Bismarck

"Captain, the gun director has been hit, damage control has begun to put out the fire."

"Start backup command!"

"Yes!"

However, it was not until a few minutes later that Richelieu organized the next round of artillery fire under the command of the backup fire control director.

But... maybe the calibration of the backup director was not done properly, or the vibration caused a "millimeter" error in the coordination of the mechanical computer, or the previous shelling caused heavy losses to the well-trained shelling command team transferred from the mainland, so they had to be replaced by inadequately trained local garrisons... ?

Anyway, at the beginning of this round of counterattack, the accuracy of Richelieu's artillery fire was significantly lower than before, and the shooting became more hesitant...

Seeing the Richelieu being hit, and the hesitant counterattack firepower being much lower than the previous fierce attack, the morale of the British army, which had been affected by the damage and withdrawal of the cruiser Delhi, could not help but be boosted.

Facing the accurate fire of the well-trained British fleet, the French fleet soon suffered casualties: the light cruiser George Legg was hit in the middle by the heavy cruiser Australia. Although it still insisted on staying in the array with smoke, its performance had been significantly reduced; the Utopian-class destroyer HMS Reckless was hit by two 203mm shells and had to stagger away from the battlefield with its stern basically submerged in water; the other warships were also injured; not to mention the Richelieu, which was attacked by the British army. The last remaining French warship was also hit by two 406mm shells and four 203mm shells. The bow was beaten into a paste, a 152mm secondary turret next to the seaplane hangar at the rear was destroyed, and there were several shocking wounds on the hull. An armor-piercing shell hit the sailors' mess with weak armor protection, and happened to hit the munitions room where the red wine was stored. Immediately, the sweet French red wine scattered with the smoke of the shell, and a layer of red wine covered the ground, like a pool of blood.

But how could the romantic French people still care about something external to them, like wine, at this time - although it must be very sad to have the armored wine cellar hit?

At this time, the Richelieu's roll reached about ten degrees, and it was only with the desperate repairs of the damage control team that it was barely restored to below five degrees.

More importantly, the French 380 gun was designed with a strong charge (initial velocity 830M/S, only slightly lower than the Italian 381 gun), and the barrel strength reserve of the French naval gun design was seriously insufficient (the gun barrel weighed only 95 tons, while the Italian 381 weighed 111 tons). As expected, the No. main turret exploded as in history - there was a sudden explosion, the rest of the main guns fired shells, and that one gun just shot out the barrel...

Everyone in the control tower was stunned.

Fortunately, damage control soon reported that the rest of the turret was in good working order - of course, everyone in that gun room was dead.

Although the personnel and equipment on the other side were not damaged by the 45mm isolation armor inside the main turret, for safety reasons, Captain Mazen had to order the use of the other two 380mm guns preserved in the No. turret to be prohibited...

So, Richelieu's firepower dropped again.

However, even though it suffered heavy damage, the pride of France still insisted on staying in the middle of the team, and continued to desperately fight back against the British fleet with the four front main guns of the remaining No. 1 turret!

Soon, the French responded. (Historically, the fighter planes at Wakam Airport, which were afraid of the powerful aircraft carrier of the British Ark Royal, also began to take off under the strict supervision of the Governor. The aircraft carrier brought by the M Fleet this time only had a Cricket, a Hercules, with 12 Fulmars and 6 Swordfish...

Watching the Swordfish in the sky plunge into the sea with black smoke, watching the clumsy Fulmar being beaten by the French H-75A fighter jets, which were already lagging behind even in the European battlefield, and even more daring was the twelve Martin F-167 bombers of the poorly trained Cricket, which began to hang bombs and lined up in a land-based bombing formation, clumsily dropping bombs on their own heads - although the poorly trained bombing accuracy was speechless, but after all, they were bombers...

Moreover, the Richelieu's bombardment efficiency was greatly reduced, but the remaining four 380mm guns were still a strong threat to the British fleet. The 240mm fortress guns and the main guns of the French destroyers and frigates were not idle either. Heavy rain-like 138mm and 152mm shells were fired one after another around several British cruisers, and even the destroyers searching for submarines were "warmly entertained" by the French.

