"A 1 million tons of ship!? Is this true? Do you really want to use a 1 million tons of ship as bait?"

Burganin almost trotted all the way to the commander's cabin in Ingersoll. When he saw two dejected bourgeois naval generals inside, he questioned him.

Admiral Ingersoll, with a Russian-speaking adjutant, a reactionary second-generation Belarusian, immediately translated the words of the Political Commissar of Burganin into English.

"Oh, there's only this way." Ingersoll whispered, "The order given to me is to send troops, weapons, ammunition and fuel to England at all costs... This is a task that must be completed!"

"So you have to sacrifice a 1 million tons of ship!?" Burganin thought to himself when he asked, this is 1 million tons! If Kuznetsov dared to say this, he would definitely be arrested for labor reform! No, there is no need for transformation, and he will be shot directly.

By the way, does Comrade McCarthy know about this? Burganing thought, should this American assassin who attempted to waste the country's precious property be arrested from the infamous Alcatraz prison for labor reform?

"Isn't it just a cargo ship with a full load displacement of 1 million tons and more than 300,000 tons of wheat and egg powder," Ingersoll said indifferently. "This is nothing."

There are more than 300,000 tons of wheat and egg powder? Burganing was so surprised that he couldn't speak when he heard the reposts from the reactionary translation of the Belarusian reactionary translation.

So many good things were thrown away casually like this? This is so reactionary!

Admiral Ingersoll, as an American bourgeois military strategist, is of course reactionary in nature! However, he is now preparing to take out 100 ships and more than 300,000 tons of goods at a time to serve as bait, and is forced to do so. It is also in line with the current national conditions of American imperialism... a local tyrant!

Ships with a full load displacement of 1 million tons were simply a huge asset to the Soviet Union. For Germany, which had mastered most of the European shipbuilding industry, it was not a small number of ships with 1 million tons of ships for the European Union Escort and Transportation Command at one time, Redel and Denitz would be so happy that they couldn't sleep for a week.

For the Japanese Empire, which had most of the Pacific sea control, control of 1 million tons of ships was enough to allow the shameless navy and army giant red deer to be pinched for a whole year.

But for the United States of America, which claims to be a democratic arsenal, with an annual output of 100 million tons of steel and 200 million tons of oil, the 1 million tons of merchant ship is one-sixteenth of the Maritime Commission's expected commercial ship construction in 1943. Historically, 19.2 million tons were actually built in 1943.

In October 1942, not long ago, a shipyard in Oregon, USA took 10 days to complete a freewheel with a self-weight of 7,000 tons and a full load displacement of 14,350 tons! In November, a shipyard in California took 4 days, 15 hours and 29 minutes to complete a freewheel! And this is not the fastest record in history. The fastest record in history is to build a victory wheel of more than 15,000 tons in 28 hours...

In addition, the United States is not only making ships very fast, but also the losses of merchant ships are far from the plan. Because the Germans "accidentally" seized the Atlantic sea control rights in 1942, a large number of free ships produced under the contract had no chance of being sunk on the Atlantic route and could only be accumulated in the ports and rivers of the United States.

Now the freighters that Ingersoll are about to throw them to the Germans are not as high-end as the Free Ship. Most of them are old ships built in the 1920s and 1930s. Now it is not a pity to throw them out. As for the wheat and egg powder transported to the British on the ship, it is even more unfair.

The United States has a unique reputation for large agriculture. Once agriculture develops, there is only a time when food is surplus and no time when there is not enough food.

Therefore, in the n fleet, grain transport ships are not valuable at all. Before the fleet set off from New York Harbor, all more than 250 ships were classified.

The most precious of them are of course the three priceless 80,000-ton luxury cruise ships, Normandy, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth. Now there are 45,000 US officers and soldiers (total number of 108,000) riding on these three cruise ships... One is equal to one division! So it must not be lost.

The next thing to wait is the oil tanker. Among the cargo transported by the fleet, the most important thing is not the weapons and equipment used by the 108,000 US troops, but more than 200,000 tons of high-octane aviation gasoline. With these advanced gasolines, the Royal Air Force's Spitfire fighter jets can re-enter the F-190s against the Germans.

The next best ship to the oil tanker is the ship that transports P-51 and P-38 fighter jets. According to the plan, the United States will deploy several fighter jet wings equipped with P51 and P38 in the UK to cover ports in Scotland and Northern Ireland, so as to transport more troops and materials to the UK in the future. In the victory plan of the Americans, the British will be the springboard for counterattacking Europe and the starting point for strategic bombing against Germany!

