Iron Cross

Shocking news poured into the official residence of the Prime Minister of the British Empire: the Tirpitz was dispatched. The giant ship was in the ranks of the German fleet, and our army suffered heavy losses...

Upon hearing the news, Churchill's hands trembled involuntarily. The cigar fell on his clothes and burned a big hole without even realizing it. "Retreat!" he shouted instinctively.

He had served as Minister of the Navy, so of course he knew how powerful the Tirpitz was. The reinforcements that came aboard were only a Sovereign class, a treaty cruiser and a few small warships. He did not think that the few aircraft on the escort aircraft carrier Active The aging aircraft can play a decisive role. Excluding the battleships, the Germans with the Hipper and Lützow had the upper hand in terms of strength, and the Tirpitz had always been a terrible nightmare for the Home Fleet. He could never forget that the Bismarck was only a few rounds away. The Sovereign class may be more resistant to beatings than the Hood, but being old and slow, it is obviously no match for Tirpitz.

"It's too late." Marshal Pound said dejectedly. "The Germans dispatched planes. We lost the Active, two auxiliary cruisers and five destroyers. Now the German warships are massacring transport ships. Rear Admiral Anderson has been forced to order the disbandment. "

"Will we lose our title?" Churchill asked tremblingly.

"It is very possible that he is no match for the Tirpitz."

"What other fleet do we have nearby?"

"There are still some in Iceland. The problem is..." Tovey's face was full of bitterness. "Iceland is more than 1,000 kilometers away from the current war zone. We have no time to rescue. What's more, the strongest warship there is a Mississippi. "It is also no match for the Tirpitz. However, we still have two squadrons of Barracuda bombers on the island, which are new aircraft that have just been deployed and are ready to attack the Tirpitz."

"Then why are you still standing there, go all in on the attack?" Churchill scolded angrily, "A bunch of idiots! - Do you think the Germans dispatched the Tirpitz simply to cut off the Arctic route? This guy What if we hit the Atlantic Ocean? What can we do to resist him?"

Tovey shrank his neck. He didn't know whether he was one of the "idiots" that Churchill just called, but he didn't dare to question the Prime Minister's decision, regardless of whether the bombers dispatched from Iceland could find Tirpitz. No matter whether he was responsible or not, he immediately notified the naval aviation squadron to attack.

Ten minutes later, the phone on Churchill's desk rang. Seeing that the Prime Minister was still thinking deeply about some issues, Tovey answered the phone at Pound's signal.

Before he could ask who the other party was, a barrage of voices came over: "Prime Minister, we have just received a farewell message from Major General Anderson. The Germans have dispatched a large number of torpedo planes and bombers. The Sovereign is in It hit 4 torpedoes and was completely irreparable, so it was forced to abandon the ship. The Glasgow was sunk 2 minutes ago..."

Tovey was stunned, his hands lowered feebly. Pound originally wanted to ask what was going on, but seeing Tovey like this, he knew everything.

Churchill already knew the whole truth from the expressions of the two men. He gritted his teeth and said: "Go down immediately and prepare a combat plan to prevent the Tirpitz from rushing into the Atlantic Ocean. An emergency meeting will be held in an hour, no, half an hour. "

When Major General Anderson sent his farewell message, the battle off the coast of Norway was not yet completely over. There were still many torpedoes on the sea - some were dropped by aircraft and had not yet found their targets. They were still running around aimlessly until they finally lost power and exploded; Some of them were launched by British destroyers taking advantage of the chaos, aiming directly at the Tirpitz.

At 12:07, the Narvik sea attack group ended all battles and returned to base. At the cost of losing two aircraft, they sank the battleship Sovereign, the cruiser Glasgow and the destroyer Fury (an F-class destroyer). Their fate was The torpedoes launched by the Goddess and the Fox destroyers (also of the F class) did not hit the Tirpitz, but they allowed the destroyer Z10, which had been unlucky since the beginning of the war, to catch up - the ship had already hit Sheffield beforehand. No. 152mm artillery shell, and now it has finally sunk completely and been scrapped.

But the fate of the two destroyers that tried to escape after firing torpedoes was not much better. Hipper and Lützow sank them all. At this point, the J fleet that came to respond was completely wiped out. They only bought more than an hour for the remaining merchant ships of the JW-51A fleet to escape - but this was far from enough. The Norwegian cruise fleet, which had no combat mission, could finally concentrate on Start chasing the merchant ship.

"Führer, we succeeded!" Marshal Redl, who was so excited that his old face turned red, reported to Hoffman, "We only lost one destroyer, but all the British warships were destroyed. Currently, Lieutenant General Kumetz Commanding the formation to pursue the merchant ship."

