On a clear moonlit night, in the Atlantic Ocean southeast of Newfoundland, a fleet of 12 freighters and 5 warships was moving gently on the sea. Suddenly, black cylindrical objects appeared from beneath the water, dragging long white trails silently towards the fleet at great speed.

In the quiet of the night, the neatly dressed officers and sailors in the cargo cabin were listening intently.

Knock——, knock –

"General, hit three!" A lieutenant in charge of recording turned his head to look at the middle-aged man behind him.

The middle-aged man was wearing a pure white military uniform and carrying two stars on his shoulders, and he said unhurriedly:

"Not bad! Look at the hits of the other ships again, and then signal to Major Brandon to have his submarine formation strike again at a distance of 1000 yards! This time we turn off the lights and move forward! ”

"Yes, General!"

At this time, four or five hundred meters away from the convoy, more than a dozen black objects were floating up from the sea, and after the hatch was opened, people in white sailors' uniforms came out of it one by one, and then walked to the deck to breathe in the fresh air of the sea.

"Major, it's still an old problem, the soldiers' white uniforms are very easy to get dirty in the boat, and the air becomes more and more turbid after the submarine stays in the water for an hour, these seem to be minor problems, but they can't be improved without improvement!"

The officer who spoke looked to be about thirty-five or six years old, and the officer who stood with him on the submarine control tower was four or five years older, and his rank was so small that he was one notch higher. After listening to the opinions of his colleagues, he did not have much reaction, but said:

"I also know, but in the current situation, I'm afraid we can only endure it! Now what I'm worried about is whether the new torpedo can play stably in real combat! When this exercise is over, I still have to propose a few live-fire drills to the above! ”

The captain didn't say anything, just raised his binoculars and looked at the lighted fleet sailing ahead. Soon. One of the leading ships flashed and flashed arc light signals.

"In total, 14 torpedoes hit 5 targets! 5 ...... The hit rate is not bad, hitting nearly 1/3 of the target at a time, if it is a real battle, it will sink if nothing else! As he spoke, the captain still held his binoculars, and the officer standing next to him did the same pose.

"If it were a real gun, the explosion would have been spectacular! It's just a pity that the Germans won't let us sink their ships so easily. Those abominable destroyers! The major said through gritted teeth.

"Yes, the Germans will not walk in a straight line on the sea with the lights on so swaggeringly!" The captain felt the same way, although the United States and Britain formed a secret military alliance in 1920, in view of the fact that German-American relations had not yet moved towards war and that the maritime trade between the two countries was of great importance to both Germany and the United States, the United States still opposed the exiled British government sending ships to attack Germany's Atlantic routes, and was still more reluctant to send its own ships to participate in such attacks. As a result, the British government and Canadian ships in exile had to face the Guadeloupe-based German Atlantic Fleet alone, and the raids and counter-attacks became very intense.

After nearly 10 years of restoration and construction, by 1924 the British government in exile had 1 battleship, 1 battle cruiser, 4 heavy cruisers, 16 light cruisers, 37 destroyers, 50 torpedo boats, and 30 minelayers, but no matter how compared with the British Imperial Navy in its heyday or the current German Navy. This fleet is all insignificant. Since the Germans built Guadeloupe into a large naval base and stationed the main force of the Atlantic Fleet. The German fleet, with its battleships, cruisers, and aircraft carriers, often came to the Canadian seas, occasionally taking one or two British government-in-exile or Canadian ships with them, and keeping the waters on guard with carrier-based aircraft, airships, and submarines. Coupled with the infiltration of German espionage, at least seven out of ten sorties of British ships would be discovered and rounded up by the German fleet, so as time went by, the British fleet, which had a certain strength, sent surface ships to attack German merchant shipping routes less and less, and submarines gradually became the main tool of attack warfare.

From 1920 to 1924, the British navy in exile sank and captured a total of 51 German freighters, an average of one ship per month, for which the British also paid a heavy price of knives and submarines and nearly 1,000 officers and men, judging by the number of ships lost on both sides. The British had no advantage, and the attack was a warning to the German people that the enemy still existed, so that in Germany the passage of the naval budget was a matter of course for both civilians and parliamentarians.

For Edward VIII and his government-in-exile, the only hope for the reconquest of the British Isles in the short term was for Germany to lose a very important war and then to unrest in the country, so that they could return to their homeland with the help of the United States.

"Major, look, they're signaling again. Oooh, there's going to be a light-controlled raid drill! The captain said very positively that since the Admiralty decided to start the submarine group operation, the thought of the torpedoes scurrying on the sea and the wails of the Germans made every hair of the British officer born in 1889 seem to be excited.

"It's okay, let's see how strong our submarine formation is in night battles!" The Major lowered his binoculars in anticipation and shouted to the wind-blowing guys on deck, "Dive quickly!" Get ready for battle! ”

Half an hour later, a group of black shadows floated over the sea, and this time the 12 submarines fired as many as 48 practice torpedoes, of which 7 torpedoes hit 4 targets respectively, which was a very good result in the previous actual combat of the British Navy.

