My whole life is closely linked to the Red Navy, I made this choice when I was young, and I will never regret it! – Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

The vast Arctic Ocean stretches as far as the eye can see, and the summer in the south is only the icy cold wind, and the season only drives away those pale blue ice floes.

In the midst of the rough seas, a fleet was sailing out of the mouth of the White Sea and heading west-northwest. On the lookout post to the right of the bridge, on the right side of the bridge, Sergeant Saratov and Captain (equivalent to the rank of Captain of the Army, the rank of Red Navy. Anton was wrapped in a thick sailor's deck suit, and was watching the sea intently.

The duty of the lookout is to be on the lookout for possible icebergs, which can drift south with the current at any time during this season, forming icebergs formed by the melting and collapse of the Arctic Ocean ice sheet, which is one of the great enemies of the fleet. Some icebergs look so small from a distance that they can be ignored by radar and can easily hit them when visibility is poor, while icebergs are only a little exposed, and the volume under the water is almost ten times that of the surface part!

The whole fleet was on alert, and although Saratov's face was cold enough, even the almost two-hour duty did not make him feel a little tired, because he was as excited as everyone in the fleet - the Red Navy had never sent a huge fleet of this size, and the opponent it might face was also a powerful fleet, and the two sides could break out into the largest naval battle after the Battle of Jutland!

This battleship on which Saratov was located was the glorious flagship of the Red Navy - the mighty "Soviet Union"! The battleship "Red Ukraine" was just two nautical miles away on the left flank, surrounded by the new heavy cruisers "Maxim Gorky", "Molotov" and three destroyers.

Since yesterday (June 10) after receiving the order of the commander of the Red Navy, Marshal Orlov, to attack, the main forces of the Northern Fleet, which had been anchored in the port of Arkhangels for several days since the start of the war, lifted anchor and sailed to Murmansk.

The aircraft carrier formation of the aircraft carriers "Red Russia" and "Kirov", the cruiser "Red Caucasus" and three destroyers was 10 nautical miles behind them: The submarines of the Northern Fleet, which had been stationed to patrol the Norwegian coast before the war, discovered in the early hours of yesterday morning that the German fleet was moving in the direction of the Kola Peninsula off the coast of Norway, and because of the speed difference between the two sides, the submarines were unable to launch an attack on the German formation, so they had to report the situation to the fleet command.

The commander of the Northern Fleet, Admiral Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov, immediately informed the Supreme High Command in Moscow, and after listening to a report on the size and movements of the German fleet, Orlov and Stalin were of the same opinion - to conduct a decisive battle at sea and destroy the German fleet!

Stalin always regarded the Northern Fleet, which had the strongest strength of large surface ships in his hands, as a treasure, and all the new battleships and aircraft carriers were there, because the Northern Fleet was relatively safe in the sea area of operation, and basically outside the combat radius of the German air force dive bombers - but this battle seemed to have to be fought: once the German fleet joined the siege of Murmansk, the Soviet Union was likely to lose this most important northern port, and then the White Sea outlet would be in danger of being blocked! And Stalin had another concern: the serious threat that the German fleet would pose to the northern route.

Lin Jun participated in the negotiations on naval operations, because he was asked to assess his air power in the northern region, which would be a naval battle relatively close to the land air bases of both sides, while the Soviet side would not only have the Red Naval Air Force (including fleet aviation and roadbed aviation). Participating in the war, the Air Force will also do its best to ensure that the Red Navy formations are not threatened by the German condors: this is a complete risk to the Red Army's home, but it has to be risked! - In Lin Jun's view, the world is in complete chaos: last month, the German battleship "Bismarck" and the battleship "Tirpitz", which had just become combat-ready, sailed from the Polish port of Gdynia to the Atlantic Ocean under the escort of a cruiser, in an attempt to destroy Britain's maritime lifeline.

On 18 May, the Germans began Operation Rhine with the aim of disrupting British supply lines. Because the other main warships of the German Navy, the two Scharnhorst-class battlecruisers, were unable to participate in the operation due to mechanical problems or battle damage, Raeder used Bismarck's sister ship, the Tirpitz: it had completed sea tests, and the German Navy had one of the most powerful battleship formations since World War I.

The fleet was commanded by Admiral Gonther-Lütjans, and the objectives were: to disturb as many Allied ships as possible in order to postpone the dispatch of convoys by the British, and to temporarily equalize the forces of the two sides in the Mediterranean and North Africa; The transfer of British Royal Navy forces in the Mediterranean made Rommel's and his forces' plan to invade Libya from Crete less risky.

The British Admiralty had long suspected that the Germans would break through to the Atlantic, and the news that the German formations had departed was declassified and confirmed by British intelligence, and the Swedish cruiser "Götland" had discovered the whereabouts of the Bismarck.

On May 21, the German fleet was spotted and photographed by Spitfire reconnaissance planes as it approached anchor in the Norwegian Grimstadjord in Bergen – but the British did not know that there were two battleships, because the Tirpitz was on its way to peace!

