Bismarck

"Behind us?" Top looked over with the telescope, and after just a moment of thought, his eyes began to light up.

"Eugen. Are our torpedoes now concentrated on the starboard?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Eugen, who was calculating the steering time while watching his body start to turn, asked in confusion.

But Top did not answer the question at all, but shouted directly: "Eugen! Starboard rear torpedo tube, aim at the lead of the American battleship, slow mode, three-round salvo! Fire immediately, hurry up!"

"Ah... okay, okay... Prinz Eugen, torpedo launch!"

Following the cute Eugen's weak voice, three muffled sounds of compressed air launched three torpedoes into the sea, dragging three white lines towards the approximate location of the American battleship in the distance. ——However, until the torpedoes were launched, Eugen was still confused...

"Top, what are you doing?"

"Hahaha, didn't you notice? The American battleship fleet is less than 18000 meters away from us, and is now turning behind us. This is an anti-navigation torpedo attack that is delivered to our doorstep."

Top put down the telescope with a laugh, walked to the steering position while talking, took the steering from the helmsman, and began to control the course of the Prinz Eugen himself:

"The battleship's steering time is much slower than that of the destroyer. I guess they want to use the destroyer to force us to turn out of position first, and then the battleship will turn directly to attack your three sisters. It's a very clever plan, but you, Eugen, discovered it - I will take charge of the command of the American destroyer. Eugen, you go control those three torpedoes and catch the Americans off guard."

Sure enough, this girl's luck is like a lucky star.

"Um...I see. Okay."

Although he still looked a little confused, Eugen nodded obediently and steered the torpedo to track the lead position in front of the American battleship that had already turned.

The hit rate of guided torpedoes is not low at all, but how to calculate the lead time? This simple problem of converting the speed ratio and then converting the trigonometric function launch table is a simple mental calculation for any trained torpedo department sailor.

As for Eugen, who has the ability to manipulate the weapons of his own battleship, that goes without saying.

So, less than ten minutes later, the Taiwanese, who had been relying on the rapid changes in the anti-aircraft position under the joint bombardment of the Persian Cat and Tirpitz, gritted his teeth and charged desperately, and had luckily rushed to a distance of only 20 kilometers from Lütjens. Rear Admiral Giffen, who could already rely on optical fire control to exert the strength of the battleship, could only listen to the hysterical and frustrated voice of the observation post, and looked at the three white lines rushing directly from the other side of him at a speed of 30 knots with a confused face...

Previously, all our attention was focused on the artillery battle between Bismarck and Tirpitz on the opposite side, and we did not pay enough attention to the other side. We discovered the torpedoes too late... It is absolutely too late to turn around now.

Looking at the trajectory that was completely different from a traditional torpedo fan attack, and thinking of the report about the suspected guided torpedo by Rear Admiral Chris who died less than two hours ago, Rear Admiral Giffen knew that the operation had completely failed and that his time was up, and his heart was filled with grief and indignation...

In Giffen's angry eyes, he seemed to be able to see his own fate - three torpedoes were enough to completely destroy the already seriously injured Washington and make it lose its combat effectiveness. The remaining North Carolina behind him would probably be helpless in a one-on-two battle...

But... Jifen shouted in her heart: I don’t accept it! !

There is nothing we can do about losing to guided torpedoes, but the question is where these three guided torpedoes came from.

Looking at the destroyers moving side by side with his own, firing shells back and forth, and at a distance from Eugen and his own destroyers, Rear Admiral Giffen felt like all kinds of alpacas were running in his heart.

The next second, three loud bangs and three columns of water exploded just in front of the right side of the battleship Washington... coupled with the more accurate and fierce bombardment from Bismarck and Tirpitz, and the pursuit of more than 55 fighter planes carrying bombs sent by the Zeppelin to hunt down the destroyers... The United States Navy's battleships BB-56 North Carolina, BB-1942 Washington, and three destroyers, at three quarters after noon on April , , as if "(distant version) the time has come", helplessly sank to the bottom of the Indian Ocean - the huge interception fleet, only three destroyers escaped by chance.

