Chapter 396: Secret Weapon

What was bound to come had finally come. War was not something where you could cut through all obstacles and be victorious in every battle j

What was bound to come had finally come. War was not something where you could cut through all obstacles and be victorious in every battle just by precise calculations and overwhelming equipment.

Those so-called gods of war who claimed to have never been defeated, apart from their precise arrangements and superior calculations, their luck could also be described as heaven-defying.

Akado knew that this time’s failure was only in a local detail, and that his own luck was not that good. But he still felt heartbroken, and still felt uneasy. That was an aircraft carrier. That was an aircraft carrier that would be used in the future to counterbalance the United States’ Atlantic strategy!

“The navy has been a bit too hasty this time. And the anti-submarine work in the Baltic Sea must also be strengthened,” Akado said, taking two deep breaths and, in the end, not losing his temper. He walked back to his seat and, supporting himself on the corner of the table, said to Cindra, “Have the people who arranged this operation in the navy write a report. Carefully sort out the loopholes in the operation. These problems must be avoided in future plans!”

“Führer… are you, are you alright?” Cindra asked, a little worried about Akado’s state.

“Go out. You also know that the Führer’s mood will not be very good right now,” August on the side said, seeing Akado’s helpless suppression. He had no choice but to sigh and speak for Akado. “This matter must be taken as a warning. At the very least, have every person in charge in the navy write a self-criticism! I will personally review them!”

“Yes, sir!” Cindra stood at attention and withdrew from the room, not daring to say another word.

Just as Cindra had closed the door of the conference room, Akado had thrown the expensive fountain pen in his hand on the floor. Because he had used too much force, it had broken in two in an instant. The ink had spattered on the floor, as shocking as black blood.

“I know that war is not a game where we are allowed to hit others and others are not allowed to hit back! Nor is it a child’s playhouse! But to suffer such a big loss the first time, so unbearable, it’s still a bitter pill to swallow,” Akado complained, holding his forehead.

At this very moment, he was like a child, like a child with a face full of grievance whose toy had been broken by the neighbor’s child. August knew that Akado was very anxious. And how could he not be? The German army seemed to be winning one victory after another, but only he and Akado and a few others could see the gap between them and the truly first-rate powers. Once these powers were given a chance to catch their breath, could Germany continue to win as it was now?

“It’s not that Germany can’t lose now, but that it can’t afford to lose,” Akado said, seeing that August was thinking about something and had not spoken, so he complained again. “Everyone thinks that Germany is winning every battle now, that Germany is now invincible in the world! So they’ve grown complacent, and have started to not take their own people seriously!”

“My Führer, please maintain your composure and be cautious in your words and actions,” August reminded Akado. “No one wanted to see this failure. But the British have given us a reminder at a time when we were most careless. In the long run, this is a good thing. It is much better than something going wrong with the High Seas Fleet.”

“I understand everything you’ve said. But we’ve had an aircraft carrier sunk at a time when we need them most, and the British have won this victory at a time when they were hoping for it most. This is not a good omen,” Akado said, looking at the ink stain on the floor.

It was more than just not a good omen. If it were to be manipulated, it could even become a brilliant move that would bring the British Isles back from the dead. Sitting next to Akado was the old and shrewd August. He naturally knew that this matter was a blunder on their part in the dead game of Britain, at the very least giving Churchill a chance to struggle back from the brink of death.

The struggle itself was not terrible. What was terrible was the time that Germany would waste in the process of the struggle. The time that he and Akado had calculated for the entry of the United States and the Soviet Union into the war was not accurate. If, because of Britain’s death throes, the United States and the Soviet Union, who were originally unable to be ready, were given the opportunity and time to enter the war, then even if they were to steam and braise Raeder and the other naval bigwigs, what could they do?

“We still have to ask Miss Fanny about this matter, to see if there is any room for maneuver,” August said after a moment’s thought. “That British submarine does not seem to have been sunk. The chance of it escaping back to Britain is still very high. There is no reason for Britain not to make a big deal out of this matter.”

“Have Fanny prepare a report and openly admit the news that our carrier No. 5 was sunk by the British. There’s no need to deliberately hide it!” Akado said with a cold laugh. “There’s no need to be afraid of losing face in this kind of thing. I, Akado, can bear it!”

He slammed the table and continued fiercely, “Since the British are not willing to surrender, I will let them know what the consequences are for not standing with the Third Reich! Notify Dick. Give the strategic air force a three-day break, then concentrate their forces and bomb London again! This time, since there are no more targets anyway, just level the city of London!”

