Battle of the Third Reich

"Churchill, is that what you want to see? You are pushing the Royal Navy into hell." John Cronin Tovey murmured to himself during the war.

The 55-year-old general is in the golden age of a fleet commander. He is strong, flexible, energetic and has rich experience and experience.

Twenty-four years ago, Tovi participated in the Battle of Jutland as a destroyer captain, and showed excellent qualities and commanding ability in the battle. His career began here. He was first sent to the Naval Academy for further study, and then from The squadron commander climbed steadily step by step. He had been taught by several of the top generals of the Royal Navy. He worked hard all year round, worked hard, fulfilled his duties, and finally stood out among many competitors and boarded the homeland of the Royal Navy. The throne of the fleet commander, at least in the eyes of outsiders.

In the past, this position was the lifelong dream of all Royal Navy officers. To enter this position at this age, in addition to having a strong network, it must also have outstanding performance that surpasses others. This is the best proof of personal ability. More importantly, only generals who have served as commanders of the three major fleets will have the qualification to ascend to the higher ranks of the navy, and eventually enter the core leadership of the navy, grasp the direction of navy development, and enter the history of the Royal Navy.

However, when Tovey received the letter of appointment from the Secretary of the Navy, he did not feel any excitement and pride at all. He knew very well that his commander was picked up.

Those strong competitors have either sunk to the bottom of the sea, or already have a heavy responsibility, and the rest is that the old, weak, sick and unable to serve, he is actually the last candidate in the ranking list. He also served as deputy commander of the Mediterranean fleet in Cunningham last week, but this week became the commander-in-chief of the Royal Navy’s enviable local fleet. There was no review and evaluation. Only Churchill had a simple signature. It seems that this is like a comedy.

Compared to serving as the commander-in-chief of the local fleet. Tovi actually prefers to squat in Egypt to bask in the sun. The commander of the local fleet is no longer a fragrant bun, but a hot potato just released. But Tovi had no choice at all. He could only honestly accept the appointment, otherwise he had to be sent to a military court. During the war, there was no reason to speak.

The British fleet now has only one name left. The huge fleet that once shook the world, Dunkirk was severely interrupted by the Germans in the first battle. The British battleship fleet, once arrogant of Qunlun, left only two old ships that were launched before World War I. The battlecruiser fleet, regarded as the pride of the Navy, was destroyed in that battle.

In the months after the war, Yingde and Germany broke out several squadron-scale naval battles, but luck was always on the German side. Each battle ended with the British navy breaking into a sand feather. . Take the Faroe Islands naval battle, for example. In that battle, the British Navy was sunk four cruisers at a time, which was unprecedented in the history of the British Royal Navy. The Orion that sank in that naval battle was once Tovey's ship. Just less than two weeks after being transferred from the Mediterranean destroyer unit to the homeland, it turned into a pile of wrecks under the sea under the gunfire of the German Navy. Tovi was able to call out the names of every officer and most of the crew on the ship. The sinking of this battleship made him depressed for a long time.

Due to the madness of submarines, aircraft and surface ships of the German Navy. The British Navy’s Atlantic and local fleets have never stopped losing blood. Every week, several or even dozen destroyers are lost. The causes of losses are varied, including mines, air strikes, submarines, and German assault ships. Accidents caused by fatigue caused by long-term continuous work and the decline in the quality of supplementary novice sailors also accounted for a certain proportion. Accidents such as hitting rocks, stranding, and collisions have not occurred in the British Royal Navy for several years. It happened frequently and continuously. In the last half month, 22 destroyers were damaged due to man-made reasons.

Because of **, in the eyes of British civilians, the Royal Navy is still strong and invincible. This is an important psychological pillar that the government can still maintain the normal order of life in society. They make people believe that as long as the Royal Navy is still there, the British will not Will be hacked. But as a senior general of the Royal Navy, Tovey knew long ago that the British Royal Navy is now on the verge of collapse.

Destroyer and light cruisers are exhausted on various routes in the Atlantic. If you want to maintain the normal operation of the British, the Navy must ensure that three **** formations can reach the port every day. On important Atlantic routes, about 20 to 30 **** formations shuttle between the two continents every day. In addition to the wind and rain, the crew are also tortured by German navy submarines and attack ships.

