On the morning of August 9, 1933, in the Brest Military Port, the German battleship "Hesse" moored next to the pier was fully replenished and crewed, and preparations were ready before sailing. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 Although the destination of this trip was not communicated to junior officers and ordinary officers, with the current war situation, there is really not much suspense about the combat mission of this German capital ship. The German officers and men, as always, obeyed the orders of their superiors, but the road ahead was long, their fate was uncertain, their emotions did not seem very high, and there was no lack of pessimistic and disappointed remarks in private.

Since the imminent departure of the Admiral Reinhardt-Schell from the ship, the bright and morale-boosting flag of the German Admiral has disappeared from the mast of the "Hesse", and it has been more than a week since it completed all the repair work, and more than 30 combat ships, including two King-class battleships, have arrived one after another.

After breakfast, the crew wiped down the weapons and equipment at their respective posts as usual, and the German flag fluttered on the bow flagpole in the sea breeze from the Atlantic. At this moment, an inconspicuous military vehicle arrived at the dock, and a German naval major and an Irish naval officer got out of the car, the latter solemnly holding a neatly folded textile, and the two boarded the ship along the gangway, while the captain, Colonel Maysel, led several officers to the gangway and greeted them respectfully, and then the communications officer guided the two to the bridge. Then, with the help of the communications officer and two German signal soldiers, the Irish officer unfolded the textile in his hand, which was a green, white and yellow tricolor base, red and gold clover in the center, the pattern was simple and eye-catching, it was far less well-known than the German Black Eagle Flag, the British Golden Lion Flag, usually only the Irish would pay tribute to this flag reverently, but on the German battleship "Hesse", when the crew saw this Irish King's flag appear in the sun, they all stood tall with their chests, The eyes revealed reverence and longing, and the haze of the unfavorable war ahead was instantly swept away, and a heroic spirit of breaking through the wind and waves and being reborn from the fire surged in the chest, and a kind of confidence rose in the heart...... Because, the appearance of this flag represents the arrival of the King of Ireland, and the current King of Ireland is the former world-famous Hohenzollern genius, who is the chief of staff of the German High Seas Fleet to lead the German Navy to defeat strong enemies and reach the pinnacle, is an inspirational and legendary existence!

"Attention all! Attention all! His Majesty King Joachim, the new Commander of the Confederate Fleet, will be on board, and non-rotating personnel are invited to assemble on all decks within five minutes! Everyone pay attention to the appearance and demeanor of the army! Marching bands, please go to the foredeck to meet! ”

The voice coming from the loudspeaker was not as calm and calm as usual, the slight trilling made one feel the throbbing of the herald, and the labyrinthine passage of the huge battleship was filled with hurried footsteps, and more than 100 officers and more than 2,000 sailors went to the bow, stern, and side decks of the ship to assemble and line up as fast as they could.

A convoy approached from the direction of the airport, and the dock where the "Hesse" docked was already under martial law, and there were no idlers in sight, only some dock workers looking curiously behind the guards. Colonel Messer led the ship's principal officers down to the boarding gangway, and the military band played the stirring Irish national anthem at the right time, which was in line with the most basic etiquette, but it could not help but feel too hasty and simplistic.

The convoy drove straight to the dock, and the man in a short-brimmed military hat and blue uniform, surrounded by several Irish officers, walked to the gangway, shook hands with Colonel Messel and others in a calm manner, and then walked up the gangway accompanied by these German officers. His figure was getting closer and his face clearer, and the hundreds of German sailors on the foredeck were looking in that direction expectantly. At their age, most of them learned about the Allied monarch's past through historical articles, biographical books, and video materials, honors students at the Kiel Naval Academy, stars in the Naval Football League, and brains of the German High Seas Fleet...... With so much aura that he is still the idol of many German youths, he will now be on board the ship and become the commander of the Allied Grand Fleet, and he will fight in battle under his direct leadership, which is both a coveted honor and a rare opportunity in the eyes of many officers and sailors.

When the black navy boots stepped onto the teak deck of the battleship, the former graceful and handsome and wise Prince Charming, and now the majestic and wise monarch, stopped for a moment. In the face of the eager eyes of the German sailors, he held his head high and looked up at the majestic main bridge, when the flag of the King of Ireland was slowly raised along the halyard, and below it was the flag of the commander of the Grand Fleet, which meant that he began to exercise the responsibilities and obligations of the commander of the Allied fleet.

