Bismarck

Although he wrote meticulously, he rolled his eyes while recording, but he still didn't give up. When the order was recorded, Halder still asked, "That... Führer, although the possibility is not great, there is one thing that needs to be made clear - if there is really a chance to occupy Moscow with relatively low losses and in a relatively short time, or if Stalin has already given up Moscow, should we enter the city?"

"Moscow is an important place and a major transportation hub in Russia. If that is the case, it is okay to enter the city." Hitler said without thinking. But after thinking for a while, he added: "But before entering the city, we must first make sure that Stalin has given up Moscow! Otherwise, I would rather not enter the city than have our soldiers suffer unnecessary losses in street fighting and finally be driven out by the Russians!"

"Is that so... Then I understand. I will go and issue your order now." Halder put away his notebook, adjusted his monocle, extended his right hand to salute, and turned to leave.

Hitler glanced faintly from under his hat at General Halder who walked out of the door, then turned around, walked to the window, and looked at the scenery outside the window through the thick bulletproof glass without saying a word, somewhat absorbed in it.

Under the somewhat gray sky, the setting sun shone through the forest, which was bare and looked a little gloomy due to the falling leaves in winter. The dim sunlight was blocked by the dense branches of the forest. The messy branches cut the last rays of sunlight into pieces, and did not shine into the empty window of the head of state's office at all.

To the sentimental little mustache man, the pictures of nature seemed a bit bleak as the sun was setting.

The little mustache, feeling a little depressed, raised his head slightly, wanting to take another look at the last rays of light of the setting sun.

But at this moment, a group of crows happened to fly by!

The darkness blocked the view of the last rays of sunset falling over the treetops! The quacking sound was so ominous at this critical moment that determined the direction of the war! Even Hitler, a generation of heroes who started from scratch and believed only in his own strength and judgment, was somewhat uneasy because of this ominous atmosphere!

After a silent silence, Hitler spat, turned around angrily, pulled the curtains shut, and locked his restless mood inside the curtains.

The sun was setting behind the forest, and a dark shadow was covering the sky of the Third Reich...

Chapter 818: Surface Consensus

Winter is coming to Russia, but the harbor of France is blowing a strong sea breeze. The sea breeze from the Atlantic Ocean brings the humid season in a mild climate.

The midday sunlight is not strong compared to the sea breeze in late November, but instead has a warm feeling.

Less than two kilometers northeast of the Saint-Nazaire Dockyard is the airport of this small town.

Twenty or so aircrafts painted with numerous honors were neatly parked in a temporary parking space in a corner of the airport, covered with camouflage nets by ground crews. Next to the apron, in a tent that looked like a makeshift structure with the words "Wing Headquarters" hanging on the door, Zeppelin, wearing an off-white military uniform, stood in front of the blackboard with a pointer, explaining something to the pilots sitting below.

"...As I just said, this morning's tactical training still has many shortcomings! Especially the Third Squadron, which was ambushed without even being alert - this is a serious tactical mistake! Or to put it more bluntly, do you think you are the ace and can stop being alert?"

The teacher knocked the blackboard sternly with her pointer. The low pressure from the Edelweiss Witch made dozens of ace pilots with outstanding military achievements blush and shrink their heads, trembling with fear and not daring to speak.

After all, for these aces - many of whom have shot down dozens or even hundreds of planes and become super aces - this mistake was a shameful way to lose by surprise, even in an exercise.

"After fighting for so long, you should know that air combat is very cruel! Don't think that you will not be shot down just because you are an ace pilot, and don't think that I can command you. Air combat changes rapidly and emergencies may happen at any time. One negligence may lead to death. Besides, I am not omnipotent - to put it bluntly, I have been shot down at least twice. What qualifications do you have to allow yourselves to be proud and complacent?!"