Just three days later, Major Brandon, the commander in command of the submarine formation, was called to the British One-Plus Joint Naval Base in Montreal.

Brandon, who is forty years old, looks old, even when he was young, he basically had nothing to do with handsome, he was born as a civilian, he did not go to college or any military school, originally such qualifications were at most mixed with captains such as gunners in the Royal Navy of the British Empire, but unfortunately the once invincible British Empire is no longer the same, the naval elite died in battle, captured and captured, and many people chose to retire and change careers with great disappointment with the current situation of the navy, plus the long-term lack of ships, The British Imperial Navy had irretrievably lost a large number of outstanding personnel. Of course, this also gave Brandon the opportunity to get ahead, and he sank a total of 5 German freighters with a total tonnage of 41,000 tons in the attack on the German shipping route. This feat was the first in the submarine force of the British Imperial Navy, and Brandon was promoted to commander of the 1st Submarine Detachment.

"General!"

When Brandon arrived at the office of Admiral Hunter, Chief of Staff of the Imperial Navy, the 63-year-old veteran was looking through his service files. In the chair in front of his desk sat two other people, one of whom Brandon was familiar with, Major General Alon Brown, his immediate boss, the commander of the exercise three days earlier. The other is a fresh face, and the white military uniform on his body does not belong to this unlanded empire.

"Oh. Major, you're here! Take a break! ”

Admiral Hunter said as he took off his reading glasses, looked Major Brandon up and down, and then said to the officer, "This is our ace submarine commander, Major Brandon Boder!" ”

Then, Hunter introduced Brandon: "This is Lieutenant Commander Chaser Hill of the U.S. Navy, and you will be working together from today onwards!" ”

"Luckily!"

The two shook hands amicably.

"We are all gathered here today with only one common purpose!" Admiral Hunter said in a heavy tone, "As you all know, the Germans have announced that they will send an army of more than 300,000 men to Guatemala to protect their nationals, and it is hard to believe that the old-fashioned Germans would come up with such an unimaginative excuse. This can only be said that they simply ignore any country! We don't want to provoke a war. But we must do something before the enemy invades! ”

Hearing this, Major Brandon suddenly felt a burst of grief and indignation in his heart, and the American ** officer also nodded slightly in agreement.

"According to the intelligence we have gotten. The Germans organized an incomparably large fleet to transport men and supplies, and was escorted by an extremely powerful fleet! Recently, the Japanese have been conducting military exercises in the Pacific Ocean, and our American friends have had to keep their Pacific Fleet in Hawaii and the Philippines, so that there is only one Atlantic Fleet to compete with the Germans, which is not enough to fight the German convoy and the German Atlantic Fleet stationed in Guadeloupe! Only by stabilizing the Japanese first could the US Navy hope to concentrate the Atlantic and Pacific fleets to form an advantage over the German Navy. During this time, we had to use all kinds of methods to delay the Germans in starting a war, and struffling their Atlantic sea supply lines was one of the most effective methods! ”

Admiral Hunter's words have made it very clear that if the German ** troops stationed in the Americas lose supplies. Even if it cannot be withdrawn to its homeland, it will not be able to gain the strategic initiative in the short term. At the same time, this also made Brandon greatly relieved, he originally thought that the British Imperial Navy was preparing to carry out a submarine attack on that huge German fleet, although it was possible to achieve a good result, but to attack the opponent's submarine would undoubtedly be nine deaths, think about dozens of German destroyers equipped with advanced anti-submarine weapons to beat their own submarines, this scene alone is enough to make Brandon nightmares night and night.

"In order to accomplish this plan, we in the British Imperial Navy will do everything in our power, and every submarine will be involved. In the current situation. It was inconvenient for our American friends to attack the German ships directly, so their submarines were to carry out sea attacks under the cover of the British Imperial Navy, and this Lieutenant Colonel Hill was the commander of this batch of American submarines! ”

After Admiral Hunter introduced these situations, Brandon suddenly realized that this old man was also a colleague, and it seemed that the submarine commander was not a high rank in the current American and British navies.

While Brandon was still imagining, Admiral Hunter commanded him:

"Major Brandon, your task is to familiarize our American friends with our organization, passwords, and methods of warfare, and you must make sure that the Germans do not know their true identities after they are captured, understand?"

"Understood!" Brandon stands upright.

"Well, any more questions?" Admiral Hunter asked as usual.

"Uh...... Dear Admiral, can I know how many submarines the U.S. Navy has sent this time? ”

"80 ships!"

Admiral Hunter's answer almost didn't make Brandon choke to death with his own saliva, 80 submarines! The total number of submarines in the British Imperial Navy and the Canadian Navy is only 37, and the Americans have sent twice this number of submarine troops at one time.

