Bismarck

Even though he had been through many battles and had seen a lot, War-weary still felt a little trembling from the bottom of his heart when faced with such an absolute advantage in military force. He was almost killed here by the desperate attack of the German Air Force.

More than a hundred bombers covered the sky, so dark that it even seemed to block out the sun's rays!

Just looking at it on the radar screen makes people feel cold all over, let alone seeing it in front of them.

Although the anti-aircraft bombardment of the Warspite's 381mm main gun was 102% accurate, and the 381mm anti-aircraft guns could also threaten the German bombers flying over the fleet. However, with the overwhelming numerical advantage and the lessons learned from the previous battle, the fleet was divided into countless small teams from the beginning. The high-altitude bombers and low-altitude torpedo planes advanced in parallel and combined attack tactics. No matter how accurate the Warspite's mm main gun was, after all, the rotation speed and firing rate were very damaged... It could only attack in the direction it had turned before, and it was impossible to fight in all directions.

Although more than ten planes were shot down in succession, several warships in the entire fleet were damaged, and the escort aircraft also suffered heavy losses. The air defense efficiency was much lower than before... Under the crazy attack of German bombers, the Cleopatra anti-aircraft cruiser, which had been seriously damaged before, was soon surrounded by bloodthirsty sharks. In front of the swarming Stukas, it sank into the Mediterranean Sea helplessly. Among the other eight destroyers, Juno, Jarvis, Spear and Lightning were also sunk!

And the remaining warships were all damaged!

I won’t talk about those with minor injuries, those who can walk are considered to have minor injuries…

The Sirius anti-aircraft cruiser Warrior was hit by a torpedo, the Queen Elizabeth was hit by three heavy bombs, and the Formidable, which was previously hit by a torpedo and had difficulty moving, was hit by two more heavy bombs. Now it was towing the aircraft carrier Indomitable, which was also hit by a bomb, and was staggering forward. The Illuminati, which was also hit by two dive bomber bombs before, was hit by four bombs this time! Although the power system was lucky enough to be intact, it was now surrounded by a large group of people to put out the fire! Now it is like a torch. If the damage control fails, it is estimated that there will be no good end.

Fortunately, the British damage control can still be trusted.

Even Warspite herself was hit by two bombs again! Even Jutland's old problem, the steering gear, got stuck again under the impact of the near miss!

Fortunately, he was lucky and no important parts were damaged! Even the steering gear was finally repaired after 20 minutes. Seeing Cunningham standing by and paying close attention to his injuries, with a relieved look on his face, Yan Zhan also felt a little warm in his heart.

but……

Looking at the fleet that suffered heavy losses, no one could laugh except Cunningham who had a wry smile on his face...

"Commander, what should we do now?" Yan Zhan asked with a worried look on his face. "We have suffered heavy losses now. Although the pre-arranged support fleet still has several destroyers and light cruisers, it is basically impossible to withdraw the troops on Crete in front of the German fleet..."

It was even more impossible to fight the German fleet.

"Yeah, there's nothing we can do this time..." Cunningham also shook his head with a wry smile... "Maybe the day after tomorrow, or even tomorrow, they should be able to use the Malama Airport... Forget it, send the battle report to the Prime Minister and Weiweier, let them see what to do... Anyway, we have tried our best..."

War-weary could only nod silently with a depressed look on his face, then turned and walked away.

Chapter 415: Unstable Situation

The Battle of Crete ended with a whimper as the Mediterranean Fleet withdrew...

The battle situation was very dramatic - the two sides entered a white-hot state as soon as they met, and the battle was life-and-death, but the retreat was very quick, as if it was an unexpected encounter.

But the direct consequence of such a short battle was that the German Mediterranean Fleet lost almost half of its aviation combat capability, and countless carrier-based aircraft were shot down. Of course, under the crazy counterattack of the German ground aviation force, the British also suffered heavy losses.

