Since no German planes had dropped bombs over major British cities since the start of the war, the exterior of 10 Downing Street was very peaceful, with no anti-aircraft guns with their barrels raised high, no military trucks tethered to balloons (which were tied to make it easier to move), just helmeted policemen pacing back and forth in the morning sun. Commander of the British Middle East Theater Air Force Arthur. Admiral Ted got out of the car and was reminded of the peaceful years before the outbreak of war. Now, apart from the occasional terrible news from the seas and the growing strain of rations, there was no longer a hint of gunpowder in Great Britain.

Arthur. Ted smiled at the unarmed London policeman, and then walked briskly into the British Prime Minister's residence. He arrived with a colonel from the Air Force Command, who introduced him to a male secretary in a ceremonial dress and left on his own. The secretary led him up the wide staircase with portraits, up to the second floor under the gaze of the prime ministers of the empire's heyday, and then to meet the ailing Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and the spirited Admiral Churchill, and the Aviation Secretary Howard in a large room furnished with elaborate old furniture and excellent paintings. Kingsley. Wood and the Chief of Staff of the Royal Air Force, Admiral Newwall.

When Ted arrived, several people in the room were discussing something with great interest, and when Churchill saw Ted, he beckoned him with his hand holding a cigar: "Arthur, you are here, come quickly, sit down and talk." ”

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, Your Excellency the Minister, Admiral." Arthur. Ted gave the room a military salute before sitting down on an empty chair.

"How? Pretty leisurely days in the Middle East, right? Churchill asked half-jokingly.

"Idle panic," Arthur. Ted smiled wryly and said, "Nothing to do every day. ”

The purpose of establishing the Middle East Theater was to guard against Italy and the Soviet Union, and now that these two countries are quite "honest," there is naturally nothing to do in the Middle East Theater.

Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain said, "Then you have something to do now!" The wartime Cabinet has decided to carry out Operation Spear! ”

"What?" Arthur. Ted froze.

"How?" Secretary of the Air Force, Howard. Kingsley looked at Ted, "Arthur, don't have the confidence to complete the mission?" ”

"Of course it can be done!" Arthur. Ted said, "It just felt a little sudden......

Operation Spear is the code name for the bombing of the oil-producing areas of Baku, Grozny and Batumi. The British Middle East Theater Air Force Command has been secretly planning since last year, and all preparations have been made for a long time.

However, even Ted, who was responsible for planning the matter, and Juno, the commander of the French Air Force in Syria, saw that Operation Spear was too risky to be carried out.

"Allocate you 10 squadrons of Wellington bombers and 3 squadrons of Blenheim long-range fighters," said Admiral Newwall, Chief of Staff of the Air Force. ”

"Definitely complete the mission!" Arthur. Ted replied. In fact, he could not complete the task of destroying the oil field, because the drilling rigs in the oil field were distributed in a wide area, and more than 100 Wellington bombers could not blow it up at all. But military generals of this period generally overestimated the power of strategic bombing, and Ted was no exception.

"But the British Empire needs this mission to fail!" Churchill suddenly interjected faintly.

"Ah, failure?" Arthur. Ted really didn't understand what this meant, "Chancellor, what do you mean......"

"The bombing operation failed," explained the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Admiral Newwall, "and the bomber group got lost after taking off, did not find its way to the Soviet Union or was intercepted by the Turkish Air Force...... 'Operation Spear' only received the tacit approval of Turkey, and theoretically it was still an act of violating Turkish neutrality, and it was normal to be intercepted, right?" ”

"Not into Soviet airspace?" Arthur. Ted still didn't understand, "What's the point of bombing missions like that?" ”

"Just because we didn't get into Soviet airspace doesn't mean the French didn't get into it either." Churchill took a puff of cigarette and said with a smile, "Can 96 LeO-451 bombers destroy the oil refineries in Batumi?" ”

"There's no problem with that," said Arthur. Ted replied, "The refinery is full of flammable and explosive materials, and throwing a few bombs at random can cause disaster, let alone 96 bombers." But...... Having destroyed the oil refineries in Batumi, the Germans could still get oil from the Soviet Union. ”

Yes, it was not the German oil refineries that were blown up, and such an action did not seem to do anything to defeat Germany, and the only effect was to provoke Stalin.

