afterglow

Chapter 329 So selfish; please prepare astronomers and observatories

In order not to miss the best opportunity, the General Staff of the Workers' Navy suggested that the launch of the "Northern Lights" operation should not be later than three days after the British and French landings.

The reason behind the attack is that everyone wants to occupy the commanding heights of morality, especially the German Society, which considers itself a pioneer of civilization.

The illegal invasion of Norway and Switzerland by Britain and France is undoubtedly an arrogant and arrogant act of violating sovereignty, and launching actions later than them will not lose the initiative.

The General Staff believes that it is very advantageous to implement the plan in January-due to the high latitude of the Nordic region, there is a clear phenomenon of short days and long nights in winter, and the night length can reach as much as eighteen hours.

In this way, the long darkness will provide excellent cover for the transport fleet transporting the army, and accidents and possible losses will be greatly reduced.

Compared with the army and naval surface ships that are still preparing for it at full strength, most of the submarines available for deployment have been deployed to Norwegian waters or the North Sea. More than 20 U-boats are effective enough to delay the follow-up actions of the Royal Navy.

The Germans are very self-aware-they believe that even if the British and French troops land, the Norwegians will only make symbolic resistance at most, but they may have a higher resistance intensity when facing the Germans.

At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also begun to write the notes that will be used at that time, and everything is proceeding in an orderly manner.

December 25th is an important festival in Western tradition, which is the day when Jesus was born according to legend.

Even though you are in a foreign land, you still have to pass the festivals in your own country.

Nanjing is gray today. Although the winter rain last night stopped early in the morning, the sky is still gloomy and the ground is wet. This cold and damp feeling makes people very uncomfortable.

Like legations in other Western countries, the Germans got their hands on small pine trees suitable for Christmas trees early on, and decorated them with colored ribbons and miniature bulbs.

But the difference is that the German Society does not officially call Christmas a statutory holiday, nor does it highly respect this traditional festival, but because of the large number of Catholics and Protestants, it has long acquiesced in its existence. After all, it would be a bit blind to force a ban on this. It makes sense.

In the official statement, they will not mention the word "Christmas", but the holiday is still a holiday, and it is a long holiday linked to the New Year's Day in Neujahr.

On that day, with the blessing of countless grilled sausages and countless bottles of beer, the German Agency diplomats at the legation had a comfortable day.

Zhou Changfeng made an appointment to meet Chris by name the next morning. Because of old acquaintances, the discussion was easier.

This private meeting is not formal at all, more casual, and the main purpose is to exchange some information on the upcoming war in Northern Europe.

The Ming court was quite contradictory in its cooperation with the German Society. Although the high officials in the court knew the truth of long-distance friendship and short-term attack, they were very passive, and even the exchange of information was a bit veiled.

This attitude of the Ming people made the Germans very helpless. At the beginning, they finally reached a consensus, and even the most basic cooperation could not be effectively implemented, which really made people doubt the sincerity of Ming.

Still at Tonghui Hotel, an old place suitable for semi-public and semi-private activities, no more than 20 seconds after Zhou Changfeng sat down, Chris pushed the door open and entered.

This one is always on time.

"Good morning, why, your face doesn't look very good." He asked with a smile.

"I drank a lot of wine yesterday, so I will feel a little uncomfortable." Chris shrugged, who didn't care.

"Okay, let's get down to business." Zhou Changfeng pondered for a moment, and then went straight to the topic, "According to the information and telegrams from various sources, we (the Metropolitan Governor's Office) estimate that the British and French operations will be launched on the [-]th to the [-]th. How about you? ?”

"We are already prepared, and we will always be about three days behind them..." Probably feeling that her answer was too clear, Chris added two more words.

"You guys are honest, it seems that we are not straightforward at all."

"Actually, it's useless just because you know."

"Considering that this will be the first battle after the outbreak of the war, the Royal Navy is too much of a threat to you. Even a tactical victory is meaningless, and it is also a strategic failure. We suggest that the main fleet remain unchanged. , continue to contain the British as an existing fleet."

Chris shook her head slightly, "How could we forget Jutland's lesson."

"The British's Z Fleet is too large, and it's quite troublesome for us to deal with them, so you can contain as much as possible." Zhou Changfeng said, these are just the attitude of the Metropolitan Government.

