Chapter 408: Problems come one after another! Seeing the eyes of so many people around him focused on him, the German commander Major General Rutte felt like a light on his back, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of helplessness in his heart. He knew very well what these people were thinking. He just felt that the German army had always been known for its powerful air force. At this critical moment, the German army should bravely stand up and bring out more advanced carrier-based aircraft to enhance the strength of both sides in naval battles. strength. However, only he himself understood the actual situation within the German army. In the German military system, all flying toys are under the jurisdiction of the Air Force. Currently, the two sides have not reached any consensus on this issue. It is basically an impossible task to obtain a carrier-based aircraft from the Air Force. "I will seriously report this matter to the headquarters." After being silent for a while, Major General Rutte said slowly. But there was still one thing in his heart that he had not said out loud: "Don't have too high hopes." After all, he was well aware of the complexity of the German air and sea battle and the Air Force's absolute control over aircraft. It is understandable how difficult it is to get the Air Force to release carrier-based aircraft. "Currently, we have ten **** aircraft carriers, but we are really not as good as the Allies in terms of carrier-based aircraft. If we can get your support, I believe we will gain a greater advantage in the next naval battle." At this time, Nagumo Chuichi couldn't help but emphasize again. He felt very helpless about the German naval and air battles. In his opinion, carrier-based aircraft should essentially belong to the navy, but the German Air Force insisted on bringing them under its jurisdiction, which left him speechless.

However, when he thought about the fierce conflicts between Japan and its own land and sea, he felt that the situation in Germany seemed normal. Upon hearing this, Major General Rutte did not speak immediately, but fell into deep silence. After a while, he continued to look at Nayun Chuichi quietly, seeming to be thinking about something. "Lord Rutte, can you provide fighter planes? We will provide pilots? Is this feasible?" Nagumo Chuichi suddenly asked. Upon hearing this, Major General Rutte was stunned for a moment, and then quickly thought about the feasibility of this proposal in his mind. If this is the case, you can indeed try to propose this plan to the headquarters, and maybe there is a glimmer of hope. But he also knew in his heart that the possibility of success was still low. "Your Excellency Rutte, I hope your country can understand that if we lose the naval battle in the Mediterranean, it means that we will completely lose control of the entire Mediterranean. Not only that, even the oil fields in North Africa will be surrendered to Enemy. By then, the result waiting for us is probably to lose this war." Nagumo Chuichi felt that if he didn't say it more seriously, it might be difficult to attract Major General Rutte's attention and make him truly realize the urgency of this matter. and severity. After hearing this, Major General Rutte fell into silence again. His eyes revealed mixed emotions, including worry about the current situation and anxiety about the uncertainty of the future. The pressure of the Mediterranean naval battle was like a heavy mountain, weighing on his heart. He knew the importance of this war and that if it failed, the consequences would be disastrous. "I know what you said, and I will report it to the headquarters as soon as possible. I believe there will be a solution this time." Major General Rutte said firmly. Hearing this, it was hard for others to say anything. They knew that they could only place their hopes on the decision-making of the German Army Command. Not long after, Dönitz, who was far away in Berlin, received the telegram. At this time, he had just become Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy and was awarded the rank of Marshal. As for the original Redel, he has gone home sadly to retire. Dönitz sat in his spacious office, looking solemnly at the telegram sent by Major General Rutte. He frowned slightly, his eyes lingering on every word in the telegram, thinking carefully about its meaning. After looking at it for a while, he handed the telegram to General William Machar who was standing aside. The German naval talent at this time suffered heavy losses. The original Marshal Redl was ordered to be relieved of his duties due to command errors and disagreements with the headquarters, and he had no choice but to go home to retire. Now Dönitz is left struggling to support himself. There used to be General Lütjens, but he also died in the battle. The other generals are all conservatives. Although they are brave in combat, their strategic vision and ability to adapt to war in the new era have fallen behind the times. Dönitz looked around and felt a little sad. The once powerful German Navy was now facing such a difficult situation. "General Machar, what do you think?" Dönitz raised his head and looked at General Machar, expecting his opinion. "The Air Force may not agree." General Machar shook his head and said. He is very familiar with the attitude of the Air Force and knows that they have a strong desire to control aircraft and are unlikely to give up carrier-based aircraft easily.

