Bismarck

Although he did not suffer more damage in the previous missile attack, some of the missiles were aimed at the bridge. Now Tovey looked a little embarrassed.

When they thought of this, War-weary and Tovey both wondered whether they should go back and develop some heavy anti-ship missiles that were more powerful, had a longer range, and could be carried on warships.

Moreover, in addition to this, should a thin armor belt or something be added at the bow and stern of the battleship's waterline?

After all, key defense comes at the cost of completely ignoring the defense of secondary parts, and it is basically a chicken facing "Oarai".

However, for the current situation, there is no new understanding of anti-ship missile tactics...

So far, although Lütjens was seriously injured, he seemed to have not given up the idea of ​​breaking out. Moreover, as the commander of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet, even though his speed had been severely damaged and many of his ships had shown obvious heel and pitch, seeing that there was no major damage in the core area and that there were two aircraft carriers to support him, Tovey still believed that he should continue to intercept the Lütjens fleet, which had also been seriously injured.

only……

"Now the speed is limited, and with the combat effectiveness of the German ships and crews, sending a small-scale fleet would be suicide. But now our aircraft carriers and air force will take several hours to send out a large-scale fleet again... It doesn't seem safe to rely on aviation alone. So, if we want to intercept the German ships and crews now, we can only use the battleships to push them up, but... what should we do now?"

Looking at the wounded vanguard who was holding on without giving up, Tovey rolled up the battle report in his hand, knocked his already dizzy forehead a few times, and continued to rack his brains.

Although there were only 40 missiles fired by Cricket before, almost all of the five battleships on his side were damaged. Although the damage was not serious in general, especially none of the core areas were blown through, the bridges and the waterline positions of the five battleships were all blown to pieces. Now the speed of the entire fleet can only be maintained at about 21 or 2 knots, even the vanguard is no exception. At most, she relied on the ability and evasion of the ship girl, and the damage was relatively light, so she could barely run to about 24 or 25 knots.

But the German fleet on the opposite side now seems to be traveling at a speed of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight knots.

At first, Torvey wasn't worried about the fleet's speed. But now that the speed has dropped significantly, if he really wants to get rid of it...

Tovey even recalled the so-called "Great Breakout" half a year ago when he led the Home Fleet to intercept Lütjens, but failed because of the speed difference...

"Our speed is only 21 knots, but the enemy can reach 28 knots... Based on the speed ratio of Lütjens and our fleet, we need an approach angle of more than 37 degrees to ensure the interception rate... However, the width of the Faroe Channel is still too wide for the current speed - it is more than 700 kilometers to the Shetland Islands..."

Tovey drew a few strokes on the chart table, pinched his nose, and then seemed to think of something. He turned his head and looked at his secretary ship: "By the way, Vanguard, where is the American fleet in Iceland?"

"Well... we have contacted them before. Now they are in the XX sea area, about 250 kilometers behind us." Vanguard replied, flipping through the notebook in his hand.

"Are they here yet? Emmmmmm..."

Hearing that the "friendly" fleet had come to support, Tovey immediately became energetic again.

And I started to make plans in my mind...

Although the American fleet stationed in Iceland only had five old battleships, and the speed was only 21 knots - about the same as ours now. However, if our fleet alone could not stop Lütjens, then adding the American fleet would be a problem!

After all, with a speed of 21 knots, it can control a radius of 200 kilometers around it within five hours - if the range of the ship's guns is taken into account, the control range will be even larger.

Not to mention, there is an airport on the island and reconnaissance planes from two aircraft carriers behind him!

Even though the aircraft carriers and airports are now unable to deploy large-scale aircraft again, there is no doubt that reconnaissance aircraft can take off!

"With the addition of the American fleet, the two fleets, one in the east and one in the west, can control a water area of ​​800 kilometers. However... I am currently located near the west side of the Faroe Islands, but the distance from Faroe to Shetland is still more than 300 kilometers, and our speed is not fast enough... Although the air force base can resume operations after dawn, this is always a loophole that must be guarded against..."

