Bismarck

The Persian cat, who was enjoying the sun, was interrupted by a sudden report.

The secretary ship, who had just come to his senses, saw a communications staff officer running into the office on his main body and handing a sealed document bag with an urgent telegram printed on it directly to Lutjans, who was still a little dazed!

The cat's sixth sense made my heart skip a beat for no apparent reason...

What a big deal!

Sure enough, the captain's face changed when he read half of the telegram:

"Call Bonte and Lindemann here immediately, convene the staff, and hold an emergency meeting! Oh, and ask Eugen to inform Top that the fleet is about to be dispatched, and ask them to first clean up the submarines in the open sea and wait for further orders at any time! Also ask them whether they have enough food, fuel, ammunition, spare parts and fresh water on board!"

---------

Half an hour later.

Everyone gathered in the conference room, and more detailed information was passed on to their respective commanders.

"We just got the news that the Japanese discovered a very large Allied convoy at 120:1300 noon Trincomalee time today, which is : in the morning here, in the No. xx sea area, which is about degrees southeast of us, about kilometers away! The fleet spied by that reconnaissance plane alone is as many as at least to merchant ships and about warships, including about three battleships! Moreover, the Japanese said that the reconnaissance plane lost contact after being attacked by the Spitfire, and it is inferred that they may have an aircraft carrier!... The only news that can be confirmed is that we have contacted Top before, and the Prinz Eugen has not consumed much supplies and ammunition, and the British submarines near the port have also been cleared..."

In the conference room, Lütjens had a serious face as he explained the enemy situation to Lindemann, Bonte, Zeppelin and others who had just gathered.

And those basic chart markings have also been converted into the German time and coordinate system in the staff's calculations, charts and calculation tables.

However, after listening to Lütjens's introduction, the most excited person was Zeppelin who heard the word "fire-breathing"...

"Commander! If it is confirmed to be a Spitfire, the enemy is likely to have at least one large aircraft carrier! And looking at the size of the escort fleet...if the British are really determined to force their way through the Indian Ocean route, it is entirely possible that they can send both Vengeance-class ships!"

"Yeah, I have the same worry! And if that's the case, they won't have too few battleships - at least three battleships have been observed on the Japanese side alone, so their actual number of battleships must be far more than this number...." Lütjens nodded and said worriedly: "...But even the Japanese reconnaissance planes only saw the tip of the iceberg of this huge fleet! And such a large-scale escort team is extraordinary, and the British and Americans must have sent out their best troops! So the real scale of this fleet...may be beyond our imagination!"

Lütjens' words quickly sparked a flurry of discussion. Soon, Bangtai put forward his own opinion:

"According to previous intelligence, they have at least nine old battleships and four escort carriers in Madagascar - and if they want to carry out such a large-scale operation, they must know that these old battleships and escort carriers may not be able to deal with us... Unless they come to reinforce us!!"

"Since reinforcements have arrived, there is a more terrifying problem - their action this time was planned for a long time! They must have taken into account the possibility of our interception by Japan!" Lindemann was very smart and quickly drew inferences from one example and proposed a possibility: "Speaking of which, if their previous attacks were thwarted by Bismarck, Zeppelin and Eugen, maybe they will take advantage of our main force to launch a sneak attack and destroy our supply warehouse!!"

Lindemann's inference soon caused a lot of discussion! After all...

"This possibility really exists!" Several people couldn't help but sigh.

At the end of the meeting, it was Lütjens who made the final decision:

"… Regarding the enemy situation, I have asked Bismarck to send a telegram to Japan. Japan promised that they will immediately conduct additional reconnaissance and continue tracking. However, although we can only wait for news on the road about the enemy's goals and scale, we must fight this battle!"

"No matter what, they organized such a large transport team to force the transportation, they must have a bigger plan! This time, our main target of attack is their transport team! I will also transfer the submarines operating in the Arabian Sea to intercept them - as for the specific combat arrangements, the situation is not detailed now, we will set off first to hurry up, and make a specific decision after further confirming the situation on the road!"

"… In addition, regarding the safety of the island base, what Lindman said is very likely!… In order to prevent the British from sending people to launch a surprise attack, the troops stationed here at the base must strengthen their vigilance - especially key locations such as airports, warehouses, docks, radar stations, and coastal roads. They must be strictly guarded! In addition, all transport ships must immediately stop unloading and follow the mobile supply ships to evacuate to the sea! As for combat…"

With a wave of his hand, Lütjens issued the order to go into battle:

"I order the Bismarck, Tirpitz, and Zeppelin to weigh anchor and set sail immediately! Once you meet up with the Prinz Eugen outside the harbor, attack in full force - target: the British transport convoy!!"

