Capítulo 146: 146
The Soviet Navy's Baltic Fleet was anchored in Hankow, which the Soviet Union seized from Finland following its victory in the Winter War.
The Soviet Navy, which had already been evaluated as a ragtag mess, fell into a brain-dead state after its leadership, including Kuznetsov, was purged under Stalin's orders.
The people who were promoted quickly to fill the positions of the purged leadership lacked experience and skills, and to make matters worse, they could not even decide the battlefield and opponents they should fight.
Stalin also did not know the state of his country's navy, so he chose to preserve its power rather than actively try to use the navy.
There was no way the Soviet Navy would fight against the Kryx Marine, which had fooled even the British Navy, so it would be a wise choice to avoid combat as much as possible and stay in port.
Stalin's judgment was never bad. Since ancient times, it has been common sense in the art of strategy to fight with opponents you can beat, and to avoid fighting with opponents you cannot beat.
In reality, it was a very correct decision to save for the future rather than fight an unwinnable battle with the powerful German Navy.
However, even if the Soviet Navy had no intention of fighting, the German Navy did not.
***
8:52 p.m. As the sun set and darkness fell on the coast of Hanko, Type 21 U-boats secretly approached, hiding in the sea.
U-47's captain, Major Günther Prin, watched the Soviet Navy ships anchored in the port through the periscope and quenched his appetite.
In his heart, he wanted to launch a torpedo right now and sink those huge ships into the sea, but his target was not an ordinary destroyer or cargo ship.
"Where is 'the guy'? I heard it was here... "
"Isn't the information incorrect?"
Prine shrugged his shoulders at the vice captain's words.
"no way. It's not that there is no possibility at all, but the information so far has been accurate. Let's trust SD."
A small exclamation came out of Prine's mouth as he slowly turned the periscope left and right to explore the port.
"found."
"Did you find it?"
"okay. "Check it out for yourself."
A smile appeared on the lips of the vice-captain, who took over the periscope from Prine. The sailors who saw that felt it instinctively.
That's real. It's time to write a legend once again!
The target discovered by Günther Prin was the Soviet Navy's Okchavskaya Revoluchya (Октябрьская Революция, October Revolution) class battleship Mara (Марат).
The one next to it is probably Okchavryskaya Revoluchya, and the one in the center is probably Mara.
The Soviet Navy's measures to protect its precious warships were to place additional anti-aircraft guns in the port area and install anti-torpedo nets, but the nets were too short to protect the entire port.
The U-boats approached the port leisurely, avoiding the nets installed by the Soviet Navy, and were preparing to fire torpedoes at the two battleships.
Stupid guys. If you are going to lay a net, either lay it properly or just make a selection and leave it alone.
For Prine, who had to maneuver his way through the wreckage of ships scuttled by the Royal Navy to prevent invading U-boats, approaching the port on the Hanko Peninsula was a piece of cake.
Prine laughed at his incompetent enemies and looked through the periscope to confirm the fate of the battleship Mara.
"Buildings 1 through 3, fire!"
Immediately after U-47 fired its torpedoes, the two accompanying U-boats also fired torpedoes at their respective targets.
Paula, the latest torpedo that upgraded the performance of the Gisela torpedo, advanced through the sea in a straight line toward its target.
***
"Hey, hey. "Let's get some rest."
"Yes, I understand."
Soviet Navy sailor Sergeant Mikhail Kryushkin placed a box full of canned pork fat on the floor and sat down on it.
Since I had been carrying boxes without stopping for a moment after dinner, I was sweating like rain. The sweaty, damp clothes stuck to my skin and showed no sign of coming off.
Fuck Nimmi. A curse came out of my mouth.
"It sucks, really. What kind of deadly crime is it that I barely missed a sausage? .."
"That's right."
Kryushkin's successor, Private Anatoly Manchkov, also sighed.
Unlike any other military in the world, the sailors of the Soviet Navy always had to suffer from hard work and hunger, and Khryushkin and Manchikov, who could not bear it, secretly sneaked into the warehouse and ate stored sausages, but were discovered by the officer on duty who was patrolling. I got hit.
Both were beaten by the officer on duty until their faces were flat, and as punishment they were made to carry corrosives for a week after dinner until roll call.
I didn't steal money, but I had to do hard labor for a week just because I skipped one sausage. Isn't this too much to do?
"That officer on duty, I heard he used to be a sailor like us?"
"I heard so."
"Then let me take a look. Didn't she feel hungry just like us? But not only did they beat a person to the brink of death just for stealing a sausage, they even made him do hard labor. "It's too much, really."
"It's so fucking disgusting that he goes around saying he didn't know anything when he was a frog tadpole and that he was a soldier himself, but now he's an officer."
"Fuck Amy."
