This is the Port of Kiel. As the largest military port and shipbuilding base in Germany, the Port of Kiel was the home port of the German High Seas Fleet in World War I. It witnessed the emergence of the second largest German Navy in the world from scratch and its rise to glory. , to the whole process of final destruction. The past will eventually pass. When the whole of Germany was silently cultivating and hiding in the dark, seemingly enduring the bullying of its powerful neighbors, no one thought that it would also be slowly licking its wounds and slowly regaining its strength, even if it suffered the most. The attacking German navy was no exception.
Compared with the German High Seas Fleet stationed here in the past, the current strength of the German Navy is still too weak, but the naval soldiers here believe that one day, they will complete what their fathers did not complete, and will the powerful British The Royal Navy was underfoot. Watching the battle between the Army and Air Force and the British and French coalition forces in the Dunkirk area, these sailors were also full of envy. Judging from the news obtained in the newspapers, the British and French coalition forces that had been surrounded were annihilated in just an instant.
At this time, the sailors of the German Navy really hoped that they could join this unprecedented war. But so far, the German Navy has not received an order from the high command to go to war. Although the naval soldiers wanted to join the battle and eagerly waited for orders from the headquarters, in fact, at this time, Redel had already issued the combat order to the headquarters in Kiel Port.
Inside the headquarters, Vice Admiral Lütjens, deputy commander of the German fleet, Rear Admiral Ernst Lindemann, captain of the battleship Bismarck, and Rear Admiral von Lohenkramm, the new captain of Tirpitz, were present. There was a brief discussion here.
"Marshal Redl called and the headquarters asked us to sail to Dunkirk and fight the British Royal Navy!" Vice Admiral Lütjens, deputy commander of the fleet, said, "We finally waited for this opportunity, the Battle of Narvik. After that, we will give the Royal Navy, which no one can see but ourselves, another powerful attack!"
"Great, how long have we been waiting! Today we can finally face-to-face with the British Navy!" Rear Admiral Ernst Lindemann first expressed his excitement. During the Battle of Narvik, The main contributor to the sinking of the battleship Warspite was the battleship Bismarck. Rear Admiral Ernst Lindemann was very satisfied with this most powerful battleship of the German Navy. I believe that its excellent performance will definitely surprise the British Royal Navy. Moreover, he is not fighting alone now. Although the sea trials of the same-class battleship Tirpitz have not yet been completed, Rear Admiral Ernst Lindemann believes that with the improvement With the cooperation of the Erpitz, the British Royal Navy is definitely no match for the German Navy.
"Rear Admiral von Reuenkramm, what do you think?" Like most people, Vice Admiral Lütjens, the deputy commander of the fleet, is more concerned about this young general who is not very talkative. This is not only because of Rear Admiral von Reuenkramm. Tom submitted the Navy's Plan S. Just such words were not enough to attract the attention of Lieutenant General Lütjens. Entering the sight of Lieutenant-Admiral Lütjens, Rear-Admiral von Lohenkramm made people see his talent for the first time due to his excellent performance in the sea trial at Narvik.
"Your Excellency, Lieutenant General!" Rear Admiral von Lohenkramm said directly, "I have ordered all warship personnel to prepare, and we can set off at any time now!"
Perhaps sighing at von Lohenkram's directness, Lieutenant General Lütjens was stunned for a moment, and then took out a chart of the English Channel. In this conference room with only three people, they had to do everything by themselves. After opening this chart, Lieutenant General Lütjens said, "The English Channel is a narrow bay in the Atlantic Ocean, separating the southern coast of England and the northern coast of France. It becomes narrower from west to east, with the widest point about 180 kilometers, the narrowest point 34 kilometers and France. Calais. The west is generally flat and the east is undulating. The Channel has more than 200 rainy days throughout the year, and the annual precipitation is about 800 mm; on the British coast, the annual precipitation is less, and there are 3 rainy days per week. There are more rainy days in the Channel area Fog, often gray and white, seriously affects the navigation of ships. However, when Germany only dispatches large warships, this problem is not a big problem!"
"Our opponent!" von Lohengram simply asked.
"The number of battleships used by the British Royal Navy for retreat is from two to four so far. Please forgive us Air Force brothers, after all, it is really difficult to identify battleships from their appearance!" Lieutenant General Lütjens replied with a smile.
Von Lohenkramm nodded and said simply, "I am very confident about the defensive power of our German battleships. If there were only these British battleships in the English Channel, the decisive battle would not be uncertain. Moreover, under the cover of the air force, Now, we have many more advantages than our enemies!"
"What do you mean?" Lieutenant General Lütjens asked.
"The time is ripe for a decisive battle!" Feng Luoyankramm said seriously.
After receiving orders from Marshal Redl, the captains of each base held a brief meeting. Finally, the battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz in Kiel Port, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen and Shippe in Wilhelmshaven The heavy cruiser Admiral, the Hamburg-based "Gneisenau" and the battlecruiser Scharnhorst all set off and will meet in the waters near the Netherlands before going into battle.
