Chapter 366: Misfortunes Never Come Singly

The German Stuka dive bombers, their eyes red with bloodlust, whistled as they dived, immediately turning the already ruined deck of the air

The German Stuka dive bombers, their eyes red with bloodlust, whistled as they dived, immediately turning the already ruined deck of the aircraft carrier Hermes into an even greater ruin. The Roc fighters, which had been peacefully circling the Ark Royal, had no intention of going up to find trouble with the Stuka group. And looking at the Fw-190 fighters that had already pulled up into the clouds, waiting at any moment to dive down, the British Navy couldn’t even muster the interest to rescue the crew of the Hermes who had fallen into the water.

Having lost the slightly aging carrier Hermes, the speed of the British fleet actually became even brisker. And unexpectedly, the German fighter group was also extremely cooperative, showing no intention of coming over to attack the carrier Ark Royal, which left the fleet commander, Lawrence, completely baffled.

Could it be that the Germans had had a sudden change of heart and had let go of the British Navy’s most advanced and largest aircraft carrier? Was this some kind of joke? But if it wasn’t that the Germans had deliberately let his half of the fleet go, then how could the current situation be explained? Could it be that God was on the side of the British Royal Navy again? Wasn’t he a little too late?

Of course, it was not that the German naval air arm had intentionally let the British Navy go, nor was it that God had turned to bless the British Navy. In fact, in the command cabin of the German Navy’s High Seas Fleet, Lütjens was angrily looking at several of his proud subordinates.

If Lawrence could have heard the content of Lütjens’s furious curses, then the truth of the strange scene of the later Stukas only attacking the burning Hermes would have been obvious.

The fact was that the German Navy had been busy slaughtering in all directions, regaining its kingly demeanor in the clear daylight. As a result, they had all been busy harvesting the fat meat that the British Navy had delivered to their doorstep, but in the process of frequently launching carrier-based aircraft, a mess had occurred.

Because they had already sent out a full twenty torpedo bombers armed with torpedoes, the German Navy, which had made a mistake in its haste due to the tight space on the deck, had only sent out the subsequent twenty Stuka dive bombers to hold back the British naval carrier fleet.

It was a pity that although this decision had saved deck space for the carrier-based aircraft that had bombed the battlecruiser Hood to land, it had also created a situation that was both amusing and exasperating—the Fw-190s that had originally taken off to attack the British carrier fleet were now low on fuel and ammunition, while the newly arrived Stuka bomber group had plenty of ammunition and fuel, but because they had no escort planes, they really did not dare to find trouble with the Ark Royal.

The result was that, very unwillingly, the British aircraft carrier Ark Royal, which had been firmly in the stomach of the German Navy’s High Seas Fleet, had thus escaped. And the German High Seas Fleet, which had originally had the ability and the determination to eat up more than half of the British Navy, had also miraculously failed to complete its mission.

But now for Lütjens, the combat record was already super rich. His High Seas Fleet, after a night of fleeing for its life, had successfully counter-attacked and had sunk two of the British Royal Navy’s battlecruisers, as well as the aircraft carrier Hermes. For the British Royal Navy, which was already at a low point in morale, this was undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

Lütjens was even full of confidence. Even if he had let the Ark Royal run away, his return this time would be a sure thing for a promotion and a peerage. He could almost see the moment he would be wearing the rank of admiral, could almost see himself receiving the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves from the Führer’s palm.

If one were to also count the two captured British cruisers, the German Navy had won a complete and utter victory this time. The British Royal Navy seemed to have handed over command of the sea. Even maintaining the defense near the English Channel had become a problem.

In the Führer’s Residence in Berlin, Germany, Akado took the report he had been long awaiting from Cindra’s hands. Listening to the cheers that were rising one wave after another outside the door, he read the entire contents with a smile on his lips.

He gently walked back to his desk and, looking at the old Mr. August, who was not in very good spirits from staying up all night, as well as the Chief of the Naval Staff, Raeder, and the Reich Field Marshal, von Brauchitsch, he said with a smile to the not-so-good-looking Raeder, “What’s wrong? Are you hungry from not eating?”

In fact, Raeder couldn’t be blamed for looking bad. Originally, there had been very fierce competition in the navy over the ownership of command. Lütjens, with the Führer’s support, had vaguely had the momentum to surpass Raeder and become the number one man in the navy. This time, he had won such a great victory. It was clear that Raeder’s days would be even more difficult.

Akado, as if he had seen through Raeder’s thoughts, laughed and did not pay him any mind. Instead, he looked at the old Mr. August and, seeing the old man nod as if he were dozing or as if he were agreeing, he finally handed a box to his trusted and favored general, Admiral Raeder.

When Raeder opened the box and looked, he almost knelt down before Akado. In this not-so-large, slender box was a baton with blue gems inlaid around it, a completely different staff from Brauchitsch’s red marshal’s baton. If Raeder still couldn’t figure out why this was being given to him, then he wouldn’t have been able to hold the position of admiral.

