Iron Cross

Hoffman only received the news at 9 o'clock in the morning, eight hours later. It was not that Redel meant to neglect him, but that the Naval Command had obtained authorization in advance - once the Zeppelin aircraft carrier reported that it was ready and the weather permitted If so, Operation Tsunami can be launched at any time.

Now there is a thick stack of documents on Hoffman's desk, which are all the details of the tsunami plan operations and possible response strategies concocted by the Naval Staff. These plans are completely opposite to each other-assuming that British spies are now the same It was useless to take away this document because there was no way to take precise targeted response measures. Of course, the naval command's action plan will not use the British classification of the Western Front, the Central Front, the Eastern Front, and the North Sea Line. Instead, it will be summarized as A according to the main characteristics of independent breaking of diplomatic relations, joint breaking of diplomatic relations, comprehensive battles, and cancellation of operations. There are four major types of plans, B, C, and D. The plans are further subdivided into plans No. 1, 2... according to different operation guides. The most comprehensive battle plan is numbered 14, and the least number D type plan is No. 5. All action plans implemented the German military system's customary sophistication, complexity, comprehensiveness and logic to the extreme.

In order to maintain confidentiality to the greatest extent possible and avoid interfering with the judgment of frontline commanders, all action plans were only in the hands of a few staff officers. Special personnel were hurriedly escorted aboard the ship before sailing. The reason why the Tirpitz had to go to the dock for supplies Stop for a moment in order to receive the latest battle plan. In addition to the plan, the telegraph code table and processing methods were also replaced with a new system. Since he set off with the flagship "Graf Zeppelin", the Japanese advisory group also saw the full plan. Ozawa Jizaburo, who enjoyed the treatment and command authority of the German Navy Vice Admiral, opened his eyes wide and asked Masha, the frontline commander of "Operation Tsunami" on the spot. Admiral Er: "Is this how the German Navy conducts war?"

Machar scratched his scalp in embarrassment: “It wasn’t before, but it’s becoming more and more like this now.”

"Who did you learn this from? From the Army?"

The German Army is the best in the world, and the German Navy is the fifth in the world, so there is no shame in admitting to learn from the Army. Machar readily admitted it. He explained: "For this landing in North Africa, Marshal Rommel made a plan in advance. We made 17 plans, taking into account all the details, and the execution was flawless. The head of state appreciated it very much, and the Supreme Command suggested that we learn from it, and then..."

Ozawa smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Even if we learn from the Army's successful experience, Marshal Rommel only had 17 plans in total, and you have 36. Will there really be no problems with this?"

"This..." Machar was speechless and turned to Ozawa, "Then how does the Japanese navy command it?"

"We usually form 1-3 main plans initially, then fully refine them, and finally implement them in depth."

"What if something unexpected happens?"

"It is up to the frontline commander to make a temporary decision." Ozawa thought for a while and then said embarrassedly, "Actually, the staff officer makes the suggestion, and then the commander decides whether to implement it and how to implement it. Generally speaking, if the staff officers agree, the commander will not will object."

In fact, there is one thing that Ozawa did not say clearly. Most of the fleet commanders who serve as chief officers in the Japanese Navy rely on staff to formulate combat plans. People like Ozawa who can formulate combat plans on their own without relying on staff are rare, if not unique.

Now it was Machar's turn to look at him with big eyes: "How many staff members decided on such an important matter as changing the plan?"

Ozawa always felt that there was something wrong with this question, but he still nodded subconsciously: "The staff are all professionals. The ocean is so vast and the enemy situation is fleeting. If we all rely on discussions and decisions at the headquarters or headquarters, I'm afraid..."

After hearing this, Mashaal said nothing more. He only asked his staff to take out a chart book, which was densely packed with grids to divide the entire sea area into small squares. Ozawa glanced at it and then withdrew his gaze: "I know. This is the positioning map used by your country's submarine force."

"But this map is not static. The numbers are adjusted and redistributed every six months, and the coding is irregular. A7 and A8 are not adjacent squares. They may be thousands of nautical miles apart. The wolves rely on this. "They don't even know what they will encounter before they receive the order, and only the headquarters knows the whole situation."

"What do you mean?"

