The sinking of a destroyer was enough for the Germans to realize that the British Royal Navy was playing for real this time. So even if it was reluctant, the German High Seas Fleet had to fight hard. Stuka bombers with bombs flew south to try to interfere with the German fleet's southward movement of British destroyers, and the first offensive operation of German aircraft carriers began in such a not very good situation.

The subsequent attack by the German naval aviation did not yield impressive results, and most of their bombs were dropped in the sea. Only one bomb damaged a British cruiser, but it was not able to sink the British warship. On the contrary, a German Stuka dive bomber was shot down by anti-aircraft fire from a British warship, and the pilot was killed.

To be honest, the Stuka bomber is remarkable on land, but it is somewhat ineffective when used to attack targets at sea. This must also be made clear from the principle of operation of the Stuka dive bomber.

As we all know, there was no such novelty as precision-guided bombs in the early days of World War II, so in order to ensure the accuracy of bombing, the dive bomber, a weapon with obvious limitations of the times, was born. Dive bombers use high-speed dives to get as close as possible to the target and aim bombs to ensure bombing accuracy, which is very effective against roads, railways, bridges, and even moving tanks and fighting vehicles.

However, when it is used to deal with warships with dense anti-aircraft firepower, it is a little inadequate. The reason is very simple: would you rather fly a fragile plane straight into one or even several anti-aircraft guns that are constantly firing?

This is also the main reason why the Japanese suicide planes in World War II sounded like they had a high hit rate, but the actual results were mediocre. Because it's not wise to rush at a prepared ship with a plane, you're probably shot down and plunged into the sea. It doesn't matter if you're like the Japanese and you're going to die, but if you want to make it back alive, think hard about how you can improve your tactics.

The German naval aviation improved by attaching a small device to the Stuka dive bomber that could predict the location of the bomb's projectile hit, similar to an improvised sight. This device allows Stuka to attack without diving very close, but instead pulling up the bomb from a higher place. Of course, the cost is also significant: it makes Stuka have a lower attack accuracy.

In addition, this time it was the first time that the German Navy's carrier-based aviation carried out an attack mission under conditions close to actual combat, and the ground crews were in a panic and did not choose the right type of bombs for these bombers taking off according to the task: these Stuka carrying large bombs for attacking battleships were all used to attack destroyers, and naturally they would not achieve ideal results.

On the other hand, the German Navy's determination to fight was not firm, and Lütjans's operational goal was to "drive out the British destroyers and cruisers on the course and ensure that the fleet converges smoothly." Therefore, the German Navy did not frequently take off planes to attack these warships, but only intimidated and forced these warships back, and then hurriedly went south.

The German fleet at full speed headed south in a fugitive manner, and soon joined up with Raeder's First Fleet, which had arrived to reinforce it. The two fleets did not fall in love either, and after reorganizing the formation, they entered the Williams Naval Port in a mighty way, and dozens of roadbed fighters and bombers arrived in time, so that the British Navy did not pursue deeply. A naval battle that was supposed to shock the world ended in such a hurry.

And after a naval battle, both sides were not very satisfied with their results. On the one hand, the British Royal Navy was very annoyed that the British Royal Navy had not been able to accomplish its set goal of inflicting heavy damage on the German Navy because of the desperate fighting of the German destroyers, and on the other hand, the German Navy suffered the actual loss of a destroyer, which made the German top brass very angry, and both Raeder and Lütjens were summoned to the Führer's mansion and ordered to make an in-depth analysis and summary of the operation.

Of course, this defeat made Accardo realize the shortcomings of the German command system, so there were many unlucky people, and at the summary meeting of the day, Field Marshal Brauchitsch, Navy submarine commander Dönitz, Air Force commanders Catherine and Dick, the head of the intelligence department, Gascol, the commander-in-chief of the SS Reinhardt, and even the newly appointed Imperial Chancellor Augustus were asked by Accardo to attend.

It is not to blame the Führer for being full of anger, because what has recently been hidden under the aura of brilliant victory is the lack of rigor in command and coordination. Because of the coordination of the work, the Polish air force launched an attack an hour ahead of schedule, and the German destroyer was sunk off the coast of Poland by arguing with each other; then there was a disgusting incident within the military that the Wehrmacht commander discriminated against the SS; on the other hand, the airborne forces also suffered losses because of differences in use, and the submarine forces suffered another loss to the surface ship forces for their own plans.

