Bismarck

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Berlin, Chancellery, Office of the Führer…

Hitler, who had been cursing until his mouth was dry, finally calmed down. He picked up the water cup on the table with his trembling hands and took a big sip of water. After taking two deep breaths, he looked at Reder, who had been standing for a long time with his briefcase under his arm. He was scolded by him but his expression remained unchanged and he even smiled. He felt a little sorry:

"… Sorry, I was a little emotional just now… So, my dear Admiral, what do you think the two guys, Britain and the United States, who are always looking for bargains, will do on the sea in the future?"

"That's an easy guess, my dear leader. They will definitely take advantage of this opportunity to fight back to the Suez Canal and then return to the Mediterranean." Raeder wiped his face with a handkerchief from his pocket, still with a businesslike smile on his face, and pulled out a document from his briefcase:

"...Speaking of which, although the Lütjens operation was unsuccessful this time, the losses it caused to the British were really not small...Although Latin American countries have now generally been 'forced' to follow Britain and the United States and declare war on the Axis system of us, the Italian allies and Japan, we can still obtain some intelligence on the development of their maritime shipbuilding forces, and then we can reversely infer their combat intentions and combat capabilities."

"Go on." Hitler, who had just calmed down, nodded, looking a little haggard...?

"Yes, my leader... Now, the British, whose national strength has been fully exposed, are still using their last shipbuilding capabilities to replenish their navy, which has suffered heavy losses. It is expected that their Lion-class battleships will be in service by the end of the year... The Americans over there are also vigorously building their shipbuilding capabilities based on the intelligence we have obtained. According to our estimates, they can build about 1600 million tons of merchant ships each year this year and next year, and launch about six large aircraft carriers before the end of next year..."

"However, it seems that the American navy and shipping capabilities still have to make the Pacific Ocean their top priority. Therefore, General Dönitz's submarine tonnage war - now it is 400,000 tons per month. General Dönitz promised that as long as he is supported, he can strive to sink 600,000 or even 700,000 tons per month - can still strangle Britain's throat..." As he read, Raeder's face gradually turned pale, and then gradually, it became paler and paler...

"Hmph, that's why I said we have to defeat the Soviet Union within two years, and then we can turn around and deal with these Jews on Wall Street. No matter how many aircraft carriers we have, can they reach the European continent?" Hitler waved his hand and snorted softly: "...but you have to repair the Hindenburg and Bremen class aircraft carriers as soon as possible. By then, it should be no problem to defend the coastline of the mainland, right?"

Perhaps Hitler, who was obsessed with defeating the Soviet Union, did not really understand what six aircraft carriers meant. However, Hitler did not notice that Raeder's face had begun to change color...

In fact, Raeder knew very well that the reason why Lütjens failed to intercept the convoy was because the enemy had too many ships. And with the terrifying shipbuilding speed of Britain and the United States... what would happen in the future...

If all four of Lütjens's shipgirls can lose, then the enemies in the future will be so strong...

After gritting his teeth, Redel made a decision in his heart...

"Führer, I have a bold idea for the navy's next plan - let Lütjens abandon Socotra Island and withdraw the fleet first to ensure our most critical North Atlantic battlefield."

"Hmm?" Hearing Redel's selfless suggestion, the man with the mustache was stunned for a moment.

However, Raeder ignored the suddenly confused Führer and said selflessly: "...If the situation in the Indian Ocean has become a fait accompli, there is no point in arguing...The British have now received supplies and reinforcements. With the combat effectiveness of their Italian allies and the terrain of the Suez Canal-Red Sea, Socotra Island is about to become an isolated force. Moreover, due to the limitations of the naval strength and transport ship tonnage of their Italian allies, their supplies were not sufficient..."

In front of the mustache who was basically a layman in the navy, Raeder fully demonstrated his ability as a Golden Horse Award winner. He spoke a series of reasons eloquently, which made the mustache stunned.