When Zeppelin lectured people, she never insulted them or put them down in a high tone. But even when she used reason to convince people, she always spoke to the point. In addition, she had strict military discipline and good management. She actively explored and studied new tactics and technologies in her business. She also set an example and made great achievements on the battlefield...

In the entire GR186 squadron, Zeppelin herself is a symbol of full aura and majesty. All pilots are afraid of her, but at the same time, no one disobeys her.

However, in recent days, everyone's common impression of Instructor Qi is that after finally breaking through the GIUK defense line and returning home, her training standards have become more stringent - even in the complaints of many people, this level of training standards is no longer strict, but harsh...

In fact, her requirements for herself seemed to have become much higher...

I don't know what inspired her.

The pilots were scolded by Zeppelin so much that they kept their heads down and dared not say a word, but at the same time they were secretly feeling a little...heartbroken?

No matter what the pilots thought, and no matter whether they guessed that "a new ship girl appeared in the Allied forces", in short, Zeppelin's training was still the same as before, both strict (harsh?) and meticulous.

"You are all ace pilots now. You must pay attention to the basics at all times and don't make such low-level mistakes again. This is war time. As your wing commander, I am responsible for whether you can come back alive... Okay, this morning's exercise review ends here. After lunch, we will continue training in the afternoon. Dismissed!"

With Zeppelin's dismissal, the pilots, who had been scolded to the point of lowering their heads like ostriches, felt as if they had been pardoned. They grabbed the lunch boxes at their feet and ran out of the tent. In less than a minute, only one Zeppelin was left in the huge team headquarters. He was both angry and amused at the dozens of empty folding stools left.

"These little bastards didn't even put away the stools!"

Qiberin spat, put the documents and charts on the table into the folder in his hand and then put them into his military bag. Seeing that it was almost noon, he took out an iron lunch box from under the desk and prepared to go to the cafeteria.

Although she theoretically doesn't need to eat as long as she has fuel, she won't say that she goes to the canteen just because it's a military rule: you can only eat when the superior is here. It's not that she likes charcoal grilled oysters (produced in Nantes) or something!

When he thought of this, Zeppelin felt a little annoyed - this thing was indeed evidence of a certain cat's daily laziness! He was busy with military training all day long, but she was just worrying about what to eat all day long - and it was delicious!

Moreover. Speaking of food, Zeppelin remembered that on Valentine's Day last year, also here, when Bismarck was in the dock for overhaul, he and the commander had made something called "JIAOZI" - and now he still has some aftertaste!

When she thought about the time a year and a half ago when a few of them ran to the commander's house to rob dumplings on Valentine's Day, even someone as cool and elegant as Zeppelin felt his drool flowing uncontrollably.

Seeing no one around, he quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth - he couldn't let anyone see this! Otherwise, his prestige in the squadron would be reduced to a situation where he was squatting with his head in his hands to prevent the destruction of the second-level prestige and sweeping the floor without moral integrity...

Speaking of which, the squadron's supplementary aircraft and pilots have not yet arrived - although the entire fleet is undergoing overhaul, the new pilots must undergo training before they can fully integrate into the GR-186 squadron, a specialized carrier-based aircraft squadron. She doesn't want to worry about such a low-level mistake when she goes to the battlefield, such as getting lost at sea due to lack of foresight!

What's more, if the Allies can have a new ship girl this time, then it is entirely possible that more ship girls will appear!

And Germany? It is estimated that there is no longer any large battleship in the pipeline!

Besides, besides the shipgirl...

It's not that humans can't fight against shipgirls, whether it's because they were shot down twice, or when they went to Ceylon, they saw Kongo being beaten up by two naval fighters in an exercise! Although this requires technology and absolute numerical advantage, the Allies have both!

Guided missiles are already a big threat to us! The situation in the future will only get worse!

Therefore, when it comes to training, no matter how hard you try, it’s never too much!

Moreover, we have to tell the commander to quickly pick up the reserve pilots and start intensive training!