Looking at the 300-kilometer-wide window area on the waterway between the Shetland Islands and the Faroe Islands in the eastern part of the interception range, Tovey pondered for a moment and quickly made a new combat decision: "Vanguard, help me send a telegram to the Americans, saying that I ask them to help block the Faroe Islands... In addition, let the cruiser vanguard formation (SCR) continue to move forward - but don't engage in battle, just keep an eye on Lütjens; aircraft carriers continue to hover in the existing waters and be ready for air support at any time; as for us... turn the rudder! Full speed, due east. We are going to the Shetland Channel to intercept Lütjens!"

"Yes, sir!"

The vanguard who received the order nodded, saluted promptly and retreated.

Although Tovey could see that she was grimacing and the injury was still a little painful.

--------

The night before dawn was darker than before - perhaps, this was because the sea no longer had the splendor of the night sky with fireworks and lights as before, and there were only four still burning "fires" drifting under the silent night sky.

"Bismarck, how are you guys doing?"

Persian Cat sighed. Her captain would ask the sisters about their injuries every ten minutes. Although she knew that the captain cared about everyone, she was a little speechless when she was asked the same question over and over again. They were not playing a game where they could instantly restore their health. If that were the case, she would really shout that they were cheating.

However, as the secretary ship, and considering the injuries of his own sisters, he still had to report everyone's situation to his captain.

"Now... the fires on Eugen and Zeppelin have been brought under control, and the fire on Grape is almost under control too. I am the only one still putting out the fire. In addition, although the flooding on Eugen has been brought under control, the tilt is still a bit serious. We are now organizing underwater welding to stop the leak... As for Zeppelin's carrier-based aircraft, many of them are also being repaired. Even if we wait until dawn, we can only dispatch 20 at most."

As he listened to his secretary's report, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

Now all of his men were seriously injured, and although the speed could barely be maintained at 27 knots, the situation was still not optimistic. In fact, the fleet had to sail and repair at the same time...

"Forget it, the problem is huge, there's no point in panicking, I should just think about the next move..."

He closed his eyes, pinched his brows, and stretched out his hand to wave at his Persian cat. The well-behaved Persian cat hummed, picked up the cup neatly, turned around and left, and walked towards the coffee machine in the corner.

During this war, coffee is always consumed so quickly. To put it bluntly, these wars are all caused by coffee.

Lütjens didn't care and just continued to stare at the pile of symbols on the chart table in front of him.

Military operations and nautical chart markings around the world are generally similar. The positions and tracks marked on the nautical chart in front of Lütjens are almost exactly the same as those on Tovey's desk hundreds of kilometers away.

"...According to pre-war intelligence, the Americans have a fleet of at least four battleships in Iceland - no matter how slow they are now, they should be running to the battlefield with their high-waisted pants pulled up... Tovey is now in the sea area west of the Faroe Islands. If he contacts the Americans, he will immediately fill the gap in the Shetland Channel. Add in the aircraft carrier... Trouble."

The situation on the sea chart is clear, probably because the entire Shetland-Faroe Channel is divided into three sections: on the west side of the Faroe Channel near Iceland, there is a US fleet that is not very powerful but is difficult enough to block the position. The Faroe Islands in the middle are the main battleships of the Tovey Home Fleet. Although there is no enemy main fleet in the 360-kilometer-wide area between the Faroe Islands and the Shetland Islands, it can be considered an interception window area, but in fact it is the closest place to the British mainland air force base - don't look at the air force stationed in Norway is still suppressing here, but they can only hold on until noon at most, but now, it is already 4:30 in the morning!

Moreover, although Tizi had said in her previous report on the results of the missile attack that she had bombed the waterline of the British fleet's battleships, even though Tovey's battleships were now at a great loss of speed, the enemy still had two aircraft carriers at the rear of the entire battle line!

With his naval command ability, he could easily judge without even counting on his fingers that if the British aircraft carrier wanted to intercept him, they would basically be able to stick to the edge of the Shetland Islands in five hours! Not to mention, the carrier-based aircraft still had a strike radius of several hundred kilometers - even the Zeppelin, at this time, she only had twenty planes to fight. Besides, after dawn, the Allied bombers would probably be dispatched again, right? He didn't know if his scarred fleet could withstand the next round of air strikes.

Not to mention, the British also have a vanguard fleet composed of cruisers and destroyers. According to previous intelligence, they are only a hundred nautical miles away from them. Although even if they knew that the girls under their command were seriously injured to the point where they are now, they would not be afraid of the four light cruisers and six destroyers of the Cricket, but their cruisers have a speed of 32 knots. If they are entangled by them, it will sooner or later become a hidden danger.

