Early the next morning, a convoy entered the port of Hamburg. A huge battleship on the pier has already lit a fire, and black smoke is coming out of the chimney, and it is about to set sail.
"This is... a battleship! Lieutenant Colonel, are we going to Africa on this giant ship?" Mrs. Monica asked in surprise, looking at the giant ship on the pier.
"Well, it's the Gneisenau. It was damaged by a British bomber last fall and has only just been repaired now!" Skorzny said excitedly, "When the Berlin headquarters just sent a telegram, I I still don't quite believe it, I didn't expect that they actually sent this battleship!"
"It seems that they really hope that we can successfully complete this mission!" Baron Weidenberg sighed, "Even those war madmen in the Ministry of War are tired of this war!"
As the war progressed until 1945, there were not many large German surface warships left, and the few remaining ships could only stay in the dock for a long time due to the bombing of Allied aircraft. Being able to send the only remaining Gneisenau to assist the "Hercules" project shows that the Third Reich attaches great importance to this operation.
Battleship Gneisenau: standard displacement, 31,000 tons, full load displacement 37,000 tons. It has a total length of 231 meters, a ship width of 30 meters, a draft of nearly 9 meters, a crew of more than 1,600 people, and 3 carrier-based aircraft. Maximum speed: 31.2 knots; cruising speed: 15 knots.
Two triple-mounted 283mm main guns at the bow and one at the stern; 12 150mm secondary guns, 14 double-mounted 105mm anti-aircraft guns, 16 double-mounted 37mm anti-aircraft guns, and two triple-mounted 533mm torpedo tubes .
Qin Lun looked at the giant battleship in front of him and licked his lips. He liked this big toy. Since he was a child, he didn't own many toys, and the violent incidents he experienced in his life made him love the magnificent, cruel and cold war machines even more.
Gneisenau was one of two Scharnhorst-class battleships of the German Third Reich, and its sister ship Scharnhorst was sunk two years ago.
When the German Third Reich launched the war, in fact, the navy did not complete the shipbuilding plan. There were not many large warships on the surface, and its strength was far behind its main opponent, England.
It is precisely because the German navy does not have the strength to launch a decisive sea battle with the British, so the German navy's combat objectives are mainly naval sabotage warfare. For this kind of combat purpose, the two battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau listed speed as the first element and protection as the second element at the beginning of their design, and sacrificed part of their firepower for this.
Gneisenau's top speed reached 31 knots, which was almost the same as that of light cruisers and destroyers. It was able to break through the interception of the British fleet with a single ship and enter the Atlantic Ocean to launch a sabotage battle against the Allies.
"Lieutenant Colonel, why don't we take a submarine to Africa? Even if Gneisenau can break through the interception of the English fleet, its target is too big, and it may not come back when it goes out. At that time, the British navy will guard like a pack of wolves." On its way home." Captain Bock asked worriedly.
"Captain, you didn't take into account the speed of the U-boat. We have less than eight days left. Britain has blocked the English Channel. To go to Africa, we must detour through the North Sea, enter the Atlantic Ocean first, and then detour to Morocco, Africa!" Si Korzny said with a wry smile, "It will take at least 10 days at the speed of the submarine, and we will not be able to catch up with the summit meeting of the allied countries."
Everyone laughed bitterly when they heard the words. The African front of the Third Reich has been completely abandoned, and the original German and Italian colonies of Tunisia and Algeria have all fallen. If these two strategic locations are still there, they can fly to Africa and then enter Morocco by land.
Different from Qin Lun's original time and space, Moscow and Transcaucasus in the Soviet Union were all occupied by Germany at this time, and the main force of the Soviet army withdrew through the Ural Mountains. With the acquisition of large areas of Soviet territory, especially the oil fields in Transcaucasus, the resources of the German Third Reich are much more abundant than in the original time and space. The only embarrassment lies in the lack of manpower. Many German troops on the battlefield are boy scouts under the age of 18.
The Soviet Union was much weaker than the original time and space because of the loss of the European coastline and a large number of people on European land. And the aid from the Allies can only pass through the Far East, and then through consumption across Siberia, the Soviet Union often has to save supplies for half a year before launching an offensive on the Eastern Front, which basically poses no threat to the Third Reich.
As for the Western Front in Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States finally regained France after a lot of effort, and pushed the front line to the front line of Belgium and Luxembourg.
However, due to the fact that the casualties of the US army were more than ten times higher than in the original time and space, the domestic anti-war wave was surging. Coupled with their victory in the Asian theater, the impetus for this war is rapidly fading.
Now that the war has been fought, Japan of the Axis powers has been defeated, and Italy is dying. It is the same with or without them. In fact, only the Third Reich is left to fight alone. The Allies were equally exhausted, and were in a stalemate on both the east and west fronts.
