Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 72: Somerville

Lieutenant Admiral James F. Somerville stood on the tall bridge of the Ark Royal, looking worriedly at the awkward and ugly biplane on the deck. [First launch] The deck crew is making final preparations for these planes before takeoff.

The ammunition hand in white overalls and orange life jackets lay on the deck and checked the safety bolts of the torpedo pylons again, and then extended his thumb to the bomber in the cabin.

"Before this, we have never used aircraft carriers to attack military ports. These aircraft are too slow and are vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire, sir." The aircraft carrier captain, Lieutenant Colonel Scott, was standing in Somerville’s Whispered behind him.

"This is a wartime cabinet order, and the Royal Navy must obey it." Somerville tilted his head slightly to prevent his subordinates from continuing to discuss the matter. He really heard too many similar remarks along the way.

This battle, from the formation of the fleet to the formulation of the plan, is said to have taken only two days from beginning to end, completely breaking the Royal Navy’s usual combat procedures. In the eyes of some veteran admirals, it was simply a farce.

But behind this plan stood Churchill, the Ministry of War, and the entire wartime cabinet. No one, no British can have the courage to say no to these people.

When Britain is sinking deeper and deeper in the quagmire of this war, it may face the disaster of extinction. The wisdom of British politicians seems to have been sublimated in the crisis of annihilation. They used their rich political experience and legal skills to quickly concentrate the power of the entire United Kingdom in the hands of a small group of elite politicians. The current British government won This is a huge power that has never been seen in British history.

With the enactment and passage of the British War Law, the Cabinet and the Prime Minister during the war have gained the absolute power to take any British citizens and foreigners living on British territory, and even decide their life and death at will.

Because every British citizen swears allegiance to the king. The law of war clearly stipulates that when the British king is in a situation where he may participate in a war personally, every British citizen is obliged to contribute his land, property, and even his life to the king. The King of England obtained the right to requisition any personnel, materials, industrial and mining enterprises in the British land at will, and to kill every British life. As the king's chief minister, the de facto leader of the country, the British Prime Minister also obtained the same power at the same time, as long as he and his war cabinet passed a resolution. Any order issued from Downing Street and the Department of War must be implemented without compromise, no matter how absurd and unreasonable this order is.

What is dictatorship? This is true dictatorship. But it was so just, sounding, reasonable and legal, and the political wisdom of the British barbarians was fully displayed at this time.

While Hitler was still fighting with his generals and chaebols, Mussolini was still entangled with a bunch of royalists and aristocrats, and he was very busy with each other. Tojo is still scratching his head to balance the contradictions between the young and the elders, the army and the navy, and the emperor and the chaebol, and is known as a model of democratic politics. The cornerstone of the free world, the dignified Prime Minister of the British Empire, has become a more well-deserved dictator than the above.

In the original history, Churchill was inexhaustible during the whole World War II. He relied on the power that the cabinet seized by the law of war during the war. He was free to intervene in any work that he thought was beneficial to the war, freely expropriating land and The factory mineral resources, mobilize funds at will, recruit personnel, and order the factory to produce the equipment he wants. Order the police to arrest anyone he considers dangerous, pardon criminals at will, and issue shooting orders at will. Except for the King of England, no one can stop him, and in most cases, the King has no right to interfere with him.

Finally, when the war ended and the law of war became invalid, Churchill was immediately thrown off the altar. Not only was he kicked out of the government, he was even kicked out of politics. Churchill angrily cursed that British people are ungrateful villains, but why the British people are so ungracious and unjust? Freezing three feet is not a day's cold. Churchill is not a saint. Every stupid and absurd decision he made was seen by the British, but he didn't dare to speak.

To give a real example, the British were arrested and fined for feeding birds with bread slices in the park during World War II, because Churchill ordered that animals cannot be fed with food that people can eat. Feeding pets can only use waste residue, even the Japanese have not been able to play such a frenzy.

When Somerville was called by Churchill to his semi-underground shelter at the corner of Downing Street, Somerville, who was able to command the entire fleet, was sweating nervously on his forehead. Although there was also a reason for poor ventilation in the basement, He did feel an unspeakable pressure in front of Churchill.

At this time, Churchill and he had just taken over the authority of the Prime Minister to establish the wartime cabinet when they looked like two people when they were full of spirits. As a result of working underground for a long time, his skin was slightly pale, alcohol and cigars made him look much older. The sides of the originally round and tight cheeks have been somewhat sagging, and there are obvious wrinkles on the neck and huge eye bags. , There was an unhealthy gray-blue color between the corners of his eyes and the wings of his nose, only the eyes under the raised eyebrows still maintained his sharpness and toughness.

"Lieutenant General Somerville, you have now been appointed as the commander of the H Fleet. This is your letter of appointment." Churchill put a document on the table without any politeness.

Somerville was caught off guard. This was completely unruly and violated the tradition of the Royal Navy. This appointment should be made by the Navy Command, not the Prime Minister. However, this is a war period, and Churchill has the power to appoint, dismiss, promote, demote, and expel any British officer at will.

"You will fly to Plymouth now, and your fleet is waiting for you there. This is a very difficult task. Alexander recommended you to me, and I hope you will not disappoint me and the Secretary of the Navy. This is combat You can take a look at the plan first.” Churchill pushed through a folder, then put the cigar on the side of the ashtray, opened the crystal bottle on the table, poured a glass of whiskey, and gestured to Somerville.

"Ah, thank you Prime Minister. I'm sorry, I don't drink at work." Somerville bowed respectfully to express his thanks.

