, give him Alaska! Hoffman said with a smile, "You first formulate a proper and feasible plan, and when the EU and the Berlin Treaty Organization are formally established, you will send this plan to the chiefs of staff of various countries for discussion together with the deployment of EU military forces!" In this holy war to conquer the North American continent, we contributed 5060% of our troops, and the rest of our troops were sent by the other 47 Axis allies, even if only one trumpeter was sent, I had to light up the national flag, which could be considered as the first battle of the alliance! ”

Yodel flattered: "The 48-nation coalition army, tsk, it's exciting to think about!" ”

"Dear Erich," Hoffmann called Manstein's name, "you will be the commander-in-chief of the armies of the European Union and the Berlin Treaty Organization, and if necessary, please take command of this unprecedented conquest plan!" ”

Erich Manstein, known as the "Marshal of the Greats", stepped forward and respectfully said: "Führer, you are the supreme commander of the empire and the European Union!" He is the greatest leader of the whole German people, the wisest leader of all Europe, of all the Axis camps, and I am glad and honoured to serve in this matter under your command. ”