Bismarck

But even so, Tirpitz's hands were not honest. She was gently pinching Bismarck's ears for fun. She finally discovered that her sister's ears were also soft and very comfortable to pinch.

Normally, Bismarck would have waved one hand, but this time Bismarck did not wave away Tirpitz's hand because he was too tired to get up.

I really don't want to move.

The two of them are so busy, they can't be as relaxed as Tirpitz.

"So, this is what they call 'When the sky falls, the tallest ones will hold it up first'" Bismarck said something that neither of them could understand.

"Oh no, I'm so tired even lying down, let me sleep for a while."

However, Bismarck did not want to sleep.

Looking at a certain pink-haired Tirpitz, who went from sitting on a recliner to leaning on it, and leisurely threw a bag of snacks into his mouth, Bismarck and Zeppelin were so angry that they wanted to bite him.

It's just... I'm really too tired to move, otherwise I would have robbed this damn Tirpitz to vent my anger...

"Let go of my ears," Bismarck threatened weakly.

Then Tirpitz widened his eyes and shook his head innocently.

"Sister, do you want to eat?"

--------

Today is already May 14th. In just ten days, Zeppelin and I have been running around with Lutjens and Bonte a lot. We have visited all the heads of the German, Italian and naval forces and held several coordination meetings. After the meetings, we had to fly to the next venue... Not only am I exhausted, but even Lindemann has locked himself in the headquarters and kept writing plans - and modified the plans at any time as the situation developed. In the end, he even locked himself in the room for three whole nights without turning off the lights. Finally, with a pair of panda eyes, he took out three sets of combat plans in one breath - one combat concept and one combat plan!

However, the problem has been solved...

Bismarck, lying on the bed, started chatting with the two sisters...

The plan to attack Crete had finally been finalized, and working contacts had been established between the Atlantic Fleet and the Italian Royal Navy, the Italian Royal Air Force, the German Tenth Air Force in Italy, and the German Fourth Air Army participating in the Malta operation.

Moreover, the troops at hand were now strengthened. Just two days ago, five torpedo boats (S-31, S-33, S-34, S-35, S-61, except S-61, the other four boats were originally ordered by the Republic of China Navy, and after the outbreak of World War II, the order was cancelled and transferred to Germany for its own use) from the first squadron of the third torpedo boat detachment, which had been transferred from the Netherlands through the Rhine-Strasbourg-Southern France Canal system, had arrived in Genoa to report for duty.

Although the combat power of these torpedo boats is really pitifully small, it is at least better than nothing.

The Italian side reached a consensus during the negotiations: the waters west of the Isthmus of Corinth would be the responsibility of Italy; and the waters east of it, including the Aegean islands including Crete, would be the responsibility of the German Mediterranean Fleet, except for the islands in the Dodecanese Islands whose sovereignty belonged to Italy.

In addition, Italy promised to station a squadron in the Aegean Sea for a long time to assist Germany in fighting. The force would be responsible to the Italian naval authorities, but if it fought in the Aegean Sea and the waters near Crete, it would be under the command of Lutjans.

The fleet was designated the 7th Squadron of the Italian Royal Navy and included three Mercenary-class light cruisers - Montecuccoli, Duke of Aosta and Prinz Eugen, as well as two destroyer squadrons and one torpedo boat squadron.

However, I seemed to hear a familiar name.

Prince Eugen?

Exm?

"What? Prince Eugen?!" Tizi's ears pricked up. Even though she didn't want to listen to internal intelligence, she knew that Eugen would no longer be in Italy.

"Isn't the Prinz Eugen still in Raeder's hands? How did it become an Italian ship?"

Is it a conspiracy?

You can't blame Ti Zi for being surprised. In fact, even Bismarck was shocked when he heard the news. Later, after Lütjens' explanation, he realized that this Eugen was not that Eugen, and they were not on the same ship.

"Um, I didn't make it clear. Italy also has a Prinz Eugen. The Prince Eugen in history was originally Italian, but he served as a mercenary in Austria and eventually became a famous general. But this is a light cruiser, not the one you bullied in Hamburg Port! Don't make a mistake." Bismarck rolled his eyes at Tizi in anger: "You only know how to eat, and you want to write another self-criticism?"

But this time Zeppelin laughed: "So, who came up with the bad idea for that 'welcome ceremony'?"

Who else? Bismarck, of course.

It also scared my timid sister to tears.

However, Bismarck had already begun to deny it.

"By the way, sister, speaking of this, have I finally decided on the battle plan?" Tirpitz asked. After all, the battle plan was written by his own Lindemann who worked overtime all night with dark circles under his eyes. It would be a lie for Tirpitz to say that he didn't care.

