Chapter 14: The Illusion of Reality, the Reality of Illusion

September 7, 1940, Saturday.

Before dawn, two Ju-88 aircraft belonging to the German Air Force took off from the Bergen Airport in northern Norway. After nearly an hour of flight, they successfully reached the anchorage area near the British mainland fleet and began their 19th aerial reconnaissance of the northern naval bases and anchorage sites in Britain using specialized aerial photography equipment onboard.

Before the outbreak of war, Germany's Lufthansa Airlines, under the pretext of opening new routes, used modified civilian Ju-88 aircraft to take a large number of reconnaissance photos, laying the technical groundwork for later large-scale military operations by the German army. By 1939, Germany's aerial photography technology was far ahead of that of other European countries, and a large number of experienced professional technicians were gathered to analyze photos collected from various locations to speculate on the military deployments and important military facilities of potential adversaries. During the early stages of the Polish campaign, the German High Command almost daily received aerial reconnaissance photos from reconnaissance units, enabling them to assess Polish troop movements. Similarly, these reconnaissance aircraft played a crucial role in the final victory in the Western Campaign.

Almost as soon as these two German high-speed bombers appeared, a squadron of much more agile British fighters appeared in sight. Their V-shaped formations always looked impressive but were ultimately insubstantial. The German pilots did not appear eager to retreat; they gained altitude while circling around the area where the British fleet was usually anchored, and then joined together, accelerating abruptly to shake off the approaching British fighters before flying towards Norway.

Six Hurricanes persisted in pursuit for a while, but realizing they couldn't catch up, they reluctantly turned back. The Germans had mastered the technology of engine nitrous oxide boosting at the beginning of the war, achieving instant explosive efficiency by injecting liquid nitrogen into the aircraft engine. The speed of the Ju-88 was already sufficient to match the early production models of the Hurricane, and with the acceleration, they could easily retreat.

Of course, if the German pilots encountered the even faster Spitfires, the situation would be more troublesome. They would have to fly at least 150 kilometers towards the Norwegian coast to receive protection from their own Bf-109 fighters.

After the same amount of flight time, the two long-range reconnaissance aircraft finally returned to Bergen. As soon as the aircraft landed at the airport, professional technicians quickly removed the film box from the aerial camera mounted at the nose position and sent it without delay to the technical institution located near the airport. Just an hour later, a double-encrypted telegram was sent from Bergen to Berlin: No sign of Hood, Resistance, and two Queen Elizabeths, with the number of cruisers halved.

This meant that apart from Renown stationed in the Mediterranean, the four fastest battleships of the British Navy had left the northern anchorage the previous night. After dawn, German aircraft taking off from Norway and Denmark had been conducting reconnaissance in the western and southern parts of the North Sea, where more than a dozen German coastal submarines were also deployed. If this large British fleet entered the North Sea, the chances of evading the German "eyes and ears" were slim.

Facing the threat of a large-scale invasion, the destination of this British fleet was only one: the waters between England and Ireland—just on the edge of the operational radius of German bombers. If they sailed at full speed, the fleet could depart from there in the afternoon and attack the German ships attempting to land in Britain through the English Channel before midnight, and there was still a chance to withdraw from the English Channel before dawn!

The British had planned well, but early in the morning, the battleship Gneisenau, flying the flag of the German Navy, left the heavily guarded Wilhelmshaven with a group of companions. They carefully passed through the maritime "Western Wall" constructed with a large number of naval mines by the German Navy, advanced menacingly towards the British coast under the cover of the Luftwaffe fighter group, and then fiercely bombarded the targets of Baku and Bakerton on the coast of Wash Bay. Despite the long-range bombardment of over 20 kilometers, there was actually not much damage done to the British coastal defenses, but it was the first time since 1914 that the German Navy had bombarded mainland Britain, and the thunderous gunfire was like pouring salt on the wounds of the British people.

The formidable Hood had always been considered the "nemesis" of the German Scharnhorst-class battleships: in terms of speed, despite its old age, Hood's engines could still achieve a speed of nearly 30 knots; in terms of firepower, its 15-inch guns were 4 inches larger than the main guns of the Scharnhorst class. However, Hood was no longer able to burst out from the northern anchorage like a thunderbolt, intercept the German battleships, and then give them a good beating—by the time it circled around the northern coast of Scotland and entered the North Sea, the British battle cruisers would have taken a bath and a nap in Wilhelmshaven!

