Bismarck

"Top Top! They are turning towards us! They turned 30 degrees towards us together, and have directly changed from the column to the left echelon..." Eugen leaned half of his body out of the periscope of the artillery director and pointed in the direction of the British opposite.

"What? They dare to come over here?" Top looked at the sea chart, a little confused. "Thirty-degree turn, which means nearly 500 meters per minute. We have just severely damaged one of their heavy cruisers. Now they dare to come... Tsk, are they trying to fight us to death?"

"Hey? That cruiser was badly damaged, but... they haven't left the formation yet... I don't know what's going on..."

I did inflict heavy damage to their cruiser, but since they were seriously injured but still fought to the death, I couldn't do anything about it...

Eugen looked at Top with a bit of grievance, and asked weakly, "How about...when I report the situation to Sister Bismarck, should I also ask the commander for instructions?"

"Okay, you can tell me something. Even if they want to make a desperate struggle, they have to come closer... Eh? What's wrong? That's the expression?" Top looked at his warship and was about to smile, but he saw that his little rabbit looked a little aggrieved.

But after a little thought, Top knew that this sensitive girl must have been hurt when their cruiser was seriously injured but still dared to attack...

When Top realized what was going on, he immediately reached out a hand and touched Eugen's braid and gently smoothed it:

"Don't be unhappy, they are also very tenacious. Don't lose heart, just keep fighting! You are very powerful, if we work together, we can keep them all here!"

The little rabbit whose ears were pinched by his own captain blushed instantly, but when Eugen, who was a little nervous and aggrieved, saw his own captain looking at him with a smile, his mood immediately turned from gloomy to bright: "Well... I will continue to work hard!"

As little Eugen became happy again, the 203mm main guns of the Prince Eugen heavy cruiser fired another round of salvos!

The sudden sound of a cannon startled Top, who was about to continue coaxing his little rabbit.

only……

………On the battleship Bismarck…………

The enemy situation on Prince Eugen's side was reported by Eugen to Bismarck, who was plotting the sea chart, through WIFI. When Bismarck asked Eugen's question, Lütjens, who was carefully thinking about the next situation in front of the sea chart, suddenly found that something seemed wrong...

"Bismarck, take a look. Is their position beginning to shift to the north?"

Upon hearing that his captain had discovered the problem, Bismarck checked the nautical chart and found that it was indeed the case.

Originally, his fleet was heading southeast, and the vanguard, Prince Eugen, was 30 kilometers southwest of him. But now... with the battle with the British cruiser fleet, Prince Eugen, who was heading northeast, has gradually moved to the east, and the southeast in front of him is now empty.

If this is some kind of trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain...

"Captain, our front is empty. Should Tizi and I move a little further forward to prevent them from taking advantage of the situation?" Bismarck quickly looked at Lütjens and said to his captain.

"No, they are more than that." Lütjens drew a few more strokes on the chart table, then twisted his chin and thought for a while before continuing, "Pay attention, they are turning towards Eugen now, so Eugen will get closer and closer to them. It looks like they will form a T-advantage situation in a quarter of an hour at most, but..."

Seeing his captain so worried about a T-excellence, Bismarck couldn't help but wonder: "T-excellence? Isn't that great?"

"But this T advantage means that Eugen will be out of the position to intercept them." Lütjens' words were decisive and heavy, as if he was suppressing some kind of depressed mood.

"If Eugen is superior to them, then their position will change. Eugen is to our northeast, while the British cruisers, which seem to be inferior, are to our east. As long as their cruisers turn around, they can ignore the dislocated Eugen and rush directly towards us."

At this point, Lütjens's face was very serious, and even his tone became heavier: "And most importantly, there must be battleships behind their cruisers. If Eugen is out of position, then you and Tizi will have to intercept their cruisers directly. If their battleships come out at this time, who will intercept them?"

Bismarck blinked her big eyes in confusion, with a look of confusion and worry...

Before I knew it, the situation had become so serious...

Looking at the Zeppelin flying its fighter planes against the wind, which was maneuvering to the left of him and Tirpitz, the Persian cat, who was eager to share some of the burden for his captain, pursed his lips and thought about it, and also made a suggestion to his captain:

"Hey... Captain, how about this? Let the transport ship turn to avoid it first, and then we and Tizi will drive to the left to form a battle line. At the same time, tell Zeppelin (who is still launching planes) to turn back immediately after launching the escort fighter planes, and go to the side of the transport fleet to command the transport ship?"

"Oh? How do you want to turn?" Hearing that his secretary would actually make a suggestion, Lütjens was stunned, and then he felt a little amused.

"Um... how about... we turn south? This way we can get a little further away from them... and then we and Tizi can lead the battle line..."