At 20 p.m. on June 1, the battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz in the port of Kiel disappeared from the port in the darkness. Before setting off again, at the naval headquarters in Berlin, the capital, Marshal Redl gave this operation the code name "Rhine Exercise"! On the same day, Hit? Le formally issued an order to implement the "Rhine Exercise" operation to Lütjens.
Although the British Royal Navy is fully supporting the rescue operation in the Dunkirk area, it has not failed to pay attention to their main opponent, the German Navy. The news that the HMS Glorious and the HMS Warspite were sunk in the Battle of Narvik has always made people sad. The long-standing maritime warriors held their breath inwardly.
General Lütjens's opponent was Lord Blackhouse, commander of the British Home Fleet. As the commander of the British Home Fleet, no one knows the importance of the navy to the British mainland better than Sir Blackhouse, so even when the whole of Britain is worried about the people in the Dunkirk area, Sir Blackhouse must maintain Have a clear mind and know who your opponent is. Therefore, under this situation, Sir Blackhouse still used part of his force to monitor the movements of the German Navy. Like his predecessor, Sir Blackhouse's purpose was to seal the German Navy in the German mainland and make it a fleet.
No one knows better than Sir Blackhouse that the current German military power is terrifying. For an opponent like the German Navy, Sir Blackhouse has never looked down upon the German Navy because of its weak strength. The Battle of Jutland during World War I had made the proud British Royal Navy know that the Germans, who had been running rampant on land, had extended their claws into the ocean.
The defeat of World War I caused the German High Seas Fleet to disintegrate. The opponent of the British Royal Navy seemed to no longer exist. Like most people, Sir Blackhouse was happy about this for a while, but as the National Socialist Party came to power in Germany. The rapid growth of German military power evoked Sir Blackhouse's terrible memories of the Battle of Jutland. This is why he supported Churchill.
Since the war began, even when the air battle over Dunkirk was at its most intense, enough aircraft were still reserved for the navy for reconnaissance. So after the warships disappeared from major German military ports, Sir Blackhouse immediately knew that the worst outcome he had expected had occurred. The German high command had decided to make a desperate move and engage in a decisive battle with the British Royal Navy on land, sea and air.
Coming to this terrible conclusion, Sir Blackhouse immediately came to No. 10 Downing Street, the official residence of British Prime Minister Churchill.
Just as Sir Blackhouse thought, Churchill was tortured by the difficult problem of the British and French forces being surrounded in the Dunkirk area and could not sleep at all. So Sir Blackhouse had just entered No. 10 Downing Street when he saw Churchill. Holding a pen and not knowing what to write.
Due to the urgency of the matter, Sir Blackhouse ignored any gentlemanly demeanor and said anxiously, "Mr. Prime Minister, I have something important to announce to you!"
"Oh?" Churchill slowly raised his head, rubbed his already red eyes, yawned and said, "Sir Blackhouse, what problem is more important than rescuing the British and French forces in the Dunkirk area? You want to We know that our ally France has already surrendered and is war-weary, and we must use a strategic victory to regain the confidence of the French!"
Churchill said this very skillfully. What is strategic victory? You want to win tactically, but you obviously cannot defeat and have to retreat. Could it be that just because you set the goal of successfully retreating, it will become a strategic victory? But now Sir Blackhouse has no time to reason with Churchill from here. The German navy has been dispatched. Sir Blackhouse must come up with a solution quickly, so he said; "Mr. Prime Minister, I have extremely urgent news here. Now in Germany All the German warships in the ports of Wilhelmshaven, Kiel and Hamburg have disappeared. Referring to the battle between us and Germany in the Dunkirk area, I think it is very likely that the German navy has already participated in the war!"
"Oh?" Contrary to Sir Blackhouse's expectations, Churchill was very excited about the news that the German navy might participate in the war. If Sir Blackhouse clearly knew how politicians looked at the problem, he would know why Churchill would do this. Churchill's reaction was just like Hitler's? It was exactly the same as when Le decided to fight the British to the death at the base camp.
Churchill immediately pulled out a nautical map of the Dunkirk area from the drawer at a speed that was inappropriate for his size. He kept gesticulating on the chart, and after a while, he said with excitement, "The Germans are actually preparing to have a decisive battle with us at sea. Okay, Hitler will get the decisive battle he hopes for!" Sir Blackhouse, I need the full support of the British Home Fleet, and we have decided to send all the warships of the German Navy to the bottom of the sea in the strait!"
"But, Mr. Prime Minister, we are not sure of victory. You must know that the English Channel is within the scope of the German Air Force. Their air force aircraft have far more aircraft than us!" Sir Blackhouse objected.
