Bismarck

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

Six Free French pilots boarded two Swordfish and took off from the Hermes aircraft carrier. They flew into the raging sea fog and disappeared from the crew's sight in an instant. They would fly towards the Wakam base according to the established target - this was the first actual combat mission of the Free French Air Force.

Their goal is to go there in the name of negotiating envoys to persuade the commander of Wakam base to surrender - of course, if they fail to convince him, they will find a way to kidnap the commander of Wakam base.

But how could the French give this opportunity?

The British really think too simply.

Just as the two Swordfish planes landed, before they even stabilized, the airport security team rushed over with guns in one hand and handcuffs in the other, and dragged six lobbyists from the Freedom Law Organization off the plane... They didn't even have a chance to meet the base commander...

This was not the same as what they had expected. The pilots had originally expected to call the base commander during their confrontation, and then persuade him to join Free France with endless reasons and overwhelming military advantage, but now...

Not so!

"We are the negotiators of Free France! We come for peace! We want to see your commander! I want to see your commander..." the pilot struggled and shouted.

"You can go to jail to see him, bah, traitor!" A guard team member hit the struggling pilot hard on the head with the butt of his gun, and he soon calmed down.

The six pilots were dragged away like dead fish, leaving behind only two Swordfish with their engines still scalding hot.

At the same time, the Swordfish planes sent out to drop leaflets over Dakar and the transport boats sent out at sea to lobby the Dakar Fortress and the Richelieu were all shot back by the French who were ready for battle. Even when Charles de Gaulle personally took the microphone and began to make a public radio speech to Dakar, the defenders of Dakar responded with a "shameless traitor" on the radio...

"...I say, do you really want to resist to the end? We are all French compatriots, and we should fight side by side to defeat the German occupation of our great motherland...I really, really don't want to see compatriots killing each other..."

The Dakar Fortress Headquarters broadcast Charles de Gaulle's "emotional" voice, which seemed to be choking with sobs? However, the Vichy French military and political personnel surrounding the radio station all had a disdainful expression.

Senegalese Governor General Pierre François Boisson, who was sitting in front of the radio microphone, looked at the people around him, snorted, turned on the microphone, and interrupted Charles de Gaulle's endless self-conceit: "Charles de Gaulle, forget it! Traitors like you have no right to say that you are fighting for France! We are fighting for the independence and freedom of France. We will never be running dogs for the British like you! Operation Ballista has exposed the ugly faces of the British. I feel sick just to say a word to you!"

"Do you think I don't know what you and your British master are planning? Senegal is the most important transportation hub in French West Africa, with railway lines extending in all directions. If you take this place, you can serve as a vanguard for your British master and rush all the way to French North Africa. Then the British will take over the territory in the name of anti-Germany, and eventually give them everything France has in Africa - that's how your British master divided up the French fleet in Alexandria and the West Indies!!"

"And don't think I didn't see those British warships. If I don't agree to your request, you will probably destroy the last pride of France, the battleship Richelieu, just like Mers El-Kébir, right?!" Looking at the people around him who were even more united in their hatred of the enemy, Governor Boisson's voice suddenly rose an octave: "...There is nothing to say to people like you! Charles de Gaulle, I tell you, with my leg that was blown off by the British during World War I as a guarantee, I will never let the Germans get involved in French West Africa."

"...But! We will not let you, a traitor who sells out your country for personal gain, give French Africa to your British master for free!!----You, a running dog, don't need to say anything. Let your British master's two battleships come over and have the final say with the Richelieu!"

The Governor's last words were almost shouted. After shouting, the Governor turned off the microphone, leaving Charles de Gaulle standing there on the other side of the radio wave with a changing face: half blue, half red...

But now that things have come to this, they can no longer be resolved through negotiation.

Behind de Gaulle, Fraser and Owen looked at each other.

"It seems we have no choice but to fight..." Irving said with a wry smile.