After the flag-raising ceremony, Natsuki was accompanied by the captain Captain Messer to inspect the ship. The Hesse was the last of the five Deutsche battleships to enter service and was built with minor improvements to the practical condition of its sister ships. All five Deutsche class ships are built in Germany, and nearly 80 percent of the raw materials and components are supplied by local German companies, thus ensuring the engineering quality of these super warships. "Hesse" has been in service for more than three years, Natsuki is the first time to board the ship, but his knowledge of the technical structure of this battleship exceeds that of most of the crew here, for no other reason, when the German class is still in the preliminary design stage, Natsuki accepted the invitation of the Kaiser, volunteered to serve as a special technical adviser for the project, and in such as the ship type plan, main gun configuration, protection mode and other key issues of trade-offs, his influence undoubtedly played a very important role. According to Natsuki's concept, the tonnage and performance of the German class are the best capital ships to meet the needs of the German Navy in this era, no matter how large they are, they not only require some advanced immature technology, but also exceed the marginal value of reasonable cost performance, and the symbolic meaning is greater than the actual utility, so he neither approves of the construction of the Germania class, nor does he participate in the design and construction of the "Doomsday Battleship...... For these reasons, Natsuki had a unique affinity for the "Hesse", and when he returned to the German Navy after many years, the familiar atmosphere allowed him to gradually take note of the high-spirited feelings of the past.

On the afternoon of August 9, under the guidance of several barges, the "Hesse" slowly left the dock. When dusk came, as the command ship of the Second Support Fleet, it led 27 ships including the "Elector" and "Karl the Great" to sail on the waters of the Atlantic.

Unlike the relatively calm situation in the eastern Atlantic, the recent waters of the Azores can be described as rough seas and surging underwater undercurrents, and the hot weather seems to have exhausted people's patience, and the warring parties are trying to weaken their opponents every day, so there will be battles basically every day, from the heads-up of patrol fighters, to cruiser-level artillery battles, as well as attacks and chases between submarines and surface ships, and the smell of gunpowder and blood in the air has never been dissipated.

At the southern berth of São Miguel Island, the German-class battleships "Hanover," the Bavarian-class battleships "Bavaria" and "Baden" were grouped, the Count Tirpitz-class battlecruiser "Prince Heinrich," the Mackensen-class battlecruiser "Heilingen," and the De Fllinger-class battlecruiser "Deflinger" were grouped. From a distance, these ships are in good condition, but a closer look reveals that their hulls are not only mottled with bullet marks, but also have terrible holes in some parts, which must affect their state of navigation in battles with the enemy and in rough sea conditions. The port of Ponta Delgada on Sao Miguel Island has two large docks that can accommodate 10,000-ton ships, and a floating dock that can repair 40,000-ton ships was added before the war, but at this time there is a serious shortage of maintenance materials in the port, and once the ships are docked for maintenance, they completely lose their ability to maneuver, and when the port is attacked by air raids, it is very likely to become the target of concentrated attacks by enemy aircraft, and the most rational way is to grit their teeth and survive this difficult period.

When His Majesty King Joachim I of Ireland raised the Allied fleet command flag on the "Hesse", an identical flag still flew on the mast of the "Hanover", not because Paul Bernke refused to relinquish command, but in fact the controversial German admiral of recent times was burdened with a heavy psychological burden, eager to redeem his damaged reputation with victory and to find spiritual relief sooner. When he learned that Scheer would command the Allied fleet in his place, he sent a telegram to Scheer in his personal name, saying that he would resolutely stand on the last shift, and as long as he could preserve the strength of the fleet and hold the current situation, he would be willing to sacrifice himself and absolutely obey Scheer's command. The reason why there are two fleet commander's flags hoisting on two warships at the same time is because the German command organization, at the request of Natsuki, has not officially announced the change of commander of the Allied fleet, and the officers and men in the front and the people in the rear have not yet known this news that will make them very excited, and only the military and political leaders of the empire and some powerful people have learned in advance, which means that the probability of the enemy detecting this information is controlled to a minimum.

As the sun shines into the cabin through the porthole, Beanke sits back in his chair and sipps a cold dark beer, looking lost and hesitant, but he has not lost the tenacity and tenacity of a soldier.

Orr, the adjutant knocked on the door and came in, reporting to Beinck, "Sir, we have received a strange ciphered telegram signed ...... Your old comrade-in-arms, Jochen. ”

"Old comrade-in-arms Jochen?" Beinke was stunned for a moment, his eyes suddenly widened, he hurriedly took the newspaper, his eyes hurriedly swept over the translation on it, a little puzzled, so he read it repeatedly, pondered carefully, and then suddenly, and then grabbed the beer glass he had just put down, drank it all in one gulp, and muttered to himself:

"Great! Our god of war is finally back! We're going to win, we're going to win! ”

(End of chapter)