Chapter 403: Hunger Action (19)

In fact, the "Prince of Wales" in the original time and space also had a bad start. On May 21, 41, the "Prince of Wales" officially announced that it would join the Royal Navy and immediately launched an operation to intercept the German "Bismarck" battleship heading to the Atlantic to destroy the British shipping route.

In this battle, the Hood battlecruiser was sunk by the Bismarck. The "Prince of Wales" was hit by four 380mm shells from the "Bismarck" and three shells from the cruiser. In particular, at 6:03, a 380mm shell from the "Bismarck" hit the bridge compass room of the "Prince of Wales". Although the shell went straight through without exploding, the personnel in the bridge (including the radar control room) were either killed or injured. Only Captain Richie was lucky enough to be unscathed. The main turret of the Prince of Wales had a mechanical failure, and the ammunition chain of a quadruple cannon was stuck, and the firepower was weakened.

Then the "Prince of Wales" had to withdraw from the battle. During the battle, the ship's main gun also hit the "Bismarck", causing the ship's speed to drop, fuel loss, and loss of the ability to perform combat missions. Although the "Prince of Wales" was injured, it still closely tracked the "Bismarck" until the "Bismarck" temporarily lost its trace, and the "Prince of Wales" had to return.

Prime Minister Churchill at this time and space certainly didn't know this. After hearing the news that the "Prince of Wales" was severely damaged by a mine and would have to be repaired for at least half a year, he was so angry that he trembled all over and yelled hysterically. "Dereliction of duty, serious dereliction of duty! Send them all to the military court! No, let the intelligence department investigate first to find out if someone deliberately sabotaged it!"

After just a few shouts, Churchill suddenly felt his heart jump suddenly, and he was inexplicably reminded of the code names such as "Duke", "Marquis", "Count", and "Viscount" that appeared from time to time on the German radio.

The Germans said they were unknown heroes fighting in the heart of the enemy; Churchill had only regarded these as a means of confusing the Germans and did not care.

After all, the titles of the British Empire can be said to be a symbol of loyalty in a sense.

The origin of British titles can be traced back to the mid-14th century. The "Order of the Garter", founded in 1350, is still the oldest and highest-ranking title in the UK.

British titles can be divided into three categories: one is the royal title, which is conferred on the royal family or the highest-ranking nobles (such as Princess Anne); the second is the noble title, which is conferred on ordinary nobles (hereditary nobles at the level of Cain), and the third is the meritorious title, which is conferred on people who have made significant contributions (British Prime Minister, Baroness Thatcher).

The titles of the royal family and nobles are divided into five major levels, and their names and their corresponding female titles are as follows: Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron. But below the Baron there is also the Baronet, which is the lowest level of hereditary titles.

Generally, only the closest relatives of the royal family (such as the King of England's brother, the King of England's husband, etc.) can be awarded the title of Duke. When the Duke is alive, his eldest son is honored as a Marquis, and so on. Commoners have no chance of such titles.

Among the major Western countries, Britain is the country that has maintained the aristocracy system for the longest time and has the most remnants of the aristocratic system. Until the late 19th century, most of the cabinet members of the British cabinet still had the status of nobles or knights; in 1911, the parliamentary reform bill that was devastating to the nobility was passed, breaking most of the political power of the nobles in the House of Lords. The real abolition of the political power of hereditary nobles had to wait until the Blair government reformed the House of Lords in 1999.

But now a terrible thought appeared in his mind, what if these "Dukes", "Marquises", "Earls", "Viscounts", etc. mentioned by the Germans were real spies?

From the attack on Scapa Flow to the failure of Operation Ballista, think about it carefully, every time there is a hint of weirdness. Scapa Flow is the main anchorage of the British Royal Navy. It occupies a unique geographical fortress and is home to major warships and large aircraft carriers. The Royal Army naturally dared not ignore the tight blockade of the bay and sent a large number of troops to guard it. Anti-submarine nets were set up at all 7 exits to intercept sneak attackers, and mine arrays were added around them. With such a tight net and strict security, the British have not yet found out how the German U-47 submarine slipped into Scapa Flow.

Could it be that their own ships secretly brought the U-47 submarine into Scapa Flow? After all, it doesn't seem difficult to deal with the sonar operator and captain on a ship.

The most suspicious thing is the "Catapult Operation". Such top-secret intelligence was leaked, causing the Germans to set up an ambush early.

Are these spies involved in every loss they suffer?

This idea seemed to be poisonous, lingering in his mind, and even took root, gradually changing from suspicion to certainty.

He immediately found Lord Adams of the Military Intelligence Agency.

Lord Adams has been very busy recently. It is not easy to conduct a detailed investigation of a country; since he was appointed, he has only found out one-third of the political officials. This is a rough investigation. If everyone is investigated in detail, the manpower and time consumed will be immeasurable.

Churchill told him his conjecture. "Don't worry about other aspects for now, focus on investigating the naval department. Especially the officials with titles such as "Duke", "Marquis", "Earl", and "Viscount" mentioned by the Germans."

"We must find these spies as soon as possible! Otherwise, the British Empire will be destroyed by these spies sooner or later." Churchill ordered with a frosty face.

"I think we can start with the "Crossbow" plan." As a top-secret operation of the Navy, not many people have access to the "Crossbow" plan. Those who can see the specific details of the plan are at least high-ranking officials such as colonels or generals. "Isolate all the generals and commanders who have come into contact with this plan and investigate them thoroughly!"

"Understood." Lord Adams' face was a little ugly. If it was really as Prime Minister Churchill guessed, one or more high-ranking officers in the Navy had defected to the Germans, then they might have formed a perfect intelligence network, and it might not be so easy to investigate.

But even if he knew there were difficulties, he had to face the difficulties. If he didn't find these damn spies, the British Empire would really be destroyed in the hands of these spies.

"Mr. Prime Minister, maybe our communication codes have been known to the Germans. Just in case, all the secret telegrams should be changed."

Churchill nodded. "Yes, this matter must be done as soon as possible."

Just as Lord Adams left, the secretary ran in in a panic. "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, Your Excellency, the Germans are broadcasting that they are going to bomb our coastal cities!"