Bismarck

"Tizi, tell Lindemann that Lütjens just said that we should not save firepower and should use the maximum firing rate and staggered bombardment to suppress Warspite... He said that as long as we defeat Warspite, the accuracy of the other four battleships' bombardment at this distance will be useless!"

"Yeah, okay! Sister! I've been wanting to beat this foul-mouthed old witch to death for a long time!"

Tirpitz nodded viciously - she was so tired of war that she had been holding it in for a long time!

After receiving Lütjens' tactical instructions, Bismarck and Tirpitz simply unleashed all their firepower - even in Bismarck's rear main gun ammunition depot, the ammunition depot, which had been extinguished by the sea valve, had begun to pump out water - the ammunition depot was not flooded, and the fire was completely under control! As long as the water was pumped out, this rear main gun turret could be revived at any time!

Although a hole was blown open in the 160mm armor, it was just a hole! Moreover, the armor deck was made of homogeneous steel that was easy to weld. The sailors had already pulled several layers of steel plates with a cart and started to temporarily weld and patch the hole here. As long as the steel plates here were piled up to a certain thickness and patched up again, Bismarck could ensure that the ammunition depot was restored to safety! Even though this was a hidden injury before it was completely repaired, she couldn't hit the same position twice in a row at a distance of 33 kilometers!

But... after all, he is also a veteran of the Battle of Jutland, and even his name means "Contempt for the Hardships of Battle"...

"I can't let you German sailors continue like this!... I even fought against Frederick the Great's 1 vs 21 during the Battle of Jutland. Am I still afraid of you two sailors?!"

Gritting her teeth, she continued to stay on the battle line, leading the other battleships to fire back!

Under the command of Warspite, the other four Allied battleships could not guarantee the observation accuracy at this distance, but they were still able to drop shells around the two German battleships! Bismarck and the big hamsters who had regained their sanity and rejoined the queue, seeing that Warspite dared to resist stubbornly, the two German battleships who wanted revenge were also unwilling to give in! Not to mention, the accuracy of the battleships themselves was a great advantage over conventional battleships! !

For a while, the sky of the Indian Ocean was filled with lights flying back and forth, and the battle was indisputable...

Chapter 623: Bombardment

"Emergency report! Our reconnaissance aircraft discovered the British fleet during reconnaissance - two North Carolina-class battleships and one Vengeance-class aircraft carrier! The escort fleet consists of four destroyers, which are 70 degrees southeast of us, about kilometers away, heading degrees true bearing, and sailing at a speed of about knots... In addition, the location of their high-speed transport fleet has also been discovered! It is kilometers southeast of this British fleet!!"

An important intelligence report just produced by a reconnaissance plane was delivered to Bonte, who was following Bismarck and Tirpitz more than 100 kilometers behind. However, after Bonte and Zeppelin fiddled with the chart table for a while and marked the enemy and our positions and the comparison of forces, they both frowned...

So far, based on the combined findings, interrogation of prisoners and intelligence received from Japan, we can finally confirm the scale of the enemy's troop movement. But it is this scale that makes both of them uneasy!

One cruiser, nine light carriers, two new battleships equipped with 406mm main guns, and twelve old battleships! In addition, there were forty cruisers and destroyers - the Allied Indian Ocean Fleet was fully deployed this time! In addition to Admiral Somerville, the commander of the Allied Indian Ocean Fleet, even Marshal Cunningham, who had been promoted to the First Sea Lord of the United Kingdom, came from the London Admiralty to take charge!

Moreover, according to this position, the current battle line is very unfavorable to the German army: their own commander, with the two battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz, is blocked by Somerville's battleship fleet - although the speed is nearly twice as fast, the British are on the inside, and the impact of the speed disadvantage will not be obvious for at least a few hours!

The Cunningham aircraft carrier that had just been discovered was only about 120 to 130 kilometers away from Commander Lütjens according to the calculated position on the nautical chart, and their course and speed clearly showed that they were heading towards intercepting their own commander!