The objections raised by Sir Blackhouse did not play much role in Churchill's mind. Churchill, like most people in World War II, did not see the huge potential of aircraft carriers. In fact, before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in World War II, all countries had a dispute between aircraft carriers and battleships. However, as history has developed, except that Japan was under the spotlight Except for the development of aircraft carriers due to restrictions, no other country has used aircraft carriers and aircraft as the main force of the fleet. In their opinion, it is impossible for a small plane to sink a battleship. Although Churchill served as Lord of the Admiralty, he was no exception.
In this regard, Churchill explained, "Sir Blackhouse, as the main force of the United Kingdom, the navy has always been the pride of our United Kingdom. Now our home fleet can easily gather twice the strength of the German navy. As long as our navy is at sea, The victory of the Royal Navy will definitely be a huge blow to the German army in Dunkirk. We in the UK can also announce to the world that although Germany has been developing its military power, it is still no match for us! Regarding the general public opinion The emotion of fear is also the greatest comfort!”
"But..." Sir Blackhouse wanted to say something else.
"No more!" Churchill interrupted, "I will convene the parliament to authorize it now. Since the Germans want to fight us, we will fight them. I want Hitler to know that on the ocean, speaking The loudest voice is always us British! Maybe the German air force and army are stronger than us, but at sea, they are still far behind!" Churchill finished his thoughts loudly, put out his cigar, and took his own Top hat, hurriedly walked out of the Prime Minister's residence.
Churchill, in a sense, and Hitt? There was no fundamental difference from what Le imagined. Churchill's purpose before the war started was very simple, as long as he rescued the surrounded British and French forces. But as things progressed, it went beyond Churchill and Hit? Within the scope of Leer's control, Germany and the United Kingdom used the greatest strength they could use for the tiny land of Dunkirk. Germany's most powerful armored group and air force, and Britain's most powerful The entire local fleet was engaged in the battle.
The amount of force invested by the two countries in this battle is no longer a simple battle. It has even risen to the prestige issue between the two countries. If the British and French forces in the Dunkirk area are completely wiped out, and judging from the current losses on the British side, , if Germany takes care of France, with the temporary mobilization of Britain, it will not be able to stop the attack of the German armored forces.
If there is a decisive battle with Germany, as long as the German navy is annihilated and they lose all their large surface warships, Britain will be safe, and Germany, which has lost its surface warships, will not be able to land on the British mainland at all. This was also the reason why Churchill made such a desperate move. Even if the price paid was the annihilation of the British and French forces.
In order not to be discovered by the vigilance forces of the Royal Navy and Air Force, Lütjens made a special plan for this action route, hoping to have the effect of attacking in the east and in the west. His main purpose was to intercept the German warships coming out of various military ports. Each broke through the cordon of the Royal Navy and took different routes to the Netherlands. After the round, they rushed to Dunkirk.
At this time, Lütjens was advancing westward. When 180 nautical miles away from Bergen, he ordered the escort ships to return. He pursed his lips and stared at the ice floes on the sea with his eagle-like eyes through the windshield of the bridge. According to the action plan, the two ships should be refueled by oil tankers before breaking into the Denmark Strait. However, despite the heavy fog on the sea, the British aircraft were moving very frequently. This shows that the British have already noticed that Sir Blackhouse must be deploying troops. Only by seizing time and taking things by surprise can they break through the blockade. So he decided to go on the road at the same time and leave the matter of replenishing fuel for later. On the morning of the 23rd, the German ship crossed the Arctic Circle and sailed along the northern edge of Iceland. In the evening, the two ships turned south and entered the Denmark Strait.
The narrowest point of the strait is about 180 nautical miles wide. The Greenland side is congested with drifting ice and the Icelandic side is densely covered with mines. The two ships moved forward cautiously. The cold wind blew through the drifting ice and rolled up clumps of snow particles. When the two ships entered the patrol waters of the British cruiser, the thick night gradually loosened, and a strange shimmer appeared in the sky. He did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly notified the captain of the "Bismarck" Lindemann and the captain of the "Tirpitz" von Lohengramm to prepare for battle. The two ships sounded alarms, the "Bismarck" closed all watertight doors, the cannon rotated, and the 1,600-pound armor-piercing projectile was pushed into the gun bore. Doctors and stretcher bearers ran into the hospital to prepare for the wounded. On the top of the superstructure, the rangefinder soldiers were like hunters, trying to catch the target at first sight. On the deck, the crew braved the cold wind and shivered. 22:15 Looking through the bright and dark sky, I found a blurry shadow. Lütjens immediately ordered the main gun to turn to port and prepare to fire.
The "Bismarck" fired its first cannon. The deck shook violently, and three heavy bombs were shot into the cold sky. A pungent smell of gunpowder penetrated the bridge, and air waves surged toward the lookout post. Lütjens held a telescope in his hand and stared at the British cruiser in the distance. Beside the British ship, white water columns rose up. Suddenly, a cloud of black smoke shot up from the stern of the British ship, like a black curtain that stretched between the sky and the sea level, blocking everything. A few minutes later, the telecommunications department reported that the British ship was sending a telegram.