On the morning of May 21, 1933, Eastern Time, Boston Naval Base was located on the east coast. The most eye-catching thing was the Lexington-class battlecruiser with a standard displacement of more than 50,000 tons. They were the largest maritime fortresses in human history, and what made the Americans very proud is that their Lexington-class not only had the best 18-inch main gun, an astonishing speed of 35 knots, but also wore protective armor that was no less than ordinary battleships. It was an industrial miracle of the 1920s. Moreover, this unprecedented big guy, the Germans only built two of them, and have not yet officially put into service. The United States successfully built six of them as early as the 1920s, which fully proves the best-in-class level of the US shipbuilding industry!

In addition to the two Lexington-class, the US main battleships that appeared in Boston also include two North Carolina-class, one South Dakota-class, and several light cruisers, dozens of destroyers and large supply ships. Such a strong lineup gives people the feeling that a grand military parade was about to be held before the expedition. Just after Britain and Germany declared war, the US government resolutely decided to fulfill the US-British alliance covenant and join the war. The righteous war declaration demonstrated its determination to safeguard the interests of its own country and allies and curb the excessive expansion of its forces in the allies.

The war was rising, and the drums of war were urgent. In just two days, hundreds of thousands of soldiers had blood sprinkled on the battlefield, and millions of people were displaced. Although the warring sides had not yet had a large-scale naval battle, the strong performance of the Allied camp in the air battlefield has made people deeply pessimistic about the situation of Britain. As the coalition ground forces gained a foothold in the Cohen Peninsula in North Wales, international public opinion almost one-sidedly believed that Britain would soon give up resistance. Whether the United States would participate in the war or not is not enough to change the end of the war. Not to mention that the US team is still thousands of kilometers away from Europe, even if the American soldiers successfully landed on the European battlefield, how likely would they win in front of the brave and war-hardened Germans?

In fact, most commentators who hold this view overlooked the changes that have happened to Americans over the years. In the late 20s, the American battleship "Iowa" was sunk by the Mexican Christ Resistance Army supported by the Allies, and then there was pro-US and British Chile. Bolivia was defeated in the South American War by Argentina and Paraguay, supported by the Allies. All American classes who have always pursued isolationism felt a real threat. From then on, the US government began to significantly strengthen the construction of national defense. With the efforts of the top leaders of the United States and Britain, the US-UK covenant was consolidated and strengthened, and the Soviet Union and Russia and Japan also became their secret allies against the Allies' camp.

With the changes in the traditional concepts of the government and the people, the construction of the United States began to take off. The number and quality of naval warships were progressing in parallel. With the completion and service of the Lexington-class battlecruiser, the Americans entered the "National Era" with their heads held high; the professional reform of the army achieved remarkable results. The promulgation and implementation of the "Selective Conscription Training and Service Law" gave the US Team a stable source of reserve troops. By sending a large number of military observers and volunteers, the US Team changed its past ills of self-confidence and tried to catch up with European military powers at the technical and tactical level... Since 1932, there have been clouds of combat over Europe. Stimulated by the large-scale military purchase orders from the UK and the US Team's own needs, the US industry has gradually turned into the arms track, and has successively developed and put into production of a variety of weapons and equipment to adapt to the development trend, ensuring the integrity and first-class level of the US Team's system.

After the war broke out, the Soviet Union and Japan both held a wait-and-see attitude, while the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy, Spain and other allied countries could participate in the war at any time, so Britain had to independently fight against the huge allied camp on the European battlefield. Although the United States had participated in the war, the outside world was not optimistic about the mobilization efficiency of the US team. After all, this North American country is as vast as Russia, with most of its populations distributed on the east coast more than 4,000 kilometers apart. Military historians lamented again and again that at the beginning of the last war, if the Tsarist Russian Empire could quickly complete the mobilization and attack Germany and Austria from the eastern front as soon as possible, the war would have to be another trend.

Although the United States' land area has made most European countries sigh, it is not even half of the heyday of the Tsarist Russian Empire. In the early 1930s, the development of transportation facilities was far greater than that of Russia 20 years ago. More importantly, the United States was different from the United States in 1898 or 1914. Between 1932 and 1933, a total of 2 million young people of the United States were recruited by the army. On the eve of the war, the active forces of the U.S. Army and Navy had reached 900,000 and 300,000, respectively, and there were also a considerable number of paramilitary personnel. On May 19, 1933, the U.S. government issued the first batch of recruitment orders, and more than 700,000 retired personnel would return to the barracks within three days, and more than 1.5 million new recruits would be summoned to the army. The weapons and ammunition in the national strategic reserve warehouse were enough to equip 3 million people...