Today is a historic day when the war with Germany broke out, but for Kryushkin and Manchkov, it was a continuation of their daily life as hard as yesterday.
When Kryushkin, who thought he had had enough rest, stood up carrying the box, a huge column of water rose from Mara, anchored in the port, and a loud noise rang out.
Kryushkin was startled by the deafening roar and huge explosion and froze while holding the box.
"Well, what is that…" ..!"
***
"Hit! "It was great!"
Prine clenched his fists as he saw a column of water rising from the battleship Mara, followed by bright yellow flames.
Torpedoes fired by other U-boats also hit their targets at the same time, creating a bizarre discordant sound.
"Fire tubes 4 to 6!"
Prine fired another torpedo to finish off Mara once and for all.
Mara, which had tilted to the right due to the first explosion, was hit by three additional torpedoes and exploded one after another.
Mara's crew still did not understand the situation. Suddenly, the hull vibrated, an explosion sounded, and the ship began to tilt to the right.
The sailors who were carrying materials fell due to shock and were injured when they were crushed by the materials they were carrying.
There were several sailors who lost consciousness after hitting their heads hard on the iron floor.
"What the hell is going on?"
"I don't know!"
"The boat is tilting! "Escape quickly!"
The ship was already seriously upset. Whatever happened, it was abundantly clear that the ship was about to sink.
The sailors who were fortunate enough to not be injured rushed into the passageway to escape from the ship.
At this time, the hull, unable to withstand the impact, broke, and the sailors who were crowded into the passage and stairs rolled on the floor again.
"Aaaah!"
"Aaaah!!!"
A sailor who fell down the stairs hit his head on the wall and died instantly, and the sailors who fell like dominoes screamed as they were crushed by the weight of the person in front of them.
The sailors struggled to get away from each other, but the pressure made it difficult for their limbs to move.
Some who were lucky enough to escape among the tightly packed sailors were torn between their comrades who were moaning in pain and screaming for help and the escape route.
Soon, the waters of the Baltic Sea rushed into the ship's hull, swallowing up both the unconscious sailors and those who did not.
"-!!"
"… .!"
When the torpedo hit the Mara at full speed, the sailors who were on deck rather than inside the ship were luckier.
There were sailors who were unluckily caught in the explosion and had their entire bodies cut into pieces, or were thrown up by the impact of the explosion and were thrown to the ground and crushed like tomatoes, but there were also many sailors who saved their lives by jumping into the sea.
The sailors who threw themselves into the sea in time swam desperately to avoid being swept away by the whirlpool caused by the sinking Mara.
Mara wasn't the only one sinking. Mara's sister ship Okcha Vryskaya Revoluchiya was also hit by her torpedoes and was tilting rapidly toward her surface.
The three U-boats that infiltrated the waters off Hanko wrote another new legend.
They fired the remaining torpedoes and sank a destroyer and two cargo ships anchored in the port, as well as a transport ship used as a whaling ship in Russia during the imperial era.
The U-boats, which successfully completed their mission, leisurely left the port while hiding their bodies in the water as if they had infiltrated.
As he left, he did not forget to prepare for the Soviet Navy's pursuit by scattering mines.
"bosun!"
"Yes, Captain?"
"Bring the schnapps. "It should be in the second drawer."
"I understand."
A few minutes later the deckmaster returned, grinning and holding schnapps and a tin cup in both hands.
I can't not have a drink on this nice day. Prine poured schnapps into a glass. The Soviet Union, which already had a weaker navy than Germany, lost two precious battleships.
Prine toasted with his subordinates, imagining Stalin crying when he heard the news that two battleships had sunk off the coast of Hanko.
"For the new war and for our great Führer, Heil Hitler."
"Heil Hitler!"
Originally, the German Navy did not use the slogan "Heil Hitler," but I wondered what it would be like.
Before taking the schnapps, Prine stared at the photo on the wall.
It was a photo taken on the day the Knight's Cross of White Blades was awarded at the Fuhrer's residence in Berlin.
In the photo, he and the President were smiling broadly, looking straight ahead. As if celebrating this moment.
***
"It's high time! air raid!"
"Mo, everyone to the location!"
As Red Army ships like Altoran were sinking to the bottom of the Baltic Sea, Murmansk was attacked by air raids.
Murmansk, one of the few floating ports in Russia where the sea did not freeze even in the middle of winter due to the influence of the North Atlantic Current, was the only window through which the Soviet Union could trade with the outside world, including Britain and the United States.
If Britain or the United States intervened in the war, trade would continue through Murmansk.
Not long after the Norwegian government's declaration of war on Russia was delivered to the Soviet Union, the German-Norwegian Air Force launched an airstrike on Murmansk.
Immediately after news of Norway's participation in the war was delivered, an alert was sent to Murmansk, but the city's defenses were very weak as no one expected the Germans to launch an airstrike so quickly.
