Britain's assurances to Poland at the end of March were a bolt from the blue for Hitler.

According to Hitler's original plan, Poland would be his next target to be eliminated. This was not only due to his personal narrow-minded national theory, which held that the Poles, who were as inferior as the Slavs, should be exterminated; Moreover, after World War I, Poland took away a large area of Silesian land that originally belonged to Germany, and split East Prussia, the birthplace of modern Germany, into an enclave hanging overseas.

Given the large number of Germanic people living in the homeland of these former empires, and the retribution of the freed Poles, Hitler had already made up his mind to use the oppression of the Germanic minorities in Poland as soon as the time was ripe to establish a truly golden Greater Germany through the Second Munich Conference.

Now, however, Chamberlain's sudden turn to hard-line attitude made it impossible for Hitler to carry out his old tricks against the Poles. Not only that, but Chamberlain's actions looked like the first serious step towards the formation of an anti-German alliance in Europe. If this alliance is not well managed, it is likely that it will once again form the encirclement of East and West, which Germany has feared so much since Bismarck's time!

Although Hitler had long since listed Britain as the target that Germany must defeat on the road to rise, and he was well aware that his adventurous expansion policy on the European continent would inevitably lead to the rupture of the current good Anglo-German relations, he did not expect that Chamberlain, who was weak and deceitful at the Munich Conference, would change his attitude so quickly. Now that the situation has become apparent, the relationship between Britain and Germany has once again changed from a quasi-ally to a potential enemy, and Germany must be ready for war with it!

In this context, Fang Yan put his long-planned battle plan. It was passed to the top of the Navy through the hand of his boss Bomei. Confident, he had no fear that his plan would be aborted, and its boldness and thoroughness would firmly catch the reader's attention. Two days later, Fang Yan received an expected reply: the Navy had asked him to leave for the Berlin headquarters in order to explain his plans in more depth.

The sea of clouds was vast, the morning light was dazzling, and Fang Yan, who was on board the JU-52 transport plane, soon crossed a distance of hundreds of kilometers. Once again, I walked into the majestic building in the heart of Berlin. Newly promoted to field marshal, Raeder met his old friend in his office, and the conversation was full of encouragement and praise for him. After a while, he brought Fang Yan into a conference room on time; And the members of the command, including the Chief of the General Staff of the Navy, Admiral Schwinniger, were almost all seated on either side of the long table.

"I've read this battle plan from Lieutenant Colonel Jonas. Frankly, I personally think it's an amazing combination of novelty, boldness, and sophistication. Raeder's words are still straight to the point, without any bureaucratic dragging on the water. He paused slightly, his sharp eyes locked on the young man in front of him, and said again: "However, it is precisely because this plan is beyond the existing system. It is completely contrary to conventional warfare, which is why I need Jonas to tell us all about your plans today. ”

Fang Yan looked at the several high-level generals in front of him, and a slight sense of pride quietly rose in his heart. He gathered his thoughts slightly, and then took up Raeder's words in a clear and magnetic voice: "Today, although the enemy of the German navy has changed from France to a more powerful British fleet, we are pursuing a macro strategy of attacking the ocean and destroying the enemy's right to use the sea. But nothing will change. Compared with France, Britain is absolutely dependent on sea transportation lines. To destroy their access to the sea is to win the war. Therefore, everything in this battle plan revolves around this goal. ”

Schwinnigg and the others did not speak, giving full acquiescence to Fang Yan's point of view. As early as 1926, Fang Yan, who was still a teenager, was in his book "The Rise and Fall of the High Seas Fleet" that shocked the industry. A strategic correction was made for the former German Navy. If the British fleet is defeated alone, it will not be able to completely defeat the enemy, who has the danger of the strait and the blood of the world; Only by starting from the level of its "sea power" and cutting off the British sea lines of communication can the country really be forced to bend the knee and sue for peace.

Fang Yan's mind was clear and clear, and his words gradually showed a smooth and confident flying look: "But. Due to the inherent disadvantage of its geographical position, Germany could only carry out an effective ocean-going breach of diplomatic relations if the British fleet was greatly weakened, without worrying about its own serious injury or sinking. Therefore, we must give the British fleet a cruel and merciless blow at the very beginning of the war! ”

"That's why you're going to use your air fleet to launch a surprise attack on Scarpa Bay?" Schwinnigg asked slowly.

