White clouds were flying, the waves were blue, and a huge ship with a whole body of silver-gray began to retract its anchor chain in the berth, and the three triple heavy main turrets on the foredeck slowly rotated with a majestic momentum. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

In the slightly cramped conference room on the ship, Admiral Forbes, commander of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet, frowned, and the senior officers in front of him were also solemn, completely devoid of the impulse of their predecessors to rejoice at the war. The loud whistle before the battleship set sail was like the neighing of a hell train in the ears of these generals, and for a while the conference room was silent, and almost everyone was sad about the final outcome of their expedition.

This upcoming battle is too difficult to fight. According to the original plan of the British Navy, the duty of the home fleet was only to cover the landing of transport ships in Norway; Since there was a high probability that the German main fleet would not be able to react quickly, the home fleet, which was at its lowest point in strength, was able to avoid a head-on confrontation with the enemy and continue to lie dormant in the harbor and wait for its strength to recover. However, at present, the main force of the German fleet has already taken the first step, which makes the home fleet, which is responsible for defending the territory, have no choice but to pull the whole family out to fight with the opponent!

If it's just like this, it's a big deal to bet on the glory of the Royal Navy 300 and fight to the death with the other party, and it is still unknown who will really die between the two sides; However, in the telegram, London also gave the home fleet another task - to cover the counterattack of the troop carriers on Norway three days later, which made Forbes and other fleet commanders have an urge to die.

Although the landing in Norway was originally the established strategy of the British Navy, the external conditions for the implementation of the two had changed radically: the main force of the German fleet was now dispatched and lurking in the fog of the battlefield, which was like a sword of Damocles hanging over the Norwegian seas, which could strike a fatal blow to the British fleet or transport ships at any moment. You must know that the rapid strength of the German fleet is far superior to that of the home fleet, and the performance of its new and modern ships is not at all comparable to the old ships of the current home fleet. Being able to rely on the inconspicuous numerical advantage to tie with the opponent, Forbes feels that God blesses the British, and now with this batch of transport ships as a burden, how can the home fleet be able to support it?

Even if the home fleet were to escort the transports, the latter would most likely be turned against by the enemy in a chaotic battle and suffer an unbearable blow. What's more, this time the convoy is not going to one point, but three cities, Narvik, Trondheim, and Bergen, of which the former is located in the Arctic Circle, and the latter two cities are thousands of kilometers away. At that time, the home fleet will inevitably lose sight of one or the other, and the final outcome is very likely to be the collapse of both sides!

However, Forbes also knew that these three Norwegian cities had to be snatched back from the Germans. The reason why the home fleet can still lie dormant in the port of Eyre and wait for new ships to replenish is that Britain's natural geographical advantage has curbed the German fleet's footsteps into the Atlantic; Once the whole of Norway fell into German hands, the situation would change completely, and the home fleet would have no chance to fight hard. However, in the current situation, what strategy should you adopt to ensure the smooth implementation of the order from London?

"Relying on escorts to provide cover for troop carriers no longer works. Not to mention whether we will be able to attract the shells and torpedoes of the German Navy from these ships, the mere landing in three different ports will inevitably greatly disperse the already inadequate forces of our army, with unpredictable and serious consequences. Vice Admiral John Tovey looked around at his colleagues and said in a calm tone, "Therefore, we have only one way left, and that is to start a decisive battle with the German fleet before the troop carriers depart!" As long as the combat effectiveness of the German mobile fleet can be destroyed, our troop carriers will naturally no longer be threatened. ”

The corners of Admiral Forbes's mouth hooked up a look of helplessness, and he said, "General Tovey, your suggestion is very much in line with the current choice of the home fleet. The question, however, is, how do we find our opponents in these 3 short days and have what you call a battle at sea? The premise of the decisive battle is that the two sides must first discover each other, and then they will have to be willing to do so, and we now have neither any information about this German fleet, nor can we kidnap the heads of the German commanders. You know, just for the fleet to sail from the port of Allen to the coast of Norway, it takes more than 1 day. Coupled with the effect that the local weather could have on the search, it was almost impossible to catch the Germans by the tail in the three French-sized seas. ”

"Since we can't find the Germans, let's take the initiative to lure them out." Tovey's words remained confident and firm, and he continued, "The purpose of the German operation is very clear, they want to occupy the ports along the Norwegian coast as the forward position for the future fleet to enter the Atlantic. If we can directly threaten this core interest of theirs, the German fleet shrouded in the fog of the battlefield will surely emerge. I propose that our battlefleet should sail directly to Bergen and prepare for the shelling of this port! ”