Following Lütjens' order, everyone in the conference room stood up and saluted in unison, and the main officers of the German War Navy's Eastern Expeditionary Fleet responded loudly, as if they were always full of the unique enthusiasm of soldiers:

"Yes! Commander!!"

ps: Hamsters are really cute, I want to raise one.

Chapter 613: The base was attacked

At noon, Somerville, standing by the fence of the Warrior's bridge, was looking up at the sky. Under the cloudy sky in the distance, thousands of meters above the ground, a Japanese Type 96 twin-engine reconnaissance aircraft was desperately fleeing with the help of the clouds but was unable to shake off its pursuers. Under the successive attacks of four Spitfire fighters, it finally turned into a falling fireball with billowing black smoke.

but!

Just two minutes ago, this Japanese reconnaissance plane, which had average speed, weak armor, poor self-defense firepower, and was firmly held and unable to escape, knew that it had no hope of escape. However, under the heavy fire of the Spitfire Hispano, it actually abandoned the method of translating coded telegrams and directly turned on the clear text call of the high-power radio station, and directly broadcast the intelligence that it had discovered the Allied convoy.

Although the Japanese reconnaissance plane was shot down by British carrier-based fighters not long after, its whereabouts were exposed and it was irreversible...

At a moment like this where you could be shot down in the next second, speaking with your mouth is always faster than typing on a teletypewriter...

Even the British themselves received this signal.

"After hiding for three days, we were finally discovered..." Summerville shook his head with a wry smile and walked into the command cabin of the battleship Warrior.

The Lütjens super fleet on Socotra Island had a speed of over 36 knots, and the Japanese army in Trincomalee was also famous for its high speed - even the two slowest light aircraft carriers had a speed of 28 knots.

As a naval veteran, even if Somerville fell asleep, he could instantly calculate how easy it was for the Axis fleets that could run 24 kilometers and 1600 kilometers in 1250 hours to track his fleet, which had a speed of only 11 knots and could only run 24 kilometers at most in 500 hours.

It's like a child running a race with an adult.

And the distance from here to India is still 1400 kilometers...

"Tomorrow, I'm afraid it will be a bloody day..."

Walking from the sunny corridor into the dark and gloomy door of the battleship's command cabin, which was protected by heavy armor, Somerville couldn't help but mutter to himself at the alternating light and shadow inside the armored cabin.

Fortunately, the support plan on my side was not just about the escort fleet from the beginning...

"Hmph... Let's send a telegram. If we are discovered, we should have other troops take action according to the plan..."

Summerville snorted softly, straightened his military cap, and slowly disappeared into the dark command hatch. Not long after, a series of invisible radio waves came out from the radio room of the Warrior battleship. At a speed of 300,000 kilometers per second, it carried a message of a preset order in the combat plan, and flew into the blue sky like a swift carrier pigeon, flying to the other side...

"Air raid! Get out of the way!!"

"Assholes! Despicable white pigs, is all you can do about sneak attacks?!"

"Shoot! Shoot! Kill them!"

The Japanese fleet, which was originally preparing to weigh anchor and go out to sea for battle, was suddenly attacked by the British Air Force!

The port of Trincomalee was in chaos! For a moment, there were planes roaring everywhere! Under the shrill air defense alarm, the anti-aircraft guns fired, the roar of explosions, the diffuse smoke, and the crowds of people like headless flies...

The two light aircraft carriers and two destroyers of the 3rd Air Fleet, the four old heavy cruisers of the 6th Air Fleet, the Naka light cruiser of the 4th Torpedo Squadron and several destroyers under its command, which were assembling outside the port with the assistance of the port tugboats, were the first targets!

In fact, the bombing was already being prepared for the attack on Trincomalee when the battle plan for Operation Support was formulated a month ago! In case Operation Support was discovered by reconnaissance aircraft, it would be necessary to disrupt the Japanese fleet's attack time and strike first!

Although, with a journey of more than 3000 kilometers, it is 100% likely that the car will be discovered, but it is only a "one in a million" chance that it will not be discovered...

However, it must be said that the British air raid plan was completely successful...

Although the two light carriers and four heavy cruisers did not suffer much damage under the protection of the elementary school students, looking at the destroyers that were badly bombed in the air raid - they tried their best to defend their own light carriers, two of them were seriously injured and stranded for rescue, two were on fire, and most of the others were also injured to varying degrees!

Alas, seeing their small and flat bodies covered with scars, the commander feels very distressed.

Even though he had a paralyzed face, Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa, the admiral of the Indian Ocean Fleet and commander of the 3rd Air Fleet, was so angry that even the corners of his mouth, which had been motionless for thousands of years due to nerve damage, were twitching slightly...

The Allies have aircraft carrier escorts and battleship cover. The Japanese Indian Ocean fleet must protect two light aircraft carriers. The remaining destroyers are the biggest reliance of the Japanese night battle! But now...

