Bismarck

A communications staff officer and an artillery officer saluted together and went to the radio station with their questions.

------In the headquarters of the British and French allied forces-----

He had just received a call for help from the torpedo boat unit of Nieuwpoort, but Vice Admiral Ramsay was helpless against the battleship. Admiral Gott, who had heard the news and was standing next to him, had an equally grim expression on his face.

Now all the ships in his hands have participated in this great retreat, and are all filled with retreating soldiers. Where can he find warships to intercept the new battleship?

But if we don't stop them - sinking the civilian ship doesn't matter, but...

Ramsay looked behind him. Behind them, on the beach that was more than five kilometers long and one kilometer wide, there were now hundreds of thousands of troops densely packed, crowded and chaotic. The most important thing was that Dunkirk was only twenty kilometers away from Nieuwpoort - even the 150 guns of the Tirpitz could barely hit the beach!

Not to mention, less than five kilometers behind them, Guderian and Reichenau's attack never stopped for a moment.

If the defense line is breached, everyone will become prisoners of the Germans!

Although Ramsay had 2 heavy cruisers and 10 destroyers, it was the middle of the night and the enemy was in the dark while we were in the light. It was said that there were several German torpedo boats lying in ambush over there. A blind attack would be tantamount to suicide. Not to mention that those damn torpedo boats always set sail with mines hanging on them. Not only would they run away after attacking, but they would also drop a few mines as traps while running. And even if the German torpedo boats and torpedo boats attacked, could they defeat Tirpitz?

"I've evacuated the troops on the beach...but what about that battleship...now what?"

Admiral Gort, who was running around in a panic, gritted his teeth and said, "We can temporarily stop the evacuation, but the bombardment of that battleship will bring disaster to our entire defense line... Although the German light artillery does not pose a threat to our fortress, the naval guns of that ship may not be a threat. Once the fortress is destroyed, the defense line will collapse! Ramsey, you should think of a solution!!"

"...There's nothing I can do. Our anti-ship bombing is basically impossible in this horrible weather!" Ramsay, who was also in a state of panic, had no good ideas.

"Report! Major General Thomas of the escort fleet has sent a letter!" Just as the two of them were running around like ants on a hot pan, a communications soldier carrying a radio ran over.

Lieutenant General Ramsey took the phone, and Major General Thomas's resolute voice came from it:

"General! That battleship is too threatening! We can't let it continue to bombard!! If we have to worry about the German torpedo boats... I suggest that we use the six best destroyers to escort the transport convoy back and evacuate some people. Then I will take the two heavy cruisers and the remaining four destroyers and our torpedo boats to hold the Tirpitz to the death!! As you said, as long as we can hold it for 24 hours, it will be a victory! No matter how great the sacrifice, we must hold it!! I request to go into battle! The Royal Navy only has martyrs who will fight when they see the enemy, and no cowards who are afraid and run away!! "

At this point, Major General Thomas, who had almost shouted, stopped talking with a voice that had changed pitch due to the high pitch, and a sound of gnashing teeth came out.

Dull cannon sounds continued to be heard from the distant sea. It was the roar of the sea dragon Leviathan. Behind each roar, it seemed as if a group of bloody heroes appeared in front of him, flying into the sky and saluting him and Admiral Gort for the last time...

After pondering for a while, Thomas finally gave the combat order when he found that he had no choice: "Okay... I will order the 7th Destroyer Squadron to protect the transport ship and evacuate. Now it depends on whether you can hold back that devil... God bless you! England thanks you!! "

As he spoke, he saluted towards the sea.

Admiral Gort and other officers, staff officers, and soldiers beside him also saluted towards the sea...

A loud whistle sounded on the sea. It was the final farewell of the two fearless heavy cruisers before challenging the devil.

The officers and soldiers who were in a state of panic had no idea what the departing warships were doing. They just saw the generals around them suddenly start to salute, and subconsciously raised their hands. Then one person told ten people, ten people told a hundred people, and gradually, on the entire beach, everyone saluted silently in the direction of the warships that were going farther and farther away, as if to say their last farewell and best wishes to the warriors who were going to the battle...

-----A hamster who just changed into clean clothes in the locker room---

On the bridge of the Tirpitz.