"Hey... finish eating quickly, there are still a lot of things to do after eating..."

Grabbing the lunch box, Zeppelin walked to the door and lifted the curtain of the tent.

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

A meeting had just concluded at the Brest base at this moment.

Moderator: Admiral Raeder.

Those present: three admirals of the Navy: Kumetz, Dönitz, and Lütjens.

(Although a certain pointy-eared and furry feline always feels that the term "Three Admirals of the Navy" sounds very familiar.)

Meeting content: Analysis of recent battle situation and clarification of next naval operational guidelines.

Meeting process: First, Lütjens reported the appearance of a new warship girl in the Allied forces, then Kumetz reported (boasted) the record of the anti-ship missiles that defeated the Biscay Bay surveillance fleet led by War Spite, and then Dönitz also introduced the recent achievements of submarine warfare and the enemy's movements. At the same time, in view of the fact that the external Allied enemy situation was somewhat stressful, everyone exchanged opinions in a cordial and friendly atmosphere and finally reached a consensus based on the principle of three-party cooperation and unity. With Dönitz's participation in mediation and Lütjens's attitude of taking a step back, Dark♂

Meeting result: The Marshal has appointed Kumetz to be in charge of the entire Atlantic theater of operations, and the Atlantic Ocean; Lütjens' fleet is currently under overhaul, so after the overhaul is completed, it will assist Kumetz in ensuring the Atlantic sea power, and Dönitz's submarine force will continue to complete the disruption of the Allied transport line in the Atlantic Ocean, etc.

"So to put it bluntly, it's just a briefing to support Kumets' rise to power..."

The Persian cat bit the white cheese in front of her fiercely, holding the knife in one hand and the fork in the other, while eating and mumbling softly, which made Lütjens next to her glare at her.

This is the dining room for senior officers, and Raeder is sitting at the top seat. Below are the three admirals of the navy, as well as their adjutants and secretaries who came to the meeting with them. There are so many people and so many different opinions, and there are also factions and forces crisscrossing. If you keep mumbling like this, I'm afraid you are...

The rules of eating in the army are still very strict. Especially now, the people eating in the general's restaurant are basically the core faction of the German Navy. The relationship between them is complicated and strange, but also well known.

Even in most of the time, the interactions between these people are at the level of "listening to what the other party didn't say and reading what the other party didn't write" - in such an environment, you, a stupid cat, still grumbled? That's too naive!

Looking at Raeder at the top and Kumetz and Dönitz opposite him, who had no reaction as if they didn't hear it and continued to eat lunch, Lütjens was not sure whether they didn't hear it or heard it but were too lazy to say anything.

But even so, it's normal...

Thinking back to when he was the first to make a report at the meeting, even Raeder looked frightened when he mentioned the new ship girl of the British fleet. Lütjens knew what Raeder's mentality was.

The current German Navy, at least in the face of a powerful enemy, must not lose its composure. This is exactly one of the tones set at this meeting! Although there are huge contradictions within the Navy and it is a well-known fact that he and Raeder are at odds, they must also ensure the stability of the overall situation on the battlefield!

As for Redl's support for Kumets or something... he is not interested in such a headache as politics, so just support him!

Anyway, as soon as the war is over, I will resign and leave, completely get rid of this mess, take Bismarck and Lily abroad, go to Switzerland to find my brother who went abroad in his early years, and live out the rest of my life there.

However, for some reason, Lütjens always felt that Kumets's white face and beardless appearance would be more suitable for women's clothing...

Chapter 819: Kim and Cunningham

At the entrance of the boulevard outside Buckingham Palace in London, there is a gatehouse-style building several stories high, like a loyal general, guarding the gate to the British Royal Palace.

This gatehouse, built in the 1910s, is the Admiralty Arch, located directly opposite Trafalgar Square. It has undergone several changes since its completion, but British dignitaries have always valued the Feng Shui of this place and chose it as their office or official residence - even the current British Prime Minister Churchill, as the First Lord of the Admiralty, used this as his official residence and office before he took over the Prime Minister's power from the long-ill Neville Chamberlain in 1940.

