Bismarck

"I can rest assured with Bismarck here." Liliana said, and then winked at Bismarck, whose face was slightly blushing.

"Yes, this time it is all thanks to these three people." Lütjens nodded.

"Sit down first, I'll tell you."

"Ok."

Not long after Liliana sat down, Zeppelin suddenly stood up.

"What's wrong?" Bismarck asked in surprise. Zeppelin's expression was serious.

"I saw a large group of planes flying towards Berlin."

"Fleet? Ours?" asked Lütjens.

But looking at Zeppelin's serious expression, he didn't look like one of them.

"No, British, five thousand meters, twenty minutes to Berlin!"

"How could Berlin be attacked!" Liliana said in surprise.

Yes, Berlin is the capital of Germany, how could it be attacked...

But it did happen.

Lütjens believed Zeppelin's intelligence because soon after, both battleships detected the same information.

"All of you go down to the basement and turn off all the lights. I will go tell the Führer!" Lütjens ordered.

"Okay." Bismarck nodded and took Liliana down to the basement first, while Zeppelin notified all the servants and maids.

At the same time, Lütjens also called the Führer's residence to report the situation.

Hitler was shocked, but he could not order the fighter units to take off out of thin air, and it was too late according to the time, so he could only make some preparations.

Fortunately, the British did not achieve any success in their first attack on Berlin. Due to navigation problems, all the bombs missed their targets and landed in the suburbs. However, this first air raid had a great impact on the whole of Germany. Hitler was furious and called Marshal Goering to reprimand him the next day...

This has little to do with Bismarck and the others...

ps: Well, finally, the Bismarck you've been waiting for is coming out!!!

Chapter 40: Autumn of

During the war years, time passed very slowly for the civilians who were caught in the flames of war, but for the generals who wanted to achieve great things, time passed very quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was already September.

In this season of harvest, there is also good news for the German Navy. The repair work of the two ships Tirpitz and Zeppelin, which were damaged in the battle a few days ago, is nearing completion and can rejoin the battle sequence. At the same time, Bismarck, which has been in the Hamburg shipyard for a long time, is also preparing to leave the dock. She has been under major repairs since the Icelandic Battle, and finally, she is coming back.

The sailors returned to their respective ships early and conducted adaptive training in order to recover their combat effectiveness as soon as possible after entering the water. After the three warships were reunited, they would rush to the French port of Brest for garrison. The Prince Eugen had not met her sisters for the time being. When she returned to Kiel from the Baltic Sea, her sisters were busy preparing for the sea trial. Later, when she passed through Kiel, Eugen happened to be out for training, so there was no chance to meet.

But there's always time later.

Turning our attention to the international situation, September 1940 was a turbulent year for the entire world.

First, the outcome of the great air battle between Germany and Britain was decided.

Although at the end of August Goering replaced a large number of "old" flight group commanders, deployed new BF8F fighters, and used a lot of manpower and material resources to fight this battle, the air battle over Britain was ultimately defeated by aimless bombing, the Royal Air Force's local combat advantages and dense formations.

In the London air battle on September 15, the German fighter planes were seriously short of range and total strength, so even if they were deployed in full force, they could only provide a certain amount of air cover for the first batch of bombers... When the second batch of bombers, without cover, flew over London, they saw large numbers of fire-breathing beasts that had already been hungry for food, dragging their three-foot-long mouths out from the high-altitude clouds, and swooped down viciously...

lost heavily.

That is, a group of BF109Fs that were dragged out of the factory and had a range of 1200 kilometers (after being improved according to the standards of the modified 109T) rushed to the battlefield, otherwise the bomber unit would have been in real trouble.

In the meeting room of the Air Force Command, even across three corridors, one could hear the Imperial Marshal's furious roar:

"The loss rate has reached one in four! One in four!! In just one afternoon, we lost a total of 185 bombers and 56 fighters!!! The number of British Spitfires is increasing... Is this how you fight?!!!"