At the Boston Harbor Pier, which was far away from the naval base, thousands of people froze, stretching their necks one by one, intending to see the powerful lineup of the main American fleet. However, except for the shocking glance of the ships entering the port, most people can see the towering masts of ships with modern appearance. Only a few politicians and diplomats were allowed to enter the military base. Obviously for military reasons, local newspapers and radio stations in Boston mentioned very little about the assembly of fleets, and there would be no ship names. After the declaration of war, the police departments and counter-espionage agencies significantly increased their guard, and the communication channels with Europe were closely monitored. Even so, intelligence personnel lurking in the United States still had a way to send some important information to the military command agencies of the allied countries.

Under the noon sun, the Belmarit Naval Base in northwest Ireland was as calm as usual, but with the arrival of the main force of the German high seas fleet, the visual sense of the harbor became very crowded.

After being leased to the German government, this once inconspicuous coastal town quickly transformed into a naval base full of modern atmosphere. Nowadays, five giant warships docked next to the docks lined up with cranes. The flagpoles of the naval commander's flag and the admiral's flag were hung on the flagpoles of the German High Seas Fleet, the German flagship "Germany", which belongs to the second generation of German battleships. This class of battleships has built a total of 5, all of which are based on the first generation of German-class ships, namely: Germany, Prussia, Hannover, Silesia, and Hessen. According to the anti-

The revised design plan shows that the standard displacement of the German class is 46,050 tons and is equipped with 50-fold 16-inch guns made by Krupp. Unlike the US and British navies that advocate firepower and speed, the German class retains the tradition of German capital ships paying attention to protection, in a sense, it is a paranoid pursuit of the survival performance of the warship. The design of its hull structure fully draws on the experience of the previous battle and the lesson of the US battleship "Iowa" being sunk by aerial torpedoes. The defense capabilities on the surface and underwater have reached the peak.

The war came as scheduled, and the German High Seas Fleet sharpened its swords, but failed to capture the Jutland-style decisive opportunity. The reason was that two-thirds of the main warships of the British Navy were deployed in Canada for a long time, and the fleet stationed on the local area was far from enough to compete with the German High Seas Fleet. After the war broke out, it simply chose to retreat and allowed the German Navy squadrons to bombard important ports such as Plymouth and Weymouth. The coalition landed on the Cohen Peninsula and the cruiser detachment deployed in Liverpool did not take the initiative until the next night under the cover of a large group of torpedo boats, and retreated hurriedly before dawn. Such passive avoidance of war was certainly a strategic need, but the adverse impact on the psychological level of the British and civilians was obvious.

It was expected that the British local fleet would not be fully deployed, and the main ships of the German high seas fleet calmly left the British's vision after completing the shelling mission. Under the current strategic situation, the German local port has become the rear of the navy. The Azores in the central Atlantic Ocean are the frontier positions against the US and British fleets, and the Faroe Islands-Ireland-Biscai Bay is the key main position.

It was against this background that the German flagship "Germany" led the 1st battleship team to the Belmarit Naval Base, temporarily away from various troubles from the outside world.

"Sir, the Navy's Supreme Command's Secret Message."

In the flagship commander's office, the communications officer submitted the fresh telegram to Paul Bernke. In the last battle, he participated in many important naval battles as the commander of the battleship detachment. Several years ago, commanded the German task force to help the Argentine Navy severely damage the Chilean fleet. These dazzling achievements and outstanding personal abilities made Bernke the most favored German naval general after Scher and Hippel. On the eve of the war, Hippel was unable to perform his duties due to illness, and Bernke became the acting commander of the High Seas Fleet without any suspense.

Bainke glanced at the contents of the telegraph paper and immediately signaled that the communications officer had nothing to explain. After the communications officer left, he took the telegraph to the porthole and looked again, murmured softly: "Information shows that the main American fleet began to assemble in Boston. It has been confirmed that there are two Lexington and two North Carolinas, and one may be the South Dakota or New Mexico class. No aircraft carriers have been found... Lexington and North Carolina? In this way, the Americans are assembling the main fleet, and then join forces with the British Navy to attack the Azores or cross the North Atlantic to attack Iceland. The time should be two weeks later...two weeks..."

Looking through the porthole, every German warship shows people in a neat and orderly manner. The sailors are cleaning up and maintaining the guns and equipment on the ships under the sun, and everyone is committed to preparing for the war with a serious and serious attitude. If you have to wait for another two weeks, will the soldiers' fighting spirit be wiped out by boring waiting? The most optimistic situation is that Britain surrenders within two weeks, so that the German team can actively push the front to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, and the German Navy will also turn passive into active and challenge the US Navy with a positive attitude, but how likely is this situation?
Chapter completed!