On the flagship of the German Home Fleet, the aircraft carrier Poseidon, Fleet Commander Marshal Lütjens was speaking with Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Karl Wetzell.
In the previous Battle of the Azores, the Home Fleet had lost an aircraft carrier—the German Navy's only lost carrier. The fleet's naval officers and sailors regarded it as a humiliation.
Although, after the third batch of Sovereign-class aircraft carriers entered service, the aircraft carrier Ares had been assigned to the Home Fleet, restoring its strength to eight aircraft carriers. Moreover, the heavily damaged aircraft carrier Aphrodite had also been repaired. This had brought the Home Fleet's strength almost back to its prewar level. Of course, the battleship Catherine, lost by the Capital Ships Formation, could not be replaced. After all, the German Navy had not built battleships for many years.
During the Battle of the Azores, the Atlantic Fleet commanded by Admiral Rolf Kars had stolen all the limelight and rendered great service. Though Marshal Lütjens had been promoted to marshal ahead of him, he still felt somewhat sour about it. He hoped that the Home Fleet could distinguish itself with even greater merit in this naval battle. That was why he had insisted that the Home Fleet undertake the mission of luring in the enemy. Though the task was somewhat dangerous, the merit to be gained was also greater. Besides, Marshal Lütjens believed that if every preparation was in place, the Home Fleet would not actually face much danger. Indeed, if conditions were ripe, the German Navy could even use the Home Fleet as its core to defeat the American Navy once more, perhaps even alongside the British Navy. Then the Home Fleet would win great merit.
"Commander, we have just sunk a submarine. I estimate that news of our activities in