Vice Admiral Marshall's fleet was pursuing the fleeing British fleet, but received a telegram from Berlin: Forbes's main force of the British fleet was gathering outside the Trondheim Narrow Bay, and the British had captured Molde, Ondalsnes, and Christiansund. The Supreme Command believed that the British army might be picking up members of the Norwegian royal family who were on the run, and asked the fleets to rush to the waters in this area and expel the British fleet in order to prevent the Norwegian royal family from escaping.

Marshall, having received the order, abandoned the pursuit of the "Prestige" and began to move south. It was almost 400 nautical miles from Narvik to Trondheim, and it took them a day to reach the battlefield.

At the same time, the 2nd and 3rd battle groups had already rendezvous outside Bergen, and the 4th battle group was in Hubert? General Sumond was also on his way to the halfway point. By order of the Admiralty, the 2nd and 3rd battle groups were merged, and the command of Gunther ? Lieutenant General Lukins took unified command and immediately rushed to Trondheim, while General Soummond led the 4th Battle Group about 50 nautical miles behind them.

The 5th and 6th battle groups met at Kristiansand, led by Oscar ? Vice Admiral Kumetz took unified command, while the "Deutschland", wounded in the battle of Oslo, was escorted by two destroyers and returned to the German shipyard for repairs.

The German fleet was massing around Trondheim, and Forbes ordered the fleet to attack Trondheim. The German 136th Regiment, which had just captured Trondheim, had to withdraw from Trondheim, and the British occupied it again.

The news that the Germans had completely occupied most of Norway's ports in two days reached Britain and France, causing a great shock at the top of the two countries. While the recapture of Trondheim by the British cheered, the owners of Downing Street knew it was an illusion.

"Our home fleet is not strong enough to stand up to the German fleet, which is fully operational. According to the latest intelligence, the main forces of the German Navy are currently massing towards Trondheim in full force, and it is obvious. They are trying to take advantage of our dispersion to engage in a decisive battle at sea with us. At an emergency cabinet meeting at Buckingham Palace, Admiral Winston Churchill was calling for the main Mediterranean Fleet to be repatriated to the mainland, while France was asked to send a fleet to Norway.

"How's the momentum for the Norwegian royal family going?" As prime minister, Chamberlain was more concerned with the more political military action.

"King Haakon VII and Princes, as well as some members of the government, arrived in Ondalsnes by train last evening. Sir Forbes was personally there to greet them for refuge in England. Churchill replied, however, that in view of the great superiority of Luftwaffe aircraft in southern Norway, Sir Forbes did everything he could to end the military operations in Trondheim. Since the main forces of the German navy were massing in this area, and with the strength of the current home fleet, we were likely to suffer heavy losses, so he proposed to abandon the plan to fight the Germans for the time being. ”

"I agree with the plan to transfer the H-Fleet back home. Our main principle at present is to secure our homeland, so the preservation of the fleet is the first principle. Chamberlain said.

"It is clear that due to the pressure of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, the Mediterranean Fleet can only remain in Gibraltar with nothing to do, and a third of the strength of the Royal Navy fleet is wasted there, so it is better to withdraw to the mainland and strengthen the blockade of Germany." First Sea Minister Pound said. "Damn the Austrians are always against us at every turn."

"We can ask the French Navy to act with us, and their fleet staying in the Mediterranean will not play any role. But there is one thing we need to be aware of. The Italians are now slowly falling to Germany and Austria, and it is quite possible that they will declare war on us in half a year. Foreign Secretary Eden said, "President Ross has shown great willingness to go to war, but he still needs time to convince Congress." ”

"Roosevelt took all of our military bases in the Caribbean with Lend-Lease, and they wanted to drain our blood before they did it." Army Chief of Staff Ironside said with great dissatisfaction.

"There's no way around it right now. Only by defeating Germany with all our might, we will naturally get back what we lost in the war. Churchill said, "We just have to hold on now, and luckily there are the French at the front." ”

"In any case, as soon as the H Fleet returns home, we must act immediately. The naval side needed to curb the offensive momentum of the Germans. If they gain a foothold in Norway, the German fleet will be free to enter and leave the North Sea, and I will pose a great threat to the sea lines that we regard as life, and we need to block Germany in the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea! First Sea Minister Pound said suddenly.

"We are working on a battle plan to occupy the Faroe Islands and Iceland, which we must occupy after the fall of Denmark!" Churchill said, "We cannot take into account the question of international morality, and the security of the British Empire is the main thing." ”

At the Council of State in London, the request of Sir Forbes, commander of the Home Fleet, for a temporary withdrawal from Trondheim was agreed. On the night of 22 March, the British fleet worked overnight to protect the fleeing Norwegian royal family and some of the members of the Cabinet, and about 6,000 Norwegian officers and men were evacuated to Shetland.

On March 23, Gunther? By the time Vice Admiral Luggins led the German fleet to Trondheim, the British had already abandoned the area, and the Germans pounced. What annoyed the German High Command even more was that Johann? Admiral Tovey's British Rapid Fleet, consisting of the battlecruisers Collingwood and Anson, raided Narvik on the night of 23 March, and after losing two destroyers, all ten German destroyers, three tankers, and two supply ships that were resupplying the harbor of Narvik were sunk.

This was a blow to the proud Germans!

The British began to bombard Narvik with naval artillery, while bombers taking off from the aircraft carrier "Glorious" also bombed the German positions in Narvik. Commodore Dieter, the German commander of Narvik, had no choice but to abandon the port and withdraw his troops to the mountains near Narvik to take refuge and wait for an opportunity to counterattack the British.

John? Tovey ordered the sailors on the warship to go ashore and briefly occupied Narvik. This was mainly due to political considerations, and when the news of the recapture of Narvik by the Navy reached Britain, it was immediately greeted with cheers and praise from all walks of life, as if the Royal Navy had won a great victory in the battle with the German Navy.

But the fact is that the British fleet did not meet the lead ships of the German Navy at all. After only one day of the capture of Narvik, Tovey had to retreat quickly again - according to intelligence, a large number of German warships were rapidly approaching from Trondheim, and reinforced German bombers began to bomb the British ships in Narvik Harbor several times. (To be continued......) R527