The GIUK defense line is still like a three-layer iron barrel - there is a cruiser fleet tracking it in front, an aircraft carrier battle group in the back, and two battleships in the middle. Although they are slower than it, they are also like a gate god, blocking the Shetland-Faroe waterway, which is only more than 700 kilometers wide. On both sides of the gate god, there are visible and tangible air bases blocking the two wings. The few waterways are also under the threat and control of these air bases!

However, if we don’t fight our way out this time, it will be even more impossible to break out in the future!

As an admiral of the German Navy, a survivor of the Battle of the Skagerrak, and a "prisoner" of the army that was besieged and killed at home by various difficulties in World War I, with a force that was among the top three in the world but was of no use at all, Lütjens had already suffered such a frustrating life in his youth!

Although I know that my personality looks stern except for my expressionless face, I am still a little bit cowardly when faced with big things. However, at this time, if I don't take this last chance, I am afraid that I will regret it for the rest of my life, whether from the perspective of the country or from an individual perspective...?

"Or, I'll just..."

After grabbing a ruler and thinking on the chart table for a while, Lütjens suddenly had a brilliant idea in his mind.

ps: Guess how this cat will end.

Chapter 808: Brain-burning ideas

A bunch of predicted positions were marked on the chart. Lütjens thought of something and turned around to look at his secretary ship:

"Bismarck, ask Zeppelin if she still has reconnaissance planes?"

"Well, let me ask..." The secretary nodded, and after asking on the WIFI for a while, she replied, "Yes, Captain, she has three reconnaissance planes that can be deployed at any time."

"Have Zeppelin send out the reconnaissance planes immediately - before eight o'clock, I want to know how many fleets there are in the entire Faroe Islands and where they are located!" With a wave of his hand, Lütjens immediately issued the first combat order: "Our fleet continues to advance southwest. If we encounter the British vanguard cruiser fleet, we will change course and sail west."

"Okay!" Bismarck immediately conveyed Lütjens' order to Zeppelin. However, after conveying the order, Bismarck, who was somewhat confused, still asked: "Captain, what should we do this time? If we go west, should we break through the Denmark Strait?"

"Go through the Denmark Strait?" Turning his head to look at her, Lütjens pinched her ear with a smile: "Indeed, that way we can temporarily stay away from the British mainland airport, and our speed can also shake off their battleships. But..." Then he changed the subject: "Can you guarantee that we can definitely shake off their aircraft carriers?"

"That's right..." When she said this, her ears drooped again. Moreover, she suddenly thought of another question:

"Captain, do you remember what Eugen said before? The three armored aircraft carriers in the first aircraft carrier formation were not seriously damaged. What if..."

Bismarck had little confidence in British armored aircraft carriers. At least, she knew when she was in her "predecessor" that the large-scale suicide attacks of the Kamikaze Special Forces "two years later" would cause heavy losses to the American aircraft carriers, but would have no effect on the British aircraft carriers with strong defenses. And the modified V1 anti-ship missiles they are currently equipped with are definitely not much more powerful than the Kamikaze Special Forces!

"...Well, I've thought about this. If we're unlucky, maybe the aircraft carrier of their first task force will be able to recover its combat effectiveness by the morning at the latest. But..." Hearing the concerns of his secretary, Lütjens still looked calm and composed, and even stroked his soft golden hair with a smile: "You still remember how many planes they dispatched before, and Zeppelin attracted five squadrons of fighters to play hide-and-seek with her during the reconnaissance before. Adding the formation of more than 40 planes just now, at least 270 aircraft were dispatched - but think about it, their six aircraft carriers were hit by missiles and reconnaissance planes, at least four of them were damaged, and the two airports in Faro were also suppressed by you - the range of light aircraft is not enough to fly back to the UK, and there is such a high dispatch volume to return, minus the capacity occupied by the spare aircraft they must keep... With only their two remaining aircraft carriers, how many of these 270 aircraft can Tovey accommodate?"

"Huh? That's right!" Upon hearing this algorithm, the Persian cat couldn't help laughing.

