After having a telephone conversation with Field Marshal Graeme, commander of the Marine Corps, who was responsible for the implementation of the "Iceberg Plan," Hersman did not immediately leave for Britain, but immediately rushed to the General Staff Headquarters in Tsosen to preside over an operational meeting of the General Staff after a brief breakfast. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

The operational meeting of the General Staff under Hirschman's chairmanship is somewhat similar to the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, in which the heads of the Navy, Army, Air Force, Naval Aviation, Marine Corps, Airborne Forces, and other branches of the armed forces all attend in person or send representatives to attend the meeting. What was to be discussed and made at the meeting were all important decisions that had a bearing on the course of the war.

The issue to be discussed at today's meeting is, of course, the launching of the most crucial blow in the Gochburg plan -- Operation Columbus.

All the actions and deployments of the European coalition forces in the Atlantic in the past few months are actually the foreshadowing of Operation Columbus. The aim was to divert the attention of the Americans to something other than Newfoundland, while at the same time depleting the island's defenses to the maximum.

Now, both goals seem to have been achieved, at least partially.

"As a result of our diversionary feints in all directions, the U.S. military has deployed significant air forces in the Caribbean, the southern South American theater, the Bermuda theater, and the east coast of the United States. Last night, the Americans carried out another airborne landing along the Paradise River in Labrador, dropping about 2 divisions of troops. And in order to support the operation in the Labrador area, the US military will inevitably put more air forces there. This will create an extreme emptiness of the air force on the island of Newfoundland, so I think the time has come to implement Operation Columbus. ”

At the outset of the meeting, Air Force Commander-in-Chief Kesselring made a proposal for the immediate implementation of Operation Columbus.

Hersman nodded slightly, not immediately. What needs to be done now is a big decision, and we have to be cautious.

In the event of a failure, Germany would have to accept a peace plan that would "divide the ocean" and would not be able to claim sufficient reparations from the United States. This would have led the post-war world to slide into a rather unfavorable Cold War confrontation against Germany!

After all, Germany's native area, population, and resources are simply not comparable to that of the United States, the chosen nation. If Germany cannot turn the Euromark into a world currency, and if the United States cannot be kept in a relatively small space for maneuver, then in time the European Community will probably become another Soviet Union.

"Reich Marshal," said Studenter, commander of the Airborne Forces, who took Kesselring's words, continued, "I agree with Field Marshal Kesselring that action should be taken immediately, lest the American side perceive the problem of the lack of air forces on the island of Newfoundland." However, we should also take full account of the possibility that the operation will run into great difficulties. ”

The core of Operation Columbus was an air assault, so the preparation of the campaign and the formulation of specific plans were led by the Airborne Forces Command. As the founder and commander of the German Airborne Forces, Student naturally knew that there was a risk of failure in Operation Columbus.

Hersman turned his head and looked at the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Raeder, who understood what Hersman meant, and immediately said: "The Navy and the Marine Corps are ready for a forced landing, and once Operation Columbus cannot be successful, the Combined European Fleet will resolutely implement the Pizarro Plan...... As long as the Prime Minister can approve the use of the 'weapon of victory', the Pizarro plan cannot fail. ”

The "Pizarro Plan" was a complementary plan to the possibilities of Operation Columbus - according to which the Combined European Fleet would transport more than five divisions of the landing force to land on the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland.

If Operation Columbus succeeded, the landing force of these five divisions would be the backup of the 1st Air Assault Army. If Operation Columbus fails or is not entirely successful, then a forced landing will be carried out.

And the occupation of Newfoundland could not afford to fail, so in the forced landing program of the "Pizarro Plan", the German General Staff included a program for the use of "weapons of victory".

The "weapon of victory" is the atomic bomb! To ensure the success of the landing operation, the elite staff officers of the General Staff of the Wehrmacht thought of the atomic bomb! They planned to drop an atomic bomb with a yield of 20,000 tons on the platform near the landing beachhead that the Germans had booked, in order to completely wipe out the American troops on the platform.

In addition, even if Operation Columbus succeeded, nuclear weapons would still need to be used in subsequent operations, albeit in different locations. And the landing force used for the Pizarro plan will become the follow-up force to Operation Columbus, landing on the island of Newfoundland.

However, the authority to authorize the use of the atomic bomb did not lie in the Wehrmacht General Staff, according to the procedure agreed upon by Hersmann and Hitler. The dropping of an atomic bomb must be requested in writing by the Chief of the General Staff of the Wehrmacht, which must then be signed by the German Chancellor. That is, the "nuclear button" was jointly mastered by Hitler and Hersmann.

