Long live Joachim

Chapter 162: Golden Clover (Next) In the advanced living quarters of the battleship "Hesse", Natsuke held a photo frame and gazed intently at the photo. It was a group photo of him, Charlotte, and their three daughters. Throughout history, many heroic sons have been immersed in the gentle countryside, giving up their ambitious goals of the past. For over a decade, the political situation in Ireland has been stabilized, and the economy has gradually returned to normal. Xia Shu happily became a hands off shopkeeper, spending more than half of his time with his family, watching the little princesses come to earth one by one, watching them run happily in the garden from learning to walking, from babbling to singing beautiful songs along with his own music. That is a full sense of happiness. During this expedition, Xia Shu missed his wife and daughter, feeling reluctant in his heart. However, since birth, he has never stopped exploring the meaning of life. Becoming a good husband and father is certainly his goal, but it is not the entirety of his life. Over the past decade, he has dreamed countless times of returning to Jutland, to the battlefield where steel roars and blood and fire collide. He dreams of riding the wind and waves, bravely moving forward, letting the banner of victory fly high, and letting the immortal legend be passed down forever... Every time he wakes up from such dreams, the desire to conquer glory quietly increases, and when these desires accumulate to a certain extent, there will be a blazing fire in his heart. Upon hearing the knock on the door, Xia Shu placed the photo frame back on the table. A major officer on the incoming ship reported, "The sentry found an object resembling a submarine periscope on the nearby sea surface, which disappeared in a blink of an eye. Colonel Meisel is worried that it is an enemy submarine, which will expose our whereabouts Without any surprise or worry, Xia Shu casually ordered, "Send the order to all ships to strengthen their anti submarine defenses. If any enemy traces are found, they only need to be expelled, not pursued relentlessly Yes, sir... no, I'm sorry, Your Majesty! "The major made a small mistake in his title, causing him to blush and feel embarrassed. Xia Shu naturally wouldn't blame the other party for such insignificant flaws. He comforted, "The time I spent serving in the German Navy may have been the most fulfilling and proud of my life. I feel very honored to be able to return to you again and fight alongside you, so... you call me sir, and I feel very comfortable. There's nothing wrong with that The lieutenant felt relieved, and then Xia Shu asked him about the preparation for live fire exercises. The "Hesse" and its accompanying ships repaired damaged equipment, replenished ammunition, and provided sufficient personnel in Brest Port. It can be said that everything is ready. If there is anything missing, it is the confidence to defeat opponents and the dominance to win victory. Without these two points, the soldiers' fighting beliefs are not as strong as before, and in unfavorable situations of war, their morale is prone to decline, making it difficult for them to muster the courage to fight to the death and rise again. Therefore, Xia Shu specifically requested the fleet to conduct an aimless live fire exercise during the voyage. Ready and ready to proceed at any time, "the major replied in a positive tone. So please tell the Colonel that I will be heading to the bridge in half an hour and make sure all preparations are fully prepared, "Xia Shu instructed seriously. The Major straightened his chest and said, 'Yes, sir!' Half an hour later, Xia Shu arrived at the battle bridge on time. Under his gaze, the massive main turrets of the "Hesse" began to rotate, with two pairs of front turrets pointing towards the left and right sides, and two pairs of rear turrets pointing towards the same direction. With a command from the shooting command center, eight 16 inch heavy artillery shells instantly fired in unison, piercing the sky and crashing into the open sea with a rolling roar. White water columns rose up and could be clearly seen with the naked eye. 29 seconds later, all the main guns roared for the second time, and the powerful air waves sprayed from the muzzle unexpectedly created four semi-circular concave surfaces on the near side sea surface. The blazing muzzle flames instantly emitted a light comparable to the scorching sun. The thunderous sound of artillery still lingered in my ears. Xia Shu, who was inspecting the shelling on the battle bridge, commented approvingly, "Great, very good! Well trained, well prepared, and capable of fighting After the two rounds of live fire shooting on the "Hesse", the accompanying cruisers and destroyers also carried out live fire shooting according to unified instructions. Although it did not have the astonishing prestige of a fleet battle, it