Bismarck

Looking at the scarred aircraft carrier, Bangtai's calm voice was also filled with a hint of gnashing of teeth.

Fortunately, the fire and explosion-proof doors were lowered after the hangar was cleared. Although the most dangerous missile that hit the middle of the hull blew through the chimney inside the ship and threatened the rescue work in the entire hangar with high temperature waves, at least until now, the fire and heat source have not threatened the sixteen anti-ship missiles stored in the upper level of the hangar in front of the hull!

However, if I don't get rid of them now...

"So aircraft carriers should just carry planes..."

Shaking his head, Bangtai, holding the microphone, gritted his teeth and looked extremely distressed.

"How far away do you think they are?"

Commander Lütjens' voice came through the microphone, and there seemed to be the rustling sound of pencil work on the nautical chart. But Bonte didn't think too much, and answered directly: "If the Spitfire's maximum combat radius is less than 400 kilometers, it was about 450 kilometers away from us before, and the farthest distance from us now is no more than 350 kilometers!"

"Three hundred and fifty kilometers...? This is the edge of the range of anti-ship missiles..." Lütjens thought carefully and immediately made up his mind: "Bontai, turn the rudder due west immediately and prepare to launch the missiles!"

"Yes... Also, Commander, after launching the missiles, I will stop the ship for repairs. The smoke problem can no longer be delayed. The entire hangar is filled with smoke. If the leak is not fixed, I'm afraid the hangar will catch fire..."

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away!"

As soon as the words fell, Lütjens put down the microphone in his hand and looked at Zeppelin, who was lying on the chart table beside him and had also calculated that the British aircraft carrier formation was no more than 350 kilometers away from his position: "Go, tell Tizi and Eugen that we will turn due west immediately and prepare to organize a missile attack. If Top breaks her hand, let Eugen be responsible for driving her body, and let Tizi organize the missile attack!"

"Understood... Captain, how many missiles should we launch?"

"Fire all! Don't hold back a single shot!!"

ps: Happy New Year everyone! I recommend The Wandering Earth!

Chapter 839: The Road Ahead... Uncertain

"Your Excellency, First Sea Lord, report from the front that the bombing mission has been completed and we are returning."

In the brightly lit Admiralty building, War-weary, holding a telegram, trotted over from the direction of the Operations Staff Office, stood beside Cunningham and was about to read the report. However, the latter directly stretched out his hand to stop War-weary from speaking, and then, in front of War-weary's confused eyes, he calmly took out a small medicine bottle with aspirin written on it from his pocket, poured out a tablet and put it into his mouth, then took a deep breath, and finally smiled and nodded at War-weary: "Okay, you can talk now."

Looking at Cunningham who was so shameless, War-weary suddenly had the urge to slap the telegram directly in Cunningham's face.

Is this battle report so terrible? !

What do you mean by "let me be mentally prepared, so I don't get scared to death by your sudden big news"? !

It was clearly a joint air strike with the Air Force that achieved great results, and the four evil spirits were all seriously injured!

After the battle, the Mosquito reconnaissance planes that were specially sent from the UK to confirm the results of the battle said in the telegram that according to the long-range radar signals and the close-up shots taken by the infrared camera, it has been confirmed that all the members of the Sea Evil Fleet were hit and caught fire. The Zeppelin aircraft carrier has lost power and needs to be towed by a battleship that is also seriously injured. Moreover, the reconnaissance planes that were supposed to be intercepted by the fighter planes commanded by the Edelweiss Witch herself are nowhere to be found. Until they returned from close-up photos, no German fighter planes were found over the enemy fleet. In addition, just now, Tovey also made a preliminary statistics on the claimed kills of fighter pilots from both the Navy and the Air Force in the battle: at least 40 were shot down by our army alone! ... Based on the above situation, the preliminary judgment of the intelligence analysis team is that the German carrier-based aircraft wing suffered heavy losses, while our losses were minor...

So this is obviously a big win! Why are you still like this, old man?

"So...let me take another look at the report?!"

"for you!"

War-weary finished reading the report angrily, and slammed the freshly baked battle report in Cunningham's palm. The staff officers who were busy working in the headquarters couldn't help but look up - God is our witness, we really didn't associate the heavy "smack" sound with some perfect steel object that directly smashed some fleshy parts into a pie after hearing it...

"Ouch~! What are you doing?!"

Looking at his already perfectly formed two-dimensional claws, Cunningham, who had just taken anti-angina pills so he wasn't feeling bad, said he felt a little pain in his hands.

