Bismarck

At two o'clock in the morning of November 1940, 11, as Boyd suppressed his excitement and gave the order, the green signal light for take-off lit up on the flight deck of the Glorious. The ground crew hurriedly lay on the ground and quickly reached out to pull away the positioning pads to prevent sliding.

According to the operational plan, this attack (unlike in history) will directly dispatch 45 carrier-based aircraft to attack Taranto. The direction of Kefalonia Island and Taranto is exactly 80 degrees northwest-southeast, and the approximate direction can be found by calibrating the navigation compass on the carrier-based aircraft. Even if you look down at the sea from the night sky, the huge Kefalonia Island is an extremely obvious landmark, not to mention that the radar-radio navigation integrated system equipped on the Glorious with a PPI display can also guide the carrier-based aircraft group back to the aircraft carrier within a range of kilometers.

(ps: This is how the British navigated in the Battle of Taranto in history, but the British should have trained hard for night landing techniques. In fact, except for the Swordfish with the number E4H that was damaged in the air raid, all the other planes of the British fleet in the Battle of Taranto landed safely. Refer to the farce of the Coral Sea Battle where the trained Japanese night attack team treated other people's wives as their own wives, and the frequent accidents in the Marianas Battle in 44 where more American planes crashed during night landings than those shot down by the Japanese. It can only be said that the experience and foundation of the old naval power are indeed impressive...)

Under the illumination of the deck lights, seven Swordfishes carrying specially modified shallow-water torpedoes, twenty Jaguars carrying 500-pound armor-piercing bombs, and two Jaguars piloted by Lieutenant Commander K. W. Williamson and Lieutenant Commander J. W. Hale, carrying flares and acting as pilots, all started their engines and turned the propellers on their noses. As the pilot stepped on the throttle, the planes accelerated along the flight deck, then took off and disappeared into the night...At this time, the Italian officers and soldiers who had just moored and cleaned up the warships either ran to the bar street on the shore to "relieve stress" or were tired and snored in the cabins around their various battle positions with big blankets...

One had been planning for a long time and was well-trained; the other had just returned from a defeat and was demoralized. From the beginning, the Taranto attack was basically a foregone conclusion...

At 1941:11 in the morning of November 12, , except for the battleship Veneto, which survived thanks to the protection of the Plieser system, the main fleet of the Italian Royal Navy was destroyed.

ps, the Battle of Taranto is actually a foreshadowing of subsequent plots, it is not useless.

P.S. By the way, I want to pair Royal Kshi with a ship girl. Is that okay with you? It won’t have a big impact on the whole article. Very good, let’s just decide~

Chapter 311: It’s all the Italians’ fault

After the emergency meeting, Bismarck embarked on the journey back home. The British still don't know that Bismarck took the little mustache to the Soviet Union. If they knew, they would surely regret not taking that opportunity to attack the Bismarck. As long as the little mustache was killed, the war would basically be over.

But this was basically just a thought. Since the Führer was on board, the Germans' actions naturally put safety first. Apart from the deliberate appearance to contain Hood, the rest of the time they were basically sailing in a controllable area. In addition, with Bismarck on board, there was no need to worry too much about safety issues.

Even when sailing south, the weather was still very cold. Every morning, the crew had to do a warm-up exercise - removing ice from the deck and other gun barrels. This was especially true when it rained or snowed, as the gun barrels would turn into lumps of ice and the deck would become an ice rink.

In such cold weather, all the members of the delegation stayed in the cabin or enjoyed the heating in the conference room.

"You are still taking pictures in this weather. You are really dedicated." Bismarck leaned on the railing and looked at the reporter who walked out of the cabin with three slippers. Her skirt and hair fluttered in the cold wind. Compared with the bulky clothes worn by the people around her, Bismarck was indeed an exception.

"I'm going to write all about life on the ship into news. I've gained so much this time." The reporter patted his camera happily.

