Bismarck

If there is any problem with this British aristocratic-style breakfast that is inconsistent with aristocratic etiquette, it is that the original "rule" of not discussing military and national affairs at the dinner table is not very applicable here.

After all, the governor of the Gibraltar fortress and the head of the Atlantic-Mediterranean Navy of the Allied Powers both hold high positions, and "business-wise" they are closely connected because they both have to bear the responsibilities of fighting in the Mediterranean.

No matter how romantic the conversation is, we cannot avoid this damn war at this time.

"…So, I think my position is quite important now. After all, the Prime Minister said that with Italy's surrender, our merchant fleet will no longer have to sail around the Cape of Good Hope and spend two months in the South Atlantic Ocean experiencing seasickness for five or six million tons of shipping. The only trouble is the German submarines around us, which always remind me to be careful."

After finishing his dessert, Mountbatten wiped the corners of his mouth gracefully and waited for Cunningham and Vanguard to finish eating. Then, after the waiters around him cleared the food on the table and left and closed the door, they started chatting about "common topics" among themselves.

"But with your coordination ability, it's actually a bit out of place for you to stay here." Cunningham, a senior in the navy, looked at the humble young man in front of him who could have made a living by relying on his family background, but relied on his ability to climb to a high position. He was already an admiral in his early forties, and his tone was full of appreciation: "I'm not afraid to tell you that we all agreed that the most suitable place for you is to go to India and Southeast Asia to be independent - the environment there requires complex coordination in all aspects, which is more suitable for you to perform than here. But halfway through the Quebec Conference, we found that if we don't deal with the German Navy, we can't concentrate our efforts to recover Southeast Asia from the Japanese, so we can only continue to prioritize our national strength here. And..."

Halfway through his speech, Cunningham's expression changed a little - half of it was a wry smile, and the other half was a mad look: "Now, there is really no more suitable candidate for the position of Governor of Gibraltar except you!"

"Yes, it's all the fault of those German crew members." For Mountbatten, who was born into a royal family, whose grandmother was Queen Victoria and who was also very capable of socializing, certain situations did not fall into the category of needing to be kept confidential.

After all, in the past few years, the Royal Navy has sunk nearly thirty battleships!

And there shouldn’t be too many young talents who were buried in the sea when the battleship sank!

You know, it takes at least twenty years to train a captain of a battleship, and the person who can serve as the captain of a battleship cannot be an ordinary person - as long as there are no major problems, these people are almost certain to be the reserve candidates for generals!

In addition to the battleships, cruisers and destroyers also suffered heavy losses - and there was no shortage of talent among them!

In other words, dozens of future generals with outstanding abilities have been lost directly or indirectly in the past few years!

Who can stand this?

Even though the Royal Navy is a large and powerful country, such a loss would have a devastating impact on its talent pool!

As for the British Army, let alone - when the war broke out, the most elite group of middle-level backbones of the army basically joined the expeditionary force to France. Now they are still in the prisoner-of-war camps, carrying shovels and hoes every day, repairing fortifications on the Atlantic Wall!

Moreover, even the fortress was not safe. There were two governors who died in the battle, and another whose plan failed and who was unable to recover.

Not to mention anything else, the damage suffered by the Gibraltar Fortress during the last attack has not yet been fully repaired!

"I originally thought that I had a great responsibility, but now I suddenly realize that I actually feel a lot of pressure..."

Mountbatten smiled bitterly, shrugged, touched his nose, and made the sign of the cross for Sir Riddle who committed suicide. Cunningham, who was sitting opposite him, was stunned for a moment, and then he also observed a few seconds of silence for his old friend Admiral Somerville, who had partnered with Riddle to defend Gibraltar and later died in the Indian Ocean.

In addition to Somerville, there was also his own student, Admiral Algernon Willis of the South Atlantic Garrison.

Although Vanguard didn't know who these two were mourning for, she could guess that they must be the people who died in the battle with the "German ship crew".

Under the table, the lady secretly clenched her fists.

When it comes to the "Evil Fleet", Cunningham and Mountbatten, as elders, continued to pretend to be chatting and laughing.

"Come to think of it, it's been eight months since the New Year's Day naval battle..." Cunningham was a little emotional about the passing of time.

"Yes, the Germans not only repaired the ship, but also equipped it with jet fighters and anti-aircraft missiles! Besides, we are short of troops in the Atlantic now, so I am worried that they will come to attack us..." Glancing in the direction of the room where Sir Eddel committed suicide after his defeat, Mountbatten, as the successor, smiled a little reluctantly.

"You can actually defend the Gibraltar Fortress, right?" Cunningham, who knew Mountbatten's background, smiled like a gentleman.

