I Became a Captain of the British Empire - I Became a Captain of the British Empire chapter 131

Halifax Fleet Battle (1)

June 1, 1931. 7 o’clock in the morning.

Eastern US, Fort Drum.

War Department conference room.

The meeting room on a dreary morning.

Command, which has commanded millions of US troops across Canada over the past year, has always been busy and full of confidence.

However, the generals sitting around the table were not like them, lowering their heads or whispering in a quiet voice. Rushing footsteps rushed into the meeting room as if to urge them on.

“Marshal Pershing! An urgent message from the Admiralty!”

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Pershing quietly raised his head from the seat of honor covered in shadow.

“An enemy large fleet is crossing the North Atlantic Ocean! At the same time, large movements are also being observed in Bermuda and Newfoundland!”

“Am I hitting a player… ?”

The enemy hardened his tired face and nodded his head.

“Good. There’s nothing wrong with us if you come in first.”

The commander’s voice turned around and the generals met each other’s tense eyes.

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Pershing held back his desire to let out a sigh.

“Tell Admiral Ray. The Navy’s operations are left to you. Tell them that our army is launching an amphibious operation while the enemy fleet is gathering.”

“General. Can we really start like this?”

It was the voice of US Army Chief of Staff George Marshall. Pursing his anxious lips, he asked Pershing.

“Neither amphibious bombardment nor airstrikes are lacking. Would an amphibious assault be possible without a navy?”

“We have to trust the cruiser fleet borrowed from the navy. And aren’t the paratroopers on standby?”

Even as he answered, Pershing knew full well that that wasn’t enough. But what?

The outpost, the battleship that provided support fire during the landing at Halifax, is now sunk in the Miami Sea. All the old-style warships to replace them have been pulled out and are passing through the New York waters.

In the end, everyone is their own life.

He couldn’t help but laugh at the situation where he had to keep his hands and feet aligned even in the middle of a joint operation.

“There are less than 100,000 British troops stationed in Newfoundland. As long as we secure a beachhead, we can push through somehow.”

“That is a natural fact. However, there is one piece of news that may hinder the securing of the beachhead.”

Flipping through the papers in front of him, Marshall continued. Pershing asked, frowning.

“Something?”

“It is said that a small armored unit was airlifted from Germany.”

“germany?”

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Pershing opened his mouth and nodded as if he remembered. Apparently, there was intelligence that some high-speed transport ships had loaded what was believed to be armored troops into the port.

However, Pershing did not pay much attention to the disaster at the White House.

“Didn’t you say that it wouldn’t even be one battalion anyway?”

“Yes, but that is Germany. At the beginning of the landing, it will be a more dangerous opponent.”

“Let’s hope Patton’s cavalry division is doing well. The dice have already been thrown.”

With that dismissed, Pershing turned his head. I have already crossed too many roads to worry about and measure this and that.

If you stop here, nothing will happen. Even the end of the war. The revival of the US Army, too.

Only the losers who are thrown into the hands of the angry citizens remain. In order to avoid that situation, we must throw the last winning number.

“I still don’t know if I misplaced my bet… .”

Muttering quietly, the seasoned general raised his sharp eyes.

“As of the present time, Operation White begins! Let each of you risk your military honor and do your duty without fail!”

Now, the decisive battle has begun.

* * *

North Atlantic Ocean, 500 km east of Newfoundland.

Grand Fleet, 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron Flagship Repulse.

A place where even the endlessly running procession of steel is hidden beyond the horizon.

The battlecruiser squadron leading the fleet calmly cut through the waves. While waiting on the bridge, the Chief of Staff made the suggestion.

“Admiral, how about putting Hood first?”

I quickly shook my head.

“No, the flagship should lead the procession. Hood is not the Invincible class. It’s no different from Repulse.”

“Still, the defense is better with the hood. If you’d rather have the Mighty Hood as your flagship… .”

“Didn’t you decide not to say that anymore?”

The chief of staff clicks his tongue with a regretful face.

I spoke again in a clear voice as if driving a wedge.

“The Repulse is a great ship. The flagship mission has performed well so far. If you force yourself to breathe on an unfamiliar boat, there is a possibility that you will get sick.”

Hood is a powerful warship. I don’t want to see her get caught up in her flagship’s duties. That’s it.

Still, thanks to the combined experience of the war period, the three ships were maintaining their formation without difficulty.

Well, this isn’t the original battlecruiser squadron.

Even in the original history, Britain’s last battlecruiser squadron had this composition.

“Let’s go to the proven side. you will do well Don’t worry.”

I didn’t know at the time.

Was the answer he was trying to say with his mouth raised, really directed at John, the chief of staff? Or are you talking to me who is nervous? Of course, even if I knew, it wouldn’t have changed that much.

To change the atmosphere, I pointed out the window and continued.

“And, thanks to not riding on the hood, isn’t that beautiful figure able to be appreciated even from the boat?”

“You can’t see it well because it’s at the rear.”

“Just say that, man. If the admiral says, just say yes.”

Anyway, I have a lot to say.

* * *

Offshore 300 km north of Bermuda.

Task Force K’s flagship ‘Invincible’.

The warm central sun caresses the transparent sea.

Task Force K advances with the white waves in their mouths. Three Invincible ships, one cruiser squadron, and one destroyer flotilla fill the entire area and move.

The experienced mobile unit, which was in charge of the Central American and West Coast fronts, was heading north with high hopes ahead of an unprecedented confrontation.

Soon the time will come to imprint the potential of this new ship to the world.

But even in the excitement and anticipation, Admiral Tompkinson stared out the window with steel-hard eyes.

