"This is General Nimitz's resignation. He has decided to resign from all his current positions. Marshall sent a document to Roosevelt, "The Joint Chiefs of Staff held that General Nimitz was inescapable of responsibility for this defeat, but that intelligence and other departments were equally problematic." They considered the resolution to be reasonable. Marshall excused his colleagues.

"Damn, what Nimitz did delayed the course of the war for at least 1 more year! Okay, okay, let's not talk about the handling of people for the time being, let's talk about the future situation. After the Battle of Gibraltar, our situation has become even more dire than before! At least for 2 years, we will not be able to launch an offensive in Western Europe. And our North Atlantic route will also be greatly affected, right? What does the military think about this situation? Roosevelt asked, rubbing his slightly swollen temples and suppressing his anger.

"The German navy was also very hasty this time, and the number of carrier-based aircraft was also very large, and they would not be able to interfere with the North Atlantic transportation lines for at least four months, unless they were willing to put together all the fleets. As the strategic bombing campaign deepens, we can focus on bombing the ports off the western coast of France and destroying the adversary's forward bases, thereby deterring a possible offensive by the adversary. In the end, we have enough supplies to support us for a long time. There will be no problem in the short term. Marshall thought for a moment and said.

"No problem in the short term? And what about the long term? In the face of the new jets of the Germans, did the Air Force have a better response? Jets exhibit a performance advantage that is sufficient to overpower all existing propeller aircraft. Roosevelt continued.

"This, in fact, we also have jet fighters, and my country's XP80 test aircraft has entered the final stage of test flight. And the British have already begun small-scale mass production of the Meteor fighter. Its performance was stronger than that of the German ME262 fighter. But these new aircraft were of limited effectiveness in strategic bombing. Because the fuel consumption of jet engines is on the high side. The range of the aircraft is relatively short. So, in the case of an offensive. We can only continue to use propeller aircraft to suppress the opponent's defenses. ”

"In other words, if I don't continue to put my hopes on strategic bombing. I'm afraid it will take us quite a long time to win the war, so the military wants our land offensive capability in Eastern Europe to be launched immediately and defeat the opponent through a series of all-round attacks. In very cryptic terms, Marshall implied that strategic bombing was of limited significance at this stage, because the Germans were still strong in defense and had a technological advantage in defense.

"Is fighting on land really the solution?" Roosevelt was very skeptical of Marshall's claims. "The question now is, then, if the American, British and Russian armies launch an offensive in Eastern Europe according to the original plan, will we be able to defeat the opponent in two years."

"If China can cut off the retreat of the Allied Indian Army and cooperate with our garrison in India to eat the opponent, and can launch a large-scale offensive in the Middle East. The United States, Britain and Russia still had an advantage in the early stages of the war. Of course, with the advancement. The Germans will gradually gain an advantage in terms of supply and will resist more fiercely, but if only the four great powers can join forces, we will eventually be able to win against the Allies. At present, in addition to the remaining strength of Germany, the war potential of Austria-Hungary is almost exhausted, and Turkey is on the verge of collapse. As long as the Chinese offensive went well, within a few months the Turkish Empire would be in trouble with internal and external troubles. Marshall said.

"It seems that in terms of interests. We need to give Huaxia more concessions. Roosevelt smiled wryly. Since the last summit in Hawaii, the differences between China and the United States and Britain have become known to passers-by. The United States and Britain said that Russia should be restored to its former position, while China said that the peoples of Eastern Europe should exercise national self-determination, after the overthrow of German rule. The situation in which the Russians come up again is absolutely not allowed. Subsequently, the United States and Britain said that their interests in the Middle East need to be fully divided, and it is unacceptable for China to be the only one.

Since then, relations between the two sides have deteriorated rapidly, except for the most basic military cooperation. There are far fewer political and economic exchanges, and militarily they are almost in a situation of divergence. Begin with this result. The United States and Britain thought that at least they would not suffer losses, and China had taken the barren land of the Middle East. (The oil fields have not been developed on a large scale.) And the United States and Britain received a rich Eastern Europe and a strong ally. But now it seems that it will be difficult for the United States and Britain to achieve this goal.

