Bismarck

"Yes! Tizi has made great progress these days, and I am no longer at the same level as in the Icelandic naval battle! As long as Warspite is not here, Tizi and I can take on two ordinary battleships at once as long as we can keep a distance!"

Lütjens sneered and looked at the sea chart: "Their ships are now on the right wing, and as long as they don't find our position, they will never dare to move back to the left wing. In this way, their four battleships of Somerville on the left wing are isolated, which is a good opportunity for battle! And..." Lütjens raised his eyebrows and clapped his fist against his palm: "As long as we hurt Somerville, their remaining battleships will definitely come to reinforce! In this way, Eugen can take advantage of the opportunity to fish in troubled waters."

Talking about the previous events, Bismarck smiled knowingly - with the speed of himself and his sisters, how could they collide with the seven old American battleships after breaking contact? Wasn't it just to attract the attention of the Allied battleships so that Eugen could sneak away with Zeppelin's body and fish in troubled waters!

According to the plan, Eugen should have already circled to the left front of the Allied escort fleet - under the cover of darkness, coupled with the clumsy and slow speed of the British battleships and the British light warships that have become frightened birds, plus Zeppelin is flying a fighter plane in the sky and observing the enemy's every move!

Even if the Allies found out that they had lost two ships, they would not be able to protect their transport team from the night attack under the direct control of themselves and Tizi! They might have to continue to disperse their forces, which would make them more restricted!

Come to think of it, why do I always feel that this move of my captain is similar to the way of using troops that I heard about in my "previous life" from a librarian who is still struggling hard and being self-reliant in a poor mountain valley?

Thinking of this, the Persian cat's ears swayed slightly, and it moved closer to its captain: "Captain, is this the true meaning of the legendary guerrilla warfare? When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy stays, we harass; when the enemy is tired, we attack; when the enemy retreats, we chase; then, we drag the fat ones down and the thin ones collapse; mushroom tactics or something...?"

"?" Hearing what his secretary cat said, Lütjens was stunned: "...When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy stays, we harass; when the enemy is tired, we attack; when the enemy retreats, we pursue; we drag the fat ones to become thin, and drag the thin ones to death... This is such a brilliant statement! Where did you hear this from?"

The Persian cat who was asked suddenly realized that he had probably let the cat out of the bag.

She was a little confused, her eyes rolled to the side, she clasped her two paws together and gently put her fingers together, and began to speak in a panic: "Um... this... I saw this on the book list of a library administrator..."

"What book? I'll take a look too! This is a very insightful way to use troops!" Lütjens had decided to get to the bottom of it. He didn't believe that such insightful guerrilla warfare quotations could be said by his silly cat who was always acting cute.

Although, that’s not what she said…

At the same time, in a poor mountain valley of a certain eastern country, a group of "rabbits" who had just dispersed after a meeting that lasted until the middle of the night were eating a midnight snack of reheated sweet potato porridge in the cold northwest mountain valley.

In a corner of the crowd eating supper, a tall man with a nonchalant expression squatting on a bench and drinking sweet potato porridge came over to a handsome middle-aged man:

"Old Li, the land reclamation is going very well this time. If it continues like this, we will be able to solve some problems ourselves."

The tall man who was chewing sweet potato porridge raised his head indifferently, his Hunan accent was a little unclear because of the sweet potato porridge in his mouth:

"That's right. As long as there are fewer problems, the problem is actually very simple, don't you think so, Old Hu... Ah——A-choo!!!"

Halfway through the conversation, for no apparent reason, Lao Li suddenly sneezed, and Lao Hu opposite him was immediately hit all over the head and face by the evil breath.

"…Um, sorry Lao Hu, I didn't mean it. I didn't know who was thinking about me just now…"

"Forget it, it's okay..." After wiping his face, Lao Hu went downstairs to wash his face with a depressed look.

That look was so embarrassing!

Chapter 632: Acting cute and not apologizing

"They ran away again?"

"Yes, they ran away. They ran away in the southeast direction... Come to think of it, these German ship crews can really run!"

The two had a conversation.

Looking at the light reply from Major General Giffen, Cunningham felt a little aggrieved. In addition to feeling aggrieved, he also felt inexplicably like he was ambushed with a sunshade and a plaster flag!

This damn Lütjens, why did he learn from the 18th National Army when there are so many other people to learn from...

After calculating his own position, Cunningham became even more depressed: the high-speed escort team was forty kilometers away from him, which was fine, but the slow escort team was nearly ninety kilometers away from him!

and……

"Who can tell me where these German ship crews will run next?!"