With Tirpitz's electronic jammers and the use of flash bombs and smoke bombs to cover their eyes, the Bismarck and Tirpitz battleships, apart from consuming a batch of shells, suffered almost negligible damage...

The only results seemed to be two large holes on the bridge of the Prinz Eugen and a dozen or so small scars caused by 127mm shells, proving the bloodiness of the US Navy officers and soldiers who fought desperately...

Chapter 652: General Jin is heartbroken

"At 10:00 a.m. on April 27, local time, the Lütjens fleet was discovered. At 10:20 a.m., the British cruiser fleet began to engage the enemy. At 10:45 a.m., the British cruiser fleet was attacked by the enemy heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen with guided torpedoes. The entire fleet was severely damaged and annihilated... Rear Admiral Giffen said that the enemy aircraft carriers were ready to attack and there was no way to retreat. He ordered our fleet to go around to a position 40 nautical miles southeast of the enemy transport fleet and launch an assault after seizing a position with the upper wind and downstream... However, his flagship, the Washington, was unfortunately hit by three consecutive guided torpedoes from the enemy ship Prinz Eugen and died heroically. The North Carolina was subsequently sunk by Bismarck and Tirpitz... Bastard!"

An urgent war report was slammed hard on the desk in the hands of Admiral Ernest King. Along with the war report slammed on the desk, Admiral King roared in frustration:

"Damn you, Giffen! Who asked you to be a hero? You have to compensate me for my battleship!"

The roar echoed throughout the office, and it took a long time before it gradually calmed down.

Jin was really heartbroken. In the United States' shipbuilding plan this time, there were only about a dozen new battleships. In the blink of an eye, two North Carolinas were gone.

What is even more worrying is that the four newly built South Dakota-class ships that have just been launched and are ready for service, except for their slightly stronger defense, their overall combat capability is about the same as that of the North Carolina...

"The theoretical data of these German warships are not very strong, but with the 'evil spirit', are they actually so strong... Moreover, guided torpedoes are not even used by German submarines in the Atlantic. Are they also given priority to the evil spirits?"

"It seems that we need to speed up the research and development of our own guided torpedoes, anti-ship missiles, electronic and acoustic jammers, etc.... and the Des Moines-class heavy cruisers equipped with more powerful main gun systems..."

After suppressing his anger, Jin, who was full of complaints and curses, thought about the future weapons development arrangements while picking up the unfinished battle report and continued to read the second half of the document - it was a medal application report and deeds description for the Benson-class destroyer Laffey, which rushed alone to launch a torpedo attack on the powerful evil spirit heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen in order to cover the three friendly ships Fletcher, Nicholas and O'Bannon from the battle in the final stage of the battle...

"The USS Laffey? Such an act is worthy of a Medal of Honor... However, in order to boost the morale of the troops, I'm afraid we'll have to apply for a medal for that idiot Giffen as well... Forget it, let's find someone to write a report to the President and Congress..."

After reading the battle report in his hand, thinking about the two battleships that were lost, and thinking about how even with such a huge loss, he had to pinch his nose and give Giffen a medal for the sake of the overall situation, Jin just felt a wave of cowardice in his stomach...

-

"...After sinking two new American battleships and six cruisers, the Lütjens fleet has now arrived at the Maldives Islands, Japan's ally. It used the bases of Japan's allies to cover itself and escaped from the tracking of the British and American navies, and completed replenishment. Has it now separated from the disguised attack ship and broken out separately? This is good news! I'm very happy! I'll ask Xiao Huang to report this to the whole country later. Hahahaha..."

In Hitler's office in Berlin, Germany, looking at the man with a mustache in front of him who was very excited because two new American battleships were killed by the guns of the Navy, Raeder felt a slight pain in the back of his molars.