If one were to say that Raeder, as an admiral, was still behind Lütjens and Dönitz in terms of combat command, then his political eye and loyalty had made Akado extremely pleased and at ease. This admiral had quickly taken a side when Akado had just risen to power and had unhesitatingly handed over more than half of the navy’s power to the current Führer. Compared to his cautious combat style, this boldness really had the aura of a dragon-follower.

And now, Raeder knew that his good days had come. The Führer wanted to promote an obedient dog to the stage to sing a rival opera with the dominant Brauchitsch. Even if he knew that no matter how much he was supported, he, as a marshal, would just be an empty flower vase, a figurehead, Raeder knew that this special honor, even if it was just a figurehead, was enough for any naval admiral to bring honor to his ancestors. Isn’t it just to be an obedient dog? I, Raeder, will be the Führer’s dog! Whoever bares their teeth at the Führer, I will bite them to death!

“Long live the great Führer of the Third Reich, Akado Rudolph!” Raeder said, holding the wooden box and quickly standing up, chanting with his head held high and his chest puffed out. Brauchitsch on the side also seemed to have finally let out a sigh of relief.

The days of him being roasted over a fire by the old and young remnants of the Junker aristocrats were finally over. To sing a rival opera with the scheming August in front of him and the divinely talented Führer was not an easy matter. Now, with Raeder’s promotion to marshal, it could also be considered a kind of protection for Brauchitsch from the Führer, Akado. If it weren’t for Raeder’s promotion this time, Brauchitsch knew that he would have had to resign and go home to retire after at most another half a year.

Who would be willing to go home and retire at a time like this? The army gentlemen’s revenge is a dish best served cold. They had accumulated their strength for twenty years, and this one stunning move had directly taken six countries—Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, Norway, and France—as a sacrifice for their war banner. It was estimated that in another month or so, Paris would also be in their grasp.

And the navy had, in one go, pulled the world’s number one naval power for a hundred years, Britain, down from its horse. It seemed that at this great moment, to land in Britain was no longer a dream on paper. If anyone were to retire and go home at a great time like this and miss the opportunity to have their name go down in history for the rise of Germany, they would probably not be able to close their eyes even after they died.

So for Field Marshal von Brauchitsch, the news of Raeder becoming a naval marshal was not bad news. Although this marshal had become not so valuable as to be unique, he himself could also continue to sit in the position of Chief of the Army General Staff and wait for the arrival of victory, and could also repair the distrust between himself and the Führer, Akado. This deal was undoubtedly a bargain no matter how you thought about it.

At this time, August seemed to have woken up from his dream. He propped himself up with the cane he was holding and stood up from the sofa. He squinted his eyes and, with a stoop, walked out, muttering to himself as he went, “Such a great victory. We should call that little girl Fanny and arrange a celebration to let the German people be happy together. This golden age, how many years have I, an old man, waited for? I can’t even count…” The rest of his words, Akado could not hear clearly.

In London, England, at the Prime Minister’s residence. Winston Churchill stared at the three reports on his desk, his face bloodless. He thought of a proverb from the ancient East—”Blessings do not come in pairs, but misfortunes never come singly.” There was one thing he could be sure of now, and that was that the British Royal Navy was truly finished this time.

The first report was simple and clear: the British pursuit fleet under the command of Vice-Admiral Holland, including the Hood and the Renown, had all been sunk. They had only managed to sink one major warship of the German navy, the Admiral Graf Spee. Vice-Admiral Holland, Captain Kerr, and other officers were killed in action.

Killed in action, so be it. Do they still have the face to live? For such a massive operational plan, to have had all the advantages at the beginning and to have failed at the last moment—how many people should be held responsible for this? Churchill wished he could grab the relevant people and have them all executed.

The second report was a bit more interesting: the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal had escaped from the tiger’s mouth. Vice-Admiral Lawrence had saved the British navy’s carrier fleet. At the cost of the carrier Hermes, he had preserved the British navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier. This achievement, no matter how you looked at it, could be considered to offset Lawrence’s crime of defeat.

Churchill sighed and threw this report to one side as well. In a situation of such a rout, a slightly eye-catching performance could not save the overall failure of the British Navy. Even if the Ark Royal had been saved, so what? In the end, had it not still fled back in disarray, not daring to fight again?

The third report was the final blow that had made Churchill completely despair. On its return journey, the newly launched, brand-new battleship HMS Howe had been ambushed by a German submarine and had taken four torpedoes in one go, capsizing directly. Of the more than 1,700 officers and men on board, only 19 had survived.

This was a true reflection of a leaking house meeting with continuous rain, and a delayed boat meeting with a headwind. This was also the reason why Churchill had submitted his resignation to His Majesty the King this morning. It was no accident. The British Royal Navy had fallen from the altar of the world’s number one navy into the mortal world.

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