Chapter 250 Surprise Attack VI

September 3, 1939, 4 p.m. Greenwich time.

On the battleship "Nelson" anchored in Scapa Flow, all the people stood still at their posts, while the First Lord of the Admiralty Churchill, the First Sea Lord Sir Pound and their entourage stood still in the officers' lounge.

The same voice came from all the loudspeakers on the ship - the voice of a stuttering man: "... I call on... my people to unite as one... in the test of time... to move forward in unity... the task will be... difficult... the road ahead may be cloudy... here... we devoutly... promise to God... if we all have firm faith... God will bless... we will win!"

The person who was speaking was King George VI of the United Kingdom. At 3 p.m., the House of Commons of the British Parliament passed a resolution to declare war on the German Empire. Then Prime Minister Chamberlain entered Buckingham Palace, informed the King of England of the news, and asked the King of England to approve it.

George VI, who had long known that he would go to war with Germany, immediately made a radio speech after approving the formal declaration of war. Because he had a severe stutter, he spoke with a stammer. But this speech still greatly inspired the British people and soldiers!

"God save the king! Britain will win!"

The officers and soldiers on the "Nelson" and all the officers and soldiers on the British naval ships anchored in Scapa Flow all shouted slogans. Then they began to sing the national anthem "God Save the King"...

Almost at the same time, Hitler, who had just delivered a demagogic speech in Congress, also entered the official residence of the Berlin Royal City accompanied by Defense Minister Marshal Schleicher to meet with German Emperor William.

"Your Majesty, we will win!" Marshal Schleicher, wearing a marshal's uniform with many medals, stood in front of the emperor and looked confident.

"Really?" William, whose beard and hair had all turned snow-white, still looked very majestic, but he no longer had the sharpness he had 25 years ago. "That's what Moltke said to me at the time, but later..."

"Your Majesty, at 9 am this morning, the vanguard of the 19th Armored Corps has crossed the Vistula River and is currently attacking the rear of the Eastern Group of the Polish Coastal Army. At the latest tomorrow, most of the Polish Coastal Army will completely collapse!"

Marshal Schleicher informed the emperor of the good news he received in the morning - a Polish Army with 100,000 people will soon be wiped out.

"And the loss of personnel in the 19th Armored Corps," Schleicher said in an extremely proud tone, "is less than 500 people, including all losses including deaths, serious injuries, and missing!"

In the last war, a battalion could suffer 500 casualties in three days! Now the 19th Armored Corps has defeated 100,000 Polish troops, and there is only this little loss. This shows that the combat effectiveness of the German Army is extremely strong, and there is no need to worry about France at all. Moreover, the performance of the German Air Force in the past few days has also been very outstanding, and the Polish Air Force has been beaten without any ability to fight back.

"But the British navy is very powerful!" Emperor William whispered, "The last war failed because of the British navy's blockade."

"Your Majesty, the British navy will be dealt with by the naval aviation!" Schleicher promised, "There will be good news in two or three hours!"

...

"Captain, our radar seems to be broken!"

Just when Marshal Schleicher assured the emperor that the naval aviation's surprise attack would definitely succeed, Hunter, a radar soldier on the British Royal Navy light cruiser "Sheffield" patrolling outside Scapa Flow, suddenly found countless snowflake-like spots on the green radar screen-this is the screen of an air search radar!

Although British radar was in the leading position during World War II, it was September 1939 after all, and it was not long before radar was put into practical use. Therefore, most British warships were not equipped with radar. Only a few "anti-aircraft escort ships" (actually a modified destroyer) and several light cruisers were equipped with radar.

The "Sheffield" light cruiser, which entered service in 1937, is one of the few British warships equipped with air search radar. However, the radar installed on the "Sheffield" was only an experimental product, and the quality was not up to standard. The truly useful British shipborne radar would not appear in large quantities until 1940 or 1941.

Therefore, Hunter's first reaction after discovering the abnormality of the radar screen was not that an enemy plane was attacking, but that the radar was broken.

"Report the specific situation." Captain Sean, the radar commander who was flipping through a document, asked without looking up.

"Southeast...southeast direction, about 25 miles, there are many targets, approaching quickly..."

"What? Let me see!" Captain Sean immediately put down the document and walked to the radar screen. Only countless snowflake-shaped dots were densely connected into a piece, approaching at a very fast speed.

"Is it a plane?" Sean asked.

"No," radar soldier Hunter replied, "There are only a few points of planes, how can they be connected?"

"Are there a lot of planes?"

