"Quiet, gentlemen of Parliament!" In the Palace of Westminster, the British parliament building, Churchill tried his best to make the atmosphere orderly. Obviously, in this case of international events, As the Prime Minister of a democratic country, Churchill is no better than Hitler as a dictator? Churchill was at ease, and the arguments of hundreds of MPs were also a kind of torture for Churchill. This is an inherent shortcoming of democratic countries, that is, they cannot respond quickly when encountering emergencies.
Maybe Churchill's words had some effect, maybe the gentlemen in Parliament also knew that now was not the time to quarrel. Even across the English Channel, Britain's natural barrier, these congressmen can feel the aggressive momentum of Germany on the mainland. Now is indeed not the time to argue with each other like in peacetime. When the members of the parliament fell silent, Churchilce said, "It has been confirmed that all large warships in various military ports in Germany have disappeared, including the battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz. Gentlemen, I want to know what you are saying." What does it mean?"
Wow... Churchill's words were like dropping a blockbuster, immediately arousing a strong backlash. Parliament, the highest authority in the United Kingdom, immediately turned into a vegetable market. These members of Parliament were whispering to each other. It was obvious that the bombshell dropped by Churchill had stunned these people.
Bang bang bang..., Churchill slapped the table to keep the congressmen who were in chaos again. Churchill knew that the fighting spirit of these panicked congressmen must be aroused, otherwise Britain would have lost the war before it even started. Looking at these With the ugly faces of the congressmen, Churchill doubted whether these congressmen would be frightened to death if they were surrounded in Dunkirk, but this situation could only be thought of psychologically.
In order to pass Churchill's own ideas, Churchill could only resist the urge to strangle these guys who had failed to achieve anything but failed. He took a deep breath and said, "Large tracts of land in Europe and many ancient and famous countries, even if they have already Even if we fall, or risk falling, into the clutches of the secret police and all the evil institutions of Nazi rule, we will not waver or be discouraged. We will fight to the end. We will fight in France, we will fight at sea and in the oceans, and we will have greater strength. We will fight in the air with ever greater confidence and with ever greater strength; we will defend our island at any cost. We will fight on the beaches; we will fight where the enemy has landed; we will fight in the fields and in the streets; we will fight on the beaches; Will fight in the mountains; we will never surrender. Even if this island or a large part of it were conquered and starved, which I do not believe for a minute, our imperial subjects overseas would still want the armed protection of the British fleet and continue to fight until the new world, when God sees fit, will use all its strength and power to save and liberate this old world.”
At this point, Churchill saw that the parliament building was completely silent and continued, "Last night, all the large warships of the German Navy were dispatched. Gentlemen who have experienced the Battle of Jutland during World War I should know that Germany is a country dominated by a group of people. The army was controlled by the extremely bellicose Junkers. No matter who the ruler of Germany became, the Junkers would continue to support the war. In World War I, we and our French allies paid a huge price to defeat this terrible country. country to prevent its attempt to rule the world. To this end, we have 1.2 million troops lying in a cold foreign country forever. And now, only twenty years later, Germany has made a comeback again, having experienced defeat Germany has developed more advanced weapons and more advanced tactics. To be honest, our expeditionary force in France will almost be wiped out immediately. In battles on land, almost no country is the opponent of the Germans . But at sea, the UK is still a world-class sea power. The German navy is dispatched in full force. This may not be an opportunity for us!"
"Mr. Churchill, you were once the Lord of the Admiralty. I want to know what you think of the German navy's deployment this time!" A congressman with gray hair asked, "How can we use this opportunity!"
"Mr. York, I will talk about this issue soon!" Churchill added, "This time the Germans acted, I guess it may be that while Hitler was preparing for the decisive battle on land at Dunkirk, the German navy was synchronized Deployed to reinforce Dunkirk, preparing to eliminate our armed forces in one fell swoop and force Britain to surrender. I have to admit that the German head of state, Hitler, was a devilish genius. From the time he took power in Germany, Germany began to take steps The German army is getting stronger step by step, and its military strength is even stronger than that of the last war. However, he is too impatient, and Germany is developing too fast and has a weak foundation. Therefore, Hitler strives for a quick victory through a series of adventures. Complete your own plan. However, the navy is different from the army. A powerful navy cannot be built in a few years. This time Hitler will pay the price for his adventure. We will let the Germans know that on the ocean This is not a place where the Germans come. With the strength of our British Home Fleet, the German Navy is not our opponent at all. As long as we completely annihilate the German Navy, the news of victory will not only infect the soldiers who are still fighting in the Dunkirk area, And it can eliminate Germany's threat to the British mainland in one fell swoop. At that time, we can safely mobilize our British power around the world to fight the Germans to the death. Gentlemen, there is only one military flag on the ocean, and that is our holy flag. George Flag".
Bang bang bang..., Churchill's outstanding speech convinced the congressmen present. The War Cabinet was immediately given full support for Churchill's plan.
The battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz took the farthest route after sailing out of Germany. This was mainly to cover other warships. The formation composed of the battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz was still in Europe. Nothing can sink them. Lütjens is still certain about this. When the two battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz rush to the English Channel from another direction, the British Home Fleet will definitely focus its attention on them, so that Scharnhorst and other battleships can reach their destinations calmly. , although the plan is a bit risky, once successful, it will allow all the German navy to rush to the predetermined location, and will not be isolated due to the interception of the British Home Fleet.
But at this time, Lütjens was uneasy and informed the two ships: the enemy ship was setting off a smoke screen in an attempt to follow them. Since the opponent was busy escorting, this area of water was not heavily guarded, and the two ships should continue southward. He did not expect at all that the Home Fleet had already mobilized. Vice Admiral Holland was leading the battlecruisers "Hood" and "Repulse" and the battleship "Nelson", taking the lead in attacking from the left.
After the "Hood" was commissioned, she was appointed as the flagship of the Home Fleet. From 1920 to 1929, the "Hood" traveled around the world many times as the ambassador of the British Empire and the Royal Navy. Especially from November 1923 to September 1924, the "Hood" led the battlecruiser "Repulse" and five light cruisers of the Royal Navy's 1st Light Cruiser Squadron on a circumnavigation codenamed the "Imperial Cruise". The officers and soldiers called this pleasant trip a "world feast." During the period, the fleet sailed a total of 38,153 miles, crossed the equator 6 times, and visited 26 ports. Everywhere it went was an unprecedented event. 750,000 visitors boarded its deck, and a total of 37,700 dances or banquets were held on the ship. . Interestingly, there was also an incident where the captain of the USS Hood injured his right hand due to shaking hands too many times. This voyage made the "Hood" the most eye-catching battleship in the world.
The battleship Nelson no longer uses the forecastle ship type commonly used in British battleships in the past, but instead uses a flat-deck ship type. Based on the experience and lessons of the Battle of Jutland, it focused on improving the level of armor protection. For the first time, it adopted an inclined arrangement of waterline armor belts. It was the warship with the thickest side waterline armor at that time, and the horizontal protective armor was strengthened.
The "Repulse" is a "Prestige" class battlecruiser built by the British during World War I. The design characteristics were determined to be a battlecruiser with high speed, large-caliber artillery, and relatively weak armor. The ship was started on January 25, 1915. It is built with a standard displacement of 33,725 tons, a full load displacement of 38,200 tons, and a maximum speed of about 28.5 knots.
According to Lord Blackhouse's orders, Holland prepared to move to Denmark Strait to take up positions. As soon as he received the telegrams from the two heavy cruisers "Norfolk" and "Suffolk", the navigation officer drew the position of the German ship on the chart. He ordered the two ships to accelerate to twenty-seven knots, take a course of 295°, and head straight to the waters 300 nautical miles southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland, intending to intercept Lütjens before dawn. It was stormy and rainy at night, and at 3:00 on June 2, the morning sky was slightly bright. Two hours later, the rain stopped and the sky cleared, with visibility of about 15 nautical miles.
It was a cold morning, and both combatants discovered the target almost at the same time. Lütjens ordered the fire, and the ice on the "Bismarck" was shattered. The British ship "HMS Hood" was in front, and the "Nelson" was in the rear. Dots of orange-red fire appeared on the huge shadow. The shells tore through the cold air and exploded countless brown water columns around the four warships. At 5:20, Lütjens reported to Berlin: Our ship is engaging three enemy ships.
Holland has 8 380mm guns and 16 356mm guns, and Lütjens has 16 380mm guns. The firepower of both sides is similar. But the situation before the war was favorable to Lütjens. When the German ship moves from north to south, it can fire a salvo of artillery along its entire side; when the British ship moves from east to west, it can only fire its first gun, which almost reduces its firepower by half. The battle was extremely fierce, and the "Hood" deployed its first gun to bombard the "Tirpitz", which resulted in more scattered firepower.
"Boom..." Huge water splashed high on the sea hundreds of feet away from the battleship Bismarck.
Ernst Lindemann decisively issued the order, and in an instant, the two groups of front main guns immediately erupted into blood- boiling roars. As the battleship Bismarck opened fire, the two battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau also began a new round of bombardment. Immediately two British fleet destroyers were sent to the bottom of the sea.
"The fleet turns fifteen degrees to starboard! The main guns at the rear of each ship are ready to fire!" Vice Admiral Lütjens, who stayed on the two battleships of the Bismarck, naturally became the commander of this naval battle. In a battle of this level, it is natural that a mature commander is needed, not a frizzy guy.
"Understood! General!" Rear Admiral Reinhard von Lohenkramm replied playfully, then turned around and ordered, "The fleet turns fifteen degrees to starboard! The main guns at the rear of each ship are ready to fire!"
