Bismarck

Rommel kept talking about the importance of speed and he dreamed of taking over more territory. But the efficiency of logistics... So now the Desert Fox is just sitting in the headquarters looking at the impregnable Tobruk all day long.

"I want to occupy Egypt and drink from the Suez Canal! How can I be dragged here by a 'shameless' stronghold in a place like this!!"

In the tent of the African Corps headquarters, the roar of foxes could be heard three or five times almost every day.

However, he had insufficient troops and supplies, and he had to watch as Baltiya began to gather strength again, with the British having more and more troops - but he had no way to do anything!

No... there is another way... ask for help from the Mediterranean Fleet!!

So, a telegram flew to the German General Staff...

-

“…So, do you want me to go back right away?” Looking at the three big guys in front of him, Hitler, Raeder and Halder, Lütjens was a little stunned.

This matter, it really came about as it was said...

"In order to solve the problem of the escort fleet, I will assign (former Hipper captain) Helmut Heyer to you as the commander of the light warships and transport ships of the Mediterranean Fleet." Raeder stood aside, his expression and tone as sincere as possible, and there was no sign that he was smiling with a false smile.

And the man with a mustache didn't even look at Raeder's expression, he was just looking at a piece of intelligence on the Mediterranean war zone seriously.

"The British seem to have built coastal defenses in Tobruk." General Halder, the chief of the German Army General Staff, knew what the Führer was looking at, and explained to Lütjens: "They started using engineers to dig positions on the cliffs along the coast in Tobruk in early May. About six 234mm guns have been transported to Tobruk... Raeder said that the supplies for your Mediterranean Fleet will not be transported to Athens until mid-July at the earliest. It is estimated that you will have to wait until the end of July or even early August to attack Tobruk. By then, the artillery batteries should be almost repaired - are you sure you can deal with those artillery batteries?"

"Well... I'm confident of a few 234mm fortress batteries." Lütjens thought for a moment and thought that a few hastily built 234mm batteries should not confuse the Persian cat and the hamster. However, the biggest problem is that the port of Tobruk is too close to Alexander. Even the bombers launched from Alexander can fly to the port of Tobruk and drop bombs... Not to mention, the Warspite on the other side is not an easy opponent to deal with...

It can hit bombers accurately with one shot from 20 kilometers away. Although the shrapnel of the powerful 380 high-explosive bomb has a large killing range for light attack aircraft, this terrifying fire control hit rate...

But...is it really okay to say this in front of Redel?

Before Lütjens could say anything, the man with a mustache spoke first.

"Lütjens..."

"Here!" Lütjens' heart tightened, but he didn't show it on his face. He quickly stood at attention and listened to the instructions of the man with the mustache.

"Lütjens... North Africa is counting on you now! If we can't take Tobruk and seal the Suez Canal, we will have to invest more forces in the south for a long time... The Third Reich is now in great danger despite the frequent victories!" After reading the information, the mustache man put it on the table, put down his glasses, and looked at Lütjens with his cheek in his hand. In Lütjens' eyes, the mustache man seemed to have aged a little compared to six months ago...

"The Third Reich looks very powerful, but in fact it can no longer afford to lose any theater of operations..." The mustache looked at Lütjens for a while and handed him the information. Lütjens stepped forward and took the information from the mustache. The mustache tapped his temples, rubbed his eyes, put on his glasses, and continued to read the next document.

Lütjens knew that this was the time to see the guest off.

Moreover, when Lütjens took over the information, he could already feel that the man with the mustache's hand was shaking slightly unconsciously...

Has the pressure on Germany reached this level...?

I have no choice. It is the duty of a soldier to obey orders. Not to mention that there is a Redel standing by who is eager to catch me...

Lütjens, holding the documents, walked out of the Führer's office dazed, with Raeder's eyes saying "you'd better take care of yourself".

I still feel depressed.

It was easy to transport supplies to Benghazi. The Maltese fleet had no battleships, only a destroyer squadron, and the British aircraft in Malta had a limited range. Even if the British had submarines, the worst that could happen was that Persian cats and grapes would just follow the escort team and ensure the safe arrival of the transport team. But...

In this way, Cunningham can completely predict the whereabouts of his fleet!