One anti-aircraft cruiser, four destroyers sank in battle, two aircraft carriers and one anti-aircraft cruiser were sent to the hospital, and the Warspite, Queen Elizabeth and Indefatigable were injured. The Mediterranean Fleet also lost nearly half of its battle capacity on the spot! Although the two heavily armed light cruisers and four destroyers of the squadron stationed in Sula Bay beat up the Italian Dodecanese squadron, the overall situation was too bad after all. They did not dare to fight and eventually left behind the wreckage of two slowly sinking Italian destroyers and fled the combat range of the German Air Force Base on Minos Island...

As for the 40,000-plus allied troops on Crete who had no fleet to cover their evacuation... I can only say God bless you, and wish you the best of luck...

Zeppelin was like a wounded little animal, silently licking her wounds and feeling depressed. Bismarck naturally assumed the role of a caring elder sister and began to comfort her. Tirpitz was also willing to be the funny guy, teasing Zeppelin and making others laugh with her special hair.

Time is slowly passing, and without the British, there is no need to worry about the fate of Greece.

By June 6, all of Greece was occupied by the Axis forces. King George II of Greece and the Greek government fled to Egypt and, with the support of the United Kingdom, declared a government in exile. Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria divided the Greek territory. The German army occupied the strategically important areas of Central Macedonia, including Athens and Thessaloniki, and several Aegean islands, and established a puppet government headed by General George Tsolacoglou. Most of northeastern Greece, including Macedonia and Western Thrace, was annexed by Bulgaria, while Italy occupied the Ionian Islands.

However, the rule over this area did not bring social order under control as it did in Western Europe. In the previous Greco-Italian War, the fragile economy of the Greek government had been overwhelmed. In order to maintain its own finances and feed the Axis forces in the North African battlefield, the Nazi German government not only emptied the Greek treasury, but also carried out large-scale economic exploitation in Greece. Excessive food procurement and wartime public debt, as well as the Allied blockade of Greece and the wrangling between Germany and Italy, led to the complete collapse of the Greek economy! In fact, in the winter of 1941-1942, a great famine broke out in Greece. It is estimated that 30 Greeks starved to death. The Axis occupation military control committee and the corrupt and incompetent Greek puppet government, which could only wrangle each other, also completely lost the support of the people because of this incident...

However, none of the big leaders in the big countries cared about this matter...

Regardless of whether the relations between the major countries are at odds or not, the relations are still very messy.

The Allies recognized the Greek government-in-exile they supported, but the Soviet Union, which had signed a non-aggression pact with Germany, did not. Even though the Greek government-in-exile and the Greek resistance were encouraged by Britain, they even coerced the king to appoint centrist and moderate cabinet members: only two of them had served in the dictatorship of General Metaxas. However, several left-wing resistance forces still claimed that the government was illegal because its roots came from the dictatorship of General Metaxas from 1936 to 1941. For a time, resistance organizations of various banners blossomed everywhere, and the smoke of war was everywhere, and even killed each other...

At the same time as the Battle of Crete, changes were also taking place in Iraq.

Although Britain formally recognized Iraq's independence in 1930, in reality the country's power has always been in the hands of the British advisory group - even an Iraqi King Ghazi, who had a bit of nationalism, died inexplicably in a car in the palace.

Naturally, such an approach was collectively opposed by Iraqi nationalists! At the same time, several years ago, Britain and France manipulated the League of Nations to establish the Jewish settlement in Jerusalem (the predecessor of Israel), which drove out a large number of Palestinians. Therefore, it is conceivable that the support rate of nationalists is getting higher and higher - even Germany and Italy in Europe have begun to provide public opinion support for them...

In early 1941, Rashid al-Gailani, an anti-British nationalist who wanted to drive the British colonists out of Iraq, launched a coup with the support of Germany and Italy, overthrew the Iraqi puppet government supported by Britain, and began to frequently contact the German side. Admiral Weaver, the commander of the British Middle East Theater, who had no troops to send, expressed his hope to ease the situation through diplomatic means, but in order to "defend" the "interests" of the British Empire, Churchill personally ordered the invasion army, led by Admiral Claude Auchinleck, the former commander of the British Army in India, to attack Iraq!