In various ports, there are still a similar number of fleets are grouping. Each convoy formation needs four to six convoys to defend. The Germans have proved with facts that the British ocean-going **** gunboats and ocean-going armed fishing vessels are simply unable to protect the safety of the fleet. They cannot even protect their own safety. For German submarines and large attack ships, these **** gunboats can only be counted as A small snack before the appetizer.

The British Navy can only put most of the regular destroyers into **** missions. The oldest of these destroyers can be traced back to the middle of World War I. Both the speed and the firepower have long been unbearable. Although the newest destroyers have the latest Deep bomb equipment, but lack of detection means. Due to the insufficient number, each ship group can only get two or even one destroyer. When the German submarine attacked, the performance of these destroyers was disappointing. When faced with the German submarine attack in several directions, they were almost helpless. In the Atlantic Ocean, the transport ships were still sent to the seabed one by one by the German ships, and often boarded one or two unlucky destroyers.

In the past few months, the number of destroyers of the Royal Navy has rapidly dropped from 183 at the beginning of the war to a tragic 46, a full loss of three quarters, and most of the remaining destroyers are minesweeper models, which have not been refitted. There is no time for resources, and in the end, only a few deep bomb throwing racks can be hurriedly welded and caught up in the escort's return.

The huge cruiser fleet has also become the yellow flower yesterday. The two types of ten-class 38 light cruisers seem to be huge. However, these warships are scattered among the three fleets of the Royal Navy. They also have to take into account the maritime defense of the British colonies. One or two will be placed on each base, and the charts will be sprinkled like sesame seeds. Due to their weak defense and firepower, these light cruisers suffered heavy losses in **** and previous combat missions. Since the beginning of the war, seventeen light cruisers have sunk to the bottom of the sea or lost combat effectiveness. There are five minor damages waiting to be repaired. Two of the remaining light cruisers are still pure air defense cruisers, and their combat effectiveness is almost negligible.

Tovi was shocked that even at this time, Churchill still had to use means to launch a raid on a French warship anchored in a British port. As a result, stealing chickens would not kill rice, not only did not capture any French ship. And it also got into some elite left of the British Royal Navy's local fleet.

The light cruiser unit stopped in Portsmouth suffered an indiscriminate disaster. The unprepared four Linxian light cruisers were smashed into pieces by the French battleship main gun. This class was completely destroyed overnight. At the same time, there were two unlucky ones. The Southampton-class light cruiser, the Southampton and Newcastle light cruisers that were replenishing in the port, were hit hard. It was finally due to docking in shallow water, the hull was sinking to the bottom of the sea, the navy was preparing for salvage work, but due to lack of equipment With supplies. It was difficult to complete in a while. Tovi quipped on his own that if the operation failed, the salvation might have to be left to the Germans.

Now Tovey holds the last strike force put together by the Royal Navy, and it is also the final essence of the three major fleets. Tovey looked at the list of ships compiled by the fleet. Can't help but there will be a sad feeling of crying without tears.

The only remaining battleship of the local fleet is Queen Elizabeth. This battleship served in 1915 was once the pride of the Royal Navy. It was the first batch of main battleships that used all-fuel boilers and installed 15-inch main guns. Queen Elizabeth once became a star in the eyes of the world, and was appointed as the flagship of the Royal Navy Ocean Fleet.

All her sister ships participated in the magnificent Battle of Jutland, and showed strong defense and attack in the fierce battle line. But she happened to be refitting on the ship's platform and failed to catch up with that war. During the Battle of Dunkirk, her sister ship sank in the German Army's large-caliber heavy artillery and bomber torpedo attacks. She was just converted on the ship's berth and failed to catch up with the war. In a sense, this is a lucky ship with strange luck.

In the end, Queen Elizabeth failed to complete the conversion completely. Due to time constraints, after the Battle of Dunkirk, the Navy ordered to stop the follow-up conversion works and complete the finalization as soon as possible. At that time, the battleship had already completed the strengthening of horizontal armor and the replacement of a new boiler. It was preparing for the construction of a new bridge. As a result, it had to dismantle and build a general bridge and reinstall the dismantled old equipment back to the original. The subsequent improvement of the anti-aircraft guns could not be delivered because of the delayed replacement of the anti-aircraft guns. As a result, the original anti-aircraft weapons could still be used.

Queen Elizabeth hastily returned to the fleet sequence in mid-July, but at this time she became the only battleship in the local fleet. She wanted to put together a battleship squadron and could only expect the George V class Come into service soon.