Not to mention that Benghazi is just a small port, even the pitiful range of the British destroyer can easily bombard it! And the mission requirement is to deliver this batch of supplies to Benghazi and ensure the safety of this batch of supplies before unloading is completed...

Then I guess I was completely passive...

And if we attack Tobruk first...

The distance from Alexander to Tobruk is only 300 kilometers. Even if the Warspite is only at 24 knots, it can reach Tobruk within 13 hours!

And if I go to Tobruk, then only the Italians will be responsible for escorting the transport team...

Although they have promised to transfer radar and sonar to Italy, they cannot be equipped in large quantities in a short period of time...

Besides, can we trust the fighting power of Italians?

Although the bombers from Crete can also reach Tripoli or even Benghazi for reinforcement, they still have to consider night battles...

This kind of battle, where both sides are basically equal in strength and have similar favorable factors, actually has the most variables and surprises!

In other words, in this kind of battle, luck is a bigger factor than command!

I'm under a lot of pressure... I have a headache...

[ps]: Merry Christmas to everyone, and I wish Big Sister a happy Christmas too... But what's wrong with my phone? I hope I'll be safe and sound every year... Please recommend my new book and give me a monthly ticket~

Chapter 421: The Suez Problem

A luxury passenger plane HE111 painted with Nazi swastikas landed at a military airport in Athens under the escort of four fighter jets. As soon as the plane came to a stop and before the gangway was lowered, two people dressed as naval generals came to greet them - Bonte and Zeppelin, who came to greet Lütjens. At the same time, they also came to welcome their new colleague Major General Haye who came to report.

Heyer was the former captain of Hipper, and the few of them had worked together in the Battle of Newcastle - although Lindemann and Heyer were only colonels at the time, they have now both been promoted to major generals.

Bismarck, who had just walked out of the gangway, watched the four men gathered in a circle and laughed. Even the usually serious captain was laughing and joking with his three new and old subordinates, chatting about their lives. After all, it was too boring to talk about work in such a situation.

"Oh my, it's rare to see the commander smile so happily."

Bismarck turned around and saw that it was the Zeppelin who had just climbed out of the escort fighter, still wearing a pilot's uniform and even taking off his pilot's helmet, who walked towards Bismarck with a smile on his face.

As a fighter pilot, she naturally took on the escort mission. Having her by the side made people feel more at ease.

"It's rare for the Commander to be so happy." Zeppelin walked over and stood beside her and said.

A few days ago, because of the new battle plan, everyone was in a state of confusion. No one was in the mood to laugh, and Commander Lütjens himself was the type of person who never showed his emotions.

"There's a new general to meet," said Bismarck.

"Oh, I see they are all talking about life and family. As the future wife, aren't you going to go over and say a few words?"

Zeppelin said this in a very serious manner, without any sign of joking at all, so that Bismarck could not tell for a moment whether she was serious or joking.

But it seems that there is no difference, everyone thinks she is the commander's person.

"What future wife..."

"Tsk, I've eaten your dumplings before. I don't know who you gave them to that day."

"Tell me! Who ate my dumplings that day?" Bismarck bared his teeth and claws, and pounced on Zeppelin fiercely. Zeppelin smiled and dodged the fierce cat pounce.

But before Bismarck could continue his attack, the captain shouted...

"You two, this is an airport, stop messing around! Get ready to leave!"

"Yes..." Bismarck responded dejectedly, stopped what he was doing, rolled his eyes at Zeppelin who was grinning, and followed the captain and the others to the parking lot.

------

"Major General Helmut Heyer is also an old friend of ours! From today on, he will officially join our Mediterranean Fleet as the commander of the light fleet and sea transport dispatch!"

Following the captain's introduction, the members of the fleet headquarters below applauded collectively - Lütjens himself, Bismarck, Zeppelin, Bonte, Lindemann... as well as the air force representatives of the Tenth Air Force's Mediterranean Fleet Command, and even Major General Casadi of the Italian Seventh Cruiser Fleet and Major General Malanco of the Italian Dodecanese Squadron.

In theory, the future deployment of these two people will be under the responsibility of Haiye.

After all, the main battleships are all oil-guzzling: the Bismarck-class battleship can hold 7400 tons of oil at its limit, the Zeppelin and Bismarck have similar endurance, cruisers generally have to tons of oil, but destroyers only have about tons of oil when fully loaded... Not to mention that destroyers are easier to repair and maintain, and even if they are damaged, it will not affect the combat effectiveness of the main fleet. So general shipping and escort are actually the business of these destroyers.