In the end, the Americans adhered to the policy of grasping with both hands. On the one hand, they strengthened their military preparations in Eastern Europe, and on the other hand, they agreed that China would expand its sphere of influence to Asia Minor and the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, that is, as long as China took the area by its own force, the United States and Britain would in principle not bother, and at the same time, the United States and Britain also hoped that China would "respect" the situation in Eastern Europe.

"Hehe, it looks like we're going to race for the future now." Xu Jie looked at the agreement finally reached by the two sides and said with a smile. To put it bluntly, this agreement is a benefit distribution plan, and whoever fights is whom. What Huaxia needs to do in the next stage can be summed up in two points, first, try to get more benefits. Second, to prevent the United States and Britain from reaping more benefits from Eastern Europe, China did not immediately strike at the German shipping lines in southern Iran. Because of this move, the Germans could at least withdraw hundreds of thousands of troops from India to strengthen the defenses of Europe and the Middle East. Of course, this opening can't be left open all the time, and it will be closed at the right time.

This trick seems to be harmful to others and to oneself. But in fact, it still makes sense for Huaxia. First of all, China's military goal was to defeat Germany miserably and at the same time not to let Germany fall completely. Therefore, showing mercy to the Germans would help make it more difficult for the United States and Britain to resist. Secondly, the main target of China's attack for a period of time was the Middle East, after all, the Middle East was not the native territory of the Germans, and the oil fields in the two river basins could not be abandoned relative to the mainland.

Third, even if the Germans wanted to deploy a large number of troops in the Middle East, it was unrealistic from the technical point of view, because the transportation capacity of the railway in the Middle East was limited, and most of the original supplies were transported by sea. If the Chinese navy attacked, the Indian Ocean shipping would be easily cut off. In the case of poor supplies. Even if the Germans wanted to deploy the Grand Army, they were more than willing to do so. So, both subjectively and objectively. Will the main direction of the regular German deployment be in Eastern Europe, and the Middle East? Before China entered Asia Minor, the intensity would not be very large. Unless the German Navy is willing to come out and collide with China again.

After several months of preparation, the strength of the Chinese Army in the Middle East has reached about 1.5 million! It has 6,500 tanks of various types, including more than 1,200 Dragon heavy tanks. 3000 Type 35 medium tanks. The rest are various self-propelled guns and tank destroyers. The 29 series of vehicles has been almost completely replaced, except for a small number of tank destroyers that are still on the front line. At the same time, it also has 15,000 medium-caliber and above barreled artillery.

At the same time as the massive build-up of the army, the air force was not to be outdone. Considering that German jets have already entered service on a large scale, the Huaxia Air Force has also deployed a large number of jets in southern Iran, after some adjustments and deployments. Huaxia has deployed a total of 16,000 aircraft of various kinds in southern Iran, including 4,000 heavy bombers with four launches, responsible for strategic bombing of the entire Middle East region, including Asia Minor. There are about 8,000 fighters and fighter-bombers, which are responsible for air supremacy, including 1,200 jet fighters, and the number of jets will slowly rise over time. The remaining aircraft were twin-engine bombers and Sky Raider attack aircraft, which were responsible for front-line support and campaign missions.

Originally, along with the launch of the offensive of the Chinese Army and Air Force in the Middle East, the Chinese Navy also had to participate in the battle. But the Luftwaffe's AR234 bomber really scared Huaxia! The Americans' Skapas failed to stop the Germans' hybrid aircraft with guided bombs, and the Chinese Skapas probably also hanged. Therefore, Xu Jie asked the navy to suspend its actions, and felt that it would be replaced with a new Sea King jet carrier-based aircraft, and it should be matched according to the standard that a 30,000-ton aircraft carrier should be equipped with at least 30 aircraft. Be sure to increase your defense first.

And the enemies that Huaxia needs to face don't seem so powerful. Although there were 2.2 million troops piled up on the opposite side. But the number of German troops was only about 500,000, and this included the German troops in southern Iran. Moreover, the level of equipment of these 500,000 German troops was also somewhat worse than that of Guderian's troops at the beginning, and the number of Leopard tanks was even more scarce. In addition to the Germans, there were 700,000 Austro-Hungarian troops. Austria-Hungary concentrated almost all of its extraterritorial forces. However, with the exception of the Bohemian Legion, the quality of equipment and personnel was mediocre. As for the rest, almost all are Turkish troops. The level and quality of equipment is even worse!

