It was impossible to send the destroyer straight into the fjord of unknown conditions as soon as it came up, so the torpedo boats that accompanied the fleet took on the heavy task of being the pioneers of the pathfinder.

On a fort on the west bank, after detecting the warning of a red signal rocket, the Norwegian officers and men immediately controlled the searchlight to illuminate the suspicious shadow of the ship.

"Turn on the searchlight!"

"Two o'clock! Unknown ship, sailing at about ten knots! ”

A large 150cm searchlight and two 110cm medium searchlights were activated, and the carbon rods inside burst out with countless blazing lights under the action of powerful electrical energy!

Most of the light rays are gathered in front of the front under the action of the silver-plated concave mirror, with a brightness of up to 700 million candela, and the illumination distance can reach 30 to 40 kilometers, as if it were three white pillars of light that cut through the world of heaven and earth.

The two S-boats immediately "fired back" with their own searchlights, reflecting on the shore defense searchlights, which, although far less bright than the larger ones of the Norwegian shore defense units, still hindered each other's observation.

"Ahh Can you tell them?! ”

"Damn! I can't! ”

"Captain, they're still approaching, we should fire a warning!"

It should be noted that the "torpedo boat" in the German sequence is not a small runabout in the conventional impression, but a ship of 800 tons or even 1,000 tons, with torpedoes as the main means of attack, which is equivalent to a reduced version of the destroyer; The runabout was called the "Schnellboot", the famous S-type torpedo boat.

[But then it was still called the strange German warship by the customary name - the miniature version of the destroyer was called the "torpedo ship", and the S boat was still called a torpedo ship.] 】

At this time, a battery on the east coast also began to use searchlights to illuminate the two torpedo boats in the strait, and to fire flares at them with 57mm field guns.

Several Norwegian minelayers were at a loss for what to do, neither advancing nor retreating, so they stayed where they were.

At this time, two 150mm howitzers from the Bolaneel battery opened fire.

When the rumbling cannon sounded, two shells also smashed in front of the torpedo boat, splashing a tall column of water!

In an instant, the icy sea water turned into a torrential rain, covering the two torpedo boats at once, and the sailors outside were suddenly chickens.

On the heavy cruiser Peake, the lookout posts and bridge officers observed the bombardment from the Norwegian troops—the flickering muzzle flames were conspicuous, and the splashes reflected in the light of the searchlight columns.

"Send a light signal and ask them to stop any resistance. The fleet aims at the target island, reloads ammunition. "Major General Broad decisively ordered.

Lieutenant Commander Fein repeated the commander's order, and a communications officer immediately passed instructions on the ship's telephone.

The lights turned on and off, and after reading the words of the lights, the Norwegians finally knew what these uninvited guests wanted.

At 18:27 p.m. Oslo time, a telegram was sent to Oslo and the 1st Coastal District Command, and it became clear to the Norwegians that the invaders were Germans and not British or French.

Major General Gosta, commander of the 1st Coastal Defense District, flatly rejected the request to lay down his arms and surrender, and instructed his subordinate artillery batteries and coastal defense units to freely open fire and return fire after the warnings were ineffective.

In fact, the instructions received by the Major General were as follows: if the offender was British or French, he should always be warned, but there should be no overreaction; But if it is virtue, then after the warning, it should be resolutely counterattacked.

Despite the fact that the Norwegian officers and men were outnumbered, there was hope that the terrain of the Oslo Fjords was too great for them to be taken by surprise and repulsed if the Germans were to be paralyzed.

Then, about ten minutes later, the Norwegian artillerymen guarding the batteries opened fire again.

More than a dozen shells of various models fell near the fleet, some 57mm, some 65mm, some 150mm, and the splashes of water were also of various sizes.

Do you need so many shells for warning shelling? How is it as if every battery has fired a salvo?

But if it's a formal return fire, the artillery fire is a little too sparse, right? And the accuracy is too poor.

Although the fleet was somewhat confused, Rear Admiral Broad made a quick decision, given that one of the shells had landed close to the destroyer in front of the left side of the fleet.

"That's the attack, now, fire!"

On the island of Bolanel, the Norwegian artillerymen completed the second round of reloading and were waiting for the order to open fire.

However, they saw a series of points of light suddenly flickering on the surface of the sea in the distance, about twenty of them.

A few seconds later, until the dull popping sound of the shells came to their ears, when they realized that something was wrong.

