Comrade, Your Ingredients Are Too Complicated

Chapter 284 Battleship Bismarck and Cruiser Prinz Eugen

Personal politics aside, Mustache was definitely at the peak of his life before Operation Barbarossa began.

People who don’t know his life trajectory will find it difficult to imagine how a failed student from the Academy of Fine Arts, a street kid on the streets of Vienna, a German soldier during World War I, and a civilian political spy of the Weimar Republic were swept away by the torrent of the times. Follow the general trend and become the leader of a country.

Although the Sea Lion plan against Britain ultimately failed, it at least provided strategic camouflage for Operation Barbarossa. After all, Dalinzi still does not believe that the "allies" will choose a two-front battle.

This unprecedented achievement has made no one in the current German Third Reich dare to oppose his orders.

　　After dissuading Bowman in an understatement, Mustache looked at the senior army officials in front of him. Invisible pressure permeated the conference room, and one lieutenant general even shed a drop of cold sweat from his temples.

 Finally, he set his sights on the Wehrmacht generals headed by Chief of General Staff Halder and Army Commander-in-Chief Brauchitsch.

 In terms of their ability to lead troops in war, the Junkers military aristocrats are definitely the leaders in their field.

Since the beginning of the war, the Wehrmacht has never lost a battle, and has even exceeded its mission more than once. Currently, no one in Europe is an enemy.

 As subordinates, their performance is substandard most of the time.

These generals with distinctive personalities are not only difficult to manage, but sometimes they also have an attitude of not accepting the orders of the foreign emperor.

Thinking of this, Mustache's eyes became sharper.

“Everyone, are the pre-war preparations for the three army groups going smoothly?”

“In a week’s time, the troops will move eastward as originally planned. I don’t want there to be any problems with logistics. You should know what Operation Barbarossa means to the empire.”

“By the way, how are you preparing the lollipops?”

Since the late 19th century, Germany's chemical industry has been very developed and once became the country's pillar industry.

Even in an era when bread was sold for half a million Reichsmarks, the country's pharmaceutical industry was still thriving without much impact.

  After 1926, the streets of the Weimar Republic were filled with all kinds of legal lollipops, and the production of many categories ranked first in the world.

The folks are not so embarrassed. I don't have to think about it in the army. It must be the hardest hit area.

 Last year when Germany attacked France, Manstein and Guderian formulated the famous Sickle Plan in order to bypass the impregnable Maginot Line.

The focus of this combat plan is to avoid the north, which is heavily guarded by the Allied forces, so as to prevent the war from developing into a protracted war that is costly, time-consuming and costly.

After all, the British and French brothers have dug through the core of the earth long ago and built high-level fortresses. Only a fool would hit it head-on.

 The specific arrangements of the Sickle Plan are actually not complicated. There are even only three arrows as markings on the strategic situation map.

To put it simply, the armored troops were allowed to cross the Ardennes at lightning speed and attack the French border city of Sedan.

As long as we speed up and defeat the second-rate troops defending on the other side of the river before the enemy reacts, cut off the opponent's supply line and cut off France, the victory of the war can basically be guaranteed.

There are two difficulties in this plan that need to be overcome. The first is naturally whether the armored forces can pass through the Ardennes at full speed.

The terrain there is hilly and terraced, with tall trees and dense forests and many swamps. It is not the first choice area for the mechanized advancement of the large army at all.

 Another point is naturally the issue of physical strength. If we want to achieve the goal of cutting off the enemy's supply line, all soldiers must travel day and night to ensure their marching speed, which means they cannot rest for several days and nights.

What should I do? Eat a lollipop.

At that time, Guderian's armored army followed the energy agent announcement and the entire army ate lollipops and marched all night long.

 When they arrived at Sesame, the soldiers had not slept for three days. Even this is not the limit of the German army. They even have the strength to rush to the Atlantic coastline.

Operation Barbarossa this time was even more brutal than Operation Scythe. After all, the depth of the opponent's territory was extremely exaggerated. If sufficient stocks are not prepared, it is estimated that most frontline soldiers will not be able to withstand such high-intensity combat.