We will be colleagues in the future, so I have to give them some respect.

but…

The relationship between Haye and the two Italian generals is somewhat awkward - this is also the most common problem encountered by the multinational coalition, especially since Haye himself only has a dozen torpedo boats and a few submarines, and the main escort force is actually provided by Italy.

but…

The Italians also have their own national strategies and shipping needs to consider...

For example, the oil that was transported from Romania to the country through the Turkish Straits and then through the Aegean Sea, if we don't count the losses caused by the frigates being unable to enter the Black Sea during the war, and the tankers being attacked by Soviet submarines in the Black Sea...

After all, Italy's shipping capacity is still quite tight... Look, General Casadi of the Italian fleet is now complaining:

"…We had 120 destroyers and escort ships when the war started, but we have lost more than 80 of them now. Now, our country needs to escort a large number of transport ships from the mainland, the Balkans, the Aegean Sea-Black Sea, and North Africa every day. On average, we need to protect 30 merchant ships and dispatch destroyers every day...Now our country urgently needs to provide escort for oil tankers from Romania, and because of the large tonnage of oil tankers, the Corinth Canal has limited capacity. We hope to give priority to ensuring the smooth flow of this transportation line as much as possible..."

Bismarck, who was sitting at the side as a recorder, took a quick look at his captain, and saw only a helpless expression...

Well, Bismarck also knew why the captain was so helpless...

After all, it is a coalition of two countries, each with its own interests and demands, and there is also the issue of military coordination! Moreover, if the coordination and cooperation and the relationship between the two sides are not in place, it is easy to cause estrangement... In fact, the combat effectiveness that can be integrated may not be much stronger than fighting alone!

Not to mention, the 200,000 tons of oil approved by Redel will also be supplied to the Italians!

As the captain had said in the "Wolf's Lair", 200,000 tons of oil may seem like a lot, but if the Italians' fuel consumption is included, it won't last long.

And... this time he came back with a mission - to support Rommel's African Corps!

The enemy was Tobruk, which had been fortified by the Italians and then covered with artillery batteries by the British. It was only 13 hours away from Alexandria...

The strong fortress had to be permanently fortified and defend against the attack from the Mediterranean Fleet led by Warspite, so the consumption of ammunition and fuel must have been huge.

Besides, two fists are no match for four hands, right? This is exactly what they mean...

Bismarck couldn't help but think of a "historical acquaintance" he had met before - the man who was at Midway Island a year later in history, who had to bomb the airport and fight a decisive battle with the US Pacific Fleet, and finally got himself and his subordinates caught between the US airport and the Pacific Fleet and was in a panic and at a loss as to what to do...

What's more terrible is that Tobruk is probably just the beginning...

The closer Rommel got to Alexander, the more obvious the British logistical efficiency and home advantage became. As a qualified secretary cat, Bismarck knew very well that the combat effectiveness of the side with home advantage on the battlefield (to be precise, it is determined by a series of factors such as the several times higher rate of combat unit deployment, the huge amount of logistical supplies stored in the base, the ability to repair damaged units on the spot, the defensive cover of the positions and bases, the logistical efficiency bonus, the coordination of secondary arms such as air-submarine fast boats and mine carriers, the loss of our logistical efficiency, and the need for our damaged units to evacuate the battlefield) must be calculated based on 300% of the theoretical force! !

Not to mention that Alexandria-Cairo-Suez Canal is the core position of the British in the whole of North Africa, and they can also call in endless reinforcements from Israel, the Middle East and even India! ! No matter how powerful Rommel's African Corps is, it can't beat the endless Indian troops! And if the Suez Canal cannot be taken, the Mediterranean Fleet will be trapped here sooner or later! !

Thinking of this, Bismarck's head became so dizzy that he turned into Big-Headed Bismarck...

ps: Christmas is over, how is everyone doing? Where is the snow? Have you become a sled dog? Ah, dog food is delicious

Chapter 422: Meeting Rommel

The meeting is over...

There was a cordial and friendly conversation between the two Axis allies of Germany and Italy.

