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"It's a cursed sea."

Forty-seven nautical miles northwest of the Faroe Islands, the heavy cruiser USS Augusta of the U.S. Navy's Task Force 22 was tossed around like a rag doll that no one wanted. The snow had begun to accumulate on the deck and superstructure, and the cold wind ran deep into the collars of the sailors' thick winter coats, and the cold hands and feet of the lookouts had to rub their hands and feet vigorously on the observation platform in search of a moment of warmth. Captain Kentney, the captain of the ship from Florida, held the railing with one hand and wiped the white fog from the porthole with the other. For a warship stationed in the tropics all year round, the North Atlantic is like hell.

"Can't you hurry up?" Colonel Kentney turned his head, and he saw that the British cruiser "Suffolk", which was leading the way in front, was already a blur.

"No, we're headwinds." The navigator pointed to the anemometer helplessly. The 110 kilometers per hour arctic wind, even with 100,000 horsepower, still made the warship falter. To make matters worse, because the radar is extremely unstable due to the low temperature and ice, the sailors must also brave the low temperature of more than minus 20 degrees Celsius to look outside, otherwise they may miss the enemy ship.

Even with his efforts, Colonel Kentney did not know that the fluttering Iron Cross was 25 nautical miles away from him, and it was approaching him with a cold wind.

"Damn it, I should have applied to protect merchant ships."

Since the reconnaissance planes lost track of the German fleet, the British and American fleets had to disperse their forces into six search formations and disperse them on the hundreds of kilometers long interception line from Scotland to the Danish Strait. The "Augusta" formation was accompanied by the heavy cruisers "Quincy" and the battleships "New Mexico" and "Mississippi" of the 22nd Task Force of the United States Navy, as well as the heavy cruiser "Suffolk" from the British Home Fleet, the light cruiser "Sheffieldel", the battleships "King George V" and "Warrior", and the British aircraft carrier "Glory". Two fleets, scattered in the shape of horns, are spread on a 50-kilometer interception line.

"I just pray that I don't get hit." The navigator spread his hands very helplessly: "If someone falls overboard, the situation will be very bad." ”

Colonel Kentney was stunned for a moment, and then immediately understood: "Thank you." Walking up to the second officer, he began to explain the essentials of damage management: "We must send someone to watch the lifeboats, and each boat must have enough fuel." Let everyone put a rubber jacket on board to prevent frostbite after the cabin is flooded, and add blankets and hot drinks to the captain! Colonel Kentney told the officer that he didn't want everyone to freeze to death in the end, but the radar non-commissioned officer interrupted the work: "Sir, the radar seems to have found something, just north of us." ”

"North? Damn it! The navigator cursed, for the compass told him that beyond that was the Arctic Circle. Perhaps the only thing that can be thankful is that the icebergs are still slowly forming in the Arctic Circle and will not follow the ocean currents into the North Atlantic.

"Roy, go up and have a look. Thomas, get ready, I need you to do your best! If you see an enemy, smash all the shells over! Colonel Kentney took command and led the "Augusta" to the north, but the cold wind in his face locked the speed at 22 knots, and could not be raised.

Half an hour later, when the snowflakes became denser and denser, the lookout, who was about to freeze to death, suddenly widened his eyes. A graceful figure painted in striped camouflage slowly peeked out of the wind and snow in the north. "Hipper! It's Hipper! Quick, send a telegram to the British and the capital ships in the rear, get ready for the attack! Run, run! The first turret is reloaded. Damn it! I need stability, stability! "The heavy cruiser Augusta was filled with shouting and swaying stance, which made the guns rage.

It was the heavy cruiser "Lützov" of the German Navy that opened the way.

After several days of searching, the two fleets met for the first time.

As a heavy cruiser that had been sold to the Soviet Union but was not completed, Stalin returned it to Germany in embarrassment early last year. In view of the ship's special name, in order to demonstrate the "great achievement" of bringing the Soviet Union to its knees, Hitler ordered it to be improved and completed at full speed. Thanks to the efforts of German shipyards around the clock, it was finally delivered to the German Navy in early September this year. Compared with the "Augusta", which was less than 10,000 tons, the improved "Lützov", with a full load displacement of up to 18,970 tons, was much more stable in such sea conditions, and the German sailors were obviously more adapted to such low temperatures than the "warm water navy" (Germany's mockery of the US Navy). So soon after Colonel Kenteny sounded the alarm, the Lützov in the distance had already taken the lead in attacking.