"Well done!" Hoffman read the telegram carefully. Although it clearly stated that most of the credit was actually made by Hainan Airlines, the Tirpitz formation only killed a few merchant ships and transport ships, and lost another destroyer. , but he still praised it - HNA is also a navy.

"Führer, what should we do next?"

"March south, assume a posture of entering the Atlantic, force Churchill to press the home fleet up, fully mobilize the enemy's forces, and create opportunities for the 'Tsunami' plan." Hoffman looked at the map, "Tirpitz After destroying the merchant ships, move south as soon as possible, and be careful not to leave the land-based aviation cover. Weather permitting, there must be Bf-219s covering the formation during the day, and the number must not be less than 16. "

Now no one dares to say that the head of state does not understand naval warfare. At least the strategy he proposed to attack escort warships first and then transport ships was very successful. This Barents Sea-Norwegian Sea battle not only killed several Royal Navy battleships in one go, but also Almost all merchant ships were wiped out, which was a rare victory for the navy.

While the Germans were celebrating their victory, an emergency meeting of the British War Cabinet on blocking the Tirpitz was being held:

"Iceland is too far away from the fighting site, our aircraft have insufficient range, and we don't know where the Germans will sneak away by then. After evaluation and research, we finally canceled the bombing plan." Pound said, "For safety reasons, I The JW-51B fleet on standby near Jan Mayen Island has been ordered to return to Iceland as quickly as possible.”

Churchill nodded. His strong request to send out bombers just now was a reaction out of anger. He originally wanted to send out heavy bombers from the mainland to deal with the German formations. Finally, the people below were not confused yet and tried their best to dissuade the Prime Minister's idea. .

After this battle, everyone knew very well: the Arctic route can no longer be carried out, and they don’t know how many survivors there will be in the JW-51A fleet.

"I have asked seaplanes to be dispatched in the direction of Jan Mayen Island to detect the movements of the German troops to see whether they will withdraw to Norway or continue southward."

Churchill emphasized: "No matter how the enemy moves in the end, we must be prepared for the opponent to enter the Atlantic. Now is the time when the home fleet is at its weakest, and we cannot give the Germans any opportunity to take advantage of it."

"There are three ways to enter the North Atlantic from Norway: the first is through the waterway between Greenland and Iceland - the western route; the second is through the waterway between Iceland and the Faroe Islands - the central route ; The third one is through the waterway between the Faroe Islands and Mainland - the eastern route. The third one is closest to the mainland of Great Britain. We have strong aviation power, so I think it is a threat. The Tirpitz is most likely to go from the western or central front." Tovey analyzed the possible next move of the German army on the map. "Of course, there is another possibility that the Tirpitz will return home, then he will. Take the Norwegian coast into the North Sea.”

"It would be great if he is willing to return home." Churchill said angrily. "I will immediately mobilize all bombers to sink him."

"Before the Far East troops arrive, we can only rely on the local fleet to carry out the blockade operation, codenamed - Tungsten Plan." Tovey reported the strategy after emergency deliberations among the staff, "We have formed a total of two blockade fleets. One. The W fleet is responsible for the western and central lines. It is on standby north of Iceland. Rear Admiral Lewis serves as the commander. It has the battleships Mississippi and Idaho (both of the New Mexico class, supporting the U.S. Atlantic Fleet), and the Archer. 4 escort aircraft carriers, Avenger, Deceiver and Predator. Other warships include Newcastle (Southampton class), Kenya (Fiji class) and 8 destroyers; the other is Fleet E, headed by Rear Admiral Hamilton. The commander, responsible for the eastern front, is on standby south of the Faroe Islands, including the USS Ramiri (Sovereign class), the USS Arkansas (Wyoming class, supported by the U.S. Atlantic Fleet), equipped with the USS Kopasi and the USS Nassau (both belonging to the Borg class, historically used by the United States, and has been used by the United Kingdom in this book), the Strider escort aircraft carrier, and other warships include the Bermuda (Fiji class) and 6 destroyers.”

"Has the Ramiri been repaired?" Churchill asked uncertainly. He knew that the Ramiri had been undergoing repairs in the shipyard after being damaged by a torpedo in the Indian Ocean.

"Basically repaired, ready for emergency missions."

"What about the direction of the North Sea?" Churchill frowned, "We cannot ignore this place."

"We have no available battleships. They are all still on their way to the mainland. They cannot arrive within a month; we can only call on HMS Sussex (London-class heavy cruiser) and HMS Norfolk (Norfolk-class heavy cruiser). Cruiser) is the main cruise fleet, but the local aviation in the area can provide a lot of support," Tovey reassured Churchill, "If something happens, Fleet E can also provide support nearby."