"It is a critical moment. I have been working for thirty-two hours without a break, and I have to rely on these things." Churchill was also polite, taking a sip from his wine glass.

"General Somerville, it is now the life and death of Britain. The Germans are gathering their transport ships and troops. Landing may happen at any time." Churchill gently put down the wine glass and picked up the cigar again.

"I have received the exact news that France has made peace with Germany in private. Now everything we see is performing. The French have betrayed us and they are no longer credible. What I am most worried about now is , The French fleet, this is a sea force capable of reversing the whole war situation. Once Germany gets these warships, they can suppress the Royal Navy from the overall strength. For Britain, this is a disaster."

"But Prime Minister, I have read this plan. We have never made a similar attempt. Although I have commanded the fleet, I have never been exposed to aircraft carrier tactics. In addition, the aircraft conducts torpedo attacks on battleships. After some exercises and experiments, although the effect seems to be good. But it has not been tested in actual combat. I doubt the effect of the attack. If the expected result in the plan is not achieved, we will face an enraged fleet. There are two The battleship and the two cruisers, with our existing ship firepower, it is difficult for us to attack them. Therefore, I think this plan is a bit risky." Somerville said hesitantly.

"This is a plan made by the War Department. It is an order issued by me personally, General. All you have to do now is to obey the order. If you are unwilling to carry it out. Please bring it up immediately, then I can change someone else." Churchill His face sank, and a dangerous cold light flashed in his eyes.

"No, Prime Minister. I didn't mean that. Of course I will obey your orders. Please rest assured." Somerville nodded vigorously in affirmation.

"Well, I believe you can do it." Churchill put on a kind face, and he patted the desk and said. "This plan is the key to reversing the current unfavorable situation. We must avoid falling into the situation I mentioned earlier. We must preemptively strike. I also know. With our current strength, we want to completely disarm the French Navy, whether it is It is difficult to do it technically or in strength. So what we can do now is to weaken him as much as possible and reduce the threat to the point where we can bear it.

As you know, the Germans have concentrated their forces. They have concentrated hundreds of ships of various kinds in Calais. Their navy has rushed into the North Sea. Their air force is raging over Britain. They are bombing. To our cities and factories. Now, their army is about to land on our sacred island, our homes will be burned, and our women and children will be slaughtered. I absolutely cannot allow this to happen.

Now, the only thing that can hold our last line of defense is to rely on the Royal Navy. I believe the Royal Navy will not let me down. Just like the countless crises that Britain has encountered for hundreds of years, the Royal Navy will once again dominate. The outcome of the war.

Germany has concentrated their naval forces and has the upper hand in some areas. Therefore, we must also gather all our naval forces to guard our straits.

I decided to relocate most of the ships in the Mediterranean fleet back to homeland. They can only do nothing in the Mediterranean. Our army and air force are capable of guarding Egypt and the Suez Canal. More colonial forces are being assembled. . In addition to deterring the Italians, the Mediterranean Fleet can only consume its power in vain, and the British Empire is now in need of these forces.

Of course, we did not give up the Mediterranean easily. I will keep a small fleet there to show our existence. When the British crisis is over, we still have to return to the Mediterranean. In order to avoid the Mediterranean fleet being obstructed and harassed by the French fleet on its way back to the homeland, we must attack the French warships stationed in the African colonies, even if they cannot sink, at least hurt them, at least in a few months. Will not trouble us. We hold Gibraltar, and when the threat of German landing is resolved, we can return to the Mediterranean at any time.

By next year, we will get four brand new aircraft carriers and two latest battleships. We will get more destroyers and transport ships, planes and tanks and artillery from the United States. Germany will no longer be able to threaten us, and by then, it will be our turn to counterattack. You know, during the Boer War. . . . "

Somerville no longer remembers when Churchill's long talk ended. Anyway, there was a bunch of memories of the past and talks about the future, and what I heard was almost nonsense. "It should be because of the whiskey." Somerville thought as he walked out of the shelter.

"General, the time is up, you can order the plane to take off!" Lieutenant Colonel Scott's voice called Somerville back to reality from his memories.

Somerville looked down at his watch, nodded and replied, "Order them to take off."

The prepared electric bell rang, and the flight commander on the deck looked towards the bridge~IndoMTL.com~ Seeing the take-off signal light started to flash, he quickly waved the command flag in his hand.

The swordfish torpedo pilot who had been waiting impatiently pushed forward the throttle lever. The aircraft engine began to roar frantically. The pilot stared at the tachometer and released the brakes after reaching the takeoff speed. The huge biplane torpedo It began to speed on the deck. At a distance of five or six meters from the bow of the ship, the wheels left the deck and the aircraft turned to the left, tilting the fuselage and slowly climbing.

The take-off procedure was repeated and everything was proceeding in an orderly manner. After two years of arduous training, the pilots of the Navy’s 818 and 806 Air Forces were already very familiar with the biplanes they were flying. Flaws, unexpectedly smooth.

The fleet flew round and round over the aircraft carrier. After waiting for the last swordfish to take off and join the formation, the fleet began to turn. Forty-eight swordfish torpedo aircraft arranged into four neat inverted V formations, facing Flying to the African coast in the dark.

Somerville stood silently on the observation deck next to the bridge and looked at the fleet of distant aircraft. The neatly arranged red and green navigation lights flickered in the dark night sky, and soon disappeared on the edge of the sea line. In the darkness of night, he slowly sighed, turned and walked into the bridge. (To be continued.)

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