"Excuse me, but isn't news timely..." Bismarck said speechlessly, watching the reporter walk to him with difficulty and then grab the railing.

"What's the timeliness?" The reporter said he didn't understand.

"Forget it, just take your time." Bismarck smiled and patted his shoulder, then floated away, as noble as a goddess - well, actually she was more pretentious when she was not in front of Lütjens...

The reporter scratched his head in confusion. How could Miss Bismarck walk so steadily on the deck in high heels? It was incredible.

---

Where can I go?

Lütjens was not in the captain's room, and Bismarck had no intention of going in. His own room was not interesting, and the conference room was full of people...

I can only go to the bridge.

Her awareness accidentally swept across the bridge.

Oh, that's a mustache?

She saw Mustache walking towards the captain's seat and then saw a book.

That seems to be the German version of The Travels of Marco Polo that I read yesterday and forgot to take away...

Um, it’s about China, but it should be okay, it’s just a travelogue.

The man with a mustache looked at the book with some surprise, then picked it up and flipped through it curiously.

"Whose book is this?" he asked, holding up the book.

"It belongs to Bismarck's secretary," replied the chief gunner.

“She also likes reading this book.”

"Führer, you are here?" Bismarck appeared at the door at the right time.

"Oh, you've come just in time. Is this book yours?"

"Yeah, uh, what's up?"

"I'll take it and look at it for a few days, and then I'll return it to you later."

"It's okay, it's okay, just take it. It's okay if you don't return it."

"Okay, I'll take it. By the way, do you have any news about Lütjens recently?"

"Führer, there is no news about the captain yet, but a telegram was sent from the General Staff not long ago," Bismarck said.

"Oh? What news?"

"Not long ago, a surprise attack broke out in Taranto. The attackers were the British, and the Italian Mediterranean Fleet was almost wiped out..."

"What?!" Hitler was so shocked that he almost dropped the book he had just borrowed.

"Come to my room."

"Yes···"

Shortly after Bismarck arrived at Hitler's room, another urgent telegram came from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mussolini in Italy sent a distress signal to the German allies immediately after the Battle of Taranto.

---

The surprise attack in Taranto caused a series of far-reaching impacts, like a stone thrown into a pond, causing ripples to spread out.

First of all, there were the poor Italians. In this battle, they were just like a bullied young wife, being pinned to the ground and rubbed hard by the British.

Italy, because the main fleet of the navy was annihilated and the only surviving VV large destroyer also needed to be overhauled, Mussolini dismissed Cavanari and Campioni as scapegoats, and on the other hand, he urgently used Riccardi, the commander of the Taranto Fortress, as the chief of the navy staff. The first two suggestions Riccardi made after taking office were to reorganize the joint combat mechanism of the navy and air force and to build an aircraft carrier.

Mussolini, who had been slapped in the face and completely sobered up, said that he was considering converting the Aquila (over 3 tons, 151000 horsepower, 30 knots) into an aircraft carrier to deal with the British aviation threat. Germany, which had a beautiful ship girl like Zeppelin, naturally became the target of learning, and Italy's eyes became more and more enthusiastic.

Although Mussolini had no other abilities, he was first-rate in handling domestic affairs. This decision was considered wise. He immediately sent his foreign minister and son-in-law, Count Zenoa, to Germany urgently.

Brother, we can’t stop the British ships and crew!

From the German side, although they have long known that their friends are unreliable and can be as bad as the French, they have no choice. Who told them to form an alliance with these lovely Italians? They can only hope that they can become super gods with their pig teammates...

However, the result of the Battle of Taranto was unexpectedly bad, so bad that even Raeder couldn't believe it...

How come the Italian main fleet was destroyed by just a squadron?

Raeder hurried over with the Italian telegram for help, and immediately sent one to the little mustache.

This teammate is so bad, I can't stand it either...