Soon, the heavy cruiser Australia was hit by a 240mm shell in the engine room, and its speed instantly dropped to less than knots. Under the cover and towing of two British destroyers, it hastily evacuated the battlefield... Taking advantage of the chaos of the British anti-submarine formation, two white lines suddenly appeared on the sea surface and fired at the Rodney, which was engaged in an artillery battle with the Richelieu! Although the armed tanker began to turn the rudder hastily, the tanker's maneuverability was very problematic...

Although the battleship desperately evaded one torpedo, the other torpedo hit the middle of the Rodnor tanker. Although the battleship relied on the anti-torpedo compartment to withstand the damage, it still caused a lot of water to enter. Then, it was hit by a 380mm shell, and one of the main turrets was stuck and could not fire! The severely injured Rodney had to withdraw from the battlefield under the cover of other battleships.

A British destroyer, the HMS Echo, frantically dropped depth charges towards the location where the white line was first discovered. Amid the endless water column, a French submarine was soon forced to surface from underwater, dragging the oil. But before it could react, the bridge of the French submarine Perseus was blown up by a cannon shot from the furious HMS Echo. Then, the unsatisfied HMS Echo simply increased its speed and used its sharp bow to crush the already seriously injured French submarine...

The sharp bow slid across the submarine's hull like a scalpel. With a teeth-grinding sound of steel tearing, the unfortunate submarine and its crew were cut into two pieces and disappeared on the sea in an instant.

On the flagship Nelson, Fraser, who was already furious, shouted into the microphone: "Attack the Richelieu with all your strength! Attack the Swordfish too!!!..."

Before he finished speaking, there was another "boom" from the ship. A 152mm shell hit the bow of the Nelson. Although it did not cause much impact, the British fleet was indeed completely at a disadvantage this time!

The last four Swordfish took off from the deck with torpedoes, and the remaining fulmars gathered above the Swordfish. The red-eyed British pilots stared at the severely injured but still fighting Richelieu, and the remaining French light cruiser and two destroyers also surrounded the Richelieu tightly, and together with the H-75A fighter jets painted with the French Air Force logo swooping down from the sky, they used their own anti-aircraft fire network to protect the last pride of France under the brutal bombardment of the British battleship fleet...

The officers and soldiers on both sides have put all their will, courage and hatred into staring at their chosen targets...

"Go to hell, you damn French guy!"

"Damn you British, I'll send you to see God!!"

After several short, fierce and brutal rounds of shooting, the last remaining Swordfish, trailing thick smoke, flew from the side and rear of the French fleet into the torpedo range. The pilot, with his face covered in blood, used his last bit of strength to press the button and dropped the last torpedo at the Richelieu, which had no time to turn the rudder...

A white line pointed straight to the tail of Richelieu...

On the British side, while the British battleships were frantically bombarding the Richelieu and maintaining a stable speed and course, and the destroyers were struggling to cover the evacuation of the injured warships, four white lines appeared in the water and spread out from the left front of the Nelson! But on the eve of the attack, the British destroyer Inglefield rushed up, with the flag signal "Everyone do their duty" and rushed between the flagship and the torpedo at the last moment, and at the cost of being blown in two, it covered the safety of the flagship...

Vice Admiral Fraser, Major General Owen, General Charles de Gaulle, all saluted in the direction of the heroic Inglefield sinking... But because many British destroyers had to cover the evacuation of the injured warships, there were not enough troops to deal with the submarine. According to pre-war intelligence, there were three submarines in the French port...

In other words, in addition to the one that escaped, there is another French submarine hiding somewhere unknown!

