It was a mid-August day, and at about 11 a.m., a He-25 combat reconnaissance plane from the island of San Miguel flew to the island of Formigas as usual. The German pilot radioed to his command "F, everything is normal," and then climbed upward, circled around the nearby sea, and flew north.www.biquge.info

As the roar of the plane faded away, First Class Sailor Loeffler, who was attached to the German Marine Corps, followed Sergeant 1st Class Pol back to the bunker and resumed the bridge with two Second Class Sailors Vogel and Spies, while Second Class Corporal Ortner, who remained on duty alone, continued to stand guard on the watchtower.

Formigash, a small oceanic island with a total area of only 9 square kilometers, was originally the most inconspicuous of the Azores, and its military significance was unexpectedly highlighted as the United States and Britain conquered six islands in the northern and central Azores, and the Allied forces confronted them according to San Miguel and Santa Maria. After the second recapture of Fomicas, the Germans further strengthened the island's defenses by blasting through solid volcanic rock, laying steel plates, pouring concrete, and constructing communication trenches, shelling bunkers, and firing bunkers. If there is such a configuration in a dangerous place on land, only a small number of troops can withstand the strong attack of many enemy troops, and in this vast sea, the garrison troops did not even see the enemy's appearance clearly, and were given a nest of large-caliber shells flying from a distance, so the German army only deployed half a combat squad here, equipped with a generator, two searchlights, a radio station, plus a mortar and relatively sufficient guns and ammunition. In addition, German warships laid anchor mines and floating anti-submarine nets in the surrounding waters to prevent US and British warships from seizing the island at night.

Although it was still summer, the personnel stationed on the island did not have to endure the invasion of cold wind and rain, but once the weather encountered strong winds and waves, the sea water would cover the islands and reefs, and when there was a lighthouse, they could still hide from the wind and waves inside, but now without a lighthouse, it is commonplace to be immersed in the sea - the garrison conditions here are so difficult and dangerous that it is difficult for ordinary people to adapt, and the Germans only arrange for determined volunteers to come, and they rotate once a week.

The four men in the bunker were all veteran bridge players, and they were so engrossed that the game was as fierce as a naval battle, and just as the outcome was becoming clear, the voice of Corporal Ortner came from the watchtower. The four of them hurriedly climbed out of the bunker, Sergeant Pol took the lead in rushing to the binocular gun team set up outside, skillfully adjusting the perspective, a faint cloud of smoke could be seen on the sea-sky communication line, and after a while, the battleship mast appeared in sight, one, two, three......

The watchtower was high and far away, and Corporal Ortner's sailor's voice shouted, "Northeast ...... Three cruisers! ”

Sergeant Boer, the highest-ranking of the five, suppressed his nervousness and instructed Loveller, a sailor of the first rank in charge of radio operations: "Send a report to the command that the enemy fleet has been found in the northeast sea, and it is preliminarily judged to be three cruisers. ”

Loveller hurried back to his bunker to deliver the report.

Previously, the US and British troops had twice captured Formigash, once by night raids, once by storming in rainy weather, and both times by avoiding the aviation units and experienced submarine forces that the Allies had a slight advantage in the waters southeast of the Azores. The two privates, who had no optics to operate anyway, simply retreated to the side of cover early in order to quickly take refuge while the enemy ships were firing.

After a while, a loud voice came from the watchtower again: "Correction report...... Five enemy ships were found in the northeast, which were preliminarily judged to be two heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and two destroyers! ”

Sergeant Pol's face was pale, his brow furrowed, the heavy cruiser's artillery fire was not something ordinary steel and concrete could resist, and he hurriedly asked Loveller to send a telegram, and told him to send it again through the backup frequency, so as not to block this important information from enemy radio interference.

For the next few minutes, there were no new reports from the watchtower, and Sergeant Pol kept a glimpse of the enemy fleet through the gun mirror in front of him: at the head was an American light cruiser in snow-white livery, followed by two heavy cruisers with significantly different livery - the most direct and effective way to distinguish between light and heavy cruisers was to take a closer look at their bridges and masts, the bridge masts of light cruisers were like small hills and trees, and the bridge masts of heavy cruisers were like mountains and trees, and the silhouette was relatively thick, and the more experienced the Navy personnel, the more able to make accurate judgments from the contours of the target.

Behind the three cruisers were two destroyers as inconspicuous as ugly ducklings, both of which had a large white background, whose hulls seemed to have camouflage ripples, and whose mast lines were simple, not like new ships equipped with radar equipment.

After a while, a familiar voice came from the watchtower: "The enemy fleet is still 20,000 meters away from us!" ”

Sergeant Pol adjusted the angle of the gun mirror, and obtained a more accurate reading with professional ranging equipment, and the five enemy ships were indeed approaching 20 kilometers. In the magnified field of view through the artillery mirror, the barrels of the guns raised high can be faintly seen.

"Sergeant, command calls back, a telegram has been received from us!" The private in the bunker reported with relief.

"Good!" Sergeant Ball replied loudly. Immediately afterwards, he muttered to himself: "The most important task is completed, and the next thing is to live or die, you can only resign yourself to fate!" ”

After a few moments, the second rank corporal on the watchtower shouted: "The enemy ship is turning!" ”

Sergeant Pol stared at the artillery mirror, and sure enough, the silhouettes of the five enemy ships were getting bigger, and long silhouettes began to appear in view. Is this in the adjustment of attitude in preparation for a sideside salvo?

He re-measured the distance, and at this moment the enemy ship was still 16,000 kilometers away, although it was within the effective range of the medium naval guns, but the farther the distance, the lower the shooting accuracy, and the enemy was worried that the Germans had laid mines to a position of 10 kilometers around the islands and reefs. Or...... They're just passing by?

