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Saturday, 12 June 1943: The Jade Estuary

The great ships slowly steamed seaward in column – first the destroyers, greyhounds of the sea, and then the cruisers. The huge battleships followed – the force flagship Bismarck in the van. Vizeadmiral Günther Lütjens had declined the honor of shifting his flag to one of the newer Sachsens – though they were far larger than Bismarck; she deserved to lead this formidable force, even if it was only a training exercise. Behind the battleships were the supply ships and tankers, with their own escort of destroyers.

As the leading vessels passed the Minsener Oog they began to take formation, the battleships under escort of the heavy cruisers of Konteradmiral Hans Langsdorff and two flotillas of destroyers, while the slim light cruisers of Konteradmiral Bernhard Rogge pulled ahead to begin their scouting role. Lütjens paced the bridge, watching carefully as the task force assumed its cruising stations and headed into the North Sea. Inwardly he remembered that this was the largest force of the German Navy to sail into these waters since Vizeadmiral Scheer had led the Hochseeflotte into the Skagerrakschlacht twenty three years before. “If his shade might see this armada,” he sighed to himself.

“Herr Admiral,” said a staff officer. “The Russian Federation delegation is waiting in your day cabin as requested.”

“Thank you,” replied Lütjens. “Are they satisfied with their quarters?”

“Quite satisfied Herr Admiral. Kapitan Orlov sends his thanks for the accommodating their late arrival.”

The Russian observer delegation had arrived only a day before the commencement of the exercise; while some of them would sail with the aircraft carrier force in a few days’ time, those sailing with the battle force had precious few hours to make arrangements and had not yet been briefed on the planned exercise. Lütjens would have to brief them himself.

“Please advise our guests that I will join them shortly, as soon as the last of our ships have cleared the channel.”

-----

Kapitan First Rank Sergei Orlov and the three officers of the Russian Federation Navy with him spoke quietly among themselves as their awaited the arrival of Vizeadmiral Lütjens. They had hoped that they would be aboard one of the new Sachsen-class battleships, but the Bismarck was sufficiently impressive – and they had been told that they would have an opportunity to inspect the latest German battleships during their voyage.

The door to the cabin opened and Lütjens entered; immediately the Russians stood to attention, as did the German staff officers who had kept them company. “My apologies gentlemen,” said Lütjens with a wry smile, “we are unused to sailing so many ships at once; it took somewhat longer for us to clear the harbour. Please be seated.”

“Yes Admiral,” said Orlov, catching Lütjens’ mood. “Putting a large force to sea is always a time consuming and potentially dangerous situation, even in peacetime.”

“Quite so,” replied Lütjens.

After a few moments polite discussion the German admiral began to brief the Russian officers of the extent and intent of the exercise.

“The purpose of this exercise is, primarily, a large scale training mission to school our crews in the techniques of underway replenishment and logistics at sea – it is for this reason we are sailing with our own contingent of oilers and supply ships. During the exercise every vessel in the force will have to take on fuel at least once, and it is probable that some of our oilers might need to replenish from chartered commercial tankers before our voyage is complete.” Lütjens paused, anticipating questions.

“Cannot this be done closer to home?” Orlov asked. “It would seem far easier to do so.”

“The ships themselves have practiced this,” Lütjens went on to explain, “but never in close formation under conditions approximating that of combat. Besides the battleships, our force includes eight cruisers, two dozen destroyers and ten supply ships – more than fifty vessels maneuvering in close proximity. It is the sort of test that one-on-one practice cannot duplicate.”

“All for logistics Admiral?” Orlov continued.

“In truth, there is more,” Lütjens explained. “In several days time a second task force, built around our aircraft carriers, will depart to hunt us down – if they can. While they too will be exercising their skills at replenishment at sea we will be engaged in a large-scale war game.”

Orlov pondered what Lütjens had shared. The German Kriegsmarine had invested much effort into developing its fleet train, and had engaged in several cruises to practice its skills. He could see that the proposed exercise would severely tax German resources despite their heavy investment. He would be very interested in assessing their success or failure.

Sunday, 13 June 1943 – The North Sea

The U-123 had taken up its station two days before, in anticipation of the U-boat’s participation in the grand war games, As it was, its role was small; with the other boats of the Fifth Flotilla it was to act as a picket guarding against the breakout of the German battle force – the first element of the exercise. It was late afternoon when the U-boat’s captain received a summons to the bridge.

“Herr Kapitän”, the watch officer reported, “Smoke on the horizon, east south east.”

Kapitänleutnant Karl-Heinz Moehle put his glasses to his eyes and scanned in the direction indicated. There was considerable smoke, and as he continued he could see the upper works of great warships come into view.

“The Battle Force,” he commented with a smile. “I will win that bet with Schroeter now!” He warned the crew above deck to prepare to go below, but he kept the U-boat on the surface a few moments longer, assuring himself that the U-123 was in a good position to track the passage of the task force. Having done so he ordered the lookouts below and ordered the U-boat to submerge.

Moments later the first of the escorting destroyers was in Moehle’s periscope, oblivious to his presence. In the fading light the U-boat’s periscope would have been difficult to see and the destroyer was not actively searching for submerged U-boats. Moehle watched as the columns of great ships grew closer and slowly passed his location; he called out the number and description of the vessels he could identify, but was not certain of how many were above him – there were so many silhouettes, and the hydrophone operator could only approximate the number of ships present. The sound of the screws on the surface vessels echoed throughout the boat unaided.

“Signal to Oberbefehlshaber Unterseebootestreitkräfte. Sighted large task force, including six battleships and seven cruisers, plus destroyers and tankers – course three-four-zero, speed fifteen knots. Give them our position.”

“Yes Herr Kapitän,” the signals officer replied, and composed the message, which was then enciphered before being sent out. Moehle kept the U-boat at periscope depth until an acknowledgement was received.

Monday, 14 June 1943 - Brest, France
Vice-Admiral René-Émile Godfroy finished off his morning coffee. The sunrise was close at hand, and the flagship Paris was slowly being maneuvered into the main channel by her tugs. Nearby in the half-light lurked the bulk of the Justice. The carriers St. Cyr and Suffren - the latter specially attached to the Force opérationnelle Atlantique for for the purposes of training - remained momentarily at their moorings, waiting for the big capital ships to make their way out of the breakwater. The destroyers and the modernized cruiser Duquesne, under Contre-Amiral St-Hilaire, had already gotten underway, as had the fleet submarines from Lorient.

Godfroy pulled his instructions from his jacket and glanced at them again. Upon the receipt of this signal, put to sea with the force under your command to participate in joint exercises, the rules to replicate Operational Plan Number Forty-Four.

"More coffee, Admiral?" Godfroy's steward asked.

"Merci," Godfroy answered.

Operational Plan Number Forty-Four, is it? Well then, let's see whether or not I can make life more interesting for Monsieur Amiral Lutjens...

Monday, 14 June 1943 – The Norwegian Sea

The German Battle Force had made its course change to westward, preparing to thread the gap between Scotland and Iceland before entering the designated exercise zone. Admiral Lütjens was in his day cabin, reviewing the morning reports and preparing for the day’s work ahead when there was a knock at the door.