Today, this prestigious building is the official residence of First Sea Lord Andrew Brown Cunningham.

At this moment, Marshal Cunningham, with his female (chief) secretary (flag) (ship), was receiving the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Navy Fleet, Admiral Ernest King, who came here for a special visit and consultation.

The topic of discussion was, of course, the upcoming "Torch" operation plan - some of the problems it faced...

"So, the threat of the German 'deep sea sniper submarine' still cannot be resolved?"

When talking about this, Jin's face was full of gritted teeth.

"There's nothing we can do. Those guys... You know, a large group of transport ships is a sitting duck in front of a deep-sea sniper submarine. But if we want to split them into small transport groups, our destroyers will be stretched to the limit..."

Opposite the furious Kim, the seemingly harmless Cunningham still had his usual wry smile on his face with an innocent look.

"So what you're saying is that the combined escort capacity of our destroyers is still insufficient?"

Listening to Jin's somewhat impatient words, Yan Zhan, who was taking notes at the side, secretly rolled her eyes. However, as a secretary, in such a meeting concerning the joint operations of the British and American navies, she still had to meticulously record the meeting...

"Yes, so we have to think of a way... You know, our resources in Britain are almost entirely imported from overseas, but we have to transport resources for the Torch Campaign, because that is the hope for the 100,000-man army to break through the southern front..."

Cunningham on the other side also held his chin with one hand, looking out the window, trying to find common ground while reserving differences.

However, everyone in the conference room knew one thing very well - it was not easy to seek common ground while reserving differences...

London's wet fog in winter mixed with industrial smoke to form a thick gray smog, making the scenery outside the window seem a little hazy - just like the future of this war, making people feel particularly confused.

Since the German-Polish War broke out in 39 due to Germany's failed demand for Poland to return its territory, which led to Britain declaring war on Germany, the brutal war has lasted for a full three years and two and a half months.

This also means that the British Empire, which relies on the North Atlantic shipping line for its survival, has been fighting with the German Navy on the North Atlantic shipping line, which is now known to be turbulent, for a full three years and two and a half months...

Although the British Empire, once the world's largest maritime power, had formulated many combat plans and conducted a lot of war research in times of peace, they had never expected the Germans' fleet of warships!

Even the main fleets of Britain and the United States suffered heavy losses in front of the German Evil Spirit Brigade, not to mention the destroyers that were almost powerless in the face of large battleships and carrier-based aircraft. In many cases, in order to reduce losses, when the German battleships went out to sea to fight, the British and American navies had to urgently withdraw the merchant fleets back to the port to hide for a while!

Not to mention, in addition to the Evil Spirit Fleet, there are also three battleships and two aircraft carriers of the Kumets Fleet in the Bay of Biscay!

Moreover, there are now freak submarines like the "Deep Sea Lurker", forcing the British and American navies to reorganize small-scale transport fleets, and their destroyers are already stretched to the limit - without the cover of destroyers, which merchant fleet dares to go out to sea? !

The battle fleet suffered heavy losses, destroyers were stretched to the limit, and the escort efficiency of Atlantic shipping could not be guaranteed at all. Even if the British and American top leaders simply stopped the aid to the Soviet Union (originally required by the alliance) with the mentality of sitting on the mountain and watching the fight between the two tigers, the British Empire, which had to rely on imports for 50% of its food, was not having an easy time now!

