Bismarck

Although Lütjens's home was destroyed by the bomb, it was no problem to entertain them in the hotel. In addition, Eugen felt very happy as long as he was with his two sisters.

But since they had been given the order, they had to carry it out. After staying for a while, Eugen and Top went back.

What Eugen is about to face next is a huge test.

Whether he can pass the exam is directly related to his life. Before this, Lütjens had already thought of many ways to help Top, and the specific operations depended on him alone.

-

On October 14, at the dock of the Arctic Fleet, the lonely heavy cruiser Prince Eugen left the port in a deserted manner.

There was no farewell party, no flowers, no applause, only all kinds of gloating, plague-like looks from other warships and the Arctic Fleet Command hidden behind the curtains.

Even on the Prinz Eugen, before sailing, in addition to some officers who were deliberately transferred down, there were also a few guys who wrote transfer orders or long vacation notes and "said goodbye". Since this order came down, everyone on the Prinz Eugen knew that Prince Eugen was going to die this time. It can be said that he was going to die. So why stay on a sinking ship? Those who have connections use their connections to transfer themselves away by all means, and those who don't have connections can only stay on the ship and pray every day.

In order to "make up for the loss of personnel", Kumets transferred a group of people from nowhere and forced them onto the Prinz Eugen. As for who these people were? Who else could they be? Top knew without thinking that they were probably all kinds of misfits from other warships of the Arctic Fleet, who were sent here for humane destruction.

Although a troublemaker is not necessarily incompetent, in fact many of them are quite capable, but since they are troublemakers, they will definitely be undisciplined.

It is common sense that a heavy cruiser with nearly a thousand people must be concentrated under a unified and powerful command in order to achieve maximum combat efficiency. Although Eugen is there, there is the precedent of Bismarck being almost beaten to death in Alexandria. Top has thought it through. No matter what, these sailors must be able to stand up at the critical moment.

If the worst happens and Eugen falls into a coma, and if the sailors are all water, they will be dead.

Now, getting these troublemakers to behave themselves is undoubtedly the first step...

Moreover, Top actually had another worry:

If there is such a large-scale mobilization of personnel, rumors will definitely spread throughout the port. As the main base of the Arctic Fleet, is there any undercover resistance organization among the Norwegians around?

Do you believe me if I say no? Toph doesn't believe it anyway.

Think about the Rhine Exercise, where even Commander Lütjens and Bismarck were tricked into death...

"Hey, it seems that these bastards never thought of letting me come back alive." Top couldn't help but spit inwardly.

But it doesn’t matter this way. Even if I’m alive, I’ve never thought of coming back.

Watching the Prinz Eugen slowly sail out of the port under the cover of the polar night, Top tightened his windbreaker and had a plan in mind:

"Captain, you are in charge of driving the ship. Eugen, come with me to the broadcasting room. I need to give a speech to the entire ship."

"Oh..." Watching Top go down, Eugen nodded and followed him. The navigation chief was the only one left in the navigation bridge, and he stood in front of the steering gear.

When they reached a less crowded corridor, Top turned his head slightly, covered his mouth with his hand, and whispered to Eugen:

"By the way, Eugen, when I broadcast, please help me check the reactions of the officers and soldiers."

"Okay." Eugen blinked, "Top, what are you going to do?"

“I’m going to start performing.”

With Eugen's help, Topp began to work on the dividing line of his own performance.

------

"Hello, brothers aboard the Prinz Eugen. I am your captain, Top."

"I know that many of you must have heard some things from various rumors. I also know what has been circulating on the ship these days. So, I will speak frankly - what you have heard and guessed is basically correct. This time we are going out to sea to commit suicide. The chance of survival is very low. Half of our bodies are already gone to see God."

There was a commotion in the cabin. No one expected that Top would suddenly announce this matter to the entire ship.

"As for why I would carry out such a mission, everyone knows that it is because I, Top, have offended the people above me, directly to the Admiral of the Navy. He wanted to shoot me, but he couldn't do that, so he could only use this method to get rid of me. In the words of my secretary, it is to use other..." Top suddenly interrupted.

"Kill with a borrowed knife." Eugen reminded softly from the side.

"Oh yes, use a knife to kill someone, use the British knife to kill me."

Eugen also heard this kind of thing from Bismarck, and was indoctrinated with some ancient Eastern country thinking. Anyway, Eugen was just a blank piece of paper, and anything could be drawn on it.

"So, to some extent, you are just unlucky. You have to die with me."