Although the war situation in North Africa and Crete was very tense, Auchinleck could only dispatch a group of Indian ragtag troops to land in Iraq under the cover of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force led by the Hermes, and then to integrate the pro-British tribal chiefs to send troops. However, Germany was stepping up preparations for a shocking sneak attack, and it was completely out of reach of Iraq, so it could only send more than 20 combat aircraft to reinforce the Rashid government. The combat effectiveness of the Iraqi government army was still trained by the British and sent by the tribes, so its combat effectiveness can be imagined, and the result of facing the British army is of course self-evident...

On June 1st, when the German army completely occupied Crete, Auchinleck also announced that he had completely controlled Iraq! The British, who were determined to do something, used the excuse that "Vichy France supported the Iraqi rebels" to attack Syria, a French colony, from both Israel and Iraq. Of course, the people at the forefront of the trouble were the "Foreign Legion composed of British nationals" under Charles de Gaulle's Free French traitor organization...

Meanwhile, in North Africa, due to the Mediterranean Fleet's large forces being tied up in the Greek and Crete campaigns, the Italian Navy, under the cover of the German Tenth Air Force, was able to transport more supplies to the North African battlefield in bits and pieces. Rommel, who had previously stagnated at the Galaza Line, finally had two German divisions in his hands, and once again attacked the British by surprise in the Battle of Cyrenaica! The remaining 32000 British troops retreated to the city of Tobruk, which was located on the seashore, surrounded by cliffs, and only some roads could be driven from the top of the cliffs to the lower flat land, and began to defend the city.

Rommel intended to take advantage of the victory and capture Tobruk in one fell swoop, but at this time, Rommel only had the 25000th Light Armored Division and three Italian divisions (including the Areete Blackshirt Armored Division) with a total of troops. The large amount of supplies that had been transported to North Africa with great difficulty were also consumed in the Battle of Cyrenaica. And the newly arrived reinforcements, Weiweier, were secretly gathering heavy troops and planned to launch a counterattack against the exhausted Fox, codenamed Operation Tomahawk!

but...

All these battles seemed so insignificant and eclipsed by the shocking sneak attack that was about to break out...

After defeating Crete, Lutjans flew back to his country to report, and finally learned the name of this amazing plan for the first time...

Project code name: Barbarossa!

No one knows where the world is heading.

ps: My mom read my transformation post and said to me, do you want to go to Thailand to have a sex change? What should I say?

Chapter 416: Wolf's Lair and Klauer?!

Rastenburg, a remote area in East Prussia, later belonged to Poland and was renamed Kęszyn...

The howling of wolves could be heard faintly in the coniferous forest in the wilderness. Under the dark shade of the trees, there were low and solid buildings full of SS sentries. Unobstructed gun muzzles were extended from the buildings, pointing at every path leading to the front. Anyone who dared to come in would be shot into a sieve in an instant. There were also many hidden sentries in the shade of the trees where there was little sunlight. They hid between the mountains and in the dark, making this forest look particularly gloomy. It was completely okay to describe this place as a strict defense with a sentry every ten steps and a guard every hundred steps. Even the headquarters in Berlin did not have such a defense force.

In fact, all the "outsiders" who came here, except for a few high-ranking members of the Nazi Party, no matter their military rank, position, qualifications, or military achievements, had to surrender their weapons, blindfold themselves, and be searched to ensure their safety before they could take the special bus.

And this is the famous Nazi Germany base camp, the "Wolf's Lair"!

--

Soon, Bismarck will be able to see the beauty of this place.

The captain, Zeppelin and Bismarck, who had returned to Berlin to report on their work, received an "invitation" to a meeting in the Wolf's Lair almost as soon as they got off the plane.

