The counterattack and pursuit operations commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Schwarzenegger were ended by the heavy fire of 54 self-propelled howitzers belonging to the 16th Panzer Division (36 M7 Priest 105mm self-propelled howitzers and 18 M12 155mm self-propelled howitzers), as well as 18 towed howitzers (M1 155mm howitzers) temporarily attached to the 16th Panzer Division. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Although these raining American shells did not destroy a single valuable tank or tank destroyer, they destroyed four wheeled vehicles and caused dozens of German paratrooper casualties!

And when the somewhat embarrassed Lieutenant Colonel Schwarzenegger retreated from the battlefield with the smell of gunsmoke, his angular face already looked quite dignified.

The fighting on the island of Newfoundland has been going smoothly so far, but the difficulties are gradually becoming apparent.

The first is that the combat effectiveness of the US military is stronger than originally expected! Although they were somewhat inexperienced in combat, it was clear that they were well-trained and fully equipped with the advanced weapons they possessed.

The second was that the German forces on the island were too weak, there were no heavy tanks, and the number of artillery was seriously insufficient, and there were almost no heavy artillery. At night, when air superiority is difficult to exert, there are almost no effective means of fire support.

The third is that the German army's air superiority is not as great as on the Eastern Front, and it also lacks professional ground attack aircraft, and it is even more "inorganic and usable" at night, so it cannot effectively support ground operations and suppress US firepower -- if this was the Soviet-German battlefield, the medium bomber group composed of Do217 and Ju188 would have blown up the artillery that had just fired at the Schwarzenegger cluster.

On the island of Newfoundland, however, the German ground forces were simply not supported by a medium bomber force. Only German carrier-based aircraft and heavy bombers like the Me264 were able to provide air support.

After returning to the headquarters, Lieutenant Colonel Schwarzenegger immediately found his superior, Major General Headert, first reported the situation of the pursuit operation, and then told his superiors Sidet his thoughts.

Finally, he said: "General, now we must get more favorable fire support!" The number of people can be replenished by airdrops, and today (it is now past midnight, it is the early morning of the 26th) there will always be a few thousand to ten thousand. But the main problem we are facing now is the lack of firepower, and if this problem is not solved, it will be difficult for us to take down the whole island of Newfoundland. ”

Hyde nodded and said to Schwarzenegger: "Gustav, the upper side is trying to figure out a way, we will get reinforcements...... The 102nd, 103rd and 104th assault battalions are approaching, and after dawn they will be able to counterattack with the support of carrier-based aircraft. ”

Schwarzenegger did not have much joy on his face, he said: "But the enemy will also increase his troops...... The shelling of my men just now was heavier than any before, indicating that they had been reinforced (18 M1 155 howitzers were just in place) and that we would face more enemies after dawn. Without enough firepower, the battle below will be very difficult. ”

The lack of firepower was the biggest difficulty faced by the German troops on the island of Newfoundland, because the landing operation had not yet begun, the troops were all airlifted, and the supplies and heavy equipment were also transported from the Azores by plane, and the distance of more than 2,500 kilometers severely limited the ability of the German Air Transport Command to deliver enough heavy firearms to Newfoundland. On the American side, although the Germans were caught off guard by transferring a number of fighter planes from Newfoundland, they did not transfer tanks and artillery - these two things are not a matter for the productive forces of the United States, but as much as they want!

Under these circumstances, the Germans faced a serious lack of firepower on the island of Newfoundland and were suppressed by the other side.

It wasn't just Lieutenant Colonel Schwarzenegger who was aware of the problem, but also the top command on both sides by the early hours of April 26 (Newfoundland time).

"Mr. President, the situation on the island is generally favorable to us." At a cabinet military meeting at the White House, Army Chief of Staff Marshall told the president that "our 16th Panzer Division is engaged in fierce battles with German Panzer forces, and has achieved some results that have shattered the myth of the invincibility of German Panzer Forces."

Moreover, the commander of the 6th Army, Lieutenant General Collins, also found that the Germans on the island of Newfoundland lacked sufficient firepower (this was what the commander of the 16th Panzer Division, Major General Ross, and British Vice Admiral Fraser, told Collins), that we had an overwhelming superiority in firepower. ”

"Overwhelming firepower superiority?" President Truman finally heard some good news, "So we can win?" ”

"Yes." Marshall said with great certainty, "We will win, as long as the Germans do not have the means to send enough artillery and tanks to Newfoundland...... Although they had air and sea superiority, Newfoundland was a large island with an area of more than 110,000 square kilometers, and the Germans could not win without enough army firepower. ”

"What about our reinforcements? When to go to the island? President Truman still felt unsafe and asked about the reinforcements.