The brutal artillery battle lasted for three hours, and the British fleet had already suffered heavy losses... The flagship Nelson was hit by several fortress artillery shells, and the Rodney was seriously injured; the Swordfish of the Hermes was all shot, leaving only four fulmars; a heavy cruiser and a light cruiser were severely damaged, another heavy cruiser and a light cruiser were damaged, and the destroyers were also scarred... But the resistance of the French fleet was still fierce. Although the Richelieu was also seriously injured and seemed to be dragged by someone and began to stagger towards the port of Dakar, there were still two French submarines underwater! Moreover, the Dakar Fortress still has a certain strength until now----at least the fortress artillery is intact! And the air supremacy is still on the French side----although the French colonial air force is relatively poorly trained, it is enough to seriously threaten the safety of the landing plan! !

Well, speaking of which, the four landing ships and the escorting French Navy Brazza frigate that had been hiding and shivering aside also discovered a problem, that is, the coastline in this area of ​​French Senegal is densely covered with reefs and has complex hydrology, which is basically not suitable for landing.

Moreover, the minimum mission - severely damaging the battleship Richelieu so that it no longer poses a threat - has been completed! The Richelieu, whose legs were broken, obviously could not leave the port before being repaired - and in such a colonial port with almost no industrial and maintenance facilities, it was impossible to effectively repair such injuries as a broken leg, a useless main gun, and a shattered fire control director! So there was no need to fight the fortress to death.

Even the brave and fearless Nelson himself more than a hundred years ago had to admit that the fleet and the fortress were seeking death... According to what Fraser knew, the German Atlantic Fleet would set sail at any time, and it would take at least ten to twenty days to return to the British mainland from Dakar. If it encountered the powerful Bismarck, Tirpitz and Zeppelin, the consequences for the already wounded M Fleet were self-evident...

"...I think we should quit while we are ahead. What do you think?" After pondering over the nautical chart for a long time, Fraser finally expressed his opinion.

Looking at the losses of the navy, although he was from the army, as a general trained for many years, Major General Owen was also very clear about some things: "... This is the only way, we will send a telegram to explain to the 'old man' later..."

As the dusk gradually set in the west, the huge British fleet began to turn, gradually distancing itself from the port of Dakar.

An hour later, a call came back from No. 10 Downing Street: "...I have received your situation...Vichy France has lodged a severe protest and may declare war on our country at any time...Considering that the minimum combat objectives have been achieved and the fleet has suffered losses...For the sake of safety, I agree with your opinion and give a formal order: abandon the 'deterrence' operation, and the entire fleet will quickly withdraw to Gibraltar, and then withdraw to the mainland after a simple repair..."

Looking at the telegram, Fraser and Owen looked at each other and unexpectedly felt relieved at the same time?

Seeing his ambitions go down the drain, the French traitor Charles de Gaulle could only put on his hat, walked out of the room depressed and walked onto the deck. Looking at the direction of Dakar that had completely disappeared in the night, even a shrewd man like him could only helplessly complain in a low voice, "What a 'stupid' action"...

ps: Ding ding ding ~ The transaction is here again, I recommend "Tokyo Shadow Princess" by Bai Huhu Ju, this is a transformation yuri story - I won’t say that Bai Huhu Ju is also very beautiful!

Chapter 280: The Three Kingdoms Axis

"Um unsere Zusammenarbeit, prost!" (German: Cheers to our cause!)

"Per nostra cooperazione, applausi!" (Italian, same meaning)

"We will work together to make a sound!" (Baga language, meaning the same as above)

At the dinner held at the German Foreign Ministry's State Guesthouse on September 9, there were lights and wine, and the sound of clinking glasses could be heard everywhere.

German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop, meticulously dressed in a brown suit with a Nazi eagle emblem on his chest; Italian Foreign Minister, Count Ciano, Mussolini's son-in-law, in a dark blue military trench coat with a lapel, which perfectly set off a kind of aristocratic decadence and cynicism; and Japanese envoy Kurusu Saburo, who was dressed in a British black long suit and a black hat, but with a short stature, a wretched beard, round glasses and a sly expression, looked like a pretentious monkey in a human form. The three of them were now gathered together at a cocktail party, toasting to celebrate something happily but with their own ulterior motives.

