Bismarck

The thing that you haven't decided on yet?

Perhaps, Hitler thought, he could take this opportunity to ask them what they thought?

But Bismarck doesn't need her to leave. According to her, this ship is her body. It's probably useless to ask her to leave...

Moreover, the last time Bismarck asked Hitler to rescue Lütjens in the Chancellery, her stealth and infiltration abilities had a great impact on Hitler. Maybe she could be of some help then?

To be honest, Hitler had no idea about the Barbarossa Plan. The Soviet Union was too big, and the simulation plan could only be carried out up to the border, and the variables might be quite complicated. In addition, they are still at war with Britain, and if the attitude of the Soviet Union over there is not clear, it is not a good sign...

Twenty years ago, when he was still in prison writing "Hitler's Struggle", Hitler knew that he could not be hostile to both Britain and the Soviet Union at the same time. However... many things were beyond his control. The European continent was too small to accommodate two major powers - Germany, Britain and the Soviet Union were three major powers!

Before the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact and the Polish Campaign, the European continent was still in chaos. At that time, the Soviet Union colluded with Britain and said that they would work together to "maintain European order" and destroy Hitler. But fortunately, how could the British cooperate with the Bolsheviks? So until now, the non-aggression pact between Greater Germany and the Soviet Union is still in effect.

But, one Europe cannot accommodate two hegemons or something like that...

If they really became enemies at the same time, he should probably pay attention... As long as they are both singing the same tune and are not against him, he should listen to what they want to say first!

Protracted war, large-scale operations, resources, production capacity, winter effects... Oh? Bismarck also said that he hoped Hitler would treat civilians well, which would reduce their resistance?

Oh, she is really a silly and cute girl. Feuds, invasions, and the inevitable contradictions of living space. How can she prevent the civilians from resisting if she doesn't suppress them?

However, if the guerrillas can tie up three quarters of Napoleon's forces, he should really pay attention to the relationship with the civilians in the occupied areas. Freeing up one force is one force...

As for the details, write them down first, and then we will take a good look at what Stalin is up to!

"That's a good idea... Hey, don't be nervous. Am I that scary?"

Looking at Bismarck's angry face, the man with a mustache couldn't help but touch his nose: I'm not some murderous devil with a green face and fangs, is it necessary to look at Hitler in this way?

Although some traitors who took advantage of the country's misfortune to lend money at high interest rates deserve death...

-------The distant exit of the Denmark Strait---------

It was already dawn. The Tirpitz, which had been slightly damaged in the artillery battle, fired a final round of main guns with a contemptuous look at the King George V, which was fleeing in a panic with smoke behind it and under the cover of two cruisers. She stretched herself and continued to lean back on her exclusive seat next to the command instrument, which was made up of several cushions.

"Taipei, you did a great job!" Linderman smiled and stroked the soft fur of Taipei, then took out a small bag of snacks and handed it to him. Taipei, who felt comfortable with his fur stroked, hummed proudly, took the snacks, leaned against the wall, and began to enjoy his lazy daily life.

"Report, the severely injured King George V and Renown have left the range of the Tirpitz and are evacuating towards Iceland. The Tirpitz was hit by two 356 and one 381 missiles, but it did not affect its combat effectiveness. Now the two cruisers behind us are still following us at a distance of 30 kilometers!" In the C3I command room, Zeppelin was reporting the battle situation to Lutjens: "In addition, the radar detected a large fleet approaching 130 kilometers away..."

Putting down the telescope and looking out the window at the brightening sky, Lutjens gave the order: "We don't have an escort ship now. Although you have reinstalled the 105mm anti-aircraft guns this time, it is still far from enough. Is the fighter squadron ready to attack?"

"It's ready, Commander! There are quite a few talented people among the reinforcements this time, and I will also go out to command them to intercept, so don't worry!!" Zeppelin raised his head confidently and replied with a smile.

"Very good. Then I order you to take the first, third and fourth squadrons of fighter jets and attack immediately. Stop them!" Lutjans waved his hand and said, "As long as we stop this group, with our speed, they will be unable to do anything to us!"

