When the last shovel of dirt with snow was covered on the pit where gold was buried, Karen and others' noses were frozen to the point of being frozen. Soon after, the wealth would contribute to the construction of the German Empire. As for the remaining half ton of gold, more than a hundred commandos would carry 5 kilograms each with them, and then put them along the way to houses or corners of the streets to prove human nature's greed for wealth.

"We all know this buried place, so I solemnly remind you that you must keep this secret strictly. No one must leak this gold-hiding place after being captured by the British army, otherwise it will defile the honor of the German soldiers!" Karen glanced at everyone. These were German soldiers who valued honors more than life, but he still reminded everyone sternly, "Before coming, the superiors promised that after the war in Britain, a quarter of these gold will be rewarded for our commando, which is already a great fortune! Be content with being a person. I don't want anyone to try to eat this batch of gold alone. In that case, even if he escapes to any corner of the world, we will catch him back! Do you understand?"

"I understand!" Everyone replied in unison. They didn't join the commando for money, but with the reward promised by their superiors, their families could live a good life after the war.

"Okay! Let's go to the house first! The heavy snow will soon bury the traces left by us. I believe that before the snow melts, we will take them out with a large army!" Karen looked around. It was already bright and the snow in the sky was still covering the world. The surroundings of the farm were very quiet, and there was no sign of a person.

White smoke was emitting from the chimney of the house not far away. It seemed that the farm owners and their family were enthusiastic about preparing breakfast.

On the Atlantic Ocean, two fleets of different nationalities and sizes are drifting heavily in this heavy snow and snow.

With the British special fleet with severely shrinking size, Churchill had no choice but to set off on his way back. The Americans took away most of the warships, and now the only fearless battleships in his hands were the "Utah" and the "Florida". According to Churchill's own evaluation, these two were typical American battleships with "not as firepower as British battleships, less armor than German battleships, and specializing in bullying the army and weak navies, and having first-class escape speed."

However, this does not mean that the level of American ship designers is very low, but is related to the geographical location and competitors of the United States. The naval forces in the Pacific and America, in addition to the newly emerging Japanese Navy, are colonial fleets of some European countries. These fleets are generally dominated by extremely fast cruisers and auxiliary cruisers. It is perfect for the Americans to design such Florida-class battleships to deal with cruisers within their sphere of influence. Before the British Navy was defeated, the US Navy never thought of getting involved in Europe.

In addition to the Utah and Florida, this special fleet also has four armored battleships with white paint falling off. These once glorious members of the "Great White Fleet" have fallen behind in front of the dreadnought, with a speed of no more than 18 knots. Each ship has two main turrets of 4 11-inch or 12-inch main guns, weak armor and old structures. The British only intend to use them as gunboats on the other side.

As for the other 8 cruisers, 16 destroyers and 7 submarines in the fleet, they can be used for escort, raids and harassment, Churchill felt that they might play a greater role than battleships. The biggest "burden" of the fleet at present is the 40 transport ships loaded with arms. Churchill is not worried about the German main battleship. According to his intelligence, except for Hippel's two battleships and a light cruiser who were also cruising in the Atlantic Ocean, most German surface ships have been put into preparations before landing in Britain. He felt that those elusive German submarines were the biggest enemies on the fleet's way back. Fortunately, this bad weather greatly restricted the performance of German submarines, and with his former Navy Minister himself, Churchill firmly believed that these ships could return to the British mainland safely, and now is the best time.

After breakfast, Hippel waited for the arrival of submarine captains such as Denitz on his flagship "Election Emperor". This morning he will hold a military meeting to combat deployment against the British special fleet from the United States. According to the order of the German Navy, he has the right to command all German warships in the Atlantic region. Hippel's plan is similar to the previous ambushing of the French fleet, which is to use battleships and submarine tactics to deal with the mixed formations led by Churchill. However, this time the Atlantic first, second and third submarine formations will draw submarines to participate in the operation. It is expected that as many as 70 submarines will participate in the battle, which will be a veritable "wolf pack".

From the air, the gray warships were covered with white snowflakes, and the snowy sea surface had lost its usual color. From time to time, submarines with "small figure and smooth skin" appeared near the fleet of two large and small warships. These black elves swam happily in the waves. Soon after, more than a dozen submarines gathered next to the warships as planned.

When Lieutenant Colonel Denitz walked into the conference room, everyone's eyes were attracted by the blue Max medal on him. As we all know, the darling of the Imperial Navy submarine force had a close personal relationship with the new crown prince, which also meant that he had an unlimited bright future.

"General, I'm glad to see you again!" Denitz walked to Hippel and saluted, and Hippel also stood up to greet you.

"I haven't seen you for a long time, the lieutenant colonel is still so enviable! The vitality of young people is really enviable!" Looking at the formation commander in front of him, Hippel sincerely envied. In the German Navy, such a young age, Dünitz is the first to have achieved such achievements in a century.

