Two Hundred and Twenty-Eight Waves

The sea in the northeastern part of the British Isles is called the North Sea, and here is the only way for the German Navy to enter the Atlantic Ocean, and it is also the main line of defense for the Royal Navy to block Germany. [First Release] At this moment, the sharp bow of a new German destroyer slashed the sea like a knife, and the white waves tossed left and right, dispersing to both sides, facing the strong wind and undulating waves, driving fast on the endless sea.

On the side of the destroyer, another warship could vaguely be seen breaking through the waves. On the masts of the two warships, the signal lights flashed back and forth, regularly and mysteriously. Farther away, another warship sailed in formation, and the soldiers wiped the yellowish wooden deck with a rag on the deck, humming songs that were out of tune.

The warships are connected one by one, forming a huge fleet. Several destroyers are lined up, followed by cruisers, and behind the cruisers, followed by two huge aircraft carriers. The waves cut by the bow of the entire fleet stretched for thousands of meters, which was spectacular.

"Helmsman! Steady the direction! Send a signal to the fleet's flagship 'Imperial' aircraft carrier! Report all normal news, and leave the rest to the fleet reconnaissance plane!" An upper body wearing a black "color" double-breasted officer The German naval officer in uniform, with white and straight officer trousers standing in the command cabin, looking at the sea with binoculars longer than the Army-type telescope on the swaying destroyer: "About 36 degrees to the southwest! Keep your course. Mate, go check out our new equipment and check how well that thing works."

"Yes! Captain. The 'Imperial' aircraft carrier called back. The Second Squadron of the High Seas Fleet and the supply ships have entered the North Sea. This is the territory of the British. The flagship ordered us to strengthen our vigilance and pay attention to possible British ships nearby." The first mate took the folder from the trainee, looked at the telegram and said.

"Adjust the course! Correct the course by 15 degrees to the south. Prepare shells for all artillery pieces! Level 2 alert! Raise the naval battle flag, all the non-commissioned officers will be on duty in 5 minutes, and must not leave without authorization!" The captain issued a series of orders, and the entire destroyer It was noisy.

The 88mm caliber main gun on the destroyer's bow has been torn off by the sailors. The pitch-black gun barrel is pointing fiercely at the sea level in the distance. At the top, the roar of machinery when accelerating, the black smoke spewing from the chimney in the middle of the ship, the rumbling sound is really disturbing.

The 40mm Bofors high "shooter" gun began to slowly point to the sky, and the torpedoes were also ready. The destroyer was now like a little hedgehog, and there was a tense atmosphere everywhere.

On the aircraft carrier Imperial, the core of the fleet, fleet commander Gunther Lütjens frowned and received an encrypted emergency message from the country. A brief piece of information was clearly written on the paper: "The main force of the British Royal Navy has nowhere to go. If it encounters an interception, the priority option is to return to the military port of Kiel. Don't be reckless."

"How did we get the news? We are already in the North Sea..." Gunther Lütjens was obviously dissatisfied with the speed of the Navy's information transmission.

He handed the document to the commander of the aviation unit, and at the same time ordered: "Send all reconnaissance planes immediately to scout the nearby sea. The fleet canceled the radio silence and sent a telegram to General Reeder, saying that the confluence plan was canceled and our army retreated. Back to Kiel Naval Port."

He glanced at his first mate: "The course is adjusted to due north, and after takeoff, the plane is adjusted to northwest, and convey this order."

Alarm bells began to sound on the aircraft carrier. The ground crew pushed the reconnaissance two-seat fw-190 in the aircraft carrier's hangar onto the elevator. The technicians were urgently opening the folded wings for the aircraft. Several pilots and navigators had already packed their parachute backpacks, and discussed the details of the reconnaissance mission with the commander and intelligence analysis officer beside them.

"I understand. After takeoff, I will search north immediately to ensure the safety of the channel back to Kiel... If you encounter an opponent's reconnaissance plane, try not to make contact." A pilot pointed to the chart and said: "The fuel is exhausted. Afterwards, I should rendezvous with the fleet around here, right?"

"Yes, if you encounter enemy planes and you can't avoid them, shoot them down." An officer pointed to the chart and added: "Mark down the enemy planes more accurately, but first make sure to send back the position of the enemy fleet. ."

"Yes! Understood." Several pilots and chartists nodded, wished each other a few words, and then went to their respective reconnaissance planes.

Gunther Lütjens looked at the carrier-based reconnaissance planes taking off one after another on the bridge, and withdrew his gaze and ordered: "Send a signal, all warships equipped with radar, turn on the radar, and search the nearby sea."