While China and the United States were preparing for a new offensive, the Germans were also adjusting their deployment. On the one hand, the Germans accelerated the pace of withdrawal from India, and a large number of elite heavy armored units were withdrawn from India to the Middle East and then back to Europe. Although the main force of the Huaxia Fleet did not come to the western Indian Ocean, there were at least four to six aircraft carriers and a large number of submarines to carry out blockade missions, and under the heavy pressure of the Huaxia Air Force, the German land-based air force had no spare strength to deal with these fleets.

Before the United States, Britain, and Russia were about to launch a large-scale offensive, there were already voices within the German Army that they would abandon the Middle East at the right time. Compared with the Middle East, thousands of miles away, the United States, Britain and Russia are directly pointing to the foundation of Germany's existence! Ukraine is the most important grain producer for Germany and even the Allies, and if it is gone, Germany and Austria will go hungry! Poland is also inevitable for the United States, Britain and Russia. What is even more terrifying is that these three countries will not stop until they completely knock Germany down and then dismember it, if the Middle East is a conflict of interests, the upcoming war in Eastern Europe will be a war of life and death! Whether the German Empire can survive depends on the Eastern Front!

Some people even raised the question of whether it could negotiate with China so that Germany could confront the United States and Britain alone. The Kaiser also had this idea, but unfortunately the Kaiser seemed to be very ignorant of his own exit and proposed too high conditions! He even wants to restore the Middle East to what it was before the outbreak of World War II, which is obviously impossible. However, through neutral Switzerland, China also made its own terms to the Kaiser - the Ottoman Empire had to pay for the two river basins and the western shores of the Mediterranean. Italy had to be restored, and it had to receive compensation from the Balkans and Austria-Hungary, a condition that was equally unacceptable to Germany. At least that's how it seems now!

While the United States, Britain and Russia were stepping up preparations for war, the German Eastern Army was also trying to expand, because the production disruption caused by the strategic bombing had been greatly improved by Speer's efforts, and the Germans maintained production capacity by building new factories and relocating some important equipment. On the other hand, with the return of the Luftwaffe to the homeland and the production of jet aircraft. The strategic air defense forces of the German homeland were greatly strengthened. Between this increase and decrease, the effect of the strategic bombing of the United States and Britain has been greatly reduced.

The German army, which has been respited, is rapidly forming a huge ground corps, and a large number of new Leopard tanks have been put into active service, and before the United States, Britain and Russia launched an offensive, one-third of the armored divisions of the German land-based front-line armored forces on the Eastern Front have been reequipped! A full 1,500 Leopard tanks replaced the somewhat obsolete No. 4 tank as the new workhorse of the German armored forces, while the 10 heavy battalions of Tiger tanks withdrawn from the Indian and Middle East theaters were replenished to the front line, along with Tiger heavy tank battalions stationed in Europe itself.

Before the outbreak of the war, the German Army had more than 2 million front-line troops on the Eastern Front. It has 5,000 tanks and tank destroyers, of which more than a quarter are Leopard and Tiger, as well as a large number of tank destroyers and powerful artillery units. Although the strength of the troops is less than that of the opposing three-nation coalition army, but in terms of quality, it is necessary to overwhelm the other side, except for the Americans who have a certain number of Pershing tanks, the Russian tanks are mainly Type 29 tanks. The British, on the other hand, mainly used Sherman tanks with new 17-pounder guns. As in history, the British named this tank the Firefly.

However, like other theaters of operations, the Luftwaffe is still at a disadvantage, although the Red Baron has done his best to raise the fighters needed for the Eastern Front, but after all, in the face of the importance of two-front operations, even if the German aviation industry reduces the number of bombers, it is still not enough to work hard to produce fighters! In the end, the German air force was only about 5,000 aircraft, although this scale has exceeded the total number of German air forces on the Eastern Front at the beginning of the Barbarossa Plan, and this number of aircraft is only about one-third of the air defense forces of Britain, the United States and Russia. If you want to count the quality, the gap is even greater.

Thanks to the book friend for the 10,000 rewards and monthly passes of the most powerful army~~~, as well as the book friends' 1st Guards Tank Brigade for the reward~~~. Thanks to the book friend f663026, the queen of hell, He Miaomiao, and Kuaifeng's monthly pass support ~~~~. (To be continued.) )