"Forward, the military song is loud,

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Brave and unswerving,

We are invincible!

We are the Army, and we are proud of it.

We are the Army, and we are proud to proclaim ......"

On December 20, 1942, a few days before Christmas, the gloomy atmosphere of London, under the double clouds of war and hunger, was suddenly swept away by a majestic march and a loud military song.

The savior of the United States, who saved Britain and France in the last world war, and was eagerly awaited by the British people for three years in this world war, has finally arrived in the capital of the British Empire with a neat line, majestic music, and singing blood-boiling military songs.

England, about to be saved!

The streets of London are now crowded with British people dressed in festive costumes. Although everyone had a dish on their faces, everyone looked extremely cheerful, and everyone had a winner's smile. It seems that it is not the people of the British Isles who are now suffering from hunger, but the Europeans across the Channel.

Oh, of course the Europeans are starving!

There is no doubt about it! All the British newspapers have declared that the vast majority of German, French and Italian people now do not even have boiled eggs. Hunger is grappling Europe, the anger of the people is already unquenchable, and the flame of revolution is spreading everywhere.

In short, if you hold on a little longer, the German Empire will fall apart as it did in 1918. The British Empire will once again be able to taste the sweetness of victory, and by the way, impose on the evil Germans a treaty that is 100 times harsher than the Treaty of Versailles.

And now that the Americans are sending troops to Europe in a big way, what reason does Britain have not to hold on?

"God bless America! God bless Britain! ”

"Long live the US Army! Down with the Nazi bandits! ”

"Good boys, kill a few more Nazis......"

Onlookers on both sides of the street shouted vigorously, elderly men and women burst into tears, young girls threw away flying kisses, and children waved papier-mâché stars and stripes.

The American GIs, who were swaggering with M1 rifles, steel helmets and combat boots, were also elated, waving to the welcoming crowd from time to time. It was as if they had just returned from the fiercest battlefield.

Of course, it wasn't that the Americans were thicker than the steel plates of the Iowa-class battleships, but they all thought they were going to Ireland to beat the Nazis - they didn't know that their tanks, artillery, planes, and ammunition had sunk into the Norwegian Sea. This is a military secret, which is known to only a very small number of people in the American Expeditionary Force.

"Damn it! What are we doing in the UK? "General Patton, who was sitting in a brand-new jeep (which had been shipped to England at the end of 1941), waved to the British people with great vigour, and talked to his old buddy Bradley with some dejection—his panzer division now had not a single tank or armoured vehicle, not even a single anti-tank gun, it was a rifle division, and there were not many bullets. If you encounter the Germans' armored division, you will probably have to surrender with your hands raised.

"George, it's not that bad, the president will bring us tanks and artillery soon." Bradley reassured Barton, "And we are not without a little use in London, at least to boost the morale of the British." Before we arrived, they were all on the verge of collapse. ”

General Patton snorted: "If those Britons knew that we Americans could not do anything but eat, they would have collapsed even more." ”

"They won't know, it's classified." Bradley shook his head, "And even if someone pokes out the news that shouldn't be leaked, it's useless, because no one will believe it...... We are the last hope of the British! ”

General Patton nodded and sighed, "That's right, what can the British expect now but us?" They have actually lost the war...... I just don't want to admit it. ”

As a brilliant general, how could General Patton not know the significance of the destruction of the NR21 fleet for the Irish campaign.

Bradley smiled faintly and whispered, "George, so we need to stay in London all the more...... In fact, we are worth more in London than in Ireland! ”

"Bigger?" Patton was a pure military man, and his political reaction was no match for Bradley's, the man who historically became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"yes," Bradley smiled, "the United States needs us in London, and the United States needs us to defend London...... If the British can't hold Ireland! ”

At the mention of military issues, Patton's judgment immediately became sharpened, he frowned, and shook his head slightly: "The British can't hold it...... Now the Germans had enough strength to seize the island of Ireland, because the Soviet-German battlefield was already covered with snow. And we can't do anything, in fact the Irish battle has already been lost! ”

……

"Imperial Marshal, the Americans are in London." At the General Staff of Tsosen, Marshal Kesselring handed over a stack of photographs to the visiting Hersman.