The Hamster, which had completed its minesweeping mission, was walking out happily. This time, her mission was completed as well as usual - in fact, Grapes also used searchlights to illuminate two British torpedo boats. Under the fierce bombardment, the two poor British torpedo boats never recovered...

Grape had just been splashed with sea water and had gone to take a bath. Now, she was standing next to Lindemann, touching her long hair which had not yet dried. She looked lazy, as if she had just woken up.

Lindemann was just about to ask Tirpitz to cheer up, but surprisingly, the hamster, who was usually lazy, greedy and home-bound, began to actively ask Lindemann to assign her tasks.

"Lindeman, (I perceive) the British are probably coming soon. My sister and everyone are busy, busy dealing with these troublesome British people, so I think I should come and help solve the trouble (secretly yawned)!... Thank you~ There is delicious coffee!!" Tizi, who had just been drenched in the rain, took the freshly poured hot coffee handed over by Lindeman and took a big sip.

"Well, Lindeman, your coffee is delicious!"

"Hey...freshly brewed..." Lindeman watched speechlessly as the steel creature drank up the pot of boiling hot coffee. Just thinking about it made him feel hot in his mouth.

"Huh? What's the problem, Lindemann?"

"No...as long as you think it tastes good."

However, looking at Grape who was able to stand up at the critical moment, Lindman was still very happy, so he assigned tasks without hesitation.

"Well... it's night now, the torpedo boats have to attack to contain the British, and the British may attack us first. They have more warships and torpedo boats than we do... So, Tizi, go and 'watch' the radar, and remember to 'instruct' our 105 and 37 anti-aircraft guns."

"Hmm!" Tizi understood what he meant and saluted politely, then walked to the side of the radar and started to look at it.

--Next to Tirpitz's artillery director-----

"...Our current position is probably no more than ten kilometers away from their target. At this distance, due to various factors, the sighting error of the 380 main gun is about one hundred meters, but the firing dispersion range of the shells is also a hundred meters in radius. In addition, the 380 high-explosive shells are charged with hundreds of kilograms, and the killing radius is also more than one hundred meters... If the army requires to prevent accidental hits..." (PS: The artillery error of warships is a very complicated thing. It is not only related to manufacturing accuracy... The several data are basically determined by consulting artillery specifications and historical data... Please don't criticize...)

The gunner frowned. At a distance of 10 kilometers, the SKC34/380's aiming error, shell dispersion, and the powerful lethality of the shells themselves meant that the actual killing range was at least a 150--meter radius area. The river was only meters wide. But if we used the low-power , the power would not be strong enough to destroy the enemy's defenses... After thinking about it, the gunner had to ask tentatively, "How about we put the shooting position a little behind the river bank?"

"But if this happens, it will have no effect on the assault on the front-line troops..." The artillery liaison officer sent by the army was also in a dilemma. "Although we can first use the main guns to launch a destructive artillery attack on the houses on the opposite shore, and then extend the main guns' firepower to their rear to block their reinforcements, and then use 150 and 105 to suppress fire to cover the infantry crossing the river, but..." The army pointed to the L-shaped bend of the Yser River on the battle map and said, "This corner can control the river in both directions at the same time, and this is the warehouse area. The front said that the buildings there are very solid, and 150 may not have a very good killing effect..."

"No problem!" Bismarck took a look at the army's map and had an idea. She put the map and the sea chart together, picked up a pencil, and drew a few strokes on the map to draw a schematic diagram of the azimuth angle: "If our error is calculated as 200 meters, the army cannot expose itself in front of the river bank. So in fact, the distance between the army and the enemy position is at least meters. So...if we set the aiming point of the main guns to fire in the middle of their position, wouldn't it be just right?"

Then she added a few more angle lines, marked out several shooting ranges, and then drew a rough area on the nautical chart according to the angle lines: "We can keep the activity range of Tirpitz... ah, I mean Tirpitz... within this range, so the problem of shooting angles is solved. With 50 meters behind the corner of Nieuwpoort as the core and the direction of the exit of the Yser River estuary as a reference, we can shoot at Nieuwpoort within the range of 0 to 330 degrees without worrying about hitting our own people! This is still the main gun. If it is a secondary gun, it can go back a little further to the east..."