"Marshal, this is not our fighter plane's fault!" An air force officer wearing a fighter pilot badge stood up and pointed a finger at several officers wearing bomber pilot badges on the other side. "It's because we have to escort these slow idiots, and the fighter planes have to fly slowly with them. The performance of our aircraft cannot be brought into play, and there is not enough supply..."

"What did you say, you bastard?!" The bomber officer, who was already furious because of the heavy losses, bombed on the spot: "Their fighters were arranged in dense formations, charging specifically at our bombers. There were only a few fighters fighting against you - what were you doing at that time? You ignored us and leisurely brushed up your own combat records to gain merits! ! ......"

"It's because you, a bunch of stupid, big, black guys, slowed us down. Otherwise, how could those Spitfires have been able to entangle us?"

"Why don't you care about those densely packed hurricane formations? They are slower than you! And less flexible!!..."

"They have arranged the interceptors in a square formation?" Goering himself interjected: "In that case, why don't you fighters take this opportunity to shoot down those stupid interceptors in the square formation?!"

"I'm sorry, Marshal! We can't do it! We have too few reinforcements. The most important thing is that we can't increase our speed at all while accompanying those bombers..." The officer of the fighter unit glanced at the bomber unit and answered sarcastically.

"Won't you take the lead and fight the British in an air battle first?"

"Then we won't have enough planes. The guys in the logistics department should be court-martialed..."

There was another row in the meeting room...

----------

On the other hand, the unwilling Reder, who had his power divided, approached the little mustache and began to sell a so-called Mediterranean strategy.

Although the three warships had been repaired and could join the battle again, after this series of events, Reger had already excluded them from his sphere of influence - Hitler personally ordered them to be transferred to the Atlantic Ocean, which temporarily put him out of reach. For his own benefit, he had to do something.

"... I don't think Goering has a good chance of winning the Battle of Britain. ... If we can't take the British mainland, I suggest we try to break the deadlock in the Mediterranean." Although he spoke in a calm tone, his eyes and demeanor did not show any gloating. But what Raeder was thinking... maybe only God knows.

"The Mediterranean Sea controls the entire southern European shipping, and is the shortest route from Britain to India. The British Mediterranean Fleet also restricts the role of our Italian allies... Gibraltar and the Suez Canal are the two ends of the Mediterranean Sea. As long as we control these two points, we can control the Mediterranean Sea... In this way, we can not only liberate our Italian allies, but also cut off Britain's connection with the Middle East, and connect with France's colonies in Syria, forcing Turkey, Iraq and other countries to break away from British control and join our camp..."

"... In this way, we can threaten India, contact Japan in the Far East, obtain oil and chromium resources from the Middle East to improve our country's resources and environment, and even threaten Russia's Caucasus region through Turkey, and cut a hole in the belly of the polar bear..." Redel carefully considered the words while observing the expressions of others. Fortunately, he had prepared some materials on weekdays, and with his years of writing skills and philosophical logic, he was able to speak with a mustache, which made the man nod repeatedly.

Especially when talking about the Caucasus, the mustache man actually showed a hint of interest. In Raeder's eyes, the mustache man's expression was a great opportunity to improve his reputation and build up his military record for himself and the navy!

but...

"To ensure investment in the Mediterranean, we have no bases and no strong enough navy..." After all, the man with a mustache did not climb to this position by relying on his imagination, YY and unrealistic ambitions. After a little thought, he still thought of this realistic problem.

"That's not a problem, my Führer..." Raeder continued without even moving his eyes: "For the navy, we can cooperate with our Italian allies. As for bases... we can look for Spain and the (Vichy) French government."

"As you know, one of these two countries was suddenly attacked by the British, and the navy was reduced to only one battleship; the other has always had conflicts with the British in Gibraltar. In addition, the two countries also have some frictions over their North African colonies, which we can use..."

"Moreover, both France and Spain have been enemies with Britain for hundreds of years. More importantly, we helped Franco win the civil war and obtained his position as General. Besides, we just want a few ports far away from the British mainland that can control the shipping line of the Strait of Gibraltar. Even if it doesn't work, we can still go to Portugal and ask them to lease the Port of Lisbon!"

