The Rise of the Third Reich

"Last night to early this morning, off the coast of Georgetown, 36 Ju188 torpedo bombers and 16 torpedo boats dispatched by the Georgetown Island Joint Command, as well as a submarine group dispatched by the 1st Submarine Command, launched an attack on the US landing formation. Attacks took turns. The results that can be confirmed so far are that 26 enemy ships have been sunk or damaged, of which 16 enemy ships can be confirmed to have been sunk...

Along the Georgetown coastline, the ground troops of the Georgetown Island Joint Command, according to the original plan, took the initiative to abandon their positions and shrink to the inland area of ​​Georgetown before the US military launched the landing operation. Therefore, the landing operation launched by the US military in the early morning of the 24th Guyana time went very smoothly. At present, the urban area of ​​Georgetown has been completely occupied by the US military landing force.

In addition, around 8 a.m. this morning, aircraft reconnaissance found that at least 150 US military landing ships and transport ships had gathered in the beach area along the Georgetown coast and were conducting beachhead unloading operations..."

In the Joint Intelligence Command Center of the German General Staff, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Messer gave a brief and concise introduction to the latest situation on the Georgetown battlefield.

Of course, the situation is under control. The U.S. military was able to land in Georgetown easily only because the Germans (European Allied Forces) let loose. The purpose of releasing the water is naturally to use the Georgetown battlefield to fish out the main force of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.

Although the European Community now has a great lead in aviation technology and has "black technology" weapons such as television remotely controlled guided missiles, the German General Staff is still very afraid of the nine super battleships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

If they are not destroyed, they will have to live in fear when the German army attacks the Caribbean Sea. As long as the United States dispatches these nine super battleships to use night or other weather conditions that are not suitable for aircraft dispatch as cover to lead a large number of cruisers and destroyers to assault the EC fleet that is launching landing operations, the consequences will be unimaginable... Those nine super battleships The battleship can have 81 406mm cannons!

The U.S. Navy and the Joint Chiefs of Staff must know the role of these nine super battleships in the anti-landing operations on the Caribbean islands, so the Americans will definitely use them with caution and will never risk them easily.

So you have to spend some money to have a chance to hook them out for a decisive battle!

"Have any American battleships and aircraft carriers been discovered?"

After listening to General Messer's introduction, Hersman immediately asked about the situation of US battleships and aircraft carriers - given the scale and importance of the Georgetown landing operation, it was impossible for the United States not to dispatch aircraft carriers and battleships.

"Not yet." Admiral Messer's answer disappointed Hersman. He explained, "It is difficult to distinguish battleships, aircraft carriers and large transport ships during nighttime aircraft reconnaissance. However, reconnaissance operations during the day will be affected by the U.S. coast For the expulsion of base aircraft, since the waters near Georgetown are only 500 kilometers away from Trinidad, the combat radius of the American P47 and P51 fighter jets can be completely covered.

In addition, there will be dense clouds in some areas of the sea north of Georgetown during the day, which will affect the search operations of aircraft. "

This is completely expected. Georgetown is close to the equator, the climate is hot and rainy, and the fleet can easily find cloud cover to hide at sea. Moreover, the Americans will definitely send a large number of shore-based aircraft from Trinidad to provide direct cover for their fleet. Most likely, destroyer formations will also be dispatched to deploy anti-submarine and air defense cordons around the main fleet.

Hirschman smiled nonchalantly and asked, "We can always find them, can't we?"

"Of course," Navy Commander-in-Chief Redel took the question, "The American fleet cannot hide for long. But it is useless for us to find them now, because our fleet has not been dispatched yet."

Now the main force of the 1st Fleet of the European Combined Fleet (homeport is in Belém, Brazil) has been dispatched to the Pacific. The main forces of the 2nd Fleet (home port of Brest) and the 3rd Fleet (home port of Gibraltar) have not yet left, so even if the positions of the US aircraft carriers and battleships are found, they can only send Me264, Ju288, Ju188 and Do217 carries remotely controlled guided missiles for attack.

However, American P47 and P51 fighters are interfering, making it difficult for these heavy and medium bombers to successfully launch missiles.

Moreover, what the German General Staff wants to hunt is not a two-ship American super battleship, but a super battleship that must at least sink its main guns.

To achieve such results, it is not enough to rely solely on shore-based medium and heavy bombers carrying remote-controlled missiles to attack. The main fleet must be dispatched.

"Are our four missile ships ready?" Hersman asked.

