Admiralty, London, Whitehall Street, early hours of October 14, 1939.

The leading members of the British Cabinet were now gathered in the Admiralty conference room, and Admiralty staff were constantly coming and going, presenting the latest war report to First Sea Secretary Pound.

The battle report was somewhat surprising, the most powerful battle cruiser of the British Empire, the "Hood", was unable to sink the German "Scharnhorst...... At least not yet!

This "Scharnhorst" was hit by at least 8 15-inch shells, 7 8-inch shells, and 4 or 5 torpedoes. However, it is still possible to flee at speeds of more than 20 knots.

Although the blow suffered by the "Hood" was much smaller than that of the "Scharnhorst", it could only sail at a speed of less than 15 knots to the British mainland. And because the rudder was broken, it could only be dragged by the destroyer to change direction. In addition, the fire on the "Hood" also caused a lot of damage, and there was a torpedo hole in the ship's side that needed to be repaired. It seems that this huge ship, which once brought a lot of glory to the British Empire, has to stay in the dockyard for months.

In other words, even if the Scharnhorst was sunk in the end, the British Empire would not have been able to strike the German fleet in the Atlantic for a few months.

If the Germans sent the same ship of the "Scharnhorst" as the "Gleisenau" and two aircraft carriers of the "Seydlitz" class to the Atlantic. Then I am afraid that the overseas lines of communication of the British Empire are really going to be interrupted......

"Ladies and gentlemen! We can't hesitate any longer now! "Winston. Churchill was probably the only minister in the room who didn't look too depressed. "Decisive action must be taken to occupy the Faroe Islands and Iceland, and only in this way can the German sabotage fleet be prevented from entering the Atlantic again!"

The Admiralt's tone was solemn, "Gentlemen, the British Empire has no choice!" The Hood will take at least a few months to repair, and the Ark Royal does not have carrier-based aircraft that can take on the Fokker Zero. Until the Hood was repaired and a new carrier-based aircraft was developed, we had to blockade the Danish Channel (between Iceland and Greenland) and the Norwegian Sea (between Iceland, Norway and the British Isles) with slower battleships. So we must occupy Iceland and the Faroe Islands, and if possible, Norway as well! ”

Chamberlain was taken aback by Churchill's proposal to lead the British Empire down the heinous path!

Iceland and the Faroe Islands are not yet Denmark proper, but are only dependent territories, and it is not so glaring to occupy them. Norway, however, is a sovereign and independent state, and it is also a member of the "Nordic Good People" (group of goodwill people). If you are going to occupy it, all of Europe will treat the British Empire as a bad guy.

And, there's a Swedish too! Sweden's military industry was so strong that if the country were to side with Germany, the inferiority of Britain and France in the field of industrial production would be magnified to the point that it would be difficult to make up for it.

"Prime Minister, we should consider occupying Norway," said Ironside, the chief of the Imperial General Staff, "not only because the occupation of Norway would completely block the passage of the German navy into the Atlantic, but also cut off the German iron ore import channel in the winter." Germany imports 11 million tonnes of iron ore from Sweden every year, which is transported by rail to the Norwegian port of Narvik in the winter and then shipped to Germany. If we take Norway, German industrial production will suffer a major blow! ”

Chamberlain took a breath, the occupation of Norway could be considered, but caution had to be told!

"Do we have what we can afford to take there now?" Chamberlain asked, "How many navies can be dispatched?" How much is the army ready to dispatch? In the event that Germany comes to the rescue, are we sure of victory? Also, is it possible that Sweden will completely fall to Germany? These are all things to consider, and we can't rush into action without a complete plan. ”

"There will be a complete plan!" Churchill immediately said, "The Navy is not a problem, we still have a lot of battleships available, and we can also import F2A Buffalo aircraft from the United States to equip the Ark Royal." It's a very advanced fighter, enough to fight the Fokker Zero, and at the same time we can get Hurricanes and Spitfires on board, which of course will take a few months to improve. ”

The Reich Chief of the General Staff, Ironside, added: "The landing of ground forces in Norway would allow France to provide a part, they have the best land forces and can defeat the Germans. ”

"Okay, as long as the problems of carrier-based aircraft and ground forces are solved, the occupation of Norway can be considered." Chamberlain could not resist pressure from Churchill, who was the leader of the main battle wing of the Conservative Party.

He thought for a moment and said, "Then all we have to do now is to occupy Iceland and the Faroe Islands......"

"The Navy can accomplish both tasks at once," Churchill said, "and our men are already there, ready to occupy at the slightest command!" ”

Several British warships have now sailed into the ports of Iceland and the Legal Islands, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention on Neutrality at Sea, ready to be occupied. The Admiralty also developed follow-up plans to deploy radar-mounted escort ships, heavy cruisers, destroyers, and submarines in Iceland and the Faroe Islands, as well as bombers and torpedo attack aircraft, and Hurricane fighters at airfields in Iceland and the Faroe Islands (the number of Spitfires is too small to be counted as Hurricanes).

