Mediterranean Plan (I)

  As the British Expeditionary Force and the French First Army Group began to surrender to the German army, the Royal Air Force and the Home Fleet of the Royal Navy also unexpectedly suffered heavy losses.

  Especially the main force of the British Royal Navy's Home Fleet was basically lost more than half. Military observers from various countries had thought that the strength of the German High Seas Fleet was far weaker than that of the British Royal Navy's Home Fleet, and the two previous successful raids were just taking advantage of the opportunity to use many to defeat a few, and strong to defeat weak.

  But after encountering the main force of the British Royal Navy's Home Fleet, the German High Seas Fleet would not have a survival chance of more than 10%. However, what made them drop their glasses was that the German High Seas Fleet unexpectedly defeated the British Royal Navy's Home Fleet. Although it is still unknown how the German High Seas Fleet won this battle, which became the largest naval battle in the world since the Battle of Jutland (the reason why no one knows is that all the survivors on the British side were taken prisoner by the Germans, and the Germans would certainly not reveal their own secrets).

  They now had to reassess the combat capabilities of the German High Seas Fleet.

  In Berlin, Germany, when Hitler learned of the final news of the Battle of Dunkirk, after learning that the Germans had won a great victory over the British in this battle, he was stunned for half a day, then waved his hands and shouted loudly: "The Third Empire is invincible!" According to the high-ranking staff officer who was waiting outside, the office of the Fuehrer that afternoon was like a percussion concert, where only Hitler's loud shouting could be heard, comparable to the world's top three male sopranos.

  After Hitler had vented his emotions and calmed down, he immediately summoned Propaganda Minister Dr. Goebbels and issued orders to activate Germany's propaganda machinery to proclaim the victory of the Battle of Dunkirk to the whole world, thereby humiliating the British and demonstrating German military might.

  In a typical German family in Munich, the master of the house had just finished his meal and turned on the radio, when a male voice came from inside: "Attention, German citizens, attention, German citizens, now an urgent report of major news. Our great and glorious German army has won a brilliant victory in the great battle of Dunkirk. Our great and glorious German army has won a brilliant victory in the great battle of Dunkirk in France. Our enemies, the British Expeditionary Force and the French First Army Group, have surrendered to my glorious German army at the port of Dunkirk. A total of over 330,000 people. In addition, the British Home Fleet was severely damaged in its battle with the German High Seas Fleet.

  The British Home Fleet, except for the battleship 'Rodney' being sunk, were all heavily damaged. The commander of the British Home Fleet, Admiral Forbes, was killed in action. But our German High Seas Fleet commander, Admiral Lütjens, also died in battle, and his flagship, 'Admiral Scheer', was sunk by British warships. A total of 880 officers and men were killed or wounded. Let us observe a minute's silence for our brave naval heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country."

  The family hastily stood up, bowing their heads together to mourn their fallen hero. Before the world's astonishment had ended, Zhou Tianlei, after a brief rest, boarded a special plane sent by the Navy Command to fly to Berlin.

  At the time of his departure, he temporarily handed over command of the 8th Submarine Flotilla to Müller. The new submarines built for the 8th Submarine Flotilla also arrived, with three submarines arriving this time. They were equipped with closed-cycle diesel engines, also known as air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems, which burned a combination of inert gases and oxygen to provide power to the submarine. The maximum underwater speed was 12 knots, and the underwater endurance was 8 knots for 5,000 nautical miles. If used in conjunction with the existing electric propulsion system, the underwater endurance could be even higher.

  After Müller inspected these 3 newly arrived submarines and signed the handover documents, the sailors who drove these 3 submarines also inspected the submarines previously used by the 8th submarine squadron and then took them back to German shipyards for AIP system and some other systems retrofitting.

  Zhou Tianlei's plane had just arrived at Berlin Airport when he was immediately picked up by the naval command staff officer who had been waiting at the airport and taken to the naval command headquarters in a car.

  After meeting with Admiral Raeder and his superior D?nitz on Sunday, everyone first lamented the death of Lütjens, commander of the German High Seas Fleet, in a sea battle with the British Home Fleet.

  Zhou Tianlei began to pull open the large curtain covering a world map on the wall. Zhou Tianlei pointed at the Strait of Gibraltar with a baton and said, "Why could Britain persist in World War I? It was originally the largest colonial country in the world, known as the 'Empire on which the sun never sets'. It relied on its colonies around the world to supply it with blood. Therefore, we must control this main artery..."

  Deng Nuo interrupted Zhou Tianlei's words: "We did the same thing in World War I, trying to cut off its blood supply."

  "But the effect also proved that our comprehensive blockade method is not very good, the troops we can mobilize are limited, and the Atlantic Ocean is vast, we have no way to completely block it, and they will also do their best to protect their sea supply lines. Our losses are not small either."

  "So my approach is that we find out the sea supply lines that have a relatively large impact on Britain, and then we use other methods to control them, rather than simply using force to control. It's better to cut off one finger than hurt all ten."

  "What method do you mean, it seems like we don't need to commit too many troops? And the place you want to blockade is the Mediterranean?"

