Chapter 982: A Tense Late Night

In the quiet of the base, everyone was sound asleep. They had started sleeping in the afternoon, needing to be well-rested for the night’s mission, a mission that was said to have the power to change the course of the war. If they could destroy the Third Reich’s steel production base in Norway, the German Army’s terrifying iron torrent and the ever-growing number of their air force planes would be effectively weakened. America would still have a chance of winning on the European front.

Except for a few ground crew and intelligence personnel still at work, the entire Iceland base was silent. Searchlights swept back and forth rhythmically. Patrolling soldiers, with their weapons slung over their backs, marched in neat steps across the wide airfield.

In the command room, Hugh Dowding sat with a furrowed brow, checking the intelligence coming in from Norway with several American air force generals. The Germans were clearly strengthening their defenses there, and they were doing so with a very specific focus on air defense.

“Could someone have leaked our bombing intelligence?” an American general asked his colleagues, his arms crossed as he looked at the report about the Germans imposing martial law around the mines. “Canada… America… Britain, which link went wrong?”

“We didn’t even go through Canada! The planes were flown to Iceland in batches at night, and the British branch in Canada had no notification of this… Only a few of our own departments and the Iceland British base knew the full content of this plan,” the officer from the American intelligence department quickly said. He couldn’t believe such a secret plan could have been leaked. Wouldn’t that be almost the same as admitting there was a traitor in the President’s office?

“It’s a deduction… if any part of our plan is exposed—and forgive me for saying so, but that’s very likely to happen,” Hugh Dowding interjected. “As long as they know one part, the Germans will deduce our next move. They’re not stupid; they’re frighteningly clever. I think with that damn Führer of theirs, who seems to have never made a mistake, it wouldn’t be hard for them to deduce that we are going to bomb Germany.”

To transport enough fuel and bombs, it was necessary to increase the number of transport ships heading for Iceland. It was no secret that the North Atlantic was teeming with German U-boats. It was very possible that the Germans had noticed something was amiss. As long as they got wind of the Allies’ attempt to strengthen their forces on Iceland, it wouldn’t be hard to figure out what they were up to.

“Should we cancel the plan? To take off and directly bomb a prepared enemy area, we clearly don’t have the advantage,” a general from the U.S. Army Air Forces said, his confidence wavering. After all, if the bomber force under his command were to be heavily damaged, it would be absolutely bad news for the United States.

“If it were up to me,” Hugh Dowding said after a moment’s thought, his voice cautious, “I would cancel tonight’s bombing operation and wait until we have confirmed the strength of the German defenses before making a new plan.”

Dowding was a famous commander of the Royal Air Force. He was skilled in passive, defensive operations and was therefore more experienced and prudent. He cautiously avoided all avoidable risks, preferring to accumulate small victories and turn them into a great one. The fact that the Royal Air Force had been able to hold on until now in such adverse circumstances was partly due to this commander’s credit.

“The plan cannot be changed so easily… The scientists at the meteorological bureau, after meticulous calculations, have found this one opportunity with favorable weather conditions. If we give up this opportunity, then we will have missed the best moment for action!” the commander of the U.S. Army Air Forces said, looking at his British colleague. “Besides, we also have some advantages.”

The advantage he spoke of was, to put it bluntly, that there had never been a successful interception of a night bombing in the world. Although the British had once carried out a night bombing of Germany, and had failed, that was a bombing of the German homeland, which was densely packed with anti-aircraft guns, and the Germans had indeed not launched any fighters for a night interception.

Everyone in this room knew that bombing Norway was the best plan the Allies could come up with after racking their brains. To give it up so easily would be a great pity. By the time the Germans had perfected Norway’s air defense network and had deployed more anti-aircraft guns and aircraft units, the Allies’ chances would be even slimmer.

“If… if it’s feasible, what about bombing northern Britain?” the officer in charge of American intelligence asked in a low voice, interjecting. He knew that the Germans were desperately strengthening their air defenses in Norway but had not strengthened any of the air defenses in the British homeland. The spy network there was more complete, and it was easy to confirm that the German planes and anti-aircraft gun positions had not moved.

“That would only make the people of the homeland hate us,” Hugh Dowding said, clearly very displeased to hear this suggestion. He changed his tone and explained coldly, “There are not many heavy industrial facilities in northern Britain. A rash bombing would not only be ineffective but could also backfire.”

