Bismarck

Rommel has made up his mind to go all out!

Now, we just have to wait for the bombers from the Zeppelin aircraft carrier to come and pull out the last few fangs of the British outer strongholds!

In the temporary command post of the African Corps, Rommel was standing on the roof of a tank hidden behind a mound, holding a telescope and observing the British positions in front of him.

The British bunkers were firing non-stop. Under the cover of light machine guns and snipers, the minesweepers crawled on the sand under the hail of bullets, clearing the mines with their lives. But... these damn bunkers were hidden too well! They couldn't be seen from the outside! !

However, by now, the locations of these bunkers have been almost mastered!

In Rommel's telescope, in the battlefield ahead, several mortar teams were crawling and tumbling, taking advantage of the craters and sand piles in the Gobi Desert, but were also approaching the bunkers little by little. Especially the ammunition handlers, each dragging heavy ammunition boxes, desperately crawling and moving forward.

Rommel knew very well that the ammunition boxes of those mortars were filled with smoke bombs to indicate targets for dive bombers!

"Just wait until you see God!" The Desert Fox secretly spat, feeling a little nervous, but also a little bit of pleasure of the upcoming successful revenge.

"Commander, the Engineer Corps has cleared the minefield in front of the breakthrough point."

An officer ran to Rommel and reported the progress to the Desert Fox.

"Are you sure there is nothing missing?" Rommel did not look back, still holding the telescope and looking at the "red line" of the British outer position in front of him.

"No problem, Commander." The officer smiled and said, "You know, according to your order, we have been secretly investigating and surveying the minefield and obstacle area in front of the British position for 20 days, while also monitoring their activities. So far, we have confirmed that they have no new minefields, so there is no problem."

"Really? That's good... Have you figured out the damage to our first wave of aircraft?"

Hearing Rommel's question, another officer reported: "Commander, Galaza has already counted the numbers. Twelve of the 109 BF87s in the first wave were lost, nine were seriously injured and cannot be deployed again in the short term, and three were slightly injured or less, which will not affect the combat and can be deployed again... Twenty-seven of the JUs were lost, and twelve were seriously injured. The remaining can be deployed again... These planes can take off again around o'clock and arrive at the battlefield at : at the latest."

"Huh, I thought they were all immobile! Then have them prepare for another attack! They must arrive at the battlefield to bomb at 186:! - By the way, go ask them how long it will take for GR to arrive?"

"Captain! They're here!" An officer suddenly stretched out his hand and pointed to the sky in the direction of the Mediterranean Sea in the north! In the blue sky covered by gunpowder smoke, dozens of black dots had appeared in the distant horizon. Even the originally very faint humming sound of the engine began to gradually increase, and even began to overwhelm the fierce gunfire and explosions on the battlefield!

Even the sound of the brutal British machine guns in front seemed to tremble a little...?

"Come on! Order the mortars to fire smoke bombs! Indicate targets to the bombers! Artillery and 88 anti-aircraft guns should also be ready to suppress the remaining British firepower points! In addition..." Rommel put down the telescope, climbed up the turret, and while entering the tank through the opening of the cockpit cover, he issued combat orders:

"Order all the main attacking forces, when they bomb, we will come out from our positions and start charging!"

"The general attack on Tobruk begins now!!"

ps: Actually, this book cannot be considered a KanColle novel, just read it as a military novel...

Chapter 437: Revenge for Hood

"Calling the Africa Corps, calling the Africa Corps, this is the bomber commander of the GR-186 carrier-based aircraft wing, Tinolt! Please indicate the bombing target for us!!"

In the staff bunker of the African Corps' rear headquarters, the voice of Tinolt came from the radio in front of the air observer. The observer was stunned and quickly grabbed the microphone and headphones in ecstasy:

"Comrades of GR186, we are the African Corps! We are the African Corps!"

I have to repeat myself twice that I am African... This is really...

"Got it! Good morning, brothers from the African Corps. How can I help you?" Having successfully contacted the ground forces, Tinault of course had no idea what the joke was. He just felt very happy and even made a little joke.

"We need you to bomb the British front-line strongholds - about three kilometers wide, with two floors in front and back, a total of about ten strongholds! In addition, there is a British position in the Sidi Mahmoud area in the back! Just these two places!!" The ground observer said into the microphone: "We will fire smoke bombs to indicate the target at the front-line bunkers, but the British have an artillery regiment in Sidi Mahmoud that poses a great threat, and because the distance is too far, we have no way to accurately indicate their position... But if they open fire, the position will probably be exposed."

