Chapter 733: The Torch of Ireland
Stalin's decision on October 8, 1942, to send the Red Navy's Atlantic Fleet to the Atlantic War was an official decision of the Soviet High Command. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info
However, this did not mean that the Red Navy's Atlantic Fleet could leave its home port of Molotovsk the next day to beat the Germans in the windy North Atlantic, and in fact it was only Molotov who left the Soviet Union on October 9.
The busy Soviet People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs took a diplomatic delegation and left the Soviet Union from Murmansk on several transport planes converted from Per-8 bombers, passing through Iceland under American control, before flying to the American mainland. There are some risks associated with crossing the airspace of Finland and Norway, which are controlled by Germany.
So as soon as Molotov arrived at the White House, the US president greeted him cordially: "Comrade Molotov, how are you on the road?" Didn't meet the Germans, did you? ”
His words were quickly translated into Russian by the Soviet ambassador to the United States, Litvinov.
"Everything is fine, there are no planes of German devils."
Molotov replied with a smile: "In fact, they do not have a lot of aircraft, and now they are concentrated on the Eastern Front to fight with our Red Air Force, and there are no aircraft in Finland and northern Norway." This is very beneficial for the operations that our Red Navy Atlantic Fleet is going to carry out. ”
The passage of the Atlantic Fleet of the Red Navy into and out of the Barents Sea was close to northern Norway, and if the Germans deployed a large number of aircraft in northern Norway, of course, it would pose a certain threat. However, it is the polar night period of the Arctic Circle, and the role of aircraft in the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea is not very large. Otherwise, it is quite possible that Molotov would have betrayed the revolution or martyred the cause of GCISM......
"Oh?" Roosevelt heard what he wanted to hear most, "Is the Red Navy fleet ready to attack?" ”
Although the shipbuilding industry in the United States is strong, the construction cycle of battleships is too long. The No. 1 ship of the Iowa-class battleship, on which the U.S. Navy has high hopes, was launched on August 27 this year, and is now being outfitted and completed for service next spring. But as soon as the spring equinox arrives, the days and nights in the North Atlantic are short, and when the JU288 bombers equipped with remote-controlled gliding bombs are circling over the North Atlantic all day long, who would dare to take the Iowa-class battleships to take risks? Therefore, the real power of the Iowa and New Jersey may have been postponed until after the autumn equinox in 1943.
It's too late...... Britain itself could not have lasted until the autumnal equinox of 1943 anyway. If Britain surrendered, Germany would be undefeated!
Therefore, the Red Navy of the Soviet Union, which repeatedly proclaimed that it wanted a world revolution, was now the last hope of the capitalist British Empire.
"Yes, our navy is ready to strike." Molotov sat down on a fluffy couch in the Oval Office of the White House, then smiled and said, "As long as some details are discussed, the Red Navy will enter the Atlantic and fight the Nazis with the American and British navies!" ”
Details question? When Roosevelt heard this from his translator, he said in his heart that the question of getting Molotov to come forward would probably not be detailed.
"What's the problem? Say it. Roosevelt's tone sounded so bold that he almost added that "money is not a problem."
But Molotov knew that the reason why Roosevelt was so generous now was entirely because the Soviet Union was worth the price!
If it weren't for the Soviet Union, the United States would have lost the world war by now.
"First of all, there is the question of forming a combined fleet." Molotov did not mention money to Roosevelt at all, but mentioned the formation of a combined fleet.
"A combined fleet, of course." Roosevelt nodded, and he also asked Admiral Lacey and Chief of Naval Operations Ernesto. Admiral King and Secretary of State Hull and others have discussed. The fleets of Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union in the Atlantic must have a unified command in order to exert their greatest power.
And the mode of the decisive battle in the Atlantic is likely to be a battle of battleship formations, how can a formation not have a unified command? So the formation of a combined fleet is inevitable.
"So who will be the commander of the Combined Fleet?" Molotov then asked.
"Our commander of the US Atlantic Fleet, Admiral Ingersoll, can be the commander of the combined fleet." President Roosevelt proposed to work with Hull, Lacey, and Ernest Brown. Kim and others discussed the good candidates.
"Mr. President, are you going to bring the Soviet Red Army under the command of American servicemen?" Molotov shook his head and said, "This time we took out 4 Soviet-class battleships and 2 Kronstadt-class battlecruisers, which are the main force of the combined fleet, so the commander should be Admiral Kuznetsov." ”
His words were translated into English by Livinov, and when Roosevelt heard it, he laughed out loud and said: "Colonel-General Kuznetsov as commander?" Hmm, so is the political commissar of the combined fleet made up by us Americans? If you don't object, then I'll appoint Senator Truman as political commissar of the Combined Fleet. ”
Political commissars? Senator Truman? Who is this person? Is it a member of the American Bolsheviks?