Marshal Redl said: "Get ready. The guided missile cruisers Wilhelm II and Maria Theresa, as well as the guided missile battleships Gneisenau and Dunkirk are all ready. They can be dispatched at any time!

In addition, the guided-missile cruiser Friedrich I, Kaiser Wilhelm, guided-missile battleship Schlieffen and Europaburg (the second ship of the Dunkirk class) will complete sea trials before the end of the year and be officially commissioned in Europe. Combined Fleet. "

The modification project of the eight "missile ships" was carried out in two steps. The first ones to enter the factory were the modifications of the Gneisenau, Dunkirk, Wilhelm II and Maria Theresa. The other four battleships/armored ships entered the factory eight months later, so the completion time will be several months later - because of the experience of the modification of the first batch of four missile ships, the second batch of missile ships The modification time is relatively short and can be completed within 1944.

By the way, the No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 ships of the newly designed B-class guided missile cruiser (the modified P-class ship was renamed the A-type guided missile cruiser) were also launched in October 1943. In November, construction began secretly on the 30,000-ton berths of several large shipyards in Germany, and it was planned to be put into service before the end of June 1946.

This level of missile cruiser will be improved on the basis of the A-type missile cruiser. The standard displacement is still as high as 24,000 tons, and the number of missile launch tubes installed is greater (the number of missile launch tubes will change depending on the type of missile equipped. ) is fully twice as many as the A-type guided missile cruiser, reaching 40 tubes (20 double-seaters)! It will also be equipped with ship-to-ship missiles or cruise missiles that are more advanced than the "Reaper" 2 missiles.

The V4/V5 series of large cruise missiles that are under development and are to be installed on B-type guided missile cruisers (the take-off weight exceeds 6.5 tons, when installing large cruise missiles, the twin launch tubes need to be replaced with single tubes) are also Plans to install miniaturized nuclear warheads!

Therefore, the B-type guided missile cruiser is actually an infinitely powerful strategic weapon!

In addition to these 20 twin-mounted cruise (anti-ship) missile launch tubes, the B-type missile cruiser will also be equipped with 4 twin-mounted ship-to-air missile launchers - the development of German surface-to-air and ship-to-air missiles in this time and space The process is not slow at all. There are currently 6 surface-to-air and ship-to-air missile projects under development, including the "Waterfall" developed by Hs2W developed by Henschel and the R-series "Rheinland Daughter" developed by Rheinmetall. Three series of radar-guided surface-to-air/ship-to-air missiles have entered the testing stage. It is expected that it can be actually equipped with troops by the end of 1945!

Judging from the progress of the development of German guided missile cruisers and missiles (this is top secret and unknown to the Americans), the Americans were right to be eager to develop a decent and peaceful strategy in 1944 or 1945.

But 4 missile ships are enough for the Americans!

According to the latest establishment of each squadron of the European Combined Fleet, the guided missile battleship "Gneisenau" and the guided missile battleship "Dunkirk" belong to the 2nd and 3rd fleet respectively, and are the preferred task force flagships and battleships. Flagship of the brigade.

The two A-type guided missile cruisers are also assigned to the 2nd and 3rd fleets respectively. They are both the flagship of the alternative task force and the flagship of the cruiser group.

In other words, under the 2nd and 3rd fleets of the European Combined Fleet, there are at least two task forces operating around "missile ships".

40 "Reaper" type 2 TV-controlled anti-ship missiles are the biggest trump card of the entire task force.

"Then let's use our trump card!" Hessmann smiled and said, "I think the Americans will most likely take the initiative to seek a decisive battle with them!"

…

"Rudolf!" Major General Hans-Karl Mayer's voice came from the phone receiver, "Get to the chief flagship immediately. We must arrive within 30 minutes."

"Yes, Rear Admiral." Major Rudolf von Heinsberg-Hersmann received a message from the 2nd Fleet Chief of Staff Meyer during lunch on August 24 at the Officers Club in Brest Port. Major General's phone number,

As the fleet staff officer, Hessman Jr. knows very well what "come to the chief flagship" means?

The nine squadrons under the current European Combined Fleet are all "headquarters fleets", and they usually do not have flagships - because they will not go to sea in the name of the 1st-9th Fleet at all.

If the squadron commander wants to personally lead the expedition, then the fleet commander will usually take a capable command aboard the "preferred" or "alternative" task force flagship. Usually the fleet commander will board the preferred flagship, which in the 2nd Fleet is the guided missile battleship "Gneisenau"!

As one of the important fleet staff officers, little Hersman naturally had to wait for the flagship "Gneisenau" guided missile battleship when he went on an expedition as the commander of the 2nd Fleet.