After greeting other generals one by one, Denitz took a seat directly opposite Hippel. The roster of Hippel were all the generals of the raid fleet, and the roster of Denitz included Lieutenant Colonel Himal, the commander of the Atlantic First Submarine Formation, Lieutenant Colonel Berhard, the commander of the Atlantic Third Submarine Formation, and other submarine captains who had come to meet with the raid fleet.

"Gentlemen, let us first observe silence for the 25 German citizens who died on the ocean freighter of the 'Hill'!" Hippel said in a sad tone, and the generals in the conference room immediately bowed their heads and observed silence.

After a while, Hippel continued:

"Here, I wish you a Merry Christmas! Due to the need for war, we may have spent this Christmas in the battle! Thank you for your hard work, please bring my sincerest condolences to every navy soldier in the fleet!"

Although it was Christmas Eve in another day, there was not much festive atmosphere in the fleet. Hippel's words were a recognition and comfort to everyone's dedication and hard work.

"But this year, we are likely to enjoy a very, very sumptuous Christmas dinner! Due to some unexpected situations in the British special fleet, which is what we know as the Japanese fleet that is forced into the United States, and the "Hill" incident that occurred yesterday, its return time was delayed. According to the report sent back by our spy in Washington, the United States and Britain have now negotiated to resolve the above two issues. The Americans have temporarily detained some of the British special fleet's warships. We do not know very well. According to current speculation, the remaining British warships have set sail again!"

The officers seemed a little impatient to wait for this "Christmas dinner". Since the reckless French fleet was annihilated by the German assault fleet and submarine formation, they had not seen the enemy's surface warships for a long time. More than a dozen British submarines appeared in the Atlantic region from time to time. Once a German submarine and a British submarine surfaced at a distance, they only discovered the other party's identity after greeting each other. After a hurry shelling, the two submarines each submarine dived into the water. When the German merchant ship set off the Atlantic route, cleaning up the remaining British submarines and cruisers became another important task for the German naval forces in the Atlantic region in addition to blocking the British route.

"Is the general's plan the same as last time he dealt with the French fleet, our submarine force will set up an ambush circle, and the raid fleet will be responsible for dealing with the fish that escaped the net?" Lieutenant Colonel Mar asked cautiously. He did not have any sense of superiority in front of a naval veteran like Hippel. After all, in this era, compared with the main surface ships, the submarine force was just a junior student in the navy.

"Yes, the two operations are basically consistent in tactics!" Hippel affirmed his speculation, "Compared with the French fleet we ambushed last time, the sailors in this British fleet are complex, there are not many skilled veterans, and they are all just getting in touch with new warships and are not skilled in the control of warships. In this case, the maneuverability, shooting speed and shooting accuracy of their warships are very limited, and the intensity of the battle is probably not too great. The disadvantage is that the British fleet is larger this time, and they are not coming directly at us. On the contrary, they are trying every means to avoid our blockade. Therefore, searching for the traces of that fleet is the focus of whether the operation can be successful!"

"Can we get information about the type and quantity of warships of that British fleet before fighting?" Himal asked another question.

"As long as the US fleet returns to Norfolk military port, our spies will transmit the intelligence back to the country. Calculate it over and we can know how many warships are left in the British special fleet! What is certain is that the scale of that fleet has been greatly reduced!" Hippel is obviously quite at ease with the efficiency of German spies, and the US fleet cannot keep wandering on the sea for no reason. "In this case, our submarine force will spread a large net to monitor and search the waters that the British fleet may pass through, so that the chance of discovering the British fleet will greatly increase!"

"God General, I'm sorry I can't fully agree with this approach. First, the British fleet can choose unconventional routes, so we may miss them; second, the submarine deployment area is large, and our submarines are too slow. Under such weather conditions, even if the submarine sails on the sea, the speed of the submarine is less than 12 knots. Once a submarine discovers the British fleet, it will be difficult for other submarines to concentrate and deploy the ambush circle in a short time!"

Lieutenant Colonel Berhard, the commander of the third submarine formation, made his own opinion and could become the commander of the submarine formation. These three lieutenant colonels were bold and careful. If there were enough German cruisers and destroyers nearby, they could also tow the submarines and advance quickly. Unfortunately, the German surface warships on the Atlantic Ocean now have only two battleships and one cruiser here in Hippel, and there are two submarine supply ships that cannot be regarded as warships but have high speed and certain armed forces.

There are still many things that need to be improved in Hippel's plan, which is also the main reason why he invited everyone to the meeting today. While he was still thinking, Denitz also spoke:

"General, can our spies find out which fleet's scheduled route is from the British Admiralty?"

"About this, I will ask the Admiralty and Intelligence Department to cooperate with each other! But the commander of the British fleet was Churchill, a very cunning old fox! I believe he would use all his strength to avoid us, and it is not impossible to change the scheduled route!" As a veteran of the navy, Hippel is very familiar with the British navy. Since the shipbuilding competition began, the German Navy has been studying the British Navy as an imaginary enemy. Jerry was captured, Betty died in battle, and Fisher was trapped in Plymouth. Now the British Navy is the only one who is the pillar.

