In the early morning of October 14, 1939, Whitehall Street, Admiralty.

The main members of the British cabinet are now gathered in the conference room of the Admiralty, and the staff of the Admiralty are constantly coming in and out, telling the First Minister of Maritime Affairs Pound.

The battle report was somewhat unexpected. The most powerful battle cruiser of the British Empire, the USS Hood, was not able to sink the German "Scharnhorst"...at least it has not sink yet!

The Schanehorst hit at least 8 15-inch shells, 7 8-inch shells, and 4 to 5 torpedoes. However, it was still able to escape at a speed of more than 20 knots.

Although the blow encountered by the Hood was far smaller than that of the Schanehorst, it could only sail to the British mainland at a speed of less than 15 knots. Moreover, because the rudder was broken, it could only be dragged by destroyers to change direction. In addition, the fire on the Hood also caused great losses, and there was also a torpedo in the ship's headquarters that needed to be repaired. It seems that this giant ship that once brought a lot of honor to the British Empire had to stay in the dock for several months.

In other words, even if the "Scharnhorst" was finally sunk, the British Empire lacked the main battleships that could attack Germany's fleet in the Atlantic Ocean for several months.

If the Germans sent the ship Gleasenau, the same class of the Schánhorst, and two aircraft carriers of the Seedlits class, to the Atlantic Ocean, then the overseas transportation lines of the British Empire were probably really interrupted...

"Everyone! We can't hesitate anymore!" Winston Churchill was probably the only minister in this conference room who didn't look too frustrated. "It is necessary to take decisive action to occupy the Faroe Islands and Iceland, and only in this way can the German fleet be prevented from entering the Atlantic again!"

The Navy Minister said in a serious tone, "Gentlemen, the British Empire has no choice! The Hood will take at least a few months to repair, and the Ark of Royals does not have a carrier-based aircraft that can fight against the Folk Zero. Before the Hood repair and the new carrier-based aircraft are successfully developed, we can only use slower battleships to block the Denmark Strait (between Iceland and Greenland) and the Norwegian Sea (between Iceland, Norway and the British Isles). Therefore, we must occupy Iceland and the Faroe Islands. If possible, even Norway should be occupied!"

Chamberlain was startled by Churchill's proposal. He wanted to take the British Empire in a heinous way!

Iceland and the Faroe Islands are not yet native to Denmark, but they are just affiliated territories, so it is not so eye-catching to occupy them. But Norway is a sovereign and independent country, and it is also a member of the "Nordic Good People Group" (Group of Good People). If you want to occupy them, the whole of Europe will regard the British Empire as a bad person.

Moreover, there is also Sweden! Sweden's military industry is very strong. If this country stands on the side of Germany, the disadvantages of Britain and France in the field of industrial production will be magnified to be difficult to make up for.

"Prime Minister, we should consider occupying Norway," said Ionsed, Chief of Staff of the Imperial General Staff. "Not only can the occupation of Norway completely block the passage of the German navy to the Atlantic Ocean, but also cut off the German iron ore input channel in winter. Germany needs to import 11 million tons of iron ore from Sweden every year. In winter, these iron ore must be transported by rail to the Norwegian port of Narvik, and then shipped to Germany. If we occupy Norway, Germany's industrial production will suffer a major blow!"

Chamberlain took a breath and it was possible to consider occupying Norway, but he had to act cautiously!

"Are we able to occupy there now?" Chamberlain asked. "How many naval forces can be dispatched? How many army is prepared to dispatch? If Germany sends troops to rescue, are we confident of winning? In addition, is it possible for Sweden to completely turn to Germany? These are all things to be considered. We cannot take action rashly before there is a complete plan."

"There will be a complete plan!" Churchill said immediately. "The Navy is not a problem. We still have many battleships available. We can also import the F2A Buffalo aircraft from the United States with the "Ark of Royal". This is a very advanced fighter, enough to fight the Folk Zero, and we can get Hurricane fighters and Spitfire fighters on board, which of course will take several months to improve."

Ironside, the Imperial Chief of Staff, added: "The landing troops on Norway could allow France to provide a portion of the world, they had the best army to defeat the Germans."

"Okay, as long as the problems of carrier-based aircraft and ground forces are solved, we can consider occupying Norway." Chamberlain could not withstand Churchill's pressure, the latter was the leader of the Conservative Party's pro-war faction.

He thought for a while and said, "Then what we have to do now is to occupy Iceland and the Faroe Islands..."

"The Navy can complete both tasks immediately," Churchill said. "Our people are already there, and can be occupied with just one order!"

Several British ships have now entered the ports of Iceland and the Legal Islands in accordance with the provisions of the Maritime Neutrality Convention and can be occupied at any time. In addition, the Admiralty Department has also formulated a follow-up plan to deploy escorts, heavy cruisers, destroyers and submarines with radar installed in Iceland and Faroe Islands, and also to deploy bombers, torpedo attack aircraft and hurricane fighters at airports in Iceland and Faroe Islands (the number of fires is too small, so you can only make up for the number of hurricanes).