If a cannonball passes overhead, it is usually heard as a high-pitched whistling; But if the cannonball will land nearby, it will be a dull sound.

Several rounds of 203mm high-explosive shells and more than a dozen rounds of 128mm high-explosive shells from cruisers and destroyers fell on the island batteries, and the dazzling brilliance completely enveloped the small shore defense artillery positions!

A 203mm high-explosive shell from the Peake landed near a 57mm field gun, and the explosion of nearly twenty kilograms of explosives successfully detonated several boxes of 57mm shells next to it.

Like fireworks, after the initial explosions, the shells burst into the sky one after another, or scattered in all directions.

In the darkness of night, such a scene is truly magnificent.

The sailors cheered, and the army soldiers who secretly ran out to see the excitement could not help but cheer, and were immediately ordered by the sailors to return to the lower deck.

The performance of the Peak's /32 203mm naval gun is very good, but it is much heavier than the same level naval guns of other countries, reaching 20 tons; The twin turret weighs about 250 tons, which is equivalent to the triple turret of the Northampton-class class.

The Pique-class heavy cruisers can actually be considered the Hipper-class in this plane, but there are some differences.

Historically, the Hipper-class has been criticized for its expensive construction and weak protection, and people laughingly called it "naval fools".

She cost more than 80 million marks, compared to 5 million pounds in London, England – more than 60 million pounds in marks.

This is because the upstream and downstream of Germany's shipbuilding industry chain have almost withered under the restrictions of the Versailles Treaty, and it has not been fully restored after rearmament, making it much more expensive for Germany to build any large ships.

Nowadays, this problem does not exist in the German Society, so the cost of the Pique-class heavy cruisers is exactly 61 million marks.

Her horizontal armor is also a bit stronger than the Hipper-class's weak 30mm - 40mm on the main deck and 60mm in the ammunition compartment.

Her torpedo protection has also improved significantly - the Hipper class has a single layer of 20mm, while the Pique class has a double layer of 20mm.

In addition, the German Society has made great strides in steam turbine technology, and fuel consumption has finally been reduced somewhat, resulting in a maximum range of 8,200 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 17 knots.

However, the Germans still did not abandon the outdated idea of comprehensive protection, and the Pique class still used the dome armor design.

This is perhaps the place where she has the most German flavor.

The island of Bolanel was destroyed almost instantly, and the shore defense artillery suffered heavy casualties, although there was still a missing infantry company to assist in the defense, but it was meaningless.

For a few seconds, the whole fjord was silenced by an unexpected situation.

But immediately ten seconds later, all the artillery deployed at the Oye Island Battery, the West Bank Hotten Battery, and the East Bank Moss Station opened fire one after another.

But immediately ten seconds later, all the artillery deployed at the Oye Island Battery, the West Bank Hotten Battery, and the East Bank Moss Station opened fire one after another.

The three destroyers immediately maneuvered to evade, while the Peake continued to sail in a straight line at a low speed, thus returning fire at the Norwegian batteries with the utmost accuracy.

In the fjord, two torpedo boats had ordered the three Norwegian minelayers to surrender immediately by means of a light signal, but now that the conflict had begun, were the Norwegians really willing to be captured?

The Laurgon with the largest displacement used its machine gun and 40mm bang gun to fire at the German torpedo boats, and the other two minelayers also opened fire after reacting.

Instead of complying, the other side opened fire on us?

Suddenly met with strong resistance, the German sailors were surprised and decisively launched a counterattack.

"Damn it! Fire! Kill these diehards! ”

In the roar of "Knock Knock", shells fired from 20mm and 37mm cannons rained down on the largest Laura!

Explosions, fireworks, and sparks turned the ship into New Year's fireworks, flying sparks and flaming debris in all directions.

Such a close and fierce battle was too dangerous, and in order to avoid being lured by incoming fire, Lieutenant Werner, commander of the S37 torpedo boat, immediately decided, "Prepare the torpedo!" Set the depth of two meters, cancel the aim! Launch now! ”

"Poof! Burst! ”

The launch tube pushed the heavy G7a torpedo out with compressed air, and then plunged into the sea with a crisp sound.

The minesweeper Laura, the largest tonnage, had lost its combat effectiveness under the fire, and the whole boat was powered off, with only a small amount of power left, and countless ignition points caused the fire to spread rapidly.

The other two minelayers were only a little over 100 tons and were equipped with only three machine guns, so they obviously did not pose a threat at all.

However, the Norwegian sailors did not want to surrender, preferring to flee.

