At the operational meeting early the next morning, the State Secretary and senior generals of the General Staff almost all recognized the southern White Army's upcoming attack on Soviet Russia. The senior political leaders of the German government had a strong hatred for the Red Empire, whose ideology was sharply opposed to their own, and where whippings, torture, arrests and massacres were more severe than any period in human history. The General Staff even formulated a Plan "Barbarossa" was launched to eliminate it completely. Now that there are Russians fighting this war on their behalf, members of the German decision-making community naturally readily agree. Schubert, the German ambassador to South Russia, who received Berlin's reply, immediately informed Alexey of Germany's attitude; the first batch of military aid was immediately loaded onto the train and traveled through Silesia and Ukraine amidst the sound of the whistle. plain, rushing towards the Volga River in the east. However, in early December, Russia was in the depths of winter with raging wind and snow, which put many constraints on the operations of large corps. According to the plan of "Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Russian Empire" Denikin, the start of the war will have to wait until at least February next year when the temperature rises slightly. moon. Before this fairy-tale "Prince's Revenge" began, all Qingying was concerned about was the ongoing war in America. After some beatings from the Berlin government, the attitudes of Italy, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottomans suddenly became submissive: Representatives of the four countries reiterated various agreements between the Allies in the southern German city of Munich, and stated that they would never negotiate without consulting the Allies. to negotiate a separate peace with the United States. Both Austria-Hungary and Italy 8 promised to reduce the consumer goods production index to below 90 in the coming year and increase total arms production to twice the level before the war. Italy does not need to send army troops to participate in the war with the United States for the time being, but all fleets, aviation, and registered merchant ships need to be under the command of the German Navy. Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire participated with their entire armies. Fight against American troops as part of the German war machine. Because the size of Italian merchant ships is much larger than that of Austria-Hungary. This seemingly favorable condition for Italy was not opposed by the latter. The commander of the Austro-Hungarian Army, Zenkel, even privately expressed the attitude that the Italian Army should always stay in the mainland and colonies, because these people who do not know how to fight have nothing to do except waste precious supplies when they arrive on the American front. usefulness. "After the merchant ships of Italy and Austria-Hungary were added, the total size of merchant ships controlled by Germany reached 28 million tons; and as our cooperation with the new British government continues to deepen, their remaining 15 million tons of merchant ships will also A large part of it can be used by Germany. The San Juan base on the island of Puerto Rico has also been repaired and expanded through the efforts of German engineers. It has now become a key port with a monthly cargo throughput of 800,000 tons. The one-way journey of transport ships heading to the Americas has been shortened from the initial 4,300 nautical miles to less than 3,500 nautical miles. We have taken another big step forward in projecting power to the Americas." In a large, low-scale map of dozens of panels. In front of a giant patchwork world map. Redel, who was wearing an admiral's uniform, held a slender wooden pole and kept pointing at Qingying and said: "However, because the entire route has moved more than 700 nautical miles to the north, the merchant ships were attacked by American submarines. It has suddenly become more frequent. In the past three weeks, 11 merchant ships have been sunk by US submarines while traveling to and from the ocean, with a total tonnage of 60,000 tons. The loss figure for the same period a month ago was less than that. 50%! As the San Juan port continues to expand, our Atlantic routes will inevitably become busier, which will inevitably give U.S. submarines more opportunities to attack, and even attract attacks from the opponent's surface fleet. Therefore, we must. We must make preparations in advance to ensure the smooth flow of the Atlantic transportation line; only in this way can we have the possibility of victory in this war against the United States." Hearing Redl's words, Qingying couldn't help but have a hint of praise in his eyes. look. After working together for nearly ten years, Qingying had already deeply admired Redel's knowledge and vision; the person in front of him was not only a shrewd and capable organizational bureaucrat, but also a commander-in-chief with a deep sense of the overall situation. No matter what kind of war it is, logistical support is always the most important; even if it is a hard and sharp dragon cavalry spear tip, it will not be able to penetrate the opponent's layers of earth and stone protection if the follow-up is weak! "After the Battle of Bermuda, the weakened U.S. Atlantic Fleet was no longer able to drive us out of the Caribbean in a frontal battle; therefore, they could only choose to fall back and weaken our presence in the Americas by attacking imperial transport ships. The power of the region." Qingying spoke slowly, but there was an unspeakable weird feeling in her heart. In another time and space, the German navy, which lacked confidence in challenging British sea power head-on, chose the strategy of breaking diplomatic ties as a strategy to force Britain to surrender; more than 