Arnold's original plan to use Bermuda's airport to land on the island for refueling and then strike again had been shattered by the rain of German and Italian artillery - planes could not land, let alone resupply. Pen ~ fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info witnessed that the army aviation was completely powerless against the enemy fleet, the last hope of the defenders came to naught, and under the threat of German landing and artillery fire, they reluctantly chose to surrender.

Theoretically speaking, Bermuda also has dozens of square kilometers of land, both in area and population is much larger than Tarawa, but because the island is close to the United States, under the close supervision of the United States Navy, the British colonial authorities never thought that anyone would dare to come to Tai Sui to break ground, and if the Americans want to attack Bermuda, then no matter what defense facilities are built, it is in vain, so Bermuda's armament is not as good as Tarawa, and the only thing that can rely on is the air base and close American support. Now that the air base has been destroyed, and the United States is not able to provide support, in the face of artillery fire, the colonial authorities cannot let tens of thousands of people destroy the island together, and surrender is the only way out.

"Why, why!" Arnold slammed his fist on the table in anger, "Originally, they could have held on......"

The surrounding high-level army aviation officials couldn't bear to see his dejected appearance, only a few staff officers were still there shouting unconvinced: "Sir, we can't give up, even if the defenders surrender, we should continue to fight, we can't let the Germans gain a foothold in Bermuda, let alone let it become an outpost to attack us, the bombers must continue to bomb, not only the local bombers must concentrate on bombing, but also from Puerto Rico." ”

Arnold nodded, gritting his teeth and ordering: "Continue to bomb the island and any enemy targets, and don't let it become a pistol on the east coast's head......"

Arnold overestimated the role and value of this "pistol on the head of the East Coast", Machar had no intention of using the island as a springboard for an attack, and the range of German carrier-based aircraft was not enough to support an air attack from Bermuda. The reason why Bermuda had to be attacked was to mobilize US troops, and secondly, to put psychological pressure on the United States. Moreover, even if the Germans had aircraft to use on the roadbed, it would be difficult to reuse the places that had been attacked and covered with butterfly bombs, so the mood of the US Army was completely excessive. At best, the Axis' control of Bermuda eliminated the Bermuda-centered reconnaissance horizon, and did not allow the Axis to gain the advantage of attacking the east coast.

However, this two-pronged approach was effective in delaying the arrival of a second force from Madagascar to the Falklands. At least the submarine forces deployed off the coast of Brazil for surveillance have not yet detected a large U.S. convoy passing, which means that the Americans have managed to be drawn to Bermuda.

The main force to transport the second batch of troops is the will wheel, although this kind of full load displacement of more than 14,000 tons, the maximum speed of 16 knots of the standard freighter maximum range of nearly 15,000 nautical miles, but if you always sail at the highest speed can not reach such a long distance, so the average speed can only use 12-13 knots, the reinforcements are officially from Madagascar on October 2, according to the planned speed and distance, it will take about 25 days, in addition to docking, unloading, correction also needs at least 7-10 days, Therefore, the fleet led by Machar had to ensure absolute security in the direction of the Falklands at least until the beginning of November, and this time could not be held by defense alone, so he chose to attack Bermuda as a transfer.

With the increase in the sea area controlled by the Axis, especially after the Axis opened the two key passes of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal, trade with South America, Africa and the Far East increased rapidly, so the construction of escort aircraft carriers also began to be put on the agenda. According to Hoffman's proposal and drawing on the experience of Britain and the United States in the field of escort, the Rhine-class aircraft carrier was launched, the main hull is the same as that of the Will wheel, but the power is not the 9,500 horsepower diesel engine of the Will wheel, but replaced by a steam turbine of nearly 14,000 horsepower, so the maximum speed can reach nearly 21 knots, the length of the main deck is 142 meters, and it can take off and land all kinds of carrier-based fighters and light-loaded attack aircraft (no more than 250 kg of bombs). After the introduction of the folding wing BF-219C, the overall carrier capacity can reach 32 common + 4 spare, with a maximum range of 9400 nautical miles.

The overall combat effectiveness of the Rhine class is stronger than that of the American Borg-class, and the Casablanca class is basically on par, however, compared with the speed at which the United States builds the Casablanca class, the construction speed of the Rhine class is much slower, and it took more than 6 months in the case of a ready-made hull, and it will take about 220 days if everything starts from scratch, so only one has been built by the beginning of September, and there are three other ships lying on the slipway, although Speer is full of confidence that it is not a problem to build 12 ships a year, but the navy has expressed cautious optimism. For Hoffmann, no matter what, the Rhine class finally filled the gap, and Germany's sea routes were much safer than those of Britain and the United States, and a little less of them could be done.

