Bismarck

General Ismail, Chairman of the British Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was sitting nearby, nodded, picked up a stack of speech manuscripts, and continued to report on the situation.

"Here is some bad news... Because the Italians in the Mediterranean declared war on us two months ago, and now their 400,000 troops are attacking Egypt and Somalia separately. In order to defend our homeland, we didn't have the main force there before, and we were defeated step by step. The situation was not optimistic. We have now retreated to Egypt and Somaliland. Fortunately, the Italians' supplies and preparations were not very sufficient, so they stopped the attack at the border between Libya and Egypt. But even if the war situation has stabilized, because the Mediterranean is now a war zone, the reinforcements transferred from the homeland must pass through the Cape of Good Hope route, which is a long journey and takes at least two months... Now we can only use the Mediterranean Fleet to contain their shipping lines, and at the same time, we must transport the reinforcements as soon as possible."

As Ismail spoke, he looked at the First Sea Lord sitting on the other side of Churchill: "...The question now is, I want to send some troops over, which requires strong naval support. Now even if the US Navy helps us share some of the pressure, is the existing strength of the Royal Navy sufficient?"

"..."

Is it enough? Probably not. They don’t know how many troops are needed to fight against those three unfathomable warships. That Bismarck can even challenge an entire fleet alone!

It is a difficult decision to divide the troops.

All the naval commanders attending the meeting looked at each other. There was silence for several seconds because no one dared to make a conclusion easily. Finally, seeing that everyone was looking at him, the First Sea Lord could only smile bitterly and said, "Our military strength is stretched to its limits..."

"Let's not talk about the German Navy. The latest intelligence shows that Lütjens and Reger have completely fallen out and even had a big fight in Berlin. But Hitler didn't deal with them. Instead, he appointed Lütjens as the commander of the German Atlantic Fleet. Everyone is aware of the threats posed by his two Bismarck-class and one Zeppelin-class ships. Now the Scharnhorst-class ships are also being equipped with 380mm naval guns... It's simply hell!!"

Thinking of the heavy losses in the Battle of Newcastle, the First Sea Lord and the other naval admirals under him gnashed their teeth in hatred.

"The problem is that even in the Mediterranean now! The Italian Navy now has two cutting-edge Vittorio Veneto-class ships, two modernized Andrea Doria-class ships, and two Count Cavour-class ships. The Mediterranean Fleet is under great pressure. In addition, the Richelieu battleship of Vichy France in Dakar is also a serious threat to our Cape of Good Hope route to the Indian Ocean... Maybe we need to get rid of her first. She should be the easiest target now."

"As for the Mediterranean region, considering the factors of battle damage, repairs and the size of the Italian Navy fleet, we need at least four battleships."

"And in order to deal with the German Atlantic Fleet, the Navy now plans to use the battleships King George V, Hood, Renown, Wrathful, Glorious, and Formidable as mobile forces, ready to pursue and encircle the German Atlantic Fleet at any time. Although King George V and Formidable were rushed into service, and the repair work on Wrathful, Glorious, and Renown was also hastily completed, these are the only battleships that can keep up with the German Atlantic Fleet..."

"In addition, this does not take into account the threat that the German Atlantic Fleet, or even the two Scharnhorsts, will pose to the Atlantic convoy after their modifications... The destroyers and cruisers of the escort fleet will not be a match for the Shag sisters. Therefore, the Navy believes that even with the help of the Americans, we must have no less than four battleships escorting the Atlantic! Even if they are old R-class ones! Otherwise, the consequences will be disastrous!"

"...We can now deploy at most four Queen-class ships in the Mediterranean, one Queen-class ship and three R-class ships in the Atlantic, and at most two Nelson-class ships in the mainland that can be rotated. But in terms of high-speed battleships and aircraft carriers, we now have no ships that can be rotated..."

When it comes to high-speed battleships, the British have very few to offer.

"The modern warships of our enemies and potential enemies include at least one Zeppelin-class aircraft carrier, two Bismarck-class, two Scharnhorst, two modified Doria and two Veneto, and one Richelieu. The Prince of Wales battleship and the Indefatigable aircraft carrier that we can put into service will not be available until the beginning of 41 at the earliest... In short, our naval fleet is already very stretched..."

