Comrade, your ingredients are too complicated.

Chapter 285 Hood: Mere Bismarck!What a shame!
Back to five days ago, at 1941 pm on June 6, 18, Godenafing.

The port at this time was very lively. The battleship Bismarck, which symbolized the glory of the German Navy, was docking for supplies. Various logistics personnel tried to make all his supply and ammunition compartments saturated.

There are several transport vehicles parked on the left side of the ship's side, and the carriages are filled with huge 380mm shells.

The crane staggered and hoisted shells weighing more than 800 kilograms into the air, then slowly lowered them through the decks, and finally reached the ammunition depot deep below the waterline.

Looking at the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen and the three destroyers Z10, Z16, and Z23 in the distance, Lu Shuai, worth 17 coal, sighed helplessly.

"To be honest, I really don't want to set off tomorrow. We only have two ships in the North Atlantic Ocean, where the enemy mainly operates."

"I once suggested to Marshal Raeder that he wait until the Tirpitz has completed its training and the two sisters Scharnhorst and Gneisenau have fully recovered before acting."

"If the current situation is not too tense, I even want to wait for the Zeppelin aircraft carrier."

"It's a pity, the marshal can't wait, and the head of state is even more unwilling to wait. The strength of this battle is very different. I'm afraid you and I will both have our own lives."

Four months ago, Lütjens led the two battleships Shane and Gnay to complete the task of breaking the border.

Under his command, the two sisters gave full play to their own advantages, allowing the enemy to realize what it means that battleships cannot catch up and cruisers cannot beat them.

During that time, the enemy several times his own body was played around by the German three navy.

Bringing the British home fleet not only lost face, but also completely disrupted the Atlantic route.

Under the circumstance that various technologies such as radar and carrier-based aircraft are not as good as the opponent's, the ability to achieve such a result depends on the excellent command ability of the fleet commander.

Now that the battleship Bismarck is about to perform its first mission, Lütjens, who has rich experience and outstanding records, is naturally the best candidate for the commander-in-chief.

Hearing the words of his immediate superior, Lindemann, the captain of the battleship Bismarck, immediately nodded in agreement.

As an excellent commander and the former head of the Imperial Navy's training department, he knows the strength of the Royal Navy brought by his opponent.

Judging from the current hard power gap between the enemy and us, even Stud Master Yamamoto 56 commanding the fleet would not dare to say that a single battleship and a heavy cruiser can compete with the entire Royal Navy.

After all, as long as the British concentrate their forces on the Atlantic Ocean, Bismarck and Eugen will face the siege of two aircraft carriers, more than five battleships, and dozens of destroyers.

If the opponent is willing to pay a certain price, they are absolutely capable of sinking their entire fleet.

"Yes, it would be great if the superior is willing to wait."

"Although the enemy has a large number of ships, the overall deployment is very scattered. The huge fleet is forced to defend all over the world. They are present in Scapa Flow, the Mediterranean Sea, and even Asia and Australia."

"If we can gather two battleships and two battlecruisers, a total of four main ships will attack together. With a certain number of destroyers and U-boats, we may really have a chance to dominate the Atlantic Ocean."

"Wish us luck and hope we get home safely."

The pessimism of the two is not unreasonable. Compared with the British Royal Navy, the biggest problem of their own navy is the lack of confidence.

The enemy has a strong background, even if one or two warships are lost in battle, it will be a pain in the flesh at most, and it will never reach the point of hurting the muscles and bones.

But Desan is different. For Lu Shuai, any ship is his heart.Every time he performs a mission, he must make various emergency plans in advance to minimize the risk.

This is the sorrow of a country with a weak navy, who can barely make up four destroyers per year.

After mentioning the word U-boat, the two in the captain's room suddenly fell into a brief silence.

As senior admirals of the navy, they certainly knew the precarious relationship between Raeder and Dönitz.If the two sides were not so tense, maybe there would be no dangerous Rhine exercise.

At the beginning of last month, his marshal was scolded bloody by the head of state.

Although the surface fleet bleeds Daiying's sea supply line, and even knocked out an aircraft carrier.But compared to the record against the submarine force, their gains are more like a drop in the bucket.