What is different from the past is that the Axis powers are now pursuing a dignified end to the war, while the Allies intend to accumulate strength for the last decisive battle and completely smash the last hard shell of the Third Reich.
Both sides understand very well that this war has reached its final stage, and if it cannot be concluded within 45 years, then the two sides are very likely to choose a political peace.
Although different from the original intention when the war was launched, the Third Reich, including the Fuehrer, also understood that this would be the best outcome for Germany. The Allies abandoned the communist Soviet Union, and only set the recovery of France and Central and South Europe as the bottom line, while the Axis had to abandon Japan in the East.
Looking at the Gneisenau from a distance, it is as symmetrical and delicate as a work of art. Coming closer, the more than 200-meter-long hull and the bridge like the Empire State Building give people a strong sense of oppression.
After boarding the battleship, Qin Lun and others were placed in the officer's quarters under the leadership of the German sailors. German warships paid more attention to the living environment of sailors, and only four people were arranged in an officer's cabin, with a separate bathroom.
At the beginning of boarding the ship, everyone was very excited and watched everywhere on the battleship. Even when measuring water marks, there are often several rangers around. The beauty of the setting sun on the sea in the evening of the first day aroused cheers and screams from the crowd.
It's a pity that the good times didn't last long. After the warship entered the Atlantic Ocean, some members of the ranger began to get seasick. Qin Lun, Grant, and Lin Feng among the special forces fell down at the same time.
"Ugh!" Qin Lun walked out of the bathroom with his legs swinging, and threw himself on the bed. On his upper bunk, Grant was also staring palely at the ceiling and counting the stars.
"You two are too exaggerated. Haven't you ever been out to sea?" Baron Weidenberg stroked his mustache and looked at the two murderers with contempt.
Qin Lun and Grant looked at each other weakly, they had never been on a boat before. The Earth Federation where they are located has long since eliminated airplanes, sea ships and other means of transportation in the old century. The short distance is a magnetic levitation aircraft, and the long distance is a teleportation orbit. How could those two high-tech gadgets have such a violent sense of shock.
Before Law's body got used to the jolt, their apostle soul marks couldn't get rid of the current dizziness.
"Woo..." On the third day of the journey, as the sharp alarm sounded on the battleship, there were loud shouts and noises from the sailors outside the cabin. Apart from Qin Lun and Grant, Weidenberg and Captain Bock immediately ran out of the cabin to check the situation.
"Boom boom boom" accompanied by deafening cannons, the apostles on the battleship also ushered in their most painful period of time. The continuous bumps and shocks almost made Qin Lun dizzy, and had the illusion of being in a celestial state.
Fortunately, the first battle on the Gneisenau was not too long, and the outside of the cabin quickly calmed down, and the footsteps of Weidenberger and Bock came again.
"It's spectacular!" the baron said excitedly. "I thought the sail battle in William I's time was already the most exciting naval battle in the world. I didn't expect the artillery battle in the Iron Age to be even more terrifying. This is simply a giant steel beast." boxing!"
William I... how long did this vampire baron live! Qin Lun, who was lying on the bed, rolled his eyes and fell into a heavy sleep.
On the fifth day of the journey, Fa Li's body got used to the seasickness, and the dizziness on the death list finally disappeared, and Qin Lun and Grant were able to get out of the cabin.
"Unfortunately, we didn't get to see that naval battle!" Qin Lun said regretfully to Grant.
"Yes, what a pity!" Grant shrugged noncommittally, his curiosity was not as strong as Qin Lun's.
The naval battle the day before yesterday was very short, and the captain of the major general of Gneisenau did not entangle too much with the British fleet that came to intercept it, but the original route was detoured for a while.
"Second Lieutenant Gerthard, your mountain eagle finally flew up from the bed!" Mrs. Monica's teasing laughter came from behind Qin Lun.
"Madam, good morning!" Qin Lun said indifferently, his light gray pupils stared at Skorzny behind her, "Lieutenant Colonel, how long before we arrive in Casablanca?"
"Tomorrow, tomorrow afternoon we will arrive at the target sea area, and then the captain will use the three seaplanes on the battleship to send the main members and weapons of the ranger ashore. As for the special forces of a squadron, they will go ashore in small boats. All of them will I have been able to conduct frogman training." Skorzny said cautiously.
The next afternoon, a black horizon appeared ahead of the battleship. Qin Lun disassembled his Kark98 modified sniper rifle and put it into the suitcase. After taking a last look at the Gneisenau in the setting sun, he bent down and got into the seaplane.
Although the Gneisenau broke through the interception of the British fleet, there are now two full powerful fleets behind it closely chasing. After this separation, perhaps it will be the last time he will see this beautiful and powerful warship.