The words "stretched to the limit" were mentioned repeatedly, which truly reflects the current situation.

As the First Sea Lord spoke, he could not help but sigh.

Not only the First Sea Lord, but everyone couldn't help but sigh.

As the name implies, only a prosperous era can support a strong navy. Only when the country is strong and the country is on the rise can the country build more and stronger warships, but the current Britain is obviously not.

The once empire on which the sun never set is now in decline.

"...We now have some emergency countermeasures: First, we can leave some of the carrier-based aircraft on the deck, which can greatly increase the aircraft carrying capacity of the aircraft carrier, but this will have a great impact on the service life of the aircraft. Long-term exposure to the Atlantic sea breeze and rain will have a great impact on metals, and parts are prone to rust. In addition, the current aircraft of the Navy is not enough in terms of quantity or quality, and it is not possible to carry more aircraft for the time being. The second option is to modify some merchant ships, install catapults or simply lay a flat roof to make escort aircraft carriers. Although the combat effectiveness and anti-sinking performance are not optimistic, it can at least cause some trouble for the German aircraft. The third is shipbuilding. The construction period of the Lion-class Reckless, three King George V-class, and two (Improved Glorious-class) Enemy-class should be further accelerated. Our current progress is still too slow, and it seems that we may need to design more modern aircraft carriers. After all, these escort aircraft carriers can only deal with the main fleet. This is probably the situation now."

The First Sea Lord closed the memorandum in his hand and looked at Churchill.

All the naval commanders and other government ministers turned their eyes to their prime minister, waiting for his decision.

"...The US government has expressed its willingness to 'lease' weapons and resources to us. The government is now negotiating with the Americans. Soon we will be able to introduce a batch of American aircraft to strengthen our strength. Moreover, in terms of the navy, the United States is also willing to provide us with enough transport ships. So judging from the situation in this regard, it is only a matter of time before the Atlantic escort situation is eased. I hope everyone will have confidence." Churchill, who was sitting in the main seat, spoke, as always, cheering up the wartime cabinet.

"Military production issues are top priority. I will personally contact the shareholders of related companies in this regard... Although the hard times may continue for quite some time, everyone should have confidence in the victory of freedom! Believe in the power of freedom, and with God's blessing, we will defeat that evil dictatorial country! !..."

Seeing that no one had any objections, Churchill nodded and announced the next topic:

"Now to discuss the 'deterrence' operation - God save the Queen, may they succeed!"

ps: try the afternoon update, la la la, a lot of information comes from the big sister, thanks

Recommend a novel by JK boss ~ "Zongman: Long Live Money"

This is a secret py transaction~ Although my py is not worth much, come on anyway!

What is money?

Money is not the currency, but the value and price.

Everything has its value, and everything has its price.

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This has nothing to do with good or evil, beauty or ugliness, noble or inferiority; it is simply the most basic theorem governing the operation of all civilizations.

With the power of trading, Momo came to the second dimension and stepped onto the perfect stage for him to perform the most exciting drama.

As for the name of this drama, it is called Long Live Money!

Chapter 276: Dakar

Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa.

Although Freetown means the Free City, this British colony was actually the starting point of the slave route. For four hundred years, hundreds of millions of "black mules" were sold from here to countries including the United States. Until the 21st century, it was one of the most impoverished places in the world, with constant conflicts and killings.

Lord and freedom?

Probably only in promotional slogans.

But it’s only 1940 now.

General Charles de Gaulle, who looked unhappy, stood in his open SUV, looking at the dock area, which was now a busy loading scene - teams of soldiers in French uniforms were boarding transport ships under the leadership of the tricolor flag - these were 2500 soldiers under the Free French. Including two infantry battalions, a tank company, several artillery platoons, and a squadron of hurricane fighters and a squadron of light bombers loaded on the transport ships. On several transport ships on the other side, there were 101 officers and soldiers of the 5000st British Marine Brigade, fully equipped and ready to board the ships - these were all the troops that Charles de Gaulle tried to use to occupy the port of Dakar.

Not long ago, the British and French coalition forces finally made up their minds to take action against the port of Dakar.

But...those teams of soldiers wearing French uniforms and holding the tricolor flag spoke only English...

