Chapter 517: God Bless

Lütjens was in high spirits these days. Whenever he faced the sea, he felt that the great ocean before him had never been so vast and beautiful. It was no fault of his for having such thoughts; anyone standing in the command room of an aircraft carrier, watching their fleet sail across the sea, would feel that the world before them was vast.

The carrier Reich cut through the waves, followed by the newly repaired Tirpitz. Further away were the illustrious Bismarck and Graf Zeppelin. And in the distance, there was a new face that had just joined the fleet: the Imperial Navy’s fifth aircraft carrier, the Prinz Eugen.

This fleet was now sailing on the waters of the North Atlantic, south of Iceland, carrying out the mission of blockading the Icelandic ports. The formations of the British Royal Navy were now mostly either cowering in Canada or hiding in the Indian Ocean. So, as the most formidable naval fleet in the Atlantic, the German High Seas Fleet under Lütjens’s command could be said to be invincible.

This fleet now had two newly commissioned guided-missile destroyers, as well as two “real” cruisers captured from the British mainland. Coupled with the two Lützow-class armored ships that were already in the fleet, their weakness in night combat had been compensated for to some extent.

Moreover, the improved carrier Prinz Eugen could launch and recover aircraft at night using indicator lights, which was an absolutely remarkable innovation for this time. Therefore, Lütjens was full of confidence in the future of carrier night operations that the Führer had spoken of.

“Keep an eye on the surrounding waters. If any suspicious vessels are spotted, dispatch a helicopter to investigate immediately!” Thinking of this, he raised the corners of his mouth slightly and gave an order to his deputy. “Notify the anti-submarine destroyers to be on the lookout for enemy submarines.”

“Understood!” the adjutant replied, standing at attention. He then looked at the navigation instruments beside him and continued to shout in a loud voice, “Adjusting course, all ships three degrees to port, maintain for five minutes!”

“Adjusting course! Three degrees to port! Maintain for five minutes!” the sailor at the helm beside him chimed in loudly.

Seeing that everything was normal, Lütjens gave some instructions to his adjutant and then walked out of the command room with his hands behind his back. This was also a task given to him by the Führer; he had to seize the time to cultivate a group of young talents who could independently command carrier operations.

Germany could not have only one carrier battle group. In the future, Germany would certainly build more carriers to ensure the safety of its maritime trade routes. These carrier groups would operate independently, so Germany needed to build up a reserve of more carrier command talent. Lütjens understood this very well, so he was also willing to let his deputy and other officers temporarily take command on the carrier.

With his hands behind his back and accompanied by a single guard, he strolled down to the flight deck below. The sea breeze was strong here, and in the weather of late April, it was still very cool. The wind blew against Lütjens’s admiral’s service dress, making the general appear even more spirited.

Standing on the deck, watching the various ground crew busy at work, watching a few fighter pilots talking and laughing, he suddenly felt that this aircraft carrier was his home, and these soldiers of all kinds were his family.

“Heil Führer!” two ground crew members passing by Lütjens snapped to attention and saluted, then continued with their work. They refueled a reconnaissance plane that was responsible for a patrol mission, then loaded the cannon shells into the plane’s wing ammunition bays. Watching them prepare a plane with skill and speed, and then watching this plane take off amidst a burst of laughter, Lütjens felt that the air had become even fresher.

He walked step by step to the entrance of the downward staircase, descended the openwork iron stairs into the interior of the carrier, and, by the light of the lamps, walked to the door of a compartment. There was a blackboard here, covered with all sorts of flight angles and routes. The air combat commander inside was explaining various maneuvers to escape an engagement and other technical essentials to his subordinates.

The room he was passing was the air combat tactics analysis room, a small classroom that had been deliberately established at the Führer’s suggestion. Here, everyone shared the experience they had gained in training and combat, summarized various lessons, and turned the novice pilots who had just been assigned to their squadrons into more skilled air warriors.

With this model of fighting, training, and educating at the same time, the navy had trained more than 300 of its own pilots in just a few months. These were not the kind of pilots who could only fly simply, but pilots who could take off and land from an aircraft carrier and complete air combat missions in coordination with their comrades.

Such an achievement could be considered a remarkable one. To be able to expand one’s pilot ranks while fighting a war was a benign development model that all countries dreamed of. For a navy that used aircraft carriers as its main means of attack, every pilot was a precious asset.