The mustache man also sounded a little tempted. But after all, he was the head of state, and he had to consider more than just a naval commander: "It's good to say, but if they refuse - after all, our relationship with France is not good, and although Spain has a good relationship with us, they may not dare to offend the British in their current national conditions. The most important thing is that we cannot use force against these friendly countries, after all, we still have a lot of things to do..."

Raeder didn't know that the mustache's eyes were actually on a certain behemoth to the east of Germany. However, the Mediterranean strategy did arouse the mustache's interest, and soon the mustache came up with a solution...

"...How about this? I will send someone to negotiate with them. But if they are unwilling, I will try to ask Portugal to lease us a few ports in their Azores or Cape Verde Islands. Besides, these islands are in the Atlantic Ocean and can also protect us from the Americans. I knew what these Jews were like as early as World War I! They betrayed their country, sold out their people, made money from national disasters, and lent money at high interest rates. Now they are flirting with the British."

"So we must be careful and on guard against the Americans. If France and Spain don't cooperate, I will take a step back and try to lease a few island ports. How about that?"

"Defend against the United States!? This..." Now it was Redel's turn to be dumbfounded.

(PS: At this time in history, there were no cats, no otakus, and no 780. There were less than ten submarines in the Atlantic Ocean. Raeder dared to sell such a plan, and he did not consider the real threat of the Soviet Union's crazy military expansion in the Three-Five Plan... Even so, he dared to just throw the blame on the corpse of the mustache after the war. His character can be seen...)

Chapter 40: Autumn of (Part )

In mid-September, Catoctin Forest Park in Maryland already has a hint of autumn.

In the autumn sunshine, golden maple leaves fall on the forest path with the cool autumn breeze. The geese in the sky are migrating southward in a V-shaped formation, and under the leaves, squirrels and voles are storing food for their winter.

In front of the windowsill of a few inconspicuous brick and wood houses on the hillside, a kind-looking elder was sitting in a wheelchair, enjoying the gentle morning sunshine in the mountains through the glass window. Behind him, several other elders, some in military uniforms and some in casual clothes, were sitting on several sofas, seemingly discussing something.

"...This summer, we sold 1917 1.25 Springfield rifles, machine guns, artillery pieces, and million rounds of ammunition and million shells to Britain. In addition, the negotiations for Britain to purchase our new aircraft were also going smoothly." A soldier in his sixties, expressionless, with a four-star general on his shoulders, put down a document in his hand and glanced at the people around him: "...These weapons are enough to arm dozens of divisions. Britain must have more than enough to protect itself - maybe they can send some people to North Africa to deal with those Italians who can't even beat the blacks?"

The crowd around couldn't help but chuckle, and even the elderly man in a wheelchair at the window sill who was enjoying the autumn scenery couldn't help but smile. Someone couldn't help but ask with a smile: "Marshall, how much money did you make this time?"

The general, the U.S. Army Chief of Staff George Marshall, smiled and glanced at the other side: "This question should be asked to our Secretary of the Treasury. After all, he is in charge of the money, isn't he?"

Everyone turned their eyes to a fifty-year-old man with sharp eyes, white beardless face, and meticulous clothes. He was Henry Morgenthau, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. He put down the documents in his hand and said, "There is not much money. Our dear cousin is in a trade surplus and there is nothing to support the exchange rate of the pound. Dear Mr. Churchill even dared to print a 1 million pound note! Maybe in a few days, I will receive a lot of 1 billion pound notes!"

Finance Minister Morgenthau sneered contemptuously and continued, "So now I have told them that anything that can be bought with money is worthless. So now I want them to exchange their gold and silver reserves, the core shares of their companies, the valuable bonds they have on hand, their underlying technology patents, etc. - We will accept everything, except money!"

The sarcastic words triggered another round of laughter. Someone also said: "We can also exchange their military bases and colonies. Didn't the navy ask them to exchange 50 old World War I ships for a -year lease of Caribbean island bases?"

