Chapter 443: Bermuda Air Battle
Today is the last day for Li Jinshi to be his secretary by His Majesty's side.
After attending the preparatory meeting for the founding of the Kingdom of India and the Democratic Republic of America, Li Jinshi will officially step down from his posts as deputy director of the Secretariat of the Supreme High Command and go to North America to serve as deputy director of the North American Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Defense and chief military attache of the Imperial Embassy in the Democratic United States.
Regarding the replacement of His Majesty's full-time secretary, the big and small imperial concubines have also been arranged. often stays in Weiqing Pavilion and works continuously day and night, and it is indeed not suitable for His Majesty to have no woman around him to take care of.
Heinie even wanted to go into battle in person and send Princess Tianning to the General Staff Kindergarten...... But as soon as this idea emerged, everyone strongly opposed it.
"Poor raised son, rich adopted daughter, can we go to kindergarten with the eldest princess of the Han Hall?"
But before His Majesty's words fell, Wu Jiayi took over the conversation, "Then I'll go!" Anyway......" Pretty blushed slightly, "I also want to give God jealous milk!" ”
"Oh my God!" Zhong Yi looked up to the sky and stroked his forehead, "You're too ruthless, aren't you?" God's gift is not yet a year old! Don't listen to their nonsense, the size of the place has nothing to do with how long your son has been breastfeeding, and besides, science has proven that only breast milk is the most suitable for baby development, you don't plan for you to let your son lose at the starting line, thinner than others, right? ”
"That ......" Goddess Wu was unwilling, but she was frightened by Zhong Yi's words and felt sorry for her son.
"Alright! Aren't you just worried about ......", when it comes to his sore spots, Rao is thick black like Zhong Yi can't help but blush, "You all take my son and daughter honestly, this time I promise that there will be no more accidents." ”
"Hmph......" All the women pouted in unison, it was obvious that in this regard, His Majesty's discipline was really bottomless.
Equally undisciplined was Admiral Guan Cang, the customs commander of the Admiral, who was far away in the Atlantic.
After the "Triangle Offensive" campaign began, this guy kept chanting, "Lao Jin, come out, you must come out, come out, I will invite you to drink ......"
Lao Jin is Guan Canghai's "nickname" for Admiral Ernest Joseph King, commander of the US Atlantic Fleet. In the U.S. Navy, Ernest King, known as the "Almighty God", is a naval admiral with great personality.
A graduate of the Annapolis Naval Academy, Kim obtained his pilot's license at the age of 48 and has made numerous achievements, including lifting a submarine that sank on the high seas. He had already been housed in the Military Council, a group of advisors who had nowhere to arrange. He is cold and aggressive by nature, so he is unpopular. There are many people whose self-esteem has been damaged by him, and whose future has been ruined in his hands.
After the Wusongkou incident, the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet was completely wiped out, and even Hawaii and control of the Panama Canal were lost. Ernest King was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Navy by Roosevelt and concurrently served as Commander of the Atlantic Fleet. Nimitz, his classmate and friend, was ordered to rebuild the Pacific Fleet.
Admiral Kim was the first in the US Navy to propose that battleships were not the agreed types of ships for naval warfare, and it was he who laid the foundation for the US military to vigorously develop aircraft carriers.
In the face of such an opponent, especially after the formation of the combined fleet, Admiral Jin proposed a series of defense plans, letting Guan Canghai know that he had finally encountered the strongest opponent.
In the Battle of Malta in the Mediterranean, the Royal Northern Fleet defeated the American Atlantic ships, not because of Kim's command level, but because the Royal Navy at that time was far ahead of the US military in terms of aircraft carrier and carrier-based aircraft performance, as well as in the tactical thinking of naval warfare.
Now that the two are fighting again, the Atlantic Fleet, which had only one aircraft carrier Dragoon, can be regarded as a shotgun exchange. The super strength of eight Essex-class aircraft carriers and more than 20 escort aircraft carriers is not inferior to any fleet of the Imperial Royal Navy.
Even so, Admiral King cautiously went on the defensive when the Combined Fleet was approaching. Perhaps it was the horror of the Han Empire's ship-building capabilities, or perhaps it was the large form of the North American battlefield that forced it to be more careful with the Allied attack. In short, the huge Allied Combined Fleet came in a rage, and for nearly three months, it did not take any advantage on the Atlantic Fleet.
Guan Canghai knows very well that although the "triangular offensive" is designed for the US military's "chain set" tactic, the fatal shortcomings in it make this tactic not perfect at all. There is really no way to force it.
Fortunately, the powerful Navy SEALs are powerful...... Colonel Tan accomplished the almost impossible task, destroying the Savannah military port within a 45-degree angle of Bermuda, forcing the Atlantic Fleet to retreat to Norfolk.
However, this was not enough to make the "triangular offensive" carry out smoothly, and the key to the battle remained whether the US Atlantic Fleet would be relieved to aid Bermuda and whether it would voluntarily appear in the ambush circle of the Second Fleet after the Allied First Fleet attacked.
Based on Guan Canghai's understanding of Ernest King, "It was a fox-like cunning man, paranoid and stubborn. As long as he sees through the plans of the Combined Fleet, he may not necessarily send the Atlantic Fleet! ”
However, if the Atlantic Fleet really does not attack, and still avoids the battle, then Bermuda......