Lütjens, who was retreating with a transport ship as a burden, was still able to sink two cutting-edge battleships and six cruisers... Thinking of his favorite student, Kumetz, Raeder felt even more itchy, but he had no way to deal with it - Kumetz was already the most capable general in his hands...

I can't do it myself, can I? I'm already 66 years old. Although I can continue to work, I'm afraid my body can't stand the hardship of going out to sea...

"Hey... those damned ship girls, why do they all have their eyes on this guy Lütjens..."

Raeder felt that although Lütjens was good-looking, he was not bad either. Why didn't any ship girl favor him?

Seeing the mustache man's cheerful face, Redel was filled with annoyance. He thought he should divert the mustache man's attention and stop him from paying attention to the news from Lütjens. So he calmly opened his briefcase, took out another report and handed it to the mustache man, and then continued to report on other matters:

"…Führer, this guided torpedo mentioned in the report has definitely played an important role in our victory this time. And Dönitz has also reported on its use in submarine warfare. I am applying for additional funding to increase research in this area…"

Although the mustache man didn't understand, he listened with great interest. Only Raeder had a toothache while he was making his report - although the idea of ​​guided torpedoes was given to him by Dönitz, he knew that it was Lütjens and Bismarck's ship girls who gave it to Dönitz together...

"That's totally fine." Taking advantage of the excitement, the mustache man signed the report very happily. Then he looked at Redel and asked, "Anything else?"

"There is one last thing. Although we are mainly engaged in submarine construction, we also need to maintain the construction capacity of large warships. We just happen to have the hull of the fourth Hipper-class heavy cruiser, the Seydlitz, which has been suspended. This hull has been launched, but the superstructure and weapon system have not been installed yet. Moreover, we do not have enough heavy cruisers now. Apart from the Prinz Eugen, there are no other heavy cruisers. So, Führer, what do you think, should we let them finish this heavy cruiser?"

Actually, having said that, Raeder really wanted to make one last bet on the big construction, hoping to build a ship girl of his own. Even if it wasn't a battleship girl, a heavy cruiser girl would be fine...

only……

"The heavy cruiser Seydlitz?" The mustache man thought for a moment and shook his head. "Don't build a heavy cruiser. Convert it into an aircraft carrier. Isn't it said that without air superiority, there is no sea superiority? So an aircraft carrier should be more appropriate... Wait, by the way, isn't there a cruiser that the French haven't built on the slipway of Lorient? It seems that someone also wants to build it into an aircraft carrier, right? Then let's finish it together. I remember that it seems that an aircraft carrier does not need to be equipped with a well-made main turret. It only needs to build a flight deck and hangar on the hull... So, you go and come up with a plan, and then I will ask Speer and Goering to mobilize manpower, resources and aircraft for you."

"Well... okay..."

After listening to the mustache boy's idea, Redel hesitated for a long time before agreeing.

After all, the two aircraft carriers converted from 10,000-ton cruisers are, to put it bluntly, just light carriers, and are no match for the regular aircraft carriers on the battlefield.

However... the engineering workload of converting two existing hulls into light carriers is not that large, and the construction period is relatively short. And if there is a light carrier, plus the only ship in the Arctic Fleet, the Gneisenau, and then wait until the Hindenburg and Europa classes are repaired to form a mixed team... it would be acceptable?

At least it can be used to balance the power of Lütjens' fleet and maintain a political balance in the navy. In this way, Lütjens, Kumetz and Dönitz will each have their own power in the navy, and no one can do anything to the other, so the navy will still have the final say.

But… come to think of it, if I hadn’t dismantled the second Zeppelin-class ship, Peter Strasser, which had just been built, right on the slipway in 38 in order to prevent Goering from controlling the navy…

"Damn Lütjens, damn Goering."

Redel was furious, but he could do nothing about it.