Looking at the chaotic battlefield, Cunningham felt a little helpless.

Although we have an absolute advantage in terms of manpower, our speed and range are not as good as our opponents...

It’s true, you can beat them but you can’t catch up with them.

Moreover, the other side is actually waging a guerrilla war against me... Wait! Guerrilla war? !

Cunningham's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately had Warspite send a light signal to the American fleet:

"General Giffen, in the two battles you just fought, did you notice how many German ships were on the opposite side? In particular, did you see the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen?"

Giffen saw Cunningham's light signal and immediately thought of this possibility! He immediately called his radar soldiers and fire control observers, and after a careful questioning, he quickly sent back a terrifying reply: "In the first battle at nine o'clock, the other side seemed to have a third ship, but it did not participate in the battle. And in the second battle just now, only two battleships were seen..."

Seeing this reply, Cunningham and War-weary's faces darkened:

“…They must have dispersed! Maybe the second exchange of fire was deliberately to cover Eugen’s escape from the battlefield!” War-weary said angrily while staring at the nautical chart and clenching his fists tightly.

"But we don't know which direction they will turn..." Cunningham wiped his face in frustration. "There are only four battleships in Somerville, and the Warrior's range is over 30,000 yards. But we can't rule out the possibility that they will come from our south... Forget it, let Giffen go to Somerville, and we will search to the south."

After hearing what his admiral said, War-weary rushed to the chart table and started to calculate: "...Although they are faster than us, they are on the outside and have to go a longer way to circumvent our interception! Given their position, it will take at least an hour and a half to get out of our maximum search range. In that case, they will have to wait at least three or four hours before launching a second attack - by that time it will be at least two o'clock in the morning, and they will not have enough time!"

"That's why I want Giffen to get closer to Somerville. If the Germans didn't take the detour to the south, they would definitely go to Somerville!" Cunningham said with certainty. But after saying this, his face fell and his head drooped, and he turned from Akainu to Aokiji: "The problem is that we are just guessing now... But if we have to search the south, if we want to reinforce Somerville, we have to take a big detour and bypass the escort team to get there..."

"Humph, I'm afraid it's not that simple!" War-weary curled his lips, threw away his pencil and stood up: "Now we can't be completely sure of their next plan, especially since Eugen has disappeared for half an hour now. God knows where she went! I think, when Giffen rushes over, let him withdraw some battleships and directly join the high-speed escort team's covering formation. Then let them keep pace with Somerville's formation, shorten the distance, and ensure that they can reinforce each other!"

Cunningham thought about it and nodded.

On the battleship Tirpitz that was following the Bismarck closely, Lindemann, sitting on the fire control director, felt the pink-haired hamster leaning on his back and occasionally rubbing against him like a spoiled child. He then touched the hamster's forehead, which was still a little blue, and pursed his lips helplessly.

Looking at the little hamster acting cute and spoiled now, if it weren't for the bruised forehead from the fall that still hurts when touched, I would have really thought that the furious Tirpitz at noon was an illusion.

Although now that he thinks about it, he can understand the hamster's anger of wanting to avenge his sister...

After Bismarck resumed its bombardment, Grape, knowing that he had done something wrong, began to lower his head and carefully correct his bombardment. He carefully monitored the radio communications of the British on the opposite side, diligently carried out electronic interference, and conscientiously carried out wireless positioning... Grape was so well-behaved that I felt a little uncomfortable with him.

Moreover, in addition to this, this hamster actually knew to plead with the back of my clothes and act like a spoiled child... She even knew to get close to me and rub her shoulders against me...

Not to mention that she was in the command room in public, just with her 50,000-ton weight and pitiful appearance, she was almost injured internally by the hamster!

Lindemann wanted to laugh at the thought of a battleship twisting and turning like that.

Is this battleship of ours a hamster or a husky?

Moreover, all of this happened for just one reason: this girl was too embarrassed to come and admit her mistake and apologize to him!

After that incident, Bismarck told me on the radio that I must make this girl apologize to me. But this hamster...

Well, at least this girl performed very well in actual actions - the artillery correction was very precise, the wireless monitoring was very timely, the radio station positioning was very accurate, and she was obedient and acted cute, but... she just didn't want to apologize!

Although such an obedient grape made him feel like forgiving her, it was over and done with, and it was not like he couldn’t understand why she did it for her sister… As he was thinking, Lindman, whose thoughts had already begun to drift, suddenly realized that something seemed to be wrong… Wait! ?