"Of course, the group of people who came aboard not long ago were definitely not innocent. I asked around and found out that you are all troublemakers on each ship. I guess they just want you to come and die."

"I, Top, am a troublemaker just like you. So now, I, a troublemaker, am sent out with you troublemakers to the Atlantic Ocean to disrupt diplomatic relations. If you are unlucky, you will die."

As soon as these words were spoken, the officers and soldiers on board began to discuss the situation. There was even a small commotion in some cabins.

"Top, there seems to be a commotion in several cabins..." Eugen, who was standing nearby, hurriedly pulled Top's sleeve and whispered.

Toph nodded to Eugen in understanding, but waved his hand indifferently. He did not hesitate to put the microphone to his lips:

"Alright. Don't panic. We are all soldiers of the Greater German Empire. It is an honor to die for the Empire - so you have nothing to be afraid of!"

Top's last sentence was spoken suddenly. And in Eugen's perception, the group seemed to be shocked by Top's question. For a moment, the several noisy cabins actually quieted down again.

"Great! They're quiet now." A twin-tailed ship girl next to Top was so happy that she almost jumped out. But Top didn't care, he just raised his eyebrows and continued his speech...

"…Although the enemy in front of us is very powerful. There are at least ten battleships and three aircraft carriers. Although the Americans have sent heavy troops to land and occupy Iceland, and wiped out the innocent Icelandic guerrillas who were seeking independence and freedom, and although the British and American air bases can send radar reconnaissance planes with a range of thousands of kilometers to track us… However, we have some favorable conditions for this operation. The mission we are going to carry out is a life-or-death mission, but it is definitely not a life-or-death mission."

"We are fighting in the snowy weather of the Arctic Ocean in winter. Our enemies, Britain and the United States, are not united. Our battleship, Prinz Eugen, is an excellent battleship that can run at a maximum speed of 37 knots with overload. The most important thing is that we have other favorable conditions to rely on..."

"The main fleet of our navy is there, especially the two battleships Hindenburg and Ludendorff that have just been put into service, and the aircraft carrier Europa, whose modification project has been completed by 70%... With the containment and deterrence of these powerful battleships, their battleships and aircraft carriers will never be able to catch up. And our submarines are lurking everywhere in the sea here. Even if their main fleet wants to take action, they must first pray to God that they will not fail and become a living target first. And as long as we get rid of the threat of their main battleships next, with the powerful firepower of our Prinz Eugen cruiser, which fires six rounds per minute, at least twice the firing rate of their cruisers, then who are we afraid of in the Atlantic?"

"…Everyone on this ship is a soldier of the Greater German Navy. Many people are actually proud of themselves. They are excluded because they cannot stand the bureaucratic style of their superiors. I understand that because I am like that! But now that we are brothers on the same ship and have to face a powerful enemy, no matter what our origins are, I just hope that everyone can obey my command. In life, we are brothers. I don't care even if you pat me on the shoulder, but in battle, you must obey my command."

"If someone disobeys orders, let me know in advance. I will lock him in the anchor chain locker before the battle. But if he disobeys orders during the battle, I don't mind letting him walk on the gangplank behind him. I, Top, always keep my word."

Walking the plank was an old punishment for cowardly sailors and pirates. They would be blindfolded and forced to walk into the sea.

"Even though Prince Eugen is a great battleship, it still requires the joint efforts of everyone. Let us work together to overcome the difficulties. I won't talk about other lofty freedoms and honors. I will just say two things: survive, and then give those bureaucrats in the rear a slap in the face! They told us to die, but we won't!"

"Long live the Greater German Reich!"

Listening to Top's confident and even domineering speech, there was silence on the ship at first, but soon there was a cheer that could be heard even in the soundproofed broadcasting studio.

These pricks won't like any great principles, but staying alive is in their immediate interests and no one would give it up.

Eugen's eyes were full of little stars when he looked at Top.

But soon, seeing that there was no one around except Eugen, Top took off his headphones and turned off the microphone, then he let out a long sigh and slumped on the table.

"Hey? Top. What's wrong with you?" Eugen, who was originally full of stars in his eyes, was stunned when he saw Top lying like this. He quickly rushed forward to see how Top was doing.

Top waved his hand, grabbed the cup and drank it all in one gulp: "It's okay, it's okay, I just yelled so many words in one breath, I'm a little out of breath, I just need to rest..."

"Oh..." The cute Eugen blinked, picked up the empty cup, and went to make water for his captain.