"The head of state believes that the German Navy does not have very clever commanders or commanders, nor does it have particularly outstanding command skills. Therefore, we should not try to win by surprise or turn the tide. We should honestly follow the plan and put our hope in the commander's flash of inspiration. It is better to accept the dispatch from the headquarters in a down-to-earth manner - it is the result of collective wisdom. "

Ozawa knows what "accepting headquarters dispatch" means - German military operations have always adopted a goal-oriented system. Superiors generally only assign major node control and overall goals. How to accomplish the goals depends on the wisdom of commanders at all levels. Therefore, the German military In particular, the Army's initiative is relatively strong. Company and battalion-level officers who have received complete military education will not be at a loss once they lose contact with their superiors. On the contrary, they will seek reasonable solutions for their units based on their goals and current strength to the greatest extent possible. This was very obvious in the war against the Soviet Union. The Soviet troops resisted very tenaciously when they were surrounded, but once the central command organ was knocked out, the remaining troops suddenly didn't know what to do. Once the German troops are divided and surrounded, they will immediately form small battle groups to continue fighting.

Taking this topic to a deeper level is the issue of joint operations. As for how to better coordinate the front line and the headquarters, everyone feels that there is no perfect solution. Only Hoffman sees this very clearly - the ability to detect Due to the constraints of communication capabilities, World War II could only go so far. If it were the era he was in, with satellites in the zenith and early warning aircraft above his head, he would have to carry out ingenious troop concealment and tactical planning like the Battle of Midway. Totally impossible. He told the senior officers of the Supreme Command and the Armed Forces Staff about his understanding of the future war development model. The purpose was just to enlighten everyone. Although many people were skeptical, no one thought it was completely impossible - Germany's political line And the war pattern was clearly described by the Führer in "Mein Kampf" in the 1920s.

However, Hoffman never expected that one day these guys would put 36 plans on his desk at once - when the Navy Department first formulated the tsunami plan, it was not so complicated at all. In recent days, he has been working on the issues of Malta and Gibraltar. It took a lot of effort, and since he was not a naval expert, he ignored these aspects.

"You are really amazing!" Facing the ardent expectations of Redel and Frick, he sighed helplessly, "Do I need to praise you for the hard work of the staff officers of the Naval Command?" When he said this, He thought silently in his heart: Future generations of joint operations with multiple plans and arms will use C3I systems and large computers for evolutionary advancement. This group of ignorant staff officers in the Navy Department actually want to rely on the human brain and their poor communication capabilities. After doing it, he didn't know how to evaluate it. At this moment, he was very pessimistic about the prospects of the "Tsunami Plan".

Raeder and Frick looked at each other. Of course they could hear the sarcasm in Hoffman's mouth, but the head of state had praised Marshal Rommel's perfect plan not long ago. Why was he so critical of the navy's plan now? The battle hasn't started yet! Does the head of state have a prejudice against the navy? Now they don't think that the Army Corporal doesn't understand the Navy.

"You guys, hey..." Hoffman explained bitterly, "It depends on the time and occasion. How big is Marshal Rommel's combat area? What is his target and range of control? This can be easily compared to the navy. How about that? Apart from anything else, I dare say the message will be received when it is sent on Crete. If it is not received or there are other problems, I will send a plane over to have a look. It is deep in the Atlantic Ocean. What if the telegraph system fails during the mission? Where will the plane be sent to check your landing point? What if the weather is bad and the plane cannot be sent? "

"What should we do now? The operation plan is cancelled?" The two of them also became nervous: this operation has almost put all the assets of all the surface ships of the German Navy on board. If something goes wrong, it will be all over.

"The operation cannot be cancelled. This is the moment when the Royal Navy is at its weakest, and we must seize this favorable opportunity." Hoffman thought for a while, "Follow your plan first, and report to the police immediately when something unexpected occurs that exceeds the plan. I report that the high command should be involved in the battle decision-making and should not interfere with the command of the frontline commanders as much as possible."

"yes."

"Have all the officers transferred by the Japanese Navy been on board the ship?"

"We are on board. The aircraft carrier officers and staff officers are all arranged on the Graf Zeppelin. The remaining officers are mainly arranged on the Scharnhorst, Seydlitz and Prinz Eugen."

"We formed a separate Japanese advisory group and staff group. We sent a few capable officers there to tell them all about the battlefield situation. They operated independently and drew up plans as a reference for decision-making on operations. When both parties agreed, they were implemented immediately, and when there were disagreements, opinions from the base camp were sought. If even the base camp cannot make a perfect judgment, or it is a particularly urgent situation, the final decision will be made after coordination by the three generals Machar, Richthofen, and Ozawa," explained Hoffman. Although the command level is not the best, it is still better than ours, and it is fully qualified as a reference for decision-making. "

Redl and Frick looked at each other and immediately agreed.

"One last thing to tell you." Hoffman gritted his teeth and said, "It's not the end of the world if we lose. There are no ever-victorious generals in the world. Britain and the United States lost so many ships in the Indian Ocean. It's normal for us to lose some. New warships will be coming one after another. Let’s start construction and let every naval officer cherish life, and we will have a chance to start over again.”