"Report that Valparaiso Bay was bombed by at least 200 German carrier-based aircraft and suffered heavy losses!"

"It was reported that Admiral Spruance launched the first attack wave, and the 4 carrier groups sent a total of 8 fighter-bomber squadrons (24 F4U per squadron) and 8 dive bomber squadrons (16 SBDs per squadron) in preparation for shuttle bombing tactical ......"

In Panama, the atmosphere in the United States Navy's Pacific and Atlantic Fleet Joint Command was also extremely tense at this time, and Admiral Nimitz, Admiral Halsey, Vice Admiral Horatio, Vice Admiral Callahan, and Vice Admiral Turner (who was the commander of the landing force of the Pacific-Atlantic Fleet and was recalled to Panama after the successful landing operation in Valparaiso Bay) and others were all sitting around a chart table in the southeast Pacific Ocean, nervously listening to the staff report on the frontline battle report they had just received. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Admiral Halsey couldn't help but shake his head when he heard that Spruance had sent 8 squadrons of fighter-bombers and 8 squadrons of dive bombers to attack the 2 German aircraft carriers discovered by the submarine The Little Mermaid.

"Too little! There are only 192 F4U in 8 bombing squadrons and 128 SBDs in 8 dive bomber squadrons, and they are also divided into 4 assault groups, each with only 80 aircraft. Such a tactic may work at Midway, but it will not break through the German block of at least 60 Fokker aircraft and Fw190s......"

The assault group consisting of 48 F4U and 32 SBDs has a high probability of success if it goes to attack the team composed of 2 Japanese aircraft carriers. But against 2 German ships of the Zeppelin-class, in Halsey's opinion, it was completely inadequate.

Because Halsey already knew that Germany's Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers had adopted an "all-war bomb configuration" in early 1944, with 80 of the latest Fokker fighters and Fw190s on top of the carriers. These planes are fighter-bombers when they hang bombs, and when they drop bombs, they are fighters, which are the same number as F6F and F4U, but the performance is definitely superior, and the level of pilots is also higher.

All without several times the superiority in the number of aircraft, the American bomber group simply could not sink the Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers of the Germans.

And the scattered formation tactics that Spruance is now adopting will definitely be a refueling tactic when attacking, and the 4 attack groups will arrive in waves, and they will likely be broken by the Germans' Fokker 636 and Fw190 each!

"William," Nimitz interrupted Halsey, "Raymond (Spruance) is now burdened with the responsibility of not an all-or-nothing showdown. Because we simply cannot afford to lose 8 Essex-class aircraft carriers at once, and Valparaiso Bay is already in our hands, it is impossible to take it away from the 1st Marine Division with a couple of German aircraft carriers. ”

Taking Valparaiso Bay and attracting 6-8 German Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers, Spruance will complete the task. As for the annihilation of a few German aircraft carriers or something, Nimitz did not dare to think about it, and Spruance did not dare to concentrate the fleet at the risk of total annihilation. Without concentrating the fleet, it will be difficult for scattered groups of aircraft to form a joint force.

Nimitz then said: "And the purpose of Raymond's air attack on the two German aircraft carriers was not to sink them, but to divert the German aircraft carriers near Valparaiso Bay."

That would allow us to continue to send convoys from Panama to Valparaiso Bay in order to increase our ground and aviation forces there. As long as we can gain a foothold in Valparaiso Bay, it is only a matter of time before Argentina is driven out of the war. As long as Argentina withdraws or changes dramatically, we win! ”

Speaking of which, Nimitz already looked a little smug. If he had sent Halsey to command Task Force 56, it would have been possible for that bull to fight 6-8 German carriers.

Spruance would not do that, he would have carefully tried to catch the same number of German aircraft carriers with his eight aircraft carriers - it would be a small victory for the United States.

Due to the loss of too many carrier-based aircraft pilots in the previous war of attrition in the Hawaiian Islands, and the F4U and F6F were at a disadvantage in performance against the Fw190T and Fokker 636. Therefore, the actual combat effectiveness of 8 Essex classes is not necessarily comparable to even 4 Zeppelin-class.

And Valparaiso Bay is still in the hands of the United States after all! As long as we don't lose it and keep up our forces there, sooner or later we can force Argentina out of the war with strategic bombing.

However, Nimitz's counteroffensive was not confined to Chile, and the counterattack would also be launched on the other side of the continent.

And the attack on the east coast of the South American continent requires a brave general who dares to fight.