But Top was thinking: "Good fellow, it really is not human to be able to deceive people... I can still calmly tell all these lies that the enemy has ten battleships and three aircraft carriers, which is not scary at all... This requires a lot of mental quality and thick skin, which is much greater than the requirement for lung capacity..."

Chapter 529: Let's fight together, Eugen

The sea near Iceland in mid-October is a season of high winds and rough waves.

The cold current from the Arctic Ocean that started to move south again due to the onset of winter collides with the warm current from the North Atlantic Ocean that blows all year round. The collision of the two great natural forces on the earth has caused the sea to start stirring up storms again...

For Rear Admiral Wilcox, commander of the US Navy's Atlantic Fleet task force stationed here, the feeling of being seasick at any time is somewhat unpleasant...

Although intelligence agencies have reported that the German cruiser Prinz Eugen is about to go out to sea, the US Navy's top brass also determined that it is possible to use bad weather to force its way through the GIUK defense line.

However… although the width from the Denmark Strait to Scapa Flow is not large, there is something very embarrassing now:

After all, the British and American navies belonged to different countries, and their exchanges were not very close. In fact, because the Washington Treaty stipulated that the navies of both sides were equally strong, they once regarded each other as one of their biggest imaginary enemies. In addition, there were a number of people in the navies of both sides who were looking down on each other. As far as Major General Wilcox knew, his immediate superior, the de facto boss of the US Navy, Admiral Ernest King, the commander-in-chief of the US Navy Fleet, was a character who was extremely unfriendly to the British Royal Navy.

Although the two countries had formally confirmed their intention to form an alliance long ago due to the rise of the Nazis, and had officially stood on the side of Britain with the entry of the United States into the war, the years of estrangement and hostility between the rivals were not so easy to eliminate.

Not to mention, the scope of the military agreement between the two countries is very wide. Strategically, we must strive for more national interests while ensuring our core interests, and we must also be able to seek common ground while reserving differences. Tactically, if it is just relay escort or separate operations, it is fine, but if we want to fight together, the two armies will have to spend a lot of time to familiarize themselves with each other's military traditions, military thinking, behavioral habits, rules and regulations, military terminology, communication methods, and even the most sophisticated sign language, flag language, enemy identification rules, aircraft landing guidance signals, etc. You know, there is no room for carelessness on the battlefield. Especially when it comes to cooperation between the two countries, there is no small matter.

Therefore, although the British Royal Navy had sent a large team of generals led by Andrew Cunningham to coordinate and negotiate with the US military, in order to avoid accidents, even though he had established a simple connection with Admiral John Tovey, the British counterpart, he, Tovey, and even the two governments all tacitly agreed to let the US and British fleets cruise separately according to the previous "Pan-American Neutral Zone" line. However, this mode of only caring about one side and not caring about others' problems, although it would not cause such a mistake as accidental injury, there was no coordination or tacit understanding at all.

Although everyone knew that the Germans would not give up such a big flaw, and his boss, Admiral Ingenol, commander of the US Atlantic Fleet, and Admiral Tovey on the other side had already coordinated as much as possible, but Wilcox was helpless about the boundary between the British and American defense zones here...

After all, there is no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days...

This feeling of waiting for "the second boot to be dropped from upstairs" is the most unbearable.

Especially, the weather is so horrible.

Looking out the window, dark clouds covered the sky, strong winds rolled, and the waves were surging... In such sea conditions, not only were planes prohibited from taking off, but even the two aircraft carriers under his command had to temporarily retreat. Otherwise, if he was not careful, the open bow flight deck of the American aircraft carrier would be hit by the great power of the North Atlantic with a "slap from the sea god".

These Germans really know how to choose the time.

Shaking his head and sighing, Major General Wilcox turned around and looked at the staff officers around him:

"Is there something wrong?"

"Not yet, sir."

Nodding silently, Wilcox continued to instruct: "Keep alert and don't be careless. The British said that the ship has a speed of at least 37 knots, an effective range of 27 kilometers, and a search distance of 20 nautical miles. They even said that those ships may be protected by witches sent by Satan. Although I don't know what a witch is, Admiral Tovey clearly told me that it is best to treat her as a battle cruiser... Tell the Northampton formation in front to keep in touch with the British and be sure to increase vigilance."

"Yes."

-

Major General Wilcox's guess was not wrong. Top was leading the heavy cruiser Prince Eugen, following the cold wind from the Arctic Ocean, heading straight for the dividing line between the British and American naval defense zones, that is, the boundary of the "Pan-American Neutral Zone".