What's even more troublesome is that the German ship girls are not pure soldiers like the British ones. According to the confirmed intelligence, whether it's the guided shells that appear at any time, or the terrifying electronic interference of the Gibraltar Fortress, or the night combat radars mounted on the single-engine fighters of the German Air Force in the Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alexandria, or the guided torpedoes launched by the Prinz Eugen in the battle when it debuted and challenged the US Atlantic Battlefleet to kill Rear Admiral Wilcox, as well as at least two heavy anti-ship missiles that have just appeared in the recent Battle of the GIUK Line and the Battle of Biscay Bay, and the "deep-sea lurking sniper" that is now a dominant force in the Atlantic shipping route and a headache for people, and even the German nuclear industry that has been confirmed to have been completely integrated... almost all of them are related to Lütjens and his evil fleet!

Although the British Empire and the United States of America were not without their own technological products, such as the Spitfire XIV fighter modified with the Griffin engine, which was now in service in batches, the Mosquito fighter-bomber that was invincible in night combat at high speed, the P-2000 Thunderbolt fighter equipped with a 47-horsepower air-cooled engine after learning from actual combat lessons and improving the design, the F6F Hellcat carrier-based fighter and the F4U Corsair carrier-based fighter, which were considered to be able to suppress German fighters and regain air superiority. There were also the dumpling squadrons that had begun to serve in large batches on the vast ocean, and the nuclear research projects of the United Kingdom and the United States, the Alloy Tube Project and the Manhattan Project... However, even so, in front of the endless strange technological products of the Germans, everyone always felt a sense of uncertainty.

Especially...Without being able to contain the new German submarines and surface fleets, even shipping in the North Atlantic is now barely maintained, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of tons of supplies for the Torch Project! There is still no sign of progress!

Even now, the United States and the United Kingdom have even reduced the construction of Liberty Ships and instead built more escort destroyers and escort aircraft carriers. However, the initiative in combat cannot be restored by simply increasing the number of troops - at least, not before the Allied escort aircraft carriers and destroyer fleets fill the entire North Atlantic.

Moreover, even if there were more escort carriers and escort destroyers, as long as the two German fleets were deployed, they would only end up being harvested miserably...

"…The biggest problem now is that there is no good way to find those damn 'deep-sea lurkers'. The torpedo range of these guys is up to 20 kilometers. Our destroyers have to sail with the merchant fleet to protect it, but sonar is useless when sailing... The escort aircraft carrier has a reconnaissance radius, but these deep-sea snipers can lurk underwater for a long time! The carrier-based light anti-submarine aircraft has a limited load capacity, and even if they carry air-dropped acoustic-guided anti-submarine torpedoes, they can't carry many sonar buoys; the search range of the airborne magnetic anomaly detector is only 300 to 500 meters, which is no different from looking for a needle in a haystack..."

Speaking of these troubles, Jin's hair seemed to stand up three points due to his resentment. He stood up and paced around the living room a few times in a somewhat irritable manner, then rushed to Cunningham's side angrily: "Cunningham, I say, how about this, the overall situation is more important, the German submarines are concentrated in the North Atlantic, Biscay Bay and Kumets are watching, we should slow down the escort in the North Atlantic, first withdraw four squadrons of destroyers and escort carriers, and hurry up to transport the supplies to the ports of the Gold Coast (the Dakar-Freetown line in West Africa, where Western colonists historically plundered African and Latin American resources), and then we can directly go north to land in North Africa... What do you think?"

"I said?! I think I will be scolded to death... You know that Atlantic shipping is in a terrible state right now. If I send out a few more destroyer squadrons, I'm afraid our country's shipping will have to be suspended for another month!" Cunningham looked bitter, shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands, and retorted in a bad mood: "We just sent away the plague god Kumets a few days ago, and now we're suspending shipping again in less than half a month. Do you think I will be scolded as a braised pig's head by the 50 million people of the British Empire?"

"Cunningham, what are you afraid of? I've emptied the entire Pacific Ocean and I'm not afraid. If the Japanese want to cause trouble, I'll be at greater risk than you." Jin twisted his head, with a look of dragging others down with him on his face: "Besides, you can ask Prime Minister Churchill to unite the major chambers of commerce and release some reserves. Anyway, it's just a little more difficult to land here, but as long as we land, everything will be easy - after all, Italy's main force is still in the Suez Canal and has to move, right?"

