Waking up in the early morning, the North Atlantic remained shrouded in fog, with visibility so poor that even the silhouette of the thirty-thousand-ton behemoth sailing ahead was nothing but a vague blur. Standing on the deck of the battleship and looking up, even the St. George's naval ensign with its white background and red stripes was difficult to make out.
Under strict navigation control, a special fleet consisting of six large vessels and ten light escort ships cruised westward at a speed of fifteen knots. Most of the officers and sailors moving about on the deck and gunwales were silent, leaving only the sound of the waves crashing against the hulls to fill the air.
Admiral John Tovey of the Royal Navy, dressed smartly with neatly combed hair, took a solitary stroll around the aft deck before making his way to the open-air observation platform amidships. Commander Lanchi, the captain, seemed to have been standing there for hours—his uniform and hat already speckled with droplets of water.
"No ships have fallen behind, have they?" Tovey inquired.
"Don't worry, they're all maintaining formation," replied Commander Lanchi confidently, thanks to the newly installed surface search radar on the battleship. Since the outbreak of war, the Nelson-class ships had been among the first in the Royal Navy to be equipped with anti-aircraft warning radar and main gun fire control radar. According to reports from the crew, these electronic devices were performing well, significantly enhancing the ship's night-fighting capabilities. Unfortunately, during the Norwegian Sea Battle and the night battle in the Wash, the German fleet had not dared to confront the Royal Navy head-on, so these powerful new equipment had yet to prove their worth.
With little wind and foggy weather, Admiral Tovey, aged fifty-five, draped in a dark navy coat, gazed ahead with deep concentration. Two Tribal-class destroyers were tasked with leading the fleet. Compared to the Town-class destroyers retired from the US Navy, the ships built by British shipyards themselves were more advanced and practical.
"Have we entered Icelandic waters yet? Another day, and we'll be mostly out of the German Navy's operational range," Tovey remarked.
"Yes! Today should be the most dangerous day! But weather like this... works in our favor!" Commander Lanchi declared spiritedly. Having learned of the bold plan of the Home Fleet a few days ago, his sense of loss and regret over seeing the Soviet sailors take away the "Anson" had been swept away. Although the British fleet was likely to send two battleships to deal with the German Navy's three in the Atlantic, the German Scharnhorst class, with its 11-inch guns, was not suitable for a true battleship confrontation. As for the "Bismarck," which had been in service for less than half a year, it had no advantage in firepower or defense against the "Rodney" in a confrontation!
"Regardless, we must keep everyone on high alert! Out here in the vast Atlantic..." Tovey surveyed the surroundings. "Our fleet can be considered the spark of the Royal Navy! Perhaps for many years after this, we'll find it difficult to construct large warships of this caliber on our own!"
"Yeah, this is truly a damn war! Why did we have to get dragged into it following the lead of such an incompetent ally as France?" Lanchi sighed to himself. Ninety-five percent of Britain's traditional shipyards on the mainland had fallen into German hands, despite the earlier evacuation by the British government of tens of thousands of tons of shipbuilding equipment and the partial destruction of some docks and fixed assets. Rebuilding mature large shipyards in Canada was a task that would take years—relying on American shipyards might be the only way to quickly restore naval strength, but the commercial nature of Uncle Sam's dealings meant that the exiled British government would inevitably pay a hefty price for it.
"Would you like to take a break? The journey is still long!" Tovey suggested gently.
"No, I'm not tired yet!" Lanchi forced a smile. "How about we grab a cup of coffee together?"
With no children of his own, Tovey seemed to have no particular interests outside of military matters. After casting one last glance at the empty sea to the south of the fleet, he nodded. "Alright, let's go!"
As the British fleet silently sailed across the North Atlantic under high secrecy, the intelligence about the Soviet Navy acquiring the unfinished battleship "Anson" from the British had caused quite a stir among the German high command. With the "Barbarossa" plan entering its final preparations, the sudden "emigration" of this battleship, with a design displacement of 35,000 tons (standard) and 43,000 tons (full load), had an immeasurable impact on the military situation in Northern Europe!
Among the German generals, Admiral Raeder, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, was the most concerned and anxious about this development. According to the revised operational plan, the German Navy would supply Axis forces fighting on the northern front in the Baltic Sea and the Arctic Ocean with materials and provide fire support. Between June and August, they also planned to launch a landing operation in Murmansk. Even if the "Anson" joining the Soviet Navy could not fully form combat capability by then, it would still pose a headache for the German fleet!
In the fog-shrouded conditions, German reconnaissance planes stationed in Norway were unable to locate the Soviet fleet, and temporary deployments of submarines were also futile. It wasn't until the Deutschland-class battleship "Lutzow" and its two accompanying destroyers searched the waters northwest of Trondheim and located their target that the gloom hanging over the High Command began to lift slightly. According to the "Non-Aggression Pact between the Soviet Union and Germany," the appearance of the Soviet fleet in the northern North Sea did not infringe upon Germany's so-called legitimate interests, and the approach of the German fleet could be understood as an accidental encounter. Two hours later, an encrypted message was sent from the "Lutzow," but it was intercepted in time by "Bletchley Park" in the Scottish Highlands and quickly decoded. The British Admiralty promptly relayed this vital information via wireless to the British fleet sailing in the North Atlantic. Unfortunately, the Germans also intercepted this message. Although the German Navy's code-breaking capability was slightly inferior, it had occupied southern England, Wales, and southern Scotland and captured large numbers of British troops, giving them a deeper understanding of British communication equipment!
