Chapter 989 Nimitz's Counterattack (22)

"Sir, do we really want to continue fighting?" On the USS Franklin aircraft carrier, Smith was also persuading Nimitz, "I'm not afraid of death, but if everyone dies here, I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to face it in the future... …”

Nimitz nodded gravely.

Although this wave achieved good results, the aircraft losses were also extremely huge. Only 132 of the 260 aircraft released were recovered, with a loss rate of nearly 50%. In comparison, the 182 German aircraft launched into the attack recovered 136 aircraft. The loss rate was much smaller than that of the US military. Of course, according to German standards, more than 25% would be considered a heavy loss.

"What do you think we should do? Retreat?" Nimitz shook his head. "We can't retreat. What if the enemy doesn't retreat and chases us? We must destroy this German fleet to buy time for the army to deploy defenses in South America. Then the army "Buy time for the Navy to recover - assuming the war continues."

Smith nodded helplessly: The German planes have a longer range and the pilots are more elite. They still have a chance if they want to fight - there are still 4 full hours before the sun goes down!

"Keep the 225-degree course and don't move. The fleet will advance at maximum speed. The Wisconsin..." Nimitz said, tears streaming down his face. "Let the destroyer sink it with torpedoes!"

After the first attack, after collecting reserve aircraft and the 48 aircraft provided by Hewitt, the US military still had more than 140 aircraft. In the air defense operations, 43 aircraft were lost (nearly half of the pilots who fell into the water were rescued). After the two phases offset, Nimitz also owns more than 230 aircraft, and the proportion of fighter aircraft has now increased to 42%.

Before the fleet was recovered, the air defense fighters had been resupplied and re-launched, and the free space was enough to accommodate all aircraft.

Since the morning, the two battle groups of the United States and the United States have been approaching each other, and the distance between the two sides has shortened to only about 600 kilometers. The only thing that pleased Nimitz was that the returning Hewitt fleet did not encounter the terrible German submarine.

He said to Smith: "Look, the German submarine did not attack Hewitt. They must still be following us. The enemy is not slow. If I turn around now, I will bump into them again at night."

Smith was stunned for a moment, then nodded subconsciously and asked worriedly: "What are you going to do?"

"Launch another attack, and then we go to South Africa and return home via Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific. If there are any remaining aircraft carriers, they will be left to Halsey and Ingram."

"What?" Smith was shocked, "Why?"

"The President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have rejected the Japanese peace proposal. According to my understanding of Horikichi, he will launch a large-scale attack soon - the combined fleet has been resting for a long time and is relatively strong. After the last peace proposal was rejected by us, Didn’t he just launch a massive attack?”

"But this way?"

"It's okay. We will send a few auxiliary cruisers from South Africa. As long as they stay close to the edge of the Indian Ocean and don't provoke the Japanese and German bases, the danger is not great." Nimitz sighed, "Even if there is a threat, it is better than causing headaches." A submarine ambush formation, okay?”

"But will you report such a big transfer to Admiral Jin first?"

"We'll report back after the fight." Nimitz smiled miserably, "Maybe we will all be buried here and never be able to go back. It's useless to say more."

Nimitz's idea was very simple. If he could retain a fleet aircraft carrier, when it arrived at Pearl Harbor, it would be paired with the two battleships and more than 10 escort aircraft carriers in the hands of the Pacific Fleet, plus the carrier-based aircraft pilots who had been painstakingly training in the past few months. , barely able to fight against the coming main force of the combined fleet. As for the Atlantic direction, with the arrival of the main German fleet in August, one more or one less aircraft carrier will not help.

While Nimitz was racking his brains about what to do next, Krank was also taking pains to accommodate the returning attack group.

According to his request, all the reconnaissance aircraft in the outer sea flew to Rio and landed, and the remaining 20 or so anti-aircraft fighter jets quickly landed to supplement the force. The fighter jets reinforced by the Air Force either crashed in the battle, or made an emergency landing on the sea and were rescued by destroyers.

Even so, it is impossible to accommodate all the more than 130 aircraft returning home. Fortunately, the Jean-Bart aircraft carrier is the largest of the three main aircraft carriers and can accommodate nearly 80 aircraft. The L-12 escort aircraft carrier can accommodate about 30 aircraft. As long as it is properly dispatched, it can be turned around. He quickly issued an order:

"Let the fighter jets in the returning attack group speed up their return and land first to replenish, freeing up space for the attack aircraft to replenish."

This means that the next battle will involve a cross-positioning: the fighter jets that performed air defense missions in the previous round will perform escort missions, and the fighter jets that escorted in the previous round will perform air defense missions.

Fortunately, there were more German pilots. The backup pilots on the Ise and the König boarded the Jean-Barre after falling into the water, so there were enough manpower to replace them.

At 14:02, the first batch of returning fighters appeared in the field of vision. They didn’t know the situation of their own fleet yet. They only knew how to land on the L12 aircraft carrier as much as possible. When they saw the empty sea surface, many people were listening in their headphones. He screamed: "Where is the King? Where is the Ise? Where is the L11?"