The one who waited again was of course the arms ship. 108,000 American soldiers carried light weapons with them, but the heavy weapons and ammunition were loaded on the arms ship. If they were lost, General Patton could only lead his troops to attack the white soldiers.

In addition, some cargoes transported to the Soviet Union, such as machine tools, aircraft engines, and chemical raw materials (mainly refining additives, used to produce high-octane gasoline). They are all things urgently needed by the Soviet Union. After passing through the Denmark Strait, the ships transporting these cargoes will be escorted to Molotovsk by the Soviets' own Red Navy.

According to the prior plan, if the night battle of the Ice Sea ends with a great victory of the Allied Fleet, then all ships will certainly arrive at their destination safely. If they cannot win, then the American tycoon will have to lose their car and protect their coach!

So, the wheat and egg powder that should have been fed to the British people is now turned into salty biscuits for the German, French and Italian people.

...

"Commander, those who seem to be freighters, all of them are freighters!"

The shouts of Colonel Hoffman, the captain of the battleship Bismarck, interrupted the thoughts of Major General Lindman, the commander of the 2nd European Combined Fleet, who was discussing the order of shelling with the staff.

"What? They are all freighters?" Lindman was stunned.

Because it started to rain and snow on the North Atlantic sea near Iceland starting from the afternoon of December 10, and the plane could not take off (such weather is very common in the North Atlantic Ocean in autumn and winter). So Lütjens could only send destroyers equipped with radar to patrol the waters west of Iceland and the Danish Strait, hoping to find traces of enemy escort fleets.

In the early morning of December 12, we finally discovered it. A huge fleet of ships consisting of more than dozens of ships (dozens actually mean a lot. These days, radars can only measure roughly) was heading south from Greenland, obviously preparing to break into Reykjavik.

So the main force of the European Combined Fleet lurking in the waters south of Iceland immediately headed north and prepared to fight another fleet battle near the port of Reykjavik. This was inevitable in Lütjens.

But the development of things was somewhat unexpected. This huge fleet did not go to Reykjavik, but split into five and headed straight to Northern Ireland.

Lütjens did not find anything wrong with the rich thinking that the knights could not understand. So he dismantled his fleet into five teams to pursue. The 2nd team commanded by Major General Lindman quickly caught up with one of the fleets, but he did not immediately order the fire, but sent a destroyer to reconnaissance (because it was still wind and snow, the plane could not take off).

As a result, the flares were hit and found something was wrong. The other party had no warships to escort them, and they were all merchant ships!

"Commander, please see for yourself."

Following the direction of Colonel Hoffman's finger, Major General Lindman raised his telescope and saw a 10,000-ton cargo ship covered by the light of the flares on the sea floating on the water, and a white flag slowly rose above the mast.

"White Flag, this is..."

"Is it necessary to surrender?" Colonel Hoffman said in disbelief. "The Americans want to surrender."

"Sir, they are talking on the lights!" a staff officer on the Bismarck shouted, "The content seems to be... We are the American merchant ship Davis, and we are surrendering to your army now. There are no military personnel on the ship, and they are transporting flour and eggs. All sailors are German American civilians. I hope you will treat it properly in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty of Geneva..."

Really... surrendered?

Now everyone on the Bismarck bridge was stunned. They actually captured one ship, no, it was a total of 20 American cargo ships! And it was full of food... What was going on?

"What? There are 100 American steamers loaded with flour and eggs surrendering to us? Klaus, are you talking in your sleep?"

Marshal Hessmann learned the shocking news from his adjutant Stauffenberg during breakfast on the morning of December 12.

"Marrior of the Empire, I did not speak in my sleep. This was told by Marshal Redel himself. He still wants to talk to you on the phone." As he spoke, Colonel Stauffenberg attacked a German soldier waiting at the entrance of the restaurant, and the latter sent Hessman a telephone with a tray to drag his wire.

Hessman picked up the phone receiver and heard Marshal Redell's overjoyed voice: "Marty Marshal Imperial, we have achieved another historic victory, confiscated 100 American cargo ships, each full of food... Now the Transportation and Escort Command is much more affordable, and the capacity to send expeditionary forces to South Africa is also available."
Chapter completed!