"Yes, if a war really comes to a head, although I can't do anything about their missile bombing, if I defend myself, God has blessed me with more than 200 square kilometers of granite mountains, there won't be any problem." Mountbatten raised his eyebrows and leisurely sipped his black tea.

Cunningham smiled and said nothing. Although Mountbatten was a "young man" in his eyes and his command ability in regular operations was average, he was born into a noble family with a broad vision, excellent coordination and management skills, and certain experience in special forces operations. These might make him more suitable for fighting against the ship girls!

Although the British Empire is indeed declining in power, and the losses in the war are far greater than expected, even the 381 heavy guns shipped from China to repair the fortress are spare gun barrels left idle after the old battleships were completely destroyed - and even this is not full. But the bigger problem is that according to the experience of the Bermuda Naval Base, the fortress artillery is basically just a decoration in front of the air-to-ground missiles guided by the ship girl!

Whether it is the six-inch 152, the nine-inch 234, or even the sturdy but almost useless 381, now they have to give way to the anti-ship missiles.

However, the current Gibraltar Fortress has been equipped with the JB-2 cruise missiles nicknamed "The Villain" that the United States has just provided!

Although, to put it bluntly, this "villain" is actually a copycat of the V-1 "Nemesis" cruise missile - in fact, after Britain and the United States, who hated the German Navy's evil fleet, seized a V-1 missile, they discovered that none of the cruise missile designs they designed could compare with the V-1!

Although the United States was very straightforward and directly stated that the intellectual property rights of this missile belonged to itself - however, it is ironic that on the one hand, it hates the notorious reputation of the German Navy, and on the other hand, it has to take the German missiles for itself, isn't it?

But as long as it works, that's fine.

Moreover, in addition to this, the army forces in the fortress are also equipped with a number of mobile 152mm cannons and heavy mortars - in certain desperate situations, these artillery pieces can also play a role under the cover of mountain tunnels, relying on the tactics of quick attack and quick retreat.

Even if the opponent is a ship girl, without the support of mechanized heavy infantry, it will not be able to withstand a few rounds of attacks.

Not to mention, the Germans simply did not have the ability to land on a large scale - whether it was a large landing ship, amphibious tanks, or even a marine division, the Germans did not have it at all! Not to mention the seemingly inconspicuous but necessary special facilities such as transfer pontoons/large pontoon bridges/artificial ports/shipwreck breakwaters for those heavily armed troops to land!

Even these were summarized bit by bit from the summary of the defeat in the Dieppe Landing in 42, as well as the lessons learned from the landing efficiency and troop operations during the landing operations of the US allies on islands in the Pacific.

Especially since Gibraltar itself is a large granite mountain. Even if it is expected that the artillery batteries will be knocked down and the missiles will be exhausted in the first round, the mountain itself can provide considerable defense. The British have even installed countless armored doors and even blasting points in the mountain tunnels. Even if it is a ship girl, as long as she dares to rush into the mountain fortification tunnel, then being buried alive by the tunnel blast is her only fate!

You know, in all offensive battles, no matter how strong the firepower is, as long as the enemy does not surrender, it will eventually be occupied by infantry! But if the ship girls are restrained and there are not enough heavy troops to carry out the siege, and you want to land in front of the fortress with only a few assault boats? I'm afraid you will be taught a lesson!

Not to mention, Cunningham's Allied fleet was personally stationed here.

You know, the only Italian navy in the Mediterranean that could pose a threat to the Allies had been defeated by the Allied fleets led by Warspite and Avant-garde more than three months ago. And now, the remaining Italian fleet has surrendered for a long time.

As for the remaining artillery support for landing operations, the Mediterranean Fleet now has four Giant-class light aircraft carriers and four old British and American battleships led by the Nelson, so there is no need to worry about anything!

Not to mention, the Sicily landing campaign has been over for a month now!

Under such circumstances, Cunningham, as the First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy, did not stay in the Admiralty office building in London, but led almost all the new talents of the Royal Navy, plus the Allied Atlantic main fleet composed of the US and French navies - including five battleships, Warspite, Vanguard, Lion, Brutal, and Richelieu; two armored aircraft carriers, Glorious II and Victory II, and an Independence-class light aircraft carrier leased by the United States, two newly-launched Surrey-class missile heavy cruisers that replaced the 203 main guns that had lost their meaning in naval battles with forty long-range anti-ship missiles, as well as four light cruisers and three squadrons of destroyers to be stationed in the Gibraltar Fortress. Did he really have nothing to do?