"…Now the battleships of our Arctic Fleet are undergoing major repairs, and General Dönitz's submarine production is still not very satisfactory, so I plan to bring all of our shipbuilding industries, whether large or small, under the industrial jurisdiction of Minister Speer. In particular, mass production of submarines will be prioritized. As for the battle fleet, if Lütjens returns home and uses his battle fleet to cover the submarines' commerce-breaking operations, he will definitely be able to achieve greater results... As for the possibility of the British reinforcing the Soviet Union through Iran after giving up the Indian Ocean... According to Iran's infrastructure, they first need two years to build roads to do so, so as long as you can let the army defeat the Soviet Union before the end of next year, there will be no worse consequences... And even if the Americans explode a large-scale naval fleet by the end of next year, the time for running-in and training will be enough for us to transfer the main force back from the Eastern Front..."

The principle is easy to understand, but looking at Redel who looked loyal to his country, the man with a mustache was really stunned.

Lütjens and Redl were at odds, and Redl had attacked Lütjens. He knew all these things. But this time, when the country was in crisis, Redl was able to put aside his personal grudges and serve the public wholeheartedly, which touched the little mustache. Even the corners of the little mustache's cloudy gray eyes were slightly moist...

After Redel finished reporting his views in one breath, he found that the man with a mustache had already begun to secretly wipe the corners of his eyes.

Redel: “…”

This is the literary youth.

The mustache man, who had discovered that he had been seen by Redel, began to change the subject in order to ease the embarrassment:

"…So, my dear Admiral, what do you think should be done about Lütjens?"

Raeder's eyes rolled, and then he continued to play nice, even though he was already in his sixties or seventies. "As for this problem... the British and American forces in the Indian Ocean are too strong... Although the campaign objectives were not achieved, and we had to give up cooperation with Japan in the Indian Ocean, he has done his best to achieve this. Besides, our country's resources are really limited, and it is not easy to train a naval admiral... Why not let him bring the fleet back to Brest and continue to serve as the commander of the Atlantic Fleet, so that he can make up for his crime and make meritorious contributions, and then we can see the effect... Führer, what do you think of this solution?"

"Okay, let's do it this way."

The little mustache, which was already a mess, was so moved by Raeder's dedication to the public, loyalty to the country, and "putting aside personal grudges to consider the overall situation" that he did not hear the hidden meaning of Raeder's words and nodded repeatedly in a happy mood.

Seeing that his leader was so moved by him, with a smile on his face and the aura of a moral role model, the warm smile on his face even healed the loyal patriot Reder with a mustache.

However, it seems that the Allied forces are so powerful that it would be better if the little mustache man defeated the Soviet Union. If he loses the war again this time, he will have to think about whether he should leave a way out for himself.

Chapter 640: Breakout

As the sun was setting on Socotra Island and the gentle southerly wind blew, the brutal air raid finally came to an end...

Although Bismarck, Tirpitz, Zeppelin and Eugen, as well as the anti-aircraft artillery positions on the shore, were desperately protecting the transport ships carrying fuel, ammunition and supplies, under the brutal air raid, four of the eleven transport ships were still sunk or seriously damaged. Of course, the materials piled up on the dock also suffered heavy losses.

Moreover, soon, fate perfectly explained what misfortunes never come alone...

As soon as the air raid was over, Lütjens, who was about to take a breath, received an urgent telegram from a signalman with a look of grief on his face:

"...The British have laid mines on a large scale in the Red Sea. An Italian transport convoy had just left the port of Suez when a destroyer and a transport ship were sunk... Shipping in the Red Sea has been forced to suspend, and the approximate scope and number of minefields laid by the British are still unknown... Damn it! We can't hold out for more than a few days like this."

In a rage, Lütjens threw the crumpled telegram to the ground.

No one can guarantee whether the British have already had an overall plan, intending to destroy supply ships through harassment, delay sailing, increase costs, and ultimately weaken logistics in order to trap themselves to death here, even though they would not be afraid on the frontal battlefield.

It seems that now is no longer a must to break through, but we must start preparing immediately and break through as soon as possible.

But who knows what will happen to Redel...

Looking at the mess in the Socotra Island Garrison, Lütjens walked back and forth twice with a gloomy face, finally gritted his teeth, and walked into his room with a stern face under Bismarck's worried gaze. When Bismarck was about to follow him in, Lütjens directly closed the door, even locking his own ship cat outside.