"Boom, boom." With eight L60/203 mm SK guns pouring shells at the Augusta from 12,000 yards away, the Germans were well aware of their strengths and weaknesses and understood that they had to take out the American heavy cruiser before the enemy's capital ship arrived.

"Fight back! Fight back! The dense column of water made Kenteny and the sailors nervous, and the feeling was as uncomfortable as being topped by a poisonous snake. Amid the shouts of the gunner, the nine L55/203mm guns began to fire back, but the data from the optical rangefinder made Colonel Kenteny feel more and more chilled. The reason was that the sea conditions were too bad, and the battleship was in a headwind at this time, and the impact point of the bomb due to the wind speed and high sea conditions was several kilometers away. Similarly, "Lützov", even with better artillery and a high rate of fire of five rounds per minute, could only waste shells in vain.

When the two captains began to close the distance, the radio waves had already brought the news of the exchange of fire of the avant-garde fleet to their respective capital ships, and when the four British and American battleships accelerated to arrive, Lütjans was a little hesitant. According to the "Rhine Exercise" plan, his mission this time is to carry out a sabotage attack on the Atlantic shipping lane, not a decisive battle with the British and American capital ships, not to mention that the opponent's total of 11 aircraft carriers has always made him feel uneasy (Germany does not know that there are actually only three British aircraft carriers in the North Atlantic) and is very worried about being surrounded and beaten after being thrown into the war circle.

"I don't think there's a need to worry about carrier-based aircraft." Intelligence officer Herris dispelled his doubts: "Now the wind is too strong, and it is still snowing outside, and the carrier-based aircraft cannot be dispatched. ”

Rear Admiral Cote, chief of staff of the fleet, also supported the offensive: "We are faster, and the British still need to pursue Scharnhorst, which is departing from France, so there will not be many fast battleships in front of us." This opportunity can be used to break through the line and then enter the North Atlantic to join General Otto Siriacos (commander of 2 Shane). ”

Lütjans is by no means a simple-minded and reckless man, otherwise how could he lead 2 Scharnhorst to attack the Atlantic Ocean many times, and repeatedly escape from the tiger's mouth of the British Navy. But this time his captain's responsibility is too big! You know, in a sense, the "Rhine Exercise" is the last self-salvation for Raeder and the Navy, because they know very well that if the main fleet cannot play a role in this war, Hitler will not hesitate to dismantle the two H39 battleships behind, and even the "Peter-Strassel" aircraft carrier may not be spared. This is not some alarmist statement, the Führer, who knows nothing about the navy but is often hysterical, only cares about who can sink the enemy, and never calmly and earnestly studies Britain, the United States, and China, and makes a long-term plan for the current situation and future of the navy.

This was the greatest sorrow of the German Navy, since the defeat of the Hohenzollerns there was no real maritime strategist in Germany!

Therefore, Lütjans wanted to achieve brilliant results, but he was worried about the damage of the capital ship, so after repeatedly confirming that it was impossible for the plane to take off and land, he decided to take advantage of Bismarck's fast speed and "go to the front." The officers and staff officers understood and used the word "go and see" to mean to retreat immediately if there was danger.

Receiving the order, the heavy cruiser "Prince Eugen", which accompanied the capital ship, began to accelerate, and down the wind it could exceed the speed of 33 knots at the time of sea trials, reaching a terrifying 35 knots, so it took only a quarter of an hour to reach the combat zone. At this time, the "Lützov" was in trouble, and the British heavy cruiser "Suffolk" and the light cruiser "Sheffielder", which had arrived quickly after receiving the warning, had already joined the battle circle from the west to start the encirclement. Seeing this, the captain of the ship, Rear Admiral Brinkman, did not hesitate to give the order to turn and blocked the flanking attack of the 2 British cruisers with his body.