"But we only have thirty dive bombers, and there are so many targets... Even if we don't consider the deflection and the British anti-aircraft guns, we can only barely deal with those strongholds..." Tinault was a little embarrassed, and the ground observer also sighed with a headache.

"If it really doesn't work, just focus on bombing the five or six strongholds that are closer to the center... It will be good if you can open a passage for the tank troops! I'll let the artillery handle the rest..."

"Well... there's nothing we can do about the rest. If even a concentrated bombardment of one-ton heavy armor-piercing bombs can't destroy it... But, we can't do anything about the artillery position over there..." Tinolt said with some worry.

"Ugh…"

But soon, just as they were worried, another slightly cynical voice suddenly came from the radio:

"Just leave that artillery position to me!"

“…Bal? Doesn’t your fighter plane carry bombs?” Tinolt was stunned.

"Are you talking about those artillery positions over there that are firing? Our 20mm machine guns are enough to suppress those artillery positions that are basically exposed on the ground for a while. Then you can take this opportunity to break through!"

"…That's the only way. Okay! Let's do it!" After thinking about it for a while, Tinault and the guide of the African Corps also agreed with this model.

After all, when the artillery fires, it is bound to be exposed on the ground. Even if it can only temporarily suppress the artillery fire at the Sidi Mahmoud intersection, the German army that breaks through the "red line" defense zone will have an easier time...

"Okay, then I will lead the eight planes of the first and second squadrons and the fighters of JG-56 to conduct combat patrols and reserve forces at high altitudes. The rest... Buckhorn! You lead the rest of the people to assault! It will start after the bombing of Tinolt! The specific time of the assault will be arranged by the ground controller!"

"Got it!" In the cockpit of another black FW-190 fighter, whose vertical tail had dozens of densely packed markings painted on it, a heartless guy grinned. Then he quickly changed the channel with his hand, and shouted to his buddy with some malice: "Rudel, don't let me outshine you in ground attack, okay?"

"roll!!"

--

At 87 o'clock in the morning, under the smoke and dust, the 190 tanks of the Afrika Korps, under the cover of JU-s and FW-s, began to charge towards the breakthrough point in the east and south of the Tobruk Fortress area. Among these tanks, the commander of the Afrika Korps, Erwin Rommel, even drove a tank himself and rushed to the front line of the corps! And rushing ahead of Rommel were more than armored minesweepers, armored engineering vehicles and armored bridge-laying vehicles converted from tank chassis!

The minefields and obstacles have been cleared, and now the only obstacle for the German army is the bunker itself!

The mortar teams that had moved to the front of the position set up mortars under the cover of sand piles and craters. After several rounds of test firing with high-explosive bombs, the mortar gunners who had found their target sneered and quickly switched to conspicuous smoke bombs! Billowing colorful smoke suddenly rose from the fortress! Knowing that the situation was not good, the British officers and soldiers rushed out of the fortress to the ground, intending to extinguish the dangerous smoke. However, under the suppression of the German firepower, the British officers and soldiers who had just rushed out of the fortress gate and climbed out of the trenches were soon knocked down in pieces by the storm-like rain of bullets!

The heavy machine guns and anti-tank guns in the British bunkers continued to fire at the German tanks, making a final resistance! However, in just two minutes, the dive bomber captain Oscar Tinolt took the lead, with three squadron leaders John Helbich, Walter Engels, and Hans Ulrich Rudel, who had now been promoted to dive bomber squadron leader, and a total of thirty Stukas from their three dive bomber squadrons!

The anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns of the British stronghold began to shoot desperately at the top of their heads, and the anti-aircraft guns on land were more stable than the anti-aircraft guns of the fleet. Two unlucky guys were hit by the accurate anti-aircraft fire during the dive and turned into a ball of fire and fell down.

But although the accuracy was slightly higher, the number of anti-aircraft guns was too small... The remaining 2.44 Stukas broke through the sparse fire net of the anti-aircraft guns and took turns dropping bombs on the bunkers marked by smoke bombs! A one-ton heavy bomb could even blow up the heavy horizontal armor of a battleship! Although the British position was covered with eight feet ( meters) of sand, it could not withstand the attack of such a heavy bomb!

For a moment, dust rose up and shrapnel flew everywhere on the British positions... The originally solid outer defense line of Tobruk was instantly torn open by these heavy bombs, leaving a gap more than two kilometers wide!