Although she was usually heartless, she knew that Lindeman was always kind to her.

I remember advising Lindeman: "You should also take a break. What if you exhaust yourself?"

As a result, Linderman messed up her pink hair and asked with a smile, "Since you feel sorry for me so much, come and help me write a battle plan?"

Are you kidding! Writing a war plan is such a troublesome thing, of course, one head and two paws shook into three rattles, and then without waiting for Lindman to say anything more, he slipped out through the crack of the door!

Then she remained silent no matter how Lindemann called her.

Of course, what Tirpitz was actually concerned about was: if Lindemann got sick from exhaustion, who would buy her good food? And no one would play with her. After all, humans were not like them, and there was no such thing as illness.

However, Bismarck and Zeppelin, who were well aware of Tirpitz's little tricks, expressed their complete contempt for him.

ps: I know it's short, but my dual-system tablet is really not suitable for typing. It's slanderous to say that I play games... I can't even run Fantasy Game.

Chapter 401: Operation Mercury

Crete is located in the middle of the eastern Mediterranean, where the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea meet.

This is the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean and the largest island in Greece. It is located in the Mediterranean Sea in the southeast of Greece, 130 kilometers away from the Greek mainland. The island is about 260 kilometers long from east to west, 60 kilometers wide from north to south, and only 12 kilometers wide at its narrowest point, with an area of ​​8236 square kilometers. In addition to the small flat land around the coasts on the north and south sides, the entire island is mountainous, with as many as three peaks 2000 meters high, and the main peak is as high as 2456 meters! Except for the Mesara Plain (29 kilometers wide) in the middle of the south coast of the island, the main ports and towns are located on the north coast - including the capital Chania, the largest port, the best natural harbor on the island, Souda Bay, less than five kilometers east of Chania, and the largest city on the island located in the central and western part of the north coast of the island. It is also the birthplace of the Aegean civilization and even the entire European civilization, Heraklion...

而现在，这里却是整个东地中海的海空枢纽——克里特岛西距马耳他岛约810公里；东距塞浦路斯岛约520公里；西北距希腊的伯罗奔尼撒半岛仅90公里；南与北非重镇托卜鲁克隔着仅有360公里的地中海遥遥相望；而东南方向离埃及的亚历山大港也只有560公里。

The unique geographical location makes this birthplace of European civilization extremely strategic in military terms: whoever occupies the island can control the Eastern Mediterranean! And as long as they occupy this place, the naval and air forces based here will pose a serious threat to Southern Europe and North Africa!

For such a crucial location, the fierce competition between the two sides can be imagined...

Churchill ordered to hold on to the end, and the little mustache man was determined to win!

The British Empire was ready to ensure the equipment supply for the more than 430 defenders in Crete even if it meant that the troops stationed in the Middle East would be left naked. Germany also sent the Fourth Air Army (including the Eighth Air Army and the Eleventh Airborne Army, including 230 bombers, 500 fighters, 50 transport planes, 100 reconnaissance planes, and transport gliders), the Seventh Airborne Division, the Fifth Mountain Division, and the Sixth Mountain Division, which served as the general reserve in Athens, totaling people, as well as a large number of ships requisitioned and called from Italy and Greece...

Of course, this naturally includes the German Mediterranean Fleet under Admiral Lütjens and the 109 carrier-based aircraft on the Zeppelin aircraft carrier: including the original 109 BF2T190 fighters (with combat effectiveness equivalent to BF87F, mainly used for high-altitude air combat) - the extra one is Zeppelin's Edelweiss fighter, and 87 newly replaced FW87T fighters with strong dive, roll, firepower and protection. The original 2 JU87C carrier-based dive bombers were also modified with more powerful engines and turned into JU2C190 dive bombers (with performance equivalent to JUD) - and JUC and even FWT have the ability to mount torpedoes!

You know, Raeder is not without aerial torpedoes!

The F5A 450mm torpedo weighs 737KG, is 4.8 meters long, is charged with 200KG of RDX, has a range of 33 meters at a speed of 2000 knots, and is launched from a height of 140-15 meters at a speed of 25KM/H. Although the newer F5B is still under development, it is about to be developed!

"It's a pity that Raeder had the nerve to say that the lack of airborne torpedoes was our Air Force's problem!" Zeppelin was filled with anger when talking about this.

"That's right!" Bismarck responded, but after she finished speaking, she still said with a smile, "But Zeppelin, you are the navy... You should say that they are the air force."

"What can I say about a navy like this?" Zeppelin shook his head indifferently.

"Hey, you're including me in this!"

