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Page 204
Helpless, Ilya could only look for what she could use at the moment—she suddenly discovered that Gloucester had retreated to the side of an anti-tank gun, and there was a shell with its rear end sticking up in an ammunition box, the primer pointing directly at her sight.
"Fine, I guess I'll just have to go crazy with you."
It was as if she had staked all her luck as a sniper. With a sharp crack, the muzzle of the Mosin-Nagant fired, and the propellant cartridge of the shell roared and billowed black smoke, swallowing the KMF whole. Ekaterina managed to smash the grenade unharmed onto the doll's head.
……
"I need to check if the person who operated the doll is still alive." Ekaterina continued walking towards the KMF's cockpit, carefully looking around and at the huge black box behind the doll.
"What? It's open?" Startled, she suddenly felt a short sword slash down from the back of her head. She raised her gun to block, and the blade cut a gash in front of the Mosin-Nagant's trigger, resembling a roar.
"Get out of the way!" Ilya wanted to take advantage of the situation to snipe, but the female pilot who was attacking him pushed her rifle far away. Ekaterina was lying on her back in the trench with her neck being strangled from behind, and she couldn't be hit at all!
The hand-to-hand combat continued. Ekaterina's belt was cut off by her opponent, who tried to grab the pistol on it to fire, only to find that Ekaterina was holding the magazine and had also taken her radio.
One wanted to disarm the other, while the other could only see his clothes being slashed to pieces. As the fight went on, Ekaterina pulled out an entrenching tool from a corner of the trench and blocked the short sword's fatal blow, finally maintaining the balance of power.
The two men, panting heavily, leaned against the edge of the trench. On the burning KMF next to them, the emblem of the Knights of Agincourt had been blackened by the ash and heat.
……
"Ha, I have to admit, are Soviet girls also flowers watered with blood?" The female pilot greeted me unexpectedly in Russian. "Let me introduce myself, Alexandra. You should be glad your pistol broke before I exited the cockpit."
“Hmm, interesting.” Ekaterina nodded with a sneer. “A girl with a name like that should fight by pulling hair; playing with swords and guns is too dangerous.”
“It’s a real shame about the Russians in this world,” Alexandra shook her head. “Why do such interesting souls have to be wrapped up in such unkempt clothes?”
"It's a shame you're a soldier," Ekaterina teased her about her tight-fitting pilot's uniform. "Your uniform is full of your own flesh and blood; how can it contain your motherland?"
"Are you trying to say you're as loyal as a dog?"
"I'm telling you, your body is so bad it makes me want to vomit!"
Yes, it's true that it's hard to see enemies charging at us with swords these days, but they're still got the skills. The two are evenly matched, but the one with the sword clearly has the upper hand. Alexandra quickly kicked the entrenching tool away. Even though she was forced against the wall by Ekaterina, the sword was still heading towards her nose.
“You have very beautiful eyes, but it’s a pity you can only see things far away,” Alexandra mocked, the family crest on the hilt of her short sword gleaming. “Snipers are supposed to be the last to get close to the enemy.”
"Ekaterina! Bow your head!"
Ilya finally arrived. She grabbed the entrenching tool stuck in the ground, and with a push from Ekaterina's hands and a backbend, the entrenching tool grazed over Alexandra's head and struck her nose and eyes.
Pulling the shovel out of the flesh and bone, the poor girl collapsed to the ground, curled up in a pool of blood, her hands trembling as she tried to wipe it from her face.
Seeing this, Catherine asked Ilya for a bayonet, picked up Alexandra from behind, and held her close to her chest.
"You forgot that snipers have partners, but you, who are a hindrance to the enemy, don't."
After whispering in her ear and listening to her terrified breathing, Ekaterina grabbed Alexandra's hair and slowly plunged the dagger into her throat. With a twist and a pull, the young woman with curly blonde hair became an ordinary corpse in the trench.
“Ha, sometimes I think you’re even more dramatic than them.” Ilya wiped the blood from his bayonet, picked up Ekaterina’s belt and returned it to her. “It’s just a matter of one shot for me.”
"Alright, I admit I was wrong. Let's get out of here quickly."
Just as they were about to take a step, they saw that the Britannian soldiers who were continuing to advance in the distance were all looking up at the sky. In an instant, the air became tense and ominous. One after another, dark clouds as tall as ten-story buildings exploded on their position. The entire hill trembled as if it were the end of the world, with lava erupting, and seemed about to turn into a landslide.
"It's over, we can't get out of here..." In desperation, the two had no choice but to choose a cellar on a hillside as their last hope.