After all, the Vengeance class is also an old rival, and the other four Dreadnought class are actually improved on the basis of the Vengeance. The Persian cat who knows the aircraft capacity of the British aircraft carriers knows without counting on his fingers that the two British aircraft carriers can accommodate less than 150 aircraft in total. The terrain of the Faroe Islands is complex and mountainous, and the only two small airports are also suppressed. What's more, it is still dark at night - even Zeppelin is not interested in making a forced landing in a complex mountain area at night, let alone those pilots who are just "ordinary humans"!

If you calculate it this way, wouldn't the British have lost 150 planes for no reason?

This is great news!

When Bismarck thought of this, her spirit instantly perked up like her ears: "Then... Captain, what should we do now?"

Looking at the excited Bismarck in front of him, Lütjens suddenly felt that he had been too confident...

Although they had taken advantage of the night battle to create a time difference and inflicted heavy losses on the Allied carrier-based aircraft units, when they thought of the still powerful strength of the Allied fleet and the Allied air base network, and that his old rival Tovey was also a shrewd person, although they had a general idea, Lütjens still felt more like he was trying to do anything.

"What should I do? I don't know what to do, I just have to take it one step at a time! Besides, even if I want to do it, Tovey is not that easy to deal with..."

He wiped his face with a wry smile. He had to find a way to tactfully explain his worries to his cat, otherwise... he would always feel a little sorry for her expectant and trusting eyes, and also a little guilty.

However, the four cute creatures under his command have all been seriously injured. If they really encounter an air raid of the same scale as before, or if they are besieged by enemy battleships, even if they are all ship girls, I am afraid they will not have much chance of winning.

Well, I should pray to Satan and hope that my operation will be successful this time...

Although according to the weather forecast for the sea area I got before sailing, the weather in this area should start to get worse in the second half of tonight, but it is still not safe to rely solely on this weather change.

After all, the snow is just heavier, and at most it can be considered a weak cold air that is "slightly disturbing".

While still petting the cat, Lütjens had already raised his head, blinked, and looked at the snowflakes falling through the porthole.

It seems that the traces of snowflakes have become a little bigger than two hours ago?

In the second half of the night in the Arctic Ocean, the temperature suddenly began to turn colder.

The small snowflakes that were originally falling sporadically began to fall faster and faster and became bigger and bigger.

Under the growing snow, Zeppelin opened her flight deck steam blow-off valves and released her reconnaissance plane.

The entire formation continued to advance southwest in the wind and snow, and soon encountered the British cruiser fleet.

The ship girls were well prepared from the beginning, and they were confident and not panicked when they encountered the expected enemy.

The fighting lasted from 5:15 to 5:30, and the brief exchange of fire caused heavy losses to the British cruiser fleet.

According to Lütjens' previous order, the girls bombarded the British cruiser fleet with guided shells in a planned, step-by-step and targeted manner, while turning their ships and sailing towards the northwest of the Faroe waters, that is, towards the Arctic Circle in the waters north of Iceland.

Under the overwhelming firepower, artillery accuracy and night combat perception of the ship girls, the Allied forces lost a light cruiser and a destroyer in the first encounter with their four light cruisers and six destroyers. Another two light cruisers and three destroyers were severely damaged by guided shells and forced to return. Only the remaining "old acquaintance" cruiser Aurora and the remaining two destroyers were caught in the hail of bullets in the wind and snow, and relying on the full speed of thirty-two and a half knots, they finally managed to get out of the artillery range of the German battleships.

Then, he hurriedly sent an enemy situation report to Tovey - although, no one noticed that the electronic jamming ship on the opposite side, the Hamster, which could be regarded as a pioneer in electronic warfare and became famous for breaking through Gibraltar, did not turn on her jammer!

When Tovey received the battle report from the front, his first reaction was: Lütjens might be trying to escape through the Denmark Strait this time!

While ordering his fleet to turn around and pursue, Tovey walked around the chart table twice and the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

After all, Lütjens's speed is much faster than theirs, and the capacity of Iceland's airport is limited, not to mention that the range of fighter jets taking off from Iceland's airport cannot effectively cover the northern waters of Iceland - this is the only way to get from the Faroe Islands to the Danish Strait. Even the weather, wind direction, and sunrise and sunset times here are all in Lütjens' favor.