Lütjens and Bonte, who were standing on the other side, heard the complaints of the two ship girls, and could only touch their noses and look at each other, and finally they were silent...

They were all navy, so they were all scolded by Zeppelin...

---

In the early morning of May 16, 1941, three huge battleships, escorted by five torpedo boats, slowly sailed out of the port of Genoa and headed southeast.

This also marks the official start of the "Mercury Project" to conquer Crete!

However, for the Mediterranean Fleet, just thirty hours after setting out, at six in the morning of May 17, they encountered a warning...

"...Damn it, these Italians, even the strait at their doorstep has been mined?"

Lindemann looked at the waterway in front of him, not knowing what to say. On Tirpitz's nautical chart, bright spots were densely marked.

These lovely Italians.

Lütjens received Tirpitz's report and couldn't help laughing. Although he was his ally, this matter was really too funny...

Fortunately, the threat of this mine was not very great for them, otherwise the Italians would have to clean the waterway themselves.

The Strait of Messina is less than 40 kilometers long and less than 3 kilometers wide at its narrowest point. It is full of reefs and has turbulent currents. The minesweeper Tirpitz actually saw more than 20 mines quietly hidden under the turbulent waves...

Although these deeply hidden underwater killers are basically nowhere to hide in front of the Tirpitz minesweeper, but the feeling of stepping on a mine at your doorstep...

It's really bad.

"This should have been deployed just now..." On the bridge of the Bismarck, Lütjens said to the Bismarck worriedly while watching the Tirpitz minesweeper in front of him clearing mines.

"Eh? Captain, what does that mean...?" Bismarck was also stunned.

"The only reliable route between the east and west coasts of Italy is the Strait of Messina. There are many ships sailing there, and Italian destroyers are not lazy in patrolling this area, but it was still mined, and it happened to be at this time..." The captain looked at his watch: 6:10 in the morning...

"It's almost arranged according to our needs. Otherwise, if an Italian escort team comes over, the mines here will be exposed... Although this mine array poses no threat to us, if the Italians come to sweep the mines, we won't be able to ship for at least three to five days, or even ten days or half a month!"

The captain said with a worried look on his face.

"Yeah!" Bismarck nodded with lingering fear. But suddenly, she thought of something: "Then... Captain, do you think this is a coincidence or is it intentional by the British?"

"I just don't know... I hope it's just a coincidence, otherwise it means that our battle plan has been known by the British..."

"Eh? Hasn't our original Enigma cipher machine been replaced? And the codebook we are using now is the latest one..."

Lütjens said nothing, but turned sideways, circled a corner where only he and Bismarck could see, and reached out his hand very covertly, pointing upwards...

"Uh..." Bismarck understood and nodded gently. But suddenly he remembered something, tugged at the captain's sleeve, and whispered in Lütjens' ear: "Wait a minute, Captain, if this is true, will the British in Crete be stronger than the intelligence says?"

Because in the previous combat meeting, whether it was the intelligence report issued by the German military intelligence agency or the Fourth Air Force's own estimate, the British troops on Crete were only a few thousand people, and the Greek army was simply ignored...

Historically, the army here included 7000-14000 British troops, 25000 Australian and New Zealand troops, and 7000 Greek troops, although weapons and ammunition were in short supply. The British army only had 89 artillery pieces, 24 tanks and 18 aircraft, and even 5000 people had no guns... The Greek army only had 52 light and heavy machine guns, and the ammunition was completely incompatible with the British...

If the current information is wrong...

"It's possible... If that's the case, then the paratroopers will have a hard time if they're unlucky. Besides, the Führer specifically told us in Berlin that we must protect the paratroopers. They will be of great use in the future..." Lütjens's face became even gloomier.

After thinking for a while, Lütjens spoke to Bismarck:

"Go and get the 'Mercury Project' documents to the chart room. I need to reconsider the operation."

"Okay!" The secretary turned and walked away.

A moment later, in the chart room...

"According to this 'Mercury Plan', General Student's 5th Airborne Corps will send a reconnaissance-airborne guidance team to the island at dawn on May 20th, and then deploy two parachute regiments to launch the first wave of airborne landings in Marama and Chania-Suda Bay around 7 to 7:30 in the morning. Then, after 15 p.m., the second wave of airborne landings will begin in Rethymnon and Heraklion, and at least one airport will be seized - preferably two or more airports and port facilities in Sura Bay. Then, a mountain division will be airlifted as a follow-up force to reinforce the airport. At the same time, on the evening of the 20th, the landing fleet will set off from Minos Port with mountain troops and heavy weapons, and land on Crete on the morning of the 21st, thereby controlling the entire island..."