Fang Yan nodded and said, "That's right. When a weaker side is trying to defeat a strong enemy, a surprise attack by the opponent is always an ideal shortcut to achieve one's strategic intentions. Even in the history of the Navy, there have been events that correspond to this phenomenon. In the Russo-Japanese War that broke out 35 years ago, Japan was able to gain absolute sea supremacy in the Yellow Sea and achieve its strategic goal of ensuring that its army personnel and equipment could be continuously deployed to the Manchurian theater by attacking Port Arthur by using torpedo boats to inflict heavy damage on the main force of the Russian Pacific Fleet. If this were not the case, with the strength of the Russian Arthur fleet at that time, the well-behaved Japan would have to pay a high price if it wanted to gain sea power. ”

"Today, although Germany cannot be as shameless as the Japanese in declaring war, and the hydrological Scapa Bay cannot allow torpedo boats to force their way in, we can carry out this surprise attack with carrier-based aircraft. This new aircraft, with the suddenness and ferocity necessary to launch an attack, could never have imagined that the British would come from the sky. If you are lucky enough, this sneak attack is enough to lay the foundation for victory in the future battle to break the diplomatic relationship. Fang Yan added. As for how the specific actions should be implemented, he did not go into too much detail; In that program, which took more than four months, he had already given detailed answers to various questions.

Seeing that the generals in front of him still showed skeptical and cautious expressions, Fang Yan also threw out the last key point: "Respected generals, in fact, this raid on Scarpa does not conflict with our sea battle. Because even if we don't implement this plan, our fleet will leave the port and go to the depths of the Atlantic before the war starts, so that we can start a break-up operation as soon as the war breaks out. In 1914 the situation of sitting in the harbor can no longer be the case with us, and the only way for the fleet to realize its value is to sail and fight! Since the air fleet was bound to enter the Atlantic, why not launch an attack on the British military port in the middle of the voyage? While this is a risky one, the potential benefits are well worth it. ”

There was a brief silence in the room, and for a moment only the swaying of the pendulum and the breathing of the crowd could be heard; However, as time passed, the generals' expressions finally changed, and their eyes gradually bloomed with bright light. As long as their aircraft carrier group can be deployed in place before the official declaration of war, then there is undoubtedly a great chance that it will inflict heavy damage on the British warships still anchored in the harbor within two hours after the declaration of war.

Even the British have the vigilance of wolves, and like their own, they scattered their fleets before the outbreak of war, so that their own fleet can make a change to stop the attack according to the clues and intelligence of all parties, and sail directly on the journey to the depths of the Atlantic. Since their own aircraft carriers are equipped with radar, their ability to avoid danger has been greatly improved compared to the past, and these warships are scuds that can run up to 30 knots, and it is not an ideal task for the British to catch and sink them!

"However, Lieutenant Colonel Jonas, there is another problem with your plan right now, and that is that we are not familiar with the terrain in Scapa Bay."

Schwinniger, Chief of the General Staff, lifted the monocle on the bridge of his nose and said slowly: "It is true that our High Seas Fleet was once interned there for seven months, but the number of officers and men on board was only the minimum that could move these ships in motion. Moreover, these people did not care about the situation there at that time, so much so that the Navy could not make a map of it in the 20s. After all these years, the possibility of this task being accomplished is almost non-existent. If there is no specific topographic map of Scapa Flow, if the pilot simulates the drill in advance, then whether it is a dive bomb or a long-distance torpedo, its hit efficiency will be greatly reduced. This will most likely make the risk to our fleet less than the benefits of the raid. ”

Fang Yan took a deep breath and said, "Your Excellency Chief of the General Staff, this is also the incident I am going to report. I have just received information from General Canaris that the Intelligence Service has a basic grasp of the topography of Scapa Flow, and that a detailed map will be available in July of this year. That's enough to make us take a bolder strategy. This was the only means by which the German Navy could quickly close the gap with the British Navy. ”

Raeder and the others quickly exchanged glances, and in a whispered conversation, conservatism and caution gradually gave way to resolute action. As the young officer said, the future German Navy will eventually take the initiative to attack, and a surprise attack on Scarpa Bay with carrier-based aviation may not be a plan worth trying. (To be continued.) )