The Americans no longer brought up the topic of bombing northern Britain. After all, this practice of bombing an ally’s homeland in front of the ally was indeed a bit too shameless. But they also knew that the British, more than a year ago, before the French had even surrendered to Germany, had used their battleships to blockade a French port and had fired the opening shots of an internal conflict.

In the Führer’s residence in Germany, the highest-ranking generals of the army, navy, and air force in Berlin were all standing before Akado. In response to the enemy beginning to make a move on the impregnable Atlantic Wall, Akado was also deploying his forces, doing his best to perfect the entire defense system over the Atlantic.

“My Führer! The surface fleet of the navy, the 17th, 18th, and 19th destroyer flotillas stationed in the Norwegian Sea, have been deployed in a fan shape,” the naval commander said, pointing to the huge sea chart in front of Akado and introducing the navy’s countermeasures. “The main force of the naval fleet has already set sail and is on standby, maneuvering in the North Sea.”

To have the navy leave port was a precautionary measure. Akado did not want his most precious fleet to be cooped up in the Wilhelmshaven naval base and suddenly be written off by a group of bombers. This was the foundation of his Atlantic Wall and could not tolerate the slightest risk. So Lütjens had been ordered to lead the fleet out of port, to protect the safety of the entire fleet.

The representative of the submarine force followed up with a supplement. He marked the approximate positions of the 12 submarines that Dönitz had assembled on the map and then looked at the Führer. “My Führer! Due to time constraints, the submarine force was unable to dispatch the new-model submarines with radar to the designated positions… so these submarines will adopt the method of surfacing for observation, to do their best to ensure early warning.”

“The air force’s reconnaissance planes have been sent out and can arrive over Iceland tomorrow morning. Just how many of America’s long-range bombers are deployed there will be clear at a glance,” the general in charge of the air force’s reconnaissance units said, speaking next. The German army had suspended its reconnaissance operations over Iceland ever since the Allies had committed their jet fighters. But in this period of time, the German army had not been idle either. They had improved their “Butcher” long-range reconnaissance planes, making them fly higher and faster, and therefore safer.

Akado knew that he had already mobilized all the forces he could to defend the iron ore producing areas near Norway. Any attack during the day would be no different from suicide, because General Kesselring and General Dick had already given their guarantee that any daytime target would not be able to fly into the Norwegian coastline!

So now, the only thing worth worrying about was the American bomber formations adopting a night bombing method to evade the most powerful German fighter defense system. It was precisely because of their confidence in their fighters’ air superiority that the number of German anti-aircraft guns had decreased considerably compared to another timeline, which also made the ground-to-air defense system not so impregnable.

Moreover, the 128mm anti-aircraft guns were too heavy, and their movement and deployment were very inconvenient. The 88mm anti-aircraft guns also had similar problems, so the number of high-angle guns that the German army could transfer to Norway in a short period of time was not very large, which was also a place where Akado was not at ease.

He knew that the night fighters of this era were far from being as advanced as one might imagine. Although the German army had sent most of its night fighter units to Norway, this was a unit with not much actual combat experience. What kind of role it could play was still an unknown.

It was also for this reason that he had so hastily transferred the long-range bomber force back from the Soviet front, to destroy the Allied airbase on Iceland at all costs. He wanted to solve the problem once and for all, not to rely on a leaky defense system to train the Allied night bomber pilots.

“Tonight is a crucial juncture. After tonight, it will be the invincible daytime of our air force. And tomorrow night, the ‘Butcher’ bomber groups, returning from the Soviet Union, will launch a night raid on the Allied base on Iceland,” Akado said to his men. “So no matter what, we must, tonight, defend the Norwegian ore-producing region, which is of vital importance to us!”

“Assemble! Assemble!” A shrill cry broke the silence of the Allied airbase on Iceland. The quiet night sky was churned into a boiling state by the sound of the assembly whistle. The pilots, having put on their life jackets, came out of their dormitories where they had been resting. They had been resting here for a full day and were now truly full of energy. These pilots were to fly over the sea in complete darkness to bomb an important enemy production base.

The officers of the ground command department held aerial maps, confirming the course and flight time over and over again with the navigators and the pilots of the other planes. They had to arrive at the right place at the right time to be able to see the ground fires, which might be fleeting.

They had to use the guidance of the firelight to accurately drop their bombs, to precisely destroy the German iron ore mining area and processing plants.

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