"After dark, the lights are controlled, the shore is replenished, and the port is left after daybreak." After the scene in the Bermuda Islands, the control group of the Marine Corps, Machar decisively gave the order.

"Where do you want to go tomorrow?" Heading for the Azores? ”

"Yes, Bermuda is too close to the U.S. mainland, and I don't want to be attacked by the U.S. Army in a war with the U.S. Navy, so I have to get out of here and get away."

Ozawa frowned and said, "Then in this way, the 3 battalions of marines you arranged on the island will be in trouble, will we come to rescue or not rescue when the time comes?" ”

"It's really a big problem." Mashal scratched his head in annoyance, "The U.S. military may well counterattack Bermuda the first time, but I can't watch these Marines die or become prisoners, there are three battalions there, not three people." ”

"I have an idea, it doesn't matter if the Americans attack Bermuda." Cranke looked at the map and said, "We can have the main fleet concealed 300-400 nautical miles east (or northeast) of Bermuda, so that on the one hand, we can reduce the detection of us by heavy bombers, and on the other hand, we can also deter the American forces attacking Bermuda, if they send troops and warships to attack the defenders, we can send carrier-based aircraft to attack; If the Americans had only used air strikes against Bermuda, we would have left it alone for the time being, and I believe that the Marines would have had more courage to hold out under the bombs than the enemy. ”

After detailed discussions, a unified opinion was finally reached, and on the night of the 14th, they were to be reorganized in Bermuda, at least to get rid of all the heavy oil, weapons and ammunition remaining on the islands, and on the 15th, the fleet began to hide in the northeast of Bermuda and wait for an opportunity to destroy the British and American fleets that came to attack, and if the enemy did not move within seven days, the fleet sent transport ships to meet the retreat of the marines.

At nightfall, Commander Tary of the New Jersey convened an emergency meeting of the Atlantic Fleet to discuss the next battle plan.

Turner frowned and said: "Judging from the reconnaissance of the army aviation today, the Germans have stationed ground troops on the island, the number is unknown, at present, the key institutions and communication facilities on the island have been taken over by the Germans, we cannot contact the local authorities, but the airport has not been repaired at all, let alone German planes have been stationed, and the main force of the German fleet is not in the port, they are on the periphery of the island, 1,300 kilometers away from the mainland continent, wandering, because of the location and distance, At present, it can only be attacked by heavy bombers, but it has little effect, and more than 20 aircraft have been lost. ”

"What do the Germans mean, they're waiting for us to come and fight?" Admiral Ingersoll frowned and said, "Then what is their intention in sending ground troops to land, do the Germans still expect to take these troops away if they lose?" ”

"Can't understand what the Germans think." Turner shook his head, "Today is the first dark night since the fall of Bermuda, and the Germans are likely to take advantage of it, such as attacking the east coast or harassing it - it is very likely, and as for the landing operation, I think the Germans will not choose it unless they go mad." Moreover, even if the Germans wanted to fight us, they should not choose the vicinity of Bermuda, where we had ample reconnaissance and air strike forces, and the Germans had no advantage at all - at least not at what little they had at hand. ”

"Could it be that the enemy still has a hidden force?"

"It can't be." Turner smiled bitterly, "We basically know how many families the Axis Navy has, it is possible to enter and exit 1-2 warships, but it is completely impossible to do it with a fleet difference, what else can the Germans have left?" ”

"Sir, the aircraft carrier group has sent a telegram that Admiral Cunningham and Spruance think that the enemy may be luring us into attacking Bermuda, and then give us a fatal blow with a concealed aircraft carrier, repeating the story of the Battle of Midway."

Ingersoll smiled bitterly: "I really want to cooperate with the Germans, but unfortunately I don't have a single marine, how can I land?" Besides, most of the people on it are British and Americans, where do I bomb them with naval guns? ”

"I have a solution." Turner's eyes suddenly lit up, "We can fight a landing war with the Germans, and we don't have to use all our strength." ”

"Does that make sense? Let's not talk about how to fight a landing campaign, even if we can fight, our recapture of Bermuda is at most an explanation for the country, the key is still the German and Italian fleet, if the fleet is not eliminated for a day, I will not be at ease for a day, can we always have a dagger on our backs in the process of carrying out joint element operations? ”

"I really have a way."

Ingersoll racked his brains and couldn't figure out what to do, so he could only listen to Turner's high opinion. (To be continued.) )