The Rise of the Third Reich

"The French Navy must fight the enemy at all costs with the greatest determination and strive to deal a devastating blow to the US Navy fleet - Prime Minister of the French Republic, Minister of Defense, and Marshal Darlan." Just as 12 German Type 21 U-boats were slaughtering the US fleet centered on three injured Iowa-class battleships on the sea. More than a dozen nautical miles away, French Admiral Jean Soule, who was commanding a temporary formation consisting of a battleship, three heavy cruisers, a light cruiser and eight destroyers (there were 10 destroyers at the beginning, but two French destroyers were sunk by American torpedoes in previous operations) on the battleship Provence, had just received a secret telegram from Paris. Jean Soule was a senior admiral in the French Navy and was an admiral at the beginning of the World War in 1939. His official position in the European Combined Fleet is the commander of the Brest Naval Base. Brest, the home port of the European Combined Fleet, was originally a "German concession". However, after the recent European Community Leaders' Meeting, the sovereignty of Brest was officially returned to France, and the base commander was also appointed by a French naval general.

As for how a French admiral who served as the base commander boarded the Provence battleship and became the commander of a temporary combat formation, it is of course related to the rules of the Combined Fleet.

The current European Community has a combined fleet but no combined navy. The navies of various countries participating in the combined fleet maintain their own personnel systems, and only the military orders and logistics are unified.

So only an order from the French Navy Department was needed, and the commander of the battleship brigade on the Provence (a French rear admiral) immediately got sick and left the ship, and Admiral Jean Soul came on duty.

And Jean Soul boarded the Provence with a special mission. He followed the order of French Prime Minister Darlan to observe the effect of the "missile tactics" and report the results of the battle to Darlan as soon as possible.

Now the effect of "missile tactics" is obvious, the Germans have won completely! The sea power of the Atlantic Ocean belongs to Europe, and the United States of America can only rely on the army and shore-based aircraft to defend it.

Therefore, Admiral Darlan, who was sitting in the Prime Minister's Office in Paris, immediately gave Jean Soul an order - he must beat the American dog in the water to show the bravery and fighting ability of the French Navy!

When he thought of the honor that the French Navy would achieve, Admiral Jean Soul, who was old and had experienced two world wars and the downturn of the French Navy, could not suppress his excitement.

"Sir! Radar found that the American destroyer launched another attack!"

The shout of the electronic officer of the Provence brought Jean Soul back to reality. Now the battle on the sea does not seem to be particularly favorable to the brave and invincible French Navy.

Although none of the three American torpedo formations that were exchanging fire with the "Jean-Soul Formation" had a battleship, they had the same number of heavy cruisers as the "Jean-Soul Formation", three, and much more destroyers than the "Jean-Soul Formation", reaching 27 (30 at the beginning, 3 were sunk), 20 of which were powerful torpedo destroyers!

The main force of the "Jean-Soul Formation", the Provence, was too slow, dragging down the Deutschland, the Graf Spee, and the Admiral Scheer that formed the bombardment formation with it. As a result, the "Jean-Soul Formation" had powerful artillery, but could not close the distance with the American bombardment formation (composed of three treaty heavy cruisers, including the New Orleans, Tuscaloosa, and Houston).

Due to the long distance, the accuracy of the bombardment was greatly reduced. Although the three American heavy cruisers were hit by several shells, except for the Tuscaloosa, which was hit by a 340mm shell fired by the Provence and suffered serious damage, the other two heavy cruisers were only hit by several 203mm shells, and they were not hit in the vital parts. The shells they fired also hit the Provence several times, one of which landed on the seaplane deck of the Provence, smashing an Ar.196 into pieces and igniting a gunpowder magazine (the gunpowder magazine used by the seaplane catapult).

At the same time, the American destroyers took turns to attack, trying to break through the blockade formed by the Glorious light cruiser and 8 French destroyers, and fired torpedoes at the Provence. As a result, it really broke through once, and the port side of the bow of the Provence was hit by a 533mm torpedo, causing the bow to sink and the speed to drop, which also affected the shooting accuracy of the two main gun turrets at the bow of the Provence.

The bow of this French battleship with a full load displacement of more than 27,000 tons sank, a fire broke out amidships, and one of its main turrets (the midship main turret) was destroyed. It looked really embarrassed.

Now the American destroyers have started a new round of charge, which is really scary!