Now he didn't care that Lütjens was his enemy. He gave the little mustache some advice, saying that the situation in the Atlantic was not optimistic, because the Americans were almost openly against Germany, so the Atlantic Fleet was not having a good time. With the joint efforts of the Americans and the British, the scope of activities of the surface fleet was compressed, and the deployment of large ships was somewhat difficult. And because of the Battle of Taranto, the strength of the Axis powers in the Mediterranean had been reduced to the lowest. He suggested that the Atlantic Fleet be converted into the Mediterranean Fleet, and at the same time asked to send the Persian cat to the Atlantic as soon as possible to increase strength.

In fact, the man with a mustache had heard Reger sell him the strategic idea of ​​the Mediterranean a long time ago. After seeing it again after the Italians' disastrous defeat, he thought about it again. In addition, he happened to see the book that Bismarck was reading today, and an idea of ​​the Far East emerged in his mind.

----------

In fact, it is not only the little mustache who is thinking about the Far East. A country in the Far East is also thinking about Germany and the battle taking place here. That country is Japan, which is also a member of the Axis.

Isoroku Yamamoto (Pan Changjiang?), the naval god of Japan, was very interested in this sneak attack that started and ended with an aircraft carrier, and new reports were submitted every day for his study.

One day, he called his capable subordinate, Chuichi Nanyun (Li Yunlong?) over.

"What do you think of this Taranto thing?"

"The British are far better at using aircraft carriers than we are!"

"No, I don't think the British are good at using aircraft carriers, but the Italians are too useless. In my opinion, the Italian commanders should all commit suicide."

"Hai!"

"The real masters of aircraft carriers are the Germans, Nanyun-kun, you have been chosen..."

clam?

What, appointed?

Ahem, Yamamoto Pan Changjiang told Nanyun Li Yunlong that you have been appointed as the commander of the mobile force (although the candidate had not been decided at this time in history), and you should learn more about aircraft carriers. The Battle of Taranto happened to have given me a new idea. I think we can go to Germany and Italy together for an inspection, and visit our Italians by the way. Isn’t it good to travel at public expense?

Yun Yun.

Therefore, Isoroku Yamamoto prepared to lead a team to Germany to learn the technology of using aircraft carriers.

However, it seems that Bismarck has also watched Kancolle Voting Record before. I wonder what he thinks of Yamamoto...

Since defeating the Italian Mediterranean Fleet, the British have certainly had a much better time. They always encounter those abnormal German warships, and the British are starting to doubt themselves. Have they ever been the empire on which the sun never sets? This is simply a god-like opponent... plus there is also the pig-like opponent, France.

Fortunately, this time they regained their advantage over Germany's allies, and finally regained some confidence - they are not bad either.

After dealing with the Italians, the British will have to focus their main attention on dealing with the cunning Lütjens. The Mediterranean Fleet cannot go out to sea for at least three months, and the fleet chasing Lütjens in the Atlantic has no advantage in combat effectiveness except that it can receive reports from the United States. Therefore, Britain is considering withdrawing troops from the Mediterranean to reinforce the Atlantic, including the Tejas. After all, the threat is not that great now.

The British strategy is to drive Lütjens as far as possible to the South Atlantic, as far away from the French ports as possible, and wait for the Glory to arrive, and then launch an annihilation war with the force advantage of the three aircraft carriers. However, before that, they have to bite and not be bitten back. Somerville said that it is a bit of a headache...

Italians are suddenly the source of all the problems, and they are very proud...

ps: The German war is fun recently, with all kinds of close range mines, what is a sideways battle, hahahaha

Chapter 312: The captured grape

Due to the Italians' lack of support, poor Lütjens fell into an embarrassing situation. Even though he had two capable subordinates, Tirpitz and Zeppelin, being on the vast Atlantic Ocean, enduring the constant strong winds and waves, even the most elite sailors would feel uncomfortable for several days, not to mention that they had been out for a long time.

"Fortunately, we refueled in Bergen, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous now." Lütjen said to Bonte and Zeppelin in the command room.

"Commander, what should we do next?" Bangtai asked.

