"The Luftwaffe was moving more and more frequently. The movement of the wing size can no longer attract our attention, because there are too many such dispatches and too often. The deafening roar of Allied aircraft could be heard almost every moment at our observation posts in the Mediterranean. The Germans brought in a large number of planes from the mainland and parts of Eastern Europe, and our intelligence even showed that in just two days there were about four wings of strategic bombers transferred from the Baltic coast to Italy and even Spain! In less than two months, the Germans had transferred at least 5,000 aircraft of various types to Italy and Spain. I never imagined that the Germans would be able to save up so many planes for overseas bases. Our assessment of the size of the Luftwaffe is somewhat conservative. When Marshall delivered the information to Roosevelt, the giant in a wheelchair seemed very calm, as if he was waiting for it to happen!

"The Air Force is done, and the Navy and Army are here, tell me everything you know. What should come will come eventually, and if we want to change the world, then we must face all of this. Roosevelt tapped his fingers on the table and smiled at Marshall.

"In terms of the navy, the German High Seas Fleet has completed the build-up in the Mediterranean, and in the more than 2 years since the end of the Iranian war, the Germans have completed more than 6 aircraft carriers, two of which are Moltke-class armored aircraft carriers, and the other should be Europa-class aircraft carriers in terms of size, in addition to this, 3 or 4 medium-sized aircraft carriers have been built, in terms of tonnage. It seems that it should be under 20,000 tons. In addition to aircraft carriers, the Germans completed almost 8 cruisers of various types and more than 50 destroyers of different types. The number of submarines is unknown, but the naval side obtained information based on the frequency of sightings of German submarines in the Atlantic and in ports. At present, the number of available submarines in Germany should be more than 220, and 90 submarines can be kept in use at any time. ”

In addition to the Germans, Austria-Hungary already had five aircraft carriers, as well as the Spanish and Turkish empires, which together had more than four aircraft carriers, but the Turks were deployed in the Middle East and did not merge with the Allied fleets in the Mediterranean. The Allies could concentrate up to 20 or more aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean. This scale is staggering for any country, as the commander of the Atlantic Fleet has repeatedly reminded us. In the North Atlantic, the Allied Navy was at a disadvantage. Not only is it difficult to guarantee logistical lines of communication, but even the decisive battle is not optimistic. Marshall said worriedly.

"Can't we do something to stop our opponents? The Pacific Fleet can concentrate most of its warships in the Atlantic, and we are now in contact with the British. Look at where the future combined fleet is stationed. Roosevelt took a deep breath to calm his mind and then said.

"It's a bit difficult to execute. The German air force was deployed around France, which was occupied by the Central Powers to the east and south. German bomber forces could have taken off from Spain to intimidate most of the ports in western France. It was difficult for the fleet to find a safe anchorage in France. And our fleet is too large, with a dozen aircraft carriers and a large number of battleships, cruisers and destroyers. Together with the auxiliary ships, the total number is almost 200 warships of all kinds. No port in Europe could accommodate such a large number of warships. Admiral Jin next to him said with some embarrassment.

What Admiral King said is indeed the truth. It is true that the Allied fleet is not as well stationed as the Central Powers, and the Central Powers can station their fleets on Crete, the Adriatic coast, Sardinia, or even the east coast of Spain. Ports along the Mediterranean coast can supply and protect the entire fleet. And because of the distance, it was difficult for the Allied air forces to threaten the Allied fleet, which was in the Mediterranean. High-altitude horizontal bombing poses a low threat to the fleet, and if you want to rely on twin-engine bombers to bomb from low-altitude shallow dive bombing or torpedo bombing. The range of the plane is not enough.