The few 76mm anti-aircraft guns and 85mm anti-aircraft guns spewed fire at the enemy planes flocking toward the city, but the bomber pilots paid no heed and opened the bomb bays.
For veteran pilots who had burned down cities across Europe, from Spain to Yugoslavia, Soviet anti-aircraft fire was child's play.
The main force of the air raid was the German Air Force's He 111, Ju88, and Do 217, but a small number of He 111s and Do 17s of the Norwegian Air Force were also included.
Unlike the German pilots who had already experienced countless combat missions, today was their first combat mission for the Norwegian pilots who participated in this mission.
As the German bombers began bombing, the Norwegian bombers also dropped bombs at the same time.
Bombs dropped by the German-Norwegian Air Force destroyed Murmansk's port and buildings.
Civilians who had not yet been evacuated to bomb shelters were torn to pieces by steel rain falling from the sky and crushed by collapsing buildings.
The screams of the dying people in fear and pain were drowned out by the roar of the bomb.
The stocky I-16 quickly scrambled to stop the air raid, but to no avail.
The Soviet Air Force's I-16 was no match for the German-Norwegian Bf109s escorting the bombers.
The battle soon turned into a one-sided hunt, and the Soviet pilots, who had been attacking the bombers in anger, were forced to run away from the Bf109s.
"I was hit! Chu, fall!"
"Holy shit!"
"help me!"
The I-16 pilots tried their best to escape, but were quickly caught up and shot down by the Bf109. Every time the Bf109 turned and fired its gun, the I-16, which had become a rag, fell into a heap.
Like bomber pilots, the Norwegian Army's new Bf109 pilots, whose first sortie was today, soon got a taste for the fun of hunting the Soviet Army's I-16.
"Gotcha!"
Occasionally, an unlucky Bf109 would be caught in the back and shot down by an experienced I-16 pilot, but just shooting down a few Bf109s was not enough to turn the tide.
The I-16, which shot down the Norwegian Bf109, was immediately attacked by a Bf109 driven by a German pilot, became a hive, and crashed.
Although it was possible to beat the aircraft's performance due to the difference in experience, there was absolutely no answer to an opponent who was superior in both experience and performance.
"Take a look at what these bastards are up to!"
"Kyahahahaha!!!"
The airstrikes continued even after the last I-16 plummeted toward the ground.
The bomber pilots smiled broadly as they saw the city engulfed in fire and smoke.
They laughed out loud as they imagined the Bolsheviks, who had betrayed their allies and invaded their country, crying in front of their houses that had been reduced to a pile of bricks.
***
"Comrade Secretary General, you called me… .!"
Molotov entered Stalin's office and was speechless when he saw the chaos unfolding before his eyes.
Light fixtures and globes, which cost more than a week's worth of food for the Soviet people, were smashed against the wall, and black ink leaked from a marble inkwell, leaving an indelible stain on the expensive Armenian carpet.
From the documents strewn across the office floor to the overturned books, they were all neatly arranged on Stalin's desk.
When I saw the guards' expressions were not good, I guessed that something had happened... ..
This was the first time Stalin had ever shown such anger that even Molotov, who had experienced many hardships in the political world, was trembling with fear.
It would be better if I passed out like this. Even though I might be laughed at by Stalin, it was much better to be laughed at for the rest of my life than to bear the brunt of his wrath.
"Are you here?"
Stalin was sitting on a chair, watching Molotov.
On the secretary's desk, which was full of various books, documents, pens, and inkwells, there was only an ivory ashtray.
"Yes, Comrade Secretary."
Molotov answered Stalin's words, trying hard to feign calm. Instead of smoking a pipe, Stalin held a cigarette rolled in high-quality paper in his mouth.
"I'm sure Comrade heard the news roughly. The war situation is not so good... ..No, no."
Stalin extinguished a cigarette that had not been smoked several times by roughly rubbing it in the ashtray. Then he took out a new cigarette and put it in his hand.
"The war situation is not very good. "The attack along the entire front failed, and even Marshal Kulik, whom we trusted, is said to be struggling as he is blocked by the Germans in front of Memel."
"I see... .."
"An hour ago, our navy was ambushed by a German submarine at Hanko, and Okchavryskaya Revoluchya and Mara were sunk. And just now, a report arrived that Murmansk had been attacked by German air raids."
gulp.
Molotov swallowed dryly.
Stalin's eyes burned with anger, but his voice was perfectly calm. So I was even more scared.
Because I didn't know when and where he would explode.
I felt like I was face to face with a lion wandering around the cage with its leash removed.
"What can I do, Comrade Secretary?"
"Right now find out from England when they plan to fight Germany. Don't hesitate by any means necessary. If necessary, even plead. "Please do at least get a clear answer, by all means."
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder