ps: This is a day only one more to make up, thank you for your support, today's three more is completed......

Later that day, Rank, who was leading the fleet to stay in the port of Florianópolis, received information from the submarine that the reinforcement fleet he led had been merged with the original Hintz fleet and had just completed the task of transporting men and supplies. Since he was of a higher rank and higher rank than Hintz, www.biquge.info the combined fleet had Cranke as the supreme commander. Hintz volunteered to command the artillery fleet, but Krake believed that there was no need to separate the artillery fleet and the aircraft carrier formation, and that they could act together, especially since the Richelieu's powerful anti-aircraft defensive firepower would be a waste if it was used to bombard the fleet.

Hindz, of course, also preferred to command aircraft carrier forces: although none of the German admirals were born in aircraft carriers, this did not stop them from yearning to command aircraft carrier formations - looking at the calculated aircraft carriers on the slipway (without distinguishing between regular aircraft carriers and escort carriers) and empty battleships, a fool knows what the future trend of war is.

Not to mention that the Führer has summed up very incisively: "The future of the Navy lies in the air, submarine, and fast", when Hoffman said "fast in the air", the "fast" actually refers not to the S-boat, but to the missile cruiser, missile destroyer, missile frigate and other new warships, but other people's consciousness thinks that fast refers to the fast force similar to the S-boat, which is at best only a middle-level officer, and if you want to become a senior officer or even a naval marshal, only air and submarine can have hope.

Now that Cranke had left himself in command and accompanied by the battleship, he had a chance to be on his own in the future - there could not be only one or two commanders for so many aircraft carriers in the shipyard.

Cranke asked, "Do you think this fleet is coming for our fleet, or for the American Republic?" ”

"That's not good." "I think it's possible both, and it's imperative to find out the strength of the enemy's forces. In fact, it is generally clear how much strength our army has to the enemy, and if they really plan to deal with the fleet, they will not draw only a small number of troops. In the absence of sufficient strong evidence to the contrary, I personally believe that this fleet is coming at us - because without taking our fleet, the Americans will never be able to launch a counteroffensive in Brazil. ”

Cranke nodded, and Hintz's judgment coincided with his: now that the Eastern Front and the British battlefield are over, and the war in Europe has come to an end, South America will be the main battlefield in the next stage, and it is also the last link in the final victory of this war. Although there is also the South African factor, both Hintz and he believe that this is not difficult for Germany: Stalin's 10 million troops on the Eastern Front have been swept away, and the 300,000 enemy troops in South Africa cannot be dealt with?

"General Machar and Field Marshal Keitel sent me telegrams one after another: The Führer has promised to continue to increase troops in South America, but it will take a little time: on the one hand, our army has just received two British armored aircraft carriers, and we need to familiarize ourselves with the condition of the ships and carry out sea trials, and on the other hand, the army units are being refurbished and reequipped, and it will also take time." Krak thought for a moment, "I'd like to speak with General Schauken and hear what he thinks about the next phase of the war." ”

Sauken didn't know that China would continue to send reinforcements, so he hurriedly asked for details.

Jodel's proposed South American reinforcement plan is codenamed "Watch": it intends to increase the South American force to more than 400,000 troops through 2-3 large-scale reinforcement operations. The whole operation involved a large scale and included at least 3 marshals: Hort and Rommel, and even Paulus.

Rommel's appointment was well understood, he was already responsible for the American Republic, but Jodel could not figure out why the Führer had included Hort and Paulus.

Keitel said something heaven-shattering: "Hort is the Minister of Defense of the future American Republic, and Paulus will be the Chief of the General Staff!" This country is the bridgehead of the German people in South America, and without competent men and troops to guard it, can the Führer sit in peace? As for Sauken and Mandolfir, in the future they will be the commanders of the two army groups in this country. ”

"Why wasn't Rommel the Minister of Defense?"

Keitel smiled and shook his head: "The Führer thinks he is not suitable. ”

"Got it!"

Yodel immediately came to his senses: Hult was diplomatic, peaceful, and good at dealing with complex situations, and Rommel was good at fighting, but he was not qualified to be defense minister. As for Paulus, he has always been the Führer's confidant, and he served as deputy chief of the general staff in those years, and he was also the chief of the general staff of the American republics.

Hoffman's feelings about Paulus have undergone very mixed changes: at first he hated him for burying the Sixth Army in history, and then he easily became a tainted witness, and then he was sent south from the position of commander of the Sixth Army and banished to the Western Front, but after arriving on the Western Front, Paulus did not collapse for a while, but instead of slumping, he figured out more tricks, on the one hand, he kept an eye on Rundstedt for Hoffmann, and on the other hand, he organized the headquarters of the imaginary enemy, and did a great job in all his work, which made Hoffman nod his head in approval.

