On a midsummer night, in the raging waters of the northern Faroe Islands, a large fleet sailed from east to west in double columns.

"Report to the Commander-in-Chief, the Kiel side came with a double encrypted telegram, ours, Attila, the operation is generally going well, and has so far achieved great success, the various operational units have taken control of 61 French ships, including two Dunkirk-class fast battleships, and have completed eighty-five percent of the total number of targets! Of the nine important targets, only the battleship Richelieu, located in Dakar, slipped through the net, but this battleship was damaged by our submarine and ran aground while forcing its way out of port! ”

The report of the communications officer made Li Ming's originally somewhat scattered thoughts suddenly converge. Eighty-five percent is a very high rate for a large-scale operation aimed at capturing multiple ships -- although the operation has been set up for nearly two years, there are so many departments and personnel involved that a mistake or leak in one link can cause extremely fatal damage to the entire operation. In addition, the degree of resistance of the French army is also a key point for Zhang Hainuo and the officers to not be accurate**, after two years of consumption, whether these people are happy or forbearing, the trend of history is not enough to make a judgment!

"Got it, you don't have to call back!"

Li Mingchao's communications officer **** head, signaling that he could leave.

"Great, marshal, having captured these ships, our naval strength has directly more than doubled! Ha ha! Don't talk about the British, let's just say that the US Navy is now in awe of us! ”

Hearty laughter came from the newly promoted German Admiral Ziriger. This man was seriously wounded and disabled in the battle to sink the British battleship "Nelson" in one arm, so he was also respectfully called "the one-armed general" by his colleagues. He successively held such important positions as the captain of the "Scharnhorst", the deputy commander of the German Main Fleet, the commander of the temporary battleship formation, and the commander of the North Sea Fleet. Zhang Hainuo was promoted from deputy commander of the navy and commander of the main fleet to commander-in-chief of the navy, and Ziliger was ordered to take over the post of commander of the main fleet and coordinate the command of the German capital ships such as the "Bismarck" and "Tirpitz".

On his second voyage with the fleet as commander-in-chief of the navy, Li Ming finally stood on the bridge of the fleet's flagship despite public opinion. Today, this formidable fleet has 2 battleships, 2 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 8 destroyers, and two aircraft carriers converted from large cruise ships. They retain the names they had when they were used as mail ships, namely the "Europa" and "Potsdam". Not only are the two ships huge, but they are also quite impressive. Because of this, after completing the aircraft carrier modification, the two ships are fully able to keep up with the main fleet to sail and fight, and the biggest difference between them and the Zeppelin class is that there is almost no decent armor defense on the side of the ship.

"This is true in terms of quantity and tonnage, and thanks to Darlan and his officers and men, most of these French ships are very well maintained, which is very optimistic!" Zhang Hainuo put his hands behind his back and said slowly:

"However, the ships built in the 30s are no longer suitable for the requirements of modern naval warfare, and next, we will carry out a comprehensive modernization of them, with efficient radars, powerful anti-aircraft weapons and internal overhaul of the gold face! Maybe...... Half a year before we can really use them to fight! ”

Ziliger obviously felt a little long about such a time estimate, and he asked suspiciously: "Then they will not participate in the next operation against the fortress of Gibraltar?" ”

Li Ming responded with a smile, and after a while, he said:

"They will put a lot of pressure on the UK, but in the end, it may be strategic and political measures that will solve the problem! General, the fortress of Gibraltar is an extremely strong fortress, and even if it is attacked hard, it will rely on bombers, long-range heavy artillery and infantry! Our precious warships cannot be wasted in the struggle with the enemy's shore fortifications! ”

Ziliger walked back and forth with his head held high, "You're so right, our precious warships can't be used against those lifeless shore fortifications!" Reinforced concrete buildings can be repaired in half a month, but it is too time-consuming to repair a battleship! ”

Li Ming, of course, remembered how long it took for the Bismarck to be repaired after the Battle of the European Sea, and although the powerful battleship was repaired, technical experts had been worried that the damage to the battleship, like that of a person, seemed to be healed, but it might have left a disease that would never be erased, and it would manifest itself at certain times.

Standing on the bridge in the open air, the salty sea breeze blows.

Li Ming is a person with a very keen sense of smell, which may have a lot to do with the fact that he was born in the Year of the Dog, and although the night was full of stars, he was early in the breath of the approaching storm.