Not to mention, except for aircraft carriers and light carriers, basically all the ships here, including old battleships, have been missile-based!

Even if the Germans have anti-aircraft missiles and jet fighters, we are not inferior to them in terms of attack range and attack power!

only……

Although he knew Cunningham's battle plan very early on, Mountbatten still had some reservations about it - not because he had objections to the battle plan, but because of Cunningham's safety!

"So, Marshal, it is too risky for you to use yourself as bait!" Mountbatten wanted to persuade him again.

"Hehe, if I, Cunningham, wasn't here, would Lütjens still come out?" Cunningham had a fearless expression on his face.

"But... Lütjens shouldn't be so stupid, right? Besides, considering his command ability and the anti-aircraft missiles and jet fighters equipped by the Germans, our advantage is not obvious in a head-on confrontation, right?"

"It is because they still have the advantage in weapon performance, so this is their last chance to fight for sea control - as long as they are not afraid that we will completely destroy the submarine activity space after gaining a foothold in the Azores!" Looking at the location of the Azores on the map, Cunningham curled his lips with disdain: "The Germans do not have enough fuel supply, and it is meaningless to go to the Atlantic to disrupt trade or attack the mainland. At most, it will be fun for a while. And if we attack the Azores to threaten Portugal, it will push Portugal to our side. Therefore, the only solution for the Germans is to seize the sea control in the North Atlantic - they will definitely come here, seize the Gibraltar Fortress to kill the chicken to scare the monkey and lure the snake out of the hole, and then defeat me, Cunningham, to seize the sea control in the North Atlantic!"

Mountbatten was a little confused: "But, this is still too risky. You are the First Sea Lord..."

"Then what do you say we should do? Let Tovey come? With Tovey's temper, do you think we will quarrel with the French first? How about Fraser in the Indian Ocean? He has the ability, but his military exploits and prestige cannot suppress the Americans and the French. So, if I don't come, who will?" Looking at Mountbatten who was a little too cautious in front of him, Cunningham couldn't help but feel a little angry and amused: "Don't worry, I had thought about fighting here a long time ago! Look, the wind direction in this area is all north wind. If they want to take off, they have to turn around against the wind, and then the distance between them and me will be widened - so I am actually very safe here!"

"Mountbatten, you have to know that when I go out to sea with my fleet, I am in a horn-to-horn relationship with you. If they attack you, I will stab them in the back. If they catch me and pursue me relentlessly, you can let the Mediterranean Fleet block their way home! Even if the Lion-class battleships have insufficient endurance, if the Germans want to catch me, they will have to sail at full speed for at least 28 hours from Bordeaux to here, and the endurance gap is basically equalized. Even if I lose, they will have no fuel to go back..."

"Then...what if they have any other arrangements or conspiracies?" Mountbatten still felt a little worried.

"Tsk, what else can they plan? Submarine ambush? Think my old lady and the vanguard are just decorations? Mine blockade of Gibraltar? Are the new docks built by the Americans in Casablanca and Rabat and the roads and railways along the North African coast built in vain? Let the evil spirits cover the Marines to land directly in Gibraltar? That would be something that only a stubborn guy named Lu can do! As for persuading Spain to join the war? Humph, don't talk about whether Franco has the guts. Even if he does have the guts, Gibraltar can still be taken by the Spanish army." Cunningham smiled nonchalantly and waved his hand, "Don't mention those empty words. It's worth it to kill Lütjens!"

Mountbatten, with a confused look on his face, looked at Cunningham, who seemed to be disdainful, with an extremely complicated look in his eyes.

Even though I was born into a noble family with a silver spoon in my mouth, no matter when I was in junior high school and applied to the military academy, or now when I am in a high position with great talent, my heart of holding military power and making the world shine, and commanding the battlefield with ease and laughter, has never changed!

However, apart from some actions in the special forces, his ability was more reflected in politics and diplomacy. However, some military actions he planned or executed failed one after another.

It wasn't that there were obvious problems with his battle plan, but he knew it well: he could make a plan carefully, and he could coordinate the relationships between all parties. But when it came to going to the battlefield, although he wasn't afraid of death, he always lacked perseverance and courage.

Looking at Marshal Cunningham, who seemed cynical but was actually resolute and tenacious, Mountbatten couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Maybe, I'm really not cut out for this...

only……

"Commander, General Mountbatten, the reconnaissance aircraft command in the mainland just sent an urgent telegram - around eight o'clock in the morning, one of our reconnaissance aircraft was confirmed to have lost contact in the XX sea area not far north of Cape Feistra (outside the combat radius of German land-based fighters). Because their half-hourly coded communication had no response after three consecutive calls, we have now urgently mobilized reconnaissance aircraft for additional reconnaissance, but we believe that it is very likely that the evil spirit fleet has attacked again..."

