At night, the Atlantic Ocean after the storm was silent and dark. Captain John Ritchie, Captain of the battleship HMS Prince of Wales, is still working on the route in the newly renovated bridge compass room.

Able to stand out from the fierce competition and become the captain of the "Prince of Wales" (the "Prince of Wales" is the second ship of the King George V class, the most advanced capital ship of the British class during World War II), Colonel Ritchie is undoubtedly one of the best battleship commanders in the Royal Navy. Having served at sea for more than 20 years, fought in two world wars, and has extensive experience in ocean voyages and operations, Richie has commanded ships through the seas countless times. But now he was tormented by the minor question of whether he needed to deviate slightly from the course to avoid possible German submarines.

The reason why Rich is so cautious is that at the moment there are a number of "passengers" on board in addition to him and his 574 crew members. These men came aboard from Scarpa Bay on the afternoon of the 4th, and as soon as they got aboard the ship, they "occupied" all the cabins of the senior officers on board. Even Richie himself was "kicked out" and had to temporarily live in the radio watch room.

However, Rich and all the other officers did not complain about this, but felt a great responsibility on their shoulders. Because among this special group of passengers are not only the current British Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Defense Winston Churchill, Permanent Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs Sir Alexander Cagodo and other senior government officials, but also the former Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Army Admiral John Deere, First Sea Lord, Admiral Pound, Chief of the Naval Staff, former Admiral Case, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force Vice Admiral Freeman and other heads of the three armed forces, as well as a large number of officers and civilian officials they do not know (including Lord Cherwell, Chief Scientific Adviser to the British Government, Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet in wartime, Hollis, etc.).

Ridge was ordered to secretly deliver the "passengers" to the port of Plasenxia, Newfoundland, by the morning of the 9th, and to ensure that there were no safety problems throughout the voyage. However, this seemingly simple task is not easy to execute.

Last night, they had just experienced a baptism of storm. Five British and Canadian Navy destroyers on escort duty were swept apart by the rough waves. Richie and the temporary commander of the small fleet, Vice Admiral Tom Phillips, struggled to reorganize the formation before dawn.

This evening, they received another piece of information about the suspected presence of a German submarine in the waters ahead. Rich had suggested to Lieutenant General Phillips that he should adjust the course appropriately, but until now he has not received a positive reply from his superiors.

"John, I knew you were here." Pushing the door open into the compass room was Richie's old partner, Vice Captain Jackson, "Thumb (Vice Admiral Phillips's nickname) is looking for you, tell you to go to his place right away." ”

Although not a member of the delegation to the meeting, Vice Admiral Phillips, the former deputy chief of staff of the Royal Navy and the incoming commander of the Asian Fleet, still has a small private room on the Prince of Wales. But at this moment, the little lieutenant general, who was less than 5 feet 4 inches, did not rest in the room, but paced irritably in the narrow hallway.

"General, in another hour we will be in the danger zone...... "Colonel Richie said anxiously, no longer bothering to salute.

Phillips didn't have time to correct Rich's faux pas, and he interrupted Richie with a wave of his hand, "Come with me, the Prime Minister wants to see you." ”

"See me?" Richie was shocked, Phillips could make the decision on his own to adjust the route, and there was no reason to alarm His Excellency the Prime Minister.

"Tom, what the hell is going on?" Richie hurriedly took two steps forward, leaned into Phillips' ear and whispered. He served on a ship with Phillips when he was a midshipman, and the two were old friends for more than 20 years, and they had a good relationship privately.

"Don't mention it, I just informed the Prime Minister about the realignment as usual. It so happened that the Prime Minister was playing cards with Sir Cardo and Ambassador Wynant (the US ambassador to the United Kingdom). Case's old fool had to shout about how the main battleship of the Royal Navy could be scared away by a German submarine, and things froze here. In the presence of Ambassador Wynant, General Pound could not say anything about the diversion. It can only be proposed to hear the opinion of you, the front-line commander. ”

"This old fool, does he think it's still the age of dreadnoughts!" Colonel Richie couldn't help but complain. Isn't Case, an old antique who lives forever in the Victorian era, honest at home, and a holister when he is old.

However, he can also understand the helplessness of Admiral Pound and Lieutenant General Phillips. Keith was the last surviving veteran marshal of the Royal Navy, and when he was commander of the Home Fleet, Pound was only his rear admiral's deputy chief of staff, and Phillips was the lieutenant commander of the destroyer. What's more, Ambassador Wynant was also there, and they were not easy to insist, otherwise it would seem that the Royal Navy was afraid of German submarines.

It seems that this pot can only be carried by itself. Richie sighed, if it was usual, it wouldn't be a big deal to take a risk. But in this case, in case of some accidents, he can't afford to take this responsibility. What's more, Richie knew in his heart that the battleship under his feet was not as perfect as the official boasted.

Just over two months ago, the "Prince of Wales", which had just been officially commissioned, suffered heavy losses in a vicious battle, and the opponent was the notorious German battleship "Bismarck". In that battle, the "Prince of Wales" was hit by four 380-mm shells from the "Bismarck". One of the shots hit the compass room where Colonel Richie had just been. Although the shell passed through without exploding, most of the people on the bridge (including the radar control room) were either killed or wounded, with only Richie and a few lucky ones remaining unscathed.

Upon his return home, Colonel Ritchie submitted a 28-page report to the Admiralty detailing a series of problems with the King George V-class battleships. Including the power system, underwater protection, and the mechanical structure of the main turret (many military fans in later generations believed that in the process of the exchange of fire with the "Bismarck", if it were not for the "Prince of Wales" quadruple main gun chain stuck and the firepower weakened, the "Bismarck" was likely to be in a catastrophe. Because at that time the "Bismarck" had already been hit, the fuel was lost, the speed decreased, and the ability to perform combat missions was lost) 43 items.

However, Rich's report did not receive the attention from above. In other words, the intense war situation left the Admiralty with no time to improve the King George V-class battleships. The Prince of Wales went to sea for this special mission after only 48 days of intense repairs. In the past two days, Richie has been unsteady in his heart. He was not sure that he would lead this flawed battleship and a couple of old destroyers to break into the ambush circle of German submarines.