The Rise of the Third Reich

August 20, 7 p.m.

A radio wave from Brest (the French port of Brest is the seat of the EC Atlantic Front Command and the EC Combined Fleet Command) broke the tranquility of the "Georgetown Island" joint command communications center.

A communications officer on duty picked up the telephone in the telegraph room and dialed the office of the commander of the Georgetown Joint Command directly.

A few minutes later, Air Force General Joseph Kamhuber, commander of the Georgetown Joint Command, who was having dinner, immediately put down his knife and fork and rushed to the joint operations command center hidden in a dense forest.

Due to the special terrain of the Atlantic battlefield, coordinated operations between the navy, land and air forces are the norm. Therefore, during more than two years of joint Atlantic operations, the European Community troops also developed a command system that is completely different from those in continental Europe.

Under the Atlantic Front Command, there is currently no very "army-like" organization like an army group. However, command organizations at the Army Group Headquarters level still exist, namely the European Community Combined Fleet, the European Community Joint Transport Command, the European Community Joint Aviation Command, and the European Community Joint Submarine Command. headquarters.

However, when fighting on the European continent, each army group headquarters divided its jurisdiction and troop command authority differently based on geographical criteria. There are no very clear jurisdictions under the four army group-level commands of the European Community Combined Fleet, European Community Joint Transport Command, European Community Joint Aviation Command, and European Community Joint Submarine Command. They are somewhat similar to a combination of "arms headquarters" and army groups, and their form is a bit complicated.

In addition to the four army group-level headquarters, there are many army-level headquarters under the Atlantic Front Command.

Some of them are under the jurisdiction of the three major army group-level headquarters, such as several command fleets (the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th fleets only belong to the European Community Combined Fleet, but not to the Atlantic Front, the 1st- The 5th Fleet belonged to both commands at the same time); all submarine combat commands; the German 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Air Forces, the 1st German Naval Air Force, the French Air Force Expeditionary Force, and the Russian Royal Air Force Expeditionary Force. etc.

There are also some army-level headquarters directly under the Atlantic Front, such as the German Expeditionary Force, the Russian Expeditionary Force, the French Expeditionary Force and the European Community Joint Expeditionary Force that are arriving in Belém Port - these are four army armies. , among which the European Community Joint Expeditionary Force is composed of troops sent by European Community countries except Germany, France, and Russia (referring to the troops sent by the country, rather than volunteers participating in the war in an individual name).

In addition, there are some "joint commands" that gather forces from multiple arms, including land, sea and air, such as the Azores Joint Command, the Iceland-Greenland Joint Command, the Cape Verde Joint Command, etc., while Georgetown Island The Joint Command is one of them.

The combat command center of the joint command headquarters in the tropical rainforest of South America is already filled with maps, several large sand tables have been set up, and phone lines are stretched everywhere. There were also many staff officers wearing the uniforms of the Air Force, Navy, Army, Naval Aviation and Marine Corps, marking the maps and making buzzing comments.

When Air Force General Kamhuber walked in, everyone stopped what they were doing and stood at attention to salute him. The aviation general (actually he was also an army officer) gently raised his hand to return the salute, then took off his military cap and threw it on the table.

"How's the situation on the front lines?"

Naval Aviation Captain Dietrich Peltz was Kamhuber's chief of staff. He immediately took over his boss's question, took a baton and introduced to the sand table: "The American fleet has just been dispatched. It is more than 300 nautical miles away from us. The maximum distance we can take on the anti-submarine route is 500 nautical miles. It is estimated that we will arrive off the coast of Georgetown in 30-35 hours.

In addition, the Americans also deployed an astonishing number of shore-based bombers on Trinidad. A large-scale air raid on Georgetown is expected to begin tonight.

According to the order just received from the Atlantic Front Command, the task of our Georgetown Island Command will be to lure the enemy and delay it. The US military will successfully land near Georgetown (not Georgetown Island) and engage in fierce battles with us inland. "

Kamhuber frowned and said nothing, but looked over and over at the few models on the sand table that symbolized the military power of the European Community.

Although the Georgetown Island Joint Command is an army-level command directly under the Atlantic Front Command, the forces under this command are very limited. Only four brigades of the German Army (the 5th SS Panzergrenadier Brigade "Queen Kira", the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Jungle Brigades of the Wehrmacht) and an anti-aircraft artillery brigade of the Luftwaffe Air Defense Force were assembled. A joint artillery command of the Army Artillery and Coast Artillery brings together a joint air command of the Air Force and Naval Aviation, an Air Force base, a Navy coastal defense command, an engineer command, and a joint logistics command.