1,100 sea wolves attacked from the blue water, composing a majestic and exciting music. . But at present, the situation is completely reversed: the German army in the Caribbean can be regarded as an overseas island where all supplies need to be transported from the mainland thousands of miles away, while the United StatesPlaying the role of Germany in history, cutting off the opponent's logistics and shipping has become the top priority in determining the outcome of the war! "According to our current plan, the Navy should build more anti-submarine frigates to strengthen its defense against submarine sneak attacks. More submarines should also be produced to strengthen the reconnaissance force on the east coast of the United States, allowing the U.S. Navy to Due to the intensification of underwater threats, large ships will reduce their sailing frequency. In this way, the threat of U.S. submarines to the transport fleet will be reduced, and the activities of its large warships will also be restricted, making the transport fleet more dangerous. To reduce it. After all, as long as the large warships of the US Navy do not participate in the breakup, then we only need to use heavy cruisers to ensure the fleet's surface safety," Redl said succinctly. "These two strategies are indeed effective responses to consolidate our Atlantic route. However, General, there may be another weapon that we should not ignore." Qingying turned around and smiled at Redel's elegant and upright face. "Since aircraft carriers can replace battleships and become the core of naval battles with their ultra-long-range vision and strike radius, why can't we use these advantages to escort fleets?" Reidel was shocked when he heard this. Although the huge combat power of aircraft carriers has been perfectly proven in previous naval battles, it is precisely for this reason that these core forces must be concentrated and used at any time, otherwise it will be a huge waste of combat power. Although the current 350,000-ton Hindenburg-class heavy-duty aircraft carriers of the German Navy have been built in batches, compared with the number of aircraft carriers in the same type of fleet in the United States, they are far from large enough to be able to escort merchant ships. Furthermore, how can an aircraft carrier attack a submarine? Putting these important weapons of the country into escorts not only costs a lot, but also increases the possibility of being severely damaged by sneak attacks by the opponent's submarines. No matter from any point of view, it is an extremely uneconomical deal! However, after a moment, the shock and confusion in Redel¡¯s heart dissipated, and he regained his previous calmness. The emperor in front of him has extremely profound attainments in naval strategy, even unparalleled in the whole of Germany; since he raised this point, he must have his own unique considerations and insights. "We can build a low-end aircraft carrier dedicated to escort. Its mission is only to accompany the transport fleet, so it can be built directly to the standards of merchant ships: the entire ship does not need any armor, and its firepower can only carry out simple For air self-defense, as long as the speed is higher than that of a merchant ship, the mission has been completed! When carrying 30 aircraft, the standard displacement of this aircraft carrier is expected to be controlled within 8,200 tons, and the construction period will not exceed 10 months. You This kind of ship can be regarded as an armed merchant ship capable of taking off and landing fighter planes." Qingying organized his thoughts and simply told Redel based on his experience in later generations: "As long as our transport fleet is equipped with this kind of ship, then any ship can be used. Surface assault ships will become invisible at a distance of hundreds of kilometers; the fleet can not only change its course to avoid the enemy's edge, but also dispatch bombers and torpedo planes to carry out attacks when conditions permit. As for anti-submarine warfare, after modification. Aircraft are also fully capable. They can use airborne radar or sonobuoys to find the location of submarines sailing on the surface and submerged underwater, and then attack them with mounted small bombs and depth bombs. The reconnaissance range is extremely wide, which will force the U.S. submarine to dive far away from the transport fleet, and its threat to merchant ships will be reduced exponentially. This is something that traditional anti-submarine destroyers cannot do in any case. A huge advantage over comparison. " "An armed merchant ship capable of taking off and landing aircraft?" Redel's thoughts were racing, and the chaotic combat elements in his mind gradually became orderly and clear. The airborne radar has been put into active service a few months ago. The original goal was to allow some twin-engine fighters to have night combat capabilities; now with only minor modifications, this radar can become a weapon for searching for submarines cruising on the sea. As long as submarines can be forced into the water with bombs, the significance of aircraft has been realized: even today, submarines spend most of their time on the surface, relying on electric motors to achieve maneuverability and range underwater. , which is completely different from the situation of using diesel engines on the water. As for the tactic of releasing passive sonar onto the sea surface and then dropping depth bombs, it is entirely feasible. "The Navy will carefully consider your Majesty's suggestion. I believe it will become the core of consolidating the German Atlantic route." Redl said politely. (To be continued) ps: Thanks to book friends Xiaoxiang Yeyu Stranger, Big Drunk Cat, Happy Fatty Cat, Dragon City General Tiantian, Breathing Deep in the Soul for their monthly ticket support, and Golden Crab, zhouyu1976 for their rewards ~~~?¡