Dunkirk I'm coming (up)

  As they left the temporary headquarters on the west front and headed for the naval base, Raeder spoke up: "G?tting, it seems I really have to make you a senior captain now. You've brought great honor to our German Navy. Our German Navy has never been so glorious before."

  D?nitz remained calm and said, "We have not yet won the war. We also do not know whether the situation will develop as we expect at that time. There are still many things for us to do." Lütjens also said, "What D?nitz said is right, there are still many things for us to do. After we go back, we need to carefully study the details of the plan and arrange it."

  Several naval officers returned to Wilhelmshaven and entered the port command. Unfolded the sea chart. Raeder asked, "Now which warships can we mobilize, and which ones that are already at sea can be called back?" "Now we can mobilize Gneisenau, Scharnhorst, Admiral Hipper, Lützow, Admiral Scheer, Blücher and other battleships and heavy cruisers. Prinz Eugen is currently undergoing sea trials and cannot participate in the upcoming battle. Oh, and the captured British submarine U-570 has been repaired and can also participate, now it's called Hamburg. G?tting, your new-type submarines have been built, two of them were built using funds diverted from other places without the Führer's approval. You should return them now, this time your fleet has three submarines. This battle can be considered our decisive battle with the British Home Fleet, so this time we will mobilize all light cruisers and most destroyers, and the submarine fleet will also gather together to participate in the decisive battle." Lütjens replied.

  At this time, in the Prime Minister's Office in London, Churchill looked at the report on his desk: "What? The German Navy is gathering troops in Norway. What do they want to do? Is this intelligence reliable?" "It was passed down from Admiral Canaris, head of German Naval Intelligence, but he only knew that the German Navy was gathering there. As for what they wanted to do, he wasn't clear." said the head of the Cabinet Intelligence Committee.

  Churchill furrowed his brow and thought for half a day. He picked up the phone; "Notify the Minister of the Navy and the Minister of the Army. Tell them to come here immediately." "Yes, sir." Half an hour later, the Ministers of the Navy and the Army arrived at Churchill's office. Churchill asked: "Has your navy recently discovered any unusual phenomena in the German navy?" "They have been communicating frequently with Norway by telegram, but they have changed the Enigma cipher that we had already cracked, so now we can't decipher their code and don't know what they are planning to do. They should be plotting a major action, but the Germans' defense in Norway is very solid, and our reconnaissance has not obtained any valuable results."

  Churchill said, "Let's speculate that the day after tomorrow, the ' Dynamo' plan will be implemented. The Germans will not let our expeditionary force go. Although the troops surrounding Dunkirk have blocked the German army's attack." The Minister of War nodded and said, "Although this is the case, the pressure from the German army's attack on us is getting bigger and bigger. So the 'Dynamo' plan must be carried out as soon as possible." "Do you think the German Navy will go to Dunkirk?" "No, it's too narrow there, and the German fleet can't deploy there. And our air force won't let them off either." The Minister of the Navy said with certainty. "The problem facing the German Navy now is how to break through our blockade in Spa Creek and Iceland base. If they come to Dunkirk, it will be some light ships only. Interfering with our transport fleet. The main force for the Germans to stop our expeditionary force from retreating should still be their air force and army. Their purpose may be to take advantage of our attention on Dunkirk and launch a surprise attack on our Spa Creek and Iceland base, thereby breaking through our blockade. However, this is also good, their ships have been running around on the sea, attacking our transport fleet, and it takes a lot of effort for us to find them. Now that they are concentrated, can't we concentrate our forces to eliminate them?"

  Churchill said with hatred; "Now we can confirm that the damned German Navy is going to attack our Scapa Flow during the execution of 'Operation Spark', which bastard Gott Prien went to Scapa Flow and sank our 'Royal Oak' last year, now he dares to come here again to take advantage. I will catch him, I will tie him up and parade him in front of Buckingham Palace."

  The British Home Fleet rapidly deployed, sending a large number of warships to Sullom Voe and the naval base in Iceland. At both bases, personnel were busy installing coastal artillery, anti-aircraft guns, laying anti-submarine nets and anti-torpedo nets in the water, and arranging small patrol boats to patrol the routes. Ground crew from the air force and naval aviation inspected the newly arrived fighter jets and bombers, while engineering troops leveled the airport runway and set up searchlights. The logistics warehouse was also busy checking fuel and ammunition supplies. The entire base had entered a state of high alert.

