In the high-end cabin of the battleship Hesse, Natsuki held a photo frame in his hand and stared at the photo in a daze. This is a photo of him with Charlotte and his three daughters.

Throughout history, many heroes have been immersed in the gentle country and given up their ambitions. Over the past decade, the political situation in Ireland has been stabilized and the economy has gradually started to be on track. Xia Shu is happy to be a manager and has been with his family for more than half of his time. Watching the little princesses come to the world one by one, watching them from toddlers to running happily in the garden, from babbling to singing beautiful songs with the music they play, that is full of happiness.

This time, Xia Shu missed his wife and daughter, and was reluctant to leave her. However, since his life, he had never stopped exploring the meaning of life. Becoming a good husband and a good father was certainly the goal he pursued, but not the whole of his life. Over the past decade, he has dreamed of returning to Jutland countless times, returning to the battlefield where steel roars and blood and fire collided, dreaming that he rode the wind and waves, moving forward bravely, let the banner of victory fly high, and let the immortal legend pass forever... Every time he wakes up from such a dream, the desire to conquer glory will quietly increase by one point, and when these desires accumulate to a certain level, a fire will burn in his heart.

Hearing the knock on the door, Xia Shu put the photo frame back on the table.

A major officer on the ship coming in, he reported: "The sentry found an object suspected to be a submarine periscope in the nearby sea, and disappeared in a blink of an eye. Colonel Messel was worried that it was an enemy submarine, so that our whereabouts would be exposed."

Xia Shu was not surprised or worried. He ordered lightly: "Send all ships to strengthen anti-submarine alert. If an enemy is discovered, you only need to expel it without chasing it."

"Yes, sir... no, sorry, your majesty!" The major made a small mistake in his title, and he was so blushed and embarrassed.

Suzuki naturally would not blame the other party for such irrelevant flaws. He comforted: "The time I served in the German Navy was perhaps the most fulfilling and proudest in my life. I feel very honored to be able to return to you and fight side by side with you, so... I feel very comfortable calling me the chief, and there is nothing wrong with it."

The major felt relieved, and then Natsuki asked him about his preparations for live-fire training.

The Hesse and the accompanying ships repaired damaged equipment in Brest Port, replenished ammunition and equipped with enough personnel, and everything was ready. If you want to say what was missing, it was the confidence to defeat the opponent and the domineering aura to win. Without these two points, the soldiers' fighting beliefs were not as sufficient as before. In the event of unfavorable war, their morale would easily be depressed and it would be difficult to burst out the courage to die. Therefore, Natsuki specifically asked the fleet to conduct a targetless live-fire exercise during the voyage.

"It's ready and ready to go." The Major replied with a positive tone.

"Then please tell the colonel that I will go to the bridge in half an hour, and make sure that all preparations are fully prepared." Xia Shu said with a serious expression.

The major raised his chest high and said, "Yes, sir!"

Half an hour later, Xia Shu arrived at the battle bridge on time. Under his gaze, the huge main turret of the Hessen turned, and the two pairs of front main turrets pointed to the left and right sides, and the same was true for the two pairs of rear main turrets.

With the command of the shooting command room, eight 16-inch heavy artillery fired in an instant, and the shells cut through the sky and fell into the distant sea with a rolling sound. The white water column rose up and could be clearly seen with the naked eye.

29 seconds later, all the main guns roared for the second time, and the air waves ejected from the muzzle were so powerful that they rushed out of four semicircular concave surfaces near the sea. The blazing muzzle flames instantly burst out with light comparable to the scorching sun.

The thunderous sound of cannons was still lingering in his ears. Xia Shu, who was inspecting the artillery on the combat bridge, commented in an approving tone: "Okay, very good! Well-trained, well-prepared, and expected combat power!"

After the two rounds of live-fire shooting of the Hesse, the accompanying cruisers and destroyers also launched live-fire shooting according to unified instructions. Although this did not have the amazing reputation of the fleet war, it really inspired the morale of the army.

After the live-fire training, Xia Shu brought captain Colonel Messel and others to the combat conference room, and the staff officers had prepared the miniature sand table according to Xia Shu's requirements.

Unlike the land battlefield, which includes mountains, rivers and rivers, traditional naval warfare basically belongs to a two-dimensional model. Officers study combat on naval charts, and the Naval Academy also cultivates academy according to this model. This habit has continued. Thanks to the advanced understanding of later generations, Xia Shu regarded naval warfare as a three-dimensional battlefield that complements the sky, sea surface, and underwater from the very beginning. Before each battle, assistants must be asked to figure out the geographical and hydrological conditions of the fleet's activity area. The miniature sand table is undoubtedly the most intuitive manifestation under current technical means.

There are 9 large and small islands in the Azores, two-thirds of which have been occupied by the US and British troops. Only San Miguel, San Miguel, San Miguel, and Formigas in the southeast are still controlled by the Allied forces. Among these three islands, San Miguel is the largest area, the most inhabited, and has the second largest port of the Azores. It is the last fortress for the Allied troops to defend. Most of the main ships of Admiral Bainke gather here, and San Miguel is located on San Miguel Island.

To the south, 100 kilometers away from the south coast of San Miguel, with an area of ​​less than 100 square kilometers. There is a small harbor on the island. After the German army entered, it built an airport and a coastal defense fortress, which was regarded as the "southmost post" in the Azores defense system. If the US and British troops occupy this island, they will form a force of attacks on the Allied forces on San Miguel Island, and the deployment of sea and air forces here can further curb the sea supply lines of the Allied countries and force the defenders of San Miguel Island into a desperate situation.