As for the British high-speed convoy behind them, according to the intelligence from Japan, it was also escorted by four battleships and two escort aircraft carriers. It seems that it is a bit difficult for us to break through so many interception forces to attack this high-speed convoy... Let's tell the Japanese first and let them worry about it - and we don't know if we can catch up with the speed of the Japanese!

In addition, there is also a radio security consideration: radio positioning has long been popular now, and it can reversely calculate the location of the message - but this information is too important, so I must send it out!

Although they had lagged behind their commander by two hours in order to rescue the pilot, aircraft carriers were not suitable for participating in surface artillery battles with battleships. Moreover, the Zeppelin, escorted by Prince Eugen, could act alone, providing cover for the two battleships while also relying on the aircraft carrier's mobility and powerful strike deterrence to tie up a considerable portion of the enemy's energy.

But if the location is exposed... the consequences will be serious!

Based on the interrogation of captured British pilots, the total number of SBDs and Barracudas mixed on the opposing British aircraft carrier HMS Indefatigable was determined, so the British aircraft carrier was not completely doomed - a total of thirty-six attack aircraft. Even without including the aircraft that had luckily returned from the previous air raid, they could now piece together a squadron of about twelve carrier-based attack aircraft!

Although under normal circumstances, a squadron of carrier-based attack aircraft would be a sitting duck for Zeppelin, but now there is only one Eugen by Zeppelin's side!

As for preemptive strike…?

After the previous continuous air battles, a lot of planes needed to be repaired! Even though four hours had passed, only a few planes had been repaired. If we deduct the ten JU-87s that had been sent out for reconnaissance, there were only three squadrons of FW-190s and two squadrons of BF-109s left. To escort Bismarck and the others, as well as to be spared in case of emergency, they also needed planes to take turns on duty - this would not be enough for attack!

Moreover, the Indefatigable was still behind the British escort fleet, and the seven escort carriers of the escort fleet also had fighter planes left! If the British escort carriers sent out aircraft to assist in the interception, the GR-186, which could not even put together a few aircraft, would probably have a big problem with the success rate of the attack aircraft group's penetration...

In other words, although Zeppelin still has a certain strength, it can only grasp one of the two - attack and cover - the British fleet is too large, and the defense strength will not be low! And the aircraft carrier is a typical example of high attack and low defense! If the timing of the battle is not grasped, and the enemy takes advantage of it, the consequences will be disastrous...

The commander's every move is related to the entire battle situation! And this is not just the responsibility of one captain, but the heavy pressure of the success or failure of the entire battle!

Bangtai and Zeppelin looked at each other and found that they both had a headache expression about the battle situation...

"Captain, do you think Cunningham will send a plane if we are exposed?"

After looking at the nautical chart in silence for a long time, it was finally Zeppelin who asked the first question.

"Cunningham is a smart man, but he doesn't have enough troops. I guess he won't attack first if he's not sure. But precisely for this reason, we can't ignore the last few planes on his aircraft carrier!" Bangtai thought for a moment with a serious face, and he realized the threat posed by Cunningham!

"Tsk, is there a sense of containment from the existence fleet..." Not knowing what he was thinking of, Zeppelin spat and couldn't help laughing: "Speaking of using the existence fleet to contain the opponent's main force and consume the opponent's resource reserves, it was our German Navy that did it... Back when the Second Reich High Seas Fleet..."

"Yes, and it was done by Tirpitz (Admiral Tirpitz, the founder of the Second Imperial Navy)!" Thinking of a certain name joke, even Bonte, who usually imitated Lütjens with a serious face, couldn't help laughing. "Besides, if you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have thought that the fleet had actually stayed at home after defeating Skagerrak, and now that girl Tizi is also a stay-at-home girl... Do you think our German navy has a connection with stay-at-home girls?"

"You know what, it's true!" Even the cold Zeppelin laughed when he thought of the little hamster who was lazy and gluttonous and stayed in the room all day long to draw pictures.

