Chapter 461 The High Seas Fleet Arrives

At around 9 o'clock on June 6, in a calm and sunny environment, the newly formed First High Seas Fleet sailed out of Kiel Port in a mighty manner. The commander of the fleet is Admiral Gunther Lütjens, the new commander-in-chief of the High Seas Fleet, and his flagship is the majestic battleship "Bismarck".

In addition to the powerful "Bismarck", his fleet also includes the "Bismarck"'s sister ship "Tirpitz" and the second ship of the "Scharnhorst" class "Gneisenau". There are three powerful battleships in total!

Among them, the "Gneisenno" has also undergone major changes, replacing 9 underpowered 280mm main guns with 6 powerful 380mm main guns. If you count the 1 main guns of the two "Bismarck" class ships, the entire fleet has a total of 22 380mm main guns!

With such powerful firepower, Admiral Gunther Lütjens does not dare to say that he will defeat the British Home Fleet, but as long as the "Nelson" of the Home Fleet does not appear, the First High Seas Fleet really has nothing to do. Afraid.

In addition, the two "Seidlitz" class aircraft carriers gave Admiral Lütjens additional confidence. With the protection of 64 Fokker Zeros on these two carriers, the aircraft carriers of the British Home Fleet pose no threat to the First High Seas Fleet at all.

If it weren't for Hans Jeshunek and Wolfgang von Richthofen, who were born in the Air Force, thinking about killing all the British pilots all day long, Lütjens would have wanted to lead the first The High Seas Fleet broke through the Denmark Strait and went to the Atlantic to break diplomatic relations.

With the current strength of the First High Seas Fleet, if it entered the Atlantic Ocean, wouldn't it be possible to sink as many merchant ships as it wanted? If you encounter a small number of British battleships, you are guaranteed to win.

However, the same applies to fighting in the North Sea. Gunther Lütjens believes that the British will not just send out aircraft. Their main fleet will definitely be attracted to the North Sea. The opportunity for a decisive battle between the fleets always exists.

And now it happens to be the polar day period in the Arctic. Until the autumnal equinox, the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea farther north have long days and short nights, and the wind and waves on the sea will not be too big. It has always been a good day for sea battles-if it reaches the autumnal equinox-spring equinox In between, that is the polar night period. As you get closer to the Arctic Circle, the days become shorter and the nights become longer, and the winds and waves are stronger. It is not suitable for naval battles, and aircraft are unlikely to be dispatched.

However, long days and short nights and light winds and waves also have disadvantages, that is, the fleet's whereabouts are easily exposed. According to Lütjens's estimation, when his fleet passes through the Skagerrak Strait between Jutland and Norway, it will most likely be discovered by British submarines lurking at the exit of the strait.

His estimate later proved to be completely correct. At 5 o'clock in the morning the next day (because of the extreme daylight, it was already very bright at 5 o'clock in the morning in the high-dimensional Skagerrak). While swinging through the Skagerrak, a British submarine lurking there discovered the German fleet and quickly reported the enemy situation to the flagship Nelson of the Home Fleet: "Discovered 3 battleships, 4 heavy cruisers, and 2 aircraft carriers. 5-6 light cruisers, more than 10 destroyers, 10 large transport ships..."

The news reached Home Fleet Headquarters (based on HMS Nelson) and was immediately forwarded to the Admiralty and High Command in London. At the same time, the underground war cabinet headquarters on King Charles Street in London was already in chaos.

It turned out that at the same time as the First High Seas Fleet was attacking, the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Norway also declared war on Britain. The large-caliber train guns that had been deployed around Gibraltar began to bombard the Gibraltar Fortress. Ju88s and SM.79s deployed in Bergen and Stavanger also began to repeatedly bomb British airfields on the Shetland Islands under the cover of Fokker Zeros and Fw-190s.

It was obvious that a new round of German attacks on the British Empire had begun. However, compared with the dispatch of the main force of the German High Seas Fleet, the bombardment of Gibraltar and the bombing of the Shetland Islands were simply trivial.

"What do you think?" British Prime Minister Churchill said with a frown while smoking a cigar, "3 battleships plus 2 aircraft carriers and 4 heavy cruisers. Although there may be a misunderstanding, it is at least certain that there are 7 heavy cruisers. The above large battleships (the German heavy cruisers and battleships are similar in appearance and can be easily mistaken from a distance) and the two aircraft carriers. I think the main force of the German High Seas Fleet is almost here. Where are they going? ?”

Intelligence collected from various channels shows that Germany currently has only three battleships in service, and another four battlecruisers (P-class armored ships) undergoing sea trials. As for the number of German aircraft carriers, excluding training ships and escort carriers of about 10,000 tons (such aircraft carriers converted from merchant ships are not of much value), there are currently two ships: Seydlitz and Sekt.

