Bismarck

Chapter 879: Cunningham in a Dilemma

"What? Lütjens really went to Gibraltar again?"

Cunningham, who was originally running westward, turned his neck and glared at the vanguard holding a telegram with an O_o expression on his face. At the same time, he ordered the flagship under his feet to step on the brakes hard and slide at least 5,000 meters on the sea.

"Yes, sir. Just now, a large reconnaissance plane from the Gibraltar Fortress managed to evade detection by the enemy's patrol fighters, and now they are also..."

As the vanguard answered, he closed his eyes and silently made the sign of a cross on his chest.

Cunningham on the opposite side was silent for a while, then he sighed, frowned, raised his head, and looked towards the northeast corner of Cape St. Vincent.

But his heart was definitely not calm at this moment!

There is something fishy going on with the German ship crew!

Although when he saw the Edelweiss Witch Zeppelin appear above his head again at 11:30, he could guess that Lütjens must have noticed something - otherwise he would not have sent Zeppelin out for reconnaissance again.

As a corresponding measure, he ordered the troops to slow down while instructing Mountbatten to urgently send a reconnaissance plane from the Gibraltar base to investigate Lütjens's position.

After all, it is common sense that all is fair in war. How to bring the enemy into your own firepower range and choose a position that is not within the enemy's firepower range is also an art of command. Not to mention anything else, in order to achieve tactical effects, from the time the fleet set out to sea yesterday at noon to now, in the past 25 hours, how many times have Lütjens and I jumped back and forth?

Whether it is the conspiracy of combat strategy or the calculation of specific offensive and defensive positions, which one can be separated from combat reconnaissance?

So don't say that Lütjens was trying his best to intercept his reconnaissance planes. Didn't he defeat the enemy so badly that he had to send Zeppelin to investigate? Although every time Zeppelin took action personally, there would always be a few fewer patrol fighters on his side.

Looking through the window at the sky outside, a few black smoke lines falling from the top of the sky were clearly visible. It cruelly cut through the magnificent scenery of the originally clear blue sky, and also cruelly cut through the passionate heart of the First Sea Lord.

"Reconnaissance is really difficult... Never mind. Vanguard, have the bomber groups assembled by Mountbatten disbanded and returned?"

Looking at the fighter jet falling into the abyss outside, Cunningham's face twitched and even his tone sounded a little exasperated.

"Well, not yet. Lord Mountbatten said that just in case, we should wait until the landing and evacuation of the reinforcements have been arranged before letting the bombers land..."

"That's good, this kid did learn something after all..." Cunningham was slightly relieved when he heard the vanguard report that the large fleet of aircraft that had gathered over the Gibraltar Fortress had not yet disbanded and returned home - but he was still very worried.

Be it a heavy bomber, a twin-engine heavy fighter, or even a Mustang, the endurance is enough to support staying on standby in the sky for several hours!

As long as the fleet is not disbanded, there is still room for battle!

Although, in front of the German fleet's anti-aircraft missiles and jet fighters, even a large fleet of aircraft is actually not much better than sending themselves to death. But now the Allied forces, from top to bottom, all know one thing: if you want to defeat the evil fleet, when your weapons are inferior to others, you can only pay with human lives!

With an estimate in mind, his brain was still working. Without even looking at the map, Cunningham had an idea in his mind after a quick calculation.

However, the more I knew about it, the more I started to wonder...

"It seems that Lütjens wants to jump back and forth between us and the Gibraltar Fortress? And then use the conspiracy of threatening the Gibraltar Fortress to force me to take the initiative to enter the range of his missiles and fight him?"

Cunningham couldn't help but fall into a wave of deep thought.

Cunningham could guess the current battlefield situation and the relationship between the enemy and us with his eyes closed:

Lütjens was at Cape Vincent, northeast of them, and they had to face the wind to launch their aircraft. Three hundred miles southeast of them was the Gibraltar Fortress—as for the Mediterranean Fleet's light carriers? They simply had less than three hours before Lütjens's pursuit!

However, the question is far from being that simple!

