Chapter 411 Advertising War VI

"When will those guys who were invited by Mussolini to watch the show arrive in Rome?"

When the Imperial Chief of Staff Sir Dill and the First Lord of the Admiralty Sir Pound came to 10 Downing Street to report the battle plan, Winston Churchill suddenly asked when the "audience" would arrive.

Because the "Battle of Crete" has now become an international political struggle. In this struggle, the gains and losses of Crete are not the most important. The most important thing is the views of European countries, including Turkey, on the future of the war.

If everyone thinks that the British Empire is going to end, then the British Empire is really going to end, even if Crete is defended, it will be useless. Because as long as Turkey turns to Germany, hundreds of thousands of German troops can enter the Middle East through Turkey's railways, and Wavell's army will definitely not be able to resist.

If everyone thinks that the British Empire will not fall all of a sudden, then the British Empire can continue to maintain the situation, even if Crete is lost.

"February 10-15," Sir Dill, the Imperial Chief of Staff, was well prepared and answered immediately, "According to the intelligence we have, most of the observation groups will arrive before the 15th of next month."

"So when will the B-17 bombers and Lancaster bombers be ready?" Churchill asked again.

Preparing heavy bombers is naturally to slap someone in the face, although Mussolini is thick-skinned and not afraid of being hit. But as long as the military observation groups of various countries arriving in Rome can see what will happen if they anger the British Empire, then the goal will be achieved.

But the problem is that there are not many B-17 bombers and Lancaster bombers ready now. The United States has just started to equip B-17 bombers. Boeing has officially delivered only 37 B-17Cs (the first B-17 model equipped with a turbocharged engine) to the military. President Roosevelt and General Marshall issued a death order to force the US Army Air Force to hand over 20 of them to Britain.

The Lancaster bomber has just entered the trial production stage and is only equipped with one bomber squadron (12 aircraft). Moreover, this four-engine heavy bomber produced by the British is not a high-altitude bomber, and its service ceiling is only 5793 meters. So it can only be used at night when Mussolini is sleeping, and the effect will not be very good.

Therefore, Churchill can only rely on 20 B-17C bombers, which can fly very high and avoid ground artillery and most fighters. However, this aircraft has just been delivered to the British. Although the Royal Air Force has selected the most experienced crew members to train under the guidance of American instructors, it is still a bit difficult to fully master the B-17C in less than a month.

"20 B-17s and 12 Lancasters will be ready before February 15," Sir Dill replied, "In addition, there are 10 squadrons of Wellington bombers and 3 squadrons of Blenheim night fighters that can be dispatched from Greece."

Like the Lancaster heavy bombers, the Wellington bombers, Blenheim night fighters and Lancaster heavy bombers can only bomb Rome by night raids.

"Then we should start air strikes on the Italian capital from February 15th. This should let the French and Spanish know how powerful we are."

Paris and Madrid are relatively close to the British mainland, so they can be frightened by bombing. However, Turkey is too far away, more than 2,500 kilometers away, and the existing bombers are definitely out of reach.

Churchill took a few puffs of his cigar, and then asked: "If we fail in Crete or Tobruk, can we still stop the Germans from rushing into the Middle East?"

"It's difficult," Sir Dill sighed, "Admiral Wavell and Admiral Cunningham will definitely fight as hard as they can. If they can't win, the fleet must withdraw from the Mediterranean, and then the Army and the Royal Air Force will take on the mission of defending Egypt and the Suez Canal."

"What if we fail again?"

"Then we will lose the Middle East." Sir Dill said helplessly, "and the Germans will have enough crude oil, France, Turkey, and Spain will all turn to Germany... Gibraltar may also be lost, and then the Italian and French fleets will rush out of the Mediterranean!"

Sir Dill didn't say what would happen after rushing out of the Mediterranean... Everyone knows this. If the Mediterranean is completely defeated, the British Empire should seek peace. Strive to surrender and lose half, and then more than 40 million British people will guard the other half of the empire and live a peaceful life.

"Sir," Churchill said calmly, smoking a cigar, "If we lose the Middle East, who will get it?"

"Of course it's Germany," Sir Dill replied.

"Why not the Soviet Union?" Churchill's words surprised Sir Dill and Sir Pound.

Churchill said to himself: "At least the Soviet Union should get the entire Iranian and Iraqi oil-producing areas, which is very good for us."

What's the benefit? Will the Soviet Union go to war with Germany just because it got Iran and Iraq? This is obviously impossible. The Soviet Union will only negotiate with Germany and share some of the oil and water. It is impossible to risk its life for the Middle East oil-producing areas that it cannot defend...

"This is good for us, very good!" Churchill was still talking to himself, "Losing the Mediterranean is not the end of the British Empire, we can still fight... We must not let Germany become the hegemon of the world, this is not allowed. Not only will I not agree, Roosevelt and Stalin will not agree. If we lose in the Mediterranean, then it's time for them to join!"