The various troops put together are less than 40,000 in number, there are less than 100 tanks/assault artillery, less than 200 artillery pieces above 100mm, there are only more than 100 various combat aircraft, and there are more than 30 various warships.

If this small amount of troops were deployed on the coastline near Georgetown, they would definitely not be able to withstand a bombardment by American battleships. Therefore, it is certain to shrink to the so-called "Georgetown Island Fortress", but we cannot shrink blindly, otherwise the Americans will gain a foothold, and they must attack and defend.

At this time, he saw Colonel Kurt Johnson, the head of the Navy's joint command on Georgetown Island, hurried in, so he said: "Kurt, the American fleet in Port of Spain has moved! How much can you mobilize now? S-boat?”

"All 16 S-boats can be dispatched!" Kurt Johnson replied.

The 5th Torpedo Boat Detachment, commanded by Colonel Johnson, has only 16 S-boats in total, all of which are the most advanced S100 torpedo boats. Because I was warned in advance that "a decisive battle was about to happen", I was fully prepared.

"In addition, the supply ship Carl Peters is currently at sea and hiding in the Atlantic Ocean near Cayenne. This way, my 16 torpedo boats do not have to return to Georgetown to refuel, bomb, and replenish food and fresh water after completing the attack. "

The "Carl Peters" supply ship is a dedicated torpedo speedboat supply ship with a standard displacement of 2,900 tons and a speed of 21 knots. It also has radar and certain self-defense and anti-aircraft firepower, and can perform missions alone at sea.

This type of ship is definitely not found in the navies of other countries in the world, because except for the German Navy during the interwar period, no one would consider turning torpedo boats into a weapon that can penetrate deep into the open sea-in those years , the German Navy was almost crazy about breaking diplomatic relations. All weapons were designed around breaking diplomatic relations, and torpedo boats were no exception.

However, in the tug-of-war naval battle between the Caribbean and the Atlantic, Germany's "break-up torpedo boats" were still very sharp. With the help of eight "Qingdao" class (Qingdao, China, in order to commemorate the glory of the Second Reich Navy, the German Navy named its No. 1 torpedo boat supply ship Qingdao) torpedo boat supply ship, the deployment The 48 S100 boats of the three torpedo boat detachments in Guyana can not only attack invading U.S. destroyers off the coast of Guyana, but can also go deep into the Windward and Borean Islands north of Trinidad to conduct diplomatic-breaking operations. Quite satisfactory results were achieved.

"Very good," General Kamhuber lowered his head as he spoke, seeming to be thinking about something. After a moment, he raised his head and said to Colonel Johnson and his chief of staff, Colonel Peltz: "We To give the Americans a taste of pain on the beaches and offshore areas of Georgetown, not only all the torpedo boats must be dispatched, but also submarines and aircraft!”

Colonel Peltz immediately asked: "Admiral, do you want to request reinforcements from the Combined Submarine Command and the Combined Aviation Command?"

The Georgetown Island Joint Command has no submarines available and a limited number of aircraft under its jurisdiction.

"There is no need to ask for reinforcements from the Joint Aviation Command," Admiral Kamhuber said, shaking his head, "with our own Ju188E-2 torpedo bombers."

The Ju188E-2 is the successor of the Ju88, and to a certain extent, it is also a simplified version of the Ju288. The most recent E-2 model is a torpedo bomber, used to replace the Roman SM.79 and Germany's own He115.

"Is it... a night torpedo bombing?" Colonel Peltz immediately guessed the intention of his superiors. He himself is an expert on shore-based bombers/torpedo planes. Proficient in various bombing and lightning strikes tactics, including the night torpedo bombing technology that was regarded as one of the trump cards of the German naval aviation's shore-based bombing units!

Of course, the German naval aviation's night torpedo bombing technology did not rely on cat's eye skills, but relied on sophisticated radio altimeters and surface search radars combined with golden comb tactics to conduct attacks.

"Yes!" Kamhuber nodded, "You can only attack at night, otherwise the Ju188 will be a living target. After the Ju188 is completed, the torpedo boats will be launched to attack the opponent's anti-submarine warning circle, as long as it can force the enemy's destroyer to speed up. , our Type 21 submarine will be able to break into it. The time of attack will be on the first day of the landing in the United States... In order to avoid our air attacks, the Americans will definitely choose to land at night, and then all their ships will be destroyed. It’s our target.”