Iron Cross

At 8 o'clock in the evening of February 11, the merged German North Sea Fleet returned to the coast of Norway in a mighty manner. The specific location was about 100 nautical miles northwest of Bergen, only more than 100 nautical miles from Mainland Island in the Shetland Islands, and about 300 nautical miles from the Faroe Islands.

Taking advantage of the nightfall, the entire fleet was reorganized and resupplied. Most warships were not short of fuel and supplies at this time, but the S-boats with a range of only 700 nautical miles urgently needed to be resupplied with fuel and torpedoes. The transport ships and oil tankers temporarily mobilized by the Navy Command and departed from Bergen to supplement these more than 50 S-boats. In addition to supplies, the transport ships were also responsible for escorting the surviving British Navy officers and soldiers who were fished out of the sea today back to Norway, and later sent them back to the domestic prisoner-of-war camps.

"You guys are really capable of doing this. You used more than 50 torpedoes in this morning? Did you sink a battleship or a merchant ship?"

"No... only one destroyer, the other one ran away."

"Using the latest model of torpedoes against destroyers? You can't believe you can think of that. Torpedoes don't cost money?"

"The superior's orders must be obeyed whether you understand them or not. No matter how you look at it, it is worthwhile to use 50 torpedoes to sink a destroyer."

The slower but more powerful Tirpitz, Lützow, Admiral Scheer and four destroyers formed the bombardment formation; Hipper, Prinz Eugen and Seydlitz were included in the aircraft carrier formation as the core escort. Taking advantage of the opportunity of reorganization, Marshal also adjusted the commanders. He believed that Major General Bei was more offensive and changed him to the commander of the bombardment fleet, while Vice Admiral Kumets's cautious characteristics enabled him to play a more prominent role as the commander of the aircraft carrier escort warship. Not only did the Navy Command approve this adjustment, but both parties happily accepted it.

The only disagreement was the Scharnhorst. Rear Admiral Bay hoped to bring this battlecruiser under his jurisdiction, while Kumetz believed that the aircraft carrier formation lacked artillery firepower and it would be best to serve as a fleet escort. After careful study, the Scharnhorst was finally left in the aircraft carrier formation, but it would be the first to rush to reinforce the bombardment formation if needed.

Raeder did not forward Hoffman's complaints to the troops - the situation was already like this, and he did not want to pour additional cold water on the fleet. However, as the excitement of destroying the enemy ships passed, the drawbacks of wasting 5 hours this morning to chase the British cruiser formation gradually exposed. Not only did Marshall, Kumetz and other senior officers realize this, but the staff who drafted the plan also began to worry: According to the original plan, the Tirpitz formation should attract the British fleet that afternoon, and then the main fleet should take advantage of the night to pass through the middle waters of the Shetland Islands and successfully break into the Atlantic Ocean. But once the battle was fought, it not only took 5 more hours, but also moved more than 100 nautical miles away from the original location. The cumulative consequences ruined the fleet's original plan to cross at night.

If the original plan was carried out step by step, it would have to cross the Shetland Islands in broad daylight, and no one dared to take such a risk. Even though the weather forecast reported favorable factors such as snow and wind tomorrow morning, poor visibility, and the inability to dispatch aircraft, the staff still believed that they were not sure after comprehensive consideration: there was only a 40-nautical-mile wide waterway in the middle of the Shetland Islands. If they were sure that the enemy fleet had been transferred and dared to try to cross at night, now that both conditions were not met, they had to give up, otherwise it would not be a crossing and infiltration but a strong attack.

In addition, after the attack on the cruiser formation, the position and movement of the North Sea Fleet were exposed, and the enemy could easily judge the movement in the next stage. The staff believed that the British fleet was likely to be waiting in the triangle area of ​​the Faroe Islands, Shetland Islands and northern Scotland, and the fleet would only fall into a trap if it rushed over.

Ozawa and the Japanese staff were very skilled and bold. They suggested that the combined fleet force a crossing during the day. Their judgment was based on the fact that the Royal Navy had not yet completed the dispatch in the sea area and was not strong at present. Even if there was a fleet blocking it, it could still kill its way through. However, this suggestion was rejected by Marshal and others without hesitation. He believed that the British fleet should have 4-5 battleships. Although no single ship could match the Tirpitz in terms of combat effectiveness, Germany could only take out such a battleship. The 283mm naval guns on several warships such as Scharnhorst were more than enough to deal with cruisers or merchant ships, but not enough to deal with battleships.

No one expected that although it sounded risky, the view of the Japanese staff was closer to the truth: at this moment, the Royal Navy in this triangular sea area had only one E fleet, with two core warships, one was the Arkansas and the other was the Lamieri. In a head-on battle, the entire German fleet could completely gain the upper hand. Unfortunately, Marshal's caution made him refuse this risky behavior.

