15 minutes ago, in the middle of Scarpa Bay.

British Navy Ensign Green leaned against the shield of the 120-millimeter gun, and watched melancholy at the loudspeaker radio on the pier: at noon, the radio had been interrupted in favor of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's national address. To Green's contribution, the Prime Minister declared that Great Britain was already at war with Germany; He had only one task to do his best for the war, so that he could see the day when Hitlerism would be destroyed and Europe would be liberated again.

Although the prime minister's national address has been over for more than half an hour, Green's heart is still very heavy. He couldn't have imagined that war had befallen Britain again. Green did not understand that at the Munich Conference a year earlier, Chamberlain had not declared that he had brought a glorious peace from Germany to London. He clearly argued that Britain had no reason to fight for the friction of others, but why did he now so firmly fulfill his alliance with Poland and drag Britain into a new European war?

Familiar footsteps rang out from the deck, and Green felt a tap on the shoulder; He turned his head and saw a lieutenant with delicate facial features standing beside him, his sun-soaked wheat-colored face full of energy and vitality. Green smiled at the presence of his friend at the same time, but soon, the expression on his face became depressed again, and finally turned into a sigh of frustration.

"What's the matter, Green, are you still depressed about the war between Great Britain and the Germans?" The delicate and sunny second lieutenant Bren asked aloud. Green exhaled and nodded slowly, "I really didn't expect that the war would come to Britain so suddenly. The last time we fought the war with Germany lasted four years and three months, nearly 20 per cent of the British men and men did not return alive; I wonder how long this new European war will last, and will we be able to see the moment when peace comes? ”

Hear Green's pessimistic words. Buren's heart was also a little heavy; After all, no one in the whole of Britain wants to see the repetition of the world war of the past, and the death of 900,000 young and strong men in Britain is a painful haze that lingers for the entire country and nation. However, with an optimistic personality, he quickly came out of this negative state of mind, and encouraged his friends in front of him: "Old man, you don't have to be too depressed. Compared to the army units that were going to go to the European continent to fight the Germanic beasts. We who served on the destroyer don't know how many times safer! The vast majority of deaths in the last war came from the Army, with the Royal Navy losing less than 2% of its personnel. I believe that we will not have the good fortune of 1 in 50. ”

"This time it's a different story." Green's eyebrows and eyes were still full of melancholy, and he did not become uplifted and determined by his friend's enlightenment. He let out another long sigh and said, "During the World War, the reason why the Royal Navy did not suffer too many losses and casualties was completely inseparable from the dormant and silent German fleet. With the exception of the Battle of Jutland, the German fleet barely had any large-scale operations, which directly allowed us to live in peace. In the end, the battle damage was naturally very low. ”

"However, the Germans have recognized their mistake. The vicious and shameless "Apocalypse of the Rise and Fall of the High Seas Fleet" clearly pointed out the strategic shortcomings of the former Kaiserfla, and the German Navy was rebuilt according to the plan of this book. Now, they already have several cutting-edge warships, and it is said that the Bismarck-class has a full load displacement of more than 50,000 tons, which is even larger than the Hood! Once they start active action, I fear that we will have considerable trouble in the war. Green said in a low tone.

Bren snorted contemptuously. With a look full of disdain, he said: "What if the Germans have a few good warships?" Victory in a war at sea cannot be achieved by a small number of warships, but the most important factor is the number of warships! Just the home fleet stationed in Scapa Bay today. Its total tonnage is several times that of the entire German Navy. No matter how powerful the Bismarck-class battleship is, can she still defeat all the capital ships of the Royal Navy? It would be great if the Hans dared to come out, we could just concentrate our forces and destroy them in one fell swoop! ”

Although Green still had doubts about the future of war, he had to admit it. At this time, the Royal Navy was indeed far superior to its long-cherished enemy in terms of lineup and tonnage. Following Bren's proud gaze, Green, who was looking at the sea, also took in all his own warships stationed in the harbor at this moment.

Nelson, War Weariness, Determination, Monarchy, and Counterattack, the five capital ships formed the core of the British Home Fleet. The USS Nelson was the only battleship allowed to be built in the first class during the Navy's holiday: with the furious firepower of nine 406mm L45 guns. With 349 mm of thick armor with an inward inclination of 15 degrees, and a standard displacement of 33,700 tons, she has been firmly on the throne of the world's strongest battleship in the 12 years that she has served with her sister ship Rodney. Although the supremacy of these two ships was jeopardized by the completion of the Bismarck, whose performance was unknown, its speed of 23 knots is also embarrassing today; However, they were still highly expected by the Royal Navy's top brass to be an effective rival to the German Bismarck-class in a decisive battle of the fleet.