“My Führer, you have been hiding so many secret weapons. It’s time to take out two of them to let the whole world see what Germany’s real strength is,” August, who clearly had access to many of Germany’s core secrets, said. “Find two new weapons whose technology is almost mature and bring them out. It can also be a small compensation for the navy, which has suffered a loss.”

“I originally didn’t want to use those weapons so easily,” Akado said with a sigh. “Do you think this is a good thing? As soon as these things are brought out, the United States and Britain will immediately imitate them, which will only make things more and more complicated in the future, and eventually exceed our control.”

“You are overthinking, Führer. Even if we don’t use them ourselves, the British and the Americans will also research new weapons on their own,” August said with a smile. “Besides, these secret weapons of ours are not something that can be copied just by wanting to!”

“Then let the two secretly produced ZZ-class destroyers go to sea,” Akado said with a nod. “Let the British know that the night is not their protective umbrella, but also their grave and their coffin!”

On February 12, the two newest German destroyers, having completed their preparations for sailing, slowly sailed out of the naval port. The appearance of these two destroyers was more than a little different from the Z-class destroyers. They could be said to be a brand-new design of super destroyer for Germany. The two destroyers went their separate ways in the Baltic Sea, one after the other, silently entering the North Sea.

The torpedo tubes of this type of destroyer had been reduced to three on one side and had been placed in the position of the original second stern gun. At the stern was a flat flight deck for a naval version of the Crusader helicopter. The anti-aircraft guns were a dense array of various 40mm Bofors. The single 88mm cannon on the bow was even more incomprehensible.

Logically, a destroyer only had two means of attack: one was its naval guns, and the other was its torpedoes. And this new type of German destroyer, compared to the original Z-class, had both its number of torpedoes and its number of guns reduced.

But in the position where the second bow gun was originally installed, and in the position where the torpedoes were originally installed in the middle of the hull, there were two strange launch rails. At the end of the launch rails were strange devices covered with canvas. If one were to compare the three different types of radar on the mast near this destroyer, anyone who knew a little would know that this destroyer was not ordinary.

“Captain,” the first officer handed a cup of coffee to his captain. The first officer of this destroyer actually had the rank of commander, which showed that this mysterious destroyer was definitely not as simple as it looked.

And the captain, who had the rank of German Navy colonel on his shoulder, took the coffee, blew on the steam rising from the rim of the cup, and seemingly casually gave an order. “Surface search radar on. Confirm the detection range. Air alert radar on. Confirm the detection range. If you encounter a friendly ship, report immediately.”

“Report!” an officer sitting in front of the radar screen reported loudly after a while. “Surface search radar has detected a target!”

“Fire control radar on, lock on to the target!” A glint of excitement appeared in the captain’s eyes as he gave the order. “Missile simulation firing!”

“Launch position one is ready!” “No problem with launch position two!” the two soldiers controlling the new weapon shouted excitedly.

Looking at the new weapons, which looked like small airplanes and whose canvas had already been torn off because they were already overseas, this captain narrowed his eyes. He had been in command of this destroyer for more than half a year and had already tested it many times in the secret waters of the Baltic. He naturally knew how powerful the weapon on the rails in front of his bridge, which had not yet been ignited, was.

So this time, having received the order from the Reich High Command, he was eager to show his skills. Because he knew very well that the destroyer he was commanding, like the aircraft carriers that were now dominant on the seas, were both super weapons that the Führer had built for the German Navy.

Because when Akado had appointed him as the captain of this destroyer, he had once patted him on the shoulder and had said solemnly, “Do not underestimate this destroyer captain. I assure you that in ten years, in the German Navy’s combat ship sequence, apart from carriers, there will only be destroyers like this!”

The captain of a battleship was only a colonel, and he, the captain of a destroyer, was also a colonel! And he knew a fact that the whole world still did not know. With the new weapon called a “missile” on his warship, he could sweep away all maritime targets below a battleship.

His mission this time was very simple: to go to the North Atlantic and to sink all the targets that this destroyer’s fire control radar had locked on to. The real disaster for the British transport lines was about to come. The old British destroyers and cruisers could not contend with this new type of German missile destroyer. And the battleships, which could withstand the attack with their armor, could not catch up…

“Send a telegram to the Wilhelmshaven naval port!” the destroyer’s captain said, putting down his coffee cup. “The ZZ-class missile destroyer has set sail. Operation codename—’Hindrance’!”

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