"A lot? There are not many planes at the Naval Air Station in Scapa Flow..."

Captain Sean suddenly thought of something and shouted: "Kraut, Kraut planes!"

"German planes? What are they doing in Scapa Flow?" Radar soldier Hunter didn't react for a while. His boss, Captain Sean, had already picked up the phone and yelled.

"Enemy planes spotted! There are a lot of them in the southeast direction! The Krauts are coming!"

...

"...There is no doubt that our British Royal Navy is the most powerful armed force in human history. We rule the world's oceans and protect the greatest and most civilized empire of mankind. Anyone who tries to challenge our authority... woooo..."

Churchill was speaking to a group of British naval officers and soldiers in neat uniforms under the turret of the battleship "Nelson". Of course, the last "woooo..." did not come from the mouth of the Navy Minister Churchill.

This is the sound of the air defense alarm!

"What's going on?" The Navy Minister felt very strange and looked at the First Sea Lord Sir Pound who was also a little dazed beside him, "Is something broken?"

"Mr. Minister, this sound sounds like an air defense alarm..." When Sir Pound spoke, the air defense alarm was still ringing on the "Nelson".

A fleet staff officer who stayed in the command tower ran over like a flash, panting and shouting: "Germans, Germans are coming!"

"What?" Forbes, commander of the Home Fleet, asked hurriedly, "Have you found the German fleet? Where are they?"

"It's not the German fleet," the staff officer said in panic, "It's their planes! Their planes are coming!"

"German planes? Where are they? How many are there?"

"There are a lot of them, and they are almost in Scapa Flow!" The staff officer said quickly and anxiously, "The radar of the 'Sheffield' discovered them 10 minutes ago, less than 40 miles from the bay, and our watchtower also discovered them 5 minutes ago..."

Admiral Forbes and Sir Pound both opened their mouths wide, and for a moment they couldn't say anything. On the contrary, the First Lord of the Admiralty Churchill was relatively calm, and he shouted: "Great, the Germans are here to die, Sir, Admiral, I think the Home Fleet is ready now?"

"Of course!" Admiral Forbes quickly replied, "We are ready!"

Unlike the US Pacific Fleet in the Pearl Harbor incident in history, the British Home Fleet has long been in the highest state of combat readiness. Scapa Flow, where the fleet is concentrated, is not a garrison in peacetime, but a wartime anchorage, which is convenient for them to attack the North Sea from here and fight the German fleet that is trying to break through the blockade.

From this perspective, the Battle of Scapa Flow is not a "surprise attack" or "sneak attack", but a fair battle!

"Sir, please escort the First Lord of the Admiralty to the officer's lounge." Admiral Forbes wanted Churchill and Sir Pound to leave, but the enemy planes were about to attack, and it would be more dangerous to leave the battleship with armored protection at this time.

Forbes saluted the two men, "Mr. Minister, Sir, I'm going to command the battle now!"

...

"No enemy planes were found, no enemy planes were found!"

Major Werner Molders, the commander of the 1st Fighter Regiment of the German Naval Aviation, stared at the clear, cloudless and empty sky in front of him and shouted, "The surprise attack was successful! The surprise attack was successful! God bless Germany!"

His voice was transmitted to a Fw-200C reconnaissance plane at an altitude of 5,000 meters through radio waves. Lieutenant General Graham, commander of the German Naval Aviation Force, clapped his hands suddenly: "Great, we succeeded!"

Then he picked up the intercom and said loudly: "Let's take action now! Start the "High Seas Fleet Operation" (code name for the air raid). We must avenge the High Seas Fleet destroyed in Scapa Flow! Remember, hurry up, the air raid must be completed and all evacuated within 30 minutes!"

Although there is no British Air Force airport near Scapa Flow, there are several airports in northern Scotland. Perhaps within 30 minutes, one or two squadrons of British fighters will fly over! If it takes too long, I'm afraid more British planes will come!

The dense fleet in the sky immediately dispersed upon hearing his order. The 56 Fokker Zeros flying in the front were divided into 14 four-finger formations. Then they were divided into two squadrons (each consisting of 7 four-finger formations), flying along the edge of Scapa Flow, over the islands that make up Scapa Flow, such as Continental Island, Hoy Island, and South Ronasay Island. Their mission is to search and attack any British aircraft if they exist.

The bombers and torpedo planes also began to form teams at the same time. The He-111 took the lead and formed 22 5-plane formations, then swooped towards Scapa Flow with a roar, followed by 86 Ju.88 bombers and 84 He-115 torpedo bombers...