Bismarck

"What are you looking at? Of course, you're looking at the bait..."

The unscrupulous captain of a certain hamster chuckled, slapped Tizi on the head and rubbed it hard. "Even a fool can guess that the commander wants to make a big news, so he wants us to be bait!"

"Now I don't know what he wants to do, but you just have to play the role of the bait honestly!" Looking at the little hamster whose face began to turn black, Lindemann grinned even more maliciously and rubbed the pink hamster's hair even harder.

Hmm, it feels pretty good. No wonder it is so comfortable to use it as a pillow when sleeping at night.

"Ah——" Everyone on the bridge suddenly heard their captain scream, and then saw the secretary's hand twisted around the captain's waist...

Uh...how miserable.

"Night raids and such... Take care of your own business!"

The hamster withdrew her hand from Linderman's waist to turn the switch, snorted, and walked away with a roll of the eyes. Only the unscrupulous captain who was lying on the chart table, holding his waist and snorting, and the officers and soldiers around him who were used to it and turned a blind eye, wanted to laugh in their hearts but still looked serious.

Seeing Tizi rolling his eyes as he left, and his subordinates trying to hold back their laughter, Lindman, holding his waist which had been twisted like a switch, couldn't help but curse inwardly, "What kind of people are you!"

"But... we have to get to Freetown before three in the morning... there are less than ten hours left, and the distance is still three hundred nautical miles... Fortunately, I found a disguised supply ship to refuel the day before yesterday, otherwise I really don't know if I can make it..."

-------

"...So, is this really okay?" In the command center of the Zeppelin aircraft carrier, Bonte was frowning and thinking about Lütjens's combat idea.

"Samoville has a very steady command style. The Tirpitz's bombardment of Ascension Island is obviously a feint, right? Given the current state of our fleet and the situation in the UK, we may not be able to catch up with Samoville, right?"

"Ah, that's right." Looking at the old subordinate who had boarded the pirate ship with him, Lütjens smiled confidently. "Think about it, if you were Samoville, what would you do if you encountered this situation?"

"Well... I will probably stay calm and stay in the Dakar-Natal waters. As long as we use up our fuel and their reinforcements arrive at the battlefield, they will win. So Samoville won't take any risks, right? He might even wait for us to take the risk and deliver it to him..."

"Yes, but..." Even though he has long been considered rigid and serious, Lütjens couldn't help but smile: "What will he do specifically?"

"To be specific... their current mission is to monitor us and blockade us in the South Atlantic... but with their current military strength... and the width of this area minus the Pan-American Neutral Zone... and now it's night..." Bangtai frowned and felt something was wrong the more he calculated. It was not until this time that he finally came to his senses. "... Eh?! Commander, are you saying that he is seriously short of battleships now, so he will most likely be forced to split his forces?"

"Yes! And he is unlikely to disperse the main fleet, and he also knows that his speed is not as fast as ours. He must ensure both the search range and the inner advantage. But if he wants to ensure both at the same time, he can only send his cruisers to the central Atlantic to perform combat patrols and keep the main fleet in the eastern Atlantic to maintain the inner advantage!"

"In this case, the covering force of his battleship will be greatly reduced... I understand!" Bangtai punched the palm of his other hand and said, "Great!"

Lütjens sneered and pointed at the sea chart. "Moreover, if they want to maintain their inner advantage, they must take the shortest possible route... Within the 1,000-kilometer range of the eastern Atlantic Ocean, only the sea area due south of Dakar and due west of Liberia meets this requirement!"

"In addition, the location of the last contact between our reconnaissance aircraft and the skuas they were carrying out reconnaissance missions at 3 pm yesterday also fits the assumption that the enemy fleet is in this area!"

"That means they will most likely gather in this area! As for the specific location, let Zeppelin lead the fleet to navigate?" Bangtai, who had suddenly realized the key point of the tactics, also thought of it. "I see!"

"Yes, without Zeppelin, I wouldn't be so sure to do this." Lütjens, who was confident of winning, changed his habitual expressionless face and smiled and talked to Bangtai. Both of them knew Zeppelin's true identity, so naturally they smiled knowingly.

"Report! The full-deck attack of the Zeppelin aircraft carrier is ready! The details of the operation have been worked out! Our fleet is now heading 350 degrees north by west, at a speed of 10 knots! The wind is currently due east, with a wind speed of 2.5 meters per second and a wave height of 3- meters! The sea conditions in the area where the fighter jets are to be launched are expected to be the same as they are now! Please instruct the next mission!"

A tall and heroic figure in a white uniform walked in from the gate of the command post and saluted the two generals.

