Marshall's proposal to bomb Italy with B-17s was actually an "advertising war." Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info How many Italians were killed was not the main purpose, the main purpose was to set an example and warn European countries that tried to follow Germany.

Britain and the United States may not be able to do anything with Germany for the time being, but they can use high-altitude heavy bombers like the B-17 to destroy the capital of any German vassal!

And this B-17 bomber, which Marshall regarded as a killer feature, does have its advantages, which can take off from the British mainland, fly over French airspace, and travel nearly 1,500 kilometers to bomb Rome, the capital of Italy!

This is possible not only because the B-17 (the latest model at the moment is the B-17C) has a huge range (5471 km with no load, 3862 km with a bomb load of 1.8 tons). And because the B-17's Wright R-1820-65 "Whirlwind" star engine is equipped with a turbocharging system, which allows the B-17 bomber to maintain good performance at high altitudes with thin air, so the practical ceiling of the B-17 bomber can reach 11278 meters!

This is an altitude that is difficult for most fighter jets in the world to reach, and even if it can be reached, the engine output of the aircraft will drop dramatically because the air at high altitude is too thin. For example, the engine of the main fighter of the Luftwaffe at present, the BF-109F, can exert its maximum efficiency at an altitude of 6,000 meters (aircraft engines using superchargers can only perform optimally in a relatively small altitude range).

Although the BF-109F can also fly to an altitude of 12,000 meters, at such an altitude the performance of the aircraft is greatly reduced, and the threat to the B-17, which uses turbocharged engines (turbocharged engines adapt to a very large range of altitudes) and has strong self-defense firepower, is also greatly reduced.

As for the long-range Fokker Zero, because it was positioned at medium and low altitudes from the beginning, it could not fly above 11,000 meters at all.

Since both German main fighters are difficult to deal with this B-17, the B-17 is also a relatively big threat to the German mainland. However, because Germany had a large number of fighters, and it was still very concentrated - Germany did not occupy France, Norway and the Netherlands today, so the territory that needed to be defended by the Luftwaffe was relatively small, and the density of fighters and anti-aircraft artillery was greatly increased. Therefore, before the number of heavy bombers such as B-17 and "Lancaster" reached a certain number, Churchill did not dare to easily provoke strategic bombing.

Moreover, Churchill feared retaliation from German high-altitude bombers. Because the Luftwaffe is now flying around over Britain for reconnaissance with a twin-engine aircraft that can fly to an altitude of 13,000 meters (it is a JU86P with a diesel engine.

In addition, British intelligence has also heard a lot of news about the development of turbocharging technology by Fokker Aircraft Company and BMW Company. Therefore, it is inferred that Germany is not lagging behind the United States in turbocharging technology, and there must be a turbocharger that can be practical.

For a variety of reasons, the British government has always been very cautious about provoking a bombing war.

But now that the British have been cornered by Hersmann's "advertising war", they can't care so much, and now the target of the knife is not Germany.

……

"The North African operation and the Gibraltar operation are going on at the same time, so there won't be any problems with the allocation of troops, right?"

While the Americans were preparing to send B-17s to Britain to be used to murder the Italian people from the air, Hersmann returned to Berlin, the German capital, to attend a meeting of the High Command with three battle plans—the Cretan battle plan, the North Africa battle plan, and the Gibraltar battle plan.

The plan to capture Crete was codenamed Operation "Mercury," and Hersmann planned to use the main fleet of the Italian Navy, the German Marine Corps, the 7th Airborne Division, the 5th Mountain Infantry Division, the 185th "Lightning" Division of Italy, the 8th Army of the Luftwaffe (with part of the naval aviation), and the main force of the Italian Air Force to carry out an amphibious landing operation on Crete.

At the same time as carrying out the Cretan landing operation, Hersmann also planned to carry out naval and air strikes against the British Mediterranean Fleet reinforcing Crete, and strive to annihilate it in the eastern Mediterranean.

After the completion of the "Mercury" operation, the German-Italian Afrika Korps will carry out the "Augustus" operation, planning to invest 2 armored divisions and 1 light division, and then cooperate with the Italian North African Army cluster with the cooperation of the Mediterranean Fleet to launch offensive operations against the British forces entrenched in North Africa, and strive to advance the front from Africa to Asia in one fell swoop! If Turkey were to fall to Germany, then the Afrika Korps would control the entire Middle East, along with the German army moving south from the Balkans through Asia Minor.

At the same time as Operation Augusta, Hersman also planned to launch Operation Cape, which aimed to occupy Gibraltar. The plan envisaged a land-based attack on the Gibraltar peninsula through Spain. To this end, Hersmann is preparing to call up the 800mm caliber super cannon "Gustav", and will also use the JU88 and JU87 to drop armor-piercing bombs of more than 1000 kg.