"The second Hipper! Damn, they're definitely here! Call New Mexico, we need support! "The appearance of the Prince Eugen made Major Kenteney and the two British captains happy and nervous at the same time. Happily they finally found the enemy's main force, nervous that even in the case of three to two, the situation is becoming more and more unfavorable.

Major Kentney was very anxious, but he did not know that Rear Admiral Norman Coaster, who was supporting the 22nd Task Force behind him, and the two British battleships were in great navigational trouble. Due to the high wind speed and the headwind navigation, the speed of the "New Mexico" and "Mississippi" could only reach 16 knots. The two British battleships that were farther away were slightly faster, but they were farther away and arrived later than Task Force 22.

"Boom!" While anxiously waiting, the bad news came, and a loud bang sounded from the middle of the ship. After fifteen minutes of waste, with better airworthiness and sophisticated Zeiss optical fire control, "Lützov" was the first to break the stalemate. The shells that flew 8,000 yards away accurately penetrated the three layers of armor of the "Augusta" and exploded deep into the hull. The poor protection of the treaty re-patrol was evident at this moment, and it could only defend against the main armor belt of the destroyer's main guns crumbling in front of the powerful main guns.

With the first score, the two German heavy cruisers became more and more accurate, and after the "Prinz Eugen" stopped the British cruiser, the "Lützov" again fired three shells into the main armor belt on the side of the "Augusta". "Colonel, we're in trouble!" The second mate stumbled into the bridge, and Colonel Kentney's worst fears happened. Due to the lack of experience in cold zone combat, after the icy sea water poured into the warship, the sailors who did not put on the rubber raincoats in time were frozen and stiffened, and they were completely unable to stop the cold sea water from pouring into the wounds.

Five minutes later, the heavy cruiser Augusta tilted, and Kennett ordered water to be poured to starboard in an attempt to maintain balance, but the low temperature that poured into the cabin forced the sailors to run higher. "Leave! Leave! "There was no way to fight, and in order to ensure everyone's safety, Kentney ordered a retreat. But after the "Augusta" turned, the British heavy cruiser "Suffolk" was suddenly exposed to the guns of the "Lützov". "Boom, boom." Seeing the opportunity, the "Lützov" immediately dropped artillery fire on the "Suffolk", which was 7,900 yards away. In the face of the flanking attack of the two Hippert heavy cruisers, the deck of the heavy cruiser "Suffolk" continued to explode like fireworks, and finally in a cloud of thick black smoke rushing out of the aft turret, the Kent-class heavy cruiser was quickly swallowed up by the manic waves.

The British light cruiser "Sheffield" next to it immediately turned around when it saw that the situation was not good, and gave two more ships Hipper a chance to chase down the "Augusta". Since the warship was still flooded, the speed of the "Augusta" plummeted to 23 knots, even though it had turned its rudder and sailed downwind. "Sink the Americans!!" The sinking of the Suffolk brought a high-pitched mood that made Rear Admiral Brinkman's blood boil, as if he had returned to Skagerrak more than 20 years ago, with eagle-like eyes fixed on the Star-Spangled Banner flying high. Under his command, two Hipper's heavy cruisers, like blood-smelling hounds, swooped down on the snow-soaked "Augusta" at a speed of 33 knots.

"Damn it, Zuo Manrudder!" Colonel Kenteny's face darkened when he saw the report of the calculation team, and finally he decided to preemptively turn the rudder to the east, trying to break through to the nearest Faroe Islands.

The "Augusta" quickly turned its rudder, like a wounded lone wolf, and its nine main guns fled towards the Faroe Islands while desperately dropping shells at the enemy. But the "Prinz Eugen" and "Lyuzhov" were so fast that when they were about to be overtaken, the lookout excitedly shouted: "Look! God, it's the New Mexico! We are saved! "Two huge figures appeared on the starboard side of the Augusta. "Right rudder, resume the course just now, and pass through them!"

Colonel Kentney was ecstatic, and again maneuvered to try to pass between the two battleships of his own side. But a thick column of water made him stop turning around. "Boom, boom!" The battleships "Bismarck" and "Tirpitz", which had been hiding behind the heavy cruise, opened fire!

