Imperial Overlord

In any case, the matter of the German navy going to sea to fight is already a done deal. In the port, workers and soldiers were refueling their warships, and busy figures filled every corner.

It is not easy to make an entire fleet sail, and many things need to be prepared. Just the fuel that is poured into the fuel tank of the battleship will have hundreds or even thousands of tons.

Officers were to personally inspect the various ammunition stored throughout the ship to prove that the ammunition was indeed in its place and in good condition.

The radar and various equipment must be tested, the engine must be tested, the communication equipment must be kept in good condition, and all the artillery must be overhauled.

In the port of Kiel, a total of 6 warships are preparing for such a voyage. Different from the past, there are also 48 naval combat aircraft preparing to sail at the same time.

The battleships Bismarck, Tirpitz, Gneisenau, Prinz Eugen, cruiser Nuremberg and the aircraft carrier Zeppelin were ready to go.

On the pier, Lütjens and the two Redel who brought him here were still struggling with how to avoid the British patrol ships.

They have drawn up a route that, from the Kattegat Strait, is like a thief all the way, along Norway to the north, and has been detoured to Bergen.

This route is almost identical to the route taken by the two warships Bismarck and Prince Eugen into the Atlantic Ocean in real history.

And in order to avoid British reconnaissance planes and patrol ships, the route that rushed into the Atlantic was also selected in the Denmark Strait...

Li Le looked at this route that he was so familiar with that he could no longer be familiar with it, and he was a little dumbfounded. He gave Raidel almost three times as many troops, and Raidel chose the same route...

In order to maximize the use of the dark night, the departure time was selected at 6 o'clock after dinner. In this way, just after breaking out of the Kattegat Strait, the German fleet has the cover of night and can sail all the way to the Norwegian sea.

The Luftwaffe also served as an **** in this mission. The air force stationed in Denmark and Norway will be dispatched to cover this naval operation.

Of course, air cover ceased to exist when the fleet approached the Denmark Strait. The rest is up to the German Navy itself.

"The flagship was placed on the aircraft carrier Zeppelin, because the communication equipment on the aircraft carrier is relatively more and more complete." Lütjens explained to Redel.

After explaining this sentence, he also comforted the marshal: "If there is a problem, I will change the flagship back to the Bismarck at any time, please rest assured."

The aircraft carrier Zeppelin is a new type of warship that the Führer has placed high hopes on. The selection as the flagship of the navy was also ordered by the Führer himself. Of course, Lütjens did not dare to change it.

Redel also knew that this problem was not Lütjens' fault, so he could only nod his head and instructed earnestly, "This time you go to sea, be careful and don't force it!"

If he could, he really wanted to personally command this fleet to sea. But he is now a marshal and has no chance to command the front line.

Moreover, he also wants to save some face for the German navy. Isn't it enough to join a fleet, but also a tragic and solemn commander-in-chief of the navy? Isn't that the laughing stock of the world?

Lütjens nodded and saluted: "Long live the Führer! I will bring back victory for the German Navy!"

Rader also raised his arm solemnly: "Long live the head of state! I wish you a great victory!"

The two separated, and Lütjens turned around and jumped onto the boat beside the pier, waving at Raedl.

The battleship has left the port dock because of its huge size. Lütjens was one of the last people to board the battleship, so he had to be transported to the anchorage by boat.

The hunting sea breeze blew on Lütjens's face, and the pier and the naval commander-in-chief standing on the pier were rapidly shrinking in his eyes.

Finally, he withdrew his gaze and looked back at the aircraft carrier Zeppelin behind him.

It was not difficult, and he boarded the Zeppelin, where he saw Hines and other officers waiting for him.

"Sir, the boiler has been inspected and is in good condition." An officer introduced his work.

The other officers also introduced: "The anti-aircraft artillery and ammunition have been checked! All normal communication systems are in good working condition! The fuel quantity is confirmed, there is no problem!"

Lütjens took over the report and looked at it. After confirming that there was no problem with the data, he turned his attention to Hines.

Hines smiled and saluted: "Sir! There is no problem with the naval aviation, and it is ready to set sail at any time."

Taking out the pocket watch in his coat, Lütjens looked at the time, then nodded and said, "Come on, let's go to the bridge. At 6:15, the fleet will pull anchor and set sail!"