But after the joke, we still have to face the troublesome enemy situation and the life of tableware...

………………

The bombardment of seven battleships in the Indian Ocean was still in full swing. The rain of bullets from both sides dragged out long tracers between the gradually thickening clouds in the sky, smashing towards the enemy on the opposite side! These shells were bent by air resistance into relatively straight trajectories at first, but in the end they were abnormally round and colorful! Like the needle-like petals of a bright red blooming red spider lily, they bloomed in the blue sky and white clouds, showing the beauty of death!

In this sea of ​​​​beauty, with beautiful artillery meteors blooming like flowers, Bismarck and Tirpitz sisters burst out with all their firepower, fighting with the larger and more powerful Allied fleet in a fierce battle!

Beside Lütjens, Bismarck had already sat on the fire control director, using all her energy to direct her own body, firing at the same time as frequently maneuvering, avoiding the five Allied battleships on the opposite side, which fired a round every eight to ten seconds on average - even the experienced War-Spite organized the other four Allied warships to fire a barrage of bullets: British and American shells not only fired at herself and Tirpitz, but also organized firepower to fire at the positions that she and Tirpitz were predicted to avoid!

Moreover, because they were bombarding Warspite with all their might, the other four Allied battleships could fire with all their might without considering the impact of errors in the bombardment command, and their firepower was even more intensive - although, under the full suppression of himself and Tizi, Warspite had already been put in all kinds of danger!

Whether it was Lütjens or Bismarck, or Somerville and Warspite, they all understood one thing: in this kind of extreme-range artillery battle, whoever's firepower and hit rate could limit the opponent's evasion would be able to win!

Next to Bismarck, who was gritting her teeth and maneuvering the artillery with all her might, her captain, Lütjens, was standing by, silently watching his battleship fighting the Allied fleet...

The battle situation and reports came in continuously...

"…Hit! The Warspite's bridge is on fire!!"

"...Tirpitz was hit! The rear deck was hit!... Fortunately, only some water got in, the damage is not serious..."

"…Enemy artillery coordination! Can't dodge…Hold tight!! (BOOM!!)…The backup fire control system on the rear bridge was hit! Damage control team…"

"…Damn you War-weary! You'll have to taste my power!"

………………

The clock of the artillery battle gradually moved towards 4:18 noon on April 12, and the battle was still fierce! But at this moment, a communications officer opened the door of the translation room, ran out with a telegram in his hand, ran to Lütjens, saluted hastily, and began to report:

"Report to the commander! Urgent intelligence!!... Just now, the Zeppelin reconnaissance plane discovered Cunningham's Indefatigable, along with two North Carolinas! The location... should be 140 degrees southeast of us, about 130 kilometers! The speed is knots... After they marked the location on the nautical chart, we determined that they are probably heading in front of us to encircle us!..."

"what?!"

After hearing the staff officer's report, Lütjens, who had been silently watching the fierce fight between his own ship's cat and the old woman on the opposite side, changed his expression slightly. Without waiting for the communications officer to finish speaking, he rushed to the chart table and began to mark Cunningham's position according to the telegram sent by Bonte.

Seeing his commander busying himself on the spot, the communications officer was stunned for a moment, holding the lower half of the telegram, not knowing whether to continue. However, Lütjens glanced and saw that the communications officer still had half of the telegram in his hand:

"Hmm...? Is there anything else? Keep talking!"

"…Uh, yes!…Bontai and Zeppelin also asked for instructions. We only have five squadrons of fighters that can be dispatched, and we have to arrange air defense shifts, so we can only take care of one side, attack or defense. They asked you, should we focus on stabilizing the situation or launch an air strike against the enemy?"

After the communications officer finished speaking, he found that his commander did not answer, but instead began to ponder over the sea chart. However, after about two minutes of silence, Lütjens frowned and spoke:

"...Tell them to arrange the fighters to take turns, and keep the attack aircraft on standby... The situation is a bit complicated, let me think about it..."