"After careful investigation and careful calculations, we have concluded that about 50 percent of the oil produced from the Baku and Grozny fields is processed by oil refineries in Batumi, which accounts for 75 percent of the domestic oil processing in the Soviet Union," said the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Colonel-General Neuvor. That is, as soon as the oil refineries in Batumi were blown up, the USSR would have fallen into a period of scarcity of oil products for at least 12 months in the short term. And Germany did not have rich refining capacity to help the USSR! ”

According to the estimates of British intelligence, Germany's annual oil processing capacity would not exceed 10 million tons (in fact, only 6 million tons), and although there were no problems in meeting domestic demand, it was impossible to supply refined oil products to the USSR. If Germany does this, it will have difficulties in supplying its own oil.

Other words. Once the Batumi refinery was blown up, the Soviet Union would soon fall into a shortage of refined oil supplies. The consequences for the Soviet Union, which was at war and threatened by Japan in the other direction (the Far East), were quite serious.

And if Germany is unable to supply oil, then who else in the whole world has such oil processing capacity?

The answer is: the United States, the United Kingdom, and France!

The only recourse that the Soviet Union could turn to was the United States, a super-industrial power, and Stalin had to submit to Roosevelt's will to reduce or even stop oil supplies to Germany - this is the logic of the British Empire's almost blind adventure.

……

"Marshal, just received intelligence from the Middle East that the French have transferred at least 80 LeO-451 bombers to Syria." Colonel Galen, Chief of Military Intelligence and Director of the Strategic Deception Bureau of the General Staff, walked into Hersman's office and brought him startling news.

Because there is a certain base among the Jews in the Middle East, and they have always been thinking about the big oil fields of the Middle East. Hersmann had long ordered Canaris to set up an intelligence network in the Middle East, so the 96 LeO-451 bombers of the French Air Force had just arrived when they were detected by the German Central Security Bureau.

"They transferred planes to the Middle East again? ...... they are" Hersman looked at Colonel Galen and asked with a frown, "What is the range of this LeO-451 bomber?" ”

"The maximum range is 2900 km," Galen replied, "and the combat radius is estimated at more than 1000 km." ”

This is a very good medium bomber, fast (480 km/h level flight), large range, high ceiling, and self-defense firepower is not weak. It is a sharp weapon for French aviation to carry out night harassment and bombing. Now that I have been transferred to the Middle East so many times at once, it is obvious that there are important tasks to be carried out.

"Are they going to bomb the Baku oil fields?" Hersman said to himself, "If that's the case, we can look forward to it!" ”

"Marshal, they wouldn't really do that, would they?"

"yes, that's crazy, isn't it?"

Air Force Commander-in-Chief Kasselring and Navy Commander-in-Chief Raeder were in Hersman's office at this time. The two men had come to consult with Hersman for the start dates of Operation Scythe and Project Liberator, in which both air and naval aviation would play important roles. Moreover, Operation Liberator also involved the transfer of naval aviation to ****** (****** it was only 280 kilometers from Toulon, the home port of the French Mediterranean Fleet).

Both men expressed disbelief that Britain and France would bomb the oil-producing areas of the Soviet Union.

"What if it's true?" Hersman asked rhetorically, "Do you know what that means, two?" ”

"Will the USSR declare war on Britain and France?" Kesselring asked.

"There is no doubt about it!" Raeder said and shook his head, "But the British and French won't be that crazy, what's in it for them?" Why would they do that? ”

Hersman glanced at Raeder, smiled, and said, "Probably your submarine is pushing them into a hurry, right?" It's almost April, and not only is there good weather in the North Atlantic, but there are also polar days in the Arctic. If two 'Bismarck' and two 'Seydlitz' make sorties in July or August, the British will have to rush again. ”

"Marshal, it's not an emergency, but it can be completely cut off!" Raeder still did not give up on the intention of breaking the friendship with the battleship. "With two Bismarcks here, there is nothing to fear even if they encounter the Hood."

Hersman smiled, noncommittal. Historically, one Bismarck overturned the Hood, and now with the addition of the Tirpitz and two aircraft carriers, I am afraid that even the Prince can be sunk together...... If the British can have a King George V class in service in the second half of the year.

"Don't consider taking LinkedIn territory until you conquer the Middle East!" Hersman said lightly, "The Mediterranean and the Middle East are the keys to victory!" To this end, the Navy is to be ready to take over the main ships of the French Navy within two months. ”

Then Hersman pondered: "The date for our operation is set for April 15...... Give Britain and France another 20 days. Colonel Galen, you get a few more Felena radars to go to Batumi and take the Danube-Black Sea route. ”

"Understood, Marshal." Colonel Galen nodded. He knew that Hersmann was giving an order to the Strategic Deception Bureau that the real radar would not be transported to Batumi, but Britain and France would get information that Batumi would deploy German radars.

This will prompt them to act immediately. (To be continued.) )