When the door was closed, the Persian cat, whose nose was almost hit by the door, heard his captain mumbling behind the door:

"We can't let everyone be trapped here and die. The worst that can happen is that we'll be charged with abandonment..."

Seeing his captain in such a state, Bismarck was so anxious that he dared not leave. In this way, Bismarck waited outside Lütjens' room for several hours...

It was not until the late night when the moon was setting that Lütjens, still with a gloomy face, opened the door. As soon as he opened the door, he directly stuffed a stack of papers filled with manuscripts to Bismarck, who had just opened his mouth but had not had time to speak...

"Go, go to the printing room in person, and use the highest level of confidentiality requirements... No, you personally watch them and use the highest level of code to send this to Berlin immediately. Also, call them over as well, and we'll wait for news together."

Looking at the captain's serious face, Bismarck did not dare to neglect him and hurried into the telegraph room. He personally watched the cipher operator open the key wheel and instruction manual locked in the safe, took out the new highest-level cipher machine that was never used on weekdays and could only be used in emergencies, and sent the report to Berlin, who did not know how to give orders.

However, no one expected...

Less than half an hour after the report was sent, a call back came. Looking at this short call with only one sentence, or in other words, an order, Lütjens, Bonte, Lindemann, Top, Bismarck, and Zeppelin stared at each other in disbelief.

"…Agree to the Eastern Expeditionary Fleet's breakout from Socotra Island. Lütjens will arrange the breakout time and specific route. I wish the breakout a success. Approved by: Erich Raeder… What the hell is this?"

Lindemann scratched his head and looked at the telegram in his hand, thinking about the things that happened to him from the Admiralty prison to the troubles he had suffered along the way. If he could not feel the pain when pinching himself, Lindemann would have really doubted whether he was dreaming.

"Yeah... When did Redel become so kind..." As a "cellmate" who was bullied together in the Admiralty Prison, Bontai was also a little surprised.

"But... this means that the higher-ups have agreed to our breakout, so can't we prepare to breakout?"

Top innocently expressed neutrality...

But speaking of it, this is unexpectedly good news.

Lütjens, who had been awakened by Tizi's "interruption" during the previous meeting, had originally intended to break out. Now that everyone was in agreement, he made up his mind: "Since even Redl has agreed to break out, then it's settled. While everyone is here, let's continue the meeting that was not completed before the bombing. Let's go to the conference room and discuss how to prepare for the breakout."

"Okay. Let's go and drive back."

After hearing what Lütjens said, Lindemann was the first to agree. Bonte, Top, Bismarck, and Zeppelin looked at each other and nodded.

After all, you, Redel, have agreed to break out, so our preparation for a breakout won't be considered deserting the battlefield, right?

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With the assignment of tasks, the breakout operation at the Socotra Island Garrison was carried out in a unified manner and quickly became intense but orderly.

In order to keep the operation secret, the breakout plan was kept as confidential as possible. Although anyone could see that the German fleet on Socotra Island had only one way to go, the specific time of the breakout, the specific sea area for the supply ships to operate, the supply plan and the breakout route were kept secret for as long as possible. Apart from other things, the secrecy of the breakout time alone could at least buy more than half a day...

In order to keep it secret, the German officers and soldiers on Socotra Island also began to more actively clean up possible spies or possible Allied special forces that were monitoring the garrison. In order to capture possible spies and special forces more efficiently, Lindemann even watched his hamsters in his nest every day to conduct radio monitoring and orientation, while Top took Eugen with him, personally led the garrison troops, and dragged the military dogs to search back and forth on the island - several local spies left by the British were also nowhere to hide in the electronic orientation of Grapes. Even with the cooperation of Grapes' electronic orientation and Eugen's ship girl vision, several hidden bases of British and American special forces were actually searched out.