Because it is very different from the history, the size of the Z fleet organized by the Royal Navy is almost three times that of the original plane——

One Nelson-class battleship, Rodney; three Vengeance-class battleships, Revenge, Resolve, and Sovereign; one Queen Elizabeth-class battleship, Warrior.

There are also the battlecruiser Renown, the aircraft carrier Eagle, the anti-aircraft cruiser Goddess of Grain, and seven destroyers serving as a screen force.

The King George V-class battleships are still under construction, so naturally they cannot participate in the battle. However, such a large number of battleships are still difficult opponents.

Obviously, the determination of the British to defend the interests of the Far East is very firm, and the Ming Navy, facing an enemy, had to change its plan accordingly.

Many people do have high hopes for aviation power, but after all, they have not experienced exact and effective actual combat tests, and no one can guarantee that they can really effectively strike the British fleet.

No one at all thought that aviation alone could cause a devastating blow to such a huge fleet, that is really too ambitious.

The Metropolitan Governor's Mansion only hopes that when the time comes, it will first weaken this mighty "Nation Destruction Fleet" with large-scale air strikes, and then invest decisive water force to annihilate it.

Of course, in front of the TF-58 task force, these are all scum.

Chris couldn't help complaining: "You are really selfish, the British fleet will pose a great threat to our actions. How good would it be if they could all come to you?"

Miss!If the Royal Navy really dares to drag their families halfway across the world to attack Daming, you might as well be bold and land directly on the British Isles.

"How can you say it's selfish? I'm just relaying the court's request. Besides, they must prioritize their own interests."

"Are you now like those bureaucrats?"

"Now?" Zhou Changfeng pointed at himself with a doubtful face, "Is there any difference between me and before?"

Chris nodded, and said seriously: "A selfish person would not take the risk of going to that damn place in Spain."

Zhou Changfeng smiled and covered his forehead and said, "How can there be such a pure person. And to tell you the truth, before I left, I took the equipment you helped with."

"What equipment?"

"It's the jumping mine. When triggered, it ignites the propellant, and then detonates at a distance of more than one meter. I fell in love with it at a glance. It is very useful, and it is an anti-infantry weapon."

"How dare you steal the intellectual product of the German people."

"Stealing? No, no, it's called borrowing." Zhou Changfeng said nonchalantly: "And I've worked so hard for so long, and even spent a few months in a military prison. It's not too much to take a souvenir."

Chris choked on these words, and she commented displeasedly: "You are as cunning as other Orientals!"

The episode is the episode, the business still has to continue.Then, the two continued to exchange some information.

Zhou Changfeng, who was holding the pen, was writing quickly, and the same was true for Chris on the opposite side.

"By the way, just a friendly reminder, I think your paratrooper division has a key omission." Zhou Changfeng coughed twice, and gestured: "It is too risky to airdrop people and weapon boxes separately. Once the deviation of the landing point is too large, paratroopers We will have to fight the enemy with pistols, and in this regard I suggest that you learn from the British and equip the paratroopers with new weapon pouches."

Chrissy on the opposite side changed a pen, thought about it, and then pondered: "Thank you for your suggestion, I will pass it on, but personally, I still respect the opinions of the soldiers and commanders. "

Zhou Changfeng let out a "hehe", picked up the wine bottle and poured the wine into a square glass wine cup.

This mug is delicate with the pattern sandwiched between the glass.

"When the breech-loading gun first appeared, there were many people who hindered its promotion in the army. I heard that there was a Prussian general who even made his last words before his death that 'the breech-loading gun must not be used in his cemetery'. Then After seeing the breech-loading guns, the Austrian generals were still very arrogant, saying that 'it is noble to eat with your mouth, never use a sausage gun loaded from the back'. So, you can't completely trust the soldiers of the army, they also It’s not necessarily true.”

After Zhou Changfeng finished speaking, he picked up the wine glass and took a big sip. The unique fruity and sour taste of the wine filled his mouth, interspersed with a mellow wine smell, which was very comfortable.

"Thank you, this suggestion is very pertinent."

"It's just a hands-on effort."

After that, as the dishes were presented in turn, the two parties switched to a mode of chatting while eating and drinking.