Faced with such a threat, a squadron of British bombers stubbornly launched a counterattack, but before they could drop their bombs on the Gneisenau, they were all shot down by the German Luftwaffe's Messerschmitt fighters—a consequence of losing air superiority!

After the bombardment, the German fleet moved north along the east coast of Britain. Just three hours later, their shells fell on the famous port city of Newcastle. The previously unbombed residents of Newcastle were immediately thrown into chaos, and panic spread like a plague along the entire east coast of Britain!

At this time, when the German long-range reconnaissance aircraft flew over the northern anchorage of the British fleet again, they finally discovered movement from two slow Nelson-class battleships and an aged Revenge-class battleship. Accompanied by several cruisers and destroyers, they seemed to be ready to confront the young German fleet to determine who was the ruler of the North Sea. However, before they arrived, the troublemakers had already fled. Failing to find a target, this British fleet was instead attacked by a squadron of German He-115 torpedo bombers. After a frantic counterattack, they had no choice but to retreat to the north.

While the North Sea drama was unfolding, the English Channel was also turbulent. At the forefront fortress of the German army, the Isle of Wight, two 280mm railway guns no longer fired towards the outskirts of London, but instead rained 255kg shells on the coastal fortresses of Bournemouth and Poole. The German Army's 150mm artillery group also poured fierce fire onto the British coastal defenses from Portsmouth to Southampton, while dive bombers taking off from the Isle of Wight airport almost relentlessly bombed the British trenches and fortresses behind the flat beaches from Portland to Weymouth, and a large group of He-111s and Ju-88s taking off from airfields in northern France attacked the British railway hub and secondary defense lines within 30 kilometers of the coastline.

Midsection of England, alarms rang out continuously!

As the sun rose, a large number of ships appeared off the coast of Portsmouth, Le Havre, and Fécamp. Judging from the direction they were sailing and the areas heavily targeted by German bombers and artillery, the long-standing mystery seemed to have been solved—along the coastline of over a hundred kilometers from Portsmouth to Portland, which boasts numerous ports and beaches, the German forces, if concentrated for a landing in this area, would not only have their land, air, and artillery support secured but also ensure efficient logistics through the important transit point of the Isle of Wight.

At around lunchtime, the massive German fleet appeared in the sight of the British coastal defense forces. Although they lacked the support of a formidable surface fleet, as long as the British coastal guns opened fire, the hovering Stukas would dive without hesitation. Their 500-kilogram aerial bombs were no less powerful than the 12-inch guns of battleships!

Under normal circumstances, what the Germans could think of, the British could too.

Around 1 PM, a German submarine spotted the southbound British fleet at full speed in the waters west of St. David's Head. The array included the battle cruisers Hood and Resistance, the flagship Queen Elizabeth, and the sister battleship Malaya, along with cruisers and destroyers, totaling more than thirty vessels with formidable naval firepower. In terms of firepower delivery, their combined main guns probably exceeded that of a corps-level artillery group!

At the same time, near Start Point at the western entrance of the English Channel, the British dispatched more than forty minesweepers and minesweeping boats converted from ordinary trawlers to clear mines on the sea surface. They engaged in a small-scale naval battle with the German torpedo boats from Le Havre. Despite German interference from the air, the German side emerged victorious. However, once the German aircraft and vessels withdrew, British minesweepers sailed out from ports like Plymouth at the fastest speed to clear various types of mines laid by the Germans in the recent period.

In Amsterdam, overseeing the overall situation, Logan silently watched as the orthodox German staff officers calculated the battlefield situation based on intelligence from all sides: the British mainland fleet had just entered the English Channel around dusk, by which time the German Air Force would no longer be able to exert its combat power, and submarine attacks would also face stubborn resistance from the British destroyer flotilla. Although the German Air Force's attacks did not "unexpectedly" achieve results, the three slow battleships of the British heading south from the northern anchorage turned back north obediently, leaving behind an extremely desolate scene. Furthermore, the German "landing fleet" departing from ports in northern France had been waiting in the waters off the southern coast of England for nearly an hour, neither advancing nor retreating, neither attacking nor withdrawing.

Glancing at his watch, Logan suggested to Richtofen, "General, it's time to implement the Scarecrow plan!"

"Hmm!" Richtofen nodded solemnly and ordered, "Notify the transport aircraft units to execute the Scarecrow plan! The central landing fleet will start returning in an hour!"

Real and illusory, illusory and real, Logan's tactics not only amazed his own generals and staff officers but also undoubtedly left the British bewildered and disoriented!