Watching Redel retreat, the man with a mustache didn't think much about it. He walked back to his desk, grabbed a thick book with a "Top Secret" stamp on it, and began to flip through it.

This thick document, with dozens of folded drawings attached, had the title page clearly written on it: the "Typhon" plan. (The original text of the Moscow Campaign Operation Plan was Operatim Typhon. In fact, Typhon and Typhoon have different origins. Typhon is a Titan with the artifact Storm Hammer in Greek mythology, while Typhoon is the name for strong tropical cyclones in ancient China starting from the Yuan and Ming dynasties - because typhoons that affect the mainland are basically blown from Taiwan. Although because Western colonizers also came in the middle of the Ming Dynasty in history, the two are often confused in terms of accent and origin...)

Hitler sat down at his desk and reviewed the battle plan with great interest...

Operational plan: ... excluding the three armies that were to contain the Leningrad direction in the north, the Stalingrad direction in the southwest, and the Caucasus direction in the south, as well as the vassal state troops and second-line anti-guerrilla forces that were sent out to encircle and suppress the guerrillas, the German army deployed a total of 320 million people from ten armies on the entire front, 4200 engineering divisions, 10000 armored trains, 76000 tanks, 54000 aircraft, 7800 artillery pieces, trucks, and tractors captured from the Soviet Union (including modified old Soviet tanks), as well as a transport team composed of forcibly conscripted Soviet civilians and livestock...

Operational goal: to capture Moscow, the capital of Russia and the most important transportation hub in the whole of Russia, before winter, in order to shorten the battle line, squeeze out troops, and cut off the main transportation line between Leningrad and the hinterland of Soviet Russia, so as to create conditions for the next step of the plan in 1943 to attack the Ural Industrial Zone, reach the AA line to completely defeat the Soviet Union, and return to fight a decisive battle with Britain and the United States...

Page after page of books was turned over, and maps were opened one after another, from the scorching sun at noon to the setting sun, then to the lights coming on, until the sky was full of stars and the moon set in the west...

The more he looked, the more focused the mustache man's expression became.

----------

On the other side of the European continent, in the war-torn Union of Soviet Socialist Republics...

On the exercise ground of a military camp, behind the red flag, a banner was hung high: "The 17th Grassroots Commander Intensive Training Course Graduation Ceremony". Under the banner, the political commissar, holding a metal loudspeaker, was standing upright on the podium, giving a speech to the soldiers standing upright and neatly below.

“…You are all soldiers who have performed well in actual combat, or you were once promising young people from all walks of life who volunteered to defend the country.

...In the past nine months, countless brave soldiers have lost their lives, but you have survived and passed the assessment here, and are about to become glorious grassroots commanders who may also die gloriously at any time.

...This was an unjust war of aggression provoked by German fascism. The fascist army of Hitler's gang even wanted to exterminate the entire Soviet Union under the slogan of extreme racist expansionism...

...In the next battle, you will have heavier responsibilities than ordinary soldiers, and the same tragic casualties... But you must remember. Fulfill your responsibilities and strike hard at the fascists, so that our families will not be ethnically cleansed, and we can protect our GCZY motherland!

...For the Soviet motherland, for ourselves and our loved ones, we must continue to fight. Fight to the bitter end. Until the fascist bandits are completely wiped out! ! "

The political commissar's voice was a little hoarse, but the grassroots commanders standing in the silent playground were concentrating and listening attentively to the instructions of their motherland...

After a series of bloody battles, all the troops had suffered heavy casualties. Although soldiers, even tank soldiers, could be replenished after a short period of training after conscription, the grassroots officers who had suffered heavy losses like the soldiers could not receive military academy training and polish their qualifications as they did in normal times.

Many people think that the Soviet Union survived the Great Patriotic War by relying on its strong reserve officers and reserve system, but in fact, the Soviet Union did not have any so-called "shadow troops" at that time.

