Volume 4 Chapter 7: Gneisenau

Early the next morning, a convoy of vehicles entered the port of Hamburg. A huge battleship at the dock had already stoked its engines, black smoke billowing from its smokestacks, and was preparing to depart.

“This is… a battleship! Lieutenant Colonel, are we really taking this giant ship to Africa?” Madame Monica looked at the enormous vessel at the dock and asked in astonishment.

“Yes, it’s the Gneisenau. It got damaged by British bombers last autumn and has only just been repaired!” Skorzeny said excitedly. “When the Berlin headquarters sent the telegram, I could hardly believe it. I never thought they’d actually dispatch this battleship!”

“It seems they truly want us to complete this mission successfully!” Baron von Wurdenbeller sighed. “Even the war fanatics at the Army High Command must be tired of this war!”

By 1945, Germany had very few large surface warships left. The remaining ones were forced to stay in dry docks for long periods due to bombing by Allied planes. The fact that they sent the last remaining Gneisenau to assist in Operation Heracles showed how much importance the Third Reich placed on this mission.

The Gneisenau battleship had a standard displacement of 31,000 tons and a full load displacement of 37,000 tons. It was 231 meters long, 30 meters wide, with a draft of nearly 9 meters. It carried a crew of over 1,600 and had three aircraft. Its maximum speed was 31.2 knots, and its cruising speed was 15 knots.

It had two triple-barreled 283mm main guns at the bow and one at the stern. It also had twelve 150mm secondary guns, fourteen twin-barreled 105mm anti-aircraft guns, sixteen twin-barreled 37mm anti-aircraft guns, and two triple 533mm torpedo launchers.

Qin Lun licked his lips as he looked at the giant battleship before him. He liked this big toy. Since he was a child, he had never owned many toys. Combined with the violent events he had experienced in his life, it made him even fonder of such grand, spectacular, and cold-hearted war machines.

The Gneisenau was one of the two Scharnhorst-class battleships of the Third Reich. Its sister ship, the Scharnhorst, had been sunk in battle two years earlier.

When the Third Reich started the war, its navy hadn’t actually completed its shipbuilding plans. There weren’t many large surface warships, and its strength was far behind that of its main opponent, England.

Because the German navy lacked the strength to engage the British in a decisive naval battle, its main combat objective was maritime raiding warfare. With this goal in mind, during the design phase of the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau battleships, speed was made the top priority, with protection as the second priority. This came at the cost of sacrificing some firepower.

The Gneisenau’s top speed reached 31 knots, almost on par with light cruisers and destroyers. It could break through British fleet blockades on its own and enter the Atlantic Ocean to conduct raiding operations against the Allies.

“Lieutenant Colonel, why aren’t we taking a submarine to Africa? Even if the Gneisenau can break through the British fleet’s blockade, it’s such a huge target that it might not make it back. The British navy will be waiting like a pack of wolves on its return route,” Captain Bock asked with concern.

“Captain, you haven’t considered the speed of U-boats. We have less than eight days left. The British have blocked the English Channel, so to get to Africa we must detour through the North Sea, enter the Atlantic Ocean, and then sail around to Morocco in Africa!” Skorzeny said with a bitter smile. “At a submarine’s speed, it would take more than ten days. We would miss the Allied leaders’ summit.”

Hearing this, everyone also smiled wryly. The Third Reich’s African front had been completely abandoned. The former colonies of Tunisia and Algeria, which belonged to Germany and Italy, were all lost. If those two strategic locations were still under their control, they could have flown to Africa and then traveled overland to Morocco.

Different from Qin Lun’s original timeline, in this one, both Moscow and the Transcaucasus region of the Soviet Union were occupied by Germany. The main Soviet forces had retreated beyond the Ural Mountains. With control over vast Soviet territories, especially the oil fields in the Transcaucasus, the Third Reich had much more abundant resources compared to the original timeline. The only hardship was the shortage of manpower. Many soldiers on the battlefield now were under the age of 18, essentially child soldiers.

The Soviet Union, having lost its European coastline and a large population from European lands, was much weaker than in the original timeline. Allied aid could only come through the Far East and then across Siberia, which involved heavy logistical losses. The Soviets often had to accumulate supplies for almost half a year before launching an offensive on the Eastern Front. They posed little threat to the Third Reich.

As for the Western Front in Europe, the United States and Britain had finally managed to liberate France with great difficulty, pushing the front line to Belgium and Luxembourg.

However, because American military casualties were more than ten times higher than in the original timeline, anti-war sentiment was surging at home. Additionally, since they had already achieved victory in the Asian theater, their motivation for this war was rapidly declining.

By this point in the war, Japan of the Axis Powers had been defeated. Italy was on its last legs and practically irrelevant. In reality, only the Third Reich was left fighting alone. The Allies were also exhausted and had reached a stalemate on both the Eastern and Western Fronts.