  "Sir, look at the Mediterranean. It's the most recent sea route from which Britain receives supplies from Asia. Many goods coming from India, Australia and other parts of Asia to mainland Britain pass through the Mediterranean and enter Britain via the Strait of Gibraltar. If we control the Strait of Gibraltar, what will be the outcome?"

  "That's not to say that all the supplies from Asia to Britain will have to go around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope. But what benefits can we gain from this, apart from increasing the difficulty of their supply?"

  D?nitz asked hesitantly. "Of course, the benefits are not limited to these." "First: From a military point of view, we need to take action in Malta, Crete, the Balkans, and French North Africa, as well as British colonies in North Africa and the Middle East. We want to make the Mediterranean our inland lake. This way, we can restrict the British Mediterranean fleet to the Mediterranean region and prevent them from communicating smoothly with Britain. At the same time, we can cut off the connection between British troops stationed in North Africa and Britain at any time, greatly weakening their supplies from Britain. Make them isolated armies. Moreover, it can be said that if we can capture the Middle East, we can also pull Turkey into the water. Threaten the Soviet Union from the south wing. This is the greatest benefit we have gained militarily."

  "Secondly, this action has another advantage. If the plan is successful, we may be able to cause great confusion in Britain, as we will take them by surprise, separating their Mediterranean fleet from the British mainland and also blocking the escape route of the French fleet. This will force Britain to reconsider its gains and losses with us. If we can overthrow Churchill, Britain may even sign a peace treaty with us. Moreover, I must tell you that if we occupy the Middle East, we can obtain a large amount of oil, which is worth fighting for."

  "Where did you know that there is oil in the Middle Eastern desert, we didn't know this information. And even if there is oil in the Middle East, how do we know where to extract it in such a vast desert?" Zhou Tianlei said: "It was an American geologist I knew who told me that there might be oil in the Middle Eastern desert. He said that long ago it was a forest area, and later geological changes made it a desert. So there are conditions for forming oil there. But to achieve this ultimate goal, we need to break down this big plan into several steps."

  "First, we must take control of the Strait of Gibraltar area into our own hands......"

  "You mean we send troops to occupy it? Spain will agree? If it's just our navy acting alone, we may not necessarily gain much advantage."

  Deng said, "No, no, I didn't say our troops must cross Spain to occupy or our navy set out. The Gibraltar area was originally Spanish territory, but after Spain lost the war with Britain, it was forced to cede this land. The British have been operating on this land taken from Spain, and hasn't Spain always wanted to take back Gibraltar? We'll use their psychology, let them be in the front to stir up trouble with the British, while we support the Spanish in the background."

  "The Spanish army's strength is also very clear to you, if they had the strength to recover Gibraltar, they would not have asked for our assistance in their own civil war. Let them go fight the British, I think it will definitely end in failure." said German Navy Commander Raeder.

  "I didn't say we must send troops to occupy that area, but if we did, what would the British reaction be?"

  "Chou Tian Lei said. "What approach?" German Navy Commander Raeder and D?nitz asked in unison. "You say if the residents of Gibraltar hold a national referendum, asking to leave British jurisdiction, or autonomy, or ask to join Spain. What reaction do you think the British will have?""

  "Come on, the British have been ruling for so many years, how could the inhabitants of Gibraltar possibly have such an idea?" Admiral Raeder said with a wave of his hand.

  D?nitz thought for a moment and said, "If the inhabitants of Gibraltar were to do this, it's not impossible that they would succeed. But how are they going to do it? And if they do, what will happen when the British suppress them? How can we intervene?"

  Zhou Tianlei said: "So we want to pull Spain down and let it plan this so-called 'national referendum', and we will serve as the shield of Spain. If Britain wants to intervene forcibly, we will join Italy together. For example, we can send a national referendum supervisor with Italy. In this way, we have done our part on the surface, and see how good Britain's method is to stop us."

  Raeder and D?nitz burst out laughing: "Gott, you're really something! You've got a military hand and a political one. If we can get control of the Strait of Gibraltar without using any troops, we'll have the British Mediterranean Fleet and the French Fleet bottled up in the Mediterranean. Write up a detailed report right away, I'll take it to the Führer for approval. The Führer will certainly be interested in this plan that doesn't use a single soldier."

  Raeder concluded finally: "I have already written the plan. But it would be best to submit it in the name of the Naval Command, not to say that I drafted it."

  "Then why, don't you want to attract the attention of the leader and get promoted?" asked D?nitz strangely. "I don't want to, I just want our country to shed less blood and end the war as soon as possible. Whether or not I become famous is not what I desire most."

  "Wehrle replied, 'Alright, your name won't be on the plan. It will be submitted to the Fuehrer for approval in the name of German Naval Command.'" Hitler was lavish in his praise after studying this concept for seizing control of the Strait of Gibraltar area.

  He believed that the German army was not strong enough at present, and it was a relief for him to be able to put forward this plan. He convened an emergency military meeting on the same night, and after repeated bargaining among the three armies, they tentatively agreed to the navy's proposal - to directly or indirectly control the Strait of Gibraltar area.