Chapter 414 Advertising War IX
"Boom! Boom! Boom..."
The roar of bomb explosions rang out in the city of Rome again, accompanied by the buzz of aircraft motors and the sound of various anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns firing.
It was a very noisy night. The military observation groups from various countries gathered in Italy had not yet seen the majesty of the Italian Navy, but they had first seen the power of the British Royal Air Force in the city of Rome!
Although the daytime bombing was a mess from a tactical perspective, it was quite successful strategically. The British Empire is on the verge of blowing up the Vatican, not to mention Madrid and Paris?
Moreover, when more than 30 tons of bombs were dropped, they still destroyed many places of interest, which made people feel distressed just to see them.
At night, the scale of the bombing became even greater. There were not only 13 B-17s and 12 Lancasters flying from Gibraltar, but also Wellington bombers and Blenheim night fighters flying from Crete and the Peloponnese ( Bombs can also be hung). The total number was one hundred and forty-fifty, and the bombs dropped were not just thirty tons, but hundreds of tons.
Hersman, who had already guessed that there would be a big bombing tonight, did not show any restraint and got into the former underground wine cellar of the Medici Villa (now a "World Cultural Heritage-level" air-raid shelter) early on. They also invited two Japanese Japs, Yamamoto Isoroku and Kuroshima Kameto, to explain to them the latest naval and air combat modes.
A "liar god of war" is now going to teach Isoroku Yamamoto how to fight at sea. I wonder if he will fail in teaching him?
However, Yamamoto Isoroku and Kuroshima Kameto listened very seriously. They even brought notebooks and took notes while listening. They looked like good students. The two of them were not deceived by Hessman, because from their professional perspective, the Great Battle of the Eastern Mediterranean was truly epic.
Moreover, Field Marshal Hersman's level of commanding naval battles is really very high. He is so clever that it opened the eyes of Yamamoto and Kuroshima, two guys who have studied naval battles for most of their lives.
"General Yamamoto, I currently have 18 squadrons of Ju88 bombers, 20 squadrons of S.M.79 torpedo bombers, 5 squadrons of Z.1007 medium bombers, and 15 squadrons of Fokker Zeros (including 3 squadrons in Italy) ), 3 squadrons of Fw-190s - they are currently the most powerful fighters in the world in air combat, and 3 squadrons of BF-110 night fighters. In addition, I have a fleet of 5 battleships and 6 battleships. The Italian naval fleet including heavy cruisers. If you were Cunningham, how would you prepare to fight?"
A map was spread out on the table between Hessmann, Yamamoto and Kuroshima. The map marked the situation of the Mediterranean battlefield and roughly listed the strength of the British army.
Facing Hirschman's question, Yamamoto Isoroku and Kuroshima Kameto looked at each other, and then they both fell into deep thought.
After a while, Yamamoto Isoroku said calmly: "Marshal, your shore-based aviation is too powerful. Cunningham's fleet simply does not dare to approach Crete or Tubruk Port during the day when the weather is good. This is a complete death penalty, even if there are 100 Spitfires on two aircraft carriers, it will be useless... Therefore, Crete and Tubruk cannot be defended! The only feasible option is to concentrate on the battlefields of Greece and Yugoslavia. Troops guard the Nile Delta, secure the Suez Canal, and block the road from Africa to the Middle East for Germany and Italy.”
Hessmann nodded slightly. These days, he, Hans Jeshunek and several senior staff members of the Italian Navy were also studying Cunningham's possible strategy.
Because Germany and Italy had too great an advantage in shore-based aviation - the Ju88's dive bombing coupled with the S.M.79's torpedo attack, and the air superiority of the Fokker Zero and Fw-190 were simply invincible.
Moreover, the Eastern Mediterranean is just a small pool. If the British fleet wants to avoid the threat of German and Italian aircraft, there will be little room for movement.
"The fleet withdraws from the Mediterranean?" Hersman asked calmly. He actually wanted to trick Yamamoto Isoroku and Kuroshima Kameto.
Most of the Italian naval admirals preferred that the British Mediterranean Fleet would run away and then let the army and air force defend North Africa - but this seemed to Hersman to be courting death, so that Rommel would have control of the sea. And this time Hessmann also gave him the powerful strength of 2 armored divisions and 1 light division. The British and their Indian Asan couldn't defeat them even if they took medicine!
Yamamoto Isoroku and Kuroshima Kameto talked in Japanese for a while, and then switched to English and said to Hersman: "If I were Cunningham, I would let the aircraft carrier withdraw, and then use the surface fleet to fight the Italian fleet again. !”