“Come,” he answered automatically. The door opened and Lütjens was surprised to see Konteradmiral von Stosch, chief of the detachment of umpires assigned to monitor the war games that would take place later in the cruise.

“Good morning Herr Admiral,” said Stosch nonchalantly, “I have received a report from the Admiralstab.”

Lütjens raised an eyebrow at this news, and he composed himself quickly before replying. “So,” he said with a slight pause. “I presume that this impacts the exercise in some way?”

“Indeed it does Herr Admiral,” Stosch began to explain. “Late yesterday the Battle Force was detected by a U-boat in the patrol line deployed between Scotland and Norway. It was able to send a contact report with force composition to Oberbefehlshaber Unterseebootestreitkräfte.”

Lütjens grimaced at this news. With only four U-boats on station he had felt it unlikely that his force would run in to one of them, and he had ordered his escorting destroyers to perform only a passive hydrophone search rather than an active search. In retrospect this was poor judgment on his part.

“I see. This is most unfortunate,” he concluded. His oversight would cost him in the after-action review of the exercise.

“Quite so Herr Admiral”, Stosch added with a wry smile. “The fact of your ‘escape’ to sea has triggered one of the contingencies of the exercise. There will be a second force searching for you.”

The Battle Force commander sensed that Stosch had something quite interesting to convey, so he made no protest; Lütjens merely said, “Do go on.”

“A French force will sortie within the next seventy-two hours with the mission of locating and tracking the Battle Force,” Stosch explained. Our allies have asked for the opportunity to test their own skills against us.”

“This will prove most interesting,” said Lütjens, all the while calculating his options. Under the original exercise plan the German carrier force under von Fischel would be following his track in the next few days; now a French force would be ahead of him – with each carrier force able to act as beater for the other. Of course, it also left each carrier force at risk of being overwhelmed by a superior surface force.

This was one of the tactical questions Unternehmen Frühlingswind was supposed to test; can aircraft carriers operate effectively in the face of heavy surface forces? If his own ships were able to close with the aircraft carriers of von Fischel, or of the French admiral now added to the forces arrayed in the Atlantic, he had no doubt that the guns of Bismarck and her companions would prevail. But to damage his ships, and conceivably sink them, aircraft carriers need not come into gun range. Only at night, or in bad weather, might battleships achieve a favourable tactical situation.

“Yes,” Stosch added after a few moments silence as both officers contemplated the options. “It will be most interesting. Good day Herr Admiral.”

Lütjens sat quietly for a few moments, and then began to make a list of tasks to be accomplished right away. Refueling would have to begin soon, given the time required for all ships to replenish their bunkers. The Battle Force would now be operating at higher speeds in order to evade pursuit or to close on contacts; he would need to brief his officers on the change in plans. There was much to do…

Tuesday, 15 June 1943 – The North Atlantic

The tanker Ermland stayed steady on course and she prepared for fueling the next of her charges. Such was the nature of underway replenishment – the donor tanker keeping a constant course and speed and allowing the ship coming alongside to refuel to make the adjustments necessary to come into proper position. With a destroyer, or even one of the cruisers of the escort, this was not too difficult. As the battleship Sachsen now came alongside the circumstances were such that everyone on the tanker’s bridge was intent on assuring that their ship and the Sachsen kept their station.

Lieutenant Vladimir Istomin, one of the Russian Federation Navy observers, thus found himself left to his own devices as he watched the Sachsen edge into position. The superstructure of the battleship towered above the tanker, and despite the imminence of collision he had to admire the sleek lines of the Sachsen, her mighty guns and the picture of power she so easily projected. Carefully the two ships came alongside one another and then the ‘crack’ of a Lyle gun announced that the first hawser was being sent across to begin transfer of fuel. Istomin watched as derricks aboard the tanker supported the heavy fuel hoses as they were carried across the surging waters, each fuel line attended by crewmen ready to break contact if the strain on the lines became too heavy.

Beneath his feet powerful pumps pushed the black fuel oil out of the Ermland’s tanks and across to the Sachsen, at the rate of more than one hundred tonnes per hour. He knew from his briefing that this meeting with the Sachsen would not last that long; indeed, it was the practice of the Kriegsmarine, he was told, to hold a single fueling run to no more than twenty minutes.

Commands shouted over the loud-hailer signaled the end of this transfer; quickly the lines were detached on the Sachsen and hauled back toward the Ermland; when they were clear the battleship gathered speed and pulled away from the tanker, giving her crew momentary relief. Istomin took a moment to jot down his impressions in a notebook, to better prepare his report to Kapitan Orlov.

-----

The reports from the fueling of his task force gave Lütjens reason to be pleased. While the larger ships were not really in need of fuel, for the destroyers it was no exercise – given their need for maneuver at speed their bunkers would be consumed rapidly. The entire force would be maneuvering at speed too; Stosch had informed him that morning that the French carrier force had sailed from Brest the previous day. If so, Lütjens expected that they might be within aircraft range by the next day – certainly the day after.

Tuesday, 15 June 1943 – Near 50N by 15W

Well, we're in the designated exercise area now, Vice-Admiral Godfroy mused to himself, looking over the big map in Paris's flag bridge. The Force opérationnelle Atlantique had turned northwest an hour before dawn, with St. Cyr launching her first set of Br.891 Épaulard scout aircraft at first light. The twelve Épaulards would fan out in an eight hundred kilometer long search pattern, sweeping for the opposition force's capital ships. Within an hour or so, Godfroy would dispatch a second wave of scouts, composed of LeO-400 floatplanes, to rake over the same territory, just to be sure nothing was missed. A third wave of scout aircraft was planned for the afternoon. Four hundred kilometers ahead of the task force was Godfroy's backup scouting plan - the six Protee class fleet submarines of the 4th Flotilla. Even if the search aircraft missed the German surface ships, the submariners should provide a safety margin.

Godfroy glanced at his orders to his task force again. I'm probably still too far south to ambush Admiral Lutjens in the process of underway replenishment - really too bad about that. I'd much prefer to match my bombers up against a fleet train than against some likely very proficient battleship AA gunners. Lutjens does have quite a few floatplanes for scouting purposes, too. If he's sharp and on top of things, he'll need to use them to find me - and find the German carrier forces, wherever they are. If he doesn't use them, then we can just dance around him as he blunders about. But considering the strength of my overhead air patrol, I think he'll have a difficult time of it.



[SIZE=1]Note: the St. Cyr has an air wing of seventy-five aircraft, divided into four squadrons of sixteen (two fighter squadrons, one dive bomber squadron, and one torpedo bomber squadron), plus a search squadron of eight dive bombers, and three helicopters. The Suffren is currently carrying one squadron of sixteen fighters, one squadron of eight dive bombers equipped for sea-search, and one squadron of eight fighters trained as night fighters. The French battleship, battlecruiser, and heavy cruiser additionally fields six floatplanes between them.[/SIZE]

Wednesday, 16 June 1943 – The North Atlantic

Gunther Lütjens had spent the night considering his options and on the morning of 16 June met with his staff to set out his battle plan; not the one which he had originally anticipated, and not the one which he would have preferred, but the one which the present circumstances forced him to adopt.