"Let's fight. We have no choice but to fight." Fraser shrugged helplessly. "If we have to fight, then we have to destroy the Richelieu here no matter what! Or sink her. She is too much of a threat to us..."

"General Fraser, General Owen, when you fight later, let the destroyers and cruisers cover my troops landing at Rufisk (on the east side of Dakar Bay)..." Charles de Gaulle, who finally controlled himself, took a deep breath, and even a suppressed emotion could be clearly heard in his tone: "Dakar is a French port, and it must be occupied by the French army..."

After all, the "deterrence" operation was mainly carried out by the French. Fraser and Owen looked at each other, and finally Fraser nodded and said, "Okay, I will use cruisers and destroyers to cover your landing..."

De Gaulle breathed a sigh of relief.

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

"Governor, the lookout reports that the British fleet is coming!" A messenger rushed into the broadcasting room and reported: "Two British battleships, along with several cruisers and destroyers, are heading towards the Dakar Fortress!!"

"Hmph... If soft tactics don't work, you want to use force?" Governor Boisson sneered and grabbed a French military cap and put it on his head. "Dakar is not Mers El-Kerbil. We have been preparing for war a few days ago. If the British want to use force, let's see if they have the ability to defeat us all!!"

The Governor grabbed the crutch that was leaning against the table next to him, supported himself with one hand on the crutch and the other hand on the table, and stood up on one leg. Looking at the French soldiers and staff around him, the Governor said to a man who looked like a communications staff officer: "Order General Lacroix, the air force of Wakam Air Force Base, the Richelieu and our fleet to prepare for a decisive battle with these treacherous bastards and that damned traitor!!"

"Yes! Your Excellency the Governor!"

ps: Thank you for the chapter recommendation~

The following words are free of charge =. =

By the way, the VT fuse that I mentioned in the previous chapter.

At that time I wrote about magnetic fuze, I thought it was wrong, indeed... I made it up, because the Americans used radio proximity bombs in World War II...

But after a classmate in the group checked, it was found that the proximity fuse of Germany in World War II was really magnetic!!! It was really magnetic!!! Really!!!

A mouthful of grandma has arrived!

Moreover, the method of releasing the safety is the same as mine, using the force of self-spin...

I really didn’t know this before!

ps: Transaction with the toy boss~

There seems to be something wrong with the League of Legends I play

Under the Li Li Li

His scientific name is Mikasa, and his nickname is Sanye.

Professional driver, part-time soldier hunter, line leader, cosmic hero

I'm not targeting anyone.

In the fountain of Summoner's Canyon, Qin Hao wiped the gas tank on his waist

I mean, everyone here is a loser!

Book group 185118293, come and play, come and play~

Weibo @修好玩具, follow me on Weibo

Chapter 278: Battle of Dakar

At the westernmost tip of the African continent, the Cape Verde Peninsula is like a long, sharp horn with a barb, fiercely stabbing towards the Atlantic Ocean, as if it could break the Atlantic Ocean route in half! The largest seaport in West Africa, the Port of Dakar, is located on the barb that extends southward from this horn.

This place has a natural geographical advantage. As long as it is given enough growth, it can strangle the Atlantic Ocean and control the ocean routes. Before, this strategic port fortress was in the hands of the French ally, and Britain could still rest assured, but now, Vichy France is no longer an ally - but an enemy that may turn to Germany at any time.

Well, this place, which is like a fishbone stuck in Britain's throat, must be removed!

The Cape Verde Peninsula to the north, Cape Manuel, the "horn hook" to the west, and the African continent 16 kilometers to the east form a bay, the Gulf of Grey. The Port of Dakar is located to the west of this bay, 2.5 kilometers north of Cape Manuel. 1.5 kilometers further north of the port is the Bel Air Peninsula. And 2.3 kilometers to the east of the harbor, there is Gorée Island as a natural barrier.

