Lieutenant General James F. Somerville stood on the tall bridge of the Ark Royal aircraft carrier, looking worriedly at the clumsy and ugly biplane on the deck. The deck crew was making final preparations for the planes before takeoff.

The ammunition hand in white work clothes and orange life jacket lay on the deck and checked the safety bolts of the torpedo hanger again, then gave his thumbs up at the bomb dropper in the cabin.

"Before this, we have never used aircraft carriers to attack military ports. These aircraft are too slow to be easily attacked by anti-aircraft artillery fire, sir." Lieutenant Colonel Scott, the aircraft carrier captain, stood behind Somerville and whispered.

"This is an order from the cabinet during the war, and the Royal Navy must obey." Somerville tilted his head slightly and stopped his subordinates from continuing to discuss the matter. He had really heard too many similar remarks along the way.

This battle, from fleet formation to plan, took only two days from beginning to end, completely breaking the Royal Navy's usual combat procedures. In the eyes of some old naval generals, it was simply a farce.

But behind this plan is Churchill, the Ministry of War, and the entire wartime cabinet. No one, no British, has the courage to say no to these people.

When Britain fell deeper and deeper in the quagmire of this war, and when it was possible to face a catastrophe, the wisdom of British politicians seemed to be sublimated in the crisis of destruction. They used their rich political experience and legal skills to quickly concentrate the power of the entire UK into the hands of a small group of elite politicians. This British government gained great power that had never been seen in British history.

With the formulation and approval of the Imperial Defense Law, the cabinet and the Prime Minister at the time of war gained absolute power to seek and even decide their life and death at will.

Because every British citizen swears allegiance to the king. The National Defense Law clearly stipulates that when His Majesty the King of England maintains public safety, defends the country, maintains public order, or effectively carries out any war that His Majesty the King of England may participate in, or in order to maintain the indispensable supply or labor service of public life, His Majesty the King of England should hand over their own and their labor services. Their property will be handed over to His Majesty the King of England to dispose of. The King of England obtained the power to arbitrarily requisition any personnel, materials, labor and mining enterprises in the British territory, and the power to control the property of every subject, and to the death of every British life and death. As the king's chief minister, the actual national leader, the British leader also obtained the same power. As long as he and his wartime cabinet passed, any order issued from Downing Street and the Ministry of War must be implemented without any discount, even if this order is absurd and unreasonable.

What is dictatorship? This is the real dictatorship. But it is so justice, high-sounding, reasonable and legal. The political wisdom of British barbarians can be fully demonstrated at this time.

While Hitler was still fighting wits and courage with his generals and chaebols, Mussolini was still entangled with a bunch of royalists and nobles, and he was busy struggling with each other. Tojo was still scratching his bald head to balance the various contradictions between young and strong men, the army, navy, the emperor and chaebols, he was known as the model of democratic politics, the cornerstone of the free world, and the dignified prime minister of the British Empire became a more deserved dictator than the above.

In the original history, Churchill was arrogant during the entire World War II period. It was because of the power seized by the cabinet during the war. He could intervene in any work he thought was beneficial to the war, requisition land and factory mineral materials at will, and mobilize funds at will. Requisition personnel, order factories to produce the equipment he wanted, order police to arrest any dangerous elements he believed to be dangerous, and arbitrarily pardon criminals. A random order was issued, except for the British king, no one could stop it. Moreover, in most cases, the king had no right to interfere with it.

In the end, when the war ended and the relevant provisions of the National Defense Law failed, Churchill was immediately thrown off the altar, not only kicked out of the government, but even kicked out of the political arena. Churchill cursed the British in anger and were all ungrateful villains, but why were the British so ruthless? Is it a matter of sip and pecking? It is a matter of time before the freezing of the ice three feet is not a day. Churchill is not a saint. Every stupid and absurd decision he made is seen by the British, but they just dare not speak out.

To give a real example, during World War II, British people would be arrested and fined for feeding birds with slices of bread in the park because Churchill ordered that animals should not be fed with food that people could eat, and that pets could only be fed with discarded residues. Even the Japanese could not play so crazy.

When Somerville was called to his semi-underground shelter by Churchill, the command of the entire fleet was easy to control. Somerville, who was nervous and sweating on her forehead. Although there were also reasons for poor ventilation in the basement, he did feel an indescribable pressure in front of Churchill.

At this time, Churchill had just taken over the power of the Prime Minister to establish a war cabinet. His face was as energetic as two people. Due to his long-term underground office, his skin was slightly pale, and his alcoholism and cigars made him look much older. His cheeks, which were originally round and tight, were already a little loose and drooping, and obvious folds appeared on his neck, huge bags of eyes, and an unhealthy gray-blue color between the corners of his eyes and nose. Only the eyes under the raised eyebrows still maintained his sharpness and toughness.

"Lieutenant General Somerville, you have now been appointed commander of the H Fleet. This is your appointment letter." Churchill did not make any politeness and put a document on the table.

Somerville was caught off guard, which was completely unruly and violated the tradition of the Royal Navy. Such appointments should be issued by the Navy Command rather than the Prime Minister of the Government. However, this was a war period, and Churchill had the power to arbitrarily appoint, dismiss, promote, demote, and dismiss any British official.

"You fly to Plymouth now, and your fleet is waiting for you. This is a very difficult task. Alexander recommended you to me and hope you won't let the Secretary of the Navy down. This is a combat plan, you can take a look first." Churchill pushed a folder, then put the cigar on the edge of the ash dish, opened the crystal bottle on the table, poured a glass of whiskey, spread his hands and gestured to Somerville.