"Stop looking for it! It's all sunk! Land on L12 immediately!"

"quick!"

On L12, all the ground crew, reserve pilots, and spare staff in the command tower ran over to help.

Jean-Barre was also performing similar actions. Various torpedoes, bombs, and fuel tanks were arranged in advance. Even Hinz himself was on the front line. Only Krank and a few core staff were arranging the next formation. constitute.

The German army now has a total of 159 aircraft. Considering that the US military still has 2 aircraft carriers and considerable air power, he is determined to keep 64 fighter jets and dispatch 95 aircraft for the attack.

"Tell the Air Force to support us with 16 more aircraft if possible."

After receiving Clark's request for help, the Air Force gritted its teeth and squeezed out 16 more fighter jets with auxiliary fuel tanks and flew over the fleet. The German defense force finally reached 80 aircraft, a number that made Clark feel more comfortable.

At 14:37, the Ju-198 attack aircraft began to return, and they were all guided to land on the Jean-Bart. Looking at the empty sea and the battleship still smoking, everyone knew what had happened, and their hearts were full of anger. .

"Brothers, keep going!" Hintz encouraged on the deck of Jean-Bart. "The Americans can't hold on anymore. It doesn't matter even if we are exhausted. The reinforcements arranged by the head of state will leave in a few days! By then, the South The Atlantic Ocean is our world!”

"Long live the Führer!"

"The army defeated the Russians, and our navy will definitely defeat the Americans!"

"Long live the Navy!"

"Comrades, success or failure depends on this. I'm sorry for everyone!" On the Franklin, Nimitz walked out of the bridge and stepped onto the deck. He wanted to cheer up the pilots, but he didn't know what to say. These familiar and unfamiliar faces will embark on the journey in a few dozen minutes. He doesn't know how many of them will come back! In a sense, he was sending these young men to their death with his own hands.

"Sir, if you fight the Germans, there is no coward in America!" a young pilot clenched his fists and shouted.

"Come back alive and well!" Nimitz shook hands and hugged them one by one with tears in his eyes. "No matter how late it is, I will be here waiting for you!"

"Sir, you also need to take care!"

At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff knew the situation of the naval war. They also learned that Admiral King was hospitalized again, Nimitz was away, and Turner was now acting as interim supervisor of naval affairs.

Turner hesitated for a moment, then spoke with difficulty: "Even if General Nimitz wins this battle, he cannot afford the German main fleet that is about to arrive. The Navy may have to enter a rest period and wait for the new aircraft carrier to be commissioned in October. I I called the shipyard in the afternoon and urged to speed up the progress again, but the shipyard said that it can only be accelerated by 5-7 days, and it cannot be faster.”

“What about the situation in South America?”

"The Navy has dispatched a fleet to assist the Army in transporting supplies last week, with a quantity of nearly 300,000 tons. Tomorrow, another batch of cargo ships will be released, with a quantity of about 250,000 tons." Turner suggested, "Next, we can only rely on the Army to defend South America and North America. line, the Navy hopes to use strategic airlift to rush up to 5-6 divisions."

"How many troops do we have in South America now?"

"There are 11 division-level units, about 250,000 people." Marshall said, "But 70,000 to 80,000 troops lack equipment and supplies."

"Then hurry up and rush for transportation." Truman thought for a while, "If we have 300,000 troops, are you confident that we can hold on until October?"

"Then it depends on how many troops the enemy has?"

Donovan said: "According to multiple intelligence sources, this batch of German reinforcements may be between 100,000 and 120,000 people."

"The enemy currently has nearly 80,000 to 100,000 troops. If we add another 100,000 to 120,000 troops, there will be at least 200,000 troops. The Germans still have naval superiority." Marshall smiled bitterly. "I think the South American troops cannot be less than 400,000. Armored divisions It can’t be less than 5.”

"Just dispatch the troops according to this." Truman said to Turner, "I hope the Navy can complete the dispatch of reinforcements and equipment before the arrival of the German main fleet, and all soldiers will leave by air! Do you have any difficulties?"

The latter nodded in agreement.

Truman glanced around. The next three months were crucial to him. First, there was the last presidential debate; second, the situation in South America would be resolved; third, the presidential election would be held in November. .

Although he was ready to give up, the idea had not yet been communicated to the party's senior leaders. He had to coordinate with the big bosses: although withdrawing from the election was more shocking than losing the election, it was still a way to save face for him. practices. You can even do something more noble: admit that your leadership of the war is unfavorable, take the initiative to take responsibility and withdraw from the election, but say that you will continue to fight against the axis of evil.

As for whether the next step is war or peace, or let Dewey have the headache - do you think the president is so easy to do?

At 15:38, the second wave of US military attack groups set off. Everyone was restless, waiting for the fate to be pronounced.