At the westernmost tip of the Cape Verde Peninsula, 8 kilometers northwest of Dakar Port, is the French Air Force's Wakam Base. Although it seems to be only two or three kilometers away from the sea, to the west of the Wakam Base, on the edge of the coastline, is the 105-meter-high Mamers Heights, which serves as a barrier for the airport.

The French built solid concrete fortresses in Mamers Heights, Cape Manuel, Bel Air Peninsula and Gorée Island, equipped with a total of 9 powerful 240mm fortress guns. The favorable terrain and strong fortifications made Dakar the most solid port fortress in West Africa. It is no wonder that the British were so eager to take action. If the situation dragged on, it would be more difficult for the British to occupy this fortress.

Although the fortress was usually guarded by only 7000 Senegalese soldiers, a few days ago, three light cruisers and three destroyers of Vichy France urgently sent a batch of reinforcements to the Dakar Fortress, the most important of which included well-trained fortress artillery and a supervision team composed of the French Army. Even the "port garrison" Richelieu, which was short of ammunition and undertrained, was reinforced by a group of skilled gunners transferred from Mers El-Kir - and the reinforcement fleet also brought a batch of supplies, especially the artillery propellant that the Richelieu lacked the most!

The "Ballista" operation two months ago made all French officers and soldiers furious, but it also gave the once proud French soldiers bitter experience and lessons. So in response to the British offensive strategy, the French fleet began to prepare for battle in an orderly manner: after the British ballista operation, the French minesweepers began to clean up the port to prevent the mines that the Allies might lay to block the entire fleet; the French fleet led by the Richelieu (whose legs were not broken by the swordfish as in history) all sailed out of the port to avoid being caught by the British in the Mers El-Kirbir incident. Several coastal artillery batteries also operated according to the previous plan. Elite artillery from mainland France took over the defense of the batteries, pointing the black muzzles of the guns at all times in the direction where the British fleet might attack...

"Report! The British fleet is 25 kilometers into the Cape Manuel-Grey Island Battery! And it's getting closer!"

In the Dakar Fortress Command, a communications staff was reporting the latest British movements to Lieutenant General Lacroix. General Lacroix was listening and analyzing the situation while looking at the port chart. Not long after the communications staff finished speaking, the fortress commander turned around and asked, "Have the Richelieu and the fleet in the port left the port?"

"Out of port. They are now behind Goree Island and heading southwest. The current speed is 18 knots but the steam reserve can be increased to full speed at any time!"

"Very good!" Lacroix nodded: "Manuel Battery, fire warning shots at the British fleet. Order them to retreat 20 miles away!"

"Yes!" The communications staff saluted and ran away.

Soon, the two 240mm heavy guns on Cape Manuel raised their not-so-thick but strong barrels high, and with their deafening roar, conveyed a warning from France in the direction of the British fleet...

----------

Leading the British fleet were the British light cruisers HMS Dragon and HMS Delhi (both D-class light cruisers, 5000 tons, 6 single-barrel 152mm guns, 3 102mm secondary guns, 12 533mm torpedoes, 57-76mm armored sides and 25mm tops, designed maximum speed of 30 knots). These two veterans who had fought in the Royal Navy since World War I were slowly approaching the French port as the vanguard of the entire fleet.

Just as Emperor Napoleon finally sent the slow but resolute Old Guards against the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo, the British fleet was also moving forward with the determination to win.

It's just that the roles are now reversed.

The heavy fog seriously hindered observation, but the experienced Royal Navy officers and soldiers did not dare to relax for a moment. The radar whose ranging accuracy was not affected by the fog, and the stereoscopic optical observation device which was also not affected by the fog (the optical circuits of the left and right sets of eyepieces were staggered, relying on the cigarette imaging function of the observer's eyes to form a three-dimensional visual sense, and could measure the distance normally in foggy weather or when the opponent could not be seen clearly, as long as it was not pitch dark), were also staring at the direction of the French without blinking - their well-trained qualities allowed them to quickly notice that there seemed to be a flash of light in the direction of the French coast?