It is believed that with the strength of the First Fleet, with the combat power of the Marine Corps, it is not impossible to capture Bermuda. The nearest US air force airfield to Bermuda is at least 1,000 kilometers, and the combat radius of most US fighters is only about 1,000 kilometers. After flying to Bermuda, it will not last long before it will have to return, and its combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced.
"Well, it seems that the U.S. military has converted a transport aircraft into a tanker, KC-135, a 'stratotanker', which can complete in-flight refueling for fighters and extend the air stay time of fighters."
The air refueling aircraft is still a new thing, and the United States is at the forefront in this regard, and the Dahan air refueling technology is still under development. Guan Canghai was worried that Admiral Kim would abandon the aircraft carrier attack when he could not accurately locate the combined fleet, and instead use the land-based air force to carry out support operations against Bermuda through in-flight refueling.
If Bermuda cannot be captured, nor can the Atlantic Fleet be annihilated, it will mean the failure of the "Zheng He" plan. The landing of the Allied forces necessitated the implementation of the second plan.
Guan Canghai looked at the most chaotic sea area in the middle of North and South America on the sea chart. The Yucatan Strait, the southernmost part of the Gulf of Mexico, is the boundary between Mexico and the island nation of Cuba, and is the most important sea route from the Gulf of Mexico to the Caribbean Sea. Before the Panama Canal was blocked by the Royal Navy, it was one of the busiest seas in the eastern and western United States.
The second plan of the Allies was to use the Unitan Peninsula as a base, send an airborne force to capture Havana, the capital of Cuba, and overthrow the American-backed Batista regime, and then send the Allied fleet into the Caribbean Sea to attack the Royal Pacific Fleet on the other side of the Panama Canal, and finally seize control of the Panama Canal.
With the Barnabas Canal, the movement of Allied forces will be greatly accelerated, and whether it is landing in Florida or choosing other areas, the Allies will have a great strategic advantage.
But in this case, the war will definitely be prolonged, not to mention that if they are really forced to carry out the second plan, wouldn't that mean that the European Allies ...... No, it is the Chinese alliance navy in the European region that has completely failed strategically.
Guan Canghai couldn't tolerate such a thing, "The wind and waves have survived, how can you turn your head in the last step of becoming a god?" ”
Commander Guan was also deeply stimulated by his old friend Airy's record of commanding the Red Shield Navy to defeat the German High Seas Fleet. Although he knew that with his own record, it would be a matter of time before the three gold stars on his shoulders were replaced by a small golden dragon, but Airy was promoted to Marshal of Judah, which still made Commander Guan's heart a little uncomfortable, "Nima, isn't this the commander of the Combined Fleet is an admiral, and the deputy commander is a marshal instead?" ”
"Does the Chief of Staff have a new telegram coming?" With a shout, Guan Canghai tried to shift his attention from the chaotic thoughts to the battle in front of him.
"Report to the commander, Chief of Staff Zhong has no new telegram yet, this is a telegram from Commander Min Zhenhai of the Second Fleet!" The big war is imminent, and the communications staff officers are very nervous.
"Well, there's still no movement!" After receiving the telegram clip, Guan Canghai did not look closely, and every hour, Zhou Xiangdong, who led the main fleet to set up an ambush, would send a reconnaissance plane to send a telegram to the command ship Zhongmou nearly 100 nautical miles away from the fleet.
It was already the second day since the First Fleet started fighting, and Zhong Tingguo, chief of staff of the Combined Fleet, was in command, and Lu Yining, commander of the First Fleet, led four marshal-class aircraft carriers, including the Gongjin, and more than 30 escort ships, to launch fierce attacks on Bermuda in turn.
The island's only Kendley Field airfield had already been hit hard by the first Allied tentative offensive. This time, the Allies went all out, and the airfield, which was a key target, was completely scrapped in the first round of air strikes. Precision-guided anti-runway bombs blasted dozens of craters several meters deep at Kendley Field Airport.
The U.S. triangular javelin squadron stationed at the airport was also defeated in a contest with the Royal Navy's newest "Eagle" J-15D. Regardless of performance, more than a dozen US military planes may not be able to retreat in the face of nearly 100 "Eagle" planes that are overwhelming, not to mention triangular javelins.
But the elimination of the US Air Force squadron in Bermuda does not mean a final victory, on the contrary, the battle for the strategic Bermuda Islands has just begun.
Just as Guan Canghai had guessed, the treacherous Atlantic Fleet commander Ernest King did not leave port to meet Bermuda as soon as it was attacked. The U.S. military has activated Fayetteville Air Force Base in North Carolina to provide air support to Bermuda, and more than 30 KC-13s are active between the East Coast and Bermuda, refueling more than 200 F-105s and F-109s.
"Eagle" vs. "Lei Gong" and "Ultimate Sabre", "Sparrow" vs. "Rattlesnake".
The world's most advanced warplanes, the most powerful air-to-air missiles, and ...... Ability to quickly replenish after battle damage.
The outcome of the air battle in Bermuda is a reflection of the contrast of power between the two sides of the war.