"It's burning so badly, it's burning everywhere......"

"This is the effect of napalm, the Americans dispatched more than 100 B-29s, dropped at least several hundred tons of napalm, burned down the refinery, port and part of the urban area of Palembang, and burned an oil production area with an annual output of hundreds of thousands of tons of light crude oil. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info Look at this, this is Palembang after the bombing, and the losses are heavy! ”

While the Japanese were being a little dazed by the unexpected and extremely resolute counterattack of the Americans, Hersmann was looking at the photographs in the Chancellery's office with Hitler -- the photographs taken by the captain of the freighter "Walsburg Hill," which happened to witness the bombing of Palembang, were all in color and very clear.

"Didn't the Japanese have many fighters with good performance? And the radar we provide, how can it not stop the bombers of the Americans? ”

The tragic situation after the bombing of Palembang was obviously beyond Hitler's expectations, after all, Germany had already exported a large number of high-performance aircraft engines to Japan, and had also transferred technology.

In the opinion of the Luftwaffe experts, the technology that Germany provided to Japan was enough for them to deal with American heavy bombers, but now Palembang has been bombed like this.

"Of course it can't be stopped," Hirschman shook his head, "Isn't our base in Guyana bombed regularly?" In the struggle between long-range bombers and interceptors, long-range bombers have the strategic initiative, and interceptors can only carry out passive defense at present...... It's like infantry fighting enemy mechanized units on a long line of defense. The enemy's mechanized forces can be concentrated on one point to break through, while the infantry must be dispersed. Therefore, even if the infantry has powerful anti-tank guns, it is difficult to hold off the enemy's mechanized troops. ”

"So interceptors must be deployed in a decentralized manner, and long-range bombers can break through in a concentrated manner? It seems that the long-range bomber force of the United States is also a big threat to us, right? Hitler's brow was still furrowed, and he knew that Germany was inferior to the United States in the area of long-range bombers.

For a long time, Germany's oil supply was very tight, and it was also under pressure from the Atlantic Sea and Eastern Europe Land. Therefore, there is no spare effort to develop long-range bomber forces, so Germany's accumulation in this area is not comparable to that of the United States.

At present, the United States has three series of long-range heavy bomber models that have been put into service, namely the B-17, B-24, and B-29, and the B-36 intercontinental strategic bomber with a combat radius of up to 6,000 kilometers is currently being intensified.

Germany currently has only the Me264 as a long-range heavy bomber, and there is no plan to develop a more long-range bomber than the Me264 (Germany's next-generation bomber is jet-based, so it does not have that far endurance). And the development idea of Me264 is also different from that of B-29, it does not emphasize relying on its own solid defense and strong firepower to penetrate the defense, but focuses on high altitude + high speed, so the armor and firepower of the aircraft are not strong, and it is easy to be shot down by American interceptors.

The reason why the Luftwaffe and naval aviation purchased the Me264, which was not strong enough for self-defense firepower and defense, was also related to the lack of resources faced by Germany and the actual needs of the two-front battlefield.

The lack of resources determined that Germany could not build a bomber force as large as that of the United States, and the needs of the two-line battlefield determined that Germany needed long-range bombers that could undertake both anti-ship/patrol/anti-submarine missions in the Atlantic and strategic bombing missions on the Eastern Front.

The Me264 meets both of these requirements. For the current air defense system of the Soviet Union, the high-altitude and high-speed Me264 is basically invincible, and there is no need to build it very strong and have strong firepower.

Patrolling the Atlantic Ocean or carrying missiles (remote-controlled gliding bombs) does not require a sturdy body and powerful firepower. Because most of the aircraft they encountered in the Atlantic Ocean were American carrier-based aircraft, no matter how good the high-altitude performance of carrier-based aircraft was, they could not compare with shore-based aircraft such as the P47 with turbocharged engines.

However, in the upcoming operation to the US mainland, the Me264 is not very suitable, and the number of Me264s currently equipped by the Luftwaffe and naval aviation is not enough, and the number of commonly used ones is only more than 300.

Hersmann put a report from the Japanese embassy in front of Hitler, smiled and said: "The Japanese claim to have shot down 22 B-29s and wounded 17...... These two data must have moisture, but there should be a half-fold. That is, the Americans suffered a discount rate of about 10%. Their victory, in fact, came at a price. ”

The technology of the World War II period was limited, and it was impossible to shoot down 100% of the enemy bombers that came to the attack. Generally speaking, if the defending side can only shoot down 5% or less of the incoming enemy aircraft, then the defense is considered a failure. If the defending side shoots down 25% or more of the enemy aircraft, then the attacking side is usually unable to withstand it.

Now, according to the report of the Japanese side, the German General Staff has analyzed that the loss rate of American bombers in the air raid on Palembang is about 10%. This happens to be a balanced offensive and defensive situation, and the war of attrition can continue to be fought.

Within two days of the Palembang air raid, the American B-29s bombed the Sanghasan oil field, the Taranka oil field, the Miri oil field and the Balikpapan oil refinery on Kalimantan Island.

In the course of the air raids, the B-29 was also attacked by Japanese fighters, and although the German side did not receive any reports of losses, it can still be estimated that both sides suffered some losses.