In the departing trenches, a radio call could be heard from the body of a fallen comrade.
"This is a call from the Baltic Fleet of the Red Navy. Comrades on Hill 66, please take note: immediately begin indiscriminate artillery fire!"
……
The fog that shrouded the coast of Rügen Island was torn apart by the gunfire storm of the battleship October Revolution. At a distance of 20 kilometers, four triple gun turrets delivered dozens of 305mm shells to the collapsing front line.
With KMFs and armed helicopters constantly approaching from all sides, the cruiser and destroyer Gorky could not relax for a moment, even under the protection of groups of Soviet fighter jets.
Meanwhile, on the bridge of the October Revolution, Admiral Golovko, commander of the Baltic Fleet, received a telegram and burst into laughter with delight.
"Does the wall of water the enemy is splashing at the bow resemble a ballet, Comrade General? Why are you so pleased?"
"If there's a ballet performance," Golovko telegraphed the captain who had asked the question, "don't forget to invite the Royal Navy personnel who are coming to Scandinavia to watch it together!"
Chapter 263, Section 344: The Navy, Heading Towards the Ocean!
The setting sun shone on the Royal Navy's Scapa Flow naval base, and the shimmering waves reflected like sparkling jewels on the HMS Kent, a heavy cruiser moored to one side, like an old man in his twilight years sitting in a wheelchair draped in a golden blanket at his doorstep.
This warship, which is about to celebrate its 20th anniversary, had already become a member of the reserve force before the swastika flag was destroyed. A year has passed, and the only thing that might still come to visit her at this berth is the Swordfish attack aircraft that is flying over the top of the mast and is responsible for pilot training.
No, not at all. It's just that the Royal Navy doesn't have much free time right now, but others do.
Two Asian men dressed in foreign naval uniforms were spending their last night in Scapa Flow. They wanted to visit their old friends with whom they had fought side by side.
They also recalled their first arrival in Britain in 1943, when they were like travelers who had found an oasis in the desert, eagerly experiencing the British Isles with the St. George flag flying high.
They also recalled that on the second day of Christmas that same year, the two were on the same ship in the North Cape Sea off Norway, where they witnessed the Scharnhorst battlecruiser sink to the bottom of the sea under the superior firepower of the Royal Navy.
I will also recall that during the Normandy landings, the HMS Kent stood shoulder to shoulder with them on the sea, unleashing a righteous reckoning from the ocean against the stubbornly resisting German troops.
I also recall that in 1945, after attending the Yalta Conference, then-Prime Minister Churchill looked at the insignia of the Republic of China (Blue Sky with a White Sun) they wore on the deck, shook hands with each of them, and said, "Very good, young people, congratulations and thank you!"
In the history of the Chinese navy, there are two names: Lu Dongge and Guo Chengsen.
……
"I hope this isn't the last time I'll see it." Lu Dongge looked at the St. George's flag on the mast of the Kent, but he was like a sickly nightingale. He probably understood that it would be very difficult for him to see such a magnificent warship, or even more magnificent one, again.
A message came from their own country: "A group of naval officers who have completed or are about to complete their studies in England are being recalled," and the two of them were among them. They were to depart the next day.
I don't know what the rush was, but they even wanted to return home before the British gifts—yes, they had recently learned from the British that as compensation for requisitioning their ships during the World War, two warships were to be given as a token of gratitude: the escort destroyer HMS Mendepe was being leased, and the other was being given as a gift, the light cruiser HMS Aurora.
The former was of very ordinary quality, while the latter, once it arrived in Shanghai, would be a force to be reckoned with, dominating all other naval powers along the Chinese mainland coast at that time.
"Have you heard, Brother Dongge? We might be going to war again." Guo Chengsen's expression was not good.
"with who?"
"Fellow countrymen. There's no other way, the military order is here, I have to obey." Guo Chengsen shook his head incessantly. "I had thought about this day, but I didn't expect it to come so soon. It's like lying in the ruins cutting my wounds and drinking blood to quench my thirst. The thirst is easy to stop, but my life is hard to save."
"Hopefully it won't be too long." Lu Dongge patted Cheng Sen on the shoulder. "Let's go, let's go take another look over there."
……
The area in front is where aircraft carriers are moored. The two had heard that this thing was about to replace the battleships they were familiar with and become the new lord of the sea.
There are two such ships now, one covered in ancient dust and the other in dazzling clothes.