Formed side by side with Queen Elizabeth are three Kent-class heavy cruisers. At the beginning of the war, the British Royal Navy had eighty-eight heavy cruisers of the fifth class. Only three of them can be dispatched in good condition. The rest are captured by the sinking captives that have been sunk in previous naval battles. There are a number of wounded to be repaired.

The Mediterranean fleet originally had a London-class heavy cruiser, but because of an attempted sneak attack on the French fleet, it angered the French. Now the French navy fleet is cruising along the coast of North Africa and has forced the Mediterranean fleet that was originally intended to be transferred back to the homeland alive. Before the French were relieved, the Mediterranean fleet seemed to be unable to leave the Strait of Gibraltar.

The local fleet can finally get it, there is only one battleship, three heavy cruisers and seven light cruisers, as well as four j-type destroyers and the latest four n destroyers, saying that the new is because these destroyers have just been launched for less than three weeks. The sea trials have not been carried out a few times. The sailors above are newer than the ships. The average age is only 17 years old.

Nineteen battleships, with a full range of battleships, powerful firepower, and extraordinary strength, wherever they are placed, are maritime forces that can not be ignored. They can already surpass all the naval forces of some small countries in scale. But when I look back and compare with the original Royal Navy's local fleet, it makes people feel the sadness of the yellow leaves everywhere. The once sunless empire, the world's first navy, will even be reduced to such a point, making people Can't help but lament the impermanence of the world, there are no cities that are not trapped, and there are no permanent dynasties.

Tovi did not have time to express his connotation. His task was to take this last fleet, break through the German interception, reach the Dover Strait, and hit the anchor of the German landing fleet with fierce fire, and then cross the Strait Go to the western British port for supply. If the first attack is good, he thinks he can turn his head and come back again.

As for whether it will encounter the German navy, Tovey does not make any guesses at all, because this is inevitable. The British Royal Navy has its own intelligence system. Although the European intelligence network has been severely damaged, some people have kept it. Down, you can get sporadic information. The main fleet of the German Navy has left the local port and has entered the North Sea in terms of time. The Naval Command determined that part of it should be to enter the Atlantic to continue the assault, and the other part was to enter the strait to **** the landing operation.

Churchill believes that relying on the current fleet of the British Royal Navy should be able to break through the defensive line of the German Navy. The German Navy also suffered a lot of damage in several operations, and it is impossible to maintain its original combat effectiveness. The British Royal Navy is well-trained and experienced in commanders. Even if it cannot defeat the enemy, it can at least retreat. The British Royal Navy’s operation also carried the meaning of proclaiming existence, letting the Germans know that their British Royal Navy was not overthrown, and the German Navy could not do whatever it wanted in the strait. Churchill tried to use this method to crack down on the confidence of the Germans and to shake the Germans, perhaps delaying the landing time.

Nineteen warships, it is enough to launch a blow to the port, but to fight a naval battle, Tovey is a little bit unsure.

Tovey stood on the naval bridge of the heavy cruiser Kent and looked towards the side. As a result, he found that he seemed to have forgotten a warship, or that he had always subconsciously wanted to ignore this warship. In front of Tovey's eyes, just less than 500 meters from the port side of the Kent, a strange-looking battleship was struggling to move forward, trying to keep up with the formation, and the swell that was spurred by the bow was almost on the way. deck.

The dark boundary heavy water gunship, a flat-bottomed ship with a 15-inch gun, and heavy artillery support was urgently needed along the coast of Dover. The Royal Navy decided to transfer it from Portsmouth Port to Dover, so it ordered it to be with the local The confluence of fleets.

"I don't know that she is about to sink. I can't do this anymore. We will be killed by this burden." Tovey turned angrily and said to the captain.

"Send the signal to the Dark World, let it choose its own route, suggest that she sail along the British coastline, we are going to speed up, this is the **** of the twelve knots."

"The radar room reported that the number of enemy planes found, fifty, seven kilometers away, was flying towards us!" the deputy captain suddenly shouted loudly.

"Pull the alarm and prepare for air defense operations." Tovi had anticipated this situation long ago, and the fleet has maintained a tight air defense formation since entering the strait.

"Okay, now let's see if the miracle Churchill said really exists." Tovey walked to the side of the bridge and looked into the air with a telescope. (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and faster!