In addition, Operation Cape does not stop at Gibraltar, and the capture of Gibraltar will be accompanied by the use of airborne troops to take control of the Canary Islands and the Azores, as well as Morocco in North Africa. to prevent the United Kingdom and the United States from entering by air.

"Leader, there will definitely be no problem in the use of force." Hersman replied in the affirmative, "We have enough troops to carry out these plans." ”

In Hersmann's view, as long as Germany did not implement the "Barbarossa" plan, Germany would not have the problem of insufficient troops at all.

"Marshal," Hitler seemed a little uneasy, "I mean, if the Soviets send troops to the Middle East, do we still have enough troops to use in Gibraltar and North Africa?" ”

The USSR sent troops?

Hersman's brow furrowed slightly, this is very possible! Once Britain was defeated in the Battle of Crete, it had no strength or need to stop the Soviet Union from moving south to the Middle East. Britain may even take the initiative to lead the Soviet Union south to fight against Germany.

"If the Soviets go south," Hersman thought for a moment, "the target could only be Iran." ”

Iran is easier to bully. After Kemal's reforms, Turkey is now a Europeanized nation-state. Moreover, after defeating Greece and safeguarding the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, Turkey's nationalism and nationalism are very high, and the people are willing to sacrifice their lives for the country. If the Soviet Union insisted on attacking Turkey, it would definitely suffer heavy casualties.

And with the combat effectiveness of the Soviet Red Army, it was not possible to take Turkey before Germany intervened.

"If the Soviets don't touch the oil fields in southern Iran," Hirsman said, "we can tolerate them occupying most of Iran." ”

The most valuable thing for Iran is, of course, the oil fields in the southern province of Khuzestan belonging to the Anglo-Iranian oil company, and as long as the province of Khuzestan can be won, the rest of Iran's territory can be accepted for the time being under Soviet control.

"What if...... What about the Soviet occupation of Iran's oil fields? "Adolf. Hitler asked.

"Then get rid of them!" Without hesitation, Hersman said, "Oil in the Persian Gulf is our core interest, and we must not give in!" ”

"To go to all-out war?" Hitler asked.

"There was no need for an all-out war," Hersman said, "just to deal a devastating blow to the Soviet Red Army in a medium-sized campaign." ”

As for Stalin's temper, Hersman thought he knew it very well. This red tsar took advantage of the fire to invade Iran for sure. The question is just how much to eat...... Hersman estimated that Stalin would probably not take Khuzestan and that his Soviet Union was not short of oil, so he could not fight for oil and Germany.

If Stalin's Red Army entered Khuzestan it must have been testing the temperature of the water. At this time, Germany must not be soft and must strike hard at the other side. However, there is no need to expand the war, just fight a war and let the Soviet Union know that it is powerful.

Hitler nodded, did not speak, but looked at the Minister of Defense, Field Marshal Schleicher.

"You have to be prepared for a full-scale war with the Soviet Union," Schleicher asked, pondering, "and what do you propose if the Soviet Union were to expand the war?" ”

"Then take the whole of Ukraine and bomb the oil facilities in Baku, Batumi and Grozny at the same time," Hesman said...... The General Staff had already planned and could completely cope with it. ”

The war against the Soviet Union was part of the Terminator Plan, and although Hersmann did not advocate its implementation, nor did he think that Stalin would be so confused, preparations still had to be made.

……

"Comrade Kuznetsov." Stalin, the father of the Soviet Union, was at the moment summoning Kuznetsov, People's Commissar of the Navy and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, from his dacha in Sochi, a resort on the shores of the Black Sea.

Stalin smoked his pipe, seemed to be in a good mood, smiled and said to Kuznetsov: "How much do you know about the 'naval battle in the Eastern Mediterranean'? ”

"Comrade Stalin," replied the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy, "I don't know much, except that German and Italian aircraft played a decisive role in this naval battle." It is clear that the surface fleet is now facing a growing threat from the air. ”

"Would you like to observe from a closer distance how the Germans and Italians fought naval battles?" Stalin took a puff of his cigarette, then said with a smile, "The Italians sent us an invitation to send a military observer mission to see them drive the British navy out of the Mediterranean." ”

"There is such a thing?" Kuznetsov was stunned and thought: How good have the relations between the Soviet Union and Germany and Italy been? Is the Soviet Union about to join the magnificent cause of liberating all mankind?

"Yes," said Stalin, nodding and smiling, "they invited not only us, but also the naval observer groups of France, Spain, Japan, Turkey, the Netherlands, Sweden, Brazil, Argentina, Portugal, Chile and Venezuela...... What a very lively battle! (To be continued.) )