"I was just talking about you, and you're here." Although they didn't know who Cao Cao was, Lütjens and Bangtai looked at each other and laughed. While laughing, they also called Zeppelin to come over to the chart table: "Come on, let's check the battle plan again..."

Chapter 317: Take off, Zeppelin

On November 1940, 11, at 14: a.m. GMT+...

It was a very good dawn. The long wind blowing from the east had blown away all the clouds and fog on the sea after a night of wind. The clear sky was filled with only twinkling stars.

Whether strong or dim, they all appear clear in this endless sky.

The slightly dim Milky Way hangs far across the southern sky. The distant water-sky line can be seen clearly even under the soft moonlight emitted by the full moon in the sky. At the same time, all things on the sea surface are inevitably revealed under the moonlight.

The starry night sky seen by the eyes and the sound of the waves carried by the wind are both beautiful and clear...

Under the shining of this full moon, on the vast Atlantic Ocean, the steel body of an aircraft carrier is dragging out a long wake, facing the breeze, white waves and splashing waves, and cutting through the waves alone in the Atlantic Ocean.

half an hour ago.

"Commander, it's already three-thirty." Zeppelin, who had been on duty on the bridge with Lütjens and Bonte, looked at his watch and reminded.

"That's about it." Lütjens looked at the two of them and got a nod in response.

"Well, I give the order, Zeppelin, enter level one combat deployment!"

The combat alarm suddenly sounded on the ready Zeppelin. In the wide and quiet space, the alarm bells inside the ship could be heard far away.

The sailors who rarely rested had been preparing at their battle stations long ago. They only slept for an hour or two and stayed there almost all the time, especially the ground crew. The commanders stayed up all night, including Lütjens. The only ones who were forced to sleep were probably the pilots. As the main force of the attack, they had to get enough rest.

When the alarm sounded, it was these guys who jumped out of the bed.

On the deck of the aircraft carrier Zeppelin, ground crews were orderly lifting fighters and dive bombers that were fully fueled and loaded with bombs from the elevators, one after another, and arranging them neatly on the deck. In order to prevent accidents, all the hatches had been removed in advance in the brightly lit hangar.

There were movable railings around and a windbreak fence in front of the flight deck, which had only slightly dim lights. However, under the moonlight, the deck was still bright enough for deck preparation.

Zeppelin had been wearing a leather flight jacket since the night before, which, combined with her slender figure, made her look even more heroic.

"You should get ready too. Good luck to you." Lütjens said as he looked at the planes on the deck.

"Yes! I will do my best!" Zeppelin said seriously. "By the way, Commander, you should also go to bed early after the carrier-based aircraft departs, and so should Bangtai."

"Hahaha, Zeppelin thinks I'm too old." Lütjens laughed and said to Bontai.

"I'm just afraid that Bismarck will come back and cause trouble for me." Zeppelin smiled.

"Don't worry, it's okay. After you take off, Bangtai and I will take turns on duty." He said.

"Yes." Zeppelin nodded, saluted neatly, and then went down the bridge.

"are you ready?"

she asked as she joined the pilots on the flight deck.

"Don't worry, Captain, there will be absolutely no problem!"

"We will beat the damn British down!"

"Let's go!" Zeppelin smiled and gave orders to them.

"Yes!"

The pilots put on their flight goggles and boarded their fighter planes one by one. In the front was the Iron War Eagle with an edelweiss painted on it - this was her second fighter plane. Zeppelin's original plane was shot down in Newcastle, which was also the first time she was shot down.

"This time, we are sure to win!"

Under this starry sky, the flight deck of Zeppelin was gradually filled with neatly arranged planes with their wings extended and propellers started...

From time to time, you can hear the sound of "bang bang bang bang... woo woo woo~", which is the sound of the aircraft engine driven by the starting motor, and then gradually turns into the sound of the propeller rotating airflow driven by the started engine.

Lütjens and Bonte on the bridge looked out the porthole at the busy flight deck under the moonlight, while also checking the navigation status and time...

"The wind is now due east, the sea conditions are about level 90 to winds, level waves, our ship is heading degrees due east, and the speed is knots!" Bonte glanced at the dashboard and reported to Lütjens.

"Yeah." Lütjens agreed, and continued to look at the busy flight deck outside the window, waiting for the report that the flight deck was ready.

According to the battle plan drawn up before the separation, Lindemann should have led Tirpitz to bombard Ascension Island an hour ago, causing considerable losses, because the radio department had intercepted a clear code telegram from the south not long ago. From the fact that the other side had directly sent a coded telegram, it can be seen that Lindemann's feint attack was also quite fierce. The poor British should have suffered heavy losses under Tirpitz's surprise attack.