"Hold on tight! The bombardment is coming... (BOOM!!)"

Lütjens, who was just about to "think about it", heard the Persian cat suddenly shouting a warning to hold on tight, and was a little slow to react. Then, he was almost knocked down by the violent explosion...

ps: Hahaha, I just saw some friends saying that they can hardly bear to look at the war-weariness in the game... Solemn reminder, novels are novels, games are games, and what belongs to your wife is still your wife~

Chapter 624: Tough Enemy

"Damn it... Bismarck, what about it!?"

The embarrassed Lütjens began to care about his flagship before he could stand up again.

Just when it was hit, the old navy man told himself that the electrical equipment of his flagship seemed to flicker?

"It's okay... It's just that a generator room next to the No. 3 engine room was hit..." Bismarck, who was on the bombardment director, covered his waist with his hands, and his expression was bared with a hint of stubbornness:

“…War-weary, I won’t let you have it so easy!”

As Bismarck growled with gritted teeth, the eight 380mm main guns retaliated with huge fireballs from their muzzles, and together with Tirpitz's pincer fire, they swept towards the opposite side where the war-weary army was already engulfed in smoke and flames!

The distance between Bismarck and Warspite has been extended to 34.5 kilometers. Although the Warrior in Somerville is relatively close, it has stopped firing because it is out of the maximum range! Although the three American battleships towing behind have a maximum range of more than 35 kilometers, the closest Maryland is now kilometers away from Bismarck. Now the threat of artillery fire has also been greatly reduced. Although the influence of the roll angle error has been greatly reduced at the maximum distance, the error between the initial velocity of the firing table and the actual muzzle velocity and the observation have become more difficult, making the threat of the three American Colorado-class battleships even lower.

Under the siege of four or five battleships, Bismarck was hit by several shells. In addition to the shell that penetrated the ammunition depot of the rear main turret of No. 3, there was now another shell in the generator compartment. Fortunately, he changed the angle at that time, so that the shell only hit the generator compartment and exploded, without affecting the two main turbine compartments separated by a wall, nor the main transmission shaft that was actually located very inside. If any of the engine rooms or any of the propulsion shafts were really damaged, not to mention that everyone would not have to fight this battle, he would have to go back to the Mediterranean for overhaul and hospitalization...

Maybe it will be a problem whether I can come out again at that time...

"Bismarck, how much ammunition have we fired now?" the captain of his own ship began to ask.

But Bismarck did not answer immediately. In fact, Bismarck was still worried about being almost hit by a bullet just now - and the more he thought about it, the more unbalanced he felt, and his teeth were grinding! After the next round of shells were loaded, Bismarck, who was a little angry, fired another round of artillery fire at War-weary, and then replied indignantly: "We have fired almost forty rounds of armor-piercing shells. Now each of our main guns has forty armor-piercing shells and forty guided high-explosive shells - by the way, the water in the No. 3 ammunition depot has been drained, so now the No. 3 main turret can start firing again... There is artillery fire! Everyone, hold on!"

"The ammunition consumption is a bit high..." Lütjens frowned even deeper when he heard this.

But Bismarck just said it casually, still staring closely at the artillery trajectory of the Allied fleet in front! In the dense artillery fire, she concentrated on calculating the possible impact points, and then carefully manipulated her body to slightly adjust her posture. Finally, when the shells were about to fall, she shook her hull fiercely at the critical moment! And in the next moment, after mysteriously brushing past the Warspite and Maryland, she almost followed the front foot and the back foot, and after the tactical coordination of the fork artillery fire, she didn't say much after stabilizing the hull, and directly aimed her eight main guns at the predetermined hiding position of the Warspite who was avoiding the Grapes' artillery fire, and fired a round of fierce salvos!

After nearly half an hour of hard fighting, she had been hit by six or seven shells, and Tirpitz, less than a thousand meters ahead of her, was also grimacing in pain - although as the flagship, she attracted most of the Allied firepower, but Tirpitz had also been hit by four or five shells since the previous artillery battle with Warspite until now.