"Yes! I guarantee to complete the mission!" Zeppelin saluted fluently, turned around and walked away.

Not long after, Zeppelin's voice began to sound from the ship's radio loudspeaker: "Bar, Grislawski, Marseille, Buckhorn... Walter Novotny, Erich Rudolf, Heinrich Eichler, Theodor Weisenberg... The above pilots, assemble on deck and follow me to attack!!"

ps: Gentlemen, if you want a country to be in chaos, there will be people with ulterior motives who will cut off your history, discredit your heroes, and disintegrate you from within! I am tired of seeing so many people on Zhihu who claim to be elites...

Chapter 294: The National Treasure

A week after setting sail, on November 1940, , the battleship Bismarck finally reached the entrance to the Gulf of Finland outside Leningrad...

Accompanied by the whistling sea breeze and snowflakes falling from the sky from time to time, Bismarck finally entered the Soviet waters.

"Prince, we're here."

In the wind and snow, a warship with a dark blue-gray body but a brick-red deck slowly appeared in the limited field of vision. The red national flag flying on its mainmast showed its identity.

"Have you informed the Soviet side?" Hitler stood up with the help of the handrail and walked to the porthole.

"Yes, they already know we are coming."

"What kind of ship is this?" Hitler took the telescope handed to him by the orderly and looked at it carefully, but still could not make out anything.

"It's the Soviet Kirov-class heavy cruiser." Hyde said on the side.

“It doesn’t look very big.”

"This is probably the best battleship in the Soviet Union," Bismarck joked.

"They are too embarrassed to show off their bad ships." Hitler put down the binoculars.

It's just that good of a ship.

The ship in the telescope was really much smaller than the Bismarck, and he lost interest after looking at it for a while.

"I heard that in the eyes of the Soviets, warships are all male. What do you think about this?" Hitler said with a smile.

"So, is that a ship boy? I don't have any opinion, but I guess he's not used to it." Bismarck replied with a smile.

"I also think that a battleship should be like you, hahaha."

"Thank you for the compliment, President~"

The warships slowly approached each other and their outlines became clearer.

Bismarck had already scanned the Kirov and had almost figured out its structure. The bridge was hidden behind its second turret, and there was a large "A"-shaped quadrangular main mast with a rangefinder on it. Although those 180mm naval guns had a long range and their power was indeed close to the level of 203mm guns in mainstream countries, they were cruisers after all, and were really not good enough for battleships. They were just like children's toys.

"Compared to you?" Hitler laughed jokingly.

Bismarck's answer was exactly the same as it was in Poland at that time: "If you want, I can send it to the bottom of the sea in two rounds."

This is not Bismarck exaggerating. The thin armor of a cruiser will be as thin as paper when hit by the 380mm heavy artillery.

"Hahaha, well said!" Hitler was of course very happy to hear this, and a feeling of pride arose spontaneously.

"Captain, the other party is asking about our identity!"

"Inform the other party that I am from the Bismarck, the flagship of the German War Navy, and I am here to visit at Stalin's request!" Hyde said.

"Yes!"

"What does it mean?" Hitler asked, looking at the warship on the opposite side that kept flashing its lights.

"It said it was ordered to guide our ship, so we just need to follow it," Bismarck explained to him, "We will soon reach Leningrad."

"Attention all crew members, hoist the full flag!"

They were about to dock at another country's port, and as the most romantic military branch, they would definitely have etiquette. Full flags would be hoisted throughout the entire process as a high-level welcoming method. After Hyde gave the order, a rope full of small flags was passed from the bow to the stern, with the highest point below the mast. The German flag was raised above the mast, and the naval flag that was originally here was moved to the bow. At the same time, the Soviet flag was raised on the main mast to show respect.

"Is the salute ready?" Hitler asked.

"Ready." Bismarck nodded.

The highest level of etiquette, the gun salute, has now been pulled onto the deck, and when arriving in Leningrad, 21 guns will be fired. This ancient etiquette can be traced back to the distant United Kingdom, where the cannons are fired when arriving at the port to indicate that they are coming in peace.