The two sides exchanged views very frankly: on the battle situation, on logistics, on transportation plans and capacity arrangements... and they fully exchanged views...

After the meeting, both sides said that the meeting enhanced their mutual understanding and that the process of the talks was beneficial to both sides. Moreover, both sides were tolerant, understanding, respectful and appreciative of each other’s reasonable demands while retaining their own opinions.

The only thing Bismarck could say was: Fortunately, at least the two sides could sit together and talk calmly, without causing any regrets, unhappiness, or great indignation...

Yes, at least there was no quarrel over supplies at the meeting.

But if a fight breaks out, Bismarck is not afraid of them. Just let them take over one regiment and he can easily deal with it.

As long as it is within your own combat range.

Two battleships and an aircraft carrier require 22,000 tons of oil per month. Although Italian destroyers consume less oil, they are deployed in large numbers. If a destroyer can attack 450 tons at a time, 12 destroyers will burn 5,400 tons of oil per week, which is more than 20,000 tons per month. Add to that the three Italian light cruisers, which consume at least 6,000 tons per month, and the submarines, which also consume an average of 400 to 500 tons of oil per time. The fuel consumption of 30,000 tons of oil can only be said to be more than enough!

That adds up to 54,000 tons a month!

Otherwise, how can I say that the navy's warships are all oil-burning monsters and money-eating beasts, and the army has long been dissatisfied with them... In comparison, their tanks are really much better.

Moreover, this only counts combat ships, not the diesel used by merchant ships. Of course, merchant ships can also use heavy fuel oil...

As for ammunition, the situation is probably similar...

Fortunately, although the Italians needed Germany to provide fuel, they were still responsible for their own ammunition. After all, ammunition required supporting supplies. Moreover, Zeppelin could also ask the Air Force for gasoline, aerial bombs, aerial torpedoes, etc.

Otherwise I'll really go crazy...

However, when she thought that all the fuel was used to feed herself, and that a lot of it later ended up in the stomachs of Italian warships, how could Bismarck, as a young woman, be happy?

This is my own thing.

"This way, our fuel and ammunition will only last for another four months at most..."

After the meeting, Bismarck, who was helping his admiral to sort out the information, spoke to Lütjens with concern.

It wasn't enough to begin with, and we had to give half to the Italians...

Bismarck still has opinions...

"There is no time to argue now. After all, Raeder won't give more... Let's think about how to fight this battle." Lütjens, who was sweating profusely, also had a headache. He was sitting at the table, staring at the map on the wall with full concentration, and fanning himself with a fan while sweating profusely...

The Mediterranean summer is scorching hot, with temperatures reaching as high as 40 degrees!

The temperature was 40 degrees Celsius and it was unbearable just to be outside, let alone stay inside the cabin. It was scary just thinking about it. The entire superstructure of the battleship was exposed to the scorching sun, and all the steel parts became the bottom of a pancake.

The Greek power plant was completely unusable due to war damage, which meant that the Bismarck's power supply could not be connected through the dock. In order to save precious fuel, it was stipulated that except for key compartments such as the ammunition depot and the boiler room duty room that must be ventilated, all air conditioners, including Lütjens himself, were turned off - and the entire battleship basically became a big oven - if Bismarck had not hung a sunshade to reduce direct sunlight and turned on all the fans to ventilate the entire ship, not to mention heat stroke, there would be more than one or two people who died of dehydration...

But even so, no one had any complaints, because everyone saw that even Lütjens himself was in such a furnace and had no privileges.

As long as leaders and subordinates share weal and woe, there will basically be no conflicts, and their prestige will rise sharply.

"But speaking of it, how can we break this situation..." Although as a steel battleship, Bismarck is not afraid of the sun, but still feels very depressed, because in such a hot day, all kinds of sweat odor, his body has been fumigated by the sailors. Although this is not their problem.

"It's hard to say... Although the Italians said they would be responsible for the task of blockading Malta, and the Veneto has also come out, but that's their business. Our strength is not superior to the British Mediterranean Fleet, and the battlefield is only the eastern Mediterranean. It's not easy to restrain the British... By the way, have you counted the British losses in Crete this time?"

Even though Lütjens was sweating profusely, he still had a blank expression. But this time, the captain did not complain about his own Bismarck - well, in fact, Lütjens himself wanted to complain!