"William!" Nimitz glanced at Halsey, who was already a little eager to try, "Now it is certain that a large number of German aircraft carriers have arrived in the Pacific, so that the German forces in the Atlantic will be thin." So it's time for Operation Liberty." ”

Operation Liberty is one of many operational plans developed by the U.S. military to counter-attack Guyana. The plan was not complicated, that is, Trinidad's shore-based aircraft would cover the landing fleet and move south along the coastline of the South American continent to attack George Town in British Guiana and Barramalipo in Dutch Guiana.

Since Georgetown is located less than 500 kilometers from the island of Trinidad, it is completely within the combat radius of shore-based aviation. If the Germans were to attack the Caribbean, Georgetown was an indispensable forward base, and the combat radius of the German shore-based aircraft deployed there completely covered the entire island of Trinidad.

Therefore, the U.S. military has always wanted to pull out the deadly coffin nail of Georgetown, but it has no chance to do so. And now, the opportunity to do it seems to have appeared.

"Sir, let me personally command the fleet to attack!" Halsey stood up, "4 'Iowa'-class, 4 'Soviet-class' plus the USS Washington are all gone, a total of 9 super battleships will be dispatched!" In addition, the dispatch of the aircraft carrier "Enterprise" and 15-20 escort carriers to provide air cover should ensure victory. ”

Nimitz nodded and said, "Very well, that's all!" He glanced at Lieutenant General Turner again, "Richmond, the landing operation is still under your command, this time the 5th Amphibious Army will be dispatched to liberate British Guiana, which is oppressed by the Germans!" ”

……

"Imperial Marshal, Task Force 10 has just been hit by 4 rounds of air strikes."

In the Wehrmacht General Staff, in the Joint Operations Command Center, Hersman heard the staff officer's report, and immediately became a little nervous, and hurriedly asked: "Is the aircraft carrier damaged?" ”

"The Raeder and the Mackensen each had two 500-pound bombs, but nothing was too bad. The heavy cruiser Algeria was also hit by a 500-pound bomb and lost one of its main gun turrets, but was able to continue fighting. As he spoke, the staff officer handed the latest battle report to Hersman with both hands.

Hersman looked down at it carefully before exhaling lightly. It seems that Helmut. Heyer's luck was that the Americans' fleet was a bit far from his 10th Task Force, so carrier-based aircraft could not fire at full capacity, could not hang 1000 pounds (454 kg) bombs, only 500 pounds (227 kg) bombs. Otherwise, there is a good chance that the Raeder and the Mackensen will be heavily damaged.

Because the armor flight deck of the B41 is only 60mm thick (not full coverage, but covers the deck about 160 meters long between the front and rear lifts), it is very difficult to withstand 1,000 pounds of bombs.

However, the Americans also paid a very heavy price for these 5 500-pound bombs, 41 SBDs, 42 TBFs and 48U were shot down in 4 rounds of air strikes!

In particular, when the fourth round of air raids was launched, it happened to encounter the Fokker 636 and Fw190 that had dropped bombs in Valparaiso Bay to return home, and as a result, the number of Fokker 636 and Fw190 in the sky was dozens more than the number of American air attack planes, and the opponent was almost completely wiped out!

After reading the battle report, Hersman handed it to Admiral Raeder, who also read it carefully, and immediately came up with more information: "The Americans have at least eight large aircraft carriers near the northern coast of Chile, and in order to avoid being wiped out by us, they have adopted the method of scattered formation. And they were at least 700 nautical miles away from Task Force 10, so they resorted to shuttle bombing and reduced bomb loads...... The war report said that after the bombing, all the planes flew to Valparaiso Bay. ”

"At least 700 nautical miles from Task Force 10?" Marshal Kesselring, who was also in the Joint Operations Command Center at this time, listened to Raeder's analysis, and his brows immediately furrowed, "I'm afraid that the Me264 we deployed near Buenos Aires can't reach them, right?" ”

"It's definitely out of reach." Hersman shook his head, "The Americans are not stupid, they must have calculated the distance before deploying the fleet." ”

"And they also tied our 3 task forces to the Pacific Ocean with several aircraft carriers and up to 20,000 landing troops." Kesselring nodded, and then continued with Hersmann's words, "If our fleet is gone, the Americans will be able to send more troops to Chile and deploy long-range bombers to bomb Buenos Aires." And if our fleet does not go, the Americans, most likely, will launch a counterattack on the east coast of South America...... But the Americans may not be determined to fight us in the waters off Guyana, and if we show great strength, they will most likely retreat back to the Caribbean. ”

Hersman smiled: "So the Americans should be allowed to sink deeper." ”

At this moment, the staff officer's report sounded again: "Sir, I received a report from the submarine command that the American Grand Fleet anchored in Port of Spain is leaving!" ”