After hearing his leader’s question, Chief of General Staff Halder stepped forward and answered:

“Reporting to the head of state, we have prepared tens of millions of lollipops, which have been distributed to the army.”

“If the frontline troops are in need, all German soldiers will use their strong willpower to stay up day and night and maintain strong fighting spirit at all times.”

“We also paid a deposit in advance to the Tamler Candy Factory. Now its daily output has exceeded one million, and it can provide energy supplies to the three army groups on the front line at any time.”

  ·······

 After finishing the work of the Army, Mustache turned his attention to Lei Buqian and Deng Bufu.

Compared with the army generals, the two naval commanders under his command are not fuel-efficient lamps. They will start fighting openly and secretly if they are not careful.

Although the focus of the offensive in the next few months will be on the "allies" in the east, our own navy still needs to continue to break the engagement with Britain.

 Daiying is surrounded by the sea. As long as it can use its existing forces to attack the enemy's transport ships, it can cut off the opponent's supply of strategic materials such as oil.

Once it becomes an isolated island, and the other side is completely helpless when faced with the problem of material shortages, the balance of victory will inevitably tilt in its favor.

What's more, after Project Barbarossa begins, Daiying is likely to support Mao Xiong with various military supplies. Fatty Qiu is a man who wants to bring the whole world down.

“In the following time, I need you to continue to lead the team to attack transport ships in the Atlantic. But you must remember that the principle of all actions must be to preserve strength.”

“The Zeppelin aircraft carrier will be completed in a few months, and the research and development of new destroyers and submarines is also very fast. As long as we wait another year, the Imperial Navy will inevitably undergo earth-shaking changes.”

Since Mustache knew Redl very well and knew that the other party was sometimes more utilitarian in performing tasks, he specially drew a cake for the naval marshal.

"There is no possibility that the Navy will participate in Operation Barbarossa this time. I am currently negotiating with Franco and Pétain. There is a high probability that we can ask for military communications. That will be the time for the Navy to show its power. "

 In the early stages of formulating the Barbarossa Plan, Raeder proposed occupying Gibraltar as soon as possible.

In this way, Italy can be supported in occupying the Suez Canal, thus leaving control of the entire Mediterranean in the hands of the Axis powers.

By then, as long as Turkey is forced into the axis, Desan can launch an attack on the Caucasus from an unexpected position, and Dalinzi can only watch the fire in the backyard.

 Hearing his leader’s words, Redel’s eyes blazed with strong fighting spirit.

"Führer! I will resolutely implement your orders! Under your leadership, the navy boys will definitely defeat the damned British Royal Navy!"

 Since the end of the Battle of Jutland, the entire German navy has never had any decent results. In order to regain its past glory, Raeder submitted an army expansion plan codenamed "Plan Z" to Mustache in March 1938.

The core demand is very simple, which is to "rebuild the High Seas Fleet" and form an armed force that can compete head-on with the Royal Navy in the Atlantic.

This project includes four advanced aircraft carriers. To achieve this goal, Mustache also sent senior naval officials to Japan to learn from the construction experience of the Akagi.

There are also ten battleships that are heavier, faster, and more powerful than the existing battleships in the world today. The legendary H-class is one of the plans.

 The remaining share was divided among ten battlecruisers, five heavy cruisers, 16 light cruisers, 68 destroyers and 249 submarines.

 The entire “Z Plan” is expected to take ten years.

 Facts have proved one thing, the navy is really not a service that ordinary people can afford.

Even De San with a plus five cannot build such a large fleet. A large part of the ships in the above plan have not even been designed.

　In addition, Mustache did not fulfill his agreement and launched the war six years in advance. As a result, Plan Z was suspended only one-third of the way.

Although Raeder failed, Dönitz saw an opportunity to rise.

When Germany officially went to war with Britain and France, he was still a naval colonel and quietly submitted to his big boss a plan to "emphasize U-boats" and "trade blockade."

In Deng Bufu's plan, he applied to purchase 300 more advanced submarines for the army as quickly as possible.

In this way, they can attack the transport ships in the Atlantic in groups and achieve a decisive victory in the naval battle.