The two minesweepers made a U-turn as fast as they could, drawing a perfect arc in the middle of the strait.

The Germans did not want to be wiped out and did not want to waste ammunition, so both torpedo boats stopped firing at the minesweepers and opened fire on the Oye battery in front of the right.

But unexpectedly, the two torpedoes fired by the S37 happened to be on the escape route of the Norwegian minesweeper.

Several sailors in the stern of the minesweeper of the Vida were surprised to find that in the night, there seemed to be a gray shadow approaching next to them.

It took a few more moments for them to see that it was a moving wave.

Previously, the S37 haphazardly fired torpedoes used a default speed of thirty knots, which allowed the torpedo to have a relative speed of less than nine knots to the minesweeper.

In this way, the two are getting closer and closer.

The frightened sailors were relieved to think they had escaped, when the strange moving wave touched the stern.

Everyone heard a strange commotion—the clatter of metals colliding from below.

The 533mm G7a steam gas torpedo grazed the stern, and its head hit the propeller.

"Boom !!"

The 320kg mixed explosive burst out of the underwater explosion is extremely powerful, and this special torpedo explosive mixed with hexanitrodiphenylamine and TNT is extremely powerful.

Suddenly, the small wooden steel-hulled minelayer turned to powder.

The earth-shattering movement became the focus of this conflict area in an instant, and everyone on both sides of Norway and Germany looked at the column of water rising into the sky.

The sailors of S37 were dumbfounded, they didn't even know what to say to express their feelings.

These Norwegians are too unlucky, right?

Surprised, Lieutenant Werner exclaimed: "It turns out that if there is God, he also agrees with our glorious cause." ”

But God and Lady Luck have always been fair, and the destroyer Dynenberg was hit by a 150mm high-explosive shell on a 37mm anti-aircraft gun, killing six and wounding eleven, but fortunately it did not cause a series of explosions.

The largest, the Pique, naturally, also suffered the most attacks, but the 57mm, 150mm high-explosive shells were not to be feared by a qualified heavy cruiser.

In particular, many of the old fuses in the Norwegian stockpiles failed, and only three of the six shells that hit the Pique exploded, which hardly affected the battle.

In the roar of the 203mm twin naval guns, the Oy Island Battery, the West Bank Hoten Battery, and the East Bank Moss Battery were wiped out one by one.

The horrific high-explosive shells reduced the antique artillery and the brave Norwegian artillerymen to pieces of metal and severed limbs.

"Those loyal lads shouldn't have died like this." Rear Admiral Broad sighed, then calmly ordered, "Keep the speed and enter the strait." ”

First Mate Lieutenant Colonel Fein hesitated for a moment and reminded: "Comrade Commander, the speed is too low to exert the rudder effect, should we speed up?" ”

Finn worries that he may not be able to avoid an unexpected situation in time - when the ship is sailing at low speeds, the steering effect of the rudder is very low, and it can only be effectively steered when it reaches a certain speed.

But Broad refused the warning, believing that the fjord was not suitable for maneuvering and that it would be better to reverse immediately if something unexpected happened.

The German fleet continued to advance northward, and the other two batteries along the way ceased fire after symbolic return fire, with only one battery fighting to the end.

In this way, the outer defense line of the 1st coastal defense zone was easily broken through.

At 1:34 a.m. the next day, several minesweepers and torpedo boats had already reached the inner line of defense. Once you break through here, Oslo, the capital of Norway, is in the bag.

The strait is narrower and is occupied by an island called Kahomen.

There is a shore-based torpedo launch pad in the southern part of the island, which is very tricky - almost hollowing out a cliff wall to make a space out of it.

The commander, Lieutenant Colonel Toller, was a warm and generous middle-aged man, but a tragic car accident four years ago left him with his left leg and only light in his left eye. He had to retire from active duty and come to the shore defense cadets as instructors.

However, the commander of the torpedo launch pad on Kahomen Island had to go for treatment because of tuberculosis, so from half a month ago, Toller was ordered to come here to take his place.

Having learned of the German invasion a few hours earlier, he consulted his superiors and called his students for calling.

Dozens of cadets of the Shore Defense Academy, who were woken up from their sleep, also temporarily joined the defense to fill the shortage of manpower, but there were still two 57mm field guns unused.

"Can we repel them?" Someone asked apprehensively.

Toller's face glowed red in the red light, and he smiled, "It's enough to do the best you can." ”

(End of chapter)