Without waiting for the bombing to be over, how could the African Corps led by Rommel himself give up the favorable opportunity when the British army had not yet recovered from the bombing? Driving a tank, Rommel led 110 tanks and more than 5,000 soldiers and rushed directly into the smoke and dust that had not yet dissipated after the bomber demolition! Behind the African Corps, the 45 tanks and more than 2,500 officers and soldiers of the Italian Areete Blackshirt Armored Division, which were transferred from the side, also followed as the second echelon!

One hundred and ten tanks on a two-kilometer front, an average of fifty to sixty tanks per kilometer! The dense but reasonable deployment of troops penetrated the British defense line like a hot knife cutting butter, and how could the bombed British positions resist?

Artillery covered tanks, and tanks covered engineers! The engineers covered by tanks blasted and removed minefields and the last remaining obstacles, while operating engineering vehicles to build a simple movable rut bridge over the British anti-tank trench! After the engineers built the bridge, the German tanks and infantry rushed into the British defense line from these bridges, shouting slogans!

The officers and soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps in the remaining British strongholds gritted their teeth and exerted 120% of their combat effectiveness, manipulating the remaining weapons and desperately resisting. However... now their overall defense formation has been completely blown up and dispersed, and the defenders in each stronghold have also suffered heavy casualties, and they are simply unable to stop the continuous attacks from the Axis Powers...

Although more than a dozen German tanks were destroyed and hundreds of German officers and soldiers were killed, more German officers and soldiers, with the help of engineers and the cover of tanks and 88mm anti-aircraft guns, had already broken into the British positions and arrived in front of them!

Soon, after a short and fierce hand-to-hand combat, the British strongholds were captured one by one. The German infantry occupied these positions as support points to cover the breakthrough and as springboards to expand the breakthrough to the two wings. Under the cover of these breakthroughs, more follow-up troops advanced deep into the enemy! Leading the charge were the remaining twenty or so mine-clearing engineering vehicles!

Under Rommel's command, artillery, tanks, and infantry were all doing their best to cover the engineers' work of clearing the road. As the engineers cleared the road under the hail of bullets, the minefield set up by the British army between the first and second lines was slowly but irreversibly being eaten deeper and deeper by the German army...

In the south and southeast of Tobruk, the Italian Army's Brescia Division, Trento Division, Littorio Blackshirt Armored Division, and Grati Heavy Artillery Regiment, which were originally responsible for containment, also launched a more fierce attack on the British positions after hearing the news that the main attack direction of the German army had been broken through!

"Quick! Fire now!!"

At the Sidi Mahmoud intersection, the reserve troops of the 25th Brigade of the th Australian Division were entering the position, and behind them, the nd British Tank Brigade, with several motorized artillery battalions, were rushing towards the breakthrough point in a chaotic manner, trying to close it! And the British artillery regiment with -pound howitzers deployed at the Sidi Mahmoud intersection was also pushed out of the bunkers and began to fire at the breakthrough point in the semi-open position!

but……

"British, don't underestimate your Uncle Buckhorn!!!"

Sixteen black Grim Reapers flew by at a super-high speed of 20 kilometers under the firepower of anti-aircraft guns. The torrential firepower of sixty-four 13mm machine guns and thirty-two 20mm heavy machine guns firing explosive shells swept all the exposed objects on the British positions into ruins! Whether in the trenches, behind the breastworks, or in the circular fortifications of the artillery and anti-aircraft gun positions, there were broken limbs and bodies everywhere, and blood flowed like a river! More importantly, from time to time, a fierce fireball would burst out from the British positions, which were shells detonated by the mm machine guns! !

Although it does not carry bombs, in a place like this, the 20mm machine gun can be like the real Grim Reaper's scythe, harvesting lives in large areas with one sweep!

Rommel, who was breaking through from the front, was getting closer and closer to the British position at the Sidi Mahmoud fork...

Buckhorn, who had finished strafing, took off with the FW190 fleet, but the Australian and New Zealand Army suffered heavy losses at the Sidi Mahmoud position! Although the British still had some weapons left, and the British Second Tank Brigade, which came to support them from the rear, had also rushed over. But at the Galaza Airport not far away, 110 BF- fighters loaded with bombs were already at the top of the runway, slowly starting their propellers...

The time was only 1941: in the morning on August , ...

---------

In the sunny Mediterranean, the sea breeze made the Union Jack on the mast flutter. A fleet consisting of three old battleships, an armored aircraft carrier, a light aircraft carrier, two heavily armed light cruisers, an anti-aircraft light cruiser, and nine destroyers was speeding towards the west!

"Report, Tobruk Fortress sent an urgent telegram! Their first line of defense has been breached, and now the second line of defense has also been in a tough battle. Requesting support from the Mediterranean Fleet!"

