At dusk on May 22, 1933, the Belmarit Naval Base in northwestern Ireland. Facing the slowly set sunset, the German main battleship group led by the "Germany" slowly sailed out of the harbor. The commander of the German-English Fleet and the acting commander of the German High Seas Fleet, Paul Bernke, stood solemnly on the flagship bridge observation platform. This departure was completely different from the journey he led the German task force to South America a few years ago. The enemy was unprecedentedly powerful and of great significance. It is no exaggeration to say that the fate of the entire fleet, even the country and the nation are all dependent on this.

Thinking of the stormy waves of Jutland in 1914, at that time, the scheming von Ingnor was in charge of the command, and the "Hohenzollern genius" was able to plan. In addition, Scher, Hippel, Lance and other powerful generals assisted, adopted the exquisite tactics of luring the enemy into depth and defeating each one, creating a classic naval battle of defeating the strong with the weak, and then advancing rapidly and invincible. The German Empire has since broken through the bottleneck and the country has flourished.

Nowadays, the German navy is far larger than 20 years ago. One-on-one battles are enough to crush any country. However, the United States and Britain work together to form a joint force, and the main fleets of the two countries gathered together, surpassing the German-Iraq joint fleet. The German General Staff required the high seas fleet to urgently escort the reinforcements and combat equipment and the combat equipment. Bainke took into account both sides and ordered the 3rd aircraft carrier formation deployed in Brest, France to delay its departure. This means that the three powerful Allied aircraft carriers are likely to miss the first phase of the combat operations of the main fleet; in order to continue to support the combat forces that landed on the landing and attack the British, they can be prepared for British local ships.

The counterattack actions that can be taken are King-class battleships, Deflinger-class battlecruisers and two of the four Bavarian-class battleships will remain in the European waters, which further restricts the naval combat forces invested by Germany and Iran to the Atlantic Ocean. If the naval forces deployed to the Azores can be successfully joined with the squadrons deployed in the Azores, the main ships used by Bainke to fight against powerful enemies will include five German-class battleships, two Tirpitz-class battlecruisers, three Markensen-class battleships, two Bavarian-class battleships, three Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers and two Ulster-class aircraft carriers. The number of major ships of all types is at a disadvantage.

Bainke worked with Scher for many years, knowing that he was brave, courageous, and brave, and was afraid that he would not be able to make the right decision at the critical moment. In addition, the Chief of Staff of the Fleet, Rear Admiral Rolf Lars, is an excellent staff member, meticulous and solid foundation, but he has never contributed his ingenuity and ingenuity to even shocking strategies... With the subtle gap between the qualities of officers and soldiers on both sides and the performance of ships, if it is a fleet war in neutral waters, Bainke would need extraordinary wisdom and luck to win, but in the waters of the Azores, the German-Iraq coalition has a unique strategic fulcrum and corresponding tactical space, which is an important reliance for Bainke to defeat the strong with the weak.

With a difficult road ahead, he may become a hero of the country or a sinner of the nation. Fortunately, Bernke is a brave man. Since he accepted the appointment as a dual commander of the German High Seas Fleet and the German-Iraq Joint Fleet, he would perform his duties without hesitation. After receiving the combat instructions from the German General Staff and the Navy Command, he quickly mobilized the squadrons scattered everywhere and attacked. The fleets drove directly to the Atlantic Ocean from the deployment site and completed the assembly formation during the voyage. If it was fast, he would arrive in the Azores in two days.

Looking at the gradually fading blue coastline, Lars, Chief of Staff of the High Seas Fleet, complained to his Allied colleague, a medium-sized, blonde and high-necked Irish Navy Colonel, "A large-scale addition of land forces to the Azores... Alas, I don't know who gave this idea. They certainly hadn't tried to bump into the wind and waves for several days and then landed on the shore. How many combat power can ordinary army soldiers still be left after such tossing? Besides, as long as we win the naval battle, the enemy still has a chance to gain a foothold in the Azores?"

"The army commanders are used to deducing the situation with the land war thinking, which is normal." The colonel responded lightly.

Lars was not so calm. The more he spoke, he became more and more angry: "The 2nd and 3rd Legion must have started to board the ship and mobilize. In less than a few hours, our opponents will learn this news. It is not difficult for them to infer the time frame of our arrival from it and make sufficient preparations in advance. This is a very unfavorable factor for us. If I say, the best countermeasure is to paralyze the enemy and make the enemy think that we are still gathering fleets. In fact, we have quietly killed under their noses, just as they did to us."

The navy colonel was unmoved: "Have the general ever heard a slang term: thieves are the hardest to steal."

"The thief's stuff is the hardest to steal?" Lars was stunned for a moment, "It's interesting, very interesting."

"War is like a game of cards. You may be beaten with good cards, and you may be beaten with bad cards. The key lies in the performance of your skills and psychology." The colonel continued.

