The Rise of the Third Reich

"Prepare for a collision! Hurry..."

When SS Colonel Otto Skorzeny of the 1st Air Assault Brigade of the German Wehrmacht heard the loud roar of the aircraft captain, he quickly grabbed the armrest next to the seat and scratched his chest with his other hand. Made a cross.

As soon as he finished making the cross, the landing gear of the plane hit the hard ground with a bang. Although Skorzeny gripped the armrests tightly and fastened his seat belt, his body was still shaken off the seat, and then he sat back down hard. He was hit hard on the buttocks, and it hurt so much. Take a breather.

However, when he discovered that the plane he was on did not disintegrate, but was sliding forward bumpily, he ignored the pain in his buttocks and cheered loudly: "Long live victory! Hi! Hitler..."

If the plane is still taxiing, it means the landing has been successful! The successful landing of the ZSO523 air assault transport aircraft means that "Operation Columbus" has been more than half successful!

Skorzeny's ZSO523 plane was the first to fall from the sky, and its smooth landing was just the beginning. Then one after another they landed on five flat landing sites with signal flares constantly rising.

At the edge of the landing site, some German paratroopers had already been waving red flags vigorously, including the Frenchman Mitterrand. He has been operating with Brandt. Now that Brandt's group has been disbanded, Brandt has returned to the platoon commander and is assigned the task of waving the red flag to welcome the airborne troops.

A giant airplane's motor roared and slid for a distance on the gravel ground, and finally stopped less than 100 meters in front of Mitterrand. The French patriot watched in amazement as the lower half of the giant nose of the plane slowly cracked from the middle and finally split into two, as if a monster had opened its bloody mouth.

Then a scene that shocked him even more appeared. A tank destroyer weighing more than 20 tons, which Mitterrand had never seen before, rumbled out of the open "mouth" of the aircraft.

Now Mitterrand's mouth was almost as wide as the plane opposite him... The Germans actually transported tank destroyers to Newfoundland by plane! !

And Mitterrand, who had served in the army, could tell at a glance that these two tank destroyers were very powerful - their gun barrels were very long, the caliber was about 75mm, and they should have strong armor-piercing capabilities.

In addition, there are two blacked-out searchlights on the top and front of the tank destroyer. Mitterrand guessed that this was the legendary night vision device, which could be used to see distant targets clearly at night.

It is said that during the Battle of Moscow, the Germans relied on the help of night vision devices to achieve a decisive victory in the night tank battle. If the Americans didn't have the same equipment, they would be out of luck tonight.

"Colonel, all 50 ZSO523s used by the 101st Air Assault Battalion landed successfully. 11 of them were damaged to some extent during the landing process. 2 No. 4 tanks and 1 E-25 were stuck and temporarily unable to drive. Get out of the cabin.”

On the aircraft temporarily used as the headquarters of the 1st Air Assault Brigade, SS Colonel Otto Skorzeny was listening to the report of the chief staff officer. At this time, he saw Lieutenant Colonel Schwarzenegger limping in.

"Gustav, what's wrong with you?" Skorzeny asked.

"When the plane landed just now, the seat belt broke and it fell," Lieutenant Colonel Schwarzenegger said a little embarrassed. "It doesn't matter, it's just a minor injury... I didn't expect the plane to be so bumpy when it landed, and many people were slightly injured. There may be some equipment damaged, so we must check it carefully later."

"It won't affect the battle, right?"

"No," Schwarzenegger smiled, "A slight injury will not leave the line of fire! And we are still a mechanized force and do not need to march on foot."

"Okay," Otto Skorzeny nodded, "then gather your people quickly, check the equipment, and then enter the position. There will be a fierce battle tonight!"

Although the American counterattack troops have not yet been dispatched, a battle-hardened warrior like Skorzeny knows without a second thought that there will be a bloody battle tonight!

…

"What? What? The Germans airborne on Newfoundland? What...what does this mean? Is Newfoundland their main direction of attack? Can anyone answer me?"

Just as a bloody night battle was brewing on the island of Newfoundland, U.S. President Truman was asking questions loudly in the Cabinet Room of the White House.

The questions he asked sounded a bit childish, at least not ones that President Roosevelt would have asked. Because no matter where the Germans' main attack direction is, Newfoundland cannot be lost.

"Mr. President," Secretary of War Wallace took the question at this time, "the German airborne landing on Newfoundland means only one thing: we will defeat them there and win a decent peace!"

Truman couldn't believe Wallace's judgment and glanced at General Marshall, the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army: "George, what do you think?"

"Mr. President," George Marshall said decisively, "we can definitely defeat the Germans on Newfoundland."