Seeing the captain actually asking about her thoughts, Bismarck felt a little flustered, because she really knew nothing about tactics and strategies, so facing this, the hesitant ship cat stuttered a little and spoke without thinking. But just as she said the general idea, a big hand touched her hair and began to rub it.

“Hahaha, you…”

Every time this girl wants to relieve herself from stress but is too embarrassed to do so, she always has this expression. Although, this idea is actually a bad one...

The cat being kneaded quickly protested: "How about this method?"

"not so good…"

Then Bismarck's face fell. He had finally made a suggestion.

Seeing the unhappy look on the cat’s face, Lütjens stopped rubbing it and continued Bismarck’s topic: “We don’t turn south, we turn north!”

"Turn...north?" Bismarck blinked his cat eyes.

"Yes, if we turn south, the distance between us and Eugen will be far away, and it will be easy for Eugen to lose his position if he is blocking six ships with one ship. But if we turn northwest, the distance and situation between us and Eugen can continue to ensure mutual support. If they want to attack us, they will face the danger of being attacked from both sides by us and Eugen - do you understand?"

"Uh... it seems a bit..." Bismarck thought about it in confusion, but still couldn't figure it out.

After all, girls’ sense of space is a flaw…

But...if you can't figure it out, just forget about it. Since it's the captain's decision, just do as he says.

But at this moment, on the other side of the chart table, the radio operator grabbed the headset and shouted:

"Captain! An urgent report has been sent from the escort fighter jet that just took off from Zeppelin! We spotted the enemy about 70 kilometers to the southeast! Two American battleships and six destroyers! Speed ​​28 knots! Heading towards us!"

"What?!" Bismarck turned around in a daze, and his voice was even a little louder when asking - his captain's judgment that there would be an enemy battleship was indeed so accurate!

Lütjens looked as if he had known this for a long time. But his expression became more serious...

Prince Eugen was now fighting fiercely with the British cruiser fleet in the east, but... they were much closer to the American battleships than he was! If the American battleships were 70 kilometers away from him, then they were only kilometers away from Eugen and his men.

Fifty kilometers...For a battleship, this distance is already very close!

Although the current situation does not present any major problems, if there are too many enemies, it is inevitable that we will lose sight of one while focusing on another, right?

Somehow, Lütjens seemed to recall what he had seen in the Navy's bulletin decades ago when he was still just a small sailor. When World War I had just broken out, the German Far East Fleet led by Count Spee was isolated overseas, broke through alone, and traveled a long distance just to return to the homeland...

Just like myself...

Think about it again, Spee was also intercepted by the British fleet at Cape Coronel in South America - although the outcome that time was that Spee used the advantages of his new armored cruisers to kill the British search fleet at the cost of almost zero casualties, and directly took the initiative in the entire strategic situation!

Although not long after, the Count Spee, who only had two armored cruisers, encountered a more powerful search fleet led by two British battlecruisers in the Falkland Islands, and was eventually annihilated - but the United Kingdom and the United States today are not the British Empire of World War I! The British Empire had battlecruisers specially designed for searching armored cruisers, but now... How many ships can Britain and the United States deal with the four ship girls in their hands? !

It seems that it is time to make up our minds and prepare for a big battle!

He looked at the time - 10:25, and then looked at the sea chart on the table, marking the enemy and our positions and situations... Lütjens calculated for a moment and gave the order:

"Bismarck, go and give orders to everyone: the entire fleet turns left and heads northeast! After Zeppelin releases his planes, immediately move closer to the transport convoy! Tirpitz and we will speed up to full speed and go to the front to form the battle line. Continue to hold positions with Prinz Eugen and prepare for an artillery battle! Also, tell Top that we are still in a position to cover each other. Now give it your all - take advantage of the British giving us a T advantage and deal with the British opposite first, then we will work together to deal with the American battleships!"

"Okay!" Bismarck nodded and carefully recorded his captain's order.

........................

"...Their battleships are coming? And...the commander wants us to defeat the British with all our strength?"

Top, who was commanding the cruiser Prince Eugen, received the latest enemy situation report from his little rabbit after his sleeves were pulled twice by his little Eugen.

Of course, along with the notification, there was also an order from Commander Lütjens for him and her to work together and make a full effort to get rid of the British cruiser first.

After staring at the British cruisers that were getting closer and closer to him for a long time, Top, who had originally had a serious look, actually grinned and laughed:

"Hey, in ten minutes we'll be a T-excellent team. Eugen, we haven't used guided torpedoes for a long time. Do you still remember how to use them?"

"Eh...? Yeah! I remember it!" After hearing the order from her captain, little Eugen's two ponytails nodded on the spot, shaking like a rattle: "Are we going to use this to deal with them later?!"