As early as 1927, the Soviet reserve officer system was completely paralyzed due to the continuous party struggles and power struggles among several factions in the top leadership of the Soviet government.

In particular, Trotsky continued to stuff various Trotskyist cronies of unknown origin (including Tukhachevsky) into the army, which had a huge negative impact on the army's construction work.

It was not until the Great Purge, when Stalin had cleaned up all the chaos in the army, that a reserve system was hastily rebuilt in early 1941 under Stalin's personal supervision. And because the Great Patriotic War was undeclared, this system was actually established during the war years. In this system of emergency promotion and training of reserve officers, recommending those soldiers with outstanding performance to the grassroots commander training class is also one of the main sources of reserve officers.

After the political commissar finished his speech and issued graduation certificates to all the students, the graduation ceremony ended.

After the show, Yang Yongfu took his certificate of completion and hurried to his dormitory.

There were many new faces in the training school - they were the next batch of trainees who needed training. Because of the intense race against time during the war, the next batch of trainees had already reported in just as the previous batch graduated.

Yang Yongfu needed to rush back to pack his luggage, leave school and return to the army, both to make room for the new recruits and also to return earlier so he could join the battle earlier.

but……

"Sergei! Sergei!"

"Eh?"

Someone called his Russian name from behind. Yang Yongfu turned around and said, "Shura? Are you out of the hospital? And are you here too?"

"Yeah, I'm out of the hospital and I'm here."

The Shura who appeared in front of Yang Yongfu at this time was no longer the heartless, mischievous, and handsome young electromechanical worker... The grief of losing his sister made Shura exude an aura of hatred...

Looking at this old comrade who had fought through life and death with him, Yang Yongfu could not help but think of the time when he and the medical staff carried Shura away from the battlefield, when the comrade was seriously injured but still held the machine gun and risked his life to cover his retreat...

And his real motherland, which was still under the iron hoof of the Japanese ally of German fascism, the cruel Three Alls Policy of the Japanese devils and the malicious heavy surveillance of the reactionary, corrupt and incompetent KMT. Was his father also leading the people who had gradually awakened under the iron hoof and butcher knife of the invaders, and continued to organize the guerrillas in the hardship and cruelty of the war of resistance?

Yang Yongfu couldn't help but glance towards the south...

The country was destroyed, the family was ruined, and there was national hatred and family feuds. The two men could not help but clench their fists tightly.

"Shura..."

"Sergey, you don't have to say it. I know what you want to say. In fact, I want to say it too." Shura looked at Yang Yongfu with red eyes, clenched fists and gritted teeth. "I know you are from that country in the south, and you are being invaded by the fascists just like us... When you fight the German devils after returning to the army, remember to hit them harder. We all have grudges to avenge!"

"Yes. We all want revenge." Yang Yongfu nodded fiercely: "No matter for whom..."

Chapter 653: The troublesome fuel

"Generals! You must know that life is a struggle! War is a process of natural selection... Eliminate all underdeveloped and inferior races on the earth. Only we Germans have the right to obtain living space. We will eventually enjoy everything at the world's banquet..."

Hitler was happily giving an impromptu speech at the banquet. When he reached the climax of his speech, he suddenly slammed his hand on the table. With such a "bang", the force was so great that even the wine glasses on the table began to shake.

"...I have decided that our next target of attack will be Moscow. According to this combat plan, Moscow must be destroyed before the arrival of winter. It must be completely and thoroughly destroyed. Completely and thoroughly wiped out from the earth!" After saying that, Hitler waved his hand vigorously in the air.

All the imperial officers present stood up without missing a beat and raised their glasses. Suddenly, the room was filled with the sound of glasses colliding and laughter...

On April 4, Hitler personally signed the battle plan codenamed "Typhon" to attack Moscow. This battle plan had been prepared for a long time. In mid-May, the spring rain season ended, the land began to become drier, and the crops had just been planted, so it would be impossible to harvest them for a while. However, if a few months later, when the crops were harvested, large areas of land would be under the control of the German army, then the terrifying Titan "Typhon" with a hundred dragon heads, spitting flames everywhere and holding a storm hammer, finally launched.