“Circumstances force us to adopt the principle of Moltke,” he explained, “March separately, Fight together. In order for us to come to grips with the French before the carrier force under Admiral von Fischel arrive in the maneuver area, we will divide our forces. The Second Battle Squadron with the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla will detach and operate one hundred kilometers west of our current position, sailing on a parallel course, so.” He drew the rough course on the map with a grease pen. “The First and Second Supply Groups, together with the Sixth Destroyer Flotilla, will turn west-southwest and hold in this area,” he continued, drawing a circle indicating the area, “until receiving further instructions for rendezvous. The Fifth Cruiser Squadron will form a scouting line ahead of the main force at a distance of one hundred kilometers, so,” Lütjens indicated the desired arc on the map.”

“Herr Admiral,” spoke one of the younger members of the staff, “is it not dangerous to divide one’s force in the face of the enemy?”

Lütjens nodded. “Under normal circumstances it would be. However, what hope of success we have is dependent upon locating the French task force and then bringing it to battle. With their superior air search capabilities, it is far too likely that they will be the first to discover our location, and give them the choice of risking an air strike or maneuvering out of our reach. Even if we make maximal use of our spotting aircraft, it is unlikely that we can achieve surprise. Even the weather is against us – the forecast for the next three days is for fine weather with only light cloud.”

“By dividing our force it reduces the likelihood that the French will know the location of all of its elements, and they might be tempted to strike at one portion of it with their aircraft. While they do so, they will necessarily be constrained to operate in a given area until they recover their aircraft. During that time it is possible that they could be forced into a surface engagement.”

Stosch, the senior umpire, listened carefully to Lütjens explain his plan. As umpire, he knew the many challenges the German battle force was now facing, and while unorthodox, he felt that Lütjens’ plan was the most reasonable under the circumstances. The French aircraft carriers deployed for the exercise did not have sufficient aircraft to cause crippling damage to the German battle force, even if divided. If Lütjens could eliminate them from the exercise, or perhaps force them to maneuver eastward before the German carrier force arrived, it would go far to redressing the balance of forces.

Lütjens having explained to his staff his plan, they in turn quickly drafted the orders that soon flew from signal halyard and blinker light throughout the fleet. Aboard the Preussen Konteradmiral Theodor Burchardi acknowledged his instructions and turned the bows of his four mighty battleships to the west, drawing his destroyer escort with him. If a few hours steaming his ships would return to their base course and run parallel with the Bismarck and her consorts. The ships of the train dropped aft and moved westward on a new course. Arado float planes shot from the catapults of battleships and cruisers, fanning out to the south and west in overlapping patrols. From his flagship Köln Konteradmiral Bernhard Rogge ordered his ships to increase speed to twenty-five knots, and pulled ahead, spreading out as if in a skirmish line.

Wednesday, 16 June 1943 – The North Atlantic

Capitaine de Frégate Jean L'Herminier swept the morning horizon with his binoculars. The submarine Casabianca, on the eastern flank of the submarine scouting line, was cruising north at a demure fifteen knots, her Schneider diesels rumbling in the belly of the sub.

Suddenly, one of the lookouts standing next to the periscope shears pointed. "Airplane, starboard bow!"

L'Herminier reacted instantly. "Crash dive! All hands below!"

The lookouts detached from their post and slid down the ladder into the submarine. The watch officer below started barking out orders. "Rig the boat for diving! Bow planes down twenty! Flood the tanks!"

L'Herminier glanced around the now-empty conning tower before slipping down the ladder and dogging the hatch. "Main hatch secure," he announced, speaking over the diving alarms.

"All hatches secure. Switching to batteries. Rig ship for silent operation."

The roar of the big Schneider diesels died and Casabianca disappeared below the surface in a swirl of water.

"Time?" L'Herminier asked.

"One minute, thirty seconds," the watch officer reported.

"Needs to be better," L'Herminier said. "Hydrophone operator! Listen closely for the airplane in case it comes close. Watch officer, hold course. Speed five knots, depth forty-five meters. We'll stay down for a half hour then come to periscope depth to check things over again before surfacing. Prepare a radio message to Commander FOA with our position and an aircraft sighting report - but don't send it yet."

Wednesday, 16 June 1943 – The North Atlantic

The Arado Ar196 floatplane had been hurled aloft nearly two hours before from the battleship Mackensen and with others had fanned out over the wide ocean, alert for any ship movement that could prove to be the French task force they were seeking. The crew had nearly reached the limit of their search when something caught the pilot’s eye – something small yet moving at good speed, leaving a white wake in the roiling swells. He took the Arado down in a spiral, keeping the target fixed in his vision. As he descended he could see that at the head of the wake was a submarine, sliding fast beneath the waves. Flattening out at seven hundred metres the pilot circled the area, checking his location before sending out his contact report. His fuel situation would not allow much more and a few minutes patrol in the immediate area before forcing the Arado to turn for its rendezvous with the Battle Force. The wireless air gunner carefully tapped out the contact report in Morse code, reporting the position, estimated course and estimated speed of the submarine, and the fact that it dove at the apparent sight of the German aircraft.

-----

The contact report reached Lütjens some twenty minutes after it was sent; a distressing delay.

“A submarine that dove upon sighting,” he thought. “It is necessary to presume that it is French, and scouting for the carrier task force.”

French doctrine, he knew, called for submarines to support fleet operations by scouting; hence his conclusion. Of course, in this part of the North Atlantic, the boat could be British, Irish, Nordish or even Danish – though he highly doubted the latter. However, it is likelier that a British, Irish or Nordish boat would have stayed surfaced, having nothing to hide.

The presumed appearance of submarines in the Opposition force mix was one more problem for Lütjens; if they located his fleet train, they could play havoc with it. A lucky torpedo hit on one of his ships could slow the entire force. He would have to take precautions.

-----

Orders flashed from the flagship to the vessels in the Main Force, relayed from ship to ship. Within minutes they had begun to zigzag, while the destroyers of the escort redoubled the watch on their detection apparatus.

Wednesday, 16 June 1943 – Near 52N by 23W

With daylight, the heavy cruiser Duquesne advanced forty kilometers ahead of the main French task force, her teledetection equipment scanning sea and sky for the opposition force. Overhead orbited an escadrille of four dark blue Milans of Flotille 60F, part of the fighter group carried aboard the carrier Suffren. They orbited the heavy cruiser as a sort of miniature PCA [1], the little brother of the larger fighter screen protecting the carriers and capital ships far to the south.

The Milans scored their first kill of the day at 0955 when Duquesne's air intercept officer, working with the ship's TD officers, spotted an air contact moving on a southwest course at a demure hundred and thirty knots and a thousand meters altitude. Two Milans were ordered to intercept the air contact, and found a German Arado Ar-196 floatplane tooling along running a search pattern. The crew's eyes were pointed at the sea, and it was a nasty shock to them when the two Milans flashed by in high-speed dives. The chagrined Germans, realizing they'd been 'tagged', exchanged friendly waves with the French fighter pilots and turned back towards their parent battleship.

