"Your Majesty, judging from the revised statistics of battle damage, the shelling of the enemy fleet last night destroyed a total of 39 of our combat aircraft, damaged 57 of them, damaged 19 flight runways, and destroyed about 5,700 kilograms of ammunition and 265,000 liters of fuel, while so far 104 people have been confirmed dead and at least 328 wounded. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info In general, this night attack caused a lot of losses to our combat forces on the island of São Miguel, and to a certain extent affected the morale of our troops, so I personally felt that it was necessary not only to continue the bombing of the American and British troops on the island of Texel, but also, if possible, to take a-for-tat action - night shelling of Angra de Merrijo. ”

In the senior officers' conference room of the German battlecruiser "Mackensen", 11 officers of the rank of lieutenant colonel and above sat around the table, and at the top was His Majesty King Joachim I, King of Ireland, who was the commander of the main fleet of the Allied powers and commander-in-chief of the Azores theater of operations, and the speaker just now was Vice Admiral Max Bastian, commander of the German Navy's 1st Reconnaissance Fleet, who was sitting on his left, and opposite Vice Admiral Bastian sat Rear Admiral Rolf Lars, who was also chief of staff of the Allied fleet in his capacity as chief of staff of the German High Seas Fleet and also chief of staff of the Allied fleet. After Admiral Beinke stepped down as commander of the Allied fleet, Lars accepted the new commander's offer and continued to play an important role in the Allied fleet.

As night faded and dawn fell, the Allied light ships, which had been searching for the enemy all night, had regrouped under the battle cruiser "Mackensen". According to Natsuki's prediction, in the case of being attacked by aircraft carrier-based aircraft during the day, it is a very high probability event for the enemy commander to send additional capital ships to Flores Island at night; if his own ships discover the traces of the enemy fleet during the night reconnaissance, then the 21 fast ships under the command of the "Mackensen" will gather like wolves and then pounce on them to launch torpedo attacks. Unexpectedly, the enemy would attack and defend the island, send a rapid formation to attack the island of San Miguel, and then flee before dawn, thus avoiding the retaliatory counterattack of the Allied land-based air forces.

General Bastian's suggestion conforms to conventional logic, but it is basically of no reference value here in Natsuki. He glanced at everyone and saw that the chief of staff of the fleet was still contemplating, so he said, "General Lars? ”

Rolf Lars was obviously not distracted, he folded his hands on the table, and said softly: "It stands to reason that we should continue to set up an ambush between Texel and Floris, and for a short time as long as our assault formation is still threatening the enemy's supply lines, they will have to draw the main battleships from the front line to join the convoy, but the enemy attacked the island of Sao Miguel at night with a cruiser last night, which makes me feel that something is not right, because with my research on Shandley and the previous months, It's not at all like his style of fighting. Of course, it's not surprising that people are cornered and do anything strange. ”

Lars may not have said it unintentionally, Natsuki did listen to it intentionally, thinking of an earlier piece of information, he realized that the possibility of the enemy changing generals at this time is not small, if he really changes the opponent, then it is necessary to adjust the strategy tailored to Standley.

So Natsuki turned to Lieutenant Colonel Albert Hipper, the second son of German Admiral Franz von Hipper, who was in charge of radio monitoring and interpretation: "Have you intercepted enemy communication telegrams with double ciphers these days? ”

This Lieutenant Colonel Hipper, whose appearance and demeanor resembled that of Marshal Hippel in middle age, did not possess first-class operational command ability and outstanding personality charm like his father, and he became a senior technical officer according to his personal interests and expertise. Faced with a question from his superiors, the lieutenant colonel replied without hesitation: "A lot. ”

"Can you decipher parts of the content or individual phrases?" Natsuki asked.

"Yes, but it takes up a lot of manpower and equipment." The lieutenant colonel's answer remained concise and to the point.

Natsuki thought about it for a moment: "We need to find out as soon as possible whether the enemy has made personnel adjustments to key positions, which is of great significance to our next combat operation, so, Lieutenant Colonel Hipper, I authorize you to call on the resources you deem necessary, and I hope that you and your team can become an important contributor to our victory in this battle." ”

The lieutenant colonel responded: "Okay, Your Majesty, I understand. ”

Natsuki certainly did not wait passively until the work of deciphering the enemy's ciphers was successful, and he explained to everyone: "Last night's incident caused a lot of losses to our combat units on Sao Miguel Island, and the aviation facilities were also damaged to a certain extent, and it is foreseeable that the aviation units that went to Texel Island to carry out bombing today will be extremely strongly resisted by the enemy, and more fighters may be shot down. As for Flores Island, I have a new idea -- to have Task Force 2 go and shell the island's facilities and transport ships anchored in the coastal waters, so as to create tension for our adversaries and force them to send their capital ships to reinforce them. ”

