"I can't imagine that we still have a meeting of the Supreme Command in the basement." When Raeder walked into an underground bunker in East Prussia, he couldn't help but let out a sigh as he looked at the reinforced concrete bunkers that were several meters thick on the solid walls and ceilings around them. The Germans still think too highly of themselves, a few months ago the same group of people celebrated their victory at the Palace of Versailles in Paris and confidently prepared to move towards a new victory, and today? These once high-spirited German elites could only sit down and discuss the future direction of the war! I have to say, creation makes people!

Count Spee was right, and when he returned to the headquarters of the Reich, he would not be able to become the general flagship of the German High Seas Fleet again. The defeat of the Bay of Bengal actually has little to do with Earl Spee, the Earl's original intention was to fight the Atlantic and the United States and Britain now, but unfortunately, under the pressure of the high-level, the Earl was forced to compromise, and this battle of the Bay of Bengal was actually a helpless move, but so what? There must always be someone to bear the responsibility for the defeat, His Majesty the Emperor is impossible, the army and the air force are also not directly related, then the only way is for the earl to go into the wilderness.

Almost logically, Raeder has reached the pinnacle of his life! He fulfilled the prophecy of his old boss. Admiral Hipper, who was already in the past, said that sooner or later he would become the head of the German Navy. Now he has done this, but he is not happy, because he has inherited a fleet that has just experienced a crushing defeat, and he needs a battle situation that seems to him to be full of despair! Yes, at this time Raeder already believed that it was impossible for the German Navy to compete with three great powers at the same time!

Coincidentally, Raeder also had the same opinion as the commander of the Air Force, Field Marshal Richthofen! Even he was worried about the situation of the battle earlier than the Count Spee, who was in the naval department! If the navy only showed its decline after China joined the war group, then the decline of the air force appeared as early as the middle of the French campaign, when the Luftwaffe had no technical superiority and simply fought for production capacity. How can Germany and Austria-Hungary compare their production capacity with the three countries of China, the United States and the United Kingdom? The difference between a British can be at least twice that of Austria-Hungary, and the production capacity of China and the United States together is not much than three times that of Germany! How can such a battle be fought!

The Army, which only feels okay with itself, is also in a dilemma. It was also the only branch of the German army that could still maintain the offensive, and of course, it now seems that the offensive has become embarrassing. Kruger's estimate was correct. If the navy could not withstand it, the German Army's operations in South Asia would not have been successful, even if the German Army had defeated its opponents one after another, and what if the Germans had occupied Delhi and controlled nearly half of the Gangetic Plain? Without the cover of the navy, the sea transport lines could be cut off at any time. And the concentration of Chinese forces in northern Iran is also becoming more and more powerful. Will this offensive still be able to continue? Kruger, Bock and others are not optimistic about this!

The arrival of the emperor put an end to the whispered conversation of the generals. The first item of the meeting was the appointment and dismissal of the commander of the navy, and the Kaiser still saved some face for this veteran who participated in two world wars, and the title of naval marshal continued to be retained, still in active service. However, it was only an advisor position, and it was impossible to return to the fleet, and Raeder took the position. Others politely congratulated the new marshal. And then, it's time to discuss the real concerns of all parties, how to fight the next war!

"The fleet will be repaired and replenished for at least four months, after which we will go to the Atlantic to try to cut off the North Atlantic transport line again. During this time. We need to replenish at least 2 or more aircraft carriers of the medium fleet, as well as about 1200 new carrier-based aircraft and crews. Besides. We also need to rebuild the land-based aviation system to which the Navy belongs on the Atlantic coast. to cooperate with the fleet operations. If all this can be done, the odds of our American and British fleets winning are more than 6 percent! Raeder spoke first.

At this time, the plan of the German Navy was the best to formulate, and now the German Navy could not go to war, and the German Navy, which had recovered its vitality, still could not be the opponent of the Chinese Navy. So there is only one target they can choose, and that is the United States and Britain! Fortunately. The United States and Britain do not yet have a solid transit point in the Atlantic. Their fleet was weak and scattered. Raeder thinks that as long as he does it right, he still has a chance! The only question is whether there are too many things I want, and will the Air Force have objections?