Unlike before, the Axis Powers now sought a dignified end to the war. The Allies, on the other hand, planned to gather their strength for one final decisive battle to completely shatter the Third Reich’s last hard shell.

Both sides clearly understood that the war had reached its final stage. If it couldn’t be concluded within 1945, both sides would likely choose a political settlement instead.

Although it differed from their initial intentions when starting the war, the Third Reich, including the Führer, also understood that this would be the best possible outcome for Germany. The Allies would abandon the communist Soviet Union, setting the liberation of France and Central/Southern Europe as their bottom line, while the Axis Powers would have to abandon their Eastern ally, Japan.

From a distance, the Gneisenau looked as symmetrical and refined as a work of art. Up close, however, its over 200-meter-long hull and empire-state-building-like bridge gave off an intense feeling of oppression.

After boarding the warship, Qin Lun and the others were led by German sailors and assigned to the officers’ quarters. German warships placed considerable importance on sailors’ living conditions. Each officer’s cabin housed only four people and had a separate washroom.

Initially, everyone was very excited and looked around the ship eagerly. Even when sailors were measuring water currents, several commando members would often gather around to watch. On the first evening, the beautiful sunset over the sea caused cheers and screams of delight from the group.

Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last long. After the ship entered the Atlantic Ocean, some members of the commando team began to suffer from seasickness. Qin Lun, Grant, and Lin Feng from the special forces squad all fell ill at the same time.

“Ugh!” Qin Lun’s legs wobbled as he walked out of the washroom and threw himself onto his bunk. On the upper bunk, Grant was also pale, staring at the ceiling and counting stars.

“You two are being too dramatic. Have you never been on an ocean voyage before?” Baron von Wurdenbeller stroked his mustache and looked disdainfully at the two serial killers.

Qin Lun and Grant exchanged a weak glance. They really had never been on a ship before. In their Earth Federation, outdated transportation like airplanes and ships had long been phased out. For short distances, they used magnetic levitation vehicles; for long distances, they used transmission rail systems. Those high-tech contraptions would never have such violent shaking.

Until their Law Bodies adapted to this kind of turbulence, their Apostle Soul Marks couldn’t shake off this dizzy feeling.

“Woo…” On the third day of the journey, a sharp alarm sounded on the warship. Outside the cabin, they could hear sailors shouting and making noise. Except for Qin Lun and Grant, Wurdenbeller and Captain Bock immediately ran out of the cabin to see what was happening.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!” Accompanied by deafening cannon fire, the several Apostles on the ship entered their most miserable period. The continuous rocking and shaking made Qin Lun, in his dizziness, feel almost as if he were floating in a blissful hallucination.

Fortunately, the Gneisenau’s first combat encounter didn’t last long. Soon, things quieted down outside the cabin, and they heard the returning footsteps of Wurdenbeller and Bock.

“That was spectacular!” the Baron said excitedly. “I originally thought the great sailing battles of Wilhelm I’s time were the most thrilling naval battles in the world. I never expected artillery duels in the steel age to be even more awe-inspiring. It’s simply like a boxing match between steel behemoths!”

Wilhelm I… just how long has this vampire baron been alive?! Qin Lun, lying in his bunk, rolled his eyes and drifted off into a dizzy sleep.

By the fifth day of the journey, their Law Bodies had adapted to the seasickness. The dizziness status from the Death Notice finally disappeared, and Qin Lun and Grant were able to leave their cabin.

“What a shame we missed that naval battle!” Qin Lun said regretfully to Grant.

“Yeah, truly a pity!” Grant shrugged noncommittally. His curiosity wasn’t as strong as Qin Lun’s.

The naval battle the day before yesterday was very brief. The Gneisenau’s rear admiral captain didn’t engage much with the British fleet that came to intercept; he just took a slightly longer detour from the original route.

“Lieutenant Gerthard, our mountain eagle has finally flown out of his bed!” Madame Monica’s teasing voice came from behind Qin Lun.

“Good morning, Madame!” Qin Lun said indifferently, his light gray pupils fixed intently on Skorzeny behind her. “Lieutenant Colonel, how much longer until we reach Casablanca?”

“Tomorrow. Tomorrow afternoon we’ll reach the target waters. Then the captain will use the three seaplanes on the battleship to send the main members of the commando team and their equipment ashore. As for the squadron of special forces, they will go ashore in small boats. All of them have undergone frogman training,” Skorzeny said carefully.

The next afternoon, a black horizon appeared ahead of the ship. Qin Lun disassembled his Kark98 modified sniper rifle and placed it in a leather case. He took one last look at the Gneisenau in the setting sun, then bent down and climbed into the seaplane.

Although the Gneisenau had broken through the British fleet’s interception, there were now two powerful fleets closely chasing it from behind. After this parting, it might be the last time he would ever see this beautiful and powerful battleship.