It was given to them by the SS, who told them in a very serious tone that they were not allowed to reveal it to anyone under any circumstances, otherwise it would be considered treason. The SS was a major, but he was not polite to General Lütjens.

The major warned them sternly.

Bismarck and Zeppelin were both unhappy with his tone and glared at him behind Lütjens, but Lütjens did not show it.

He accepted the "invitations" very kindly.

An invitation is actually a meeting notice.

"What kind of meeting is this? It's so mysterious..."

After returning to Lütjens' official residence in Berlin, Zeppelin took the meeting notice in his hand and read it over and over again several times with his eyes wide open, but he still couldn't figure out what this meeting was about.

It’s not like she hasn’t attended meetings before, but this is the first time she’s seen one so serious.

"Maybe there is some important arrangement, but now it seems that it has nothing to do with us..."

After returning home, the captain lay down on the sofa in a Ge You-like posture and relaxed. After all, this voyage was full of twists and turns.

"But speaking of it, Commander, if there is really a big move, where do you think it will take place?" Zeppelin turned his head and asked.

"It's a big move, I don't know, and it's best not to guess. This is the headquarters' business, we just need to execute it." Although the captain was lying on the sofa and said so, the worry between his brows did not diminish at all...

"Oh..." Qi Bolin responded and put down the meeting notice.

For her, all she had to do was to execute the order. It was a rare opportunity for her to relax, so she went upstairs and lay leisurely on Bismarck's bed.

Only Bismarck, who had seen through everything, did not make a scene, but sat aside and looked at the meeting notice that Zeppelin had placed on the table...

Gathering on the evening of June 1941, 6...

The Soviet Union and Germany, where there is no room for two tigers in one mountain, are bound to fight... right...?

After taking a look at the captain who was lying on the sofa in a trance, and then looking at the "meeting notice" in front of him, Bismarck silently thought about the future...

The Mediterranean Fleet is in an awkward situation right now. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is trapped in the Mediterranean Sea... And Raeder must be wishing for it right now...

also…

The mustache guy is really going to take action against the Soviet Union...but...

Can Germany win?

And if we lose the war, what will happen to the future of myself, the captain, and everyone in the Mediterranean Fleet...

-----

Under the thick night sky, a special train with armored train cars at the front and rear and bulletproof luxury coaches in the middle set off from the railway station of a military base in Rastenburg.

But what is special is that the bulletproof coach in the middle is luxuriously decorated, comfortable, provides drinks and snacks, and has air conditioning. But...

All the doors and windows are sealed!

In addition, several soldiers in black uniforms with SS insignias were standing in front and behind the carriage! They were all fully armed and looked serious. The only thing that could be seen was their fanatical and loyal eyes!

Although chatting and walking are allowed in this luxury train, and those who are qualified to ride in this carriage are either senior military officers or senior government officials, or their trusted followers, but in this environment, everyone feels depressed, right?

But no one complained, as this was a disciplinary requirement - or rather, there were complaints but no one dared to speak out.

For example, the one sitting opposite the captain and Bismarck, who keeps saying "Hello, sir" to the captain...

"Klaus, it seems like you've been doing well in the General Staff in the past two years. Look, you've been promoted to colonel." The captain joked to Klaus in front of him.

"It's okay, but I still prefer to prove myself on the battlefield!" Klaus smiled shyly - after all, he is only 33 years old now.

Bismarck, who was sitting next to the captain, secretly glanced at the captain's eyes - well, is this completely the look of a junior?

…Although I am not even 33 years old in my two lives combined… But fortunately, it seems that I haven’t aged at all in these years. Even though I have been running around on the battlefield and accompanying the captain to deal with the bureaucracy, I basically have no time to put on makeup…

Oh, actually it’s also makeup, does painting count?

It turns out that what my girlfriends said in the past is true, the shelf life of plain face is longer - although it seems useless to me now...

