Chapter 214: Take Me to See Our P-51 Fighter Group
"For the time being, we are still reconnoitring, and the intelligence information we have now only shows that the German troops have been deployed to Sicily on the island of Pantelleria, and the Goering Paratrooper Division and the 15th Panzer Division, which we have fought with. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biqugeγ infoβ
"And their troops and weapons and equipment have been replenished, and they are even a little stronger than the original."
"In addition, the Italian also dispatched two armies and four field divisions to Sicily for defense."
"The strength of these Italian troops was about 300,000 men, while the total strength of the German army was about 70,000."
"Italy has about 100 tanks, the Germans have about 250 tanks, most of them are No. 4 tanks, and only 50 Leopard and Tiger tanks."
"As for the planes, Italy has about 80 and the Germans 100."
"The Italian models are all Macchi MC.205 fighters, as well as MC?202 fighters."
"The German fighters are all FW190A-5/R6 fighters, and they also carry two 210mm Werfer-Granate21 air-to-air rockets."
"In addition to this, the Italians also sent their ace mechanized division to the southeast of Sicily; At the same time, two divisions were sent to Puglia and one division to Calabria. β
It took a long time for Lieutenant General Smith to assemble his language and reply cautiously.
"Is it true that the Germans have only such a small number of troops deployed in Sicily?"
After listening, Eisenhower also responded cautiously.
"For the time being, as for the next period, we have to investigate it carefully!"
Lieutenant General Smith proposed.
"And how's our minced meat operation going? Was Hitler fooled? β
Eisenhower frowned and asked.
"The first operation of minced meat failed with the death of our German intelligence chief, Canaris, but Evan of the 17M group of the British Naval Intelligence? Major Montagu; And Air Force representative Charles? Joe Mundley: They are planning a second minced meat. β
"The results should have been relatively smooth now, at least according to the information gathered by our intelligence network, Hitler believed that our first target was Sardinia, as well as the ZozΓ© Canisos Islands, and the Peloponnese, and he also deployed troops to prevent our attack."
"And in order to make Hitler even more convinced of our false warfare, our air forces have been carrying out large-scale and indiscriminate bombardment of the seaports of Sardinia, Sicily and Corsica, as well as their railway networks."
"And with our large-scale bombing campaign, Hitler really sent his 1st Panzer Division to the Greek city of Lipolis to garrison and defend against our attacks!"
"And Hitler also reorganized the 90th Division in Sardinia to garrison Sardinia against our attack!"
In response to this question, Lieutenant General Smith immediately said the good news he knew.
"And what about the movements of the German 16th Panzer Division?"
Eisenhower's mood eased, and he smiled happily and continued to ask.
"For the time being, I'm still in the Balkans, training there!"
Lieutenant Smith replied.
"It seems that we still have a certain amount of pressure in this Sicilian campaign, although the German army only has two divisions stationed in Sicily, but the German army's combat effectiveness is stronger than that of the Italian army, and they also have two armies of the Italian army and an ace mechanized division to assist in the operation."
"Is there a way for those British spies to deceive Hitler into transferring the two German divisions out of Sicily?"
Eisenhower said with a somewhat regretful sigh.
"It's not easy for me to see this! Because Kesselring and Mussolini seemed to firmly disagree with Hitler's withdrawal of all his troops from Sicily! β
Lieutenant General Smith smiled wryly.
"In that case, then we can only carry out the most brutal amphibious landing operation! That's right! Is our P-51 fighter group coming? β
Eisenhower also smiled bitterly and said.
"President Roosevelt sent 50 planes, and he also sent us 500 B-24 bombers to fight in the Battle of Sicily! It can be said that President Roosevelt moved really this time! Because the P-51 fighters have also just been equipped with the 354th Fighter Brigade of our Army Air Forces! β
"And of these 50 P-51 fighters, 20 are P-51B fighters, which is more powerful than the P-51A aircraft!"
Lieutenant General Smith swept away his gloomy expression and responded happily.
"That's good! With the strong support of the president, we must win this battle, and for the freedom and living space of the European people, we must defeat those damn fascists! β
After hearing this, Eisenhower also waved his fist excitedly and replied happily.
"That's right! We will definitely be able to defeat Hitler! Because this time we have P-51B fighters to take charge, we also have a large number of B-17 and B-29 bombers, as well as a large number of P-38 fighters and P-40 fighters as cover for the battle! β
"And the British bombers of the "Lanchester", "Halifax", "Stirling" and "Wellington" types, as well as the Mosquito bomber group, which have a large bomb load and long range, have also sent thousands of them to participate in the battle, in addition to a large number of Spitfires and Hurricanes to assist in the battle! Even the Typhoon fighter-bombers sent more than 200 to the war! β
"And the Hurricane fighters dispatched by the British army this time are also equipped with a pylons that can carry 2 bombs, as well as 2 40mm Vickers guns, or 8 RP-3 rockets, and their engines have also been replaced by the old engines and the new 27 engines!"
Lieutenant Smith will continue to tell the good news he knows.
"Good! Then you can take me to see our P-51 fighter group now! I really want to take a look at these state-of-the-art fighters and see their superior combat performance! β
The more Eisenhower listened, the more relaxed he became, and said happily.
"Ahh But it's night! And our P-51 fighter jets were only transported to us this evening! And tomorrow they will be picked up by Hewitt's fleet to our secret assembly site in Tunisia for familiarization with the terrain and flight training! β
Lieutenant General Smith said with some hesitation.
"Take me there! Otherwise, I would not have been able to completely calm down my pre-war anxiety! β
Eisenhower stared at the other with pleading eyes.
"This ...... All right! I'll take you now! β
Faced with Eisenhower's pleading gaze, Lieutenant General Smith compromised awkwardly.
Then they hurried to the parking place of the P-51 fighter group, ready to see what these most advanced fighters of the American military would look like.
Not long after, they were at a makeshift airfield near the Verdara Palace in Malta and saw a large number of P-51B fighters equipped with Packard engines.
These fighters, which have a range twice as strong as the Spitfire, are shining under the starry night sky, shining with a terrifying light, which makes people feel shocked.