Pskov is an ancient city located in northwestern Russia, about 250 kilometers southwest of Leningrad, on the southern shore of Lake Pskov. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 The ancient city of INFO has a population of about 200,000 and is a railway junction: the railway from Moscow to Riga intersects with the railway from Leningrad to Kiev.

The station in the small town is not small because it is a railway hub; During the war, freight was busy, but today it is heavily guarded, and even quiet, soundly: because the special train of the deputy commander is parked on the platform.

The whole station is on alert, full of sentry posts.

Lin Jun will work in the conference compartment, but he didn't look at any documents, but looked at the small town station outside the window in a daze.

Without their own interference, the Germans would have occupied it on July 9, 1941, and it would have been liberated by the Red Army on July 23, 1944.

Historically, when it was liberated by the Red Army, 94% of the buildings in the city were destroyed, and 290,000 Soviets died during the fighting and fall! - What does this mean for a city with a population of about 200,000?!

But now that the Germans are locked out for nearly 300 kilometers, the ancient city will not be ravaged by war again.

It's more like contemplation in a daze, and not only because of the Germans.

It is less than 200 kilometers away from the Gulf of Finland in a straight line, and if you insist on saying what kind of water system the Gulf of Finland belongs to, in Lin Jun's opinion, it is probably the Atlantic Ocean.

Lin Jun was thinking of an army that was even more "crazy" than the German army, and it was also an army that he was emotionally proud of and contradictory in his previous life: it had arrived here and crossed most of Eurasia! Pskov, and even further!

That army fought to the end of the earth in the heroic "of their Great Khan!" All the way to the west, sweeping away all the enemies who dare to stand in their way!

Yes, they were the Mongol armies that swept across Europe in the 13th century!

Lin Jun didn't want to verify the sentence "hit the end of the earth!" "Whether it was shouted by the Great Khan of Mongolia or not, it is enough for you to like that bold sentence - what heroic, how indomitable!

The Gulf of Finland is so close to here, has the Mongol army seen the end of the earth? I am not familiar with that period of history, but I think it is the feeling of looking at the pristine railway line along the way - from the 13th century to the present, many places have not changed much.

The city and its nearby countryside are famous for their historical sites, and the Pushkin estate is not far away, but Lin Jun didn't have time to visit them.

"When the war is over, it's time to take a good look at the Soviet Union."

Suddenly sighed: How have you spent all these years? It's all on the road, and there's not much time to enjoy the calm.

However, Lin Jun didn't think about it for long, because the train vibrated slightly, pulling him back from his contemplation. After a while, Landskoch reported to himself: "Marshal, the anti-aircraft carriage and the additional locomotive in front have been hung up, and they will leave in 5 minutes." ”

Standing up, Lieutenant Alexei Yefimovich-Vostov, who was on the side, picked up the coat on the hanger and helped Lin Jun put it on, and he saw that the chief was probably about to get out of the carriage.

Sure enough, "get to the front and breathe." ”

Senior warrant officer Ivan Ivanovich Alexandrov followed Lin Jun with Landskoch to the front of the car.

In Pskov, a locomotive and three anti-aircraft carriages were to be added to the special train. Because all the way to Riga, there is a possibility that German bombers will appear: although it is unlikely, it is necessary to be prepared.

Two sections were added to the front, and the one in the rear, both of which were special anti-aircraft vehicles equipped with two twin 37-mm anti-aircraft guns.

After passing through the two carriages and opening the carriage doors, a cold air rushed to the face, and the warmth in the car was in stark contrast to the low temperature of minus ten degrees outside: in front of him was an anti-aircraft carriage, and then in front of it were two locomotives, and it was estimated that another anti-aircraft carriage was in the front.

Seeing Lin Jun, all the anti-aircraft gunners immediately saluted, Lin Jun returned the salute, and the people also turned to the sides, because there was a row of Red Army soldiers standing guard on each side of the booth.

Just this one action warmed the hearts of the commanders and fighters in the cold wind.

"Good work."

"Serve the USSR!" One lieutenant took a step forward: "The 19th anti-aircraft artillery detachment of the armored train reports to you." Detachment Commander Pavel Ivanovsky Penikov. ”

The lieutenant stood upright, and Lin Jun motioned for him to take a break.

Lin Jun found that there was no special place for anti-aircraft gunners to rest, so the front of the air defense compartment seemed to be able to block the wind with a canvas, so he said: "You can let the comrades who are off duty go to the carriage to rest." ”

"Yes, Marshal. It is our duty to keep trains safe. ”

Obviously, the lieutenant didn't appreciate it, and Lin Jun didn't want to give any orders: the soldiers had their own mission, and being here would only cause trouble for them.