"Fire, fire!" The dense column of water in the direction of the Augusta made Rear Admiral Norman Coaster on the "New Mexico" constantly force himself to calm down, turn his head and punch the gunner. "Full speed shooting! Even if it's just for damage! ”

Twenty-four 356mm guns erupted into a thunderous roar and opened fire on Brinkman's two heavy cruisers.

Due to the low visibility blocked by wind and snow, and the German Navy did not have radar, the two German heavy cruisers that were still staring at the "Augusta" were caught off guard. It wasn't until a huge column of water appeared around him that Rear Admiral Brinkmann realized that there was a battleship in front of him, so he quickly informed Lütjans behind.

Standing in the position of the Bismarck, there are also two New Mexico-class battleships in sight, but the record of sinking one and damaging one heavy cruiser makes people can't help but imagine greater gains. "Can you tell if it's the warship?" The same was true of Vice Admiral Lütjans, who understood that as long as he could sink an Anglo-American battleship, Hitler would continue to build naval ships.

"It's 14 inches! Definitely, caliber 14 British, four turrets, at least 10 bad, General! The Prinz Eugen was shot in the stern and is leaking oil! Before he could decide whether to attack, the communications officer, who was contacting the "Prince Eugen" to identify the enemy ship, suddenly shouted.

This news immediately made the German officials, including him, nervous. If the "Prince Eugen" is lost, then the previous record of sinking one ship and wounding one will be completely negated. "14 inches is George V of England? Or a group of 14-inch battleships of the United States? Rutteyans' clenched fists were already sweating. This is a very important detail, although they are all 14-inch guns, the King George V class has a speed of more than 28 knots, and once entangled, its speed advantage is not obvious. But if it is the American group of "14-inch tractors" (the nickname given by Germany to the American 14-inch battleships), then he can completely fight a beautiful naval battle with two "Bismarck"-class battleships in and out.

But now, he has to make a decision! "Attack!" Lütjans decided to attack. But he was clever and did not go on a stupid rampage like Hipper, but immediately let the two "Bismarcks" deviate to the right, and took advantage of the opportunity of the tailwind to increase the speed of the ship, hoping to kill the enemy's port side with thunderous momentum, and realize his long-cherished wish to sink the enemy's battleship. At the same time, he also asked the two lightly wounded heavy cruisers to break through to the enemy's starboard side, disguised as a false sense of forcing a high-speed breakthrough southward, and also asked Brinkman to prepare the high-speed oxygen torpedoes that he had just equipped.

The heavy cruisers of the "Admiral Hipper" class had four triple 533-mm torpedoes, two on each side, and were wrapped in thick armor. In the era when the world's major naval powers have canceled the heavy patrol installation of torpedoes, Germany's design is not only a naval design fault for 20 years, which has caused it to be unable to catch up with the world trend, but also because of its unique idea of sabotage at sea. This kind of thinking is the tradition of the German Navy, so only Germany in the world will use the main fast battleships to carry out sabotage warfare.

The two "Hippers" had already been replaced with the latest 533-mm oxygen torpedoes before departure, and this kind of torpedo without a track was very suitable for a sneak attack in such high sea conditions, so Lütjens was ready to take a gamble. He first asked Brinkman to feign retreat and escape into the snow at high speed, then prepared to use 2 battleships to attract enemy fire, and finally let Brinkman quickly rush out and run to the opponent's right to carry out a torpedo attack.

Rear Admiral Coaster did not know that danger was approaching, and he was worried about the fire control systems of his two New Mexico-class battleships. As an old battleship during the European War, it has not been refitted because it did not participate in the Battle of Wake Island, let alone the radar. So even though Colonel Kennett had already told him that 2 Bismarck-class battleships were in front, the visibility at the extreme bottom made it impossible to see each other at all.

"The Augusta should be left behind. It's damn weather! Send everyone to the deck, I need clear coordinates for the enemy! "Rear Admiral Coster somewhat regretted letting Colonel Kentney go, after all, the Augusta had radar, and another heavy patrol was still behind, so he had to order an additional lookout post.

In the low temperature of more than 20 degrees below zero, the American sailors had to wrap their coats tightly and rush to the deck against the howling cold wind, searching the sea with wide eyes. Five minutes later, the port lookout was the first to spot two huge figures. "Port side! At 11 o'clock, it is suspected that the battleship! ”

In the midst of the panic shouts, the "Bismarck", which was leading the opposite, also saw two "New Mexico" class battleships.