  But in the British government and army, German spies lurking in Britain quickly sent back to Germany. The Western Front Temporary Command received intelligence from the intelligence department at the fastest speed. The Western Front Temporary Command was overjoyed and immediately ordered the German fleet to quietly leave the port, but they went south instead. The entire fleet entered radio silence, advancing at a speed of 25 knots.

  Lütjens stood on the bridge of Scharnhorst, listening to her captain issue orders to the helmsman and engine room based on the chart. Ahead of him were Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, behind him Lützow and Admiral Beatty, on his flanks Hipper and Blücher, while astern of the heavy ships came the light cruisers, and finally the destroyers. The several groups had opened out to reduce the chances of being spotted by the British.

  While the submarine fleet commanded by Zhou Tianlei left a part near Norway to monitor the actions of the British, the remaining submarines also followed behind, and at the same time undertook anti-submarine tasks.

  Lütersen stood on the bridge, thinking about Zhou Tianlei. This person was a bit strange now, he didn't show the qualities he showed now before, not only in submarine command but also in national strategy, he showed high sensitivity. What's going on? Is it really God bringing luck to him? If so, that would be Germany's good fortune. But thinking of his performance at the dock, Lütersen thought with a smile: He stood in front of the sailors he commanded and asked loudly after introducing the task: "What unit are we?" The sailor replied: "We are the 8th Submarine Squadron of the Imperial Navy." Zhou Tianlei was very unhappy and said: "Haven't you eaten enough? Why do you all sound so weak when speaking. How can there be such trash in my unit?" The sailor said loudly: "We are the 8th Submarine Squadron of the Imperial Navy!" Zhou Tianlei was still very unhappy; "Are you men or women?" The sailor almost shouted with all his might: "We are the 8th Submarine Squadron of the Imperial Navy." It gave people a feeling like there were a group of wolves that had been starving for a long time. Zhou Tianlei was satisfied and said: "This is my unit, remember, you are the elite of the Imperial Navy, you are the elite among the elite! There is no one better than you here! Do you remember?" "We will always remember, we are the best, no one is stronger than us!" Zhou Tianlei shouted loudly; "What unit are we?" "We are the 8th Submarine Squadron of the Imperial Navy, we are the elite of the Imperial Navy, we are the elite among the elite!" Zhou Tianlei continued to shout loudly: "Do you have confidence in winning this battle?" The sailor shouted loudly: "First battle use me, I will definitely win!" (You Zhou Tianlei brought the method of motivating soldiers from your own country here, it feels like the Chinese army)

  At this time, the three submarines commanded by Zhou Tianlei were using semi-submerged state to navigate at high speed on the sea surface, followed by other submarine squadrons. They planned to ambush the British fleet on their必经之路 (necessary route) and report the movements of the British fleet, seeking opportunities to attack the British fleet, delaying their speed, and gaining time for the German striking fleet. The task of Zhou Tianlei's 8th Submarine Squadron was to lay an ambush on the flank and rear of the striking fleet, and after the striking fleet and the British reinforcement fleet clashed, launch a surprise attack on the British fleet.

  Zhou Tianlei was standing next to Müller by the chart, while Luk, the gunnery officer of Zhou Tianlei's submarine, had been approved to serve on the second submarine of the 8th Submarine Squadron due to his excellent performance in training on the new submarine and outstanding performance in the Battle of Norway. He also received a First Class Iron Cross medal. Müller had also been promoted to deputy commander of the 8th Submarine Flotilla.

  After studying the sea chart carefully, Zhou Tianlei said to Mueller: "You see, in the northwest of Dover Strait, the underwater situation is more complicated here, which is conducive to our concealment. We can deploy the eighth submarine squadron here. In addition, the strike fleet is in our south, and because they need to participate in the attack on the British expeditionary force and the French First Army Group's evacuation fleet in advance, they can only unfold here. This way they will have more time to warn of air raids against Britain. So our task is to send a level-one combat report to the British after discovering them, follow the British fleet, and disrupt their possible reconnaissance. But this requires us to move underwater for a long time and be relatively close to the British fleet. Only then can we use their tail flow to cover ourselves."

  Müller asked, "Why take this tactic? We could have deployed in front of the fleet instead. And won't we be shaken off by following behind the enemy?" "No, because our position is not far from the main battlefield now. Moreover, the British fleet will definitely guard against us and will not run at high speed. They also have time to deploy their formation after entering the battlefield. Enough for us to catch up with them. The most important point is that what looks like the safest place is often the most dangerous."