Bismarck

"Would you be happy if you were scolded all day long?" Bismarck looked up at him.

"Who scolded you?" Lütjens' voice suddenly became low.

"No, no, not the ones from the ship, I mean the Greeks."

"Oh, you're talking about that." Lütjens smiled. "It can't be helped. This is inevitable. Just let it go. Don't take it to heart."

"That's what you said, but it was clearly not our navy's fault, but we have to take the blame too. Isn't it depressing?" Bismarck smiled lazily. She naturally wouldn't take it to heart. After all, it had nothing to do with her.

"We are all for Germany..." said Lütjens.

"Tsk, Japan said the same thing. So, Germany and Japan..." Bismarck stopped talking halfway. When he raised his head, he saw the captain's helpless look.

She could hear his emotions.

She felt half helpless and half ashamed. She really shouldn't have complained to Lütjens about this matter. After all, she knew the captain very well.

Bismarck smiled awkwardly and scratched his head.

"That's not what I meant," she said.

Although she knew that her captain was also very disgusted with this kind of behavior, she also knew that he, who only had a nominal position as the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, could not control the beasts in human form in the Military Control Commission.

It can even be said that even he, she under his command, her sisters and their captains, were helpless.

Otherwise, the top leaders would not have abandoned their powerful deterrent force in the Atlantic and thrown them to the Mediterranean to rely on others...

If Rommel and Lütjens were just pure soldiers, and Italy still had some humanity, then there was the Greek occupation army military control committee or something like that.

The two people standing in the sea breeze fell into helpless silence.

Even in Bismarck's eyes, even the usually stern captain covered his eyes and forehead.

The sun has completely fallen below the sea level. Only the full moon hanging high in the sky, accompanied by countless stars, silently looks at this world full of war.

"Let's go. Let's do our own thing first, and then talk about other things." The captain shook his head, put on a stern face again, opened the hatch beside him, and hurried into the headquarters.

Before he even walked into the door, he began giving orders to Hyde in the bridge:

"Order, tell the entire fleet to sail at 28 knots. We have to hurry. We must reach the take-off position for carrier-based aircraft before 4 a.m."

"Twenty-eight knots? Then, what about fuel consumption?"

"Let's talk about it when we get there."

The hatch closed, and the captain's depressed figure was trapped outside the cabin.

ps: Update! Please order the new book first~ We will also take care of this one

Chapter 430: Strong Attack

In the Mediterranean Sea illuminated by the moon and stars, three huge black shadows painted with camouflage were sailing at a high speed of 28 knots.

Unlike the dark shadows on the outside, the interior of the battleship, the combat command room on the bridge, was brightly lit. Dozens of staff officers were busy but orderly making the final preparations before the battle.

Sitting at the main seat in the headquarters was the Mediterranean Fleet Commander Lütjens. Standing next to Lütjens was Bismarck, who had already put his mind in order and started preparing for war.

Although she and he were both very depressed, after all, they were facing a powerful enemy...

"It's two in the morning... We should be almost passing Crete by now, right?"

Lütjens, who was sitting in the main seat, had no expression on his face. He asked while looking at the sea chart in front of him.

"…Well, Crete is on our left and we are almost passing it. We are expected to arrive at the designated position at 4 a.m. without any problems."

"How much fuel is left?"

"Well... the current fuel consumption is 50 tons per hour. We have been sailing for seven hours. And the last time we refueled, we were short of fuel so the three of us only loaded about 6800 tons of fuel. So... the remaining fuel is about 6400 tons."

"6400 tons... we still have to use it sparingly. So, tell Tizi and Zeppelin that after Zeppelin launches the fleet supporting the Tobruk offensive, we should slow down to 24 knots." Lütjens pondered for a while and said, "By the way, have you confirmed that the combat positions and status of each unit specified in the combat plan have been implemented?"

"It has been confirmed, Captain."