"Really? Who asked you to be so frivolous? Who would have such an expression after hearing the news of victory?"

A cup of freshly brewed and still hot coffee was gently placed in front of Cunningham. The general flagship, who had just slapped Cunningham's claws into a two-dimensional state, crossed his arms and turned his face away unhappily with an expression that said, "You deserved it."

Under the strong smell of coffee, Cunningham, who was in a dilemma, began to change the topic:

"Did Tovey say what they were going to do next?"

"Yes, they are turning around now to meet the returning aircraft. At the same time, he is also planning to launch a second air strike on the German fleet - to eliminate all evil and leave no future troubles, he said."

When it comes to eradicating all evil, War-weary's face can't help but become a little grim.

"But in this case, he can only operate the deck for no more than an hour and a half, right? Isn't the time for scheduling and operating the flight deck enough?" Cunningham pondered for a moment and thought of another question: "Also, the distance of 350 kilometers is within the attack range of their missiles and aircraft. Kumetz has two aircraft carriers, plus the missiles of the evil spirit fleet, what if..."

"Well, Tovey also said this. He said that in the past, the enemy counterattacked because they did not completely kill the enemy when they were injured. And now there are escort aircraft carriers to support the fleet's air defense, so regular aircraft carriers can fully exert their maximum attack power... He also said that as long as the evil fleet is destroyed, it will be worth it even if all the main battleships of the local fleet, including his own, are destroyed... This?"

Although he also hated the evil fleet, even though he was war-weary, he felt a little trembling after seeing Tovey's crazy will to attack.

This is gambling with the lives of an entire generation of the Royal Navy!

"Really? Tovey is being too reckless!" Not only did War-weary see this, but even Cunningham saw it: "No matter how heavy the losses of the Evil Spirit Fleet are, their ship-borne anti-ship missiles have not been used yet. The two Kumets aircraft carriers have basically maintained their combat effectiveness. If he wants to launch another air strike, isn't he afraid of being counterattacked by the other side?!"

"No, maybe the Germans have already started to fight back..."

After grabbing the telegram and reading it carefully again, War-weary raised his head and smiled with a bitter taste.

"What do you mean?" Cunningham was stunned.

"Tovey said that in order to cooperate with the Royal Air Force's air strike, his carrier-based aircraft had been forced to take off at a distance of 450 kilometers. In order to accommodate the carrier-based aircraft, he had ordered the aircraft carrier formation to turn around and shorten the distance to within 350 kilometers. At the same time, he also said that the Germans had just encountered an air strike. Kumets, who had accommodated a large number of aircraft, should be busy dispatching the flight deck and might not be able to send too many fighters to organize air defense. The missiles of the evil spirit fleet alone might not be able to deal with his four squadrons at the same time. He also said that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Even if it fails this time, there is also the US fleet behind to provide a backup - but if this opportunity is missed and the main force of the US Navy is transferred back to the Pacific, it is unknown when Lütjens can be completely eliminated..."

Ignoring Cunningham's eyes that were getting wider and wider, War-weary continued:

"Tovey said that his four regular aircraft carriers and six light carriers were divided into four formations - two regular aircraft carrier formations, a battleship fleet and a cruiser fleet. The light carriers were dispersed among the four formations to provide cover. At the same time, his two regular aircraft carrier formations were deployed in a dispersed manner. It was unlikely that the missile attack of the evil spirit fleet would hit two aircraft carrier divisions at the same time... Finally, he also said that the four fighter squadrons and six bomber squadrons were almost ready for the second round of air strikes..."

"Alright, alright, stop reading." Cunningham waved his hand, interrupting War-weary's repetition: "This old fellow is still as reckless as before... Forget it, I also understand the principle of pursuing victory and eradicating all evil. Now is indeed a good opportunity. Even if we fail, there are Americans to help us. Even if we fail, we will live up to the Nelson spirit of the Royal Navy - at most, I will have to clean up his mess myself..."

"What do you mean by again? Why do you say again?" Looking at his own admiral who had a look of self-pity and was laughing with tears in his eyes, Miezhan, who was originally a warmonger, smiled helplessly, put down the telegram, walked over and held Cunningham's arm: "Forget it, the overall situation is here. If Tovey is sure, let him fight. To be honest, if the Evil Fleet is really destroyed and the Royal Navy is wiped out, it won't be a big deal - after all, we can still rebuild. Moscow was defeated so badly that Hitler didn't even have time to rebuild the army this time, so where would the money come from to rebuild the navy!"