"Is this Irish slang, too?" Lars asked curiously.

The colonel shook his head: "This is what His Majesty Joachim, the King of Ireland, said."

The name made Lars suddenly feel awe-inspiring: "He is a legend, a hero who seems to have come out of a myth."

"In our minds, He is a symbol of invincibility, a saint sent by God to save Ireland." The colonel said proudly.

"So, does he have any special instructions or instructions to you about the upcoming Battle of Azore?"

The Irish Navy Colonel looked at Lars, paused for several seconds, shook his head and said, "Your Majesty asked us to cooperate closely and do our best on the battlefield. There is no explanation for the specific tactics."

General Lars looked a little disappointed, so he felt relieved again.

At the same dusk, His Majesty Joachim, the King of Ireland, and his subordinates, staff and more than a dozen others took a small special plane to the Galway Naval Base in western Ireland to see off the Irish naval soldiers who were about to embark on their journey.

Among the Irish Navy's active ships, the most strategically valuable ones are the two well-designed and well-equipped Ulster-class aircraft carriers "Ulster" and "Queen Charlotte". After the outbreak of the war, these two aircraft carriers known as "small national sharp weapons" did not appear on the battlefield, but were quietly on standby at home port. Instead, they trained the aircraft carrier "Angus" and several modern modified old ships running around, extremely active.

The U.S. and British fleets invaded the Azores with thunderstorms, and everyone was shocked by the world. However, this situation was written into the combat plan by the Germans many years ago. However, the planner's original intention was to gather the power of the Allies to crush the United States and Britain. At present, Austro-Hungary, Italy, Ottoman, and Spain have not yet participated in the war for various reasons. Only Germany and Ireland can fight back at the first time. Although the Kingdom of Ireland has no direct interests in the Azores, since it has participated in the war, its interests are connected, and honor and disgrace are shared, and it is unavoidable to mobilize ships to join the joint operation.

During this expedition to the Azores, the Irish fleet used the heavy cruiser "Dagda" as its flagship, with two aircraft carriers, two light cruisers, four destroyers, six auxiliary ships, and more than 9,000 combat personnel. Most of the ships and personnel set off directly from the Galway naval base, and the rest of the ships will come to meet from the mission waters.

On the battleships with concise lines and neat appearance, the Irish naval officers and soldiers were wearing neat summer white uniforms, with high morale and full confidence in spirit. These young men with strong spirit may not be fully prepared for the difficulties ahead, but in terms of material and technology, their preparations are already quite sufficient. The strict training of the Irish naval aviation has long been world-famous. Through the usual high-intensity confrontation, both fighter pilots and ship service personnel have the basic qualities to deal with complex situations, so people have reason to believe that as long as they can survive the tension and confusion in the early stages of the battle, these people will inevitably shine brightly in their respective positions.

Watching warships flying green, white and yellow flags sailing away from the dock one by one, Irish Navy Commander Admiral Sean Purcell, a German general from Pretz, a town of Holstein, sighed: "This is the essence of the Irish shipbuilding industry, the essence of the Irish Navy, and the pride of the entire Ireland. I hope that General Bainke can lead the coalition fleet to win this critical maritime battle and let our young men return with honor."

"From my experience working with General Bainke, he is a trustworthy comrade-in-arms." Natsuki said his evaluation simply and pertinently. Then, he said intentionally or unintentionally: "This may be a complex, tortuous, thrilling and heart-wrenching sea battle. It is really a pity that he cannot participate in it personally."

"In fact, in terms of ability and prestige, Your Majesty is the best candidate for the commander of the Dei-Ai Joint Fleet!" Eric Baker, Chief of Staff of the Irish Navy, carefully complimented.

After nearly twenty years of hard work, Ireland's political situation has been stable, people are united, and officials are clean and simple. Even if the king does not care about political affairs in the short term, the entire country can operate normally. This is exactly what Natsuki hopes to achieve. As far as the preparations of all parties are concerned, he can return to the battlefield at any time and display his military talents again. However, the biggest obstacle is not the wishes of the Irish military and civilians, but the special status of Ireland in the German-Iraq alliance since 1915 and the will of the German rulers.

Because there were no outsiders around him, Natsuki did not refute it seriously, but instead blinked at Baker: "I don't want to be Caesar."

Caesar on the battlefield almost never lost, but eventually died in the hands of a political opponent who feared him. It is not difficult to understand the obscure intention of Xia Shu. Baker stopped talking, and General Purcell just listened silently without making any statement.

Under the traction of the barge, the Ulster and Queen Charlotte, which had a very large body, left the dock one after another. Looking at the two newly painted aircraft carriers, Xia Shu whispered to Baker: "If you can win, it may not be a fatal blow to the enemy. If you fail unfortunately, it will not be our end. The road to war is still long!"
Chapter completed!