In addition to this objective reason, Admiral Kim did not say one more point, that is, what if the American fleet was severely damaged in the fight with the Allied fleet! The Navy is not the same as the land-based. The latter has a very short cycle of replenishment of personnel and materiel. And the Navy is different. If an aircraft carrier Essex sinks, then it will take at least more than 1 year to replenish it. During the war, not to mention waiting for more than one year, a few months or even a dozen days will have an extremely far-reaching impact on the direction of the war. Any sea power is very cautious in dealing with a decisive battle at sea. Especially against an enemy of equal strength with a fleet. This, combined with the dismal record in the history of the U.S. Navy, has made the U.S. Navy's top brass more conservative in its planning.

Moreover, the United States is also on the side that must guarantee sea power. The premise for Britain and France to continue fighting on the European battlefield is that American troops and materials can be continuously sent to the European continent, according to the Americans' predictions. In the first months after the start of the war, the US Navy had to guarantee that it could send between 250,000 and 400,000 troops and logistical personnel to Europe every month. And in the first month, the number should ideally reach 500,000! Only in this way could the weaker Anglo-French Army hold off the German offensive. Therefore, for the US Navy, the first thing he should do is not to annihilate the German fleet, but to ensure the smooth flow of communication lines in the North Atlantic. Otherwise, it will not only be Britain and France, but also hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of American troops on the European continent!

At the end of the day, Roosevelt found that things were not as good as everyone imagined, and without the support of China, it would not be too much to describe the Entente as difficult! The Entente could use no more fleets on the European front than the Allies, and when the huge number of convoys was used to ensure the safety of the lines of communication, there was no advantage in the face of the Germans, and this kind of naval battle that could lose the entire war in one day was not only afraid of the US Navy, but Roosevelt was also a little frightened when he thought about it.

However, as a determined leader, Roosevelt knew that now was not the time to be afraid, and the Germans had already entered the countdown to war readiness, and it was very likely that this year would begin. Under these circumstances, the key is how to strengthen the military power of the Entente in Europe. At the very least, a strategic balance of power in Europe must be maintained. "General Li Mei. What role can you and your air force play if war breaks out? What is the total amount of air force we have deployed in the UK in the next 3 months? Will it be possible to curb the strategic bombing of Britain and France by the Germans? Roosevelt turned his gaze to Li Mei to the side and said.

"More than 70 percent of the Eighth Air Force is stationed on British soil, where we have deployed more than 800 bombers of all kinds and more than 1,000 fighter jets. These aircraft, together with the RAF, guaranteed that the area north of the English Channel would be completely free of problems. We are in contact with the French in the hope that we can deploy some of our forces in France so that we can support the battlefield more directly. At the moment the French have already agreed with us in principle. But the two sides have not yet discussed the specific location of the base, logistics and supplies, etc., and to be honest, the preparations of the French are too poor. Neither the quantity nor the quality of the air force can be compared with the German army, and more importantly, I think there is a problem with the judgment of the direction of the French attack on Germany! Li Mei hesitated. Still said this sentence. And this phrase is tantamount to dropping a bomb on calm water.

"What do you mean?" Roosevelt asked alarmedly. Li Mei's words gave him an ominous premonition. "Quite simply, the primary target of this German attack was perhaps not eastern France. It is possible that they will start from both the east and the south of France. Judging from the current layout, this is indeed possible. It is quite possible that the Germans would first use the land-based air forces on the Mediterranean coast and the German High Seas Fleet to launch air strikes on southern France, and then land in southern France under the cover of the fleet. Then push north. Li Mei said solemnly.

"And if the Germans do that, don't we have any effective way to stop the adversary at the moment?" Marshall said, looking at the huge map hanging on the wall. The French concentrated the main forces of the air and army in the north of France to defend against the German attack, and in the south the border between France and Switzerland and the border between France and Italy. Both places are mountainous. It is difficult to mobilize large forces. Moreover, Switzerland was a permanently neutral country, and it was unlikely that Germany would cross Switzerland to attack France. Compared with the Maginot Line, which stretched for thousands of miles to the east, although the south faced the Mediterranean, France's fragile shore defense in the south was vulnerable to the Allied Grand Fleet, which had more than 20 aircraft carriers. Corsica, on the other hand, is very close to Sardinia and mainland Italy, and the war will soon be settled by the opposing air force and airborne forces. Now Marshall somewhat understood the idea of Huaxia asking France to take control of Sardinia, with which there was at least some depth that could hinder the pace of the other side's attack. And now, the Germans can poke the French where they are most vulnerable with a single sword!