Bismarck opened the folder in his hand and reported while flipping through the telegram records:

"The battleship Bismarck, the battleship Tirpitz, and the aircraft carrier Zeppelin have been confirmed ready! In addition, according to the report sent by Rear Admiral Heyer, who stayed in Athens and used the call sign of the Mediterranean Fleet Command as a radio disguise, other units assigned to our fleet command have also sent telegrams to confirm their combat readiness... The details are as follows:"

“…Crete’s airport, which currently only has reconnaissance aircraft (due to the Soviet-German War, the main garrison troops have been basically transferred away), has made preparations for sending out reconnaissance aircraft and can be dispatched to scout the Mediterranean Sea as planned;

All 20 submarines that the submarine force could deploy have been deployed. A warning network has been set up along the line from the south-southwest sea area of ​​Crete to Baltia, with a density of one submarine every kilometers.

The Italians also confirmed that the Dodecanese Islands were already on high alert to prevent the British from taking advantage of the situation to launch a surprise attack on the Aegean Sea and Crete;

In addition, Haye has just forwarded a report from the African Corps that the enemy situation they are facing has not changed, and they will launch a general attack on Tobruk as originally planned - all troops will take off from the airport near Galaza at 4 a.m. and begin bombing the Tobruk Fortress at sunrise at 5 a.m.."

"That's all the information above, report completed!"

"Hmm." Lütjens nodded calmly, and then continued to ponder over the large vertical plotter that automatically corresponded to the staff's marks. Bismarck did not say anything, but closed the folder and tucked it under his armpit, and quietly stood beside his fleet commander.

The brightly lit headquarters is still so busy...

I wonder how tomorrow's battle will go?

Now that things have come to this, all we can do is... do our best...

"At four o'clock in the morning, if we reach the designated location, let the Zeppelin take off and attack the aircraft group as planned..." Finally, the captain, who had been silent for a long time, gave such an order.

I don’t know if it was an illusion, but Bismarck seemed to hear the captain’s sigh?

This is not a good sign.

Tobruk's east and west sides are all sand dunes without any tracks, and only the south side is a flat sandy plain. The Italians built a solid fortress here under the command of Marshal Balbo, who was unlucky enough to be killed by his own anti-aircraft guns but was actually talented and responsible.

Although, sadly, despite having such a powerful fortress, the Italians actually gave up this place without any damage in the face of the British offensive...

Of course, Italians are capable of anything, so it's not surprising at all.

However, when this place changed hands, it became more troublesome for the Germans. The fighting spirit of the British was not comparable to that of their own pig teammate.

In a large area 9 miles outside the city, surrounding the city of Tobruk, there are many permanent reinforced concrete strongholds forming a vast defense zone as long as miles.

The periphery of this defense line is surrounded by large areas of obstacles, anti-tank trenches with traps that surround the entire Tobruk defense line, in addition to several barbed wire fences, minefields, concrete chevaux de frise that can stop even tanks from advancing, and various other obstacles with or without names, all under the firepower of various bunker support points behind the obstacles...

As long as anything dares to come up, it will be greeted with all kinds of firepower.

These things are used to kill German soldiers. If they are not resolved, everyone knows the consequences. The British have made sufficient defensive preparations for this kind of fortress.

As for the main body of the defense line, the hundreds of insidious bunkers on this 28-mile defense line, their main bodies are buried several meters underground. Only a few firing points are very concealed and exposed above the ground. Moreover, they are covered with a natural and perfect camouflage by the endless wind and sand of the North African desert - the yellow fine sand covers the bottom of the fortress and cannot be seen from the outside at all!

Indeed, it is not visible at all.

If you can’t see it, how can you destroy it?

They could not be destroyed by direct firepower because it was difficult to find targets on the outside. They could only be spotted from the air when the fortresses opened their covers, extended the barrels of heavy machine guns and anti-tank guns and began firing at the enemy.