Hearing these words, Cunningham on the opposite side and War-weariness who was recording next to them, their faces changed almost at the same time.

Even Cunningham, who is usually a cheerful and nice guy, couldn't help but feel a little angry.

What King said was a satire on the fact that the British wartime cabinet and the House of Lords had not issued any anti-speculation laws until now, and that they were secretly taking advantage of the shortage of supplies during the war to make money from the national crisis? !

"Get lost, everyone knows that your American soldiers are overstaffed, overloaded, and over-eating - the logistics quota of your one division can support at least three of our divisions, not to mention the water shortage in North Africa. I have to arrange a batch of water ships for you... After all, I have been the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet for three years. Do you think I don't know how difficult it is to get supplies here? Let me put it this way, based on the logistics of your American soldiers, your 100,000 troops will consume at least 100,000 tons of supplies a month - 300,000 in three months. Then calculate the loss rate of Atlantic shipping, I have to prepare at least 500,000 tons of supplies and the transportation capacity of 100 merchant ships to ensure that your 'torch' will not be extinguished before the battle starts."

As he spoke, Cunningham became more and more annoyed. He glared at Jin angrily and said rudely, "The problem is, have you thought about our difficulties? Now our country imports only 300 merchant ships a month. When we were besieging Lütjens in the first half of the month, Kumets rushed out and stopped shipping... Those merchant ships were delayed for at least half a month. Now the shipping has only been running for less than ten days, and you take away another 100 ships. How can the people of the British Empire still have food to eat? Huh?!"

After a barrage of criticism against Kim, Cunningham felt that he had vented his anger verbally.

Although we cannot stand the double-dealing behavior of the Prime Minister and the lords in the House of Lords, we still have to protect our country's reputation at the negotiation table.

Even if it is maintained, it is just for appearance...

Opposite Cunningham, Admiral Jin, who only gave orders to others and was rarely criticized by others, heard this and a trace of anger flashed in his eyes. He almost lost his temper. Fortunately, before he lost his temper, he remembered that Cunningham was not only not his subordinate, but also the First Sea Minister of an ally country with equal status. It would be a small matter for two people to quarrel, but it would be a big trouble if the cooperation between the two countries was affected!

What's more, they were willing to sacrifice the entire Pacific Fleet to launch the North African campaign, and they did it on their own!

King knew very well that he was arrogant and domineering in the US Navy, and no one liked him. He could only hold this position with the full support of President Roosevelt. In other words, if he did not show some achievements and performance that could convince everyone, the huge risk of emptying the Pacific Fleet, which was like gambling, would be enough to make him fall from the high position of the commander-in-chief of the naval fleet in a blink of an eye and become a prisoner in the military court.

After rubbing his nose, Jin could only choose to give in. Although, in terms of strategy, the North African campaign had to be fought...

"Okay, I apologize for what I said just now... But the North African campaign is a major campaign that President Roosevelt and your Prime Minister have already jointly confirmed, and it is now imminent. As for the issue of sea transportation scheduling... I think we should ask President Roosevelt and your Prime Minister to discuss it again..."

What he said sounded very reasonable, but when Cunningham and War-weary on the opposite side heard this, they secretly looked at each other, and suddenly felt an inexplicable feeling in their hearts, as if something had happened.

Just to confirm...

Ha ha!

We didn't know that Fatty Qiu almost always responded to Luo Kuizi's requests and was submissive to everything he did - could we even say that he was submissive to the attack? !

Yes! My Prime Minister is a fat bottom, there is absolutely nothing wrong with saying this!

"It looks like the price is going to go up again this winter - no, I have to buy more pickles and other things to pickle and eat slowly!"

War-weary, who was already in a bad mood when he saw the price increase, even seemed to become more ferocious when he held the pen to write.