The Star-Spangled Banner, which was frozen into strips of rotten cloth in the cold wind, made Lu Teyans breathe a sigh of relief. "Fire!" The 800-kilogram high-speed flick broke through the sea breeze like a meteor and rushed towards the "Mississippi" 7,700 yards away with a scream. Almost simultaneously, the 24 356-mm guns of the "New Mexico" and "Mississippi" also fired the first salvo.

When destroyers and cruisers could not aim in the icy waves, only these steel behemoths could ride the wind and waves without fear and momentum, splitting the wind and thunder to bring the naval battle back to the most bloody era. Dozens of huge cannons roared at a distance of more than 7,000 meters, the cold wind was dispelled by fear and trembling, and the scorching cannon muzzle wind swept away the wind and snow, forming a ring of white mist wonders. Both sides used the heaviest firepower, aiming at their opponents who were looming under the waves in an attempt to destroy them.

From the very beginning, Rear Admiral Coster knew that his battleships were inferior to his opponents, so he voluntarily abandoned the idea of concentrating fire on one of them, and instead let the two ships attack separately to hit the other side's side waterline with all their might. His idea is simple, it's to slow down his opponent. On the contrary, Lütjans was most afraid of being injured and slowing down, and he didn't want to be entangled, so he used the tactic of gathering fire, aiming all 16 main guns of the two battleships at the "Mississippi" in front.

Amid the louder and louder shelling, the two Bismarck-class battleships, which had more equipment adapted to the North Atlantic viewing, gradually gained the upper hand, and although the 380-mm high-speed light bullet was easily affected by the wind speed, it was still much more accurate than the opponent's 356-mm main gun. Moreover, the huge tonnage and wide hulls of the "Bismarck" and "Tirpitz" also ensured that they could maintain a good stable type, so in the five rounds of salvo fire, the "Mississippi" was the first to be shot. The shells penetrated the weak waterline armor, and the scene of the "Augusta" heavy patrol was repeated, and after a huge amount of sea water poured into the hull, dozens of sailors who plugged the leak were frozen to death.

At 3:17 p.m., during the 11th round of shelling after the start of the engagement, a shell fired by the "Tirpitz" drilled seven meters on the port side of the "Mississippi" and went underwater. Not only did the shrapnel blow up all two boilers in an instant, but the cold seawater also caused the hot pipes to burst.

"Sir, three o'clock! German Heavy Tour! Before Rear Admiral Coaster could inquire about the Mississippi's injuries, the lookout shouted attention to the starboard side. Coaster looked to the right, and the heavy cruisers "Prince Eugen" and "Lützov", which had just retreated and disappeared, had already emerged from the wind and snow 8,000 yards away, and were still firing at high speed to the south.

At this time, Rear Admiral Coaster's two battleships were sailing in crosswinds, but in order to ensure a higher hit rate, the speed was maintained at 21 knots, and the "Mississippi" was injured and dragged to 19 knots. The two German heavy cruisers bowed to the south and were at least 28 knots, while the two "Bismarcks" on the left did not uncharacteristically accelerate and remained at 24 knots. This gave Rear Admiral Coaster the illusion that the German battleship was covering the heavy patrol breakthrough and heading south. If the United States had been fighting against Japan for a long time, it would have known that there was a supertorpedo in the world that could sail at a speed of more than 50 knots and sail for tens of thousands of meters, and it would be careful whether Germany had obtained the technology for this torpedo. But the problem is that, apart from the Battle of Wake Island, the U.S. Navy has only sunk a few merchant ships with submarines in the Pacific Ocean, and the existence of oxygen torpedoes is not known. So Coaster didn't raise his vigilance, but told the lookout to be careful not to let the heavy patrol get closer to 5,000 yards. Because he was confident that the battleships of the "Mexico" class, no matter how old, would be able to ignore any attack from 5000 yards away with 203-mm guns.

But he was wrong!

