"Urgent report, the HX-11 escort fleet encountered German pocket battleships, the cruiser Aurora sank, and the destroyer Jupiter was injured and withdrew from the battlefield, and the German ships are currently pursuing our merchant ships!"

In the operations hall of the Admiralty building in London, more than a dozen officers of the colonels were struck by lightning and received the latest news from the intelligence department. They immediately cast their eyes on the giant combat map spread out on the long table, and soon found the exact location of the fleet mentioned in the telegram. There was no one in the room for a moment, as if they were trying to digest the shocking news that had suddenly appeared; The sound of heavy breathing gradually echoed, enveloping the room in a somber and oppressive atmosphere.

Since the attack on Scapa Bay on September 3, the bad news has been flying like Christmas snowflakes into the UK. German planes and ships dropped a strange kind of mine off the coast of Britain: British minesweepers could not clear it despite their best efforts, but they were able to sense themselves when a ship passed nearby, and then exploded violently. In ten days, as many as seven merchant ships have been sunk; Shipping in eastern Britain came to a near standstill, and no merchant ship dared to appear in the waters of the Thames estuary.

And in the North Sea, the confrontation between British and German light ships was also more than victorious. The German S-boats and Z-type armored superdrives frequently attacked, and their strong performance made the British battleships suffer in the confrontation of the same class. If it weren't for the fact that the British Channel Fleet occupies an obvious numerical advantage in cannon fodder and can fight more and less almost every time, I am afraid that the sea situation at the doorstep of the southeastern part of Britain would have been untenable for a long time!

If this were the case, the British Admiralty would have been able to deal with it calmly, but the current tragedy of the fleet in the Atlantic Ocean has made them feel a chill rising from the soles of their feet. Straight to the top of the head. These British elites were well aware that the greatest blow to Britain would not be the destruction of the fleet, but the severance of sea transport lines. For even if the Royal Navy was completely destroyed, Britain, with the support of the whole world except Europe, would have a great deal of confidence that it would be able to remain undefeated; And if the sea transport lines are cut off, the entire state apparatus will stop functioning due to lack of energy. At that time, it can only be a situation of being slaughtered by others!

"German pocket battleship, submarine ......" an elderly rear admiral said in a low voice, his expression full of remorse and bitterness. These two combat ships were built by Britain in the past years with the nod of the German nod, with the intention of continuing the traditional balancing strategy of driving the tiger and devouring the wolf on the European continent; However, Britain, who thought that he had everything in his hands, suddenly discovered that the tiger he used had evolved into an ancient beast at some point! In the face of this incomparable enemy, Britain, which was far less powerful than the beginning, was violently destroyed as soon as it came up!

At this time, counting the HX-07 flotilla that was attacked two days ago. Britain turned out to have more than 400,000 tons of merchant ships, completely exposed to the fire of the German attacking ships without any cover. Rao is ten times the maximum load of the two fleets of goods imported by Britain every month, but to suffer this loss in such a short period of time is absolutely unbearable for the British state apparatus. Cargo aside, the loss of merchant ships alone was a severe blow to British maritime shipping: the total tonnage of British merchant ships was only 17 million tons, while the rate of new merchant ships was only 100,000 tons per month at most. If it goes on like this, it won't take half a year. Britain will be in a catastrophic situation where there are no merchant ships to carry goods!

"Sighing in frustration now does not do the situation any good. What we need to do is find these German pirates and wipe them all out in the middle of the sea! Accompanied by a heart-to-air voice. Churchill, with a cigar in hand, strode into the war room; There was a resolute expression on his chubby face, and he did not show the slightest hint of flinching from the blows that followed. Churchill scanned the audience with a keen gaze and said, "The telegram of the attack on the HX-07 fleet has been sent back as early as the day before yesterday, can you gentlemen make a battle plan to destroy the enemy ships?" ”

Perhaps it was Churchill's infection, and the gloomy atmosphere that shrouded the war hall finally began to melt. After a moment of silence. First Sea Secretary Bond stepped forward in the eyes of everyone and said: "Your Excellency Churchill, there are now two German pocket battleships in the Atlantic, and judging from the madness shown by the Germans in this war, it is very likely that the other ship has also lurked in the Atlantic waters. on this. We have no choice but to send all our capital warships to form a search team to have a chance to stop the destruction of our lifeline at sea by these bandits. ”

"All the capital ships?" Churchill was taken aback, as if he did not expect the navy to respond with such drastic measures. Soon, however, the consternation on his face gradually receded, replaced by a deep sadness and helplessness. It's not that the navy doesn't want to leave some ships stationed on the mainland to keep an eye on German warships or merchant ships slipping out of the North Sea, but the current Royal Navy no longer has enough strength to take into account the two theaters of war in the Atlantic and the North Sea.