The destroyer suffered heavy losses!

"Someone, send a telegram to (Commander of the 4th Mine Warfare Squadron) Shoji Nishimura and ask him how many boats he can still put together!"

Although his facial nerves were damaged and he always had a blank expression, his subordinates could hear Ozawa's fists clenching and making a creaking sound...

Knowing that his boss was angry, the subordinate did not dare to neglect him and quickly responded with a "yes" and turned to leave.

By the time they finally checked the damage and pieced together a few destroyers with minor injuries that would not affect combat, and then the Japanese fleet set out in formation, it was already seven o'clock in the evening of April 18th...

His own Shoho and Zuiho, the four heavy cruisers of the 6th Squadron of Rear Admiral Goto Aritomo, and the Harusame, (Solomon's mad dog), Yudachi, Satsuki, (the guide) Arashi, and (Shoho, the very unlucky king of supplementary shooting) Nowaki following behind the Naka in the Four Water Battles... Because of the British bombing at noon, he can only gather such a small number of people now!

This amount of troops is not even a fraction of the British ones!

And if we leave so late...

"What the hell... The speed of the aircraft carrier is only 28 knots. I really don't know if we can catch up... And... if we calculate at 28 knots, we will be close to the combat radius of the southern Indian airport at noon tomorrow... Tsk, if we want to keep the aircraft carrier, the heavy cruiser and the mine warfare team with a speed of 34 knots cannot leave the aircraft carrier and rush to pursue..."

Although "Ghost Tile" Ozawa still had a blank expression on his face, his eyes were filled with regret...

"Forget it. For the sake of striking at the British... Come on, send a telegram to the Germans and tell them that our base was attacked by air, and that the fleet will be late for departure and may not be able to arrive at the battlefield on time. I hope they will pay attention... Also, send our reconnaissance planes out at full force to keep a close eye on the British! Report any news at any time!"

"Eh...? General, we only have the Type 96 medium attack aircraft (medium bomber) here. The Type 1 land attack aircraft modified with radar are basically all in the Pacific Ocean. We don't have any here...?" Hearing Ozawa's order, the subordinates were confused.

“…………Baga rolling on the road!!”

(PS: Japan's time is two hours ahead of the German fleet)

----------April 17, late at night--------

Under the starlight of the Arabian Sea, four huge black shadows painted in camouflage are in a combat-ready posture with arrows drawn and swords unsheathed. Braving the fierce northeast monsoon and surging monsoon currents of the Arabian Sea, they are racing across the sea at a high speed of thirty-six knots, cutting through the waves!

Although due to the blackout, only four huge shadows could be seen from the outside, many places inside the battleship were brightly lit!

Except for the soldiers on duty, the sailors were resting quietly, gathering their strength and preparing for tomorrow's battle! However, the conscientious officers had not rested yet. Many of them chose to inspect the departments they were responsible for again, making sure that no mistakes would occur on the battlefield!

As for the brain of the fleet - the command center, it is busy analyzing the battle situation, making plans, judging the battle situation, and calculating the progress of the battle in different battlefield situations after encountering the enemy tomorrow, in order to find a more feasible combat plan!

In the command post of the Bismarck battleship, the flagship of the German Navy's Eastern Expeditionary Fleet, the staff was concentrating on receiving the intelligence from the telegram while nervously marking and calculating the specific route and timing of the interception! From time to time, new information came from somewhere, and there was a quiet but intense discussion and calculation, and then a preliminary analysis report was quickly formed, which was recorded and filed, and handed over to the commanders for review to make decisions on the next step!

The staff before the war was the busiest! Especially since this operation was hastily launched, a lot of intelligence was incomplete!

In order to race against time, the staff officers could only receive intelligence collected from various sources bit by bit on the road, and then work all night long to make up for the inherent lack of information of the latecomer on the battlefield!

The staff officers must first analyze and determine the truth of the intelligence, and summarize the general battlefield situation by combining the fragmentary battlefield reports. For those factors that are still uncertain, they must also propose various assumptions and inferences, and then test their possibilities one by one! Finally, they even have to stand from the enemy's perspective and consider their most likely actions - but even with such busyness and meticulousness, they cannot determine many key things! So in the end, they can only follow the principle of probability to find a better plan that can take into account most of the main aspects - and at the same time, they must be prepared for a remedial plan in case the enemy misjudges the situation and finds themselves in a disadvantageous position...

There is no need for any deliberate scolding or supervision, everyone is concentrating on their own work, but under the norms of regulations and in accordance with the military's organizational model, they are automatically cooperating and cooperating with each other!

Just like a precision instrument, although it is busy and intense, everything is in order!

On the eve of a great battle, it was such meticulous precision!