Brinkmann, taking advantage of the cover of Lütjans, quietly closed to 6,300 yards, and also took into account the probability of the order, and fired all 16 533-mm oxygen torpedoes at the "New Mexico". 52 knots! There are no waves of torpedoes, not to mention that in such high sea conditions, even the calm and waveless Mediterranean Sea cannot be found. When the "Mississippi" gradually regained its balance and the "New Mexico" hit the "Tirpitz" superstructure for the first time, Rear Admiral Coster and the officers suddenly felt a shock under their feet, and then the bow of the ship was fiercely lifted up. Everyone in the bridge was shaken to the ground, all the portholes were shattered in an instant, and the howling cold wind filled the cabin in an instant. Before everyone could figure out what was going on, there was another violent explosion in the ship's amidships, and the wreckage of a secondary gun was even more than a few dozen meters away in the explosion.

"Torpedo!" The captain climbed to the helm and tried his best to stabilize the ship, but the merciless shells from the "Bismarck" rushed into the command tower and crushed dozens of officers, including him and Coaster. Before the sailors even received the order to abandon the ship, the battleship "New Mexico" began to tilt. If it had been the warm Caribbean Sea, they might have had hope of escaping, but the waves of the North Atlantic, several meters high, had buried it. The frenzied tide rushed into the two gaps more than ten meters wide torn by the torpedoes, and the open deck hatch of the sailors' evacuation accelerated the backflow of seawater, and many sailors were frozen to death in the corridor of the warship in the bitterly cold temperature. In less than five minutes, the "New Mexico" was squeaking and groaning, and suddenly fell upside down on the sea. In the end, the 32,000-ton sea monster sank an hour later, and only 75 of the ship's 1,397 officers and men were rescued.

The sudden explosion of the flagship shocked the injured "Mississippi", and the captain immediately ordered a retreat. But the red-eyed Lütjans did not want to let him go, and the two Bismarck-class battleships quickly accelerated to 28 knots, and then aimed all 16 main guns at the superstructure of the "Mississippi" and the main armor belt of the waterline.

Explosions, explosions everywhere! The bridge is exploding! The deck is exploding! The cabin is exploding! The boiler is exploding! The main turret is exploding! At such a close distance, the "Mississippi" could not block the armor-piercing shells fired by the SKC34 main gun. In just a few minutes, the battleship's superstructure was swept away by artillery fire, and all four main guns were silent. The German sailors stared at the bloodthirsty eyes and gave vent to the pleasure of torture, and when the heavy cruiser "Quincy" and the British battleships "King George V" and "Warrior" arrived on the scene, they were faced with an almost crumbling piece of rotten iron! You can see the images of countless American sailors being swallowed by the low temperature and waves.

When the battleship "King George V" appeared on the waterline, he immediately accelerated to 30 knots and took the remaining three warships into the deep cold Arctic Circle again.

At this time, another bad news came, the heavy cruiser "Augusta", which had just escaped from pursuit, was ambushed by a German submarine when it arrived in the Faroe Islands. It was also two new 533-mm oxygen torpedoes that had just been equipped and sent all 617 US Navy officers and men, including Colonel Kennett, to the bottom of the sea at a depth of 600 meters.

The "New Mexico" sank (after giving up and was sunk by its own destroyer), the "Mississippi", the "Augusta" and the "Suffolk" sank, and 3,622 naval officers and men were killed! The news of the Battle of the Faroe Islands soon spread across Europe. The sinking of 2 battleships and 2 heavy cruisers on a single voyage made the Germans rejoice. Hitler even sent a telegram to Lütjans and all the officers and men of the navy, praising their fighting spirit and asking the fleet to continue southward and deal the most severe German blow to the British and American fleets.

In the face of Hitler's provocations, Roosevelt and Churchill, who suffered another major naval casualty after Wake Island and the "Enterprise", launched a response with a voice colder than that of the North Atlantic.

"Find them, sink them! No matter what the cost! ”

In the fury of revenge, the two most powerful "North Carolina-class" battleships in the United States, which had just arrived off the coast of Newfoundland, rushed towards the Danish Strait at a high speed of 27 knots under the leadership of Vice Admiral Kincaid, regardless of the damage to their engines. At the same time, three British battleships, including the "Rodney", also rushed all the way there......