The Rise of the Third Reich

It will rain in Iceland tonight, and there will be strong winds and waves in the surrounding seas.

Comrade Stalin's desk also has a weather report for Iceland that has just been delivered - I believe Hitler, Chamberlain, Daladier and US President Roosevelt are all very concerned about the weather in Iceland now.

"It seems that the people of Iceland will have to bring an umbrella when they go out tonight," Joseph Stalin said with some concern, "Comrade Kuznetsov, this is a very serious problem, isn't it?"

Stalin raised his head and looked at the very handsome and very young People's Commissar of the Navy and Commander-in-Chief of the Red Navy standing opposite his desk - Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov, who is only 37 years old this year.

The 37-year-old Commander-in-Chief of the Red Navy is of course a beneficiary of the Soviet "Great Purge". The old qualifications in the Red Navy have been purged, so it is Kuznetsov's turn to be lucky. However, Kuznetsov did not become the Commander-in-Chief of the Red Navy entirely by luck. He is still very proficient in the navy and naval aviation business.

After learning that the German "Scharnhorst" and "Seydlitz" had left Wilhelmshaven, he immediately realized that the German commerce-breaking fleet would soon break into the Atlantic. And this incident is likely to change the course of the war on the Western Front!

If the British Royal Navy is ultimately unable to destroy the "Scharnhorst" and "Seydlitz", then Britain's maritime transportation will have big problems. If Britain cannot import raw materials and food from overseas, then the British Empire may soon have to bow to Germany.

This means that the war on the Western Front is likely to end within a few weeks!

"Yes, Comrade General Secretary," Kuznetsov said, "Iceland's bad weather is very good for the Germans." He paused and said, "If Iceland is calm these days, it will be even better for Germany."

"Good weather is also good?" Stalin was a little confused.

"Of course, if the weather is good, German submarines will fill the Iceland-Faroe Islands waters." Kuznetsov explained, "This will lead to a situation where battleships, aircraft and submarines work together. If one of the Hood and the Ark Royal is sunk or severely damaged by a German submarine, the British will have no choice but to ask for peace."

"So serious?" Stalin frowned and looked at Kuznetsov, "Aren't the British known as the overlords of the sea?"

"But most of their battleships and aircraft carriers are old and outdated, only the Hood and the Ark Royal have a higher speed. And these two ships must work together. Losing one will not be able to restrain the Scharnhorst and the Seydlitz. As for the British's new battleships and aircraft carriers, they will not be available until June 1940 at the earliest. Can be put into use if the United Kingdom is interrupted for 7 months ... Comrade General Secretary knows that Britain is an island country. Except for coal, all important raw materials cannot be self -sufficient, and the grain is seriously dependent on imports. The virtue should not be. It was a solid battle cruiser, but the Royal Ark was hard to say. As long as there were a few 250 kg of armor -piercing on it, it would take two or three months to repair it even if it was not sinking. "" I understand! " It is necessary to communicate with the National Defense People's Committee, Voloholov. …

October 8, 1939, German time, 6pm, North Sea, southwest of Shetland Islands.

The weather was very bad, it was raining heavily on the sea, the wind and waves were strong, at least level 5 sea conditions. The "Scharnhorst" and "Seydlitz" were sailing through the waves, and the "Leipzig" light cruiser was leading the way.

In this climate, there would naturally be no British planes to bomb, and the threat of submarines was also reduced to a minimum. Just sail carefully, and we should be able to enter Icelandic waters tomorrow morning.

In the officer's cabin of the "Seydlitz", Major Adolf Galland, the captain of the "Seydlitz" flight squadron, was lying on the bed reading a book. Because of the bad weather, the flight squadron had no flight missions, and everyone was taking the time to rest.

Sleeping on the upper bunk was Lieutenant Colonel Heinrich Weiss, the aviation staff officer of the "Seydlitz". Lieutenant Colonel Weiss was a genuine naval pilot who graduated from the Flensburg-Morwick Naval Academy at the end of the last World War. Not long after graduation, he encountered the revolution and defeat, and was laid off by the navy. In peacetime, he learned to fly a plane and found a job as a pilot at Lufthansa. After Germany restored its armaments, he was recalled and became a naval pilot. Later, he was sent to study in Japan.

