Bismarck

"…Our navy's fuel is either diesel or heavy oil, and these fuels are related to the Atlantic operations and the maritime blockade of Britain! In addition, I would also like to know more about how you plan to use and allocate these fuels!"

During the discussion phase after the report was read, the Army had no objection to increasing investment, but the object of fuel limitation - the Navy, was not so polite.

As a naval admiral, Raeder expressed his opinion as soon as he opened his mouth. Although his face showed no expression, he looked at Speer with an unkind look. Even the three admirals behind him, who were notorious for their mutual dislike, had the same look.

Speer touched his nose: Have I offended the navy?

However, I am also doing this for the sake of the overall situation, so I still have to say what I should say:

"We now have to consider the oil used on the Eastern Front - now it's mainly gasoline, but we have to consider future fuel needs. The E-50M tank that will be put into production soon is a hybrid, so it can be equipped with a gasoline engine or a diesel engine. We are now copying the Russian B2 diesel engine, and Jumo's JUMO206 diesel engine has also obtained production permission... So, we may need to sacrifice the fuel of the submarine force. Is there anything we can do about it..."

Dönitz rolled his eyes with a look of dissatisfaction and felt a stomachache.

"What about the heavy oil? There shouldn't be any problem with this thing, right?" Redel's face, tone, and expression remained unchanged, and the meaning he expressed was also unchanged - in short, he was not satisfied with such an answer.

Bismarck next door also pricked up her ears - this was related to the issue of "filling their stomachs"!

"Heavy oil. The army doesn't use much of it, but we also need to supply some to Italy. It's also an important industrial fuel and raw material. Besides, we have to consider the emergency fuel reserve needs on the Eastern Front and at home, so we still need to save some - not much, just a little bit..." Speer explained with a business smile, and his eyes were sincere and his face was calm. He didn't look like he was talking nonsense at all: "You must believe me..."

Believe in you!

Raeder, Kumetz, Dönitz, Lütjens, and the Persian cat all rolled their eyes.

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about that. Our fuel supply is indeed tight right now, and Speer is also for our ultimate victory, so let's forget about that. There's nothing we can do about it. We'll just have to make do with what we have..." Seeing the strange atmosphere in the conference room, the man with the mustache tried to smooth things over: "Anyway, just be patient for a while. By the second half of 43, our fuel supply will be a little better. The new fighter planes of the Air Force are jet planes that use kerosene, so the gasoline production capacity will at least be a little better. And if the Navy is worried about fuel, the Navy's inventory should be around tons right?"

"Not that much. There are only 50,000 tons of diesel and 80,000 tons of heavy oil - only enough for one month for submarines and surface fleets." Seeing the Führer speak, Raeder had to suppress his temper and patiently explained: "We have to dispatch more than 100 submarines every month, each submarine needs 400 tons of diesel, and we also have to consider the fuel needs of two Deutschland-class ships; as for heavy oil, you know, large warships are oil tigers - this time Britain and the United States plan to land in North Africa, and the main fleet will consume 70,000 tons of heavy oil each time it sails. We also have to consider the daily activities of the destroyers, so the reserve of 80,000 tons of heavy oil is extremely tight, and it can't be reduced anymore!"

"Is that so? Well then..." The mustache frowned and thought for a while. It seemed that this was indeed the truth. Then he looked at Speer: "... In this case, it seems that our tanks will continue to use gasoline engines for a while. The plan to install diesel engines on tanks will be temporarily shelved, at least until the Air Force switches to (kerosene-burning) jet engines... In addition, if the Navy wants to fight, this time we will give the Navy 100,000 tons of heavy oil as a reserve, and then give the Navy 65,000 tons of diesel and 85,000 tons of heavy oil every month to ensure the minimum combat needs. Speer, what do you think?"

"...Okay." Speer thought about it and finally nodded.

Redel over there didn't say anything, he just tore a piece of paper from his notebook, picked up a pen, wrote a sentence on it, and handed it to Kumets who was sitting behind him.

Kumets was a little surprised and took a look at the note. It said: "You all stay here and we will have a meeting."

…………After the meeting…………

There were only four people left in the quiet and cold meeting room - and a cat.

