In the early morning of August 9, the Danish Strait, which is more than 260 nautical miles long, gradually became manic, and a cold current blowing from Greenland dispersed the fog in the air, making the already noisy waves even more raging. From Cape Horn at the northern tip of Iceland, as far as the eye can see, there are layers of raging waves, which are several meters high and crash against the island's reefs, causing white foam and mist to fly.

In this weather, the reconnaissance of the British submarine landed in a difficult situation. Narrow, they are inherently inherently unstable against wind and waves, and must dive in rough sea conditions, and then their vision is infinitely close to zero, because they can only see the endless waves sweeping through the periscope. In addition, the effectiveness of passive sonar is also greatly reduced. Due to the sound of the waves in the background, the British crew could not hear the propeller noise in the distance, which made them literally deaf and blind, and they could only stay underwater and wait for the waves to subside.

Receiving a climate report from the Icelandic weather station, Tovey couldn't help but be worried. Although he had judged that the German fleet would make the most of their air superiority and choose to pass through the strait on a fine day, he was not entirely sure, especially now that the weather conditions had changed significantly. At this time, the Danish Strait was "sunny and blue", and it was an ideal stage to give full play to the power of large ships and huge guns, as was the case with the Japanese Combined Fleet in 1905. And the Germans have 2 capital ships in their hands, which are enough to support them to move forward with fearless courage!

If the German commander had relied on the might of the giant ship and sailed through the strait with confidence, Tovey would have to abandon his previous plan and quickly lead the fleet into the strait to intercept it. However, if the enemy did not act, it was highly likely that the British fleet would be exposed by an attack. After all, no one knows exactly where the German fleet is and whether it can release reconnaissance planes. If they send planes to reconnoiter the Danish Channel, then this large number of British warships will be visible to interstellar players!

"General, shall we advance or continue to wait?" Captain Cole, the captain of the Hood, also saw the dilemma faced by his fleet at this time, and asked with some anxiety. Tovey stretched out his hand to stop his further remarks, his brow furrowed, and his mind carefully weighed the pros and cons. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning lit up in the dark clouds of the sea and sky outside the window, illuminating the slightly dimly lit sailing room, and Cole, who had been watching Tovey, was suddenly shocked to find that more than half of the new commander of the Home Fleet had turned into snow-colored white hair under his hat.

Half an hour later, Tovey's heavy eyes gradually brightened, he took a deep breath, and said, "We are still acting according to the original plan. Looking at the puzzled faces of Cole and the staff officers around him, Tovey said slowly: "I am not necessarily sure. I just tried to start from the psychological level and made some guesses. ”

"Today, Britain's maritime supremacy is gone. Just one year ago, however, this was not the case at all. When the Danzig crisis broke out in August 1939, the German Navy's top commanders must have been in a state of great anxiety and apprehension – despite the militaristic construction of a number of new ships, the total tonnage of their fleet was still only one-fifth of ours. After just 20 years, as the defeated generals, they were forced by Hitler to challenge the behemoth of the Royal Navy again. How much faith they have is entirely speculative. ”

Hearing this narrative, which seemed completely unrelated to the current situation, Cole's face showed thought, and Tovey did not deliberately hide anything, and directly said the rest of the words.

"However, that young demon has completely changed the balance of maritime power between the two countries. Through the two battles of Scarpa Bay and the Battle of Norwegian Naval Battle, the main force of the Royal Navy accumulated for decades was almost lost, and he relied on only one weapon for the new sky, that is, carrier-based aviation! As a result of this force, the once mighty Royal Navy's main fleet was wiped out, and the Germans, while reveling in victory, were bound to regard carrier-based aviation as an invincible Gungnier and establish it as the heart of all operations. ”

"Although I can't be completely sure, I can only bet now that the Germans will become dependent on aircraft carriers because of past experiences. This is the most reasonable and the most likely scenario. Tovey's face was calm, and there was no more hesitation in his heart, "What we need to do now is not to doubt, but to strengthen the belief in the bloody battle." General Forbes has died honorably, and this Danish Strait is where we defend it. ”

Daylight passed quickly, and toward evening, the Hood received an update from the Cape Horn weather station. Over the Danish Strait, the cold winds from the Arctic Ocean are gradually subsiding, and the waves are expected to weaken to level 3 to 4 at noon tomorrow, while large areas will begin to clear up. Tovey, who got the news, felt a slight heart, and then walked into the lounge one hour earlier than usual. He needs to be mentally strong enough to meet the unprecedented challenges that lie ahead.