The Suez Canal was abandoned only half a year ago. At that time, Socotra was a naval port for the British, so there must be many people who favor the British. However, the German troops stationed on Socotra were mainly Lütjens' fleet and some air force long-range fighter units, and there were no professional Gestapo and SS personnel. Moreover, even if there were counterintelligence experts, with the locals' unique islanders' special language, as long as the translator deliberately refused to cooperate, no matter how powerful the counterintelligence experts were, they would not be able to find even one undercover in the awkward conversation where they could not even understand what was said.

But now, unless these spies are well hidden, as soon as they turn on the radio, German soldiers will come to check the water meter. Although the special forces lurking on the island are elite soldiers picked from hundreds of thousands and have received special and strict training, they are nowhere to be found under Eugen's ship girl vision and the tracking ability of the military dogs.

The British people's eyes and ears were suddenly deaf.

Compared with the failure of hearing and eyes, although the British air raids would come every now and then, the officers and soldiers who had been organized, under the air cover of the BF-110s commanded by Zeppelin, were not afraid of this challenge - the nearest British airport in Aden was more than 110 kilometers away from Socotra Island. Those BF- fighters that could not board ships and had no way to evacuate by air, relied on their sturdy fuselage, powerful firepower, and flight performance that could fully suppress the bombers coming from afar, and it was really easy to kill the bombers.

Not to mention Socotra Island, even in the closer Italian Somaliland, under the suppression of the revived Middle East-North Africa Theater Air Force, these BF-110 aircraft could not turn around and fly back. It would be better to leave it like this, and make good use of the remaining heat in their last moments.

Besides, even if they were lucky enough to break through the air defense commanded by Zeppelin himself, the three Evil Spirit-class warships of the Socotra Island Garrison on the sea were always maintaining at least one patrol alert, and the other two had their boilers kept running, ready to fight at any time.

At least compared to the 4,000 tons of aviation gasoline, even though the ship's diesel and heavy oil had just been bombed, there were still nearly 30,000 tons.

With air defense relatively guaranteed, the remaining transport ships approached the side of Bismarck, Tirpitz and Prince Eugen, and the cranes and temporary gangplanks were filled with sailors who lined up in long queues and kept transferring supplies. The German officers and soldiers also requisitioned the locals' oxcarts and carts to transport the goods in the cave warehouse behind the Socotra Island Garrison. The few remaining supplies in the cave were transported to the dock in batches and then transferred to the transport ships by small boats - especially the auxiliary cruisers that could drive at more than 16 knots, and the large American tanker that Eugen had seized off the coast of Mogadishu, which had a maximum speed of 17 knots and a full load displacement of more than 10,000 tons.

This breakout was unusual. Considering that the Red Sea route was no longer safe and the Allies might counterattack North Africa and the Suez Canal at any time, they had to take a long, long detour, bypassing the African continent and the British and American island bases in Madagascar to break out. Even though the Bismarck and her crew had a range of 9300 nautical miles/sixteen knots, and even the Eugen with a slightly weaker range had a range of 6500 nautical miles/seventeen knots, they were facing a breakout of at least 25000 kilometers, and they also had to consider combat reserve fuel. This range was definitely just a drop in the bucket, and not even a quarter might be enough.

In addition to the initial breakout plan, Lütjens also developed a backup plan.

In case the intensity of the British search at the Cape of Good Hope is not enough to guarantee the safety of the disguised attack ship, it may have to plan to go to the Pacific Ocean. Even if it is delayed for a long time and the voyage reaches more than 40,000 kilometers, it is likely to give the Allies more time to withdraw troops and organize deployment in the most critical North Atlantic to intercept itself. It also has to seize a few more Allied merchant ships to gather enough fuel for the return trip as a backup plan.

Moreover, due to the unclear time of the fleet and the supply ship's rendezvous, as well as the intensity of the Allied forces' possible search, in order to maximize the combat capability of the fighters, Zeppelin, in addition to commanding air defense, the most important thing was to use his abilities while commanding the sailors to desperately clean their oil tanks with fire hoses. Then he spent several days scraping clean several cabins that were originally loaded with diesel, and then used his own abilities to purify them again, and finally changed all these tanks that were originally loaded with diesel to tanks loaded with aviation gasoline.