Fortunately, compared with the two bullets that hit its own ammunition depot and the engine room, the lucky little hamster was not seriously injured, although tears were hanging from its eyes due to the pain.

On the contrary, the Warspite on the opposite side was now seriously injured under the joint bombardment of himself and his sister. The Warspite was hit by more than ten shells from himself and Tizi. Now two of its main turrets have been extinguished, and the hull has been riddled with holes. One of the six boilers has stopped working due to combat damage, and even half of the front bridge has collapsed. It was only by relying on its strong willpower to despise the hardships of the battle, and insisting on using its ability to manipulate metal with its own body to seal its damaged boiler pipes with the help of the damage control team, and then increasing its speed, that it was able to continue to stay in this team with a speed of only 21 knots, without falling behind or disrupting the formation...

After all, she is an old woman who fought in World War I. Although she has rich combat experience and her firepower is not inferior to his and his sister's after the improvement of the main turret and the replacement of new ammunition, her defense and survivability are far behind!

but……

Even though she was already badly wounded, Warspite still scorned the hardships of the battle and insisted on using her light signals, tactical VHF radio, remaining firing clocks... to convey firing parameters to the American warships behind her, while her own two remaining main turrets also continued to stubbornly persist in firing!

Watching her own shells smashing a big hole in the bow deck of the opposite ship, which had no time to dodge her sister's fire, and even the main turret A that could have been firing was stuck there, but she was still stumbling and using her last remaining rear main turret to fire back - and even calling on other Allied battleships to follow her in firing!

Her most crucial ability is observation - as long as she can stay in the queue, even if she has lost all her main guns, Bismarck cannot be said to be safe!

"Tsk... this old woman is really tenacious..."

Bismarck couldn't help but spit with some impatience at this enemy who resisted to the end.

“…Hmm? Bismarck, how is Warspite doing now?” Lütjens, who was pondering the battle situation in front of the sea chart, also twitched his eyelids!

This Warspite has a ship girl, and she is an old rival! According to the information provided by Kumets at the Navy Department, the internal report said that the Warspite has a maximum speed of 30 knots - even if it is now damaged, her speed can definitely keep up with other old Allied battleships. And if she provides fire guidance to any Allied fleet, this battle will be difficult to fight - you know, I, Bismarck, and Tirpitz have been fighting for more than half an hour so far, and the shell consumption is estimated to be almost 40%, and I can't eat this team of old Allied battleships!

And Cunningham's two new battleships should also be outflanking us...

We can't just sit here like this, we have to think of a solution!

But at this moment, Bismarck began to shout:

"Captain! They've changed course!"

"What? What's going on?"

"Let me see...Ah! Warspite turned to the right, and Warrior followed...Are they going to evacuate the battlefield?...Wait! No! Warspite doesn't seem to be retreating, and...the three American battleships haven't turned around, and are still firing at us...Fire! Hold on tight!" The Persian cat looked in surprise at the Warspite that was turning across, and the other four Allied warships that continued to fire at her - as she observed, the large Persian cat suddenly twisted her body, and suddenly in the middle of the forest-like water column, a 406mm armor-piercing shell, with the peculiar harsh noise of metal friction, hit the Bismarck's rear main turret with a streak of sparks!

Lütjens looked at the chart table and saw that the distance had reached thirty-four and a half kilometers!

"Something's wrong... The Warrior can't hit us at this distance, and the American firepower can't be so accurate!" With a flash of thought, Lütjens hurriedly ordered: "Bismarck, mark the evasive trajectory of Warhose immediately!"