As for what they are celebrating?

Just outside the gate of this smoky and extravagant banquet hall, at the concierge of the State Guesthouse, the postman had just delivered a special edition of the Nazi Party newspaper "People's Observer" - and on this special edition, it was written in bold, large, medieval classical Gothic font: Our country, Italy and Japan officially signed the "Tripartite Pact of Germany, Italy and Japan". This is a milestone on Germany's road to expanding its living space and a great victory in the struggle for the revival of Greater Germany... and so on.

---

The autumn of 1940 was indeed an eventful time...

Since the Battle of France, the United States has begun to expand its military and prepare for war (it approved an order for ten aircraft carriers and six battleships in June 40), and began to interfere in the war situation through political and economic means (certain trade sanctions were imposed on Japan in July, and the Lend-Lease Act was launched a few days ago for Europe). It also announced (eight months earlier than in history) that it would provide escort for Lend-Lease transport ships, and the scope of the escort - that is, the Pan-American Neutral Zone - was extended from the original 6/7 of the Atlantic median line on the American side to directly along the Canada-Greenland coast to a place almost to Iceland!

Although it was not as aggressive as in history (end of May 41) when it directly took away 5% of the North Atlantic and almost reached the doorstep of the Bay of Biscay, it was enough to be considered as trying to make Britain take sides.

After all, in order to avoid the activities of German submarines and possible French naval forces, 70% of British merchant ships now take the relatively safe coast of the American continent, sail to Halifax, Canada, and then follow the westerly winds across the North Atlantic to the UK.

Although the United States, as an important assembly point and transit station, "took a lot of profit" in this process, even Churchill, the British wartime cabinet and even the parliament did not care, so who else would care?

Roosevelt attacked Germany endlessly, while Churchill was boundlessly criticized. One was willing to fight, while the other was willing to be beaten. Even a blind person could see that these two were a willing couple, right?

However, this is not good news for the ambitions of Germany and Japan (let alone Italy)...

As the United States began to show its interventionist tendencies, Germany, Italy and Japan held negotiations in Tokyo in September 1940 to discuss the Tripartite Alliance to contain the United States and to protect their own spheres of influence and territorial divisions. Due to their common interests and common potential opponents, the three countries almost hit it off.

The three countries started negotiations in early September. After less than a month, they signed a military alliance treaty in Berlin on September 9, namely the Tripartite Pact of Germany, Italy and Japan, commonly known as the Tripartite Axis Agreement or the Berlin Pact. The treaty was valid for 9 years. By June 27, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Croatia also joined the treaty.

Full text of the treaty:

The Governments of Germany, Italy, and Japan, considering that the rightful space for all the nations of the world is a prerequisite for any lasting peace, have resolved to assist and co-operate with one another in their endeavours in Greater East Asia and in the various regions of Europe, with the primary object of establishing and maintaining in the respective regions a new order of things calculated to promote the common prosperity and welfare of the peoples concerned.

The Governments of Germany, Italy and Japan agree as follows:

Article 1: Japan recognizes and respects the leadership of Germany and Italy in establishing a new order in Europe.

Article 2: Germany and Italy recognize and respect Japan's leadership in establishing a new order in Greater East Asia.

Article 3: Germany, Italy and Japan agree to cooperate along the above lines. The three countries also promise to assist by all political, economic and military means if one of the three contracting parties is attacked by a country that is not currently involved in the European war or the Sino-Japanese conflict. (PS: Check the diplomatic data of the Axis powers and the memoirs of relevant personnel, here it refers to the United States)

Article 4: For the implementation of this Agreement, a joint technical committee composed of members appointed by the Governments of Germany, Italy and Japan shall meet promptly.

Article 5: Germany, Italy and Japan declare that the above provisions shall in no way affect the existing political status between the three contracting parties and Soviet Russia.

Article 6: This Agreement shall enter into force immediately upon signature and shall remain in force for ten years from the date of its entry into force. At an appropriate time before the expiration of the above period, the Contracting Parties shall negotiate for the extension of this Agreement upon the request of any State.