After all, ammunition can be used economically and fuel can be robbed from Allied merchant ships, but the safety of placing high-grade aviation gasoline, which directly determines the combat effectiveness of carrier-based aircraft, on supply ships is really not something that can be trusted.

Without air supremacy, there is no sea supremacy. And without aviation gasoline, how can we guarantee air supremacy?

According to Zeppelin himself, even if the ship's fuel was reduced by a full one-third, if Bismarck and Tirpitz were to provide her with supplies, she would not be short of water for the fighters she carried. (PS: This is impossible in reality, but the ship's ability is...)

In the end, there was still some gasoline that could not be stored. Zeppelin was reluctant to use these "drinks for his planes" so he decided to go all out and stuffed the gasoline barrels directly into the ammunition depot.

Although the gasoline was not much, only a few dozen barrels, which was only enough for two patrols, it was a drop in the bucket compared to this amount. Zeppelin's move of gasoline barrels into the ammunition depot was definitely a violation of safety regulations.

As a strict German war navy, and also out of concern for her, Lütjens, Bonte, and Bismarck naturally came together to persuade her to give up these barrels of gasoline. Why lose the big picture for the small one? But... Zeppelin refused to let go, and even if it violated the safety principle, he strongly demanded that these last few barrels of gasoline be moved into his ammunition depot.

Because we are poor, even the smallest mosquito is still meat.

As for the gasoline explosion or something...

Zeppelin patted her chest and said that as a ship girl, she personally supervised her own ammunition depot, and turned on the air conditioner and ventilator at full power to prevent the temperature from being too high. If she could still explode in the ammunition depot with the safest defense, then she would have no choice but to give up.

Anyway, when setting sail, especially when covering the evacuation of supply ships at the beginning of the breakout, a large number of aircraft must be arranged to patrol in turns to drive away possible British long-range reconnaissance aircraft and long-range bombers. Under that kind of patrol plan, these gasoline barrels can only be patrolled twice at most.

As a result, Bismarck even teased her, saying that your boyfriend has no boyfriend, and is not married yet, but she already knows to store food for her "children" - maternal love is so strong, isn't she worthy of being an aircraft "carrier"?

Then the consequence of Bismarck's dirty trick was that the 150,000 horsepower Persian cat was stepped on hard by the embarrassed and angry Zeppelin at the full power of 200,000 horsepower.

It hurts QAQ...

Chapter 641: The Long March Begins

"...Those transport ships have already entered the Helmots Strait today at noon...Speaking of which, your counterattack is about to begin, right?"

"Yes... All preparations have been made. We are just waiting for your transport team to arrive at the port of Basra, and then use the oil pipeline to transport the aviation gasoline to major airports. Then we can start the operation... Speaking of which, we really have to thank your navy for the supplies this time. It's just... a pity that General Summerville is no longer here..."

"Forget it. A clay pot will break if it is not near a well. A general is bound to die in battle... Everyone is mortal since ancient times. But in just a few days, it will be up to you to avenge Summerville."

"…Hey, we've actually already started. The Royal Air Force has laid mines along the entire Red Sea route, and we've basically never stopped bombing and harassing Socotra Island—but I have to remind you that although Lütjens's logistics are expected to suffer heavy losses, if I were in his position, I'd probably be preparing to break out now. ..."

“…Really? I’m really sorry, because I thought the same thing. Hehehe~~”

………………

Time flies, and it is another peaceful afternoon...

On the afternoon after a thunderstorm, in a seemingly normal country estate near Mumbai, the largest port in British India, layer upon layer of guards, armed to the teeth, were leading alert military dogs, standing on guard as if they were facing a great enemy, to the point of being a little neurotic.

In the living room of this manor, five people, four men and one woman, dressed in the uniforms of senior British officers, were sitting on several armchairs in a circle around a large table, drinking afternoon tea leisurely while discussing the current situation on the battlefield.

Among these five officers, except for the tough-looking female soldier in the heroic Royal Navy uniform, whose rank was not very high, the remaining four male soldiers wore uniforms of the navy, army and air force, but their ranks were two marshals and two admirals. There were so many of them together. The stars on the shoulder straps, even this reception room was dyed with a few strands of golden yellow, symbolizing the glory of soldiers.

