The Rise of the Third Reich

At around 9:00 on June 6, in a sunny and windy day, the newly formed First High Seas Fleet sailed out of Kiel Harbor in a mighty manner. The commander of the fleet was Admiral Gunther Lütjens, the new commander-in-chief of the High Seas Fleet, and his flagship was the majestic battleship "Bismarck".

In addition to the powerful "Bismarck", his fleet also included the sister ship "Tirpitz" of the "Bismarck" and the second ship of the "Scharnhorst" class "Gneisenau", a total of three powerful battleships!

Among them, the "Gneisenau" has also undergone a major modification, replacing 9 underpowered 280mm main guns with 6 powerful 380mm main guns. If the two "Bismarck" class 1 main guns are counted, the entire fleet has a total of 22 380mm main guns!

With such powerful firepower, although Admiral Gunther Lütjens did not dare to say that he could defeat the British Home Fleet, as long as the "Nelson" of the Home Fleet did not appear, the First High Seas Fleet really had nothing to fear.

In addition, the two "Seydlitz" class aircraft carriers gave Admiral Lütjens extra confidence. With the protection of 64 Fokker Zeros on these two carriers, the aircraft carriers of the British Home Fleet posed no threat to the First High Seas Fleet at all.

If it were not for Hans Jeschonneck and Wolfgang von Richthofen, who came from the Air Force, who were thinking about killing all the British pilots all day long, Lütjens would have wanted to lead the First High Seas Fleet to break through the Danish Strait and disrupt the Atlantic.

With the current strength of the First High Seas Fleet, if it entered the Atlantic, wouldn't it be possible to sink as many merchant ships as it wanted? If it encountered a small number of British battleships, it would also be a sure win.

However, the same is true for fighting in the North Sea. Gunther Lütjens believes that the British will not only send out aircraft. Their main fleet will definitely be attracted to the North Sea, and the opportunity for a fleet decisive battle will always exist.

Moreover, it is now the polar day period in the Arctic. Until the autumnal equinox, the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea further north will have long days and short nights, and the wind and waves on the sea will not be too strong. It has always been a good day for naval battles. If it is between the autumnal equinox and the vernal equinox, it is the polar night period. The closer to the Arctic Circle, the shorter the day and the longer the night, and the wind and waves are also strong, which is not very suitable for naval battles, and aircraft cannot be deployed.

However, the long days and short nights and small winds and waves also have disadvantages, that is, the whereabouts of the fleet are easily exposed. According to Lütjens's estimation, when his fleet passes through the Skagerrak Strait between the Jutland Peninsula and Norway, it will most likely be discovered by British submarines lurking at the exit of the strait.

His estimate was later proved to be completely correct. At 5 a.m. the next day (because of the polar day, the sky was already bright at 5 a.m. in the high-dimensional Skagerrak Strait), when the fleet passed through the Skagerrak Strait, a British submarine lurking there discovered the German fleet and quickly informed the flagship of the Home Fleet, the Nelson, of the enemy situation: "3 battleships, 4 heavy cruisers, 2 aircraft carriers, 5-6 light cruisers, more than 10 destroyers, 10 large transport ships..." This news was passed to the Home Fleet Command (stationed on the Nelson), and then immediately forwarded to the Admiralty and the Supreme Command in London. At the same time, the underground wartime cabinet headquarters on King Charles Street in London had already become a mess. It turned out that at the same time as the First High Seas Fleet attacked, the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Norway also declared war on Britain. The large-caliber railway guns that had been placed around Gibraltar began to bombard the Gibraltar Fortress. The Ju88 and S.M.79 deployed in Bergen and Stavanger also began to repeatedly bomb the British airports on the Shetland Islands under the cover of the Fokker Zero and Fw-190.

It is obvious that Germany has launched a new round of attack on the British Empire. However, compared with the deployment of the main force of the German High Seas Fleet, the bombardment of Gibraltar and the bombing of the Shetland Islands are simply trivial.

"What do you think?" British Prime Minister Churchill said while smoking a cigar, frowning, "3 battleships plus 2 aircraft carriers and 4 heavy cruisers. Although there may be some misunderstandings, it is certain that there are at least 7 large battleships above heavy cruisers (German heavy cruisers and battleships look similar and are easy to be mistaken at a distance) and 2 aircraft carriers. I think the main forces of the German High Seas Fleet are almost all here. Where are they going? What do they want to do?"

Intelligence collected from various channels shows that Germany currently has only 3 battleships in service, and 4 battlecruisers (P-class armored ships) undergoing sea trials. The number of German aircraft carriers, excluding training ships and escort carriers of about 10,000 tons (this type of aircraft carrier converted from merchant ships is not of much value), is now Seydlitz and Seckt.