It will take half a day for the train to enter southeastern Estonia, then Latvia, and finally to its destination, Riga.

Let the anti-aircraft artillery comrades insist on it.

That night, Lin Jun learned that Singapore had fallen, and shook his head: Lin Jun really has nothing to say about that British ally Lin Jun - a gentleman is really unreliable on the battlefield!

"I wonder if Leonov and they set off?"

Several attachés were on the side, and Lin Jun said casually: The youth delegation was still in Jerusalem when he came out of Moscow, and this time they had to rely on the British to cross the dangerous Mediterranean.

Now Lin Jun suddenly thought: "In the Pacific Ocean, this will be a bleak wind and rain for the British Royal Navy, and there is nothing wrong with it in the Mediterranean, it is the best of a group of Soviet young people."

"Marshal, do you want me to send a telegram to the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs?" Gusev asked.

"Forget it." Lin Jun's fingers tapped on the marble table, and a light and muffled sound sounded through the golden velvet tablecloth, "Jiren has his own natural appearance. ”

It was obviously a sentence in Chinese, and the attachés didn't understand it.

"Let's all go and rest."

、、、、、、、

Unlike Gusev's lieutenants, who were enjoying the warm and luxurious train compartments, Leonov was lying in a cramped metal warehouse and could not sleep.

Right above his head, Vasily was spinning and turning - this is still the officer's cabin, but don't even think about looking up while lying down: there are two more floors above, lying Sidorenko and Pavlov!

The four-story bunk, I feel that the board of the bunk above is close to my nose, and I will hit my head when I raise my head! - When the delegation entered the port of Jaffa in the afternoon, they saw the means of transport they were going to take: two British destroyers!

"Jaffa, the origin of the city's name has a variety of explanations: Jewish tradition holds that after the devastating flood subsided, the surviving Noah's son Japheth founded the city, and the city was named 'Jaffa' after him, and the pronunciation slowly evolved into Jaffa.

It is also believed that "Jaffa" is a homonym for the Hebrew word for "beautiful" because of the beautiful scenery and picturesque scenery. However, it is also believed that 'Jaffa' means "land of white light", referring to the sparkle of the Cretaceous cliffs not far from the city.

It has been inhabited since 5000 BC and became a famous port on the Mediterranean coast as early as 2000 BC. Jaffa was first written in the 15th century BC during the reign of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Thimoses III, and is mentioned several times in both the Old and New Testaments. ”

It's a strange city, because there's another city right next to it: Tel Aviv.

That's because a few decades ago, the city of Jaffa became more and more crowded and filthy due to its growing population.

By 1909, a group of Jewish immigrants from Russia decided to leave the noisy and dirty environment of the city and establish a settlement on the outskirts of the city called Abu Zat Bayit. 1

In 910, the settlement was renamed Tel Aviv, and it grew so fast that it has long since taken over the status and influence of the old city of Yaffa.

But because the harbor was still in Jaffa, Leonov and the others saw a backward and chaotic ancient city.

But soon the history of Palestine was no longer the business of the young people, for their attention was taken aback by the maddening living conditions of the destroyers!

After a short period of excitement and curiosity on boarding, all the energy of the young people was focused on fighting to the death with the cramped cabin and the strong smell of engine oil!

"Mr. Major, we do have an old destroyer-converted escort ship in Egypt, and the living conditions are much better than our F-class, but the maximum speed can only run 25 knots. For your safety, the Fleet Command has decided that we will carry out this mission. ”

Major Tony McNulty, the captain of the H79 "Fire Dragon", who had the demeanor of a British gentleman, was very polite to the Soviet major of the same class as his own battleship, and there was not the slightest complaint in his tone about the task of taking on such a "sea express" with his proud battleship.

In fact, not only Major McNulty, but all the officers and sailors on board, as well as all the British soldiers on the H68 "Foresight" parked at the rear berth, were very happy about this mission: they had not been back to their homeland for a year and a half since 40 years.

For McNaldy, the mission was even happier for him: I don't know how it was arranged, the voyage ended at Milford Harbour in Wales, his hometown.

Thinking of his pregnant wife and two sons when he left, he almost lost sleep with joy after receiving the order, but he didn't show it in front of his subordinates.

Everyone was in good spirits, apparently the same as the captain had in mind.

No matter how anxious the characters are, there is always an opportunity to meet his wife and three children.

McNaldy has only seen the photo of his little daughter sent to him, and he should have called him dad this time, and the two sons must have grown taller!