"Perhaps, we can try, but before that we need the support of Marshal Keitel. If he agrees, maybe we will succeed." Dönitz doesn't think so. The main reason is that once they lose the Mediterranean naval battle, they will We need to consider peace talks. So he wanted to fight again to gain a chance for the German Navy. "Then we can only give it a try." General Machar spread his hands and said that he could give it a try. They all know that this is a difficult game, but for the future of the German Navy, they must take this step bravely. Soon, Marshal Dönitz came to Marshal Keitel's office. His steps were firm but with a hint of urgency, knowing the importance of this meeting. After entering the office, Marshal Dönitz did not delay at all and expressed his thoughts on equipping the navy with carrier-based aircraft. Upon hearing the other party's request for carrier-based aircraft, Marshal Keitel showed a bitter expression on his face. He knew very well that fighter planes were the lifeblood of the air force in the German military system. If Dönitz's request was agreed to, the Air Force would definitely fight him tooth and nail. "Marshal Dönitz, I'm afraid the Air Force will not agree." Marshal Keitel spread his hands and expressed that he was helpless. Although everyone is a marshal, Keitel and Dönitz are both marshals of the military services. Goering is a marshal of the empire, and his scepter is different from theirs. In the German military system, Goering's status and power were indeed higher. So, now that Dönitz has made this request, he is indeed asking for trouble. But Dönitz obviously didn't want to give up, and he thought he could try again. "Marshal Keitel, the victory in the naval battle in the Mediterranean is related to our overall strategy. If we fail, the empire may not be able to hold on for long." Dönitz took a deep breath and said in a heavy tone. His eyes revealed concern for the future of the empire and a desire for victory. "I believe Marshal Goering can understand our painstaking efforts." Hearing this, Marshal Keitel was silent for a while. He weighed the pros and cons in his mind, thinking about the possible consequences of this request. Finally, he said he could give it a try. As for whether it would succeed, he couldn't guarantee it. After all, when it comes to conflicts of interest between the Air Force and Navy, things are far from simple. Not long after, the military meeting was held again, and this time the focus of the discussion was on the navy's deployment of carrier-based aircraft. The atmosphere in the conference room was tense, and all the generals looked serious. When this issue was first raised, Goering strongly opposed it. "Unless the Navy is willing to put the aircraft carrier under the command of our Air Force." Marshal Goering stated directly. He made a bold statement that all flying toys would be under the control of the Air Force. His resolute attitude left no room for doubt, putting the Navy in a difficult position. "Marshal Göring, we can assign the ownership of the aircraft carrier to the Air Force, but will the Air Force command the aircraft carrier? Or does it have experience in commanding the aircraft carrier? Besides, these carrier-based aircraft, including pilots, are not under the direct command of our navy. Shikoku In the joint navy, only the Japanese naval generals have actual combat experience with aircraft carriers," Dönitz persuaded him earnestly. There was sincerity and eagerness in his eyes, trying to make Goering understand the key. He knew very well that in this debate, one must convince people with reason and make Goering realize the complexity of the actual situation. To put it bluntly, even if the Air Force provides carrier-based aircraft and pilots, they are under the command of the four-nation joint navy and have nothing to do with their navy. This is a real problem, and it is also the key point that Dönitz wants to emphasize. He hoped that Goering could understand that the navy was not trying to **** the resources of the air force, but to meet the needs of the entire war situation.

This made Goering a little embarrassed. He has always been known for his strength and confidence, but Dönitz's words really made him think. It's just that he is so strong that there is no way he would agree so easily. You must know that the German Air Force also has a strange organization, that is, the German Air Force also has a large number of ground troops, called Air Force Field Divisions. I don’t know what this guy’s brain is thinking. Anyway, ordinary people can't understand it. It's really weird that the Air Force has taken over the Army's job. "And those **** carriers are not from our navy, but from Italy and France. They just lack advanced carrier-based aircraft and experienced pilots. After all, our navy has not directly intervened in the command. Externally, they are still subordinate to the air force. "Dönitz persuaded again. He sighed helplessly. For the sake of the war situation, he could only compromise like this. He knew that this was a difficult negotiation process, but in order to win the naval battle in the Mediterranean, he had to go all out. Sure enough, this time Goering's reaction was not as strong as before. He began to think seriously about whether this plan was feasible. He frowned, his eyes wandering around the conference room, constantly weighing the pros and cons in his mind. After thinking about it for a while, I felt that I really thought too much. After all, the German Navy does not have a real aircraft carrier. As for whether there will be one in the future, that is a matter of the future. Maybe it won’t be long before the Air Force builds its own aircraft carrier. Thinking of this, Marshal Goering knocked on the table, and he finally made a decision. "The Air Force can provide some modified fighters, and it can also provide some experienced pilots, but the ownership rights still belong to the Air Force. If you agree to this, I agree." There was a hint of firmness in Goering's tone, and he also revealed that A hint of compromise. "No problem." This time there was a hint of surprise on Dönitz's face, and a big stone in his heart finally fell to the ground. Unexpectedly, the problem that Redel did not solve was solved by himself. Although the ownership still belongs to the Air Force, it will at least change the situation in the Mediterranean for the better. He knows that this is a difficult victory, but it is also an important start. Next, they will work together to win the naval battle in the Mediterranean. After taking care of the carrier-based aircraft, the next discussion turned to the problems encountered in landing on the British Isles. Landing on the British Isles was undoubtedly a brand new military operation full of severe challenges for the German army. Prior to this, the German army had repeatedly won military exploits on the European continent with its blitzkrieg, which was a land combat mode they were familiar with. However, the landing battle was a completely new field, and its complexity and difficulty far exceeded the German army's expectations. This put the German army's logistics department under unprecedented pressure. In order to accumulate the massive supplies and sufficient fuel needed for this landing, the German logistics personnel went all out and worked for a whole month before barely completing the mission. The hardships involved are self-evident. The preparation of every material requires careful planning and deployment. From weapons and equipment to food and medicine, from fuel and ammunition to various military supplies, the logistics department needs to worry about everything. Moreover, the transportation of these materials is a huge problem. In order to ensure that these precious materials could safely reach the British landing site, the Navy's logistics and transportation department was racking their brains. Fortunately, the German Navy has a certain number of submarines, which play a key role in escorting during the transportation process, reducing the risk of being attacked by British warships to a certain extent.