According to this plan, the ten armies, 4200 armored trains, 10000 tanks, 76000 aircraft, 320 artillery pieces, and 54000 million people have been concentrated in the central, southwest, and south lines. Moreover, this does not include the troops maintaining the transportation lines and counter-guerrilla warfare in the rear, including the German second-line garrison troops and the vassal army kicked off the front line because of distrust of combat effectiveness, nor does it include the general logistics force with 7800 trucks and tractors captured from the Soviet Union (including modified Soviet old tanks) and engineering divisions, and of course, it does not include the transport team composed of conscripted civilians and livestock...

Moscow is located in the middle of the East European Plain, on both sides of the Moscow River, and connected to the Volga River by a canal. Its strategic position is extremely important - it is not only the capital of the Soviet Union, but also the largest city in the Soviet Union and the political, economic, military, cultural and transportation center of the country. The strategic significance of Moscow was naturally clear to the people of the German High Command.

In order to resolve the Soviet Union as soon as possible and withdraw the main force to the western front to fight the British and Americans before the end of 43, Hitler decided to implement a "middle breakthrough" in order to annihilate the main force of the Soviet Union and capture Moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union and the most important transportation hub, in order to withdraw the main force to the western front and fight the British and Americans before the end of . Then he would attack the core of the Soviet Union, the Ural Industrial Zone, in the next year.

Under this order, from the northwest direction of Veliki Luki, Smolensk, Bryansk, Orel, Kursk, Voronezh, the Great Bend of the Don River... all the way to the southeasternmost direction of the entire front, that is, the outer positions of Stalingrad surrounded by the German army on three sides, more than three million well-trained German troops from ten armies, in accordance with the main attack direction, secondary containment attack direction, artillery strikes and air force bombing before the breakthrough, expansion of the breakthrough and outflanking the rear after the breakthrough clearly planned in the combat plan... On a front as wide as 1,600 kilometers that almost cut across the Soviet territory, they launched an all-out attack in an orderly manner according to plan towards the Soviet positions in front of them.

The fierce Typhon, like a real typhoon or a real Titan, was rampaging everywhere on the land of the Soviet Union. The well-prepared, united and united Soviet Red Army, with the help of the fully mobilized masses, relied on the favorable terrain with dense water networks and urgently built field fortifications, and in accordance with the long-prepared battle plan, organized and planned to fight and retreat, or transferred to the guerrilla republic to continue resistance... In short, facing the fierce and desperate fascist invaders, the Soviet army and civilians stubbornly delayed time, consuming the German army's manpower, resources, and time...

"Brothers! Stand up to the enemy with me! Russia is vast, but we have nowhere to retreat. Behind us is Moscow!"

A Soviet hero's slogan resounded throughout the entire front.

Although the political commissar who shouted this sentence was killed by the machine guns of the German fascists the next second after he said it, the Red Army soldiers and commanders at all levels who were inspired by this heroic sentence... were all filled with anger and fought to the end. Even the commanders of the various army groups, the commanders of the various fronts, the Organization Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and even Stalin himself... were all moved by this heroism.

The resilience of the fighting nation is extremely terrifying, not to mention that this is a just war to defend the country...

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

In early May, Diego Garcia Island was filled with the roar of the South Equatorial trade winds, which are unusually stable all year round...

The lagoon in Diego Garcia is 24 kilometers long and 9.4 kilometers wide. Although the land area of ​​this island formed by coral reefs is only 28.5 square kilometers, the lagoon in the middle is hundreds of square kilometers. This lagoon itself is also a natural shelter.

The raging Indian Ocean roared without restraint, with huge waves one after another, as if to swallow everything. But the lakeshore was calm and peaceful, and everything seemed so peaceful and calm.