"That's true." Cunningham nodded, looking at his wife who had been with him for many years. With the warm fire in the fireplace to build up his courage, he gently covered her hands with his unruly hands: "Well, wife..."

"Huh?! It's still working hours. Do you want me to call the military police to remind you what discipline is?!"

"Uh... No, no! Absolutely not! I swear to God..."

Under the warm glow of the fireplace, a "sinful domestic violence" was going on. Hundreds of kilometers away on the Celtic Sea, the four armored aircraft carriers of the two aircraft carrier task forces, the Vengeance, the Indefatigable, the Glorious II, and the Victory II, which had turned around and sailed for more than an hour and successfully joined the battle fleet commanded by Tovey himself, and the two Independence-class light aircraft carriers supported by the United States that were covering the aircraft carrier formation, had also pulled 48 fighters from four fighter squadrons and 54 Flying Dragon fighter-bombers from six attack squadrons onto the take-off line on the flight deck.

The time now is almost ten o'clock in the evening. As long as these planes are launched, they can seamlessly connect with the carrier-based aircraft group which takes off at eight o'clock, starts bombing at nine o'clock, finishes the air raid at half past nine, and returns around half past ten!

Tovey's battleship fleet, the cruiser fleet 70 kilometers ahead, and four light aircraft carriers can provide air cover for the entire Royal Navy's Home Fleet!

The aircraft carrier task force, after using light carriers to undertake search and cover functions and freeing up all its attack power, is so willful!

Not to mention, there are five aircraft carriers of the US allies on their way to the south!

----------

The smoke from the missile launch had just cleared, and the V1 Nemesis anti-ship missile, which was painted blue and black, followed the direction of the Allied aircraft group that had just disappeared more than ten minutes ago under the command and guidance of the Hamster's navigator, and disappeared into the deep night sky with the whistling sea breeze, with the slightly inconspicuous tail smoke of the pulse engine. On the vast sea, only four "torches floating on the sea" were left, cleaning up the mess after the previous fierce battle in a slightly embarrassed manner.

"Bontai, what's the situation on the Zeppelin?"

"Not very good, a bit bad. Three of the four boiler room smoke ducts are damaged and need to be repaired. Now only the last set of boilers can be started... The high-temperature smoke from the hangar is still being exhausted, and repairs can only be organized after the exhaust is completed. And even so, it is estimated that it will take until after eleven o'clock at the latest for two sets of boilers to start. Even if the last set of boilers is maintaining the steam pressure now, if the Zeppelin wants to reach 50% of its steam production - that is, a speed of 27 to 28 knots, I'm afraid we have to wait until the repaired boilers are warmed up..." While reporting on the Zeppelin's maintenance status - after all, the Zeppelin is in the most serious situation in the entire fleet, he also expressed his own opinion: "Commander, if the British launch another wave of air raids, the current air defense will be inadequate!"

"Yeah... Kumetz has just received the previous fleet, and the deck is still crowded. Even if he sent out four fighter squadrons to patrol the sky, it would be difficult to send out more aircraft to reinforce if something really happens." Lütjens thought for a moment and said, "If the British are turning around now... I don't think there will be a second round of air strikes before 2 o'clock. In addition, the JG- wing on the French coast has a naval aviation flight squadron, and they have received carrier-based aircraft take-off and landing training, so I will ask the Air Force to come and cover us - at worst, let them land on our aircraft carrier first, which can be regarded as a supplement to our aviation force."

"It's almost ten o'clock now, time is a bit tight." Bangtai said with a wry smile, "But fortunately, the Air Force and the Navy now have a contract operation agreement, and the Imperial Marshal has also promised that as long as there is a large-scale operation and the Air Force is notified, the naval aviation brigade will be commanded by the Navy and can be dispatched at any time... So, I will ask Zeppelin to contact the Air Force and ask them to come over immediately."

"This is the only way we can do now..." Lütjens nodded, but then he thought of something else: "There is one more thing. The air raid is expected to start in an hour. I think it is necessary to gather everyone now to discuss what we should do next. What do you think, Bonte?"

"Well! I think it's necessary!" Bangtai thought about it and spoke. As the deputy commander of the fleet, he would definitely discuss this matter with him if the commander asked him to make a decision: "Although the Führer asked us to reinforce France, even if we can deal with the British's ten aircraft carriers and six battleships including two ship girls together with Kumets, we probably won't be able to deal with the Americans who followed them. If we discuss it then, it will be too late!"