The vanguard, who had been sitting upright, suddenly started to report.

Cunningham, who was originally sitting in his seat, now stood up suddenly.

Even when the vanguard had just finished his report, War-weary, who was supposed to be still in the guest room, now appeared at the door of the living room in military uniform.

The three of them, the two ship girls, looked at each other, and even Mountbatten saw a smile on Cunningham and War-weary's faces - they were indeed a couple, even the contempt for the hardships of the battle in their smiles were almost exactly the same!

"This...?" Mountbatten wanted to persuade her to stay, but he felt that his throat was stuck and he couldn't say anything else.

"Mountbatten, let's proceed as planned."

After taking a look at this young naval officer who was of noble birth and whom he had high hopes for, Cunningham did not blame him for anything.

After all, everyone's abilities and personalities are different, and everyone has their own strengths.

As a leader, I never force my subordinates to do things I am not good at.

Moreover, in addition to knowing how to use people well, what is more important is that as a leader, you must have the courage and responsibility of a leader!

At least for now, he is the only one in the Royal Navy who has enough military achievements and prestige and can coordinate the relationship between the navies of the United States, Britain and France! On the other hand, only such a combined fleet of the Allies is qualified to "lure" Lütjens out! And this is also part of the grand strategy!

The entire southern Europe, including southern France, is mountainous. Although it is safe to land on the European continent, there is no way to quickly exert a decisive influence. If Germany cannot be quickly defeated and occupied, the Soviet Union will be completely uncontrollable on the entire European continent after annexing Germany!

Not to mention, as far as I know, there is a nest of rabbits in the Far East!

Both Britain and the United States are great powers that made their fortunes through colonies and capital, and they are mortal enemies of "that gang"!

If they want to quickly gain a foothold in continental Europe, they must first ensure control of the North Atlantic. Furthermore, compared to the German surface fleet, which only has the main fleet and cannot operate continuously, submarines are the real threat!

The geographical location of the Azores also means that as long as Lütjens still has a little bit of brains and military spirit, he has no choice but to rush out and fight a decisive battle with me now!

"This is!"

Just when Cunningham was a little distracted, Mountbatten gritted his teeth, hesitated for a moment, and then responded to his order.

Looking at Mountbatten in front of him again, Cunningham's mouth curled up slightly - although this junior obviously lacked courage, he was at least still a soldier of the British Empire.

So, perhaps, this can also be considered as some kind of inheritance... ?

"Belle, vanguard, order the fleet to prepare immediately. The main fleet will go out to sea to meet the enemy in two hours at the latest! As for the evacuation of ships in the port and the operation of the Mediterranean Fleet, you will be in charge, Mountbatten."

"Yes!"

PS: I originally planned to check who was the commander of the Gibraltar Fortress at that time. But after checking several people, I found that starting from Riedel until 1953, four consecutive governors were unlucky people from Dunkirk.

Sir Clive Liddell (1939-41) - committed suicide after being defeated in Operation Thunderdog.

6th Viscount Gort (1941-42) - Commander of the expeditionary force, ordered the surrender.

Sir Noel Mason Macfarlane (1942-44) - Chief of Intelligence on the Expeditionary Force Staff, presumed captured with the headquarters.

Sir Raloh Eastwood (1944-47) - Commander of the th Infantry Division, the one who was wiped out by the Persian Cat's first artillery company headquarters in the Battle of Nieuwpoort.

Sir Kenneth Anderson (1947-53) - Acting commander of the rd Division when Montgomery fled with the nd Army. It is estimated that he either died in the bombardment of the Persian cat or was sent to a prisoner-of-war camp...

Sir Gordon MacMillan (1953-55) stayed in the mainland during the Battle of Dunkirk, and later participated in the reconstruction of the army. He was promoted to brigadier general in December 41, and later participated in the battles in North Africa, Italy and Normandy.

By the way, does anyone feel a little sorry for the Great Ying Empire, which is almost running out of talent after being beaten by Persian cats?

Chapter 871: Aircraft carrier cruiser?

With the "Edelweiss Witch" in charge, and because of the disastrous defeat in the previous air raid on June 3, the Allied forces were somewhat timid about air raids and aerial reconnaissance along the French coast in the past few months.

Especially since the Ship Girls are still here! Their perception is much sharper than ordinary radars!

Not to mention anti-aircraft missiles and jet fighters!