Although Samoville might not be tempted to go south by this telegram for help, it was Lütjens who took the initiative. Lütjens did not expect him to go south for support. As long as this news could make Samoville hesitate for a while, this surprise attack could gain greater initiative!

Because when the commander is indecisive, the position of the fleet will not move easily - and for the assault aircraft group that is ready to strike, the British fleet, which has determined its approximate position and cannot maneuver, is the best live target!

This is what is called, strike first, gain the upper hand!!

I'll kill you while you hesitate!

only...

Although he was already a veteran of many battles, and it was not the first time he had seen a flying attack wave take off, he was preparing to attack the enemy's main fleet after all. Lütjens had no expression on his face, but in his heart he was actually hoping that the preparations on the deck could be done faster...

"Zeberlin reports, twenty-one JU87Cs on the flight deck runway, eighteen F109Ts, twelve JU87Cs in the takeoff standby area, a total of fifty-one aircraft, are now fully prepared! The deck wind speed is forty-nine knots (25 meters per second), ready to take off at any time!!"

Zeppelin's cold voice finally came from the microphone, and the time now pointed to 6:15 Berlin Standard Time, which was 4:15 at the current location...

Bangtai glanced at the fleet commander, Admiral Lütjens, who nodded with a sullen look on his face and gave the order: "Carrier-based aircraft, all attack!"

Bangtai immediately turned around, opened the microphone cover, and shouted, "Carrier-based aircraft, attack in full force!"

The wind shield at the front of the flight deck was lowered, and at the same time, the light green signal lights and dark red runway lights on the flight deck were lit. Led by a BF109T fighter with an edelweiss pattern, the aircraft, which had already pushed the propeller throttle to the maximum, released the brakes and gradually began to take off.

The short distance of 100 meters passed in a flash. If it were on land, this distance would not be enough for the warhawks to start accelerating. But with the help of the deck wind of nearly 50 knots, which was a combination of a speed of 35 knots and a wind speed of 10 meters per second, one warhawk after another easily reached the take-off speed standard. They only sank a little when they flew out of the front end of the flight deck, and then quickly pulled up the altitude and rushed into the deep northern sky under the starlight and moonlight...

"The Zeppelin took off smoothly, and there will be no problem with the rest." Bangtai said as he watched the Edelweiss fighter take off smoothly from the bridge.

"Haha, that's for sure. Aircraft carriers can fly, so why can't the boys do it?" Lütjens made a rare joke, but then he gave a new order.

"After this batch of aircraft has taken off, immediately move the second wave of attack from the hangar up as planned! Our opponents are two large aircraft carriers, so we must go all out! We must not give them a chance to catch their breath or even fight back!!"

Watching the fleet of planes flying towards their target in the north, Lütjens' expression was still solemn. Without waiting for the fleet of planes to take off, Lütjens issued the next combat order without blinking.

"Yes!!" Bangtai, who knew that this attack was a fight of life and death, also responded in a deep voice.

At the command, before all the twelve JU87s in the flight deck standby area were transferred to the flight deck, the twelve JU87Cs and eight BF109Ts in the hangar began to move towards the rear elevator entrance. As soon as the tail wheels of the two JU87Cs on the rear elevator left the rear elevator, the elevator was slowly lowered under the control of the deck operations commander, and began to lift the second wave of aircraft on standby in the hangar onto the flight deck.

The twelve BF109Ts in the hangar on the lower level also began their final inspection by the busy ground crew - these were almost all the fighters that could take off from the Zeppelin aircraft carrier. Even the damaged fighters were pulled up after emergency repairs. This was also the last defense force. If the operation failed, these would be what Zeppelin used to save his life.

"I hope our battle is successful..."

From Lütjens and Bonte to ordinary sailors, everyone started their busy work while silently making the sign of the cross on their chests. "God bless, Amen..."

The first wave of attack aircraft roared towards the pre-determined target. In the radio silence, only the moonlight illuminated their way forward...

ps: How to win by riding Zeppelin in the face? Just smash it down from mid-air and smash through the boiler. By the way, will Bismarck be hit by Zeppelin?

Chapter 318: Sneak Attack Begins

An hour ago...

Samoville, who had finally found some time to take a nap on a camp bed in the lounge on the bridge of the Formidable, was suddenly awakened by a shout of "Report!"

He rubbed his temples which ached from lack of rest, wiped his dry eyes, and knew that something must have happened when the operations staff woke him up. However, he did not hear any gunfire or explosions, so it was obvious that something else had happened.

Samoville didn't curse at anyone, but just grabbed a towel soaked in cold water and wiped his face to cheer himself up.

However, it was obviously unnecessary to drink some cold water to cheer himself up, because what happened next directly scared him.

