Bismarck

Chapter 701: Battlefield Fog

Under the bright moonlight on the night of June 109, a BF- carrier-based fighter plane landed shakily on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Zeppelin, which had barely recovered power and seemed to still emit the smell of gunpowder and burnt fire.

As soon as the plane came to a stop, a secretary cat who was temporarily in charge of the Zeppelin aircraft carrier rushed over with the ground crew, and hurriedly lifted the figure with beige hair and white military uniform from the cockpit...

After the second wave of air raids in the afternoon, the Zeppelin aircraft carrier finally completed the initial repair work - the No. 2 and No. 4 boilers that were not flooded finally regained power after the flue was repaired. At the same time, the horizontal waterproof bulkhead of the flue that was repaired by the damage control team finally controlled the water inflow. After that, after the damage control team used underwater welding, water pumps and stern water injection and other measures, they finally stabilized the damage and trim, allowing this scarred aircraft carrier to continue to move forward (turn) with the formation at a speed of 26 knots (Jin).

Although she was still able to keep up with the formation, Lütjens, Bismarck, and other captains and sisters were still worried - because of the large amount of water ingress, the hull draft was more than a meter deeper than normal. Now the position of the Zeppelin aircraft carrier's dome armor was actually below the waterline - in other words, if she was damaged again, it would directly lead to the hull flooding and completely out of control and sinking.

Even so, when the sun set, Zeppelin, who had finally recovered from his rest, appeared and the first thing he did was to insist on attaching radar to his Edelweiss fighter plane, which had been simply repaired, to scout the movements of the British and American fleets...

"... Confirmed, they are not chasing us now - although I don't know why they are not chasing us, but... we can take a break for a while..."

Bismarck's eyes were wet. He leaned back on the back of his seat as soon as he was carried out of the plane. He casually talked about the results of the investigation, but he could still see that Zeppelin was a little dizzy. Bismarck could see that even though the repair work had been completed long ago, Zeppelin, who was holding on, was still a little weak at this time...

What came to her mind was the scene more than three hours ago when Zeppelin, who had just recovered, was still exhausted when she reappeared, but she still walked onto the flight deck, commanding the deployment of the fighter planes on duty while firmly demanding an attack:

"Equip all the planes we can get together with external radars! Refuel and load ammunition, and be ready to take off at any time! Bismarck, don't stop me, it's almost six o'clock now, if they want to launch an air raid, they should send planes now - it's because I'm so badly injured that I have to go out to scout their movements! The sooner we discover them, the sooner we can defend against the enemy!"

"Tell me, which of those aircraft's radars can see as far as mine?"

Although she knew that her sister was telling the truth, Bismarck, as the elder sister, still frowned as usual.

Seeing this, Zeppelin laughed and joked.

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t look so grumpy. You know my flying skills. Now my combat record is 316, okay? Be good and let me go out for reconnaissance… Okay, okay, I know. If there are more of them, I will of course run away as soon as possible… Okay, okay, pinch your face, hehehehe, wait for me to come back…”

In order to get Bismarck to give way, Zeppelin, who had an icy temper, couldn't help but act cute.

When the queen acted cute, Bismarck had to give way and let her go to the sky. She also knew that it was the best way for Zeppelin to go to the sky now.

Something seems wrong?

"So don't worry. I searched for nearly 300 kilometers before I saw them - they were indeed retreating to the north! Speaking of which, this time Redel finally got his head around and thought of letting Kumets threaten their retreat. Well, even if they don't retreat, as long as I shoot down all their night reconnaissance planes, they still won't be able to find us..."

After coming back, Zeppelin felt a rare sense of relaxation and put her physical discomfort behind her.

However, as soon as she got off the plane, Bismarck hugged her tightly.

She screamed, and then was carried back to her room by Bismarck under the laughing eyes of the crew members.

"Zeppelin, you don't have to work so hard..." Bismarck said.

"Ah?!" Zeppelin was confused when he was suddenly hugged, but he quickly reacted: "What are you doing! Let me go! You are hugging me too tightly!"

Also, there are a lot of people here... There are some cracks on Zeppelin's icy face.

Wow, Instructor Zeppelin was carried like a princess by Secretary Bismarck!

Everyone was watching as they crossed the deck.

Some were whistling, some were laughing, but without exception, they were all pelted with flying knives by Zeppelin.

Even Zeppelin couldn't bear the 150,000 horsepower that was lifted up all at once. She struggled for a while.

However, Bismarck never thought of letting go! After all, Zeppelin had just recovered from his dying injury and personally flew the plane to investigate something for the safety of everyone.

"No! I won't let go!"