Formigas is located 60 kilometers southeast of San Miguel and 39 kilometers northeast of San Miguel. It is just a palm-sized island and reef. The only artificial building is the navigation lighthouse left by the Portuguese. The Germans deployed sentries here earlier, set up radio stations, and lay mines. After the Battle of San Miguel, the United States and Britain sent two task forces to board the island by boat, captured German sentries, and destroyed communication facilities. The German army occupied it again twice. This also made Formigas the only island in the Azores Islands that was repeatedly fought over and changed hands several times. During this period, both sides lost as many as 11 ships in the waters around the island.

Departing from the Port of Brest to the sea of ​​San Miguel, the entire journey was 2,000 nautical miles. Bainke led the Allied main fleet to hurried from the European waters to Azore, which took only four days to complete. The reinforcement fleet led by Natsuki only traveled west at a speed of 14 knots. If there was no accident, it would take 6 days to complete this journey.

"I received a telegram from me in my private name yesterday. General Bainke must have understood my intention, which can be seen from his call back. Now, we will make a deduction around the Battle of Azores, Colonel, you and your officers play the Blue side, and I play the Red side."

In Western military exercises, the Red side usually represents the imaginary enemy, while the Blue side represents its own side. Although Colonel Messel was a little surprised and puzzled after receiving the order of Xia Shu, he still brought two of his staff officers into the deduction role, while Xia Shu responded alone. The three Irish naval officers he brought together with the special liaison officer sent by the German Navy to play the role of referee, responsible for data calculations and combat losses in the deduction process of war games.

The Blue Army's troops were arranged in accordance with the actual situation of the Allies in Azore. Under the requirements of Xia Shu, the Red Army's troops were deployed in the current weakest situation of the speculation of enemy forces. In addition to reinforcements from both sides, the number of non-aircraft carriers was 13 to 9, the number of aircraft carriers was 4 to 6, the total number of ships was 120 to 74, the number of fighter jets was 700 to 440, and the combat force was 110,000 to 53,000. There is no doubt that the overall strength of the US and British troops in the Azores have a significant advantage. The reason why they

The failure to launch a strong attack on San Miguel Island was, firstly because the early combat operations, especially the Battle of San Miguel, caused their fleet to be seriously damaged. Tessel and Floris had not yet recovered their ship construction capabilities, and many damaged ships had to return to North America for maintenance. They are also facing the dilemma of a shortage of soldiers and generals. Therefore, the main fleet is waiting for an opportunity to move in the Texel waters. Recently, they mainly attacked the sea supply line of the Allied troops with high-speed ships and submarines, intending to hold the opponent until they are sure of another strong attack.

At the beginning of the war game deduction, Xia Shu started to work around the small Formigas Island. After attracting the opponent's attention to this side, he focused his land-based aviation troops to bomb the German airport on San Miguel, and used his main fleet to bypass San Miguel and launch a fierce shelling on San Maria Island, luring the Blue side to put the aircraft carrier formation hidden in the southeastern waters into battle. Then he used a backhand to severely damage the aircraft carrier formation of the Allied countries at the cost of sacrificing three main battleships and three aircraft carriers, causing them to temporarily lose their combat capabilities. Next, the Red side dispatched a landing fleet to prepare to force the San Maria Island with the support of the main fleet. The Blue side immediately dispatched a battle patrol formation to intercept the Red side's landing fleet. The battle fleet supported the rear, and the sea and air broke out in the waters west of San Miguel.

In the war, although the Red side suffered a great loss, it also sank, severely damaging nearly half of the Blue side's main ships, forcing the Blue side to retreat voluntarily. After a week of landing battle, the Red side captured Santa Maria Island, and ordered some damaged warships to travel to Formegashi Island, stranded the islands and reefs, deployed lightning protection nets around, built a special sea fortress, and deployed many submarines nearby. In this way, the US and British troops formed a three-sided siege on San Miguel Island. The garrison on the island was air strikes during the day and shelled at night, and the situation was deteriorating. As a result, they gave up San Miguel and took the initiative to break through. The soldiers and equipment of the entire battle were more than 70%. The absolute strength lost by the US and British troops was much higher than that of the Allies, but they won the victory of the battle and cleared the obstacles to Europe.

During a short rest, the second round of weapons deductions interchange roles, and Xia Shu was responsible for commanding the Blue side, who was at a disadvantage. Colonel Messel first copied Xia Shu's tactical routine and sent light ships to attack Formigas Island, and ordered land-based aviation troops to air strike San Miguel Island at any cost, weakening the air force on the island. While responding to the battle, Xia Shu mobilized the aircraft carrier formation and attacked the Hero Port on Texel at dawn, and attacked the opponent unexpectedly. The Red side was afraid of the opponent's plan to lure the enemy, so he did not dispatch the main fleet to pursue it. However, after only 24 hours, the Blue side accurately measured the time when the sky was just dawn, and dispatched carrier-based aircraft to attack the Hero Port and Texel again.

Some aviation bases on Er Island. The two attacks made four main battleships in the US and British fleets unable to fight for the time being. The number of main battleships on both sides was basically the same. The Red side did not dare to easily attack San Miguel or San Maria. When the rainy day came, Xia Shu sent all the main forces to Texel, and used long-range shelling to force the main fleet of the Red side to fight. After the fleet battle began, he ordered the dreadnoughts and old-fashioned battle patrols in the fleet to injure the wounds. Naturally, he led the fleet to retreat towards San Miguel Island, luring the opponent to come and pursue. Then he adjusted the formation while retreating, and suddenly turned, seized a favorable position, concentrated firepower to attack the Red side's fleet, and left as soon as he succeeded, and simply won a small victory.
Chapter completed!