The Rise of the Third Reich

"Although Mussolini announced in a high-profile manner that Crete will be the target of his attack, after research by the Middle East Command and the Mediterranean Fleet, it is believed that the German-Italian forces may attack in two directions in the next stage, Crete or the port of Tobruk. !”

At the operational decision-making meeting held by the British Imperial General Staff on the Eastern Mediterranean operation, Rear Admiral Crutchley, the chief of staff of the Mediterranean Fleet, stated the biggest difficulty facing the Eastern Mediterranean operation from the very beginning - it was still impossible to determine the fate of the German-Italian coalition forces. Main direction of attack.

Mussolini's announcement in Rome that he would attack Crete was probably to mislead the British army, and even if Mussolini did not mean to mislead when he said this, if the British army concentrated all its limited forces On Crete, the German-Italian forces will definitely change the direction of their attack.

And compared to Crete, Tubruk’s geography is equally important!

"The current battlefield in the Eastern Mediterranean is likely to become a prison." Rear Admiral Crutchley frowned tightly. "Due to the fall of Malta Island and the huge sea and air superiority of the German-Italian coalition, our fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean, The armies in North Africa, Crete and Greece all rely on the Suez Canal to maintain communication with the outside world. The straight-line distance from the Suez Canal to Benghazi is only 800 kilometers. Once the German-Italian coalition captures Tubruk, they can rely on the Fokker Zeros, Ju88s and SM.79s deployed in Tubruk to block the Suez Canal, and at the same time put Alexandria, the home port of the Mediterranean Fleet, under a saturation attack from the air!”

Tubruk cannot be lost, and neither can Crete! Because the distance between Crete and the Suez Canal and Alexandria is also about the same as the distance between Tubruk and those two places.

If Crete falls, the Fokker Zero, Ju88 and SM.79 of the German-Italian coalition will also go to Alexandria and the Suez Canal every day to drop bombs and torpedoes.

"And to defend Tubruk and Crete at the same time, we are faced with the difficulty of insufficient air power, especially the insufficient number of Spitfire fighter jets."

In fact, the number of British Spitfires on the Eastern Mediterranean battlefield is no less than that of its opponents Fokker Zero. But the Spitfire has a big weakness compared to the Fokker Zero, which is that its range is too short. This weakness has caused the Spitfire fighter jets deployed in Crete, Tubruk and Alexandria to fight independently, making it difficult to support each other.

There is absolutely no support between Alexandria, Crete, and Tubruk, and the distance between Crete and Tubruk is only 350 kilometers. The range of the Spitfire is enough, but after the fight, you can't go back. Being able to land at a local airport will greatly increase the pressure on ground handlers.

Because the Spitfire is a liquid-cooled engine, its requirements for ground maintenance are higher than those of the Fokker Zero, which uses an air-cooled engine. If you still have to be ready to provide maintenance for an additional large number of Spitfires, the number of ground crews must be greatly increased, and additional spare parts, ammunition and fuel must be prepared, which will increase the pressure on logistics.

Even if the logistical and ground support difficulties are overcome, the combined Spitfire aircraft deployed in Crete and Tobruk only account for about 60% of the Spitfire aircraft in the entire Eastern Mediterranean theater, and they are still at an absolute disadvantage in terms of numbers. The Hurricane aircraft, P-39 aircraft and F2A fighter jets used to supplement the insufficient number of Spitfire aircraft are not opponents of the Fokker Zero at all.

Moreover, the British air power in the Mediterranean currently lacks weapons for ground and sea attacks. The performance of the ground-to-sea strike force composed of "Swordfish" torpedo bombers, "Mackerel" torpedo bombers, "Blenheim" light bombers and "Wellington" heavy bombers in actual combat was very disappointing. .

"Blenheim" light bombers and "Wellington" heavy bombers basically pose no threat to the surface fleet, while the survivability of "Swordfish" torpedo bombers and "Mackerel" torpedo bombers is too low. Once it encounters the enemy's Fokker Zero, it can easily be annihilated.

Therefore, after the "Great Battle of the Eastern Mediterranean", the British Mediterranean Fleet would rather have the F2A on board than the "Swordfish" and "Mackerel" that were easily wiped out. Therefore, the "Swordfish" and "Mackerel" currently deployed in the Mediterranean have become shore-based aircraft.

The two British aircraft carriers also lost their ability to attack ships and became mere "escort carriers." But at the same time, the four "Queen Elizabeth" class battleships of the British Mediterranean Fleet found it difficult to compete with the five Italian battleships, including the two "Veneto" class.