However, transportation remains difficult. When the material transport ship arrived near the landing site, due to time constraints, the German army had to adopt a seemingly simple and crude but helpless method - directly throwing the materials into the nearby seawater, and then hurriedly returned. , and then rush to transport the next batch of supplies. Even though there were only 50,000 German troops who landed, the amount of supplies they consumed every day was staggering. In particular, the consumption of fuel, a key material, may not be obvious when it is on land, supported by truck and rail transportation. But in the case of sea transportation, the problem becomes apparent. Although the one-time transportation volume is relatively large, it still needs to be transported again from the landing site to the front line, and the transportation process in between not only takes a lot of time, but also requires a lot of manpower. This series of problems caused the offensive efficiency of the frontline troops to be greatly reduced. It had been five days since the landing, but the German troops had not advanced very far. This speed of progress made many German generals sigh with emotion, and they deeply realized how difficult it is to maintain a huge maritime operation. You know, building a strong maritime force is very difficult and requires a lot of time, resources and energy. However, its destruction can be extremely rapid. Just like the "Operation Rainbow" in history, it destroyed the former glory of the German Navy in a short period of time; the raid in the Mediterranean also caused heavy losses to the Royal Fleet. However, the German army understands that logistical difficulties can generally be overcome through various efforts. The difficulties encountered by frontline troops are the real thorny problems. Especially the landing operations were brutal beyond imagination. In the past, in land operations, the German army usually cooperated with armored forces and air force to quickly advance to form a safe passage, and then the infantry could come on stage to clean up the mess. But in this landing operation, the situation was completely different. The infantry had to repeatedly compete with the British army for every position, and every inch of land became a battlefield for fierce fighting between the two sides. Sometimes, just for a piece of land as big as a palm, both parties have to pay a heavy price. When landing on the beach, the German troops suffered huge casualties. In just a few minutes, hundreds of soldiers died. The soldiers not only had to endure the physical assault of the cold and biting seawater, but also braved the intensive machine gun fire of the British army to advance bravely. If it were not for the relatively small number of British troops in the Portsmouth area, the German landing operation might not have been so smooth. Originally, the German army thought that they were invincible on the European battlefield. However, this landing battle really opened their eyes and made them deeply aware of the difficulty and cruelty of the landing battle. There was no way, mainly because landing operations were too unfamiliar compared with the familiar tactical modes of night battles, armored advancement, and large-scale detours that the German army was familiar with. Moreover, the British army on the opposite side is also constantly learning and improving. Over time, the British Army's ability to defend and withstand German attacks improved rapidly. In addition, the British army was fighting in the local area. They had familiar terrain and the support of the local people. This made the German army face more disadvantages in the battle, resulting in very heavy losses for the German army. Fortunately, however, the German army is not static. In the brutal battle, they began to learn how to face the special combat environment of street fighting, and actively thought about innovative applications of tactics. Instead of simply waiting for the armored forces and air force to clear the way, as before, they can flexibly adjust tactics according to the actual situation. Especially when encountering some bunkers that are difficult to reach from tank shooting angles in street fighting, German soldiers found that Panzerfaust rockets became their most effective weapon. The Panzerfaust rocket launcher has now become the favorite of infantrymen, because it is so useful. When encountering British troops who are resisting tenaciously, German soldiers will use Panzerfaust rockets, which can often penetrate the soul with one shot and directly repel the British resistance. However, the British army was also well aware of their situation, and they knew that they must completely eliminate the landing German army. Therefore, the British army showed a very high fighting will and tenacious spirit of resistance in the battle, which also caused the German army to encounter more fierce resistance during the offensive.

However, the German army did not expect that the British army's resistance would be so tenacious, which brought huge obstacles to the German offensive and made the landing operation more difficult and bloody. It's just that war is like this, full of uncertainty and cruelty. Both sides are constantly adapting and adjusting, trying their best to achieve their respective goals and missions. "This is a problem we have encountered since the landing operations, and we must find a way to solve it." Marshal Keitel took a deep breath and said. (End of chapter)