"Such a situation is favorable for us," Hersman told Hitler, "and Japan will continue to deplete American air forces only if the Americans are able to carry out a major bombing of the South Sea Islands with affordable losses." If Japan had shot down too many American planes in the first place, the Americans would likely have canceled their bombing plans. In this case, all B-29s would be deployed to the Caribbean. ”

"But it's okay if all the oil fields in Japan are blown up?" Hitler asked with a frown.

"It's not going to be blown up," Mr. Hersman said, "at least not yet...... Oil refineries are easy to bomb, oil fields are not easy to destroy, and the Americans will not have a good effect if they do not bomb for a few months to a year. Moreover, the Japan-Nanyang route has been very difficult since the second half of '43, and now there is not a lot of oil that can be transported back from Nanyang, and even if 50% of the oil fields in Nanyang are destroyed, Japan will not be able to transport the remaining 50% back. ”

"Can this situation be improved?" Hitler asked with some concern.

"It can't be." Hersman shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Even if the Japanese escort destroyers start commissioning, the situation will not get much better, only to ensure that it will not deteriorate again...... Because now we are dropping more than 80,000 tons of ships in the Atlantic Ocean every month, and this is when the Joint Escort Command has invested more than 200 destroyers of all classes and 18 escort aircraft carriers, as well as hundreds of shore-based anti-submarine patrol bombers.

Moreover, the US Atlantic Fleet has not recently dispatched large surface ships to break diplomatic relations. In the struggle against submarines and mines, ships on the surface are also relatively passive parties. If the breaking side also dispatches a large number of surface ships and long-range patrol aircraft, the forces that the escort side needs to invest will be very huge.

Of course, our submarines are now also causing significant losses to U.S. transport vessels on the East Coast of the United States and in the Caribbean, sinking more than 100,000 tons of total tonnage each month. ”

The investment in escort is definitely greater than breaking diplomatic relations, otherwise Germany, which has historically been at a disadvantage in naval strength, would not have chosen to use diplomatic breaking tactics to attack its opponents. Now it is the same for the United States to break diplomatic relations, and Germany to escort it.

There is no such thing as a black technology that can reverse the investment in escort and the investment in breaking diplomatic relations, and even the anti-submarine patrol aircraft in the East China Sea equipped with magnetic detectors, which the Japanese regard as treasures, are of little use.

Magnetic detectors can only work at ultra-low altitudes, about 50-100 meters above sea level, and can only be used to search for submarines underwater. If the enemy submarine is in a floating state (in fact, the submarine is floating most of the time), and it can be seen at an altitude of 50-100 meters, what kind of magnetic detector is used?

In addition, American ocean-going submarines have anti-aircraft guns (German submarines also have them) and anti-aircraft machine guns, and if the anti-submarine patrol aircraft is not strong enough and flies too low, it is easy to be shot down by submarines.

After listening to Hersmann's explanation, Hitler sighed heavily: "In other words, the best choice for Japan at present is to negotiate peace with the United States, and then attack the Soviet Far East and cause us a big problem?" ”

"Of course not," Hirschman replied, "Japan can still go to war with the United States." They still have a powerful surface fleet, enough to hit the Pacific Fleet, which is besieging the Hawaiian Islands. And Japan's heavy damage to the Pacific Fleet is also a prerequisite for us to defeat the United States in the Atlantic-Caribbean theater and force the United States to surrender its financial hegemony. If they are unwilling to do so, it will be very difficult for us to defeat the United States, and such a prospect is very dangerous for Japan. ”

"Is it dangerous?" Hitler looked at Hersmann and asked, he did not think there was any danger in Japan and the United States in making peace, although this would cause great trouble for Germany, but Germany could not use force against Japan.

Because Germany, which is unable to seize financial hegemony, will have to spend more force to integrate the European Community in the future, and cannot afford to take care of the Pacific at all.

"Yes, very dangerous." "Because it's only 6,000 kilometers from Hawaii to Tokyo!" In 1944 this was a long distance, but in 1948 or 1949, if the United States had not been defeated, it would have built a long-range bomber with a combat radius of more than 6,000 kilometers! And...... The United States will also have an atomic bomb! At that time, Tokyo, the capital of Japan, will be within the range of US nuclear weapons. Considering that the American submarines have been harassing Japan's coastal areas everywhere with mustard gas in the past two days, I am afraid that once the United States has nuclear fission weapons, it will definitely be used on the heads of the Japanese. ”

Hitler nodded, "I see." He paused, then said to Hersmann, "Hiroshi Oshima met with Ribbentrop this morning and asked us to assist with Heisenberg's installation technology...... I think that if we reject this request, Japan will make peace with the United States alone. ”

Hersmann understood Hitler's idea, and the German chancellor must have hoped to reach an agreement with Japan on the war and peace issues before the European Leaders' Conference, which was repeatedly postponed and finally decided to convene on June 15.

Only by reaching an agreement with Japan can Germany formulate a corresponding policy toward the United States. If Japan insists on making peace with the United States alone, it is unlikely that the European Community's maritime power alone will defeat the United States' vast maritime power and seize the Caribbean islands. In that case, the European Community would have to find another way to compete with the United States for financial supremacy.

Thinking of this, Hersman smiled and nodded: "Prime Minister, leave this matter to me to deal with, it will definitely be resolved satisfactorily." ”