"Prime Minister, you must occupy there immediately!" Churchill emphasized again, "The whereabouts of the German aircraft carrier "Sedlitz" are currently unknown. Once it is allowed to return to Germany, it will not attack with another aircraft carrier next time, and the Atlantic route will be cut off!"

Now the British have also discovered that the "Sedlitz" aircraft carrier is powerful in breaking battles. This aircraft carrier runs too fast and is difficult to catch up. Moreover, it is too efficient to break the transaction. It can blow 3 transport ships by dispatching 9 Folk 99s at a time. If the Germans use dual aircraft carriers to attack, they can carry at least 30 Folk 99s, which can only blow 10 at a time. A fleet of escorts will be destroyed after a few blows...

Of course, it is a stupid way for the Germans to "finish" with battleships. If they use submarines to "finish" with the British Empire, the sea transportation line will be finished this time!

"Then occupy Iceland and the Faroe Islands!" Chamberlain finally made up his mind. "In addition, the injured Scharnhorst must be eliminated!" The British Prime Minister said gritted his teeth, "For it, our Hood will stay in the dock for several months, and the London will be severely damaged (to put it nicely, it is actually scrapped), and the Exeter will sink... If it is allowed to return to Germany safely, then the whole world will know: the British Empire has lost its maritime power!"

...

"Where has the Schanehorst been?"

In Tsoson's General Staff, Marshal Hessman once again asked about the Navy.

According to the current system of the German Wehrmacht, the Army does not have its own staff and general command. The General Staff of the Grand General Staff is actually serving as the General Staff of the Army, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Army is serving as the Minister of National Defense. Although the Air Force has its own general command and general staff, the General Staff of the Grand General Staff is still the superior of the Air Force.

However, the German navy has a long history and has never been inherited during the Weimar period. It is self-organized (the Air Force was derived from the German Army). Now the General Staff cannot control the navy.

Therefore, Hessmann's experience in later generations is difficult to use in the German Navy. Otherwise, the battleship "Schernhorst" would not have fallen to this level now.

"It has entered the Portuguese territorial waters, the Azores territorial waters to which Portugal belongs... It will dock at Port Heroes for simple repairs," replied the Deputy Chief of General Staff General Harde Infantry. "Under the Treaty of Sea Neutrality, it can stay in Port Heroes for a period of time."

"This is useless!" Hessman shook his head, "If it was an Italian port, can you still count on it. What's the use of Portugal? The 'Scharnhorst' is over! These fools of the navy..."

Hessman couldn't understand how could a group of unintelligent naval generals be able to spread in Germany, which had the most outstanding army and air force generals?

How did they think of using battleships to finish off the merchant ships? Why didn’t they contact submarines? They have 10 ocean-going submarines with more than 1,000 tons there. These are the best broken ships. Why do they use these submarines to set up an ambush against the "Hood"?

"Marson, in fact, the 'Sharnhorst' has completed its mission, and its sacrifice is very valuable." Halder said wholesale from Redel, "Because the 'Hood' was severely damaged, it will take at least 6 months to repair it. During these 6 months, no warship of the British could catch up with the 'Gleasenau', 'Sedlitz' and 'Secet'. And in 6 months, the 'Bsmarck' battleship will be in service, and it has enough firepower to fight the 'Hood'. Moreover, the 'Tirpitz' will also be in service in the third quarter of 1940. In addition, the rebuilt 'B' is also a very ideal aircraft carrier for breaking the British maritime transportation line as long as it is in service."

The Bismarck and Tirpitz started construction several months earlier, so the service time could be advanced by several months. According to the plan, the Bismarck will be in service before May 1940, while the Tirpitz will be in service in August 1940.

The hull of the first ship of the "B-Ship" has been completed by 85%. According to the plan, it will be launched before August 1940 and then started to be equipped, and will be delivered at the latest in January 1942. Since this class of aircraft carrier is the third aircraft carrier independently built by Germany, if it is included in the "Lenin" built in cooperation with the Soviet Union, "Karl Marx" and "Earl Zeppelin" are the fifth aircraft carrier designed and guided by German engineers. Their design and layout are much better than the "Earl Zeppelin" in history, with a standard displacement of 30,000 tons. It has a dual hangar layout and can carry 82 aircraft (including 12 of which are reserved). It is really a terrible killer to use it to break the deal!

Hessman smiled bitterly, and was about to say a few words to sarcastically naval forces. His former adjutant, now the second combat officer of the General Staff (equivalent to the director of the Second Operations Department), Colonel Hans Spidal pushed the door and walked into the office.
Chapter completed!