I remembered it! I remembered why it was wrong!! What the hell is this obedient, coquettish and cute thing? !

Why do I always feel that if I lose control, my sister will take me to the military police...

Lindeman suddenly felt a big drop of cold sweat on his head. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt that the blue-black navy hat on his head seemed to have changed color...

Although I only said that I forgave her for falling and leaving the team, but why... whenever I talk about forgiveness, I always feel like even the color of my hat changes!!

Lindeman always felt that his thoughts were a bit like the Spartan comics...

However, as I was thinking, I was interrupted by the feeling on my back.

It seems that the little hamster just arched twice again...?

"What?" Lindman turned around and asked.

"...Hey, Lindemann, I...I think I just received their communication..."

Seeing Lindeman looking back at him, the pink-haired hamster, who had been acting coquettishly before, immediately stopped. He placed his hands on his knees, sat upright like a lady, then shrank his neck pitifully, raised his head, looked at Lindeman pitifully with a flattering look, and said softly and obediently: "... They seem to be arranging a few battleships to follow that high-speed convoy. War-weary said they would search in the south, and then let the Americans go to Somerville... It was sent in code, but I was still able to decipher it... Hey, Lindeman... I'm so obedient and cooperative... Can you tell your sister that I've already apologized publicly?... If I really have to apologize publicly, I'll be very embarrassed..."

As she spoke, her eyes began to look at Lindemann with tears in them again, and her hands began to pull at the corners of her clothes again. She seemed to bend her body a little closer, bringing her pink hair closer to Lindemann.

Looking at such a shameless grape, Lindman felt that not only his hat was a little tinged with color, cold sweat appeared on his head, but also goose bumps appeared on his back.

There's something wrong with his battleship!

“…Okay, okay, I promise you, remember to follow my orders when the fight starts…” Lindman, with goosebumps all over his body, quickly shook his hands and agreed to it.

Although... it seems that I never thought of blaming her from the beginning...

Before Lindman could react, a 50,000-ton pink shadow pounced on him...

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! I knew Lindemann was the best to me!~" (Baji~Plop!) "Eh? Captain (Lindemann)! Are you okay?!"

Seeing Lindeman, who was knocked to the ground by the 50,000-ton hamster and whose eyes were spinning, and who was still unable to get up, a group of people including a hamster surrounded Lindeman on the ground.

Now... it seems... that we need to call the medical team...

The culprit was at a loss, his teeth were chattering, and he curled up to one side tremblingly...

I can only see if I can escape this scolding by behaving a little better...

........................

The night in the Indian Ocean was unusually deep, and the wall clock showed that a quarter had passed since eleven o'clock in the evening. Even the crescent-shaped moon had already slanted to the edge of the sea horizon.

As the moonlight set in the west, the sea surface gradually became darker, appearing even more dangerous and strange in the fog of the battlefield!

Cunningham and Warspite searched the south with North Carolina, Washington, and three heavy cruisers for more than half an hour, but found nothing. In desperation, they had to turn back to the escort fleet.

"…This is trouble! They must have moved to the north."

Cunningham felt that his head was overwhelmed.

Although, with War-Spray leading the way, he could actually squeeze through the gap between the high-speed escort team and the slow escort team, and directly "jump" from the right wing to the left wing of the entire escort fleet.

However, up to now, we have not received any enemy intelligence reports...

According to the report received earlier, Giffen, who was originally on the battleship Tennessee, has joined the high-speed escort team with four standard-class battleships. The remaining three BIG SEVEN-class Colorado-class ships have also joined Somerville's fleet. The two battleship formations opened up a distance of 25 kilometers, one on the left and one on the right, like two door gods, sailing side by side in front of the high-speed escort team.

美国标准型战列舰里，两艘田纳西级是356/45倍的主炮，而两艘加利福尼亚级则是356/50倍的主炮，最大射程分别为32公里和33.7公里。而科罗拉多级的406/45主炮的最大射程也是32公里。虽然使用强装药可以更远一些，但是打到35公里也已经非常勉强。

And the most important thing is that the strong charge burns the gun barrel very badly! And the gun barrel had already been burned once before at noon! This means that the shooting accuracy of the current warships and artillery has dropped a lot compared to before!

Looking at the convoy on the radar screen, which was only 20 kilometers away from him, Cunningham calmed down and could only say to War-weary: "... Forget it, let's get in between the two convoys and ensure the safety of the left wing first, and then find a way to drag it out tonight..."