If these problems are not resolved, then for the foreseeable future, the problem of coordination between the various branches of the military will eventually paralyze and collapse Germany's seemingly formidable warplane.

Pressing his hand on the conference table, Accardo looked at the German command team that he had accumulated little by little, and everyone lowered their heads, as if they were not willing to be the first to speak. The room was eerily quiet, as if a pin could be heard if it had dropped on the floor. The atmosphere is really not very good. Everyone thought to themselves.

"Let's talk about it. "It seems unrealistic to expect these subordinates to muster courage. So Accardo broke the silence in the conference room and took the lead in speaking: "Everyone is also an old acquaintance, so there's nothing to be embarrassed about." ”

Silence, or uncomfortable silence.

"In ancient times, it was a shame for a courtier to be unable to share the king's worries. Now that we are our cronies personally promoted by the Führer, do we want to do such an untasteful thing as shirking responsibility?" Augustus sighed and said: "We all know that it is dishonorable, and we must find a way to prevent this kind of humiliating problem from appearing in the future." ”

"The intelligence services will strengthen liaison and cooperation with all departments. Gascoll is a die-hard loyalist of Accardo, so he naturally has to be the first to stand up at this time: "I haven't thought about the other aspects yet, but I will submit a report to the Führer as soon as possible." ”

Reinhardt also nodded and echoed: "The SS has always been the most loyal force to the Führer, and we obey the Führer's arrangement. So there is nothing to say, if the Führer needs us to go to war hungry, we will set off without food. ”

"As the commander-in-chief of the Navy, I personally have to review. I am willing to take responsibility for the failure to achieve the intended operational objectives in both operations, and the unnecessary losses suffered to the fleet in the second attempt. Raeder sighed and said heavily: "If the Führer approves, I am willing to resign from the post of commander-in-chief of the navy." ”

Dönitz's face was not good-looking, after all, he also had a certain responsibility for the failure of this operation and the loss of warships: "My Führer, the advance movement of the submarine forces was my order, and I am also responsible for the failure of this operation......"

"Okay! Don't say them one by one. Accardo interrupted Dönitz, waved his hand and said, "You first divide whose responsibilities it is, and then hand over your power and leave the mess to others...... That's the solution you came up with?"

Accardo stood up, his eyes sweeping over his generals, with majesty and ferocity: "I have all picked you up with my hands, and I hope that you will follow in my footsteps and march forward without hesitation towards the bright future of Germany." And now, for the sake of such a small amount of sesame mung beans, you have forgotten your oath to me?"

"There's no need to pass the buck to each other, and there's no need to take responsibility for yourself! Augustus and I have come up with a solution. Accardo hammered his hand twice on the table and made a clattering sound: "From now on, the Supreme Military Command of the Third German Reich will be established, and I myself will be the supreme military commander of the country." All class commanders will be directly accountable to me. ”

"This ......" Brauchitsch, apparently not wanting to make his Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht an empty shelf, hesitated to say a few words.

But Accardo didn't give him that chance. Accardo stopped Brauchitsch's attempt to speak with his hand, stared at him and said: "I am still very satisfied with the work of Marshal Brauchitsch, but your experience and ideas are too conservative in terms of the military coordination of the various arms of the navy, land and air, and you do not have much restraint and attention to the air force and navy, which I believe you yourself admit. ”

Brauchitsch had nothing to say, but he did have these problems: because he was a general from the old army, he paid more attention to the construction and development of the army, and operated the commander-in-chief of the Wehrmacht as the commander-in-chief of the army (of course, on the other hand, it was also the reason why he tried his best to cooperate with the development of the air force and navy itself).

"Don't worry too much, everybody. Accardo then comforted: "This Imperial High Command is only to supervise the preparation of large-scale battle plans that all parties in the Empire need to cooperate with. Please rest assured that we will not interfere in the formulation of specific campaign plans, and that there will be no such thing as laymen interfering in military plans, which you are worried about. ”

"I agree to the creation of this supreme high command, which can coordinate issues between the various branches of the military. As the shadow of Accardo, Prime Minister Augustus was the first to state: "In addition, with this supreme command, your allegiance to the Führer is more intuitive." ”

"The Army's loyalty to the Führer is beyond doubt. Brauchitsch stood up and saluted: "I agree with the Führer's arrangement." ”

"Yes, my Führer!" everyone stood up and saluted.