While Brandon was still thinking about how to arrange food and lodging for these submarines and crews, Admiral Hunter gave an "eviction order" with some tiredness: "Okay, Major Brandon, our honorable guests will be entrusted to you, and if you need anything in the future, you will contact my adjutant directly." He'll do his best to arrange it for you! ”

"Yes!" Brandon is another stand-upright.

At this time, the American also stood up, gave Admiral Hunter an American military salute, and followed Brandon out of the office.

Walking next to Lieutenant Colonel Hill, Brandon always felt a little awkward, for other reasons, the height gap between the two was really big. Brandon is 1.76 meters, which is ordinary among the British, but this American dude is 1.9 meters. The two stood together at a distance of a head, I really don't know how such a tall man thought of joining the submarine force, it is estimated that he bumped his head when he was active in the submarine.

Reluctantly, Brandon looked up to his new partner and said:

"Lieutenant Colonel, welcome to the fight against the Germans! On behalf of the submarine forces of the British Imperial Navy, I welcome you! ”

"Thank you! We have long wanted to beat up those arrogant Germans, but they have been in cahoots with the Japanese! Lieutenant Colonel Hill shrugged, "Everyone knows that there is no benefit in fighting on two fronts!" Unless our US Navy has enough strength to maintain overwhelming superiority in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans! ”

"That's right, Japanese, huh. Sooner or later, we're going to have to make them suffer! That's right. Lieutenant colonel, did your soldiers take part in real battles? ”

"Of course, there are more than 20 of us that fought in the South American war four years ago. A total of 32 Chilean and German ships were sunk, and by the way, there was also a warship of the Kingdom of Britain! ”

"...... of the Kingdom of Britain" Hearing this title, Brandon's eyes revealed an elusive meaning, like sadness, loss, and nostalgia. Before he knew it, he had been away from his homeland for 9 years, and his relatives and friends had not heard from him, and even the impression of his hometown in his mind had gradually blurred.

"Major. Are you okay! Lieutenant Colonel Hill saw that Brandon looked a little strange, so he asked his new colleague with great concern.

"Oh, I'm nothing!" Brandon put away the deep attachment in his heart, of course he knew the policy of the Kingdom of Britain, as long as he returned to Britain from the exile of the British government, he could obtain free citizenship of the Kingdom of Britain, and give a consolation payment depending on the rank, and he could also return to his hometown to reunite with his separated family, and he was willing to be a police officer. Those who are willing to become firefighters or enjoy preferential tax policies to engage in agricultural, handicraft or light industry activities are not allowed to move out of their hometowns for ten years.

Attracted by this policy, many people have returned to Britain through various ways after the war, especially in recent years, with the gradual improvement of the economic situation in Britain, the reconstruction work is also in full swing, and many people who miss their homeland have returned to Britain. According to the information sent by the spies mixed in, Britain is being revived, but unfortunately the British army does not recruit locals, and these intelligence officers cannot enter the army department to find out military information.

"Now that the generals of our two countries have negotiated, it is estimated that our submarines will be transported to Canada next week, and camouflage projects such as spray painting will be carried out at that time, plus the British-style training of officers and soldiers, I think it should take another week or two! Major, if you don't mind, I want to stay on your boat during this time. ”

"Of course I don't mind, it's an honor!" Brandon's "honor" was more about the submarine in Nada, and he was already thinking about how to make the Germans smell the hidden color.

Soon after, the American submarines arrived as promised, and every night, submarines entered the military ports in southeastern Canada, and then there was an intense refit project, the variegated submarines were all sprayed in pure black, the number on the bridge was changed to the submarine serial number of the British Imperial Navy, and the St. George cross flag of the British Empire was raised on the boat. Of course, every officer and soldier on board also changed into the uniform of the British submarine force, and each of them wore a strong American regional accent, but they were using the British navy as a cover.

Despite the efforts of both the United States and Britain to keep this secret tight, the many German spies embedded in Canada and the United States quickly obtained accurate information. To this end, the German Admiralty responded positively, and in just half a month, more than 150 of the best destroyers were transferred to Germany's Atlantic route, and 35 mine-laying submarines and 40 ordinary attack submarines were transferred to the Guadeloupe naval base. In addition, the Admiralty also submitted a bill to the Cabinet and the Diet to build 120 additional anti-submarine ships, which was quickly passed, and the eight largest German shipyards - Königsberg Shipyard, Royal Dockyard, Bremen Wissel Shipyard, Stettin Vulcan Shipyard, Kilgermania Shipyard, Kirhovald Shipyard, Danzig Schauer Shipyard, and Krupp Shipyard jointly undertook this batch of orders, and the shipyard workers began to work overtime, and raw materials were continuously delivered to these shipyards. The first 1,200-ton submarine hunter was completed by the end of 1924. By this time, the German tank had smoothly and firmly embarked on the wartime system, and the whole country was preparing for the coming big war.