Although war-weariness and counterattack are old ships from the last war, they have been able to regain their youthful demeanor after the large-scale refit after the war. Among them, the Queen Elizabeth-class battleship Warweary, after greatly improving fire control, shells, and horizontal armor, equipped with eight 381mm L42 main guns, is widely believed to be able to fight the new George V-class battleship under construction with a size of 32,000 tons. The foundation of the Counterattack is the high-speed battle patrol, and she is considered to be a valuable weapon that can effectively destroy the German pocket war patrol.

In comparison, the other two R-Tier battleships were somewhat dwarfed, but they still had sufficient firepower to provide strong fire support in naval battles. Even the most powerful enemy cannot be effectively supported by their blows. As long as they were used in groups, it would be enough to deter the actions of the German fleet.

In addition to the capital ships with huge guns, there are currently 2 aircraft carriers Brave and Athletic, 3 Kent-class heavy cruisers, 3 Liverpool-class light cruisers that have just been completed less than a year ago, and as many as 52 destroyers. Due to the frequency of the British Navy's daily cruises, and the fact that many ships are in service in the Mediterranean, and are undergoing maintenance or modifications on slipways, Greene sees only so many ships now.

However, it will not be long before the ships cruising outside will return one after another. At that time, the British home fleet will also add 6 capital ships of Rodney, Royal Oak, Revenge, Ramiris, Prestige, and Hood, 2 aircraft carriers of Ark Royal and Fury, 5 cruisers and about 20 destroyers. This lineup is already more than three times the size of the German Navy.

While feeling relieved by the superiority of his fleet's lineup, Green's eyes also revealed a bit of inexplicable sigh and loss. Compared with the big fleet 20 years ago, the number of capital ships of the British home fleet today is undoubtedly too small.

On the eve of the end of the World War, there were 33 battleships and 9 cruisers stationed here and in the southern Rosyth military port, more than the German and American navies combined. However, with the two self-emasculation of the Treaty of Washington and London, the glorious fleet that overwhelmed the world has long since weakened with the fall of the British Empire, and almost all of them have become rust of scrap steel on the slipway. Today's scene in Scapa Bay is, at best, the last bright afterglow of the waning Empire. Green suddenly felt a strong sense of desolation and sadness: after the end of this war, what legacy and wealth will Britain have left that has dominated the world for 200 years?

"Hey, Green, I think I hear the sound of an airplane engine!" Just as his heart was surging, Green suddenly heard Brun's call and was pushed by the other party. He froze, and sure enough, he heard a small humming sound, which became more and more distinct. Green looked at his friends beside him, and they both read the confusion and surprise in each other's eyes.

A few minutes later, a large black dot emerged from the northern sky, getting closer and closer to the harbor. A sense of foreboding welled up in Green's mind, and he hurried into the bridge a few meters away, and when he ran out, he already had a large telescope in his hand; When Green raised the lens barrel to his eyes and intently saw the spray-painted markings of the planes, he couldn't hold what he was holding in his hand, and the telescope fell to the top of the deck.

"Iron Cross, German planes?" Green muttered like a dream, and his brain briefly crashed from overshock. After a moment, he suddenly reacted and roared like crazy: "Enemy attack! It's an enemy attack! German planes have already flown over the port! ”

Amid Green's hysterical screams, the destroyer USS Escort was the first to raise the alarm bells for combat. The screeching sound spread through the air, causing every British sailor on board to be stunned and panicked. They were completely unprepared for battle, and their hasty actions appeared chaotic. By the time the sirens sounded throughout Scapa Bay, the German fleet had already launched an attack on horseback.

Dozens of fighters were the first to dive down, and the pitch-black and cold muzzles of their guns erupted with orange tongues of fire, smashing the superstructure of the British battleship into a spark and a hole in it; Nearly 100 British sailors running on the open deck soon collapsed in a pool of blood screaming, and their lives passed away quickly. The slower group of bombers followed, and they methodically divided into various attack squads, and dived flat in a very skilful manner, dropping bombs and torpedoes on the British battleships led by 2 aircraft carriers! (To be continued.) )