"Mr. Captain, our radar signal shows that a Russian fleet is coming towards us under the cover of a flying group! This Russian fleet of aircraft is very large, at least 150 aircraft, and the Russian fleet is also quite large, with 22 ships, and it has not yet been possible to determine the type of enemy warships and aircraft. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info”

After the air raids, the German Navy also intended to continue to advance, expand the results of the battle, and prepare to engage the approaching Baltic Fleet, a showdown, and take the opportunity to destroy the main force of the Soviet Navy (they were fooled into thinking that the Soviet Baltic Fleet would be easy to deal with). ）。

But knowing that there were still 150 Soviet planes waiting for them ahead, Fein (captain of the Gneisenau and commander of the operation) began to hesitate.

As a result of the air raid just now, one pocket battleship, one light cruiser, and one destroyer were sunk, and the rest of the ships, including the battle cruiser Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, were damaged to varying degrees.

If there is another wave of air raids now, I am afraid that the losses will be even greater, and even if the Soviet Baltic Fleet can be severely damaged, it will have to pay a great price, unless the Luftwaffe can also send so many planes to confront the Soviet flying fleet.

"Report to the Navy Command and request further instructions from the Navy Ministry. At the same time, reinforcements from the First Air Force and the Finnish Air Force were requested. ”

Fein quickly received a reply from the Admiralty and the First Air Force, and the Luftwaffe had promised to send enough aircraft to reinforce the German Baltic Fleet from air raids.

The naval command also made it clear that it would take advantage of the Soviet Baltic Fleet to wipe out the Soviet fleet, so that it could carry out the next move, occupy Gogland and other islands, and then threaten Leningrad.

However, the German Navy, under the influence of the Soviet Union's "strategic deception", overestimated the strength of the Soviet Baltic Fleet, believing that the main ships of the Baltic Fleet were the two "incapable of combat" Gangut-class dreadnoughts.

They knew about the existence of the battlecruiser Kronstadt, because the main guns of the battle cruiser were originally ordered from Germany, but they really thought that the ship could not be built without the Krupp cannon, and that the ship was still being built at the Molotovsk shipyard (in fact, it was built in Leningrad).

In addition to this, the misguided Germans thought that the weapons of the Soviet Navy were inadequate. Even if the equipment lacks maintenance, the manufacturing process is also poor, and there are often problems such as jamming, and it is easy to be damaged, and the actual performance is far from the design performance.

This "intelligence" made the Germans overestimate the strength of the Soviet Navy, and also gave the German Navy command the courage to fight to the death with the Soviet Baltic Fleet.

The distance between the two fleets was getting closer and closer, and the gunners on the Soviet and German warships had adjusted the angle of their guns, ready to open fire after the opposing warships came into range.

However, at this moment of tension, the German naval command immediately issued a crucial order - to withdraw the Baltic Fleet to Turku (a Finnish military port) as soon as possible to avoid a battle with the Soviet fleet.

This order came too suddenly!

After another ten minutes of sailing, the two fleets were about to start an artillery battle, but at this time, the naval command issued an order to retreat and avoid the battle, which is also incredible. Could it be something unexpected, or something new?

Originally, the commander of the Navy, Eririch Raeder, also planned to order a retreat, but Hitler really wanted to destroy the Soviet Union so much that he ordered the Navy to fight to the end and destroy the Baltic Fleet.

As Hitler's subordinate, Eririch Raeder of course had to obey the Führer's orders, as long as he had to bite the bullet and tell the Baltic Fleet to act according to the original plan to meet the Soviet Navy.

Soon after, however, bad news came from the Air Force - the Soviet Air Force suddenly launched an air attack on the Luftwaffe air base in Estonia, and the First Air Force was temporarily unable to move in the direction of the Gulf of Finland.

Under such circumstances, Hitler had to make the decision to retreat. If it did not retreat, the Soviet Air Force, which had exhausted air supremacy, would certainly inflict further losses on the German Navy.

The Admiral Schell had already been sunk, and the only main warships that the Germans could get their hands on at this time were the battlecruiser Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen.

Compared with the 2 Soviet Sevastopol-class battleships (Gangut-class battleships), the Gneisenau still has a certain advantage in armor and performance, but it is inferior in firepower.

The guns of the Sevastopol-class battleships also have a caliber of 12 inches, but the caliber of the main guns of the Gneisenau is only 11 inches, and if the two sides fight one-on-one, it is really a chess opponent, and it is difficult to distinguish the winner from the loser, but the problem is that the Soviets dispatched 2 ships this time, not 1, so that the German Navy will suffer a little.

However, if we take into account that the Soviets have air supremacy, and in addition to the fact that the Gneisenau was bombed several times in the previous air raids, and its combat effectiveness has been affected, this time the Gneisenau may still be more than lucky.

What if the Prinz Eugen and the Sevastopol go head-to-head? One was a heavy cruiser, the other was a battleship, both ships were of different magnitude, and it goes without saying that it was definitely the battleship Sevastopol that won.

Although the Sevastopol class was a World War I-era battleship, it was equipped with 12 12-inch cannons. And what about the Prinz Eugen? There are only 8 8-inch caliber guns, which is not of an order of magnitude at all. No matter how you look at it, Sevastopol has the advantage.

Looking at it this way, it seems that the German Navy really has little chance of winning. Their navy itself has no foundation, there is only 1 battleship left, and 2 battlecruisers left, which in itself is already unable to compete with Britain and the United States.

If we lose this time, I am afraid that the gap between the German and British and American navies will widen, and then Britain and the United States will gain absolute sea supremacy in the Atlantic, and the German navy will not be able to mix at all.

Even if the German Navy had won the naval battle, it would have lost several cruisers, and even the flagship of the Baltic Fleet, the Gneisenau, would have to be sunk.

Even if the Gneisenau had not been sunk, it would have been severely damaged, and it would have to be sent back to the port of Kiel for repairs for several months before it could go to sea, and the German sea power would probably be in a vacuum, and no matter how it was attacked, the result would be unacceptable to the Germans.

Having lost air supremacy and the odds of victory were uncertain, Hitler, eager to preserve his maritime strength, finally chose to retreat. However, it may be too late to make a decision at this time.