In fact, she hadn't said it yet. With the perception ability of the ship girl, the "observation error" can actually be reduced to a minimum. Although she didn't have much time to help Grapes get a few special shells, she could still reduce the error to 300 meters at a distance of 10,000 meters... She was not the untrained sailors on the Hamster minesweeper.

As Bismarck spoke more, the eyes of the gunner and the artillery officer became brighter. And... because the army's radio was not turned off, the eyes of Admiral Kuchler and several army officers standing behind the radio also lit up. Although the girl's terminology was not very standard, according to the angle and position she reported, a simple mark was made and a possible artillery plan was indeed seen.

"Well, that's fine, but our fire control system is calculated based on direct artillery bombardment. What should we do if we can't see the relevant shooting position over here?" asked Tirpitz's chief gunner.

"That's no problem. Let the army fire smoke bombs or incendiary bombs at the enemy's main support point at the corner, and we can locate it through the smoke column. And we can test fire, let the army report the error, and then we can switch to efficient shooting directly. Our own speed and course are automatically input into the computer, and the enemy targets on the shore will not run away, so we can calculate the distance of other targets through the army's map. A correction value, and then pass the relevant coordinates to the secondary gun director, and then we can attack the point according to the coordinates..."

Bismarck pointed to the army's map and said, "Now the army needs to fire smoke bombs or incendiary bombs at the center of the enemy's position at the corner, and then let them make corrections... As long as we focus on destroying the buildings in the corner, the army should be able to build a bridgehead and a temporary bridge, right?"

Before he finished speaking, an anxious voice of a middle-aged man came from the earphones of the radio placed aside: "We totally agree! We will launch a general attack at about twelve o'clock! The smoke bombs will be launched soon! It's up to you from now on! I wish us a happy cooperation! "

But...at this moment, Lindemann's voice came from the microphone...

"Beautiful lady on the director, how's the ground bombing contact going? 260 degrees, 2 yards, the British are coming. Two heavy cruisers, four destroyers, and about a dozen torpedo boats. I think we have to take care of them first."

"Oh? Are the British coming?... No problem! The army plans to start the general offensive at twelve o'clock, and it's just past ten o'clock now..."

"Can we take down the British heavy cruiser in two hours?" asked Lindemann.

"Two hours... it's just two cruisers." Bismarck smiled confidently, "Leave it to me, I'll take care of it."

"Very good, then I'll leave it to you." Lindemann said with a smile.

The crew and officers around saw Bismarck's cool and confident look, and they trusted her for no reason, believing that she could bring nightmares to the British - of course, this was also because her ability just now convinced the gunners and others.

Everyone looked at her with admiration. She was probably what later generations would call a goddess. However, Bismarck only showed her feminine side in front of the person she liked. She had to act cool in front of everyone else.

She stretched out her finger and fiddled with it, then closed the cover of the intercom. She turned around under everyone's gaze, elegantly sat on the command seat, and said in a cold tone: "Everyone, the latest mission has been issued. We have to take care of the two British cruisers first, and then help the army attack the British fortress."

The army's coordinator quickly said something into the radio's microphone, and Admiral Kuchler on the other side did not hesitate: "Okay! We just need to make some preparations, so let's do it! Remember to quickly get rid of the British fleet and come to help us."

ps: It was released just at midnight, hahaha, 5,500 words ~ Please reward and give me a monthly ticket

Chapter 165: Moths to Flame

Following the order from the bridge, the sailors on the 105 secondary guns and anti-aircraft guns loaded their shells as usual and retreated into the bunkers. Only the sailors in the 150 secondary gun turrets were on high alert, guarding against torpedo boats that might suddenly appear from the darkness at any time...

When the two heavy cruisers appeared in this sea area, Bismarck controlled the main guns of the battleship to lock on them. As soon as they were within the range, the eight naval guns opened fire almost at the same time!

Eight huge water columns rose high half a minute later, but they were still some distance away from the two cruisers, and not even a splash of water was made.

Bismarck was not surprised. It was the first round of test firing, at the extreme distance and against a moving target, so it was normal that it missed. She silently calculated the trajectory in her mind and blurted out the revised parameters in the gunner's astonished eyes.

"Left one degree, lower the pitch angle by two degrees!"

"Yes!"

Soon, the hull trembled slightly, and the second round of test firing continued.

The two sides closed the gap by more than 500 meters in one minute.

After a "long" flight, the eight shells slammed down in a nearly parabolic posture.

