Although Henry. Arnold was reluctant to use army air transport planes to deliver supplies to the island of Trinidad, which was close to the front line. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 But what happened in the next few days forced the Army Aviation Corps to take on this overly heavy task.

After several days of busy work, the minesweeping unit of the US Navy's Third Fleet not only failed to catch a single new German mine, but also sank several minesweepers that dropped depth charges, and finally had to switch to water planes to drop depth bombs. However, in this way, the efficiency of mine clearance has been reduced a lot.

What made the commander of the US Third Fleet, Kincaid (Halsey's successor), vomit blood even more, the "old" mines had not yet been swept away, and on January 5, the Germans launched a second "Thousand Night Raid" and dropped more mines around the island of Trinidad.

Moreover, the Germans' mine-laying tactics were improved during the second night attack by 1,000 planes, not only dispatching planes to lay mines, but also sending Type 21 U-boats and S-100 torpedo boats (this kind of torpedo boats with a large range) to drop more than 1,000 "Oyster pedoes" around Trinidad. Counting the results of two aircraft mines, at least 2,000 "Oyster Mines" that the Americans did not know how to sweep were now dropped on the shipping lanes around the island of Trinidad.

Although it is not known how many "Oypodoes" were dropped by the Germans, Kincaid knew very well that if he could not find the weaknesses of this new type of mines, it would be difficult for his Third Fleet to clean them up in the short term...... Considering that the Germans were able to lay mines much faster than they could with depth charges, the mines would probably never be cleaned.

The mines can't be cleaned, but the transportation of Trinidad cannot be stopped, otherwise the island's reserves will not be able to withstand the consumption of hundreds of thousands of people day after day.

There are two ways to keep transporting, one is that the transport ship takes the risk and fights for a 20% or even 30% discount rate to transport materials into Trinidad; The second is air transportation, concentrating two or three thousand C-47s to fly the Puerto Rico-Trinidad route, which can also import tens of thousands of tons of supplies every day, which is enough to maintain the various consumption of the US military on the island of Trinidad...... It's just that the price is a bit good!

"Harry," President Wallace, who was about to leave office, said to President Harry Truman, who was about to succeed him, in the White House Cabinet room, "and it looks like the battle for Trinidad has now begun...... This is a decisive battle that will determine the fate of the future of America! ”

Truman nodded, agreeing with Wallace's judgment. In fact, this is not only the judgment of Wallace, but also the judgment of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The Germans must have gone to great lengths to lay mines near Trinidad in order to prevent American reinforcements from entering, and at the same time to weaken the defenses of Trinidad by means of a siege -- if the Germans had not cut off Trinidad's sea communications, the island would never have been occupied by the Germans with the American transport capacity and the throughput capacity of Port of Spain.

So the US Joint Chiefs of Staff unanimously agreed that the blockade of Trinidad was the beginning of an attack on Trinidad.

And in addition to the blockade, the Germans are waging a war of attrition against American aviation forces on the island of Trinidad using the combination of "missiles + night fighters", and it seems that they have achieved a good exchange ratio.

If the German blockade tactics could continue forever, the American air force on Trinidad, which had lost more than it had lost, would have been depleted sooner or later.

Having gained air supremacy around Trinidad, the Germans, armed to the teeth, and their equally battle-hardened Russian lackeys could flood onto Trinidad's beachhead.

"If Trinidad falls, the Joint Chiefs of Staff recommends that the federal government seek peace with greater sincerity." William. Leahy said very solemnly to Truman and Wallace, "This is also the national policy decided by President Roosevelt when he was alive!" ”

Wallace and Truman, of course, both knew this national policy - the war can't really be fought to the end, it really can't be done, and the money should be lost, not to mention 500 billion euromarks, even if it is doubled, 1,000 billion must be given!

So the Americans' war has a stop point, and the Germans seem to be just asking for money to get by......

Truman appears to have his eye on Wallace, who is still president, the secretary-designate of war and the highest official in charge of war affairs below the president of the United States.

"We should continue this policy." Wallace hated the Nazis and fascists, but he could not gamble with the survival of America. "We should concentrate on fighting on the island of Trinidad, and if we can't win, I believe that the Nazis have already known how good we are, and there should be more favorable conditions for peace."

As Wallace spoke, his eyes fell on William. Leahy, Marshall, Ernest. Kim and Arnold, a couple of their military bigwigs.

"Mr. President, the U.S. military knows its responsibilities and will go all out to fight the Battle of Trinidad." William. Admiral Leahy immediately took a stand.

"Who's in command?" Truman asked.