"Surely?" Truman was a little doubtful. In the past five years or so, anyone who has said such things has basically been trampled to the ground by Germany.

"Yes!" Marshall's answer was very affirmative. "We have 250,000 ground troops on Newfoundland, and they are very well-equipped, with a large number of tanks and tank destroyers. If these troops are on the European continent and Germany's powerful armored forces Confrontation may not be an opponent, but it is impossible for the German airborne troops to have tanks and armored vehicles on Newfoundland.”

Before Marshall could finish speaking, one of Truman's military aides walked into the Cabinet Room of the White House and handed a piece of paper to Truman. Truman took the note and looked at it, his expression suddenly became serious.

"Admiral," he asked Marshall, "if the Germans sent tanks to Newfoundland, would our men still be able to win?"

Tanks sent to Newfoundland?

Everyone in the conference room was stunned. Marshall took the note from Truman, read it carefully, frowned and said: "The Germans have invested a very huge amount of money, and it can be used on the platform of Newfoundland." The giant transport plane that landed may be an upgraded version of the Me323, and our people also saw the No. 4 tank and an unknown large tank destroyer appearing near the German airdrop area on Newfoundland!

I think it was probably the Germans who used their giant transport planes to transport the tanks to Newfoundland! "

"What now?" Truman asked.

What else can be done? If the peace talks fail to reach an agreement, of course the only option is to fight to the end!

"Send more troops to Newfoundland!" Marshall said. "The 18th Airborne Corps still has three unused divisions that can be immediately put into the Newfoundland battlefield. In addition, armored vehicle crews can be urgently transferred from various armored divisions in the mainland to land on the island. Newfoundland Island, so that the inventory of vehicles on Newfoundland Island can be used to form a new armored group."

What Marshall said was that it was actually expected that the Germans would block the waterways and ports of Newfoundland, and it would be difficult to maintain shipping.

"The Navy can dispatch aircraft carriers to reinforce the Newfoundland battlefield." Chief of Naval Operations Ernest King continued, "Admiral Mitchell's 56th Task Force is currently between the Bermuda Islands and the east coast and can soon Arrival at Newfoundland Battlefield.”

Because Halsey lived in the VIP concentration camp at the Belvedere Palace, Nimitz resigned again. Therefore, Spruance, the original commander of the 5th Fleet, was promoted to the joint commander of the Pacific-Atlantic Fleet, and the following 3rd Fleet and 5th Fleet (the two main fleets of the U.S. Navy) were vacated. Commander 3 Fleet was given to Admiral Kincaid, and Commander 5 Fleet was given to Admiral Mitchell.

The main composition of the 3rd Fleet and the 5th Fleet is also different. The main force of the 3rd Fleet is battleships and heavy cruisers, including several old battleships, Alaska class and two newly wealthy Iowa class (USS Illinois). and the USS Kentucky). The main mission of this fleet is to support operations in the Caribbean - although battleships are no longer the dominant force in naval battles, they can still play a role in landing and anti-landing operations.

The main force of the 5th Fleet is the Essex-class aircraft carrier. The mission of this fleet is Atlantic-Caribbean mobile operations. It is actually a mobile fleet used for decisive battles at sea.

Because the Joint Chiefs of Staff had previously judged that the Germans might attack the Bermuda Islands, Task Force 56, the main force of the 5th Fleet, was lurking in the sea southwest of the Bermuda Islands under the leadership of Admiral Mitchell.

"Are we going to use Task Force 56 aircraft to support operations on Newfoundland?" Truman asked.

"No." Ernest King shook his head, "The mission of Task Force 56 is to attack the main force of the German navy! As long as we can sink seven to eight large German aircraft carriers, we can win a decent peace."

It’s time for another decisive battle at sea!

Truman couldn't help but frown when he thought about this. No matter how you look at Newfoundland, the Allies have the advantage. Even if the Germans airlift 200 tanks/tank destroyers, the US military has a greater chance of winning.

But the situation on the Atlantic is exactly the opposite. The advantage seems to be on the German side! There are quite a few aircraft carriers, and there are also carrier-based jets, as well as terrifying missile ships!

Can the U.S. Navy win the fight?

Seeing the hesitation on Truman's face, Ernest King said: "Mr. President, Task Force 56 will fight the German Navy under the cover of land-based aviation, so it is confident enough to win.

Moreover, as long as the 56th Task Force approached Newfoundland, the Germans would not be able to launch a large-scale landing operation. Their airborne troops on Newfoundland could not last long without reinforcements from the landing troops. So victory must belong to the United States! "