Molotov was stunned and stunned, and suddenly he didn't know how to talk to this cunning American president.
Or Livinov, who acted as his interpreter, reacted more quickly and immediately asked: "Mr. President, you're not joking, are you?" Is it really going to be a commissar for the combined fleet? ”
"Yes," Roosevelt nodded seriously, "because the Soviet Red Navy is the main force of the Combined Fleet, and the Red Navy has a political commissar, then the Combined Fleet should have a political commissar." I think Senator Truman would be happy to take this post, he was a very good ...... for ideological work Homosexuals. ”
That's not going to work! Litvinov said in his heart: If Comrade Truman is made the political commissar of the Allied Combined Fleet, how many anti-gimbalists will have to be arrested in the Atlantic Fleet of the Red Navy after the war?
"I'm afraid Comrade Truman is not suitable to be the political commissar of the Combined Fleet, right?" Molotov also reacted, "It would be better for our comrade Bulganin to be the political commissar of the combined fleet." ”
Roosevelt still smiled and nodded, and said, "Then the commander will be Admiral Ingersoll." ”
"That'...... All right. Molotov was kind of encircled by Roosevelt, but the position of commander of the Allied Combined Fleet was originally a bargaining chip...... To tell the truth, the Americans really wanted Kuznetsov, the commander of the Red Navy, who had not even been the captain of a battleship, to command the combined fleet, and Molotov himself felt unreliable.
"Then there's the problem of the Irish battlefield." Molotov made a second request. In fact, this is not the first time that the Soviet Union has raised the issue of the Irish battlefield, because the Soviet Union's "world revolution" reform was not very successful, so Stalin hoped that Britain and the United States would launch a really useful offensive in Ireland in order to attract German troops and reduce the pressure on the Soviet Union.
Although the United States agreed in principle to send troops to Ireland, it demanded that the Soviet Union first send a fleet to fight together with Britain and the United States in order to seize naval supremacy in the North Atlantic.
Now that the Soviet Union has agreed to send a valuable fleet, the United States must also give a definite answer to the question of sending troops to Ireland.
"We are already organizing an expeditionary force and have plans for it code-named Operation Torch." Roosevelt's answer was also dry, "The first expeditionary force to arrive in Ireland will consist of 4 infantry divisions and 2 armored divisions, under the command of our Lieutenant General Eisenhower." 110,000 U.S. soldiers are ready to go on the march! ”
Probably because the meaning of the code name "Torch" is so good, that the Americans named the plan to send troops to Ireland in this time and space "Operation Torch" - Morocco is now impossible to go, there is no polar night phenomenon, and Gibraltar is also the home port of the European Combined Fleet. If the American landing fleet had gone there, it would have been shattered by hordes of JU288 and DO217 with remote-controlled gliding bombs.
However, Ireland can still be visited, which is relatively close to the Arctic Circle, and the weather after the autumnal equinox is not very suitable for aircraft to fight at sea. In addition, the United States has also deployed P38 and P51 in the Faroe Islands, which can resist the attack of aircraft such as the JU288 and HE219 and the FW-190B/C, which have excellent high-altitude performance - although they may not be able to seize air superiority, but at least make it difficult for JU288 to accurately drop gliding bombs.
"That's great." Molotov was satisfied with Roosevelt's answer, "But I still have to warn you that the German tanks are very difficult to deal with!" Their Tiger tanks have a lot of firepower and very strong armor. Our 76.2mm guns could not penetrate them, and the 72.9mm guns of 57 caliber did not work very well against Tiger tanks. ”
"We already have weapons that can deal with the German Tiger tank," Admiral Marshall, who accompanied Roosevelt, took the question and replied, "Our M10 tank destroyer has a 50x caliber 76.2mm tank gun, and a 117mm thick average steel plate that can penetrate at a distance of 500 meters, which should be enough to deal with the frontal armor of the Tiger tank." ”
"Able to penetrate 117mm thick steel plates?" Molotov asked with interest, "Can you give us some?" We now have a great need for artillery capable of dealing with Tiger tanks. ”
"No problem." Roosevelt readily agreed to Molotov's request.
Because he knew that the Soviet Union was about to launch the Leningrad Siege Relief Operation, and the German Tiger tanks would be the biggest obstacle for the Soviet Army to relieve Leningrad. Now the Soviet Union has repeatedly asked the United States to send troops to Ireland, apparently also to ensure that the siege of Leningrad can be carried out smoothly. Roosevelt was a supporter of any military action that could result in a large number of German deaths. (To be continued.) )