Meanwhile, Duquesne's air officer vectored his two remaining Milans onto another unidentified target heading straight towards the carrier group. The two fighters peeled away and found their target was an Épaulard from St. Cyr's morning search pattern. The pilot signaled distress: his engine was running very rough, and he was progressively losing power. Abandoning his search leg, he'd started back to the carrier. The two fighters, obligingly, escorted him back towards St. Cyr for an emergency landing.

This left the Duquesne's air intercept officer without fighters to intercept the second Arado floatplane which meandered onto the cruiser's TD screens at 1025 hours, at low altitude. When the German floatplane pilot emerged from behind a sparse whiff of cloud, he promptly spotted Duquesne sitting squarely in his path. He quickly made his report before two Milans, returning from 'tagging' the first Arado, hurtled past him at three hundred knots. The big fighters quickly circled around and sat off the floatplane's tail to make sure the point had been made - but aboard Duquesne, the electronics officer reported the outgoing morse message reporting the cruiser's position.



Vice-Admiral Godfroy glanced around at his staff. "All right, gentlemen. We have new developments. About ten minutes ago, Duquesne reported that she's vectored fighters onto two floatplanes - but one of them got close enough to spot her and get a sighting report off."

Capitaine de vaisseau Chatelaine, the Admiral's air operations officer, frowned, but offered up a hopeful opinion. "It could be worse. The Duquesne is forty kilometers ahead of us, and without naval strike aircraft, the opposition force must close her to hurt her. Our own location will still be secure."

Godfroy nodded. "I agree. But we just got a solid sighting report from our Épaulard scouts, as well. The number four search aircraft spotted them... right about here. That's a hundred and seventy nautical miles north of us."

It was the turn of Chambon, the captain of Paris, to frown in dismay. "I find that difficult to believe. That's well inside the radius of our dawn search - and that reported no surface contacts."

The staff meteorologist, Capitaine Grosjean, frowned. "The conditions for the dawn search were not entirely ideal, with clouds at five hundred meters. Now that the sun is burning away the cover, we have better observation weather."

Chatelaine nodded. "This is why we run more than one search pattern. Even with our best search efforts, even something as large as a task force might be momentarily overlooked. Two search planes had to cut short their circuits already this morning due to maintenance issues."

"From Suffren?" Chambon asked.

"One from both carriers," Chatelaine said.

"Ah. I figured it was the new blood," Chambon muttered. Chatelaine ignored the jibe. Since Suffren served as the Marine Nationale's training carrier, her airgroup for the exercise was composed of pilots who were normally land-based, getting their quarterly carrier landing practice during the course of the exercises. Unfortunately, Suffren's airgroup, with the exception of her embarked night-fighters, was just not as practiced as St. Cyr's veterans.

Godfroy called their attention back to the task at hand. "So our bird reported at least two battleships and escorting destroyers within our reach. Talk to me, gentlemen."

Chambon gestured to the plot. "I still believe, as I argued last night, that Lutjens would do well to split his force into two, then advance southward on a broad front. So long as he does not expose too much of his strength to defeat-in-detail, our carrier striking forces will simply incur too many losses attacking into the massed AA fire of his battleships. He must prevent us from slipping around to his northern flank - that is almost certainly where he retains his fleet train. He must prevent us from striking at that above all else, otherwise this exercise will effectively end for him. A broad advance southward will prevent us from getting in range, as it places our task force in too much danger."

Chatelaine spoke next. "I see some sense in Capitaine Chambon's hypothesis of a divided opposition force. However I'm still not convinced that Lutjens would definitely feel a violation of concentration of force is in his best interest. We've seen no evidence yet that Lutjens has split his force, either. If he has, our search aircraft will be able to track two forces just as easily as one."

Godfroy looked to the meteorologist. "Capitaine Grosjean, what's our weather forecast for the next few days?"

"Unless something changes dramatically, the next seventy-two hours should be much the same as today's weather," Grosjean reported. "Temperatures from ten to twenty-five degrees [2], wind out of the southwest at no more than twenty-five knots, and relatively sparse cloud cover. If you want good weather for air operations, you're going to get it. There may be a change on the distant horizon, but I don't think it will be sooner than the nineteenth."

"Then we should be in the clear for the rest of the day, then," Chatelaine said. He leaned over the large chart again. "Admiral, I would like to suggest that we remain on this approximate station into at least the early afternoon. We want to remain here to recover our air scouts, and our proximity to the Opposition Force will act as a draw to bring Lutjens further south. He must find us and force us out of the equation before the German carrier forces arrive in a few days - otherwise he'll be caught between two fires, and the Graf Zeppelin and Strasser will be bagging his tankers."

Chambon slowly nodded. "I agree, so long as we maintain a safe margin between ourselves and the opposition battleships. I cannot stress highly enough that Paris and Justice cannot protect St. Cyr in a surface action against this level of opposition."

"That's part of the reason I believe Lutjens won't divide his force," Godfroy said. "But I absolutely understand your concerns, Capitaine Chambon. Rest assured, I have no intention of placing us that close to the German battleships."

Chatelaine leaned forward. "One other thought, Admiral. Lutjens has already shown himself willing to use his own air assets - the Arado floatplanes of his battleships and cruisers - much more aggressively than we ourselves are using our Lioré et Oliviers. It's entailing significant sacrifice on his part, considering the strength of our overhead DCA."

"Yet his sacrifice paid off - he's found our picket cruiser," Chambon pointed out. "And he knows that where one heavy cruiser is, the rest of the fleet cannot be far off."

"The range is still extreme for him to use that information effectively, though," Chatelaine replied. "Lutjens must continue using his floatplanes to determine our position, and ensure we do not slip past him, either to the east or the west. If nothing else, he knows that when floatplanes don't report back - figuratively in this exercise situation - that we have probably 'downed' it in the course of protecting our assets. Even silence from his air scouts can lead to an approximation of our range and bearing."

"Go on," Godfroy said.

"I'd like to suggest an aggressive ACPA - attaque contre le potentiel aérien [3]. I want to put some of our fighters up over Lutjens' battleships, remaining out of the reach of his anti-aircraft artillery, for the rest of the day, so long as we can maintain it, with express orders to attack any and all floatplanes in the launch or recovery process. By doing so, we attrite his own inferior air scouting assets and progressively blind him to potential discovery of our task force. Since we know he has no air defense assets of his own, Lutjens will either be forced to retain his floatplanes aboard and thus lose any advantage he might gain from the risk - or he will lose his floatplanes at unsustainable loss rates."

Godfroy nodded slowly. "I like it. Since Lutjens is too strong to attack directly, this plan gives us the best option of degrading the performance of his forces to achieve a more favorable state."

"What about after dusk?" Chambon asked. "Once he's got the cover of night, I expect him to attempt some manner of speed run southwards in the hope of catching us."

"I intend to withdraw southward and possibly somewhat to the west at dusk," Godfroy said. "The course and speed to be determined by the situation present at nightfall."

"If Lutjens tries a nighttime speed run south, that will break the contact we have at present," Chambon noted. He glanced at Chatelaine. "And he might try to launch floatplanes in the pre-dawn, before we can reestablish contact and pin our fighters on him again."