If I chase Lütjens, I will be sending myself into the range of the opponent's anti-ship missiles - and the German ships and men on the opposite side are in the same course as me, and the anti-ship missiles in the same course means a reduced range, so I cannot threaten the opponent at all!

With the German fleet's anti-aircraft firepower, the attack power of anti-ship missiles, and the combat effectiveness of jet fighters...but the most crucial thing is the current battlefield situation!

The Lütjens fleet was 300 nautical miles away from the Gibraltar Fortress, and the American fleet that had just arrived could not take off from the airport again until 5 pm, which was four hours later! And even if the Americans took off on time, they would not be able to start the attack until five hours later! Moreover, no one dared to guarantee that they could effectively deal with the evil spirit fleet without anti-ship training!

Even if I were to chase after Lütjens, I wouldn't be able to take off until 3 p.m. at the earliest, and launching the missiles would take another three hours.

However, within three hours at most, Lütjens could send the light carriers directly to settle permanently on the Atlantis continent! If it dragged on for another three hours, Lütjens, who had already destroyed the light carriers and repelled the heavy bomber fleet, could turn around and kill himself with a round of missiles and air strikes, as he was in an unfavorable situation in the anti-aircraft battle and the missile range was reduced!

However, this is the most threatening attack plan for the German fleet so far!

If I don't give chase, the consequences will only be more serious!

Lütjens was only about 300 nautical miles away from the Gibraltar Fortress, so there was no doubt that the four light carriers and eight destroyers there would be threatened! The thirty-two "villains" of the destroyers would never be able to break through the air defense firepower network of the Lütjens evil fleet!

Even if the large fleet of heavy bombers concentrated over the Gibraltar fortress has not been disbanded, in theory they can directly launch anti-ship missile anti-aircraft saturation attacks together with the light carrier fleet's carrier-based aircraft and missiles. However, with the anti-aircraft firepower of the German fleet, Cunningham could not figure out how those bulky heavy bombers should be "delivered" into the range of air-to-ship missiles in front of hundreds of anti-aircraft missiles and dozens of jet fighters, and then hand over the air supremacy over Gibraltar and Morocco - you know, at this time, the US Army Aviation heavy bombers that came as emergency reinforcements from Italy had just landed, and had not done any inspection, maintenance, refueling, or loading, and were simply unable to take off and fight back!

Even if Lütjens was a little more brutal, he could have severely damaged them with one blow right on the runway of the airport!

And if the air force at the airports around the Gibraltar Fortress suffers severe damage, then this battle will be really difficult!

The ferocity of the Lütjens Evil Fleet was well known, and as long as they attacked, they would be at a disadvantage in terms of anti-ship and reduced range. If the other side really took down Gibraltar first, then with the strength of their fleet, the best outcome would be a mutual violence with the other side! Even with the past record of the Evil Fleet, the Gibraltar Fortress might not be able to guarantee its own safety!

Even theoretically, even if Lütjens really took over the Gibraltar fortress, he would end up being blocked here by himself. But what if the Germans did something else?

Although it is not clear what the Germans will do, if they really gain a foothold, it will be big news!

You have to know that the original owner of the Gibraltar Fortress, Spain, is nearby, and has been fighting with Britain for two hundred years! If they can't resist the temptation and go directly to the battlefield, what can you do about it, considering the help of Spanish tungsten mines to German military industry?

To put it even more bluntly, if the Germans really had reached a deal with Franco, then if the Prime Minister and the wartime cabinet really wanted to declare war on Spain, it would be exactly what they wanted - if it was really a long-planned plan, then believe it or not, as soon as the war was declared, the German Air Force would be able to advance directly to Cape Fistra, not only to offset the Azores' blockade of the exit of the Bay of Biscay, but also to directly threaten their own retreat back to their homeland!

In addition, if Lütjens, who has no worries, cuts off the transportation line in the Strait of Gibraltar, the entire Mediterranean war zone and the Middle East and India regions will be on the verge of being cut off from the mainland!

