Chapter 228

The sea area in the northeast of British island is called the North Sea, which is the only way for the German Navy to enter the Atlantic Ocean and the main defense line for the British Royal Navy to blockade Germany. At this moment, the sharp bow of a new German destroyer splits the sea like a knife. The white waves churn left and right and scatter to both sides. Facing the strong wind and waves, it drives fast on the endless sea.

Behind the side of the destroyer, you can see another warship breaking the waves. On the masts of the two warships, the signal lights flicker back and forth, regular and mysterious. Farther away, another warship was also sailing in formation. Soldiers were wiping the yellowish wooden deck with rags on the deck and humming out of tune songs.

One warship after another forms a huge fleet. Several destroyers are lined up, followed by cruisers. Behind the cruisers are two huge aircraft carriers. The waves from the bow of the whole fleet stretch for several kilometers, which is spectacular.

"Helmsman! Steady the direction! Signal the fleet's flagship, the Empire! Report all normal information, and leave the rest to the fleet reconnaissance plane! " A German naval officer in a black double breasted officer's uniform and white straight trousers stood in the command cabin, looking at the sea with binoculars longer than the army type telescope on the shaking destroyer: "about 36 degrees southwest! Keep the course! Chief officer, go to see our new equipment and check the working condition of that thing. "

"Yes! Captain‘ The second fleet of the high seas fleet and the supply ships have entered the North Sea. This is the British territory. The flagship has ordered us to step up our guard and pay attention to the British ships that may appear nearby. " The first mate took the folder from the trainee, looked at the message and said.

"Change course! 15 degrees south. Load all guns! Second alert! Raise the Navy Battle Flag. All sergeants will be on duty in five minutes. Don't leave without permission! " The captain issued a series of orders, and the whole destroyer was noisy.

The canvas on the 88 mm main gun of the destroyer's bow has been pulled off by the sailors. The black gun tube points to the distant sea level ferociously. The iron cross red battle flag of the German Navy is raised to the top of the mast. The mechanical roar when accelerating, the black smoke from the chimney in the middle of the ship, and the rumbling sound are really disturbing.

The 40mm bofos antiaircraft guns began to point slowly into the sky, and the torpedoes were ready. The destroyer is now like a hedgehog, full of tension.

On the carrier Empire, the core of the fleet, fleet commander Gunther lutjans frowned and received an encrypted emergency message from home. A brief message was clearly written on the paper: "the main forces of the Royal Navy are missing. If they are intercepted, it is a priority to return to Kiel military port. Don't be rash. "

"How do you get the news? We're already in the North Sea... "Gunther? Lutjans was obviously dissatisfied with the speed of the Navy's intelligence transmission. He handed the document to the commander of the air force and ordered: "send all the reconnaissance planes out immediately to investigate the nearby sea. The fleet cancelled the radio silence and sent a telegram to general Ryder, saying that the rendezvous plan was cancelled and our army would retreat back to the port of Kiel. "

He took a look at his first mate: "the heading is adjusted to the north, and after the take-off is adjusted to the northwest, this command is conveyed."

The aircraft carrier also began to make alarm bells. The ground crew pushed the reconnaissance two seater fw-190 in the aircraft carrier hangar onto the elevator, and the technicians were urgently opening the folded wings for the aircraft. Several pilots and pilots had already packed their parachute bags and discussed the details of the investigation mission with their commanders and intelligence analysts.

"I see. After taking off, I will search North immediately to ensure the safety of the channel back to Kiel port... If I meet the other party's reconnaissance plane, try not to make contact." A pilot pointed to the chart and said, "after running out of fuel, I should join the fleet around here, right?"

"Yes, if you encounter the other plane and can't avoid it, shoot them down." Pointing to the chart, an officer added: "mark the location of the enemy plane accurately, but first make sure that the position of the opposing fleet is transmitted back."

"Yes! I see Several pilots and chartists nodded, congratulated each other, and went to their respective reconnaissance planes separately.

On the bridge, Gunther lutjans watched one after another take-off ship borne reconnaissance aircraft, withdrew his eyes and ordered: "signal, all warships equipped with radar, turn on the radar and search the nearby sea."

