Chapter 1371： Sea light cavalry (1/2)
Chapter 1371 Sea Light Cavalry
A huge snare was opened in the air and on the Baltic Sea. The German Navy and Air Force have already opened their nets, waiting for the Russian fleet to drop the snare. The light cruiser squadron as decoys has also increased the frequency of activities at sea and will The cordon moved northward.
”Major General Hopman, your task is to attack the Russian transport fleet and force them to come out from the depths of the Gulf of Finland. Be careful not to go deep into the Gulf of Finland. There may be a minefield there.” When Hipper gave fourth After Major General Hopman, Commander of the Reconnaissance Fleet, gave the order, the prologue of the entire Baltic Battle is finally here!
”Difficult, very difficult.” After receiving the order, Major General Hopman, after discussing with his staff, agreed that the task was very difficult! The reason is simple. After exiting from the absolute territory of the Russian fleet-the Gulf of Finland, you can turn south and you will reach the northern entrance of the Gulf of Riga, the Muen Strait. (The translation may be different in different places. This article chose the Fearless Sea Translated name.)
There are Russian turrets on the islands of Dago and Usel on both sides of the strait, and there are also mines deployed in the strait. Some of them are owned by the Russians, and some have been deployed by the Germans... If the light cruiser detachment wants to enter this sea area, even if there is no Russian warship escort, the threat is still great, and it may be attacked by shore defense artillery or encounter mines.
If fighting in the Gulf of Finland, it may be too close to the headquarters of the Russian fleet. Once bad luck, the light cruiser squadron may have been destroyed by the Russian fleet before the German fleet arrived. Even if the Hipper fleet can enter the Gulf of Finland, it will also encounter difficulties in the Gulf of Riga. The Russian mines and shore defense artillery will pose a great threat to the fleet. And if I ambushed from the north. If the Russians choose night transportation, one night is enough time for the transport ship to walk from the Gulf of Finland to the Gulf of Riga, and if they choose night battle, the risks and uncertainties will be greater. In addition, another disadvantage is that the Gulf of Finland is a bit far away from the German airport, and the aircraft's suspended time may be greatly affected.
”It’s impossible to go north. Even if the Russian fleet comes out and catches them smoothly, they can still choose to temporarily enter the Gulf of Riga, rely on the cover of turrets and mines, and then slip out one night. Our few warships do not The entire Gulf of Finland may be blocked for a long time.” Finally, Major General Hopman wrote in his report to Hipper.
And Hipper thinks so after studying the situation in the war zone. The probability of success in the North's action is not high. So the German Navy turned its attention to the south again! The entrance to the west of the Gulf of Riga, the Irbe Strait between the Kurland Peninsula and the island of Osser (also known as Saaremaa on some maps)! And this strait happened to be the route taken by the German navy when it launched Operation Albion in history.
”This route is also bad, there are still minefields, and in the southern part of the island of Essel-the private Voorbie Peninsula, there are three Russian forts with 12-inch shore guns and 6-inch shore guns. There are four 130MM shore guns each. There is a certain risk for small warships.” Hipper’s chief of staff, Major General von Ruit, marked the location of the three Russian turrets on the map.
”If you let the destroyer and minesweeper unit sweep a channel in the minefield, is it okay?” Hipper asked the commander of the destroyer detachment next to him.
”If we are not too close to the Courland area, we will simply pass through. There is no too much difficulty. The Russians deploy defensive minefields here. They are only deployed offshore, and we are sure that the Russians did not deploy to traverse. The minefield of the entire strait!” said the latter.