It was almost twelve o'clock, but Admiral Lütjens still hadn't returned to his room. He just took a short rest in a chair behind his desk. In front of him, besides a cup of cold coffee, the table was filled with maps and intelligence documents!

The war is approaching and the enemy's situation is unclear. As the fleet commander, how can he rest?

The secretary beside him felt distressed, but he had no way to persuade him. He could only stand behind the chair silently and gently massage the temples of Lütjens who was leaning against the back of the chair with his eyes closed...

Another telegram was sent, and soon, in the telegraph room on the side of the headquarters, which was covered by a thick curtain, an officer came out of the curtain, holding a telegram and walking over with a nervous look on his face. Seeing this scene, Bismarck, the secretary ship, also hurried over:

"what happened?"

"Secretary, this is the telegram I just received..." The officer handed over the telegram and whispered angrily, "The Socotra Island base has just been attacked by the British, and the special forces are sabotaging it! The airport runway, dock facilities, coastal highway, radar station and some warehouses and bunkers have been damaged. According to preliminary statistics, 17 aircraft have been lost. The coastal highway is temporarily unusable, three material bunkers and two airport material storage points have been destroyed, and the loss of aviation gasoline is huge. The only lucky thing is that the British special forces wanted to take advantage of the chaos of the air raid to destroy the radar station bunker, but their attempt failed due to the complex terrain and the dark sky..."

Bismarck listened to the officer's report, glanced at the telegram, and his face turned pale...

Due to the lack of explosives and construction materials, Socotra Island has only blasted five caves in the mountain so far, plus two or three scattered storage points set up around the airport to ensure daily dispatches, which are filled with a lot of oil drums, ammunition, building materials and supplies, and even the island's extremely precious fresh water!

But now... the supplies in the three caves have been destroyed. This is very bad news for the Socotra Island Garrison, which does not have much logistical supply guarantees!

Fortunately, a lot of fuel and ammunition were not unloaded on the transport ships, and when they went out to sea, the transport ships, together with the captured Liberty ships, were evacuated to the vast ocean under the leadership of the disguised attack ships. With this "sea base", it can still support the use for a while...

However... the loss is still painful - especially the aviation gasoline!

This is something that really requires less burning.

Zeppelin training, maritime reconnaissance, combat reserves, combat readiness patrols... these all require aviation gasoline, and a large amount is consumed every day - diesel, heavy oil and ammunition can be saved, but the loss of gasoline that is consumed every day is really fatal!

Especially daily necessities...

Everyone knows about today’s naval warfare. If anti-aircraft guns are the father of one click, then the air force is the father of the father of the father!

Behind the angry ship cat, Lütjens asked, "What's going on?"

"Damn the British, they blew up our base..." Persian Cat angrily handed the telegram in his hand to his captain. Lütjens glanced at it, thought about it for a while, and his expression suddenly changed...

Seeing his captain's expression suddenly change, the Persian cat felt a little panicked for some reason...

"What's wrong, Captain?" Bismarck asked weakly, "Did you...think of something...?"

"Yes, I thought of a very terrifying possibility..." Lütjens nodded solemnly, looked into Bismarck's eyes, and said seriously: "Use the short-range tactical radio to inform Tizi and Eugen immediately. In this operation, you must give priority to attacking the transport ships! And if you must engage in a firefight with the enemy fleet, you must prioritize your own safety! If the enemy wants to intercept you, don't fight hard, go around them if you can, and don't get entangled!"

"Eh? This..." Bismarck was a little dumbfounded when he heard Lütjens' words.

The captain actually said this time that his own safety was his priority...

Although I felt comfortable hearing this - the captain was considering the safety of my sisters, but this order... was too soft and didn't seem like the captain's style, and it wasn't even my style.

Although I usually like a more relaxed atmosphere, I am also a battleship after all... Every time the Persian cat fights, I always feel that I have become a mother cat protecting her cubs, but this is not a problem...

Not engaging with the enemy when encountering them is not a good tradition of fighting every enemy.

Could it be that because the Japanese arrived late, the captain planned not to let him go to the front line and wait until the "allies" arrived?

After all, who knows if those Japanese are planning to conserve their strength and trick themselves and their sisters first?

Allies are always there to be sold.

Just as Bismarck was lost in thought, Lütjens put his hand on her shoulder, looked serious, and spoke seriously.

"I have roughly guessed the purpose of their transportation this time!"

"?" Bismarck, still confused, blinked to express his confusion.

"You know, the British bombed the Japanese base a few hours ago. Now the Japanese fleet is most likely unable to catch up. And now if they bomb our home as well... most likely, the British's next battle plan is to destroy our logistics!"

"Captain, are you saying that the Red Sea route will be dangerous?" Bismarck seemed to understand something.