ps: Thanks to book friend "Xiahai" for voting monthly, continue to ask for votes ^_^
However, the German army in the Faroe Islands, which became a lone force after retaking the Shetland Islands, was much easier to deal with. The Allies only suffered more than 10,000 casualties (more than 50,000 casualties), 106 aircraft were shot down, and 3 ships were sunk.
At a limited cost, all the more than 30,000 defenders could be killed
Annihilation. Strictly speaking, this loss is still a bit too high, but considering that the Allies had lost consecutive battles and suffered a large loss of veterans, it was also difficult for new recruits to grow up. The gap between the quality of the soldiers and the German army has been widening.
This is already pretty good
Moreover, after the American and British Allied Forces captured the Shetland Islands, Mustache became increasingly dissatisfied with the German naval commander Raeder who was passively avoiding the war.
Finally, Raeder, who felt that his position was unstable, had no choice but to assemble the main force of the German Navy's Home Fleet and go to sea to assist the army in retaking the Shetland Islands.
Although Mustache specially dispatched elite air forces to escort Redel's fleet (Note 1), so that Redel did not have to worry too much about the threat from the US and British air forces, the US military actually sent 6 ships, including 2 cutting-edge Iowa-class battleships.
The battleships were all sent over, plus the three British King George V-class battleships. Even without aircraft to assist in the battle, the mere two battleships and two battlecruisers of the Redl Fleet could not compete.
Of course, the American and British battleships did not gather together at first, which made Redl think he saw an opportunity. He even concentrated his efforts on sinking an "alone" old American battleship and several light ships. However, the Allies.
The military headquarters responded very quickly. Regardless of the huge losses caused by the German Air Force's interception, it sent reconnaissance planes to keep a firm eye on the Redel fleet, and quickly concentrated the nearby capital ships and a large number of auxiliary ships in the shortest possible time.
They formed a powerful combined fleet.
At this time, the battlecruiser Scharnhorst in the Redel fleet had been severely damaged in the previous battle, and its power system was severely damaged, which slowed down the speed of the entire fleet, leaving the U.S. and British combined fleet to complete the mine attack.
The siege of Del's fleet created the conditions.
In order to prevent the German fleet from slipping away, the Allies chose the strategy of dividing their forces and defeating them, which was used by the Germans. But unlike the Battle of Denmark Strait, this time the Allies had a much greater strength advantage. The German Navy
of the 4 battleships
The main gun caliber of the Shane sisters is only 283mm. When facing battleships, they cannot pose a substantial threat. They can only rely on two Bismarck-class battleships. Therefore, even if the Allies divide their forces into two groups, they still have at least double the local strength advantage.
However, although Redel has a conservative personality, he still aroused the bloody passion in his heart under the premise that there was no way to retreat. He commanded the fleet to launch a fierce attack on the four American battleships that blocked his way. However, the advantage of double the number was not so easy to erase.
flat, not to mention different from the early days of World War II. The current Bismarck-class battleship
It is no longer considered advanced in terms of performance, especially when compared with the Iowa-class high-speed battleship that the United States has just entered into service less than a month ago. The Iowa-class battleship's main gun has a larger caliber and higher accuracy than the Bismarck.
, the armor is also thicker than it, and the speed is also faster than the Bismarck. This battle is impossible to fight.
However, the incredible anti-sinkability of the Bismarck-class battleships was once again demonstrated in this battle. The four American battleships and the other five American and British battleships that arrived later almost used up all the armor-piercing reserves (although not all
It was used to deal with two Bismarck-class battleships), and even some Royal Air Force bombers broke through the German battleships.
The interceptor fighter planes rushed nearby and dropped heavy bombs and aviation torpedoes on the two German battleships (throwing torpedoes was too difficult and dangerous. Under the interference of German fighter planes, none of them hit, but more than a dozen torpedoes were lost.
machine.). However, the two Bismarck-class battleships are still stubbornly floating on the sea, with no signs of sinking [
ps: When the Bismarck was destroyed in history, the British battleships finally moved within a thousand meters and blasted the waterline with their main guns. The destroyers kept firing torpedoes at it, but they still couldn't sink it quickly. In the end, they still couldn't sink it quickly.
The Germans scuttled themselves, which shows how terrifying its anti-sinkability is. Of course, just having high anti-sink resistance is of little significance. The Bismarck completely lost its ability to fight back after a short period of fighting. No matter how good its anti-sink resistance is, it is just a waste of time for the enemy.
Just some cannons and torpedoes
Although their resistance to sinking was so strong that it stunned the Allied fleet, the two battleships inevitably suffered heavy damage. Among them, the battleship Bismarck, which was regarded as the primary target by the Americans and concentrated fire attacks, was bombarded to the point of completely losing its combat effectiveness.
, all four main turrets were knocked out, and the only two remaining secondary turrets could only fight back with a symbolic meaning.
Moreover, in addition to the two battleships, the Shane sisters and the dozen smaller auxiliary ships were not so durable. The 9 Allied battleships and numerous auxiliary ships only consumed the guns used to deal with the two Bismarck-class battleships.
three points
One by one, these warships were sent to the bottom of the sea one by one. As long as these warships are not protected, no matter how good the anti-sinkability of the two Bismarck-class battleships is, the Allies can still use the large-caliber ship-borne torpedoes on the cruisers and destroyers.
Send it to the bottom of the sea
Before all other German ships were sunk, Allied Fleet Commander Admiral Ernest Joseph King (Note 2) issued the order to give the two German battleships a final blow. But at this moment, an American
The old battleship suddenly emitted billowing smoke
Note 1: Originally, Mustache wanted to send bomber units to attack American and British ships, but he sent all the new pilots to the Eastern Front, while those old pilots who stuck to tradition generally despised anti-ship warfare. In the end, Mustache had no choice but to let
The Air Force dispatched fighter jets to escort the fleet
ps: This is a historical fact. Some pilots who achieved great results in ship bombing were even forced to retire because of it. The German Navy in World War II was so weird. In addition, there were also embarrassing things such as the use of a 37mm gun that could not be fired continuously for close-range air defense of warships.
, but I personally feel that these people are probably deliberately causing trouble for Mustache, which is just as suspicious as the fact that a great scientist like Heisenberg miscalculated the decimal point and caused Germany to be unable to build an atom.
Note 2: This man is also the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Navy and the Commander of the Atlantic Fleet. Logically speaking, he would not be sent to the front line to command operations. However, Roosevelt was frightened by the British betrayal of their teammates. In order to obtain the command of the U.S.-British Combined Fleet
power, and only Ernest Joseph King's qualifications and prestige could prevent the British Royal Navy from raising objections.