"Except for the Provence, the main guns of all ships are aimed at the American destroyers! Don't let them get close!" Admiral Jean Soul dared not let the American destroyers get closer, and quickly ordered the cruisers and destroyers to block them with all their strength.

But what happened next was far beyond Admiral Jean Sur's expectations. The two dozen American destroyers charging under the gunfire did not rush towards the scarred Provence. Instead, they rushed towards the three German heavy cruisers behind the Provence, and fired about 80 Mk15 torpedoes from about 9,000 meters away—— Several types of heavy torpedo destroyers in the United States carry 16 Mk15 torpedoes. Some of them have been launched in previous battles. Now there are only about 80 Mk15 torpedoes available, all of which were fired at three German heavy cruisers. Although the torpedoes were fired from a relatively long distance, 9,000 meters away, and at night when visibility was extremely poor, two Mk15 torpedoes still hit the target. One of them hit the stern of the heavy cruiser "Deutschland", causing water to enter the power compartment. Another hit the bow of the "Admiral Scheer" and also caused a large influx of water.

In the process, the Americans also paid a heavy price. Three destroyers were hit by the 203mm main guns of the "Deutschland" class cruisers (the three Deutschland class cruisers have now been converted into heavy cruisers), and all of them burst into flames. , the speed also dropped significantly, becoming a living target on the sea.

"Sir, the heavy cruiser Deutschland reported that the port side of the ship was hit by a torpedo, and the power compartment was flooded. It may lose some power!"

"Sir, the bow of the Admiral Scheer heavy cruiser was hit by a torpedo. One of the storage compartments was flooded. The bow of the ship sank, and the speed may be reduced by 5 knots."

"Damn it!" After listening to the staff report, Jean Sule had beads of sweat on his forehead.

His fleet has battleships, and it's really embarrassing to have an inseparable battle with the American heavy cruisers and destroyers.

"Sir," the electronic officer of the Provence shouted again at this time, "the radar has detected that the American destroyer is retreating quickly!"

A quick retreat? Why? Could it be that all the torpedoes were fired?

"Where are the three American heavy cruisers?" Jean Suhr asked.

"They seem to be continuing to fight us."

Jean-Sure was stunned again and again. The destroyer ran away, but the heavy cruiser didn't run away. What's going on? What does Yankee mean?

…

"Admiral, the Little Rock can't hold on anymore...please get on the lifeboat quickly."

While Jean Sur was in a daze, US Navy Admiral Halsey was worried. His new flagship, the light cruiser USS Little Rock, was sinking again. Of course it was the terrifying Type 21 U-boat that sank it!

This Type 21 U-boat, which can sail at a high speed of 17.2 knots underwater, has a combat efficiency no worse than the Reaper 2 anti-ship missile when encountering an enemy ship they can catch up with. Because the Type 21 U-boat's high underwater speed makes it difficult for American destroyers to attack - they cannot catch up with the Type 21 U-boat when they travel too slowly, and they cannot use sonar when they drive too fast. Therefore, the best way for American warships to encounter a Type 21 U-boat is to escape at high speed.

But Halsey was reluctant to part with the nearly 8,000 naval officers and soldiers on the three Iowa-class battleships. These people are the best sailors in the U.S. Navy. If they can be fished out, they will definitely be able to support the operation of ten light cruisers in a short period of time. The slipways of major shipyards in the United States are now full of light cruisers waiting to be launched. The patrol and destroyer is just waiting to be controlled by outstanding naval officers and soldiers.

Therefore, Halsey did not decisively order a retreat after the first wave of attacks by 12 German Type 21 U-boats. Instead, he ordered the light cruisers and destroyers that were not hit by torpedoes to rescue people quickly.

As a result, the man was not rescued, but even got himself into it. In the second wave of attacks launched by 12 Type 21 U-boats, almost all the American light cruisers and destroyers that were rescuing the drowned people were hit by mines. Even the "Little Rock" on which Halsey was riding was no exception. It was hit by four torpedoes in a row. Three large holes were opened in the underwater part of the port side. Sea water surged in and flooded the power compartment. Although water was injected to the starboard side in an emergency, Maintained balance. But this could only delay the sinking of the Little Rock.

There must have been more than 10,000 US Navy officers and soldiers who had fallen into the water or were about to fall into the water. Halsey had no choice but to call for help from the three lightning strike formations that were fighting hard with the "Jean-Sure Formation".

But when Halsey got on a small lifeboat, he suddenly thought: Once the more than 20 destroyers slow down to rescue people, will they once again become targets for the German submarines underwater?