"The commander of the Army forces on the island of Trinidad is George W. Admiral Patton, "Admiral Marshall," Admiral Patton was a hero in the reconquest of Niihau and Oahu, and had extensive experience in island and jungle warfare. ”

Patton, who was supposed to be an expert in tank warfare, is now an expert in jungle and island warfare, and was transferred from the Hawaiian Islands to Trinidad in early January as commander of the Army and commander of the 3rd Army. All land forces on the island of Trinidad and Tobago, with the exception of the Army Air Corps, are under the command of General Patton.

"Admiral Kincaid is in command of the 3rd Fleet," said Chief of Naval Operations Ernest Brown. "The entire Caribbean naval forces are now under the command of the 3rd Fleet," King said. They will do their best to support the defense of Trinidad! ”

Kincaid has now left Trinidad, and his 3rd Fleet command moved to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on 5 January.

Admiral Arnold added: "In addition, all Army aircraft in the Caribbean are currently under the command of Lieutenant General Doolittle's 8th Air Force. ”

In other words, there are now three main generals of the US military on the battlefield on Trinidad, namely Patton, Kincaid and Doolittle, all of whom are impeccable generals! At least Truman and Wallace couldn't think of a better fit than them.

"Are there enough troops?" Truman was still a little uneasy.

Does he know what a peace call means for the Democratic Party? Now that Congress is out of the hands of the Democrats, in order for Congress to pass a peace treaty that "humiliates the country," the Democrats will have to make deals with the Republicans on the key issue, namely the repeal of New Deal legislation. This means that while the Democrats bear most of the responsibility for the defeat, they also lose the support of the beneficiaries of the New Deal. These people, of course, will not turn to the Republican Party, which represents the interests of the middle and upper classes, but they are most likely to be won over by the National Fascist Party and the Bolshevik Party. This would mean the collapse of the Democratic Party!

Therefore, Truman would not have taken this step unless he had to. A big fight with the Germans on the island of Trinidad, at least a lose-lose battle, was Truman's first choice.

"That's enough." William. "There are 14,000 combat aircraft of all kinds; more than 1,500 combat ships of all kinds, including torpedo boats and submarines; There are more than 1.5 million ground troops, including 310,000 on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, with more than 2,800 tanks, destroyers and self-propelled guns.

The Navy has also built a large number of shore defense batteries on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, deploying more than 300 large and medium-caliber shore defense guns. In addition, the Army has built 16 heavy artillery forts and deployed 256 M1 240mm howitzers on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. ”

Of course, the number of troops was sufficient, and as early as Roosevelt's lifetime, Trinidad was regarded as a key point related to the future and fate of the United States, and of course it had to be defended at all costs. Not only was heavy troops deployed, but countless permanent and semi-permanent fortifications were built on the island.

The previous commander-in-chief of the Trinidad Army Corps, Walter Murphy. Lieutenant General Kruger once pointed out in his report: Even if we lose sea and air supremacy, we can only rely on the fortifications on the islands to hold on, and it will not be able to fall until the supplies are exhausted. If the Germans landed on the island of Trinidad, they would suffer the heaviest casualties and the longest bitter battle since the outbreak of the war, regardless of the final outcome......

However, as far as Truman and Wallace are concerned, Lieutenant General Kruger's report is still not reassuring -- in fact, no amount of troops and strong fortifications can now reassure Truman and Wallace, two American leaders who shoulder both the destiny of the United States and the future of the Democratic Party.

"I don't think it's enough." Truman said, "General, we should ensure victory in the Battle of Trinidad!" Because...... The United States cannot afford another defeat. ”

"And the Battle of San Diego!" Wallace added, "As long as we can hold on to Trinidad and take San Diego at the same time, the United States can end the war very decently." ”

"But we've already put a lot of troops into the Trinidad and San Diego battlefields." William. Leahy said with some embarrassment. "Both of these battlefields are not very open, so the number of troops that can be accommodated is limited...... No matter how much it is, it won't be able to put it away. ”

"Add a little more." Wallace and Truman exchanged glances, "There is no need to increase the number of troops, but the best troops should be sent, and those divisions that have come down from the Hawaiian Islands are good, and they can be sent to Trinidad and the periphery of San Diego." ”

William. Leahy and Army Chief of Staff Marshall looked at each other, then nodded at the same time. Truman and Wallace, two non-warlike politicians, were directly interfering in the command of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but their views seemed to be justified.

Isn't the fate of the United States now tied to the islands of Trinidad and San Diego? Why not send more troops and a few more points of insurance coefficient?