While wiping his face, Somerville asked, "What's going on?!"

"Report!" The staff officer who came in hurriedly stood at attention and saluted, then handed over a telegram and said, "Just now, Georgetown Port on Ascension Island sent an urgent telegram for help! They said that since 4 o'clock Greenwich Mean Time, they have been bombarded by the battleship Tirpitz. The merchant ships assembled in Georgetown Port and the engineering corps that are building the airport have suffered heavy losses!"

"what?!"

Samoville, who was sitting on the bed, stood up suddenly, grabbed the telegram and put it under his eyes to look at it carefully, asking, "What time is it now?"

"It is 4:30 Greenwich time, 3:30 Ascension Island local time." The officer reported without hesitation.

Samoville frowned. His rich experience from many years of fighting instinctively told him that things were definitely not that simple. He grabbed a military coat and walked towards the door, calling out to the officer who reported the news: "Let's go to the command post!"

----------

"...Although it is unclear how much supplies Lütjens has left, this should be a feint. But...what exactly does Lütjens want to do?"

In the command post of the British fast fleet, Samoville was also undecided for a while...

Because there is no need for Lütjens to attack the so-called Ascension Island. Sommerville knows that Lütjens has been fighting at sea for a long time and there is definitely no way he has much ammunition and supplies left. Is there any benefit in attacking Ascension Island now?

Do you still want to dock for supplies?

Impossible, he's not that stupid.

"...Do you think they are coming specifically for us?" Samoville finally came up with an answer that was closer to the truth, but he was not completely sure, so he asked his staff: "...Or is he actually planning to slip away from the Pan-American Neutral Zone?"

When the battle situation is in a fog, no one knows what will happen next, and commanders can only rely on some information to make their own inferences. As to whether they are correct, only God knows.

They will also be held accountable for this decision.

"If they attack us...even though we have basically sent out all our cruisers, our escort force is still pretty good, right?" An aide thought for a moment and said uncertainly.

"Two Dido-class anti-aircraft cruisers, Dido and Luna, are escorting the aircraft carrier. Two heavy cruisers, Kent, London, and King George V, are forming a vanguard formation 12 nautical miles ahead. Each formation has four destroyers to provide cover. In addition, we now have Fulmars, and the Jaegers can also serve as anti-aircraft aircraft when necessary. At least we can intercept the Stuka, right?"

"But the Jaguars still have to take on reconnaissance, and some of them are left as strike force..." Another staff officer opposed the idea of ​​using the Jaguars to play a cameo role in air defense: "Don't count on the Jaguars, and as for the Swordfish...it's better to just do the role of anti-submarine aircraft and torpedo aircraft!"

"Do you think they will go to the Pan-American Neutral Zone? The only country that is active in the Pan-American Neutral Zone is the Americans, but the Americans' main force is in the North Atlantic, and they also have defense pressure in the Pacific. As for the navies of those Latin American countries, we helped train them. Who doesn't know how qualified they are and how much willingness they have to participate in the war?" Another staff member recalled the question that Samoville asked at the beginning, but his words were full of disdain for the navies of Latin American countries...

Indeed...if there is a war, Latin American countries will be of no use.

"...I think it's more likely that they intend to lure us into chaos and then take the opportunity to escape. After all, it's a fact that our troops are not enough to blockade the Atlantic Ocean." Another officer kept tapping his fingers on the chart table. "To be honest, even if we withdraw six cruisers to the Central Atlantic to perform combat patrols, the maximum search radius of the cruiser is only twelve to fifteen nautical miles. Now each cruiser is responsible for a range of at least sixty kilometers, and to ensure continuous patrols, the cruising speed will not exceed 20 knots. Even if the radar and optical search radius of the cruiser are taken into account, a round trip will take two hours! Two hours... is enough for them to run away. Our search success rate is at most half, or even less than half!"

"But there's nothing we can do. If we don't disperse our search, our success rate in finding the enemy will be less than one-third!"

......

For a moment, the headquarters was in a state of confusion, and Samoville could only feel the pain in his temples getting worse and worse...

As expected, we can't let too many people come to consult at this time. If Somerville had made the decision according to his own ideas at the beginning, it might have been correct. But now, after being argued by a group of people, no one knew where his ideas had gone.

"Forget it, let's take it one step at a time..." After a long discussion without reaching a conclusion, Samoville could only adopt a more compromising response strategy. "Order the fleet to be on high alert, and have the fleet of King George V under the command of Holland approach us. Also, order the Formidable and the Furious to prepare for aerial reconnaissance. It will be dawn at 6:30 here... Have them send reconnaissance planes at 5:30 - no matter what, we have to find Lütjens' whereabouts before we can talk about anything else!"