"The Prime Minister will approve it," Hersman nodded, "the transportation of non-critical components of the atomic bomb (excluding plutonium-239) will begin immediately, and the bombing crew will be stationed at the Herosmo de Marbuta base in the Azores." However, even if the atomic bomb was used, there was no guarantee that the U.S. forces on the coastal plateau would be destroyed...... Hard fighting is still inevitable, so the Navy and Marines must be well prepared! ”

Raeder said confidently: "The officers and men of the Reich Marshal, Navy and Marine Corps are ready for the final battle, and victory will belong to Germany!" ”

Hearing Raeder's statement, Hersman nodded emphatically: "Now I announce: Operation Columbus has officially begun!"

At the same time, the first phase of the Pizarro program was also implemented. All the landing forces boarded the ship and sailed out of port into the Atlantic!

God will be with Germany, and victory will be with Germany! ”

……

Rudolph. Feng. Heinsberg-Yusupov-Hersmann hurried into Adolf. At the time of the joint command center of the aircraft carrier Hitler, it was already crowded with officers of the Navy and naval aviation. He had just finished a combat mission (commanding a fleet to cover Me264), so he was delayed for some time and was the last officer to arrive at the operational command center.

Seeing Rudolph's arrival, Helmut, who was originally sitting in a chair. Senior General Haye stood up and took from the Chief of Staff, Major General Christiansen, a document with the swastikas and the Iron Cross on the white cover. "Okay, now on to something important. I have just received a top-secret order from the command of the Atlantic Front and the command of the European Combined Fleet: to carry out Operation Columbus. ”

The specific implementation plan of the "Columbus Operation" has long been sent to Adolf. On the aircraft carrier Hitler, as the commander of the fleet, Helmut. Haye and Chief of Staff Christiansen, as well as all the fleet staffs, had also studied it carefully on the Hitler.

However, Hersman Jr., who was transferred to the post of Fleet Aviation Operations Officer, did not know that the officers of the Aviation Operations Officer and the Commander of the Carrier-based Air Wing were no less important than the Fleet Staff Officers. However, because he is a front-line commander, there is a certain possibility of being captured, so the secrets that can be known are limited.

"Let me give you a brief overview of Operation Columbus.

1. The goal of Operation Columbus was to occupy the island of Newfoundland.

2. The mission assumed by Task Force 20 in the first phase of Operation Columbus was to seize air superiority.

3. The air superiority capture mission must be completed in the early morning of D-Day, the start of Operation Columbus.

4. We may engage in fierce battles with the enemy's air and underwater forces.

That's the general situation, if there are any questions you can ask now, ask. ”

Hesman Jr. was the first to ask the question, he was the combat officer of the fleet aviation, and he was asked to carry out the task of seizing air superiority.

"Sir, will the task of seizing air superiority be accomplished through fleet air defense operations or air raid operations?"

"Air strikes." Chief of Staff Christiansen replied. "The operational airspace captured by air superiority will be over the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. At that time, there will be a Me264 sortie responsible for destroying the airfield, and the carrier-based aircraft part of our fleet will perform escort missions. ”

"Destroy the airfield with Me264?" Little Hersman asked, "By what means?" ”

"Mainly using Reaper 1 air-launched anti-ship missiles," Christiansen said, "more than 320 Me264s will be dispatched." There are also 90 fighter-bombers of the Br.810 type, which can be hung on Hs293 remote-controlled gliding bombs. ”

The power of 320 Reaper-1 air-launched missiles and 90 Hs293 remote-controlled glide bombs is still very impressive. If an average of 10 missiles and guided bombs can destroy a runway, these missiles and bombs can destroy a full 41 runways. Almost half of Newfoundland's airfields could lose most of their aircraft take-off and landing capabilities - it is impossible to completely lose the ability of airfields through air strikes, because a considerable number of aircraft in this year have very low requirements for airfields, and a flat grass can barely take off and land.

However, the destruction of the runway still has a very large impact on the take-off and landing aircraft at the airport. As long as the visibility is slightly poor, it cannot be used, and it is also prone to accidents during the take-off and landing of the aircraft, and it is also difficult to take off with full fuel and ammunition, and the efficiency of taking off and landing the aircraft will also be greatly reduced.

Little Hersman already knew this, he thought for a while and asked one last question: "Sir, are only the carrier-based aircraft on the 9 aircraft carriers of our 20th Task Force and the Me264 bombers taking off from the Azores on the mission of air superiority?" ”

"Eight Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers from Task Force 10 will operate with us." Kristiansand looked at his watch and said, "Task Force 10 Aviation Operations Officer Heinz. Colonel Barr will arrive this afternoon by seaplane to discuss with us the matter of a coordinated operation.

As a result, the total number of fighters and bombers participating in this operation will exceed 1,400, which will be enough to suppress the US military aircraft on the island of Newfoundland. ”