Soon, two huge water columns tens of meters high appeared in front of the ship, and the broadcast that sounded almost at the same time as the water columns exploded made them understand what happened in an instant:

"The Dakar Fortress warns the British fleet that you are not welcome! This is the last warning for you to withdraw beyond 12 nautical miles, otherwise you will be responsible for all the consequences! Repeat! This is the last warning for you to withdraw immediately beyond 12 nautical miles, otherwise you will be responsible for all the consequences!!..."

Fraser, de Gaulle and Owen on the flagship Nelson naturally heard the warning.

But no one took it to heart, after all, they had already torn their faces apart...

"Keep going, and fire back!" Fraser gave the combat order without blinking an eye. After thinking for a while, Fraser said to Charles de Gaulle: "In addition, we will delay the Richelieu, so your (Free French Navy flagship) Brazza, take the escort destroyer fleet to cover the landing ship to land at Rufisk! Now!"

"Okay!" Charles de Gaulle nodded, called his messenger, and sent a telegram to the weak Free French Navy. But after a while, only two transport ships accompanied by several frigates were seen heading west into the thick fog on the shore, and began to sneak towards Rufisk...

On this side, the two Nelson-class ships were engaged in a fierce battle with the four 240mm fortress guns at the Cape Manuel and Gorée Island batteries. As time went on, the thick fog began to dissipate.

Although the caliber looked completely harmless, in fact, the fortress gun was more powerful than the naval gun of the same caliber, and its accuracy was also more accurate. The most fatal thing was that a warship was several hundred meters long and dozens of meters wide, fully exposed to the enemy, while the fortress turret was only a few meters in diameter at most - and only the gun barrel was exposed outside. It was not an easy task to hit the fortress gun on this floating platform at sea.

Soon, the main deck of the Nelson, which was in the front, was hit by two shells. Although it could not threaten the thick main armor, the lethality of the 240mm fortress gun was indeed not low, and some defenseless areas were immediately blown to pieces. The Rodney was not in a good situation either. A 240mm shell hit the bottom of the bridge, which not only damaged several communication pipelines, but also caused a small fire.

But this is not the most critical issue. The most critical issue is that the French fleet led by the Richelieu is still hiding in the shadow of Gorée Island and has not appeared yet!!!

This battleship and her sisters are the biggest concern of the British. As long as this battleship is destroyed, even if the French still occupy Dakar, they will not be able to leave the port and can only defend it.

So, where are they?

ps: Please give me a reward and monthly ticket

Chapter 279: The End of Deterrence

Under the cover of the Gore Island artillery, a fleet slowly sailed out from behind Gore Island...

They are the French fleet that the British have been watching for a long time!

On the bridge of the huge battleship Richelieu, facing the sea fog that was about to dissipate, Captain Mazen, who was only in his forties but whose face was already weather-frosted by the sea breeze, was standing in front of a large-caliber binoculars, staring in the direction of the intersecting artillery shells behind Grey Island in front of him.

The dense fog made it so that targets at sea could only be seen as a very vague shadow. Coupled with the obstruction of the island and the flash of artillery fire, the Richelieu, which was not equipped with a radar, had to distinguish possible targets with great difficulty. However, through communication with the fortress defenders and its own judgment, Mazen Architecture realized that the enemy in front of them was at least two BIG7-class battleships, and they were definitely not opponents that could be underestimated!

Moreover, the Richelieu had been on a hasty escape before the French surrender, so it didn't have much ammunition, and even the fuel wasn't fully replenished. Even if it had received some supplies now, after deducting the losses during training, the entire ship only had more than 260 rounds of shells and barely enough propellant. On average, a gun would misfire after firing about 30 rounds, which was only equivalent to 30% of the ammunition base! Not to mention that the fire control system was only temporarily calibrated before the war, and it was hard to tell whether it would be accurate on the battlefield...

