The "Deutschland" class uses the hull of an armored cruiser, but is equipped with the main gun of a battleship. This is a new type of warship created by the Germans in response to treaty restrictions, called an armored ship (Panzerschiff). Simply put, the firepower of this class of ship was stronger than any 10,000-ton treaty-type heavy cruiser equipped with 203.2mm guns and only lightly armored at the time. Its speed of up to 26 knots was faster than the battleships of the time, allowing it to Avoid exchanges of fire with them and be able to conduct ocean-going operations to break diplomatic relations. However, the shortcoming is also obvious, that is, when encountering multiple warships, because the ship has two turrets, it cannot fight in multiple directions.
"Hey, Heydrich." Lin Wei secretly greeted Heydrich while everyone was paying attention to the launch of the battleship.
"What's wrong? Lampard?" Heydrich couldn't figure out why Lin Wei greeted him at this time, but he came over immediately.
Lin Wei pointed at the Deutschland class and said to Heydrich, "You are serving the country in the navy. What do you think of this battleship? Can it fight against the British Navy?"
"Lampard, are you crazy?" Heydrich stretched out his hand to touch Lin Wei's head, but Lin Wei knocked it away. Heydrich withdrew his hand in embarrassment and said, "The current navy simply cannot compete with the British." Maybe the previous High Seas Fleet could do it, but we have lost this hope after Project Rainbow, and it is best not to have this idea. I don’t think anyone is a match for the British at sea."
Looking at Heydrich Linwei with a negative face, he didn't know what to say. Perhaps it was because Britain's centuries-old maritime supremacy had created an unattainable impression on the entire world, causing various countries to have an unattainable impression of the British Empire's navy. Full of awe. However, this is definitely not a good thing for the German Navy, which will definitely have to fight the British Navy in the future. It is difficult to imagine that a navy that is timid before fighting will win.
Looking at the several old-fashioned warships passing back and forth, the launching ceremony seemed so shabby. No wonder Hitler later wanted to form an alliance with Japan. Even if Lin Wei was killed, he would not believe that Hitler was interested in the land warfare capabilities of the Japanese army. It hopes to join forces with Japan in the Middle East.
The Japanese Army has never been very strong. It only showed its combat effectiveness when there were no strong hostile forces in Asia. It cannot be said that Japan was strong. It can only be said that the military power in Asia at that time was too weak (except for Japan, the strongest It is China) that can show the Japanese army's posture of standing out from the crowd.
The only explanation is that it fell in love with the Japanese navy. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the Japanese military command dispatched an aircraft carrier formation (6 aircraft carriers carrying 353 aircraft, 2 battleships, 3 cruisers, 11 destroyers, 3 submarines, 8 oil tankers) and a submarine formation (27 ships) that was deployed in the waters of the Hawaiian Islands in advance. At that time, Japan had the third largest naval fleet in the world, and Hitler once hoped that the Japanese could hold back the Americans (of course, he definitely did not want Japan to start fighting with the United States first).
Looking at the current German Navy, Lin Wei could only secretly sigh that "the current German Navy is too far behind."
The entire ship viewing lasted for nearly 3 hours. After the ceremony, the warship Deutschland slowly left the port of Kiel and sailed along the German coastline to Lübeck, a port in northern Germany.
Lin Wei suddenly felt that the person in front of him looked familiar, but Leng Ding couldn't remember who it was, so he poked Heydrich next to him and asked, "Who is that person?"
Heydrich looked at the person in front and said, "Commander of the Submarine Zone 1 Fleet, Navy Captain Carl von Dönitz."
Hiss... This man Lin Wei knows all too well. He is President of the Greater German Empire, Prime Minister, Minister of Operations, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Commander of the Northern Theater and Civil Defense, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Commander of the Submarine Force, Marshal of the Navy, and a member of the German National Socialist Party. After Hitler's death, he took over as the head of state of Germany. He had almost countless titles, but the most memorable ones are Dönitz and his wolf cubs. British Prime Minister Churchill once said, "The only person who used it in the entire war was What I fear is the German submarine force."
"Hey, what are you doing? Let's go." Heydrich interrupted Lin Wei, who was still dreaming. At this time, Lin Wei realized that everyone had entered the conference room of the Kiel Port Naval Base.
"Oh, let's go," Lin Wei said naa after coming back to his senses.
"I really don't know if the head of state can count on you when he is in danger. He doesn't have the consciousness of being a security guard at all." Heydrich continued to ridicule Lin Wei.
"Shut up"
"Okay, I shut up and let's go."