"I've been thinking about that," Chatelaine said. "And with your permission, Admiral, I think we can possibly manage it, though it will be tricky. A number of the Breguet Br.891s aboard both St. Cyr and Suffren have the new underwing SDA-5B6 teledetector pod. We've tested their ability to detect and track surface ships at night, but only in the Mediterranean. I believe we could use Br.891s to continue tracking the opposition battleships in night conditions. And as long as the weather remains clear, we have a full moon in two days, so low-light conditions may not be completely inhibiting. Before dawn, Suffren can launch her Milan Noir night fighters and have them over the opposition fleet in time to ACPA any pre-dawn floatplane launches."

"What is the risk?" Godfroy asked.

"We'll have to conduct at least one recovery and launch cycle with night landings," Chatelaine said. "We have trained for that, but it's a sub-optimal choice, particularly if we're operating under blacked-out conditions. As long as the wind stays out of the southwest, though, our launch and recovery cycles will be taking us away from the opposition force, which I feel is a factor in our favor, at least for the current range."

"If our search planes can maintain contact through the night, it would prevent us from being surprised and potentially overtaken by a high-speed dash," Chambon added in. "Our force is a good four knots faster at least than their heavies, but unless we're running flat out, I project that we could be overtaken if we are incautious. And I still worry of a split battleship force."

"Worries noted," Godfroy said. "Very well. Chatelaine, I approve your ACPA strike. What force and load recommendations can you make?"

"I suggest sixteen Milans from St. Cyr, Admiral," Chatelaine replied. "Load to be one centerline auxiliary fuel pod. I believe we could position and launch the ACPA before 1200 hours, and have it over the opposition force by 1300. With the auxiliary tank and clean wings, the Milans should be on station until... ah, 1530 hours, when we can replace them with sixteen fighters from Suffren. The evening shift can be handled by a smaller force - four to eight fighters. That can bring us to at least 2030 hours and darkness. We'll still have enough fighters to retain our own PCA and our picket PCA at strength through these operations, though I may elect to insert Épaulards at points to keep the numbers up." [4]

"Good. Make it so," Godfroy said. "I also tentatively approve your night recon proposal. Work out the critical details this afternoon and I'll give you final permission before, say, 1600?"

"Yes sir."

"Then get to work, gentlemen," Godfroy ordered.


Notes:
- Note [1]: PCA: Patrouille de combat aérien, the French term for "Combat Air Patrol". I.E., the fighters overhead the fleet to respond to enemy attacks and scouts
- Note [2]: Celsius, of course.
- Note [3]: ACPA: Attaque contre le potentiel aérien, the French term for "offensive counter-air". Any actions intended to actively inhibit enemy air operations. Bombing an airfield is a type of ACPA, but so is parking a tank on it.
- Note [4]: Although in most cases the Épaulard would make for poor overhead protection, a torpedo bomber can still outfly an Arado floatplane.

OOC:
Vice-Admiral Godfroy's trying to play a cagey game. French carrier exercises to date ostensibly indicate that one fleet carrier airgroup can sink a battleship, but as the ratio of carriers to enemy battleships rises, the carrier air group will take increasing aircraft losses for decreasing results. In this particular case, Suffren is a marginal asset: she has no strike aircraft embarked, only fighters and eight dive bombers equipped as search planes. Godfroy would want to have at least four fleet carriers in play before doctrine would countenance a massed air attack on Lutjens' battleships. Godfroy does not yet know that Lutjens has split his force, although it will probably become apparent throughout the afternoon as he places the westernmost force (Burchardi with the four Sachsens) under increased aerial surveillance. This division will make relatively little difference in Godfroy's calculations, as one-versus-four is only marginally more encouraging than one-versus-eight.

In essence, Godfroy knows his force cannot achieve sufficient "win" conditions under the present circumstances. He thus wants to avoid close action at all costs, which he stands a reasonable chance of achieving due to the far greater strategic and tactical speed of his force. However, Godfroy is not just looking to play out the clock. He wants to hinder Lutjens as much as possible. A strike against the fleet train would force an immediate cessation of Lutjens' operations, and fuel considerations on the OpFor's part would result in victory-by-default for Godfroy. So far, that juicy prize is unattainable. The next weakest thing Godfroy can attack is Lutjens' eyes - the Arado floatplanes Lutjens needs to find the French carriers. Without these planes, Lutjens must either scout with an old-fashioned line across the sea (dispersing his fleet and making them easier targets for St. Cyr's bombers), or risk Godfroy, possessed of better reconnaissance, from slipping around behind him and running north to hit the fleet train. By putting a CAP of fighters over an enemy fleet, Godfroy will severely hinder Lutjens' reconnaissance operations. (It will not be as hindering as he hopes, however, since he's only CAPping one of the two forces.)

Even if these goals are not achieved, Godfrey merely needs to avoid encountering the German battleships, playing for time until the German Carrier Force arrives. Although collaboration will be difficult - Godfroy has not met with or conferred with von Fischel, and has only a vague idea of German carrier doctrine - von Fischel's arrival on the northward end of the exercise area will force Lutjens to divide his attention, just as Lutjens is trying to do with his split BB task groups. By continuously moving south and slightly west, Godfroy offers space for time.

This is the classic doctrine of the French Atlantic Fleet. The Atlanteans have most of their force in the central part of this ocean, while the Russian main base is up at the northern end. Britain, which France regards as as a hemi-demi-semi-ally, has very strong forces as well, and new ally Germany has their entire fleet to cover the same expanse. With this level of allied force present, and strategic agreements in place, the Marine Nationale generally keeps only a small portion of their strength based in Brest - sufficient to show the flag and defeat enemy raiders up to battleship size. Larger forces would be harassed until sufficient allied forces could be brought to bear. Thus, French Atlantic Fleet's doctrine is perfectly suited for this sort of scenario.

Also, have a track chart. All courses and positions a bit rough, but it may help illustrate things.

Nice work guys, I do like the map it helps to show what is where. What ships besides carriers does the German Carrier Force have?

Quoted

Originally posted by TheCanadian
Nice work guys, I do like the map it helps to show what is where. What ships besides carriers does the German Carrier Force have?