But there was no other way. Unlike the Battle of Dunkirk in history, the 400,000 British and French troops on the beach were almost wiped out in the last Dunkirk Battle. Not a few British escaped, not to mention the French. Not even a single seed force was left for the Free French. So Charles de Gaulle had to recruit a group of British soldiers in the name of the "Foreign Legion"...

But then again, even in the later Gallic roosters, wasn't the Foreign Legion the most powerful? Maybe the fighting power of our own people is not as high as that of the Foreign Legion.

Charles de Gaulle was very dissatisfied with the previous crossbow plan, and his cooperation with the British also confirmed his reputation as the "French traitor Charles de Gaulle" - and to be honest, in Vichy France, the view of him was not much better than the Free French view of Pétain, Darlan and the like, right?

"...If (Vichy French Governor-General of Senegal) Boisson and (Commander of Dakar Fortress) Lacroix knew that all my men were British, I would probably become even more notorious as a traitor..." Looking at those British soldiers of the "Foreign Legion", what else could Charles de Gaulle say except a bitter smile?

It's kind of sad...

But he didn't have time to sigh, as a trusted aide ran over and saluted him: "General, the flagship has sent a message that General Owen, the commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force, wants you to come over for a meeting."

"Okay, prepare a transport boat for me and I'll be there right away." Charles de Gaulle adjusted his tall hat and got out of the car.

----------

As early as the beginning of July 1940, even before Operation Ballista, the British military began to work with the Free French to conceive an action plan against French West Africa. For Britain, although Vichy France has remained neutral until now, Britain has always believed that Vichy France may completely turn to Germany - after all, the British also know that their actions of stabbing their allies are really despicable. After Operation Ballista, maybe, no, it is certain!

Vichy France's view of Britain was already one of hatred.

Once the chaotic French West Africa was completely under the control of the Axis powers, South Africa and the Cape of Good Hope route on which the empire depended for its survival would be under fatal threat.

The route had become increasingly important after Italy's entry into the war and France's defeat; their concerns reached a peak when the Atlantic submarine war and the Battle of Britain broke out.

Some intelligence showed that the Vichy government was condoning the spread of German influence in Africa, such as allowing German and Italian troops to pass through, allowing German and Italian air forces and ships to use their colonial bases, etc. Especially if the German fleet or submarines were based in Dakar, the British-Indian Ocean route would be in danger of being completely cut off! ! Therefore, Britain must strive for French Africa, at least to prevent the invasion of the Axis powers.

Because of the treacherous sneak attack during Operation Ballista, the image of the British had become so rotten in the eyes of the French that even Charles de Gaulle protested against Churchill (although not as much as Uzuki).

However, de Gaulle, who was living under someone else's roof, really wanted to establish his own sphere of influence and base, so he finally had to accept the fait accompli of the ballista plan.

So, with the help of the British, at the end of August, de Gaulle, the first black colonial governor of France, Governor of Chad Felix Ebouwe, and General Leclerc stationed in Cameroon and others announced that they had changed their flags and joined "Free France", giving de Gaulle greater bargaining chips to call for the black African territories.

The presence of Free France in this series of actions also showed the vast territory of the French Empire that the alliance between Britain and France had not ended - although most French people did not think so.

The code name of the deterrence operation was the M Fleet, which was historically composed of the Ark Royal aircraft carrier, the battleships Barham and Resolution, and the commander was the Mediterranean Fleet Commander Cunningham. But now the Ark Royal and Resolution have sunk, and due to the active Bismarck, Tirpitz and Zeppelin, the Royal Navy's manpower has reached the point of exhaustion and stretched to the limit. The current M Fleet can only piece together the two battleships Rodney and Nelson, and the Hermes aircraft carrier, which finally squeezed in 12 Fulmars and 8 Swordfish, and the commanders have also been replaced by Vice Admiral Bruce Austin Fraser and Admiral Owen, the commander-in-chief of the army.

Due to well-known reasons (to establish the prestige of the pseudo-government?), the deterrence operation was theoretically led and executed by the French. The ideal situation would be to directly persuade the Governor of Senegal and the commander of the Dakar Fortress to cooperate, and then occupy Dakar without bloodshed and let Charles de Gaulle rule and manage it.

Of course, the action must be based on the worst-case scenario, so if this cannot be achieved, the British must try their best to hijack the Richelieu; secondly, if the French resist, the British fleet must approach to deter the French from surrendering. Finally, if the French resist to the end, they can only "regrettably" sink the Richelieu and occupy Dakar as much as possible.