In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed and affixed their seals to this Treaty.

Done at Berlin on September 1940, 9

German Representative: Ribbentrop

Italian representative: Ciano

Japanese representative: Saburo Kurusu

---

Germany still attached great importance to this treaty. Before the reception, even Mustache himself came over and gave an impromptu toast - although Mustache did not drink, he just clinked glasses of malt juice with several Italian and Japanese diplomats.

At this time, the Japanese envoy Saburo Kurusu was sitting next to the mustache, holding a wine glass, and in a duck-like voice with a thick katakana accent, he was "sincerely" showing off Japan's theory of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere...

"...At the present stage of world history, we cannot expect to organize the world into a unified entity immediately, so it is an inevitable trend for the nations of the world to form several spheres of coexistence and co-prosperity. Japan in East Asia, Germany and Italy in Europe should take the lead in this sphere of coexistence and co-prosperity. This is an inevitable trend from a historical, geographical or economic point of view..."

"...Looking at the current situation in East Asia and Europe, it is not difficult for anyone with a discerning eye to see that Japan, Germany and Italy are indeed working together to open up the old order within their respective jurisdictions. That is, Germany and Italy are seeking to build order in Europe, and Japan is determined to build a narrow order in Greater East Asia in accordance with the original appearance of Asia..."

"...However, some forces are now stirring up trouble for their own ambitions...I believe that it is precisely because of the attempts to stop this inevitable trend that the current tension in the world has reached its limit..."

"...If this is the case, then Japan will assist Germany and Italy, Germany and Italy will assist Japan, and they will help each other, and depending on the situation, they will also use the power of the military alliance. This is also an inevitable trend."

"...We have formed an alliance today and will help each other. If a 'third party force that has not participated in the war before' takes action, I hope everyone can unite sincerely and work together..."

The man with the mustache politely toasted the malt juice and nodded with a big smile on his face. His expression was as sincere as it could be...

--

After the dinner, the mustache and Ribbentrop took a car from the state guesthouse back to the Chancellery...

"...Humph, these guys want to use us to fight against the United States!" As soon as he walked into the office, the man with a mustache took off his windbreaker and snorted disdainfully: "If they weren't messing around in the Far East and distracting the United States, who would be willing to form an alliance with them..."

"Yes... and I guess they won't be very sincere." Ribbentrop, who came in shortly after, also said: "In fact, since they were taught a lesson by the Soviet Union in Nomonhan, they are now in private contact with the Soviet Union..."

"Soviet Russia? The attitude of this country is very mysterious, but it is developing very fast. We need to pay special attention to it..." Speaking of the Soviet Union, the mustache man thought of a worry of his. "This country has cooperated with us before, but it may also be dangerous. In the agreement signed today, there is a special clause that states that the relationship between the contracting parties and the Soviet Union will not be affected by this treaty, because the situation of the Soviet Union is very uncertain."

"But the current situation... Ribbentrop, you should write a letter and contact the Soviet Union, saying that the matter of continued cooperation between the Soviet Union and our country needs to be discussed... Forget it, you tell the Soviet Union that I will personally visit the Soviet Union next month to discuss this matter - you can say that I will take the Bismarck battleship to visit Leningrad first, and then go to Moscow. Also remember to tell the Soviet Union that I..." The man with a mustache thought for a moment, turned to Ribbentrop and said.

"Yes, I'll arrange it right away!" Ribbentrop saluted with a Nazi hand gesture, turned around and walked away.