To answer that question:

Quoted

Unternehmen Frühlingswind

Force Composition

The Hunted

First Battle Squadron: Bismarck (force flag), Hindenburg, Mackensen, Tirpitz (flag)
Second Battle Squadron: Preussen (flag), Bayern, Ostmark, Sachsen
First Cruiser Squadron: Graf Spee (flag) Admiral Hipper, Admiral Scheer, Prinz Eugen
Fifth Cruiser Squadron: Köln (flag), Bremen, Breslau, Kiel
Fourth Destroyer Flotilla: Zerstörer 250 (flag), Zerstörer 251, Zerstörer 252, Zerstörer 253, Zerstörer 254, Zerstörer 255, Zerstörer 256, Zerstörer 257
Fifth Destroyer Flotilla: Zerstörer 258 (flag), Zerstörer 259, Zerstörer 260, Zerstörer 261, Zerstörer 262, Zerstörer 263, Zerstörer 264, Zerstörer 265


Sixth Destroyer Flotilla: Zerstörer 224 (flag), Zerstörer 225, Zerstörer 226, Zerstörer 227, Zerstörer 236, Zerstörer 237, Zerstörer 238, Zerstörer 239
First Supply Group: Altmark, Ermland, Uckermark (oilers), Mittenwalde (victualing), Sachenwald (munitions)
Second Supply Group: Dithmarschen, Nordmark, Westerwald (oilers), Eichwalde (victualing), Steigerwald (munitions)


The Hunters

First Aircraft Carrier Squadron: Graf Zeppelin (force flag), Peter Strasser (flag)
Second Cruiser Squadron: Derfflinger (flag), Seydlitz,
Third Cruiser Squadron: Königsberg (flag), Frankfurt, Karlsruhe, Wien
Fourth Cruiser Squadron: Magdeburg (flag), Lübeck, Rostock, Stralsund
Seventh Destroyer Flotilla: Paderborn (flag), Gottingen, Koblenz, Lindau, Schleswig, Tubingen, Welheim and Wetzlar
Eighth Destroyer Flotilla: Marburg (flag), Cuxhaven, Duren, Flensburg, Fulda, Konstanz, Minden and Volkingen


Second Destroyer Flotilla: Zerstörer 216 (flag), Zerstörer 217, Zerstörer 218, Zerstörer 219, Zerstörer 220, Zerstörer 221, Zerstörer 222, Zerstörer 223
Third Supply Group: Donau, Werra (replenishment ships), Sauerland, Siegerland, Markgräflerland (oilers)
Fourth Supply Group: Neckar, Ruhr (replenishment ships), Samland, Schwabenland, Mindenerland (oilers)


The Watchers

Fifth U-Boat Flotilla: Unterseeboot 121, Unterseeboot 122, Unterseeboot 123, Unterseeboot 124

Phantastic work till now !!!!!

Thursday, 17 June 1943 – The North Atlantic

The morning plot showed something approximating what Lütjens had expected. The French carrier force was still to his southwest, confirmed by the contact report filed by one of his scout planes before the Arado became ‘victim’ to a French fighter aircraft. Apparently a single cruiser was detached and operating in some manner as a picket – the monitoring of signals traffic indicated transmissions from a surface vessel to aircraft and vice versa. He would continue to press in the current direction, hoping that reconnaissance seaplanes from either group of battleships would fix the position of the French force.

But the scouting cruiser… a thought formed in Lütjens. He ordered a signal sent to the commander of the First Cruiser Squadron.

-----

Hans Langsdorff paced the bridge of the heavy cruiser Graf Spee, impatient for action. He was thus relieved when he read the order that had been flashed by blinker light. He consulted the bridge plot and noted his position and the last known position of the detached French cruiser; he quickly calculated an intercept course.

“Signal the squadron to come to course 235 and increase speed to twenty-five knots,” he ordered with a small smile. “We have been ordered to give chase.”


Thursday, 17 June 1943 – The North Sea

The Graf Zeppelin and Peter Strasser had turned into the wind and begun to take their air groups aboard. First the fighters, sleek Focke Wulf Fw190Ms – the spindly Bf109s were long gone; and then the scouts and bombers – Fieseler Fi168 Haifisch. The Fieseler biplanes and ungainly Junkers Ju87s had been retired months previously.

Two years ago Werner Lindenau had been but captain of the Graf Zeppelin; now he commanded Germany’s two aircraft carriers; the Graf was still flagship of the carrier force, and von Fischel still commanded, but Lindenau was conscious of how much had changed in two years. The exercise at hand involved nearly every major unit in the Kriegsmarine and most of the light surface craft too. It would involve the French as well. Lindenau smiled to himself; a few moments later a staff officer interrupted his reverie.

“Herr Admiral,” he said, “The last of our aircraft are in the landing pattern now. They should be aboard in fifteen minutes.”

“Good,” Lindenau replied with a nod, “When we have recovered the last aircraft signal the flagship that we are ready to proceed according to plan.”

Half an hour later the two German aircraft carriers and their escorting cruisers and destroyers changed course to head north-northwest out into the North Sea, following the same track as the Battle Force on its departure. Another set of game pieces was falling into place.

And the French task force has the following:

Quoted

Force opérationnelle Atlantique: Brest
2nd Composite (Carrier and Battle) Squadron: Paris (F), Justice, St. Cyr, Suffren (temporary addition)
3rd Cruiser Division: Duquesene (F), Gloire (refitting, not present)
6th Flotilla Torpillieurs: Audaciaux, Bienfaisant, Concorde, Droits de l'Homme, Entreprenant, Furieuse, Généreux, Heureux, Impétueux (temporary addition)
French 9th Flotilla Torpillieurs: Barfleur, La Rochelle, Cap Lézard, Baie de Chesapeake
4th Fleet Submarine Flotilla: Sfax, Casabianca, Caroline, Ouessant, Galétée, Minerve (temporary addition)
1st Corvette Flotilla: Canche, Authie, Touques, Douve, Couesnon (administratively attached, not at sea)
2nd Flotilla Escorteurs: Le Breton (temporary addition)
5th Replenishment Squadron: Cap Gris Nez, Cap Corse

The tankers are back from the action supported by Le Breton and 4-5 destroyers from the 6th Flotilla Torpillieurs.

Thursday, 17 June 1943 – The North Atlantic

Capitaine L'Herminier peered through his periscope, studying the ships visible through the glass. He only took a few moments. "Down scope," he ordered. "Number One, stand by to take a sighting for yourself in thirty seconds. I want positive identification on these ships."

"Aye, sir."

"Hydrophones," L'Herminier said, while he leafed through his recognition manuals. "Please re-confirm all data."

"High speed screws bearing zero-two-five, six, and seven. Estimate four ships of cruiser class or larger, making rotations for approximately twenty-four knots, course west-southwest, range four thousand."

"Scope up," L'Herminier said. "Number One?"

Casabianca's first lieutenant stepped to the periscope and swept the horizon once before settling on the target of the hour. "Four ships. Either Admiral Hipper class or Blucher class. I'm pretty sure the shape of the turrets is Hipper class."

"Concur," L'Herminier said. "We're not in a good position to make an attack. Let's get a sighting report off at once."



Godfroy was breakfasting when Casabianca's report arrived; he got to the operations room moments later. "Where?" he demanded.

Capitaine Chatelaine gestured to the plot. He looked a bit tired, having supervised the successful nocturnal tracking of the German battleships, a feat that made the long night worthwhile. He was probably going to have some staff papers to write when they got back to Brest, Godfroy figured. "Here. To the east of the battleship group, about a hundred kilometers."

"And steaming west-southwest?" Godfroy asked.

Capitaine Chambon arrived on the flag bridge in time to hear the question; he took in the plot at a glance, and traded a knowing glance with Chatelaine. "Lutjens is operating in distinct forces. This proves it."

Chatelaine shrugged apologetically. "I think I must agree with you. The evidence does seem to be mounting, particularly in light of our sighting reports and the electronic triangulation." He looked at Godfroy. "Admiral, we've got four heavy cruisers reportedly operating alone, with no heavy forces in immediate support. This is our moment of opportunity."