I touched my face and it felt soft, but in fact, it was 320mm armor steel plus a modified 160mm dome armor. Do you believe it?

Someone behind him gently touched him twice, and then on the WIFI, Zeppelin joked, "What? Did you have any ideas after seeing the handsome guy?"

"No, I just saw that he was an officer from the Army General Staff. He probably knew something about this meeting?" Bismarck answered on the WIFI while tilting his head slightly and rolling his eyes at Zeppelin on the other side.

"Oh? You can actually think of the meeting later? You looked absent-minded just now, and it was obvious that you were thinking about other things." Qiberin's tone was clearly disbelieving.

"If I'm not mistaken, the next meeting should be to fight the Soviet Union..." Bismarck's tone was a little worried. After all, she knew what happened to Germany's militarism in the previous life...

"Attack the Soviet Union...? Well, it is possible." Zeppelin smiled indifferently, "But they won't ask us to go to fight the Soviet Union, right? Our level is not high enough, and the Mediterranean Fleet has no direct relationship with the Soviet Union. Turkey will not let us pass through their strait."

“…The Führer should be taking action soon!” Bismarck said to Zeppelin on the WIFI.

"...What?" Qiberin was stunned.

"If it was a meeting to study strategy, they wouldn't have called us, who don't have a high enough confidentiality level but are close followers, into the wolf's den... Besides, I've been to the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union's territory, resources and population are much stronger than ours. Its industry is also developing rapidly, and its potential is unfathomable..." Looking at the captain and Klaus who were still chatting casually, Bismarck turned around and told Zeppelin about what he saw and heard during his last visit to the Soviet Union.

But as they were talking, the train had already arrived at the station.

"We have arrived at the Führer's headquarters. Please get off the bus, distinguished guests. In addition, let me reiterate the discipline of the 'Wolf's Lair'! ... If you violate it, no matter who you are, we have the right to arrest you immediately or even shoot you! !"

An SS officer opened the door of the carriage, and the people in the carriage began to get off in an orderly manner. Klaus also finished talking with the captain, picked up his big leather bag and walked out of the door. The captain followed Bismarck and Zeppelin and got off the car.

Under the lights of the Wolf's Lair Station, people walked towards the receptionist in twos and threes. Bismarck and Zeppelin accompanied Lütjens and walked while chatting.

However, Bismarck soon heard a shout...

"Stauffenberg! Stauffenberg!!"

Stauffenberg? Why does this name sound so familiar? The Persian cat couldn't help but turn his head to look in the direction of the voice. But he found that Klaus, who was originally walking to the other side, stopped and turned around after hearing the shout, and walked towards the person who had shouted "Staufenberg" before...

The moment he saw this scene, Bismarck suddenly had a very bad prediction in his mind...

"What's wrong?" The captain couldn't help but ask when he saw that his secretary ship suddenly stopped moving.

"Captain, what is Klaus's full name?" The Persian cat, feeling very panicked, looked at the captain and asked back.

"Klaus von Stauffenberg, what happened?" Looking at Stauffenberg walking away with several other army officers, and then looking at Bismarck's panicked expression, Lütjens had a lot of question marks in his head. Zeppelin on the other side was also puzzled.

But who knew that Bismarck was already confused at this moment...

ps: This person should know it all...

Chapter 417: The Clash of the Red Star and the Iron Cross

"We are going to fight the Soviet Union?! And right now?!?!"

There was an uproar in the auditorium.

Faced with the crazy plan of the mustache, not to mention that many of them had no idea about it before, in fact, even among those who knew about it, many of them looked at the inquiring eyes of the people around them with a wry smile or shrugged their shoulders...

After all, we were fighting fiercely with Britain and the United States in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, but now we were going to use all our national strength to invade another continental power where the conflict had not yet erupted, and we were going to do it in an undeclared war...

For the German officers who have always claimed to be the descendants of knights, this matter is unacceptable both from a moral and military perspective...