"You knew I was injured, but why did you hold me so tight?"

"You know you're injured, but you're still fighting so hard?"

Bismarck replied.

Looking at his good sister in front of him, knowing that she was also worried about him, Zeppelin couldn't help but sigh silently in his heart, stretched out his forehead and gently touched Bismarck's forehead: "Okay, okay, I swear, I swear... I swear that in the future..."

Bang, Zeppelin was thrown onto the bed...

"asshole!"

But just before Zeppelin finished his words, the door opened and an officer rushed in with some excitement: "Secretary Bismarck! Commander! Good news! Captain Bonte's operation was successful! He is out of danger... Oh..."

Seeing Bismarck holding Zeppelin and Zeppelin being held by Bismarck with their heads pressed together and looking at him with a 0.0 expression, the confused officer suddenly felt a jolt in his heart...

It seems like...what do the British say? These two seem to be "evil spirits" or something...? !

Especially when he saw the two "witch women" in front of him staring at him with darkened faces, the officer panicked immediately...

Captain Bangtai escaped from danger and survived successfully, but now it seems that I am the one in danger...

"Um... Ladies, I didn't see anything... I was just passing by... passing by... I have old people above me and young children below me... Ladies, please don't look at me like that..."

Seeing the two evil spirits approaching him with bad faces, the officer squatted on the ground with his head in his hands, trembling in fear of being "murdered to silence him"...

-------

The night was getting darker at nine o'clock, and the duty room of the Bismarck battleship fell into silence. In the huge command room, apart from the occasional sound of the motors of the electronic equipment, only the staff exchanged intelligence information and opinions in a low voice. Even the sound of walking was as light as a cat's.

In the main seat in the middle, Lütjens, with a frown on his face, adjusted his reading glasses and turned to the next page of the battle report with his other hand...

"Bismarck and Tirpitz only have about 2700 tons of fuel left. The Zeppelin torpedoes have less than 2300 tons of fuel left due to fuel leakage. Prinz Eugen has 1200 tons... The anti-aircraft ammunition has also been severely damaged. The entire fleet has only 105 rounds of 9200mm anti-aircraft shells, and less than 50 rounds of mm anti-aircraft shells in total... As for the remaining aircraft... including those under overhaul, there are only more than left, and less than can be deployed... Sigh..."

As he flipped through the documents, he came to the last page. However, even after reading the documents in his hand, Lütjens felt even more helpless and could only scratch his head and sigh:

"It's really difficult... There are only a few anti-aircraft shells left, and there are not many remaining planes. The Zeppelin is now in a state where it can no longer withstand air attacks, and the fuel is only enough for less than three days at cruising speed... Hmm? Coffee? Bismarck, are you back?"

"Yes, Captain, I'm back—fresh coffee."

Just as Lütjens was thinking hard, a cup of freshly brewed, steaming hot coffee was gently placed in front of him, accompanied by the secretary's voice. Lütjens looked up and saw the secretary, wearing a military cap that was a little crooked, smiling at him:

Just after returning from the Zeppelin, he made a cup of strong coffee for his captain without even entering the door. Seeing the smile of his secretary, the tactful captain half helplessly and half healed, put aside the depression in his heart, and took a sip of the coffee in his hand while it was still hot.

The brewed coffee was indeed very fragrant and strong! Although Lütjens was always serious and the current battle situation was still stressful, he was finally able to smile after being healed by his cat.

However…even though his heart was a little warmer, the admiral who was usually serious and now faced a powerful enemy was still most concerned about the current difficult war situation:

"How's the situation with Zeppelin now?"

"As for her, um... Captain Bonte is fine now..." Bismarck's eyes flashed with pity and embarrassment, perhaps because he had thought of something. However, business was important, and the Persian cat, who felt a little awkward in chatting, continued: "Zeppelin has just returned from reconnaissance, and it seems that the British have not pursued us. She searched for three hundred kilometers and confirmed that Tovey and the others have retreated to the north. I'll mark it, probably here, the location she saw an hour ago... In addition, she, Tizi and Eugen have all confirmed that no submarines or aircraft of theirs have been found around us, which means that we are not being monitored now..." Bismarck said as he marked the previously discovered location on the nautical chart.

The British retreated, Zeppelin was happy, and she was happy too - did that old bastard Raeder really have a change of heart this time?

Um... okay, I won't call him an old bastard anymore.

But the captain should be very happy with such good news, right?

Bismarck, somewhat excited, secretly glanced at his captain's expression, but found that his captain's expression did not show much sign of relaxation.

"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" Lütjens was a little confused when he found that his own ship cat was looking at him with a smiling and confused expression on his face.

