In March 1942, the ice floes in the Gulf of Finland largely disappeared, and Europe ushered in the third spring of the 1940s. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

On the European continent, there is a vibrant scene everywhere. Fresh grass grows on the ground, and some animals wake up from hibernation and begin to move around Europe.

Fish in the Gulf of Finland are also starting to emerge from the water, and there are significantly more of them. The number of ships there, like the number of fish, increased dramatically, and the conflict between the Soviet and German navies in the Gulf of Finland intensified, and a large-scale, decisive naval battle was to be fought in this area sooner or later.

The intention of the German Navy was very obvious, that is, to seize Goglan, Grand Tutes, Mosine, Sheska and other islands from the Soviets, so as to form an island chain, and deploy mines between these island chains to prevent the Soviet Navy from dispatching, so as to achieve the goal of blockading the Soviet Baltic Fleet.

Historically, the Germans have indeed achieved this goal. They deployed a large number of mines in the Gulf of Finland and occupied Soviet-controlled islands such as Gogland, thus creating a blockade line that prevented the Soviet Baltic Fleet from becoming a threat to the German navy.

In this world, however, the situation faced by the German Navy was much more difficult.

With the Soviet Union gaining air and sea supremacy, the minelayers of the German and Finnish navies could not approach the waters controlled by the Soviet Union at all, and at most could only cruise in the coastal waters of Estonia and Finland, and they would die as soon as they came out.

By 1942, however, the situation had changed dramatically. With the arrival of the capital ships of the German Navy and the reinforcement of the Luftwaffe, the Soviet Union's air and sea superiority was no longer obvious.

Previously, the Soviets controlled Estonia and the Hanko Peninsula (located in southwestern Finland and leased to the Soviets for 30 years after the Soviet-Finnish War), and the German Navy could not set foot in the Gulf of Finland.

But by the time Estonia fell into German hands, the German Navy was already able to cruise off the coast of Estonia, and after the Soviet retreat from the Hanko Peninsula, the German Navy was able to operate in the western part of the Gulf of Finland, but the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland remained firmly in Soviet hands.

In order to gain further naval supremacy, the German navy would have to take Gogland, Mosine, and Grand Tust to increase the range of the Axis navy, but it was not easy to gain these islands, and they had to defeat the Soviet Baltic Fleet cruising around these islands before they could land, and they had to withstand the bombardment of Soviet planes.

Even if they were able to land, they would have to deal with the two Soviet divisions on the islands, and they would have to defeat the Soviet reinforcements in order to gain full control of the islands.

In fact, the strength of the German Navy is simply not enough to achieve this goal, and even if it is achieved, it will have to pay a great price, and the German Navy will inevitably lose its vitality.

It's just that the Germans who fought on the European continent overestimated their own strength at the beginning, and at the same time overestimated the strength of the Soviet Navy because of the intelligence falsified by the Soviets.

The purpose of the Soviets' falsified intelligence about the strength of the Baltic Fleet was to make the Germans underestimate the strength of the Soviet Navy, so that the Germans sent a small number of ships to the Gulf of Finland to prevent them from dispatching such a "giant ship" as the Tirpitz.

As a result, this goal was achieved, and the naval strength sent by Germany was indeed inferior to that of the Soviet Baltic Fleet. But what if, on the other hand, let the Soviets reveal the true strength of the Baltic Fleet to Germany? Will the Germans retreat because the Baltic Fleet is too strong?

It's really hard to say this, if Hitler was thinking normally, he would definitely not do it in order to preserve the only bit of naval strength, but the problem is, his thinking is not normal, what if he doesn't play his cards?

So, since we have come to this point, this naval battle will be fought sooner or later, the question is when? This question Manturov already had in his mind.

If you attack too early, the sea ice in the Gulf of Finland has not completely melted, and the excessively cold waters are not suitable for soldiers to land, and if you attack too late, you will delay the fighters. From these two analyses, Manturov guessed the time of the German attack, that is, March 26, 1942, which is exactly the same date as the historical Finns attacked Gogland.

On the morning of March 26, 1942, a combined fleet of German and Finnish navies set off from the ports of Tallinn and Helsinki, rendezvoused 75 kilometers west of Gogran, and headed east for Gogland Island.

According to the original plan, the Luftwaffe would eliminate the main forces of the Soviet Air Force and Naval Air Force on Gogland Island, bomb the military bases on the island, and inflict casualties on the garrisons on the island.

The arriving navy would then bombard the island to destroy the coastal fortifications and coastal defense artillery, and eliminate the Soviet naval forces patrolling nearby, and after these obstacles were removed, the Finnish and German armies would arrive in landing craft to land and occupy Gogland Island.

Shortly after the German fleet was dispatched, Soviet reconnaissance planes discovered the whereabouts of the German fleet in the waters north of the port of Tallinn and informed the Baltic Fleet command of the situation.

After receiving the information, the commander of the Baltic Fleet, Vladimir Filippovich Tribus, immediately decided to order the main force of the Baltic Fleet to attack and quickly go to Gogland Island, just in case.

Subsequently, the Soviet Air Force and the Soviet Naval Air Force also dispatched two aviation divisions from Leningrad to the waters of Gogland Island to attack German warships. Together with the 1 aviation division and 1 fighter aviation regiment stationed on Gogland Island itself, the strength of the Soviet Air Force amounted to 3 aviation divisions + 1 aviation regiment, and the air power of more than 550 aircraft.

"Mr. Captain, our carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft (AR 196) have spotted an enemy fleet in the waters east of Hochland (the German name for Gochland), as well as a large fleet of air aircraft." On the German Navy's battlecruiser Gneisenau, a correspondent reported to their captain, Otto Fein (Otto_Fein), the latest information received from the reconnaissance aircraft.

Captain Fein held the binoculars and asked calmly, "How many ships are the Russians coming this time?" ”

"This ...... The reconnaissance plane was about to report the number when it was shot down by the Russians. ”

"Is our air force in sorties?"

"The 1st Air Force has just informed us that they have dispatched the forces of 1 combat aviation regiment and 1 dive bomber aviation regiment and will soon reach Gogland Island to bomb the Russians."

Hearing the news of the Air Force's dispatch, Finn felt a little relieved, but the planes of this 1 aviation regiment were estimated to be loaded with ordinary bombs, and there were not many aircraft with aviation torpedoes, so it was difficult to inflict sufficient blows on the Soviet fleet. "Immediately report to the First Air Force what the reconnaissance planes have discovered, and ask the First Air Fleet to dispatch more planes, carry torpedoes, and bomb the Russian fleet."