And just to the northwest of the Lütjens fleet, about 40 kilometers away, a huge fleet sailing in formation, the huge roar of machinery accompanied by the sound of waves hitting the hull formed a majestic sound. Melody, the main fleet of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet is moving at full speed.

A few battleships came together from the British mainland. The British fleet gathered 5 battleships and 4 aircraft carriers in one breath. Counting the large number of escort fleets, this fleet can be regarded as one of the largest naval fleets in the current stage of mankind. .

After some discussions, the British naval commanders felt that dividing the German High Seas Fleet and annihilating half of it was really overkill, so they deliberately slowed down the speed and wanted to block all the German High Seas Fleet after the confluence. To put an end to Germany's ludicrous dream of domination of the Atlantic Ocean once and for all.

So now they have set up an encirclement on the western sea of ​​Denmark, and deployed a large number of high-speed destroyers and cruisers on the periphery in an attempt to delay the escape speed of the German navy. Once the main force of the German fleet is dragged, the battleships cruising not far away And heavy cruisers will come and sink the entangled German ships. In short, after 1919, the Oceanic Navy, which had been silent for a long time, once again became the vanguard of the war at this moment.

"Report to the captain! The fleet command ship 'Imperial' is calling: fully deploy the radar system, alert the sea, and start the operation! Change the course, turn to due north, and move forward at the fastest speed of the fleet." Almost the British Royal Navy began to accelerate. At the same time, on almost all warships of the German Navy, the first mate was reporting the order of General Lütjens to his captain.

"The radar is on!" a technician shouted on the huge radar search screen, staring at the dense little spots: "The field of vision is clear, the radar is working properly, and I can see every ship in the fleet."

The German escort destroyers and cruisers were busy, and the sailors and soldiers on the aircraft carrier were also busy. They were preparing bombs for the fighters below the deck. Ten fighters were torpedoed and ready to take off for battle.

An aviation commander rushed from the command room downstairs to the bridge where Lütjens was located with a telegram in a hurry, and handed him a piece of paper: "General! The reconnaissance plane just launched is here British reconnaissance planes were spotted in the clouds nearby and we were really on target."

"Tell all the fighters with torpedoes to take off. We can't be beaten passively." Lütjens said fiercely: "Prepare the Stuka dive bombers! Before we adjust our course, we must take off 40 fighters."

The aviation commander nodded and ran out. Lütjens' first mate picked up the intercom and gave a loud command: "Sound the battle alarm!"

"Uh...uu..." The shrill alarm sound echoed on the warship, and in all the cabins and corridors, the red "color" battle alarms flickered with palpitating light. The radio silence was broken as the two fighter jets took to the sky, filled with reports from pilots and various orders from the ship's command system.

"The outer destroyer found an enemy ship. It should be a destroyer, which is about 27 nautical miles away from our due north." An officer reported loudly.

"The number 04 reconnaissance plane called. They found a battleship that was being chased away by British Air Force fighter jets. They were entangled." Another officer in charge of the radio followed loudly to report.

"How many fighter jets have taken off?" a liaison officer asked loudly, holding up the telephone receiver: "It's too noisy, I can't hear clearly! Is it ten or twenty? Speak clearly! I can't hear clearly!" The whole bridge Everyone above has their own responsibility for the problem, and all the time is the voice of various contact confirmations.

"Why is there no intelligence feedback on the submarine force?" Lütjens frowned and asked the first officer beside him.

"I heard that the Army is going to start operations on the Western Front, so Dönitz gathered submarines on the ocean, preparing to deal the heaviest blow to the UK as soon as possible. Therefore, intelligence gathering was delayed. ." The chief mate replied.

Lütjens nodded, and then said, "Record this matter and send it to the Führer."

The chief mate was stunned for a moment, then stood at attention and replied, "Yes, I understand."

The situation of the entire German fleet is very bad now. If we talk about the fleet's ability to fight against the sea, the entire fleet can actually be said to be extremely weak: the largest caliber of naval guns is only 150 mm, which is similar to that of British destroyers.

Therefore, in addition to air defense and anti-submarine capabilities, German destroyers can only be regarded as large gunboats in the UK, while German cruisers are barely regarded as large British destroyers. This makes the German fleet lack the "close-to-hand combat" combat capability of naval guns, and it is a bit like an archer in an online game, relying on powerful long-range attack capabilities to kill opponents.

In theory, the combat mode provided by Arkado, which has mastered the future naval battle mode, is undoubtedly advanced, but the German Navy has not been able to improve its own combat command level for a while, so the current German Navy still lacks real progress. The courage to step forward.

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