"I think that the list of supplies that the empire can replenish has been handed over to you, and the navy needs a lot of supplies. More than we originally planned to allocate, and you will need to coordinate with the Air Force and Army in this regard. Speer reminded.

"There is no problem with the Air Force, and it can first make a moderate tilt towards the Navy in terms of aircraft and crew." The Red Baron's statement was surprising, not only in the Army and Navy, but even in the Air Force insiders, because before that, the Red Baron had not mentioned the matter to anyone, not even his relative Richthofen the Younger and most importantly the younger brother Kesselring.

To tell the truth, to some extent, the proposal of the land base and the air force is the indirect cause of this naval fiasco, if it is according to the original plan of the navy, it will be fine for a while, although the navy can't throw this pot on the back of the air force, but the red baron still has a trace of guilt for Count Spee and the navy.

Of course, the Red Baron's concession was not just because of guilt, but because the Red Baron knew very well that whether he could survive the US-British strategic bombardment would depend on whether the Imperial Air Force was powerful, whether it could continue to inflict heavy damage on the opponent and maintain its strength in the war of attrition. And the other half depends on whether the Imperial Navy is powerful and can block the Atlantic transportation line! A large amount of aircraft, fuel, ammunition, and spare parts consumed by the US and Britain's strategic bombing every day need to be transported from across the ocean.

Roughly calculated, the total amount of fuel and ammunition consumed by a strategic bomber for a single attack is about 10 tons, and according to the frequency of 5,000 to 7,000 bomber sorties per day by the US and British air forces, the two air forces consume 50,000 to 70,000 tons of materials by bombers alone! And there are fighters that are about the same number as bombers. There are also various supplies that the troops need. Coupled with the normal consumption of British nationals, this is undoubtedly an astronomical figure. If there is a problem with the US-UK sea transport line, the consequences are unimaginable! Therefore, the Luftwaffe must do everything in its power to help the Navy to restore its combat effectiveness, and if necessary, to help the Navy suppress the Army!

"And what about the Baku oil fields? Now the fuel that comes out of there every day is not even half of what it would normally be. The Empire's fuel supply was already tight. The Kaiser asked.

"Limited defense." The Red Baron had barely finished his sentence when he was interrupted by the Kaiser. "Limited defense is gradually abandoning in the dictionary of the Air Force, right? It was the most important oil-producing area of the Empire! The 15 million tons of fuel oil produced from there every year were closely related to the fate of the empire! How can it be lost there? Answer me! ”

"Jet fuel can be supplied through the coal-to-fuel industry, and although production is very small right now, our stockpiles can barely be maintained until the coal-to-fuel output is at scale. Our homeland is being fatally attacked by the US and British air forces, and before the United States and Britain launch strategic bombing, we will not be able to completely block the offensive of the Chinese air force in the Middle East, and it will be even more impossible for the United States and Britain to exert their strength. Our capacity has reached its limits. There's not much room for improvement. At least I couldn't do better. Speer, who is in charge of military production, said.

"Then it seems that I need to change the head of military production when necessary." The Kaiser said angrily. Speer responded with a wry smile. He really can't help it, but at the same time, he doesn't think that anyone else has a better way! He even did not hesitate to use violence as a backing to force the industrial giants to comply. If you were a different person, I'm afraid you wouldn't have the guts, right?

"We really can't do anything, our aircraft production and losses are barely on par with losses, and this is only after we cut the production capacity of strategic bombers by 5%. Even if we stop producing all strategic bombers, with the intensification of the air offensive of the United States, Britain and China, our aircraft holdings are still not optimistic. Now there has been a decline in the aviation capacity of Austria-Hungary, not to mention Turkey and Spain. We are actually using German power against the three great powers. The result of taking care of both ends is that neither end can be defended, this is the limitation of strength, and it has nothing to do with command. The Red Baron also said on the side.