"But if the British forces on the island are much stronger than expected..."

Lütjens' brow furrowed.

Fortunately, according to the battle plan, the Mediterranean Fleet was supposed to cover the transport ships landing. As long as Crete didn't have heavy coastal defense artillery...

"Bismarck, pass on my order: When our fleet arrives at the port of Taranto as planned, call us, as well as Colonel Schuster, the commander of the German ships in the Aegean Sea, Captain Friedrich Kneider, the commander of the Third Torpedo Boat Squadron, and General Cassady of the Italian Seventh Squadron, to come over and have a meeting..."

"Yes!"

ps: Thanks, big sister~ Also, I highly recommend going to Qingdao in the off-season, the hotel is perfect!

Chapter 402: Operation Mercury (II)

Under the starry sky of the Ionian Sea, General Admiral Lütjens, commander of the German Mediterranean Fleet, was wandering here with his three warships...

Although this was to help the Zeppelin, which was not good at close combat and could not take off and land at night, avoid a possible night raid by the British fleet, it was also the last rest time before the fierce battle.

In the quiet and lightless Mediterranean Sea, the boundless starry sky was like countless sparkling diamonds, hanging high in the deep sky. Above the sea and sky in the east, a waning moon slowly rose, adding a touch of bright silver to the originally silent and lightless sea surface.

Although the fleet is currently on alert, except for the officers and soldiers on duty, everyone else has already gone to rest. After all, it is common sense to conserve energy before a war, except for Bismarck who is still lying on the top of the bridge and looking up at the stars...

It was her habit to relax herself in such quiet moments before the war, and the beautiful starry sky over the sea was something she never got tired of looking at.

Most of the crew members went to rest, but the necessary preparations for battle had already been made.

Although the blackout was on and nothing could be seen from the outside, Bismarck knew that in the main turrets of his own ship, armor-piercing shells had been loaded, and all kinds of damage control and fire-fighting equipment were in place. Many sailors were also wearing military uniforms and full sets of equipment, and they found a place to take a nap near their battle positions to ensure that they could rush to their battle positions as soon as the battle alarm sounded... It was completely a performance before the battle.

Looking at the other two ships, it goes without saying that the Zeppelin is more fully prepared for battle than the Bismarck. Although nothing can be seen from the outside through the tightly closed side elevator doors, inside the hangar, the ground crew are nervously doing the final inspection of the aircraft and weapons - and that blonde woman covering a white waistcoat, and wearing a white top and skirt with gray and black stripes, standing upright in front of the large bulletproof glass with wire mesh in the hangar command post with a cup of coffee, supervising and directing the work of the ground crew, isn't that his bad friend and sister Zeppelin?

As if he noticed that he was looking at her, Zeppelin tilted his head slightly and looked towards the flagship, and seemed to snort slightly?

Okay, okay, I know you are a tsundere, so I won’t look at you.

Bismarck chuckled.

With Zeppelin supervising, the sailors seemed to be in a lot higher spirits - although it was actually the same on the Bismarck, except that the secretary was always in the bridge, only showing it to the captain, and did not "cheer up" the sailors.

Looking at the battleship Tirpitz again… Well, although his sister’s laziness and cuteness were now known to everyone in the fleet, the two thousand sailors on the large hamster seemed to have prepared for battle in an orderly manner under the command of Lindemann. In fact, in Bismarck’s perception, even a certain hamster who was always lazy and cute, and was now wrapped in a blanket, curled up in a pile of pillows next to the main gun director in the bridge, blowing bubbles in his nose, had a hair on his forehead that was also turning rhythmically and almost synchronously with the search radar on the top of his bridge…

Although you keep saying you're afraid of trouble, you still need to be serious when it's time to be serious.

Everyone is ready.

Can't lose.

Compared with Britain, America and the Soviet Union, Germany's national strength is still much weaker. After all, it is a late-rising power. After the vacuum period of the Treaty of Versailles, its foundation has been greatly weakened, especially its navy. This means that Germany's tolerance for war is very small, and every battle requires all-out efforts.

The five torpedo boats that had been following him had already, together with the Italian Seventh Squadron, covered the transport ships as they entered the Gulf of Patras - the deepest part of this bay was the Isthmus of Corinth. As early as the late 19th century, a canal 25 meters wide and with an average water depth of 7.5 meters had been dug. From then on, they could directly reach the forward base designated for this combat transport fleet from Athens - Minos Island, which had a natural bay and was protected by an air force base.

They should have started crossing the canal in Corinth by now, right?

But this is their business. The fight hasn't started yet. Why think so much about it?