As if to see through everyone's doubts, Hoffman explained: "Of course I can't conjure up more submarines, but if I find them some bases, I can greatly reduce the amount of time they spend on the road, that is, make up for the shortfall in numbers by increasing attendance." ”

Everyone's eyes lit up, this is a good way.

Pointing to two places on the map, he said, "I'm going to turn both islands into naval bases." ”

When Dönitz saw that one was the Azores in the Mid-Atlantic Ocean and the other was the Cape Verde Islands in the Mid-Atlantic, off the coast of West Africa, he immediately thought. Raedel said apprehensively, "Führer, this is all Portugal...... And Portugal is currently a neutral country. ”

"I know. But I know that Portugal is the suzerainty of Brazil, and that Brazil dared to declare war on us and Italy in August. What's more, Portugal has always been in love with Britain and the United States, and they also sell black-hearted high-priced goods to us, and I have put up with them for a long time. "However, I don't want to attack Portugal unless we have to, maybe we can find a suitable way to persuade or win them over - for example, the Portuguese colony of Mozambique is closely linked to South Africa, can we consider giving them some advantage in the colony?" ”

Portugal is actually not innocent, in the second half of 1943 they leased the Azores to Britain and the United States, of course, that is also because Britain and the United States occupy an absolute advantage in sea power, and if you want to seize it, it is a matter of stretching out your hand, Portugal can only push the boat with the water.

Everyone was silent, although Portugal was neutral, it was clear to everyone that it was more Anglo-American, and the Führer's statement must have his considerations, Raeder didn't want to make a fuss, not to mention that Dönitz had been silent, on the contrary, he was a little tempted -- especially the Azores, which is in the middle of the North Atlantic routes, and its location is particularly important.

"These two will be important bases for us, and I won't forget the other two while dealing with them. One is Malta and the other is Gibraltar, which is a strategic point that must be controlled. Speaking of this, Hoffman smiled, "Regardless of Spain's attitude, I believe that Gibraltar will definitely be in our hands, and if we control Gibraltar, maybe Portugal will become more obedient......"

The crowd burst out laughing.

Dönitz thought for a moment, and he thought that Hoffmann's proposal was right, if they could get supplies and air power help in the nearby Azores, the sea wolves would not need to return to France often to replenish, and they would be able to make up for the shortcomings of the number of ships by improving attendance.

He immediately asked: "Führer, when do you think you will be able to take this place down?" ”

"Before June...... We may need to lay out a well-thought-out plan, and the seizure of islands, landing, and breaking diplomatic relations can all be combined. Hoffman thought for a moment, then turned his head and asked Raeder, "Has the order given to prepare Tirpitz to make a move?" ”

"It has been issued, and the final maintenance and maintenance are currently being done, and it can be dispatched as soon as the time comes." "This operation, commanded by Admiral William Marchar and codenamed 'Tsunami,' will bring together all the surface ships of the Empire's North Atlantic, including Tirpitz and Count Zeppelin," to put into operation. ”

"Including the Gneisenau?"

"Not for the time being, because the ship is expected to complete all the repair work by the end of January, and then there is still a sea trial process, I am afraid it will not be able to catch up."

In February 1942, the entire bow of the Gneisenau, which was under repair, was destroyed by a British explosion. After emergency repairs, the ammunition and barrels were removed and transferred to the reserve for overhaul, and historically the ship was eventually dismantled and used as a blockade ship, but when Hoffman changed his attitude and instructed Seydlitz to be built, the Gneisenau was also given the opportunity to completely repair it at Raeder's repeated requests, and his 283mm turret was replaced with a 380mm twin turret used by Bismarck-class battleships, while also extending the bow by 10 meters. And all 105mm and 150mm guns were replaced with 22 128mm high-level dual-purpose guns, and after this modernization that did not involve the power system, the tonnage of Gneisenau increased from 31,000 tons to 33,000 tons, and the full load displacement was almost 40,000 tons.

Hoffman nodded: "Don't force it if it's not good, it's okay to have one more Seydlitz." Now that the British navy has suffered heavy losses, its main battleships and aircraft carriers have been pinned down in the Pacific Ocean and have not yet returned, the gap between the forces of the two sides is the smallest, I hope that the navy will seize the time to fight and achieve victory, in addition, remember to keep the crew and captain - Z plans to build large-scale shipbuilding, at least 2 years, at most 3-4 years to see success, but experienced soldiers are not so easy to train, I hope you will pay special attention to this matter. ”

When saying this, both Britain and Germany misjudged each other's strength: Britain did not know that Tirpitz was going to be dispatched, and did not know that the aircraft carrier Zeppelin had been built, and Germany did not know that the three battleships that had been reinforced from the United States had arrived in Britain with a group of transports.