After the rendezvous, the German fleet took a northward course and then a northwesterly course, successfully and safely through the Norwegian Sea, heading towards Greenland, towards the Danish Channel (the entrance to the Atlantic) between Iceland and Greenland. Due to the close proximity of the fleet's course to the Arctic Circle, British aviation reconnaissance did not detect the Germans. Since the main target of the Germans was the convoy, Lütjans hoped to quietly break into the Atlantic with the help of a dense fog.

On the evening of May 23, the Germans were spotted by the British heavy cruisers "Suffolk" and "Norfolk", equipped with radars, while two British cruisers were patrolling the Danish Strait, expecting a German breakthrough.

After a brief exchange of fire, the British cruiser, knowing that it was no opponent, was forced to release smoke and retreat out of German range, following the Germans with radar. The Bismarck's main gun fire caused the ice on the mast to fall off and destroy its radar, forcing Lütjans to order the Prinz Eugen to sail to the front of the fleet to provide the fleet with forward radar search. This decision later made it impossible for the British to distinguish between the German ships, because the outlines of the three German ships were very similar and not very different, and the camouflage painted on the hulls was the same - the British made a mistake again, they thought it was a battleship and two cruisers, because the "Tirpitz" did not fire at all, and British intelligence showed that the "Tirpitz" should still be in the sea trial stage.

On Sunday, May 24, at 5 a.m., as the German fleet was preparing to leave the Danish Strait, the radar of the "Prince Eugen" detected two unidentified ships on the port side.

The German ships were immediately ready for battle: it was the British interception fleet - the battleships "Prince of Wales" and "Hood", which had just been completed, and the heavy cruisers "Suffolk" and "Norfolk" also joined the battleship formation, under the command of Vice Admiral Landlos Holland. The British formation was led by the "Hood", with the "Prince of Wales" behind. The cruiser formation was on the left flank - "Hood" was considered the pride of the Royal Navy, was the largest battle cruiser in the world and had a high position in the Royal Navy.

Vice Admiral Holland ordered his ship's bow to aim at the German ship and try to shorten the distance as quickly as possible: he knew that the Hood's deck armor was weak, and if the distance between the two sides exceeded 10,000 yards in an artillery battle, German shells would most likely fall on the deck of his own warship, and vice versa, on the vertical armor belt.

At 5:49, Holland ordered to open fire on the leading German ship, the "Prinz Eugen", because in the faint fog the British mistook the "Prinz Eugen" for the "Bismarck". Visibility was average, radar was unreliable, and the reflection of the three German ships was as large as on the screen, and the leading one was rightfully regarded as the most powerful.

At 5:52 a.m., the Hood's main guns opened fire, and the Prince of Wales then fired at the Prince Eugen. It wasn't until after 2 volleys that Holland realized that the target of the attack was the wrong one - that's when the British realized that the two behind were actually battleships! And this will be 10.9 nautical miles away from the formation of the two sides!

Nelsonian bravery made the British choose to continue fighting!

At 5:55, the German formation returned fire, and the three ships concentrated their fire on the "Hood". Due to the misjudgment of the British ships, the German ships were not hit during the initial shelling, and the German ships did not make such a mistake - the shells were constantly and accurately fired at the British ships. Although there was little difference in firepower between the two sides, as the British fleet had already made peace with the heavy cruisers "Suffolk" and "Norfolk", the situation on the battlefield was in Lütjans's favor - since the British battleship was facing the German ship in the bow, the Hood and the Prince of Wales could only use four and six forward guns respectively, while the German warships were able to use all their firepower to return fire on the British - 16 381mm guns alone.

The third salvo fired by the Bismarck hit the middle of the Hood, causing a fire on the deck of the lifeboat, which quickly spread. Lieutenant General Holland realized at this time that his side was at a disadvantage, so he ordered the left rudder to be twenty degrees away in order to exert all his firepower.

At 6 o'clock, as soon as the "Hood" had completed its turn, the Bismarck fired a fifth salvo, and a 381-mm armor-piercing shell whistled through the weak deck armor of the "Hood" and detonated the main ammunition depot. In the earth-shattering explosion, the British and German sides saw a scene that they would never forget - the "Hood" instantly broke in half and quickly sank into the sea!

The German ships immediately directed their guns at the "Prince of Wales", which was completely unable to parry. The ship's bridge was hit by a 15-inch shell, killing all bridge personnel except the captain and a signal crewman. In addition, four 15-inch shells and four 8-inch shells were hit in various places in a short period of time, the hull of the ship was seriously damaged, and several main guns could not be fired due to malfunction and battle damage - this was not the end, because the "Tirpitz" was positioned behind the "Bismarck", and only made its own fifth salvo later than the sister ships, and two 381-mm shells directly hit the target, and the engine room of the "Prince of Wales" was damaged, and it became a live target for the German ship.

After the 6th salvo of 16 381-mm guns, the "Prince of Wales" began to sink, and the German formations aimed their guns at the retreating British cruiser at full speed - the "Suffolk", which was lagging behind, took a salvo and the ammunition depot exploded!

