At noon on May 21, 1933, Greenwich Time, at noon, a sea in the central Atlantic Ocean, the sea was covered with smoke and clouds, and the masts were like forests. A huge fleet of more than 200 ships was sailing eastward. The roar of the low turbines covered the sound of wind and waves, and the tumbling water confused the rippling sea. Since human civilization entered the industrial age, there has never been such a powerful fleet. The steel used to build these warships alone reached a huge amount of millions of tons. In order to make them operate normally, nearly 100,000 well-trained naval officers and soldiers were required to abide by their posts!

Here are battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, supply ships, medical ships, and many transport ships that are difficult to clearly classify. They seem complex and disorderly, and each is in a formation, but in fact they have clear roles and are well-organized. The mighty and majestic main battleships are organized in the front team, and the aircraft carriers with unique shapes are located in the middle line, and various auxiliary ships are concentrated in the rear team, and cruisers and destroyers are distributed everywhere, outpost reconnaissance, peripheral warning, and close-fitting escort are all included...

Among this unprecedented fleet, the flagship is a giant warship with a majestic hull and a majestic bridge. The bright star-striped flag flutters high on its main mast. Under it, a four-star admiral flag with a blue bottom is hung without a signature. A discerning person can tell at a glance that William Harrison Standley, the current commander of the US Navy Fleet, controls the overall situation here.

In the well-decorated senior officers' conference room of this giant warship, the gray-haired Standley sat upright, and the nameplate of the warship was hung on the bulkhead behind him, the "South Dakota". The four South Dakota classes were born in the mid-20s when the shipbuilding competition was the hottest. When they were built and put into service, they were the largest and strongest battleships in the world. They maintained many records until three years later, the British and German Navy's Great Britain and German Navy were completed one after another.

"Information from the enemy camp shows that the German top leaders have not realized that we are going to launch a raid on the Azores. In fact, in the usual way of thinking of the Germans, they did not expect that we would dare to cross a three thousand kilometers of voyage and attack strong islands without the support of the army and army aviation. Indeed, this is a very, very risky move, and sometimes I feel like I am dreaming, and some things seem to be illusory and unreal, but after a moment of slept, I will tell myself very clearly: Yes, you have embarked on a great journey, and seemingly impossible miracles will be written in the hands of you and your partners."

Standley, 61, expressed his passion in a slow tone. All the officers present raised their heads and straightened their chests. It is indeed an honor for soldiers to participate in such an epic expedition. If they can play a sing of triumphant songs, honor will become a lifelong pride, and on the contrary, it may become an indelible nightmare in this life.

After expressing his feelings, the Admiral immediately got to the point: "Gentlemen, I have good news and bad news here. Let's talk about the bad news first. After the German and Ireland joint forces were on the Cohen Peninsula in North Wales, the British team successively invested five main corpses, a large number of fighting vehicles and train guns to launch counterattacks. They fought hard for two nights, and were only a few steps away from victory. However, under the fierce sea and air strikes of the enemy, the British counterattack was severely damaged, with huge casualties and serious losses in aircraft and tanks. At present, they may have to turn off attack to defend, allowing the German-Iraq coalition forces to land on the Cohen Peninsula continuously."

After saying that, Standley's eyes were low, as if he was silent for the British soldiers who were killed. After a moment, his eyes returned to their original stability and firmness, and he glanced at everyone: "Next to say good news. Judging from the analysis of the intelligence department, the Germans did not expect that we would attack the Azores by lightning attack. Although they continued to strengthen the defense of the Azores, including the additional aircraft and combat troops, the scale of the increase was limited, which means that this operation was still under our control."

Among the generals, heavyweights include General Harry Irving Arnell, Commander of the Battleship Fleet, Admiral Claude Brock, Commander of the aircraft carrier fleet, Lieutenant General Thomas Hart, Commander of the Cruise Fleet, and Lieutenant General Harold Stark. Although these veteran officers are fearless in the upcoming battle, they are not full of confidence. During the Azore crisis in 1926, the Germans had not yet fully gained a foothold, and the main fleets of the United States and Britain joined forces and still came back. Now, the Germans have been operating in the Azores for many years, and several major islands have been built into huge naval fortresses. In addition, the German Atlantic Squadron and Air Corps, which have been stationed here for a long time, will be forcibly captured by long-distance raids. From any perspective, it is a dangerous move.

