The Rise of the Third Reich

In the North Sea, east of the Shetland Islands, a huge fleet is sailing rapidly westward under the cover of twenty or thirty Fokker Zero and Fw-190 fighter jets.

2 Bismarck-class battleships, 1 Scharnhorst-class battleship, 2 Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruisers, 6 Berlin-class light cruisers (M-class with a standard displacement of 7,800 tons), 3 Vienna-class fast light cruisers (SP class with a standard displacement of 5,700 tons), 20 Type 1938B destroyers and 8 Danzewan-class fast minelayers (with a displacement of 5,800 tons, can carry 400 magnetic mines).

There were a total of 42 combat ships, and the billowing smoke almost obscured the sky. Such a spectacular scene not only excited the sailors and young officers who were born or grew up after the First World War, but also Gunther Lütjens. The general could not suppress the excitement in his heart.

These 42 combat ships are not the entire force of the German Navy's surface ships. The current active ships of the German Navy also include 2 aircraft carriers, 2 heavy cruisers, 5 K-class light cruisers, 1 Emden-class light cruiser, 18 destroyers and 40 torpedo ships of about 1,000 tons, as well as a large number of torpedo boats, gunboats, minelayers, minesweepers, etc.

After years of hard work, the German High Seas Fleet has been completely resurrected, and its strength is even stronger than before. And now shipyards in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and even France are working at full capacity to build various ships for the German Navy!

If it can develop at this rate for a few more years, the German Navy will undoubtedly be able to crush the British Royal Navy in terms of total tonnage. However, Admiral Gunther Lütjens was not sure whether the German navy's combat effectiveness could crush the British Royal Navy.

Of course, this is only a comparison between surface fleets, and does not include those "navies" flying in the sky.

Although the total tonnage of the German Navy is rising rapidly, experienced naval officers and sailors cannot do it quickly. In this regard, the difficulties faced by the German Navy far exceeded those of the German Army.

Because in the era of mechanized warfare, the base of the German Armored Corps was engineers and skilled workers. As the first industrialized country in Europe and the second in the world, Germany has a very obvious talent advantage. This is also the reason why the German Wehrmacht can complete upgrades and master the essence of mechanized warfare in a very short period of time.

But the basis for the rapid expansion of naval personnel was merchant seamen! After the last world war, Germany lost not only its fleet, but also most of its merchant ships. Although efforts were made to rebuild the fleet after the war, the scale was still not comparable to that before the last world war. Therefore, the average quality of the rapidly expanding German naval officers is now not only inferior to that of the United Kingdom, but even inferior to France and Italy!

However, the quality of the officers and sailors on the two Bismarck-class ships, the two aircraft carriers, and the battleship Gneisenno was still first-rate. This is why Admiral Gunther Lütjens dared to pull out the fleet to challenge the British Royal Navy.

Yes, bombarding Shetland is challenging the sea control of the British Home Fleet!

As a maritime hegemon that has dominated the oceans for hundreds of years, if foreign navies openly bombard its offshore islands without daring to respond, then it will not be a loss of face, but maritime hegemony.

And once the British Home Fleet shrinks into the Firth of Clyde as a presence fleet, the Shetland Islands will become an isolated island. According to the plan, if the British Home Fleet fails to act, then the First High Seas Fleet commanded by Gunther Lütjens will not only bombard the Shetland Islands, but also lay a large number of mines in the waters west of the Shetland Islands to blockade Austria. Passage between Nick Island and Shetland Islands. Then it was time to escort the landing troops and begin the landing operations in the Shetland Islands.

Although the Shetland Islands have become quite strong after more than a year of painstaking management by the British army, after becoming an isolated island, they were surrounded and attacked by German warships and aircraft, and it was only a matter of time before they fell.

The fall of the Shetland Islands into German hands means that German shore-based aircraft can cover all the sea areas between Iceland and northern Sugre. This means that the UK mainland will be completely blocked! For an island country that relies on overseas resources and markets to survive, this is tantamount to a disaster!

Therefore, as long as the battleships of the First High Seas Fleet begin to bombard the Shetland Islands and lay mines west of the Shetland Islands, the British Home Fleet will have to bite the bullet even if it does not want to fight.

"Where are Vice Admiral Haye's aircraft carrier units now?" Lütjens turned around and asked. Haye's two aircraft carriers are the key to this decisive battle!

Although the Shetland Islands are only three to four hundred kilometers away from Bergen and Stavanger, they are completely within the combat radius of the Fw-190. However, the role of aircraft carriers is still very huge, because aircraft carriers are mobile airports that can strike the enemy unexpectedly and can also pursue the fleeing enemy fleet. Moreover, it can also drive to sea areas long away from the main force of the First High Seas Fleet and provide air cover to the First High Seas Fleet nearby.