Especially in the process of capturing the fortress of Gibraltar, Paulus played well and successfully achieved his goal, which made Hoffman feel that this person could still be used - it may not be possible to be on the front line to lead the army, but it should be good to serve as the chief of the general staff, and after careful consideration, it was decided to put him in the position of chief of the general staff of the American Republic, and he believed that Paulus could complete this task.

"400,000?" Hearing such a huge number, Sauken couldn't help but gasp, and asked in surprise, "Is the Führer planning to occupy the whole of Brazil?" ”

"No, the Führer didn't say that when he told me." "And these 400,000 troops are not only focused on the present, but also on the need to defend the American Republic in the coming years." ”

Before departure, Hoffman's instructions to Cranke were clear, and the navy must work with Sauken to maintain the situation in South America until a new batch of reinforcements arrived:

The best option was to consolidate the defenses of the American Republic and expand its influence over Montero, which now that the coup had been successful, to expand the control of the Brazilian government;

The next best option is to help Montero keep São Paulo and Rio, two densely populated and psychologically significant regions;

The Brazilian government could be abandoned as a last resort, but the American Republic must be preserved.

But after arriving in South America, Cranke found that the war situation was more optimistic than expected, and involuntarily raised the asking price of the situation in South America, explaining: "Judging from the attitude of the Führer, after the battles in South America and South Africa, an armistice between the United States and Germany should be achieved, and I speculate that the Führer's psychological asking price is nothing more than the following five points:

First, German substantive control of South Africa - this has nothing to do with us, that is the work of Marshal Guderian;

second, to have substantial control over the Brazilian government, at least two Brazils, with Germany and the United States controlling one Brazilian government;

Third, let the three European countries take British, Dutch, and French Guiana, and Germany share Venezuelan oil;

Fourth, the La Plata bloc, which includes Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, and Bolivia, is close to China, and Ecuador and Colombia can be pro-American;

Fifth, to ensure the living space of the American republics. ”

Sauken laughed: "If according to your conditions, the war in South America is still fought, and it does require 400,000 troops, and now the Americans don't want to talk about two Brazils, and even the American republics refuse to recognize it." ”

Cranker shrugged: "This is not up to them, if the Americans still refuse to admit defeat after we achieve this goal, the Führer may continue to unite Japan to march to Dominica, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Panama, in short, except for the United States, other American spheres of influence can be attacked." ”

He waved his arms, mimicking Hoffman's voice and said, "The Americans refuse to obey? I'll fight until Truman or Dewey's suit! ”

Schauken nodded in understanding, then asked when the next batch of reinforcements would arrive.

"The next group of troops may leave Europe on August 15 and arrive here by the end of the month, and the number should be no less than three divisions."

The date of 15 August was chosen by Hoffman after careful consideration, as on the one hand, the new aircraft carriers acquired by the Navy would be combat-ready, and on the other hand, the Wehrmacht would also be able to re-equip and urgently recondition.

At present, the German 1944 type is composed of SS troops except for the two armored divisions of the instructor and the flying fortress, so the second wave of 1944 troops is mainly for the Wehrmacht, and the second wave is equipped with the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 16th armored divisions, and then 3 panzergrenadier divisions.

According to the High Command's plan, due to the need to abolish 1.5 million troops and the fact that the war in Europe has basically ended, it is impossible for the Type 1944 Panzer Division to be fully re-equipped, which is not necessary, nor can it be economically and logistically affordable. Speer initially considered the completion of the formation of 20 Panzer Divisions of the Type 1944 and 16 Panzergrenadier Divisions by the end of 1944.

At present, the SS already has 7 Panzer Divisions of the 1944 type, and the Wehrmacht already has 2, which means that 11 more Panzer divisions need to be completed this year. In order to accomplish the task of disarmament of 1.5 million people, the Supreme High Command has decided to reduce the number of six armored divisions in addition to drastically reducing the number of infantry divisions.

It is said that it will be cut by 6, but in fact there is no one missing. Because the four armored divisions are intended to be dismantled and reorganized and turned into marine brigades, the army will have four fewer armored divisions on its books, the navy will have eight more marine brigades, and the other two armored divisions will serve as reserves -- the personnel of these two armored divisions will be directly filled in the gaps after the remaining divisions are missing and some veterans are discharged.

The infantry was not so lucky, and the newly formed divisions mobilized in 1942 and 1943 were basically abolished, and Keitel included all the infantry divisions of more than 300 or 400 numbers in one go - at least 50 infantry divisions were to be eliminated in one fell swoop.

After listening to these introductions, Schauken gladly accepted Crank's proposed battle plan......