With Gibraltar and the Bay of Biscay blocked by Lütjens and the German Air Force respectively, the transport team had no choice but to take a detour via the Cape of Good Hope. In order to avoid the threat of the German Navy and Air Force, they might even have to take a bigger detour via the American continent and then the North Atlantic route back home. The round trip cycle of the transport team could be increased from the original 20 days to 4 or 5 months! And then there was the threat of German submarines!

Besides, Mountbatten was a great nobleman descended from the true Celestial Dragons. If Gibraltar was lost, he would definitely be in danger of death.

If this were to happen, wouldn't the House of Lords be in chaos?

Can the Dragon people tolerate the death of a real nobleman by the evil fleet?

If that is the case, then it is useless for me to say anything! Even if the military court executes me, it will not make up for the losses suffered by the British Empire!

Besides, even if Franco resisted the temptation and did not surrender, it would not be difficult for him to open a supply line to the Germans!

He has a reason for saying it! Britain and the United States can lease the Azores Airport in Portugal, which is also a neutral country, and use it directly for military purposes. Why can't I just "pull a few trainloads of supplies to my territory, Gibraltar?!"

Given the precedent of the United States renting an airport in the Azores Islands of Portugal, which is also a neutral country, to directly launch anti-submarine aircraft, do you think it should be sanctioned? Or should it not be sanctioned?

If we impose sanctions, Spain will surrender to the Axis and Gibraltar will be lost; if we don’t impose sanctions, Spain will continue to open its supply lines and the evil fleet will stay in Gibraltar... Wait, is there any difference in the results if we don’t impose sanctions?

Cunningham just wanted to slap himself in the face - is there any difference between answering the multiple-choice questions and not answering them...?

However, if you attack, they are still far away from Gibraltar and are in the interior. The Germans can just take advantage of the time difference and defeat them one by one. They will lose themselves first and then fail to hold the Gibraltar fortress. Then they will be in trouble!

This is a conspiracy!

From yesterday noon to today noon, both myself and Lütjens were jumping around the edge of each other's attack range, testing frantically and courting death. However, every test was a naked conspiracy!

What is an open conspiracy? An open conspiracy is that you can choose not to follow my rhythm, but doing so will actually make you die faster!

The reason is simple - if you were Franco, would you be indifferent to Gibraltar falling from the sky?

If Franco had even the slightest hint of interest, the Fortress of Gibraltar would be doomed!

Even so, he could take a step back: even if the Spaniards did not give him any benefits, Lütjens would have to retreat after attacking the Gibraltar fortress once. However, given the strength of his fleet, as well as the terrain, wind direction and hydrological environment here, he was unable to blockade the sea area and prevent Lütjens from breaking through and returning home.

After all, the coastline of the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco is extremely wide, and it is impossible for one fleet to block the north and south ends of this sea area at the same time - in front of the Edelweiss Witch Zeppelin's early warning command fighter jets, it is difficult for his actions to be concealed from Lütjens!

Moreover, due to the influence of the Azores warm current that flows southward along the European coast, the wind direction and ocean current at the exit of the Strait of Gibraltar rotate counterclockwise. In the eyes of an experienced admiral like Cunningham, this means that no matter how the battle situation changes, no matter which side he chooses to block, Lütjens can always get out from the other direction. Not only will there be no problem breaking through, but he can even bite him back if he is not careful!

After all, if you calculate the ammunition consumption, you will know: carrier-based aircraft can be deployed repeatedly, and there are anti-aircraft missiles to resist air attacks. As for cleaning up the airport, it is the job of carrier-based aircraft to drop bombs or rockets to sweep the ground - this means that no matter how it changes, the anti-ship missiles guided by the ship girls of the German fleet will not be used on a large scale!

Then you can sit in the "upstream" position and wait for the anti-aircraft missiles to treat your stubborn delivery to your door! And you can do it at any time!

As for Tovey cruising at the entrance of Biscay Bay...? With his two King George V-class battleships that already seemed powerless, a Goliath-class light carrier, and five escort carriers that were basically just decorations in front of Zhenghang...?

In other words, if they don't attack, the Gibraltar Fortress is in danger and they have to defeat them piece by piece. However, although there is still a glimmer of hope if they take the initiative to attack, the probability of losing is much higher than the probability of winning by attacking from both wings!