The fleet finally decided to find another way, changing the original plan to break into the Atlantic Ocean on the night of the 11th to the night of the 12th, and the overall tsunami plan was postponed by one day. Since they no longer had to go through the Shetland Waters, there were only two options left for choosing a new breakthrough route: the first was to go through the Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland, which the British called the Western Route, and the second was to go through the waterway between Iceland and the Faroe Islands, which the British called the Central Route.

After careful calculation, the staff found that if they wanted to cross at night, it was very unsafe to take the western route: from now on, the fleet must march overnight at a high speed of more than 26 knots, without any delay in the middle. This is a very dangerous strategy. Not only are all the ships unable to move forward at economic speed, but they also have no room for maneuver if they encounter an enemy warship - it does not need to encounter a Royal Navy warship, but only a trawler or transport ship that sends an alarm signal. It will bring unnecessary trouble to the fleet.

"Can we only use the Iceland-Faroe waterway?" Machar asked worriedly, "Has there been any clear information from the submarine in this direction?"

"No, but we believe that the enemy will definitely have a fleet deployed there. The problem is the number, ship type and our crossing speed." North Sea Fleet Chief of Staff Sean said, "Based on repeated operations on the map, we formulated a plan: Fleet The main force will sail northwest along the existing route at a speed of about 18 knots. It will reach the 64th parallel at 6 o'clock tomorrow evening, and then turn southwest at a speed of 24 knots and cross the Iceland-Faroe waterway. If everything goes well, we will be able to enter the Atlantic Ocean in the early morning of the 13th. At this time, we will be more than 400 kilometers away from Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and the British mainland, and we can effectively get rid of their air defense circles.”

“What’s the biggest risk?”

"If we are discovered by the enemy on the way, we will have no choice but to turn around and drive farther. The advance time will be postponed for another day, and we will enter the Atlantic Ocean through the Denmark Strait on the night of the 13th." Shawn sighed, "It's best not to delay it any longer. At that time, various intelligence showed that the British were mobilizing fleets from all sides to encircle us. News came from the Naval Command that the U.S. Atlantic Fleet reinforcements had set off and would arrive within 3-5 days. The later the delay is, the more disadvantageous it will be for us. "

Machar was convinced of this: Although the fleet was dispatched this time during a period when the Royal Navy was relatively weak, the purpose of the fleet was to implement the tsunami plan rather than to find a decisive battle with the enemy. If the Gibraltar Channel was opened at this time, they would gather in the Mediterranean The entire Axis naval power can be unleashed, and they are not afraid of a decisive battle. The strength of the North Sea Fleet alone is still a bit weaker.

"Send the changed plan to Berlin and let Major General Bei lead the artillery formation to set off first. We will take action in an hour."

The destroyer HMS Watch, which narrowly escaped this morning, left the war zone at the fastest speed and headed for Edinburgh. As soon as it arrived at the dock, the Naval Intelligence Officer who had been waiting here immediately took down the film taken by the warship and sent it to the Admiralty in London by plane. past. Originally, there were a batch of such photos on the Loyalty, but it was sunk in the North Sea. Therefore, all the senior officials of the Navy saw were the photos taken from the left wing by the officers and soldiers of the Watch who risked their lives.

"It is indeed an aircraft carrier..." Although the results of the photos taken were not particularly ideal due to the distance and the weather, naval experts could tell at a glance that this was a "genuine" aircraft carrier, not a warship dressed up as a tanker or other ship. , and by comparing the volume with the surrounding escort warships, it was confirmed that the tonnage was not less than 40,000 tons.

This judgment made all the senior officials of the Navy frown: The Germans are here with bad intentions!

"After the Linxian left the battlefield, we lost contact with the main force of the German fleet. The only thing that is certain is that given the size of this fleet and the number of aircraft carriers, they are definitely not here to help the Tirpitz return home. ”

Churchill asked worriedly: "What is your judgment?"

"The enemy is most likely to move in the northwest direction, and then wait for an opportunity to break into the Atlantic Ocean. Break through the channel and either take the western route or the central route."

"Do we have any other deployments on this route?"

"No more." Tovey shook his head and explained, "All merchant ships in the area have followed the alert order and returned to port. We have only deployed a few trawlers, but if the enemy ships move at night, it is almost useless." Great Britain has not yet They are rich enough to install radars on fishing boats, but they still use the most traditional visual observation. In the windy and snowy North Atlantic waters, the level of nighttime observation is almost negligible.

"What to do now? Let E fleet and W fleet guard each other?"

"We plan to deploy the main force of Fleet W to a position about 100 nautical miles northeast of Iceland. Regardless of whether the Germans take the western route or the central route, we will have the opportunity to encounter and intercept them."

"Are you sure?"

"Once the interception is successful, the W fleet is not prepared to engage in a head-on battle. It will only attract them, and then let the E and W fleets merge and then attack." Tovey sighed, "At present, we are not strong enough, so we can only adopt this method. Strategy."

Churchill remained silent, and after half a day he made up his mind: "We can respond according to this strategy first. The Germans cannot be allowed to enter the Atlantic route under any circumstances."