Not long after, the navy sailors on the battlecruiser could clearly feel that their battleship was making an emergency turn amid the beeping sound of the emergency turn. The two huge twin turrets at the rear are also obviously rotating to ensure that the 380MM main gun on the Tirpitz battleship is still firmly aimed at the target.
In the armored command room of the battleship Bismarck, which was strong enough to withstand attacks from large-caliber artillery shells, Rear Admiral Ernst Lindemann calmly followed Vice Admiral Lütjens's orders and gave step-by-step instructions. The mood is also infecting all the sailors on the Bismarck battleship. According to Rear Admiral Ernst Lindemann, "Boys, as the world's number one battleship, if it is still like the British fleet opposite, We are an old World War I ship that has been beaten into disgrace, so let’s jump into the sea ourselves! Don’t embarrass our predecessors in the Battle of Jutland. The Hood is just a battlecruiser, and we are battleships, battleships, Do you understand?"
"Boom..." The battlecruiser Hood fired another salvo. The distance of this explosion was obviously much farther than the last time. At the same time, the battlecruiser Hood, under the command of Vice Admiral Holland, Still approaching at high speed.
For a time, all the main guns of the two battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz fired together. Sixteen giant high-explosive bombs flew towards the British battlecruiser HMS Hood at lightning speed with a sharp sound of breaking through the air. Although Rear Admiral Ernst Lindemann did not care about the battlecruiser Hood on the surface and repeatedly claimed that the Hood was just a battlecruiser, in his heart, he never despised this battlecruiser. This is mainly because the battlecruiser Hood is so famous in the world. It can be said that Rear Admiral Ernst Lindemann used the battlecruiser Hood as an imaginary enemy in his dreams.
As for the battleship Nelson and the battlecruiser Repulse, they were placed in a secondary position by Rear Admiral Ernst Lindemann. Of course, Rear Admiral Ernst Lindemann thinks so, which does not mean that Vice Admiral Lütjens, as the commander, also thinks so. In battle, anything can happen, Vice Admiral Lütjens The safety of the two battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz must be ensured. The German Navy is not the British Royal Navy. The German Navy has a weak foundation and cannot afford any losses.
In order to escape this unfavorable situation, Vice Admiral Holland ordered the fleet to turn so that the tail guns could fire. Just when the battlecruiser Hood was turning in accordance with Vice Admiral Holland's order. Rear Admiral Ernst Lindemann, the captain of the battleship Bismarck, seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and immediately ordered, "Target, the battlecruiser HMS Hood of the Royal Navy directly ahead, salvo!"
At this time, the "Bismarck" launched its second salvo. A heavy bomb hit the high-explosive ammunition box in the middle of the "Hood". The deck was suddenly a sea of fire. The "Nelson" quickly turned to avoid it. The track of the Hood. In order to save the fate of the battlecruiser Hood, the battlecruiser Repulse immediately adjusted its angle and fired shells at the battleship Bismarck, breaking the temporary siege of the battlecruiser Hood.
The smoke was billowing on the sea, seeming to cover the sun. The British and German navies finally staged a naval battle of such a huge scale again after more than 20 years since the Battle of Jutland. The fire on the battlecruiser Hood was still burning, but considering its huge size, it was obvious that the blow just now was not fatal.
The battlecruiser Repulse replaced the Hood and became the main ship of the British fleet. It immediately attracted a blow from Rear Admiral Ernst Lindemann. The two sides came and went at about 16 nautical miles. von & Luo Yan Cram's battleship Tirpitz faced the battleship Nelson. After a tentative exchange of fire between the two sides, von Rehenkramm immediately discovered that the battleship Nelson's firepower was very powerful and had to put away his contempt. , take action at close range.
It’s no wonder that the battleship Nelson’s ship-borne weapons and equipment include 9 406 mm caliber main guns, 12 152 mm caliber artillery pieces, 6 120 mm caliber high and flat dual-purpose guns, 4 76 mm caliber artillery pieces, and 6 47 mm caliber artillery pieces. Door and two 533mm torpedo tubes. It can be said that the firepower is very powerful, even more powerful than the two German battleships known as the most powerful in the world.
"Impossible, no design is perfect. Excessive pursuit of powerful firepower will definitely make the battleship poor in other aspects. Where is its weakness?" Von Lohengram thought with a frown.
"Speed up the ship and calculate the speed of the enemy ship at the same time!" von Lohenkramm ordered. As von Lohenkramm expected, it was immediately obvious that the Nelson's speed was too low, making it difficult for her to move quickly.
Next to him, Vice Admiral Lütjens nodded secretly, seeming to admire the young general's mind, and said, "The Nelson's speed is too low, making it difficult for it to move quickly. Our goal is to eliminate the Hood battle line." The cruiser and the battlecruiser Repulse, if they are sunk, the Nelson will not be able to escape even if it wants to!"