Pol's illusion was quickly shattered by the flickering fire of the sea in the distance, and when the enemy ships opened fire, Corporal Ortner climbed down from the guard tower and ran wildly along the communication trench to the side of the bunker. Before he could run ten meters, the shells brought by the enemy ships fell with a whistling fall, and a column of water exploded in the nearby sea. Without saying a word, Bol picked up the gun mirror and hid back in the bunker, placing it in the observation port on the edge of the bunker with the help of two privates, carefully observing the situation on the sea.

All five enemy ships were facing Formigash on the starboard side, but only three cruisers were shelling, and the two destroyers were apparently watching from the sidelines because of their lack of range. Judging from the frequency of muzzle flame flashing, the firing rate of American and British cruisers is about 4 to 5 rounds per minute - the theoretical rate of fire of American-made 8-inch naval guns using auxiliary loading machinery can reach 7 to 8 rounds, and 6-inch naval guns are even worse, but considering the time taken for ranging observation and re-firing, it is already very good to be able to reach more than 4 rounds in actual combat.

The ferocious artillery fire of the three American and British cruisers was directly reflected in the rising water column on the sea, and in the blink of an eye, most of the area of Formigash was drenched by the waves of water stirred up by the shells. Some shells landed closely, some flew over the reef and landed at a distance, but the three enemy ships did not fire a full salvo of their main guns, nor did they follow a front-to-back or other firing order, and they looked like they were rushing to pour fire on them, rather than seeking the highest possible hits. Even so, more than a dozen shells landed on Formigash during the bombardment, which lasted about five minutes, but in addition to blowing up the guard towers erected by the Germans, they only left craters of different shapes on the reef.

Ortner, who had safely returned to the bunker, and Sergeant Pol probed the enemy through the observation port, and when the gunfire subsided, they noticed almost at the same time that the silhouette of the enemy ship in their line of sight was beginning to narrow, the sharp bow was gradually disappearing, and the low stern came into view, which should be turning eastward, and the ranging results of the gunner's mirror confirmed their judgment. After about a quarter of an hour, the sight of five enemy ships completely disappeared.

The five officers and men stationed on the island should have been very happy that they had survived the shelling without any casualties, but Ortner said to his partner: "I smell bad, I feel that there will be a big battle here, what do you think?" ”

"I think the same thing as you." Pol replied, "The enemy doesn't come here for no reason, turn around and retreat after a burst of indiscriminate bombardment. ”

"What exactly is their purpose?" Ortner said incomprehensibly.

Sergeant Pol pouted, "I don't know, let's see!" ”

The two talked for a while, and then they heard a voice from the watchtower: "A plane was found in the west, it should be our plane!" ”

Pol turned the artillery mirror in the direction, looked at it carefully for a while, and affirmed: "It's our bombers, there are two squadrons, and in terms of time, they should be able to catch up with the enemy's fleet, and hopefully they can achieve the desired results." ”

Ortner watched silently as his land-based bombers flew from the west, forming two beautiful herringbone formations, one with inverted gull-shaped dive bombers, the other with slender fuselage and wide torpedo bombers, and when they approached the island of Fomigash, a third group of planes hurried up from behind - all Fokker G-51s looked particularly powerful.

The roar of the fleet apparently encouraged the lone reef defenders, and Sergeant Pol said, "As long as we have a steady supply of supplies, the enemy will not want to take San Miguel and San Maria from us." ”

After saying this, he suddenly figured out something, turned his head to his partner and said: "So the enemy wants to find ways to cut off our sea routes, and calculate, should there be a convoy of convoys arriving in the last two days?" ”

Ortner realized what Sergeant Ball was pointing about, but the two of them were lowly in position, so how could they be qualified to make calculations for the generals? So, as if relieved, he said: "The staff officers of the command should be able to expect this, besides, just two heavy cruisers want to defeat our escort warship?" ”

Sergeant Ball looked up as his planes flew over the reef as the sailors waved happily at them. Waiting until the three flying formations flew past in turn, Pol said: "I'm afraid that the five battleships just now are just the enemy's advance detachment, if a Lexington-class battlecruiser appears in front of us, I don't know if I have the courage not to fly the white flag." ”

The U.S. Navy's Lexington-class battle cruisers were armed with the largest 18-inch naval guns to date, and in the Battle of Texel Island, many of the German coastal defense fortresses built to the highest standards were destroyed by this naval gun, and later in the Battle of San Miguel, these big guys also participated in the shelling of the opposite shore, and everyone on San Miguel Island deeply felt the terrible power at that time. Despite the fact that Formigash is 9 square kilometers in size, its reef structure is very different from that of a common volcanic island, and if a cannonball weighing a ton and a half falls on the island, it is likely to kill all life here in an instant.

Ortner pulled a cigarette out of his pocket: "If a Lexington-class ship is aiming its guns at us, there is no shame in raising the white flag, because it is a brilliant way to lure the enemy. Think about it, if we hang the white flag, the enemy will no longer be able to attack us, and they will send ships to transport soldiers to the island to take over, and they will pass through our minefields on the way, and then we will sit here and watch them sink one by one. ”

Sergeant Pol laughed, and although the chances of such a scenario becoming a reality were very low, in the spirit of bitterness, he continued with Ortner's idea: "We came to the island five days ago, and the mines were laid two weeks ago, so we have no idea where the minefields are and where they are safely accessed, and even if we are captured by the enemy, we will be able to answer with dignity." ”

(End of chapter)