"How far is it to go from Iceland now?" Lütjens asked suddenly.

"There are about 350 nautical miles left," the navigator of the European Combined Fleet replied immediately. "If you continue to take the anti-submarine route, you can reach the western coast of Iceland in 16 hours."

"There are 16 hours left." Lütjens smiled and said to William Messel. "They are now at least 700 nautical miles away from Iceland, and their speeds will not be higher than 12 knots. It will take at least 100 hours to take the anti-submarine route. So we have three days to blow the port of Reykjavik into ruins and lay out thousands of mines."

That's right, the European Combined Fleet commanded by Lütjens is not the Union Fleet of the Allies and the N Fleet, but their destination in Iceland's port of Reykjavik!

The port of Reykjavik is located within a semicircular bay, with the entrance to the bay being about 38 kilometers wide.

The Americans set up three anti-submarine nets there to prevent the infiltration of German submarines, and also built large security turrets in Sandgelzi and Acranes on both sides of the bay, deploying large-caliber artillery shipped from the United States.

On the Icelandic land near the port of Reykjavik, Americans have been building military bases in large quantities since 1940. A series of military facilities including barracks, large warehouses, large oil depots and large airports have been built.

In addition, the Americans also deployed a large number of troops and aircraft in the military camps and aircraft near the port of Reykjavik in Iceland. There are nearly 40,000 ground troops, and there are nearly 300 aircraft belonging to the U.S. Army Air Force and Naval Air Force, including a large number of p38, p51, b17, b24 and b25.

It can be said that Iceland is now a large stronghold set up by Americans at their doorsteps in Europe! Only this stronghold can the Arctic Circle routes be cut off.

Even during extreme days, warships and ships that can sail quickly can still venture through the joint blockade of German maritime and air forces under the cover of p51 and p38 taking off from Iceland.

It is very difficult to remove the nail in Iceland. After all, Iceland is located north of the British mainland. If you don’t take the UK, it is unlikely to jump over to fight Iceland without overwhelming sea and air advantages. It is whimsical to want to jump around!

However, it is not easy to suppress Iceland with p51 and p38 during the extreme daytime, with long days and short nights. Because except for the Folk Zero, other German fighters are difficult to reach Iceland from Norway and Ireland. The Folk Zero does not fly high and cannot escort high-altitude bombers like Ju288.

So in the spring and summer of 1942, the Nazis on the European continent could only watch Iceland helplessly.

However, after the autumnal equinox, Iceland, close to the Arctic Circle, also entered the polar night period. The battleships of the European Combined Fleet can now use naval guns to destroy this large stronghold of "Americans colonized Europe".

...

"Sir, I discovered the German fleet!"

At 9 a.m. on December 8, the shouts of the communications officer broke the somewhat depressing silence inside the commander tower of the USS Massachusetts battleship.

"Where?" Admiral Ingersoll asked immediately.

"It was discovered by Katarina seaplane 150 nautical miles south of Iceland... The radar detected a very large fleet of ships, with at least hundreds of ships of various types!"

"South of Iceland?" Admiral Ingersoll was stunned for a moment, "They are going to intercept us near Iceland?"

"No, I'm afraid it's not intercepting us." British Lieutenant General Fraser's face suddenly looked ugly, "Their target is Iceland!"

"Iceland!?" Admiral Ingersoll took a breath, "Want to capture Iceland?"

"It shouldn't be a capture." Fraser shook his head, "There are two American infantry divisions on Iceland and many marines, which are not easy to occupy. But the Germans can use naval guns to destroy the port of Reykjamauk and nearby facilities! Moreover, the Germans can also set up mines outside the port of Reykjamauk, so we have no way to enter..."

There is no way to enter the bay outside Reykjamok Port! This means that more than 250 cargo ships and the entire fleet and 108,000 American soldiers have to wander outside the bay, and may be attacked by German submarines, aircraft and ships at any time.

It’s fine if the cargo ships and sailors on the fleet are all people who are used to the wind and waves, but can the 108,000 army suffer from seasickness in the wind and waves near the Arctic Circle? If I faint for a few weeks, can I still pick up the Nazis in Ireland?

"The Nazis can't let the Nazis blew up the port of Reykjamok!" Admiral Ingersoll gritted his teeth, "The joint fleet should attack immediately and go to a decisive battle with the Germans!"

