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Text 93. Between advance and retreat

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    In early September 1942, it was the crisp autumn season in the bays of Northern Europe, and the entire coast was dyed golden by trees.  In the Port of Danzig, a battle fleet composed of four battleships was quietly moored, including two huge "Hindenburg-class" super battleships of the Republic Navy.

    After a period of training in the Baltic Sea, the Republican Navy's "Himalaya" and "Tienshan" are preparing for sea in the port of Gdynia. They are the largest, most modern and most powerful super-ships in the world at this time.  Battleship.  Now, it is nervously loading supplies next to the dock. A panting steam locomotive is parked on the side with a long row of open carriages loaded with powerful sixteen-inch artillery shells.  The crane on the ship was rocking a rocking chair to hoist the powerful artillery shells weighing 960 kilograms into the air, and then slowly lowered them, passed through the decks, and loaded them into the ammunition bay located on the bottom of the warship.

    The officer supervising the loading and unloading of ammunition on the dock shouted in German: "The last one!" A naval officer with an oriental face on the deck waved a finger and responded: "The last one." The crane rocked the chair and flashed the last one.  Hanguang's sixteen-inch shells were sent into the ammunition bay.  The groups of servicemen and workers who were busy on the dock gradually dispersed, and the two giant ships were ready for their first ocean voyage.

    "Germany's main fleet has entered the Statfjord!" A British reconnaissance plane patrolling the North Sea quickly spread the news to London.  Autumn has just arrived, and the German Navy, which has been dormant for a summer, has made a series of adjustments and deployments, indicating that they will definitely have a major operation in the near future.

    After nearly a year of rearmament, the strength of the Royal Navy has also been strengthened to a certain extent. The six old Queen Elizabeth-class and Ramillies-class battleships have been rejuvenated after modernization and modification.  After the five King George V-class battleships were commissioned one after another, the number of battleships in the Royal Navy reached thirteen.

    However, since the latest Brilliance-class aircraft carrier only has 56 carrier-based aircraft, the Royal Navy with six aircraft ships is not strong enough to fight against the German Navy on the ocean.  Fortunately, in view of the substantial threat from the Republican Fleet stationed in Gibraltar, the U.S. Atlantic Fleet dispatched the Fourth Fleet to be stationed in Scapavlo to help the British block the exit from the North Sea.

    The Joint Operations Command is located in the eastern suburbs of London.

    "Judging from the intelligence just obtained, I think it is very likely that the German fleet will break through the blockade of the North Sea and enter the Atlantic Ocean in the near future. But what is their purpose? Our transportation line, or entering the Mediterranean from Gibraltar? The Germans  Controlling the coast of Norway gives them great freedom of choice!" Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Mantrock, raised a lot of questions.  If the German fleet breaks into the North Atlantic, most of the British transport fleet will be forced to stop sailing before they are eliminated or driven back to port.

    "According to the intelligence obtained from Germany, this fleet should have been ordered to enter the Black Sea to support the German army's operations in Russia. After occupying Sevastopol, the Germans turned their targets to the lower Volga River and the Caucasus region, but in Rostow  Husband, the German army has encountered strong resistance and is making slow progress. The Russians have now gained a firm foothold." The person who said this was Vice Admiral John Tovey, commander of the British Home Fleet, and he continued in a firm tone:  "From various indications, this intelligence is reliable. Adolf Hitler wants to move his fleet to the Black Sea in order to defeat the Russians with all his strength!"

    "How can we stop them? This requires dispatching all our maritime forces. Even the Americans!" Lieutenant General Mantrock frowned, after receiving four aircraft ships from the Republic of China and two Zeppelins.  After the completion of the Eagle-class aircraft carrier, the German Navy's surface ship force became very powerful. The Royal Navy had to wait until the latest Eagle-class aircraft carrier entered service in the summer of 1943 at the earliest before it could regain its maritime advantage. Before that, even with the addition of the U.S.  Fourth Fleet.  80% will result in a lose-lose fight with the opponent.  The problem is that in Gibraltar, there is also a Chinese fleet watching the movements of the Royal Navy.  This will involve more than half of the energy of the American and British fleets.

    "Why should we fight them head-on? Let them go and let the Germans fight to the death with the Russians!" At this time, Churchill walked into the war room. Apparently he had heard everyone's conversation. The potbellied British Prime Minister entered  In the war room, instead of sitting at the map table, he sat down on the sofa nearby, "In this way Zhuyashvili will ask us to provide more supplies, and we will satisfy him as much as possible and equip the original planned equipment to the local  2,600 tanks are shipped to Murmansk, we need the Russians to contain and consume the German armed forces!"