Of course, as a political action, this action also has two limitations.

The first thing was to highlight the French color as much as possible. The Free French forces, which were not very strong, had to be led by the British. Even after occupying Dakar, in order to take into account the emotions of the French (who were angered by the British's betrayal and sudden attack), the British army could not stay here for a long time and could only provide limited support.

The second condition is not to over-stimulate Vichy France, which is still in a neutral state (if I had known this would happen, I would have chosen to do it in the first place...), otherwise even if Dakar is occupied and the battleship Richelieu is properly disposed of, the gains will outweigh the losses. If Vichy France declares war on Britain, the Axis forces in North Africa will face the joining of 200,000 Vichy French troops stationed in African colonies - this is big news that can affect the situation in the British North Africa-Mediterranean battlefield.

Although Churchill had previously judged that Vichy France would most likely not declare war on Britain because of this incident, because the Vichy government was now in a dilemma and did not want to get close to either Germany or Britain.

However, just two days before the formation of the M Fleet, Churchill received a report from the front-line troops that a team of Vichy French warships rushed out of the Strait of Gibraltar and headed for the Atlantic Ocean. Because Britain and Vichy France had not yet officially declared war, the Gibraltar base did not intercept them.

The latest intelligence showed that what gave Churchill a headache was that these French warships, loaded with reinforcements, supplies and officials from the Vichy French government responsible for supervising the war, had landed in Dakar two days before the M Fleet arrived in Dakar!

Although the British M Fleet, which rushed to the scene after hearing the news, arrested two French light cruisers sailing from Dakar and sent them back to Casablanca, the Dakar Fortress, which had already received reinforcements, would not surrender so easily. The M Fleet had no choice but to temporarily anchor in Freetown Port (British Colony of Sierra Leone) not far from Dakar, waiting for further instructions from the British government.

Now, General Owen called Charles de Gaulle aboard the British flagship battleship HMS Nelson, which was a response from Churchill.

Ps: Historically, on July 7, five days after the Ballista bombing of Mers El-Kébir, the Hermes once carried the Swordfish to attack the port of Dakar and directly blew off the tail shaft of Richelieu.

I am going to start py trading again. My performance has been unsatisfactory recently, so I can only give my py to three big guys. I feel so stressed when trading with three big guys at once. My anus is about to be broken~ ouch.

First up is July's "One Punch Separates the Road of Life and Death"

Introduction: One punch opens the road of life and death, and two feet break the door of right and wrong.

Heroic Spirit? Valkyrie? Accelerator? Just one punch!

The noisy and exciting life is to fight with your heart

Then there is "Tokisaki Kurumi's Infinite Journey" by Mao Buwen

This is the story of Tokisaki Kurumi~

Next: It is "The Brave Warrior of Monster Girl World"

Introduction: The devil stands on a staircase of hundreds of steps, looking down at the brave man!

"Your silent sacrifice will be rewarded by me. Witness it with your own eyes! I will turn you from corpses into decorations. The world will fall into chaos and destruction in my hands. And you! Will be the first corpse!"

The magical words came towards him, and the brave man stared firmly at the Demon King on the stage.

next moment!

The devil moved, he raised his foot and rushed towards the brave man from the hundreds of steps.

In the blink of an eye, the devil's feet suddenly slipped!

He rolled down hundreds of steps.

Transaction completed~so tired

Chapter 277: Free France

"How is it?" Fifteen minutes later, Charles de Gaulle walked quickly into the conference room of the Nelson. Looking at Vice Admiral Fraser and Major General Owen who had obviously been waiting for a long time, Charles de Gaulle saluted as he walked, and before he could find a stool to sit down, he asked the question he was most concerned about: "What did the Prime Minister say?"

"Hello General de Gaulle, the Prime Minister said that he allows and supports us to take action on our own according to the circumstances!!" Owen raised his head with a little excitement and handed over a telegram.