It is understandable to let the aircraft carrier withdraw, because the British biplane torpedo planes are too weak and can be wiped out at every turn. The reason why two Italian aircraft carriers were able to sink last time was entirely because the shore-based aircraft taking off from Crete entangled some Fokker Zeros. But this time Cunningham had no chance at all, because Hersman chose to destroy the British shore-based aircraft and airfields in Crete and Tobruk before launching a landing operation. But the idea of using a surface fleet to fight a decisive battle still puzzled Hersman.
Hessmann thought for a while and asked again: "Is the surface fleet fighting at night?"
Kuroshima Kameto said: "Of course it's a night battle. If the weather is not suitable for aircraft takeoff, we can also fight during the day. Although there is no guarantee of victory, it is definitely better than not fighting. If there is no battle, the Battle of the English Channel may happen before September 1941... If two Veneto-class ships can be severely damaged in the battle, it is possible to postpone the Battle of the English Channel to 1942."
The "Sage Staff" made a good analysis. If Cunningham leaves without fighting, the two Veneto-class ships and the two Richelieu-class ships will definitely meet up with the German High Seas Fleet before the weather in the English Channel deteriorates in September.
At that time, it will be the six new battleships of Germany, Italy and France (including two Bismarcks) plus two "Dunkirks" plus the "Gneisenau" and seven old battleships against the British "Hood", "Nelson", "King George V", "Prince of Wales", two "Reputation" class ships, two "Revenge" class ships and five "Queen Elizabeth" class ships.
In this way, the number of battleships will be 16 from Germany, Italy and France against 13 from Britain, and Germany, Italy and France also have air superiority, so Britain's chances of winning will be quite low.
Hessman asked: "Where will the battle take place?"
Kuroshima Kameto replied respectfully: "Wherever your army lands, the British surface fleet may seek a decisive battle. Because landing operations cannot be completed in one day, at night the fleet must take on the mission of protecting the beachhead and landing troops."
The analysis is quite accurate! Hessman nodded. He knew that the Japanese Navy was actually the apprentice of the British Royal Navy, and the apprentice knew the master better - sitting and waiting to die is not the style of the British Navy.
Moreover, with the level of the Italian Navy, even if the troops are superior, they may not be able to defeat Cunningham. The fleet decisive battle at night is obviously the most likely to win for Cunningham.
However, in addition to the powerful shore-based aviation, Hessman also has another trump card - Erwin Rommel, who is not a character that Cunningham can deal with.
At this moment, Hersman's adjutant, Colonel Schnetz, suddenly walked in quickly, leaned over to Hersman's ear, and whispered: "Marshal, Rear Admiral Reinhard Heydrich reports that His Holiness the Pope was just hit by a 50-pound British bomb in the ward of Queen Margaret Hospital!"
Reinhard Heydrich is a rear admiral in this time and space (he was originally a naval officer), but he serves in the Central Security Bureau and is Admiral Canaris's confidant. He was originally a senior intelligence director responsible for implementing the "highest security measures". Before Hersman came to Italy, he ordered Canaris to send Heydrich to Italy to lead the intelligence station in Rome...
Hersman remained calm and just waved his hand lightly, asking Colonel Schnetz to leave - he shouldn't know about the Pope's ascension now, so he pretended that he didn't know and began to discuss the cooperation between the Japanese and German navies with the two Japanese.
"Are you building four 70,000-ton super battleships? Will the first ship be put into service this year?"
Hersman opened his mouth again, and the question he asked surprised Yamamoto Isoroku and Kuroshima Kameto. The construction of the four "Yamato" class ships of the Japanese Navy was completely confidential and had never been disclosed to the Germans.
Seeing the two Japanese in a daze, Hersman sneered and said, "Isn't it just four 70,000-ton battleships? What's there to hide? I can also tell you that we are also building four 70,000-ton battleships now. But our project started relatively late, and the keel was only laid in August last year... All four ships started construction at the same time! If the project progresses smoothly, they will all be in service in early 1944.
However, the two-ocean navy law recently passed by the United States also included a plan to build five 70,000-ton battleships. If all efforts are made, With the strength of the United States, it will be completed by 1944. In addition, the United States has compiled a plan to build 6 45,000-ton battleships, 4 35,000-ton battleships are under construction, and 2 "North Carolina" class ships are about to be built, and the Colorado class, which is one of the seven largest ships in the world... a total of 20 super battleships. In addition, the United States also plans to start building 18 fleet aircraft carriers! If these battleships and aircraft carriers are all built, even if we combine the strength of our two countries, we will not be able to defeat the United States at sea!"