On November 5, 1939, a formation consisting of the "Jiangxi" aircraft carrier, the "Li Jing" and "Li Guang" heavy cruisers, the "Dihua" air defense cruiser and the "Poyang Lake" ocean comprehensive supply ship was sailing in the Indian Ocean.
northern mascarene islands
In the sea area, the flagship Li Jing hoisted the flag of fleet commander Song Shijie. It was a sunny morning. The graceful outline of the cruiser cut across the sea under the sunlight, dragging out several straight lines on the blue sea.
White track.
After having breakfast in the restaurant on the first floor, Major General Song Shijie accompanied Major Vittel, the liaison officer sent from the German Consulate in Singapore, to the command center on the first floor of the bridge. The officers on duty who were chatting just now hurriedly
He sat at his post and arranged his clothes.
"Is there nothing going on?" the major general asked the staff officer on duty in a routine manner.
"Everything is normal, sir!" the combat staff officer on duty replied.
The major general nodded and came to the chart table, "Major, where is your attack ship now?" He turned to Vettel and asked.
"It should be on the waterway from Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town. Colonel Langsdorff has not sent any telegrams since he reported his position three days ago." Major Vittle said.
"Does Colonel Langsdorf know about our response?" Song Shijie asked again.
"You should know that our Admiralty has ordered him to move towards our scheduled rendezvous point, but the Graf Spee has not responded to the call. It is probably avoiding the British search." Major Vittle said.
At the request of the Germans, the cruiser squadron led by Song Shijie was ordered to go to the southern Indian Ocean to perform the mission of rescuing the German Navy armored ship Graf Graf Spee.
Before the German invasion of Poland, the German naval commander Admiral Raeder realized that Britain and France were likely to declare war on Germany. Worried that the British would block the exit from the North Sea after the war, he sent the Deutschland and Graf Spee in advance.
Two armored ships were dispatched to the Atlantic waters, preparing to carry out operations to break diplomatic ties after the war broke out.
Although the British Navy lost nearly one-third of its battleships due to attacks by the Republic Navy, its strength is still far beyond what the weak German Navy can contend with. Especially after the accelerated construction period, with the five George V-class ships
Battleships were put into service one after another, and the strength of the British Royal Navy even exceeded the pre-war level.
After the war started, the Deutschland-class armored ship commanded by Captain Seiler circled the Norwegian waters and hurriedly returned to the homeland without much gain. However, the armored ship Graf Spee commanded by Colonel Hans Langsdorff was in the Norwegian Sea.
After the war, it broke into the South Atlantic and continuously launched attacks on British transport ships.
The armored ship "Graf Graf Spee", which had frequently succeeded in attacks in the first battle, initially mainly operated on the route between Pernambuco, Brazil and Cape Town, South Africa. On September 30, 1939, the "Graf Graf Spee"
The "Admiral" captured a 5,051-ton British multi-purpose cargo ship in the waters near Pernambuco, and the battle began. After that, 3
Within a few months, the "Graf Graf Spee" succeeded frequently. On October 5, it sank the "Newton Beach"; two days later, it made another effort and captured the cargo ship "Ashley".
On October 10, it intercepted the "Hunter" again, then took advantage of the momentum to move south, and took up the tramp cargo ship "Trevanion" on October 22.
The appearance of the Graf Spee seriously threatened the safety of British Atlantic shipping, so the British used the same method to deal with the Far East Squadron led by Count Spee during the European War, and mobilized a large number of warships in Africa and South America to begin this attack.
A German raiding ship carried out an encirclement and suppression campaign.
The German Admiralty also realized that the Graf Spee was in danger, so it requested rescue from the Republican Navy through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the same time, it notified Langsdorff and ordered him to lead the warship to escape to the Indian Ocean. This time the Germans
Finally, it found a powerful military ally. Out of its traditional "friendship" with Germany, the Republican Navy ordered a squadron from the Indian Ocean Fleet to be dispatched to carry out this rescue mission.
While Song Shijie, who was heading south, was guessing the location of the Graf Spee, Colonel Langsdorff and the warship in his hands were sailing halfway to Cape Town to meet up with a supply ship.
Langsdorff stood on the third-story bridge and looked at the sea. An oil tanker flying the Norwegian flag was running alongside his warship on the sea less than two chains away from the Graf Spee. Warships and ships
The deck officer was busy preparing to transfer the cable. He looked carefully between the two ships. The two ships were sailing forward at a low speed of 12 knots and began to slowly get closer.
In the end, the two ships were only about thirty meters apart, and they kept this distance. The sailors on the deck were whistling to each other, regardless of whether the other party could really hear it. On the vast sea, it was also important to see your companions.
A very happy thing.
Boom! The harpoon-shaped gun head fired from a whaling gun similar to a whaling gun on the oil tanker flew towards the battleship with a cable. The working sailors who had been waiting on the deck grabbed the hanging gun.
cable heads on deck, and
The thrown cables were quickly fixed on the winch in the middle of the bridge, which was more than five meters above the deck. After that, three more cables were thrown over. After the cables were slightly tightened, they began to lift supplies from the oil tanker to the warship.
thing.
A thick rubber oil pipe was pulled to the warship along the second cable at the rear, and was quickly connected to the oil pipe at the rear of the bridge. The signalman waved a small flag, and after receiving the signal on the tanker, the oil pump started
It was started, and tons of diesel fuel were poured into the oil tanks of the warship, which had already consumed more than half.
The sailors on the deck couldn't wait to get fresh fruits from the quartermaster's hands, and ate them while working. There were bursts of happy laughter on the deck. At this time, the officers would never care about military discipline.
Questions like that.
The supply between the two ships took nearly two hours. At dusk, the Graf Spee, which had been loaded with fuel and various supplies, separated from the supply ship with its signal light flashing.
"Good luck all the way!" The German sailors on the oil tanker also used lights to send their blessings.
It was getting dark, and the Graf Spee disappeared on the sea shrouded in darkness.
In the captain's cabin, Colonel Langsdorff was smoking a cigar, leaning over the huge chart table, looking for a way out for himself.
Two days ago, he received a telegram from the Imperial Navy Headquarters, which told him a piece of good news that made him extremely excited. The Republic of China Navy would send a fleet to the southeastern waters of Africa to pick him up. This made him live in the sea for several months.
At sea, Captain Langsdorff, who had been in fear and despair all day long, finally saw the hope of survival.
However, the road ahead is still difficult. It is still nearly 2,600 nautical miles from his current location to the scheduled rendezvous point in the south of Madagascar. Who knows what kind of changes will occur during this nearly six-day voyage.