The tall, resolute blonde secretary was standing straight, and in front of her, who was so resolute and diligent, was a little old man standing at the porthole looking at the scenery outside with a smile on his face. He even looked a little wretched, but in his smiling eyes, a hint of wisdom flashed from time to time.

"Commander, I can't figure it out... The Greek underground intelligence organization discovered that the German Mediterranean Fleet was trying to sneak away at night, so they sent an alert to us and the Tobruk base early in the morning, and Tobruk also called back to confirm that they had received it, but... why can't they hold on now?"

Secretary Bailey looked at the commander in front of her who looked like an old man and was always in a state of disarray, and asked with a headache.

I don’t know whether I’m worried about the war situation or Cunningham’s behavior…

But anyway, we have been looking at each other for a long time, so we are used to it.

"That's probably because Rommel's supplies have arrived, and his deployment has been thoroughly understood... But speaking of it, if we still can't win even after receiving the alarm, I can't do anything about it..." Cunningham turned around, smiling and spreading his hands with a bitter smile: "But we still have a way."

"No matter what, they and we have to ensure the war situation in Tobruk, so the possibility of a naval battle between us and them around Tobruk is basically inevitable. So as long as we defeat the German Mediterranean Fleet, Rommel won't be able to make any waves no matter how hard he tries." Looking at War-weary, who was still angry about the army's incompetence, Cunningham reached out and touched War-weary's cheek...

After a scream that the whole fleet was used to, Cunningham looked at War-weary, whose face was red with anger, with a feeling of pain and enjoyment, while rubbing the red marks on the back of his hand. He laughed shamelessly as usual, but what he said made War-weary, who was originally so angry that he wanted to slap his head, prick up his ears...

"Since we're bound to run into them around Tobruk sooner or later, you can just settle things with Bismarck. I say, why don't you make some more preparations?"

"Bismarck...!" Upon hearing the name of this familiar German ship captain, War-weary's eyes instantly became fierce. Looking at his own man who was usually unruly but actually wise and far-sighted, War-weary stopped and said hatefully: "Well! I will go and prepare right away - I want to avenge Hood with my own hands!!"

Seeing that Warspite had become completely serious, Cunningham's expression, which was still smiling in a lewd way, did not change, but the cynical look in his eyes seemed to have disappeared, replaced by the fighting spirit of an admiral of the British Empire. At this time, Warspite, who was about to retreat to confirm the preparations, suddenly froze, then turned around and reported to Cunningham:

"Commander, the Indomitable reports that the fleet you sent out to attack the German fleet around dawn has come into contact with the Zeppelin's carrier-based aircraft...!"

I also said something

Chapter 438: A night battle so early in the morning... not so good

"The third wave of British planes is coming!"

At 53: in the morning sun, in the sky over Tobruk, Bal, who was performing a combat air patrol (CAP) with JG-, heard the call from the ground-to-air controller through his headset.

"How many planes are coming?" another person asked in the command channel. Barr could tell that it was the voice of Gunther von Maltzhan (53 planes, Knight's Medal), commander of the JG-67 Wing.

"About two squadrons of Wellingtons, forty or fifty handsome fighters, and I think there are a dozen Spitfires..."

Wellington, Spitfire, and the handsome warrior... Bal and Malcha frowned at the same time.

Although there are only a dozen Spitfires that can fight with us and they came from far away, Wellington is tough but slow, so we can slowly deal with it... The only trouble is the handsome fighter. Although it can't beat our BF109 and FW190, it is a fighter after all, and its speed is acceptable. Moreover, it has powerful firepower and bombing ability. If a few of them slip through the net, the advancing ground troops will be in a state of no cover!

I'm afraid it will be a catastrophe...

And if they only had 109 BFEs, and if they had to use some to hold back the Spitfires, it would be impossible to intercept most of the handsome fighters in the first wave! And if they were allowed to rush over, with the speed of the handsome fighters, it would be difficult to intercept them before they dropped their bombs...

"Comrades of GR186, do you have enough fuel?" Malcha asked Bal with a wry smile.

"Not quite... But we can't just watch this happen!" Barr smiled bitterly, pulled the joystick, and turned his eight FW190 fighters to attack the enemy: "... Malcha, I'm afraid I'll have to visit you later, so don't just treat me to compressed biscuits!"

"How can that be possible..."

But at this moment, a cold female voice suddenly appeared on Barr and Tinolt's radio stations at the same time, although they were on different channels...

"Bar, Tinolt, the Atlantic Fleet has spotted a British fleet. We won't have time to carry out containment operations. You will land at Galaza Base and temporarily obey the command of the base until I summon you back!"