"Bergen is Norway's second largest port and guards the North Sea's gateway to the Norwegian Sea, and the Germans will not sit idly by while we launch a counterattack here, and their main fleet will inevitably rush to support after receiving a distress telegram from the Army. And our fast fleet is cruising behind the main fleet, and as soon as the opportunity is seized, we will immediately give the German fleet a hard blow! Even in the face of an enemy that cannot be solved by a fast fleet, we can turn to the Air Force for help. The airfield on the Shetland Peninsula is only 350km from Bergen, and this is an unsinkable aircraft carrier. ”

Colonel Ochs, the captain of the battleship Rodney, widened his eyes and said in disbelief: "Your Excellency, Vice Admiral, are you going to use your precious capital ship as bait to lure the Germans into the bait?" This, this is a battleship! Now that there are only 4 battleships left in the home fleet, if they sink again, what will we do against Bismarck and Tirpitz? Why don't you consider using another ship instead? ”

Seeing that his comrades around him were all looking at him in shock like Oakes, Tovey slowly stretched out a finger and said, "First of all, no ship is up to this task except for the battlefleet. The heavy guns of the battleships could kill and damage the German land forces that had already landed to the maximum extent and clear the way for our army's next counteroffensive. At the same time, the battlefleet was also the best red cloth to attract the main German fleet. If they were replaced by cruisers, not only would the effect of the artillery bombardment on the shore be greatly reduced, but it would also be very likely that the Germans would only send pocket battleships to defend against them, and the core ships of the Bismarck-class and Zeppelin-class would still not appear. And it is clear that only by eliminating the latter will our troop carrier fleet be truly safe. ”

A look of grief gradually appeared on Tovey's face, and he stretched out a second finger and said, "The other most important reason is that our battlefleet can no longer find its role in today's naval warfare. They were supposed to be the only way to fight the German battleships, but they completely lost their due role due to the huge disadvantage in speed. The Rodney, Warriors, and Malaya ships can only run to 23 knots, and the Royal Oak, which has no enhanced power, can now not even achieve 20 knots. In the face of the Bismarck-class, which is no less fast than the Hood, the initiative in the engagement is not on our side at all, not to mention that even if it can really fight with 2 against 1, it may not be possible to win! ”

"So, rather than let our slow capital ships be so exhausted in naval combat that it is difficult to use the power of their main guns, it is better for them to bombard fixed targets and contribute their last bit of heat to Britain. Different from the conventional tactics of the navies of various countries in the past, this time our main fleet is the decoy, and the fast fleet led by the Hood and 2 regular aircraft carriers, as well as the shore-based air force, are the real killer moves! With this change, we will hopefully make the German commanders misjudge our intentions and have a surprising effect. Tovey took a deep breath and told everyone what he was going to do.

The room fell silent again, and a dozen senior generals tried to digest Tovey's words as they weighed it back. In their eyes, the large-caliber guns on battleships are the key to determining victory or defeat at sea, and this conclusive conclusion, which has been confirmed by countless examples in nearly half a century, has such a huge mental inertia that these traditional soldiers feel confused and confused when they think of the battleship as a supporting role and bait. It is true that the British Navy was sunk by the Germans in Scarpa Bay by the Germans, but that was a completely unprepared situation. If a fleet is moving at full speed and the ships are full of anti-aircraft fire, how much more can the aircraft play? And the shells of the battleships could not be dodged and intercepted!

After a while, Admiral Forbes finally spoke slowly: "I agree with Lieutenant General Tovey's opinion. The battlefleet was too slow to expect them to keep up with the pace of high-speed warships and engage the German battleships. In order for them to truly give full play to their advantage in firepower, bombardment on the opposite shore is the best choice. As for their safety, we can ask the Air Force to send fighter jets to provide full escort support. What's more, it is now January, and Bergen at 60 degrees north latitude does not have a few hours of daylight every day, and with a lot of dark time, they themselves can calmly deal with the enemy's movements. ”

"The bottom line is that we don't have any other suitable options." An elderly major general with a gray beard shook his head and smiled bitterly and said in a low voice. When everyone heard this, they woke up like they were from a dream. Now the fleet is imminent, and even if this plan may not be perfect, it is far better than the previous confusion! (To be continued.) )