Battle of the Third Reich

Throughout the morning, Captain Alfred Zaft seemed to be in a good mood.

After having breakfast with a high-ranking officer of the fleet, he took the adjutant on the deck for two laps and then stayed in the command bridge without moving.

Sitting on a personal observation seat, Captain Zaft looked at the San Francisco city view outside the porthole in a daze. The face that was usually tight and always kept cold and majestic, occasionally showed a touch of people. A weird smile that shudders.

The captain's anomalous performance made the atmosphere inside the entire bridge strange, and everyone was nervous.

The deputy captain and the third star officer quickly found a sounding reason to slip the number, and even the self-proclaimed sturdy gunner Major Major Trenhofer secretly ran to the armored control tower below As he went to smoke, only the navigator and a few unlucky eggs on duty remained with the captain.

A batch of domestic mail was sent to the German embassy last night. One of them was a private parcel addressed to Colonel Zaft. It was about the size of a marching backpack, and it looked heavy. But at this time, no one had linked the captain's weird performance to that extra-large parcel post, because it really did not conform to the captain's usual personality.

Captain Zaft is an excellent German naval soldier, which has been recognized by all crew members. In all the trainings since taking office, Zaft has demonstrated outstanding professional qualities and command capabilities. He was proved to be a qualified battleship commander, and at the same time he had a distinct personality and a strong personality charm. In a few months, he had successfully established his absolute authority on this brand-new, unparalleled German battleship.

Many senior generals in the headquarters of the German Navy believe that, as time goes by, the officer may inscribe his name in the history of the German navy, just like those prestigious predecessors.

A captain walked into the bridge with a document. He didn't seem to notice the strange atmosphere around him, and walked straight to the captain sitting by the porthole.

"Sir." The captain stood up and saluted the boss, then handed the document in his hand to the captain: "This is the call you are waiting for."

"It's finally here." Zaft returned a military salute, and then took the telegram from the other party.

"Thank you, Captain Drizzt." Zaft waved his hand, indicating that the captain could leave.

"Willing to serve, sir." The captain saluted the sergeant again, then turned and walked towards the hatch on the back of the bridge.

It was only then that the young officer realized that the expressions of the fellow colleagues around him were relieved, and with a trace of doubt, the captain scratched his head and crossed the cabin door.

"Leinberg." Zaft stood up from the observation seat and greeted the sailor sitting beside him.

"Yes, Captain." Major Reinberg agreed loudly.

"Come here." Zaft walked to the chart table behind the bridge.

There is a chart room on the bridge of Bismarck, which is installed with a track recorder driven by a mechanical computer, which will automatically mark the position and track of the ship on the chart according to the navigation parameters. However, that kind of advanced equipment was not available at this time, Zaft just had to consult conventional charts.

"Marshal Redell's order." Zaft took off his military cap and handed the document to the Major.

"Command from the headquarters?" Reinberg took the document and also took off the military cap and placed it on the chart table.

"Well, order us to carry out Plan No. 2." Zaft picked up the red and blue pencils that were placed at the table.

"No problem at all, sir. All are ready, we planned the route two weeks ago." Reinberg replied.

"There are some changes in the plan now, we have to go here first." Zaft pointed to a chain of islands in the southern Pacific Ocean.

Looking clearly at the target pointed out by the captain, the marine officer asked with some surprise: "Is it New Guinea?"

"Yes, the former "German" New Guinea." Zaft replied slightly with emotion.

"You should take a closer look at this order. The Admiralty asked us to re-map the charts in this area. At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hoped that we would bring an inspection team to investigate the status of these islands." Zaft bent his fingers. Knock the chart with your knuckles.

"It takes a lot of time." Reinberg said, looking down at the message, scratching his chin with a ruler in his hand.

"In about a week or two, there will be no more. I planned it this way, Reinberg." Zaft replied with the chart table in his hand: "The British promised to cooperate with our actions, I don't How to believe the British, but at least they should not cause us trouble. Look here." Colonel Zaft drew a cross on the chart with a pencil.

"The main part of the Bismarck Islands, the fleet will be anchored here."

"Port Rabaul?" The marine officer frowned. "I need to check the hydrological data there."

The port of Rabaul was once a German colony. The town of Rabaul was originally established by the Germans, and was taken over by Britain after World War I. Although Germany retains the HNA data in this area, these old parameters are no longer applicable for decades.

"I will ask the British Royal Navy to provide the required information, and if necessary, will also ask them to send an experienced pilot to pilot us." Zaft answered with a scratched nose.

The size of the Bismarck has added a lot of difficulties to this voyage. Many ports cannot park such a huge warship. Because the width is too large, she cannot pass the Panama Canal. As a result, she can only make a circle around the South American continent. Less fuel and time.

However, this is also in the hands of the German government. The German navy has reasonable reasons for a short stay in South American countries. At that time, many Latin American countries held pro-German positions, especially Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. There were a large number of German immigrants in the area, and most of them were dictatorships in the country. From bottom to top, they were full of intimacy with fascism.

However, the attitude of the Germans towards this diplomatic cruise is very low-key. After all, this is the American backyard. Especially when the other party has determined that "American priority", or should be said "American priority", it is really inappropriate to be too publicized to touch this. The nerves of a giant.

"Is it possible to provide supplies there?" the marine officer continued to ask.

"It's not clear yet, in theory it's a good port. I think the headquarters will arrange everything for us, but when we leave San Francisco, we need to load as many supplies as possible."

"We can fill the piggy." Lane Borg said with a smile.

"Yeah, stuff the piggy." Zaft also laughed.

The German Navy supply ship [Fackel] (fackel) is a 7,500-ton mixed cargo ship that used to travel between the United States and Europe before the war. After the German navy bought the high-speed freighter, it carried out a series of transformations. It was originally intended to be used as a submarine supply ship, but the European war was over before it was completely completed.

As a result, this cargo ship was used as a technical test ship, equipped with the marine supply system "invented" by the head of state, and provided first-hand technical information for the development of the [Drian] class high-speed supply ship.

The freighter reached a speed of 26 knots, and it can maneuver long distances with the conventional fleet. Because of the huge cargo capacity and complete facilities, it was unanimously welcomed by the fleet members during this long-distance voyage.

Because the design of the two side-by-side anchor chain holes on the left side of the bow is quite special, it looks like a pair of nostrils of a pig, and the name of the ship [Fackel] (fackel) sounds very similar to the little pig (frckel) in German. , So the German sailors who liked to joke called her "Little Pig".

Zaft pointed at a point on the chart with a pencil: "After leaving Rabaul, we bypassed the Solomon Islands and went to Brisbane. We will stay near this island for another two days."

"Solomon Islands? What's the name of the island you're talking about?" Lane Borg leaned down and looked closely.

"The pronunciation is very mouthful, the Spaniard who discovered it at that time called it Guadalcanal." Colonel Zaft replied with his hands on his hips.

ps: Thank you for your support, and we are working hard to restore our status and let us continue our journey.