Continuing forward was the pilots’ living quarters. Here, each compartment had four spacious bunks. Each air force pilot had his own independent locker, and in the center of the bunks, there was even a small folding table for the pilots to use. Of course, there was also a larger, non-folding table in the corridor. In most cases, this table was more useful, for example, for everyone to use for playing cards.

Next was the pilots’ mess, the crew’s mess and lounge. These places were more or less the same, designed with cost simplification in every detail. It was because of this simplicity that the German army could produce aircraft carriers in greater numbers, and because of this simplicity that the German navy could save a great deal of money.

In the previous life, Germany had always pursued complexity and perfection. Now, under Akado’s guidance, it had transformed to pursue simplicity and practicality. Through the efforts of the German designers, the German Navy had completed its process of self-reform, and in this process, it had surpassed and defeated the British Navy, standing at the pinnacle of the world’s naval powers.

As he walked, Lütjens came to the hangar, which was the largest compartment inside the aircraft carrier. Here were stacked dozens of carrier-based aircraft with their wings folded. At present, these carrier-based aircraft could be considered the most powerful carrier-based weapons in the world. These planes could sink massive mobile fortresses like battleships, and they could find their opponents from a super-long distance and tear them to shreds.

At this time, a dozen or so soldiers were playing ball in a corner of the hangar. They had installed a basketball hoop on a bulkhead wall and had set up a half-court in a corner. When they had set out, this area had been piled high with grain and engine oil, but in many cases, the soldiers would give priority to using up the supplies here to clear out a place for entertainment during the boring life at sea.

Several tall soldiers were competing for the precious rubber basketball. Around them were female soldiers from various departments and the comrades of the male soldiers who were playing. They were clearly here to watch the game, and from time to time, they would let out cheers and laughter. To be able to work up a sweat and attract the attention of the opposite sex in this almost enclosed environment was one of the few things that excited the soldiers. So this kind of sport was encouraged on the carrier, and sometimes, with the consent of the female soldier, a kiss was even offered as a reward.

This also made the games on the ship more intense. At the same time, the leagues on the several carriers and even the destroyers were in full swing. It was said that the final prize was a year of free luxury lunches—the prize would be paid for by the losers, who would have to scoop the dishes from their own lunch trays into the winners’.

Lütjens, with his hands behind his back, watched with great interest as the young soldiers ran back and forth on the court. From time to time, a shot would draw a chorus of shouts from the female soldiers around, making him feel as if he were a dozen years younger himself. He looked at his soldiers with a smile, feeling that it was a truly wonderful thing to be able to lead them to victory in one naval battle after another.

“Heil Führer!” As he was watching the game, he did not see two guards on duty pass by. It wasn’t until the two guards passed him, stood at attention, saluted, and shouted “Heil Führer” that he came to his senses.

The soldiers on the court all looked over. The female soldiers didn’t know what to do. They had never been caught by the fleet admiral before. Who could be sure that they wouldn’t be punished, or that the basketball hoop that had been welded to the wall would not be removed? The noisy hangar fell silent for a moment. Everyone was waiting, waiting for the fleet admiral with his hands behind his back to pronounce his judgment.

“Continue playing! The game against the Zeppelin can’t be lost, because I’ve placed a bet on it,” Lütjens said. He knew that if he didn’t leave, the crew who had been having fun would become reserved. So he smiled and turned to leave. But he heard the cheers of the soldiers, heard them shouting his name, Lütjens.

Who says Germans must be rigid and humorless? Who says Germans are stubborn, dull, and inflexible? We Germans have our own style! We adhere to our principles when we need to be stubborn, we are meticulous when we need to be rigorous, and we only put away our smiles when we need to be serious.

Now, we are the most powerful nation in the world. Why can’t we smile? Why can’t we leave a brilliant smile for ourselves? Lütjens walked back to his cabin with his hands behind his back. Here, there was a soft bed, an independent desk and bookshelf, and even a window with a view of the sea outside.

Lütjens lay down on his bunk and closed his eyes. He suddenly realized that to be serving in the Imperial Navy’s carrier fleet was a very happy thing. He could laugh, he could lie in his bed, he could defeat the most powerful opponents, he could face the coldest sea breeze in the Atlantic.

“God bless the Führer! God bless Germany! God bless the High Seas Fleet!” Lütjens prayed before he fell asleep.

Published: 2025-09-01T04:05:35.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2025-12-08T19:01:40.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c517-god-137832428

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