"Admiral, Lieutenant General Haye's formation is about 220 nautical miles away from us and has now entered the shore-based aircraft cover circle in Bergen."

Lütjens breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to walk to the chart table to see the specific location of the aircraft carrier unit marked by the staff, an alarm came from the radar room.

The radar officer reported: "Admiral, the radar has detected enemy aircraft, about 80 in number, 50 kilometers away."

Lütjens smiled coldly: "Okay, now it's our turn to shoot the British turkey! Order the fleet to put into anti-aircraft formation!"

…

"Admiral, 85 aircraft taking off from Scapa Flow have just attacked the main force of the German fleet."

On the battleship "Nelson", Admiral Tovey was closing his eyes to rest while listening to the staff report on the latest battle situation.

"Coast Air Force reported heavy damage to two German light cruisers, inflicted with aerial torpedoes."

Admiral Tovey did not open his eyes and just asked lightly: "What's the damage?"

"Loss of 11 Spitfires, 10 Hurricanes, 8 Beauforts and 6 Wellingtons..."

35 aircraft were exchanged for two German light cruisers that were severely damaged... Even if this result is not watery, it is nothing to brag about. Because the current German Navy has long been short of ships and artillery a few years ago, their Z plan has been fully promoted for nearly three years.

Although the battleships and aircraft carriers have not yet been completed in large numbers, the number of light cruisers and destroyers is already large. Moreover, the Italian and French fleets have also joined the German Navy. The total number of light cruisers and destroyers in the three countries is probably more than that of the United Kingdom!

"Where is Fleet C?" Admiral Tovey asked.

"About 100 nautical miles west of the Faroe Islands."

"Where's the Repulse?"

"In the sea off northwest Scotland."

"Fleet B?"

"Near the Onik Islands."

Admiral Tovey suddenly opened his eyes, and his piercing eyes swept across the faces of everyone in the command tower of the "Nelson".

"Gentlemen, the British Empire has reached its most dangerous moment, and all must fight with all their strength. The Royal Air Force and the Royal Naval Air Force have made great sacrifices and achieved the result of sinking a German aircraft carrier. Now it is our turn to surface The fleet goes to fight the enemy!"

He paused for a moment, and his tone became more solemn: "The main force of the German High Seas Fleet is approaching the Shetland Islands. It is expected that they will bombard targets on the Shetland Islands with large-caliber naval guns, and will also bombard targets on the Shetland Islands with large-caliber naval guns. Mines to the west of the islands. All this is to finally capture the Shetland Islands, and that will mean that our homeland will fall into desperate isolation and starvation. So as the commander of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet, I feel that we must assemble the fleet and fight the enemy. Battle!"

Assembling the fleet for battle is also part of the Home Fleet battle plan, provided it is determined that the main force of the German High Seas Fleet has begun or is about to attack the Shetland Islands.

As Lütjens believed, the British Home Fleet would not watch the Shetland Islands fall into German hands under any circumstances. But Admiral Tovey would not fight an uncertain battle.

"Use the Faroe Islands as the rendezvous point!" Admiral Tovey took a breath and ordered, "A Fleet, C Fleet and E Fleet (referring to the Repulse and several escorting destroyers) all headed to the Faroe Islands for re-formation... …”

The formation must be reorganized before the decisive battle. According to Admiral Tovey's plan, four battleships/battlecruisers including "Nelson", "King George V", "Repulse" and "Ramillis" will become The core of the new A fleet, the mission of the new A fleet will be fleet decisive battle.

The two aircraft carriers "Ark Royal" and "Formidable" will become the core of Fleet C. The mission of Fleet C is to air attack the main force of the German High Seas Fleet and the German aircraft carrier formation that is hiding somewhere.

Fleet B remains unchanged and is still responsible for the task of luring the enemy. They will use the cover of darkness to engage the German fleet bombarding the Shetland Islands from the night of June 10th to the predawn period of June 11th. Then try to lure all or part of the German fleet between the Faroe Islands and Shetland Islands.

Finally, Fleet A and Fleet B will join forces with 6 battleships/battlecruisers to fight against 3 German battleships.

"Lieutenant Admiral, telegram from the Nelson."

On the battlecruiser "Hood", Vice Admiral Lancelot Holland received a copy of the telegram from the communications officer. This is an order sent by the commander of the Home Fleet - ordering Fleet B with the "Hood" as the flagship to perform a very dangerous task of luring the enemy.

This time, the opponents of the "Hood" and the "Prince of Wales" will be the three powerful German battleships such as the "Bismarck", "Tirpitz" and "Gneisenau"!