Now, today's group of passengers was much more pleasing to McNaldy and his men—whatever the traditions of the Royal Navy, it was always exciting and happy to be able to return after a year and a half away from home.

The sailors of the two destroyers also lost their traditional hostility to Soviet Russia, and by order of the fleet command, even the vacated cabins were cleaned clean—of course, this "cleanliness" was a process of adaptation for the sailors, and for the members of the Soviet delegation who were accustomed to the luxurious rooms of the King David Hotel.

The destroyer is such a big place, and in order to make room for the allies, the British themselves live even more cramped! However, compared to a trip to the mainland, this small difficulty was nothing in front of the sailors who were accustomed to crowding.

For the sake of safety, the Mediterranean Fleet abandoned the escort ship: the convoy converted from an old destroyer was also a special product, because Britain was an island nation, and maritime shipping could be said to be its lifeline.

The British learned the hard lessons of the First World War, and in September 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II, the Royal Navy's escort system began to operate, and the merchant ships sailing were formed into groups escorted by warships.

And at this time, for the British Navy, which had a serious shortage of escort warships, some outdated fleet destroyers built in World War I became a valuable pimple: refit.

However, this modification is not to add weapons and equipment to the old ship and increase its firepower, but is often similar to a modification: it is aimed at the lack of endurance of the old fleet destroyers and the difficulty of completing the task of escorting the ship group in the vast Atlantic. From the beginning of 1941, the British Navy converted some of them into long-range escort ships.

The main renovation project is generally to remove the front boiler, add an oil tank to the lower part of this space, and use the upper part as a living cabin to solve the space demand after the increase in the crew.

However, although the range has been increased, the speed of long-range escort ships with reduced power has generally been reduced to 25 knots.

Now having received a hot potato to escort the Soviet youth delegation, the Mediterranean Fleet had to strive to ensure the safety of these Soviet allies, even though their People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs was going around in circles from Africa and not on warships.

There aren't many options at hand, but there is still some strength to be drawn.

In fact, the situation of the Mediterranean Fleet was not very good: after the surrender of France in 1940, the British Mediterranean Fleet had to face all the pressure of the Axis powers on its own.

Because the Mediterranean Sea was surrounded by land, and Italy had the advantage of a home base in the center of the Mediterranean, and the Germans had superior air power and submarine forces, the British did not have a good time in the Mediterranean.

The British Royal Navy had two fleets in the Mediterranean, the K-Fleet based in Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Fleet in Egypt. The Mediterranean Fleet, on the other hand, was isolated overseas, relying mainly on the transportation of supplies from Britain bypassing South Africa, and was responsible for the entire Eastern Mediterranean, including Greece, North Africa, Malta, and even the Middle East.

In addition to the cruiser and destroyer fleets, the main force of the fleet was only the battleships "Elizabeth," "Warwey," and "Barham," and the "Brilliant" and "Dreadnought" aircraft carriers.

Now two fleet destroyers have been transferred from a limited force to carry out this mission, and the Mediterranean Fleet can be regarded as having spent a lot of money.

Although they are not as good as the destroyers of the "Clan" class fleet, these two F-class destroyers are also the main force of the destroyers of the Mediterranean fleet, but the living conditions are poor.

McNator was very confident in the ships he commanded: they were in excellent performance, in very good condition, and most importantly, the morale of the entire ship.

Nothing can stop the sailors from coming home!

To date, more than 35 German submarines have successfully crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, which is tightly controlled by the British Royal Navy, into the Mediterranean, and more than 20 have maintained operational cruises.

Together with German aircraft and the Italian Navy and Air Force, the successful crossing of the entire narrow Mediterranean Sea is extremely dangerous for ordinary transport ships. However, it is not difficult for the "Fire Dragon" and the sister ship "Foresight" under the command of McNalty, because they are destroyers!

They have a range of more than 6,000 nautical miles, and a warship with a standard displacement of 1,350 tons, a total length of 100.28 meters, a width of 10.13 meters, and a draft of 2.59 meters can reach a maximum speed of 35.5 knots when required. Coupled with relatively powerful fish and anti-sea, anti-air, and anti-submarine weapons, it is enough to "move and fight, but not withdraw".

Especially for German and Italian submarines, the British fleet destroyers were the most troublesome opponents - as long as they ran into enemy submarines, the destroyers would be "killing"!

(Reveal in advance,This "Kill Don't Talk" is a few different "Kill Don't Talk", one after another, one is more exciting than the other, of course, the protagonist is indispensable.) There are about 300 words of revised citations, but compared to the "mantissa number" of more than 500, I don't count the bat as pulling the number, hehe. (To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to the www.qidian.com, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) (To be continued.) )