"Prime Minister, it must be taken immediately!" Churchill once again stressed that "the whereabouts of the German aircraft carrier 'Seydlitz' are currently unknown, and once it is allowed to return to Germany, it will not attack with another aircraft carrier next time, and then the Atlantic route will be cut off!" ”

Now the British have also discovered that the aircraft carrier "Seydlitz" is very powerful in breaking the engagement. The aircraft carrier ran too fast and it was difficult to catch up. Moreover, its efficiency in breaking the diplomatic relationship is too high, and 9 Fokker 99s can blow up 3 transport ships at a time. If the Germans attacked with two aircraft carriers, they could carry at least 30 Fokker 99s, which would be 10 bombs at a time, and a convoy would be wiped out after a few bombs......

Of course, it was a stupid way for the Germans to use battleships to "mend the sword", and if they used submarines to "mend the sword", then the sea transport lines of the British Empire would be finished this time!

"Then take Iceland and the Faroe Islands!" Chamberlain finally made up his mind. "In addition, the wounded 'Scharnhorst' must be eliminated!" The British Prime Minister gritted his teeth and said, "For its sake, our Hood will stay in the dockyard for several months, the London will be severely damaged (to put it nicely, it will be scrapped), and the Exeter will be sunk...... If it had been returned to Germany unharmed, the whole world would have known: the British Empire had lost its sea power! ”

……

"Where's the Scharnhorst?"

In the general staff of Tsosen, Field Marshal Hersman once again inquired about the affairs of the navy.

According to the current structure of the German Wehrmacht, the army does not have its own staff and general headquarters, and the General Staff actually serves as the army staff and the army commander-in-chief is the defense minister. And although the Air Force has its own General Headquarters and General Staff, the General Staff is still the superior of the Air Force.

However, the German Navy has a long history, and it has not been broken in the Weimar period, and it is self-contained (the Air Force is derived from the German Army), and now the General Staff cannot govern the Navy.

Therefore, Hersmann's experience in later generations was difficult to use in the German Navy. Otherwise, the battleship "Scharnhorst" would not have fallen to this point.

"It has entered Portuguese territorial waters, the territorial waters of the Azores, to which Portugal belongs...... It will dock at Sansírdi Sansírdi Heroísmo for minor repairs. "The Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Infantry General Halder, replied. According to the Treaty of Neutrality at Sea, it can spend some time in Sansmoto Sangrajno. ”

"It's useless!" Hersman shook his head, "If it's an Italian port, what can you count on, what's the use of Portugal?" The Scharnhorst is finished! These fools of the Navy ......"

Hersmann wondered how Germany, with its most outstanding army and air generals, could have a bunch of unenlightened admirals.

How did they come up with the idea of using battleships to mend the swords of merchant ships? Why not contact the submarine? They have 10 ocean-going submarines of more than 1,000 tons there, these are the best broken boats, why use these submarines to set up an ambush against the "Hood"?

"Marshal, in fact, the 'Scharnhorst' has completed its mission, and its sacrifice is worth it." Halder said wholesale from Raeder, "Because the Hood has been badly damaged, it will take at least six months to repair it. During these 6 months, none of the British ships was able to catch up with the 'Glaisenau', 'Seydlitz' and 'Seckert'. And in six months, the battleship 'Bismarck' will be commissioned, and it will have enough firepower to fight the 'Hood'. And the 'Tirpitz' will also be commissioned in the 3rd quarter of '40. In addition, the rebuilt 'B Carrier' is also a very ideal aircraft carrier, which will definitely cut off the British sea transportation line as long as it is put into service. ”

On this plane, the "Bismarck" and "Tirpitz" began construction a few months earlier, so the time of service could also be brought forward by several months. According to the plan, "Bismarck" was to be commissioned by May 1940, and "Tirpitz" was to be commissioned in August 1940.

The lead ship of the "B Voyage" is 85% complete, and according to the plan, it will be launched and outfitting by August 1940, and it will be delivered by January 42 at the latest. Since this class of aircraft carriers is the third aircraft carrier built by Germany independently, if you count the "Lenin" and "Karl. The "Count Marx" and "Count Zeppelin" were the fifth aircraft carriers designed and supervised by German engineers. Its design and layout are much better than the historical "Count Zeppelin", with a standard displacement of 30,000 tons, a double hangar layout, and can carry 82 aircraft (including 12 in reserve).

Hersmann smiled bitterly, and just wanted to say two sarcastic words about the navy, his former adjutant, the current Second Operations Officer of the General Staff (equivalent to the Chief of the Second Operations Division) Hans. Colonel Spadar pushed the door open and walked into the office.

"Marshal! The British have invaded Iceland and the Faroe Islands! (To be continued.) )