The situation was dire. Raeder, who had always been scheming against each other but had restrained himself recently, but still had some ideas in his heart, finally made up his mind to have a good talk with his three admirals.

"…We are all in the navy. It doesn't matter if we have internal conflicts, but given the general environment, we can't continue to have conflicts…Now we can only rely on mutual solidarity to jointly deal with the current situation, whether it is the landing operation planned by the Allied Forces or future military operations—you all know that they are going all out in North Africa this time! As for future development, it will only become more and more difficult! If we don't unite and cooperate, our navy will have even less say!"

Dönitz below was fine. Lütjens and Kumets looked at each other and nodded in sympathy.

The situation is here. The remaining battleships of the German Navy are not small in scale - five battleships plus three aircraft carriers. However, due to internal strife and division, they have done too many stupid things by fighting alone and acting separately.

Now that we are facing a powerful enemy, no matter how much internal strife there is, it is time to reorganize and adjust! Otherwise, whether it is for the overall situation of the navy, for Raeder himself, or for the three admirals of the navy themselves, the consequences will not be too good!

It’s a very simple truth: How can a useless person who has been defeated over and over again have any say?

Internal strife in the navy was one thing, but in the face of the national situation, status was ultimately determined by performance. Raeder was not too confused about this point - and, after all, what he cared about was the status and authority of the navy, and he didn't really care about saving face for a short period of time.

"Lütjens, I apologize to you! Your performance and that of the ship girls are obvious to all, and you are worthy of the glory of the German Navy..."

Facing Lütjens, who was nearly fifteen years younger than him, Reder's old waist actually bowed down.

Looking at Redl, who was guilty of hiring someone, Lütjens and Bismarck were shocked.

(PS: Historically, the Allied large-scale bombing in 44 of synthetic fuel plants with larger scale, more sophisticated equipment, and higher requirements for industrial base and industrial supporting facilities only reduced the production of synthetic fuel from 43 million tons in 560 to 44 million tons in 390, a reduction of only 30%. The oil layer in Maykop is shallow and the pressure is high. In the early days, there was even a record of a 50-meter-deep drilling well blowing out 7600 tons of crude oil. The scattered mobile drilling and simple local oil refining equipment are also more resistant to bombing. In addition to the bombing of roads that disrupt traffic, the only technical bottleneck is the addition of crude benzene to the low-grade finished oil produced by the local oil refining equipment...)

(PS2: The details of the Brandenburg Regiment's surprise attack on the Maikop oil field in history are that they first recruited about 40 Soviet traitors, and at the same time relied on radio monitoring and insider information to obtain the approximate number of the Soviet garrison at the time. In addition, the commander of the city defense of Maikop at the time, General Beredyev, an officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was busy "suppressing the Cossacks" and picking up girls. He neglected his duties to the point of not even asking and confirming the specific number, and took the initiative to tell the Brandenburg Regiment disguised as the NKVD about the surrounding defense deployment. This man finally fled when the enemy was at the gates of the city, so the German army had a loophole to exploit. However, even so, when the German 13th Armored Division and SS5 Armored Division were at the gates of the city, the Soviet troops still spontaneously carried out blasting. Even a heavy artillery regiment stationed near Maikop at the time found that it had lost contact with the city and directly bombarded the oil field...)

Chapter 830: The World Eighty Years Later

After the meeting, Bismarck walked behind Lütjens. Neither of them spoke, and they walked to the front of the car in a low voice.

In order to prevent the identification of targets for air raids, there were no street lights on the streets. Bismarck wanted to look up to see the captain's expression, but saw nothing in the darkness.

The car was allocated by the government for a temporary business trip. After picking them up from the airport, they went directly to the Navy Department, and then came to the venue with Raeder and others.

Lütjens got into the car first. Bismarck looked up at the dark sky and suddenly felt a sense of absurdity and unreality. This unreality came from the shocking news she had just heard.

Rommel and Guderian were captured?

It is hard to describe how she felt when she heard the news. It might have been a feeling of powerlessness, mixed with a sense of relief, but more of it was sadness.

No matter how things change, it seems that the final outcome of the Eastern Front will inevitably be collapse... ?

So what happened after the Eastern Front collapsed? What happened to Germany as a whole? And... what happened to them and the captains? !