As he spoke, he took the lead across the wide deck, climbed the steel-welded stairs, and reached his command bridge.

There, from the porthole, he saw the Bismarck in the distance, and the battleship Tirpitz behind Bismarck.

Withdrawing his gaze, he took out his pocket watch again, and seeing that the time was accurate, he said, "Use the light signal to notify the fleet to set sail, and keep the radio silent."

Although he couldn't hide it for too long, Lütjens still hoped to delay the discovery of his fleet by the British as much as possible.

The later the British fleet was discovered and the less time it had to prepare, the safer the German fleet would be in relative terms. Lütjens believes that such a dangerous plan can only be accomplished if every detail is as good as possible.

In real historical time and space, Lütjens commanded the Scharnhorst to complete many dangerous missions. In the end, he was also killed on the battleship Bismarck.

Such a commander has no problem with courage and skill. In any case, he was more optimistic than Rader, believing that he could turn the tide and command the fleet to successfully reach the Brest naval port.

But Lütjens also has his concerns, and that is the size of the fleet. He is confident that he can take a warship and the enemy to hide and seek in the vast sea, but he is not confident to do so with a fleet.

The size of the fleet is too large, which increases the combat capability and at the same time increases the probability of being discovered to a very dangerous level.

From Lütjens's point of view, it is much more useful to hide yourself from being discovered by the enemy than to have a strong combat power. Until the overall combat power surpasses the opponent, the improvement of combat power seems to be meaningless.

"Sir! The battleship Bismarck has responded to the light signal, and their boilers have begun to test!" An officer walked up to Lütjens, stood at attention and reported.

Soon, news came from Tirpitz and the Prinz Eugen, and they had already started to preheat their boilers.

The cruiser Nuremberg had set out to sea ahead of schedule and arrived near the Kattegat Strait as the lead ship.

The Nuremberg would then join the fleet and sail to the Atlantic with it. The main reason for bringing such a cruiser is that the head of state is worried that the fleet's air defense firepower is not enough, adding such a battleship to make up the number.

"Commander! The battlecruiser Gneisenau is ready!" Lütjens breathed a sigh of relief when an officer delivered the news of the last battleship.

"Anchor! All battleships set sail! Start the "Viking Pirate Plan"! Victory! Head of State!" Lütjens gave the combat order, and the entire fleet set sail.

Leading the way was the battleship Bismarck. Then came the fleet flagship, the aircraft carrier Zeppelin, followed by the battlecruiser Gneisenau, then Tirpitz, and finally Prinz Eugen.

Five warships left their anchors one by one, and it was the first time in twenty years that Germany had such a powerful fleet.

The last time the German High Seas Fleet set off from here was more than 20 years ago. And that powerful fleet turned into a rainbow and disappeared in the British anchorage.

They used the sinking to maintain the last shred of dignity of the German Navy, but they could only use tragedy and despair to draw an end to their lives.

Now, the German fleet is once again out to sea to challenge the hegemony of the Royal Navy of the British Empire. Whether they can surpass their predecessors this time, no one can predict.

The sky gradually darkened, and the figure of the German fleet began to blur. Because of the relationship between the light and its own camouflage, it quickly disappeared in the dim sea.

In order to ensure that they are not discovered by the enemy, all German warships were put on a blackout, and all the warships were traveling in total darkness.

About an hour later, the sky was darker than before, and the sound of the German battleship's engine, along with the sound of the waves crashing against the hull, echoed between the sea and the sky.

In the sky, patrolling German fighter jets are returning home. This was their last takeoff of the day, to guard the sky above the fleet.

After a while, when the fleet sailed out of the Kattegat Strait, the sky would be completely dark, and aerial reconnaissance would be completely impossible.

This allowed the German fleet to remain relatively safe all the way to Bergen, Norway.

The fleet will then sail towards the Denmark Strait under the cover of aircraft. There, escape the cover of shore-based fighter jets and truly become a fighting lone army.

"May God bless us!" Lütjens stood on the bridge, looking at the sparkling sea, the sun that was about to disappear, and prayed in his heart, hoping that his fleet would be safe on this voyage... ——

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