Time Slip Reiwa Japan

A.D.1944 - 130 - The Stirrings of World War - 3

The escalating tensions between Germany and the Netherlands brought about a sense of tension in the North Sea. In order to exert pressure on the Netherlands, Hitler ordered the Kriegsmarine to deploy large ships to the North Sea.

However, for the German navy, this was not a simple matter. After several years of consecutive long-term missions in the open seas, the fuel allocated to the Kriegsmarine was always in a state of depletion. Especially for the large ships with significant fuel consumption, regular training in the open seas was being curtailed. *1 Therefore, the admirals of the Kriegsmarine collectively petitioned Hitler, stating that they opposed moving large ships unless there was a special allocation of fuel with their positions at stake. In response, Hitler dismissed the admirals.

This disagreement stemmed from a difference in perception. The Kriegsmarine had no fuel, but this was under the assumption that there was enough fuel reserved to fill the fuel tanks of all German naval vessels twice over. For the Kriegsmarine, this was fuel being stockpiled in preparation for future wars.

However, from Hitler's perspective, despite the general shortage of fuel in Germany, the Kriegsmarine's desire for further fuel seemed excessively greedy. This could be attributed to Hitler's lack of understanding of the naval mindset due to his background primarily in the army. Additionally, there was an aspect of rejuvenating the aging German naval commanders. However, coercion alone couldn't make people act. Hitler promised the Navy a special allocation of fuel.

The source of this allocation was the Waffen-SS, which could be considered Hitler's private army. Currently, infantry (non-mechanized) divisions are predominant, but in the future—should war break out and military budgets expand—plans are in place for extensive expansion (mechanization), and the fuel was being reserved for that occasion. However, since the allocated fuel was for vehicle use, it presented a mixed blessing for the Kriegsmarine. Thus, the Navy contacted the Minister of Armaments to propose exchanging gasoline for heavy oil, which was being held for the production of weapons and ammunition.

The Minister of Armaments agreed to this proposal. However, it was impossible for the Kriegsmarine to arrange the desired amount of heavy oil at its own discretion. Therefore, they reached out to the industrial sector to gather it widely.

In any case, through various efforts, the Kriegsmarine managed to organize a large fleet consisting of the powerful battleships Bismarck and Scharnhorst, the cruiser Prinz Eugen, and five destroyers, deploying them to the southern part of the North Sea. The Kriegsmarine also wished to deploy the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin to form a mobile unit (aircraft carrier task force) which could be considered a symbol of first-class naval power. However, as she had just returned from the Adriatic Sea, she was plagued by crew fatigue and ship malfunctions, leading to the decision to postpone its deployment.

As a side note, the second ship of the Graf Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers, the Peter Strasser, had completed its launch, but due to prioritization of resources and workers for the construction of the Preussen-class armored ships required for trade with China, construction had halted midway through outfitting. This situation mirrored the state of the Kriegsmarine in a sense, reflecting the overall situation of Germany itself.

. . .

France

Upon receiving the news of the German Navy's incursion into the North Sea, the French Navy was stirred with excitement. Whether they called them the "queens of the quays" (harbor guards) or the "rulers of the Baltic" (recluses), the fact remained that the German Navy's battleships (high-value targets) were on the move. There was no reason not to be excited.