"I agree," Godfroy replied. "But if these CAs are here, and four battleships known to be northeast of us - where are the other four? And why is Lutjens sending only four heavy cruisers at us? He must know he can't win with just a cruiser group. Paris and Justice will make mincemeat of him."

"The Bismarcks must be further east," Chatelaine said. "That makes sense - he's using the two forces as beaters. If we find and focus on one, then we might get surprised by the other."

Chambon nodded. "Agreed, to an extent. But I think Lutjens is going after Duquesne. Her location is definitely known to the opposition force, and Lutjens would feel four against one would be a good overwhelming fight. He might not realize Duquesne is only a few dozen kilometers ahead of us."

"We're still sending out air search all around us, so he's not going to get too much closer before he starts tripping into our patrol planes on a fairly regular basis," Chatelaine said. "And if he thinks to lure us closer by dangling his cruisers for a cheap shot, then he doesn't understand carrier operations well enough. We've got the southwest wind - we can launch a strike even while we're opening the range. As long as there's nothing south of us, we've got the weather gauge."

"All right," Godfroy said. "Signal St. Cyr to prepare her strike aircraft for launch at the earliest opportunity. Once the strike is ready and launched, I intend to maneuver due south at twenty-five knots. Leave Duquesne on picket duty for right now, but bring her a bit closer in so we can support her more closely. We'll take a smack at Lutjens' fingers, but let's make sure we evade the fist behind it."



[SIZE=1]An hour later.[/SIZE]

The submarine Ouessant was patrolling near the western edge of her patrol box when her alert hydrophone operator picked up the sounds of high speed screws. Operating on the surface, Ouessant's lookouts spotted surface ships racing westward on a course that would bring them very close indeed. Capitaine de Frégate Delattre ordered his submarine to periscope depth and transmitted a second sighting report.

"They're coming out of Casabianca's patrol box and into ours," Ouessant's first officer noted. "And they're moving like they mean business."

"Let's see if we can't slow one of them down," Delattre said. "Scope up. Let's try to make a clean practice attack."

Four minutes later, Delattre paused a few moments. They really are storming along nicely - four big cruisers. I'm going go for the second one...

At that moment, a lookout aboard the Graf Spee spotted Ouessant's periscope and snort cutting through the calm sea and sounded the alarm. As Delattre finished evaluating the speed of his intended target, the cruiser line abruptly turned away in haste.

"Ah, bother," Delattre said in annoyance. "That's done it. We'll not get a clean shot now..."

Thursday, 17 June 1943 – The North Atlantic

Hans Langsdorff considered the submarine sighting report for but a few moments before making up his mind.

“Signal to all ships of the squadron,” he ordered, “Come to course 045, increase speed to twenty eight knots; assume air defence stations.”

“Yes Herr Admiral,” replied the signals yeoman.

“Also, signal the flagship,” Langsdorff added, “Case Friedrich Nord-ost.”

Case Friedrich was the pre-arranged code phrase for an aborted mission. Langsdorff was quick to realise that with his position discovered by the French his chances of surprising the lone cruiser on favorable terms had vanished, and that he was far too close to the presumed operating area of the French aircraft carriers to think an air strike could be avoided. By changing course to the northeast he would put the maximum distance between himself and the French, and avoid a surface engagement with heavier ships. The aircraft he knew he could not outrun – they would come eventually – unless Providence intervened and their scouting aircraft failed to find him. That was something a commander should not count upon.

Thus the bows of the four heavy cruisers swung rapidly to the northeast, and the engines on all four of them strained to maintain the speed demanded of them. They slid into an arrowhead formation much like the rotte of fighter aircraft – Graf Spee in the lead with Admiral Hipper off her starboard quarter; Prinz Eugen abeam of her to port with the Admiral Scheer on Prinz Eugen’s port quarter. This would, Langsdorff hoped, give them flexibility to maneuver yet support each other with antiaircraft fire.

-----

To the west the aircrews aboard the St. Cyr and Suffren rushed to their ready rooms for briefings, while on deck ordnance crews loaded practice bombs and practice torpedoes on aircraft; with no fighter opposition, even the Milan fighters were fitted with bombs and rockets. Sixteen of the Épaulard strike aircraft would carry torpedoes; sixteen others a pair of 450 kg bombs; each of the Milans would leave the deck carrying two 220 kg bombs and six rockets.

It took the experienced French crews not more than an hour to arm their aircraft and spot them on the decks of the carriers; the position reports from Casabianca and Ouessant gave them good hope for finding the German cruisers; even if this was an exercise, and their ordnance practice dummies, they were eager to give a good account of themselves.

-----

Despite their speed of twenty-eight knots the German cruiser force had not put sufficient distance between itself and the French carriers to avoid an air strike. In the Seetakt station aboard the Graf Spee the large return on the scope heralded its arrival. Orders were passed on each ship to warn them of imminent attack, to assure that only practice ammunition was available and that proper offsets would be used to avoid any sort of accident. Gun captains were particularly enjoined to control their fire and not let loose indiscriminately. Damage control preparations were put in hand in anticipation of simulated damage. Umpires watched the preparations carefully, noting the readiness of each vessel prior to the attack.

-----

The strike leader, Capitaine de Corvette Fernand Auberjonois, frowned as he surveyed the German formation. His torpedo bombers would not be able to make a proper “scissors” attack on any of them without taking too much antiaircraft fire in return; the best option available to him was to concentrate on the left hand pair of cruisers – the ones closest to the oncoming French aircraft – and hope that his aircrews were fortunate, and accurate, in their aim. He signaled the escorting Milans to open the show by ‘roughing’ up their intended targets with bombs, rockets and cannon-fire, covering the approach of the torpedo bombers as they spiraled down to sea level and that of the dive bombers as they climbed higher before pitching over in their steep attacks.

-----

An observer might have looked upon the French air attack as a ballet performance, with the Épaulard dive bombers pitched nose down while their torpedo-bombing sisters formed a line abreast and the Milan fighter-bombers darted to-and-fro; the same observer would have seen the four German cruisers turning sharply to port, keeping their bows toward the advancing torpedo bombers and cork-screwing out of the aim of the dive bombers. A display of pyrotechnics that would have put any city’s New Years’ fireworks to shame enveloped the area. The French showed traditional élan in pressing home their simulated attacks, the low-flying torpedo bombers finishing their ‘attack’ runs bare metres above the decks of the German cruisers, the dive bombers doing the same as they pulled out of their steep dives. On Prinz Eugen and Admiral Scheer, the targets of the attacks, even the crews of the 20mm light antiaircraft guns had the opportunity to simulate an engagement.

As the last French aircraft departed to the west the exercise umpires began their assessment of the damage ‘wrought’ by the attack. It did not take them long to do their calculations and Langsdorff had their report in his hands before the French aircraft had returned to their carrier:

“Prinz Eugen,” he read, “Five hits by rockets, two by light bombs from the fighter aircraft; considerable blast damage to upper works, 20% casualties among port-side antiaircraft crews manning 3.7cm and 2.0cm cannon; two hits by large bombs, one forward abaft turret ‘Anton’, one amidships, aircraft facilities hit, destroyed and on fire; one hit by torpedo, port side forward, flooding.”

