Also - I think you may have posted the thumbnails of the cards? Or am I going blind
I will They should be a third of the way down page 2, I may also re-upload the for better quality, and post them at the top of page 1, so they are easier to find.
Last Edit: Jul 10, 2020 18:52:12 GMT by Theaetetus
University Student— Lover of Plato, Aristotle, War At Sea, Palestrina, and Mozart
With the Norwegian campaign continuing to face stiff resistance and uncertain prospects, the German High Command turned its attention to the North Atlantic. With progress on the Graf Zeppelin miraculously exceeding expectations, she had been made ready for a major operation against the British. Heavy losses in April limited her choice of escorts, and so rather than prepare for a fleet battle, the Kriegmarine prepared a trap.
The German plan balanced several competing objectives; first, reinforcements were need in Norway to ensure victory over the Allies, second, another naval victory over the British was necessary, to compensate for heavy losses in Narvik, and third, to do irreparable damage to British shipping with a new and untested weapon, the carrier-raider. With all of these in mind, German intelligence recommended an attack near Trondheim which could coincide with the antisubmarine patrol of a British destroyer squadron. The escorting forces provided, the heavy cruiser Blucher, the one surviving K-class cruiser Karlsruhe, and three destroyers would be reinforced by the newly launched battleship Bismarck. Also in place was a line of three veteran U-boats. It was known that British heavy forces had been operating in the area, and High Command’s plan was to imitate German strategy twenty four years earlier at the battle of the Heligoland: they would smash the lighter Royal Navy ships, and lure in the heavier ones to their demise, at the hands of one of the most powerful surface task force the Kriegsmarine had ever assembled. Having defeated the Royal Navy, Bismarck and Graf Zeppelin would break out, and reap a large harvest of British shipping that might even put them out of the war. The remaining surface units would return to Kiel, and the convoy to Oslo would land unscathed, with British energy being diverted after the Bismarck and Graf Zeppelin.
British spies were aware of the movements of the Kriegsmarine, which were confirmed the next day by scouting aircraft flying over the Denmark Strait. The Admiralty, concerned with escort allocation, Italian activity in the Mediterranean, and the increasing belligerence of Japan, had few ships and carriers to distribute across the North Sea. Fearing a thrust into the Channel, a carrier and two battleships were sent south, and another battleship was sent north to guard Trondheim. HMS Nelson was sent south, with the cruisers Kent and Suffolk to reinforce a destroyer group headed by the Enterprise. Fighters and patrol aircraft were flown to Norway hastily to help scout and defend against the German carrier menace. Nearby were two S-class submarines that had been on patrol, and were impressed into the Nelson group. Visibility had been bad in the morning when a Sunderland spotted the German surface forces passing Kristiansand. The day was just clearing up as the two battlegroups entered opposite sides of Gronsfjorden, knowing the other by the irregular reports from their scout planes…
Last Edit: Jul 10, 2020 19:13:53 GMT by Theaetetus
University Student— Lover of Plato, Aristotle, War At Sea, Palestrina, and Mozart