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A proposal to increase the effectiveness of the Nazi surface fleet in WW2 (Pt. #1)...
Effective use of U-boats could have strangled the British Isles, so demobilizing the fleet and transferring its resources to the U-boat arm may have been an optimum strategy. However, Germany had vast resources already invested in its surface fleet, yet made very little use of it for fear of losses. In many cases ships of the surface fleet sortied singly, which reduced their effectiveness, especially vs BB-escorted convoys.
To improve the effectiveness of the surface fleet, form the major warships into battlegroups (KGs) similar to the Scharnhorst-Gneisenau-Prinz Eugen KG that operated from Brest, France during 1941. If this was done after Jan 1942 (late enough to allow for gained experience, but not late enough for the surface fleet to have suffered crippling losses), then the major surface warships available to form KGs would be the Tirpitz, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Lutzow, & Sheer. Pair up the Scharnhorst with the Lutzow & the Gneisenau with the Sheer, then team the Tirpitz with the Prinz Eugen, the Scharnhorst-Lutzow KG with the Hipper, & the Gneisenau-Sheer KG with the Seydlitz. This gives KG Tirpitz 9x15" + 8x8" at a speed of 32 kts, & KGs Scharnhorst & Gneisenau 15x11" + 8x8" at a speed of 28 kts.
Next, support KGs Scharnhorst & Gneisenau with 2 fast tenders/ea, equipped to refuel, rearm, & resupply the warships from neutral bases, performing limited repairs.
Germany also had 4 short-ranged light cruisers that were incapable of solo operations, but could have been effective commerce raiders as part of a properly supplied surface KG. Operating between Brest & bases in Norway, KG Tirpitz will operate mainly in the N. Atlantic, but KG Scharnhorst will operate mainly in the S. Atlantic & KG Gneisenau in the Indian Ocean. Scharnhorst will therefore receive the light cruisers Koln & Leipzig, while Gneisenau will receive Konigsberg & Nurnberg. (The presence of the Sheer would remind nations bordering the Indian Ocean of the successful 1940-41 cruise of that ship, while the presence of the Gneisenau & Konigsberg would serve as reminders of their WW1 counterparts.)
Nazi destroyers were too short-ranged to operate far from their bases, but could have been effective as part of a properly supplied surface KG. Assign 3 Z-23 class destroyers to KGs Scharnhorst & Gneisenau.
By 1942 the day of the disguised surface raider was ending, but ships like the Orion & Thor could have remained effective well into 1943 if they'd operated in remote waters within supporting range of powerful surface KGs. Give the Thor & Stier to KG Scharnhorst, & the Orion & Michel to KG Gneisenau.
The effectiveness of the long-range Type IX U-boat was limited by the need to sail several thousand miles to reach its operational areas in the S. Atlantic & Indian Ocean. Improve Type IX effectiveness by using KGs Scharnhorst & Gneisenau to support U-boat operations in their areas. This would provide KGs Scharnhorst & Gneisenau each with 1 heavy battlecruiser, 1 medium battlecruiser, 1 heavy cruiser, 2 light cruisers, 3 destroyers, 2 disguised raiders that could act as auxiliary tenders, 2 fast tenders, & 3 to 5 U-boats.
The primary effect of these deployments would be to strangle British petroleum resupply from the Persian Gulf, forcing the diversion of significant British naval forces from the N. Atlantic &/or Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, increasing the exposure of the N. Atlantic convoys to KG Tirpitz. Acting in concert with the Imperial Japanese Navy, the Nazi KGs would then be in a position to annihilate those British warships.
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