“Swish, swish, swish—boom—”

"It's impossible to tell where the bullet hit!" the lookout shouted outside. In the dim night, even if he opened his eyes wide, he still saw a rough sea. Even if there were flares in the sky, the distance was beyond the human eye's visual range at night.

Basically, if Bismarck and Tizi were not there, this would be like typing blindly.

"What a pity, straddle." Bismarck whispered. She "saw" eight water columns surrounding the heavy cruiser, but she missed it.

When Tirpitz left, Bismarck told her about this special shell and the manufacturing method in detail, asking her to make a few when she had time. Although it was not enough to penetrate the main battleship, it was quite lethal to this medium-sized armored target. At this time, with high winds and rough waves, even if she could calculate the parameters accurately, she could not control the flight trajectory of the shells in the sky. A sudden gust of wind could ruin the previous calculations.

Tizi did not have those special controllable shells on her. It was obvious that the girl was lazy and did not make them because it was too mentally demanding. As a result, the hit rate of ordinary shells on the windy and rough sea was touching. Even Bismarck felt powerless.

"Tizi, I think it's necessary to talk to you about life!" she said "with a smile" in her consciousness.

"Ah?" Tizi, who was operating the ship and secondary guns, was startled by his sister's nonsensical words.

"My elder sister's tone is so creepy..." Ti Zi's heart immediately began to beat fast, and he quickly wondered in his mind if he had done something bad and was discovered?

It seems not... Tizi looked up at the sky silently. All the pictures she secretly drew of her sister had been destroyed when she got on the ship, and the others were also hidden. Could it be that she was discovered bullying Oscar?

"Sister...what's the matter~" Tizi immediately started to act cute when she saw that the situation was not good, "Tell Tizi, please~"

"Don't act cute with me. Control yourself. I'll come back and settle the score with you."

"Forehead···"

The Persian cat snorted coldly and cut off the contact. Then, in its mind, it looked back at a little hamster that had a question mark on its face, looked confused, and was trembling with fear (in front of the Persian cat's sight)...

Shells kept exploding around the British cruisers, but the two heavy cruisers seemed to ignore them and approached the Tirpitz madly, firing desperately with the 203 main guns on the bow while charging. Although the distance change rate of the bow shooting was not very accurate, and the power could not threaten the core area of ​​​​Tirpitz, the 203 high-explosive shells combined with the firing rate of the heavy cruiser were still very threatening to the superstructure, secondary guns, and sighting systems. The battleship's main gun ammunition was limited, and there was also the threat of destroyers and torpedo boats, and those light artillery had to be kept to deal with the British.

"Not having special shells is a problem."

Bismarck watched the third round of shells whizzing out. This time she was no longer reckless and used a salvo fire. Instead, she made a slight deviation for each shot to cover as much sea surface as possible.

If he fails again this time, Bismarck will feel the need to pull out the hamster's hair as a punishment...

One, two... three, four... five, six... seven water columns, and there is still one left...!!

"Hit!"

As a red light flashed in the distance, the lookout finally saw the situation clearly.

"Hit the target!"

"Where did it hit?!" the chief of gunnery was overjoyed and asked immediately.

"I couldn't see clearly, I just saw flames coming out of the enemy ship!" the lookout said excitedly.

"Well done, maximum rate, fire!"

"Yes!"

"Distance 240 yards, bearing 260 degrees (based on our ship), enemy cruiser heading 32, speed about knots, range change rate XX, lateral movement rate XX, position change rate XX, five rounds of effective fire!! " Bismarck did not take the sailors' excitement seriously, as she was basically used to it. However, she remained unmoved and continued to sit in her seat "calmly" reporting parameters and issuing orders, which made the gunner, army liaison officer and other sailors feel a little ashamed in front of such a goddess...

"Thank you, Ms. Bismarck. The captain is right. Your gunnery skills are so superb that they put me to shame..." The gunner walked up to Bismarck and said with a smile. He asked himself that it would be very difficult to hit a long-distance target under such circumstances.

"No, you are too kind." Bismarck smiled. "Let's get rid of the cruiser first, and then support the army after we gain control of the sea."

"very good."