After all, under the guise of the "Pan-American Neutral Zone", the Americans had actually participated in the Atlantic escort war for two full years, and even sent aircraft carriers to cause trouble for Lütjens. However, because of this, where the boundary of this line is has long been an open secret for the German Navy.

Even though the hot potato of Iceland has been passed on to the Americans, the dividing line between the two sides in this area has changed, but on the premise that the approximate division has not changed, the scope of the change here is still within an estimable range.

Anyway, the main part of the dividing line is the meridian, and Iceland itself is a piece that was "dug out". So it is conceivable that at most the area west of Iceland is moved to the east of Iceland, that's all.

Standing on the bridge, Top looked at the dark clouds rolling overhead, the howling cold wind, and the sky, and felt a little secretly happy in his heart.

With a speed of 7200 knots and an improved endurance of 20 nautical miles/ knots compared to the Hipper, Top is confident that she can outrun any surface pursuers. However... Britain and the United States have deployed powerful air reconnaissance forces in Iceland and the Faroe Islands. And there are also aircraft carriers.

However, with the weather being like this, the British and American aerial reconnaissance suddenly became useless. Now Top was close to Iceland, and the Prinz Eugen had not yet been discovered by British and American reconnaissance planes.

God helps me.

"Top Top, two enemy destroyers are on patrol. They are 20 miles ahead of us. No radar signals were detected. It looks like... they are not British destroyers."

The girl with twin ponytails stood prettily behind her captain, using her perception to obtain information about the battlefield and summarize the situation and intelligence for Top.

Eugen, who had been taught a lot of life experience by her sisters Bismarck and Zeppelin, had already become a secretary ship.

Although she was still a little startled, she was a little girl after all, so this performance was pretty good, and it brought a bit of joy to the serious warship.

(Please imagine the language of Kan C Eugen and the tone when throwing Nagato beans. He often scares girls. I won’t say more. I’m going to repeat it...)

Secretary Eugen is now the ship's funny guy. Although she is very skilled in her job and will not be a drag, her personality does make many boys unable to help but hug her in their arms. It is very strange that such a girl with such a startled expression is surprisingly harmonious.

Hearing Eugen's voice, Top felt that his mood seemed to be better. The girl's soft voice was like a spring breeze, dispelling the cold wind of the Atlantic. However, according to the law of conservation of mood in the universe, if he was in a good mood, he could not guarantee whether the American destroyer on the other side would be in a good mood.

Toph turned around and grinned at Prince Eugen:

"Got it. Get ready for battle. It's noon now. It will be dark here after 4 o'clock anyway. If we delay any longer, it will only lead to more trouble. Anyway, this time we have no choice but to fight our way out - for our freedom."

As Top spoke, he grabbed Eugen's little hand, ignoring the girl's weak exclamation of "Ah..."

If Bismarck were here, he would definitely call the gendarmerie.

Prince Eugen, who was pulled over, was a little nervous and blushed, but his voice was firm.

"Ok!"

On the dashboard of the engine room below, the boiler temperature and steam pressure seemed to increase the speed a bit...

Oh no, the boiler pressure is about to explode.

Thump thump.

Looking at the cute little Eugen blushing, Top was in a good mood and rubbed her bunny-ear-like double ponytails, looking very much like a Hanta. With her other hand, she opened the microphone cover and gave an order in a serious tone into the microphone:

"I'm Top. The American fleet has been spotted ahead. All ships must follow my orders - attack."

The heavy cruiser, with a speed of 37.5 knots and 75,000 yards per hour, rushed towards the US Atlantic Fleet ahead...

Come on, hurt each other

----------

"Sir. Urgent battle report. The German heavy cruiser is coming."

"What? They are coming now? The German captain is not infiltrating at night, but is attacking us with a ship now?" Major General Wilcox jumped up and looked out the window in disbelief. Although the dark clouds were almost pressing down on the mast of the Washington, it was indeed noon...

Are you crazy?

With his chin raised and his brows furrowed, Major General Wilcox was puzzled...

"The Germans should not be crazy yet, but our Vanguard Fleet has four heavy cruisers and four destroyers. Are the German warships really that strong as the British say? - Oh, right! Go ask, what's the situation with the Vanguard Fleet now?"

"Yes."

A few minutes later, intelligence from the vanguard fleet came back:

"Report to the commander. According to the latest battle report, one of the two destroyers on the destroyer patrol line has been confirmed to have sunk, and the other has lost contact. The last message they sent back was that the Germans were firing at a distance of at least 23,000 yards, and the firing was fast and accurate... The cruiser has already rushed in the direction of the battlefield. I hope to block the Germans before they get far away."