Just to the northwest of lutjans fleet, about 40 kilometers away, a huge fleet that could not see the edge was sailing in formation. The huge mechanical roar accompanied by the sound of the waves beating the hull formed a majestic melody. The main fleet of the local fleet of the Royal Navy was advancing at full speed.

Several battleships arrived from the British mainland, and the British fleet gathered five battleships and four aircraft carriers at one go. With a large number of convoys, this fleet can be regarded as one of the largest naval fleets at this stage.

After some discussion, the British naval commanders felt that it was overqualified to divide the German high seas fleet and annihilate half of it. Therefore, they deliberately slowed down their speed and wanted to block all the German high seas fleets after the confluence and end the ridiculous dream of German hegemony in the Atlantic once and for all on the North Sea. So now they set up an encirclement on the Western sea of Denmark, and deployed a large number of high-speed destroyers and cruisers on the periphery in an attempt to slow down the escape speed of the German Navy. Once the main force of the German fleet is dragged down, the battleships cruising not far away and the heavy cruisers will rush to sink the entangled German warships. In short, after 1919, the ocean Navy, which had been silent for a long time, once again became the vanguard of the war“ Report to the captain! Fleet Command Ship "empire" call: radar system in full swing, sea alert, combat begins! Change course, turn due north and proceed as fast as the fleet can Almost at the same time when the Royal Navy began to speed up, the first mate of almost all the warships in the German Navy was reporting general lutjans' orders to his captain“ Radar on A technician on the huge radar search screen, staring at the dense small bright spots, yelled: "clear vision, normal radar operation, I can see every ship in the fleet." The German escort destroyers and cruisers were busy, and the sailors and soldiers on the aircraft carrier were busy. They were preparing bombs for fighters under the deck. Ten fighters were torpedoed and were ready to take off at any time. An aviation commander rushed from the command room downstairs to the bridge where lutjans was. He handed him a piece of paper: "general! The newly launched reconnaissance plane found the British reconnaissance plane in the nearby clouds, and we were indeed targeted. "“ Tell all the fighters with torpedoes to take off. We can't be so passive. " Lutjans said fiercely, "prepare the Stuka dive bomber! Before we adjust our course, we must take off 40 fighters. " The air force commander nodded and ran out. Lutjans' chief officer picked up the phone and gave a loud order: "ring the battle alarm!"“ Sobbing... Sobbing... "The shrill alarm reverberated on the warship. In all cabins and corridors, the red battle alarm flashed a palpitating light. Two fighters flew into the sky. The radio silence was broken. There were reports from pilots and orders from the command system on the warship“ The destroyer outside found the enemy ship. It should be a destroyer. It's due north of us, about 27 nautical miles away. " An officer reported loudly“ 04 reconnaissance plane calls, they found a battleship, is being expelled by the British Air Force fighters, they are entangled Another officer in charge of the radio followed up loudly“ How many fighters have taken off? " A liaison officer held up the receiver and asked in a loud voice, "it's too noisy to hear clearly! Ten or twenty? Make it clear! I can't hear you All the people on the bridge have their own problems. All the time, there are all kinds of contact confirmation voices“ Why is there no intelligence feedback from submarine forces? " Lutjans frowned and asked the chief officer beside him“ It's said that the army is going to start the operation on the west line, so Donitz gathered the submarines in the ocean and prepared to inflict the heaviest blow on Britain at the first time. So intelligence gathering has been delayed. " The chief officer replied. Lutjans nodded, and then said, "take a note of it and give it to the Fuehrer." The first mate was stunned for a moment, and then stood at attention and said, "yes, I understand." At present, the situation of the whole German fleet is very bad. In terms of the fleet's ability to fight against the sea, in fact, the whole fleet is extremely weak: the largest caliber naval gun is only 150 mm, which is similar to that of British destroyers. Therefore, in addition to air defense and antisubmarine capabilities, German destroyers can only be regarded as large gunboats in Britain, while German cruisers are barely regarded as large British destroyers. This makes the German fleet lack the combat ability of "close hand combat" such as naval gun attack, and it is a bit like the archer in the online game, relying on the strong long-range attack ability to kill the opponent. In theory, the combat mode provided by akkado, who has mastered the future naval combat mode, is undoubtedly advanced. However, the German Navy can not improve its combat command level for a moment. Therefore, the current German Navy still lacks the courage to take that step forward.