The Army was deployed in the north and between the Maginot Line. The Air Force is also deployed in these areas along with the Army, and the number and infrastructure of the Air Force in the south are relatively small. Lemay estimated that if the Germans began to concentrate their forces on attacking the south of France. I am afraid that it will not be long before the air force in the south of France can be completely destroyed. France was so small that German fighters could cover bomber forces operating in southern France almost all the time.

"Doesn't the RAF have any plans? Do the French know their weaknesses? Roosevelt wiped a handful of cold sweat from his head, then looked at Marshall and Li May. One person was responsible for high-level coordination within the Entente. And the other is an Air Force specialist. Roosevelt believed that before that, they must have passed the gas. Perhaps he had already contacted Britain and France and was working on the issue, and although this idea was a bit wishful thinking, Roosevelt couldn't help but think so.

"I've talked to the British and the French about it. The British said that the Royal Air Force might not be able to catch it in a short time. Because in the original plan, the RAF had three tasks. The first point is to ensure the security of the British mainland, and the second point is to help France guarantee air supremacy in the north. The third point was to draw out a part of the maritime patrol aircraft to deal with the submarines of the Germans. If you change your plans now. It may be difficult to devote a large number of air forces to the south. And the range of the Spitfire, which took off from the north, was somewhat short. The French had made some preparations, General de Gaulle had suggested that the French government should mobilize mobile forces to form a rapid reaction force to deal with the German attack, and the French Air Force was stepping up the construction of field and temporary airfields, and that was all they could do. Marshall replied.

"Can we then contain the attack on southern France by strategically bombing the German mainland?" As the saying goes, offense is the best defense, and defense alone can't solve this problem. Then take the initiative to attack, launch offensive air strikes, and force the opponent to refocus on the Franco-German front.

"That must be a disaster! The number of our fighters in the UK is only 1000, and the number of sorties that can be made at one time is not more than 600! And the range of all British aircraft was not enough to cover the bomber group. Even the range of our P47 and P40 fighters was far from enough to cover the air force into the German interior. And the bomber group without fighter protection in the face of the Luftwaffe's interception and ground-to-air firepower is definitely a nightmare, worse than the Germans were in Italy back then! Although Li Mei knew that the situation was serious before this, in the face of the president's whimsical ideas, Li Mei found that her nerves were really not tenacious enough. The British had a small-scale night bombing plan, and the French were bent on guarding their roofs, relying on American planes to bomb the German mainland. If Roosevelt forcibly promoted this attack plan, Li May would have to consider threatening to resign!

"The bombers we deployed in Britain were actually more to stop the German Army, we would attack the opponent on the front line, and even target Belgium, but this and bombing deep into the German mainland are completely different concepts. We also thought about attacking targets such as dams in the Ruhr area. However, the Germans had already taken precautions and lowered the water level, and such an attack was likely to lead to a frenzied retaliation from the other side, so in the end it had to be put on hold for the time being. In this confrontation, in fact, it was only the British Air Force and the French Air Force against the entire Allied Air Force, and our 2000 aircraft played a really limited role. Coupled with the fact that we are geographically disadvantaged, and already the inevitable selfishness of the British, the situation of the Allied air force is indeed difficult. The only way is to immediately increase the number of US Air Forces in Europe. Li Mei definitely said that what she said earlier was not enough, so she added.

Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976, Tan Ziqiang's reward~~~, and the book friend hs1110's monthly pass support ~~~. (To be continued)