By April 1941, the Battle of Earth-Sea, which had lasted for several months, had not yet been finalized, and the British still held three strongholds - Gibraltar, Tubruk and Crete - but the world knew that the German-Italian coalition had won a decisive victory. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

And Marshal Hersman, who won this decisive victory, has become a god of war on land and sea, and his reputation is much higher than before. Even fascist leaders such as Mussolini and Franco gave him three points, and Mussolini awarded Hersman the rank of Honorary Marshal of the Italian Navy, while Franco readily agreed to hand over command of all Spanish forces to Hersmann during the Battle of Gibraltar.

As for the characters of the King of Egypt, the King of Iran and the Prime Minister of Iraq, they are even more desperate to convince this imperialist marshal who can make them lose everything with just one command.

However, in the Mediterranean, not everyone rushed to fight the Hersmann war god, at least there was one powerful figure who showed some indifference to Hersmann and Germany, he was François, deputy prime minister, minister of defense, and commander-in-chief of the navy of the French Republic. Admiral Darlang.

He is now considered to be Henry. Pétain's heirs also had a well-trained French navy with hundreds of warships of all types, including the formidable battleship "Richelieu", "Jean. The battleships "Bar", the battleships of the "Dunkirk" class and the battleships "Strasbourg"!

The fleet was attacked by the treacherous Royal Navy in June 1940, and several battleships were damaged or even sunk. However, today, 10 months later, not only have all the damaged ships been repaired, but even the "Richelieu" and "Jean. The Barr was also fully constructed and sailed out of port for sea trials after the Royal Navy withdrew from the Mediterranean.

By April 1941, the French navy under Darlan's command had regained its former vigor – or at least it seemed. Now this naval fleet has become a key force that can change the course of a world war.

If Darlan had fallen to Germany and led his navy to become an accomplice of the Germans, the British Royal Navy would have been inferior in tonnage and number of capital ships to its rival, the German-Italian-French navy.

If Darlan is willing and able to remain neutral, then the Royal Navy will have at least temporary superiority in numbers and tonnage.

It is clear that the French naval fleet is now the biggest trump card in the hands of the French Republic and Darlan himself.

In mid-April, when the Spaniards were making a big splash of "infrastructure construction" in Lalinea and Algeciras near the Gibraltar Peninsula, François. Admiral Darlan received an invitation from Field Marshal Hersmann, Chief of the General Staff of the Wehrmacht, to visit the home port of the German High Seas Fleet, Kiel.

The harbor, which once housed a famous naval uprising, is now heavily guarded, with 10 huge castle-like anti-aircraft turrets standing near the pier. These anti-aircraft turrets were the product of the British night harassment bombing of German cities, and anti-aircraft turrets were built not only in important naval ports such as Kiel and Wilhelmshaven, but also in Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, Cologne, Essen, Frankfurt and other large German cities.

Darlan also knew that several German "military leases" in France, such as Brest, Calais, Dunkirk, Le Havre and Brussels and Antwerp in Belgium, had built similar anti-aircraft turrets.

These anti-aircraft turrets are sturdy reinforced concrete structures with outer walls up to 2.5 meters thick and 35 meters high, and are topped with dense anti-aircraft fire or large anti-aircraft radars. The interior is spacious and can be used as a civilian bunker, a field hospital and a warehouse.

Anti-aircraft turrets are usually installed in groups of two, one of which is equipped with a radar and one with four twin 105mm anti-aircraft guns mounted on top.

And under the escort of these tall anti-aircraft turrets, there are neatly arranged and very powerful warships in the harbor!

Admiral Darlang roughly counted at least 100 combat ships of more than 1,000 tons, of which as many as 16 appeared to have a displacement of at least 10,000 tons. And there are 2 battleships that are even larger than the "Richelieu" class, which should be the "Bismarck" and "Tirpitz".

Next to the two Bismarck-class ships is a much smaller one, which should be the "Gneisenau". However, the battleship is not the same as Darlang remembers, the three 3-mounted 280mm turrets have been replaced by 3 twin-mounted 380mm turrets, although the number of main guns is less than 3, but the firepower is more powerful. It is clear that the battleship was overhauled after the sinking of the "Scharnhorst", increasing its firepower.

And next to this "Gneisenau", which has increased its firepower, four brand-new "battle cruisers" are moored! Admiral Darlang estimated that the four identical-looking warships must have a displacement of more than 20,000 tons, and the main guns appeared to be equipped with two triple 280mm turrets...... The firepower is a little weak, and it will definitely not be able to beat the "Dunkirk" class, but it will be enough to deal with heavy cruisers.