"Then it's settled! To keep it secret, we'll use the girls' broadcasting capabilities to make the call - Zeppelin is with Kumets, and I'll send Bismarck to you later. Grapes will guide the missile attack, but this time we just need to let the missile follow the route of the enemy aircraft, so it should be okay to let her broadcast Lindemann's opinion!" Hearing Bonte's support for his opinion, Lütjens made the decision directly. He poked his own ship cat who was still busy mobilizing the damage control team, and ordered: "Bismarck, you go and send a telegram to Lindemann, Top, and Kumets, and tell them that I have a meeting and let you broadcast it. After the telegram is sent, you will go to Zeppelin's Captain Bonte to be the broadcaster, and by the way, ask Zeppelin to find Kumets - I want to discuss the next step of the operation with everyone."

"Then...what about maintenance?" Bismarck waved her arms - the front main gun turret of No. 2 was stuck, and her right arm was a little weak now.

"Let the damage control team handle the leaks and structural reinforcements first. We'll work on the main armor and main turret after the meeting."

"Well, okay." Looking at his captain closing his eyes, with a look of great pressure from both the enemy situation and the task assigned by his superiors, Bismarck nodded, feeling a little pain in his heart.

Actually, she had the same idea in her heart.

--

December 1943st, p.m., two hours left until .

"Captain, everyone has been contacted." Bismarck said, standing next to his captain.

Lütjens, who had been looking at the nautical chart for a while, took out a small bottle of medicine and took two pills of some kind. He pinched his nose bridge and finally took a breath. Then he turned around, nodded, and took the radio microphone from his secretary cat, which was installed on the Bismarck battleship and served as the broadcasting equipment of the KanColle brand communication system, and then waved his hand.

The secretary nodded, understanding what was going on, and then gradually disappeared in front of his captain.

only……

Before disappearing, Bismarck looked at his captain and felt that his hair seemed to have turned a few more gray in just a short while.

As the fleet commander, under the dual pressure of superior military orders and the battlefield environment, he had to pretend to be carrying out the mission while being able to bring everyone home. This pressure...

How difficult it is!

As Bismarck was looking at her in a state of confusion, she had already moved to the vicinity of Bonte. At the same time, Lütjens, who looked exhausted, grabbed the microphone, still sitting upright, and started the radio conference call.

Although everyone was actually on their own ships and did not gather together, they only communicated with each other using the KanColle brand radio, but everyone had either the real KanColle or the projection of the KanColle around them, so it did not affect the progress of the meeting.

Through the microphone on the Bismarck battleship, the captain first read out Hitler's orders to everyone, then read out the information obtained by various reconnaissance and intelligence means up to now, and Lütjens briefly introduced the situation on the battlefield.

Then it was Kumets who asked the first question: "...So, should we continue to move forward now?"

Lütjens couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard Kumetz's question. After all, Hitler's telegram was written in black and white:

"Yes... Military orders are hard to disobey. This time the order was given by the Führer himself, so I have no choice - so we can only move on now. Everyone must be careful!"

Although the main body was acting as a broadcaster beside Bontai, the captain was hiding in his main body after all. Bismarck looked at his captain's main body with some concern, opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

In fact, she also knew that even if she said something, the captain would not listen - or to put it more directly, there was no way he would listen. After all, the words "keep moving forward" were indeed a military order...

"This damn little mustache..." Bismarck was furious and secretly complained in his heart, but he also made a certain decision.

"So, what are the specific action arrangements?" On the Hindenburg battleship over there, with the help of Zeppelin's broadcast, Kumets continued to inquire about the specific combat arrangements.

After all, in this kind of battle, our army is at a huge disadvantage. If we don’t make any arrangements, the consequences will be disastrous.

"The Americans are still missing, but even if their interceptors shot down our reconnaissance plane, there should be some news. So it seems that the American fleet has not yet entered the reconnaissance range of the reconnaissance plane - but, no matter what, they should enter the field by the second half of the night at the latest."

Kumets on the radio hummed in agreement.

"That's probably possible! But, General Lütjens, to be honest, I think we should first ensure our own safety, and then pursue the completion of the battle mission."

"This……"

Everyone could hear the hidden meaning in Kumets' words, but no one, including Top, who was the most hostile to him, said anything.

It's no wonder Kumets is afraid of death. Given a choice, no one wants to die in vain! Lütjens is no exception.