At most, their presence gave the Germans a clear advantage on the ocean, and at least even at this time, their fleet would not have to worry about the British or even the Americans under any circumstances.

But what good is victory on the sea when there is collapse on land?

During the previous meeting, the roar of the mustache man was so loud that it made the corridors feel like a gust of wind...

Listening to Hitler's roar inside, Bismarck and Eva in the next room sat in silence. Compared to a year ago, Eva's face was less smiling. Obviously, she had heard a lot of bad news around Hitler.

Listening to Hitler's shouting, Bismarck somehow remembered a movie called "Downfall" - although she had not watched it very carefully, at least she knew that this famous movie was about the last moments of the Third Reich, some people in the bunker of the Chancellery of the Mustache, and some things...

Although it is far from that point now, at least they have not let the Soviets invade Germany, nor have they let the British and Americans land in Normandy, but the idea of ​​defeat inevitably emerges in her mind.

However, how could she tell others about this kind of thing...?

She could only chat with Eva about other things to kill time...

Looking at the captain getting on the car, Bismarck thought for a moment and decided that he should seize the time to have a "chat" with the captain.

"Captain, don't take the car, let's walk back."

Seeing that his secretary Cat had the car but didn't want to take it, but said she wanted to walk back, Lutjens, who was already in the car, was stunned for a moment.

"It's not far anyway, so we can just chat. Have we ever walked this way together?"

In the darkness, her figure was leaning against the car door, her head still seemingly waiting for him expectantly and nervously, as if she had something to whisper.

Lütjens glanced at her, and then he knew that Bismarck must have listened to the meeting just now, and might have some ideas that he wanted to talk to him about.

This Persian cat... He felt a little amused.

But her ears were on her body and it wasn't her fault that she had good hearing, so what could he say about her?

The driver in front turned around and looked at him, waiting for his order.

"You go back first, we'll just go."

Lütjens got out of the car again and watched it disappear into the darkness. Only the dim air-raid lights still emitted a depressing glow even though they were so far away.

There was definitely no romance, and the devastation everywhere only made the two of them feel more sad.

"Since you want to leave, let's go back." Looking at Bismarck who was approaching with a cute expression on her face, Lütjens said with a smile, and then walked slowly with her along the ruined street.

"Captain, how can you still laugh in such a situation?" Bismarck was speechless.

"What should I do? You want me to cry?" Lütjens coughed lightly.

Bismarck thought about how he cried and found it impossible to imagine it, because even in the most difficult times, Lütjens always had a calm expression, no matter when and where.

She thought it would be funny if the captain cried, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Forget it. If you cry, the whole of Berlin will know about it tomorrow." Bismarck laughed, "Maybe the Führer will call me over to ask what happened."

Lütjens shook his head, saying that the middle-aged man could not keep up with her jumping thoughts.

The two of them chatted about this and that, and never mentioned what happened in the meeting room. It was only after they walked a long way that Lütjens couldn't help but speak out.

"We are almost halfway there now, Bismarck, please ask whatever you have to ask."

"What do I want to ask?" Bismarck said in surprise, "I know everything you said."

Lütjens was stunned, then patted her head and said in a serious tone, "Didn't I tell you not to eavesdrop on the meeting?"

"No way, Captain." Bismarck's ears flicked and drooped, and he began to complain: "The Führer was shouting so loudly, and I couldn't help but hear it when I was with Eva next door... I promise I didn't use my perception."

"Okay, just keep the news to yourself. We'll go back and have a meeting then, but don't let anyone else know. Do you hear me?"

Lütjens, who could no longer pretend to be serious, was still amused by her performance and did not pursue whether it was true or not.

Anyway, they will know this news.

"Don't worry, I know. It's to stabilize the morale of the army." Bismarck stuck out his tongue. "My army's morale is very stable."

After saying this, Lütjens nodded, hummed, and then...the two fell silent again.

There was no way. The night was too depressing. Whether it was Bismarck who wanted to amuse others, or Lütjens who cooperated in the amusing, it was impossible for them to be happy from the bottom of their hearts.

Not to mention, what is even more depressing and heavy than the devastated night scene during the war years is the uncertain future...