"It's the end of October now. We are close to the Arctic Circle. The sun doesn't rise until 9am and sets at 5pm. So they have to spend the entire time crossing the Denmark Strait at night, which is very disadvantageous for aviation. Moreover... this old man is facing headwind the entire time and can launch his plane anytime and anywhere... Zeppelin is the Edelweiss Witch. Even if she only has one plane left, she is not an easy target to deal with. Not to mention that just now, someone reported to me that they had discovered the radar signal of their reconnaissance plane. It seems that Zeppelin still has a certain combat capability. If they really want to break through from there, the possibility should not be underestimated..."

While Tovey was considering the situation on the Faroe Islands, he was also thinking about Lütjens' possible combat objectives.

but……

At this moment, he was not in a hurry.

"Lütjens, ah, Lütjens, no matter how fast you run, you can't imagine that the situation here can still stop you..."

Looking at the position and direction of Lütjens sent by the cruisers on the nautical chart, and then looking at the other side of the nautical chart, as it is closer to Iceland, it is certain that Lütjens's American battleship fleet will be able to be intercepted north of Iceland at noon, as well as the aircraft carrier formation behind him with a speed of up to 31 knots. In addition, the five battleships led by the Vanguard on his side are also heading towards the northeast corner of Iceland. Tovey is still confident.

To get to the Danish Strait from the Faroe Islands, you have to go around Iceland. But as long as my fleet can block you, even if your Lütjens is faster than mine, if you want to completely get rid of the Americans blocking you, you have to go around a long way north!

The Arctic Ocean is now an endless winter filled with icebergs and floating ice! Even if it is a ship girl, if she goes head-to-head with the iceberg, her path will only get narrower and narrower!

Therefore, Tovey was not very worried about Lütjens's westward advance. He even thought of the "evil" allusion of an ancient religion that seemed to be the largest colony of Britain.

After all, Lütjens is now really traveling westward or something...

The only problem was how to deal with the two aircraft carriers that he could still move...

"If they follow me, we can cover the air raid plan in the morning, but Lütjens's heading is against the wind. If he sends Zeppelin bombers to counterattack, it will be a problem. But if they don't follow me, there will be no fighter cover for the air raid in the morning... In addition, although the US fleet should be able to block Lütjens, if it fails, I have to arrange someone to go to the exit of the Denmark Strait to be safe... Eh? Vanguard, what are you doing?"

Looking at the avant-garde walking towards him with an excited look on his face, Tovey was a little dazed.

"Commander, there is good news! The First Task Force, which was attacked by missiles from the German fleet, has two aircraft carriers that report that they will be able to recover their combat effectiveness around 8 a.m. after repairs, and their speed can reach 29 knots! In addition, they have 34 fighters and 37 carrier-based attack aircraft available... They are now located in the XX sea area, which is 140 kilometers west of the Faroe Islands..."

"Really? That's great! I was just worrying about not having enough aircraft carriers!" Hearing the great news reported by the Royal Guard Knight beside him, Tovi jumped up with joy and slammed his fist hard on his palm: "Pass my order, let the second aircraft carrier fleet turn northwest and chase the Germans with me. The first aircraft carrier formation will turn south of Reykjavik - Lütjens may break through the Denmark Strait, and ask them to cooperate with the Icelandic airport and prepare for air strikes to intercept!"

"understand!"

---

"Captain, Tirpitz's electronic direction finding and electronic monitoring have revealed that the British are indeed chasing us."

"He will definitely chase us. Now it depends on where Tovey's aircraft carrier is. If they chase us with their aircraft carrier, it means that their previous aircraft carrier has been repaired. In any case, Bismarck, have Zeppelin prepare all the aircraft that can be deployed, and hang up the anti-ship missiles for me. If the reconnaissance aircraft finds anything, report to me immediately!"

Lütjens, who was dozing off in a chair, slightly lifted the hat covering his old face when he gave the order.

"OK, all right!"

Bismarck nodded, responded, and then found a comfortable place to sit down next to his captain.

Our captain is becoming less and less serious and rigid, and even has his feet on the dashboard.

But she didn't say anything.

After all, what they are likely to face next is far more than just a big battle, so it is a good thing for the captain to take this time to rest.

I have just told her about my captain's imagination - it is an idea that might be very brain-burning!

The sisters were now covered in wounds. Although they still had speed and firepower, their health bars were running low. If they really wanted to force their way in, they could only survive one more battle—and at most they could only deal with a squadron of the enemy, or one or two medium-sized air raid groups. Then, the only thing left was to use their brains to break through.