"I have this idea - you prepare first. While we have time, I will figure out how to destroy the British cruisers here first and save a few to deal with the Americans!!"

"Okay!" Eugen's eyes lit up with excitement, and he clenched his fists and put them on both sides of his chest.

Chapter 646: Sea and Air Battle

In the sky over the Indian Ocean, a dozen fulmars painted with live target emblems, under the cover of Spitfire fighters, were taking advantage of the sun and the cover of clouds, forming a loose formation and moving towards the direction of the German fleet little by little...

"Everyone, be careful. The German fleet is ahead. We can only muster so many troops now. Be careful. With Zeppelin's ability, there will probably be a fierce battle... This time, the surface fleet's assault depends on our aerial observation to ensure the range of the American battleships to fight against the two evil spirits..."

A serious voice from the lead plane came over the radio, and the other British fighter planes felt a chill in their hearts when they heard it.

The notorious reputation of the evil aircraft carrier "Edelweiss Witch" has long been a threat to the Atlantic battlefield, and this brutal enemy is not far ahead of them. Thinking of this, the pilots are all ready to face a powerful enemy. After all, how can human power fight against evil spirits?

Especially the Fulmars that were responsible for aerial observation and bombardment. Although the Fulmars had good mobility and were long-range reconnaissance aircraft that originated as fighters, they also had certain self-protection capabilities. They even had an American M2 rear machine gun installed for the navigator in the back seat, which had a straight and accurate trajectory and reasonable power. However, in front of the BF-109 and FW-190, a single American heavy machine gun could not bring any sense of security to the pilots.

Many people have secretly taken off their pilot gloves and wiped the cold sweat from their palms on their flight jackets, praying in their hearts that the other side is busy dealing with the surface battle and has not discovered them...

But, soon, the navigator of the British fighter jet in the back seat of the British leader...

"Captain! The Naiad sent a report! Their radar found that Zeppelin launched a squadron of fighters! And it seems to be heading towards us..."

"What?! Damn it..."

Before the stunned British leader could come to his senses, in the distance of his sight, a dozen black dots, also arranged in twos and threes, appeared and disappeared in the sky among the clouds, flying towards him, and as they got closer and closer, they were also flying higher and higher...

Seeing this scene, a drop of cold sweat ran down the forehead of the British leader. However, as a soldier, his duty and ethics made him suppress his inner panic and began to issue combat orders:

"The Fulmars scatter! Fighters climb high! Spitfires prepare for battle! Cover the Fulmars as they go over to conduct reconnaissance and guide the bombardment!"

Although, my voice was still trembling unconsciously...

........................

At the same time, on the surface of the Indian Ocean, the artillery battle was still in full swing...a one-sided attack.

The heavy cruiser, which had been badly damaged before, was almost paralyzed on the sea. However, the conscientious officers and soldiers of the British Empire Royal Navy, even though their warship was now seriously tilted and could only struggle to "move" on the sea at a turtle's crawling speed, still used the main guns that could continue to fire back.

The remaining five cruisers are still continuing their assault...

The distance has shortened to 25000 meters ( yards), and time has unknowingly reached :...

"Top Top. There are shells coming... Everyone should hurry..."

"I caught it. Ou, let's hide."

"Yeah, okay!"

Following Ougen's shout, the Prince Ougen skillfully turned right. The rapid turning of the ship and the inexplicable tilt caused by centripetal force caused the bridge and hull of the Prince Ougen to "fall" towards the British fleet. At this moment, a British 203mm shell dragged a long tracer, rubbing the side of the bridge, as if it was close to the left windshield, and rubbed it diagonally from top to bottom. For a moment, several sailors couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise. But it was just a cry of surprise, and there was no fuss.

You have to know that there are more than 1,300 people on the ship, and they all have full confidence in the luck and ability of the warship under their feet.

Lucky Eugen, that's what they called their battleship.

Although in theory the accuracy of the artillery fire would be better if the distance was closer, the speed of the British 116kg armor-piercing shell at a distance of 356 yards was only 43 meters per second, just above the speed of sound, and the landing angle reached more than degrees, and the flight time of the shell was as long as seconds. For Ougen, this could be considered a "light" artillery fire - if this shell had not landed on the route of the heavy cruiser Prince Ougen, Ougen would not have wanted to dodge it.

After all, such a hasty turn was not very ladylike, and she didn't want her skirt to fly up. Sister Bismarck said that she should be more ladylike.

Every day, seeing Bismarck, whom he regarded as his idol, accompanying Commander Lütjens with such a capable look, Ou Ge really wanted to learn from her. Moreover, he often thought that he could also stand beside Top like this...