In other words, if the submarine is not mistaken, the main force of the German High Seas Fleet has now entered the North Sea!

"It is possible that they want to capture the Shetland Islands," said Admiral Dill, the Chief of the General Staff. "German bombers are repeatedly bombing the airports and radar stations on the Shetland Islands, causing us great losses. And intelligence says that there are 10 large transport ships in this German fleet, which are likely to be troop transports for the landing troops."

"But it is also possible that they want to break into the Atlantic." First Sea Lord Marshal Pound raised another possibility. He frowned and said, "We have a lot of troops stationed in the Shetland Islands, and we also have heavy weapons such as tanks and armored vehicles. There are also a lot of mines laid around the islands. And the islands are also very close to Scotland, which is very easy to support and unlikely to be occupied by the Germans. In addition, the Germans have never organized amphibious landing operations, and they have no special ships for landing operations. Those large transport ships are likely to just transport supplies to Bergen and Stavanger.

Instead of attacking the Shetland Islands, which are not easy to occupy, the German fleet might as well break into the Atlantic from the Denmark Strait. With the high speed and powerful firepower of the Bismarck class, Scharnhorst class and Seydlitz class, it can definitely pose a fatal threat to the Atlantic route. Moreover, after the main force of the German High Seas Fleet breaks into the Atlantic, it does not have to return to its home port in Germany, but can anchor at the French port of Brest."

The port of Brest was one of the main bases of the original French Navy, and its status is similar to that of the port of Toulon. In addition, there is Saint-Nazaire, a major French shipbuilding town, nearby, which is an ideal place for the fleet to anchor. After the Western Front campaign ended, the Germans "occupied" the port of Brest and a large area around it, expanded the airport there, built anti-aircraft towers, and renovated the port facilities, making it clear that they wanted to make it the home port of the fleet.

"In addition," Marshal Pound said worriedly, "if the main force of the German High Seas Fleet is stationed in Brest, then after the Italian and French fleets break out of the Strait of Gibraltar, the fleets of the three countries may meet in Brest. Their strength will be enough to block the western entrance and exit of the English Channel!"

The English Channel has two entrances and exits, and the eastern one is basically locked in the Strait of Calais. Because the narrowest part of the Strait of Calais is less than 30 kilometers, the Germans deployed many large-caliber artillery moved from the Maginot Line on the Calais side, and combined with Ju87, S.M.79 and S boats (torpedo boats), they basically blocked the waterway. If the western entrance of the English Channel is blocked by the German-French-Italian joint fleet again, then the Germans can begin to prepare for landing on the British mainland.

"If the German fleet's target is the Shetland Islands, then we will wait until they get close to the islands and attack with Wellington bombers and Bristol torpedo bombers." Marshal Pound thought, "If the German fleet's goal is to break through the Danish Strait, then we must send out the Home Fleet to intercept!" "Can Wellington bombers and Bristol torpedo bombers deal with the German fleet?" Prime Minister Churchill asked with some concern. He asked the Chief of Staff of the Royal Air Force, Viscount Porter, and Commander of the Royal Air Force Bomber Air Force, Lieutenant General Arthur William Tedder. Viscount Porter and Lieutenant General Tedder looked at each other and shook their heads at the same time. Vice Admiral Ted said: "Based on the experience of fighting in the Mediterranean, torpedo bombers must be coordinated with dive bombers to fully exert their power. The tactics of the Germans and Italians are to first use Ju88 to conduct shallow dive attacks, which can achieve a hit rate of about 20%-30%. A large cluster attack will cause severe damage to multiple main battleships, reduce speed, and weaken anti-aircraft firepower. At this time, the S.M.79 torpedo bomber will attack, and the effect is very ideal.

The Royal Air Force has no twin-engine dive bombers like Ju88 so far, so it can only use horizontal bombers to attack. The accuracy of bombing is too low, and it is difficult to hit the enemy ships in sailing. And when the enemy ships are intact, the torpedo bombers will cause heavy losses and it is difficult to achieve the desired effect."

Vice Admiral Ted's experience was gained with blood and life. Churchill and First Sea Lord Marshal Pound frowned.

"So how do we deal with this German fleet?" Churchill asked.

"Mr. Prime Minister, my suggestion is to send out aircraft carriers!" Vice Admiral Ted said, "Now our aircraft carriers are equipped with SBD Dauntless dive bombers, which are enough to deal with German battleships and aircraft carriers." Churchill looked at Marshal Pound, who nodded and said, "We can let the Ark Royal, Formidable, Victorious and Indomitable form a fast aircraft carrier strike formation, and with the cooperation of shore-based aircraft, carry out air strikes on the German fleet."