So he was in a dilemma about Lütjens' attack on the Gibraltar fortress!

However, the problem now is: time waits for no one!

In other words, you must now make your own choice in a situation where you are caught in a dilemma!

Even if either option seems disadvantageous...

The more he thought about it, the more depressed he became. Cunningham just wanted to slap himself in the face, so he couldn't help but slap himself in the face.

Never mind, I'll think about it again...

Although the more I think about it, the more I feel that I am actually caught in a dilemma...

Chapter 880

While Cunningham was racking his brains for a way out of the impasse and commanding his fleet to turn east, the Gibraltar fortress and the exit of the strait were already in chaos.

Especially in the Gibraltar Fortress Command, the combat preparations and Mountbatten's mood were in chaos.

"…The reconnaissance plane that was conducting additional reconnaissance has reported that they are indeed heading for us! Sir, what should we do now?"

"Damn it, this plague god Lütjens is really coming for us..." Mountbatten was a little crazy facing a powerful enemy.

He took off his hat and scratched his scalp fiercely. Then, as if he had thought of something, he suddenly turned around and glared at the chief of staff opposite him: "Have we sent the telegram to Cunningham for help? Did the old man reply?"

"Well... we have replied. They are chasing the German ships and crew. But the First Sea Lord said that due to the position and the problem of simultaneous pursuit, we must hold out until at least three o'clock in the afternoon..."

"Three o'clock? Three ghosts! I only have four light carriers, three squadrons of fighters and two understaffed bomber squadrons. How can we last until three o'clock!" He slammed the table and yelled, then paced back and forth in circles in the command center.

Seeing the originally elegant nobleman now looking frustrated, the chief of staff, who was also facing the risk of being on the list of killed in action, secretly felt resentful in his heart.

After all, within the British Army, the Governor-General's ability to plan and command military operations is as "famous" as his diplomatic skills and networking abilities.

But think about it, with only these forces, if they can't defeat them in one wave, they will not even be able to break through the evil spirit fleet's defenses if they encounter jet fighters and anti-aircraft missiles, whose air defense capabilities are at least a dozen years ahead of this era.

However, even if they fought hard in one go, it would still be difficult to break through the defense. Moreover, when the combat power was at a disadvantage, they had to disperse their attacks and so on... It was more likely that they would be directly surrounded and annihilated by the Edelweiss Witch in the air!

but……

Think about the short flight time of a jet fighter, which is as short as 40 minutes or as long as a little over an hour and a half. Then think about the landing of an aircraft carrier, which is known to be a sitting duck in a straight line...

Looking at the time on the wall clock, which showed 1:00 p.m., the chief of staff couldn't help but start imagining things...

And soon I fell into endless thoughts.

"Perhaps, the First Sea Lord is thinking of a way for us to 'drag' down the fuel consumption of their fighter planes...?"

"We have more than a hundred planes now. If we attack separately, the Zeppelin will run out of fuel by 3pm. Even if we can take off to replenish fighters, the fact that the aircraft carrier is an upwind target when taking off cannot be changed!"

"Gibraltar Fortress is a fortress after all, and there are more than a dozen airports around it. Even if the reinforcements from the US Army Air Force cannot resume combat for a while, and there have been precedents of fortresses being breached by evil spirits, it is absolutely impossible for them to lose their ability to resist in a short period of time."

"And on the other hand? The Air Force is high in attack and low in defense after all. Under the threat of our aircraft, the German Evil Spirit battleships and Evil Spirit missile cruisers can't get too far away from the aircraft carrier."

“As long as we wait until three o’clock when their planes have to take off and land to change shifts, they will most likely be caught by Cunningham… By then, as long as we catch them, I’m afraid we can have a hey~hey~hey~ fight with them!?”

The more I think about it, the more I get absorbed in it. And once a crazy idea comes out, I can no longer stop it!

The staff officer, whose adrenaline was driving his brain, tightened his tie and took a half step forward to give Mountbatten some advice. However, he found that Mountbatten, who was originally running around like an ant on a hot pot, had stopped at some point and was looking at him with wide eyes.