Of course, Mustache did not agree directly, but just drew a pie in a perfunctory way.

Dönitz's behavior also completely angered Redel. The other party frequently reported work to the head of state beyond his senior level, which made him, a naval marshal, look very ugly.

From then on, the two gradually drifted apart and gradually began to part ways.

This is a theoretical difference between military strategy and tactics. Redel advocates the use of big guns, large ships and aircraft carriers for reconnaissance, focusing on concentrating troops and leading the British to a decisive battle at sea.

Dönitz believes that priority resources should be used wisely, emphasizing comprehensive planning and sustained operations.

In fact, both of them are a bit extreme. Naval battles during World War II were all kinds of warships fighting together, and special formations performed special tasks and carried out sneak attacks.

 Decisive battle?

 Forget it, a single military unit often has fatal weaknesses. The navy of a big country must take a fair and peaceful path to find a way out.

 The most rational tactic should be to use submarines to block the enemy's shipping system, and at the same time use large surface fleets and aviation forces to threaten the opponent's counter-submarine forces.

　　After reaching a verbal agreement with his head of state, Raeder glanced at Dönitz provocatively.

 In terms of performance alone, it is true that our own fleet cannot keep up with the opponent's submarine force even if it is trying to catch up.

They killed the Royal Oak and the Courageous. The former was a meritorious battleship, and the latter was the first aircraft carrier in the world to be destroyed in actual combat.

While attacking the British navy, the submarine fleet also did not let go of the transport ships passing by, and the total tonnage destroyed was basically more than ten times that of the surface fleet.

 This number is still growing rapidly with the increase in the number of submarines.

Looking at our own surface fleet, due to concealment and radar technology, their efficiency in attacking transport ships is not very high.

The final record was indeed pretty good. It also sank many transport ships with the British, and even killed the aircraft carrier Glory, but its own losses were not small at all.

The heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper was damaged and is still recovering in the port of Brest.

The battleship Graf Spee had a more tragic ending, being forced to sink by the enemy.

The situation of the two sisters Gneisenau and Scharnhorst was not very good either. The long-term battle left many hidden wounds on their bodies.

But the above disadvantages are not important. My boss just likes big and thick pipes and has always had an inexplicable preference for giant weapons.

As long as the head of state is willing to invest money, sooner or later the surface fleet's strength and performance will surpass Dönitz's submarines.

　　Looking at the somewhat proud Redel, the corners of his mustache raised a slight arc.

 Since the last conversation with Goering, he has begun to try to change his behavior. So far it seems that the effect is pretty good, at least the Navy has been trained into the desired shape.

“By the way, where are the battleship Bismarck and cruiser Prinz Eugen currently? Have they successfully entered the Atlantic through the Denmark Strait?”

“That is the treasure of our German Empire. There must be no mistakes.”

Different from the original plot, because the North China Front Army was bombarded by the 1st Air Division of the Eighth Route Army in Zhongtiao Mountain, envoys were sent in the middle of the battle to collect various data on British fighter jets.

Facing the sudden rise of the Eighth Route Army, Mustache rarely showed a strong interest.

 There was clear intelligence before that showed that the other side was equipped with a large number of French infantry weapons.

 Now that there are two fighter jets, the Spitfire and the Hurricane, it is difficult for him not to think of some special possibilities.

It’s a pity that the Mars factory in Huanghe leaves no trace at all. Its safety and concealment are unique. Spies from all over the world can only return with hatred.

However, the period of waiting for the information successfully delayed the departure time of the battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen.

Facing the inquiry from his boss, Raeder glanced at Dönitz with confidence, then stepped forward and started reporting.

“Don’t worry, head of state, I have also arranged for three destroyers to accompany us this time. Even if they encounter an unstoppable fleet, they can retreat from the battlefield with high mobility.”

“I also gave a special order to the Port of Brest to set out to provide support immediately if necessary.”

Mustache nodded with satisfaction, and then he turned to Dönitz and said:

“If necessary, I hope your submarine force can provide timely support. Everything will take the overall situation first.”

Let’s start the next chapter and give the Persian cat a grand burial.

 (End of this chapter)