truly boosted the morale of the military. After the live fire drill, Xia Shu brought Captain Meisel and others to the combat conference room, and the staff officers had prepared miniature sand tables according to Xia Shu's requirements. Unlike the land battlefield, which includes mountains and rivers, the traditional naval warfare basically belongs to the two-dimensional mode. The officers study operations on the nautical chart, and the Naval Academy also cultivates the academy according to this mode. This habit has been continued. Xia Shu, benefiting from the advanced cognition of later generations, viewed the naval warfare from the beginning as a three-dimensional battlefield where the sky, the sea and the water complement each other. Before each battle, the assistants must understand the geographical and hydrological conditions of the fleet activity area. The miniature sand table is undoubtedly the most intuitive embodiment of the current technical means. The Azores consist of 9 islands of various sizes, two-thirds of which have been occupied by American and British forces, with only the southeastern regions of San Miguel, Santa Maria, and Fomigash still under the control of Allied forces. Among these three islands, San Miguel has the largest area, the largest population, and the second largest port in the Azores, Ponta Delgada. It is the last fortress heavily defended by the Allied army, and most of Admiral Baynick's main ships are gathered here. Santa Maria Island is located south of San Miguel Island, 100 kilometers from the south coast of San Miguel, with an area of less than 100 square kilometers. There is a small seaport on the island, and after the German army entered, an airport and a coastal defense fortress were built, which is regarded as the "southernmost outpost" in the Azores defense system. If the American and British armies occupy this island, they will form a pincer attack on the Allied forces on San Miguel Island from north to south. Deploying naval and air forces here can further control the Allied maritime supply lines and push the defenders of San Miguel Island into a desperate situation. Fomigash is located 60 kilometers southeast of San Miguel and 39 kilometers northeast of Santa Maria. It is just a palm sized island, and the only artificial building is the navigation lighthouse left by the Portuguese. The Germans had previously deployed sentries, set up radio stations, and laid mines here. After the Battle of San Miguel, the United States and Britain sent special teams to land on the island twice, capturing German sentries and destroying communication facilities. The German army reoccupied it twice, making Fomigash the only island in the Azores that has been repeatedly contested and almost lost by both sides. During this period, both sides lost up to 11 ships in the surrounding waters of the island. Departing from Brest Port in the waters of Saint Miguel Island, covering a total distance of 2000 nautical miles, Bayncke led the main fleet of the Allied powers to rush from European waters to Azores in just four days. Meanwhile, the reinforcement fleet led by Natsuke sailed westward at a speed of only 14 knots, and if an unexpected event occurred, it would take six days to complete this journey. Yesterday I received a telegram sent in my personal capacity, and General Bainke must have understood my intention, as can be seen from his reply. Now, we will conduct a deduction around the Battle of Azores, Colonel. You and your officers will play the blue side, and I will play the red side In Western military exercises, the red side usually represents a hypothetical enemy, while the blue side represents one's own side. Upon receiving orders from Xia Shu, Colonel Meisel, although somewhat surprised and puzzled, still led his two staff officers into the deduction role, while Xia Shu fought alone. The three Irish naval officers he brought along, along with the special liaison officer sent by the German Navy, played the role of referee, responsible for data calculation and battle damage assessment during the chess deduction process. The blue forces were fully deployed according to the actual situation of the Allied forces in the Azores, while at the request of Xia Shu, the red forces were deployed based on the weakest estimated enemy forces. Including reinforcements from both sides, the comparison of the number of non carrier main ships between the red and blue was 13-9, the number of aircraft carriers was 4-6, the total number of ships was 120-74, the number of fighter jets was 700-440, and the combat forces were 110000-53000. There is no doubt that the overall strength of the US and British armies in the Azores has a significant advantage. The reason why they did not launch a strong attack on San Miguel Island is that their fleet was severely damaged by previous combat operations, especially the Battle of San Miguel. Texel and Flores have not yet recovered