“Damnation!” he thought, and continued reading the report of the simulated damage on the Admiral Scheer. “Seven hits by rockets, two by light bombs from the fighter aircraft; considerable blast damage to upper works, 20% casualties among port-side antiaircraft crews manning 3.7cm and 2.0cm cannon; one hit to bridge, wounding captain and six others – executive officer to take command; two hits by large bombs, both aft, damage to directors, aft turret jammed until repaired; one hit by torpedo, port side amidships on the belt – minor damage.”

That was not as bad as he had feared. He knew that the crews of both cruisers were already responding to the simulated damage; indeed, a yeoman brought in a signal from Prinz Eugen indicating that she had been forced to reduce speed to deal with the flooding forward and to fight the fire ‘raging’ amidships; whether she would be able to effect repairs was still to be seen. He ordered her to drop out of formation, and ordered the remainder of the squadron to render assistance in the hope that Prinz Eugen would be repaired quickly enough to continue their flight to the northeast.

Langsdorff did not have the comfort of knowing how the umpires scored the ‘losses’ inflicted on the attacking French aircraft; that report would go to the French admiral commanding before it came to him.

[NB. Brock and I had discussed the hit probabilities in the strike and had estimated 10% as a conservative estimate; in working out the numbers, I found 12.5% made things come out even.]

Thursday, 17 June 1943 – The North Atlantic

The French task force turned southeast again after recovering their aircraft, and Admiral Godfroy waited patiently with his staff on the bridge of the Paris for the umpire's report on successful hits and losses. Finally, after an hour's wait, the French umpire, Contre-amiral Joseph Rue, and his German associate, Fregattenkapitän Karl Neitzel, arrived on the bridge.

"Well, gentlemen?" Godfroy asked.

Rue produced a paper. "We've just finished discussing aircraft losses to St. Cyr's airstrike. We thought you might want to see them at once, since I know you're probably considering a second attack."

Godfroy took the sheet and read it, finally frowning. "Five fighters, five torpedo bombers, and two dive bombers," he said. "That's much heavier losses than I had reason to expect."

Capitaine Chatelain leaned forward. "I think you're rating the heavy cruisers' anti-aircraft fire much too highly. Those are preposterously high loss figures for-"

"Peace," Godfroy ordered, waving his subordinate to silence. "They're heavy, but not unreasonably so. This is not the time and place for arguing the numbers." He looked back to Rue. "What else?"

"Three of the 'lost' aircraft were ditched in the sea while returning to the carriers," Rue said. "Some or all of their crews are believed to have survived the ditching. What you do with that information is up to you."

Godfroy resisted the urge to growl. "Thank you, Contre-amiral; Fregattenkapitän."

The two umpires stepped back to their unobtrusive role while Godfroy glanced between his two chief advisers. "Well, gentlemen? We'd discussed a second airstrike, but what do you say now that we've got the loss figures?"

"Let's send a second airstrike," Chatelaine said immediately, his voice still combative. "We can finish off the two cruisers we know we've hit."

"Strongly disagree," Chambon said. "Now that we're certain there are two battleship forces operating independently - and at least one heavy cruiser force which we've damaged - we need to exercise discretion and withdraw southward again, particularly given the fuel situation for some of our destroyers."

"That is on my mind," Godfroy said. "Those old Audaciaux class ships just aren't designed for the high-speed cruising we've forced on them. If only we had more..." Godfroy paused, chuckled, and shook his head. "If only we had another dozen battleships and carriers, then I'd probably still be greedy for more."

Chambon nodded. "Now is not the time to abandon our caution, sir. We do not want to fall afoul of either wing of the opposition force, even divided as they are. Our ACPA over the Western Force, and our own PCA fighter patrols, are still knocking down search floatplanes, but the opposition must have a general idea of where we are - within two hours' steaming - and our maneuver is our best defense."

Capitaine Chatelaine remained silent for a few moments, then grudgingly nodded. "So we'll let the damaged cruisers escape, then?"

"Not hardly," Godfroy said. "We'll just have to use different resources to get at them. We'll advance the submarine patrol line northward. It's possible that they might find some of the 'cripples' and sink them. As for these downed aviators we have... what's the closest submarine?"

'Ouessant, sir."

"She's already well behind the opposition cruisers anyway. Send her to the area with orders to search for survivors. And then use our floatplanes and search aircraft to comb the area thoroughly. We'll break off operations at dusk - aside from our PCA and ACPA - and steam southeast to meet our tankers." Godfroy sighed. "If we have time remaining in the afternoon, it might even be best to bring a few of the destroyers alongside Paris and Justice to give them a bit more oil, just in case it becomes necessary. Also - we have crated replacement aircraft aboard St. Cyr, don't we?"

"Yes sir," Chatelaine answered. "Sixteen of them."

"Order the maintenance crews to assemble them - that will bring our air wing back up to strength over the next two or three days." Godfroy glanced around the room again. "And get Suffren to send a search fan further to the east. I want to know where that second battleship group is before dusk."

Thursday, 17 June 1943 – The North Atlantic

Aboard the Graf Spee, Hans Langsdorff considered his options. The Prinz Eugen had been badly ‘damaged’ by the French air attack, and there was enough light left in the day that his opponents might attempt a second strike before nightfall; he could not make the assumption that they would not. His remaining ships, including the wounded Admiral Scheer, needed to draw away from the French task force. To do so at the reduced speed of the Prinz Eugen – which the umpires had mandated as fifteen knots – would expose them all to further damage. And then there was the fuel situation; high speed maneuvering, which he would be forced to continue, would rapidly deplete his bunkers.

“Signal Prinz Eugen,” he ordered. “Proceed course 030 at best speed until clear of exercise area, and then return to port for ‘repairs’.”

He would notify the exercise umpires of his decision; Prinz Eugen was, for all intent and purposes of the exercise, as good as sunk. She would not participate further, and once clear of the defined zone of the exercise, could make her return at an easy pace. The rest of his squadron resumed their course of 045, heading away from the French and again worked up to twenty five knots.

-----

For his part, Gunther Lütjens took the news of the strike on Langsdorff’s cruisers comparatively well; it added one piece to the puzzle of where the French carriers were operating. He contemplated the circle drawn on the plotting board, indicating the likely area. His own battle group was somewhat to the southeast, while Burchardi’s group was slightly to the northeast. If they steered a convergent course, they might catch the French in a pincers movement. Of course, it would require that the French stay in their present location and hammer Langsdorff’s cruisers further. He wished his opponent would be audacious and take that course.

Brief encrypted signals were soon dispatched to Burchardi aboard Preussen, ordering a course change. The bows of Bismarck and her consorts altered their direction. Fresh scouting aircraft were launched from the battleships in the hopes that they might evade the persistent French fighter screen and provide accurate data on the location of the French aircraft carriers. And the four light cruisers of Rogge’s Fifth Cruiser Squadron were given leave to range even further ahead, where their Seetakt might produce results.