They already knew the information about the Italians' failure in Taranto, and since it was irreversible, they had to consider what to do next.

Even a fool could have guessed that once the pressure in the Mediterranean was relieved, the British would immediately transfer troops to the Atlantic to encircle and suppress the main force of their Atlantic Fleet. Although the aviation fleet had exploded with amazing combat power under the leadership of Zeppelin, Zeppelin was not a god. In the long-term operations, even if she had no problems, other pilots and combat aircraft were in short supply, especially in the vast Atlantic, and supply problems gradually arose.

"We are running low on aviation fuel and bombs," Zeppelin handed in a report and said, "We can't support any more sorties."

"Do you have enough fuel for your own use?" asked Lütjens.

"I'm fine. The disguised attack ship we sent out earlier still has sufficient supplies. I think it will be enough to get to the supply location. The problem is the one on the plane."

"We still have enough heavy bombs, but the main thing is the light bombs. There is only 35 percent of gasoline left?" Lütjens asked after looking at it.

"Yes."

"The Americans are now entangled with the British, so we have few opportunities to get gasoline. The British escort system is also much stricter than before." He sighed.

"I am now considering using 150 shells to make cluster bombs. I don't know how effective it will be, but I haven't tested it yet."

"If there is a way, do it. Solving a problem is a problem."

"Yes."

"Let me tell you about my current situation, because the Italians..."

As soon as Lütjens said this, Zeppelin burst into a mocking laugh.

"Listen to me." He coughed lightly.

"Yes."

"The British will definitely block us in the Atlantic Ocean and prevent us from returning to France, and then wait for their Mediterranean reinforcements to arrive. I estimate that the only one that can come from the Mediterranean Fleet is the Glory. They will probably form a superior force of three aircraft carriers to encircle and suppress us. We are now short of fuel and bombs, and this situation could be very dangerous."

"Yes, we can't deploy fighter jets at full capacity." Bangtai and Zeppelin both nodded.

"I have a crazy idea." Lütjens, who had originally had a serious expression on his face, looked at his two subordinates, and suddenly the corners of his mouth curved up.

"what?"

"Zeppelin, call Tirpitz over. I have a mission for her."

-------

As one of the main battleships of the Atlantic Fleet, Tirpitz has been very comfortable these days, although her "sister" Zeppelin is very busy...

There was no other way, because Zeppelin was an aircraft carrier. When fighter planes came from the other side, there were Zeppelins leading the team to intercept them, and when they were about to attack the other side's fleet, there were also Zeppelins leading the team to make a long-distance attack.

This is the advantage of having short arms, Tirpitz said with confidence. It is not her fault if she fails to win the battle. So these days, she has not even gone up to the bridge, but has been curled up in Lindemann's big bed to sleep.

The communications soldier said that he even doubted whether Major Tizi had ever been to sea!

Lindemann was also very unhappy. As the captain, he was working hard to command the battleship alone, but the battleship was sleeping in the room, on his own bed!

You said it would be fine if she could sleep in her own bed, but the problem is that this child was influenced by her sister, and when it was time for her to go to bed, she would say something that he didn't understand even though he understood it, such as boys and girls shouldn't have close contact (men and women shouldn't touch each other), and then let her sleep on the sofa!

Lindemann was almost in tears. Did this mean he was kicked out of the room by his own battleship?

You are obviously mine!

This is intolerable...

Don't think that Bismarck doesn't know how much this bastard Bismarck did secretly with Lütjens!

So Lindman felt more and more aggrieved the more he thought about it, so one night, despite the hamster's loud objections, he took off his clothes and lay down next to Grape.

Tizi jumped up from the bed as if startled. She was not wearing a skirt or pants, only the hem of her top covered her perky little butt. Two straight and slender legs appeared in front of Lindman, almost blinding his eyes.

"Hey, Lindemann!" Lindemann pretended not to notice Grape's bulging cheeks, glared at her, and unbuttoned his shirt.