Marshal Claude Auchinleck, the Commander-in-Chief of the British Empire's Middle East-India Joint Theater and the Governor-General of India. Admiral Andrew Cunningham, the First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy, Air Marshal Arthur Tedder, the Commander of the British Middle East Theater Air Force, and Admiral Bruce Fraser, the Commander of the Allied Indian Ocean Theater and the new Commander of the Royal Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet.

When they gathered together to drink afternoon tea and chat, the topic of conversation naturally had to do with the fate of soldiers. In particular, the old rival on the Socotra Island across the sea that gave them all a headache...

and…

Although the convoy had safely reached the Persian Gulf, it was at a heavy price. In particular, Somerville, who sank with his ship to cover the escape of friendly forces, was the first admiral to die in the Royal Navy in nearly 140 years since Admiral Nelson was killed in the Battle of Trafalgar.

It has been less than a week since Somerville's heroic death.

Although a counterattack was imminent, everyone was actually holding a grudge.

"...They should be taking action soon. The Germans' hunt on the island has been extremely crazy recently. The SAS and the spies are most likely being hunted now... Just a joke, their movements now depend on Ted's bomber." As Auchinleck spoke, he calmly drank a cup of black tea.

"Yes, but they should be breaking out now..." Cunningham beside him also looked relaxed, and even shrugged his shoulders, looking at Admiral Fraser beside him with a smile: "Speaking of which, Fraser, after I go back, the situation in the Indian Ocean will be handed over to you..."

"Don't worry, I'm ready." Admiral Fraser nodded. Although it was a tea party, he was still like a real British gentleman, old-fashioned but serious, saying: "... The blockade plan has been deployed. Although we and the US fleet suffered heavy losses in Operation Support, many warships are still able to fight again. ... In addition to the forces that can be dispatched from the West African Islands base, I can at least dispatch two high-speed battleships, three low-speed battleships, three heavy cruisers, four anti-aircraft light cruisers, four escort aircraft carriers, and some destroyers, submarines and auxiliary cruisers... to form a search team."

"As long as they dare to break through, I don't know if we can defeat the evil spirits under Lütjens, but we will have no problem dealing with their transport ships. And even if they are evil spirits, as long as they break through, the fuel and ammunition will be burned one ton less... Even if my Royal Navy cannot defeat them once or twice, as long as we fight every time we see the enemy, they will eventually be exhausted by us..."

Listening to Fraser's upright and serious report, Auchinleck, Cunningham, Ted and the female secretary Bailey looked at each other, and they all felt like laughing but didn't dare to. However, no one had any ill will. After all, everyone knew that Admiral Bruce Fraser was such a person, a person who was upright, serious, stubborn, and would speak his mind without playing political tricks or scheming.

Fraser's qualifications were not much lower than Tovey, Cunningham and Somerville, but his character was not well-received by politicians and civil society in peacetime, so his career was quite bumpy. He stumbled up to this position, relying mainly on his professional qualities as an artillery expert, solid resume and dedication.

But, for real soldiers, people like Fraser are the most reliable companions and comrades on the battlefield.

Although there were ambiguous kind smiles on their faces, the looks that Auchinleck and Cunningham gave Fraser were ones of reassurance.

"Since you said there's no problem, then I guess there really is no problem." Cunningham forked a piece of meat from a salted fish that was looking up at the stars on the plate and put it directly into his mouth. While chewing the salted fish meat, he said: "...Looking at how intensively they are searching, I guess they can break out in the next two days...I have to go back to London tonight to take charge of the work of the Admiralty again, so the Indian Ocean side will be handed over to you."

"Yes! I will definitely live up to your trust!"

Although they were old friends and this was not a formal occasion, when he heard the mission, the upright and serious old soldier still saluted Cunningham seriously, even at the afternoon tea table.

Fraser, with his serious military discipline like an old soldier, and Cunningham, with his playful face and chewing salted fish, make for an interesting contrast.