What's more, the battles in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea have reached a critical moment, and the navy must take the initiative to balance the forces of the enemy and ourselves in the Mediterranean Sea and North Africa.

In order to prove that he is not a waste, Raeder was under pressure to formulate a very risky battle plan.

While the two were silent, nearly a hundred people walked along the pier in an organized manner.

This was a contingent of young officers, mostly cadets who had just been promoted, and they were ordered to reinforce the crew of the battleship Bismarck.

Seeing the young people stepping neatly along the gangway to board the warship, Lindemann nudged his own officer lightly with his elbow.

"Come on, we should go down and meet the children."

"I really don't know what Marshal Raeder thinks, and what did he say to let the students, as witnesses, spread the victory of the navy for the entire fleet?"

"Isn't this adding to the chaos? When did the battleship Bismarck become a kindergarten?"

Lütjens glared at Lindemann and signaled him not to talk nonsense.

Although he himself has a pessimistic attitude towards this mission, it is not a good thing to spread his emotions to the troops who have not yet set off.

When the two arrived on the aft deck, the students had already lined up to be inspected by the officer.Looking at the young faces, Lu Shuai said the opening remarks that he had prepared long ago.

"Everyone! You have now boarded the most powerful new battleship in Europe! Please cherish every second in the future, everyone will gain the most valuable combat experience after returning!"

"No battleship in the British Navy dared to engage him head-on, and no large warship could survive from his eight 380mm main guns."

"Isn't the enemy claiming that the escort fleet is all over the Atlantic? Then we will overturn the entire Atlantic! With the assistance of the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, we will effortlessly kill all enemies that stand in our way!"

The voice of "resolute" spread throughout the ship through the loudspeaker device, and the naval soldiers on the deck immediately fell into a collective climax.

In the past, the Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mary relied on speed and dared to cross the Atlantic again and again without any cover of troops.

Feng Shui turns, and now the Bismarck is faster and stronger than them.

In the eyes of the young students and soldiers, the current situation is very good, as if the victory of the naval battle is just around the corner.

It's a pity that under the continuous harassment from the British Air Force, the training progress of the battleship Tirpitz has been delayed again and again, otherwise this Rhine exercise will be a formation composed of two battleships.

"Victory belongs to Germany!"

"We will definitely kill the enemy's navy with our own hands!"

Looking at the fanatical people on the deck, Lütjens and Lindemann secretly smiled bitterly in their hearts.

······
Eleven hours later, the two capital ships that had completed their supplies officially set sail.

Under the escort of three Z-drivers and minesweepers, the entire fleet quickly crossed the Baltic Sea.It took them a day to travel north along the Norwegian coast, passing through Katagat and Skagerrak.

According to Lütjens' plan, the fleet will sail to Greenland after successfully passing through the Norwegian Sea.There is the entrance to the Atlantic Ocean, as long as you can pass through the Denmark Strait, you can let the birds fly,

"Lindemann, I have good news."

"According to the investigation of intelligence personnel, all British battleships are now moored in Scapa Flow, and there is no indication that the other party is about to leave the port."

"It seems that our confidentiality work is good, this is a very perfect start."

In this Rhine exercise, the top three German navies have reached a consensus on tactics, and there are two points that must be paid attention to.

The first point must be confidentiality work. No matter how strong the Bismarck battleship is, there is only one battleship. Once the information is leaked and surrounded by the enemy, there is a high probability that the ending will end in hatred.

The second point is to avoid battles as much as possible. The main target of the fleet is the enemy's transport ships, and large-scale naval battles are not a necessary choice.

Facts have proved that some things cannot be said too early.

Just when the two were lamenting their good luck, a hasty warning sounded from the captain's room.At the same time, Guan Tong and Radar reported on the communication channel at the same time:
"Commander! Captain! Something happened!"

"An unknown target has been spotted on the left front of the Bismarck. It is most likely a Swedish cruiser! There was a water reconnaissance plane flying over just now, and our whereabouts must have been exposed!"

Although the incident happened suddenly, Lütjens and Lindemann did not panic.The two quickly adjusted their emotions, and immediately came to the nautical chart and entered a state of combat readiness.

It is true that Sweden is a neutral country, but there are spy networks of several countries in it.