"In view of the current passive situation, the Middle East Command and the Mediterranean Fleet believe that it is necessary to increase the number of shore-based aircraft and adopt the same air-to-sea tactics as the German-Italian coalition. At the same time, it is necessary to increase ground forces in the Mediterranean and Middle East theaters as much as possible. to strengthen the defenses of Crete and North Africa."

Hearing Rear Admiral Crutchley's proposal to increase aircraft and ground forces, Imperial Chief of Staff Sir Dill frowned and asked: "But how are we going to transport aircraft to the Eastern Mediterranean? Now that we have lost the island of Malta, from Gibraltar to the Eastern Mediterranean The Mediterranean air route no longer exists, and the plane can only be sent to Alexandria by sea, which takes at least a month."

Before the fall of Malta, British aircraft could take off from Gibraltar or take off from aircraft carriers in the western Mediterranean, use the cover of darkness to fly to Malta, refuel in Malta and then fly to Crete. Ground crew and aircraft parts can also be transported by transport aircraft on the Gibraltar-Malta-Alexandria route.

But now that Malta is lost, the direct flight from Gibraltar to Crete is 2,700 kilometers long. Although the range of the DC-3 transport aircraft leased from the United States can still be obtained, the efficiency of air transportation has been greatly reduced because it has to carry more fuel.

"Aircraft can be drawn from India, Burma, Malaya and Singapore," Crutchley said. "Ground troops can also be drawn from India. Only in this way can the defenses of Crete and North Africa be strengthened before the Germans and Italians launch an attack. "

"But Japan is also ready to make moves recently. Not only has it refused to retreat from French Indochina, but it has also continued to send more troops there, and recently forced the Kingdom of Siam to accept Japanese protection. If we mobilize troops from Southeast Asia and India, how will we deal with the Japanese threat? "

Someone immediately raised a different opinion. The British Empire is still a world empire, the largest and richest empire in human history. India, Burma, Malaya, and Australia are all part of this large empire, and they are quite valuable assets.

After Japan captured French Indochina, British territory in the East came under the threat of Japanese bayonets. Therefore, the British government had to increase troops to Singapore, Burma, Malaya and Australia (including New Guinea) under the tight situation of battlefields in Europe and the Mediterranean.

"But the Eastern Mediterranean is the most important now. Once we fail there, Germany and Italy will control the Suez Canal and the entire Middle East, and the Italian navy will enter the Indian Ocean." Crutchley said in a heavy tone, "By then we will Can it still resist Japan’s attack?”

Imperial Chief of Staff Sir Dill and First Sea Lord Sir Pound exchanged opinions in a low voice, and then Sir Pound said: "Reinforcements can be mobilized from the east. The importance of the current Mediterranean battlefield is undoubted. The threat of Japan can be Please try to eliminate it."

Sir Dill asked again: "If sufficient reinforcements are received, can the Middle East Command and the Mediterranean Fleet maintain the situation in the battlefields of Greece, Crete and North Africa? What methods do you plan to adopt to fight a decisive battle with Germany and Italy?"

Major General Crutchley replied: "At present, both Commander Wavell and Commander Cunningham advocate taking the defensive first. Fortress Crete and Tubruk, deploy sufficient ground forces, and at the same time provide shore-based aviation to the Italian surface fleet. With a fatal blow, the Mediterranean fleet will finally be dispatched to seek a decisive battle. "

Sir Dill, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, nodded and said with a smile: "This is the best response plan at present. But you don't have to rush to seek a decisive battle, because the high command has decided to launch a strategic bombing of Italy starting in mid-February! If Mussolini still wants to keep his capital, Rome, he must withdraw most of his fighters from the front. By then, you will have greater confidence in launching a counterattack."

…

"Is the United States going to lease more B-17s to the United Kingdom?"

I don’t know whether Roosevelt deliberately leaked the news or whether Canaris’ agents were too capable. Anyway, the Hessmanns had already received the news from Canaris that B-17s were coming to Europe in large numbers before they left Berlin. .

Compared with the British "Lancaster" heavy bomber, the American B-17 is undoubtedly a huge threat. Historically, the strategic bombing carried out by the United States using the B-17 "Flying Fortress" caused great losses to Germany.

In the current time and space, Germany wants to play the role of Europe's big brother and integrate the European Community. Naturally, it cannot be battered by British and American bombers. Otherwise, Germany's prestige and economic strength will decline sharply, and it will be very difficult to integrate Europe.

Therefore, long before the war broke out, Hersman put the project of developing high-altitude, high-performance combat aircraft as a "priority".

"Albert, is there anything we can do about it?"

At the operational decision-making meeting of the General Staff, Hersman asked Air Force Commander-in-Chief Marshal Kesselring.

"There are some ways," Marshal Kesselring said with a frown. "There is now a temporary solution that has been implemented. There are also several final solutions that are being studied and discussed by experts."