But, is this time coming for peace?

Although Bismarck knew that some things in his known history had changed and no one knew whether a war would really break out in the end, he came this time with a purpose.

Kirov on the opposite side lowered the flag on the mainmast to one-third and then raised it again in return.

Then he turned and led the Bismarck towards the port.

"It feels a bit funny to have such a small boat carrying me..." Bismarck complained silently.

The Soviet side had already sent people to welcome them at the port, and some people knew that the German flagship would arrive in the next few days. When they saw the soldiers on the dock making some movements, they knew it would be today. They ran around to tell each other, and soon a lot of people gathered around.

The legend of the Bismarck battleship was reported not only in German newspapers, but also mentioned once or twice in Soviet newspapers. The people also had an impression of it. In addition, Germany was still a nominal ally of the Soviet Union. No matter what the top leaders thought, the people at the bottom still had a relatively favorable impression of it.

"Divisions line up and get ready!"

When they were about to enter the port, Hyde gave an order through the ship-wide radio. In the biting cold wind, young men in navy blue sailor uniforms and white gloves ran out from the cabins and stood in a row along the side of the ship, including all the staff officers.

In order to demonstrate the good spirit of the German Navy, the young men were all in high spirits, with their heads held high and their eyes looking upward at a 45-degree angle, revealing immense pride in their eyes.

This is confidence in this country and this battleship!

Bismarck - the unsinkable battleship!

"Führer, is it okay?" Bismarck remembered that last time Hitler asked Lütjens to show his strength to the Soviets, so he asked.

"Very good, very good." He nodded with satisfaction. The soldiers under his command were all very good.

"Sound a salute!"

"Fire a salute—"

"boom!"

The sailors loaded blank shells into the gun barrels, and then there was a deafening roar. This rumbling sound seemed to announce the arrival of Bismarck, and it did not end until 21 shots.

The ears ravaged by the sound of artillery seemed unable to adapt to the sudden silence, and the Soviets saw an extremely huge figure appear before their eyes. In front of this figure, their once proud Kirov cruiser seemed as small as a child's toy. Perhaps, some people were thinking that if they passed by this battleship, they would be overturned by her waves.

She is so huge and magnificent!

The lower-class people who once thought that Kirov was the largest battleship finally understood the concept of 50,000 tons, and were even more shocked by the size and power of the battleship. She came slowly, not fast, but seemed unstoppable. Anything that stood in her way would be smashed to pieces by her huge cannon.

The waves split by the bow kept hitting the dock shore. On the side of the ship stood densely packed with sailors in navy blue uniforms, looking heroic, explaining to them what the style of a flagship is.

This is the battleship that defeated the British in the Atlantic Ocean and forced its way out of the British encirclement - Bismarck!

The military band lined up at the dock to welcome them played the German national anthem, and the majestic music floated over the sky of Leningrad.

"The Soviets should have let us in on our own. Sending Kirov here makes them look pale and powerless in comparison..." Hitler stood on the bridge and looked at the port outside. Those warships all paled in the face of his halo. The warships that were originally the host's warships now looked more like his little brothers paving the way for him.

"But there's nothing we can do about it. The water in the Gulf of Finland is too shallow, and the hydrological conditions are very complicated. Plus, Leningrad is here, so the Soviet Union generally doesn't make the nautical charts of the Gulf of Finland public. Ships entering and leaving have to find a pilot boat..." Bismarck, who had done his homework before coming, sighed and explained to the man with a mustache.

Although I can't see very far under the sea, it's no problem to hide behind a reef and have a brief chat...

"Oh? The situation here is complicated?" The man with a mustache became interested.

"Yes... The hydrology and waterways here are very complicated. Even sampans can't pass through the shallow water..." Bismarck pointed to the surrounding mountain walls on the shore and the islands in the sea for the mustache: "The waterway is narrow and complicated, but it's very close to the shore. If there are coastal guns, even if it's me... our battleship (seeing that other people around are not paying attention, so dangerous! Patting his chest~...), it is basically a sitting duck. And you see..."