After all, in that air battle, the direct losses of the US Eighth Air Force alone exceeded 40%, and there were also many damaged planes that returned along the way and could not hold on due to severe injuries. As a result, the number of heavy bombers that survived by chance at sunset was less than 40% of the number previously dispatched - the fighter units were relatively better, but they also suffered nearly half of the casualties.

Even a large fleet of fighter planes with a large number of fighter planes as cover was defeated, and the safety factor and reconnaissance efficiency of the British reconnaissance planes, which could only rely on speed and suddenness, were even worse. Although it was not a complete waste, the 300-kilometer area along the French coast had basically been confirmed as a dangerous area. If they wanted to conduct reconnaissance, they could only try to get as far as possible into the deep sea - at least this would keep them a little further away from the German airports.

The result was that, although it was discovered that the German fleet had once again come out in full force, relative to Lütjens who had secretly sailed out under the cover of darkness at 10 p.m., the location where the British reconnaissance plane was shot down at 6 a.m. was almost close to Cape Feistra, the exit of the Bay of Biscay!

However, it is not too late to discover it now. There is enough time for Cunningham. Not only can he send his long-awaited fleet to sea to fight, but he can also maneuver his fleet to the southwest where German reconnaissance planes cannot find him for the time being during the first round of fighting.

After all, the German fleet is located at Cape Fistra in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, west of the Gibraltar Fortress, 300 kilometers away from Cape St. Vincent in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, which is as much as 950 kilometers away!

The only problem is...

"Can you confirm that the time for the fleet to sail is safe? I mean, our sailing time will not be detected by Germany..."

Looking at the crowded and noisy Gibraltar Bay at ten o'clock in the morning, the Allied Combined Fleet setting sail, the Mediterranean Fleet on alert in an orderly manner, and the merchant fleet busy evacuating, Lord Mountbatten, who was thinking about something, suddenly felt inexplicably irritated.

"That may not work, sir. You know, across the Bay of Gibraltar is Spain, where there are more German spies than flies..."

"... (sighs) Forget it, anyway, as long as the Germans can't catch our main fleet, there will be no problem. Now the Germans are still a thousand kilometers away. Even if they know that Marshal Cunningham has set out to sea, there is nothing they can do... I wish them a safe journey, Amen!"

Although he was arrogant in daily life, Sir Mountbatten at least knew his own abilities and made the sign of the cross devoutly.

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

Two hours earlier, at ten o'clock in the morning on August 1942, 8, a German fleet consisting of two aircraft carriers, four battleships, and a missile cruiser passed Cape Festra, located at the exit of the Bay of Biscay, in the northeast corner of the Iberian Peninsula, where the winds are high and the waves are rough all year round, at a speed of thirty knots.

Even taking advantage of the favorable weather with high winds and waves, the Zeppelin aircraft carrier, which even after the modification had a speed of over 109 knots, seized the opportunity under the cover of Prince Eugen, broke away from the formation and released six BF-12G high-speed reconnaissance aircraft, deploying a -degree reconnaissance fan with Gibraltar as the side and focusing on the waters off Portugal. If it is estimated that the reconnaissance aircraft will reach the peak of the reconnaissance radius at a straight cruising speed of nearly kilometers, it will reach the peak of the reconnaissance radius in about two hours. After four to five hours, that is, around two or three in the afternoon, it will be almost time to return.

After launching the planes in the sea breeze, the Zeppelin aircraft carrier turned around and began to chase the fleet, but this did not waste too much time. After all, compared with the TA-183, which has strong combat power but must use a catapult to take off, it is still a propeller-powered reconnaissance aircraft and can take off directly from the deck.

The reason why jet reconnaissance aircraft are not used is simply because jets consume too much fuel compared to propellers!

After all, this is just the TA-183, not the F-86 that can take off from Busan and fly directly to the Yalu River - the jet engines at that time did not allow this to be done, either in terms of performance or resource requirements.

Even after a certain Persian cat had the idea of ​​modifying the V-1 cruise missile, Goering, after organizing expert demonstration, instructed to change the mechanism of the JUMO-004 jet engine from turbojet to turbofan, increasing the engine's thrust to one ton. But even so, this thrust only allows a three-ton aircraft to fly at a speed of 900 kilometers per hour in the sky. In addition, carrier-based aircraft must consider the take-off and landing structural strength, two MG15120 aircraft cannons plus 300 rounds of ammunition, the first generation of rocket ejection seats and anti-gravity suits, as well as 1600 kilograms of radar, and a high-pressure air control system, plus the engine's fuel consumption of 800 liters per hour and a weight of 3.2 kilograms. For an aircraft with a length, width, height, and normal take-off weight of tons, the range of kilometers is basically the maximum.