Chapter 291 "U21" Submarine

Chapter 291 "U-21" Submarine

Finally, Vice Admiral Robeck brought General Geplat to talk, and Charles set the time for the attack.

"Tomorrow morning at five o'clock." Charles pointed to a location on the map: "Attack V Beach."

"What about the battle plan?" General Geplat asked.

"There is no battle plan." Charles replied: "We only need the fire support of the 6th Squadron of the battleship "Gauloise"!"

Vice Admiral Robeck reminded:

"I don't think this is wise, Colonel."

"As we all know, the "Dignity" was sunk by an enemy submarine in the early morning."

"In the early morning, it is difficult for us to find the periscope protruding from the sea surface, which will put the "Gauloise" in danger!"

Charles asked coldly: "Otherwise, when do you think we should land? Only when we are ready at dawn, we will have a whole day to attack."

Vice Admiral Robeck was speechless.

There was indeed such a situation before, the landing was about to succeed but it was getting dark, and they had to withdraw the troops that had already landed.

Otherwise, the undermanned troops would likely be surrounded and annihilated by the enemy at night.

In the end, General Robeck left angrily, whispering in English on the way: "Let them suffer a little, and after the losses they will know that the war is not what they thought. They actually launched an attack without a battle plan!"

Robeck didn't know that Charles's landing plan for the next day was not for landing at all, but to lure out the German submarines.

And the battleship "Gaul" was just a bait.

...

In the dark sea, the German U-21 submarine was sailing slowly in the Aegean Sea.

The captain, Colonel Hexing, had not shaved for nearly a month, and they grew a circle on the colonel's face like a broom. Colonel Hexing's tired look and protruding cheekbones seemed to be telling the huge pressure of submarine operations.

For more than a month, the experience of the U-21 submarine was enough to write a legend.

It set sail from Wilhelmshaven, Germany, and replenished at Cape Finisterre, Spain.

For confidentiality reasons, the superiors contacted German merchants in Spain to buy fuel and lubricants, intending to continue to the Dardanelles without anyone noticing after replenishing at night.

However, Hexing found that the merchants actually bought the wrong fuel, which was not suitable for use on submarines.

Helplessly, the submarine could only continue without refueling.

Along the way, Captain Hexing racked his brains to save every drop of oil, taking the shortest route at the most economical speed, and sometimes even relying on ocean currents. After 18 days of sailing, he finally reached his destination.

At this time, there was only 1.8 tons of fuel left on the boat.

Hexing later sighed to his subordinates: "Even if I forget other numbers, even my birthday or age, this number is indelibly engraved in my heart!"

Facts have proved that Captain Hexing's adventure is worth it.

After the U-21 submarine arrived at the Dardanelles, it sank the battleships "Triumph" and "Dignity" successively. Its existence even made the Allies dare not easily send battleships to provide fire cover for the landing battle.

Ottoman commander Sanders praised the U-21 submarine generously: "You defeated the entire Allied fleet on your own!"

(Note: Sanders was a German officer who was responsible for commanding the defense of the Dardanelles, and he became famous for this)

These days, Hexing's nerves have been tense again.

Because he received a special telegram: "It is learned that Charles of France led a force to reinforce, and the target fleet has arrived. If he can be sunk, it will be a heavy blow to the enemy's morale."

"Charles?" Hexing was stunned, then raised the telegram in his hand to his subordinates nearby, and said in a flat tone: "Charles is here, right here."

The crew members were immediately excited when they heard the news:

"Really? Is he here to inspect?"

"I really hope to see him. I heard that someone saw him on the battlefield on Christmas Day."

"Yes, my classmate Paul also got his autograph!"

...

This is an unprecedented phenomenon. Charles is an enemy of the Germans, but he has gained a large number of German fans, although Charles has never met them.

Colonel Hexing waited for them to finish speaking, and then added coldly: "He is not here to inspect, but to fight! Our next task is to sink him as much as possible!"

The surroundings were silent for a moment, and everyone looked at Colonel Hexing in shock.

Colonel Hexing nodded slightly and said in a resounding voice:

"I know what you are thinking, and I don't want to do this either."

"But this is war, gentlemen, a life-and-death war!"

"I know you like Charles and his legendary life, but you must go all out, this is the duty of a soldier!"

There was a moment of silence, and then the crew seemed to have made up their minds, and they answered one after another:

"Yes, Colonel, we will do this."

"If it were Charles, he would sink us without hesitation!"

"Yes, this is the fate of a soldier!"

...

Colonel Hexing didn't say anything more, he believed in his subordinates, they were professional soldiers.

He just ordered to check the equipment and torpedoes on the submarine so that the submarine could be put into battle in the best condition when needed.

However, after searching for several days, Colonel Hessing was unable to find a target worth attacking.

In fact, Colonel Hesing had already met Charles's fleet at sea, more than once.

But Colonel Hesing believed that they were just some transport ships and a few escorting destroyers. There was no need for the submarine to waste a precious torpedo, so he easily let them go.

If Colonel Hesing knew that his target was on one of the transport ships, he would probably feel guilty.

Soon, Colonel Heshing received another telegram: "According to reliable information, Charles's fleet will organize a landing on V Beach early tomorrow morning!"

Colonel Hexing perked up and shouted excitedly to his subordinates: "Gentlemen, the big fish is about to bite the hook. Get ready. The moment to change your destiny has come!"

What Colonel Heshing didn't know was that this was exactly the information that Charles intended for him to know.

Charles asked Tijani to send a telegram to the Minister of Navy: "We will launch an attack on V Beach early tomorrow morning and wait for our good news!"

The Minister of the Navy smiled: "You arrogant guy, you really think you can win easily. That's a beach that the British didn't conquer!"

(The picture above shows the German U19 submarine, and the "U-21" is one of them. This type of submarine is the first German submarine to use a diesel engine. Before that, it used kerosene, which would release a large amount of fuel on the sea The white smoke can easily expose the target).