"Your Excellency, the roll of this ship has been reduced to 12 degrees. According to the weather officer's forecast, the wind and waves in the Danish Strait will slow down tomorrow, and there is no tendency for clouds to gather. On the bridge of the battleship Bismarck, an adjutant wearing a swastika emblem military hat reported to Kars. The latter nodded calmly, and then his gaze turned to the chart next to him. The black dot representing the German fleet was less than 50 nautical miles northeast of Iceland, and judging by the traces and dates on it, the fleet had been circling the nearby waters for a whole day.

"General, are we being too cautious this time? Even if it may be a bit risky to cross the strait at night, today during the day we can rush straight through it at a speed of 25 to 27 knots. The British had only a few cruisers here at most, and it was impossible for them to hurt even a single steel plate of our fleet during the day. ”

Kars glanced at Lindemann, nicknamed "The Elephant", who was asking him a question, full of confusion. If it were someone else, the rough-tempered Kars would only angrily reprimand him for his transgression, but Lindemann was a Mesozoic officer he was very optimistic about, and the fact that he could become the captain of the Bismarck was enough to show that his professionalism was extremely outstanding. Facing this henchman, Kars did not hide it, and said: "I always feel that things are not so simple. In order to prevent surprises on the eve of the victory, I think it is necessary to be absolutely vigilant. ”

"The British will not be unaware that the only way they can prevent our troops from destroying their Atlantic shipping lines is to keep the main forces of our fleet out of the Atlantic. In the past two months, they have significantly intensified their patrols on the Faro waterway, and how can they ignore the Danish Strait, which is also an important channel? Kars poked a slight touch on the map and smiled, "But as long as our army makes full use of carrier-based aircraft to control the perimeter, any action of the British will be hidden." It's a bit of a delay, but I think it's totally worth it. ”

Lindemann pondered for a moment, then finally agreed with Karls's opinion. In the past two operations of the German Navy, aircraft carriers have played a decisive role, and although the current choice of Kars is contrary to the essence of fleet command and seems quite dogmatic and rigid, it seems to be a matter of course considering the huge dimension-breaking advantage of aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft compared with traditional heavy artillery. Thinking of this, Lindemann could not help but have a clear and resolute face: it was he who led the creation of this revolutionary carrier-based aviation force and used them to create today's German maritime situation.

"Why didn't the marshal let Jonas, uh, General Brom, take part in this operation? He is the destroyer of the British main fleet, and he is the one who is most qualified to drive the last nail in the British coffin board......" Lindemann whispered, causing a chord in the hearts of several officers next to him.

To this day, although the naval authorities attribute the Norwegian naval battle at the beginning of the year to Karls and Bermay, the glory of last year's surprise attack on Scapa Bay cannot be concealed. Especially these officers who served on the Bismarck, they were basically witnesses to that operation, and understood that Fang Yan, who was the chief of staff of the fleet at the time, was in charge of everything from beginning to end. Now is the time for your own side to reap the fruits of victory, but the number one hero who laid the foundation did not appear!

"Colonel, is this something you should be concerned about?" Kars's eyes suddenly bloomed, and he shouted sharply. Lindemann was taken aback, then suddenly realized his mistake and bowed his head silently. Kars stared at him deeply for a long time, and then said calmly: "The marshal naturally has deeper considerations in employing people. If Jonas does another great job, how should the marshal reward him? I'm afraid that there will really be a vice admiral in the Navy who is less than 33 years old, which will not do Jonas any good! The marshal is obviously protecting him by doing this, what do you understand? ”

Lindemann looked down in agreement, a look of shame written on his face. Kars's eyes were cold, but his heart was bitter. As the No. 3 man in the Navy, Kars knows all too well the inside story of Fang Yan's degradement, but he must side with Raeder to endorse him, because it involves a multi-party struggle of ideology, line, and power, and this must not be made public to the rank and file rank-and-file officers. What made Kars a little troublesome was that Fang Yan had left such a deep mark in the fleet, and it was difficult for him to hold on to his words for too long.

"I'll go back to the cabin and rest first, and the flagship of the night fleet will be taken over by the Tirpitz." Kars, realizing that he could not dwell too much on this issue, immediately changed the subject and arranged for action, "If the sea conditions are good tomorrow morning, the fleet will sail directly into the Danish Strait." ”