Moreover, these fortresses were surrounded by a circle of anti-tank trenches and several dense barbed wire fences... Even if the firepower of these fortresses could be suppressed temporarily, as long as there was no way to completely destroy these sturdy bunkers, the British would always find a way to reinforce the bunkers through various means, and ultimately rely on their strong defense to repel the German army.

This is the legendary tunnel warfare. Well, Bismarck was also surprised when he heard about it. It turns out that the British earthworks are also good.

Of course, asking them to chew it will cause more toothache.

Fortunately, it has nothing to do with the navy.

Since being surrounded by Rommel in April, the three brigades of the 9th Australian Division have been firmly nailed to the position with the tenacity and perseverance unique to the descendants of exiled criminals. Even Rommel, a fierce general known as the Desert Fox, took a full four months to capture the commanding heights of the entire Tobruk defense system, the Ras al-Madow Heights - not far in front of a small height called Carmel.

This high ground can only shield and protect a road that bypasses Tobruk to the front line of Baltiya, and protect the logistics of the African Corps' front-line troops in Baltiya from being bombarded by the Tobruk defenders. That's all, and it doesn't have much other strategic value...

Behind this solid and insignificant outer defense line, known as the Red Line, is a plateau that gradually descends like a terraced field. This is because the terrain of Tobruk is a "staircase" that gradually descends from the inland to the port. If this plateau surrounding the port of Tobruk is controlled, the attackers can rush directly into the city of Tobruk from the two main roads on the east and west sides of the plateau!

Therefore, the two roads that lead down from this platform step by step to the port of Tobruk - the line of Pilasterino, Solano and Erlent Fortress in the east, and the line of Sidi-Mahamud intersection-Gibour Great Slope in the west - are the final place of life and death for the port of Tobruk.

The other two lines of defense behind the "red line", the blue line and the green line, are set up with the upper and lower ends of these two channels as the key points. On the blue line on the upper plateau, the British set up a reserve force based on an armored brigade, which can be covered by the firepower of three artillery regiments at any time, ready to launch a counterattack against the enemy who breaks through the most critical red line; and the green line in the port area is a brigade and an artillery regiment as the last resistance.

However, anyone with a discerning eye can see that the real key to Tobruk is whether it can hold the outermost red line...

And now...

---

The night in the desert is so quiet that not a single sound can be heard; the full moon setting in the west before dawn casts a faint light on the dim earth.

Under this vast galaxy, west of Tobruk, on a sand dune outside the defense line...

As two heads popped out like cute gophers trying to steal food, a machine gun was quietly placed on the small mound. Soon, the two machine gunners looked around. German observed and confirmed that there was no problem. He did not turn around and gestured to the back with one hand.

Soon, several more "moles" poked their heads out. One of the officers, wearing a large windbreaker and goggles on his military cap, carefully raised the telescope in his hand, and seemed to use something to cover the lens - after all, the direction of the telescope was also the direction of the setting moon. If it was not blocked, although the surroundings were dim, the moonlight reflected by the lens could not escape the crosshairs of the other (possible) sniper!

In the lens of the telescope, in the shadows of the terrain outlined clearly by the setting full moon in front, there were several groups of cautious people crawling in the sand, moving forward bit by bit.

In their hands, some of them were holding machine guns, watching the surroundings vigilantly; some were scanning everywhere with mine detectors that looked like iron rings; some were cutting something with insulated pliers; some were carrying long-handled blasting tubes, holding long detonating cords, hiding next to some obstacles, tying explosive strips to the obstacles; and there were also a few people, who were forming a formation that was staggered but overlapped from the front, holding what looked like probes in their hands, crawling forward while poking everywhere in the sand...

These are actually a number of combat engineering teams who are silently carrying out mine-sweeping tasks under the cover of night and under the guns of the enemy's bunkers!

Only after clearing the minefields and obstacles can the main force in the rear break through safely!

"Well...it seems like everything is going well. God bless..."

The officer observed for a moment, put down the telescope, and at the same time retracted his head behind the small mound.