Moreover, in addition to the serious shortage of main gun ammunition, other weapons and equipment are not very complete. In addition to the 152 secondary gun and 130 anti-aircraft gun, the remaining 37 anti-aircraft gun is actually a semi-automatic single-shot hand-pulled machine gun. Only Germany has a similar strange design of anti-aircraft gun of the same caliber, and the Germans have completely replaced that hand-pulled machine gun...

Captain Mazen sighed inwardly, but adjusted his mood in an instant. France had entrusted him with the most powerful battleship, and the safety of Dakar depended largely on this powerful battleship. So, as a soldier, he had no choice but to fight to the end and never back down!

Behind us is the land of France, and there is no room for retreat.

Looking around him, there were two La Garissonnier-class light cruisers in front of him, and three Utopian-class destroyers on the right, which were also firmly guarding him in the middle. The British army on the other side also had two light cruisers and several other destroyers for protection. Although they were not much of a threat, they were definitely guarding the two warships.

In the dense fog, you can only see a shadow of an enemy ship 20 kilometers away at most - be careful not to observe the wrong target, otherwise you will be in tears.

Fortunately, I seemed to see two shadows flashing with sparks from time to time. Although the interval was about once a minute, looking at the flying tracers in the sky, and the smoke rising from Gorée Island and Cape Manuel with fire and loud noises from time to time, it seemed that those two were British battleships, right?

Reaching out his fingers to open the cover of the microphone, Captain Mazen began to issue combat orders...

..................British Fleet...................

"Report! Radar detected six targets coming out from behind Grey Island! Distance 25000 yards, heading 120 degrees southeast, speed about 16 knots! ..."

After hearing the report from the operations staff, the three commanders of the British and French forces who were gathered around the chart table looked up at the source of the sound at the same time. Another operations staff standing next to the chart table quickly picked up a red and blue pencil and drew the line marking the French fleet on the tactical board of the chart. Vice Admiral Fraser turned back to look at the chart, gestured twice with the ruler in his hand, and said: "They finally came out... Order the fleet to turn right two compass points (one compass point is 11.25 degrees), and change the target to Richelieu - also order the Swordfish in the sky to do aerial observation, and the Fulmars to cover the Swordfish! Also, be sure to watch out for the French fighters!!"

"Yes!!"

The two cute tankers changed their course between the water columns of the fortress cannons, heading northeast, and gradually closing the distance with the French fleet... (In fact, Rodney after the big break is really beautiful, and so is the child Rodney...)

Under the observation of the Swordfish, the two battleships of the British fleet opened fire at the largest enemy in the radar echo at a distance of 22000 meters. The dense and fierce high water column instantly surrounded the battleship Richelieu in the middle. The other British battleships were not willing to remain silent and began their own actions. A little further to the left of the two British battleships, two D-class light cruisers also began to shoot at the opposing French fleet.

However, the performance of the small water pipe gate was not up to par after all. The most attention-grabbing thing on this battlefield was the duel between the three large warships.

The firepower of the two armed oil tankers in the artillery observation mode was indeed very fierce. Eighteen water columns followed the Richelieu completely in the middle. Captain Mazen, who stood at the steering wheel and controlled the warship's course, controlled the warship's evasive angle while gritting his teeth and commanding his warship to fire back.

"Damn you British, experience the wrath of France!!"

Although French battleships are theoretically not afraid of T-badge, the actual problem is not just a problem of artillery layout. France's "Pulier" fire control system is developed based on the Dreyer fire control system, and the Dreyer system using trigonometric function principles cannot effectively shoot at enemy ships moving in front (mechanical computers have poor calculation accuracy when trigonometric functions are pulled into straight lines or small angles). On the other hand, the French battleship design concept believes that battleships with too sensitive rudders are not conducive to maneuverability and stability (France had battleships that sank for this reason in World War I), so the rudder effect is slightly slow (it takes more than a minute to change course).

