Belmalit Naval Base, north-west Ireland, evening 22 May 1933. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 Info Facing the slowly setting sun, the German capital ship group led by the battleship "Deutschland" slowly sailed out of the harbor. Navy Paul Bernke, commander of the German-Irish Combined Fleet and acting commander of the German High Seas Fleet, stands solemnly from the bridged observation deck of the flagship. This voyage was by no means the same as the one he had led the German task force to South America a few years earlier, and the enemy was unprecedentedly powerful and of great significance, and it is no exaggeration to say that the fate of the entire fleet and even the country and the nation depended on it.

Thinking back to the turbulent waves of Jutland in 1914, when the scheming von Ingnoll was in command, the "Hohenzollern genius" strategized, and with the assistance of Schell, Hipper, Reims and other fierce generals, they adopted the exquisite tactics of luring the enemy deep and breaking through each one, creating a classic naval battle in which the weak defeated the strong, and then marched forward and became invincible, and the German Empire broke through the bottleneck and prospered the country.

Today, the German navy is much larger than it was 20 years ago, and a heads-up battle is enough to crush any country, but the United States and Britain have joined forces, and the main fleets of the two countries have been brought together in one place, and the strength is stronger than the combined German-Irish fleet. The German General Staff asked the High Seas Fleet to urgently escort reinforcements and combat equipment from the army, navy and air force, and Beinke took care of both sides, delaying the departure of the 3rd aircraft carrier group deployed in Brest, France, which meant that the three powerful Confederate-class aircraft carriers were likely to miss the first phase of the main fleet's combat operations; In order to continue to support the combat forces covering the landing and attacking Britain, and to guard against possible counterattacks by British naval ships, the King-class battlecruisers, the De Fllinger-class battlecruisers, and two of the four Bavarian-class battlecruisers will remain in European waters, which further limits the naval forces that Germany and Ireland can put into the Atlantic -- if they can successfully join up with the detachments deployed in the Azores in advance, Bernke's capital ships against a strong enemy will be five Deutschland-class battleships, two Tirpitz-class battlecruisers, Three Mackensen-class battlecruisers, two Bavaria-class battleships, three Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers, and two Ulster-class aircraft carriers, all of which were inferior in terms of capital ship numbers.

Having worked with Sher for many years, Beanke knew that he was not able to make the right decisions at critical moments. In addition, the Chief of Staff of the Fleet, Rear Admiral Rolf Lars, was an excellent staff member with meticulous thinking and solid skills, but he did not contribute ingenuity or even earth-shattering strategy...... With the subtle gap between the quality of the officers and men of the two sides and the performance of the ships, if it were a fleet battle in neutral waters, Bernke would need extraordinary wisdom and luck to win, but in the waters of the Azores, the German-Irish coalition had a unique strategic fulcrum and the corresponding tactical space, which was an important basis for Bernke to defeat the strong with the weak.

The road ahead was difficult, and he could become a hero of the country or a sinner of the nation, but fortunately, Beinke was a brave man, and since he had accepted the appointment of the commander of the German High Seas Fleet and the German-Irish Combined Fleet, he was duty-bound to fulfill his duties. Receiving operational orders from the German General Staff and the Naval Command, he quickly mobilized the scattered detachments and attacked with fists. The fleets sailed directly from their deployment sites to the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and completed their assembly and formation during the voyage. If you are fast, you will be able to reach the Azores in two days.

Looking out at the fading blue coastline, Lars, chief of staff of the High Seas Fleet, complained to his Allied colleague, a medium-sized, blonde-haired Irish naval colonel, "a massive increase in marine forces to the Azores...... Alas, I don't know who gave the idea, they certainly haven't tried the feeling of tossing in the wind and waves for days and then landing on the shore, how much combat strength can ordinary army soldiers have left after such a toss? Besides, as long as we win the naval battle, will the enemy still have a chance to gain a foothold in the Azores? ”

"It is normal for army commanders to be accustomed to deducing the situation of war with a land war mentality." The colonel replied lightly.

Lars was not so calm, and the more he spoke, the more annoyed he became: "The 2nd and 3rd Corps must have begun to board the ships and mobilize now, and it will not be long before our opponents will know the news, and it will not be difficult for them to deduce the time frame of our arrival and make adequate preparations in advance, which is a very disadvantageous factor for us." The best countermeasure, I would say, is to paralyze the enemy and make them think that we are still gathering a fleet, when in fact we have crept right under their noses - just as they have done to us. ”

The admiral was unmoved: "Have you ever heard a slang saying: "A thief's things are the hardest to steal." ”

"What's the hardest thing a thief to steal?" Lars was stunned for a moment, "Interesting, very interesting." ”

"War is like a game of cards, it is possible to play a good hand of cards, and it is possible to play a bad hand well, the key is to play a good game of technology and psychology." The colonel continued.