Even if their own people do not intend to provide intelligence to the Allied Forces, the agents who hide with Ying are not just for nothing.

Once the enemy sends a local fleet to intercept, Bismarck and Eugen basically have no possibility of entering the Atlantic Ocean, and even returning by the same route will be disturbed.

"Send me the order! The fleet is moving at full speed! The goal is Colesfjord in Bergen!"

"Let's rest in the Norwegian fjords first, and change the livery of the two warships by the way. As long as they avoid the enemy's follow-up detection, the fleet can continue to perform missions."

"Anti-aircraft gunners are on full alert! Be prepared to deal with reconnaissance at any time!"

Norway has the title of the country of fjords, which is very suitable for hiding warships.Their fleet is not huge, as long as they have a good camouflage, there is a high probability of evading the enemy's detection.

······
This time, the three German navy lost to Daiying again in terms of intelligence. The whereabouts of the battleship Bismarck had been spotted by British spies as early as in Godenafing.

In view of the previous actions of Shane and Gnay, the Royal Navy had long suspected that the enemy would enter the Atlantic Ocean again, and the intelligence they intercepted proved their inference.

Lu Shuai's opponent this time is Admiral John Tovey, commander of the local fleet.That is a steady soldier, and his principle of doing things is to plan before acting.

"The Bismarck is dispatched and heading north. Prinz Eugen is with her and three destroyers."

"Your Excellency, this matter is of great importance. We must take action! The Germans must not be allowed to enter the Atlantic Ocean so that they are close to the route of our transport ship."

Hearing the major general's staff report, John Tovey frowned slightly.

At this time, there were eleven convoys in the North Atlantic, among which the WS8B fleet was still carrying 2 troops supporting the Mediterranean Sea. The enemy's large pipes could easily send the infantry to feed the fish.

If the enemy succeeds, even if he is a general, he will have to be court-martialed.

After a while, John Tovey used a pencil to slowly point from one point to another on the chart, trying to analyze the possible path chosen by the three German naval fleets.

"She trained in the Baltic Sea for four months, and now she is finally willing to go out to perform the mission."

"We didn't catch Scharnhorst and Gneisenau before, but we can't let Bismarck and Prince Eugen go this time!"

"She definitely wants to break into the Atlantic Ocean, so which route will the enemy take? Is it the Pentland Bay? Or Fair Isle? The east of the Faroe Islands is also possible, or the Denmark Strait?"

After talking to himself for a while, John Tovey simply gave up thinking.

At present, there is a sea area thousands of miles wide that needs to be guarded. It is simply unrealistic to predict the enemy's route by guessing.

At this moment, the background of the old sea power has played a role.If you don't know from which direction the enemy will enter the Atlantic Ocean, then send troops to cover the sea.

"Pass my order! The two heavy cruisers Suffolk and Norfolk continue to monitor the Denmark Strait!"

"Let Vice-Admiral Lancelot Holland set out immediately and lead Hood and the Prince of Wales to the Denmark Strait for reinforcements! Then send three light cruisers, Ali Hughes, Birmingham and Manchester, to block the Faroe Islands and Iceland. Sea area!"

"Notify the aircraft carrier Victory and the Battle Cruiser Counterattack to give up their escort and return to Scapa Flow to rendezvous with the local fleet. It's too bad to be passively beaten, we have to take the initiative!"

"Let the Rodney, Lamiy, and Revenge be ready to encircle and destroy Bismarck at any time! Then contact the H Fleet in Gibraltar to see if the Royal Ark and the Renown can come to the Atlantic Ocean for support."

The above-mentioned order made the major general's staff gasp. The last time the Royal Navy went to war was the Battle of Jutland. It seems that the commander is really planning to kill the Germans at once.

As if thinking of something important, John Tovey slapped the table heavily, and then he continued to order to the signal soldier beside him:

"No matter what the outcome is, the Coastal Defense Command has to move for me and let them send planes to conduct aerial reconnaissance and take pictures of the Norwegian coast."

"The information just now was eight hours ago. The enemy may be somewhere south of Bergen. Bergen, the Oslo Fjord, and any suspicious targets south of it must not be let go."

"I'll sink the Bismarck on its maiden voyage!"

　This chapter is difficult to write, and there is too much information to check.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)