The chief of staff even saw a hysterical, desperate and vicious look in the other person's eyes.

Swallowing his original bold idea, the words he hadn't said, and the saliva that had just been scared out of his head, the chief of staff, with cold sweat on his head, changed the topic and asked tremblingly: "Um... Sir, what are you doing...?"

"Order, attack - let our fleet attack! Let our aircraft carriers attack! Let our missiles attack!..." Mountbatten roared with gritted teeth, waving his hands and shouting at the chief of staff: "Disperse the attack! Delay time! Divert their attention - tell everyone to hold on until three o'clock in the afternoon! Cunningham will definitely come to rescue us! Definitely!..."

Looking at his own governor like this, a big drop of cold sweat silently dripped down the chief of staff's forehead.

But what can be done?

He was the Governor, the Commander, the Admiral of the British Empire, and I was just a small Chief of Staff...

Besides, wasn’t this order…something I originally came up with?

Although I'm not sure whether Cunningham can rescue me on time, I don't have any choice now, right?

Comforting himself a little, the chief of staff nodded, stood at attention and saluted.

"Yes, sir."

With the incessant ticking sound of the radio station in the Gibraltar Fortress, the Allied naval and air forces, which had been wasting time here and unable to advance or retreat, finally began to act.

The three fighter squadrons and more than seventy heavy bombers that had been waiting impatiently in the sky simply coordinated internally on the radio station and then dispersed into small teams. They formed waves of attack towards the German fleet from all directions, wave after wave, knowing that there was no way back but still spreading the wings of the power of the sky without hesitation.

On the sea, the remaining troops of the Allied Mediterranean Fleet, which had originally retreated to the doorstep of the Gibraltar Fortress, turned around without hesitation and released all their attack power after receiving the order from Lord Mountbatten who was stationed in the Gibraltar Fortress. After confirming that the four escorted giant-class light aircraft carriers retreated eastward into the Strait of Gibraltar, a squadron of eight destroyers of the escorting destroyer turned around, just like Don Quixote challenging the windmill giant, and rushed towards Cape St. Vincent where the German evil fleet was attacking hundreds of kilometers away. Although the total number of anti-ship missiles they carried was only 32, this was already the most likely weapon for the British Empire to break through the air defense circle of the evil fleet...

The aircraft carriers behind the primary school students, braving the oncoming breeze of the Mediterranean subtropical high pressure in late August, released all the carrier-based aircraft they could on their small flight decks of 220 meters long and 24 meters wide.

In addition, while the giant-class light carriers were arranged in an echelon formation, spacing out in the narrow channel of the Strait of Gibraltar near the African side and taking off from their full decks, on the other side of the channel near the European part of the Strait, the four old American battleships of the Mediterranean Fleet that had been half-crippled in the 7:30 air raid were also dragging their crooked bodies, with smoke and dust still lingering, and with their broken and bruised bridge faces, step by step towards the direction outside the Strait of Gibraltar. They were moving forward in a long line - they were bruised and battered, they were in a miserable state, and they were covered in smoke. However, the twenty-four "Villain" anti-ship missiles on each ship, which had just been temporarily hoisted aboard by the supply ship, and the American flag and naval flag flying high on the mast, silently told them that even if they only had one breath left, they would fight side by side with their British ally and cousin, and they were determined to fight to the death and do everything they could.

After all, after fighting for so many years, everyone in Britain and the United States knows one thing: if you want to defeat the evil fleet, you have to pay with human lives!

There were no words, not even any flag signals, only the ticking sound of telegraphs and the whistling sound of carrier-based aircraft taking off one after another - perhaps in a little while, you could hear the whistling sound of heavy anti-ship missiles opening their launch boxes and rising into the sky from the extended tracks accompanied by flames and smoke.

"Brothers, let's go. See you on the Styx Ferry. Don't miss your flight. Oh, and remember to bring the money for your ferry ticket!"

"Captain, I forgot to bring my wallet. How about you lend me some money later? Just one dollar..."

"We are all from the same squadron. Even when we are on the road, we have to march in an orderly manner! Hahahaha..."