Although she has two long ponytails, in Top's eyes, she becomes cuter and cuter as she learns more...

Although she couldn't learn the temperament of a lady, she did learn a lot of skills in artillery and torpedo warfare.

In just half an hour, a heavy cruiser was paralyzed. Although there were five cruisers on the opposite side, four of them were weak in firepower. In addition to the 133 and 114 mm anti-aircraft guns, there were only three 533 mm torpedoes on each side of the anti-aircraft cruiser. They had just received the order from the commander to "defeat the enemy cruiser fleet with all your strength." Top's heart could not help but start to get excited...

Looking at the sea chart again, although the British are getting closer to him, they are already lagging behind him - they were originally parallel to him, but now they are at his four o'clock position. Looking at the British fleet approaching him, Top couldn't help but feel happy and asked:

"Ougen, how many shells do we have left?"

"Well... we just fired about thirty rounds. Each gun has about 120 to 130 rounds left." Eugen counted on his fingers.

"Well... each gun on the transport ship still has 100 rounds... if we add the torpedoes, we will have enough shells." Hearing the number of shells, Top immediately looked at his own heavy cruiser with a smirk on his face: "Oh, full speed, full right rudder, grab the T-head, and then the British cruiser will either... or... then we can... understand?"

"By the way, if you can... this time, maybe your sister Bismarck and Commander Lütjens will look at you differently, right?"

As if he realized how obscene his own routine was, Top smiled evilly and began to teach the innocent little rabbit bad lessons...

"Eh? Really? Yeah, just watch me!" After hearing the dirty tactics Top arranged for him, although he didn't understand what dirty meant, out of love and confidence in his captain, Ou's big, cute eyes that seemed to be able to speak, began to emit a light that said he only knew how to stir up trouble and couldn't be more careful...

…As the saying goes, “Birds of a feather flock together.” After staying with Top for a long time, even the innocent Ougen has become a black-bellied rabbit. — Excerpted from the diary of a Persian cat…

...............................

The remaining British Australian heavy cruiser, the HMS Australia, was also the flagship of the cruiser formation. Although its own warships were engaged in a gun battle with the evil heavy cruiser on the opposite side - and unsurprisingly, they were at a disadvantage.

Anti-aircraft light cruisers are not suitable for artillery warfare, and in a one-on-one fight with a heavy cruiser, the Australia is no match.

But the commander of the squadron, Rear Admiral Chris, was in no mood to care about the bombardment. Instead, he listened to the noisy noise on the radio with his headphones, and raised his head, looking worriedly at the top of the sky, which was circling in circles among the clouds and occasionally flashing a faint flame...

The battle was not only on the sea, but also in the sky, and it was equally intense.

Their own reconnaissance plane was intercepted by German fighters. Even with the escort of Spitfire fighters, the maximum distance from the escort aircraft carriers on the nearby blockade line was 270 kilometers. Even with the auxiliary fuel tanks, the Spitfires could still only last a very short time in air combat. At most, they had to retreat because of fuel exhaustion after ten minutes. Even if the pilots in the sky said that they were lucky this time and the Edelweiss Witch did not appear...

As for those Fulmars who were still doing their duty, although they had been downgraded from fighter planes to reconnaissance planes, they were still doing their duties - while the Spitfires and German fighter planes were engaged in a melee in the sky, the Fulmars dispersed, and with the help of the cover of the clouds, they carefully, quietly, stealthily, like thieves, moved closer to the direction of the German transport convoy - and it sounded like there was really no Edelweiss Witch this time, and quite a few of them actually moved closer quietly.

You know, according to statistics from the British Naval Aviation and the British Air Force - especially during the Battle of El Alamein, it was even more obvious - as long as the Edelweiss Witch was fighting in the sky, she could completely control the air situation within a radius of at least 120 kilometers.

After mastering the air situation, he demonstrated his almost flawless command ability...

There were less than 2700 fighters in total. Even though they were closer to their airports and aircraft carriers, they were still able to rely on mutual cover to withstand the continuous air strikes of fighters of the British Royal Air Force. Even though the British Air Force dispatched a terrifying sorties a day, it was still useless.

At least after the Battle of El Alamein, when he saw the heavy losses reported to your base, the somewhat suffocating and angry Commander of the Royal Air Force Middle East, Admiral Ted, stated on the spot that he would never want to try this kind of war again.

Now, Major General Chris and the British captain in the sky knew very well that the reconnaissance plane was safe. This was definitely because the Edelweiss Witch was not in the sky. If she was in the sky, these reconnaissance planes, even if they were stealth planes, would have been shot down long ago.

After all, the "Witch"'s ability to ignore radar interference and visual cover is now notorious...