It is rare to have such an opportunity to talk freely with her, and the enthusiastic Zhou Changfeng can be said to be eloquent.

From local conditions and customs to academic theories, from sea power theory to capital theory, the topics of the two can be described as unpredictable, and the topic span is so large that Chris does not know how to answer the conversation in some aspects.

When talking about military off-road vehicles, she proudly declared that the Type 82 barrel truck was the best and unparalleled.

Zhou Changfeng naturally disagreed, but as he was tipsy, he subconsciously boasted without thinking about it: "This is nothing, I have driven a Dongfeng Warrior to a speed of [-]..."

His words came to an abrupt end.

It was so embarrassing that I accidentally said the wrong thing.

"Ahem, don't take it seriously, that... just said it casually."

Chris stared at him and said "hmm".

You can imagine how surprised she is now—a military off-road vehicle that can drive up to 150 kilometers per hour?How many high technologies are these Chinese hiding?

Such subconscious words are unlikely to be false, and Zhou is not a professionally trained agent who will deliberately set traps.

In this way, the meeting and conversation ended very smoothly, and both parties got satisfactory results.

The old year passed away quietly, and the wheel of time slowly ran over the gap between the years.

Although Zhu Lingjing also wanted to have her own reign title, in order to show her respect for the still living Supreme Emperor, she announced that she would postpone changing the reign title for two years.

In this way, there is another benefit that comes with it, that is, the new year's number can just correspond to the single digits such as [-], [-], [-] and so on.

The 39th year of Zhichang came unknowingly, and some newspapers and broadcasting agencies in Daming believed that this must be a year full of disputes from beginning to end.

January [-], Berlin.

The heavy snowfall could not conceal the prosperity and splendor of the capital. The white snow on the road was cleared aside in time, and the traffic flowed smoothly.

With the recent establishment of the War Council to take over the power, the status and importance of the Ministry of Defense is getting worse day by day.

During the four-hour deliberation, all the senior land, sea and air generals involved in the "Northern Lights" operation stated their views in turn, and personally vouched for their accuracy.

At this point, everything seemed to be doomed, and everyone was waiting with bated breath for that moment to arrive.

Lieutenant-General Albert, Chief of the Air Force General Staff, instructed all officers in the combat order:

"The prelude to modern warfare has been drawn. Only by carrying out this operation can the interests and safety of the German people be protected, and our enemy is trying to destroy it by cutting off the supply of iron ore..."

"The success or failure of the operation depends on the quality of the air force and navy, and the determination of the commander. The command of the sea in the main area will still be in the hands of the British. We must deal with them with the firmest determination and fearless courage..."

On January [-], the sky was fine.

The huge Royal Navy fleet set sail from the Shetland Islands and multiple ports in the mainland, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, landing ships, transport ships...

Hundreds of ships loaded with tens of thousands of British and French troops passed through Scapa Flow one after another, and then the North Sea. Looking down from the sky, it looked like a grand armed parade.

After detecting the different high-frequency telecommunication, Stasi clearly determined that the British and French had already started to act, and the information sent back by the informant confirmed this.

At the moment when they heard the news, the officers of the General Staff of the Workers' Navy all had bright eyes and excited hearts.

At 8:59 that morning, a telegram was sent from the General Headquarters to the headquarters of the submarine force in the combat sequence - "The time is suitable for observing the Northern Lights. Please prepare astronomers and observatories."

On the docks of the naval bases in Wilhelmshaven and Kiel, sailors began to enter the submarine one by one.

Behind them is the rising sun, and in front of them is the vast and boundless sea. The sun shines on the entire blue sea with shimmering brilliance.

"It's in good condition, the pressure in the oil pipeline is stable, and the speed is increased."

"Yes! Comrade Commander!"

"The host sets the speed, adjusts the compass, and advances three."

In the roar, two 1400 horsepower six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines burst out with strong power, driving the two propellers to rotate at high speed.

One after another, Type VIIB submarines sailed away from the docks or caves, leaving white waves behind.

There is no doubt that the hungry sea wolves have been waiting for a long time.

　1. The food setting has been updated. The supply of eggs is wrong, half of it is missing, and it will be corrected tomorrow.

　　2. Should we write more or less about the war in Europe?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)