"Yes!" Bismarck responded straightforwardly. Soon, the newly installed automatic plotter in the command room after the Icelandic naval battle plotted the Warspite's route - this automatic plotter was learned from the British Dreyer fire control system. Through a series of mechanical gear calculations, it can plot the route trajectory of the target aimed at by the main fire control device in real time - and on the current plotting board, Warspite, under the cover of the Warrior, broke away from the formation. However, they only made a small turn, and then under the cover of the three American battleships that continued to move forward, they hid themselves not far behind the American battleship formation - and the three American battleships that had been moving in a straight line had never given up firing at the extreme distance of 35 to 36 kilometers! !

This clearly meant that Warspite, who was already seriously injured but could still keep up with the fleet, would continue to act as an observer! As long as Warspite was there, the twelve BIG SEVEN-level 406mm main guns of the three American battleships would still pose a serious threat to Bismarck and Tirpitz! !

In order to defeat the fire observer, the two German warships had been firing at full force, and their ammunition consumption was close to 40%! Not to mention that Bismarck and Tirpitz had been injured. Lütjens looked at the dashboard and saw that his speed had dropped by more than two knots, to only 33.5 knots! Although Tirpitz was hit less, the speed of the formation must be to accommodate the slowest ship!

It seems that the British also know that Warspite's greatest role is as a firepower observer, and they have begun to protect her! According to the intelligence forwarded by Bonte, Cunningham's two new battleships are now heading towards them!

Gritting his teeth unwillingly, looking at Bismarck who was also unwilling but also helpless, and looking at him with a look of asking for instructions, Lütjens opened his mouth and finally uttered an order fiercely:

"...Fully left, let's retreat first! We'll think of a solution later!"

ps: As a ship girl, she can also play a role as an observer. Bismarck and her friends are in a dilemma because they don't have battleships to drive.

Chapter 625: Temporary Disengagement

By the time Lütjens commanded Bismarck and Tirpitz to break contact with the Allied battleships and reorganize the formation, it was already one o'clock in the afternoon.

After looking at the nautical chart and then at the gradually thickening clouds overhead, everyone in the command tower and their ship couldn't help but sigh.

This battle is not easy to fight...

With 40% of the ammunition consumed, each main gun had only 32 armor-piercing shells and 40 high-explosive shells left - although it was not impossible to continue fighting, the Allied forces had too many troops, and they could not afford to be besieged by batches of battleships in turn.

Another piece of news was that Bangtai's position had been confirmed, 47 kilometers behind him, and he was asking him if he could join him first. But Lütjens was worried...

According to the estimated track, the location of the Allied battleships of Warspite is about 43 kilometers south of him. And the most important thing is that although the Allied battleships can't do anything to him, they actually have three heavy cruisers around them that have not been deployed...

Although the heavy cruiser was no match for them, it was a great threat to Zeppelin, so Bonte had to evade it first. However, if they evaded it, the rendezvous point would have to be further north, and the distance from the Allied escort fleet would be further away - although temporarily breaking contact with the Allied fleet would also be a threat to them...

The current wind direction is northeast by east. If I continue to move forward, the Zeppelin will have to move forward with me - but the Indian subcontinent is ahead. And if I need to retreat, the Zeppelin retreating with the wind will not be able to take off and land fighters.

Although I don't know what that high-speed transport team in the farthest distance is, I think that transport team is the truly important thing...

Now that the distance to the high-speed transport convoy is so far, if we do not chase them now but take a detour, the Allied battleships with the advantage on the inside will definitely intercept us again - even if we can drag it out until night and then get rid of the Allied battleships, but in that case, we will have no idea where these transport ships have gone.

But if we chase them now...

Not to mention, although it was 700 kilometers away from India, only multi-engine heavy bombers could be used for air strikes. However... Cunningham's Indefatigable had at least two squadrons of Spitfire fighters. If the Spitfires from the escort carriers were gathered to escort the heavy bombers, it would be entirely possible for them to attack them - even sending heavy bombers to fight to the death, and then using their remaining attack aircraft and the escort carriers' fulmars to attack Zeppelin together, it was entirely possible.

“…We can’t go on like this…”

Bismarck turned his head and saw his own captain slumped in a chair, feeling helpless and sighing heavily.