After arriving at the conference room of the naval base, the cabinet brought by Hitler, as well as several officials from the National Socialist Party and the generals of the officer corps, sat down in clearly defined rows on the left and right. Hitler sat in the center facing south, Lin Wei and Haidli. Xi stood next to the door and window respectively to prevent any unexpected events.
"Everyone!" After everyone sat down, Adolf Hitler spoke first, "This time I saw the construction of our Imperial Navy. Although our Imperial Navy suffered huge humiliation after the war, it seems that the combat effectiveness of our army is currently The will to fight is still very strong. This is a good situation. I believe our Imperial Navy will definitely shock the world again!"
Seeing that the naval officer had no reaction, Hitler continued: "Don't think I'm joking. Now let me tell you some good news. Our diplomats are discussing with the British Foreign Secretary Sir Samuel Hall in London. The main topic of the talks is to increase the total tonnage of our navy's fleet in order to reach the level of France. After more than a month of negotiations, the two sides' initial assumption is that the total tonnage of our empire's surface ships will not exceed 35% of that of the United Kingdom's submarines. The tonnage shall not exceed 45% of that of the UK. In other words, as long as this treaty comes into effect, we can build large warships and submarines." At this point, Hitler glanced at the crowd.
This is undoubtedly exciting news. If this news is true, the German Navy can immediately restore the strength of the High Seas Fleet. At the same time, it also has the opportunity to build dreadnoughts, aircraft carriers and submarines. As long as the noose on Germany's head is untied, what will be done in the future depends on Germany's mood.
"Bah, bang, bang!" Admiral Redl, who was sitting second on the right, immediately took the lead in applauding, and then the intensive applause finally started. Now people can only express their excitement in this way. Hitler smiled. After a while, he stretched out his hands to signal everyone to pause, and then he continued: "As soon as the treaty with Britain is signed, I will push the Imperial Congress to pass a package of naval military expenditure amendments and new military appropriations. According to the formulation of our economic department According to the plan, the empire will increase the allocation of 5 billion imperial marks to the navy. To this end, the empire will build the latest battleships, battlecruisers, aircraft carriers, heavy cruisers and submarines. This year, the empire will invest 200 million imperial marks to help the navy build 20 ships. Destroyer." At this point Hitler looked at everyone. Redel next to him heard so much money, his eyes simply lit up.
"Dear Führer, thank you for your support of the Imperial Navy," Redl stood up and said with tears in his eyes. The naval officers behind him, including Dönitz, also stood up and gave Hitler a grateful look. After all these years, Redel still can't forget that heartbreaking day sixteen years ago.
On June 21, 1919, the British fleet left Scapa Flow for training. At 10:30, all German warships received a predetermined signal - a rainbow - from the flagship cruiser Emden. The officer ordered the prohibited fleet flag, battle flag and Z signal flag to be raised, and the sea valves and watertight hatches to be opened. At 12:16, the battleship "Frederick the Great" sank first, and the other warships were also submerged one after another. The last to sink was the battlecruiser Hindenburg. The British fleet hurriedly returned from training and tried every means to try to remedy the situation, but it was impossible to prevent such a large-scale collective scuttling operation. The most heroic self-sinking operation in naval history lasted about 6 hours. Fifty-two of the 74 interned German warships were sunk, including 10 of the 11 battleships and all five battlecruisers. The tonnage of sunk warships is 95% of the total tonnage of the seized fleet.
This tragic action deeply affected Raeder. Since the Treaty of Versailles prohibited Germany from establishing a general staff headquarters and a naval university, Raeder established a secret training class for command and staff personnel, and also established various naval colleges. Deep down, Redel always hopes that the German Navy can stand up again. Now, the National Socialist Party paid so much attention to the navy in the early days of coming to power and ignited the flame in Redel's heart. How could Redel not be excited.
"No, no... General Raeder, listen to me." Hitler signaled Raeder not to be too excited: "General Raeder, due to the failure of the last war, the tragic "Rainbow" plan and the heavy constraints of the "Versailles Peace Treaty", The empire only has two obsolete pre-dreadnought ships, the "Hannover" and the "Schleswig-Holstein". This is far from enough for the empire. We, Germany, must regain our former glory. Instead of being a small country that is second-rate or only third-rate in Europe, long live Germany..." When he yelled the last sentence, Hitler fell into an unknown realm again.
After a brief calm, Hitler smiled and said, "General Redl, maybe you don't believe that I have a natural love and admiration for big ships and cannons. I have designed his "dream" battleship earlier." Now that I am the Prime Minister of the Empire, the Empire also needs a powerful naval fleet, and General Raeder, do you also hope to restore the glory of the High Seas Fleet?"
"Führer, of course I hope to restore the glory of the High Seas Fleet," Redel said solemnly.