"Damn it! I should have replaced you a long time ago and thrown you into the dustbin of history with those old antiques from the First World War! The Red Baron's words finally detonated the Kaiser, who was already on the verge of going berserk, and the angry Kaiser cursed the Imperial Air Marshal unabashedly, and for the moody Majesty, the Red Baron could only respond with indifference. It's a big deal to leave, no one can carry out the unrealistic task of the Kaiser. Whoever wants to come, whoever comes! Of course. In fact, even if the Kaiser really replaced the air marshal, he could not do it at this time. Replacing the leadership team without preparation can only shoot yourself in the foot!

"What about the Army? I hope that the marshals of the land base will bring me a practical plan! After venting, the Kaiser turned to ask Field Marshal Kruger, who was sitting on his right.

"We will launch a limited offensive on the Gangetic Plain, and due to the restrictions of logistics and transportation, the speed of advance and the sustained combat capability of our armored forces will be greatly affected. And in India we can't repair heavy and sophisticated weapons like the Tiger, so in the next phase, we're going to gradually reduce the number of Tigers in exchange for some lighter tanks. ”

"In addition, we have occupied vast areas of South Asia. We need to convert it into our own territory, it is not appropriate to leave a large number of field troops in the occupied territories, we just need to use a small number of police forces. Even if we could leave the Austro-Hungarian Legion and the Turks to take on this task, the saved troops would be deployed mainly in the valley of the two rivers and in southern Iran in preparation for the Chinese attack. Of course, you can rest assured that our Indian footsteps will not stop, and the combat effectiveness of the US and British troops in India is limited, and even if the heavy equipment is appropriately reduced, the advantage can still be guaranteed. ”

"I went! How can the same words come out of Kruger's mouth and feel different? The level of the army's lip service is really amazing! This is simply the same level as saying that repeated defeats are repeated defeats! "The Red Baron and the Count of Spee almost didn't vomit up the overnight meal! Look at people, how can you say!

In the eyes of the two marshals, this is nothing more than what they mean, it is impossible for us to continue the Indian strategy, it is okay to make a small fuss, and if you put your life into it, it will be dead, hurry up and cut the warehouse and talk nonsense! Just throw Austria-Hungary and Turkey into the pit of South Asia and help us with the tank, and the mobile forces drawn out will be ready to deal with the strategic offensive of China! In a word, the operation in South Asia has failed, you can maintain the current front, don't think so much else!

I don't know if the Kaiser didn't understand the core idea of Kruger's words, or if he did, but he didn't want to break it. The Kaiser still agreed with the words of the Field Marshal. Said that it could be done according to the idea of the War Department. Then the Kaiser changed his words: "According to the intelligence, the Russians have made some small moves in the east, do you have any ideas?" ”

It was impossible for the Russians to hide their actions from the Germans. Or even if Russia has weakened like this now, but Germany still has not relaxed the surveillance and suppression of this former great power, if it is said that with the outbreak of World War II, this suppression has weakened somewhat, then the surveillance has been strengthened, the German intelligence services have obtained Russian political, economic and military information through various channels, the Russians' change of heart and defection to the enemy The Germans are very clear, although it is not suitable to solve this hidden danger by thunder means now, but to make necessary precautions, even after some preparations, It is still possible to preemptively knock the opponent to his stomach. The German army said that even if it is weak, it is no problem to prepare for the weak chicken of Russia!

"We need time to prepare, at least until the Air Force has repelled this wave of attacks from the United States and Britain, and the Army has withdrawn some of its heavy equipment from South Asia. And the year is already approaching the end of the year, the cold winter of the USSR is not suitable for combat, and if I can, I hope to go to war after April next year! Kruger replied that in terms of time, Germany seemed to have a long time to prepare, and the Russians would not attack in winter, and it would not be suitable for action in the following spring, because the melting snow would turn the wilderness into a quagmire, so that the Germans would have half a year to prepare from now on.

"Well, get rid of this betrayer and stabilize the fruits of our victory, that's what I'm asking for!" In the end, the Kaiser set the tone for the next phase of the German army's operations, and this also marked the beginning of Germany's transition from offensive to defensive!

Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976, the 1st Guards Tank Brigade for the reward ~~~~~~, as well as the book friend playing frog dog, rain leaking rain, unchanging star, crazy and declining monthly pass support ~~~~~. (To be continued.) )