The Rise of the Third Reich

"How far are we from Iceland now?" Lütjens suddenly asked.

"There are still about 350 nautical miles," the navigation staff of the European Combined Fleet immediately replied. "If we continue to take the anti-submarine route, we can reach the sea off the west coast of Iceland in 16 hours."

"There are still 16 hours." Lütjens smiled and said to William Messer. "They are still at least 700 nautical miles away from Iceland, and their speed will not be higher than 12 knots. It will take at least 100 hours to take the anti-submarine route. , so we have three days to reduce Reykjavik Port to rubble and lay thousands of mines.”

That's right, the target of the European Combined Fleet commanded by Lütjens is not the Allied Combined Fleet and the NR21 fleet, but their destination, Reykjavik Port in Iceland!

Reykjavik Port is located in a semicircular bay, the entrance of which is about 38 kilometers wide.

The Americans deployed three anti-submarine nets there to prevent German submarines from sneaking in. They also built large security forts on both sides of the bay at Sandergelzi and Akranes, and deployed submarines shipped from the United States. Large caliber artillery.

On the Icelandic land near Reykjavik Port, Americans have been building military bases since 1940. A series of military facilities including barracks, large warehouses, large oil depots and large airports have been built.

Moreover, the Americans have deployed a large number of troops and aircraft in military camps and airports near Reykjavik Port in Iceland. There are nearly 40,000 ground troops and nearly 300 aircraft belonging to the U.S. Army Air Forces and Naval Air Forces, including a large number of P-38s, P-51s, B-17s, B-24s and B-25s.

It can be said that Iceland is now a stronghold set up by Americans at the doorstep of Europe! As long as this stronghold exists, the Arctic Circle route cannot be cut off.

Even during extreme daylight, warships and ships that can sail quickly can still risk passing through the joint blockade of German sea and air forces under the cover of P-51s and P-38s taking off from Iceland.

It is also very difficult to remove the nail in Iceland. After all, Iceland is located north of the British mainland. Without capturing Britain, it is impossible to jump over and attack Iceland - without overwhelming sea and air superiority, it would be impossible to do leapfrog!

However, it is not easy to succeed in suppressing Iceland, which has P51 and P38, in the polar season when the days are long and the nights are short. Because except for the Fokker Zero, it is difficult for other German fighter jets to reach Iceland from Norway and Ireland. The Fokker Zero cannot fly high and cannot escort high-altitude bombers like the Ju288.

So in the spring and summer of 1942, the Nazis on the European continent could only watch as Iceland was helpless.

However, after the autumnal equinox, Iceland, which is close to the Arctic Circle, also enters the polar night period. The battleships of the European Combined Fleet can now use naval guns to destroy this large stronghold of "Americans colonizing Europe".

…

"Sir, the German fleet has been discovered!"

At 9 a.m. on December 8, the shouts of the communications staff broke the somewhat depressing silence in the command tower of the battleship Massachusetts.

"Where?" Admiral Ingersoll asked immediately.

"It was discovered 150 nautical miles south of Iceland by a Catalina seaplane... The radar detected a very large fleet of ships, at least hundreds of various ships!"

"South of Iceland...?" Admiral Ingersoll was stunned for a moment, "They want to intercept us near Iceland?"

"No, I'm afraid it's not to intercept us." British Vice Admiral Fraser's face suddenly turned ugly. "Their target is Iceland!"

"Iceland!?" Admiral Ingersoll took a breath, "The Germans want to capture Iceland?"

"It shouldn't be captured." Fraser shook his head. "Iceland has two U.S. infantry divisions and quite a few marines. It's not easy to capture. But the Germans can use naval guns to destroy Reykjavik Port. And nearby facilities! And the Germans can also lay mines outside Reykjavik Port so that we have no way to enter..."

There is no way to enter the bay outside Reykjavik Harbor! This means that more than 250 cargo ships, the entire fleet, and 108,000 American soldiers have to drift outside the bay and may be attacked by German submarines, aircraft, and ships at any time.

Forget about the sailors on cargo ships and fleets, they are all people who are used to wind and waves, but how can those 108,000 army soldiers suffer from seasickness day and night in the strong winds and waves near the Arctic Circle? If he fainted for a few weeks, would he still be able to deal with the Nazis in Ireland?

"We cannot let the Nazis blow up the port of Reykjavik!" Admiral Ingersoll gritted his teeth, "The combined fleet should attack immediately to fight the Germans!"

"Attack immediately? What about the NR21 fleet? They can't run fast."