How could "Tirpitz" act together with "Bismarck"? This no longer needs Lin Jun to think about - they have already "met as scheduled" with the British's capital ship formation in the North Sea, and what broke out in the North Sea on May 24 was a battleship battle that can go down in history, the German army defeated the British Royal Navy, and the shame of a bloody battle - the two "Bismarck" class battleships only fired 7 salvos each! Only the heavy cruiser "Prinz Eugen" of the German fleet received one 356-mm armor-piercing shell and two medium-caliber shells, which were not seriously damaged, but lost several inconsequential compartments.

The German battleships' consistent precision shooting capabilities and reasonable armor protection made them a one-sided winner in this contest. When the German fleet left the port, the captain of the "Bismarck", Colonel Ernst Lindemann, proudly declared: "No warship in the British Navy can match us, and no large warship can survive our guns!" As soon as the 'Bismarck' appeared in the Atlantic, British transport would be interrupted and the British would be trapped on an isolated island! ”

The words of Colonel Ernst Lindemann became a reality in the eyes of the Germans, and the whole of Germany was reveling - how many years has it been pressed by the British Royal Navy?! This time it's a big bad breath! The Nazi propaganda machine was running at full speed, and Hitler was ecstatic!

At the same time, in London, England, the news was also learned: the loss of the "Hood" was a heavy blow to the British, it was the largest warship in the British fleet, and for 20 years the British naval community considered it the strongest warship in the world. Now, in the first battle, he was killed in explosions and flames in just a few minutes. And the demise of the "Prince of Wales" declared the diplomatic, intelligence, and strategic stupidity of the British Navy a few years ago - this class of battleships was the weakest firepower among the new battleships of all countries.

The German formations must be annihilated, otherwise the honor of the Royal Navy will no longer be there!

The British naval command decided to concentrate the maximum advantage, encircle and annihilate the German formations, sinking them at all costs! Vice Admiral James Somerville's H Fleet, which was off Gibraltar 1,500 nautical miles, received orders to pursue the Bismarck north; Battleships a few hundred nautical miles off the northwestern part of the Mid-Atlantic were also ordered to withdraw their escorts and intercept enemy ships to the west; The battleship "Rodney", which was about five hundred nautical miles off the coast of Ireland, also withdrew from its escort and was ordered to intercept it...... In total, the Naval Command assembled a huge fleet of up to 8 battleships and battlecruisers, and 2 aircraft carriers – about half of the Royal Navy's strength.

The British Royal Navy went berserk, and half of the navy chased the German formations to the death, but the carrier-based aircraft of the "Ark Royal" no longer had good luck in "history", and none of the torpedo attacks launched hit the German ships, and the Germans, who were able to maintain the maximum speed of the whole fleet at 30 knots, quickly opened the distance from the Royal Navy - although the British battleships had huge guns, they did not have the speed of the German fleet. Due to the frantic pursuit of the British Royal Navy, the German formation had to break away in the direction of Norway and hide in Trondheim. The British did not give up on killing these large German surface warships, and the bombers were patronized by two heads in three days, but the effect was not at all!

Hitler, who was not yet happy, was furious because his most powerful battleship formation had been in the tank for a week: everyone understood that it was impossible for these three battleships to break through the blockade of the Royal Navy and enter the Atlantic, and just in time for Operation Barbarossa, he ordered the commander of the navy, Raeder, to change the strategic intention of the fleet - to attack the northern ports of the Soviet Union.

Erich Raeder didn't agree with the plan at first, because it wasn't very strategic and too risky. But intelligence from Britain made the German naval marshal change his decision: because Churchill might organize a fleet to transport strategic supplies to the Soviet Union, and now the defeat of the Soviet Union is the first priority, and the German fleet hiding in Norway can just cut off this possible "northern route" - existence is deterrence, so that the initial campaign effect can be obtained, and it can also rely on the numerous ports and fjords of Norway as a base, where there are a large number of naval auxiliary facilities and ships to cooperate with the battleship formation, just to hold the Soviet Union's maritime lifeline.

In order to support the Soviets and guard against the formidable German battleship formation, the British Navy had to send enough large ships to deal with it, which would have tied the hands and feet of the Royal Navy - a plan that would have seemed quite sensible.

As for the threat of the Soviet Navy and Air Force, Goering patted his chest and assured that as long as the fleet was within the combat radius of the Luftwaffe in Norway, the fleet would be safe!

By all kinds of coincidences, in Stalin's opinion, two German battleships of the second most powerful class after the "Soviet" class did not swim in the Atlantic, but ran to the cold north to find fault with themselves - this is equivalent to a time bomb hanging over his head, and it must be extinguished!

If the Germans did not come, it would be impossible for the Red Navy to go to the coast of Norway to "call for battle", but this time they came to their own doorstep, and the Red Navy wanted to have a big battle with the Germans in the Arctic Ocean. (To be continued.) )