If I had full command, I would have withdrawn long ago. But that was the problem.

"The Zeppelin is being repaired right now. Even if it's repaired, it can only maintain a speed of 27 knots for now. The two aircraft carriers on your side can only travel at 25 knots. I guess even if we finish the repairs, we won't be able to run too far..." Putting down the microphone and pinching the bridge of his nose between his eyes, Lütjens thought again and again before proposing a solution: "How about this, we just launched a missile attack, guided by the Tirpitz - then let's move our two formations closer together, and wait until the effect of this wave of attacks on the British comes out, and then we'll see whether to attack or retreat."

"What about the American fleet? We still don't have any intelligence about them. What if they suddenly intervene..."

Top squatted on his seat on the bridge with his arm in a sling. There was still a bruise on his face from the fall. The little rabbit next to him was applying medicine to him while forwarding his captain's speech on the WIFI space with a password.

"As for the American fleet... the 40th reconnaissance aircraft wing has been deployed, and there is still no news..." When talking about this, Kumets still felt a little uncertain. Looking at the Zeppelin in front of him, Kumets considered his words and said uncertainly: "Either they have not entered the reconnaissance range of the reconnaissance aircraft yet, or... Zeppelin, you should be able to make the other party's reconnaissance aircraft silent, right...?"

Kumets didn't finish his words, but the few people here knew the combat power of the ship girls. They all knew what he wanted to express - and their faces changed at the same time!

"You mean... Americans also have shipgirls? And they are aircraft carrier command shipgirls?!" *N

"No, I'm not sure, but the Americans are out in full force this time. I'm not afraid of a thousand things, I'm just afraid of one..." Listening to everyone's doubts and even some accountability in their tone, Kumets' desire to survive, which was inversely proportional to his voice, instantly increased.

"How can you take such an uncertain 'guess' seriously!" Standing opposite Kumets, Qiberin looked at the other party's sincere expression and instantly became disdainful - if the other party had not been in any affiliation with her and his military rank was much higher than hers, she would have lost her temper on the spot.

However, this does not affect her from expressing her views to everyone via WIFI.

Anyway, Kumets couldn't access WIFI, so it was impossible for him to hear what they were talking about - after all, the reason why Kumets was able to "attend the meeting" this time was entirely due to her broadcast.

"Zeppelin, wait a minute, this possibility cannot be underestimated..." Lütjens thought about it, his face becoming more and more serious: "Bismarck, when you come back, make a combat prediction with me for the US fleet's participation in the war!"

"Okay!" Bismarck thought for a moment and answered using the headphones on her body.

Hearing the answer from his own ship cat was still crisp and clear, the solemn expression on Lütjens' face became even more intense.

The enemy's situation is unclear, our army's position is exposed, and the Führer has ordered us not to retreat... Is there anything worse than being in a dilemma?

This battle pill!!

At the same time, 600 kilometers southwest of the German fleet at Cape Fisterra, a large and equally powerful fleet was divided into three formations, galloping at full speed in the pitch-black night...

"Saratoga, Essex, you did a great job! None of their reconnaissance planes sent back any information!"

On the flagship aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, Vice Admiral Fletcher, who was easy-going but also full of fighting spirit, praised his men for a few words, then slowly walked to the porthole where only the stars could be seen in the darkness, and stared at the front of the fleet.

Although he lost two aircraft carriers, the Lexington and the Wasp, in the Battle of Wake Island a year ago, even someone as easy-going as him never thought that the combat effectiveness of himself and his American Empire Navy was worse than anyone else!

Especially, there are now three ship girls in his fleet!

"The British have already launched their second wave of air strikes. Even if the Germans retaliate with missiles, at most both they and Tovey will suffer losses."

At this moment, after thinking about the battle situation in his mind one last time, Fletcher couldn't help but feel somewhat complacent that he had indeed made a good preemptive move this time!

Although he did not receive the order to go north to reinforce the British fleet until after sunset, as the commander-in-chief of the three formations of the US Navy's main fleet, he had already ordered his fleet to move north in advance at 4 pm when the British reconnaissance plane first discovered the Kumets fleet leaving the port!

Fortunately, he had this foresight, otherwise, the outcome of the battle between Tovey's home fleet and the German fleet would be unpredictable. If Lütjens had withdrawn from the battle after severely damaging Tovey's fleet and directly slipped back to the port on the French coast, then this joint British and American plan to destroy the main force of the German Navy would have become a joke!