After all, Charles de Gaulle, who had been in the UK for so long and knew a little English, took a look at it and saw that it was written: "In view of the fact that the impact of the French reinforcement fleet on the garrison in Dakar Port and the French Governor is currently uncertain... According to the political nature of the deterrence situation and the complex actual situation... After consultation and communication with General de Gaulle's Free France, you should have the freedom to fully judge the entire situation and take decisive action! The War Cabinet will carefully consider any decision-making suggestions you make... If you are determined to take action, then execute it according to the original plan... If the French resist resolutely, the War Cabinet authorizes the British Fleet and the British Expeditionary Force to cooperate with the Free French Army to participate in the war... In any case, controlling the port of Dakar and the battleship Richelieu is also crucial to increasing 'our' maritime strength..."

"So, we can take action now?" De Gaulle returned the telegram to General Owen, looking excited. After all, even if the French reinforcement fleet arrived in Dakar, its strength was still far weaker than that of the British fleet - and the only super battleships they were worried about were under maintenance and would not be available for a while, so there was no need to worry about flies coming to disrupt the situation.

Looking at Charles de Gaulle with an excited look on his face, General Owen and General Fraser also nodded excitedly.

..................................................

The French fleet at the Dakar base, excluding the two light cruisers that had been captured and repatriated to Casablanca, now only has one Richelieu battleship, two La Garissonnier-class light cruisers (standard displacement 7600 tons, 9 152MM guns, 105MM side armor, 38MM deck armor, maximum speed 31 knots), three Utopian-class destroyers, and three submarines in the port. They are no match for the two BIG SEVEN, five cruisers, and a dozen destroyers of the M fleet on their side.

The Richelieu is a little troublesome. In history, Richelieu had its legs broken by the Swordfish of the Hermes in the harbor during the Ballista Operation, and could only serve as a floating turret in the harbor. But for various reasons, the current Richelieu has not been hit by the leg-breaking bomb in history. However, even so, due to the lack of fuel and ammunition, her daily training can only be carried out in a very sloppy manner. Moreover, in an overseas territory like Dakar, there is no way to accurately calibrate her fire control system...

In fact, apart from the threat posed by the Richelieu, the biggest trouble was probably the eight 8mm fortress guns at the Dakar base, and the twelve Curtiss "H-240A" fighters and twelve Martin 75F light bombers at the Wakam Air Force Base not far from the northwest corner. After all, it was a stupid act to compete with a battleship and a fortress, and the Hermes only had eight Swordfish and twelve Fulmars, and the Fulmars could not defeat the Curtiss H-167A...

But twelve light bombers or something... that's all. After all, they are air force aircraft, and they are colonial air force aircraft, so their anti-ship capabilities can't be that strong.

"So, in other words, there is actually nothing to worry about." Charles de Gaulle slammed the table and said, "Then let's do it according to the original plan!"

...................................................

At 1940 a.m. on September 9, 23, in the misty sea fog, the dark British Empire M Fleet appeared off the coast of Dakar.

but...

"Damn it, didn't the weather observation say it should be sunny?"

On Nelson's bridge, three men, all dressed in different styles but all appearing to be generals, were looking at the thick fog on the sea and were murmured in confusion.

Where is the sunny day we were promised? Now the entire sea is covered in white. You can’t even see the coastline, let alone any port.

Moreover, the fog was so thick that even on the Nelson, the size of the entire fleet could not be clearly seen. The original plan was to use the mighty military of the British Empire Royal Navy to create mental pollution to achieve a deterrent effect. The deterrent effect was greatly discounted from the beginning...

This is really not a good sign...Everyone couldn't help but have this ominous premonition in their hearts.

"What should we do now? With such a thick fog, the French may not be deterred by us..."

Even the British couldn't see the size of their fleet so close, let alone the French who were far away. Although the French couldn't be discovered by sneaking in like this, their original plan was to deter...

"General, according to intelligence, Governor Boisson was appointed after Operation Ballista. As far as we know, he is firmly against our free world. And if the French reinforcements just came a few days ago, he may not cooperate with us..." A senior staff officer who had not been very supportive of the continued deterrence operation worriedly poured cold water on him - although he obeyed the order, he could always reserve his opinion~

"Never mind! We've already arrived in Dakar, are we still backing down? Besides, our advantage is so great that we are not afraid even if they come hard - just act according to the original plan!" Charles de Gaulle gritted his teeth and shouted to Fraser and Owen.

The two looked at each other and nodded.

At 6 o'clock in the morning, the "deterrence" operation officially began!