...

"General Yamamoto, welcome to Europe!"

Yamamoto Isoroku really came, taking his "Fairy Advisor" Kurojima Kameto Colonel on a Zero transport aircraft produced by Japan's Nakajima Aircraft Company (a Japanese copycat version of the American DC-3), from Wujun Port Departing, passing through China, the Soviet Union, and Germany, we flew to Rome, the capital of Italy, on the morning of February 15.

At the airport, General Yamamoto met Marshal Hessmann who came to greet him. Yamamoto and Hirschmann had met more than ten years ago, when Hirschmann went to Japan to promote Japanese-German technical cooperation, and Yamamoto happened to be able to participate in the meeting.

"Marshal Your Excellency, it is a great honor to meet you again in Europe." Yamamoto Isoroku shook hands with Hessman very politely and said with a smile on his face. "I am in Japan during this time, and I am studying the naval battle in the Eastern Mediterranean under your command every day. This is an epic victory!"

Hessman smiled and said: "It's only halftime. It would be fine if we didn't lose those two aircraft carriers."

"Your Excellency, Marshal, even if we lose those two motherships, the Great Battle of the Eastern Mediterranean is still a victory that changes history!" Kurojima Kameto, who was following Yamamoto Isoroku, interrupted at this time, "This is the British Royal Navy The worst defeat ever and a decisive one!”

"This is Captain Kurojima Kameto, the chief staff officer of the combined fleet." Yamamoto Isoroku quickly introduced his confidant to Hersman.

"Oh, I've heard of you." Hessman nodded and shook hands with him, "You are also welcome to come to Europe... Let's go, let's go to the Medici Villa first. My headquarters is there, you guys You can also live there, it’s a big place and beautiful. ”

A general of Yamamoto Isoroku's level would naturally not risk going to the front line to watch the battle. This opportunity belonged to Kuroshima Kameto and several other staff officers. Hersman's invitation to Yamamoto to stay at the Medici Villa was considered to be a front-line understanding of the progress of the Mediterranean war.

Of course, Hersman did this not to facilitate Yamamoto's visit to the war, but to discuss future wars against the United States with him.

…

The Medici Villa is located in the center of Rome. It was built by the Medici family, the ruling family in Florence's history. It occupies a large area and is more than enough to accommodate the entire Mediterranean German-Italian Allied Forces Command.

Although the coalition headquarters is a high-level military organization, it does not have the aura of being heavily guarded. There are only two Italian black-shirted soldiers standing upright at the door. Hessmann's motorcade stopped at the gate. The adjutant, Colonel Schnetz, showed his ID in accordance with the regulations, and then the motorcade drove directly in and stopped at the entrance of the villa building.

When Hessmann and Yamamoto walked into the villa talking and laughing together, Deputy Chief of Staff General Hans Jeshunek suddenly walked out of a war room belonging to the Air Force (including Naval Aviation) in a hurry. Seeing Hessmann with two Eastern soldiers, he winked at him and seemed a little anxious.

"Hans, what happened?" Hersman didn't mean to avoid Yamamoto Isoroku and asked directly in English.

"Marshal, our radar station on Sardinia reported that we found at least 10 aircraft flying from the southwest, heading towards Rome."

"Southwest?" Hessman frowned, "Gibraltar? Or took off from an aircraft carrier?"

"It should be Gibraltar." Hans Jeshunek said.

"How can I see it?"

"Because the flight altitude of the aircraft remains above 9,000 meters!"

"Above 9,000 meters?" Hersman was stunned and suddenly laughed, "This is a B-17. I thought they were going to bomb Berlin, but I didn't expect that they flew to Rome to cause trouble."

In this era, there are not many aircraft that can fly long distances at an altitude of 9,000 meters. Even if many aircraft can fly up, they will not stay there for long. So Hessman immediately thought of the B-17, a high-altitude heavy bomber that the Americans leased to Britain.

"Marshal, we don't have fighter jets that can fly that high near Rome." Hans Jeshunek said anxiously, "The nearest BF-109H squadron is in Cologne, and there is no way we can get there..."

"Nothing," Hessmann waved his hand indifferently, "It's just 2-30 B-17s at most. They can't carry many bombs. They can't blow up Rome... Hans, you call Marshal Kesselring immediately and ask him to He allocated five squadrons of BF-109Hs to Italy."

As he spoke, Hersman turned to Yamamoto Isoroku and smiled, saying: "Neither the United Kingdom nor the United States are invincible opponents. If you want to participate in the war, you must also be prepared for Tokyo to be bombed! However, Don’t worry, we will provide you with the necessary air defense technical equipment, including radar and high-altitude interceptors.”