Darlan estimated that the four battle cruisers (in fact, P-class armored ships that had just completed outfitting and had not yet begun sea trials) should have been used to escort aircraft carriers or support landing forces.

Next to the 4 P-class armored ships, there are 3 "German" class armored ships, Darlan is very familiar with this class of armored ships, so he didn't pay much attention to them, but immediately set his eyes on the 4 larger heavy cruisers (Admiral Hippel-class heavy cruisers) next to them, this is another large capital ship that has not been exposed in the past, the standard displacement should be around 15,000 tons, and the main gun is 8 203mm cannons, which is obviously the configuration of a heavy cruiser.

Next to the 4 heavy cruisers, there were 2 aircraft carriers, "Seydlitz" and "Seckert".

3 battleships, 4 battlecruisers (P-class), 3 armored ships, 4 heavy cruisers and 2 aircraft carriers. These capital ships alone have the strength to fight the French Navy. Even if it encounters the home fleet of the British Royal Navy, it may not be impossible to fight......

"Admiral, in the past two years, our country's naval strength has grown rapidly, and many new ships will be completed and put into service every year."

Hersmann, who was accompanying Admiral Darlan to the battleship Bismarck, the flagship of the German High Seas Fleet, told Darlan in fluent French at this time.

"At present, there are 2 more battleships that will be outfitted and will be given next year, which are the 'Hindenburg' class, which is even larger than the 'Bismarck' class, with a standard displacement of more than 55,000 tons and is equipped with 8 406mm guns. The 35,000-ton Barbarossa is a battle cruiser that can be outfitted at the end of the year and can begin sea trials early next year, with similar firepower and defense to the modified "Gneisenau", but at a faster speed. There are also 2 aircraft carriers with a standard displacement of more than 28,000 tons and can carry 82 carrier-based aircraft, which can also be commissioned in the first half of next year. At that time, the strength of our German Navy will be able to surpass that of the British Home Fleet! In addition, five large cruise ships are being converted into aircraft carriers and will also be commissioned next year. ”

Hersman threatened to say to Darlan: "When you visit the shipyard, you will see these ships under construction." ”

Another 4 battleships and 7 aircraft carriers! Admiral Darlang gasped, this is 11 warships and 9 aircraft carriers...... How many warships and how many aircraft carriers could the British Royal Navy have by 1942? I'm afraid that as long as the Germans alone, it will be enough to fight the British. If you add to this the 6 battleships of the Italians (3 of which are of the Veneto class), Britain would have been defeated even without the help of France. Unless the United States can intervene at a critical moment!

"Admiral, the situation is very clear now." "Unless the United States enters the war, Britain will surely lose in 1942, whether or not you France join this year," said Dar Lang as he went. And if we then joined, then we would have been able to achieve a decisive victory in 1941! In this way, even if the United States joins, it will not change the final outcome of the war...... And it will be the first war that will lead to the unification of Europe. After this war, several of the greatest nations in the world, Germany, France and Great Britain, as well as most of Europe, will come together and merge into one. The dreams of Emperor Napoleon will be fulfilled in the hands of our generation. ”

"Britain?" Darlan was stunned, "Marshal, you say that Germany will come together with Britain?" ”

Hersman shrugged his shoulders and smiled, "Of course, we don't have a deep grudge against Britain. The current war is only about separating the superior...... For Europe to be united, it must have a strong leader. The only countries that can become leaders are Germany, France and the United Kingdom in Europe. This is a brotherly war after all, so as long as there is a division between the superior and the superior, of course, there is no need for the war to continue. After all, in the future, Europe and the world will still be led by Germany, Britain, France, or Germany, France, and Britain! ”

Hersman seemed to repeat the same sentence, but Darlan understood. The Europe of the future will be united externally, but internally. The boss must be Germany, so how to divide the second and third children? Is Britain pressing France, or is France pressing England?

"Marshal, I see what you mean." Darlan stood still and looked at Hersmann, he knew that he could not look all the way, France was crushed by Germany, and if he was crushed by Britain in the future, then his political life would be over.

"The French Navy would join the German side in the war en masse as naval volunteers after the Battle of Gibraltar." "And I will also try to get the whole of France into the war as a member of the European Community!" ”

Hirschman nodded, "It's a deal!" He paused, "I expect the Admiral to become President of France and Vice-President of the European Community." (To be continued.) )