The Rise of the Third Reich

"Mr. President, are we really going to bomb Iceland and Ireland?"

On the afternoon of September 10, 1944, in the Oval Office of the White House, General Arnold, commander of the U.S. Army Air Forces, who had just been happy to see that Roosevelt could still govern, now looked very confused, and even a little suspicious that Roosevelt had suffered a stroke. Becoming a little delirious.

Because Roosevelt had asked a few minutes ago when the bombing of Iceland and Ireland could begin.

Although Roosevelt mentioned it before suffering a stroke, General Arnold did not receive orders to begin the bombing immediately. He believed that Roosevelt asked about it at that time just to have a way to counter Germany when necessary.

"Of course." Roosevelt, with his big head tilted, stretched out his right hand and pressed his forehead. "I remember that I gave the order to bomb Iceland before I had the stroke."

"No, no..." Admiral Arnold shook his head, becoming more convinced of his conjecture.

"No?" Roosevelt was indeed a little forgetful. Although his first stroke did not kill him, it still caused some damage to his memory.

"I can't remember," Roosevelt shook his head. "Then I'll give the order now. Bomb Iceland, Ireland and Buenos...what's that?"

"Aires, it's Buenos Aires." General Arnold frowned, "Mr. President, do we really need to bomb Iceland and Ireland?"

The bombing of Buenos Aires had been planned for a long time by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. William Leahy, Marshall, Ernest King, and Arnold himself all believed that Juan Peron's capital would be bombed into rubble. It may lead to drastic changes in the political situation of the new Asbanian Federation.

But bombing Iceland and Ireland was not interesting to the military strategists of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Iceland has a population of hundreds of thousands, and they are all fishermen. There is nothing on the island worthy of a B-29 trip.

As for Ireland, although its value is slightly higher than that of Iceland, it is too far away from Newfoundland and the B-29 cannot carry a few bombs at all. Moreover, Ireland is basically a soy sauce existence in the European Community and has not sent troops to South America. Why should it be bombed?

"There is no military need for bombing," Roosevelt said calmly, "but it is politically necessary!"

Speaking of political needs, Admiral Arnold frowned even more. "Mr. President, Germany currently probably has the means to bomb the United States mainland..."

"I know!" Roosevelt's tone seemed unhappy, "Do you think I have forgotten the German missiles? But we cannot not attack them just because we are afraid of the Germans' counterattack. By the way, how are the Army Air Forces prepared to deal with the German missiles? ?”

General Arnold didn't know whether to argue with Roosevelt. He thought about it and decided to introduce methods to counter missile attacks first.

The first, of course, is to destroy the German missile launch platforms. Arnold estimated that the Germans would launch missiles from aircraft and ships. Therefore, the U.S. Army Aviation and Naval Aviation must increase patrols within a few hundred kilometers to a thousand kilometers off the eastern coast of the United States, and attack targets immediately if they find them.

The second step is interception. There are many methods of interception, including dispatching fighter planes to shoot down missiles, using anti-aircraft artillery deployed on the ground to shoot down missiles, and using anti-aircraft balloons to passively intercept.

The third step is to evacuate the population and build air-raid shelters in large cities on the east coast. The work of building air-raid shelters has been in full swing since June 1944, when the United States learned that Germany had an atomic bomb.

Roosevelt was not very interested in defending against German missiles. After hearing a few words from General Arnold, he ended the conversation on the pretext that he needed to rest.

After Arnold left, Army Chief of Staff Marshall and Chief of Naval Operations Ernest King came together again.

They were adapted for military deployment after the Battle of Bermuda. The first thing to be resolved is of course the selection of the joint commander of the Pacific-Atlantic Fleet.

Admiral Nimitz, who had lost the battle, had submitted his resignation, and Admiral Halsey was missing. The Germans had announced that they had captured him, but the U.S. Navy had not yet confirmed it. Now someone needed to take over the mess. .

"Let Admiral Spruance serve as the joint commander," Roosevelt said. "Now he is the only one who can hold this position. And... the focus of the next phase of maritime operations must be in the Pacific direction, right?"

Admiral Ernest King replied: "Mr. President, the Joint Chiefs of Staff has not made a decision yet, but my personal view is indeed to seek a decisive battle with aircraft carriers in the Pacific."

There is nothing to fight in the Atlantic direction, but we can still win in the Pacific direction. If we win, the Army Air Force can use Chile as a base to bomb Buenos Aires, and maybe it can blow up Juan Peron. Gotta fall down.

Roosevelt nodded and asked: "What should we do about the Guyana battle? Should we continue? Or should we retreat immediately?"

"continue!"

"Should continue!"

Ernest King and Marshall had exactly the same view.