The one on the left is HMS Furious, an old ship born before the end of World War I. The deck above the hull is completely flat, with only a tiny bridge that looks like a radar station. The anti-aircraft guns on both sides of the ship are as weathered and tightly packed as a monk's prayer beads.
A new war has begun, but this elder statesman, who frequently fought on the front lines during World War II, only needs to handle secondary tasks this time—the elevators beside the berth are evenly and precisely laying out fighter planes on her deck like stacking bricks. Tomorrow she will depart, joining the fleet heading to the Baltic Sea for battle, and will leave en route, anchoring in Oslo, the capital of Norway, to deliver these aircraft to the Allied air base stationed there, along with a fleet of transport ships.
The bright and beautiful young face on the right belongs to the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious. She still needs to complete her refit here. As dusk falls, the engineers on the flight deck can only see the other warships off.
The absence of "Radiance" does not mean the absence of the light of victory. This is not the Beihai that struggled five or six years ago. Finding a sister to fight in her place should not be a difficult task.
Following the sound of the engines and looking up at the sky, on the side of the Swordfish returning from the berth of the old battleships, a squadron of brand-new Barracuda attack aircraft swept past, bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun. They flew over the Illustrious and the Furious, and over the heads of Higashikata and Narumori, leaving faint trails of heat as they flew towards the east, where the sun had not yet risen.
……
"I had a dream a few days ago, Brother Chengsen."
"what?"
"I dreamt that I was on a ship that was also like an aircraft carrier, but much larger than the HMS Illustrious. This warship was not in a harbor, and it was not bound by chains. It was sailing on the vast ocean, and it was piled with all kinds of planes that I had never seen before. I was a member of it, but I could not see the flags flying on the bridge, nor could I see the insignia on the planes."
"Isn't it broad daylight?"
"It was a very blurry color, but I remember it clearly. Everyone else on the ship spoke a mother tongue that we and our descendants could understand." Lu Dongge looked meaningfully at the Radiant Ship, then turned back, his eyes glistening with tears. "Brother Chengsen, did you ever think this day would come?"
"I don't know what it will look like when we build it, but I can assure you: there will definitely be a day when we can watch planes take off from the deck from the bridge with Chinese characters written on it."
……
The ocean is a dreamy and profound blue dream, and the navy is the vessel that carries that dream to the harbor of reality.
Some ships have just set sail, but with goals and ideals in their hearts, they will eventually reach the shore; some ships have fulfilled their dreams, and they will then shoulder the responsibilities and obligations that come with that fulfillment.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, there was an aircraft carrier bearing the name "Enterprise," and a sailor on board, acting as the older brother, was waving to his younger brother on the ship ahead.
Because some of the stored supplies on board were destroyed in an accident, an R-4 helicopter was needed to urgently board the Enterprise to retrieve some and transport them there—the younger brother's ship was about to sail away, and there wasn't enough time to make a special trip back to port.
"You've finally grown up, my little brother! Wait for me, I'll go to the other side of Earth and beat these bastards to a pulp!"
Watching his younger brother wave goodbye, the older brother returned to the flight deck—the highest point he could reach, where he could see the entire small fleet.
The Enterprise was in the very middle of this formation, with another aircraft carrier, slightly shorter than the Enterprise, to its port side. This carrier had six cylindrical funnels on either side of its deck and aft. It had a hull number "4" painted on its bow, a number rarely seen in the Pacific. They were carrying out different missions—the Enterprise was warming up its original carrier air wing, while the other was training its newly arrived naval aviators as usual, and the helicopter that had just been overhead had also come from there.
Each of them was flanked by a destroyer, the newly commissioned Gearing-class destroyers USS Gearing and USS Kiat, while the younger brother was directly in front of the USS Enterprise on another warship that was about to set sail first.
……
Since participating in the Navy Day celebrations in New York in October 1945, the USS Enterprise has been quietly waiting in its berth at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation for world peace, with only a handful of opportunities left to embrace the sea in its remaining years. What a silent warship felt at that moment, no one knows; perhaps it was relieved that war would end, or perhaps it was silently weeping for its impending demise.
When Berlin became the new epicenter of the war, the Great E, which was about to celebrate its 10th birthday, finally broke free of its chains and sailed the Atlantic Ocean off the east coast, fully loaded with fighter jets, guiding the soldiers on their way to the battlefield like a lighthouse.
Yesterday, the Superfortress passed by the pale clouds overhead; today, another hero returning from the bloody battles of the Pacific will also be at full speed, heading to a distant land.