There was an island ahead of the route, and it looked like there were quite a few buildings on it, built according to the island's terrain and mountains. But the shapes of these buildings...even if Xiao Hu is a complete naval layman, he can recognize that those buildings are probably fortresses and artillery positions! !

There is a thick breakwater between the island and the coast, and even at the entrance and exit of the waterway, there is a thick and sturdy steel gate that can even be used as a highway after being closed!

"Where is this?" asked the man with a mustache, frowning.

"This is Kotlin Island, 30 kilometers from Leningrad. The fortress above is the Kronstadt Fortress, which was built during the reign of Peter the Great and is where the Russian Navy started..."

Bismarck, who was acting as a history teacher, continued, "Historically, this place has always been the sea gateway of Leningrad. And considering the distance from Leningrad, Leningrad's artillery and heavy artillery can also cover the area around this island."

This is the benefit of reading... Bismarck, who had nothing to do but read books in the shipyard, can now finally show off.

The mustache frowned deeper and deeper...

As they were talking, the Bismarck, following the Kirov, had already come very close. On both sides of the gates at the entrance to the breakwater, there were some things that looked like bunkers, with some things covered with camouflage nets or coverings inside - probably anti-aircraft guns or something?

Just as he passed the gate, the mustache man saw through the telescope that the bunkers and fortifications were full of Soviet soldiers standing upright! Moreover, the expressions of these soldiers were, they held their heads high, looking confidently at the huge Bismarck battleship!

The pupils of the man with a mustache holding a telescope in the bridge suddenly contracted - as a veteran who had crawled out of the pile of corpses in World War I, the man with a mustache knew very well what the expressions of the Soviet soldiers he saw meant!

This is definitely a group of troops with high morale, firm will, and great confidence in themselves and their country!

Even though the only World War I battleship Marat of the Soviet Baltic Fleet was already old and dilapidated, and even though the contrast between their most advanced Kirov-class cruisers and the Bismarck was so stark, there was not a trace of discouragement or envy in the eyes of these people. Instead, there was only the confidence and determination that "sooner or later we will surpass you"!

The Bismarck passed through the locks. From behind Kotlin Island and the Kronstadt Fortress, we could see the naval shipyard under intense construction. The warships being built in the docks might be light cruisers or even destroyers, but the atmosphere of hard work was what was important...

Hitler, who had organized a labor front just a few years ago and had brought back the German industry that was once on the verge of complete destruction by relying on the planned economy and strong national organizational capabilities, was very familiar with this atmosphere...

After he was elected as the German Chancellor, he called on the German people to join the labor front and organize national production and construction. When he was speaking on the podium, the young German workers who were neatly lined up with production tools had the same expression. A few years later, Germany developed to such a grand scale.

The atmosphere in the Soviet Union, which they had always looked down upon, was actually no worse than that of the German workers organized by themselves...

Putting down the binoculars expressionlessly, the mustache man took two deep breaths, put on his hat, ignored the gazes of the people around him, turned around and walked away thoughtfully...

"The Soviet Union...maybe it's the real rival of the German Empire!" The gloomy-faced man with a mustache walked down quickly while thinking about something, and soon disappeared at the stairs...

Bismarck, who was standing behind him, saw that the originally proud expression of the mustache suddenly turned into an expression of coldness, and a bunch of question marks appeared on his head...

What's going on? Did she say something wrong?

It seems that I didn't say anything wrong...

But this is not the time to think about these things...

Because Leningrad is just around the corner.

The Kirov left and the tugboats gathered around.

"End the divisional formation and prepare to dock!"

On the slippery deck, the sailors ran quickly in small steps and returned to the cabin in an orderly manner. Then, as the national anthems of the two countries were played by the military band on the shore, the hull hit the crash pad.

Tie the rope and lower the gangway.

Bismarck touched Soviet soil for the first time.

Ps: The last time I said that we went to Leningrad for Singles’ Day was a typo! Do you think the Fuhrer really went to Dalin because he couldn’t find a woman to fuck? Naive!