It is obvious that if the British are too weak to find out a few search formations, it will be almost impossible to catch their opponents in the vast Atlantic. Compared with the North Sea, the Atlantic shipping line, which is the lifeblood of Britain, is obviously more important, and the British Navy, which has experienced the fiasco of Scarpa Bay and suffered a great loss of strength, can only choose the lesser of two evils!

As for the possibility that Germany might take advantage of the expedition of the British Home Fleet to launch a cross-sea landing campaign, none of the admirals in the room had such concerns. If you look at the map, you will see that Germany, which had not yet occupied the Low Countries, was more than 400 kilometers away from Britain by sea in a straight line. It is no less difficult to cross a large army across such a vast sea area and drop it ashore under the layers of mines, torpedo boats, and destroyers of the British Channel Fleet. Taking 10,000 steps back, even if Germany succeeds in transporting the army to the British mainland, the main force of the British army is still on the island! Three regular divisions and hundreds of thousands of reservists are enough to drive all this limited intruder force into the North Sea to feed the fish!

At this time, even if he was as brave and fierce as Churchill, he had to thank God with a sincere heart: Britain's unique geographical environment saved Britain's life again after Napoleon and Kaiser Wilhelm.

In the face of Churchill's shocked inquiry, Bond nodded slowly and said, "Rodney, Determination, Monarchy, Royal Oak, these four battleships will all be integrated into the escort fleet, and only their giant guns can stop the hunting of German pocket battleships." The destroyers of the home fleet were also incorporated into the merchant fleet to strengthen the fleet's anti-submarine capabilities. At the same time, the aircraft carrier Glory will be redeployed from the Mediterranean to form 10 search teams with 2 other battle cruisers, 3 aircraft carriers, and 26 cruisers to round up German attack ships in the Atlantic. Except for the destroyers, who had to wait for the transport fleet to be formed, the rest of the warships could sail into the Atlantic Ocean within five days. ”

"In addition, we are ready to make a joint operational invitation to France to transfer three old Breton-class battleships to the Atlantic for escort." Bond gritted his teeth a little unwillingly, but finally spoke. Although it was a shame for Britain to ask for help from the French Navy, it was no longer time to save face: four British battleships alone could not protect a large fleet, even if it only protected important shipping lanes. No matter how poor the performance of the French Brittany-class is, it is also a large ship equipped with 10 340 mm guns, and her position is enough to ensure that the German raiders will not dare to attack the transport fleet.

Churchill frowned and said, "But the German Navy has more than just these three pocket battleships. Even though the Bismarck had just been damaged, they still had several aircraft carriers and cruisers. If these ships were to be found in the North Atlantic, how would our scattered search forces counter the German fleet? ”

"Our search fleet is made up entirely of high-speed vessels. If you encounter the main force of the German fleet, you will be able to guarantee your escape with considerable certainty, even if you cannot defeat your opponent. In the end, there was a slight sourness in Bond's heart. However, he quickly adjusted his mind and spoke again: "After that, we will mobilize forces to pursue this main German fleet." In the North Atlantic, where supplies were scarce, the shorter-range German cruisers would not last long, and it would be far easier to deal with them than to destroy pocket battleships. ”

Churchill's eyes flashed, and his voice said calmly: "If the navy already has a battle plan, please put it into practice as soon as possible." Great Britain and the entire free world were waiting for news of the victory of the Royal Navy. He gazed at the famous generals and colonels in the hall one by one, and said slowly: "Today, the sacred mission of curbing Hitler's German aggressive ambitions has fallen on our shoulders with honor. Although we are now suffering hardships, I firmly believe that victory will eventually favor civilization and justice. ”

Admiral Bond saluted the man in front of him. A moment later, the entire battle hall was filled with salutes, and everyone's faces showed a look of determination and determination, which was very different from the scene when they received the HX-11 fleet ten minutes earlier. Seeing this, Churchill couldn't help but feel a warm current of relief in his heart: although today's British Empire has passed away, the tenacity and indomitability of the Anglo-Saxons have always been inherited in the blood, and the fire is endless! (To be continued.) )