Lieutenant General Bastian immediately responded: "I raise my hands in favor." ”

After making eye contact, several staff officers nodded in support, but Lars objected:

"Against Standley, this strategy has a high chance of success, but now we have to consider the possibility of a new opponent emerging. As we all know, the distance between Texel Island and Flores Island is 360 kilometers, and all kinds of combat aircraft, including fighter jets, can easily move between the two places. After yesterday's fighting, it is possible that the enemy will transfer some of the fighters of Flores Island to Texel and the bomber force of Tercel to Flores, so that Task Force 2 may be subjected to heavy air attacks by enemy aircraft as it approaches Flores Island, and even if the flight is well planned and not detected before the night shelling is carried out, it is unknown whether it will be able to retreat in its entirety. ”

Natsuki thought for a moment, felt that what Lars said was reasonable, and asked him if he had any suggestions for the follow-up battle.

Before speaking, Lars hesitated for a moment: "That's right, Your Majesty, considering that the enemy is likely to judge your arrival from our recent combat operations, and the battles you have commanded in the past are the subject of popular research in the naval circles in the past, I am afraid that they will be prepared for air raids in Texel and guard against our attacks in Flores, even if our two-sided strategy is ultimately successful, it will inevitably pay a large price." Instead of that, why don't we try an unexpected line of attack for the enemy? ”

"Thinking backwards!" Natsuki nodded, "It's good to have such an idea, General Lars, and go on. ”

Lars, apparently having the whole thing in mind, got up and walked over to the bulkhead where the Atlantic chart was hung, and understood it with rigor and clarity. A few minutes later, when his voice fell, the audience was full of astonishment.

Bold, novel, and has its own aura...... This is the idea that popped into Natsuki's mind. In addition to being amazed, there is also a feeling that people have to serve the old. Although he was very well prepared before returning to the battlefield and scored two beautiful shots as soon as he came on the field, when it comes to the ability to strategize on the battlefield, 19 years ago was really at the peak.

"However, according to my calculations, the probability of a great success of this plan is only about sixty percent, if the enemy sees through the intentions and fights with all his strength in the initial stage of the battle, failure is probably inevitable, in addition to causing losses to the ships and soldiers participating in the battle, it will also have a certain impact on our strategic layout, so ......" Lars turned his eyes to Natsuki, and the implication was to ask the commander to make his own decision.

Natsuki was not in a hurry to make a statement, but left his position and walked to Lars's side, gazing closely at the various lines and signs on the chart. It is different from the Atlantic charts that people have seen in the past, but a specially made map with the Azores as the center, covering the east coast of the Americas and the west coast of Europe, and for ease of use, the whole map uses a progressive scale with a high middle and low sides.

After a while, Natsuki turned his head sideways and said to Lars: "Indeed, my previous plan was my favorite combat routine, which is easy to be anticipated by the enemy and prepared to deal with it in advance, and the biggest highlight of your plan is to jump out of the routine of luring the enemy and annihilate it, and go the opposite way." It should be noted that our current overall strength in the Azores battlefield is still at a relative disadvantage, and the current operational deployment should avoid being overly aggressive, and there is no need to make a desperate bet."

Lars bowed his head respectfully: "The plan below is actually a whim at breakfast today, because of the rush of time, I haven't had time to think about it repeatedly, and it is really fortunate to get His Majesty's affirmation and guidance." ”

Natsuki directly ignored these polite words, and he discussed them as he pondered: "It only took 27 hours before and after the enemy captured Corvo Island, and if we put in half of the capital ships and 6,000 marines, how much time would it take to do the fastest?" ”

After thinking about it for two minutes, Lars replied, "Extreme conditions, two to three days; Normally, about a week. ”

"In fact, the chances of an extreme situation are low, and the enemy has long been prepared to withstand massive shelling." Natsuki added to himself, "The enemy won't give up any of the islands here easily, so we can't use conventional means of attack. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, there is nothing wrong with your analysis." Lars's thoughts were racing, "There is probably a 30 per cent chance that paratroopers and beach landings go hand in hand, and as far as I know, the Irish Airborne Forces are trained in this area, and have conducted real island airborne operations in the Isle of Man and North Wales, as is the case with the 5th Airborne Battalion, which is currently stationed on the island of São Miguel." ”

A few weeks ago, he sent 8,000 additional Irish soldiers to the Azores at the request of the German General Staff, and at that time, he considered the tactical needs of the future, and incorporated the 5th Airborne Battalion of Ireland into the reinforcements.

(End of chapter)