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by another "report":

"Report to the Marshal! The Americans report! Their three Colorado-class battleships have engaged the enemy!... Bismarck and Tirpitz are right in front of the entire fleet! Thirty-four kilometers away from the American fleet, our fleet is at a disadvantage!!... General Somerville has already led the fleet to reinforce!..."

Bad? Why bad again? Is it because of the slow speed? !

There was no time to think about this question, so he quickly swiped on the chart table. After the position was marked, Cunningham and War-weary looked at each other and saw that the other's face was bitter...

Cunningham looked at the clock. It was eleven twenty at night! Over there, War-weary, who had already marked the situation, spoke:

"It's already marked!... But I have to say, now that their powerful charges have almost all been fired once, and now that their gun barrels have been burned, they are definitely no match for the evil spirits in a long-range artillery battle - now only my main body and the two North Carolina-class ships following behind us have the range to fight against the German ships!"

"...Giffen is to our east, and Somerville is to our northeast by east - if we bypass the gap in the convoy, we will definitely not have enough time - War-weary, turn due east! We are going to support Somerville! Also, send a telegram to Giffen and tell him that Prince Eugen will definitely launch a surprise attack on the convoy! Now the safety of the two convoys depends entirely on his four ships!!" Cunningham pondered for a moment, and naturally gave the order to fight.

"Yes!" War-weary stood at attention and saluted, agreeing. Soon, the six warships of Cunningham's fleet drew a long arc on the dark surface of the Indian Ocean. Although... both Cunningham and War-weary always felt that at this distance... it was difficult to put out a fire nearby...

On the other hand, Somerville, 25 kilometers north of the three Colorado-class ships, discovered that the German ships were in a T-advantage position compared to the Americans, but they were in a T-disadvantage position further north...

Chapter 633: I'll be the last one

The night is getting darker, but Somerville's eyes are getting hotter and hotter!

The three battleships sent by Rear Admiral Giffen were just 45 kilometers to the south and slightly west of him, and the radar had already maintained contact with them. Through the IFF radar display screen and the night operation lights that only illuminated the chart table and did not let the light leak out of the portholes, his staff had already made various marks on the chart. Somerville saw that the three Colorado-class battleships were maintaining a course of about degrees northeast, as if they were trying their best to shorten the distance between them and the German ships and crews, and at the same time, they could reunite with their fleet as soon as possible!

Although, up to now, his radar has not illuminated the damn Lütjens. As for the approximate location of the German fleet, he can only know the approximate direction of the Germans through the radio communications sent by the Americans, which is to the west of the three Colorado-class ships, about 33 kilometers away from the American battleship fleet.

This hazy feeling of not being able to grasp anything is really annoying!

He looked up and out the porthole. To his south and southeast, flashes of light would occasionally appear on the sea and sky in the dark night, and after a while, he could still hear a faint rumbling sound. Reflected by the not-so-thin clouds in the dark sky, it was so bright and brilliant even dozens of kilometers away. And the faint traces of light that tore through the clouds and hit the earth like meteors were like thunders tearing through the darkness!

The peak showdown between the great warships is the most beautiful and magnificent scene on the ocean in this era!

Although, in the hearts of Somerville and the Allied sailors who knew the situation, each of them had an anxious look in their eyes!

Although the three American battleships are all BIG 7 level warships equipped with 406 main guns, the old guns of the World War I level, even if the shells are replaced, the power of the shells will not be much stronger than SKC34/380! Not to mention, the Germans also have evil spirits!

Three old men fighting two evil spirits, and the distance between the German warships and the old American warships is still more than 30 kilometers! It would be a miracle if they could win!

Now, we can only hope to find the enemy's exact location as soon as possible...

But soon, the excited voice of the radar soldier sounded in the command room...

"German fleet spotted! 75 degrees to the port southeast of my fleet! ... The enemy fleet is heading due north! Speed ​​33.5 knots! Distance 33.86 yards (1100 kilometers)! Distance change rate is about yards/minute!"

The radar soldier's report was transmitted word for word to Somerville, who was listening with all his might, not wanting to miss any move of the German fleet.

It’s just that... the radar soldier’s excitement sounded abnormal to Somerville’s ears!

The distance was within the radar field of view, so the German ship crew should have discovered him earlier, right? But...

"Radar man, are you sure we're not being jammed? And they're not turning?"

"Report to the General, no! I am sure we are not disturbed, and they are still sailing in a straight line! General."

After hearing the radar soldier's report, Somerville nodded silently, but his doubts became even greater.