I'm just thinking about what to do next. Is it necessary to look at me like this?

"Captain, we are out of their surveillance. Why?"

"Yes, we have escaped their surveillance, but didn't you notice your own oil tank? We are running out of oil again." Looking at the confused Bismarck, Lütjens shook his head with a wry smile.

How confused must a Persian cat be if it doesn't even know whether it is hungry or not...

Although there should have been about 4,000 tons of fuel left, the fuel consumption in combat was already terrifyingly high, and Bismarck had already consumed extra fuel from towing the Zeppelin, and the Grape was also damaged and leaking oil, not to mention the Zeppelin that had been hit by two torpedoes... In other words, there was only about one-third of the fuel left.

Moreover, in addition to fuel consumption, there is now another problem:

You know, Tovey hasn't gone far.

Although Kumets has an inside advantage over Tovey, who can say that Tovey does not have an inside advantage over himself? !

To be honest, if Tovey pursued him blindly in the dark, Lütjens was not afraid of him. With Zeppelin already recovered, the enemy reconnaissance planes could not detect him at night! And relying on the warship's radar with a range of dozens of kilometers, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack to find his position in the vast Atlantic Ocean! Especially now that the speed difference between the two sides was not big, if Tovey really pursued him blindly, he was actually quite confident that he could get rid of this old guy who had eaten too much dark food in the dark!

But now, they just don't chase me! This is difficult to deal with.

As long as Tovey is still stuck in the interior, as long as his aircraft carrier is still combat-ready or can be replenished, then he can kill himself by firmly "stopping the region" outside the European continent - even if there is Kumets behind him! You know, Kumets is still 1500 kilometers away.

Even if Raeder and Kumets had a change of heart and were brave enough to sail over at full speed to reinforce him, they would not be able to arrive in time!

Moreover, if Kumets really wanted to be so reckless, then it would be Tovey who would enjoy the advantage in the interior! With Kumets' command ability, it would be good if he didn't fall into the trap set by Tovey!

(In fact, if Kumets really wanted to rush over, Tovey would be the happiest: if he rushed over, you would give up your advantage in the interior, and then Tovey would be able to attack or run! The speed of both sides is similar, and both still have the ability of air assault. With Kumets's command ability, he would encounter a cunning guy like Tovey, plus Warspite's artillery command ability, and Kumets's reinforcement from Biscay Bay to the south with a smooth journey, and the two aircraft carriers in his hands under the wind could not take the initiative at all... Under a series of disadvantages, the aircraft carriers were severely damaged by Tovey's preemptive attack, and then the two Hindenburgs and one Gneisenau without the ship girl were likely to be beaten up by the four South Dakotas and two George Vs commanded by Warspite!)

So, what about Tovey's retreat? Maybe he just thought that fighting at night would be disadvantageous to him, so he temporarily retreated and continued the attack during the day...

Even though both sides now know each other's battlefield situation inside out, isn't the real battlefield fog the inner judgment of the opposing commander?

Worried, Lütjens rubbed his temples and told his secretary Cat about his judgment and worries.

Although I don't ask her to help me share my worries, but thinking with two heads is always better than with one, right?

"Eh? Then won't it still be difficult for us..."

"You just found out..." Looking at the Persian cat with an exaggerated expression, Lütjens felt helpless.

However, looking at the innocent Persian cat, I decided to forget it...

Although this was a war, and her main body was also a battleship, even if it was a battleship, it had followed me through battles all over the country, and had suffered many injuries and casualties...

I should bear the pressure of the battlefield by myself...

Lütjens gently pinched the cat's nose, then drank the coffee and continued to look at the sea chart in front of him...

Seeing that his captain was beginning to bury himself in the chart table again, Bismarck, whose nose was pinched, was stunned for a moment, then he obediently picked up the almost finished coffee cup and quietly retreated.

The captain needs to focus on fighting with Toveyne on the other side, so don't make things worse. Hmm~ Go make the captain a cup of hot coffee and let it cool aside...

Bismarck looked up at the dark night outside the window. The road ahead was still so mysterious and unpredictable...

……………………Dividing line………………………………

Berlin's time zone is Eastern Time Zone 1, which is two hours earlier than the Azores in Western Time Zone 1.

In the deep dark night, it was almost twelve o'clock, and Redel was still unable to sleep.

Although he hated Lütjens as much as the British, he had to do his best to protect him now... His worries about the war situation and his inner struggles were mixed together, just like when he was a young student at the Naval Academy and was secretly dragged by his then senior brother Wegener to a small bar in the back alley of Kiel Port to drink the sour and turbid taste of inferior moonshine...

