Chapter 1031

I didn't expect Barton to look at me, snorted scornfully, looked his hands behind him, his chin raised high, his eyes fixed on the ceiling of the war room, as if there was something beautiful on it that attracted him.

My outstretched hand just froze there. Just as I was about to take my hand back, Marshall, who was beside me, quickly stepped forward, walked up to Barton and said in a loud voice, "George, let me introduce you. This is general oshanina from Soviet Russia."

The interpreter standing behind me immediately translated Marshall's words to me. Although I had understood what Marshall said to Barton for a long time, I still pretended to be serious and listened to what the interpreter said in order to hide my embarrassment.

I took back my outstretched hand, pretended to be careless and said, "our cavalry forces are equipped with a kind of m1913 cavalry saber assisted by American allies, which can change the standard slashing action into stabbing. Soldiers love this saber and call it" Patton Saber ". I just wanted to ask General Patton, Ask if he designed this kind of cavalry saber himself

After listening to other people's translation, Barton looked down at me, and the arrogant expression on his face was also restrained. Although his mouth was slightly upturned, his words were still cold: "yes, that kind of saber was designed on a whim after I learned fencing skills from Mr. Clary of France. Why, is this kind of saber very popular in Russia? "

"Yes, Mr. general." Although I have never visited the cavalry unit, and I don't know the cavalry's evaluation of this kind of saber, it doesn't affect Barton who is standing in front of me at all. Anyway, he can't send people to understand: "in our cavalry unit, because the number of this kind of saber is limited, there are only excellent soldiers or soldiers who have made great achievements, To have this kind of "Barton saber."

As soon as I finished, Barton turned his head and couldn't wait to ask the interpreter behind me, "when did she just say that?" The translator immediately translated what I said to him.

After hearing this, Patton's face became more friendly. With a slight grin, he reached out to me and said, "general o'shanina, I always think war is a man's business. Women should stay at home, have children and do housework."

I took Barton's powerful hand and answered with a smile, "general, don't you think I'm already neutral? The war has erased people's gender. I hope others will treat me as a soldier first, and then as a woman. You have also said that a soldier is also a citizen, and the highest obligation and right of a citizen is to take up arms to defend the motherland. "

Barton couldn't help laughing when I said his famous words. Seeing that there was no more tension between Barton and me, Marshall said with a smile, "general oshanina, I don't think you're right. As long as the war doesn't kill you, you will always be a woman. And a beautiful woman. " Then he patted Barton on the back and said, "George, don't stand here. Go back to your seat. We have something important to discuss."

As the highest ranking soldiers in the room were Marshall and Barton, Marshall let Barton sit on his right side while I sat on his left side. As for the interpreter I was equipped with, he sat a little outside between me and Marshall.

When I looked at Barton, it suddenly occurred to me that according to historical records, he should be in Africa now. How could he suddenly appear in Washington? When I carefully told Marshall my question, instead of asking my source, he said to me with a smile, "general oshanina, George took over the post of commander of the second army on March 6 and appointed General Bradley as his deputy. In the Tunis campaign that started on the 17th, although his troops were only responsible for the auxiliary task, they succeeded in capturing Gafsa and successfully repelling the German and Italian armored forces. He was temporarily recalled to Washington this time to coordinate the fight with the British forces. "

When I heard Marshall talking about his achievements, Barton's face showed a proud expression, and my original vague memory became clear. Barton's troops should be marching towards Gabes at this time, putting pressure on the mares defense line of the German Italian alliance. Because his troops didn't get the air support promised in advance, he had a dispute with rear general Arthur of Raf. Maybe he was transferred back temporarily, which has something to do with it.

After finishing Barton's business, Marshall coughed and began to get down to business: "gentlemen, today I'm here with general o'shanina of the friendly army to discuss the opening up of the second battlefield." After a moment's pause, he said to a colonel opposite, "Colonel pug, it's up to you to introduce information to our allies."

The middle-aged colonel in army uniform stood up from his position, bowed slightly in our direction, then went to the big map beside the wall and began to explain to us: "gentlemen, at the Casablanca meeting in January this year, President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill passed the decision to land in Sicily in the first half of the year, Put off landing on the European continent until August 1943. At the same time, the British and American Special Plan staff was established to formulate landing plans in Europe, with general Morgan of the British army as chief of staff. According to the provisions of the resolution, once it is decided to land on the European continent and open up a second battlefield, the special staff department will immediately start working out operational plans. "

Colonel Pug picked up a stick leaning against the wall and continued: "according to the experience and lessons of previous landing operations, the landing site should have the following three conditions: first, it should be within the radius of the fighter plane taking off from the British airport; 2、 The sailing distance should be as short as possible; 3、 There should be a large port nearby. There are only three suitable places on the 480 km long coastline from the Dutch city of vrisingen to fargesburg At this point, Pug turned around and lit the map on the wall with the explanation stick. "It's the Constantine Peninsula, Calais and Normandy."

After captain Pug put down his stick and went back to his position, Marshall turned to me with a smile and said, "general oshanina, although general Morgan of England is responsible for opening up the second battlefield, we can also discuss some feasible plans for him so that we can work out a more suitable landing plan. Continue, you are the representative sent by Russia. Can you tell us your views on landing operations? "

"Yes, general oshanina." Patton also kindly echoed: "give us your opinion, maybe we can give people who are involved in the plan a better inspiration."

I know in my heart that Marshall and Barton are so polite on the surface, but they can't see the Soviet clearly from the bottom of their bones. Otherwise, Zhukov will not toast Barton at the victory banquet of conquering Berlin two years later, and they will not only encounter a wall, but also be cursed by him.