"Ah, thank you Prime Minister. Sorry, I don't drink when I work." Somerville bowed respectfully to express his gratitude.

"Now is a critical moment. I have worked for 32 hours in a row without rest. I have to rely on these things to support them all." Churchill was not polite, and picked up the wine glass and took a sip.

"General Somerville, now the life and death of Britain is at the moment of life and death, and the Germans are gathering their transport ships and troops, and landing may happen at any time." Churchill gently put down his wine glass and picked up the cigar again.

"I have obtained the exact news that France has made private peace with Germany. Now everything we see is performing. The French have betrayed us and they are no longer trustworthy. What I worry most now is that the French fleet is a maritime force that can reverse the entire war situation. Once Germany gets these warships, they can suppress the Royal Navy from its overall strength. For Britain, this is a disaster."

"But Mr. Prime Minister, I looked at this plan. We have never made similar attempts. Although I have commanded the fleet, I have never been exposed to aircraft carrier tactics. In addition, the aircraft conducts torpedo attacks on the battleships. We have only conducted some exercises and experiments. Although the results look good, they have not been tested in practice. I doubt the effect of the attack. If the results expected in the plan are not met, we will face an angry fleet with two battleships and two cruisers. With the firepower of our existing ships, it is difficult for us to strike it. So, I think this plan is a bit risky." Samover said hesitantly.

"This is a plan formulated by the Ministry of War, an order issued by me personally. General, all you have to do now is to obey the order. If you are unwilling to execute it, please raise it immediately, and I can change it to someone else." Churchill's face was sunk, and a dangerous cold light flashed in his eyes.

"No, Prime Minister, I don't mean that way. Of course I will obey your orders, please rest assured." Somerville quickly nodded vigorously to express his affirmation.

"Well, I believe you can do it." Churchill changed into a kind face and said to the table. "This plan is the key to reversing the current unfavorable situation. We must avoid falling into the situation I mentioned earlier, and we must take the initiative. I also know that with our current strength, it is difficult to completely disarm the French Navy, both technically and in strength. So what we can do now is to weaken him as much as possible and reduce the threat to a point where we can bear it.

You also know that the Germans have concentrated their strength. They have concentrated hundreds or thousands of ships in the Calais area. Their navy has rushed into the North Sea. Their air force is raging over Britain. They bombard our cities and factories. Now, their army is about to board our sacred islands. Our homeland will be burned and our women and children will be massacred. I must not allow this to happen.

Now, the only one who can defend our last line of defense is to rely on the Royal Navy. I believe that the Royal Navy will not disappoint me. Just like the countless crises that Britain has encountered over the past hundreds of years, the Royal Navy will once again dominate the victory or defeat of the war.

Germany has concentrated their naval forces and has gained the upper hand in some areas. Therefore, we must also concentrate all our naval forces and guard our straits.

I decided to transfer most of the ships in the Mediterranean fleet back to their homeland. In the Mediterranean they had nothing to do. Our army and air force had enough ability to guard the Egyptian and the Suez Canal, and more colonial forces were gathering. In addition to deterring the Italians, the Mediterranean fleet could only use their power in vain, and the British Empire was now in need.

Of course, we did not give up the Mediterranean easily. I would keep a small fleet there to show our existence. When the British crisis passed, we would still have to return to the Mediterranean. In order to avoid obstruction and harassment from the French fleet on the way back to the land, we must attack the French warships in the African colonies. Even if they cannot be sunk, they will at least be injured, and at least they will not cause trouble for us within a few months. We have control over Gibraltar, and when the threat of German landing is resolved, we can return to the Mediterranean at any time.

By next year, we will get four brand new aircraft carriers and two latest battleships. We will get more destroyers and transport ships, aircraft and tanks and cannons from the United States. Germany will no longer threaten us, and by then, it will be our turn to counterattack. You know, during the Boer War, that year..."

Somerville no longer remembers when Churchill's long speech ended. Anyway, there was a bunch of reminiscing about the past and talking about the future, and what he heard in the end was almost nonsense. "It should be because of whiskey." Somerville thought this way when he walked out of the shelter.

"General, time is up, and you can order the plane to take off!" Lieutenant Colonel Scott's voice recalled Somerville back from his memory.

Somerville looked down at his watch and nodded and replied: "Order them to take off."

The prepared electric bell rang, and the flight commander on the deck looked towards the bridge. Seeing the take-off signal lights begin to flash, he quickly waved the command flag in his hand.

The pilot of the Swordfish torpedo aircraft, who had been waiting for a long time, pushed the throttle rod forward, the aircraft engine began to roar wildly, the pilot stared at the tachometer, and after reaching the take-off speed, he released the brakes. The huge biplane torpedo aircraft began to speed on the deck. Five or six meters away from the bow of the ship, the wheels left the deck, and the plane turned to the left, tilted its fuselage and began to climb slowly.

The takeoff procedure repeated and everything was going on in an orderly manner. After two years of hard training, the pilots of the Navy 818 and 806 airlines were already very familiar with the biplane they were flying. The entire takeoff process was flawless and unexpectedly smooth.

The fleet flew around the aircraft carrier one by one, waiting for the last swordfish to take off and join the formation. The fleet began to turn, and forty-eight swordfish torpedo aircraft were arranged in four neat inverted V formations and flew towards the African coast in the dark.
Chapter completed!