The wind was strong in the dark night, and even the wind was timidly hidden, and there was only a slight sound of waves on the heavy sea. Everything seems to be asleep, but in the waters of the Bay of Biscay in the eastern Atlantic, near Saint-Nazaire in France, a sizable fleet is heading for its goal.

"There is still half an hour to arrive at the No. 1 sea area, and all departments are ready for battle!"

On the class destroyer "Reconnaissance", located behind the side of the lead ship, the major officer in a pure white uniform reminded the other sailors on the ship in a loud voice that in a few moments, they will enter the real danger zone! At this time, all the crew members are sticking to their posts, and many are carefully checking their guns, because these weapons are likely to become their only partners to rely on later!

Now on this old warship with a full load displacement of only more than 1,000 tons, in addition to the 90 crew members under the standard configuration, there is also a company of 6 war soldiers, these sturdy young men are sturdy, eyes are like torches, and they seem to be full of confidence in the upcoming battle!

Even if they were not afraid of it, after the mission order was given, these brave soldiers were ready for a tough battle, each of them polished their firearms to a shiny finish, and their helmets, belts and leather boots were fully equipped, and their sharp daggers could be used as razors! On a simple platform made of wooden boxes, the officer, dressed in a yellow-green khaki uniform and carrying a millimeter-sized Webley revolver at his waist, admonished his soldiers one last time in his deep voice:

"Everyone has their respective tasks in mind. Don't panic in case of any accidents! The attack must be fast, the retreat must be fast, our warships will not be able to stay long in the German-controlled docks! We'll have to wade to board the boat if necessary! ”

At this time, looking at the dark sea, one by one black shadows are quickly turning to the southeast in a standard battle column, and there are not only old destroyers on the verge of being scrapped. There are also motorboats with a displacement of two to three hundred tons and are powered by gasoline or diesel engines. In this way, the fleet was undoubtedly at great risk in the Bay of Biscay, which had fallen into German control, and they were heavily armed, but mostly armed with small-caliber guns - although the London-class heavy cruiser Devonshire, armed with 8-inch guns, and two light cruisers with 6-inch guns, were nominally providing long-range protection to the rear of the fleet, but in the event of a fierce firepower and good night combat capability of the German Admiral-Hipper-class heavy cruisers. Whether these warships, which lack the ability to defend themselves, will be able to survive two rounds is still questionable. Not to mention the arrival of the Home Fleet stationed in Plymouth Harbour or the H Fleet ambushed on the edge of the Bay of Biscay!

The situation looks terrible. But the British generals who planned the operation knew as well as his staff officers that the chances of these British ships encountering the enemy's capital ships at night in the Bay of Biscay were very small, for the Germans would not risk their capital ships at Saint-Nazaire or stationed in Brest to threaten the British Atlantic lifeline, with British submarines and elusive fleets. In fact. Entering and attacking a harbor protected by numerous shore defense batteries and vigilance vessels seemed to be the real "difficult task", considering that there was a 99 percent chance that Germany's most ferocious maritime giant, the heavy battleship Bismarck, was still moored in that dockyard. A floating steel fortress on the sea!

The closer to the port of Saint-Nazaire, the more solemn the atmosphere in the fleet became, and people deliberately restrained their breathing so as not to be too alarmed when the enemy ships suddenly appeared, but the German warships were still sleeping in the harbor as the officers said, until this peculiar fleet approached Saint-Nazaire without any accidents, but just as the leading destroyers were about to sprint towards the shoals and ** formations outside the harbor, suddenly, bursts of light appeared on the dark sea like lightning before a rainstorm, It was just that the light that lit up a large area of the sky took on a familiar orange red, and then a burst roar came from the empty front, and because the sea was so quiet before, the sound was like a series of firecrackers exploding a few meters ahead.

The hustle and bustle began, and the orange-red light came one after another, but sometimes it was replaced by the intense white light that came out like a magnesium rod burning, and the two lights kept alternating dizzyingly, as if it was a sound and light drama being staged!

On the destroyer at the very front of the fleet, with the flag of the rear admiral on the mast, a rear admiral of the Royal Navy in the prime of life said to his entourage:

"Our Air Force is bombing Saint-Nazaire! Now that all the attention of the Germans has been drawn to the past, it is a great time for us to act! ”

At this moment, people's doubts and worries were reduced by half, and the light signal of the Canadian fleet was immediately emanated from the amidships of this class of fleet destroyers, and the destroyers and motorboats on their respective tasks quickly increased their horsepower and rushed forward......