"Adolf, have you fought against British fighter planes? How are their performance?" Lieutenant Colonel Weiss leaned on the bed and asked his colleague who was from the Air Force in the lower bunk.

"It's very good. It's similar to the BF-109," Adolf Galland said. "It should be a Spitfire, but that aircraft shouldn't be able to board their aircraft carrier."

"But you still knocked it off."

"That's a matter of tactics and pilot skills," Adolf Galland said. "The performance of the aircraft seems to be that a rookie can never beat an experienced player."

"The performance is similar?" Lieutenant Colonel Heinrich Weiss asked, "Their Spitfire is similar to our Fokker Zero?"

"Everyone has his own merits." Adolf Alander replied, "That is a difficult opponent. We'd better avoid it."

"Then I'm not worried," Heinrich Weiss smiled. "The performance of British carrier-based aircraft is relatively poor because the design is too conservative. But the British don't have to worry too much about us. After all, we only have 9 aircraft. Fokker 99, too little.”

Nine Fokker 99s are certainly enough for reconnaissance or bombing transport ships, but they are not enough to deal with the British fleet.

Adolf Galland also nodded in agreement, "Yes, if there are 50 Fokker 99s, we will at least have a chance to kill the Ark Royal."

"There is no chance this time," Heinrich Weiss lowered his voice, "Our navy has its own plan!"

"Oh?" Major Garland closed the book in his hand, "What are you going to do?"

"Submarines!" Heinrich Weiss said, "Ten large ocean-going submarines are already lurking in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. If the 'Hood' and the 'Royal Ark' catch up, the submarines will have the opportunity to make a sneak attack! "

…

"Is the weather bad?" The pale and very tired British Prime Minister asked in a hoarse voice as soon as he saw the energetic Churchill. "Our meteorological experts said that the heavy rain and strong winds will continue for a few days. It seems that we can catch They’re gone, right?”

"It's not like there's no chance at all," Churchill replied. "What meteorologists say is not necessarily accurate."

It’s just that the chance is not great, because the sea area around Iceland and the Faroe Islands is very vast, and it is very difficult to find the German fleet if you cannot search by plane. Besides, the weather is bad now and visibility is compromised even during the day, let alone at night?

"Even if they break into the Atlantic Ocean, there is nothing we can do!" Churchill continued, "All ships have now received warnings and are sailing away from nearby waters at full speed. Next, a large convoy including aircraft carriers and battleships will be organized."

"But the Germans still have a 'Scharnhorst' class and a 'Sedlitz' class," Chamberlain said with some frustration. "They will soon enter the Atlantic. What will we do then? Give a transport fleet With two battleships and two aircraft carriers?”

"It must be like this!" Churchill said, "The British Empire must defend her routes, which are our lives. The transportation plan must be completely adjusted. First, use neutral ships to concentrate the goods to the United States, and then use the North Atlantic route to transport them back to Britain. . There can be hundreds or more transport ships in a single fleet!"

The British Admiralty paused, suddenly took a deep breath, and said, "Actually, we have other ways!"

"Any other way?" Chamberlain asked hesitantly, "Summary for peace?"

"No!" Churchill said firmly, "The British Empire cannot seek peace. The Empire must win, otherwise it will be destroyed!"

"But how are we going to win?" Chamberlain said distressedly, "The Hood and the Ark Royal cannot deal with twice the number of German fast battleships and aircraft carriers!"

“Iceland and the Faroe Islands!”

"What?" Chamberlain looked at Churchill, "Winston, you want..."

"Occupy Iceland and the Faroe Islands!" Churchill said through gritted teeth, "so that we can deploy aircraft there. If the weather is good, the German fleet will not be able to pass through Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Shetland Islands and Onik." The archipelago is composed of layers of blocks.”

"Yes, but both Iceland and the Faroe Islands belong to Denmark, and Denmark is a neutral country!"

"What about neutral countries?" Churchill shrugged. "Compared with the world hegemony of the British Empire, Denmark's neutrality is nothing! Prime Minister, do you want to be the sinner who ruins the empire's hegemony?"

He looked at Churchill with a serious face and said, "Given the current situation, we should occupy Iceland and the Faroe Islands immediately!"