The staff officer on the ship came quickly, and his eager expression reflected his inner activities, and also made Zhang Hainuo guess what was going on.

"Report to the commander-in-chief, the radar has a ship 12 nautical miles ahead, it should be a patrolling British ship, does it need to be evaded?"

Li Ming turned his head to look at Qi Lige, "Here you are the commander!" ”

Ziriger took a step forward with unyielding momentum, and commanded in his majestic voice: "Order the Admiral Hipper and the Seydlitz to move forward, ready to strike a blow at these Brits!" The rest of the ships are also in a state of imminent battle! ”

By 1942, the German Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruisers had long been famous, especially the "Prince Eugen", which had made great achievements, and was regarded as a legendary ship by German naval officers and sailors. However, even if they belong to the same class, not all ships want to be favored by Lady Luck for a long time like the "Prince Eugen", and the second "Blücher" of the Admiral Hipper class is quite unlucky. This battleship, which has the same name as another large cruiser of the Kaiser's era, served as the vanguard of the attack in the German invasion of Norway, but was wounded by the old shore guns of the Norwegian army in the melee, and was finally sunk by the **firing tube** installed in the **firing tube**! As for the fourth cruiser of this class, the keel was laid only half a year later than the "Prinz Eugen", but the service time was a full year and a half later -- the biggest reason for this is that the German army started the war early under Hitler's command, and the resources of the navy were concentrated on the builders of two Bismarck-class battleships and new submarines, if the situation had not improved in 1942, this heavy cruiser named after the previous generation of "unsinkable ships" might not have been able to complete the construction work until the end of the war!

Thanks to the efforts of the Navy shipyard and all the workers, the brand-new "Seydlitz" finally caught up with this large-scale combat operation of the Navy. Before the battleship joined the fleet combat sequence, the crew, which was composed of half veterans and half new recruits, had undergone a rigorous training in the Baltic Sea for four months to fully master the various weapons and new equipment on board, including the new fire control radar that was "in service" almost at the same time as it was -- even in the dark of night, it could guide the ship's artillery fire to accurately find targets within 10 nautical miles, and the hit rate during the exercise was even close to that of shooting guided by optical equipment during the day!

Under the guidance of the signal lights on the flagship "Bismarck", the ships were ready to fight like well-trained soldiers, and the two cruisers that had rushed forward opened up some distance from the large force through full sailing.

After about 5 or 6 minutes, only a few thunders could be heard on the sea, and as far as the eye could see, the bursts of fire were coming from two Admiral-class heavy cruisers!

"It's so exciting!" Looking at the flickering sea ahead, Zilig exclaimed.

"What's the pleasure?" Li Ming asked.

Ziriger said proudly: "Marshal, when we passed through this sea area in the past, when did we not try to avoid the vigilance of the British ships, where did we dare to take the initiative to provoke them!" ”

Li Ming smiled calmly, despite the loss of the large aircraft carrier "Peter Strassel" a few months ago, the current German fleet is still in its new heyday since "Operation Rainbow", while the old rival Britain is like a tiger with its teeth knocked out, but it can no longer put a deadly shackle on the German Navy. Although the last important aircraft carriers were retained, and two old battleships were leased from American allies, if they did not cooperate with the US Navy, even if they were all assembled, it would not be the right match for the German fleet in front of them, and it was precisely because of the full confidence in the strength of the British Air Force that the British Air Force could not carry out precision bombing at night that Zirig would make the decision to take the initiative to attack.

A prepared battle did not last long, judging by the subsequent battle report of the "Admiral Hippel", it was supposed to be a British destroyer with a displacement of less than 2 tons, and the huge difference in strength between the two sides made the battle present a situation of drinking from the beginning. However, the British destroyer did not flee in panic under the pressure of the strong enemy, it fought tenaciously for five minutes, and sent a clear telegram to the outside world before the explosion sank. The radio monitors of the German fleet intercepted it and quickly deciphered its contents, and finally sent the document to Zhang Hainuo's hand, which read: "This ship is located 62 degrees north of the Faroe Islands, about 40 nautical miles, that is, 8 degrees west longitude and 87 degrees north latitude. Our ship was shot and is about to sink with honor, long live the British Emperor! ”

"Glorious sinking? Well, well, the traditions of the British Navy were not lost by successive setbacks, and that's good! Maybe after dawn we can wait for a fierce naval battle, but this time the British will not have the good luck of February, I promise! Li Ming said viciously.