I got up, walked around the table with the interpreter, came to the map and stood. He raised his hand to salute all the people present, and then politely said, "Dear General Marshall, General Patton, gentlemen, since General Marshall asked me to express my views, I would like to talk about some of my views on the selection of landing sites for the allies. If there is anything wrong, I would like to ask General Marshall, General Patton and all of you to criticize and correct me. "

Seeing that Marshall nodded slightly, I picked up the stick beside the wall, pointed to the map and began to talk on and on: "as far as I know, as early as last March, General Eisenhower and the staff of the war office put forward the basic idea of how to open up a second battlefield, that is, to concentrate a large number of US troops in Britain, The British and American air forces gained air superiority over Europe and then crossed the Strait from Britain to France and Germany.

From the explanation given by Colonel Pug just now, I can see that General Eisenhower's war theory has been well implemented. At present, on the landing coastline chosen by the Allied forces, only the three areas of Constantine Peninsula, Calais and Normandy are suitable.

Let's take a look. The narrow terrain of the Constantine peninsula is not conducive to the deployment of large forces. I don't think it's suitable to open up a landing site for allied forces. We can cross it out of the candidate list.

Second, Calais. The advantage of this place is that it is the closest to Britain. Not only can it obtain the air cover of the Royal Air Force in the shortest time, but also the transport fleet can quickly drop troops into Calais. Although Calais has such advantages, its disadvantages are also obvious. Because it is close to the German mainland, the German army can reinforce the beach garrison very easily. In addition, the German army has the strongest defense force here, and the elite German troops stick to the complete and solid fortifications. In addition, the five large ports nearby also lack inland transportation lines, and they do not want to develop in depth after landing by the Allied forces. "

At this point, I deliberately stopped and turned to see the reaction of the officers present. See originally hang on their faces as if without the color of irony disappeared, replaced by a dignified expression. Marshall was also serious. He saw me stop. After a moment of hesitation, he waved to me and said encouragingly, "please go on, general o'shanina, tell us what you really think."

With Marshall's permission, I went on to say, "now only Normandy is left. Although it is far away from England, the advantage is that the German defense is relatively weak, and it is only a few kilometers away from the largest port in northern France, Cherbourg. In addition, the terrain here is open, and more than 15 divisions can be deployed at the same time... "Although I clearly remember that Normandy can deploy 30 divisions, in order not to be too shocking, I intend to reduce the number of troops by the other half.

Having said what I had to say, I put down my explanation stick and went back to my seat.

After a long time, Marshall stood up, his eyes swept majestically from every officer on the scene, and said solemnly, "I think you've heard general o'shanina's speech clearly." After receiving all the people's approval, he added, "what you just heard is top secret. No one is allowed to reveal a word to the outside world, or you will be punished severely."

Then Marshall turned to me: "general oshanina, I'd like to invite you to work out the landing plan for the second battlefield with us. Do you think it's ok?"

"General Marshall," my mission to the United States this time is to urge the United States to work out a plan to open up a second battlefield as soon as possible. Since there is such a good opportunity in front of me, I can't give up easily, so I said with a smile, "I'm very happy to serve you."

When Marshall faced his men again, he simply said, "all the officers except Colonel pug and General Patton, go out."

At Marshall's command, the officers sitting around the table stood up one after another, saluted him and fished out of the headquarters. The last of the staff officers also closed the door.

But when there were only four of us and an interpreter left in the room, Marshall was not polite. He asked me directly, "general o'shanina, how do you plan to make the Allied landing plan in Normandy?" After listening to the translation, I didn't immediately answer how to suppress the beachhead Garrison and how to land on the beach. Because I have learned about Marshall from later biographies, and I know that he hates to blurt out important questions. He thinks that there is a lot of speculation in this way of giving answers without thinking, and this kind of person is not worthy of his trust. Although I am not one of his subordinates, if I show such a character, it will also arouse his antipathy. Even if he doesn't say it, he will be on guard against me in his heart. In this way, when he adopts my suggestions, he may be able to pick the bone from the egg. I pretended to think for a moment, and then said slowly, "General Marshall, this matter matters a lot. Please allow me to go back and think about it first, and then answer your question when I have the overall consideration, OK?" To my reply, Marshall said with a smile, "good!" Maybe because I didn't know English, he took out a notebook and wrote down my name in it, with a special note on the back: "this person is completely trustworthy!" But after he closed the book, he politely said to me, "general oshanina, I will report your analysis to President Roosevelt later..." While he was talking, a telephone in the room suddenly rang. Colonel Pug went to get it. After listening for a moment, he turned to Marshall and said, "it's your phone, Mr. chief of staff." Marshall put his notebook on the desk, got up and went to the phone. I stare at the notebook on the desk and look at Barton, who is smiling at me. I can't help but think of the contents mentioned in Marshall's biography, the three comments Marshall gave Barton in his notebook. The first comment: "this man can lead the army through fire and water." The second comment: "put a rope around his neck." The third comment: "as soon as there is an armored force, give it to his command immediately!" It is said that as long as the person on Marshall's notebook, it is possible to become a higher officer. Just as he was daydreaming, Marshall, who had answered the phone, came back and said to me with a smile, "general o'shanina, I have reported this to President Roosevelt. He is going to ask Sir Frederick Morgan to come to Washington overnight to join him in the implementation of the landing plan. It's getting late. Go back and have a rest first. " After shaking hands with me and saying goodbye, he told the interpreter standing beside him: "you are responsible for sending general oshanina back to the Soviet embassy!"