“They are fun guys. Isn’t that right, chief of staff?”

“You mean the Japanese Navy?”

“Okay, look at those friends.”

The admiral clicked his chin and looked at the crate-like ship ahead.

Light aircraft carrier Ryujo.

The flagship of the Japanese Western Expeditionary Force.

It is called an expeditionary force, but it is a simple organization consisting of one light carrier, heavy cruiser Ashigara, and eight destroyers.

A level where there is significance in participating in the war.

Because of this, the admiral was not very impressed with the Japanese fleet.

Except for the heavily armed cruisers in the lead.

“It looks like a very hungry wolf. It’s the thing with guns attached to that little hull.”

“It is literally a warship. It’s a design that didn’t think about anything other than fighting.”

Seeing the heavy cruiser Ashigara ahead alongside Ryuzo, the admiral and chief of staff said so.

Of course it was sarcastic. They were two people who clearly remembered the beggarly behavior of the squadron that had arrived all the way to Bermuda.

Admiral Tompkinson almost passed out in the maddening habitability when he visited Ashigara for combat readiness checks.

He shook his head, frowning, recalling the time when even the stench came out.

“To think that something like that is 10,000 tons and announce it.”

“Anyway, it’s meaningless, isn’t it? The treaty has become a piece of toilet paper.”

“Yes, that is why we are standing here.”

Turning his attention away from the Japanese cruisers, the admiral replied.

The results of such a debacle are about to unfold before our eyes. That’s all you need to focus on right now.

“Entrance in Ryujo!”

After a while, the voice of the communication staff rang through the bridge. The admiral and the chief of staff turned their heads at the same time.

“Something!”

“Based on this ship, bearing 340, distance 200 miles. Enemy mobile unit detected. Numbers 2 battleships, 2 carriers, multiple destroyers. 20 knots.”

“Are you moving to Halifax?”

The admiral frowned with a wary face.

Clearly, they are the US Navy’s carrier task force. It is the US Navy that has enjoyed the combination of carrier and pure war from the Caribbean.

‘It must have been influenced by Lewis.’

An annoying enemy. But if you can’t see this side, no problem.

“They must be trying to stop us before they join us. Let’s ignore and get away. Engagement is prohibited until it joins the main fleet.”

The admiral made a quick decision.

“Fleet, course corrected to 012. Move to the cloudier side.”

Before long, the three sea monsters turned and left a cry that broke the waves.

* * *

same time.

Grand Fleet Flagship. Rodney.

Admiral Dudley Pound, who had commanded the largest fleet since Jutland, quietly listened to the report from Rodney’s bridge.

“This is a report from the 1st Cruiser Squadron. Enemy small reconnaissance fleet spotted. Based on this ship, bearing 300, distance 150 miles.”

“Enemy reconnaissance fleet approaching from bearing 190. A distance of 90 miles.”

“Enemy task force found in Task Force K. 200 miles west of current task force standards.”

pouring report.

All eyes above and below the surface and in the sky watched them.

It’s unsettling.

Being able to read movements was the biggest cause of the disastrous defeat in the last Atlantic Fleet Battle.

Admiral Pound, however, thought differently.

Because they were frightened by their overwhelming scale, they were watching with uneasy eyes.

As the commander in charge of tens of thousands of lives, he was so comforting.

“Assuming that the enemy task force took the lead, where is the enemy main fleet now?”

“The last submarine report was an hour ago… You’re probably passing the New York coast by now.”

While frantically calculating course and speed, the chief of staff corrected his glasses with tired hands and said, Admiral Pound nodded.

“It is still far. Until they move north, we will line up.”

“But the enemy task force is a problem. If our Invincible-class is bitten and delayed to join, it will be difficult to deal with the enemy’s new ships with the remaining old battleships.”

Those were the words of Major General Cunningham, commander of the 2nd Battleship Squadron.

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Pound trusted him.

“I guess so. Report it to Admiral Lewis. Clean up the minnows and go help Admiral Tompkinson. What we need right now is the Invincible class.”

greatness-

The chief of staff approaches the admiral who leaves an uncomfortable cough.

“Then the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron will face the enemy task force head-on. Admiral, are you all right?”

“You can attach an escort. The 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron, the two destroyer flotillas, and the aircraft carrier Furious are combined and renamed Task Force Z.”

At good timing, there was a Furious that had completed the procedures for loading all fighters. Did the Home Fleet Commander predict this situation in the planning?

I don’t know how it actually is, but Admiral Pound thanked him for his judgment.

“The Z task force provides full speed support for the enemy task force moving south and the K task force moving north. With air support, he won’t lose.”

At the trust in his last voice, the chief of staff did not vomit further.

Then the admiral looked back at Rodney’s familiar bridge and commanded.

“Inform the entire fleet. From now on, the battleship unit prepares for battle formation and moves south to Halifax to begin interception operations against the enemy’s main fleet!”

The group of steel that covered the sea turned their heads in unison.

Current fleet cleanup.

European Grand Fleet (Admiral Dudley Pound) – 19 battleships. 2 battlecruisers. 5 carriers. near Newfoundland.

Task Force K (Admiral Wilfred Tompkinson) – 3 battlecruisers. 1 carrier. Northern Bermuda.

Task Force Z (Admiral Samuel Lewis) – 3 battlecruisers. 1 carrier. Northern Bermuda.

US Task Force 16 (Admiral Mitchell Taylor) – 11 battleships. near New York.

US 17th Task Force (Admiral Willis Marshall) – 2 battlecruisers. 2 carriers. Northern Bermuda.

* The number of pure capital ships excluding torpedo boats, submarines, and ground-based aircraft.