Chapter 261: Blockade Tactics
Before the officer could finish speaking, the urgent ringing of the telephone reached his ears.
He picked up the receiver.
A nearly roaring command exploded from the other end.
"Organize your defenses immediately. News from Germany, the British have landed in Portugal. A tank unit is heading toward your position…"
Before the voice could finish, a tremendous explosion sounded in the distance.
If nothing else, the telephone line had been severed.
Immediately afterward, several shells exploded around the watchtower.
Bang!
The violent blast snapped the support structure in half.
The entire watchtower swayed like a wooden block pulled from a stack, then collapsed heavily to the ground, kicking up a rolling cloud of dust.
At the same time, in the sky, Barracuda bombers began circling over Spanish airspace.
The Spanish officers were not unfamiliar with this type of aircraft. Portugal had widely adopted British equipment, after all.
What was unfamiliar to them was the British flag painted on the tail fins of those planes.
Ten Barracuda bombers, escorted by Hurricane fighters, quickly flew toward the mining area.
Anti aircraft guns concealed beneath green canvas began firing in salvos.
Several export model Bf 109 fighters roared into the escort net formed by the Hurricanes, aggressively closing in on the Barracuda bombers.
The countermeasure achieved considerable success.
Relying on the air defense network, five export model Bf 109 fighters, despite being outnumbered, shot down three Barracuda bombers and helped the anti aircraft fire destroy four Hurricane fighters.
Nevertheless, three scattered Barracuda bombers still managed to break through the air defense perimeter and drop their bombs on the main roads and railways of the mining area.
Boom!
A deep crater was blasted into the road.
German workers, dispatched to Spain to enjoy high salaries and preferential treatment, looked up at the roaring British warplanes in the sky.
After giving them the middle finger, they jumped off the truck and hid beside the bushes, watching helplessly as an entire truckload of tungsten ore was blown across the road.
At the railway station, two trains had been overturned onto their sides.
Black brown tungsten ore scattered everywhere.
On the other side of the world, the British Mediterranean Fleet, which had lain dormant for several weeks, finally became active again.
It launched a bombing campaign against the Israeli port where the German Army was stationed.
Under cover of darkness, all carrier based bombers on the British aircraft carrier took off. Regardless of visibility, they emptied their bombs, then rocked their wings and returned.
Logically, after the advance warning, no German fleet should have been able to arrive in time to intercept them.
However, by coincidence, U-47, the submarine that had first achieved the feat of sinking a battleship, happened to be conducting routine diving exercises in this very sea area.
After diving deep, they used sonar and detected this rare opportunity to attack.
Rainer put on his headphones and listened to the sound signatures coming from various positions on the surface.
He immediately realized that they had, fortunately and unfortunately, submerged into the core operating range of a carrier fleet.
At the very least, several destroyers nearby were repeatedly trying to track their location.
The best course of action now would be to begin withdrawing immediately before the enemy detected them.
But Rainer had a different idea.
He wanted to make a great gamble.
He pulled the first officer aside and whispered, "I want to surface, Karel."
"I bet there is a British aircraft carrier above us launching carrier strikes. It is two in the morning now. The surface of the sea is as black as the River Styx."
"We can surface about a thousand meters off their port side and launch torpedoes."
Rainer made an explosive gesture with his palm.
"Sink it, then dive immediately."
"The batteries can sustain us for about half an hour in the deep sea. As long as we are lucky, we can definitely evade the destroyers' depth charges."
"I bet our surface forces are already advancing. Full rudder right toward the Athens Naval Base. We will definitely return alive."
Seeing the hesitation in Karel's eyes, Rainer tempted him further.
"Do not be spineless, Karel. Think of the medals."
"If we sink an aircraft carrier and escape unscathed, we will become legends of the Navy."
Unable to resist Rainer's temptation, Karel threw his military cap down.
"Damn it all."
He cursed under his breath.
"How did I end up as the first officer of a madman like you?"
Then he stared at Rainer and said firmly, "But you must promise me. If the attack position is poor, we abandon the attack immediately and dive."
Without a doubt, U-47 was favored by God tonight.
Of the three British destroyers escorting the carrier, two had sailed away without detecting the specter hidden beneath the water.
The destroyer located closest to the carrier had faulty sonar.
Aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Furious, Captain Mans appeared extremely anxious.
"How many aircraft have not returned yet?"
He could not help cursing.
"I have a very bad feeling. We were docked for too long. Many sailors have lost their vigilance. That kind of condition is deadly at sea."
"We should have carried out several drills before entering combat, not departed like this just because of a promise."
"There are still five bombers returning in the air," the adjutant reported precisely.
"Forget about them."
Mans made his decision at once.
"Proceed at full speed toward Egypt. Destroyers lead the way."
"My instincts have never failed me since the Great War."
Clearly, Mans's premonition was correct.
At this moment, U-47 surfaced from the pitch black sea about a thousand meters away.
Through the periscope, directly ahead, Rainer saw the faint flicker of aircraft warning lights.
He shouted, "Torpedo room. Tubes One and Two, flood."
"Fire!"
Boom!
Two torpedoes struck the hull.
Unfortunately, neither directly hit the ammunition depot.
One struck the reinforced armor plate on the front right, while the other turned out to be a dud.
On the observation deck, Rainer held his binoculars and watched the less than ideal impact. Under Karel's cold gaze, however, he still refused to give the order to dive.
He stubbornly waved his military cap.
"Damn it. The angle was wrong."
"Prepare for a second launch."
"Get the hell out of here, Rainer. You promised me."
Karel clamped a hand over Rainer's mouth and spoke urgently, suppressing the tension in his chest.
But in Rainer's eyes, only the golden gleam of medals remained.
"I am the captain."
His voice was hoarse and fanatical.
"According to the German Submarine Manual, I am the primary responsible officer and the sole commander during operations."
"I now order, flood the tubes."
The torpedoman responded, "Tubes flooded."
"Fire."
Two torpedoes rolled across the sea, leaving pale wakes behind them.
Boom!
This time, the torpedo struck the ammunition depot, but it only caused a low intensity sympathetic detonation.
Seeing that Rainer had gone mad and was preparing to attack again, Karel punched him across the face and shouted angrily, "Dive."
"Dive immediately."
.....
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