"That's right. We took the blame for them during the First World War. Now it's time for someone else to take over their position as the world's hegemon for three hundred years!"

"The more they retreat, the more we will advance! Anyway, they have enough wealth. If you don't work for yourself, you will be punished by heaven and earth!"

"But we must also be careful, Britain must not collapse. The strength of the German navy now poses a great threat to our shipping routes to Britain..." The speaker was the US Secretary of the Navy William Frank Knox.

"WHAT?" The others looked at Knox in surprise.

"No way, didn't Britain just commission a battleship and an aircraft carrier recently?" Marshall asked, "They now have eleven battleships, two battlecruisers, three fleet aircraft carriers and three light aircraft carriers, while Germany only has two battleships, two battlecruisers with insufficient attack power and one aircraft carrier?"

"But the quality of the British ships is far behind the Germans." Knox replied with a wry smile: "Among the British ships, only the Hood and the newly commissioned King George V have the speed and combat effectiveness to barely resist the two German Bismarck-class ships. The other ships either can't beat them, or can't outrun them, or can't beat them and can't outrun them..."

"As for aircraft carriers, after the sinking of the Ark Royal, the aircraft carrying capacity of British aircraft carriers became a problem. The combined aircraft carrying capacity of their three ships is only about the same as that of the German aircraft carrier..." Admiral Knox shrugged and spread his hands: "And the two German battlecruisers are said to be replacing their guns and refitting. After the replacement of the guns, their attack power is not much worse than that of Bismarck... And the remaining ten old ships of the British have to defend their homeland, guard Gibraltar, fight against the Italians in the Mediterranean, and escort the transport fleet in groups of at least two - if there are fewer, they can't beat the Germans... So how do you say we fight?"

Everyone frowned. It was true that the United States wanted Britain to decline, but it definitely did not want to see Germany rise to become the hegemon of Europe by stepping on Britain's corpse. An old man in his seventies on the sofa spoke slowly: "If Britain can't hold on, then we will be in real trouble. If Britain surrenders, we will be completely isolated and helpless."

Cordell Hull, US Secretary of State, had words that even Roosevelt took seriously.

"Yes, if Britain surrenders..." Everyone couldn't help but ponder this question. Although the Battle of Britain had seen the dawn of victory, for an island country, cutting off the shipping line was equivalent to cutting off the aorta, and the consequences were self-evident. But...

"The isolationist sentiment in the country is very high now, and the mainstream public opinion refuses to participate in the war. Although there are many people in Parliament who do not oppose participating in the war, we are a democratic country after all, and we must give voters an explanation at least on the surface..." Hull said worriedly.

"But we can't join the war for the time being. The army has just begun to prepare for expansion. It will take at least until 42 years to expand enough troops. The organization, construction of armored forces and the development of tanks will not be able to form a scale until then..." Marshall frowned and said with difficulty.

"As for the navy, we are not afraid of the Germans, but Parliament will not allow us to join the war..." Knox said with a frown.

"We still have to give them a hand." The elderly man sitting in a wheelchair in front of the window said, "The neighbor's house is on fire. If we don't help them, when the fire burns through the neighbor's house, it will burn our heads."

Although Roosevelt spoke slowly, every word he spoke was clear and powerful, and the people around him stopped discussing and turned their trusting eyes to their president.

"The fire in the neighbor's house is so big, I think we should lend them a fire hose. If they can't spare the time to get the hose, we can also deliver it to them." The president in the wheelchair turned around and said to everyone with a smile: "We in the United States have not yet completely recovered from the sequelae of the 29 crisis, and a large amount of production capacity is still idle. I think we can become the arsenal of democratic countries and make some insignificant contributions to the freedom and peace of the world. If they take the hose but can't pay for it for the time being, they can pay it back slowly in the future."

Roosevelt emphasized the words "slowly", and the people around him looked at each other and laughed knowingly.