(PS: Historically, after the signing of the Axis Pact between Germany, Italy and Japan, Hitler wrote a special letter to Stalin in October 40, saying that Germany hoped to pull the former Soviet Union into the Axis group and establish a "Four-Power Alliance". Stalin then sent Molotov to Berlin for negotiations. At the negotiating table, the German side provided a draft of the "Four-Power Treaty", claiming that it could jointly fight against Britain with the former Soviet Union, and suggested that the Soviet Union expand in the direction of British colonies or puppet states in the Indian Ocean south of its territory. Stalin declared that he agreed to sign the treaty in principle, but at the same time demanded that Turkey and Bulgaria be included in the Soviet sphere of influence Hitler was very dissatisfied with this, so he stopped giving the Soviet side a reply. After this talk, both sides basically determined that they were not in harmony with each other and would fall out sooner or later. Therefore, on April 10, 1941, in order to avoid being attacked from both sides by Germany and Japan, Stalin signed the Soviet-Japanese Non-Aggression Treaty with Japanese Foreign Minister Matsuoka Yosuke in Moscow, mutually recognizing the spheres of influence of both sides and promising to remain neutral in each other's war. However, since the Soviet Union's war preparation plan would not be completed until 4, it ultimately failed to avoid the outcome of being suddenly attacked by Germany on June 13, 42...)

p.s. Today is the Perseid meteor shower, I'm taking photos on the top of a mountain now~ By the way, why are the mooncakes getting softer and softer recently? They're not tasty at all... or the ice skin ones

Chapter 281: Entering the Water

After the Berlin incident, Lütjens was appointed commander-in-chief of the Atlantic Fleet the next day and no longer had to go to work at the Navy Ministry. At the same time, his "follower" Bismarck also no longer had to go. This could be regarded as a separation between him and Reger, cooling down the relationship.

Bismarck was happy to relax at the captain's house for a few days, and took Liliana and Tirpitz to visit Berlin. As Hitler's war mobilization order had not been issued, Berlin was like a pure land in this war-torn era. Germany was winning victory after victory in its external expansion, both on land and at sea. This was directly reflected in the expressions of the people, who were all full of pride and pride. They firmly believed that Germany would once again have enough space under the blue sky, and no one was worried about the future. Although the sudden air raid a few days ago disrupted some of the peace, and it was surprising that the capital of Germany would also be attacked, with the government's appeasement and trust in Hitler, the streets of Berlin were still bustling with people shopping and watching operas on weekends - except that there were no Jews among these people...

Bismarck has seen more than one poster of herself walking down the street, and more than one group is distributing naval propaganda photos, and of course she is the protagonist, which makes her "very embarrassed."

"It seems that our Bismarck is still very popular." Lily said with a smile.

"Ahem, this is a complete accident—Hey, where's Tirpitz?"

"She was here just now." Lily turned around and saw that the girl next to her had disappeared. "Where did she go?"

"Wait, let me see."

Bismarck closed his eyes, spread his mental power, and soon found Tirpitz not far from them - she was happily taking a photo from the person distributing the promotional photos.

"What do you want to do?" Just as Tizi was trying to carefully hide the photo in her arms, Bismarck suddenly appeared behind her and grabbed the photo...

"Sister~" Tizi was stunned, and quickly came over to flatter her, "I just want a photo of you~"

"Don't come over here." Bismarck raised the hand in the photo and pushed it at the same time, hitting Ti Zi's soft chest and pushing her away from him.

Bismarck's face turned slightly red, and he immediately covered up his embarrassment with a cough. Tizi, on the other hand, was unaware and wanted to come closer and reach out to grab the photo.

Bismarck wanted to push again, but suddenly remembered something and pulled back.

Of course, now he was sticking his body directly to me.

"Give it to me, give it to me." Ti Zi shouted unwillingly.

"What are you doing?" Lily helplessly watched the two sisters squeezed together in public to fight for something. Fighting would be fine, but neither of them has any awareness of being a beauty. Don't they know that the way they stick together is very erotic?

"My sister didn't give me the photo!" Ti Zi immediately pouted and complained.

Although the two sisters are about the same height and age, Tirpitz's pouting movements are so natural and cute that Lily immediately favors her - after all, Tirpitz is the younger sister.

"Bismarck, why don't you give it to her? It's just a photo?" Lily asked puzzledly.

“This is my photo...”

"What happened to your photo?"

"She would do something bad with it." Bismarck explained, "I know her..."