"Incredible, truly incredible!" Marshal Keitel, Chief of the High Command, exclaimed when he received the documents from the wireless intelligence agency, his astonishment mirroring that of the other German generals who had handled the matter. For a long time, they had believed that Enigma was unbreakable, but little did they know that there were no secrets that could not be deciphered, and leaks from various sources, along with British research into this technology, had turned "impossible" into "possible"!
"So now, won't all our communications with the fleet be intercepted by the British?" General Alfred Jodl, Chief of Operations at the High Command, expressed concern.
"Until now, I always believed that Enigma was set up more securely by the navy. I didn't expect..." Admiral Raeder said, with a shudder. "Fortunately, our main fleet is strictly limited in its use of wireless communication during combat operations!"
"How should we report this to the Führer later? He will definitely feel disappointed and angry about the communication failure of the military!" Jodl's concern seemed to deepen.
"There's no choice, but to report the truth!" Raeder said quietly.
"Everyone, I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing!" A young voice weakly emerged from the outskirts of the senior officers' group. Everyone turned to look, and it was the youngest Air Force Chief of Operations among them - until the new Air Force commander and chief of staff were appointed, he still played the role of "young leader" in the command of the German Air Force. Although he had faced many speculations from the outside world, judging by the performance of the German Air Force after Goering's death, he was mediocre, but not outstanding. However, relations between the Air Force and the Army, Navy, and even the Waffen-SS had become more harmonious, and the conduct of military operations naturally went more smoothly!
"What do you think, General Logan?" Jodl asked, neither cold nor hot.
"The mouse hole on the wall was always there. The sooner we discover it and block it, the fewer losses we'll suffer! Isn't it?" Logan smiled and said, "Unless we want to be ostriches, bury our heads in the sand, and pretend we don't see anything! The Führer's momentary anger is better than being scolded all the time in the future!"
"Hmm, young people's ideas are so easy-going!" Keitel, with his head held high in pride, somewhat disdainfully commented.
This wasn't the first time Logan had been "despised" by the old senior officers, so he didn't take it to heart. Before long, Adolf Hitler, wearing a gray-brown uniform, briskly entered the conference room. Everyone quickly stood on both sides of the long conference table, respectfully saluting the unique leader of the country.
"We are convening today to discuss the matter of the British battleship!" The mustachioed man seldom cut to the chase, surveying the room, "Any new developments?"
Keitel remained calm, but there was obvious unease in his eyes.
"My Führer, this is a decoded message that was sent from the wireless intelligence department just fifteen minutes ago. From the content, I'm afraid... our navy's codes have been deciphered by the British!"
The small-mustachioed man took the file from his faithful chief of staff, examined it carefully, and when he reached the end, his eyes widened. He slammed the file on the table, "The Enigma, which was supposed to be forever secret, has now become a plaything for the British! Where did the problem lie? Is there a traitor among us! Yes, there must be! I knew it, our intimate partner and loyal comrade - Hermann Göring, died in a conspiracy! Absolutely a conspiracy! Who else do they want to get rid of? Me next? Am I next?"
Hitler's anger escalated from cursing to roaring, and then from roaring to hysteria.
"My Führer! The problem may not lie here!" Logan timely stood up, in the vast conference room, he was the only one who dared to be this "outspoken" - he knew the principle of standing out among the crowd, but the key was whether you could make the leader acknowledge and accept you! After pondering over Hitler, he came to a unique conclusion: touching his brow was not an absolute taboo; the key was whether you could make him recognize and acknowledge you! Moreover, in terms of the issue of Hermann Göring's death, he, as someone who had picked up his life by luck, was the least suspicious!
"What did you say?" The Führer, in extreme anger, with disheveled hair and sweat streaming down his temples, his eyes staring like a bull in a bullfighting ring, his posture as if he wanted to swallow this reckless guy alive!
Logan answered calmly, "Our soldiers found some strange equipment on a crashed British transport plane. Due to severe damage, we couldn't figure out what it was used for at the time! Recently, we found some equipment in Edinburgh that hadn't been transported away. Research has shown that the British may have used some quite sophisticated equipment to study the secrets of Enigma..."
"Why wasn't this reported earlier?" The Führer asked fiercely.
Logan smiled inwardly, but his face was unusually serious, "Because we relied too much on a machine, believing it was flawless! As it turns out, every machine has its flaws, only people, only a great person like the Führer, and the generals present, are truly worthy of the utmost trust!"
The raging beast quieted down, and everyone present, including the old generals who were older than Logan in terms of military service, cast approving glances at this wise Air Force officer. This simple statement had unexpectedly resolved a major problem that had worried them greatly, and this, indeed, was the essence of Eastern civilization - with no hint of irony!