Recaps

Germany drew the American and British fleets north, then captured Bermuda with a swift naval bombardment and Marine landing. As German forces fortified the islands, the US Army Air Corps launched a major attack that met 452 German carrier-based fighters over the sea.

• Qin Tian inspected Germany’s expanding landing fleet, ordered more landing ships, and approved the Navy’s plan to capture Bermuda.
• On October 9, the German fleets sailed into the Atlantic, and reports of their movements prompted the United States and Britain to prepare for war.
• Roosevelt ordered the American fleet north to join the British, while Rolf Kars directed the Atlantic and Mediterranean Fleets toward Bermuda.
• On October 16, German warships bombarded Bermuda’s defenses, and the 1st Marine Division landed by helicopter and landing craft to capture the islands.
• After Bermuda fell, Roosevelt ordered the Army Air Corps to bombard the islands as Admiral Stark prepared the Navy to confront the German fleets.
• The Army Air Corps sent more than 300 B-17s and 500 P-51s toward Bermuda, while German forces built defenses and launched carrier fighters to intercept them.
• The Atlantic and Mediterranean Fleets sent 452 FW-190s to meet the American formation, and a large air battle began 250 kilometers from Bermuda.

The German and Allied fleets clashed in the central Atlantic after Germany’s air superiority devastated American attacks on Bermuda. Marshal Lütjens’s carriers destroyed all nine American fleet carriers and sank the first British carriers, leaving the British defeat apparent.

• The German aircraft overwhelmed American attacks on Bermuda, inflicting heavy losses on P-51 fighters and B-17 bombers as US leaders ordered further raids.
• Admiral Ernest King and Admiral John Tovey united the American and British fleets to attack the German Home Fleet, while Marshal Lütjens chose to meet them in the central Atlantic.
• After a British submarine revealed the German fleet’s position, the Allies launched a 648-aircraft strike against its Capital Ships Formation, sinking four ships and damaging three while failing to locate the carriers.
• Marshal Lütjens sent German carrier aircraft against the Allied fleet, and the German pilots overwhelmed its fighters and sank Yorktown, Hornet, and Wasp.
• German aircraft sank Bunker Hill and Franklin, then destroyed Essex, Intrepid, Bennington, and Boxer, eliminating all nine American large fleet carriers.
• Marshal Lütjens ordered a third strike against the British carriers, and German aircraft sank Valiant and Victorious as Admiral John Tovey and Admiral Andrew Cunningham watched the British defeat unfold.

Germany destroyed the Allied fleets’ remaining strength in the Atlantic, then used its control of the sea to invade Newfoundland. Britain and the United States rushed to defend the island, but Germany captured it and prepared to expand into Nova Scotia.

• Admiral Ernest King and Admiral John Tovey led a night attack against the German carriers, but German air strikes sank the remaining Allied carriers and several battleships, leaving the British fleet crippled.
• Qin Tian approved Field Marshal Manstein’s plan to invade Newfoundland, while the United States reinforced its southern defenses after German movements around Bermuda diverted its attention.
• General Ernst von Busch’s Marines landed at Trepassey under German naval and air bombardment and quickly overwhelmed the British 2nd Infantry Brigade.
• Britain sent reinforcements toward Newfoundland, but German carrier aircraft and the Home Fleet destroyed the convoys and inflicted heavy losses.
• The German 3rd Marine Division captured St. John’s after defeating Lieutenant General Campbell’s defenders, and German forces occupied Newfoundland by November 27.
• Qin Tian approved Manstein’s plan to seize Cape Breton Island and Prince Edward Island and establish a bridgehead in Nova Scotia.
• Churchill prepared Britain to resist further German attacks and asked General Marshall for more American troops, while Marshall promised reinforcements and considered sending the 1st Army Corps to Nova Scotia.

German forces captured Cape Breton Island, broke through Allied defenses in Nova Scotia, and destroyed the Allied forces there before advancing into New Brunswick. As Germany halted its advance, Churchill agreed to secretly seek peace to preserve Britain.

• German forces captured New Waterford, Port Morien, and Louisbourg after defeating British land and air defenses, then took control of Cape Breton Island as Allied fighter losses mounted.
• The Allies concentrated troops in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, but German forces crossed the Canso Strait, captured Olders and Mulgrave, and beat back American armored attacks.
• German Marines captured Port Busche, where German armored forces landed and routed American divisions, while Allied reinforcements hurried toward the peninsula.
• German troops seized Elgin Port and Sackville, cutting off the Allied forces in Nova Scotia as American and British commanders attempted a counterattack.
• Germany expanded its offensive across Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, annihilated the Allied forces on the peninsula, and forced Bradley to surrender the remnants of two US Army Corps.
• German forces broke the Allied line in New Brunswick, driving American troops toward Maine and British troops toward Quebec before halting their advance.
• Churchill heard that Britain’s forces were depleted and agreed to secretly contact Germany about surrendering if Britain could continue to exist.