"Is that the instructor's voice? ... Is it the emergency channel of GR186?" Barr and Tinolt were both stunned, and then began to issue orders. One ordered the fleet that was originally preparing to return to the direction of Zeppelin to change course and head to Galaza Airport, and the other ordered the sixteen FW190 fighters led by Buckhorn to stop strafing and prepare for battle.

Thirty-two BF-109Es and twenty-four FW-24Ts, this is probably a sure win. Although I don’t know why, both Bal and Malcha felt like they drank too much milk this morning…

But anyway, the FW190 carries a lot of ammunition. Even if the British artillery positions are swept away, there is basically no problem with the remaining ammunition...

As for suppressing the firepower of the British second-line positions...? Now the reinforcements sent by Zeppelin, the twenty fighter planes of Novotny and Graf, will arrive soon, right?

-------

An air battle has ended in the Mediterranean Sea 120 kilometers northwest of Tobruk Fortress...

Although due to the fatigue of continuous preparation and flight, the Zeppelin aircraft carrier could only send out 109 BF-2T381s this time. However, compared with the enemy's Spitfires, SBD Dreadnoughts, and at most Beaufort bombers following far behind to steal, that was just enough for Zeppelin's carrier-based aircraft and the mm large-caliber anti-aircraft guns of the Persian cat and hamster to fill the gap.

only…

"These British guys ran away so quickly this time!" Seeing the British dropping their bombs and evacuating the battlefield as soon as they saw the situation was not good, Zeppelin, who was chasing them from behind, couldn't help but spit on the radio.

The Persian cat on the other side of the headphones was also speechless.

After all, it was very unusual for the Royal Navy, which was known for its relentless pursuit and never-give-up Nelson spirit, to leave the battlefield after just a little contact...

"Does this mean that we have scared them?" The Persian cat could only report the battle situation to Lütjens with a helpless smile.

"Something is wrong... Even if the British aircraft carrier is not strong enough, it shouldn't be like this..." After all, Lütjens, who has a long military experience and foresight, thought much more deeply than Bismarck: "They still have some losses this time. The number of aircraft on the aircraft carrier is not very large. It is not easy to replace them if a few are lost. Even the cooperation with the land airport is not so easy to organize... So this wave is just a voluntary gift of lives? How could Cunningham be so stupid!"

The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong... He was so headache-inducing that he simply stopped thinking about it. He turned around and asked his secretary, "What's going on in Tobruk? Zeppelin is in command of the operation now. Go ask Bonte and the African Corps."

"Yes! I'll ask." Persian Cat responded and walked to the radio room to direct the radio operators to make contact. Soon, the situation was statistically analyzed...

"Tobruk has just repelled another round of large-scale air strikes. The African Corps suffered some losses in the bombing and is now fighting the British at the Sidi Mahmoud intersection..." Bismarck, who had collected the battle reports, stood beside Lütjens and reported on the record paper in the folder: "As for carrier-based aircraft, Bar and Tinolt's first wave lost five aircraft and have now landed in Galaza for supplies; the second wave led by Novotny and Graf is carrying out ground suppression missions with the aircraft dispatched from Galaza... There are still 190 FW-s in Zeppelin, and eight of them can be dispatched immediately... Report completed, please give instructions!"

"Is that so... Zeppelin's planes have been scattered like this..." Lütjens rubbed his forehead. He probably thought of something...

Zeppelin now has 37 aircraft in its hands. Although it is more than enough to protect itself, it is absolutely not sure to attack the British aircraft carriers under the protection of Warspite! If it has to be on guard against the attack of the British aircraft carriers, these more than 30 aircraft will have to take turns on duty, and there will be no extra force to support Tobruk.

Now Tobruk lost as many as 42 planes in the first wave of air strikes! Although they sent two groups of 74 planes, if they landed at Galaza Airport, they could probably gather about 120 planes to take turns to fight. Considering that they are only 80 kilometers away, they should be able to ensure air superiority afterwards.

But the problem now is that the African Corps suffered severe damage in the first wave of bombing!

Although air superiority can be guaranteed, the combat effectiveness of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps is not a soft persimmon! And no matter what, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, who are hiding in the pre-built bunkers and fighting stubbornly, are definitely more resistant to bombing than the African Army Corps, which is almost half exposed on the starting position! Otherwise, the African Army Corps’ battle report would not be "Fighting..." now. It seems that the situation is not very optimistic.

Moreover, although he was confident in his own combat effectiveness, Lütjens would not forget that the British had at least three cruisers and nine destroyers!