Standley knew everyone's concerns. As an important initiator of this bold plan, he and his partners had been preparing for more than six years. Although he had never been to Azore, he knew every island, every headland, and every beach there. Over the years, US and British intelligence personnel have obtained a large amount of military intelligence from the German army in the Azores through tireless efforts and even sacrifices, providing an extremely valuable basis for the senior management of the US and British navy to formulate detailed combat plans.

In addition, the new main battleships that have been in service since the late 1920s have greatly improved the offensive capabilities of the US and British Navy. The South Dakota and Colorado classes of the US Navy, the Great Britain and Admiral classes of the UK are equipped with 50-distance 16-inch main guns, the North Carolina-class battleships and Lexington-class battlecruisers are equipped with unprecedented 18-inch main guns. These large-caliber naval guns are equipped with armor-piercing bullets specially designed to deal with concrete fortifications, which are enough to kill those seemingly indestructible coastal defense fortresses.

In order to confuse the enemy, Standley did not hesitate to leave two newly commissioned North Carolina-class battleships and two Lexington-class battlecruisers, which were regarded as symbols of the U.S. Navy in Boston. Even so, the strong lineup and grand momentum of this expeditionary fleet were enough to deeply encourage the four Navy soldiers who embarked on a long journey. Four South Dakota-class equipped with 12 16-inch main guns, four South Dakota-class equipped with 12 16-inch main guns, four Colorado-class equipped with 8 16-inch main guns, two Pennsylvania-class equipped with 12 14-inch main guns, four super battlecruisers Lexington-class, two 20,000-ton independent class, and two 30,000-ton York City-class aircraft carriers... The essence of the US Navy is collected here.

At this time, the main fleet of the Commonwealth departed from Canada were the main fleet of the Commonwealth departing from Canada, including two 45,000-ton Great Britain-class battleships, three 44,000-ton Admiral-class battlecruisers, two 35,000-ton Monarch-class battleships, three 29,000-ton Queen Elizabeth-class battleships and four 30,000-ton Glory-class aircraft carriers. According to the agreement reached by senior leaders of the United States and Britain, the British fleet obeyed the dispatching and command of the US Fleet Command in the combat operations of the attack on the Azores. In other words, the "South Dakota" will be the unique flagship of this joint fleet.

To capture an archipelago consisting of 9 islands, with a total area of ​​more than 2,000 square kilometers and heavily deployed by enemy troops, it is obviously not enough to rely solely on warships and aircraft carriers. For this reason, the US and British Allied Forces prepared four Marine divisions and two Marine brigades, and the well-trained Marines reached 100,000. Compared with the German Marine Division, the US and British Marine Forces are even better than the quality of the army, equipment level and training standards. However, the former has endured the harsh war test and has long been well-known. Although the latter has a long history, it has left "bad records" all over the world. After following the trend and transforming into a strategic army, it has not yet achieved real performance, and it has received much less attention and pursuit.

After a brief pause, Standley continued: "Since the German defense has not undergone substantial changes, my opinion is to directly adopt the No. 1 plan, first carry out long-range air strikes with carrier-based aircraft, catch the enemy off guard, destroy their airports as much as possible, and destroy the combat aircraft there. If the first two rounds of bombing achieve ideal results, continue to carry out the third and fourth rounds of air strikes, if the effect is not good, night shelling will be needed as a necessary supplement. Not counting aircraft carriers, we have twenty-four main battleships, and only seven of the enemy. The German fleet's chance of attacking during the day is very small. It is very likely that they will come out to try their luck at night, or slip away at night when the situation is not good. What we really need to deal with are the enemy's torpedo boats and submarines. Before we fully grasp the control of the air and sea surface, we may lose half of the carrier-based aircraft, two to three cruisers, and be mentally prepared to lose one or two main battleships."

With a sign that can be spoken, Admiral Brock, the commander of the aircraft carrier fleet, said: "My personal concern is that the enemy may have backup airports and hidden hangars that we have unknown. If Germany deployed fighter jets in the Azores are not 500 but 600, 800, we may not be able to complete the established mission. The aircraft mounted on the cargo ship can only be put into use after they arrive at the port. Even if there are enough pilots, these reserve forces are just a bunch of numbers before landing and controlling an airport."
Chapter completed!