After Lütjans followed the battleship Bismarck and was sunk and martyred, Krank, who was recognized as the second strongest command ability of the German Navy, could not get out in the direction of the Mediterranean, and the fleet commander had a difficult birth for a while. The second reason is that during Operation Thurbruss, after the Scharnhorst was hit by a mine, he changed to other warships and rushed away, not following the German Navy's tradition of "sinking with the ship", although the Scharnhorst was fine in the end, his "escape" behavior caused a fierce backlash within the Navy - even if Hoffmann thought that his approach was reasonable, he could not force a commander who was not loved by his subordinates. Therefore, before the start of the operation, the preservation of living forces is repeatedly emphasized.

"Can I convey this instruction internally?"

"Yes, it should be conveyed to every soldier."

"Considering that the tsunami operation involved a large number of warships and a long period of time, would you consider me personally commanding it?"

Hoffman shook his head: "You have to give others a chance, to let them grow up, the aircraft carrier combat command has communicated with the Japanese observation mission in advance, they will participate in the whole process, help us accumulate experience, the most important thing for you is to implement the logistics and operational plan as soon as possible, and then think about the implementation of Plan Z, budget and reasonable allocation of personnel." ”

"Yes! Monarch. ”

"Finally, I need four extra-large submarines."

He was also interested in the extra-large submarine Dönitz, but like Hoffman, he only had the Japanese I-400 drawings at hand and did not have his own blueprints, and Raeder had always been concerned about the development of surface ships, and when he saw the data of a total length of 122 meters, a displacement of 3,550 tons on the water, a displacement of 6,560 tons underwater, a maximum range of 33,000 nautical miles/16 knots, and the ability to deploy anywhere in the world, he felt that the whole person was breathless - is this a cruiser or a submarine?

"Revise it as soon as possible according to the Japanese drawings, my requirements are that the underwater displacement is 7,000-8,000 tons, and at the same time the design must be more reasonable and solid, and the diving depth is considered to be more than 400 meters, and the strange layout of the bridge and the control tower not in the middle of the deck like the I-400 is too ugly, after all, we are not fighting by aircraft like Japan, and we will carry more valuable and powerful weapons - such as those rockets at the Penemünde base, which are our strategic strike force." Hoffman thought for a moment, "Let's budget 100 million first, I hope to see the first submarine completed by February 1945." ”

"Yes, Führer." Dönitz happily agreed.

"What else do you think about Plan Z? If there were no questions of principle, it was adopted. ”

Everyone was stunned, and before the discussion began, the Führer let him go? What about money? What about supplies? Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

Raeder no longer dared to calculate how much military spending would be required: in the calculation just now, the total number of ships alone would exceed 5 billion marks, and he dared to guarantee that with the consistent style of the major shipyards, these expenses would have to be expanded by at least 20 percent, and if we consider the supporting personnel, aircraft, and materials, and the supplies and fuel consumed, I am afraid that doubling it would not be enough, except for a little normal budget for submarines, everything else is additional expenditures -- of course, there is no "normal budget" in wartime. Productivity is more important than tickets, money is just a number. He knew that 90 per cent of the empire's annual revenues were spent on military or related expenses, which had skyrocketed from $17 billion in 1938/39 (exactly $1.7 billion for the navy, or 10 per cent) to more than $110 billion in 1942/43, and more than 8 million people directly served the army (too much for heads).

Seeing that everyone was silent, Hoffman asked, "Do you have an opinion on the model or the quantity?" ”

"This ......," Raeder sputtered, "to tell you the truth, this is far beyond what I can think of in terms of shipbuilding, except for the battleships, and we are very grateful to the Führer for the importance he attaches to the Navy, but there is one problem...... Budget? ”

"I'll worry about the money - it's the duty of the Reich Head." Hoffman glanced at everyone, "Your task is to design warships well, train talents well, select officers well, and formulate battle plans. ”

"Yes!" Several admirals stood up straight one by one.

"Chief Keitel has good news for the Navy, let's ask him to tell us about it." (To be continued.) )