"Georgetown is under the cover of the shore-based aviation in Trinidad," Ernest King said, "so the transportation of supplies and reinforcements is not difficult, and it can be sustained."

Marshall added: "Furthermore, British Guiana is only four to five hundred kilometers away from Trinidad. If the Germans deploy missiles there, they may be able to hit Trinidad. This will have a great impact on Trinidad." The air defense caused tremendous pressure.”

Roosevelt nodded and said firmly: "After General Leahy returns from the front line on Oahu, the Joint Chiefs of Staff will come up with a comprehensive plan. This plan should not only include defense and operations in South America, but also Launch a counterattack on the European continent...use B-29 long-range bombers and other means we have! I hope the counterattack against Europe can begin as soon as possible!"

William Leahy went to inspect the Pacific Theater the day after Roosevelt suffered a stroke. He first went to Australia and New Zealand, then to the Hawaiian Islands, and even landed on Oahu, which was undergoing a bloody battle. The purpose of his inspections in those areas was not to launch a new offensive in the Pacific battlefield, but to explore the possibility of an armistice.

After the Battle of Bermuda, the United States was no longer able to maintain two large-scale maritime wars at the same time. Ending the war against Japan and concentrating its efforts on resisting Germany (Europe) became the preferred strategy - especially when the peace talks with Germany broke down. (Now no one can guarantee that the peace talks with Germany will be successful).

…

"Marshal Imperial, in the next phase our operational focus should be on Trinidad in the Atlantic and Valparaiso in the Pacific."

Cuosen, inside the Joint Intelligence Command Center of the General Staff Headquarters. Air Force Commander-in-Chief Kesselring was making suggestions to Hersman next to a large map table with a map of the military situation in South America.

"Is it a choice of two?" Hirschman asked.

"No," Kesselring shook his head, "My suggestion is to conduct two battles at the same time. In the southeastern Pacific near Valparaiso, use aircraft carriers to fight a decisive battle with the Americans, and then recapture Valparaiso.

At the same time, on the Trinidad-Guyana battlefield, we should take a decisive and fierce offensive to seize Trinidad and open a channel to attack the Caribbean and Venezuela. "

"Are you sure of victory?"

"Yes!" Marshal Kesselring replied very definitely, "Because we are about to launch missile air strikes on the United States, and the United States will definitely deploy most of its fighter planes on the east coast. This will give us the opportunity to attack Trinidad. Opportunity to launch an offensive with Valparaíso.”

"Is it possible that Santiago will fall?" Hersman suddenly asked an unexpected question.

"Santiago, Chile?" Kesselin shook his head. "It cannot fall. Our Marine Corps has already arrived there. And the Chileans have also mobilized a large number of troops to station in Santiago. The total strength there has reached 100,000."

Hersman shrugged, "Then don't consider attacking Valparaiso and move all the aircraft carriers back to Belém."

Admiral Raeder also discussed the war situation with Hessmann and Kesselring in the joint intelligence command center. Hearing Hersmann's proposal, he interjected and asked: "Marshal Reich, if we do not recapture Valparaíso, Buenos Aires may be subject to a large-scale air attack. According to reliable intelligence, the Americans are attacking Valparaiso." Letso build a large airport that can take off and land B-29 bombers.”

"Why not let the Americans bomb it?" Hersman asked.

"Juan Peron's regime may be unstable," Redl replied. "His war with Brazil is in quagmire. If Buenos Aires is bombed to rubble by American planes again, then he is very likely to will be overthrown by the opposition.”

The attack on Brazil launched by the New Asbanian Federation, composed of Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and other countries, encountered strong resistance from the Brazilian military and civilians. Moreover, the number of Brazilians willing to cooperate with the new Asbanian authorities is limited. Even in several states in southern Brazil where non-Portuguese whites are concentrated, people are not willing to become citizens of the new Asbanian federation. They prefer to become Citizens of the European Community or the Roman Empire, rather than being Juan Peron's "subjects".

The attacks on Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro did not go as smoothly as expected. Although Sao Paulo fell into the hands of the new Asbanian coalition in March 1944, Rio de Janeiro ended in a bad battle. In April 1944, the New Asbanian Allied Forces surrounded it, but the siege did not end until September, and the attacking troops suffered heavy losses.

The "blitzkrieg" imagined by Juan Peron has now become a protracted war, and his status in the hearts of Argentines has also declined rapidly. If Buenos Aires was bombed again, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Let the Americans bomb Buenos Aires." Hersman sneered, "otherwise Peron will never recognize the true colors of himself and the new Asbanian Federation! And... Buenos Aires Ellis will also become a nightmare for American long-range bombers!”