"Strike immediately? What should I do with the fleet? They can't run fast."

n Except for a few fast cruise ships in the fleet, most of them are very slow freighters and oil tankers, and they cannot run fast at all. Moreover, so many large and slow ships can't dare to go straight, otherwise they will suffer heavy losses when they encounter German "wolf packs".

Therefore, if the Allied Combined Fleet wants to reinforce Iceland, they must abandon the N fleet. Otherwise, when the German fleet dismantles all the Reykjamok port, they will not be able to reach it.

"It can allow old-fashioned battleships and some cruisers, destroyers to stay to protect them."

Admiral Ingersoll said carefully: "We bring two South Dakota class, four Soviet class, two Kronstadt class, three King George V class and some cruisers to support Iceland."

Iceland must be rescued, but N cannot be protected without battleships. Fortunately, Ingersoll had already prepared. When he set out from New York, he brought 5 Queen Elizabeth-class, 2 Wyoming-class, 2 New York-class, 2 Mexican-class and 1 Florida-class, and a total of 12 old battleships.

So he can now divide the fleet into two, use 12 old battleships to protect n, and use 11 new battleships/battlecruisers to deal with the main force of the European Combined Fleet.

Fraser, the chief of staff of the fleet sent by the British, fully agreed with this arrangement. However, Lieutenant General Fraser's vote of approval was not very effective, because this fleet had political commissars!

According to the agreement reached by Molotov and Roosevelt, the Joint Fleet of the Allied Powers implemented a dual-header system, with military commissioner Comrade Burganing and Commander Comrade Ingersol having the same command power, and major decisions must be approved jointly by both.

So after discussing the countermeasures, the two capitalist naval experts immediately took a speedboat to board the GC-based red battleship Soviet to seek the opinions of the Vice Chairman of the Soviet People's Committee and President of the State Bank...

The place where Comrade Burganing listened to the report of the two was the Party W conference room on the Soviet Union, which was the conference room of the Bolshevik Party’s Atlantic Fleet Committee of the Soviet Red Navy!

Comrade Burganing is a member of the Central Committee and will soon enter the political bureau. His position in the party is incomparable to Kurznev, so he is of course the secretary of the Atlantic Fleet of the Red Navy. The place where he usually holds meetings is in the Fleet Party W conference room...

The conference room was hung with a sickle and hammer flag, as well as portraits of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin, and Russian slogans posted by workers from all over the world united and must liberate all mankind!

Admiral Ingersoll and Lieutenant General Fraser followed Gromiko into the conference room that was arranged to make them uncomfortable.

Burganin, wearing the Navy's political commissar's uniform, stood at the door to greet him, and greeted the two in English in kind: "Comrade Ingersoll, Comrade Fraser, please come in."

"Military Commissioner...comrade!"

"Hello, comrade of the Military Commission."

Admiral Ingersoll and Lieutenant General Fraser had no choice but to salute Burganing. Then several people sat at the conference table. Of course, Comrade Burganing's main seat was Comrade Burganing's office. Admiral Ingersoll was not even a party member...

After sitting down, Admiral Ingersoll told Burganin about his proposal to divide the troops and fight with Lieutenant General Fraser, and Gromiko was the interpreter on the scene.

"What?" Burganin frowned a little, "dividing the fleet into two? And letting the Soviet and Kronstadts fight against the German main fleet? Can victory be guaranteed?"

"Yes!" Admiral Ingersoll nodded, "We have a 6:2 advantage in the number of battleships with 406mm main guns, and our advantage in the number of 406mm main guns is 54:16."

Burganing is the governor of the central bank, and he certainly understands the principle of 6 to 2, 54 to 5.

"Military Comrade, we cannot let the Germans occupy or destroy the US military facilities in Iceland." Kurznev also helped the two capitalist generals speak, "If the Germans control Iceland, then the routes near the Arctic Circle will be cut off."

"Are you sure?" Burganin asked in Russian.

"Yes!" Kuznetsov said, "most of the German fleets will not fight us... Maybe they will find ways to attack N, so it is even more dangerous to leave a protective N fleet."

The Red Navy cannot go to something even more dangerous!

Burganin made up his mind and nodded to the two capitalist generals and said, "Okay, I agree with your suggestions. But... I still have a condition."

“What conditions?”

"Take the USSR battleship as the flagship!" said Burganin, "The military commissioner and commander should be on the same warship so that they can command in a unified manner!"
Chapter completed!