    "But this will weaken the defense of the mainland" First Sea Lord Pound said hesitantly.

    "As long as we have sufficient naval and air power, we can defend our homeland, and our current main purpose is to weaken the German industrial capabilities through strategic bombing!" Churchill interrupted the Navy Minister.By the way, in fact, Britain and Germany have been trying to weaken each other's industrial capabilities through strategic bombing, but the performance and quantity of both sides' bombers are unsatisfactory.  Strictly speaking, the Germans have never developed a heavy strategic bomber. In the Battle of Britain, they lost approximately more than 3,000 valuable tactical bombers. The British side also lacked the range of its twin-engine bombers, and the navigation and targeting equipment were unable to carry out precise bombing.  , and the ideal bombing effect cannot be achieved.

    But with the U.S. 8th Air Force stationed in the British mainland, the United States and Britain have gained absolute air superiority over the Strait of Dover.  The 8th Air Wing currently has 520 B-17s and 510 B-24s, as well as more than 2,600 fighters, reconnaissance aircraft and twin-engine bombers. The arrival of this army aviation unit is enough to change the air power comparison in Europe.  With the arrival of the 8th Air Force, the main mission of the British Air Force also began to transition from defense to active offense.

    In Vinitsa, Ukraine, the German base camp is surrounded by beautiful oak forests. The autumn sunshine makes the entire forest colorful and gorgeous.  But Hitler, who now lives in the "Werewolf", has no intention of enjoying the autumn beauty in front of him. The war situation in front of him makes him upset, and the "F¨¹hrer" is very dissatisfied with the progress of the front line.

    More than a month ago, the performance of the German army in the summer offensive seemed to make the F¨¹hrer see victory in sight. However, as the war progressed, the Russian resistance became more and more tenacious, but the German army seemed to be unable to continue. It seemed that it had reached the end of its efforts and its momentum was gradually declining.  .  Facing the deadlock on the front line, Hitler felt powerless.

    "My view is consistent with the conclusion reached by the General Staff, and the Chinese are also warning that our current front is too long, especially along the Don River and Zhuyashviligrad. We may be attacked at any time.  There is a strong counterattack from the Soviet Union. The General Staff¡¯s suggestion is to suspend the current offensive and withdraw the troops to the west bank of the Don River for reorganization, which is conducive to preserving strength!¡± Army Chief of Staff General Halder has been discussing with Hitler  To play devil's advocate, since the summer offensive was in trouble, the chief of general staff has always emphasized various reasons such as insufficient fuel, insufficient equipment and troops, and asked Hitler to order the contraction of the defense line and the withdrawal of troops.

    "Retreat must not be considered, this idea needs to be eradicated from the army, completely eradicated!" Hitler was furious, "We want to eliminate them completely, instead of conducting so-called negotiations!" The anger of the German head of state came from General Halder's suggestion  When he arrived in China, Ribbentrop brought bad news to the head of state. The Chinese hoped that the Germans would hold peace talks with the Russians and shift their energy to the British. Otherwise, they would stop aid to Germany and use their "limited  Materials" are used to strengthen the equipment of the Italian army.

    The head of state's roar without warning shocked the senior generals present. They did not understand why the head of state was so angry about these strategic issues.

    Halder fixed his eyes on the battle map. This general who had always been submissive to the head of state felt very helpless. After being silent for a while, Nei Lian forced himself to calm down.  You cannot contradict the head of state, otherwise the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the front line will be ruined by the head of state's impulse.

    "Dear Head of State, we are not giving up the offensive, we are just making a strategic adjustment. Winter is about to enter, and Russia's poor traffic conditions make it impossible for us to afford such a long supply line." Halder adjusted his breathing and tried his best to  Slowing down, "After our navy entered the Black Sea, Marshal Redl proposed an idea, that is, with the support of the naval fleet, we would conduct a large-scale landing operation in the Transcaucasus to achieve the purpose of controlling the Baku oil fields.  The Russians only reoccupied Transcaucasia in 29 years, and our actions can be supported by many local people!"

    This statement seems to be more acceptable to the head of state. Although Hitler is angry, he still understands that the Germans cannot do without China's assistance. In this world, "giants" like China and the United States are by no means the third largest country in the world.  The empire can fight against it, although he very much hopes to become such a country.

    "I need to think about it, okay, I'll make a decision when I get back!" Hitler became hesitant for the first time. He stood up and signaled that he wanted to go for a walk in the forest first.  (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian to vote for recommendations and monthly votes.
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