At this moment, the German occupation forces in Saint-Nazaire were indeed extremely busy, and all the anti-aircraft artillery units deployed around the port had entered a combat state, and hundreds of anti-aircraft guns of various calibers were firing fiercely at the air -- the radar had already appeared in advance of the incoming aircraft group, and the Luftwaffe night fighters deployed nearby had also taken to the air in time to intercept them, but their efficiency was not enough to drive away most of the enemy planes, and in this day and age, the main reliance on ground fire to deal with the enemy's night air raids was still the case!

In the deafening explosion, the British bombers continued to drop **, from the momentum point of view, they not only put in the conventional 1000 pounds of aviation**, but also the power of the special **, even in the explosion ** 100 meters away can feel a strong vibration! However, after the initial hectic turmoil, the air defense system of the port was fully operational, and the heavy fire made it difficult for those British bombers to descend and carry out accurate bombing, and many ** either fell into the urban area far from the dock, or fell into the water of the port, but so far none of them have landed in the Normandy dock at the core of the air defense system!

Although the operational headquarters in the reinforced concrete fortifications near the port headquarters was extremely strong, Zhang Hainuo preferred to stay with his officers and men on his flagship "Bismarck". Just as the British expected and expected, this large ship with powerful combat power is now trapped in the dock and cannot move, although the large and small artillery on the ship is also actively participating in the anti-air raid action, but it cannot be freely evaded as usual, and under the condition that the firepower is not reduced, the comprehensive combat capability has been lost by half!

On the other hand, although the Bismarck is like a beast trapped in a cage, this "cage" is also extraordinary. After perfecting the fortifications left by the French army, and waving the tradition of German naval mine-laying, the sea defense capability of this port is now no less than any place on the Atlantic coast, plus the number and power of combat aircraft are considerable, there is no absolute sea and air superiority, any country that wants to replicate a battle of Taranto or the battle of Mirskbil in Saint-Nazaire will be just a pure dream, and it seems that the only way to break the traditional cage is a new tactic that depends on conventional thinking!

The once glorious British Royal Air Force, after experiencing the tempering of the Battle of Britain, gradually rose to another peak of its own, but in March and April, in order to intercept the German fleet and lost a lot of vital forces, they are now unable to ignore everything to carry out indiscriminate bombardment of Saint-Nazaire against Berlin, dozens of bombers from the approach to the departure of the German ground artillery range lasted only ten minutes, during which only a few were shot down by German artillery fire, ** also correspondingly far away from the main target. Judging by the attrition and losses on both sides, this is more like a live-fire drill than a life-and-death struggle between the opposing sides!

The roar of the bombers gradually disappeared, the anti-aircraft guns stopped roaring, the noise of ** was gone, there were still several burning buildings around the port, and soon the whimper of the French fire engine was heard in the air, and there were faint shouts of adults and children. Innocent people are suffering from war and defeat, and soldiers are under the pressure of duty. As soon as he walked out of the underground fortifications, Zhang Hainuo saw a group of heavily armed SS soldiers began to form on the flat ground outside the bunker, for these legends of brave and good fighting on the battlefield, in the occupied area of all kinds of contradictions, he himself did not have a good feeling, if aside from his friend Edwin's position, he would rather cooperate with the regular Wehrmacht troops, but as Germany's military center of gravity turned to the east, a large number of Wehrmacht troops originally stationed in France were transferred to the German mainland, Poland or Greece front, The vacancies they left behind were naturally filled by the second and third line troops, and the large number of loyal and reliable Waffen-SS units, which lacked combat experience, naturally became the first choice of the German High Command.

The air raid sirens had not yet been lifted, and the officers and men belonging to the naval fort units and the Wehrmacht anti-aircraft artillery units were still in their respective positions, but for the sake of concealment, the searchlights deployed in the harbor had been extinguished, and many people were listening intently, fearing that the next wave of British bombers would attack, but they did not expect that their own anti-aircraft fire and the flares dropped by the British bombers had already pointed out the final direction for the attackers at sea。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。 。。