However, the pure feelings of youth have become insignificant after entering society...

After he and Wegener entered the navy side by side, they had differences in naval strategic concepts and directions, which then turned into a dispute over the suppression of British sea power and the German naval tradition, and further even turned into factional strife and personal attacks. In the end, for the position of the commander of the German navy, he directly used political tactics to squeeze his senior brother out of the navy...

The former brothers, just like that, went from cutting off their robes and sleeves to breaking off their friendship and becoming enemies...

However, the irony and feeling is that now that World War II has broken out, I, who have always followed the tradition of the German Navy to preserve its strength, have actually come to this point - but that process is not the existence of the fleet I imagined, and that process is also very contrary to my own ideas and the tradition of the German Navy...

especially……

As people get older, they inevitably think too much, especially those who are more thoughtful. Unconsciously, Redel was distracted.

It wasn't until there was a knock on the door that Redel's spirit was pulled back from the ocean of memories...

"Report to the Marshal, there is a telegram from Lütjens."

"Let me see it." Redel, who had regained his expressionless "dignity", took the telegram handed over by his secretary and read it with a blank face:

"…The Zeppelin's condition is stable, Tovey has temporarily stopped the pursuit…At present, we are still uncertain about the British's next combat move, so I will conduct a close reconnaissance, act cautiously, and find an opportunity to break out and return home…Lütjens…Hey!"

After putting the telegram on the table, Redel was so troubled that his arrogant face was twisted into a vine.

Regardless of whether he didn't trust himself because he had just been ambushed, or because he really had no idea what Tovey's next move would be, in this telegram, Lütjens didn't tell him anything except reporting the situation!

"MD Lütjens, you are an ungrateful person who defected to the Air Force. What else do you want from me? I have already transferred Kumets to Biscay Bay, but you still have this attitude..."

Redel really wanted to lose his temper, but in the end he held back...

"Go, send me a telegram and tell Lütjens that I will let Kumets fully cooperate with him to tow Tovey away! Also tell Kumets to contact Brest and hurry up to carry out sea supplies. After the supplies are completed, go to help Lütjens and find a way to tow Tovey away..."

He waved his hand, and the North Sea tyrant managed to suppress his anger.

After all, Lütjens's current position is obviously not in line with the Navy. The gap is something that has been formed over a long period of time, and now there is no trust between them...

…………It’s just that everyone in the German army predicted the dividing line of one thing wrong…………

In the command room of the battleship Duke of York, Tovey and War-weary looked at the sea chart with a look of shared hatred for the enemy:

"Tovey, the headquarters has confirmed it! Marshal Cunningham just told me that the direction of the Kumets fleet found by the reconnaissance plane is heading towards Brest!" War-weary pointed at the location of Brest Port with the pointer in his hand and said with a murderous look on his face.

Yan Zhan is a man who is impartial and fair in his work, and when he mentions his old man, he calls him by his official name in a formal manner.

"Humph, it's true - no matter how skilled they are at replenishing supplies at sea, it will take at least twelve hours! So we have plenty of time!" Tovey also sneered, pointing at the nautical chart with his finger and saying, "We are the last main fleet in the entire Atlantic Ocean now. It's not wrong for the higher-ups to care about our safety and ask us to act prudently."

"The Lütjens fleet has lost its combat effectiveness. They even ran all the way here from the Cape of Good Hope and needed to be resupplied at sea. This also shows that Lütjens' fuel is almost gone! Now Kumets is already 1600 kilometers away from here, and he still needs to refuel... So, let's do this: the fleet turns around and goes to Spain first, and ask Gibraltar to urgently fly a batch of planes to strengthen its strength - by tomorrow noon, we can run kilometers, and the remaining kilometers can be used for the planes to fly directly over, so there is enough time! When we replenish the planes and defeat Kumets, we will at least be invincible!"

"We are in a disadvantageous position along the coast of Spain, so we definitely have the initiative in air combat! We also have the support of the Gibraltar Fortress. The fortress's large reconnaissance aircraft are much farther than our carrier-based aircraft! Besides, even if something goes wrong, we can use the Gibraltar Fortress as a retreat! In this way, we have the inside advantage of Gibraltar. Whether dealing with Kumets or intercepting Lütjens, we are at least invincible - Wyatt, the spy chief, said that Lütjens is a timid person and will not act rashly without absolute certainty! It won't be too late to deal with Lütjens after defeating Kumets!"

"Okay! Then I will contact Marshal Cunningham immediately! Tell him the battle plan and ask him to order the Gibraltar Fortress to send us fighter reinforcements!"

War-weary also smiled coldly, raised his eyebrows and nodded.