Looking at the tall figure walking beside him, Bismarck made a secret decision in silence that there were some things that he should let Lütjens know.

Her background and future fate should no longer be hidden from Lütjens, because if it is delayed any longer it might be too late.

As for how he would react after knowing it, she didn't want to think about it. At least, she wanted to try her best and not die with this sinking country.

Bismarck's desire to save the people around him became stronger and stronger.

Maybe the captain was right, she was not a qualified warship, and it was not a good thing for a warship to have thoughts. What's more, her thoughts were betrayal.

If everyone were as honest as Zeppelin, there wouldn't be so many worries.

Thinking of Zeppelin, Bismarck felt a headache again.

After all, she didn't really support Germany in spirit, but Zeppelin's words were just the opposite...

And it’s a bit too straightforward…

It's good luck that you can talk to someone who doesn't agree with you. If you're unlucky, it would be miserable if you can't even be a sister.

Thinking about Zeppelin's stubbornness, Bismarck decided to continue looking for his own captain to test his reaction to "looking for a retreat" - although, if he was unlucky, he would be scolded by the captain and even have opinions.

Looking for a way out is a very shameless thing. She is planning for the future at the risk of being abandoned by her friends and relatives...

"So, Captain, what do you think of today's news? General Guderian, and Rommel..."

Guderian and Fox had a good relationship with him. After all, they had fought together before. When he heard that both of them had fallen into trouble, what was the captain thinking... ?

The Persian cat unconsciously pricked up her pointy ears.

"What can I say? I can only hope that they are okay and don't act stupidly and commit suicide..."

Lütjens sighed. Judging from the last call, both of them should not be dead. For a marshal-level prisoner of war like this, as long as he was not shot on the spot, he would have survived.

Besides, when the war reached that point, everyone, including the Führer, knew that the two of them had tried their best in Moscow.

Although as a soldier I feel somewhat unwilling to accept this, but on the battlefield life and death are determined by fate, there is nothing to say.

In this kind of situation, what else can he do except silently send his best wishes to his old friend?

However, the Führer was still very unhappy about this.

At the meeting, he even lost his temper and said that the German marshals who had not surrendered were captured, and that they should be stripped of their military ranks and honors.

Although he knew that this was just a temper tantrum, Lütjens still felt a little disappointed.

"Forget it. At least now I know they are still alive." Lütjens shook his head somewhat uninterested and said while looking at the sky: "Whether we can see each other again in the future is another matter. No one knows what will happen in the future."

"We have fought with the Soviet Union to this point now. According to them, we have incurred a huge debt of blood... If we are really to be held accountable by the Soviets, even if we are still alive, our life in the POW camp will probably be very miserable..." Bismarck said with a wry smile.

Although if you think about it this way, the fox at least avoided the fate of committing suicide in history, but...

Lütjens glanced at the ship cat that had followed him for several years, without saying a word, just looking at her expression as she seemed to want to say something but was hesitant to do so.

Bismarck naturally noticed the way the captain looked at her, but this idea of ​​"testing for a way out"...

I always feel it's so awkward to say such things in front of my own captain, a naval admiral!

But...some things have to be said sooner or later...

After holding it in for a while, Bismarck, who was conflicted, finally decided to continue "testing" it.

"Actually, when I said I wanted to take a walk today, you should know, Captain, that I must have something to say to you." Bismarck looked up at the sky, his thoughts wandering - in short, he was very afraid that the captain would be angry with him if they didn't agree with him.

"Yes, I can see that." Lütjens nodded.

"Then I won't beat around the bush. Do you think Germany will win?" she asked seriously.

Here she used Germany, not the Empire or our country. This unfamiliar tone made Lütjens quickly notice the difference.

As a soldier, he must of course firmly believe that his country can win, but as a clear-thinking senior official and the difference between him and the fanatical brainwashed youth, he can also see how difficult this is. The difficulty is that one country is taking on the entire Western world alone.

Faced with Bismarck's straightforward question, he suddenly didn't know how to answer.

Fortunately, Bismarck did not let him answer, as she had already answered.

"I can see that Germany cannot win. The Third Reich will certainly perish." Bismarck looked straight at Lütjens, not giving him any chance to dodge. "Because we are against the whole world, isn't that right, Captain?"