Hersman took the picture and looked at it, then smiled: "A group of riflemen can't do anything but boost the morale of the British." ”

"But the Americans still have a way to send supplies and troops to Britain, and the Americans can use fast cruise ships and aircraft carriers to send troops and supplies." The Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Raeder, was also in Kesselring's office, and he had come with the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, Field Marshal Val T. Weaver.

So what is being held today in the office of Chief of the General Staff Kesselring is actually a meeting between the heads of the German Army, Army and Air Force and the Minister of Defense.

Raeder told Hirschman that as the climate gets colder, the climate in the North Atlantic will become very bad in the next two to three months, and it will be very difficult to detect and attack.

"Not much more!" Hersman smiled and said, "This winter is going to end the war on the island of Ireland anyway." And then Britain is ours...... It doesn't hurt to let Churchill and George VI go to Canada. ”

In Hersman's mind, the defeat of Ireland would also mean the end of the British resistance, George VI and Churchill left for Canada, and Elizabeth ascended the throne in London.

And the island of Ireland is now almost ripe, and the delay in the previous months is not only due to the war started by the Soviet Union, but also due to the hoarding of materials and the construction of facilities.

After all, Ireland is an island at a certain distance from the European continent, and the airfields and ports in the German-controlled areas on the island are small (the main port of Ireland at this time is Belfast, which is in the hands of the British), which can hardly meet the needs of high-intensity warfare. As a result, it will take several months to expand, as well as to stock up on weapons, ammunition and supplies, and to adjust the number of troops - the forces previously put into the island of Ireland are mainly lightly armed airborne troops and marines. After the British army increased significantly, it was no longer possible to rely on a small number of lightly armed troops to capture Ireland, and the battle of Ireland had to be decided by heavy troops.

By mid-December 1942, a large number of heavily armored units drawn from the Soviet-German battlefield had been put in place. At the same time, by William. Ritter. Feng. Army Group Ireland, with Field Marshal Loeb as commander, was also formed at the end of November 42.

There are three army groups under the jurisdiction of this army group, one of which is led by Johannes. General Blaskowitz commanded the 1st Wehrmacht Army, which included the 1st Infantry Corps (3 infantry divisions), the 5th Infantry Corps (3 infantry divisions) and the 15th Panzer Corps (3rd, 20th, and 10th Panzergrenadier Divisions), and the Army Command also directly administered the 2nd Marine Division, the 10th Rocket Artillery Brigade (the smoke launcher unit was officially renamed the Rocket Artillery Corps in October 42), the 11th Rocket Artillery Brigade, and the 11th and 12th French Heavy Artillery Divisions. and 6 heavily armored battalions (506-511) and 6 heavy assault artillery battalions (211-216).

One was the 1st Army of the Irish Republican Army, which included eight Irish infantry divisions and one Irish artillery brigade.

The other army group was called the Italian-Irish Expeditionary Force, led by Giovanni. Admiral Messer served as commander and his command included the Italian 2nd Army (3 infantry divisions), the 35th Mountain Army (3 mountain infantry divisions) and the 9th Semi-Motorized Division, the 52nd Semi-Motorized Division, the 3rd Rapid Division, the 135th Panzer Division, and the Expeditionary Artillery Group.

The combined strength of the three armies amounted to 30 divisions and 3 brigades, plus 1 artillery cluster and 6 terrible heavy armored battalions, with a total strength of more than 500,000. There are more than 2,000 tanks (not including reserves), assault guns, and self-propelled guns in the pipeline, of which 264 are terrible Tiger tanks!

In addition to the feared Tiger heavy tanks and the Rhino tank destroyers, which shone on the Soviet-German battlefield, a large-caliber infantry support assault gun called the Grizzly Assault Gun, which was designed to deal with enemy fortified positions, was shipped to Ireland.

This Grizzly assault gun and the Rhino anti-tank destroyer are "distant relatives", both of which were modified from the Turf Demon of Tank No. 4. The difference is that the Grizzly is a weapon for infantry and fortifications, and is armed not with a long-barreled 88mm gun, but with a 150mm 12-diameter short-barreled assault cannon (STUH). And its armor is also much stronger than that of the Rhinoceros, enough to brave enemy infantry and anti-tank fire.

With such great power, victory on the battlefield of Ireland seemed only a matter of time. (To be continued.) )