After its younger brother sent a light signal to the Enterprise saying "Good luck, we're waiting for you," the light cruiser with "55" painted on its bow grew smaller and smaller in the farewell gazes of its crew as it sailed toward the horizon, where a much larger, unfamiliar figure appeared, also an aircraft carrier like the Enterprise.
……
"Sent from: U.S. Navy Atlantic Fleet Command".
"Recipient: USS Cleveland, CL-55, light cruiser, United States Navy"
"The orders are as follows: After completing the major overhaul in port today, proceed immediately to the waters 150 kilometers southeast of Philadelphia to join the formation of the aircraft carriers USS Enterprise and USS Ranger for a seven-day escort mission. At the same time, inspect the repaired shipboard equipment and accelerate the integration of the crew."
"After completing the mission along the predetermined route, the Enterprise will depart from the waters 90 kilometers southeast of Long Island, search for and follow the aircraft carrier CV-42 Franklin Roosevelt across the Atlantic to the North Sea, where it will rendezvous with the aircraft carrier Midway and its battle group, in preparation for future operations to support the Royal Navy."
Chapter 264, Section 345: The Welcoming Ceremony at Sea (Part 1)
Lieutenant Zilinkov and his men withdrew from the trenches on the high ground to meet up with their comrades in the rear. Not far from where they sat down to rest, an SU-122 self-propelled gun was firing at the hilltop along with the fleet in the distance.
Since 1944, the hardware of the Soviet ground forces has been constantly being replaced by new and old equipment, including the problematic SU-122 and a bunch of underperforming armored vehicles. After being replaced, they were more or less left near their original battlefields, one of which was Poland.
Although the situation on Rügen Island was not suitable for a long-term defense, firstly, it was necessary to have heavy firepower to meet basic needs; secondly, these equipment could be put to good use; and thirdly, even if they had to be discarded, it wouldn't be a big loss. So, they picked up some old iron oxen here and there to fill the gaps in the sea transport.
"Wait a minute..." The lieutenant looked up at the hilltop and saw that shells of all sizes were washing away the shattered positions with billowing smoke. In contrast, the radio was unusually quiet.
"Ekaterina? Ilya? Why didn't they come down?"
……
"Enemy attack! Enemy aircraft are approaching!"
The Baltic Fleet, now visible from afar and protected by Soviet warplanes, could only evacuate the island's coastline and sail eastward to avoid the danger, under General Golovko's orders.
During the recent air raid on Britannia, some of the anti-aircraft gun positions of the battleship October Revolution and the cruiser Gorky were strafed, resulting in casualties. The destroyer Brilliant, which was in formation, was hit by a rocket launched from a jet aircraft, which hit its torpedo tube. If the captain had not handled the situation well and thrown it into the sea in time, the entire crew would have been killed in the explosion.
"Report your situation to me, Captain."
"We have completely resolved the torpedo issue. Please allow us to remain in the fleet. Thank you, comrade."
Just as General Golovko finished listening to this, he received a message from his comrades on the island that "the Britannian destroyer fleet has launched a large-scale missile attack on our firepower positions on the island," and he hesitated.
"Didn't we send a telegram to the British half an hour ago? Why haven't they replied yet?"
A while later, the communications officer hurriedly ran up to the bridge.
"The Royal Navy reports that they will be escorting a convoy bound for Norway and will arrive at the Kattegat Strait off the west coast of Sweden around 7 a.m. tomorrow. The fleet consists of two aircraft carriers, three cruisers and five destroyers."
"Wait a minute? They didn't bring any battleships?"
"Yes, Comrade General, is there a problem? You look very unwell."
"Come here," Golovko said, leading the officers to the map.
"You see, the Royal Navy went from the North Sea through the Skagerrak Strait to the Kattegat Strait. If they want to enter the Baltic Sea, they will have to pass through the narrow waterways divided by numerous islands, including Zealand. Once they have passed these islands and reached an area where they can deploy anti-aircraft formations and perform evasive maneuvers, they will only be about twenty nautical miles from the German coast. In other words, this distance cannot guarantee the safety of the aircraft carriers at all."
"General, do you mean that the British are unlikely to enter the Baltic Sea?"
"Communications officer!" General Golovko grabbed the telegram. "First, the British only said they would come to 'support' us, without specifying that they would form a battle group with us. Damn it, damn it!"
As the general cursed, he measured the distance from Rügen Island to the north coast of Zealand Island.
"Are we really going to have to rely on the British carrier-based aircraft launched from 100 nautical miles away? Oh, let's just hope that the British gentlemen don't step on the arresting cable during takeoff."