Behind the small mound, several people were busy. A man who looked like a communicator, with a walkie-talkie on his back, a telephone in one hand, and a wire roller in the other, trotted to the back of the sand dune with his waist lowered, and then connected the wire end of the wire roller to the phone in his hand. Another person spread out a map on the sand, and another person turned on a flashlight covered with gauze. The other people, except for the two alert machine gunners, gathered around the officer who had been observing with a telescope. The officer looked at the map spread on the ground with the weak light of the flashlight, and then looked at the people around him, and said softly:

"It looks like the British haven't noticed us. There's nothing unusual on their position."

"Then... Commander, should the main force start to enter the starting position?" suggested a man who looked like a staff member.

The man in goggles and windbreaker, who was called the legion commander, did not answer directly. He just lowered his head to look at his watch, then thought for a while before finally speaking: "Well... it's almost time. Go and send a signal so that they can enter the starting position."

The communicator saw the commander giving the order, shook the handle of the telephone in his hand, put his mouth to the microphone, and was about to speak. But at this moment, a shrill alarm suddenly sounded from the direction of the British position behind the sand dunes, followed by a row of flares and a burst of dense gunfire!

"Oh no! Have we been discovered?" The leader, known as the corps commander, hung up the phone and stuck his head out with several other officers to observe the movement in front. While observing, he angrily asked the machine gunner who was on guard but did not take the initiative to fire: "What's going on? Which idiot was exposed?"

"General, it seems that this is not our fault...it was the British who sounded the alarm first!"

"Tell me in detail!"

"Yes... There was no reaction before, but suddenly the British sounded the alarm. All their positions fired flares and opened fire at the same time. Even those positions far away from us turned on the lights at the same time..." The machine gunner looked like an old hand at observation, and he spoke in an orderly manner.

"Is that so... Then it shouldn't be us who are exposed, but if that's the case... Damn it! How did the British know we were going to attack at this time?" The corps commander was so angry that he punched the mound with his fist, but he was immediately pressed to the sand by the machine gunner beside him. Just as he lowered his head, a volley of bullets flew over his head! Several bullets hit the mound in front of him, making a sharp sound.

An officer seemed to be injured, holding his bloody arm, leaning against the back of the mound and lying down. Another officer took out a roll of bandage from his bag and began to bandage the officer.

The machine gunner opened fire, shooting in the direction where the bullets came from. The legion commander continued to hide behind the hill, and the others looked at him.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him to make a decision, the exasperated corps commander shouted at the others: "Why are you looking at me? Send a message to all the troops, and inform the Galaza Air Force Base and the Mediterranean Fleet by my order, Rommel, to implement Plan No. 2 and attack by force!!"

"Yes!!"

I also said something

Chapter 433: Letting Go of the Eagle

At dawn, at four in the morning, the full moon sets in the west and the bright moon rises in the east.

The fleet slowly deployed its formation and began to sail at full speed against the wind.

The strong sea breeze on the deck blew Zeppelin's clothes constantly. She tied her hair up and looked at the fleet of planes that had been started for a while, but her own familiar Edelweiss was not there.

The pilots passed by her one by one and nodded to her.

Zeppelin nodded.

“报告，我们已经到达指定位置，另外齐柏林号航母也已经准备好全甲板放飞,机群规模24架FW190T,30架JU87C2,带队长机是海因茨o巴尔和奥斯卡o蒂诺尔特。机群随时可以起飞!请指示。”

Bismarck, who was beside Lütjens, reported to his captain.

"Any other situations?"

"There is no other situation at the moment!"

Lütjens nodded, "Okay, everyone take off!"

"Yes!"

Bismarck passed the order directly to Zeppelin, and soon, the flight deck of the Zeppelin aircraft carrier sailing in front of him also emitted a faint light of runway lights.

"set off!"

Following an order, under the faint dawn of the eastern sky, groups of red and green light spots leaped up from the end of the runway lights and rushed towards the sky that was about to see the dawn.

However, this time, it was not Zeppelin who led the attack...