But French battleships also have their own advantages: the gunnery of French battleships can maneuver and fire within a range of less than 20 degrees without affecting accuracy (although the accuracy of French artillery is very poor, and the observation system error is worse than the accuracy of artillery...). In addition, the French fire control system has a radio data link to transmit artillery data, and also supports voice calls for fire control. Especially with the data link, the Utopian-class destroyer can give full play to the advantages of her 138 main guns with long range (maximum range 20 kilometers, effective range 15 kilometers), great power (shell weight 41 kg), and fast rate of fire (breech block structure, rate of fire up to 12 rounds/minute). In fact, in addition to the speed of 42 knots, the first in World War II, the Utopian-class design relies on her fire control data link. Three Utopian-class ships are not at all inferior to a typical treaty light cruiser (normally a light cruiser can sweep a fleet of destroyers).

The French fleet, bombarded by the British fleet, fought back resolutely. 380mm armor-piercing shells, 152mm shells and 138mm shells, with colorful water columns dyed by the dyes of the warheads, rose one after another around the British warships. Not to mention the support of the four 4mm fortress guns of the two artillery batteries. As for the three French submarines in the port, they had already taken torpedoes and disappeared underwater, waiting for the British destroyers to show their flaws, and they would be given a fatal blow by these assassins.

For a moment, all you could see were various water columns and colorful tracers flying back and forth through the mist. The destroyers behind the British battleships also formed an anti-submarine formation with a serious look on their faces, and began to carefully search for traces of French submarines around the battleship fleet.

However, having to fight against submarines while dealing with and avoiding artillery shells coming from all directions is extremely stressful for the primary school students.

In the rapid-fire small-caliber naval gun battle, the firepower of the light warships of the French fleet was obviously superior, and the fierce rapid-fire firepower quickly suppressed the light cruiser Delhi, which was closest to the French army.

Less than five minutes after the battle began, the Delhi was hit by a shell on the shield of its single-barreled front main gun, and the entire main gun was silenced on the spot. Then came the dense rain of bullets from the eighteen 152mm main guns of the two French light cruisers. The smoke of the explosion, the flying parts, the splashes of the nearly lost water, and the blazing flames quickly turned this old brand from World War I into a hornet's nest.

It was like parts and limbs flying everywhere, and flames and thick smoke forming a cloud.

After suffering heavy losses, the Delhi lost its combat effectiveness and was soon riddled with bullet holes, trailing smoke and fire. Under the cover of its sister ship Dragon, it retreated from the battle line in a panic.

Of course, the other cruisers were not much better. Under the debuff called the Wrath of France, in addition to the severely injured HMS Derry, the light cruiser HMS Dragon, the heavy cruiser HMS Cumberland, and two destroyers were also damaged by the crossfire between the Dakar Fortress and the French fleet. Even the HMS Rodney was hit by a 380mm shell and a 380mm near miss, and a secondary turret on the left was destroyed. The bow also took on some water due to the explosion impact of the near miss. Although this level of damage is not a big deal for a battleship, it is indeed embarrassing... after all, it was shot in the face.

"Damn bastard... Keep shooting! Target the Richelieu!! We must knock her down right here!!!"

"Yes!"

The roar of the captain of the Rodney was heard from the loudspeaker. Under the command and supervision of the officers, the sailors, sweating profusely, operated various mechanical equipment and turned the turret to the angles given by the sight. Nearly one ton of armor-piercing shells were lifted up from the ammunition depot, and then stuffed into the gun barrel by the loader. Finally, with a roar of revenge, they flew towards the French flagship 20 kilometers away... With a loud "bang", a ball of flames burst out from the main gun fire control director on the mainmast of the Richelieu, and the firepower of the originally ferocious 8 380 cannons was suddenly suffocated.

"What happened? Was it hit somewhere?" Captain Mazan was horrified.