The British cruisers felt the tremendous pressure almost immediately. The 380mm armor-piercing shells made them terrified. A shell in the third round of salvos penetrated the deck of one of the cruisers and entered its engine room under the huge kinetic energy, destroying a main engine in an instant. The heavy cruiser tilted more than ten degrees in an instant, and its speed dropped sharply, causing huge casualties.

Major General Thomas, who had fought against this demonic battleship before, was well aware of its terrifying power. However, since he had made up his mind to hold back Tirpitz even at the cost of his life, neither the glory of the Royal Navy nor the promise he made to his superiors would allow him to retreat.

After carefully inquiring about the power situation, the major general announced without hesitation that the attack would continue.

"All warships enter full-speed assault, destroyers and torpedo boats prepare for torpedo attacks! Heavy cruisers prepare to attract fire!"

"Yes!"

For the sake of his compatriots in the rear, he had decided to sacrifice his own warship as bait.

The bait is a bait, but it is unlikely that someone will take the bait, given Bismarck's insightful observation and Lindemann's judgment - they soon knew the British intentions.

With one round fired every thirty seconds, both cruisers were damaged and thick smoke filled the air, but fortunately the bridge where Rear Admiral Thomas was was not hit, so he was able to continue commanding.

Several destroyers approached under heavy fire, and the torpedo tubes in the middle of the ship were all pointed at the target, Tirpitz.

After all, Top's gunnery skills were not beyond the scope of humans, and they were still a little bit worse in this sea condition. Although the hamster immediately intervened in the aiming of 150 guns under the reminder of the Persian cat, there was still a little flaw that inevitably appeared, and the British warship that was hit before, after being injured, still tried its best to cover the remaining comrades and continued to charge desperately. Finally, after hitting two destroyers and unable to move, two destroyers still entered the 7-kilometer range with billowing smoke.

"Be careful of torpedoes!" Bismarck felt the threat at the first moment.

There was a sound of high-pressure gas pushing, and she saw all the torpedoes coming out.

"Cross mines! Tizi, be careful!!" She hurriedly reminded Tizi through the mental WIFI.

"It's so troublesome... But it's okay! Sister, just watch me!" Tirpitz's voice was surprisingly calm at this time, as if he had become a different person. He stared at the sea surface, and at the same time glanced at Lindemann who was already standing on the steering gear.

"For my sister and Lindemann, I have to hide! Besides... it's so troublesome to enter the shipyard!!!!"

In the face of the rare outburst of Tirpitz, the huge hull slowly slowed down, then swayed from side to side, using the resistance of the water to accelerate the slowing process, while destroying the inertia of the hull's previous stable sailing, and then made a sharp turn.

Soon, the torpedoes from the side passed horizontally in front of the bow, and after a while, another row of "combs" came vertically from the front, but because Tizi had adjusted his position, they also passed harmlessly from both sides of the ship's side.

What’s even more terrible is that under normal circumstances, such a warship needs to be recalibrated and aimed, but with the existence of two ship girls... Soon, the two brave destroyers paid the price of their lives for their courage... And the British heavy cruisers in the distance also took several 380mm shells in a row. Thomas saw on the bridge that the heavy cruiser behind him was hit three times in a row by 380mm shells in the opponent’s four rounds of salvos. The poor heavy cruiser was hit and burned fiercely, and was basically in a semi-paralyzed state. Now it is only relying on blood to insist on fighting back. Thomas’ own flagship was also on fire. While he was thinking, there was another loud "boom". Seeing that he had diverted the firepower of the Tirpitz battleship behind him, the tail of his flagship was hit by another shell...

"The rear deck was hit, and the Y turret malfunctioned and caught fire! The damage control team is now rescuing it!!..." The anxious report of the damage control team came from the microphone next to my ear.

General Thomas was indeed determined to die, and his captains were all determined to perish together. According to his plan, if the cruiser was destroyed, the destroyer would cover the destroyer, and if the destroyer was destroyed, the torpedo boat would cover the torpedo boat...

But in this weather, the torpedo boats could not take advantage of their speed. They were slower than the destroyers, and their firepower was not scientifically accurate... Now he regretted it a little. If he had not fought desperately, but had fought with the Tirpitz, would it have been better? (It was strange... In history, when the Bismarck was crippled, the British launched a night attack. Two heavy cruisers and eight destroyers fought for a whole night but could not get close to the crippled Bismarck even a hair away)...