"Reinforcements will arrive today." Marshall replied, "In fact, they are already on the way, paratroopers of 3 divisions transported by 1,000 transport planes, and they will parachute before dawn." Later, after the airport on Newfoundland was repaired, it was good to airlift some of the armored troops to Newfoundland. ”

"1000 planes for 3 divisions? Almost 50,000 people, right? Truman asked, "Is 1,000 transport planes enough?" ”

"Enough!" The commander of the army aviation, Admiral Arnold, said, "The officers and men of the 3 divisions have no weapons and equipment. Because there are enough weapons on the island of Newfoundland for them to use. ”

"Okay, okay, that's a good idea." Truman nodded repeatedly, "If the equipment on the island is sufficient, we should airdrop more troops there." "But the Germans still have air superiority, do they?" ”

The land superiority of Newfoundland undoubtedly belonged to the Allied forces led by the United States, but the air superiority was in the hands of the Germans, otherwise there would have been no airborne landing.

"We have a way." Chief of Naval Operations Ernest Murphy. King took up the question, "Mr. President, we can use the fleet to divert the German aircraft carriers from the vicinity of Newfoundland, and then launch a general attack on land." ”

The U.S. Navy was a formidable maritime force despite its devastation in the Battle of Bermuda. In addition to a dozen powerful Essex-class aircraft carriers as the main aircraft carrier force, ships 5 and 6 of the Iowa-class battleships were commissioned in the first quarter of 1945. In addition, the No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6 Alaska-class battlecruisers (known to Americans as large cruisers) were also put into service from the end of 1944 to March 1945.

In other words, excluding the old battleships of the World War I era, the US Navy now has 2 Iowa-class and 6 Alaska-class battleships, for a total of 8 cutting-edge battleships/battlecruisers.

In addition, the lead ship of the Midway-class aircraft carrier, the USS Midway, was launched in March '45 and is currently being outfitted, and will be commissioned in September '45 at the earliest. The No. 2 ship of the Midway, the USS Roosevelt, will also be launched at the New York shipyard in the next few days, and will be commissioned by the end of October at the earliest.

While the two "Midway" class aircraft carriers are about to enter service, the US Navy is also stepping up training for the F7F carrier-based aircraft unit. Due to the relatively large size of the F7F, it is not very convenient to take off on the Essex-class aircraft carriers, so it is a carrier-based aircraft specially prepared for the "Midway" class.

As for the main force of the U.S. aircraft carrier force, the "Essex" class aircraft carrier, it will soon attract the new and powerful carrier-based aircraft F8F, which was used to replace the F6F naval fighter and completed its first flight as early as August 21, 1944, and the first production model also rolled off the assembly line on December 31, 1944. On February 17, 1945, the F8F began ship tests, which proved that the aircraft had good aircraft carrier adaptability, showing good landing, take-off and deck handling characteristics.

In early April, the Navy promulgated the F8F flight operation procedures, and at the same time began to form the F8F carrier-based aircraft training squadron and began to use the training aircraft carrier to train F8F carrier-based aircraft pilots.

At the same time, the US Navy also placed an order for up to 10,000 F8Fs. According to the plan, by the end of 1945, the main carrier-based aircraft of the US Navy would change from F6F and F4U to F7F and F8F. At that time, the US Navy's carrier-based aircraft unit will once again have the strength to compete with the European Community's carrier-based aircraft unit in the Atlantic.

But...... It was not the end of 1945.

"President," Ernest Kin said to Truman, "Task Force 56 will get a few fleets of battleships and battlecruisers that had belonged to the 3rd Fleet, and then get closer to Newfoundland. This will ensure that the 56th Task Force has a sufficiently strong air defense capability.

In addition, Task Force 56 will be deployed close to the east coast of the United States to ensure that it can be supported by shore-based aviation. Moreover, they will also be far from the combat radius of the Me264, which is based in the Azores. ”

Ever since the Germans played with missiles, the Me264 turned into a formidable anti-ship weapon! In particular, with the possession of television-guided anti-ship missiles, the Me264 can launch missiles at an altitude of 10,000 meters and at a distance from the range of anti-aircraft fire of US surface ships.

If the Me262T escort is dispatched at the same time, the American carrier-based aircraft with weak high-altitude performance will hardly be able to confront it. Therefore, the 56th Task Force can only avoid the Me264, which has a large range, which is really a bit aggrieved.

However, even with the Me264 side, Task Force 56 is a formidable maritime force, and their presence is an absolute threat to the European Community Navy attacking Newfoundland.