"I understand. I will go to the British to discuss how to borrow a few water hoses from them." Old Hull, who was sitting on the sofa, was the first to express his opinion.

"Then I will go back and instruct the Atlantic Fleet to arrange how to ensure the safety of the 'borrowed' water hose." Knox glanced at the position of Europe on the globe and said with a sneer.

"I'll talk to the Congress. After all, my family owns Wall Street. They should still give me face, right?" Roosevelt chuckled. "I'll deal with Congress and public opinion. You guys go get things done. A totalitarian regime like Hitler is our biggest threat. We must not let them threaten the free world again!"

"understand!"

"...In addition, Mr. President, speaking of which, diplomats from Germany, Italy and Japan are currently meeting in Tokyo. I don't know what topics they are discussing, but it might be big news." Speaking of the German threat, Hull spoke up when he remembered another thing.

"Japan..." Roosevelt looked up at the sunlight outside the window. Although the autumn sunlight was very warm, it was also the last sunlight before the severe winter.

"Japan is also very dishonest. They still refuse to give up their exclusive power over China, and have no intention of withdrawing their troops from the occupied areas in China. And now it seems that they are beginning to turn their attention to Southeast Asia. Just a few days ago, they entered French Indochina and cut off a major transportation line of the government of the Republic of China. And the Soviet Union..." Hull continued.

"It seems that our aid to the Republic of China should also be included in the agenda..." Roosevelt, sitting in a wheelchair, looked at the maple leaves falling outside the window and said lightly: "We acquiesced to Japan breaking Britain's occupation of the Far East before, but now we should also be wary of this greedy dwarf - has the military prepared a contingency plan for the Far East?"

"It's done! Mr. President, together with the Army, we have formulated the Orange Plan to deal with the Far East. The focus is to secure Johnston Island, Midway Island, and Wake Island, and to ensure that our routes to the Philippines are open. In addition, we have also formulated restrictive measures on Japan's military forces in the Marshall Islands. The strength of Japan's South China Sea Fleet is not very strong. General MacArthur said that the Philippines can support it for at least half a year, and we are fully confident that we can remove Japan's strongholds in the Marshall Islands within two to three months and control the safety of the route."

Roosevelt nodded, and was quite satisfied with Knox's answer.

"By the way, Mr. President, recently a retired Army Aviation officer employed by the Republic of China government named Claire Lee Chennault has returned to China to recruit pilots and purchase fighter jets for the Republic of China Air Force. Do you think we should...?" Marshall asked tentatively.

"Just let him do it..."

Chapter 275: British Navy

While each country is planning for its own interests, Britain is no exception. Of course, their own interests have been tied to the United States to some extent.

The news that Germany's three new battleships were about to be repaired had already reached the Royal Navy through secret channels - in fact, there was no need for secret channels at all. This was an exciting event for the Germans, and they would not hide it at all. Goebbels' Propaganda Department had already been working at full capacity on this matter.

The whole world soon knew that the legendary Bismarck was about to be launched again.

Then, it can be predicted that the days of the British who rely on sea transportation will become even more difficult.

Everyone is worried.

-

Britain, Admiralty.

The British also attached great importance to the Germans' movements and began discussing countermeasures a long time ago.

"According to what you said... that means the Americans have expressed their willingness to provide certain protection for our fleet sailing from American ports in North America?!"

Churchill's conference room was packed with generals from all over the place.

Tovey looked at Churchill in front of him and the First Sea Lord beside him and asked.

The First Sea Lord nodded slightly to indicate that it was indeed the case.

This is really good news... Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. This is good news for the Royal Navy. After all, the Royal Navy's current ships are too stretched. The German commerce raiding fleet in the Atlantic is elusive, and the U-boats under the water are a huge threat. If there is no escort fleet, the fate of these fleets will be very pitiful.

"You don't have to worry about this. President Roosevelt's envoy has assured me that the United States will fully support us in our fight against the German dictatorship." Churchill looked at everyone and said.

Then signaled the meeting to continue.

"Let's move on to other topics."