"This is also Irish slang?" Lars asked curiously.

The colonel shook his head: "This is what His Majesty King Joachim of Ireland said. ”

The name struck Lars: "He was a legend, a hero who seemed to come out of mythology." ”

"In our minds, he is a symbol of invincibility, a saint sent by God to save Ireland." The colonel said proudly.

"So does he have anything special about you for the upcoming battle for the Azores...... Commanded or entrusted? ”

The Irish Navy Colonel looked at Lars, paused for a few seconds, shook his head, and said, "Your Majesty asked us to cooperate closely and go all out on the battlefield, regardless of each other, and there is no explanation for specific tactics." ”

General Lars looked a little disappointed, but then relieved.

In the same evening, His Majesty King Joachim of Ireland and more than a dozen people, including his subordinates and staff, arrived at the Galway Naval Base in western Ireland on a small special plane to see off the Irish naval officers and men who were about to embark on their journey.

Among the ships in active service in the Irish Navy, there is no one of greater strategic value than the two well-designed and well-equipped Ulster-class aircraft carriers, the "Ulster" and the "Queen Charlotte". After the outbreak of the war, these two aircraft carriers, known as the "sharp weapons of small countries", did not appear on the battlefield, but waited quietly in their home ports, but instead trained the aircraft carrier "Angus" and several old ships that had been modernized and refitted, and were extremely active.

The world was shocked by the fact that the US and British fleets invaded the Azores with the force of thunderstorms, but this situation was written into the battle plan by the Germans many years ago, but the original intention of the planners was to gather the strength of the Allied camp to crush the United States and Britain, and at present, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Ottomans, and Spain have not yet entered the war for various reasons, and only Germany and Ireland can launch a counterattack at the first time - although the Kingdom of Ireland has no direct interests in the Azores, it has already participated in the war, and its interests are linked, and it shares honor and disgrace. It is imperative to mobilize ships to join the joint operation.

In this expedition to the Azores, the Irish fleet took the heavy cruiser "Dagda" as its flagship, and had two aircraft carriers, two light cruisers, four destroyers, and six auxiliary ships, and was equipped with more than 9,000 combat personnel. Most of the ships and personnel will depart directly from Galway Naval Base, and the rest will arrive from the mission area to rendezvous.

On the sleek and neat appearance of the warships, the officers and men of the Irish Navy wore neat summer white uniforms, and the spirit of high morale and confidence made the founders of this fleet very proud. These young men may not be fully mentally prepared for the hardships and dangers ahead, but in terms of material and technical aspects, they are quite well prepared -- the rigors of the Irish naval aviation training have long been world-famous, and through the usual high-intensity confrontations, both fighter pilots and ship service personnel have the basic qualities to deal with complex situations, so people have reason to believe that as long as they can survive the tension and hesitation in the early stages of the battle, These people are bound to shine brightly in their respective positions.

Watching the battleships flying the green, white and yellow tricolor sail away from the dock one after another, Admiral Sean Purcell, commander of the Irish Navy, and a German general from the Holstein town of Pretz, sighed: "This is the essence of the Irish shipbuilding industry, the essence of the Irish Navy, and the pride of the whole of Ireland. ”

"From my experience working with General Beinke, he is a trusted comrade-in-arms." Natsuki simply and pertinently expressed his evaluation, and then, intentionally or unintentionally, he sighed: "This may be a complex, tortuous, thrilling and heart-wrenching sea battle. It's a shame not to be able to participate in person. ”

"In fact, in terms of ability and prestige, Your Majesty is the best choice for the commander of the German-Patriotic Combined Fleet!" Eric Baker, Chief of Staff of the Irish Navy, cautiously complimented.

After nearly two decades of hard work, Ireland has a stable political situation, a cohesive and simple government, and even if the king is not concerned with politics for a short time, the whole country can function normally - this is exactly what Natsuki hopes to achieve. As far as all preparations are concerned, he can return to the battlefield at any time and once again use his military talents, but the biggest obstacle is not the will of the Irish military and civilians, but the special position of Ireland in the German-Irish alliance since 1915 and the will and mentality of those in power in Germany.

Because there were no outsiders around, Natsuki didn't refute it seriously, but winked at Baker: "I don't want to be Caesar." ”

Caesar was almost undefeated on the battlefield, but in the end he died at the hands of political enemies who feared him, and Natsuki's subtle meaning is not difficult to understand. Baker said no more, and Admiral Purcell only listened silently, without saying anything.

Towed by the barge, the "Ulster" and "Queen Charlotte", which were unusually large, left the dock one after another. Looking at the two newly painted aircraft carriers, Natsuki whispered to Baker: "If we can win, this will not necessarily be a fatal blow to the enemy, and if we fail, it will not be our end." There is still a long way to go! ”

(End of chapter)