1 April 1940, Narvik Height, Norway.

This military port in the Norland province of the Kingdom of Norway is the northernmost ice-free port in the world and the northernmost port city in the world. Here, Germany could bring back a steady stream of iron ore bought from Sweden and turn it into a steady stream of aircraft artillery.

Through this year-round natural port, Norway earns a lot of foreign exchange from Germany – and Germany pays directly for gold from the Spanish Civil War, which is a perfectly reasonable deal!

For such an important material transshipment military port, Reinhardt attaches great importance to it. For this reason, he even told Quisling, whom he didn't like very much, that as long as he could control Narvik, he would use German power to fight for a higher position for Ghisling - the title of prime minister, nominally second only to the king of Norway, plus actual control of Norway!

And in order to show Reinhardt's loyalty that could not have existed, Guisling, with the authority of his Minister of Defense, arranged his most trusted confidant, Colonel Sundlow, to be the commander of the garrison at Narvik Heights.

The 5th Infantry Division of the Royal Norwegian Army under Colonel Sundlow (actually the size of only one infantry brigade) was not very combat-effective. And Reinhardt did not expect them to be able to block the landing of the British and French expeditionary forces alone and successfully hold Narvik.

The Norwegian Army's combat effectiveness has been tested by history, and Reinhardt is very sure that if they were to be given a score based on the Italian Army, the Italian Army would be counted as 50 points, and then the Norwegian Army would be able to barely score 3 points, one point for encouragement, one point for expectation, and another point for fear that they would be discouraged and fight more.

Looking at the history of World War II, Norway's real starting point was its coastal defense forces and navy.

If Reinhardt had followed the course of history and had the Germans launch the Norwegian campaign, the Imperial Navy would have suffered heavy losses from the Norwegian coastal batteries, a light cruiser "Gönigsberg" and an auxiliary ship. 1 German torpedo boat was sunk by the Norwegian minelayer "Olaf Triegfurson", damaging the light cruiser "Emden". Finally, about 15 miles south of Oslo, it was bombarded by Norwegian shore artillery and torpedoed by naval torpedoes, losing one of the fleet's flagships, the brand-new heavy cruiser Blucher.

The foundation of the German Navy was already thin and could not afford to lose.

Reinhardt not only did not want to lose naval ships in Norway, but hoped that the Royal Navy of the British Empire would be able to carry a small change in Norway.

The praying mantis catches the cicada, and the yellow finch is behind! When the British fleet was entangled with the Norwegian navy and the coastal defense forces to cover the landing, he only needed to quickly put the Imperial Navy, which was originally intended for the Norwegian campaign, into the blockade, and he could cause secondary damage to the British Royal Navy fighting the Norwegian army.

This time, the Empire will dispatch all its main forces and eat the entire fleet sent by the British to escort the expeditionary force in one bite.

Four large aircraft carriers of the "Zeppelin" class have formed combat strength, and eight small aircraft carriers of the "Exocet" class, which are only 15,000 tons, have also been incorporated into the aircraft carrier fleet. Theoretically, the 12 aircraft carriers will be able to carry a total of 632 modified ME109 carrier-based aircraft. However, in fact, due to various factors, the actual carrying capacity of the "Zeppelin" class aircraft carrier is only 105, and the "Exocet" class aircraft carrier is only about 20 aircraft.

However, if we can accomplish all the work in one battle, throw all our forces into the Norwegian naval battle, and press the entire base of the navy of the Third Reich in one fell swoop, we will form a partial advantage over the British detachment dispatched this time. Coupled with the early attrition of the Norwegian coastal defense forces and the Norwegian Navy, this unrecognizable Norwegian naval battle may not be unwinnable.

"My Führer!" In the office of the Führer Reinhardt's residence, the normally cautious Raeder stubbornly said, "With all due respect. If you want to deal with the Norwegian navy, the strength of the imperial navy is more than enough. But if you want to fight the British Royal Navy, even if you add Norway's naval forces as you said, I am afraid it will be difficult to achieve strategic goals...... Still, I would suggest that the plan of action be abandoned. ”

After all, the British Empire suppressed the entire First World War, and the German Navy once showed unprecedented excellent fighting quality and fighting courage, but the result was only in exchange for infinite regret after Operation Rainbow. Although they have been shouting about regaining the status of the world's naval power, a certain inferiority complex has already taken root in the hearts of this handful of German naval commanders in the last world war.

Reinhardt knew that what he needed to do now was not only to strengthen the body of the Imperial Navy, but also to recover their souls.

"Raeder, may I ask you a question?" Reinhardt did not rebuke Raeder, who was at odds with him. Instead, he was looking at Raeder with a very sincere look.

"Of course, my Führer." After all, Reinhardt had just been refuted, and Raeder looked a little restrained and said, "The subordinates must know everything." ”

Reinhardt smiled faintly, and asked a question that seemed to have nothing to do with the current atmosphere: "Don't be nervous, my marshal." I just wanted to confirm, how old are you? ”

"Huh?" Raeder apparently didn't hear Reinhardt. Although he heard it clearly, he still had some doubts that he had misheard.

"64 years old!" Without waiting for Raeder to speak, Reinhardt answered his own question.

"64 years old, 64 years old......" Raeder repeatedly chewed on Reinhardt's special emphasis on his own age, and seemed to understand something.

"My marshal, I hope you will not be unhappy to listen to what I have to say." Reinhardt said in a slow and deep voice: "At the age of 64, your physical strength and energy are already in a declining stage. Maybe in a few years, you should take a back seat and leave the heavy lifting to a new person. ”

Reinhardt's tone when he said this was very pertinent and serious. So Raeder also understands that the current Führer, very seriously!

"Don't you want to take advantage of the fact that you still have enough energy to make changes with your own hands and complete the regrets that your ancestors didn't complete?!"

"It's rare that you wish to stand at the command of the Navy Command and lead the army, only to watch the once heroic Imperial Navy slide into the abyss of cowardice and incompetence. Let the rest of your life be spent in pain and regret?! ”

"My teacher, General Sickett. He is the person I admire the most and the fighter who has influenced me the most. In my opinion, the greatest regret of his life was not to see the day when Germany was reinvigorated. ”

"I don't want you to be the same ......as my teacher," Reinhardt covered his face with some pain and said: "At least, you now have a chance to turn over, you have the first aircraft carriers in Germany's history, you have brand new battleships and cruisers, and I have me who supports you to attack and can bear all the consequences for you!" ”

“…… But my teacher was ...... But there is nothing. ”