In other words, if the submarine read it correctly, the main force of the German High Seas Fleet has now broken into the North Sea!

"It is possible that they want to capture the Shetland Islands," Chief of General Staff Admiral Dill said. "German bombers are repeatedly bombing the airports and radar stations on the Shetland Islands, causing us great losses. Moreover. According to intelligence, there are 10 large transport ships in this German fleet, which are likely to be troop transport ships transporting landing troops. "

"But it is also possible that we want to break into the Atlantic Ocean." First Sea Lord Marshal Pound raised another possibility. He frowned and said, "We have a lot of troops stationed in the Shetland Islands, and we also have tanks and armored vehicles. With such heavy weapons, a large number of mines are laid around the archipelago, and the archipelago is also very close to Scotland, making it very easy to support and unlikely to be occupied by the Germans. In addition, the Germans have never organized an amphibious landing operation, and they have not. Those large transport ships that can be used for landing operations are probably just transporting supplies to Bergen and Stavanger.

Rather than attacking the Shetland Islands, which were not easy to capture, the German fleet would have been better off breaking into the Atlantic from the Denmark Strait. With the high speed and powerful firepower of the Bismarck, Scharnhorst and Seydlitz classes, they can definitely pose a fatal threat to the Atlantic route. Moreover, after the main force of the German High Seas Fleet breaks into the Atlantic Ocean, it does not have to return to its home port in Germany. It can completely dock at the Port of Brest in France. "

The Port of Brest was one of the original main bases of the French Navy, and its status is similar to that of Toulon Port. Moreover, there is also the nearby French shipbuilding industry town of Saint-Nazaire, which is an ideal place for the fleet to dock. After the Battle of the Western Front, the Germans "occupied" the port of Brest and a large area around it, where they expanded the airport, built anti-aircraft gun towers, and repaired the port facilities, making it clear that it would be a fleet home port. of.

"In addition," Marshal Pound said worriedly, "if the main force of the German High Seas Fleet moves to Brest, then after the Italian and French fleets rush out of the Strait of Gibraltar, the fleets of the three countries may meet in Brest. Their strength, It will be enough to block the western entrance to the English Channel!”

There are two entrances and exits to the English Channel, and the eastern one is basically blocked at the Pas de Calais. Because the narrowest point of the Pas de Calais is less than 30 kilometers, the Germans deployed many large-caliber artillery moved from the Maginot Line on the Calais side, and combined with Ju87, S.M.79 and S boats (torpedo boats), basically blocked it the channel. If the western entrance to the English Channel is again blocked by the German, French and Italian fleets, then the Germans can start preparing to land on the British mainland.

"If the goal of the German fleet is the Shetland Islands, then we will wait for them to attack with Wellington bombers and Bristol torpedo bombers when they approach the islands." Marshal Pound said thoughtfully, "If the goal of the German fleet is to break through the Denmark Strait , then we must dispatch the local fleet to intercept!"

"Can Wellington bombers and Bristol torpedo bombers be used to deal with the German fleet?" Prime Minister Churchill asked with some worry.

The subjects of his questions were Viscount Portal, Chief of Staff of the Royal Air Force, and Lieutenant General Arthur William Tedder, Commander of the Bomber Air Force of the Royal Air Force.

Viscount Porter and Lieutenant General Ted looked at each other, and then shook their heads at the same time. Lieutenant General Ted said: "Based on the experience of fighting in the Mediterranean, torpedo bombers must cooperate with dive bombers to fully exert their power. The tactics of the Germans and Italians are to first conduct a shallow dive attack with the Ju88, which can gain about 20%-30% With a high hit rate, a large swarm attack will cause severe damage to multiple main ships, reduce the speed, and weaken the anti-air firepower. At this time, the S.M.79 torpedo bombers will be used to attack, and the effect is very ideal.

The Royal Air Force still does not have a twin-engine dive bomber similar to the Ju88, so it can only use horizontal bombers to attack. The bombing accuracy is too low and it is difficult to hit enemy ships in navigation. However, if the enemy ship is intact and the torpedo bomber is used to attack, the losses will be very heavy, and it is difficult to achieve the desired effect. "

Lieutenant General Ted's experience was gained with blood and life, and both Churchill and First Sea Lord Marshal Pound frowned.

"So how are we going to deal with this German fleet?" Churchill asked.

"Mr. Prime Minister, my suggestion is to dispatch aircraft carriers!" Lieutenant General Ted said, "Our aircraft carriers are now equipped with SBD fearless dive bombers, which are enough to deal with German battleships and aircraft carriers."

Churchill looked at Marshal Pound, who nodded and said: "Ark Royal, Formidable, Victory and Indomitable can form a fast aircraft carrier strike formation, with the cooperation of shore-based aircraft, to attack Germany. The fleet conducts air strikes."