Except for a few fast cruise ships in the NR21 fleet, most of them are very slow cargo ships and oil tankers that cannot run fast at all. Moreover, with so many large and slow ships, they dare not go in a straight line, otherwise they will encounter the German "wolf pack" and suffer heavy losses.

Therefore, if the Allied Combined Fleet wants to reinforce Iceland, it must abandon the NR21 fleet. Otherwise, when the German fleet demolishes the port of Reykjavik, they will not be able to arrive.

"Old battleships and some cruisers and destroyers can be left to protect them."

Admiral Ingersoll considered and said: "We will bring two South Dakota class, four Soviet class, two Kronshtadt class, three King George V class and other new battleships and some cruisers and destroyers to support Iceland."

Iceland must be saved, but NR21 cannot be left without battleship protection. Fortunately, Ingersoll had already made preparations. When he set off from New York, he also brought 5 Queen Elizabeth-class ships, 2 Wyoming-class ships, 2 New York-class ships, 2 Mexico-class ships and 1 Florida-class ship, for a total of 12 An old battleship.

So he can now divide the fleet into two, use 12 old battleships to protect NR21, and use 11 new battleships/battlecruisers to deal with the main force of the European Combined Fleet.

Fraser, the chief of staff of the fleet sent by the British, fully agreed with this arrangement. But Vice Admiral Fraser's yes vote is not very effective, because this fleet has a political commissar!

According to the agreement reached by Molotov and Roosevelt, the Allied Combined Fleet implemented a dual-chief system. Military Commissar Comrade Bulganin and Commander Comrade Ingersoll had equal command authority, and major decisions must be approved by both.

So after the two capitalist naval experts discussed the countermeasures, they immediately boarded the communist red battleship USSR in a speedboat to seek the opinions of the Vice Chairman of the People's Commissar of the Soviet Union and the President of the State Bank...

The place where Comrade Bulganin listened to the report of the two men was the party conference room W on the Soviet Union - the conference room of the Atlantic Fleet Committee of the Soviet Red Navy of the Bolshevik Party!

Comrade Bulganin is a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and will soon enter the political bureau. His status in the party is incomparable to Kurznev, so he is of course the party secretary of the Atlantic Fleet of the Red Navy. The place where he usually holds meetings is in the Fleet Party Conference Room W...

The hammer-and-sickle flag hangs in the conference room, as well as portraits of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin, and a slogan in Russian - Workers of the world unite and must liberate all mankind!

Admiral Ingersoll and Lieutenant General Fraser followed Gromyko into the conference room, which was decorated to make them feel uncomfortable.

Bulganin, wearing the uniform of a naval political commissar, stood at the door to greet them and greeted the two cordially in English: "Comrade Ingersoll, Comrade Fraser, please come in."

"Military Comrade...Comrade!"

"Hello, Comrade Military Commissar."

Admiral Ingersoll and Lieutenant General Fraser had no choice but to pay military salutes to Bulganin. Then a few people sat down at the conference table. Of course, Comrade Bulganin took the main seat - this is the Party W office! And Admiral Ingersoll is not even a party member...

After sitting down, Admiral Ingersoll told Bulganin the proposal for division of troops that he and Lieutenant General Fraser had discussed, with Gromyko acting as the interpreter at the scene.

"What?" Bulganin frowned a little, "Split the fleet in two? And let the Soviet class and Kronstadt class fight the German main fleet? Can victory be guaranteed?"

"Yes!" Admiral Ingersoll nodded, "We have a 6:2 advantage in the number of battleships with 406mm main guns, and our advantage in the number of 406mm main guns is even greater, 54:16 "

Bulganin is the governor of the Central Bank. Of course he understands the truth of 6 to 2 being bigger and 16 to 54 being smaller.

"Comrade Military Commissar, we cannot let the Germans occupy or destroy US military facilities in Iceland." Kurznev also spoke for the two capitalist generals, "If the Germans control Iceland, then the routes near the Arctic Circle will be will be cut off."

"Are you sure?" Bulganin asked in Russian.

"Yes!" Kuznetsov said, "The German fleet will probably not fight with us... Maybe they will find a way to attack NR21, so it is more dangerous to stay and protect the NR21 fleet."

The Red Navy cannot go to something more dangerous!

Bulganin made up his mind, nodded and said to the two capitalist generals: "Okay, I agree with your suggestion. But... I still have a condition."

"What conditions?"

"Use the battleship Soviet Union as the flagship!" Bulganin said, "The military commissar and commander should be on the same warship, so that the command can be unified!"

Unified command? Who is directing? How about having the chairman of the Federal Reserve come and take command with you? Admiral Ingersoll opened his mouth, but was speechless for a moment.