their shipbuilding and repair capabilities, and many damaged ships have had to return to North America for repairs. Currently, they are also facing the dilemma of a shortage of major generals. Therefore, the main fleet is waiting for an opportunity in the Texel waters. Recently, they mainly use high-speed ships and submarines to break through the sea supply lines of the Allied forces, intending to hold off their opponents until they have a chance to launch a strong attack. At the beginning of the war game deduction, Xia Shu began to focus on the small island of Fumigash. After drawing the opponent's attention to this side, he concentrated his land-based air force to bomb the German airport on San Miguel Island, while using his main fleet to bypass San Miguel and launch a fierce artillery attack on San Mar í a Island, luring the blue side to put the aircraft carrier formation hidden in the southeast sea into battle. Then, with a backhand strike, he dealt a heavy blow to the Allied aircraft carrier formation at the cost of sacrificing three main ships and three aircraft carriers, temporarily rendering it incapable of combat. Next, the Red side dispatched a landing fleet to prepare to forcefully capture Santa Maria Island with the support of the main fleet. The Blue side immediately dispatched a patrol fleet to intercept the Red side's landing fleet, and the battleship fleet responded from behind. A sea air war broke out between the two sides in the waters west of San Miguel. Although the Red side suffered significant losses, it also sank and severely damaged nearly half of the Blue side's main ships, forcing the Blue side to retreat voluntarily. After a week of landing battles, the Red side captured Santa Maria Island and ordered some damaged warships to sail to Fumigarh Island, causing it to run aground on the islands and reefs. Lightning protection nets were deployed around it to build a special sea fortress, and submarines were deployed nearby. In this way, the American and British armies formed a three sided encirclement of San Miguel Island. The stationed troops on the island were bombed during the day and shelled at night, and their situation worsened. As a result, they abandoned San Miguel and took the initiative to break through. More than 70% of the troops and equipment in the entire battle were lost, and the absolute number of troops lost by the American and British armies was much higher than that of the Allies. However, they won the battle and cleared the obstacles to Europe. During a short break, the second round of weapon deduction swapped roles, with Xia Shu commanding the disadvantaged blue side. Colonel Meisel first copied Xia Shu's tactical tactics, sending light ships to attack Fumigash Island and forcing land-based aviation units to launch air strikes on San Miguel Island at any cost, weakening the island's aviation forces. Xia Shu, while fighting, mobilized the aircraft carrier formation and attacked the Hero Port on Texel Island at dawn, unexpectedly striking the enemy. The Red side feared the enemy's lure tactics, so they did not dispatch their main fleet to pursue them. However, just 24 hours later, the Blue side seized the moment when the sky had just lit up and once again deployed carrier based aircraft to attack Hero Harbor and some aviation bases on Texel Island. Two attacks temporarily prevented four main ships of the US and British fleets from going into battle, and the number of main ships on both sides was basically equal. The Red side dared not easily attack San Miguel or Santa Maria Natsuke until rainy days arrived, and sent all the main forces to sail towards Texel, using long-range artillery to force the Red main fleet to face the battle. After the fleet battle began, he ordered the dreadnoughts and old-fashioned battle cruisers in the fleet to retreat towards San Miguel Island, tempting the enemy to come and pursue. Then, while retreating, he adjusted his formation and suddenly turned all around to seize a favorable position. He concentrated his firepower to attack one wing of the Red fleet, and when he succeeded, he left decisively and won a small victory. The war game should not have ended here, but Xia Shu stopped and said to Colonel Meisel, "This lucky victory can probably buy us three months to six months of time. During this period, the enemy should be much more honest, and I will build as many airports as possible on San Miguel Island, draw as many aviation units as possible from Europe, constantly attack the enemy's airports, consume the enemy's planes, until we completely control the air superiority here, and then weaken the enemy's forces and morale with daily bombing. This sounds simple, but the key is that we need to transport thousands of tons of equipment and supplies from Europe, and ensure that our transport ships are not sunk by enemy submarines and warships during the voyage. This is... This is a very challenging job