"In this case, we still have to be prepared to search ourselves! It would be great if we had two seaplane and motherships in our hands. The reconnaissance range they provided could form a huge area of ​​400 nautical miles long and 200 nautical miles wide. If it were submarine warning, it would be at least seventy or eighty!" Berhard said with regret.

"The use of seaplane and motherships attaches great importance to sea conditions! In weather like today, seaplanes cannot take off and reconnaissance! But I was thinking that if the submarine could also carry one or two seaplanes, then our submarine force's vision would be much broader!"

Outside the window was a dreamy sea snow scene, and Denitz made a dreamy suggestion. Most people didn't care about it. Only an inconspicuous captain here became interested in it. He silently remembered this idea. A long time later, when Chen Tian saw this research plan, he immediately approved his application. Because in World War II in the previous world, Yamamoto Iroku, the planner who was surprised to attack Pearl Harbor, had long before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

He set his sights on another strategic goal - the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal under the control of the United States is the "life gate" of the US Navy, and it is a must-pass place for the Pacific Fleet to connect with the Atlantic Fleet. However, the Panama Canal is more than 8,000 nautical miles away from Japan, and the US military is heavily guarded. In order to paralyze the Panama Canal and think hard, Yamamoto finally came up with a bold plan - to build a submersible aircraft carrier and implement "undersea maneuver combat with a group of aircraft carriers in the water as the main body."

Only the Japanese Navy during World War II were loaded into submarines and carried out combat missions. In the early days of World War II, the Japanese Navy conducted tests on the Iranian submarine 51. Subsequently, the Japanese Navy conducted tests on the Iranian submarine 21 and Iranian submarines and finally succeeded. Although the navies of the United States, Britain, France and other countries also made similar attempts, and France designed a "Giant Whale" submarine aircraft carrier with a displacement of 2,800 tons, but they failed to carry out. Japan's Type A and Type B submarines

Boats can carry a variety of aircraft. The Japanese Navy once used aircraft carried in submarines for practical combat. The "zero" small water reconnaissance aircraft that took off from this submarine once flew directly to Oregon, the United States, to carry out bombing missions. This was the only attack on the United States during World War II. However, with Japan's repeated defeats on the Pacific battlefield, these submarines and their carrier-based aircraft were all used to defend Japan's mainland, and the Japanese also lost the opportunity to stage a "sneak attack on Pearl Harbor" from the water.

Dunitz suddenly remembered something, "Is that home port planned by the British special fleet the Port of Plymouth?"

"We have not received relevant information yet! However, judging from the current geographical location and defense of the British military ports, it should be the most suitable!" Hippel dragged his chin and thought for a while, "If we want to counterattack our army from the sea, ports such as Liverpool, Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh are too far away, and some smaller military ports have too weak anti-submarine and anti-raid capabilities."

"According to common sense, the British Special Fleet can take a short walk along the New York-Liverpool route and then turn south near Ireland; or take the New York-London route, and turn directly into the Port of Plymouth after entering the English Channel; or sail on the non-fixed waterway between these two routes. If you were the commander of the British fleet, which way would you choose?"

After Hippel finished speaking, everyone was in thought. Without the victory of the September naval battle, the German raid fleet might have really avoided the British encirclement and intercepted fleet.

On the far end of the Atlantic Ocean, Churchill and his generals were also discussing the fleet's route.

"No, we shouldn't take a fixed route! German submarines like sharks are waiting there! As long as one torpedo, we will equip a division of arms and go to heaven!" Regarding the suggestions put forward by several British officers, Canadian Brigadier General Joebitti shouted against it. Since the outbreak of the war, one-tenth of the Canadian volunteers who went to the British to participate in the war and the ship they were riding were buried under the torpedo of German submarines. Canadians hated and feared the German submarines. In this British special fleet, the warships controlled by Canadians accounted for one-third, the British accounted for half, and the remaining were volunteers recruited from Australia and New Zealand. Originally Churchill also wanted to recruit some American sailors, but the US government strictly prohibited American citizens from joining the fleet.

The British have their own opinions, "But general, those 40 cargo ships cannot withstand the toss and downs! We'd better choose the nearest straight route, and then take advantage of the darkness to pass through areas where German submarines frequently move. This is the best strategy!"

"Don't forget that half of the merchant ships that were sunk on the Atlantic Ocean recently lost after nightfall!" The Canadian refused to give in. He had the responsibility to do his best to ensure the safety of those Canadian sailors, even though Canada is one of the most loyal dominants in Britain.

"The sea conditions are already very bad now. If we enter non-fixed routes, we will not even be able to guarantee a speed of 10 knots!"

"Okay, OK! Don't argue anymore!" Churchill waved impatiently. He came to these people just to hear if they had a better opinion, but now it has become a fierce internal debate. If I had known it, I would have made my own decision.
Chapter completed!